Long ago.
Eun, who had sneaked into the bedchamber of the primordial god, was captured by the Creators.
—Oh ho, we technology gods have caught what even the titan gods couldn’t. Let’s reprint our business cards.
—More than that, is that Kruder a lunatic, or did that young punk get cocky? Who in their right mind targets the King of Gods?
—Exactly. Even if he fell in love with the primordial god, the weaker one would die.
—Did he really think he was stronger than the King of Gods?
—Eh, no way.
In the end, the captured Eun was forced to live under the surveillance of the Creators.
Bound by a cursed restraint.
—Monster. Submit to the Creators, live out your life as a slave, and repent.
Simply put, it was like fastening a shock collar onto a wild beast.
But young Asran, who played with Eun, seemed to hate that.
—Big brother, I undid that restraint for you. Now you won’t go ouch even if you accidentally use your power, right?
—?!
Asran had undone the powerful spell that the first Creators had placed, far too easily.
Thanks to that, Eun was freed in that moment, and could escape from the divine realm.
Of course, young Asran soon realized what a grave mistake that was, but for some reason, Eun didn’t flee. He didn’t even breathe a word that the restraint was removed.
And so it was, even when he was thrown into prison on the charge of killing a Creator.
—As expected, that thing’s a monster. He dares to kill a Creator, ungrateful for the mercy of being spared?
—At least that restraint is still on him, so he can’t get out of that prison.
—Rot in there for the rest of your life.
But the lone surviving young Asran knew the truth.
Eun didn't kill the Creator. The ones who did were his older brother, who had somehow gone mad, and those who envied the Creators.
The ones Eun did kill were, rather, those who had murdered the Creator.
So Asran went to the prison and spoke.
—Brother, why are you locked in here for a crime you didn't commit?
—Get lost, kid. Before I kill you.
Moreover, Eun had been free from the very start. When he used his strength, a pathetic prison of the Great Deities like this—he could have broken out and left the divine realm anytime he wished.
So young Asran asked.
—Did you have some kind of bad talk with the Great Deities?
—I said get lost.
—!
—Never show yourself before me again. You wretched Creator.
Asran wondered if he had been weakened by that murderous glare that kept driving him away to the very end. So, as a final act, Asran granted him an ability and left the prison.
An escape ability that would let him leave the prison in one go.
But even until Asran’s death, he never once used that escape ability.
Through hundreds of years, he just stayed in that prison, having his power drained by the Great Deities.
At first, Asran thought maybe he refused to use the escape ability out of stubborn pride, or perhaps the Creators were that accursed to him. But it was different.
—Still, it worked out well enough. I did say, if you don’t want to see the last remaining Creator die, submit quietly.
—!
Eun had apparently known.
That there was no one left to protect the lone young Creator.
And that the Great Deities hated the Creators enough to want to kill them.
So Eun had made a deal with them, on the condition of sparing young Asran’s life.
Of course, Asran discovered this fact only after he grew up—at the point when he was planning the usurpation and had decided on his own death.
Anyway, after that, Asran died.
And once the last remaining Creator was gone, Eun shattered the prison and walked out, as if he had no lingering attachments left.
—Pathetic fools, these Creators.
And cursing the gods who had brought about the Creators' deaths, he summoned even his comrades and turned the divine realm into a wasteland.
Well, what happened then wasn’t important. In any case, to Asran, Eun was a benefactor.
And now, in this moment. The people and gods hearing this story had no choice but to be utterly shocked.
[Are you saying that Eun was already free?!]
“Well, since he seemed to want to keep that fact hidden, I didn’t mention it either.”
[My old master!]
Igeon, who was listening to the story, furrowed his brow.
If what Asran said was true, then what Hugo had told him just a while ago was also a lie.
And there was one present who was more shocked by the story than anyone else.
[That bastard Eun was like that?]
Screaming in agony, Myeolhonju glared with wide eyes.
[That’s impossible! That bastard…!]
Asran smiled at Myeolhonju, who was denying reality.
“That bastard is a liar with the face of a good man.”
As soon as the words fell, Myeolhonju’s contract fully unfurled.
[Aaaargh!!]
Igeon pinned down Myeolhonju to prevent him from escaping.
At the same time, something astonishing happened.
Bam!!
Myeolhonju’s form shifted from a human youth into a gigantic monster.
He transformed into the form of a Kruder. Simultaneously, the contract letters engraved on his arm began to change.
As if it had been a two-faced contract all along, the original terms were revealed.
Because of this, humanity, the gods, and even the Great Deities—all were astounded.
“That’s…!!”
[Could it be that it was a contract to turn a Great Deity into a Monarch…!!]
And seeing that form, Lee Jaewon thought, ‘Oh no.’
Now that he thought about it, when the angels of Eden had invaded his home, hadn’t he heard it clearly?
‘The one who turned the Great Deity of Eden into a Monarch was Eun—no, Master Hugo….’
Hugo had said he made that claim to shatter Michael’s mental state, but actually, it had been the truth.
‘Then did he transform the Great Deity of Eden in this way too?’
And just like he’d turned the Great Deity of Eden into a Monarch, he’d done the same to the Great Deity of Babylon…!
In the end, Myeolhonju, transformed into a Monarch who had lost his reason, began to thrash about in agony.
Given his rank, it seemed he’d ascended to the Monarch level, but the situation was what it was.
‘Isn’t this a case of having karma recoil on him all at once!’
Rather than gaining power by becoming a Monarch, it felt as if he had become a beast that couldn’t distinguish ally from enemy and simply destroyed on its own.
As expected, it was exactly so.
[Wait a moment…!]
Myeolhonju, changed into a Kruder, glared at Mahabharata’s Great Deity, who had collapsed, eroded by karma.
His power was weakened, and his body had transformed into a Monarch’s.
And what method was there for a weakened Monarch to replenish its strength!
[Ah, no!!]
Crunch!!!
Myeolhonju mercilessly tore into the throat of his comrade, Mahabharata’s Great Deity.
Splat!!
[Keuheok!]
Having lost reason and power, Myeolhonju simply had to fill his belly.
And to the Kruders, the finest nourishment was gods!
What’s more, if it was a wounded Great Deity, how unbelievably, mouthwateringly desirable wouldn’t that be!
Faithful to instinct, Myeolhonju sank in his teeth as if ravenous.
Crunch! Crunch!
Tearing through skin and hide, shattering bones, crushing the face. Myeolhonju devoured the torso of Mahabharata’s Great Deity, mercilessly snuffing out the struggling life.
Splat!!
[Mahabharata’s Great Deity’s breath has ceased.]
[The Great Deity is extinguished.]
Thud!
At last, the Great Deity of Mahabharata slumped into a shapeless mass of meat.
The gods and goddesses furrowed their brows at the sight.
[That imbecile…!]
In an instant, two Great Deities had been extinguished.
Soon, with his belly full, Myeolhonju roared at the sky.
At that sight, others, as if unable to watch, used magic. They thought to absorb Myeolhonju and use his abilities as their own authority.
But it was right then.
Splat!!!
Igeon smiled viciously, as if a golden opportunity had fallen into his lap, and swung his weapon.
And that weapon was specialized in killing giant monsters!
[Keuheok!!]
Was it because of its history of slaying monsters? It was a divine artifact that exhibited far greater power than when killing gods.
And as if meeting water, Igeon, having lopped off the Monarch’s neck in one go, laughed murderously.
“Now the only one left is you?”
[Myeolhonju has been extinguished.]
[Experience points rise dramatically.]
[Samsara’s level increases.]
Seeing Myeolhonju cut down in a single stroke, others were taken aback.
[That bastard…!]
They were dumbfounded.
Of course, it wasn’t that the scenario of a Great Deity dying hadn’t been in their calculations.
They already knew that Myeolhonju had secretly collaborated with the Monarch.
‘He had been eyeing the power of another primordial god.’
Wasn’t he a guy who felt an odd sense of inferiority toward Great Deities who had never inherited their position?
He was someone who would mobilize anything to rapidly grow his power.
They themselves loathed the Monarchs, but Myeolhonju bore no deep grudge against them, so he could join hands with them at any time.
And what about Mahabharata’s Great Deity, devoured by Myeolhonju?
‘That guy was an onlooker.’
He was a perpetrator who had, like them, killed the primordial god, but he bore guilt over that act.
Besides, wasn’t the reason he joined hands with them this time to find Hayley?
‘Because that woman’s father was the Great Deity of Mahabharata.’
He’d said she was a friend’s child and needed to be brought here and protected, but well.
‘She’s just a filthy brat who disgraced the divine realm anyway.’
A child of a Great Deity and a Monarch, of all things?
For a great Great Deity to die because of a filthy Monarch wench—it was a loss to the gods and an immense disgrace.
In any case, the deaths of the Great Deities were within their calculated range; rather, their extinction allowed them to seize the scattered power of the primordial god, so it was a gain.
But.
[These fellows truly have a knack for being irritating.]
Manbyeon, and Igeon.
Parasites who besmirch what others have painstakingly calculated.
With flashing eyes, others approached Igeon.
[A fellow whose lifespan isn’t long anyway.]
Currently, the System was managed by the Norns of Valhalla who were in hiding, and they possessed the System’s power.
They had been the one modifying the System up until now.
[With the System, I shall erase your existence.]
They were unmistakably intent on altering the System’s clauses to wipe out Igeon’s existence.
[After all, merely modifying the System doesn’t even count as a karmic transgression.]
They argued that while inserting a new rule into the System might be an issue, modifying it to overcome a crisis in the divine realm was unrelated to taboo.
As long as the scope of the modification was justifiable, they could use it without restriction to eliminate Igeon.
[In any case, from the moment you blew up the divine realm, you were recognized as an enemy of the divine realm.]
Modifying the rules to eliminate an enemy could, even more so, be considered self-defense.
[Do not underestimate the master of the divine realm.]
All the deities grew wary of the others.
‘The god at the top even among the Great Deities.’
It wasn’t for nothing that they had acted as leader of the primordial gods.
One who savors and masters all the world’s knowledge.
Igeon too stayed on guard, panting heavily. The karma had vanished, but the aftereffects of his internal injuries still remained.
And it was precisely at that moment.
Boom!!
“!!”
Had Tongcheonju touched the System in the meantime?
Pop! Pop! Pop!
[……!!]
All the weapons the gods possessed shattered, and the attending lesser deities collapsed, clutching their throats in agony.
That wasn’t all.
“Keuheok!”
The humans too collapsed, suffering respiratory distress, in the same manner.
And.
Crack!
Significant cracks appeared on the Adamantine and the divine artifacts Igeon held.
“……!”
He couldn’t even tell what they had altered in the System.
At that sight, Igeon furrowed his brow and placed his hand on something.
‘I was hoping not to use this if possible.’
A divine artifact made from a primordial god.
It was the only weapon still intact, but if he used it in his current state, he would die from lack of divine authority.
But it was just then.
Grab!
[!]
As if to stop Igeon, someone clung to their waist.
[Geon! From now on, move me and this bastard to the place I’m about to tell you!]
“!”
Unexpectedly, it was the Lord of the Burning Hells.
He glared with eyes blazing, as if he would not let go.
That gaze sent a momentary chill down their spine.
Because no matter what, this guy was someone connected to the System.
Thus, the hand of the others grew urgent.
[You little…! If you’re an earth-sustaining god protecting the divine realm, act like one!]
[Geon!]
At last, after hearing something from the Lord of the Burning Hells, Igeon used the System.
Then a massive darkness swallowed the Lord of the Burning Hells and Tongcheonju, whom he held fast.
As soon as they vanished, the astonished gods asked.
[My lord! Where did you send those two…!]
“Don’t worry. It’s Earth.”
The place the Lord of the Burning Hells had spoken of was the divine realm, but the divine realm and Earth were already merged.
And the place where they fell was a desolate black land.
A place where neither rising trees nor the earth itself held any life left.
The place of exile, Gehenna.
Land once ruled by one who bore Junu’s face. A restricted zone where gods who had suddenly turned into evil deities were imprisoned.
And the moment they arrived there, the face of the others contorted.
[You bastard, you couldn’t have…!]
The Lord of the Burning Hells smiled infuriatingly.
[All you guys here, they're the ones you used as karma scapegoats, right?]
[......!!!]
There's no way gods suddenly become evil gods. Then the answer is obvious.
[For thousands, hundreds of years, you've been using my item to transfer your karma to the gods. And because you hated looking at them, you turned this place into a prison-like control zone and drove them all here.]
And to prevent that secret from leaking, you made
[Let go!]
[It's useless. I've been transferring your damn divine rank to Geoni since earlier.]
[!!]
[And what will happen if all the karma of the evil gods here is moved to one guy? It won't just end with becoming an evil god, right? Huh?]
Tongcheonju's face turned pale.
This bastard as well!
‘He plans to move the karma to me and kill me.’
Therefore, he became urgent.
[Stop! You are the creator of the
Usually, they say the maker of an item is without sin, but if too terrible damage has occurred because of that item, the story changes.
‘Even the one who put the item out into the world will be punished.’
Perhaps that's why Father said not to use that ability.
Because he knew it would definitely be misused. And because he knew that karma would come to him too.
And because he knew that, Tongcheonju rarely looked at Jagyeolsajuin as if telling him not to do this.
[Don't you know that we specially moved your karma as well!]
[What are you talking about. You moved it along with mine because you were afraid of being caught by others.]
[......!]
Flustered Tongcheonju shouted.
[If you eliminate me, you won't be safe either! The karma of yours I had moved until now will return to you!! That means you die too!]
At that, Jagyeolsajuin laughed instead of answering.
Because suddenly a damn old memory came to mind.
-Brother! I like your ability!
-What? You don't mean you want to steal something?
-Hmm, honestly I'm tempted, but no. In the first place, Brother has never stolen another's ability or property, hasn't he.
-Then why do you like it?
-Because it's an ability that saves someone.
-!
-Doesn't it save many people by moving wounds, sickness, and disasters? So I really like Brother, and that ability.
Jagyeolsa felt bitter inside.
He, after all, was a murderer who killed his own clan with the power his younger sibling called a life-saving ability.
And such a him must have died reaping what he sowed back then, so why was he granted a second life?
He had never known the reason all this while, but he felt he now knew.
‘It means I have to take responsibility.’
It must be that there were still responsibilities left.
And now, though he knew he could not become a god who saves lives like this, at this moment, there was something only he could do.
Therefore, he grabbed
[Now. Let's go together! You damn old geezer!!]
With that shout, Jagyeolsajuin used his ability.
Bang!!
[Aargh!!]
Tongcheonju screamed.
In an instant, all the karma of those whom the great gods had used as karma bearers for hundreds, thousands of years returned to Tongcheonju.
And the amount of karma the great gods had transferred to others over that time was beyond imagination. Tongcheonju, receiving all the karma back at once, was in great agony.
[Aargh!! Stop! A guy who dies like this can't even be resurrected... Kulk!]
And then.
Flash!
In the end, Tongcheonju couldn't even live as an evil god, and vanished in an instant, leaving only his divine rank.
Bang!!
The existence of the great god who ruled the divine realm had completely disappeared.
And Jagyeolsa, to prevent others from taking Tongcheonju's divine rank, immediately grabbed the divine rank and moved it to Lee Geon.
But at that moment, karma returned to Jagyeolsajuin's body as well.
Thud!!
[Guk...!]
Tongcheonju disappeared, and even the karma of Jagyeolsa that Tongcheonju had sealed with magic returned.
But as for his own karma, Jagyeolsa also could not move it to another.
Although he had no intention of doing so in the first place.
In the end, Jagyeolsajuin, completely vanishing with light, smiled one last time.
Well, his younger siblings and comrades would tease him for doing something so unlike himself, but so what.
He had done nothing for his nephew, so at least he could do this.
And at that moment.
Bang!!!
Jagyeolsa's body, his soul, died and disappeared.
Thus, the star of the sun set forever.
(Continued in the next episode)