Hugo was spending happy times with his beloved wife and newborn daughter.
He grinned foolishly at the pretty baby girl who looked just like him.
“Jisoo, huh? That’s a surprisingly good name, not like Gun at all.”
The two rotten(?) brats looked at their father like they were looking at a bug(?), but this one—he would raise her to be an absolute daddy’s girl.
Then his little daughter would cling to his hand and say things like:
—Jisoo, who do you like more, Daddy or Uncle Gun?
—Daddy!
—Then, our Jisoo, who will you marry when you grow up?
—Daddy!
Imagining that near future, Hugo silently sobbed, muffling his own mouth with his hand.
Finally, his wish was coming true.
And the words he could never pry from his other two children—he’d finally hear them now!
Determined never to fail again, Hugo ordered several copies of his documentary DVD. For Gun’s DVDs, he made sure to pick the worst possible ones(?).
Just then, Cheon Ji-woo asked cautiously,
“But... is this really okay?”
She had heard from Hugo everything that had happened.
Of course, she knew Hugo wasn’t the type to burn photos or pack his bags without reason, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t worried.
Even though Hugo had been smacked on the back by his wife for secretly doing dangerous things, he waved off her concerns.
“It seems Gun has something that could be the solution.”
With that, even the karma stacked against him could be erased.
It meant he could live as an ordinary human again. Be with the ones he loved.
That fact filled Hugo with joy.
So, as if to tell her not to worry, he stood up.
“Wait here. Daddy’s going to bring something delicious for him and Mommy.”
At the same time, he activated the ability of [ ] that he had snatched away, and vanished somewhere.
Thud!
He reappeared inside a vault-like safe in Gun’s workshop.
The ability of [ ]—which allowed instantaneous movement and intrusion anywhere—was quite useful.
‘With this, Gun won’t be able to trace where I go.’
And it came with a stealth function too.
Hugo rummaged through the safe to retrieve the precious chocolate Gun had pilfered(?) from the Virgo Sanctuary.
He was just about to leave after swiping the snacks that Gun had threatened to turn the place upside down over if anyone stole them, when—
“So? If I use that method, it’s over and done, right?”
‘Gah!!’
A familiar voice echoed inside the safe.
Startled by Gun’s voice, Hugo swiftly hid among the treasures.
Turning his head, he saw Gun and the Ancient God clinging to his neck.
Apparently, they’d come to fetch something from the safe.
“So the durability of the seal wears down depending on the scale of the karma. And I’ve got exactly two indulgences left, right?”
“!”
Gun and the Ancient God were having an unexpected conversation.
And the Ancient God [ ] was a divine artifact with the ability [ ].
But that wasn’t what was important.
‘Only two left?’
Wondering what that meant, Hugo strained his ears just as the Ancient God nuzzled its face against Gun and said something unexpected.
[If we divide the levels of karma, it goes something like SS-grade, S-grade, and A-grade.]
“Yeah? What do those mean?”
[SS-grade karma is something that can collapse the order of the divine realm. S-grade can collapse the order of society. A-grade is moral disturbance level.]
The karma that ordinary gods smoothed over with their authorization was A-grade or lower.
“Then what grade was me destroying the divine realm?”
[SS-grade karma.]
“And the Great Gods killing you?”
[SS-grade karma.]
“And my other deeds in the divine realm?”
[All S-grade karma.]
In short, he’d caused an awful lot of trouble.
So Gun had no choice but to ask:
“So because of all the havoc I’ve caused, I only have two indulgences left?”
[That’s not it.]
“Then what?”
[The things you want to do—first, the acquittal of the arch-traitor [ ]. Second, the survival of the forbidden child who shouldn’t exist. And third, dealing with the Great Gods of the Ennead using the method you mentioned.]
The Ancient God continued.
[Those three acts fundamentally go beyond the divine realm and harm the order of [ ]. In other words, if carried out, you’d incur SSS-catastrophe-grade karma.]
“!”
What Gun was trying to do was, even each on its own, linked to the order of the universe.
The very fact that an indulgence could be used for such things was already a miracle on a monumental scale.
“Yeah, well, leaving me or Hayley aside, even beating Taek-su to death multiple times didn’t reduce his karma.”
Was that why he’d killed him multiple times(?)—just to test it?
Well, maybe the karma didn’t decrease because being killed by the monarch didn’t count as a proper death, but was more like a reward(?) of some sort.
[At any rate, killing multiple times is meaningless. Even if you acted like a real bug and killed him through rank insubordination, it wouldn’t matter.]
Originally, Hugo had been fated to be killed insignificantly tens of thousands of times, like a bug, by [ ]—that seemed to be what he was referring to.
Sure enough, Mimir emerged quietly from the shadows and spoke.
[That is why it’s fortunate. To have as many as two chances at indulgence against such SSS-grade karma...]
Mimir had already caught on to his master’s plan.
[However, you cannot save both your friend and your lover. You must choose between the two. Because aside from your own indulgence, only one remains.]
Then Gun asked,
“What happens if I don’t get the indulgence?”
[The [ ] and the forbidden child will live. But you will incur SSS-grade karma. And fall into the Void Realm.]
Gun furrowed his brow.
Come to think of it, the Leo Saint had mentioned that word.
—You must never fall into that place! Get away! That’s the entrance to the Void Realm!
At the time, he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
As if asking where that was, Gun looked at Mimir, and Mimir answered.
[You’ve already seen the end of those crushed by karma, haven’t you?]
“Yeah. They turned into evil gods, but most couldn’t endure it and croaked.”
The Great Gods, too, had all turned into monsters and, in the end, reaped what they sowed and vanished.
But Mimir spoke of something very important.
[In truth, although they did vanish after receiving karma, strictly speaking, it’s a little different. They don’t vanish because of the karma. They choose to vanish themselves.]
“What?”
[Because the place where sinners who become evil gods are headed is the World of Eternal Labor.]
“!”
[That place is a reverse world, distinct from the sunlit divine realm or its colonies. It’s the land where unforgiven, permanent sinners fall. A detention camp for those filled with original sin.]
He didn’t fully grasp it, but it sounded like hell.
“Is it different from hells like Tartarus in the divine realm?”
[The Duat and Tartarus are all under the jurisdiction of the divine realm. Strictly speaking, they are divine realm territory—colonies.]
Just as modern society has prisons, Tartarus was merely one such auxiliary facility of the divine realm.
So Gun asked,
“Then is it similar to the Torture Realm where Yeon-woo was?”
He meant the land of sinners attached to the lowest layer of the divine realm.
At that, Mimir smiled faintly.
[That place is a slave camp the divine realm made after receiving a consultation from [ ]. A place to punish gods. So even that is still, strictly, divine realm land.]
Indeed, when he’d gone there to rescue Yeon-woo, there had been divine realm officials.
They had even bowed their heads to him, a Star God.
[But compared to [ ], that place is no more than a children’s daycare.]
“!”
That’s considered a children’s daycare level?
[Anyway, it’s not a land where gods live. To put it simply, it’s a land of eternal agony... Those who become evil gods from receiving karma belong to that place and are forcibly taken there.]
“Then surely, ‘choosing to vanish’ means...”
Soon the Ancient God spoke.
[Those who have never become evil gods won’t know this their whole lives, but the moment you become an evil god, you’re given a choice. Self-destruct, or be dragged into the Void Realm and suffer eternal agony in a life worse than a bug’s.]
And because everyone chose self-destruction, they vanished.
To put it bluntly: the difference between a death sentence and life imprisonment.
“Now that I think about it, when I became an evil god, I did hear some strange things...”
But then why were Creators who became evil gods, or the Ancient God, able to roam freely without going there?
As if reading his thoughts, the small Ancient God nuzzled against Gun and said,
[We became evil gods not through our own karma, but through karma that the Great Gods shoved onto us.]
Meaning that, at least, the weight of their sins was light enough to allow escape.
In any case, most chose death over life imprisonment.
As if to be sure he understood, Mimir bowed his head deeply.
[Whether you choose your friend or your lover is entirely your will, but you must never forget. You can only save one.]
“Got it.”
[You must absolutely keep your own indulgence! No matter what!]
“Argh! I said I got it!”
Gun gathered the materials in the storehouse and left.
Once they were gone, Hugo—still hidden—wore a shocked expression.
‘Only two indulgences...’
But hadn’t Gun clearly said?
He would use three indulgences: for himself, Hayley, and one more.
Yet only two could be saved?
‘That bastard... don’t tell me—!’
Hurriedly, Hugo teleported out of the safe, dropping the snacks he’d stolen.
He used the ability of [ ].
Then he called out to Gun, who was heading to his room.
“Hey!”
“Agh! You scared me!”
Teleportation wasn’t something Hugo could normally do, so when he burst out of the safe, Gun raised an eyebrow.
“What the—? Why did you come out of my safe?”
At that, Hugo’s brow furrowed for some reason.
But only for a moment. With clear distrust, he demanded,
“I want to hear more about that ‘plan’ of yours.”
“Plan?”
“How you’re going to deal with the remaining gods. Is it really possible? Are you sure? Can I really just trust you?!”
“What? This punk’s getting cocky now that he’s a monarch-level? I said don’t worry. I’ve got a method to deal with them 100%.”
But Hugo spoke as if none of that mattered.
“You’re not going to do something that’ll throw your life away, are you?!”
“!”
Gun flinched. It seemed he’d realized they’d overheard the conversation in the safe.
“You...”
“You’re not going to die alone, are you?”
Gun was about to snap at him for eavesdropping, but instead, he smacked Hugo on the head.
“Why are you so eager to see me dead?”
“!”
“I’ve got it all figured out, so just trust your hyung. When has my strategy ever failed?”
“Gun...”
“So quit worrying and get ready for the wedding. I’ll officiate, just like you wanted.”
“......”
Hugo fell silent.
BOOM!!!
Just then, the ground heaved. Jolted, they hurriedly looked outside.
Hugo was shocked.
“Those bastards...!”
Gun looked up at the sky and raised the corner of his mouth sharply.
“Took them long enough.”
The sky was filled with gods. No doubt the Great God of the Ennead led them.
But that wasn’t the most staggering part.
“The Cruders...!”
That was it.
The gods weren’t the only ones who had appeared on Earth. The Monarchs and the Cruders were there with them, too.
What’s more, they weren’t attacking each other.
They simply stared at the Earthlings as if looking at a common enemy.
Gun’s brow furrowed.
“Did you handle [ ]?”
“I did. Don’t tell me they’ve joined hands with the gods just because the supreme commander is gone?”
As if confirming it,
[Did you expect to destroy the divine realm and go unscathed?]
“!”
A familiar voice rang out, and a colossal light erupted.
BOOOOOM!!!
It was none other than the intense sun—the light of the Fire Wheel!
That blinding solar radiance swept across the Earth. It wiped out every living thing.
“Kyaaaaah!!”
“Agh!”
Just like before, the scorching sun incinerated all life on Earth.
BOOM!!
The fierce sun even vaporized the ocean water, striking the planet with brutal force.
CRAAACK!!
Overwhelming power plunged Earth into death.
[The Earth is being destroyed by the enemy’s force.]
At last, the power of [ ] once again claimed the lives of all life on Earth, and the upheaval seemed to settle.
Every building on Earth crumbled, evaporating as if struck by a bomb.
And in front of Hugo’s completely vaporized mansion, the Great God of the Ennead landed leisurely.
Yet, having obliterated the planet without warning, he merely raised the corner of his mouth, intrigued.
[So you used your head this time, Serpent God.]
The buildings were gone, but not a single life on Earth had been lost.
Proof was Cheon Ji-woo, clutching her third child and glaring wide-eyed.
And Hugo, who had dashed to protect his wife the moment [ ] launched its attack, checked on them.
“Are you okay?!”
“It seems thanks to Gun-nim...”
That was true.
Around her body, a barrier of [ ] hovered.
And it wasn’t just her.
“Huff...!”
“W-we’re alive.”
Every living being on Earth had survived thanks to Gun’s barrier.
And Gun, who had granted each of them the power of life, now stood in his 6th Stage form.
But it was noticeably different from the 6th stage that spewed black flames.
The same flames, yet not black—a warm, golden radiance.
[ ] gazed at that form with wonder, yet still raised the corner of his mouth.
[In the midst of all this, not letting a single colonist die... I’ll give you that.]
Indeed, Gun was different from the other Great Gods.
[So I’ll show my respect by coming at you with full force.]
The moment he finished speaking, something shot down and slammed into the ground.
BOOM!!
“!”
Everyone was stunned by that object.
(Continued in the next chapter)