◈ Episode 469. Too Much to Be Called a God (2)
‘It’ appeared suddenly one day.
The Shadow God could never forget.
That day when the Omen manifested at the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
Beautiful vistas, noble divine beasts, towering temples—it distinguished none of them.
It devoured everything.
None could dare resist.
It was like an instinct that could not be defied.
All one could do was stand frozen, watching.
As if swallowing the entrance to the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods wasn’t enough.
He witnessed them entering the interior of the Temple.
—Why……?
For a moment, engulfed in doubt.
Breaking free from his paralysis, the Shadow God ran toward the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
He pounded on the firmly shut doors.
Thud! Thud!
But the doors did not open.
Because he had not been reborn with true divinity.
It was a temple he had been unable to enter from the very beginning.
He had to believe that nothing had changed in the slightest, and yet—
They floated.
Those things floating around the entrance of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
The empty scenery was the greatest change of all.
The Shadow God suddenly recalled.
Those things that had swum into the interior of the Temple—
They had been enormous, on a completely different level from those floating at the entrance.
His ominous intuition had not been wrong.
From that day forward.
None of the gods of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods answered the call of the Arcana Continent. The continent was awash with disbelief, overflowing with negative emotions. Such changes became a great source of power for the demons.
—Can I, lacking divinity, take their place?
Though doubting himself, the Shadow God answered prayers.
Yet, the purposes of those who begged to the most despicable of gods were impure beyond compare. The chaos of the Arcana Continent deepened further, and the Shadow God reproached himself.
—Was everything because I was lacking?
The self-reproach that began then never ended.
If only he had possessed divinity.
If only he could have entered the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods because of it.
Could he not have stopped them?
—To enter the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, one must possess divinity.
For divinity.
To exert greater influence over the Arcana Continent.
The Shadow God did not discriminate between means and methods.
He granted ever more people’s despicable wishes.
—……
Is it still insufficient?
Yet, the doors of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods did not open.
It was from then that haggardness settled into the Shadow God’s eyes.
He gazed coldly upon the continent.
—You have a purpose.
Though he lacked complete divinity, born with the vessel of a god.
The Shadow God could see with a broad field of vision.
Thanks to that, he could guess their purpose.
—Yes, you…….
And he realized.
That thing of the Temple and that thing of the Arcana Continent.
That they had but a single purpose.
—You devoured for the sake of the adventurers.
They devoured hostile forces that hindered the adventurers’ growth.
They devoured monstrosities that adventurers could never defeat at their level.
From that perspective, if—
—If the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods had existed in its entirety…….
Heroes who appear in troubled times.
Heroes could not have appeared upon a peaceful Arcana Continent.
The adventurers could not have grown as steeply as they do now.
—Why.
From that to adventurers.
It was then that the target of his hatred changed.
Adventurers.
—What in the world are you?
Receiving favor from a transcendent being that even the gods of the Temple could not resist? Even as the Shadow God burned with hatred, the adventurers continued to grow.
And eventually, they reached divinity.
The silver-haired adventurer.
An adventurer who was merely human hunted the Ten Seats of the Demon Realm and seized his divinity. The Shadow God was certain.
—You are receiving its favor.
He drew his conclusion.
The Temple of Ten Thousand Gods had been sacrificed solely for them.
Suppressing his surging hatred, the Shadow God wrote out an invitation.
—More than anyone, you need to know the truth.
That you have climbed to the highest position as an adventurer.
Must mean you have received more favor than anyone.
The Shadow God intended to steal his shadow.
—If it is you who receives such favor, can you not open them?
The firmly shut doors of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
Indeed, his deduction was not wrong.
Karma surpassing that which he had accumulated as a demigod.
Even excluding that karma, the thing in the corridor bowed its head and submitted of its own accord before the silver-haired man. It offered its back. Of course, there were unforeseen circumstances.
—This is no place for you to interfere.
Because one of the contractors had pushed the man off of it.
But it was not a problem.
The man who possessed divinity would surely come to find him.
—I shall keep you company while I wait.
That was why the Shadow God had only half-heartedly engaged Gabriel.
And before long.
The Shadow God faced the adventurer he had awaited as much as he hated.
He faced the silver-haired man.
And witnessed.
“I ask again. Is that delusion still valid?”
As if proving that not a shred of falsehood was mixed in.
That thing which had floated dominantly over the Temple.
Hoyeol, blowing every last prototype to pieces.
“……What in the world are you doing?”
The mastermind of the Arcana Continent.
One who could not help but hate Players.
The Shadow God’s setting began to crumble.
*Simply put, it was for balance.
‘You witnessed it directly, didn’t you?’
I didn’t just witness it—I resolved it directly.
I may not look the part, but I’m the Chief Mage of the Magic Tower, you know?
Because it was so powerful.
From the days when Arcana was merely a game until recently.
I realized it while watching the Magic Tower remain unable to take any action.
‘A remaining setting will be realized one way or another.’
I thought as much.
[The Worst Mastermind of the Arcana Continent]
Perhaps the Shadow God had been given only a single line of setting. Even from what the AAU branch managers said, they only knew that a rough concept existed; more specific information was…….
—“Only Raymond Sean, who was the CEO, would know the answer.”
It seemed even the branch managers hadn’t been able to know.
But even if it was a setting, I had come to realize that it could be overcome while setting right the truths of the Magic Tower. And so, I swung the Illusion Breaker.
And asked.
“Are you certain?”
The Shadow Corridor, with a recommended level approaching two to three thousand. Naturally, the prototypes that appeared were of considerable level. The moment I launched a preemptive strike, they counterattacked. Among them was a whale-like prototype I had subdued at the hunting ground.
[The Prototype, ‘The Omen That Swallowed a God,’ is rampaging.]
“……!”
The Shadow God, who had been showing hostility toward me.
He stopped before the Omen.
It was a reaction he already knew all too well.
Because he had already heard from the forces swallowed by the Omen.
—“We couldn’t resist. Our bodies wouldn’t move…….”
—“Like instinctive fear, you could say.”
—“The Omen, we couldn’t defy that monster in the slightest…….”
The Omen was a tool to delete unnecessary elements from Arcana.
Apart from strength and weakness.
Beings of the Arcana Continent could not resist before the Omen.
‘That was the conclusion I had reached.’
But as I said just now.
“Was it truly a being that could not be defied?”
You’re watching, aren’t you?
[Sword That Cuts Illusions: Illusion Breaker]
[Grade: Legendary]
[Restriction: Unknown]
[Effect: When fighting a ‘Prototype,’ destructive power increases significantly.]
[Description: An Ego Sword with a noble ego.]
Even so, the Prototype is nothing but an illusion.
To express it in Arcana Continent terminology, it was merely an unfinished monster with the effect of causing the status ailment [Fear] in beings of the Arcana Continent, nothing more, nothing less.
The proof of that was right there.
[Your level has increased.]
In the messages that appeared the moment I slew it.
[You have acquired a bounty.]
[Held Karma: 1,041 Karma]
Even our Akshan seniors proved it.
With Akshan’s persistence, which can resist any status ailment. Even after being swallowed into the Omen’s belly, they could pin the Omen down in the southern sea instead.
‘So it’s not that they can’t be defied.’
The Shadow God faltered.
“I……!”
Ooooooh.
And with its massive maw gaping wide.
The ‘Omen That Swallowed a God’ charging straight at me.
Yeah, he had every right to be angry.
‘Because this wasn’t part of your plan.’
Raymond Sean’s aim?
I don’t know everything yet.
But one thing is certain: that bastard desires the collapse of the Arcana Continent, and of reality.
‘You can tell just by watching him patch.’
Be it a regular update or an emergency update.
The moment it’s cleared, he throws a greater trial our way.
That seemed to be what Raymond Sean considered difficulty adjustment.
‘Perhaps.’
If the Shadow God shatters his predetermined setting as the mastermind of the Arcana Continent, even more insane, harder-to-overcome emergency updates might come flooding out.
No, judging by how he’s been acting, it’s safe to say it’s guaranteed.
‘But.’
When have you ever seen Granfel compromise with his prey?
No, even if not Granfel.
I, Lee Hoyeol, have also been done wrong by you.
Raymond Sean.
I absolutely cannot stand idly by and watch the board unfold as you wish.
—The Omen That Swallowed a God, is it?
Divine Sword Unity state.
Perhaps thanks to that, Illusion Breaker?
You’re thinking the same as me?
—Then I shall be reborn as a sword that cuts both god and omen simultaneously.
Shhk.
In a firm stance, I swing my sword, my sword aura, my body united as one with the aura. When sealing the Omen of the Southern Sea, I had no choice but to rely on my seniors’ help, but not now.
Crunch.
The Omen That Swallowed a God—its side is cleanly sliced open.
Simultaneously, the things it had swallowed begin to flow backward.
The entrance of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, once hollow, begins to return to its original form.
[The Prototype, ‘The Omen That Swallowed a God,’ suffers from ‘Excessive Bleeding.’]
It would be a mistake to think it ended in one strike.
Unlike before, I’ve learned quite a few proper sword techniques.
Meaning that in a fleeting moment, I cut your body tens of times over.
Crack-crack-crack!
Along with an ever greater roar, even more of the devoured things flow backward from even more sword wounds. Even more messages pop up chaotically.
[The Guardian Divine Beast of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, Pegasus, spreads its wings once more.]
[The Spirit Medicine of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, the Blue Pomegranate, takes root once more.]
[The Cloud Bridge of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods is woven once more.]
…….
Let’s see.
If I think back to the Omen of the Southern Sea, perhaps this backflow might come with all sorts of buffs as well. Of course, what caught my eye now was not such trivial messages.
“……The Temple of Ten Thousand Gods? How?”
The Shadow God was wavering, having lost all will to fight.
He must never have imagined that I would cut down the Omen, or that what it had devoured would pop out unscathed.
However.
“……No, I cannot accept this.”
The entrance of the Temple regaining its former self alone.
It seemed that was not yet enough.
More accurately, he didn’t seem to want to accept it.
“If what I am seeing is truly real……. Was it all truly because I failed to attain divinity? Did all of this happen because my divinity was lacking……!”
Tears welled in the Shadow God’s haggard eyes.
“All because I failed to attain divinity and could not enter the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods. Because I froze before it without being able to resist in the slightest. All of this……!”
The Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
I looked in the direction of the Shadow God’s gaze.
There was a door shut firmly indeed.
Truly, it was shut tight, as if refusing entry to anyone.
But.
‘You need to know the real reason.’
I opened my mouth.
“As for being a god, I must say.”
I continued in Granfel’s manner.
“I do not believe in gods. Therefore, I do not believe in the existence of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods. You who call yourself the Shadow God appear to me as nothing but precarious.”
“……!”
A look that asked what in the world I was talking about.
I could understand that.
I had both the Shadow God and the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods right before my eyes, spewing such words.
But what can I do when that’s truly how it appears?
“What is needed to enter the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods is not something like divinity.”
Tap.
I stepped toward the entrance of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
At that, the Shadow God flinched.
Of course, I couldn’t open the Temple’s doors either.
I couldn’t help it.
[You cannot access this area yet.]
[Currently updating.]
[Progress: 94.7%]
‘What’s lacking isn’t us, but Raymond Sean—that bastard.’
The moment I saw the message, I could be certain.
That Raymond Sean was inside the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.
But I still didn’t know properly.
‘I mean the entry conditions for the Temple.’
So insurance was needed.
If I failed to meet the entry conditions for the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, I needed an ally who could enter in my stead. In that sense, the right person was right before my eyes.
‘Who else would it be but the Shadow God.’
I opened my mouth.
“Choose.”
“……Choose?”
“Do you desire divinity, no different from an illusion, or truth?”
“……!”
Soon, my vision flickered.
[You have failed the main quest, ‘Uncovering the Mastermind.’]
Thud.
As if setting down everything he had precariously shouldered.
The Shadow God crumpled, falling to his knees.
Looking up at me, he said.
“……Show me the truth.”
[Your relationship gauge with the Shadow God has reached its maximum.]
[The main quest, ‘The Truth Beyond the Mastermind,’ has begun.]
[You have acquired the title, ‘Savior of the Mastermind.’]