◈ Episode 468. To be called a God (1)
Is this how you lose face in front of your juniors?
……dump.
You’re a contractor, so you can’t go against him.
His knees drop to the ground.
His head dropped to the floor.
Thud.
Gabriel gritted his teeth.
His eyes rolled desperately in his head.
Apostles of the Shadow God lurked throughout the corridor.
Their feet were visible.
Their heads were pointing in the same direction.
‘I knew it would be like this.’
A contractor turning against his master.
He hadn’t expected his master to tolerate it.
He’s the Shadow God, not an idiot.
Knowing that, why did you go after the Shadow God?
A demon hunter from Akshan, whom I met by chance in the corridor.
Because he said.
-“There can be no exceptions to the rule. Even if you are the master of the corridor.”
What he meant by that was simple.
This means that there will be karma and a bounty on the Shadow God who stays in the Shadow Corridor. That meant that the Shadow God could be hunted through a duel.
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
‘Discipline.’
Suddenly, I wanted to ask the man.
If you value rules so much, why are you so much like me?
Why would you ever want to break Akshan’s strict rules?
“……At least to ask that..”
At least I should be alive when you come up.
Gabriel summoned his ‘Tenacity’. Tenacity, forged with patience and fortitude, forced his submissive body to rise.
He looked up at the Shadow God. The dry voice stopped Gabriel in his tracks.
“You are not the one I have been waiting for.”
“Is that so? I feel sad.”
Gabriel jogged his memory of the day they’d signed the contract.
“I’m sure I told you to remember this clearly. I made a contract with you not because I wanted to join the Shadow Mercenaries, not because I wanted to gain the power to shake the Arcana continent, but only to hunt you down.”
The most despicable of gods, the Shadow God.
Gabriel could have sworn it.
As a contractor, he was the only one who had ever spoken such words.
Even if he pretends not to know, he can’t help but remember.
He loaded a bolt into his crossbow.
“Do you remember everything?”
“Of what?”
“The noisy chirping of insects.”
He looks at the Shadow God.
Pale face, bloodshot pupils.
Maybe it was because of this, but he seemed full of emptiness. The focus was also unclear. A gaze that is directed at oneself, but seems to be looking at something completely different.
of course.
Crash.
Gabriel didn’t listen.
What is the difference between these people who are no different from the demon?
Gabriel, who had hunted them all, knew.
Last moment.
Unlike demons, who could only think of the pain of burning in hell.
These people, who are no different from the demon, deny their mistakes until the end.
Like the Shadow God before him.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, my faith has not wavered.”
A tenacity that defies master-servant relationships.
Gabriel fired his crossbow without a second thought.
The hunt was about to begin in earnest.
Chireung.
Ink-colored chains stretched out from all directions.
There was no time to react.
The chains began to wrap around Gabriel’s limbs and around his neck.
udeudeug.
“Kugh!”
It was certain.
His limbs were broken, as was his neck, and the reason he was still alive was simple. The Shadow God hadn’t broken his contract with him.
Then, the taut pull of chains.
ttudeug.
The sound of crunching bones.
His head is forced up.
The Shadow God spoke to Gabriel.
“For me, it was simple mercy.”
……Mercy?
What is mercy?
Gabriel repeated to himself.
‘Look at what you’ve caused.’
The Shadow Mercenaries.
The shadows of the Arcana continent have expanded their power.
Countless innocents were sacrificed in the process.
“Do you know why they were sacrificed?”
His voice was eerily serious.
“Because they did not ask for mercy from me.”
I see.
He sees us as real insects.
Gabriel was convinced.
‘No, maybe you’re not the only one.’
Including the Goddess Church.
The Arcanians believed there were many gods, and they served them.
But had the gods ever answered their prayers?
-“From the Priestess, caring for those who have nowhere else to go…….”
Suddenly, Gabriel remembered a priest of the Goddess Church who had been murdered by a vicious man. The Goddess did not look down on anyone, not even those who served her in lowly positions.
The Shadow God continued.
“Because I was the only one who didn’t make it to the pantheon. I am the only one who can hear your prayers. Because you didn’t beg. You didn’t seek.”
What do you mean, the Pantheon……?
It was not in Gabriel’s realm of comprehension as a mere mortal.
Still, the Shadow God continued.
“After that day, the door of the Pantheon was firmly closed and never moved. Do not blame them for not answering your prayers to the Goddess, to the Sun God, to the All Gods, for your prayers could not reach beyond the door.”
As if.
“Moreover, I have pitied your plight and granted your prayers. I alone, who have not ascended to the Pantheon……! stayed here and showed mercy to you.”
As if to vent his anger.
“……kugh.”
Each time, the chains pressed harder and harder against Gabriel.
Gabriel thought.
I don’t know what he’s talking about, but he’s spewing out a tale of injustice.
Well, that’s what I expected.
But then.
“But there is nothing left for me, and so I can only hate. The damned race that blocked the pantheon, collapsed the bridge, and even swallowed the divine beast.”
He turned his gaze to the whale he was riding.
I never expected to hear the Shadow God spew hateful words at a whale.
I hadn’t expected it.
Gabriel pondered the Shadow God’s words.
‘…… Was he the one who sealed off the Pantheon?’
Surely, the demon hunter of Akshan had called it Bad Omen.
Gabriel suddenly regretted his actions completely.
‘Holy shit.’
If only he hadn’t pushed him.
I would have understood his words completely.
The Shadow God continued to vent his frustration.
“I thought endlessly, why was I abandoned, why was I the only one left behind in the Arcana continent without ascending to the Pantheon, why did the All-Gods succumb to them without putting up any resistance, and after all that anguish, I came to an answer.”
The weariness in his eyes deepened.
“It was all because of ‘them’.”
That was it.
kwadeudeug.
A scattering of magic particles in the air.
The chains that held Gabriel imprisoned snapped.
“Your behavior toward our honored guest is disgraceful, and I will reflect that in your disposition.”
Despite the sudden harsh words, the Shadow God responded as if he had been waiting.
“Indeed. You ‘Adventurers’ are to blame for everything.”
*
They were talking about something.
‘…… blames the adventurer for everything?’
Of course, there was no time for friendly conversation.
A moment of confrontation.
A flickering vision.
[The Shadow God changes the field].
The moment I saw the message, I had a hunch.
‘First of all, no.’
Unfortunately, the Shadow God is not Raymon.
Even assuming that it is a direction that changes the field.
Would Raymon Sean blame the player?
‘Opinions are still divided.’
It’s Grandfell, and he sees him as prey.
His actions were frankly questionable.
When he was releasing ridiculous new updates, I wondered if he was hoping for the end of humanity, but when I saw him handing out rewards for clearing rifts one after another, I couldn’t help but wonder.
Of course.
“Hiel.”
I looked at Gabriel first.
He’s a shadow, so he can’t be dead.
Even if he was, he was in no condition to move.
“Help Gabriel.”
“At your service, my lord.”
“……It’s good to see you again.”
Do you like the knuckles, old man?
Our senior, do you like the shoulder blades?
I replied nonchalantly.
“I will listen to your situation after the situation is over.”
Yes, now was the time to face the Shadow God, who had been eagerly anticipating our meeting. Apparently, my lowest level of favorability was not an error.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
The shifting landscape.
Before I knew it, it was pitch black.
Well, if you want something different…….
Nothing but empty space and small and large prototypes.
They were floating in the air like fish in an aquarium.
‘What a landscape.’
My inner aesthete was screaming at me.
‘The venom you spewed a moment ago is already enough, Grandfell.’
I swallowed and cut to the chase.
“I demand that the contract with the Shadow Mercenaries be canceled.”
The Shadow God nodded at my words.
“The Shadow Mercenaries? I can easily reverse that contract as if it never existed. Yes, tell me what else you want. What do you want from me?”
I continued.
“Apologize to those who were sacrificed in your contract.”
We’ve come this far.
An apology to Grandfell’s sister is not enough.
It would be profitable if you received an apology for all your evil deeds.
But…….
“Very well. I will sincerely apologize to her as well.”
……Doesn’t that sound too nice?
Of course, because I know what’s on the outside is not what’s on the inside.
I didn’t really believe his words.
That’s why I wasn’t surprised.
“So, is it my turn now?”
Yeah, well, there’s give and take in everything.
Say it.
It’s never too late to listen and think about whether or not to listen.
When I fell silent, the Shadow God spoke.
“Do you know, do you realize what this place is?”
How could I know such a strange place?
I never expected to.
The Shadow God gritted his teeth.
“This swampy field is the entrance to the Pantheon.”
Pantheon.
It’s the place specified in the quest, [Uncovering the Darkness].
The place where an unworthy Shadow God wanted to ascend.
I honestly didn’t understand.
‘Isn’t a pantheon a place where there are gods?’
But I didn’t see anything related to gods.
Were there just prototypes floating around?
Of course, the question didn’t last long.
‘…… Wait a minute.’
I realized this in hindsight.
Why the Shadow Mercenaries, or rather, the Shadow Gods, were called the Black Curtain of the Arcana continent. AAU’s Park Minjae and other branch leaders had warned me many times.
-“We know that the Shadow Mercenaries have joined the Holy War Alliance and proven their pride, but our concern is that there was a set-up……!”
-“They are still the biggest dark side on the Arcana continent.”
-“The Shadow Mercenaries, or Shadow Gods, are likely to be the nemesis of players, or adventurers, until the very end of the Arcana continent’s biography storyline……!”
Let’s be honest.
‘It’s a gossip directed at Kichi, in a way.’
So I didn’t even pretend to listen at the time.
I don’t know, but Grandfell evaluating someone based on what other people say?
I’ve never been that kind of person.
But I knew that I couldn’t ignore the setting.
I knew from experience that settings that exist will be realized one way or another.
I knew from experience.
The moment I realized that, my mind went to the prototype.
‘What if, Raymon Sean moved to fulfill the setting.’
What if the Shadow God had to have a good reason to antagonize the player……? Once I thought about it, the whole landscape started to make sense. As if to support my conjecture, the Shadow God shouted.
“That’s right! The gods that guarded the Pantheon, the beautiful scenery, they were all eaten by those damned monsters! Do you know why? Yes, it was all for your sake. It was for you, the adventurers, who are favored by that monster!”
His eyes turn to the tightly closed iron door in the air.
“Thanks to you, I have no idea what is going on inside the Pantheon. It was almost unbearable, and then I found you. I suppressed my hatred for you and invited you into the Corridor. To consume you, to gain the right to reach the Pantheon……!!”
Really?
I stared at the Shadow God with a steady gaze.
He was different, to say the least.
‘The way he’s being manipulated by that bastard’s setup.’
Of course, I’d have to hear the full story.
Before we talk.
Let’s get one thing straight.
I pulled my ego sword Gwicheol from my waistband.
No, I pulled out my Illusion Breaker.
And I swung it.
Suddenly.
The Shadow God stood still.
If I’m not mistaken.
Raymon Sean, I refuse to be treated like that bastard.
Kwakwakwakkwak.
Pantheon.
That entrance.
The floating prototypes explode and sparkle.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]…….
Finally, I asked.
“I’ll ask again.”
“……?”
“Is that delusion still valid?”
“……!!!”