Chapter 11

Chapter. 11

Right after arriving in Incheon,

Han Seol-a actively made use of the Mana she had built up to the brink of EX-rank and spread a wide-area detection field.

BANG!

A circular shockwave burst outward from Han Seol-a.

[Oh… you are quite capable.]

“I have always paid special attention to detection, since letting a Demonic Beast slip away would mean disaster.”

[Hm. Refine it just a little more, and it would be perfect.]

‘But this is a little strange…?’

Any human, no matter how ordinary, carries at least a trace amount of Mana within their body.

Han Seol-a’s detection was precise enough to sweep up even those tiny traces without missing a single one.

And yet, she found nothing.

“Did he step out for a moment?”

[No, he is here.]

Frozen stated it with certainty.

From the very instant he descended in Incheon, Frozen had been able to sense the presence of the ‘Creator.’

It was only extremely faint.

But Frozen was certain.

[There is no way I could be mistaken.]

A Genesis-rank item, most deeply touched by the Creator’s hand, was treated as a child personally shaped by the Creator Himself.

Among countless crafted items, the fifth Genesis.

Eternal Winter was the Creator’s fifth child, and the youngest one—the latest to have been shaped by His hand.

There was no way Frozen could mistake the Creator’s aura.

[This way.]

Buzzing faintly, Frozen guided Han Seol-a forward.

Jin Cheon-jin and Min Ji-hee followed cautiously behind.

‘…I still cannot tell.’

Han Seol-a was baffled.

No matter how many times she tried to detect anything, she was certain there was no living being ahead of them.

When she turned her head and looked at Min Ji-hee—

Shake, shake.

Min Ji-hee, too, could sense nothing at all.

[It is inside here.]

After walking for a while like that,they arrived at the Appraisal Center.

Gulp.

‘Inside here… is he?’

Her mouth went dry from the extreme tension.

Swallowing hard, Han Seol-a stepped inside the Appraisal Center.

[He is over there.]

‘…!’

Inside the Appraisal Center, a man was standing in the direction Frozen indicated.

Thump! Thump!

Her heart pounded wildly.

“L-Lord Nebula!”

The man turned around.

“…!”

And the moment she saw his face,

Han Seol-a felt goosebumps erupt all over her body.

The man’s face was… ordinary.

Ordinary to the point of being strange.

If there were a prototype for the human race, would it look like this?

That was the very first impression to rise in her stunned mind.

‘…Would this be what the first human God ever made looked like?’

He looked special precisely because he was so utterly ordinary.

“Ah.”

But something was strange.

The ‘person’ Han Seol-a remembered had not felt like this.

Overwhelming terror.

A transcendent being whose very gaze seemed enough to freeze the soul.

That was the form of ‘Nebula’ she remembered.

But the man before her now?

He was completely different.

And above all…

‘There is… no Mana!’

The Mana inside his body was ‘0.’

Not merely little—there was none at all.

The inside of the man’s body was completely empty.

As though he were a ghost that did not exist in this world.

‘That is impossible!’

Even the word ghost fell far short.

An alien existence, completely outside the laws of this world, was standing right in front of her.

“Frozen? Is that really him—”

[Yes.]

At Han Seol-a’s trembling whisper, Frozen answered firmly.

“But I cannot feel any Mana from him at all. That is clearly abnor—”

[That is why you are still a novice.]

Frozen’s voice turned cold as ice.

Just as a bead of cold sweat trickled down Han Seol-a’s face,the man opened his mouth.

“I am not Nebula.”

“…?”

[Huh?]

The atmosphere froze solid.

The man’s voice was low.

Neither high nor deep. It was a voice that fell in a perfectly pleasant range.

But the meaning carried within it was anything but ordinary.

[T-That cannot be…!]

Frozen, who had been sensing the unmistakable ‘breath of the Creator’ from the man before him, felt as though his whole world were collapsing.

“T-That makes no sense!”

Han Seol-a felt like she was losing her mind at the fact that a human without Mana could exist—and that this being was not Nebula.

As though he understood their shock, the man slowly raised a hand and added,“But I will soon be Nebula.”

“…?”

What was that supposed to mean?

***

They say that when a person is pushed into an extreme situation, superhuman strength wells up inside them.

I now knew that was a lie.

Superhuman strength, my ass!

My head had gone completely blank, and I could not think of anything at all!

“What do you mean by that…?”

Nebula is not me.

Because Nebula is a character from my game.

But Nebula will soon be me.

Because Nebula is the character I created, the character I control, and the character I have raised all this time.

So the nonsense I just blurted out was not exactly a lie.

Still, I could tell just by looking at Han Seol-a’s wide, round eyes.

It was not something easy to understand.

There was no helping it.

In this short span of time, with my mind turned white from panic, the fact that I had not responded with some idiotic “No?” was praiseworthy enough.

“I see…”

Just keep talking.

“Is it that you do not understand…?”

First, I needed to buy time.

My mind was spinning at full speed.

Han Seol-a had clearly called me ‘Nebula.’

That meant she already knew I was connected to Nebula somehow.

At this moment, reacting with “Who is that?” would be the worst possible move.

All it would do was feed the flames of suspicion in Han Seol-a—and in the other two she had brought along, Jin Cheon-jin and Min Ji-hee.

Fortunately, the three of them had barged in right after I changed my face with the Shadow Mask.

That meant they did not know my real face.

And by watching Han Seol-a’s reaction, I had learned something else.

They were not completely sure whether I was the ‘real Nebula’ either.

‘This is it.’

They do not know whether I am truly Nebula.

But they are convinced I am connected to Nebula.

Meanwhile, my side of the situation was simple.

I could not let them discover that I was ‘Ha Seong-un, an Awakening failure.’

And I had to clearly show that I was connected to Nebula.

I saw it.

A thread through the gap!

A scenario began taking shape in my head.

And just as I was about to open my mouth,Min Ji-hee stepped forward, brushing past the frozen Han Seol-a.

Min Ji-hee.

Following Han Seol-a the ‘Guardian’ and Jin Cheon-jin the ‘Hero,’ she was one of the three pillars protecting the Republic of Korea…

Her epithet was ‘Ironblood.’

She was a terrifying woman who served as the ‘brain’ of South Korea.

And Min Ji-hee’s eyes were shining with a strange light.

Min Ji-hee’s ‘Awakening ability’ was veiled in mystery.

However, one thing alone was certain.

Whenever her Awakening ability was active, her eyes shone with a radiant brilliance that words could not properly describe,and in that moment she looked like a sage who had transcended reason itself.

That mysterious power was now activating in full force.

And its target was me.

Fuck.

‘…Could you not just let me talk to Han Seol-a?’

Honestly, I was terrified!

The mouth that had been about to open shut on its own.

“I greet the Apostle.”

‘?’

What apostle?

An Apostle?

‘…What is that supposed to be?’

I froze at the incomprehensible declaration.

Then Min Ji-hee dropped to one knee and bowed her head deeply.

“And thank you.”

For what?

Why were you thanking me?!

I absolutely could not hold back my curiosity here.

And Min Ji-hee’s posture, staying still with her head lowered, looked exactly as if she wanted me to ask.

I, Ha Seong-un.

A man who had survived for ten years on sheer social intuition.

For now, I will play along.

“…For what?”

“So that my feeble reason may be understood.”

Min Ji-hee raised her head.

“I understand that the Apostle has descended upon this land in order to save Earth by carrying out the will of the Great One.”

…Me?

‘I see.’

A flash of insight struck through my mind like lightning.

Min Ji-hee had misunderstood ‘me.’

That baffling exchange I had just had with Han Seol-a…

Min Ji-hee’s intellect had found a fragment of ‘truth’ in that conversation.

‘The problem is that the truth she found is a misunderstanding.’

Just what had Min Ji-hee realized to make her react like this?

I had no idea!

Was she not Ironblood, the one said to possess an intellect on an entirely different level?

How was I supposed to understand the thought process of someone that brilliant?

But one thing was certain.

The situation had turned in my favor.

I only had to place my spoon on the table Min Ji-hee had already set.

‘Right. I am an Apostle who descended to save Earth.’

Mindset locked in.

***

“Is it that you do not understand…?”

At that low, indifferent murmur, Min Ji-hee’s heart froze.

That absolute being was at this very moment about to be disappointed by the miserable limits of human understanding.

Min Ji-hee desperately forced her mind to work faster.

A body without Mana. In other words, not a living being.

That grotesque sense of otherness, as if he had been shaped out of empty air.

The statement that he was not Nebula, yet was Nebula.

The descent of an absolute being, the laws of the world, and the empty shell—an avatar—meant to protect those laws.

‘A vessel that carries out the will of God. An Apostle!’

The instant she reached that conclusion, Min Ji-hee hurried forward, passing the stiffened Han Seol-a.

“I greet the Apostle.”

***

“I understand that the Apostle has descended upon this land in order to save Earth by carrying out the will of the Great One.”

Ignoring the cold sweat running down her back with sheer force of will, Min Ji-hee stared directly at the being before her.

‘Did I get it right?’

A beat later, a faint smile formed at the corner of the man’s lips.

As though he were whispering, How amusing. Go on.

‘That is the correct answer…’

At that smile, Min Ji-hee shuddered.

The gears of reason that had earned her the name Ironblood meshed together like madness, flushing her cheeks red with excitement.

“The transcendent being ‘Nebula’—for an existence that vast to descend directly into this world would mean breaking the ‘laws’ established and upheld by the ‘System.’”

Min Ji-hee spread her trembling hands.

“And yet the world… The ‘System’ remains calm, and no signs of destruction have been observed. Which means the Great One has not descended ‘directly.’”

“…”

“However, the Great One must have found a way to descend without destroying the laws of this world—and if we combine that with the Apostle’s own words, that you are ‘not Nebula, yet an existence like Nebula.’”

Min Ji-hee’s eyes flashed sharply.

“A being sent down while remaining within the bounds of the world’s laws, carrying a fragment of the Great One’s authority. In other words, one dispatched to act in place of God’s will—an Apostle.”

“…”

“That is what you are.”

The man, still wearing that faint smile, asked,

“And saving Earth means?”

“That part is simple.”

Min Ji-hee continued without hesitation.

“You have already helped Seol-a, have you not?”

“Ah…!”

Han Seol-a let out a gasp.

The man, showing no sign of fluster, spoke calmly as though recalling some trivial matter.

“I did.”

At that instant, Min Ji-hee’s eyes shook violently.

‘As expected! He is clearly aware of the incident in the Other World that only Lord Nebula and Seol-a experienced. This man must be an Apostle who perfectly shares Lord Nebula’s sight and memories…!’

It was the moment every one of Min Ji-hee’s deductions fell into place.

“And so.”

Min Ji-hee dropped to her knees.

“Relying on Lord Nebula’s mercy, I beg the Apostle. Please save the Republic of Korea from destruction.”

Han Seol-a swiftly pulled the gloves she had carefully kept tucked away in her pocket—White Tiger’s Fang—and prostrated herself beside Min Ji-hee.

Then, with both hands, she raised the gloves as though respectfully offering them up.

Jin Cheon-jin, who had been watching from behind, also quickly dropped himself to the floor.

Instead of answering, the man picked up the gloves resting on Han Seol-a’s hands.

Sensing that, Jin Cheon-jin hurriedly added,

“That glove is a national treasure of South Korea, and an S-rank Artifact—my partner from the very moment I Awakened until today. Its name is White Tiger’s Fang, Apostle.”

“…”

“It may not satisfy the Apostle’s standards. However, it is the finest… the most precious thing we can offer at present. We gladly present it to you, so please save this country.”

The man said nothing while holding the glove.

“…If it is not enough, we will pay any price. Whatever it takes!”

The man placed the glove into the backpack he was holding.

And when the mouth of the backpack opened slightly, Jin Cheon-jin felt a distinctive Mana spill out from within.

It was Mana that could only be felt from space-type magic.

‘Space-type Mana from a backpack? No way.’

A certain Artifact rose in Jin Cheon-jin’s mind.

‘A Spatial Expansion Bag?’

An Artifact that looked like an ordinary bag on the outside, but inside could hold an almost limitless amount of items, like an RPG inventory.

It was undoubtedly a Spatial Expansion Bag, an ultra-rare item of which only twelve existed in the entire world.

‘Ten have owners, and one is said to belong to the Black Market. The last one was wrapped in mystery…’

It seemed he had just seen that mysterious one.

After carefully stowing White Tiger’s Fang away in the bag, the man fell silent for a moment.

“…”

“…”

And so everyone else remained silent as well.

No one said a word. Only extreme tension hung in the air.

“Tomorrow.”

“Hk!”

At the man’s casually tossed-out word, Han Seol-a let out a startled sound.

“…At this same time tomorrow, I will give you my answer.”

“…Yes.”

The man quietly left.

The three of them could not raise their heads until his presence had completely vanished.

Whirr—

And finally, the moment he stepped out of the Appraisal Center and the door closed behind him—

“Whew.”

Min Ji-hee let out a heavy sigh and sagged limply.

She could not even think about wiping away the cold sweat soaking her back.

“Haa.”

“Phew.”

The other two were in no better condition.

“You worked hard. How did you realize he was an ‘Apostle’?”

At Jin Cheon-jin’s question, Min Ji-hee shook her head.

“How could I possibly understand the intentions of a transcendent being? It was my first time ever facing the very existence of such a being in the first place. I only took the fragments given to me and made the best inference I could.”

“Fragments?”

Han Seol-a, who had been listening, asked.

“The first was the fact that he had no Mana.”

“…That is right. It was truly strange. Even though he was right in front of me, it felt as though he did not exist… A human without Mana felt terrifying beyond words. I thought there was something wrong with my senses.”

Everyone sympathized.

“I thought he was a Doppelganger.”

“A Demonic Beast that imitates human appearances?”

“There had not been no witness reports. And as it happened, those reports were from here, in Incheon.”

Min Ji-hee continued her explanation.

“The second was Frozen’s reaction.”

“…Now that you mention it, Frozen is awfully quiet. Frozen?”

[I am listening.]

“Why were you so quiet in front of him?”

[…I will not answer.]

“…?”

“…If he had been someone unrelated to ‘Nebula,’ Frozen surely would have reacted. But Frozen stayed quiet. And he was also the one who clearly pointed and said, ‘It is that person.’”

[…]

Frozen still gave no reply.

“The third was… power.”

“Power?”

“A first-class Gate that appeared in Incheon was resolved without even a particle of Mana. Authority that appeared by tearing through dimensions. Phenomena that cannot possibly be explained even by modern Magitech. If we do not call that a miracle—or divinity—then what else could we possibly call it?”

Haa. Min Ji-hee let out a heavy sigh.

“Of course, I am not saying my words were one hundred percent correct.”

“Hm.”

“He said, ‘I see… Is it that you do not understand…?’ It sounded as though he had expected something, but found it lacking. In that situation, I could not just stand there blankly as though I understood nothing.”

Unconsciously, Min Ji-hee rubbed at the crease that had formed between her brows.

“We are in the position of having to ask that person for salvation, so we could not afford to disappoint him. So I spoke as best I could—only to the extent that my understanding could reach. There were surely parts that were wrong, and parts that leaped too far… but perhaps he understood that.”

Min Ji-hee closed her eyes, looking exhausted.

“In the end, he smiled as if to say, ‘That is enough.’ Which means, at the very least, we passed the minimum test.”

“He also took the offering.”

“That is right. So now… tomorrow, we wait for that person to make his decision.”

Han Seol-a nodded silently.

The Nebula she had seen in that world.

And the Apostle she had seen on Earth.

Nebula, the terrifying being who possessed overwhelmingly immense power.

And, in contrast, the Apostle, from whom she could feel nothing at all.

The two felt like completely different beings.

And yet, at the same time…

Both were existences that transcended human understanding.

Of that much, there was no doubt.

***

‘…I somehow managed to bluff my way through that.’

More precisely…

I survived because Min Ji-hee outsmarted herself and walked right into it.

‘An Apostle, huh.’

Strictly speaking, it would be more accurate to say that Nebula is my Apostle.

Because I am Nebula’s owner.

But I cannot wield even one one-hundredth of the power Nebula possesses.

So—

‘You came up with a good excuse for me, Min Ji-hee.’

Thanks.