Chapter 70

Chapter 70.

Corruption.

What a heartwarming word.

Usually, it referred to an event where a half-baked “good person” evolved into a very powerful villain and an “evil person.”

‘It would be even more delicious if Cheol-su had a protagonist-level narrative….’

There was no way an ordinary Kim Cheol-su would have something like that.

Lost Honor had no concept of a second class change.

There were only six lower-tier classes and an apex.

However, only the Tenth Series, “Divinity,” had something similar to a second class change.

That was corruption.

‘Betraying the light is a cliché, after all.’

Let us say a Cryomancer fell into corruption.

So what?

But let us say a priest who worshiped light fell into corruption.

A priest who must have embodied a righteous life itself fell into darkness?

That was cool and attractive.

It had something that stimulated the sensibilities of a second-year middle school student.

‘A cliché exists for a reason.’

Even angels fell into corruption, did they not?

Fallen angel. The name alone was already cool.

Perhaps because of that, the Tenth Series had exactly three classes.

And there were three corruption-only classes.

Each of them had one apex.

‘There is also a “true apex” that unlocks when both apexes are reached.’

In this world, clerics were set to borrow divine power from the chief god, “Gaia.”

However, naughty children who did not want something like “righteous and proper power” existed anytime, in any world.

These adorable little ones wanted to escape Gaia’s grasp and obtain “low-quality but powerful strength.”

And when that happened, what they chose was to borrow power from an “evil god”!

In other words, corruption.

However, not everyone became stronger simply because they abandoned divinity.

‘If that were the case, everyone would have fallen.’

One had to do well in the “evil god draw.”

There were… an enormous number of evil gods.

Most of them were pathetic fellows who had gotten their heads cracked by Gaia and were now running away.

But there was exactly one.

A “real one.”

That was the one I had summoned by offering all sorts of precious corruption materials.

“Firmament Devoured by Madness.”

***

BOOOOM—!

With an enormous roar that tore at the ears, the ceiling of the hall was ripped away like a sheet of paper.

The aftermath alone caused every window in the hall to shatter explosively.

[…Wh-what is that?]

Even Cheol-su, who had been bluffing, stammered.

It was understandable.

Depending on how one looked at it, the evil god that had just appeared by smashing through the ceiling looked genuinely revolting.

Three enormous tentacles stretched out, and countless writhing branches extended from those tentacles.

A huge yellow eye was embedded in the center.

An ominous aura poured from its entire body.

It had an appearance filled with grotesque repulsiveness that could not be fully expressed by simply calling it vicious.

Still, since this was a game, there were parts that had been deformed in a visually appealing way…

It was a strange creature that some people might find “cute.”

I was on that side.

‘This fellow is oddly cute.’

[It has been a long time… “Great Nebula”…]

Firmament recognized Nebula and greeted it.

One tentacle stretched out long, carefully tapped my character with a cautious tentacle movement, then shrank back in a panic as if frightened.

No matter how much it was the king of evil gods, it seemed to feel an instinctive wariness before Nebula’s overwhelming stature.

When Nebula had been raising the Tenth Series in the past, it had summoned this fellow during its corruption as well.

[Your presence remains… terrifyingly dreadful. Do you still have no intention… of becoming an evil god?]

Ding—

[Corruption Quest]

An eerie quest window appeared against a pitch-black background, written in letters dripping with red blood.

[Proposal from the fallen divinity “Firmament Devoured by Madness”]

[Become the King of Evil Gods]

“What bullshit.”

Naturally, I rejected it.

It was not as though there were good rewards.

More than anything, if I selected this, I would have to leave my world.

‘Back then, I almost got into serious trouble when I considered trying it without knowing anything.’

I had no intention of abandoning Nebula the Void Knight, which I had carefully raised, and starting a new game in some strange dimension.

[What a pity…]

Firmament rubbed its eyeball with a tentacle as if imitating a human gesture of regret, then looked at Cheol-su and extended a tentacle.

[Is this one your “successor”? Hehe… Then I shall specially bestow upon him… the finest thing I can give…]

The evil god’s pitch-black, dead divine power… “inverse divinity,” surged from the tentacle.

With that tentacle, Firmament lightly touched the area around Cheol-su’s heart.

[…Huh?]

The moment Cheol-su’s frozen voice leaked out, his figure inside the monitor was completely submerged in writhing black light.

***

Cheol-su found it hard to distinguish whether this was reality or not.

The place he had arrived at while being carried in the hand of a knight wearing splendid armor with a navy hue, as if it had been forged from stars, was…

A cavern where every kind of evil thing one would fear seeing in a dream had gathered.

Cheol-su barely managed to hold back the urge to scream.

Because he did not want to look like a coward in the eyes of the friend who must be looking down from high above.

But just because he was not screaming did not mean this scene was not terrifying.

Gulp.

While swallowing dryly over and over and wiping the sweat that had pooled in his palms on his pants…

Cheol-su squeezed his eyes shut.

But despite that resolve, Cheol-su ultimately had no choice but to scream when he saw the grotesque offerings surrounding his body.

After all, anyone would scream if a heart larger than most watermelons was placed right beside their face, beating on its own while spewing black blood.

Or if there was a golden rotten apple giggling while oozing rotten pus.

Or a blood-red inverted cross that continuously spat out unidentified bone fragments with unpleasant cracking sounds.

But the finishing touch to this hellscape was something else entirely.

“That thing” that suddenly appeared after the cavern ceiling exploded open!

A repulsive black thing too horrifying to describe in words writhed in the sky above.

‘What is it? What is it… What the hell is that!!!’

Toward Cheol-su, who had frozen without being able to scream or faint, the “black mass” extended a tentacle.

And the moment it touched his chest…

[Corruption Quest]

An eerie quest window appeared against a pitch-black background, written in letters dripping with red blood.

[Proposal from the fallen divinity “Firmament Devoured by Madness”]

[Become the First Apostle of an Evil God]

‘…An apostle of an evil god?!’

He did not want to become the apostle of a monster like that!!

Cheol-su shook his head violently.

Then the place that seemed to be the “black thing’s” mouth split wide open.

[Heh heh heh]

And a laugh echoed from somewhere far away…

He felt a heavy gaze, like someone looking down at an ant from far above.

Srrk!

Human-like arms sprouted from the “sticky thing” touching his chest.

At the ends of those arms were mouths.

A “mouth” spoke.

“Wh y d o y o u r e f u s e?”

It was a grotesque voice that broke off in pieces.

Would it sound like that if someone forcibly blew air into a human’s vocal cords?

Beside it was an arm with an “ear” attached, tilted toward the mouth as if it intended to listen to Cheol-su’s voice.

It was truly a sight that seemed capable of driving a person insane.

“I-I do not want to become something like an evil god’s apostle.”

“I w i l l g i v e y o u p o w e r.”

“I do not need it. Not such evil power!”

Cheol-su gritted his teeth.

“Heh heh.”

The mouth grinned.

Then, after practicing its voice with “Ah, ah,” it spoke again.

“You are insignificant and weak. That is because the divinity dwelling within you is insignificant and useless.”

The grotesque, broken voice from a moment ago was gone, and a chillingly alien voice now spoke fluently to him.

“The power I give is different. You are the successor chosen by the ‘Great Nebula.’ I shall grant you inverse divine power befitting that stature.”

“….”

When Cheol-su did not answer and merely glared with eyes full of disgust, the mouth continued as if mocking him.

“Do you still slander my power as evil? How foolish. This power is not something that can be understood through human good and evil. If divinity is light, then inverse divinity is darkness. Do light and darkness possess good and evil?”

The mouth was still grinning.

As if mocking him, or perhaps as if trying to teach him.

“They merely exist as they are. I am not evil. I am darkness.”

“But did you not say you had fallen?”

“That is correct. I was once one of the brightest stars shining in the heavens, but in order to resist the approaching threat, I chose to cast away my light and sink into the underside of the world—perhaps into somewhere even deeper. Is that evil?”

“Corruption is…”

“My goal is not different from that of the chief god Gaia, who seeks to protect this world. In yang, in yin. At times in light, at times in darkness. Each of us simply fulfills our own role….”

Cheol-su was at a loss for words.

“What happens to me if I accept that?”

“You will become this body’s first apostle… more precious and special than anyone else, revered above all. Every evil that exists in this space will kneel beneath your feet.”

Cheol-su turned only his head and looked back at the various monsters staring at the altar.

“Those things are… monsters, are they not?”

“They are also pitiful ones who have strayed from the mainstream and been abandoned.”

After sinking briefly into thought, Cheol-su steeled himself.

Kim Cheol-su was merely an ordinary human.

He did not want to become a special being through power someone else forced into his hands, and he certainly had no intention of reigning as an idol over those monsters.

He simply wanted to remain an ordinary “human named Kim Cheol-su” until the very end.

“I refuse.”

The mouth grinned.

“Y o u r w i l l i s n o t n e c e s s a r y.”

Chomp!

The mouth lunged forward and bit into Cheol-su’s neck.

“Aagh!”

Sharp fangs pierced through Cheol-su’s skin and dug in.

Gulp, gulp.

He felt his blood rapidly draining away through the fangs.

And the empty space left behind by the drained blood began to fill with an alien power.

That power flowed through Cheol-su’s blood vessels.

“!”

Everywhere the power reached, Cheol-su felt tremendous strength surge within him.

Finally, the moment the power that had entered through his neck reached his heart—

Thump!

His heart pounded violently.

“Aaaaaah!”

Pitch-black divine power surged from Cheol-su’s entire body.

In that moment, Cheol-su felt an immense sense of omnipotence.

Power, power, power!

More power!

[Will you become the apostle of a fallen divinity?]

[1. Yes] [2. No]

His weak B-rank body boiled as if it could tear the world apart at any moment.

“Ah….”

If he simply closed his eyes and reached out toward that [Yes], he would no longer have to bleed helplessly.

He might even be able to protect, with his own hands, that lacking brother of his who sat crumpled in a corner of the room and spewed strange mist.

[A c c e p t i t.]

The evil god whispered like a snake beside his ear.

At that moment…

A system message from “Earth” appeared before Cheol-su’s eyes.

It had a familiar format and color, but the contents were something he had never seen before.

[The inverse divine power (EX) of the fallen divinity “(No Data)” is flowing in.]

[Unique Trait: The Most Ordinary Existence (B) resists.]

[All external factors will be forcibly readjusted to match the owner’s stature.]

‘The Most Ordinary Existence?’

A man more ordinary than anyone else.

Could there be any name that pierced so perfectly into the essence of the human being known as “Kim Cheol-su”?

At the same time—

CRAAACK!

KRAAAAAH!

The tentacle biting into Cheol-su was forcibly severed by an invisible hand.

The evil god in the sky let out a scream that made the heavens roar.

[The capacity of EX-rank inverse divine power is being forcibly downgraded and compressed to “B-rank.”]

“…Huh?”

The blood vessels that had been boiling as if they would burst instantly calmed down.

His mind, which had been on the verge of being devoured by omnipotence, returned to normal.

Pitch-black divine power was pouring from his entire body, but not a single tentacle or horn had sprouted from Cheol-su.

He remained exactly as he was—a perfectly ordinary and sound young man named Kim Cheol-su.

[……Wh-what have you done?]

The enormous eye of Firmament, the huge evil god covering the sky, trembled in shock.

The great authority of an evil god that it had bestowed had been blocked by a mere human’s meager “Trait,” then settled into him in an absurdly shrunken state.

It was an insane resistance that maintained a “normal” state no matter what kind of external threat came.

However, Cheol-su had no time to care about the evil god’s reaction.

That was because system messages appeared before his eyes one after another.

[Your Awakening Ability is evolving.]

[Awakening Ability: Inverted Divinity (B)]

[Current Ability: B] (No Change)

[Potential Ability: B] (No Change)

“What… is this?”

***

“Did a B-rank Trait just devour an EX-rank Trait?”

My heart pounded fiercely as I stared at the monitor.

A B-rank that not only repelled the corruption event, but also stole only the essence of an evil god.

But the surprise did not end there.

Because even to my eyes, as a ten-year veteran player, a scene I had never seen before was unfolding.

Just when it looked like Cheol-su was about to accept the power given by the octopus, an incredibly powerful golden light suddenly descended into the center of the Hall of Apostasy, so strong that the entire monitor shone white.

“What is this now?”

And a “descent” message appeared on the Lost Alarm.

[The divinity of “Earth,” “Legion of the Nameless,” looks down upon the world…]