Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

"Starting bid: 100,000 won! Anyone?"

The auctioneer's voice echoed hollowly.

The room was indifferent.

The prevailing mood was that they'd come for the air conditioning — no sucker would pay money for a rock like that.

I slowly raised my hand.

"100,000 won."

Eyes turned.

Snickers laced with mockery rippled through.

"That guy must be drowning in money."

Didn't matter.

The Pandora Cube's mechanism was simple.

Inject mana, and a die rolls inside.

Numbers from 1 to 1,000.

The number determines the item's grade.

I was certain.

When I'd summoned Angragon, when I'd received the Sanctuary reward.

My die had always landed on the system's maximum.

This time would be no exception.

"100,000 won! Sold!"

BANG!

With the crack of the gavel, a staffer brought the stone over.

I paid and took the cold stone in hand.

It was heavy.

I picked up a few more items afterward.

A worn hanging scroll tucked in a corner.

A dagger whose handle had rotted away.

To everyone else, I must have looked like a junk-removal crew.

'But it was quality shopping.'

I was pleased.

The auction ended.

I gathered my purchases and slipped out of the gallery.

***

I returned to the motel I'd booked.

Locked the door and dumped my haul onto the bed.

Roughly thirty relics swept up from the antique street.

I checked each one with 'Appraisal.'

The results were satisfying.

By conservative per-item estimates, the lot was worth at least ten billion won.

'Not bad.'

The modern monetary system wouldn't fully collapse for a while yet.

One year, to be precise.

The moment the gates of that tower hovering in the sky like a mirage opened, paper bills would become toilet paper.

But flip that around.

For the next year, money was power.

The plan was clear.

This money was investment capital.

Just as I'd sponsored Park Hayan, I'd unearth future heroes who had talent but were trapped in unfortunate circumstances.

'I can't cover the sky alone.'

I was the one who'd storm the tower and kill gods.

But I also needed shields to fend off the smaller calamities that would batter Earth in the meantime.

Tearing down the tower was hard.

Even if possible, the damage Earth would sustain during the process would be astronomical.

I needed heroes to protect the Earth.

There was still plenty that money could accomplish.

If a problem couldn't be solved, the only issue was insufficient funds.

Planning was done.

Time for the main dish.

I picked up the mossy blue stone sitting in the center of the bed — the Pandora Cube.

Its heft settled into my palm.

Tension hung in the air.

'Open.'

I injected mana.

HUMMMMM!

The stone vibrated faintly.

Cracks split the rough surface, and blinding radiance seeped through the gaps.

DING!

[Opening the Pandora Cube.]

[Rolling the die (1-1,000).]

A massive holographic die appeared in the air.

Numbers spinning rapidly.

Naturally, I expected the highest possible value.

TUMBLE.

The die stopped.

The number was revealed.

[1,001]

"......?"

I doubted my eyes.

The range was clearly 1 to 1,000.

A glitch?

The system message continued.

[Warning! The system's upper limit has been exceeded!]

[The God of Fortune is beside himself with shock!]

[Hidden condition, 'He Who Surpasses Divine Fortune,' achieved.]

Off the charts, literally.

I never imagined my luck would exceed even the God of Fortune's.

Blowing past the ceiling of a probability set by the system itself.

'What in the world is my luck stat?'

FWOOOOOOSH!

The light filling the room faded.

Where the stone's fragments had vanished, a single object floated in the air.

Armor.

A full suit of plate mail — pitch-black as night, with crimson vein-like patterns writhing across its surface as if alive.

An overwhelming aura of menace crushed the cramped motel room.

[Item: Heavenly Demon Armor]

[Grade: Mythic]

"......!!!"

Mythic.

The weight of that word was extraordinary.

The authority Hellfire-Seething Earth.

That, too, had been Mythic grade.

Granted, the grading systems for equipment and authorities were inherently different.

Even at the same Mythic grade, gear couldn't truly compare to an authority.

But what seized my attention wasn't the grade — it was the name.

'Heavenly Demon.'

During my days climbing the tower, it had been whispered among veterans as the strongest equipment in legend.

A single piece alone had sparked wars between guilds — no, conflicts between nations.

And the most critical fact of all.

'It's a set item.'

This wasn't a standalone piece.

Helm, chest plate, gauntlets, boots, and weapon.

One piece of a set that only unleashed its true power when all five parts were assembled.

I checked the detailed information with trembling hands.

[Item: Heavenly Demon Armor]

[Grade: Mythic]

[Durability: Infinite (Indestructible)]

[Equip Condition: Unyielding willpower]

[Base Effect: All stats +150]

[Special Effect (1): Heavenly Demon Aura. The wearer's intimidation increases. Beings weaker than the wearer are paralyzed with fear.]

[Special Effect (2): Absolute Defense. Physical and magical damage reduced by 50%.]

[Set Effect (1/5): Not yet activated.]

"......Good lord."

A hollow laugh escaped.

Insane.

That was the only word that fit.

'All stats plus 150.'

The stat points gained per level-up ranged from a minimum of 20 to roughly 50 at most.

And that was only if all five stat categories each rose by 10, reaching the 50 cap.

Naturally, maxing every stat was near-impossible.

Because the stats gained on level-up were heavily influenced by 'talent.'

Unless you were innately gifted across the board, it was inherently difficult.

Not that there was zero way — you'd just need what they called 'grinding.'

Regardless.

'Just wearing this one piece of armor is equivalent to leaping past fifteen levels in a single bound.'

For Rag's case, of course, it equated to three levels gained.

On top of that, the durability was 'infinite.'

Indestructible.

A god's authority, a nuclear bomb.

No physical force in existence could break this armor.

This was endgame gear.

'That aside.'

I stroked my chin.

'The equip condition is unyielding willpower?'

Equipment like this typically had level or stat restrictions.

But this one demanded only willpower.

A field where I was supremely confident.

I placed my hand on the black armor.

"Equip."

CLANK.

With a metallic snap, the armor wrapped around my body.

Simultaneously.

【Who dares covet this Sovereign's shell.】

My skull reverberated.

A ponderous, arrogant voice that felt like it was physically stirring my brain.

My vision flooded red.

Black haze crept up through my optic nerves and lunged at my sense of self.

Mental contamination.

This was why the equip condition was 'unyielding willpower.'

It wasn't something mere stats could handle — a vestige of the Heavenly Demon was embedded within.

【Frail soul. Surrender your body. I shall guide you.】

A honeyed temptation.

Alongside irresistible pressure crushing every fiber of my being.

An ordinary human would have had their ego devoured in an instant, reduced to the Heavenly Demon's puppet.

But I smirked.

"A mere remnant dares judge the weakness of my soul?"

【......?】

"I'm letting you be worn. The least you could do is bow in gratitude — what's this about lecturing me?"

I glared.

Willpower?

I was the man who'd resolved to self-destruct alongside the Earth.

I'd chewed up gods and steeled myself for death ten thousand times over.

As if I'd kneel to some sentiment lodged in a suit of armor.

"Kneel, wretch."

【You! How dare you speak to this Sovereign——!】

The Heavenly Demon's will fought back.

The instant an even more ferocious killing intent tried to bore into my soul.

【......?!】

That was when it happened.

The black energy rummaging through my mind was suddenly yanked away, sucked into some void.

【GRAAAH! Wh-what manner of monster is this?!】

The Heavenly Demon shrieked.

By this point, the picture was clear.

The moment the Heavenly Demon had triggered the mental contamination, Angragon — bonded to me — had devoured it.

To be precise, the Dragon of Catastrophe's abilities were embedded within me.

Before a primordial predator, the Heavenly Demon's remnant was nothing more than a light snack.

【M-mercy......!】

It tried to flee.

The voice that had been so overbearing was now quaking with terror, its tail between its legs.

The armor trembled violently, then went deathly still.

Total submission.

Simultaneously, the blocked channels of power burst open.

RRRRRUMBLE!

"Phew......"

I exhaled deeply.

Power surged through me until every cell screamed.

Muscles hardened like steel and my thoughts crackled like lightning.

'All this from just one piece.'

A shiver of awe.

The majesty of Mythic grade.

I scrolled to the bottom of the information window.

[Set Effect (2/5): Heavenly Demon Divine Art unlocked.]

[Set Effect (5/5): Heavenly Demon Descent.]

Heavenly Demon Divine Art. And Heavenly Demon Descent.

The names alone set my heart racing.

The moment I gathered all remaining four pieces, I — in a mortal body — would touch the domain of a Demon God.

***

Two days later.

Despite it being 10 AM, the sky was as dark as night.

Storm clouds smothered the entire city.

People trembled with anxiety, staring upward.

Just yesterday, the temperature had been hovering around 35 degrees.

Yet in a matter of hours, it had plummeted below zero.

Abnormal weather.

No — a harbinger of catastrophe.

"......It's freezing."

"Look, you can see your breath. How is this possible?"

People on the streets huddled in on themselves.

Citizens in short sleeves scrambled into buildings for cover.

And then.

SWIRL.......

Something fell from the sky.

White crystals.

"Snow?"

In the middle of summer, snow began to fall on Daegu.

It wasn't a romantic first snowfall.

Alongside cutting winds, a blinding blizzard poured down.

FWIIIIING!

Sirens wailed.

Roads froze and cars skidded into collisions.

The city was being bleached white.

I sat on the motel rooftop railing, looking down at the scene.

I reached out and caught a single snowflake.

It wasn't cold.

The mana inside me was repelling the chill.

HUMMM.

My right hand thrummed.

Golden rune letters spun furiously across my palm.

Like the needle of a compass.

Pointing in one exact direction.

'Confirmed.'

The hypothesis was verified.

Normally dormant, it reacted the instant they activated their authority and triggered a disaster.

In other words, this signal was the alarm announcing the start of the hunt.

Distance: 3 kilometers.

Direction: northwest.

The heart of downtown Daegu.

The snowfall intensified.

Visibility whited out entirely.

Snow piled up to ankle height on the asphalt in the blink of an eye.

Traffic was paralyzed, people were stranded.

But the real problem wasn't the cold.

"Wh-what is that?!"

"Monsters! The snowmen are moving!"

Screams rang out.

Piled snow began to writhe.

SWIRL.

Snow compacted and ice formed a skeleton.

Ice soldiers wielding spears and shields.

Snow wolves baring razor-sharp fangs.

Monsters were being summoned alongside the disaster.

They attacked anyone in sight.

Hell on earth.

I rose to my feet.

I stood at the edge of the railing.

Five stories down.

A fatal drop for a normal person, but I didn't hesitate.

If anything, my blood was boiling.

I pulled a 'Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule' from my inventory.

The key to shattering reality's constraints and bringing Asgard's power to bear.

"Descent."

I crushed the fragment and hurled myself into the open air.

FWAAAAAAH!

Golden energy enveloped my body.

My body was reconstructed.

Muscles swelled, mana surged and overflowed.

THUD!

I hit the ground.

The asphalt splintered into a web of cracks and cratered beneath me.

The shockwave blasted the surrounding snowdrifts in every direction.

"Grrrrr......"

A snow wolf right in front of me snarled.

It lunged.

I didn't dodge.

I threw a casual punch.

THWACK!

The wolf's head burst into a cloud of powder.

I dusted off my hand.

No intention of wasting time on fodder.

My gaze was fixed on one place only.

Three kilometers ahead, where the golden rune pointed.

But.

'What a pain.'

Too many things in the way.

Ice soldiers poured from every alley.

Blizzard blinded me from above.

Ankle-deep snowdrifts clutching at my feet. Freezing air gnawing at my skin.

Smashing through them one by one with brute force would eat too much time.

Three kilometers.

Short in theory, but at this rate, a good thirty minutes.

I needed to clear a path.

And do it with extreme prejudice.

I needed overwhelming heat to instantly offset this freezing blizzard.

I stopped.

From deep within my core, I drew up a heavy, boiling energy.

The newly created authority.

The annihilating force born from fusing Kartal's earthquake and Tulkachya's volcano!

As that authority gathered in my left hand.

DING!

[Using the Authority, 'Hellfire-Seething Earth'!]

The gates of hell opened.