Chapter 52

Chapter 52. Facing the Truth

My fists shook.

The paper nearly crumpled.

Blood surged in reverse.

I wanted nothing more than to storm up to Asgard that instant and seize the bastard by the throat.

But.

Cold reason doused the burning emotion.

'Something's off.'

The puzzle didn't fit.

I forced the fury down and reviewed the situation.

Because one fatal contradiction existed.

'He descended in person?'

Heimdal's true body?

Floating in the sky above Earth?

That made no sense.

Until the Tower of God fully manifested in the world, a god's direct descent was impossible.

That was a law of the universe and a rule of the System.

Even the Ruler of All Things couldn't freely thrust his true body into the mortal plane without restriction.

'It shouldn't be possible for another ten months.'

The Tower's opening was still ten months away.

Yet when had the plane crash occurred?

Before Episode 1 even began.

When Earth had still been entirely at peace.

'I'd naturally assumed it was Remote Projection.'

Staff in hand, targeting Earth's coordinates through the Tower's Crystal and firing the Disaster across the distance.

That was plausible.

An indirect Calamity channeled through a Divine Armament.

But Park Hayan had said she clearly saw it.

A 'man' floating in the sky.

That meant it wasn't Remote Projection.

His true body—or a form indistinguishable from it—had crossed over to Earth before Episode 1.

And on top of that.

'No monsters appeared.'

He'd only destroyed the plane and vanished.

Created hundreds of casualties, then evaporated without spawning a single Demonic Beast—the typical byproduct of a Disaster.

It was different from how the Avatars played their Game.

They triggered Disasters to summon Demonic Beasts, then hunted them for sport or farmed runes.

He'd done all of that just to destroy a single passenger plane?

It defied understanding.

It didn't match my knowledge.

A situation that smashed my comprehension of the Tower and System head-on.

Then was Park Hayan lying?

'No.'

I shook my head.

She had no reason to deceive me.

Moreover, she didn't know Heimdal.

An ordinary Awakened who had never been to Asgard couldn't have drawn those distinctive features of a Supreme Tier god from imagination alone.

She'd seen him firsthand.

Then.

'Something exists.'

Something I don't know about. Something that bends the System's rules.

Or a massive secret Heimdal is hiding.

"......"

I pressed my forehead.

My mind was in turmoil.

But the rumination was cut short.

Park Hayan's trembling voice broke through.

"They......"

Her lips moved.

Hands clenched tight on her knees, tears brimming, she looked up at me.

"They held my hand until the very end."

Her voice was damp.

"Don't be afraid, they said. It'll be over soon."

Another tear fell from Park Hayan's eye.

"Jeong-seok......"

She called my name.

"The name they called in their last moment...... was Jeong-seok."

I stilled.

My heart ached.

"He's a tough kid, so he'll do just fine. Look whose son he is—that's what they said, smiling."

My parents' final moments.

......I hadn't been there.

I'd had to cling to an empty casket without even ashes and weep.

But she had been there.

In my place, she remembered my parents' last warmth.

"That's why......"

Park Hayan sobbed.

"That's why I couldn't die."

She clutched her chest.

"This bond, this miracle...... it was too precious. The warmth of the people who saved me, and the hand you reached out to me......"

She bowed her head and wept aloud.

I looked down at her, outwardly impassive.

My heart was heavy, but I didn't let it show.

Just.

The single fact that my parents had held a stranger's hand and smiled bravely until the very end.

......It seemed to warm a corner of my chest that had long gone cold.

That was the kind of people they had been, in my memories.

Fools who thought of nothing but their son.

People who knew how to care for others, always full of laughter.

"......"

Silence settled.

Just as the mood sank to its heaviest.

"Hrrnngh......"

Suddenly, an odd sound came from behind.

Someone sniffling and whimpering.

"Gkh...... kkhh......"

I turned my head.

Park Jihun.

The man who would be called Demon King.

Heir to the underworld.

That hulking man.

Was huddled in a corner of the sofa, face covered with both hands, bawling his eyes out.

"......What are you doing?"

When I asked in disbelief, Park Jihun looked at me with reddened eyes.

"B-Boss......!"

He sniffled.

"It's too sad! It's so goddamn sad, hk!"

He couldn't even wipe his tears, just blubbered.

"Your parents...... hk, even as they were going like that, they comforted someone else...... thinking of you...... bwaaaah!"

So much for Demon King potential.

Why was this guy so emotional?

"My old man too...... hk, he said he cried every night while I was lying there...... all parents must be the same!"

Park Jihun sobbed and poured out tears.

Even Park Hayan was so startled she stopped crying and stared at him blankly.

Probably wondering if this was really the same monster who'd drawn a sword and oozed killing intent minutes ago.

"Are you done?"

I chided.

"S-sorry, Boss! I normally never cry...... gkh, but I just couldn't help it!"

Park Jihun scrubbed his face with his sleeve.

But he was still sniffling.

The mood had shifted strangely.

The heavy atmosphere had lightened, thanks to Park Jihun's shameless tears.

I looked down at the paper again.

Heimdal's face.

'The reason for descending in person.'

The System's blind spot.

A card he was hiding.

I had to find out.

I needed to uncover the truth.

Before the invasion began—had Heimdal been the only one who'd interfered with Earth?

Or were other Supreme Tier gods also involved in this horrific pastime?

'I have no choice but to investigate in person.'

Visit the site. Follow the traces.

Not just as a god hunter, but as a mage who sought truth—I had to unearth this flaw in the System.

Only then could I forge the perfect noose to wring their necks.

'But not yet.'

I cooled the boiling killing intent.

Haste makes waste.

Now was not the time to bare my fangs at Heimdal.

He was the Ruler of All Things.

The pinnacle of the Natural Lineage, and the monster who had given me Creeping Chaos.

Rush in carelessly and I wouldn't survive.

But now I knew for certain that he was deeply involved in my parents' deaths.

'I'll use you all the more thoroughly.'

I'd prove my value beyond any doubt.

I'd make him see me as an irreplaceable Apostle God.

I'd use him as a shield to guard my territory and as a wallet to fund my growth.

And when I'd climbed to the very top.

I'd strip him of everything.

Above all.

There was an immediate problem to face.

'Episode 4.'

I alone knew the exact timetable of this Calamity.

And the coming Episode 4 was fundamentally different from everything that had come before.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons.

No physical Disasters would occur.

But it was a turning point every bit as critical to humanity's survival as the previous episodes—if not more so.

I shifted my gaze to the two of them.

Park Jihun was still sniffling. Park Hayan was dabbing at her reddened eyes with the back of her hand.

"You two."

Both raised their heads at my call.

They straightened up and fixed their eyes on me.

"Tomorrow, 11 AM."

I gave the order firmly.

"Be here."

"Boss, is something happening tomorrow?"

Park Jihun asked tentatively.

I nodded.

"There's something I need your help with."

At my words, Park Hayan's eyes lit up.

She was genuinely overjoyed at the chance to repay me.

"Yes, I'll be here on time!"

She answered brightly.

Park Jihun also shot to his feet and bowed at ninety degrees.

"Forget that, I'll pitch a tent at the door right now and wait!"

"Don't do anything stupid. Go home, wash up, and sleep. Keep your condition sharp."

I waved them out.

The door closed, and silence returned to the semi-basement.

'Party.'

The core keyword of Episode 4.

I couldn't do everything alone.

The dungeon's gimmicks and the System's rules weren't that forgiving.

I needed trustworthy hands.

Park Hayan and Park Jihun.

One was a genius sprouting the seeds of the Demon King, the other a transcendent destined to grow into the Spirit Monarch.

With those two in my party, I could chew through most variables.

I closed my eyes.

I entered meditation in preparation for tomorrow.

***

The next day.

10:50 AM.

The iron door opened and two people walked in.

Park Hayan wore comfortable athletic clothes; Park Jihun was still in a suit, but with a longsword strapped firmly to his back.

Both were visibly tense.

"Boss, we're here."

"Jeong-seok, the task you mentioned......"

I'd been leaning against the wall. I nodded.

"Sit down and wait. It'll start soon."

"Huh? What will?"

"The next episode."

At my words, both their faces hardened.

Did it mean that nightmare of a Calamity was happening again?

Park Jihun's hand went to the hilt on his back. Spirits began swirling busily around Park Hayan.

Time passed.

And then.

Just after noon.

HUMMMM!

The air vibrated.

An unsettling tinnitus, as though the Earth itself were screaming.

Ding!

Before the eyes of every person on the planet, a blood-red message window was forcibly displayed.

Simultaneously, gasps of shock escaped Park Hayan and Park Jihun.

[Episode 4, 'Invitation of the Abyss,' begins.]

The message was brief.

But its implications were anything but light.

[The dimensional walls crumble and the 'Demon Realm' opens.]
[Form a party. (Maximum 12 members)]
[The 'Honor' stat is now visible on your status window.]

"The Demon Realm......?"

Park Hayan murmured, her voice shaking.

It was a decree that the true land of devils—something entirely different from the Demonic Beasts that had appeared so far—was about to open.

No Disaster would strike the real world.

We would have to walk into the jaws of that hell ourselves.

Ding!

Messages cascaded.

[The member with the highest Honor becomes Party Leader.]
[The Party Leader's Honor determines the 'Demon Realm difficulty' accessible.]
[Higher difficulty yields dramatically greater rewards upon clear.]

"H-Honor stat?"

Park Jihun frantically waved his hand in the air, opening his status window.

"Boss! My Honor is 520!"

He announced it rather proudly.

Park Hayan spoke carefully.

"Mine is...... 3,100."

She must have been tearing through dungeons and slaughtering monsters at a manic pace.

For an ordinary Awakened, breaking 100 at this point was already a feat.

But.

These were human standards.

The gods' Avatars were different.

'The top tier had 8,000 or more.'

Right after Episode 3, the strongest rankers had been sitting on upward of eight thousand Honor.

Most of them were likely the gods' Avatars.

Engineering Disasters and then playing hero to mop them up—they'd have hoovered up enormous Honor points.

That much alone was enough to unlock the highest 'Hell' difficulty and obtain Mythic-grade equipment.

"......How much do you have?"

Park Hayan looked at me with curious eyes.

I was about to open my status window to check.

Ding!

[Current Honor for 'Kim Jeong-seok (NONAME)': 1,357,790.]
[Your Honor is so extraordinarily high that no available difficulty exists.]
[Searching for an accessible difficulty.]
[Searching for an accessible difficulty.]
[Searching for an accessible difficulty.]
.......

The same message repeated for a while.

After what felt like several minutes.

Ding!

[No accessible difficulty found.]
[This situation is unprecedented.]
['Hidden Piece' discovered.]
['Incomprehensible' difficulty unlocked!]