Chapter 66

Chapter 66. Confession (1)

A single bolt of lightning, born from the Holy Sword, Yuria Lanestia.

It soared into the lofty heavens and blanketed the world.

The world flickered a vivid yellow.

KRRRRUMBLE———.

Sacred Battle Art—Thunderbolt.

Divine power, tempered and refined, churned as thunder in the distant sky.

Simultaneously, pitch-black sword energy poured toward me.

Guan Yu's single slash cleaved through dimensions and space, leaping toward the summit of Mt. Baekdu where we stood.

But the divine thunderbolt was far from lenient.

CRACK———!!!

Golden bolts cascading from the heavens engulfed everything before my eyes.

An unrelenting barrage—no, an endless torrent of lightning.

Light shone upon the world.

The demonic force that had leapt across dimensions could not draw near.

'Thunderbolts that punish all that approaches.'

Yuria's divine power was optimized for protection in precisely this way.

But defense alone could never lead one to witness the end of the world.

My swords were unified in offense and defense.

Complete swords.

'I see it.'

A field of vision drowned in gold.

Yet my Eye, having reached true Transcendence, perceived everything with crystal clarity.

Beyond the lightning—hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops. Farther still, at an impossibly vast distance, the red giant readying a second swing.

A being that should have descended into this world like the Patriot's Constellations.

Yet one that had Fallen and been inverted.

Its true identity—.

'The Fallen Demi-God, Guan Yu.'

I perceived my enemy in concrete detail.

The Sacred Battle Art—Thunderbolt was, in truth, a force that existed not to defend but to pierce through.

The lightning pouring down before me was only a fraction.

Now it was time to reveal the real thing.

I had seen. I had perceived.

And so now, I would act.

CRACK—— CRACKLE—.

The sky, glittering with gold.

Within it, something coiled and surged ceaselessly, like a dragon winding its body.

In answer to my will to pierce the enemy, the divine power roiled.

Just as Yuria once had, I would recite the Holy Empress's invocation.

For that was the only way to manifest a Sacred Battle Art—a miracle of God.

'The qualifications are more than sufficient.'

I was Yuria's master.

Moreover, I was a Sword Master who held the legitimate, orthodox right to the title of Holy Empress.

And so—.

"By the Oath of the Chaste, I command."

The mightiest Holy Sword is a sword that enacts the will of the most exalted being.

And divine power is a miracle that channels God's will through the medium of the sword.

"My enemy—."

The world resonated with my voice.

The divine power that had begun from the 2nd Sword, Yuria, now moved solely according to my will.

My entire body was bathed in gold.

The Holy Empress's Vestments, woven into my uniform, resonated with the divine power.

Merely standing there, the area around me began to purify, and the heavens parted in answer to my sacred will.

SWOOOSH——.

I could feel omnipotence.

The most exalted divine power obeyed my will alone.

The world calls such power a "miracle."

I performed that miracle.

"Pierce."

That single word was enough.

The Sacred Battle Art—Thunderbolt revealed its true form.

—————!!!

In accordance with the will of God, a phenomenon manifested.

It was something even my Transcended cognition could not read—a domain of pure Manifestation, in the truest sense.

Far in the distance, a single golden bolt flashed.

My eyes saw it.

BOOOM———.

The colossal crescent blade toppling to the ground.

Amid tremors blanketing the earth, the red giant's body began to crumble along with the fallen blade.

On the collapsing body, the head was nowhere to be seen.

A body falling with its neck pierced by the divine thunderbolt, and a red head dropping a beat behind it.

The long beard fluttered in the air.

'Killed it.'

I never leave a dangerous enemy alive.

Seconds of Manifestation, accumulated one by one, now totaling twenty-six seconds for Yuria Lanestia.

An Authority that manifested phenomena across time and space.

Yuria's single strike—consuming roughly twenty seconds—was this fierce.

SWOOOSH———.

Black smoke seeped from Guan Yu's fallen body.

It signified unmistakable death.

And with that as the trigger—.

BOOM!!!

An anomaly occurred.

A tremendous tremor shook the world.

Simultaneously, before my eyes, a colossal wall erupted along the border dividing North Korea from China.

A wall whose very existence compelled the world to name it.

FLASH!

[Great Wall]

A Great Wall manifested through the system's power now blocked our path.

'That's......'

It was no mere wall.

Nor an ordinary structure.

Just like the Inviolable Fortress Muratan had forged, that wall imposed a law of its own.

A law that severed heaven, earth, and sea, disconnecting the world entirely.

———Inviolable.

As the wall's ascent concluded.

The world whispered.

<The collapsed world—North Korea has been reclaimed.>

<The world sends its accolades for your monumental achievement.>

Just as Jesus once had, I too had reclaimed a collapsed territory.

Yet I felt it was more of a warning than a commendation.

Beyond this—you are not permitted to gaze upon China.

The system, at the very least, acts for humanity's sake.

This was the system's consensus.

From what I'd observed and confirmed, that held true.

It was only the warped desires of humans that exploited it—Awakening and Gates existed to protect us.

Which meant.

'I don't yet have the right to challenge China.'

I had no choice but to accept it.

'Guan Yu...... A being worshipped on Earth is merely a vassal of the Dark God.'

Even if I pulled out every sword with their additional five seconds, what could I possibly do about China?

If billions of real people truly lived within those borders, could I steel myself to strike them down?

I wasn't sure.

Even so, of this one thing I was certain.

I must become stronger.

_______________________

 

Ep. 22 Confession.

'So the Patriot isn't completely thoughtless after all.'

When I first saw the Great Wall, I worried the Patriot might insist on pushing into China no matter what.

But the moment he saw the system message, the Patriot ground his teeth and left it at that.

Having spent longer as a Transcendent than me, he surely understood what it meant when the system concluded a situation.

Watching him like that, my thoughts naturally drifted.

'The Patriot......'

The Republic of Korea's first Transcendent.

A deranged superhuman who'd drawn the world's attention through his brutal hardline policies.

Even so, I couldn't help but feel the Patriot was immensely reassuring.

This was my impression from witnessing his power firsthand.

'A Transcendent who can project overwhelming firepower around the clock. And on top of that, he can work nonstop in three shifts with his Constellations......'

Moreover, he hadn't once tried to share any of his crushing burden with me, the new Transcendent.

He still shouldered the same massive duties he always had, entirely on his own.

Probably just his personality.

'He's a scaredy-cat.'

Contrary to appearances, the Patriot was absurdly cautious.

A closet coward, in other words.

And because he didn't want his fear to show, he acted even more aggressive and exaggerated.

Having witnessed it several times while Transcended, I was certain.

The way his hands and feet trembled, or how he'd bluff while his heart was pounding fit to burst.

There was plenty of evidence.

But the Patriot was definitely not the "strong against the strong, weak against the weak" type that Senior Prosecutor Kang and Seol-a claimed.

The Patriot I'd seen was, well.

'A real man among men, through and through.'

Separate from being a coward, he was a genuine man.

My Eye had seen the Patriot's Martyr count.

Over thirty million deaths.

I didn't know the exact conditions, but it was clearly the number of times he'd sacrificed himself to alert others to the dangers posed by China or Japan.

The Patriot had Awakened through that insanity during his trials.

'To sum it up......'

The Patriot was "a slightly unhinged Transcendent who genuinely cherishes and loves his country." Something along those lines.

If there was one disappointing thing, it was his shallow knowledge.

'How can he not know Guan Yu?'

He didn't know the Three Kingdoms.

This was a serious problem.

It wasn't just because I liked the Three Kingdoms that I was making this an issue.

Perhaps.......

'The Patriot might have zero knowledge of history.'

He probably just knew the names of a few very famous historical figures and that was it.

The most patriotic man alive doesn't properly know the history and traditions of the Republic of Korea?

'It's possible he doesn't.'

Honestly, I don't think it's someone's fault for not knowing something.

You can live a perfectly fine life without knowing history.

In a world overrun by Gates, where Dark Gods and Demon Gods are eyeing Earth, you don't need to know that stuff.

Even so—.

'The Patriot needs to learn.'

His knowledge directly translates into strengthening his Awakened abilities.

Aren't we the two Transcendents who hold the fate of the Republic of Korea in our hands?

Didn't we just witness the unidentified catastrophe that is China?

'He too must grow stronger, just like me.'

I steeled my resolve and looked at the Patriot.

He was.......

"Junior, looks like the settlement's about to begin."

Looking at me with the most innocent face in the world.

I forgot to mention earlier, but the Patriot was an extremely honest person.

Just looking at his face, it was blatantly obvious he was thinking, 'Get stronger and absolutely annihilate China!'

'As soon as the settlement's done, I'm getting the Patriot a history education.'

Obviously, I couldn't teach the Patriot myself.

I don't know much about history either.

Twelve years of nothing but Raise a Sword.

I was well-versed in swords, but history? Not so much.

'I'll bring in domestic experts. Famous professors, star lecturers—make it fun for him to learn......'

While I was mulling that over.

The Patriot shouted with elation.

"Oh, the settlement message is here!"

We'd had no luxury to check WorldNet.

The same went for the Patriot.

But we could vaguely sense just how many people had directly or indirectly witnessed this battle.

Jesus must've been working hard on something.

FLASH!

[You have reclaimed a collapsed world.]

[In recognition of your overwhelming achievement, the world sends its accolades and grants the highest reward.]

[Sword Master, Shin Si-woo — Contribution: 78%.]

Just as rewards followed Gates, just as they had when we destroyed the Red Sea.

Resolving a world-level catastrophe came with rewards.

When multiple participants were involved, contribution was naturally divided.

Even so—"the highest reward."

"Junior, mine's 16%. What about yours?"

"I got 78%."

"Our junior's strong as hell."

The moment he finished speaking.

The Patriot tilted his head with a curious look.

"78 plus 16......"

He spent a few seconds folding and unfolding his fingers before asking.

"94?"

"Correct."

The Patriot celebrated briefly, then cocked his head to the side and stared somewhere.

'South.'

To be precise, his gaze was directed toward the Inviolable Fortress—Pyongyang, clearly visible even from atop Mt. Baekdu.

The Japanese Transcendents would be there.

"Did those Japs take the remaining six percent?"

The Japanese Transcendents had genuinely busted their asses.

That was Seol-a's word, so it definitely wasn't a lie.

The system's settlement wasn't so lenient in the first place.

Rewards went to those who deserved them.

"The Japanese Transcendents' actual contribution is probably around two to three percent. The rest would be split among our military's Induced Awakened."

"Right, our troops did enter Pyongyang."

The Patriot grudgingly nodded.

He still looked displeased, though.

[Calculating appropriate reward......]

Given our high contribution, even the system's settlement took time.

While waiting, the Patriot seemed eager to chat.

With no one to interact with on an equal footing all this time, my presence must have been a welcome change.

He seemed slightly intimidated by me, yet kept talking in that boisterous way of his.

"Junior, what do people with low contribution do with theirs?"

"Usually they receive Coins and buy items with them, or Tower Entry Passes."

"Ah, the first pass!"

One of the reasons humanity believed the system worked in their favor.

And the basis for thinking its direction was focused on human cooperation lay in the Tower Entry Pass.

First-time Awakened couldn't enter the Tower without accumulating 10,000 Coins.

But clearing the Tower typically rewarded three Tower Entry Passes.

The idea was for the vanguard to distribute surplus passes to those who came after.

'Some people just sell them, but usually they do share with the next batch.'

Didn't I receive my pass from a senior Awakened too?

'He was a demon worshipper, though......'

The Awakening-Supremacist Hunter Park Chang-seok suddenly came to mind.

He'd apologized for suspecting me of being a "fake" and gave me a Tower Entry Pass.

'I never expected him to Fall the very next day and pull that insane stunt.'

Fate was cruel.

I found myself wondering what the Patriot's beginnings had been like.

"Patriot, how did you get your first Tower entry?"

"Oh, the old man gave it to me."

Sword Emperor Kim Hong-sik.

The man who'd gone missing in the Tower had left a guiding light for Korea's Transcendents.

The more I looked, the more his footprints were everywhere in this nation.

"And the Sword Emperor?"

"That old man was one of the very first Awakened, so he scraped together Coins by running around like a madman."

The Patriot murmured, gazing into the distance.

'Ah, that old man nagged the hell out of me, but he was like a real grandpa. Good times......' he said.

Just as the afterglow of the battlefield was starting to fade.

"Ling Ling finds this strange. The Party provides Tower Entry Passes to every Awakened. Why can't Korea do the same?"

Ling Ling, who'd been restrained by Cheok Jun-gyeong, asked.

"Capitalist reactionaries. You pay money for something that is provided for free?"

Her speech was vapid.

But the implication set off our alarm bells.

"How many Chinese Awakened are there that they can hand them all out? Is this some kind of deception tactic?"

The Patriot glared.

"Treat Ling Ling as a prisoner of war. The Party has approximately two hundred million Awakened. We all receive Tower entry rights free of charge."

"Really for free?"

"The condition is service to the Party. They provide three meals a day. They guarantee housing and families' residency in Beijing. The Party is rightfully overcoming this catastrophe."

The Patriot muttered, 'Typical Ching—using dirty, vicious schemes,' and smacked Ling Ling on the head.

She went out cold with a thud.

'Did he pick up on something?'

The Patriot scowled deeply and stared ahead.

From our vantage on Mt. Baekdu, all that was visible was the Great Wall, filling the view completely.

"Junior, I know every single pattern of those Chinese bastards inside and out."

The Patriot murmured, eyes fixed on the Great Wall.

"This particular pattern's new, but I've got a general feeling."

He'd apparently gleaned something from Ling Ling's words.

'If the claim about two hundred million Awakened is real, we're in deep trouble.'

The Patriot—veteran of wars against Japan and China alike. How would he navigate this crisis?

I perked my ears and focused on his words.

The Patriot said he wanted to confirm just one thing first and asked me a question.

But.......

"That knockoff Yi Sun-sin summoned a Great Wall too? I've seen everything else before, but trying to copy my Constellation is a genuinely rare pattern."

Apparently, China's two hundred million Awakened didn't concern him in the slightest.

He was dead serious in believing Guan Yu's appearance was an attempt to replicate Yi Sun-sin, his own Constellation.

And that was supposedly the biggest problem.

Ah.

This won't do.

The settlement wasn't over yet, but I spoke up.

I couldn't hold it in.

"That was Guan Yu."

"Guan Yu?"

The Patriot tilted his head.

I frowned and pressed on.

"Guan Yu. From the Three Kingdoms—Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei? The Oath of the Peach Garden? You don't know that?"

This time, the Patriot was the one frowning.

He said:

"Why are you bringing up that seditious text?"