Chapter 73

Chapter 73. Reunion (3)

<Space.>

"Elon Mask," believed to have been banished from the world.

An SSS-rank Hunter and deranged Transcendent who'd declared he would overcome the Gate crisis by migrating all of humanity to Mars.

He drifted through space and thought.

'This world is a simulation.'

And yet, Awakening and supernatural abilities defied every law of physics that humanity had observed and defined.

That was a denial of simulation theory.

He floated on.

He repeated his endless contemplations in space.

It was clearly a simulation, so why didn't it add up?

"Aha!"

A sudden thought.

What if this, too, was merely an extension of a grander simulation?

The scale had simply grown.

'The computer called "human" runs the program called "Awakening."'

The world was a monitor.

The abilities being manifested actually varied based on the performance specs of the entity known as an Awakened.

Elon Mask's thinking accelerated.

'If you treat each human as a single computer and assume varying performance levels—.'

Someone was a 1080.

Someone else a 5090.

And someone like Jesus had performance approaching a quantum computer.......

'The body is the hardware. Awakening is the software.'

If that was the case?

A being whose hardware and software simultaneously broke their limits was a Transcendent.

'What if you connected Awakened in series or parallel?'

In series, the higher-spec would dominate the lower.

In parallel, equals would split the computational load.

'What if you wove a human colony into a single massive organism?'

The possibility of transcending the Hunter ranking system surfaced in Elon Mask's mind.

Of course, actually connecting humans in series and parallel would be horrific beyond description.

Elon's contemplation deepened.

'There is, however, a problem.'

Naturally, his concern was not "because it would be horrific!"

His concern was finding concrete methods for implementation.

'For parallel connections to be valid, the architecture has to be identical. Humans with different Awakening types are essentially different chipsets.'

He was a Transcendent who couldn't care less about human rights.

Wasn't that exactly why he'd been banished?

Regardless, Elon's thinking continued.

'Direct connections would create bottlenecks. Does that mean an interface layer is needed?'

Elon tilted his head.

'It already exists.'

Gates, which contained catastrophes.

The Dimensional Wall, which divided the world.

'Are those acting as the layers that partition this world?'

Elon Mask, alone in space, discovered a fundamental truth.

And so, he adjusted his trajectory—originally aimed at Mars—and set course back for Earth.

Having wandered space for years, finding his way wasn't difficult.

'Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.'

He knew the positions of every star and planet by heart, and his will was resolute—Elon reached Earth's orbit in no time.

Even on the way back, Elon's thinking continued.

'With my current abilities...... proving simulation theory is near-impossible.'

Despite exploring the fundamental truth of Awakening, he couldn't claim this world was a simulation.

Because of Jesus—the manifested Lord.

'The very act of sending me beyond that thick Dimensional Wall and into space shouldn't be possible.'

Thinking about Jesus, who'd blasted him into space, left him speechless.

<I, Jesus Christ, decree: you shall fulfill your purpose in space.>

A single sentence, and Elon Mask had been exiled to the cosmos.

The unidentified "wall" surrounding Earth.

Beyond that wall—impervious even to Jesus's Judgment—Elon Mask was the sole human.

Before he knew it, he'd arrived at Earth.

'My home......'

Earth, reunited with after years, made for a deeply welcome sight.

He gazed upon our home planet.

Blue—yet a sick star, blackened in patches.

'Every human being except me is contained within my field of vision.'

He desperately wanted to post this magnificent line on X immediately.

***

"Brother, there was once a corrupted scripture."

What was now classified as an International Seditious Text under Jesus's name was the old Bible—a grimoire.

In the past, humanity had read the corrupted scripture and condemned one another, deeming things sinful that were no sin at all.

"That vile grimoire which drew distinctions in human love, calling it sinful, and deemed even a human's love for themselves a transgression."

Jesus narrowed his eyes.

He was clearly displeased, yet something in the old Bible seemed to warrant citation.

He slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

"That dreadful grimoire, passed down from antiquity, foretold that the false Jesus's servant would betray him."

Having become a Transcendent and manifested as the EX-rank Lord, Jesus had founded a new Scripture.

The Bible he was referencing now was the one from before Jesus's appearance—the corrupted scripture.

'I don't really know this stuff.'

Honestly, I'd been too young before the Gate crisis, and my parents had been non-religious, so I didn't know much about the Bible.

I was still non-religious now.

"Brother, the very fact that you know me, Jesus Christ, is proof that you harbor faith."

He continued, seeming not to care much about whether I was religious.

"You need not know the ancient scripture. I simply wished to discuss the betrayer it spoke of."

The disciples who'd followed the false Jesus.

Among those called the Twelve Apostles, there had been a betrayer.

The false Jesus had known of the betrayer yet left him be.

"In other words, the false Jesus knowingly allowed himself to be betrayed."

The real Jesus was apparently furious about it.

He'd raged about how people had piled on interpretations and crafted endless flowery justifications around it.

"The traditional doctrine of omniscience claims God knew everything, and that even the betrayal was part of His plan for salvation......"

The sight of the perpetually smiling Jesus with his eyes bulging wide open was rather terrifying.

"Brother, knowingly letting yourself be betrayed is idiocy. No amount of dressing up such idiocy changes that."

Jesus was the cutting-edge Lord who spread the gospel via WorldTube Shorts.

He organized and preached all matters of faith from the modern perspective.

'So he's saying he absolutely can't stomach a frustrating cop-out?'

That was my summary of Jesus's true sentiment.

Knowingly tolerating betrayal didn't fit the Shorts sensibility.

"Your interpretation is a bit intense, brother, but not wrong."

At some point, Jesus had been reading my thoughts and carrying on the conversation naturally.

I took it in stride and pressed on.

"So why did you bring up the betrayer?"

Surely he wasn't just trying to say, "I hate bad writing."

There had to be a reason.

After a brief pause, Jesus got to the point.

"Brother, that 'satanic tree' you're raising, and 'that satanic Elon' I saw in space."

Jesus was warning us about enemies who could stab us in the back at any moment.

"They have something in common."

"What's that?"

"Both could betray us at any time."

Exactly.

Jesus and I were Transcendents who'd taken Satan's remnants under our wings.

"We've both taken in something satanic, have we not? When your eyes grow clouded, brother, or when mine do—."

Given that we both harbored threats behind our backs—.

"I hope that you would watch over me, and I over you."

He was proposing that we manage these risks together.

I was well aware of Elon Mask's extremist human-salvation doctrine, and Jesus fully understood how abominable the World Tree was.

So I nodded readily and said.

"A—men."

There was absolutely nothing to lose from joining forces.

Besides, hadn't I glimpsed a fragment of Jesus's true power?

The heavens.

The atmosphere.

And beyond, the cosmos.

That Authority, manifested to cleave through everything and show me a single man.

A power so formidable it pierced the Dimensional Wall blanketing Earth and exposed the universe.

'Absolute......'

It reminded me of the moment my swords had cooperated to annihilate the Axis of Impurity.

In that brief instant, Jesus had displayed a realm beyond Transcendence.

What the system had called "the Absolute."

A single fragment hinting at what lay beyond Transcendence.

From this, I gained one certainty.

'Even so, it doesn't match my swords.'

The instant my swords' souls Manifested on Earth.

I would become the strongest.

Even Jesus's formidable Authority was on par with what my swords could achieve under restrictions.

And.......

"Brother, the moment you break through those restrictions, you will ascend to the highest place."

As if reading that thought, Jesus said so with a complicated expression.

"However...... I, Jesus Christ, will never become your enemy, so please stop sizing me up."

I sheepishly turned my head away.

Gauging a new power the moment you see it is just instinct—can't help it.

After a moment to collect our thoughts, Jesus and I forged a secret pact.

"Should the satanic tree attempt to betray you, brother, I, Jesus Christ, shall deliver certain punishment."

Jesus would help me watch over the World Tree, my liability.

"If Elon returns to Earth, I'll latch a horde of demons onto him and have them surveilling him around the clock."

I would help manage Jesus's liability.

"You agreed remarkably fast. Why?"

Jesus asked.

I had a reason that was all too obvious.

"I also found that grimoire's contents profoundly disagreeable."

Knowingly letting yourself be betrayed?

Something that could absolutely never exist in my dictionary.

My swords felt the same way.

Whenever we and my swords saw even the slightest sign of betrayal, we'd severed the head on the spot and nipped it in the bud.

As was only proper.

And so—.

'All preparations are complete.'

World Tree planted—condition met.

Mystery efficiency for reshaping—secured.

Liabilities perfectly managed through cooperation with Jesus.

All that remained was executing what I'd prepared.

***

The Japanese Prime Minister's Residence, grand conference hall.

In the span of a single day, something enormous had occurred.

Because of it, every government official, the Prime Minister included, was in a state of near-collapse.

"Two hundred million Awakened in China......"

The horrors of North Korea and the reality of China, relayed by the Transcendents Yuki and Yacha.

Japan's politicians couldn't escape the shock.

"Kuso!!!"

Lamentations filled the room.

The true face of an unequivocal enemy nation—China—had surfaced.

"Hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops......"

And amid all this, an issue they could not ignore had landed squarely before them.

A problem even bigger than China's two hundred million Awakened.

That problem was—.

"Are you telling me that Patriot truly annihilated three hundred thousand Chinese troops?"

The extreme Korean-supremacist.

The problem of the Patriot.

A terrifying Transcendent who'd always harbored animosity toward Japan.

He'd only accepted the Korea-Japan alliance thanks to Si-woo's mediation—he absolutely did not view Japan favorably.

"When the portals were being installed in Korea, he dragged you behind the carrier, didn't he, Yuki?"

'The abominable World Tree's lackey!'

—was what the Patriot had called Yuki as he relentlessly harassed her.

Yet she'd gritted her teeth and endured.

'That scent.'

It was because of the phytoncide fragrance of the Earth Mother—the World Tree—emanating from the Patriot.

Yuki had no intention of explaining all that, so she simply nodded and spoke flatly.

"If the Patriot detonates a carrier, all of Tokyo gets wiped out."

The Japanese weren't "regenerating" people like the Chinese forces—they were ordinary human beings.

That made them all the more desperate.

That Patriot was.......

"According to the Korean President, he'll be returning alongside King Sejong the Great."

"Kuso!!! Chikushō!!!"

In accordance with the Korea-US-Japan Transcendent Accord.

The Korean government had announced the Patriot's Tower entry.

In response, Japan had placed its own Transcendents on standby, ready to deploy to Korea at a moment's notice.

That was when they'd received the intel.

"Yi Sun-sin alone was this much trouble......"

What would happen when King Sejong the Great arrived?

Had twelve flying aircraft carriers raining unmanned bomber drones not been enough?

Japan's Transcendents and politicians alike kept heaving sighs of lament.

And so they reached their conclusion.

"Let us hand over His Majesty the Emperor first."

The Japanese Prime Minister made his decision.

Naturally, many elderly politicians objected.......

"His Majesty hasn't done anything yet. Why are we talking about handing him over like a war criminal?"

"Even so, let us hand him over. There is a strong possibility that the very existence of the Emperor will become a sin. Even keeping him as a card to play is an enormous political liability."

"B-but...... Japan's history and traditions—."

The objections of ordinary civilian politicians held no weight here.

When the pushback intensified, SSS-rank Hunter Yacha stepped forward and folded the conference table in half.

Then said:

"We hand over the Emperor. That's settled."

Yacha had witnessed the absolute power of Korea's Transcendents.

He'd seen the divine thunderbolt—even more chilling than the Patriot's self-destruct.

That thunderbolt which had transcended time and distance to manifest a phenomenon.

The terrifying power that had decapitated China's Guan Yu in a single blow.

Yuki shared that understanding and sided with Yacha.

"There's a bigger problem than the Patriot right now."

Consensus was reached unanimously.

Yuki tried to use the opening to deliver a warning about Si-woo.

"More than the Patriot, the unidentified power that Si-woo possesses—."

But before she could finish, an anomaly interrupted.

"Th-the Korean government just made an emergency announcement!!!"

Transcendent Shin Si-woo and President Lee Seok-hyeon had appeared at an official event.

Si-woo stood beside the President in garments that looked like something out of an imperialist's wardrobe, and the President, clearly conscious of Si-woo's gaze, began his address.

<As of today, I, Lee Seok-hyeon, step down from the presidency to serve our nation's great purpose.>

Transcendent Shin Si-woo, dressed in attire befitting an emperor.

And President Lee Seok-hyeon's announcement that he was leaving office.

"Good heavens......"

The Emperor was the least of their worries right now.

A Great Korean Empire was about to be born.

Just as that fear gripped everyone's minds.

<As a clean-living public servant sustained by the people's taxes, it is my will—as President Lee Seok-hyeon—to become a Hunter of the Republic of Korea after stepping down and fight our nation's catastrophes.>

Something even stranger followed.

"A Hunter? It's not like you can become an Awakened just because you want to......"

Of course, Korea had the unique precedent of the Jeonju Void.

But that had been a kind of miracle born from a catastrophe that befell people dragged into a Gate.

'Maybe he'll Awaken first and then step down......'

Over a hundred people had gathered in the Prime Minister's residence.

Yet an eerie silence fell.

That was how bizarre the announcement was.

Through the silence, the WorldNet broadcast continued.

<The Republic of Korea can now select 'Natural Awakened' with sound mental states through a rigorous volunteer screening process.>

President Lee Seok-hyeon declared himself the program's first participant, pledging to become a public-service Hunter of Korea.

"How on earth do they plan to produce Natural Awakened?"

Even Jesus couldn't mass-produce Natural Awakened.

Creating Naturals en masse—not even Induced Awakened—made no sense.

But.......

<In Pyongyang, managed by Shin Si-woo, specific conditions and environments will be prepared for Awakening to occur safely.>

True to Korean form, extremely detailed and specific information was shared in accordance with the Patriot's Special Law.

And the reason behind disclosing such monumental information was also made clear.

<Pyongyang, which will be renamed at a later date as Shin Si-woo's territory, houses the Inviolable Fortress, and our government—.>

A special fortress built by a Transcendent and recognized by the world.

A zone designated as Territory with absolute rights guaranteed.

"So they're reshaping the land of Pyongyang to concentrate and manage Gates in one area, and......"

The Korean President's explanation was concise and crystal-clear.

"People who enter coffins and endure inside a Gate become Natural Awakened?"

It was deeply shocking.

Because its meaning was.......

"They're putting citizens in coffins and turning them into Awakened?"

Exactly that.

Everyone was struck silent with horror.

Even amid this pandemonium, Japan's Transcendent, the half-elf Yuki, maintained her composure.

In truth, her attention was entirely elsewhere.

SWOOOSH———.

The phytoncide fragrance of the World Tree, originating from Pyongyang.

That fresh, green scent that had crossed the sea and arrived in Japan.

Yuki was utterly enveloped in that fragrance.

'Sniff, sniff...... wh-why is Mother's scent here?'

That scent—just as the real World Tree had always done—conveyed its will to Yuki.

—My child, if you are out there, can you hear me?

'M-Mother!!! Yuki can hear you!'

The World Tree's will.

The message that had crossed the sea said this:

—I want to live!