Chapter 163
Kankun tilted his head.
The moment they entered Zone 3, Park Chan-woo suddenly vanished.
‘Where did he go?’
Unless he had teleported, there was no way he could disappear so abruptly.
He was completely committed to purifying the temple.
He wouldn’t abandon Zone 3 and run elsewhere.
Therefore—
‘Something in Zone 3 must have pulled him in.’
The zone’s own power must have taken him.
But it was strange.
Park Chan-woo’s form was not something that could be forcibly summoned easily.
If something had forcibly pulled him in, then it possessed an extraordinary rank.
‘…Park Chan-woo. His rank is different. With Adora’s Wish and my heart, he surpasses most beings by default.’
And beyond that—
The ‘death’ hidden inside Park Chan-woo was monstrous enough to be nauseating.
A being that wielded the realm of nothingness, extended into the domain of negative existence, and had no discernible limits.
Even compared to anyone Kankun had met—even compared to Abyssal lords—forcing Park Chan-woo into a summoning should have been impossible.
“…Pandarian?”
Soon, a species entered Kankun’s vision.
Zone 3 was ruled by none other than the Pandarians.
Unlike the beings of Zones 1 and 2, they retained much of their original form.
But their eyes were still blank and white, as if they had lost all reason, staring at Kankun and the warriors.
“Amazing. Naga, and now the Pandarians…”
Priest Yan spoke in shock.
Both Naga and Pandarians were believed to be extinct.
Creatures that had disappeared long ago and survived only in written records.
Yet even within the Abyss, both races were famous.
Naga—dragonlike magic users.
And Pandarians—the sage race!
“I’ve heard their spirit is as steadfast as a great mountain, so much so that even demons clicked their tongues. That must be why they still retain their form inside this temple.”
“…I’ve heard that too. Our ancestors once sought the Pandarians’ counsel.”
Pandarians lived in mountains and forests.
They resembled pandas but were far larger, and embedded in their foreheads was a turquoise stone known as the “Gem of Wisdom.”
Within it, they stored their wisdom and soul.
They preserved knowledge and observed the world with clarity.
They loved peace and revered purity.
Countless races sought their advice.
The problem had been the demons of the Abyss.
When the Abyss first connected to the Pandarians’ world, demons coveted the Gems of Wisdom in their foreheads.
‘The demons desperately desired the Gem of Wisdom but never obtained it.’
Realizing the war was unwinnable, the Pandarians destroyed their own gems.
Every last one of them, without exception.
That was how noble their spirit had been.
‘Even though the souls of dead Pandarians have been shaped into bodies, their Gems of Wisdom are not here.’
Their foreheads had only the indentation where the gem had once been.
…This temple had been built by Ahheta himself.
According to Priest Yan and the orcs, Ahheta was reshaping souls to create new life.
Warrior orcs, magic-using naga, sage Pandarians—what exactly was he trying to create?
“It seems they don’t intend to fight.”
“…Let’s wait for now.”
Kankun decided.
He didn’t want to attack Pandarians with no fighting intent.
‘There’s still one who retains reason.’
Even the Orc Lord and Naga Queen had lost their minds.
It was fascinating.
He was also excited—meeting a species of legend.
So Kankun chose to wait a bit longer.
For Park Chan-woo to return.
He wasn’t worried.
The Park Chan-woo he knew always performed miracles, no matter the crisis.
—
A massive pupil.
At the end of a deep, cave-like darkness, a giant panda leaned against the wall holding a staff.
Without hesitation, Park Chan-woo spoke.
“Are you the Pandarian King who summoned me?”
“Yes. Warrior of Arahan, who possesses an unyielding spirit.”
The Pandarian King’s voice cracked like cobwebs splitting.
His eyes were lifeless and white, and his body was so thin his bones showed.
But embedded in his forehead was the “Gem of Wisdom.”
Though it didn’t shine the way legends described, its presence proved his consciousness.
“You entered to purify the Temple of Death, did you not?”
“That’s right.”
“Stop.”
“…Why?”
Park Chan-woo tilted his head.
In Zones 1 and 2, after obtaining their essences and purifying them, the souls had been saved.
If he hadn’t, they would have suffered forever.
Losing themselves and living eternally as hideous monsters.
Yet now he was being told to stop?
“You must not awaken the Outer God. The way he grants wishes is never peaceful…”
“I know.”
Outer Gods belonged to the Great Rift.
Those destroyers were never peaceful.
The Temple of Death alone made that clear.
‘Ahheta wanted to create the strongest lifeform. This temple is the result. He kept infusing death to achieve it.’
The Outer God must have taught him the method.
Like a God of Offerings.
Meaning—
The Outer God may also know how to remove his [Terminal] status.
He only needed the method.
Just knowing it was possible would be enough.
The rest, he could handle himself.
“If the Outer God awakens, he will devour the countless souls stored here. The zones you’ve purified are only tiny fragments. Far more races and souls lie buried deeper within the temple…”
The Pandarian King’s voice trembled with worry.
Meaning: what they saw was not all there was.
Of course the Temple of Death wasn’t only four zones and four species.
It was only divided that way for the sake of the Legendary Quest.
Purifying the entire temple within the “Third Night” was impossible.
In other words—
‘The Outer God set this all up?’
This Legendary Quest existed so the Outer God could resurrect himself.
By devouring countless souls and reviving in full.
If what the Pandarian King said was true, the aftermath would spread across the entire Abyss.
However—
“He was defeated and sealed by Ahheta anyway, wasn’t he?”
Park Chan-woo was unfazed.
A being weaker than Ahheta was sealed.
Just like Conqueror Khan, the King of Valhalla.
But the Pandarian King disagreed.
“The Outer God chose to be sealed.”
“Chose to lose on purpose?”
“Yes. To become the strongest lifeform.”
The strongest lifeform.
The same thing Ahheta wished for.
Meaning their goals aligned, so they staged a false defeat.
Yet it still didn’t make sense.
“Why would a being of the Great Rift obsess over life?”
“To avoid entanglement with the Great Nine Lords. They possess the only ‘weapon’ capable of hunting the extradimensional beings of the Great Rift.”
The sea beasts of the Rift could devour dimensions.
Yet the Rift occurred many times.
And the Abyss survived every time.
All thanks to the Great Nine Lords.
Perhaps this was why demons answered to them absolutely.
“Anyway… if the Eternal Outer God awakens and becomes the ‘strongest lifeform,’ even the Great Nine Lords would be beneath him. Their weapon wouldn’t work. He would become a monster that endlessly devours souls. The Abyss may collapse.”
Stop now.
Before everything ends.
That was the Pandarian King’s warning.
Park Chan-woo simply smirked.
“And if I refuse?”
He understood the concern—but nothing had happened yet.
And everything the Pandarian King said was still speculation.
Even sage races made wrong choices.
Giving up without trying didn’t suit him.
And if he stopped here, humanity would perish.
‘I must prevent the Temple of Death from being summoned to Earth.’
Stopping was never an option.
Stopping meant the extinction of humanity.
At that moment—
“…Then I must stop you by force. Warrior of Arahan.”
Vwooooom!
Blue light enveloped the Pandarian King.
Park Chan-woo spoke immediately.
“Strike down with force—Heaven’s Wrath.”
BOOOOM!
KWAaaaaaaaaaaaang!
Nearly 300 mana ignited, forming a violent storm of lightning.
The Pandarian King swung his staff.
Then—
Crackle!
Rumble!
…Heaven’s Wrath bent off-course.
It struck the cave wall instead of the Pandarian King.
‘Mana interference?’
He had interfered with the massive flow of mana and forcibly redirected it.
A shocking feat.
Interfering with another’s magic wasn’t simply about having high mana.
‘How high is his Intelligence?’
One needed high Intelligence to perform such interference.
As expected of the king of the wisdom race.
“Ordinary magic will not work on me.”
“…So it seems.”
Likely due to the rank of Heaven’s Wrath.
His mana was high, but Heaven’s Wrath was only Unique rank.
A monster like the Pandarian King could easily interfere with it.
‘I need higher-ranked magic—or a sword.’
He couldn’t get higher magic right now.
Creating it was impossible without higher class levels.
What he needed was a sword.
A proper sword.
But he had none.
As Park Chan-woo paused, the Pandarian King spoke again.
“Give up now. Then I will spare you. I do not wish to kill a warrior of Arahan…”
“Ajos.”
“…?”
“Awaken.”
KUaAAAAAA!
In that instant, from the depths of Park Chan-woo’s shadow—
Ajos roared awake.