Chapter 164
The Pandarians believed this:
Their wisdom was the solution to every problem.
With wisdom accumulated over countless years, there was no obstacle they could not overcome.
And indeed, thanks to the Pandarians, the world had known peace.
‘A delusion.’
But it was delusion—and arrogance.
It didn’t take long for them to learn everything had been wrong.
‘The moment our world connected to the Abyss, every flaw was exposed.’
After the Abyss erupted—
As demons ravaged their world, the Pandarian King finally realized how foolish they had been.
-Please lend us your wisdom!
-Wisdom to handle these demons!
-Show us how to win!
-We cannot fight without the Pandarians!
Their world had merely relied on the Pandarians for ages.
The idea that the Pandarians’ “wisdom” resolved everything had become an unspoken rule.
But was that truly peace?
‘Our existence caused the world to lose the ability to solve problems.’
None of them could solve anything alone.
Yet the Pandarians had never realized this.
The demons of the Abyss were beings they had never encountered.
Creatures their existing wisdom could not overcome.
But pretending to know the unknown was taboo among the Pandarians.
Feigning understanding was the greatest sin.
Thus, they remained silent.
-Are you abandoning us?
-Pandarians! Why won’t you teach us?
-Weren’t you the ones who knew everything?
-What are we supposed to do…?!
-We can’t do anything without your wisdom!
Their silence caused all races to curse them.
The Pandarians were blamed for the defeat.
Even at the very end, they waited.
Believing the Pandarians would provide an answer.
In the end, the world was ravaged by demons and perished with absurd ease.
‘…There are countless things in this world that cannot be solved with wisdom.’
Only then did they understand:
Not everything could be solved with wisdom alone.
In fact, very few things could.
But it was too late.
Their world had already fallen.
The Pandarians took their own lives so the demons could not take their Gems of Wisdom.
Then came the true tragedy.
Even after death, they could not rest.
They were trapped here in the “Temple of Death.”
Yet unlike the others, the Pandarian King retained his identity.
Likely because of the “Gem of Wisdom” he still possessed.
‘I thought. And thought. And thought without end.’
He forgot how much time had passed.
Time had lost meaning.
He simply continued contemplating endlessly.
What went wrong.
Where everything twisted.
…The answer had always been obvious.
‘Strength. We lacked strength.’
They had no power.
No power to protect themselves.
No determination to solve problems through will rather than wisdom.
Facing demons, merely offering solutions was meaningless.
The Abyss was beyond their system of thought.
Thus, strength was necessary.
Overwhelming strength.
Unbreakable, unyielding, absolute strength that could free everyone.
‘Arahan. You who cling to purity cannot overcome death.’
He sensed an Arahan entering the temple.
Many Arahans had challenged death before, but none surpassed Anubis.
Naturally so.
Their fixation on pure principles resembled the Pandarian fixation on wisdom.
To resist the demons of the Abyss, that stubbornness had to be abandoned.
They needed greed in all directions—only then could death and the Abyss be overcome.
So this one would fail as well.
‘…What is this Arahan?’
But before him now—
This Arahan was different.
He cast magic—then suddenly performed a summon.
And from his shadow emerged a warrior.
Completely unlike any Arahan skill the Pandarian King knew.
Not pure.
Not fixated on one path.
If anything—
Crack!
Steel clashed.
The shadow warrior—Ajos—rushed in like lightning, pressing the Pandarian King.
‘…He feels like a mass of desire.’
He sensed it clearly.
The shadow warrior.
No—the Arahan’s will behind the summon.
A staggering desire to become stronger.
Something no ordinary Arahan ever possessed.
He wondered how someone like this even qualified as an Arahan to begin with.
Shff!
Clang!
And that wasn’t all.
While Ajos attacked head-on, the Arahan himself struck from the side.
This was nothing like an Arahan.
They valued fair combat.
They sought purity in martial arts and never used tricks.
To them, a two-on-one attack was forbidden.
Just as “pretending to know” was taboo for Pandarians.
Yet this Arahan was attacking from two directions without hesitation.
And his swordsmanship—
While it looked wild, it was unmistakably master-level.
‘Magic, summoning, and swordsmanship?’
…Was he truly an Arahan?
Could the current Arahans have accepted someone like this?
There must have been a mistake.
A desire that surpassed even demons, a will to win that rejected shame, an arsenal of techniques far removed from purity.
Yet—
“Heaven’s Wrath.”
Krrrrrrrm!
Magic and sword collided.
Violent lightning engulfed Ajos.
For the first time, Pandarian King spoke with slight surprise.
“Magic imbued…?”
Because he immediately understood how extraordinary the feat was.
Even if his eyes were blind, he was not blind to miracles.
Heaven’s Wrath had been imbued into Ajos and into the sword.
Normally, this should cause mana backlash or shatter the spell.
So few beings in the Abyss could manage such a technique he could count them on one hand.
The only one he could even think of was Sephiro, the Dragon God…
Slash!
But he had no time to think.
One thing was clear:
This Arahan’s mastery of magic and swordsmanship was beyond imagination.
‘Both sword and magic have reached their peak…’
Unbelievable.
Even he, who believed the Arahan’s arts were pure, began doubting his own understanding.
…At first—
He merely intended to drive him out.
Breaking an Arahan’s will was no easy feat, so he expected to expel him through force.
But now—
‘A new kind of Arahan.’
He felt something else:
Interest.
The Gem of Wisdom embedded in his forehead began glowing turquoise.
A treasure trove of all wisdom under the heavens.
And yet—even it contained no record of an Arahan like this.
He was undeniably excited.
Still, only to a point.
He would not allow this Arahan to reach the Outer God.
If the Outer God became the strongest lifeform, only the end would remain.
However—
‘Interesting.’
Pure curiosity.
If this Arahan passed his trial, he planned to offer advice.
How to grow even stronger.
Even the location of “Mountain of Disciples,” where other Arahans gathered.
Their clash continued again and again.
“Your turn, Charpham.”
Slaaash!
Ajos’ body stretched and transformed as the sea beast, the White Whale Charpham, manifested.
“……!!!”
The Pandarian King froze completely.
His pupils widened to the limit.
The Gem of Wisdom blazed brighter.
He wasn’t just surprised.
He was horrified.
Because he could not be mistaken.
That shadow—called Charpham—
“An… Outer God…!!!”
…It was unmistakably an “Outer God” from the Great Rift.
—
‘There’s no time.’
Before Anubis slaughtered all the challengers—
He had to purify this temple.
He had no leisure to converse with the Pandarian King.
‘I’ll defeat him as fast as possible.’
For that, he used everything.
Even summoning Ajos, who should have remained in the arena.
But the Pandarian King was stronger than expected.
Even attacking together with mana-enhanced Ajos, they struggled to land a clean hit.
If Kankun had been here, things would differ—but purifying the entire Temple of Death alone was impossible for him.
‘…At least level 100. A monster of the 11th Realm.’
There was only one option left.
Summon Charpham and unleash “divine power.”
If he used the same power that obliterated Conqueror Khan’s palace, it should also work on the Pandarian King.
But the moment he summoned the Outer God—
“…So that is how it is.”
The Pandarian King’s expression softened.
He looked shocked at first, but then seemed to accept something.
“You must be the one I have been waiting for.”
“……”
Park Chan-woo made no expression.
He had no idea what the Pandarian King meant.
But it seemed he had identified the White Whale Charpham as an “Outer God.”
“Earlier, I said only the Great Nine Lords possess weapons that can hunt Outer Gods, but the Gem of Wisdom once showed me something else. That someone who was not one of the Nine Lords succeeded in hunting an Outer God.”
The Pandarian King’s gaze trembled.
His gem contained the knowledge of all previous kings.
And trapped here for ages, thinking endlessly, it had grown even more powerful.
Perhaps because of that—
The Gem of Wisdom had shown him countless hidden memories.
Unknown history of the Abyss.
Stories of the Great Nine Lords, Demon Gods, Demon Kings…
But more fascinating than demons—
Was the memory of someone else.
A being who was not a demon yet possessed power equal to a demon.
A man who rivaled the Great Nine Lords themselves.
He was the “origin of Arahan.”
One who mastered ultimate martial arts and hunted extradimensional Outer Gods.
A record lost to all current Arahans.
‘…It must be him.’
This Arahan before him—who wielded sword, magic, and even an Outer God flawlessly—
He was surely the one the Pandarian King had been waiting for.
Thus, his voice trembled.
“Are you… the descendant of the Heavenly Demon?”