Chapter 175

               

‘…I never thought it would really be the Demon God Gremory.’

Park Chanwoo quietly observed her.

He had somewhat expected it, but to think it was really Gremory of Sorrow!

The most reclusive among the 72 Demon Gods.

The only one among the Demon Gods to be called a queen, known as Sorrow.

Moreover, Demon Gods are literally ‘exceptions.’

Beings who exist outside all the rules of the Abyss.

Tearing through the boundary of the Night is nothing to her.

Not only that, she instantly stripped the qualification of the Master of the Moon, Ahetta.

‘Was the title of Night Administrator also given by the Demon Gods?’

Night Administrator.

The most powerful weapon Ahetta possessed.

It seemed the management of the ‘Night’ was originally a title bestowed by the Demon Gods.

And not just that.

She forcibly triggered a settlement and bankrupted him.

As easily as if she were yawning.

She accomplished in one swift move what he, despite giving his all across all Nights, wasn’t sure he could achieve.

‘Did she…… help me?’

Frankly, he was half in doubt.

All Park Chanwoo had done was hand her the ‘Ring of the Dead’s Oath.’

During the first Night, when he killed the Game Master ‘Andariel’ through the Grim Reaper of the Covenant.

Kim Byung-han used the authority of the ‘Creator of the Invisible Hand,’ with whom he had a contract, to steal the ‘Ring of the Dead’s Oath’ that Andariel was wearing.

That fact was discovered by the Demon God Gremory, and he was sniped.

At the time, Park Chanwoo had persuaded Kim Byung-han to return the ring to Gremory.

‘For simply returning one ring, this is an extremely unconventional course of action.’

…Perhaps this level of action is nothing special to a Demon God.

Or maybe she really did have a deep relationship with Andariel.

Park Chanwoo forcibly erased his thoughts.

When he first encountered her, the oppressive aura of the Demon God made him feel like he was going to lose his mind, but during this second meeting, he could face her quite composedly.

【I kept my promise.】

Gremory indifferently uttered a single phrase.

Promise.

Not long ago, she had said her help would reach him.

By appearing directly and saving his life, it could be called a perfect repayment.

Park Chanwoo also nodded.

“Thanks to you, I’m alive. Thank you.”

Even though he had the title of ‘Lord Slayer,’ it still seemed too early to face the Lord of Demons head-on.

He had used every available skill to its fullest, yet couldn’t even touch Ahetta.

He thought he could at least inflict one wound, but it was completely ineffective.

If Gremory hadn’t helped, he wouldn’t be here right now.

【No need for thanks. Ahetta was an unqualified fellow from the start.】

A voice that felt somehow chilling.

It seemed the Demon God Gremory had viewed Ahetta negatively from the beginning.

Indeed, for a Master of the Moon once called the equal of the Demon King, he had many flaws.

He was greedy, and often showed a foolish side, enough to make Han Shin his incarnation and ultimately get betrayed.

If a more thorough creator had taken the position of ‘Night Administrator,’ it wouldn’t have been easy for him to be active across all Nights.

Park Chanwoo slowly voiced what he was curious about.

“Who will be the administrator of the next ‘Night’?”

The third Night was over.

The Night administered by Ahetta had also ended.

But in the true sense, the ‘Night’ wasn’t over.

【I cannot tell you.】

He thought as much.

Park Chanwoo shrugged his shoulders and asked again.

“What was your relationship with Game Master Andariel?”

……It might have been a somewhat rude question, but he simply couldn’t hold back.

Game Master Andariel was a high-ranking demon.

Just a common demon, trampled under the feet of the Demon Gods.

He was curious what relationship a high-ranking demon and a Demon God could have that involved giving the ‘Ring of the Dead’s Oath’ and sniping Kim Byung-han for his honor.

【He was my distant younger sibling. He was so happy to get a useful role in the ‘First Night.’ A foolish fellow.】

Gremory answered truthfully.

He had expected her not to answer at all.

By the way… he thought they might be lovers or something, but distant younger sibling.

An unexpected answer, but it seems they were quite close.

Is that why?

She tried hard to believe Park Chanwoo’s lie and called him an ‘honorable human.’

But she must have known.

…That his words were a blatant lie.

「I too wish for Andariel, who fought me under the ‘Abyssal Covenant,’ to enter eternal slumber. I acted on my own for the honor of a worthy adversary; I desire nothing.」

Recalling the memory, Park Chanwoo inwardly shook his head.

He had just been struggling to survive in front of the Demon God Gremory.

Andariel was not honorable at all.

He abused his authority and frequently overstepped his bounds.

He openly took bribes or nitpicked to interfere however he could.

Could the Demon God Gremory really not have known about Andariel’s behavior like that?

She called him a distant younger sibling, but she sniped Kim Byung-han and revealed herself directly. It meant their relationship was quite close.

Therefore.

“Andariel was far from honorable.”

In return for her honest answer, Park Chanwoo also conveyed the truth.

She had continued to call him an ‘honorable human.’

She even saved him from the brink of death because of his blatant lie.

The reason he suddenly told the truth had little to do with pangs of conscience.

‘I must correct it now.’

If Gremory knew the truth and he continued to maintain a false attitude, an even greater danger might come crashing down, so he was making a preemptive move.

Of course, it was a dangerous move.

Gremory could change her mind and kill him.

But wasn’t it better than all of humanity being erased?

【I know.】

Gremory answered impassively, as if it were nothing.

…As expected.

She acknowledged that Andariel’s usual conduct was far from honorable.

Likewise, she must have known that Park Chanwoo’s words were false.

Park Chanwoo took a deep breath and continued to speak.

“I am also not an honorable human at all, Demon God Gremory.”

It was a request not to call him an ‘honorable human’ anymore.

Then.

Swoooosh.

A pure white ‘Door’ formed in front of Gremory.

She immediately walked into the door and said.

【…Human who knows honor, let us meet again.】

Thud!

Immediately after, the door closed.

Before he knew it, the figure of the Demon God Gremory had vanished without a trace.

She had returned to her castle.

……He survived.

But more puzzling than the relief of survival was Gremory’s final words.

Because she called him an ‘honorable human’ until the very end.

‘Meet again?’

He couldn’t easily grasp what that meant.

However, he shouldn’t assume that if they met again, she would be as favorable as today.

Gremory was merely keeping the words she had spoken.

From the beginning, there couldn’t possibly be a Demon God who feels goodwill towards humans, right?

Thud.

As the tension eased, there was no strength left in his entire body.

He felt completely drained.

Indeed, it wouldn’t be strange if he fainted on the spot.

But he couldn’t faint.

Because.

《You have completed the ‘Third Night’ with a transcendent score!》

《Amazing. A new myth has been written!》

The messages floating before his eyes.

The proper ‘settlement’ hadn’t even started yet.

It was time to receive the countless settlements and rewards from the Unique Achievement, Legendary Quest, and Ahetta’s bankruptcy.

Park Chanwoo began checking the lengthy list of text, so long it was hard to take in at a glance.

《You currently possess 3,260,666 Death Boxes, 25 Death King Boxes, and 1 Death God Box.》

《As the ‘Third Night’ concludes, all boxes will be opened.》

《Calculating the score of the boxes in your possession.》

《Total: 5,200,470,000 points!》

《Searching for rewards corresponding to your score.》

《……No reward matching your score exists in ‘Ahetta’s Treasure Vault.’》

《All ‘Ahetta’s Treasure Vaults’ are currently completely empty.》

《According to the rules, the ‘Hidden Treasure Vault’ is forcibly opened.》

《You have acquired the qualification to enter the ‘Hidden Treasure Vault.’》

B-b-buzz!

He clenched his fist tightly.

‘Hidden Treasure Vault!’

The same vault where he had obtained ‘Baal’s Belt’ during the second Night had appeared again.

He had gained the opportunity to set foot once more in the place Ahetta had hidden away so meticulously, a place that should never have been revealed to the outside.

With this, acquiring a second ‘Zero Rank’ equipment was practically confirmed.

‘There are more rewards.’

But besides the opening of the Hidden Treasure Vault, there were more rewards for completing this ‘Third Night.’

Park Chanwoo continued reading the text.

《You contributed the most to bankrupting the ‘Master of the Moon Ahetta.’》

《The function of the title ‘Lord Slayer’ is enhanced.》

《Your Honor increases significantly.》

《Your rank in the ‘Hall of Fame’ rises by one level.》

《It is replaced with the ‘Immortal Emblem (99).’》

《You can select an additional reward.》

《1. Massive Experience Points (Can achieve +8 Levels)》

《2. 1,000 Coins》

《3. Death Commander-in-Chief Anubis》

《4. Ahetta’s Secret Laboratory》

* * *

The third Night had ended.

Upon hearing the news, people went wild.

“W-we’re alive!”
“It’s over! It’s over!”
“B-but what does it mean that the ‘Master of the Moon Ahetta’ went bankrupt?”
“Whatever it is, we’re alive, that’s what matters!”

It was a war that felt both short and long.
Countless corpses piled up like mountains, so many that no one knew how many had died.

Soon, people’s eyes turned toward Lee Hyuk-soo.

‘We would have all died without him.’
‘Not only is his combat power strong, but his command ability is incredible too.’
‘He is a living god!’

But the man receiving everyone’s intense gazes, Lee Hyuk-soo, showed no sign of relaxing his expression.

The news of Ahetta’s bankruptcy had appeared as a message.

Naturally, the only one who could perform such a miracle was the ‘Prophet.’

But.

‘It feels unsettling.’

A feeling that something was stuck, catching his attention.
A feeling that he had missed a fact he shouldn’t have overlooked.
One truth he absolutely needed to know seemed to have slipped by in all the chaos.

‘What am I missing?’

Lee Hyuk-soo closed his eyes and stroked his chin.

And he replayed the ‘Third Night’ in his mind.

He meticulously examined his memories from beginning to end.

Flash!

Immediately after, Lee Hyuk-soo’s eyes shot wide open.

“Ah!”

It was because he realized.

What he had missed, what he had forgotten.

‘Park Chanwoo!’

That’s right.

The man who belonged to the Warrior faction but whom he had never once encountered.
The strongest, who achieved first place in all rankings and received Gula’s recognition.

He was missing.
He was nowhere to be found.
Even when Anubis appeared and they waged war against the Army of Death.
He couldn’t find anyone who looked like ‘Park Chanwoo’ at all.

Why?

Where was he and what was he doing that made him so hard to find, even though he overwhelmingly achieved first place in all trials?
A person of that caliber should definitely stand out.

“Don’t tell me…….”

Suddenly, one thought flashed through his mind.

But Lee Hyuk-soo quickly shook his head.

It couldn’t be.

No way.

‘Park Chanwoo. Could he be…….’

……the Prophet.