Chapter 469
“This atmosphere is better than I expected. I thought you’d all be on guard, trying to kill one another.”
“Everyone who comes here thinks that at first. But we’re all just people abandoned by this damned world, aren’t we? At least among ourselves, we should be friendly.”
“I see.”
But they were not abandoned.
They had abandoned their worlds themselves.
Yet they called themselves forsaken. Taesan hid his sneer behind a sip of liquor.
“Come! Let’s enjoy ourselves!”
They laughed and feasted, celebrating in a small, rowdy gathering. Taesan silently raised his cup, all the while coldly observing the pawns.
‘They’re at Immortal level.’
Barely, but each of them had reached that threshold.
They were by no means weak. Any one of them could easily annihilate a world as if taking a stroll.
But against Taesan as he was now, they were nothing.
After watching them briefly, Taesan spoke again.
“Still, I’m surprised. I thought I was alone. But there are this many in the same situation?”
“Well, the Old Gods aren’t exactly generous with information. They’re busy beings.”
“I happened upon one by chance and made a contract. I don’t know much about the rest. May I ask you?”
“Of course! Ask whatever you like! What do you want to know?”
The man was exceedingly kind. Taesan asked,
“I’m curious about the big picture. About the Old Gods. And about you.”
“Starting there, huh? Fine. I’ll explain.”
The man began to talk.
He explained the Old Gods, how they had made contracts, and more. Most of it Taesan already knew.
But spoken from the Old Gods’ side, it was twisted.
“This world was originally theirs! Transcendents—those without rightful claim—drove them out and stole their place!”
The Old Gods had existed before the universe itself. Transcendents had appeared afterward. In simple terms, the man was not wrong.
But the Great Demon, Baal, had said it before.
That the Old Gods and demons, beings from before creation, bore original sin.
That they were ones who denied the flow of the ages.
Such words could not come from beings of true rightful stature.
“I see.”
Taesan nodded calmly. The man, encouraged, raised his voice even higher.
“I attained the highest realm! I made a world my own. That was the rightful result of my effort!
“But a damned Transcendent intruded! They said my actions were not permitted and tried to kill me! I barely escaped, but I lost everything!”
“Same for me!”
Each shouted their grievances.
The man spread his arms wide.
“Transcendents are the false ones! They must die! They must vanish from this world!”
“Indeed!”
Their frenzied cries echoed.
Taesan responded quietly, listening.
And after a long time, when they calmed somewhat, the information he sought finally emerged.
“In the end, I became a servant of the Foul Corruptor.”
A name of an Old God Taesan had never heard before.
His eyes gleamed.
“The Foul Corruptor?”
“Yes. He takes the greatest interest here. His authority places less burden, so more than half of us here serve him.”
“I see.”
“Other than him, the Endless Darkness interferes fairly often too.”
“Right, those two appear the most.”
Both were new names. Taesan carefully stored the information.
‘So the type of authority determines how easily they can intervene.’
If the authority placed little burden on the world, it was likely close to a law itself. And such authorities were easiest to use.
Taesan asked,
“Does the World Breaker intervene rarely, then?”
“Right. That’s why you’re so surprising. I’ve never heard of that god making an apostle. She’s too immense to meddle easily in this world. By the way, if you contracted with her, did you see her true form? How big is she?”
What he had seen was only the Seventh Drop of Blood. It was far from the real thing. He could only lie.
“I don’t know. At least, I couldn’t perceive it.”
“As expected…”
They accepted his answer.
Even at Immortal level, they would know it was normal to fail to grasp the size of an Old God’s true form.
Taesan asked again,
“Does the Empty Horror intervene often?”
“Huh? How do you know of him?”
“I had an encounter.”
“No, he doesn’t interfere often either. Maybe once every few centuries.”
“Come to think of it,” a middle-aged man listening spoke up, “he had an avatar. Always causing chaos wherever it went.”
“Oh, that stubborn one who refused to use the Old God’s power, relying only on his own?”
“Right. Haven’t heard of him lately. What’s he doing?”
“No idea. Maybe off somewhere.”
They discussed among themselves.
Taesan knew who they meant.
It was the avatar he had slain in Levinenov’s world.
‘So they can’t communicate instantly.’
Even as pawns of the Old Gods, they were not that different from ordinary beings.
“He’ll be fine. Anyway, there are other beings too.”
More names spilled from their mouths.
The Worthless One.
The King Beyond.
The One Who Wields the Universe.
The One of All in One.
The Usurper.
“They haven’t shown themselves lately. The Usurper especially—we only know the name.”
“I see.”
“Long ago, during the war with the Transcendents, he fought actively. But that was ages ago. We don’t know the details. His authority is unknown too.”
[…]
Akasha trembled faintly. So slight she likely did not realize herself.
‘So she reacts to the name Usurper.’
Taesan engraved the information in his mind. The man continued,
“And the Monster that Walks Through Time. He’s the one this place’s manager serves.”
“The manager?”
“There’s an avatar of that god here. He manages this place. And he’s terribly strong.”
“So he’s away now?”
Taesan felt no presence of such power here.
“He’s gone to destroy a world. He’s busy.”
“I envy him… I want to be an avatar too…” someone muttered wistfully. Taesan’s eyes gleamed quietly.
“I see.”
“Is that enough?”
“Plenty. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
The man patted Taesan’s shoulder.
“We’ll be comrades forever unless you die. Ask anytime.”
“Yes.”
Taesan answered quietly.
They continued talking.
Most of it was tales of how they had destroyed worlds and the resistance they faced, but now and then useful information slipped through.
As Taesan listened, someone suddenly spoke.
“By the way, what happened to him?”
“Who?”
“You know. The one the Old Gods are interested in.”
“Oh, that labyrinth rat? Strange one. Not even contracted, yet he wields their power.”
They spoke of Taesan.
“Shouldn’t we go stop him?”
“No idea. At first our masters seemed inclined, but lately they’ve said nothing. Still, I’d love to smash that fool’s skull myself.”
Taesan gazed at them silently.
“Forget it. He uses the Old Gods’ power. Do you think you could win?”
“Why not? Maybe not alone, but if we all joined forces, we could.”
Silence fell.
“You mean we move ourselves?”
“Why not? We’re idle anyway. That fool is a headache for the Old Gods. Let’s ease their burden.”
“Hmmm…”
The air shifted.
The one who spoke pressed further.
“No matter how strong he is, if we all strike, we can win. Don’t tell me you’re afraid?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if he uses their power, he’s a rat who stole it without permission. Why fear him?”
“Then what’s stopping you? Let’s find him and tear him apart. Sacrifice him to our masters! They’ll favor us more!”
He whispered persuasively.
“Don’t you want their favor? Kill him, and we’ll earn it.”
The atmosphere changed.
Those who hesitated grew tempted.
“Hmmm…”
“Not a bad idea…”
They would move to kill Taesan.
The opinion leaned that way.
“But we don’t even know what he looks like.”
“Don’t worry. I know.”
The instigator spoke confidently.
“I have a source. Here’s what I heard. Black hair. Black eyes.”
Taesan froze.
“Not white. Asian.”
“And?”
“Everyone knows he uses the Old Gods’ power. And his face…”
He began to describe Taesan’s features one by one.
Taesan was startled. The details were precise.
He had traveled many worlds. It wasn’t strange for spies of the Old Gods to exist.
The conversation grew.
Then a man muttered,
“He sounds a lot like our newbie.”
All eyes turned to Taesan.
The speaker added casually,
“…You’re right.”
“Come on. Pure coincidence. How would he get here? Even Transcendents can’t easily enter.”
“But that fool wields the Old Gods’ power.”
Silence fell again.
The air shifted once more.
Taesan stared at them with a blank face.
“…It must be coincidence.”
The man forced a laugh, clapping Taesan’s shoulder.
“Our newbie couldn’t be that bastard. Why would he come here? This is the Old Gods’ territory. Suicide, right?”
Taesan said nothing.
He only stared expressionlessly.
The man’s smile stiffened. He withdrew his hand.
As he stepped back, Taesan spoke.
“I have one question.”
“O-Oh?”
“Are there differences of rank among the Old Gods?”
“Uh… yes, I’ve heard so… but we don’t know the details.”
“I see. Then the World Breaker is upper-tier, being too vast to easily enter this world. Good. That’s a relief.”
Even just a Seventh Fragment held that much power. If that was the strength of a low-tier Old God, things would be far harder.
[Time to deal with them?]
“I’ve gotten everything I needed.”
Taesan rose.
In his hand, Bardray appeared.
The air tightened, stretched to the limit like a drawn bowstring. Taesan spoke to the frozen crowd.
“You said you’d kill me? Let’s see how.”
“K-Kill him!”
With a scream, the ten pawns of the Old Gods rushed him.
Taesan gripped his sword and swung.
Ash exploded, erasing the building without a trace.