Chapter 305
Seong-Il was still concerned when he returned from the most recent battle. Mary had joined them in the Final Stage. At first glance, she seemed to have become much more positive, but he soon realized that she was just hiding her cruel self behind a smile. Thus, he knew that she would never keep Lee Soo-Ah alive if she encountered the other woman, who would appear as the general commander of the Baclan Corps.
However, there was no way for him to intervene. He was a.s.signed under Osiris. Also, there were swarms of monsters between each corps. Even if it was possible, he had given a secret order to secure [The Book of Death 1] that Necromancer Shaimar, the general commander of the Barba Corps, held. Therefore, he couldn’t leave Osiris’s side.
Odin might have given Osiris the same order, but he didn’t seem to fully trust him. That was why he had purposefully a.s.signed Seong-Il to Osiris’s corps instead of Tae-Han’s or Mary’s group and ordered him to watch Osiris closely.
Seong-Il had met all kinds of people on the way to the Final Stage. However, Osiris had the most unpleasant vibe out of all of them. His real name was Joshua von Karjan. He was one of the five owners of the seats in the semicircle and was a foreigner who had been working under Odin since a long time ago, before the Stage of Advent.
Rumor had it that he was the founder of the old Revolucion and was a famous figure in the outside world. He had also made a speech during the press conference that predicted the Stage of Advent. But Seong-Il didn’t remember much about it.
Seong-Il scratched his nose out of habit, then looked at Osiris. Osiris was alone again after returning from battle. To be exact, the hooded man never gave anyone explicit permission to approach him. He was sitting by himself, looking at the ground, but it somehow gave off the impression that he was screaming in agony. There seemed to be a greater danger looming around him now than when he was actively battling.
Moreover, even Osiris’s immediate subordinates looked dangerous. Whenever he saw them exchanging looks and whispering to each other, it reminded him of a bunch of evil spirits having a meeting together. In fact, the other Awakened were frightened of Osiris and his people.
Will I even be able to stop him?
If Osiris violated Odin’s orders and took [The Book of Death 1] for himself... Seong-Il wasn’t confident that he would be able to stop him. He would definitely try, but Osiris was the third strongest in the rankings after Mary. A large number of strong Awakened had joined during the Final Stage, but Osiris was on a whole other level. Well, of course, excluding Odin and Mary.
Then, one of the camp executives approached Seong-Il.
“Mr. Caliber.”
This executive was under Osiris, and he was accompanied by a Korean interpreter. The two of them also seemed to be conscious about Osiris as the latter was watching them. Seong-Il immediately grasped the reason why they had come and stood up. They relocated to the spot where Osiris couldn’t see them.
“Are you done figuring it out?” Seong-Il asked.
“He said yes,” the interpreter translated.
“What about the first floor’s boundary?”
The interpreter shook his head. “He said nothing has happened so far.”
“Then, go ahead.”
The interpreter suddenly said, “He is asking if you remember Act Two, Stage One.”
“Yes, of course.”
“He said it’s easy to understand if you think of it as having our situations being switched around.”
“Stop talking about stuff I already know,” Seong-Il replied while looking back. The lightning that Odin had created was connecting the sky and the earth, and the light was very bright. It was so bright that it was difficult to check his notification window.
[Until the first weakening: 6 days 14 hours 32 minutes 51 seconds]
“What I’m curious about is what I should destroy to weaken the monsters right away. There is one more thing to consider besides waiting until the time limit ends. We should weaken them as much as possible, then sweep them away. Don’t you think so?”
The interpreter said, “There are small altars set up, and he thinks they are the ones.”
“He thinks? Why is he not sure about it?” Seong-Il prodded.
“He said he is sure it’s the altar. He needs the leaders.h.i.+p’s decision about it.”
Seong-Il grimaced. “There are so many rats out there. By the way, how are you going to deal with the plague? We will be screwed if we try attacking the altars under only an a.s.sumption, leading to increased casualties. You guys have been through the previous Stage. Do you now know what happens if they go nuts?”
The executive hesitated and didn’t answer. Seong-Il frowned as he had noticed that the executive was purposefully avoiding the question.
“Hey, hasn’t he been under Osiris from the beginning? That’s what I heard,” Seong-Il asked the interpreter.
The interpreter nodded. “Yes, that’s what I know, too. He said Osiris will listen if you talk to him…”
Seong-Il growled, “Ah, so I’m a pushover, but Osiris is scary, right? What an a.s.shole. He definitely doesn’t know why I’m called the Caliber. Should I teach you now, you motherf.u.c.ker? I’m not just a caliber. I’m the Human Caliber. Stop pus.h.i.+ng your responsibility onto others.”
Seong-Il also felt uncomfortable at the thought of having a conversation with Osiris.
This world had been united into one stage, but four camps were carrying out independent missions since the Light Pillars were being used by the Seven Demon Kings on each side.
Osiris was the absolute ruler here. If he acted unexpectedly, then there was no way to stop him.
There is no reason why he would do that, but what if he suddenly decides to attack me?
“He is claiming that I misinterpreted his words to you, but I did it correctly.”
The interpreter was also at a loss now.
“You know me, right? There are so many out there who got killed after considering me easy. Are you going to understand me when I crush your head?” Seong-Il stared at the executive, then turned toward the interpreter.
“Tell him that I’ll let it slide because this was his first time annoying me. Also, make sure you tell him how scary I am.”
“I’m sorry.” The interpreter bent his waist immediately.
Seong-Il continued, “I understand that being the person in the middle of a conflict is hard. But there will be an uproar if you mistranslate things, okay? Be more responsible for what you do.”
“Yes, Mr. Caliber.”
Seong-Il tapped the interpreter’s shoulder and got up.
Whoosh.
He raised his fist as if he would hit the executive. Well, that was what it looked like from the executive’s perspective. However, the fist rushed toward the executive’s nose but didn’t hit. It wasn’t until a strong wind pressure buffeted the executive’s face that he realized what had happened.
Seong-Il turned around and he said to the interpreter, who was standing blankly, “What are you doing? Let’s go see Osiris.”
***
The interpreter was an intelligent guy who could speak both German and English fluently. However, he fumbled like a moron in front of Osiris. A brief reply came out of Osiris’s dark hood, and Seong-Il turned to the interpreter.
“He said… it’s worth a try…” the man stuttered.
Seong-Il snarled, “I don’t think that’s what he said. Ugh, I should learn German. This drives me crazy. Tell him that I will join too.”
The interpreter timidly added, “He is asking how much your Plague Resistance is.”
Seong-Il impatiently responded, “Tell him that my figure is pretty high and that I don’t need a healer. He doesn’t need to worry about it. Hey. Hey! Don’t pa.s.s on what I said directly. Sugarcoat the words a bit, okay?”
“Yes, for sure. Don’t worry.”
After the interpreter finished, Seong-Il could tell that Osiris was smiling even though he wasn’t making any noise. His eyes were so frightening. It was as if he could see into Seong-Il’s soul and saw something funny. Also, the sour and disgusting smell that came off of Osiris was unpleasant. This was why Seong-Il was reluctant to get close to Osiris.
While Osiris was calling his immediate subordinates over by using his long fingernails that came out from the broad sleeves, Seong-Il thought it was fortunate that Osiris was under Odin’s control. After the Final Stage ended, even these people would go outside, where his only son Ki-Cheol was. Those who were more brutal and cruel than monsters would pour out there.
Everything will be messed up if Odin is not there. It might even be worse than here.
Seong-Il became still with those thoughts running through his head.
Soon, the whispers that were coming from Osiris and his people stopped. What Osiris said while looking at Seong-Il was delivered through the interpreter, “He said you can partic.i.p.ate in this.”
After that, a detached force was organized. The center was those who were bracing up for the battle lines on the seventh floor of the boundary where the Light Pillar was standing, and Osiris and his attack team took the lead.
On the way down to the second-floor boundary, Seong-Il witnessed people setting up magic traps. Others were securing food and water.
Then, Seong-Il reached the first floor. The report ‘all serene’ only meant that they were protecting the boundary there, not that there had been no sacrifices. Corpses were strewn around everywhere, and the stuff dripping from the walls were blood and guts. A considerable number of the enemy had been killed by Seong-Il during the first battle, but the battles that had taken place during his absence resulted in more deaths.
Fortunately, neither the high-ranking plague sorcerers nor the necromancers were able to use their real power under the protection inside the boundary of the Light Pillar. If the power that controlled death which turned the victims into ghouls was used within the area, the war situation would proceed out of control and many would die.
Seong-Il gazed at the man approaching Osiris. He was William Spencer, but he was more widely known by his nickname, ‘Chiron.’
I heard he is a long-distance dealer and healer at the same time, right? He must be handy.
William Spencer had joined as the leader of Revolucion (3) during the preparation period of the Final Stage. He was also one of the owners of the five seats in the semicircle.
Seong-Il didn’t regard all of them in a good light. Chiron looked kind even when he scolded his subordinates. Seong-Il thought he should have given off more of an air of danger like Osiris. If such a guy decided to betray them, then he would faint due to stress.
I should be careful. It"s not because I"m afraid of them. It"s because I don"t want their dirt rubbing off on me.
If Seong-Il had been a.s.signed to either Mary’s or Tae-Han’s camp, then there would be no reason for him to be this uneasy. He couldn’t help but feel that he was all alone in the enemy camp.
***
The place filled with the bodies of Awakened and monsters was bound to be the end of the boundary. To get outside of the boundary, he had to remove the bodies that had piled up. Those who had already died were basically useless trash. Hence, Awakened with high Strength like Seong-Il simply kicked the obstacles out of their way.
When the whole detached force broke through the boundary…
What’s going to happen in an A-cla.s.s gate if a B-cla.s.s gate is this difficult? What about an S-cla.s.s gate?
The endless army of the Barba Corps unfolded in front of him. The whole land was colored in black, and the degree of contamination was so high that it was something that could only be seen in a C-cla.s.s dungeon.
We should add more healers… Mmm… Never mind. How can we go through that? If the necromancers join them…
When Seong-Il confirmed the Barba corps’ manpower, he changed his mind. He wasn’t Odin. In fact, even the dangerous Osiris couldn’t be compared to Odin. If his team endured the time limit, then the monsters would gradually weaken anyway. That was the key to the victory that Odin had prepared.
Seong-Il asked while looking at the point where he heard Osiris’s voice, “What did he say?”
The interpreter replied hesitantly, “He said that their attacks will get worse if we take too long So, his conclusion is to fight them back until the first weakening by risking the damage…”
“Oh, yeah? Then, there’s nothing I can do. Let’s get ready.”
“Mr… Mr. Caliber?”
“What?”
The interpreter stuttered, “No… No, we shouldn’t. Everyone… Everyone is going to die. Are you going to… just watch that? You are the only one who can stop him. If we hold out until the time limit instead of fighting them… Even if we fail to do so, Odin will…”
The tendons on his temple swelled as if they were about to burst.
Gasp.
Seong-Il caught the moment, but it was too late to respond. More than that, he had no intention of saving the interpreter who had crossed the line. The black summoned objects popped out of Osiris’s shadow before rus.h.i.+ng at the interpreter. Both his arms were cut off, and his remaining head was sliced off after Osiris gestured, falling to the floor. Seong-Il didn’t feel anything even when he saw the interpreter’s wide-open eyes.
Stupid.
“Is. There. A. Problem?”
He heard a strange voice and quickly realized that Osiris was speaking to him. However, what surprised him was that Osiris was actually speaking Korean.
Seong-Il shook his head. “No. Did you know how to speak Korean all along? Ah, I shouldn’t have brought the interpreter then. If you had told me earlier, I wouldn’t have made such a fuss.
Seong-Il felt Osiris’s murderous intention focusing on him.
He quickly added, “I’m really sorry that I didn’t manage this moron properly.”
Seong-Il then looked at Osiris’s shadow as ghosts could come out from there again and fly toward him. However, the other man’s shadow returned to its original place. Seong-Il scratched his nose awkwardly and kicked the interpreter’s body to one side. A lot of blood sprayed out. Although it wasn’t monster blood, the smell of fresh blood came into his nostrils as he raised Sense. It was a nice smell to provoke his fighting spirit.
All members of the detached force had finished preparing for the attack. The echo started from the ground, then a roar vibrated the whole world. It was on another level of creepiness compared to the cry of a monster. Seong-Il knew this feeling. It was similar to when he encountered Doom Arukada’s gaze on the mainland of the Baclan Corps.
[Warning: Doom Dejire has entered.]
The messages continued to appear.
[Warning: Doom Dejire has entered.]
[Warning: Doom Dejire has entered.]
[Warning: Doom Dejire has entered.]
…
The messages repeatedly flashed and disappeared, and everyone turned towards the direction where they heard the sound. It was where the Savior Odin was dealing with the Declan Corps alone without the power of the Light Pillar boundary. One of the Seven Demon Kings had appeared there.
Seong-Il didn’t understand where Odin had gotten such courage. While Odin was fighting the Declan Corps and Doom Deijre by himself, he was over here feeling embarra.s.sed about being scared of rats and reptiles. Seong-Il got revved up and shouted toward Osiris’s back.
“WHOAAAAA! Osiris! Let’s do our job, too! Odin is right there, so we… We should do our job!”
However, Osiris responded quietly. His sleeves moved as slowly while he called his immediate subordinates. An index finger appeared, pointing at the front where the army of the rat Barba Corps was swarming on the plague-spread ground.
Seong-Il ran out immediately.
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He screamed wildly, “I’m not going to die more than once! Get out of the way! Here comes the Caliber! Argh!”
The detached force followed him from behind, and they shouted the same thing despite the fact that they were all different races and genders.
“Caliber! Caliber!”
“Caliber! Caliber!”
The screams were at a fast tempo, and Seong-Il also heard the sound of drums signaling the beginning of the battle. Even then, people could hear the horrific cry of Doom Dejire. Seong-Il picked up the pace, hoping it was truly Doom Dejire screaming. Seven Demon Kings? There were rumors that they were G.o.ds, but that didn’t matter to him. He decided to leave the real ident.i.ty of Doom Dejire to those who spread rumors. He didn’t want to learn anything complicated. Odin had simply become stronger.
Odin has torn so many things apart, so the Seven Demon Kinds should also die in the same manner!
Seong-Il pondered while looking at the Barba Corps, which was rapidly narrowing the distance between them.
Wait a little longer, Ki-Cheol. Dad is almost there!