Chapter 507
The Awakened had completed their transition to the Final Stage. Kim Ji-Hoon and my followers were the only ones who were not a.s.signed there among the Awakened who had been in outer s.p.a.ce. Therefore, they were the ones left in the fortress along with the engineers from the mainland.
The engineers from the mainland were scared, unlike my followers, who had an idea of the current situation. The signs of the apocalypse were rampant outside the fortress, and the Awakened, who had been giving them instructions and overseeing them, had suddenly disappeared.
I created a gate leading to the headquarters in front of them and headed to my bedroom. Even then, the gate still needed to be completed. It was slowly opening, and the eyes of Kim Ji-Hoon, who found me, moved at such a slow speed.
Inside the bedroom felt like a s.p.a.ce filled with solitude. After sending Orca to Joshua and moving the Awakened to the Final Stage, the only thing left to do was to watch.
I sat on the throne and opened my mouth. At that moment, the slow time began flowing normally, and my voice was properly delivered to the followers and the engineers on the mainland. Of course, the gate I had created in front of the engineers was also completed immediately.
“This is a gate back to the mainland. Go back to your families.”
That was toward the engineers.
“This is the Final Stage for you. Protect the fortress until the end.”
That was toward Kim Ji-Hoon.
With that, I leaned my body against the throne. All sounds were cut off at once, but only the status window of Orca continued to be updated, noisier than ever.
[0:26 - Orca is trying to enter the battlefield (Duel of the two primal evils).]
[0:26 - Orca has used the skill, Tentacle of Abyss.]
A long time had begun.
[0:41 - The shockwave created by the two evils and Joshua have struck Orca.]
[0:41 - Orca has been fatally wounded. (Both legs severed)]
[0:41 - Orca’s trait, Stubborn Regeneration Spike, has been activated.]
[0:41 - Orca’s trait, Stubborn Regeneration Spike, has been destroyed.]
[0:41 - Orca has used the item, Orca’s Ring.]
[0:41 - Orca’s injuries have greatly healed.]
[0:41 - Orca is trying to enter the battlefield (Duel of the two primal evils).]
[0:41 - Orca has been fatally wounded (Internal organs ruptured).]
Each message was tinged with Orca’s desperate scream. I could picture it dragging its heavy body, spurting out blood. It was once abandoned by its kind. Now its ambition to become the king of its kind was driving it.
One could not overcome immense fear with only the instinct to survive. If it truly succeeded and returned, then I felt like I could do anything for it. Whether it be the throne of the Maruka clan or even being elevated to the G.o.d of its kind. None of it was a problem.
So, please. I desperately wished that Orca could save Joshua. Orcaaaa!
***
[ 1:02 ― Orca has entered a state of combat incapacity.]
[ 1:02 ― Orca’s trait, the Man Who Overcomes Adversity, has been activated.]
[ 1:02 ― Orca is trying to enter the battlefield (Duel of the two primal evils).]
It was too early. I had given the Man Who Overcomes Adversity so that Orca could use it when it was escaping, not entering. The anxiety that it would fail was gradually becoming a reality. Since when had my attachment to Joshua grown so strong…
When the intense and sudden emotion that was hard to suppress resurfaced, I tightly grasped the armrest with more strength.
I was serious. If the day to end the war with the two great evils arrived, then it would undoubtedly be due to Joshua’s decisive sacrifice. The opportunity he was creating was just like that. Without his sacrifice, the disorder of the tripart.i.te conflict would have continued, and I would have fallen into corruption like the two evils.
The more power I gained and the closer I got to the two great evils, the more that it was possible that such an eventuality would happen.. Doom Kaos and Old One must have been cautious about their own corruption, but it still ended up happening. Thus, it was not easy to a.s.sure myself that I would not collapse like that. However, what Joshua was creating was merely an opportunity to avoid that, not a certainty.
The fight was not over. His death was just the beginning of the final phase. I needed to focus solely on the remaining battles while mourning his death, yet my mind was oddly distracted.
It probably started the moment I opened up to Yeon-Hee. Once I felt sorry for the disaster in her life, Joshua must have entered through the crack in my mind. There was no other explanation.
Although it was just an a.s.sumption that I might not be able to see him again, it still made my eyes turn moist. It was as if the war was all over. I could never crumple like this when the finish line was in sight!
[1:03 - Orca has been fatally wounded.]
I could not just watch Orca’s success or failure. In addition to preparing for the Final Stage, I needed to create more advantages. Joshua must have also been sacrificing his life, expecting such of me.
After much thought, I got up.
[You have used Gate Formation.]
[Destination: The Great Red’s Hideout]
It was for the moment right after the battle of the two great evils ended.
***
The entire region of Saint Dragorin could not escape the disaster created by the two evils and Joshua, but it was quite calm here. It was one of the three Great Temples. One was in Greenwood, the second one was in Elsland, and the last one was right here. The Great Red was hiding in such a place, which was why we could not find it all this time.
[System Administrator Odin: You have been hiding here like a rat.]
In the deep-set eye sockets, red eyeb.a.l.l.s were staring at me. Its chest and belly were pressed against the floor, so its half-crushed heart was not visible, but power was flowing out of it like blood, just like Entegasto’s had.
Then, its descendants acted on their hostility first. Now, Dragorin Red was the only one remaining. The red-haired woman was leaning against him and began to tremble from primal instinct.
[System Administrator Odin: I heard you care a lot about your descendants. Are you going to let her be?]
When I said that, it seemed that Red also felt something. Red’s moving tail did not point toward me. It crushed its descendant that was in the process of transforming into a body of dragon and put an end to the madness that began there.
However, if Red had not shown signs of engaging in a conversation with me, that would have been how it would have started.
[System Administrator Odin: You are quite perceptive.]
My entire body was reflected in Red’s eyes. Sacred aura bloomed like a mirage along the lines of my body. That was why the Red had been careful despite not being able to hide its hostility, and why he was unable to move even though the distance narrowed.
It was seeing a part of its Creator in me. I took one step and then another step. With each step, the energy that emerged filled not only its surroundings, but also the entire shrine.
[You have sent the information ‘True Ending of the Old One’ to the Great Red.]
It was taken aback by what appeared in the form of a message.
[System Administrator Odin: It is Gold"s memory. You won’t be able to deny that. Gold did not defect, but instead resisted from the wicked G.o.d, the Old One, who abandoned all of his creations, including himself.]
It had been a follower of the Old One as a representative of the Old One’s faction. Even if Gold turned its back, it would have blamed it all on Gold.
[System Administrator Odin: Now, what choice will you make, Red?]
Right then, Red acted.
[The Great Red had used the Common Power, Advent of Main Figure.]
It either denied the truth, gave up on itself, or perhaps prioritized breaking away from me as its top priority. However, what it had hoped for was something that could never happen in the first place.
[System Administrator Odin: It won’t respond as it cannot even manage itself right now.]
[System Administrator Odin: Its plans have long been ruined. Even without confirming what the bad ending is, we all have to admit it now. The war situation is almost over, so its end is near.]
[System Administrator Odin: It is not something to think deeply about. The simplest thing is most likely the truth. Do you think the Old One will be able to get away from us?]
At the moment when it closed its eyes, its breath became hot. Each time the hot wind blowing from above brushed my body, I could feel its pain.
[System Administrator Odin: But the end of Old One does not necessarily have to be connected to you.]
[System Administrator Odin: Right now, the Maruka clan is staking their lives by following my orders. If they succeed, then I am willing to grant any wish they have. I am open to even the most unreasonable demands.]
I continued.
[System Administrator Odin: The same goes for you. I will grant your wish, so tell me.]
Then, the Red’s eyes bulged.
[The Great Red: What should I do?]
It was enough for Orca to just register it as a system user, but it was not the same for this one. I performed two tasks at once, borrowing the format of the item, which made it clear what those tasks were. I made the item in my left hand that could release the shackles currently placed on it.
[You have created the item, Doom Kaos’s Restraint Release.]
[You have created the item, Old One’s Restraint Release.]
Then, I formed another item in my right hand that could impose a new shackle.
[You have created the item, Doom Kaos’s Restraint.]
[You have created the item, Odin’s Restraint.]
The daggers in each hand had different powers imbued in them. The work started without Red being able to avoid it. The two daggers that were thrust into its scales after a slight delay were destroyed immediately.
[System Administrator Odin: Sacrifice the Old One. The moment you face him, call me.]
Through the Advent of the Main Body.