Chapter 598 – The Stolen World (13)
—
– User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
– Date: Day 226
– Current Location: Searching…
– Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
A moment of silence descended after some colorful curses had passed.
The Silent One, Ruler, and Osdoork.
The former Wisdom, almost a demigod.
Myself and the hotel crew.
For about five seconds, the three factions sized each other up, and everyone realized one truth.
‘These idiots have no idea what to do next!’
The Administration Bureau forces either fled on the ark before the moon awakened or were left behind, getting smushed by the ‘light of doom’ only to wake up in the next loop. Either way, none of them knew what was happening.
The former Wisdom probably wasn’t even on Earth to begin with!
None of these folks here had ever truly faced off against the moon!
To make matters worse, all the info Ari had shared was mostly conjecture and hypotheses.
“Sigh…”
As I let out a exasperated sigh, both the Silent One and the former Wisdom turned to me simultaneously.
“Seems no one here really knows about the moon, huh? You all are older yet have been doing what—”
“Shut your mouth, you bastard without parents!”
Ah, I finally knew who threw that crude insult.
“Osdoork, you talk like a human even though you’re not one—”
“Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“Nope.”
The former Wisdom lamented, shouting in despair.
“Ahh…! O, tears for the three thousand worlds!”
And at that moment—
— Ugh! Aaaah! Aaaah!
The ear-piercing wails began to sound from everywhere!
It was like all the forces were waiting for just this sound to make their decision.
— Thud thud thud…
The former Wisdom vanished, producing a strange, rhythmic sound upon their departure.
“You imps! I declare there will be no mercy for you any longer! In this upcoming world, I will kill you the moment you wake—”
“Oswald! Enough of your blabbering!”
— Crash!
Right as Ruler and Osdoork were about to rain down curses on us, they suddenly went all in on self-destruction!
The next moment, Ruler’s crushed skull and Osdoork’s neurological bundle both became grotesque visuals, bringing a grim smirk to my face.
“Fast reaction times, I see.”
The Silent Ones could resurrect themselves in the next loop. They were trying to protect the ark for the sake of civilization, not their own lives.
So rather than risk being swallowed by the moon, they figured dying at their own hands was the better option.
— Aaaaaah! Huuuu!
More wails came back to haunt us.
“W-what is that sound—”
Before Seungyub could finish his question, Ari bolted.
“Everyone, this way! Kain, carry Eunsol!”
Once I brought Eunsol noona along, Ari hurriedly continued to explain.
“The ark is awakening!”
“But you said it would take four months to complete—”
“This isn’t a proper awakening! Even now, it’s not a divine being! It’s just—it’s like a human who’s in a fetal state, feeling instinctual fear and acting out!”
“So?!”
“Communication is impossible! We don’t know what it’ll do! We have to get out now!”
So, was the implication that a fully-formed ark would allow communication?
Would it have self-awareness akin to a human’s?
This in itself felt like valuable information—
“Over here!”
As we ran after Ari, the only one who knew the internal structure of the ark, we arrived at a place with thin outer walls.
“Hyah!”
With a battle cry, I saw an invisible sword slice through the outer wall—
「Current Location: Searching… -> 6,341m above Beijing, China」
As soon as we connected to the outside world, the status window found our current location?
So why had it previously shown ‘Searching…’ inside the ark?
Is the ark being constructed across different spacetime realms?
Could it not determine a distinct location?
“Now’s not the time to ponder! We need to escape! Run! To the ground!”
Ari must’ve thought I was daydreaming; her urgency was palpable.
But the reason I caused a ruckus was to acquire information that couldn’t be gained through normal means, so I couldn’t help it.
With Ari carrying the Miro, I yanked Jinchul hyung and Seungyub along, trailing behind Eunsol noona out of the ark.
Just as we all lifted into the sky!
— Thud thud thud…
“Huh?”
“W-what’s this sound?!”
The former Wisdom appeared out of thin air!
What the heck? I thought they had left to do their job!
Especially at such a vulnerable moment while flying—no, they must’ve timed it deliberately!
“What is this—”
「I would rather not hear curses from you, especially not here.」
“Se-Senpai!”
“Senpai?”
“Let’s go our separate ways! Everyone must have their own goals—”
「Ah, my insight has warned me. I should cleave you into five pieces right here.」
“Did my insight not give me such a warning?”
「You need to learn a thing or two, junior.」
As a brilliant azure orb formed at the fingertips of the former Wisdom’s now inhuman form—
Seungyub smirked as if it were falling towards me.
“It looks like not everyone’s making it out alive.”
“You…”
Seungyub had no inherited flight abilities like I did.
Yet, he was somehow “walking on air.” Did he pick something up from somewhere inside the ark that glowed bright blue like a spear?
「I thought you’d turn out to be nothing special outside your flock, but I was wrong?」
– Rumble!
“Haah!”
Leaving that raucous shout behind, Ari and I soared out of Beijing’s sky.
…
“Now.”
“What?”
“I think Seungyub is dead.”
“… He was in the soul container, using up all his awakenings.”
Would turning back time restore the spent awakenings?
None of us knew since this was a scenario we’d never experienced.
After Seungyub’s demise, there was no further pursuit.
No matter how strong the former Wisdom was, they were nothing more than a hen facing a tiger before the moon.
Now that the moon was awakening, the former Wisdom likely had no time to spare for us.
*
Ari, Miro, Jinchul, Eunsol noona, and I.
It didn’t take long for the five of us to return to Korea since the ark was floating in the sky above Beijing.
As soon as we arrived, I laid the limp Eunsol noona down onto the bed.
She had suffered from sleep gas, and after a rough flight, she kept regaining consciousness only to pass out again multiple times.
She would need quite a bit of time to recover.
Then Ari spoke up.
“Kain, you don’t have a clear plan about what to do next, do you?”
“Nope.”
I didn’t create this confusion with a solid plan either.
“For now, I’ll get our allies back from Australia.”
With the moon awakening over there, we needed to rescue those comrades ASAP.
“Do you have a plane? Or should I take you—”
“Heh!”
“Huh?”
Ari answered with a smile after a long time.
“You don’t know, but there’s a road that lets you drive to Australia in no time flat.”
Driving from Korea to Australia?
And in no time at all?
What was she talking about? Upon glancing at Jinchul hyung, he shook his head in disbelief.
Could it be some secret passage only top-tier Bureau officials knew about?
“I’ll explain later. Miro, only you come.”
“Me? Just me?”
“There’s no time. Quickly!”
Could it be that only two people could use it at a time?
If so, then Miro, being able to use multiple powers alone, was indeed quite handy.
After Ari took Miro away, I quickly briefed Jinchul hyung on everything that had happened until now.
Soon, Jinchul hyung wore a serious expression and said.
“Did you tell Sang-hyun hyung to commit suicide because of the risk of being eaten by the moon?”
“Correct.”
“That danger extends to the other comrades in Australia, right? Mooksung has the option of ‘one more chance’ if the worst comes to worst, but what about Elena and Songi?”
In the absolute worst-case scenario, even if the moon popped up in front of them, Sang-hyun would just need to flick ‘one more chance’ to survive, unlike Elena and Songi, who were in a more precarious position.
“The moon consumes survivors once the ark leaves.”
“I get that part.”
“But what it means to consume isn’t merely about killing the survivors the moment the moon awakens.”
“What do you mean?”
I’d suspected this from the moment I listened to Ari’s story and even the Owl’s hinting to ‘give it a try.’
The moon isn’t the kind of chaotic entity that kills all humans upon awakening.
“That’s because even killing doesn’t let it consume souls. It can’t absorb the souls of the dead.”
“Ah?”
Jinchul hyung’s mouth gaped slightly.
Seems he hadn’t thought this far, not having had the experience of swallowing souls like I did.
“Take a look at the holy sun. To absorb souls, you need to set up a congregation and undergo complex procedures, right?”
“That, that’s true!”
“And what about the ark? It collects people inside and makes them pray for six months straight.”
“True enough?”
“From my experience of swallowing human souls—”
“Whoa, wait! That sounds a bit creepy…”
“—there’s an essential prerequisite, some sort of ‘spiritual bonding,’ that comes before it.”
“…”
“Whether it’s faith or belief or whatever you call it. The same goes for the moon. It likely requires brainwashing the survivors as a preliminary step.”
“Is that process going to happen starting now?”
“Precisely.”
After hearing all this, Jinchul hyung nodded slowly, his mind digesting the information.
“So you had Sang-hyun kill himself. Since he wouldn’t have mental resistance while close to the moon.”
“Correct.”
Just like how the holy sun and the ark need ‘preliminary work’ to swallow souls, the moon requires brainwashing!
In other words, Elena, with her clear mind, and Songi, with her diverse perspectives, would have a bit of time even after the moon woke up.
As for my grandfather, he just needs to flick ‘one more chance’ and he’ll be fine.
The only one completely out of options is Sang-hyun.
That’s why he had to die.
“…”
After pondering for a bit, Jinchul hyung suddenly stood up.
“Hyung?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to stay put until Ari returns—”
“This is something I must do.”
“What are you planning?”
“… Trust me.”
“Of course!”
Without giving a specific reason for leaving, telling me to trust him felt a bit strange.
I was a little surprised that Jinchul hyung acted that way but nodded immediately.
There was nothing in our friendship that couldn’t be trusted.
“Huh?”
Just before Jinchul hyung exited, my insight caught a strong scent of blood from him.
“…”
I started to suspect what he was up to.
As everyone left for their own tasks, I stayed with the unconscious Eunsol noona, contemplating the future.
*
Evening fell, and around dark night skies, Ari returned.
Grandpa Mooksung and Elena, along with Miro, followed behind, all looking extremely fatigued.
“… You’re back.”
“Hello.”
“We made it…. Kain! Where’s the others?”
Just as I was about to respond, Eunsol noona, who had just woken up, chimed in.
“I’m here, but Jinchul went out for a bit.”
“Mhm…”
After I, Ari, grandpa, Elena, Miro, and Eunsol noona gathered around a large table.
Four seats were vacant.
Jinchul hyung had only stepped out, but the other three were absent.
Eunsol noona muttered almost to herself.
“… What about Songi?”
In a calm manner, Ari replied.
“Songi died during the escape.”
“…”
“The former Wisdom’s soldiers attacked. They had bombs in the car. It was unavoidable. Thankfully, she had a clean death.”
Well, it wasn’t too bad for her to die in a bombing.
She would come back when we turned back time.
After a bit of conversation, Grandpa, who finally grasped the situation, asked.
“The timeframe for ‘One More Chance’’s rewind is a month. You’re planning to find out as many facts as possible and return in that timeframe, right?”
“Correct.”
“And the people who were consumed by the moon during that time will be impossible to resurrect…”
That was true, so I remained silent.
This was something I considered before embarking on this endeavor.
Even if there were sacrifices, halting the moon meant saving many more lives.
Grandpa looked at me cautiously.
“Well done. At first, I was bewildered by your actions, but hearing you now, you seem to have made a genius move.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“You’ve made a rough plan already?”
“More of a goal than a plan, actually.”
This time, Ari asked the question.
“What is it?”
I showed everyone the list I had prepared on a whiteboard.
「1. Find out how to stop the Demon of the Moon
Understand the moon’s process of consuming survivors’ souls
The relationship between my past self and the moon
2. Discover the goals of the former Wisdom
The source and solution to the oddly strong power」
“Anything else?”
“Me!”
Surprisingly, it was Elena who answered.
“That, Kain seems to have forgotten….”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t the former Wisdom say that if I died, things would get weird?”
“Huh?”
“Also, I found out that my blessings have weakened too, right?”
Right, that’s what was mentioned.
“So besides me, there should be another form of justice. I’m sure of it.”
Miro’s eyes widened as if in realization.
“Where is it?”
“Right? For a while, I thought it must be with the Administration Bureau, that is, inside the ark, but it didn’t appear even when Ruler and Osdoork were in crisis.”
It’s not even by the former Wisdom’s side.
Where then could this other form of justice be?
“Let’s add this to the list.”
「3. Location of the former Justice」
As we organized what lied ahead, the atmosphere shifted.
— Crackle!
A loud sound burst from everywhere!
“Eek! The display just turned on out of nowhere!”
“Eunsol! What’s going on?”
“I don’t know!”
— Crackle!
「Emergency Disaster Alert!
A chaotic disaster has occurred in your area.
This alert is effective from this moment.
Citizens, please remain indoors in buildings without ceilings.
Do not venture out into exposed areas.
For the safety of citizens, please remain indoors.
Under no circumstances should you look at the night sky.」
— Crackle!
「Emergency Disaster Alert!
The current alert for the chaotic disaster is as follows:
This rectification is effective from this moment.
Chaos disasters eroding sealed buildings are occurring widely.
Immediately evacuate from indoors to the nearest shelter.
For the safety of citizens, you must exit from indoors.
For further guidelines, please follow—」
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.