Chapter 601 – The Stolen World (16)
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User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 228
Current Location: Delight Hotel, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
– Han Kain
“Today, I’m here to guide you, who have lost your memory, back on the right path. Please fight alongside us, just like when you freed the prince from the clutches of the Management Bureau!”
Hearing the request to join the fight, my comrades couldn’t hide their stunned expressions.
Lee Eunsol: “Ari, did you not know about this guy?”
Kim Ari: “Not a clue. No info about something like the Moon’s Virgin.”
Both Ari and the Management Bureau were completely in the dark about the Moon’s Virgin, Adia. It makes sense; such happenings usually only occurred after the Ark had left.
Just then, Adia smiled slyly and replied, “The Management Bureau was the first to seal me away. It was a… very long time ago.”
Did she read our reactions or something? It’s not like she has some special psychic power. It’s just her experience built over countless years has honed into what feels like mind reading.
The Adia in Room 207 had a similar vibe.
Ari asked plainly, “Have we forgotten you over all this time?”
“Is there only one piece of information you all have forgotten? I was the first to discover the mirror deep in Spain.”
“…”
Her tone had a subtly mocking air towards the Management Bureau. Knowing that the Adia in Room 207 held a head position in that Bureau really feels peculiar.
Let’s remember: the Adia in Room 207 and the one in front of us are practically different people. If she unearthed the mirror in Spain first, that implies she’s been alive since the very first Ark era.
We don’t know when she was sealed by the Bureau, or when she was taken by the moon… It remains a mystery how many loops she has gone through and the sheer power she amassed so that even past Wisdoms would hesitate to deal with her.
— Clap!
With a light clap, she redirected everyone’s attention back to me.
“Your request to fight, does it mean you want us to battle against the Raider?”
“Exactly.”
“I’d like to hear more details.”
At that moment, Adia looked heavenward with a somewhat ominous demeanor.
“It’s impossible in such an open place.”
“…”
“A person who has gained wisdom for selfish reasons… He’s got really keen hearing.”
Referring to the past Wisdom. That guy can approach anyone, anytime, and anywhere.
“We need to get to a safer place.”
“To a location with stronger lunar influence?”
“Right.”
Is it really wise to go to a place with stronger moon influence? At this point, it makes no sense to think of avoiding danger.
“Also, the vehicle is ready.”
Once again, I decided to leave Gramps, Elena, and Miro at Delight Hotel.
“Haha! Are you really worried I might kill that blonde lady?”
No one replied.
Adia, sensing the silence, walked away with a slightly disappointed expression, looking somewhat genuinely let down.
Is she thinking that since we’re the ‘Holy Pedigree,’ we’re all on the same side?
*
While driving in the car Adia prepared, surroundings suddenly darkened.
Current Location: Delight Hotel, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul -> Searching…
“Be careful. It seems like Raiders are invading this area. It was fine just this morning.”
“… Is this what you meant?”
“Yeah?”
“Is this the invasion phenomenon of the Raider?”
“Exactly. It’s still in the early stages—”
“You can physically escape. We probably just need to get about 100 meters away.”
“You know quite a bit?”
“Yeah, I faced this stuff before you even woke up.”
The status window suddenly switched to ‘Searching…’ and a mysterious otherworldly phenomenon emerged.
What seemed like an ordinary building was hiding living Pierrot clowns lurking around, eager to attack. What appeared to be a typical family house was actually stuffed with wriggling cocoons.
Such odd occurrences I’ve come across whenever I returned to reality.
As the Owl said, the signs of the Raiders had been present from the moment we arrived in this world.
It was just that I didn’t understand what these occurrences meant.
Now, I realized that the cause of it all was the Raiders’ intrusion.
“…”
The Ark is halfway destroyed, the Silent One fled by committing suicide, and the moon is awakening.
At this moment, the third faction, the Raiders, are finally revealing their true nature.
If I were to compare it to a game, it feels like Phase 2 has begun.
Ari, sitting next to me, whispered in my ear.
“It seems like there are three main factions.”
“Management Bureau, the Moon, and the Raiders?”
“I found it hard to understand the former Wisdom’s side. It’s definitely not aligned with the Management Bureau, yet it wasn’t clearly with the Moon either.”
As the Moon began to awaken, the panic-driven retreat feels evident, reinforced by the Virgin’s reactions.
If they’re not on the side of the Management Bureau or the Moon, what faction does the former Wisdom belong to?
“Now I get it.”
“Me too.”
The former Wisdom is on the Raiders’ side!
But then, what exactly are the Raiders?
As if waiting for my question, the Adia in front replied.
“They’re really nothing special.”
“…”
“If the Prince of the Moon achieves his grand ambitions, they’re just losers to be tossed aside. They’re fools who mistake themselves for gods…”
While saying they’re nothing, her attitude spoke volumes.
It’s undeniable that her body trembled, revealing the truth—Adia fears the Raiders.
Ari jabbed, “So the Raiders aren’t just one?”
“… No. There are many.”
I began to feel a vague understanding. Each one may not be significant to the Moon, but when they pool together, they become a considerable challenge.
“…”
Multiple beings that are semi-divine and difficult for even the Moon to manage when they gather.
According to the Owl, I already know them.
I could start piecing together who the Raiders really are.
“I’m not scared of those guys.”
Saying I’m not scared is coming out of fear itself.
“I believe my deity will drive all of them out someday. Those fools—”
In some ways, that sounds devout.
It’s surprising how much alike she is to the figure I’ve seen in Room 207.
Then, I couldn’t help but say something.
“That will happen.”
“What?”
— Rumble!
Adia in the front seat turned her head toward me, wondering what I meant.
“If we go to the end, the Moon will ultimately win.”
This isn’t baseless. I received warnings from Miro about the dark future she foresees.
The world where the Management Bureau falls and a crimson Moon rises.
In the future Miro saw, nothing exists except for the Moon.
Even in Phase 2, between the Moon and the Raiders—it’ll ultimately end with the Moon as the winner.
“Truly! It seems like you have some insight, Holy One! Thank you for sharing, that reassures me.”
At this point, it seemed unbearable, and Ari timidly spoke up.
“Adia, in the future that ‘Holy One’ sees—”
I knew what Ari wanted to say. The future with the Moon was a cosmic end devoid of any life and hope.
Ari hoped to emphasize that she isn’t entranced by the Moon either.
“Let’s not.”
“…”
“Why not?”
“No, let’s just speed up.”
This attempt is futile.
How can you persuade someone like a Virgin with just a few words?
The Moon must have brainwashed her for thousands of years!
If I said something foolish and Adia started eyeing us warily, that’d be more of a headache.
But remember: the Moon’s victory also means the world’s destruction—
— Boom!
“Ah?”
“Huh?”
“Oh hell no!”
An expletive slipped out before I could stop it!
Haven’t I heard that sound twice already?!
“Get out of the car—”
My words were cut short.
Ari and I, indeed Adia too, had already jumped out of the car.
Jinchul was already sprinting away, carrying Eunsol noona in one arm.
Before long, the silhouette of the former Wisdom flickered in the air!
“No, wasn’t the Moon supposed to be busy with its own work?”
Adia shouted angrily.
“I told you! I signaled the Raiders—”
“Has it gotten so relaxed it felt like it could kill us now—”
— Boom!
That signature oppressive rumble is intensifying.
It’s a sign that the former Wisdom is about to appear right before us!
Adia turned pale and looked at me.
“Holy One! Call right now!”
“What?”
“Eunsol! Let that lady kill herself!”
Look at this!
She pretended she wouldn’t say anything about wanting to kill Elena for recovering her power, but she lied!
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Ah! This is frustrating! At this rate, the old guy will be the end of us all!”
“If we all gather our strength—”
“Dumbass!”
“What happened to your Holy One self?”
“Dumb Holy One! We’re all gonna die if we keep it up!”
Her dignified image vanished, and suddenly she went off!
The Adia in Room 207 had at least some class!
— Thunder rumble!
The apparition of the former Wisdom bursts forth from reality!
“It’s time to sever fateful ties.”
“Oh come on, senior! Stop trying to kill us all—”
“I’ve seen the chaos beyond the veil…”
A teal energy gathers in the sky, forming a sphere.
“How foolish is this little puppet show of the world?”
As if whispering a spell, when the sphere began to sway, an overwhelming wave of power crashed down right in the heart of Seoul.
— Bzzzz!
That massive high-pitched noise pierced through my ears!
When the enormous sound tore through the air, no other sound could be heard.
The sheer brilliance enveloped us, painting everything around us in white!
The kindly light of the divine sun led the charge while Ari stacked walls upon walls with her irregular polyhedron behind it.
Both of us put everything into it, hard enough for our veins to burst!
If I had any inkling of this brutal fight to come, I would have made sure to flood the divine sun as fully as possible!
“Ugh!”
Just when my mind went dizzy, the shockwave finally settled.
Thank goodness we somehow blocked the initial assault!
Ari gasped for breath and shouted, “W-What about Adia?”
Please don’t tell me she’s dead after taking a hit from the former Wisdom’s attack?
Fortunately, as the dense smoke cleared, a golden silhouette began to float in the air.
“…”
With disheveled hair, half-torn clothes, and blood dripping from her lips.
It looked like she took the brunt of the attack from a different position, and she was in worse shape than us.
“Virgin, it’s been a while. Looks like you’re not doing too well.”
“Damn it, had my strength been intact—”
As the Virgin and the former Wisdom bore their animosity, I was left dumbfounded, gazing at the scenery unfolding around us.
“…”
As the dust slowly settled, the ruined landscape of Seoul became evident.
The people who praised the Moon were buried beneath a layer of dirt, and all the buildings in sight crumbled into grotesque piles of concrete.
Did a nuke drop in the middle of Seoul or something?
Did we have an earthquake?
Ari, equally dazed, muttered.
“This makes no sense… such strength is impossible!”
It shouldn’t be like this.
In terms of equivalent power, the Last Flash or Justice could summon such destruction.
The Last Flash was a singular discharge.
Justice is tricky in how it operates and to achieve that level of power, all the strength had to be unleashed at once.
In contrast, it felt like the attack from the former Wisdom was merely a “slightly strong technique.”
— Thunder rumble!
Again, the teal energy began to accumulate in the sky.
“Do you have an hourglass? Use it right now—”
“Not yet.”
I stopped Ari as I approached Adia.
“Can you come up with anything?”
Adia blankly responded.
“… Just kill Elena.”
“Not that!”
“Let’s all just die here.”
“Oh good grief!”
— Crack!
This time, an even greater force accumulates!
The overwhelming energy condensed in the sphere made my hair stand on end.
“Please! Holy One! If I can recover my power fully, I can prevent that guy from using such major techniques—”
“Holy One, Virgin.”
“What?”
“You’re the Virgin, and I’m the Holy One.”
“What does that—”
“L-Let’s kneel.”
Trying to calm the trembling heart, I grabbed Adia’s shoulder.
“What?”
“Didn’t you ever read the Bible? This will only be won with prayer.”
“What—”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I knelt and prayed.
“O Prince of the Moon in Heaven, here we have the Holy One and the Virgin!”
“Y-You’re really praying?”
Ari hurriedly got Adia to kneel as well.
“Do it! You blockhead!”
“Quit saying you’re the Holy One and Virgin without doing anything! At this rate, we’ll be cooked alive!”
“… Please save us.”
— Thunder rumble!
Thus, at the moment the former Wisdom’s second strike struck the ground below.
…
The sky turned dark.
I saw a gigantic tongue unfurling beyond the veil.
“Your Highness!”
“Does that look like a prince to you?”
As the massive tongue swept through the city, the former Wisdom scrambled to avoid being hit.
The proud figure that only moments ago seemed like a natural disaster was now nowhere to be seen.
“H-Haha!”
Ari began to laugh heartily, lost in amazement.
I couldn’t help but join her in laughter.
The pitiful creatures wandering on the ground, even someone like me, would kneel out of reverence for seeing a God.
Yet here I am, finding it hard to withstand even a punch from a demigod who orchestrates plans while walking the earth.
That demigod is now daunted so much as to shake at just meeting my eyes.
But the question remains, why hasn’t the powerful Moon come to aid us until now?
She must be too preoccupied with fighting the Raiders to spare much strength!
Indeed, even towering gods are unable to unleash their full wills in this world.
Ah…
It’s been a long time since I felt such insignificance.
“…”
I felt faint.
No matter how much power we have to rewind time.
Can we really create the situations we desire among these absurd existences?
‘How truly can I deal with those monsters?’
“Advice: 3 -> 0”
“Rejoice, for the enemies are not singular. If they were, victory would be impossible. Rather it is the multiplicity that offers us a chance.”
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