[Chapter 192]
[Clash of Gods]
At that time, Nanji Hangang Park.
Elementary school students on a field trip looked at the old National Assembly building far across the Han River.
""""...""""
The atmosphere was not normal.
Though the sky was especially blue.
The sky above the National Assembly building was gradually darkening.
Moreover, an indescribable energy made their hair stand on end.
It feels like something is about to happen.
Right after─
─Rumble rumble rumble!!
Suddenly the world shook.
A deafening explosion sound that seemed like it would blow out eardrums erupted.
Only then did the elementary students who had been blankly staring at the National Assembly building scream in surprise.
And they witnessed the phenomenon occurring across the river.
"Wh-What is that?"
""""...""""
The old National Assembly building collapsed.
Even that was shocking, but.
They could see something blue rippling in the area where dust clouds were rising.
Mana bias.
The bias starting from the National Assembly building was approaching them.
Screech!!
And the Han River reacted.
Though it had undergone purification work for a while, the river water was still dark and murky.
The roughly rippling river water gave strength to the bias.
The phenomenon occurring as a result was ultimately inevitable.
Monsters were born.
They were sensing the mana of beings and trying to come up onto the river.
They don't fear the cocoon.
Forming an army, they tried to infiltrate without minding their hierarchy dropping.
""""Kyaaaaaaah!!""""
"Kids, run away quickly! Don't look back, hurry!"
The reactions of the elementary students who saw the monsters up close were varied.
Some screamed and ran away.
Some just cried loudly.
Some looked for their parents.
So no matter how scary the situation, the teachers had no choice but to pull themselves together for their sake.
They encouraged the children and forced them to run.
"Teacher! Give that child to me! I'll carry them and run!"
"No! Please take care of the other children instead!"
They even ran away carrying children who lost strength in their bodies from being too shocked at seeing monsters.
Strangely, people exerted superhuman strength in crisis situations.
Teachers who were usually pushed around by children even ran carrying them on both shoulders.
Fortunately, since they were some distance from where the monsters were born.
Even children's running pace should be enough to evacuate.
─Screech!!
That thought was quickly shattered.
Bias called for bias.
The occurrence of large-scale bias meant that corresponding bias could occur somewhere else too.
Moreover, cracks had formed in the cocoon.
The bias invaded inside the cocoon and stimulated the inactive mana inside the cocoon.
Large-scale bias occurred instantly not far away.
Nanji Hangang Park began to swarm with monsters.
Moreover, with flying monsters appearing, the situation only worsened.
"─Are you okay? Hang in there a little more!"
People became even more desperate.
Ha Baek-ryeon was the same.
She panted heavily while running and pulled along students falling behind.
"If we just get over there, it'll be okay! So even if it's hard, run quickly!"
Players will arrive soon.
We just need to escape until then.
She, who felt familiar with players' existence from being close with Pandora Clan members, believed without doubt.
Meanwhile─
─Bzzt, bzzt....
As she reacted to the mana in the area.
She didn't know that the seal placed on her was causing noise.
☆
Also at that time, Fairy Government.
The Mana Management Organization's Surveillance Bureau quickly grasped the large-scale bias occurring in Yeongdeungpo-gu.
Surveillance Officer Do Chae-yeon, who noticed the situation first, reported to the Surveillance Bureau Director who was officially her equal.
"─What's the scale of the bias?"
"It's a situation where it wouldn't be strange to elevate it to 3rd rank immediately."
"If there are signs of elevation to 3rd rank, it would be 4th rank overrank."
The Surveillance Bureau Director fell into thought.
According to guidelines, bias of 4th rank or higher should be reported to the Minister of the Mana Management Organization.
But his judgment was different.
"As long as the bias isn't accurately grasped, there's no need to report to the Minister yet. You go talk to the Control Bureau staff near the scene now and find out the exact situation."
"But Director. Seeing how the Han River is reacting too..."
"Go find out."
"...Yes, I understand."
Though they are the same rank in position.
Do Chae-yeon skillfully fixed her expression and left the office.
"I can't make a big deal out of something I can handle at my level. That level of bias can be sufficiently blocked by players active in Yeouido. Still, I should notify the Dispatch Bureau and Intelligence Bureau."
4th rank overrank scale bias.
The situation of high-rank bias occurring in Gangnam, which is protected by the cocoon, actually couldn't be treated as 'nothing'.
But the moment he reports to Baek Seo-jin, it will all become his achievement.
He couldn't have such an achievement stolen when it could be easily resolved.
Until then, Seon U Hwa-ryeong thought he could resolve it at his level.
That worsened the situation.
[Director. This is Surveillance Officer Do Chae-yeon. The National Assembly building has collapsed. And the bias that occurred in Yeouido has started spreading to the Gangbuk area bordering the Han River.]
"..."
[Control Officer Mo Ra-yul and I have decided to elevate this bias to 3rd rank.]
"...I understand. I'll report to the Minister."
Seon U Hwa-ryeong belatedly had to admit his mistake.
He finally reported to Baek Seo-jin, and Baek Seo-jin informed Fairy Im Ga-eul.
Thus, a sudden director-level and above meeting was held.
[Control Officer Mo Ra-yul, report the situation.]
"Yes, Fairy. According to what we're hearing, it seems some magic was activated during the soul-returning ceremony at the Mana Religion."
"The Intelligence Bureau believes the gift of
[...Is it certain?]
"Yes, it's almost certain."
Video conference accompanied by the Fairy.
Control Officer and Mo Ra-yul briefed with a haggard face.
The Intelligence Bureau Director added words.
World change by the gift
The people present fell silent.
The news that came after had nothing good.
Ghouls that appeared at the National Assembly building are trying to spread to various parts of Yeongdeungpo-gu.
The being commanding them is currently estimated to be 3rd rank.
Furthermore, the bias is multiplying and spreading even across the Han River to Gangbuk.
Im Ga-eul sighed.
[But the Surveillance Bureau Director tried to handle this situation independently, it seems you were blinded by achievement.]
"...I'm sorry."
""""...""""
Im Ga-eul glanced at Seon U Hwa-ryeong.
She openly criticized him.
People's gazes were not friendly either.
To this, Seon U Hwa-ryeong bowed his head and silently received criticism.
[I will definitely impose disciplinary action on the Surveillance Bureau Director later. But we need to resolve this situation first. Before that, Control Officer Mo Ra-yul, there's something we need to clearly establish.]
"Yes, Fairy. Please speak."
[Are the ghouls really resurrected people as the Mana Religion believers say? And is the being leading them really a monster? We really need to clearly establish this part.]
"...According to Mana Religion believers' claims, the logic is that ghouls are people, but according to on-site information, those things can be said to be 'completely different' beings created using corpses as mediums. Not only does instinct precede reason, but they don't have hearts that living beings should naturally have."
[Then you're saying they're monsters.]
"It's a bit ambiguous to classify them as monsters. They don't have mana stones either."
[Then what exactly is their identity?]
"I can't think of an appropriate word... If I had to express it, I'd say 'remnants of thoughts'."
""""...""""
"But the being said to be commanding the ghouls is said to have an appearance almost similar to humans.... Since accurate information hasn't come in yet, it seems we can't judge."
The ghouls currently causing the situation.
They are neither human nor monster.
Mo Ra-yul explained the knowledge he knew in an easy-to-understand way to people.
To this, Im Ga-eul drew a conclusion.
[─Either way, as long as they pose a danger threatening humanity, the fact that they are enemies remains unchanged.]
""""...""""
[Inform the people on site to issue instructions not to hesitate in subjugating ghouls. And try to capture the mastermind alive if possible, but I authorize lethal force if unavoidable.]
Enemies of humanity.
Then the mission of players was to kill their enemies to protect humanity.
The people present agreed.
Im Ga-eul called Baek Seo-jin.
[Minister Baek Seo-jin.]
"Yes, Fairy."
[How many of the Twelve Seats can be deployed to the site now?]
"...
Baek Seo-jin answered after thinking for a moment.
Four Twelve Seats that can move.
Two areas where major damage occurred.
Im Ga-eul and people racked their brains to think about Twelve Seats formation.
The biggest problem was which area to deploy the dealer Ji Yong-hyeon to.
[Control Officer Mo Ra-yul. Is the damage at Nanji Hangang Park serious?]
"...It's a bit dangerous. It seems many elementary school students went on a field trip to that park today of all days. It's said that almost all of them are trapped in the park before escaping due to monsters appearing from all directions."
The damage was severe on both sides.
But the situation of elementary students being trapped couldn't be easily overlooked.
On the other hand, the incident at the National Assembly building could clearly be blamed on the Mana Religion's fault and responsibility shifted.
Public opinion would think that way too.
[─Deploy Twelve Seats
So she had no choice but to choose the lesser evil to avoid the worst.
Meanwhile, she could only hope that
Then good news came in.
"Fairy, information just came in.
""""...!!""""
She could breathe a sigh of relief hearing his name.
Not just her, but other people felt the same.
After the Seoul Disaster, No Eun-ha's name was trusted by many people.
Meanwhile─
─Are you really going to come out like this?
Baek Seo-jin watched Seon U Hwa-ryeong.
☆
Eun-ha and Sindorim's exchange of blows.
The battle had no retreat.
Sindorim quickly cast magic to prevent Eun-ha from approaching.
Eun-ha tried to break through his magic or return it while closing the distance.
Eventually─
─Boom boom boom boom!!
Unable to withstand the recoil of magic any longer, the building collapsed.
Eun-ha hurriedly dodged.
Damn it, he did that on purpose.
Eun-ha inwardly clicked his tongue.
Sindorim's magic just now was clearly aiming to collapse the ground.
He plotted to bury him along with the building.
Fortunately, he could survive even if buried in the 3rd basement floor.
"─You're quite strong. Though we couldn't combine our strength because the passage was narrow, still, to show such skill alone is amazing. Your internal mana also seems quite vast. No, I wonder if there's even an end to it."
"...Thank you for saving me."
As expected of a
Chong Eun-ju clicked her tongue.
Meanwhile, Eun-ha expressed gratitude.
Just before, she had activated magic to block falling building debris.
Coming up to the ground was also entirely thanks to her magic.
It's a complete mess.
Eun-ha looked around.
The living and dead are mixed.
They were entangled fighting each other.
Though he expected it to some extent, it was quite a scene reminiscent of chaos.
Where is Sindorim?
Eun-ha turned his eyes from the pandemonium.
He looked for the culprit who created this situation.
Sindorim, who collapsed the National Assembly building, surely couldn't have been caught in the explosion.
Sure enough, he was alive.
"─Listen! The soul-returning ceremony was able to successfully summon the souls of those you long for! So do not fear them!"
Where the National Assembly building collapsed.
Building debris rose like a mountain.
Sindorim was standing there.
Black cloak, skull staff, helmet.
He was wearing attire similar to
I should have destroyed
He had been thinking this while exchanging blows underground too.
The Mana Religion was a completely useless group.
Eun-ha frowned.
If those artifacts have functions similar to what he thought─
─It's hard enough dealing with ghouls, now we have to struggle to stop people too.
The black cloak strengthens ghouls and applies all kinds of debuffs.
The skull staff controls ghouls.
And the helmet brainwashes people.
He activated the artifacts.
"But though we summoned their souls, they couldn't fully resurrect! So for them to fully resurrect, your memories are needed!"
""""...""""
"If you long for them, if you wish for them to fully come back to life, give your memories."
""""...""""
"I am Shin Do-rim, saint of the Mana Religion! I too intend to offer my memories to revive my younger sister! Before that! I came out like this wanting to save those who share the same pain as me!"
The helmet's brainwashing was limited.
But it was that much stronger.
People who believed in the Mana God couldn't shake off Sindorim's brainwashing.
"So members of the Mana God! Do not fear death and welcome death joyfully! Then you will resurrect!"
Sindorim boosted the morale of believers, making them personally get eaten by ghouls.
"Seo-jun! Mommy will save you!"
"Don't fear death! If my sister can live by just one of us disappearing, it's a cheap price. Long live the Mana God!"
""""Long live! Long live! Long long live!!""""
The believers lost their reason.
They shook off players and ran to nearby ghouls.
The ghouls devoured them.
"Aaaah!! Long live the Mana God!"
"Let there be resurrection after death!!"
""""...""""
Those shouting the greatness of the soul-returning ceremony looked just like holding a festival of madmen.
Players and people who weren't brainwashed could only watch the scene almost in a daze.
It was beyond a level that could be stopped.
To make matters worse─
"─Ugh! These guys got stronger! Be care-cough...!!"
"...Now they're turning normal people into zombies too?"
Many strengthened ghouls appeared.
Among them were those that could turn people into ghouls.
Moreover, bias was occurring.
Screech!!
Growl!!
Monsters crave mana.
Mana is the exclusive property of the living.
They ignored the ghouls and targeted living people.
Monsters, ghouls, people, and fanatics voluntarily trying to be eaten by ghouls.
The chaos grew even more intense.
"If there are still people who don't believe me.... Alright, fine. I'll show proof that I truly inherited the will of the Mana God!"
Yet Sindorim didn't stop.
He continued to incite.
He lit a fire to accelerate the chaos.
──!!!!!!
He swung the skull staff.
The skull emitted an ominous light and opened its mouth wide.
Using that as a focal point.
The tower where Sindorim was standing collapsed.
And the tower debris reconstructed, grabbing nearby ghouls and transforming into something huge.
""""...""""
People were simply overwhelmed.
A giant appeared.
The giant, made of material similar to ghouls, was holding an enormous spear.
The giant raised its spear high into the sky.
"─This is! The power of the Mana God you believe in!"
Sindorim riding on the giant's shoulder.
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Right after, the monster roared.
No, it was a scream.
The giant with skin that looked like it had been burned screamed.
""""...""""
Even though its very existence was threatening.
People froze hearing the scream that seemed to mix all kinds of things.
"─Return to the embrace of the Mana God!!"
A being far from holiness.
A terrible and ugly being that seemed like it shouldn't exist in the world.
Sane people couldn't feel religious devotion towards the giant.
Nevertheless, they felt fear at Sindorim's divine dignity.
───!!!!!!
Fear was soon terror.
Terror was soon awe.
Awe was directly connected to religious devotion.
Just with that, Sindorim could gain even stronger driving force.
He controlled the giant and tried to attack the interfering players.
The giant lowered its raised spear.
It was right then.
─Familiar Transformation
Phoenix Wings
The murky clouded sky.
For an instant, a flash of light.
Sindorim raised his head at the energy felt from the sky.
And he saw.
─Blast Cross
Something was flying in.
Wings of flame.
For a moment that entered his sight.
Right after, his vision was dyed with crimson flames.
"...What?"
─Rumble rumble rumble!!
With a single strike.
The giant's body was sliced off.
The giant created to show the divine dignity of the Mana God burns and collapses.
Sindorim, falling to the ground, couldn't believe the current situation.
But even if he didn't believe─
"─Mana God my ass. Everything dies when cut by my sword."
Eun-ha spread his crimson wings.
Flames scatter.
Winter Blooming Coldly
Even flower petals scatter.
Flames and flower petals.
They flutter in the world.
A mystical scene unfolded.
The Lord said,
I will kill death.
Also the Lord said,
Gods are insignificant beings, all things depend on my sword.
Also
She activated purification magic and buffs simultaneously.