[Chapter 5]
* * *
Step, step...
The sound of someone climbing stairs echoed.
Step, step...
Was this what the footsteps of hell would sound like? With each step, the strong scent of blood and burning flesh filled the air.
Ah...
The moment its footsteps ceased, Dung Beetle instinctively realized that it had reached the peak.
『 Awaken.』
A sweet yet familiar voice rang out.
Dung Beetle opened his eyes slowly.
The first thing that came into view was a pyramid with a massive step-like structure.
Built by stacking rectangles upon rectangles, it was a primitive and simple pyramid.
However, as Dung Beetle looked up, the word that came to mind was not 'pyramid.'
...Prison?
Dark iron bars were fixed all over the surface of the pyramid.
『Dung Beetle.』
While he was still in a daze, a voice called out to him from the top of the pyramid.
『At last, we finally meet face to face.』
Dung Beetle raised his head to look at the top. At the summit, covered in iron bars, darkness in the form of a human was looking down at him.
It looked like a silhouette of a lady, wearing a dress that revealed its feminine figure, standing at the peak of the pyramid in an alluring pose.
Dung Beetle wanted to know what in the world was happening. However, he couldn't open his mouth.
He had no mouth.
Other than his eyes, nose, and ears, everything else was covered by shadows, as if only they were permitted in this world.
Is this... still a dream?
The pyramid was covered in iron bars, and the seductively dressed figure …
Everything was an imaginary shadow; something shouldn't exist in reality, a metaphor of memory.
However, even after realizing it was a dream, Dung Beetle was still unable to wake up.
Because this was not his dream.
『It is likely that you have many things you wish to say. Yet, I shall not permit it.』
The figure laughed silently as it looked down at Dung Beetle.
The pyramid trembled violently as if trying to silence its laughter, but the figure didn't even flinch.
『For now, simply observe and listen. That is your duty for today.』
The pyramid's vibration intensified. It was so intense that even Dung Beetle beneath the pyramid felt the tremors.
However, the next moment, as the figure pulled something from under its foot, the pyramid fell silent, as if it were dead.
『Are you aware of how long I have awaited this day? I have been patiently anticipating the moment when you would offer me a sacrifice.』
What the figure pulled out were two bodies: one with a long, protruding tongue and the other with a shattered head.
Dung Beetle swallowed hard as he stared at the bodies. They were all too familiar to him.
How could he forget? After all, they were the first people he had ever killed.
『The first is always of exceptional significance, for it is one of a kind. Thus, I shall celebrate with great jubilation today.』
With joyous shouts, the figure tossed the bodies in its hands under the pyramid.
The bodies rolled between the iron bars. Thump, thump. The sound of metal colliding with flesh echoed, and a long trail of blood formed on the pyramid.
The moment the bodies fell to the ground, they vanished beneath the pyramid, just like a shadow.
It was an incomprehensible sight. Dung Beetle racked his brain intensely, trying to comprehend the situation.
How did a being that had been sealed away, summon him into a dream, and why did it call the janitors he killed an offering?
Why did this happen?
『Pray, do not feign ignorance. Have not you discerned it already?』
It then whispered as if reading Dung Beetle's mind.
『How can a decapitated body be raised from the dead?』
『How can an ordinary human, no superhuman, remain unharmed even after being shot? Furthermore, how did you manage to walk for kilometers in such a condition, dragging an unconscious person to the warehouse?』
『There is only one answer, Dung Beetle.』
As if the height difference between the bottom and top of the pyramid didn't matter, the being's voice resonated in Dung Beetle's ears as if it were right beside him.
『I am the one responsible. I reached beyond the seal to revive you. I bestowed you with a body that remains unaffected by bullets and endowed you with endless stamina.』
The dream world, composed of a pyramid and darkness, trembled.
If the voice he had been listening to all this time had been like the whispering wind, the voice he now heard was as loud as a typhoon.
Dung Beetle struggled with the urge to block his ears.
...Why? Weren't you planning on killing me to be released from this seal?
—That was what he was about to say, but the words wouldn't come out. He was unable to say anything here.
However, even if his mouth was blocked, he still could move his eyes. Dung Beetle looked at the figure with a gaze that couldn't become words.
Why-in-the-world-did-you-do-this-me…?
However, the figure didn't reply. Also, it was now the time for it to speak, not Dung Beetle.
『Did you not find it delightful?』
『When you eliminated the janitors who disgraced your colleagues.』
『When you let the Director, who betrayed you, be consumed by flames.』
Dung Beetle thought about the revenge he had exacted just yesterday. He did not find it enjoyable in the slightest.
Revenge was a series of pains: the pain of losing his colleagues and the pain inflicted upon his enemies.
No, I didn't seek revenge for such lowly emotions. I…
『It was indeed enjoyable, was it not?』
As it said this, it swung its arms proudly.
Darkness surged accompanying the movement of its arms, revealing what was hidden beneath the pyramid.
Whoosh!
They were piles of burning corpses.
Under the pyramid stairs, a tremendous quantity of burning corpses suddenly sprang forth. The bodies burned with a disgusting odor, emitting smoke.
Dung Beetle unintentionally inspected the corpses and on seeing a familiar face, he widened his eyes.
The Director... that disgusting excuse of a human, who had sold him and his colleagues, was burning amidst the flames.
Could it be…? That all the bodies from the warehouse he had burned last night were now in this dream?
Dung Beetle felt an uncanny premonition and turned his gaze back to the top of the pyramid. Standing in its place, it spread its arms wide and declared.
『Joy—that is the sole thing I seek and the reason I chose you. Through you, I shall attain the joy I desire.』
『I shall partake in the enjoyment of all that you eat, drink, obtain, and feel.』
『And everything you kill and destroy... I shall receive it as an offering.』
With a voice full of joy, it reached below the pyramid. As it did so, the ground trembled, and shadows burst forth from beneath the piles of burning corpses.
Like mud in a nightmare, the shadows began to engulf everything in their surroundings.
There were no exceptions. The bodies, the flames, and even the iron bars on the pyramid.
The shadows grew in size as they engulfed everything within their reach.
Rumble!
And in no time at all, the shadows had swelled to the point of engulfing the entire pyramid.
『Two janitors, 987 bodies, and one soul burnt to death while cursing you...』
As it swung its arm once more, the shadows, which were swelling without any order, moved according to its gesture.
It was an overwhelming and bizarre sight.
Just like a snake, the gigantic shadows stretched its maws to envelop the pyramid. And what followed was the unreal sight of the shadows flowing back towards the top of the pyramid.
Zing! Zing!
As if trying to resist the shadows, the pyramid shook violently. However, like prey entrapped by a snake, it was unable to stop it.
『I shall accept the first offering you have prepared with joy.』
Following that declaration, the shadows were instantly sucked into its hand.
Kwaaa!
It was like a tsunami crashing into a dam. The iron bars holding steady at the top of the pyramid did not last for long.
Clang! Clang! Starting with the sound of steel breaking, the iron bars were swept away, crushed, and swept away by the shadows.
Eventually, as it absorbed all the shadows, the top of the pyramid was dented, as if it had been struck by artillery fire.
『Ah, what sweet deaths these are.』
Now, at the top of the pyramid, where only traces remained, it opened its mouth and spoke with a satisfied tone.
『You can look forward to it, my Chosen One. For I am a being unlike the rotten gods of this world, who only hope. I shall bestow a corresponding boon for all offerings.』
Click. Clack.
Just like when it climbed the pyramid, it began to descend the steps leisurely.
One step, another step... With each step, an unprecedented force pressed down on Dung Beetle's body.
And thus, when it stood right before him, Dung Beetle could not even raise his head as he knelt on the ground.
He desperately tried to lift his head, but all he could see was the hem of a dress made entirely of darkness.
『Dung Beetle, my Chosen One. 』
It reached out and placed its hand over Dung beetle's head. A gentle touch, but the difference in the existence it conveyed was immense.
Dung Beetle gritted his teeth as he struggled to withstand the pressure on his head.
『As a reward for your offering, I shall bestow upon you that which you most require.』
Immediately, something poured onto Dung Beetle's head.
Shoosh
Following the strange sound, as if it was suddenly raining, shadows cascaded like a waterfall.
『Talent. I shall bestow upon you a gift so formidable that no human can rival it—a talent to exact revenge and claim more lives.』
I don't need… such talents!
『You shall wield the body and talents I have bestowed as a weapon to exact revenge according to your will. The Janitor Guild, the Necromancers, and the life of the Player… you shall offer all of them to me.』
Its last words were faint, as if the voice was whispering to him . Was it whispering? No, it wasn't.
It seemed like Dung Bettle's senses were awakening from the dream, unable to withstand the pressure.
『Alas, I can no longer take up any more of your time. It seems that I have stirred you too much.』
It brushed Dung Beetle's cheek as it lowered its hand from his head.
『My Chosen One, for the final part, I shall reveal my name. From now on, call me not 'it', but by my name.』
Its touch dissolved into sticky darkness, like melted sugar flowing down Dung Beetle's cheek.
『Mignium. That is the name you must worship.』
And with those words, Dung Beetle felt as if he had fainted, only to suddenly awaken from the dream.
***
On the mountainside where MacArthur overlooked downtown Incheon.
[A/N- It refers to a statue of General Douglas MacArthur. He was a prominent U.S. military leader during World War II and the Korean War. In Liberty Park, South Korea, he is honored with a statue and memorial due to his significant role in the Korean War, particularly for his leadership during the Incheon Landing, which was a pivotal moment in the war.]
Gag.
Dung Beetle woke up feeling nauseated. His stomach was empty from not eating for a whole day, thus only air and gastric juice gushed out.
"Gasp... gasp..."
After retching for a while, Dung Beetle was finally able to catch his breath with much difficulty.
However, his mind was still in a haze.
He could barely feel his surroundings as he tried to regain his senses, which were lost amidst a sensation of floating somewhere between reality and dreams.
After staggering around for a while, he found a water bottle lying in the distance.
With trembling hands, he opened the lid and gulped down the water. His sore throat felt as if it were on fire.
"...Sssp."
He emptied the bottle in an instant, but it hardly soothed his insides.
Because his issue was more of a mental one than a physical one.
That was how shocking the truth revealed in his dream was. Offering, the Chosen One, and...
Mignium.
Recollecting what he had seen and heard in his dream, Dung Beetle crushed the water bottle.
There wasn't much he could understand.
The fact that Mignium, who had tried to kill him, had revived him instead, was something far beyond his comprehension.
Why on earth?
Why would the calamity warned by the Angel… revive and choose him?
Was it out of sympathy or innate goodness? Absolutely not.
He couldn't feel an ounce of kindness from Mignium, who simply sucked bodies and souls in the dream.
Mignium was undoubtedly pure evil. If she was not evil, what was evil?
However... was there a reason for him to refuse the power bestowed by Mignium?
Wasn't Earth already overflowing with evil beings?
For instance, one such being was the Player who killed him, as were the corporations on Earth exploiting Asha beyond the dimensional portal and the corrupt politicians.
Could Mignium, the being sealed within him, be more evil than them?
Perhaps the Angel had tricked him...
...Enough.
Feeling that he might have crossed a line there, Dung Beetle stopped thinking. Such rumination was meaningless.
Even if I ponder alone... it's a problem without a solution.
Before talking about faith, this was a problem related to skill.
No matter how much he doubted it, he couldn't understand the sincerity of the Angel or why Mignium had chosen him.
Therefore, Dung Beetle pushed all the confusion to the back of his mind and focused only on one solid truth.
Revenge.
He wanted to take revenge… on everyone and everything that had caused the death of colleagues who were like family to him.
Be it Mignium or the Angel, it didn't matter. The burning desire for revenge was solely his.
The Janitor Guild, which betrayed his colleagues, the Player who wielded his sword merely to level up, and the Necromancers and South Korean government the Director had revealed before his death.
Until he had avenged them, the Angel's plea and Mignium's temptation… all were secondary to him.
This is just the beginning.
With that in mind, Dung Beetle touched his cheek and turned to look to his side.
"Isn't that right, Hyung-nims?"
There were nine graves lined up in a row beside the spot where he lay.
These were the graves he had created the day before by moving each of his colleagues' bodies into the mountains.
It would have been difficult for an ordinary person to carry one body, but he managed to transport nine bodies up the mountainside, dig the ground, and build the grave mounds.
There were no funeral rites for these hastily made graves, no gravestones or memorial tablets.
They were graves known only to Dung Beetle and would only be remembered by him in this world.
Fortunately, it was also a great spot with a view overlooking the downtown below.
Dung Beetle glanced at the graves for a moment before getting back on his feet. He felt that if he didn't leave now, he might never be able to.
He suppressed something welling up inside and bit his lower lip.
"I will definitely... return after I have taken my revenge."
The sorrow was prolonged, but the time spent coming up with the resolution was brief.
Dung Beetle bowed deeply towards the graves and turned his back as he began to descend the mountain.
He looked back several times as he descended, but there was nothing to hold him back.
Amidst the cold, shimmering moonlight, the shadow of nine graves cast a long night shadow on Dung Beetle's back.