Chapter 405

* * * *

[Warning!]

[You are near the Pillars of Curse.]

[You are cursed.]

[All stats decrease by 10%.]

[Damage dealt to enemies is reduced by 20%.]

[Damage received from enemies increases by 20%.]

After destroying the western Cursed Pillar, Myeong-hu arrived at the northern Cursed Pillar. Upon reading the message, he realized he had entered the pillar’s influence zone.

Realizing he was within the influence zone, Myeong-hu immediately checked who was guarding the pillar directly in front of him.

‘What the hell is that hulk?’

Before the pillar, a truly enormous being stood guard.

‘My weapons are useless against this…’

Not only was the size immense, but the weapons were enormous too. Axes and hammers were embedded on either side of the being, each easily over 2 meters long.

[The pillar guardian awakens.]

[Hiragos, the God of Battle and Wrath, watches you.]

As I approached a bit closer, a message appeared.

‘The god of battle and fury, huh…’

The identity of this colossal being was none other than Hylagos, the God of Battle and Fury.

Thud!

The moment Myeonghu recognized the being’s identity, Haran halted his steps.

-I beg you.

[Haran used the Curse Key.]

[7 minutes remain until the pillar of curses is destroyed.]

[Protect Haran from Higaros’ avatars for 7 minutes.]

[If all personnel die, Haran will be attacked.]

Haran stopped walking and spoke. Soon, light burst forth, and a message appeared with him. Myeonghu turned his gaze to Hiragos.

Thud! Thud!

Higagos rose from his seat with a loud thud. Grasping the axe and hammer embedded on either side, he spoke.

-That you have come this far. It means the avatars of Ekalik and Atakshya have been destroyed.

Hiragos, muttering while holding the axe and hammer, began moving toward Myeonghu and Haran.

-Being alone. Either you’re the sole survivor after all who came with you died, or you’re a truly powerful human. One of the two.

Thud! Thud!

With each step Higaros took toward them, tremendous footsteps echoed, accompanied by vibrations.

-He intends to give it his all.

Whoosh!

Wind, the moment Higaros finished his muttering, a hot wind erupted from his body. At that instant, Higaros vanished.

“…?”

Muttering to himself, Hiragos suddenly vanished, leaving Myeonghu no choice but to panic.

‘Hiding?’

Had he gone into hiding? Possessing the Repurem’s token, Myeonghu could see NPCs and monsters in stealth mode, so he scanned his surroundings. But perhaps because it was a divine avatar? Myeonghu couldn’t find Hiragos anywhere.

It was right then.

Swoosh!

The vanished Higaros reappeared. He materialized directly before Myeonghu. The Higaros who appeared before Myeonghu swung the hammer held in his right hand.

“…!”

Seeing Higaros appear before him, Myeonghu couldn’t help but be startled.

‘Wasn’t he hidden?’

He had thought it was stealth. But it wasn’t. Judging by the speed of the hammer now flying toward him, it seemed not stealth, but movement so fast it was invisible.

CRASH!

Higagos’ hammer struck Myeonghu. Then the axe struck.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Alternating, Higaros’ hammer and axe began striking relentlessly. The speed was truly staggering. Myeonghu thrust his fist toward Higaros, who was furiously swinging hammer and axe at him.

Swish

But just before Myeong-hu’s fist could connect, Higaros vanished again.

“…”

Frowning at his failed attack, Myeong-hu frowned.

Swoosh

Behind the flustered Myeong-hu, the vanished Hiragos reappeared. Simultaneously with his reappearance, Hiragos began swinging his hammer and axe at Myeong-hu once more.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! WHIZ!

Feeling the hammer and axe striking his back, Myeonghu knew Hiragos was behind him. He spun around swiftly and thrust his fist forward.

Swish

But once again, Hiragos vanished before Myeonghu’s fist could land.

“…At this rate, I’ll just end up getting beaten to death.”

Judging by its vitality, it couldn’t die. The problem was that Myeong-hu had no way to kill Hiyagos either. If this continued, he’d have to keep taking hits until the pillar of curses was destroyed. But Myeong-hu didn’t want to keep taking hits until the pillar of curses was destroyed.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

Higros reappeared, swinging his hammer and axe.

Thud, thud, thud

Ignoring Hiragos’ attacks, Myeonghu began to move. He was trying to create distance from Haran.

‘This should be enough.’

After putting some distance between himself and Haran, Myeonghu checked the gap and spoke.

“Blood Wave.”

Swoosh

The moment Myeonghu finished speaking, the surrounding water turned crimson.

-Guh!

Simultaneously, Myeonghu heard the agonized groan of Hiragos, who was swinging an axe and hammer with all his might behind him. Hearing Hiragos’ groan, Myeonghu smiled and continued.

“Blood Explosion. Wave of Blood.”

-Guh! Guh!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even as he let out agonized groans, Hiragos did not cease his attack. Myeonghu had feared he might flee, but thankfully, he did not. Then, a message appeared shortly after.

[Higagos’s clone has been destroyed.]

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[Fame increased by 10 million.]

* * * *

A man sat before the computer.

“…”

The man stared silently at the monitor. For some reason, his expression as he looked at the monitor was quite stiff.

It was right then.

Swoosh

The door of the capsule installed behind the man opened. And the man inside the capsule stepped out through the door.

“Moo-yeol, it’s over.”

Kim Moo-woong, the man who emerged from the capsule, spoke to Jang Moo-yeol, who was sitting at the computer staring at the monitor.

Swish

Jang Moo-yeol turned his head at Kim Moo-woong’s call and looked at him. Jang Moo-yeol’s already stiff expression grew even more serious.

“…What’s wrong?”

Kim Moo-woong asked, seeing Jang Moo-yeol’s grave expression.

‘What’s happened now?’

He didn’t hear an answer to his question. But Jang Mu-yeol’s grave expression spoke volumes about something having happened.

“Well, it’s like this…”

Jang Mu-yeol finally spoke up.

“Something happened at Lake Belkan.”

“…?”

Kim Mu-woong tilted his head at Jang Mu-yeol’s words.

‘Wait, Lake Belkan?’

But that lasted only a moment. Information surfaced in his mind, and Kim Mu-woong’s expression changed. Kim Mu-woong asked Jang Mu-yeol with an incredulous look.

“You mean that Belkan Lake?”

“Uh…”

“The Belkan Lake with the castle?”

“Yes, that Belkan Lake.”

“…”

Kim Moo-woong realized that the Belkan Lake Jang Moo-yeol mentioned was the very same Belkan Lake in his mind, and he was momentarily speechless.

“What do you mean something happened?”

After a moment, Kim Moo-woong regained his composure and asked. Jang Moo-yeol had only said something had happened. While the fact that something had happened was problematic in itself, what exactly had happened was crucial.

“It’s begun.”

“…Started?”

Kim Moo-woong countered. The start? What had started?

“The main episode…”

“…”

Hearing Jang Mu-yeol’s reply, Kim Mu-woong was left speechless.

‘The main Chapter has started?’

It was the worst possible situation. The main episode—it would start someday, but not now.

‘Wait a moment…’

It was right then.

‘The users’ current level probably can’t handle that place, right?’

Kim Moo-woong frowned at the sudden thought.

“Mu-yeol, I don’t think I’m mistaken about this.”

Kim Moo-woong, sensing something was off, spoke up.

“The main Chapter starting means the players have completely cleared that area, right? Is that even possible? At their current level, they’d all die before even reaching it.”

The location where the main Chapter begins—at the players’ current level, reaching it was impossible, let alone clearing it.

“Ah, it hasn’t started yet.”

Jang Mu-yeol replied to Kim Mu-woong’s words.

“…?”

Kim Moo-woong tilted his head at Jang Moo-yeol’s answer, which differed from his earlier statement. Jang Moo-yeol had clearly said the main Chapter had begun. Yet now he was saying it hadn’t. Confused by Jang Moo-yeol’s incomprehensible words, Kim Moo-woong spoke up.

“Didn’t you say it started?”

“Yeah, but it’s not that yet.”

“…What are you talking about?”

It had started, yet it wasn’t yet. Kim Mu-woong frowned at Jang Mu-yeol’s words. He couldn’t make sense of what he was saying.

“So. It hasn’t truly begun yet. It’s a matter of time.”

Jang Mu-yeol repeated himself in response to Kim Mu-woong’s reaction.

“Ah…”

Kim Moo-woong let out a short gasp as he understood what Jang Moo-yeol meant. The main Chapter hadn’t started yet. But it was only a matter of time; the main Chapter would begin soon. That was precisely what Jang Moo-yeol had meant.

Of course, not everything was clear. The most crucial part remained. Who was there that made Jang Mu-yeol, who knew the difficulty level of that place, so certain the main Chapter was about to begin?

“The Emperor Guild? Or Invincible? Rose? Guardian? Which guild caused this mess?”

Kim Mu-woong asked Jang Mu-yeol to resolve his curiosity.

“What are you talking about? Even if it’s a guild packed with rankers, there’s no way they could break through there.”

However, upon hearing Jang Mu-yeol’s reply, Kim Mu-woong couldn’t help but be flustered. The guilds Kim Mu-woong mentioned were all massive guilds packed with rankers.

Kim Moo-woong naturally assumed that one or more of the guilds he mentioned had formed an alliance and gone there. But listening to Jang Moo-yeol, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“…Then who?”

It wasn’t a massive guild packed with high-ranking players either. Then who the hell was it? Who went there and elicited this reaction from Jang Mu-yeol?

“That user went there.”

Jang Mu-yeol finally spoke up.

“That user?”

Kim Mu-woong couldn’t help but question Jang Mu-yeol’s words. That user?

“Hah…”

Jang Mu-yeol sighed at Kim Mu-woong’s question and continued.

“Yes, that user. The one who reduced the Demon Realm to that state.”

“…”

Upon hearing Jang Mu-yeol’s words and realizing who that user was, Kim Mu-woong couldn’t say anything. Instead, Jang Mu-yeol continued speaking.

“It might be a bit of a struggle in the center…”

No matter how strong they are, they’ll have trouble at the center there.

“It’ll just take some time. They’ll definitely break through.”

But that was all. They’d struggle, but ultimately, they’d clear it.

“It’ll begin. The main episode.”

And the main Chapter that shouldn’t start now would begin. Jang Mu-yeol believed that fact without a shred of doubt.

============================ Postscript ============================

I said I’d post it at dawn, but it’s afternoon now. My apologies.