Chapter 293: God Slays God (1)

‘Oh, God of the Sword…’

Kuarne’s eyes filled with sorrow. At his feet, corpses piled like a hill.

There were human remains, of course, but no fewer were the bodies of demons.

‘You have finally awakened.’

Kuarne didn’t even glance at the corpses. He simply looked up at the sky. Earth’s sky, now stripped of its atmosphere, was no longer pale blue. Instead, a dark void stretched like a canopy over the planet.

“Ah… ah…”

Sword marks were visible everywhere. The universe, once thought untouchable, was being wounded.

Kuarne had imagined this scene since time immemorial. Even in dreams, this vision frequently appeared.

“You are… truly the greatest.”

Kuarne covered his eyes, moved. The universe was nearing its end—a scene heralding the coming of the apocalypse.

But it was precisely its transience that made it so beautiful to him. Like ephemeral flowers that stir more than an evergreen tree. That was the feeling in Kuarne’s heart.

“Is this all you wanted?

That pathetic ending is your grand purpose?”

The voice from afar made him turn. His eyes, as dry and coarse as desert sand, settled on Meain Poison.

“…With such thin air, and you can still move. You are strong, woman.”

Meain was the only hero still standing. The others writhed on the ground, eyes white, foaming at the mouth.

“I’m not just any human.”

As Kuarne had said, the air was too thin to breathe normally.

Not just for humans, but for demons too. Every being born on this planet had grown up breathing oxygen. Yet that right had been stripped away.

Grrrraaaah…

Screams mingled. Humans and demons alike were dying. And not only them. Somewhere in the cosmos, on some planet where life existed, the same fate must be occurring. The “end” was encompassing the entire universe without distinction.

Meain observed the universe dying around her and then spoke as if in passing. Only one listener remained Kuarne.

“Is your goal just to die with the universe? What a miserable purpose for such a grand plan, don’t you think?”

“Hmm.”

Kuarne pondered briefly. A few spells would be enough to disintegrate that woman without a trace. Should he kill her or not?

“Since we’ve come this far, I suppose I can share a little.”

The doubt didn’t last long. That woman would die on her own in a matter of minutes. “He” was using His sword as a brush to paint the universe. It would be disrespectful to add another stroke.

‘Though I don’t really have a reason to chat with you either.’

But Kuarne was in a good mood. That emotion was fully reflected on his face. His eyes shone with unusual clarity.

“Before I met Him, I lived in tedium. I had come to despise the gospel of false gods, which I once took as truth.”

He recalled the past. His eyes grew moist with nostalgia.

“But one day, He appeared to us. His face… I don’t remember. I suppose my limited mind couldn’t retain it, but I think he was a man. His voice… was somewhat youthful, if I recall. But gender doesn’t matter. No matter His form, I would’ve been able to love Him.”

“…”

Meain listened in silence. Meanwhile, she cross-referenced his testimony with the prophetic book—the Akashic Records. Perhaps his words held a clue to reverse the situation.

“The first time I saw Him, He and I were enemies… How foolish. Even if it was an order from my master, I should never have opposed Him. I should have rebelled if necessary. No matter what, I should’ve stopped it. And yet, I was a fool.”

Even so, He was kind. He used His sword to make me understand.”

Kuarne scratched his cheek furiously, as if an insect were crawling beneath his skin. Blood oozed and the skin tore, but he didn’t stop.

“When I finally understood… it was too late. He had fulfilled His purpose and left the world. Ah… just when I was ready to offer Him this body, this entire universe… He lost interest and took His own life.”

Kuarne’s eyes dimmed.

“But I knew instinctively. That He would return. When the world was covered in filth, He would come back to purify it all. His sword can cut even death. And I… my role was to prepare the world for His return.”

Kuarne had become lovesick. When He disappeared, his life ended too.

He fell into despair and sank for millennia into the deepest depths.

The loss corrupted him.

The purest angel was consumed by madness and fell.

“So I founded Grigori and rebelled. I never believed I’d win. My brother Metatron still lived, the greatest of the angels. But I didn’t care. Winning didn’t matter—only that rebellion happened.”

Then the corners of Kuarne’s sagging lips twisted into a crooked grin.

“After that, I infiltrated the demons and sparked a war. Until that moment, the world was still relatively clean. Until 700 years ago. Yes… I’m referring to what you call the First Great War between humans and demons.”

Kuarne ground his teeth. Remembering that face filled him again with envy and rage.

“Balor Joaquin… That pathetic man was using ‘a portion’ of His power. He confused me. I was sure he wasn’t Him, so I didn’t understand how he could wield that power. That’s why I decided to watch. I observed from afar the battle between the First Corps Commander, Lycan, and the God of the Sword, and only in the final instant did I manage to calculate His position.”

Kuarne smiled again. His emotions were unstable and volatile.

“He came from outside. Therefore, the founding hero, Balor Joaquin, was merely a bridge to bring Him into this world. So I trusted that He would return. And the opportune moment would be…”

“When the Hero appeared.”

Meain completed the sentence. Kuarne’s mouth opened in surprise.

“You understand the context from hearing just a little. For a human, you have quite a useful mind.”

“So they say. After all, I was the headmistress of the academy you destroyed. Though it may not seem like it, I’m one of humanity’s brightest minds.”

Kuarne let out a sarcastic laugh at her words. Then he scanned the ruins of the academy, now reduced to ashes.

“The reason I attacked this place? Because it was a prison. A prison that obstructed His divinity and fostered a corrupted humanity. And you committed an unforgivable audacity. Humans trying to teach a god? How ridiculous. That’s why I destroyed it completely.”

“Hahahaha!”

Meain burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. Kuarne’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He had seen humans laugh crazily just before dying, but…

‘That laugh is different.’

It didn’t seem like the delusion of someone on the brink of death. It was the liberated laugh of someone who had just solved an ancient riddle.

“The academy isn’t this giant building.”

Meain kicked some rubble near her feet and spoke calmly.

“This type of structure? It can be rebuilt. Seven hundred years of history? For demons, that’s not even much. And for humans, it’s the same. Even if one person doesn’t live that long, the spirit of an era endures forever.”

Meain steadied her breathing. Maybe it was just an impression, but the air, which had recently been suffocating, now felt slightly lighter.

‘No, it’s not just an impression.’

Looking up at the sky, she understood why. Her conversation with Kuarne and cross-referencing the Akashic Records had reached its conclusion.

‘God of the Sword, young voice, founding hero as guide, the return, the hero…’

Meain began assembling the fragmented pieces like a puzzle. She already had the frame, so it didn’t take long.

“Kang Geom-Ma.”

She spoke the name. Kuarne twisted his face violently.

“That’s no longer His name. It’s a filthy name that only tainted His vessel. His true name is Hereb. The sword itself.”

“No.”

Meain shook her head. The drops of sweat that splattered formed dots on the ground.

“He is Kang Geom-Ma.”

She raised her index finger and pointed to the sky. Kuarne looked at her with hatred, ready to kill her on the spot, but instead finally looked up at the sky he had been reserving.

And was left speechless. Kuarne turned pale. His already white face became paler than a corpse’s.

[Transition Blessing – True – manifests.]

[Combined with the Reversed Celestial Eye, its range extends to the entire world line.]

A surge of golden light spread across the entire universe.

[Regeneration Blessing – True – manifests.]

[Seals the wounds of the world line and assists in the restoration of the universe.]

The damaged and broken clock of the universe began to turn again.

[Superstrength Blessing – Divine – manifests.]

[As the user’s speed surpasses light, the world line is reversed.]

A female voice echoed in their ears. For some, it was an announcement of salvation. For others, a sentence.

[Communication Blessing – True – manifests.]

[Thanks to this blessing, words are automatically translated into all languages and transmitted to everyone.]

Meanwhile, the heroes and demons who had been motionless began to stir. Kuarne, however, had a vacant stare. His pupils seemed empty.

“No… This can’t be. This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!”

It was time to awaken from the dream he never wanted to end.

[The Blessing of the God of the Sword manifests.]

++++++++++++++++++++

《May the blessing of the gods be with you.》

++++++++++++++++++++

***

A tangle of light appeared before me. I reached out my hand. It was so close I could almost grasp it, but it slipped through my fingers like silk.

‘Just one more step.’

I don’t know how many steps I took. When the number hit a trillion, I stopped counting.

I just kept walking. Without stopping. I used that bluish light in the distance as my beacon, hurtling toward it like a moth.

At times, I felt as if my body were merging with the universe.

‘Or maybe it wasn’t just a feeling?’

After wandering the universe for billions of years, perhaps I really had become one with it.

I witnessed the birth and death of stars. I watched them cluster into galaxies.

I left them behind and reached the outer edges of the universe. For a long time, I swam through the void and the nothingness, chasing only that blue light.

My mind was dry like a dead tree, but my body never aged.

At least, my appearance remained the same. Like in that blurred time. Like when all this began. Because I had twisted the laws of the world.

I rewound time. I became a being untethered, outside causality. I existed for a single purpose. I ran endlessly.

— React, Kang Geom-Ma.

Lycan held my consciousness.

— We’re almost there. If you give up now, you won’t be able to return to reality. You’ll be lost in the loop of time.

If not for his words, I would have stopped after a few thousand years of rewinding.

— There are people waiting for you. Remember who they are.

A demonic whisper. Ironically, it was what reignited a spark of hope.

“Yes.”

I replied. Or rather, it was my subconscious that answered. My mind was so calm it felt like a resting lake.

“I must go back.”

The light touched my retina. A light that guided me, pulled me.

It wasn’t the thread of the universe’s structure. It was the shape of the faces I longed for. The human heart.

At that moment, a viscous sensation brushed my cheek. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, a glow lit up my pupils.

A white breath flowed from my eyes, like a wolf’s breath.

I recognized the surroundings clearly. The veil of the abyss tore softly.

Figures appeared before me. Their alignment was chaotic and their sizes uneven. But all their eyes were fixed on a single point.

〈We truly wanted to see you again.〉

The rulers of the old world stood against an existence that transcended causality.

〈God of the Sword.〉

They were gods. Gods are not bound by time or space.

They exist in the past, present, and future. Causality is merely their invention.

Swoosh.

My sashimis sliced through their words in a single stroke. In the middle of the abyss, the sound of the sword spread like ripples.

— You can’t drag this fight out. It’ll put too much strain on your body and the timeline.

Lycan warned. I nodded.

“I know.”

One minute a day.

“That’s how it’s been until now.”

I become a Sword.