Chapter 294: God Slays God (2)

Ryozo snapped her eyes open. She bolted out of the room, rushed through the living room, and made her way to the balcony.

Tap tap tap.

Cynthia flinched at the sight of her daughter acting like that.

Despite her dizziness and the buzzing in her head, she turned her gaze toward the balcony railing. She felt nauseous, as if the world were spinning.

“…What’s wrong with her now?”

Just moments ago, both of them had been unconscious. The air quality and ozone layer had deteriorated so much that oxygen was scarce.

But the Earth had stabilized within the so-called “golden minute.” The life force that had seemed withered was now beating strongly again.

“……”

Ryozo carefully clung to the balcony railing and looked up. In the sky, which had been pitch-black, a cerulean curtain was unfurling. The sky’s transformation was reflected in her sky-blue eyes, as though witnessing a miracle.

“Kang Geom-Ma…”

She murmured his name with a sorrowful look. The savior of a humanity on the verge of extinction was none other than Kang Geom-Ma.

‘That dream…’

While asleep, she had dreamed. A chasm deeper than darkness. A space where time had lost meaning. There, Kang Geom-Ma fought endlessly against an unknown force. A lonely, merciless battle.

An unending fight. Though it was something from the past, its impact on the present and future was immense. The distorted causality manifested instantly.

It could’ve been nothing but a meaningless dream. Ryozo desperately wished that were true.

‘Please.’

Every time she recalled Kang Geom-Ma in that dream, her chest froze. Reason and logic tried to convince her it was just a nightmare, but what she now saw before her was proof enough to doubt that.

She swallowed hard. It felt like a block of ice slid down her throat.

“Wow—!”

Cynthia stood beside her daughter, leaning her elbows casually on the railing, letting her arms hang over the edge. A risky posture, but she was no less reckless than Ryozo.

“The sky’s beautiful.”

Cynthia spoke as the sea breeze brushed her face. The sky was painted in equal parts deep blue like night and crimson red like a gemstone. Light and darkness, dawn and dusk, past and present coexisting—as if the universe’s journey had been spread across a canvas.

With that thought, she smiled at her daughter. The dark blue and crimson hues bathed their profiles.

“Remember a few days ago, when Heavenly Sword came to our house? That day, he made a promise. He said he’d come back. And from the way he said it, he seemed like someone who always keeps his word. What do you think, Ryozo?”

Ryozo moved her lips slightly, then nodded gently.

“…If he says he’ll do something, he will. No matter what.”

“Right?”

Cynthia smiled more warmly. She ran her hand through her daughter’s hair.

“Then let’s trust him. And if you’re still worried, why not pray for him? If you don’t want to do it alone, I’ll pray with you.”

“But… who do we pray to?”

Ryozo hesitated. She’d never been a person of faith. But maybe because of that strange nightmare, her mistrust of the gods had only deepened.

‘What if the ones fighting against Kang Geom-Ma are the gods?’

An irreverent thought crept into her mind. Maybe that’s why she didn’t want to pray to them.

“Who else? To Heavenly Sword, of course.”

“But he’s human. Isn’t it weird for a human to pray to another human?”

“Prayer has never been reserved just for gods, sweetheart.”

At that moment, a star twinkled in the sky. Thanks to the thinning atmosphere, it shone brighter than ever.

And they multiplied. Hundreds, thousands. Within seconds, the number skyrocketed.

Soon, the sky was completely filled. The estimated count was about three billion—more than half the world’s population.

Mother and daughter, mesmerized by the sky, looked at each other at the same time. Cynthia smiled and continued.

“If each of those stars were a human wish, who do you think they’d be for?”

The answer was obvious. At this moment, the figure humanity trusted most was only one.

“Kang Geom-Ma.”

At a time when humanity had slowly stopped relying on abstract deities and started believing in the tangible. No longer leaving everything to fate. No longer calling upon a god whenever something went wrong.

Many had been influenced by Kang Geom-Ma’s independent spirit. The world now valued personal will more than blind faith.

Ryozo looked up at the sky again. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. Cynthia did the same beside her.

They prayed, silently, but with deep sincerity, to “Him.”

‘Kang Geom-Ma.’

Then, the tips of their hair lifted gently, and a faint light spread across their skin. That light rose like a beam.

A wish. One more star joined the sky.

***

The battle was erratic and chaotic. There was no light; vision was completely obscured. The five senses were dulled. I could barely attack and counter, guided only by hazy sensations.

I couldn’t see the enemy. I didn’t even know if I was spilling blood. As if swinging a blade underwater, the movements of the sashimi knife were slow and heavy.

I breathed in ragged gasps. Kicked at the air. Swung the sashimi blade. Lycan occasionally lit the surroundings with bursts of lightning. I moved in rhythm with those fleeting flashes.

Boom boom boom boom.

〈Give up already.〉

One of the gods took human form and spoke. A handsome middle-aged man with luxurious hair and beard, like a divine statue.

〈You know well your power is immense. After all, it’s the power that once annihilated us. Even if you don’t know it, a ten-thousandth of us has already fallen by your sword.〉

Damn it. I swung the blade at nearly the speed of light and only killed a ten-thousandth?

That means there are hundreds of millions of them. An endless, damn plague of gods.

〈But now you’ve abandoned your divinity and chosen to be human. You won’t defeat us like this.〉

Voices whispered behind the middle-aged man. Mocking, clearly directed at me. The [Blessing of Communication] translated the divine language directly into my head.

〈Foolish human. Giving up immortality for mortality.〉

〈All for fleeting pleasure. How pathetic, God of the Sword.〉

〈To think this weakened being was once our butcher… Can’t even see in the dark now. Truly insignificant.〉

The middle-aged man raised a hand to silence them. He seemed to be their leader.

〈Unfortunately, that’s your current state. Accept it. You’re strong—stronger even than before. But as you are now, you’re an incomplete god.〉

He extended a hand. With a benevolent smile, his beard glowed like golden dust.

〈My name is Jupiter. As the pinnacle of the gods, I offer you this proposal: become our leader in my place.〉

A sudden offer. I glared at Jupiter and looked past him.

‘There’s no dissent among them. They’ve already discussed this.’

– Seems that way.

My guardian spirit, Lycan, answered my thoughts. He floated around me like a gray shadow.

‘Isn’t that just a blatant lie?’

– Gods don’t lie. Even if they’re hostile, that’s part of their nature. Though… I think he’s faking his appearance a bit.

Lycan squinted. His gaze tingled like static.

〈God of the Sword, I’m not only speaking to you. I also offer a seat to that lesser creature you harbor inside. Wasn’t his name Lycan? What do you say? Tempting, isn’t it? A mortal becoming immortal. Unheard of.〉

His tone turned more condescending. He scorned with both voice and gaze.

‘He’s basically looking down on you.’

– Of course. From his point of view, I’m less than an insect. Offering a divine seat to a created being must be eating them alive. I’m just bait to drag you along.

Lycan crossed his arms calmly. Truly worthy of his former title as King of the Demon Realm.

‘So, what will you do, god?’

– It’s tempting. Gaining divinity means being able to interfere with truth. I could even be reborn in a new body. Right now, I’m neither alive nor dead.

Lycan smiled cynically. Jupiter’s expression twisted slightly as if he’d expected that. Lycan smirked.

– Even so, I refuse.

〈A created being dares defy us? Insolent. State your reason before you’re erased.〉

Jupiter’s eyes gleamed ominously. Lycan curled his lips and spat.

– Do you know how many were sacrificed by your schemes?

〈No. And I don’t care.〉

– That’s why, you bastard.

Lycan spat like phlegm. I guess he learned that from me. I, Kang Geom-Ma, hereby recognize Lycan as an honorary citizen of Korea.

〈Pathetic…〉

Jupiter sighed, covering his forehead and shaking his head. His eyes were emotionless.

〈Creations rising above their creators… perhaps that’s why you destroyed us before.〉

He looked at me. Murderous intent simmered in his eyes. His golden beard quivered like yellow tentacles.

〈I hope you won’t make the wrong choice.〉

He warned. His eyes turned red, his skin slowly shifted to green. Like a werewolf under the full moon about to go mad.

Grrrr…

The gods behind him reacted the same. The dark light they emitted twisted the abyss itself.

〈We’re not doing this out of goodwill. When you defeated us, we understood—this world isn’t the only one. There are many. Perhaps infinite.〉

Greed dripped from his voice like oil.

〈We want them all. But we’re trapped in this world. We couldn’t cross the boundary. But when you shattered us, we understood.〉

He bared his teeth coldly. Moved a finger toward me.

〈You are the blade that can cut through everything. Use your sword to tear the boundaries between worlds. Do that, and we’ll give you this world.〉

They had everything and still wanted more. That was their nature and their curse.

The gods had lost interest in this world. I thought, if they’re busy invading others, maybe this world will have peace. Besides, traversing other universes would take them eons.

‘But what about those other worlds?’

Is saving only this world enough? One thing I know for sure: these greedy monsters will get there someday too.

They’ll bring ruin wherever they go. Even if gods exist in those worlds, their influence will be destructive.

– If this were only about this world, maybe accepting would be the better option.

Lycan commented.

– But if you reject them like I do, killing them all will take less time than it would for you to lose your humanity. I’ll respect your decision, but for now…

He paused.

In the abyss, sparks of light began to appear.

Jupiter and the gods looked confused. Something was happening in their domain.

Warm particles of light formed a gigantic sphere around us. Then, those lights took on identical shapes.

– This is…

Lycan whispered, in disbelief. The lights surrounded us like halos.

The raw flesh of the abyss was exposed. Those who hid in darkness were revealed. Blades of light pointed at all of them at once.

Each one was weak. But gathered—billions of them—even fireflies could shine like a sun.

My eyes moved from counting them to glaring at the gods in fury.

‘Now I can see their true faces.’

Monstrous forms, part abyssal creature, part human. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t bargain with fish. I’m a swordsman.”

I pointed Murasame at the enemies. The rays of light—the wishes of humanity—launched, tearing through the darkness.

“Technique of the Just Blade.”

The abyss howled. Screams of death echoed amid the weave of sacred light.

“I’ll cut down every last one of you.”

The sword that slays gods… is the spirit of humanity.