Chapter 325: One of the Two Will Die (6)

Kang Geom-Ma had arrived at the Antarctic base.

At Vixbig’s discreet report, Ryozo said nothing. She merely drummed her fingers on the sofa arm, clearly annoyed.

Ryozo glanced at the black-haired girl Speedweapon had introduced as “Rina.”

In her mind, Ryozo knew Chaerina couldn’t be Kang Geom-Ma’s secret daughter. According to what she’d heard, she was seventeen—meaning Kang Geom-Ma would have had a daughter at ten years old.

That was absurd. And Ryozo, who knew her husband’s incompetence all too well, understood this more than anyone.

Surely Abel, who handled the even days, had also dismissed that ridiculous idea.

‘Still…’

There was clearly something suspicious in the relationship between Kang Geom-Ma and Rina. Ryozo couldn’t simply ignore it.

‘That’s why I was planning to ask him directly.’

But he had fled.

To the Antarctic base—such a remote location that, under normal circumstances, they’d have taken a while to notice his arrival… but—

— Order received.

Not even the darkest corner is safe.

The moment Kang Geom-Ma appeared, his loyal subordinate Vixbig gave him away.

Vixbig had recently been exiled by Ryozo for bothering her; now she wagged her tail like a faithful dog trying to redeem herself before her mistress.

“…For now, leave it be.”

— E-excuse me?

“Let him get a bit of fresh air.”

—If that’s your wish, Mistress…

“And stop talking like that too.”

Ryozo sighed deeply.

Then she turned back to Rina, recalling the words she’d uttered upon first seeing Leon.

‘Baldr (ᛒᛇᛏᚱ).’

Why had she mentioned a name linked to Balor Joaquin?

Just as she frowned at that thought, Leon spoke.

“Do you think this girl could participate in the first-year preliminaries of the exchange tournament?”

Speedweapon jumped in surprise.

“Rina?”

“I can’t explain why, but I have a good feeling about her.”

“But she hasn’t had formal lessons or been officially admitted yet…”

“That’s fine.”

“Ryozo!”

Abel frowned.

“Is the Association really going to intervene in internal Academy affairs?”

Speedweapon shrugged.

Damn it. How do these two get along so well? How does the President manage living under the same roof with them? What kind of internal battle do they wage every day? President!

‘So that’s why he fled.’

Ryozo and Abel fixed their sharp gazes on Rina.

Ryozo forced open the lips she had sealed.

“From today on, you are a student of the Joaquin Academy.”

Rina bowed her head, chewing a square of red-bean candy, her dark eyes steady.

***

I told Media and Victor a summary of the situation—a sad story of how I had fled to the Antarctic to escape Ryozo and Abel’s circle. The woes of a married man.

Victor seemed to understand me perfectly. He wiped away tears in front of his daughter while nodding vigorously.

“I know. I completely understand you, Heavenly Sword.”

I appreciate his empathy, but that man is still in love with his penguin costume.

At first, I thought it was just some crazy cosplay. But having worn it for ten years, it was clear that deep down Victor truly loved penguins.

Media, resigned, didn’t comment. She just cast me disapproving looks from time to time.

That her father wore that costume didn’t matter anymore. What was truly unnerving was the way she looked at me.

Perhaps because of that.

“You said you fled as soon as you received the message?”

…

Her tone carried a hint of disdain.

“Yes.”

“You didn’t even try to talk about it?”

I nodded silently, brushing the snow from my shoulders.

“……”

Perhaps I seemed too calm in response.

Media looked at me in disbelief.

Still, she spoke, her tone tinged with an exasperated sigh.

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate coming from a single woman, but when things like this happen, isn’t it better to address them directly with the people involved?”

“I know confronting it face to face is the right thing.”

“And knowing that, you still chose to flee?”

Of course I know. Of course I do.

But you also have to know with whom you can do that. If it were a sword duel, I wouldn’t care who came.

But with words, I’m the kind of man who could lose even to a student.

I’m built with an explosive temperament stamped in my essence. To me, a stab is more effective than a thousand words.

Fighting verbally against both Ryozo and Abel at once? Simply impossible.

That’s why I fled. Even if they mocked me, it was the best I could do at the time.

‘Still, I have to explain.’

As I said, tomorrow. At least I have to give them time to cool off. Only then can we have a proper conversation.

— If we summarize Geom-Ma’s words, it means he just had bad luck in the draw.

Vixbig—seemingly reading my thoughts—stepped in to defend me.

— Consider it, Miss Media. From what Kang Geom-Ma says, it must be a misunderstanding. But as we know, humans are creatures vulnerable to emotions. Even with logic, it would be difficult—and given his poor speaking ability, could he really persuade Master Ryozo and Master Abel?

“Thank you for your kind explanation, Vixbig.”

That’s why I’ll forgive you for what you did.

‘Just this once.’

Media’s brow furrowed. Then Victor spoke up in my favor.

“What she says is true. Kang Geom-Ma is a thinking man. Even though he once stabbed me for eating beans without respect for my elders…”

He still holds that in his heart? It’s true the elderly never let grievances go.

Victor noticed my gaze sharpening little by little. Maybe that’s why he emphasized his gestures.

“But he sacrificed himself for humanity and is a good family man! It’s been a while since we saw his face, Heavenly Sword! Come on in, come in—it’s cold, warm yourself up.”

“Thank you for receiving me, even though I came unannounced.”

“Haha. Between us, no formalities are needed.”

“I appreciate it nonetheless. But…”

I turned my head. There was a monitor.

On it, equations and indecipherable diagrams were displayed across the wall. I understood nothing, yet felt a chill run down my spine. When that happened, it was usually a sign that something bad was coming.

“I see you noticed it too.”

Victor and Media came to my sides.

“What is this about…?”

Media’s glasses reflected the big monitor clearly. Perhaps that’s why she answered calmly.

“The first apocalypse.”

***

Crunch, crunch.

A man, adorned with a dozen squirrels dangling like ornaments, was walking through the subspace.

The squirrels scurried about diligently, covering the man’s private areas as leaves might obscure a Roman statue.

“I told you not to do that, geez.”

“(Have some decency, human!)”

“(Strutting around naked isn’t anything to boast about!)”

“No one’s going to see me anyway.”

And that was true. Demon creatures in animal form fled at his sight, while the human-shaped demons simply ignored him.

‘They treat me like I’m invisible to humans.’

As they say, animals have senses so acute they can detect things humans cannot.

Like birds that sense earthquakes before they happen, or cats and dogs that see ghosts—so they say.

“Squeak. (Interesting.)”

The secretary squirrel murmured as she watched a demon walk by as if the man wasn’t there. She was perched close to the man’s ear.

“(I’ve heard of this from Lord Lycan. They say someone can end up halfway between two timelines. I never thought I’d see an example with my own eyes.)”

The man, Balor Joaquin, let out a dry laugh.

Returning to his original world was a confirmed fact. But he hadn’t done it completely. As the secretary said, he’d come back in an unstable state.

‘Not even the God of the Sword can go directly against the suppression power. That’s why he sent me back in this incomplete way.’

Surely the Ring Eye influenced this too.

He had used the “most powerful magic eye” to alter the world’s course once. And the God of the Sword probably intervened to break through suppression magic, making this semi-spectral state more functional.

But that wasn’t the real problem. The issue was that he couldn’t interfere in the real world and that his range of action was limited to subspace.

Because what held him tied to this timeline was the magic itself.

‘Until an environment rich in magic is created in the real world, I won’t be able to cross over.’

And even if I could cross, I had no body.

“In many ways, this is a problem.”

Balor Joaquin scratched his brow.

His nails didn’t catch any folds. Both arms were intact. His current body—though just a soul—appeared as a man in his thirties, and the wounds he’d suffered in the First Human-Demon War were fully healed. If he recovered his body, he could unleash his full power again.

For now.

‘My immediate goal is…’

Fully understand my current state. Luckily, the squirrels were smart.

They taught him the world’s recent history while he was in another timeline. Especially helpful was the squirrel who claimed to be Lycan’s secretary.

‘If everything goes well…’

He clenched his fist.

‘…I’ll be able to see you again.’

As soon as I opened my eyes, a surge of longing rose powerful and strong. Reunion with him was near. As Balor Joaquin gently ground his teeth, the secretary squirrel continued chattering.

“(Lord Lycan knows everything. He will understand his regret. I also learned the world’s truth thanks to him.)”

If fate wanted to mock him, it was in this way. The same rival who had torn off an arm now led the squirrel clan. And now even seemed to hold the key to fixing Balor’s problem. An irony beyond explanation.

“Living long truly lets you see these things.”

“(Though not as long as Lord Lycan.)”

“I doubt it.”

Balor showed a slight smile.

“I told you I’m an infinite reincarnator. I don’t remember every past life, but I’ve lived at least two thousand years.”

“(How are you supposed to prove that?!)”

“The fact that I’m speaking to you is proof.”

“(And what does that have to do with speaking our language?!)”

I wasn’t always reincarnated as a human. In fact, if my blurry memory isn’t wrong, I started as moss, then was eaten by a deer and reincarnated as a deer.

Later as a wolf. I climbed the food chain until I was finally born as a human—at its peak.

“(…What kind of world is this?)”

“The one who should be complaining is me.”

“(Okay, okay.)”

The squirrel rubbed her face with her little paws.

“(And what’s your relationship with Lord Lycan?)”

“I’m not sure, but I likely had something to do with him becoming one of your kind.”

“(R-Really?)”

Balor nodded and continued walking. Beneath his feet, the grey grass crunched softly.

“(Then you’re also a benefactor to us squirrels!)”

“Think whatever you want.”

They were cute—but really exhausting.

It had been more than a week since he’d started moving around with squirrels attached to his body. As a semi-material being, he didn’t feel hunger, didn’t need sleep, nor had physiological functions. But the squirrels did—and they did all that on top of him.

Yet Balor wasn’t offended.

Thanks to his guidance, they had reached their destination a chasm. Gehenna’s geography was so changeable that without animal instinct, one could easily get lost.

“We have arrived.”

A chasm opened right at his feet.

Whoooooosh!

A gloomy wind gushed from its depths, blowing Balor’s messy fringe aside. The squirrels clung to each other by their tails, trying not to be blown away.

‘That wind is charged with magical energy.’

The outline of his semi-transparent body sharpened. This meant the place had an even higher mana concentration than the center of subspace.

This phenomenon, combined with the imminent encounter with his old enemy, could give him clues about his current state.

Smile.

A smile appeared on Balor’s lips. Below his neck, however, was pure chaos. The squirrels struggled with all their strength not to be sucked into the magical wind.

“(Save the squirrels! Save the squirrels!)”

“There’s no other option.”

Whump!

Balor suddenly embraced the entire flock. Only the squirrels’ little eyes peeked out from his chest.

“Hold on well.”

And in that instant…

Whoosh…!

A scream was swallowed by the chasm.

***

In a guest room at the Antarctic base.

The words Media and Victor had told me earlier still echoed in my mind. Their impact kept me from sleeping.

In the end, I decided to organize my thoughts. With my fingers interlocked, I held my head and stared at the ceiling.

How could I describe this feeling? It was so complex, it couldn’t be summed up in a single word.

Ever since I became something between a human and a god, my emotions had become more stable. Maybe it was because of the “Spirit Level” stat, which maxed out thanks to the blessing of the God of the Sword.

Focus, Kang Geom-Ma.

Comparing this to a game at such a critical moment? Isn’t it time to throw away that dumb concept of aloofness now that you’re past twenty? The fate of the universe is at stake!

“Even Yu Sein, a reincarnated one, and the natives of this world felt something strange… but I, a god, didn’t notice anything at all.”

Disqualified as a god.

“Haah…”

Enough self-pity. I turned slightly and began to review everything that had happened.

It all started with the strange sensation Media experienced. Thanks to that clue, we launched an investigation. And indeed, as a testament to the genius of the ancients, we managed to deduce a near future with great precision.

Whether it’s true or not, the fact that she said the same thing as Yu Sein couldn’t be a coincidence.

“It’s practically confirmation.”

Though it was hard to digest, I had to etch it into memory.

An abstract and despairing evil called “the end” will take over this world. According to Yu Sein and the Poison family, it will happen in three stages.

And each name sounded more grandiose than the last.

Ragnarök.

Kali Yuga. [1]

Prasho Kereti. [2]

‘Wasn’t there one more…?’

Anyway.

Ragnarök was the only one that sounded familiar.

But all three were synonyms for the same concept the apocalypse.

“…Shit.”

It’s not enough to crush those squid-things. Now even abstract concepts are taking form and attacking us.

Taking physical form.

“…”

Wait.

A revelation struck me like lightning.

‘If it already has physical form…’

…

My skill cuts through anything it touches. And I fully absorbed the Blessing of the God of the Sword. If something touches the sashimi, it’s sliced to pieces.

Think, Kang Geom-Ma.

Think deeper—find the masterstroke to save this world that teeters on the edge.

I’m not omniscient. Nor am I omnipotent. All things considered, I’m a pretty flawed god.

‘Precisely for that reason, there must be something I can latch onto.’

Swinging the sashimi without thinking isn’t the solution. I don’t even know how far its waves might reach.

Besides, the inter-academy exchange was about to begin. It wasn’t just the end of the world that needed attention. Even if no one said it aloud, I had the duty to protect this world.

According to Yu Sein, I was primarily responsible for the state of the world. By killing the false gods, the Suppression Force had decided to press the “end” button. I destroyed this world’s logic.

“Mmh.”

In a cold corner of the Antarctic base, at some point I had sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, lost in thought. It felt like cold steam was seeping out of my head.

‘I desperately need a status interface.’

That privilege that organized everything and gave me clear directional cues…

Creakkk.

The dorm door suddenly opened. The light from the hallway split the room’s darkness in two.

“Kang Geom-Ma.”

Peeking through the half-open door, only her jade-colored hair was visible.

I stammered.

“Ah—Ah, Director…?”

“You seem to be awake.”

“Y-Yes…”

“What’s with that reaction? Why are you so nervous?”

Who wouldn’t be? It was the first time I’d seen Media without her glasses.

My honest impression was.

‘It was the glasses’ fault.’

And a lot of fault. A beautiful face that even glasses couldn’t fully hide had finally bloomed completely.

I was speechless. All the worries that weighed on me vanished without me realizing it. Seeing her face without makeup for the first time in ten years hit me so hard it left me stunned. That cliché of “a beauty after removing her glasses” landed a critical blow.

“Uh…”

Media hesitated a little before speaking.

“Do you have a moment?”

As she shyly tucked the hair falling by her ear behind it.

T/N:

1. Kali Yuga

Origin: Hinduism.

Meaning, The last of the four eras (Yugas) of the world. It represents an age of decline, darkness, ignorance, corruption, and conflict. It is said that we are currently living in the Kali Yuga.

2. Prasho Kereti (possibly misromanized)

This name does not directly correspond to any recognized doctrine. It is most likely.

A loose or incorrect transliteration of some apocalyptic term from an Eastern mythology.