Chapter 265
When Lee Tae-Han was the king of the north, he had once paid tribute to the war dead with the aim of encouraging the group. However, it was a resounding dud; no one empathized with it. It was common for the dead to be called losers because vicious quests appeared whenever comradeship between the Awakened was about to form.
At first, there was a great skepticism toward the System that generated such quests. It selected a few Awakened and gave them supernatural powers, but it also instigated them to kill each other. It made the members of the same group feel anxious throughout the stage and made it impossible for them to avoid massive bleeding. This was a supernatural phenomenon in which good and evil coexisted, with no clear distinguishment.
Lee Tae-Han had only viewed the System in that way until Odin explained the facts to him. The truth was astounding. There were evil monarchs called the Seven Demon Kings. It was often said that it was a great waste of space if there was no alien civilization outside of earth. Therefore, the fact that aliens were invading Earth wasn’t too far-fetched, but for some reason he couldn’t believe that Doom Kaos, the most powerful among the Seven Demon Kings, actually existed.
Doom Kaos was a divine being that could only exist in a function. Indeed, the pinnacle demon king’s authority was immense. It had turned all of the work of the Awakened, who fiercely tried to survive, into dust. It had destroyed the top stages through the quest ‘Fight Until There’s Only One Person Left.’
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light “Day,” and the darkness “Night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
There was no difference between the current situation and the first verse of the Bible. It was the same thing as ‘Doom Kaos said, Let there be only one alive out of the three: and there was only one left.’
Therefore, Lee Tae-Han felt hopeless. He didn’t even care about the items Odin had given him. However, a strange thing happened that day. Reports came in one after another that malicious quests had disappeared from all the members of the guild. Something must have gone wrong. Tae-Han had been thinking about it all along, so he couldn’t help but mention it.
Odin stated, “Focus on defending the cities. Then, I’ll finish the rest.”
He responded desolately, “...As you already know, it is hopeless. People don’t follow my orders when I tell them to come to my office. Even if I force them to come, they just stay there for a few minutes and leave immediately. Everyone is afraid that a quest like yesterday’s will occur again.”
“So?”
Since yesterday, Odin’s eyes had been filled with anger.
Tae-Han continued, “I didn’t want to tell you this either, but that is the reality. I can’t guarantee things will get better even though you will be taking charge of the boundary.”
Tae-Han began to get the chills while facing Odin. On top of that, the tremors below the other man’s eyes seemed like he would kill every living thing immediately, including Tae-Han…
However, he needed to hear something from Odin.
He pointed out cautiously, “The bad quests just happened to vanish. The ‘Potential Threat’ that we could carry out infinitely is also gone.”
Odin growled, “Get to the point.”
Tae-Han had come to the conclusion that they needed a story that would encourage the entire city in addition to Odin’s help.
Tae-Han continued, “I can’t stop myself but to keep apologizing. However… we have to announce that the reason why the vicious quests were canceled was because of you, Odin. We should plant faith in them that quests like yesterday will never happen again. Please grant me permission.”
Odin was such a man. He took credit for all that he did, but someone making up a story that didn’t exist was enough to provoke his anger. Tae-Han ended his sentence although he thought Odin wouldn’t accept it. He couldn’t bear to make eye contact with Odin and began to look at the other man’s mouth instead. Contrary to his expectations that Odin would instantly get pissed off, Odin had seriously considered his request for a long time.
Odin finally opened his mouth. “You have the talent… to tell the truth like a lie.”
“What do you mean…”
Odin interrupted, “That it’s true. I did it. Well, yeah… Announce it. Now the power of Doom Kaos is concentrated only on me, so such damage will never occur to you guys again.”
This was also an unexpected truth, same as the cause of the System’s deterioration. It was a truth that no one other than people like Odin could access!
Lee Tae-Han asked, “Are… are you serious?”
Odin nodded. “Yes, the System’s crazy stuff is over, Lee Tae-Han.”
“Okay.”
Odin suddenly asked, “Do you have kids?”
“Y…yes…”
“Then, you should be happy. We are going through a tragedy, but this would be good news for your family who might be somewhere else on a different stage.”
At that time, Tae-Han felt like he was being sucked into a hole, like yesterday when he had entered a limited space to kill two other guild members. However, his body remained here, only his mind was lost in Odin’s glaring eyes.
***
After Odin left, Tae-Han was frozen as he felt a coldness deep inside his heart. The more he thought about it, the more goosebumps he got. The story he believed he was making up didn’t make sense. It meant there were other beings that affected the System besides the Seven Demon Kings, and that such a being was a human like him.
However, it was true… In fact, Odin didn’t stop there and even stated that Doom Kaos’ savage power was now concentrated on him. In other words, the evil god that the entire human race had to deal with was attacking Odin alone now. Just by looking at this stage, it was clear that Odin was a savior. It seemed like everything would make sense in Odin’s life even though they were considered impossible for others.
Tae-Han then realized that Odin could be in a higher position than Joshua von Karjan, the head of the World Awakened Association. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Jeonil Club, the successor of the Bilderberg Club, had the same mission as the Jeonil Group. In addition, Odin’s father's name was identical to the group’s. Based on that, Odin could be the owner of the Jeonil Group and the leader of the Jeonil Club. Since he had been preparing for the Day of Advent for a long time, he would have expected the economic shock. He might have actually saved the global economy.
Tae-Han now felt ashamed of making assumptions about Odin by investigating him secretly. When Tae-Han called the other cities’ leaders over, he was still buried in the shadow left by the giant. He was certain that there would be no way to escape from this shadow in the future. Even if there was a way, he didn’t want to escape. Instead, he thought he was destined to serve the savior of mankind.
Oh… Odin… My Odin…
Then, someone knocked on the door. It was Kim Ji-Hoon, not Angela.
“Sir, I want to know what your plans are for the future.”
Prior to yesterday evening, Tae-Han had been overwhelmed with feeling helpless and the thought that he couldn’t die like this. Then, he saw the light from Odin. Ever since he had learned the truth, the light had grown out of control and engulfed him. He was dizzy from this, but this sly bastard trying to derive benefits made Tae-Han come to his senses.
Tae-Han replied calmly, “There will be a big announcement soon. Get ready.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”
Previously, Tae-Han had failed to kill Ji-Hoon, and no one knew of the latter’s whereabouts for a while. However, one day, Ji-Hoon appeared out of nowhere at the headquarters and said one thing: Odin had sent him there. That was it. He didn’t mention a single word about how Tae-Han tried to remove him, and he didn’t threaten Tae-Han that he would report to Odin about how he had carried out a background investigation.
However, Ji-Hoon often protested silently. His attitude gave off the feeling that he would tattle on Odin at any time if Tae-Han didn’t support him. He always hung around Tae-Han and studied his face, which was annoying. Tae-Han’s rage always surged up whenever he saw Ji-Hoon, but he wasn’t mad now as it was right after he recognized the huge world. There was no difference between what Ji-Hoon had done to him and what he had done to the savior of mankind. They were all miserable.
“Then, leave,” Tae-Han said.
Ji-Hoon looked at Tae-Han with wonder, then turned away.
***
Compared to the competition before Act Two began, the situation was terrible right now. The wounded were focusing on recovering in preparation for another night raid. Therefore, it seemed like the virus that transmitted unhappiness and fear had spread around the city although there were only a few gathered there. People only thought about who would die next tonight. No one made the sound even when Tae-Han went up to the podium. If it was before, they would have shouted ‘Revolucion!’ in excitement.
He started his speech, “I was like you guys and wondered what this was all about!”
“As you know, I have more responsibilities than you guys. Thousands of families of Ilsung are waiting for me out there.”
No one really listened to him as it was a predictable speech. They thought he would end with: “Let’s all work together and get through this tonight!” That wasn’t what the people needed.
Tae-Han shouted at the people blankly staring at him, “Even after I awakened, I only thought about my company. All I thought about was who I should take from here to Ilsung. But today, I have given up on my company. I’m only going to be the Awakened Lee Tae-Han and your guild leader!”
Tae-Han came down from the podium and began to walk in between people. He made eye contact with one by one and pulled the attention from those who were looking away from him.
“I can hear your thoughts even if you don’t say it out loud! You guys are thinking that if another quest like yesterday happens and the System plays tricks again, you will all die, right? That’s ridiculous. I also don’t want another day like this to happen.”
At that point, he raised his voice.
“I will risk my life. If something like that happens again, you can kill me. I’ll give you my neck without resistance.”
Without any fuss, only Lee Tae-Han’s voice filled the air like the wind.
“However, since the quest ‘Ruler’ has been canceled, there will be no occasion where my guild leader position will be transferred to someone else. Use your brain and think about it. Why did the quest ‘Ruler’ disappear? Why did ‘Potential Threat’ and ‘Assassination’ all vanish at once? I learned the truth, and now, I’d like to share it with you guys. No one has learned this truth besides us!”
Tae-Han had succeeded in drawing the people’s attention to him, so he then returned to the podium.
“For the sake of those who are slower, I will get right to the point. We have a savior by our side. He is the one who you couldn’t even make eye contact with. He is the one who you were so scared of that you forgot about his great achievements.”
Tae-Han’s face flushed.
“Odin got rid of it all. He has erased the vicious parts of the System, and he is currently being attacked by Doom Kaos alone. Does that seem possible as a human being? No way! It’s in the realm of divinity.”
At that moment, Tae-Han’s voice seemed to spread throughout the city.
“But what are you afraid of? We are already under the wings of god!”
Tae-Han could tell that the eyes that were focused on him were regaining their vitality.
“Odin has stopped the evil System, and he will destroy the boundaries around the light pillar. We only need to protect this city, so don’t forget about his sacrifices for us!”
[Guild: The Guild Leader Lee Tae-Han named the city ‘City of the Savior.’]
“We are stepping on the Land of the Savior! Where the Divinity is!”
Starting from then, something changed. Tae-Han didn’t induce or instigate the people, but everyone started clenching their fists in the air like Revolucion’s salute, but the chant was different now.
“O-din!”
“O-din!”
“O-din!”
Tae-Han could finally throw his fist into the air. It was a moment when his heart was full and his entire body was shaking. He shouted with all his might.
“O-din!”