- Kwon Seong-Il!
- I’m here! Here! I found Tae-Han!
Lee Tae-Han was in Seong-Il’s arms, and he looked terrible. His body was still going through regeneration as he had been severely injured. The stench of his festering wound was so disgusting that it made me frown unconsciously.
Seong-Il reported, “I found him in the pile of dead bodies. You know that I have a dog’s nose.”
Lee Tae-Han stared at me with his remaining eye that was still intact. His face was covered with flesh and intestines, so it was hard to tell if he was an Awakened or a monster.
“Mary will treat you when she joins us,” I stated.
He muttered, “Zhang Weilong… the Lord of Heaven…”
“Do you think he is still alive after doing this?” I asked grimly.
Lee Tae-Han’s eye closed slowly as if he had heard the answer he wanted.
“By the way, Kciphos are weird. They ignore me and whisper by themselves. What if they betray us?” he suddenly asked.
I responded, “With monster corps… yes. It’s correct to say that we are in a state of truce.”
He nodded. “Those on the last floor of the boundary will love this news. Quite a number were still fighting there.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Around ten thousand? They seem to be holding out somehow because the area they have to protect is small. I’m so proud of them,” Seong-Il said.
No, he was wrong. They were only battling because they couldn’t escape. Anyway, the remaining time was running out, and once all the power of the Old One got extinguished, time would resume on earth. In other words, the monster corps that were advancing toward the capital cities of major countries would move again.
Doom Kaos had suspended the order to attack our home, but it was highly likely that his commands didn’t extend to those who continued to attack human settlements outside. Even so, I couldn’t let go of those who had directly invaded the earth.
This implied that all Awakened were supposed to be prepared to return to their home before our human infrastructure was damaged by monsters’ sloppy attacks and before the power of the Old One dissipated.
There was no Stage of Rest. Also, unlike the past, we wouldn’t be returned to the place where we were moved to the stage.
“Our war here is over. We are now going back home,” I said.
Seong-Il stopped moving, and Lee Tae-Han flinched.
“Ki…Cheol… Can I really see my son, Ki-Cheol? This fucking hell is finally over.”
Seong-Il acted like he was about to burst into tears. We headed toward the inside of the boundary.
The scene, as described by Seong-Il, was filled with people engaged in combat against the Kciphos Corps. These were the people who made Lee Tae-Han, whom I had appointed as the commander of their corps, count the days of his death among the heap of dead bodies.
I could sense the anger emanating from Lee Tae-Han as he glared at them, but he then made an unexpected remark. “...It’s all… my fault… Argh. I learned a lot. So… please forgive… them…”
I nodded. “I will.”
These Awakened were not likely to be powerful anyway. Otherwise, they would have already escaped.
Meanwhile, the Light Pillar was still glowing brilliantly, and I had mixed feelings when looking at it. It was my last resort to reverse the Final Stage, but the only corps left were Lee Tae-Han and Jonathan’s corps.
The others had been blinded by rewards, so they had shifted responsibility to others and given up on the Light Pillars. The compensation for Yeon-Hee’s assassination quest was amazing, but it was shabby compared to the number of people who had moved to complete it.
But people still did it…
It was contradictory.
Those who had held their ground at the boundary, like Jonathan’s Corps, suffered heavy casualties. In contrast, the people who had targeted Yeon-Hee and others who congregated in the central area to engage the Barba Corps had a much higher survival rate.
There was an undeniable truth to this. We, humans, had been nothing but consumables to the Old One in the first place. It would have known the situation would end like this when it had created such a quest on Yeon-Hee. Those who had flocked to rewards didn’t deserve to stay alive, but in the end, the Old One was the cause of everything.
It victimized the entire population of Awakened to eliminate me. If the Old One’s stupid plan had succeeded and I died alongside Doom Dejire, then this stage would have been completely destroyed. I could have protected the remaining Light Pillar and waited for monsters to weaken, then slaughtered goldfish that ran out of the fish tank.
However… Just look at the consequences of the one quest that the Old One had devised! More than half of the Awakened who entered the Final Stage were killed by its joke.
***
It wasn’t just the Old One. I was pissed that we were in the middle of a battle between two absolute beings. Our human race definitely appeared insignificant to them. Acting subserviently only for the sake of our home security would bring dishonor upon ourselves.
I needed to keep my claws hidden until I was fully ready. If I continued to confront Old One as Doom Kaos’s sword slave, then I would find a way to end either Old One or Doom Kaos. It would be the path to true freedom.
“You are driving me crazy. Do you want to see the walnuts[1] in your head? I’m gonna break your nuts!” Seong-Il shouted while glaring at people behind him.
He looked sick and tired of those who were still being treated well. Those who were healthy were retrieving the bodies and caring for their comrades in exchange for items and insignias.
He snapped, “People with all four limbs intact, go carry the injured! Right now!”
The commotion momentarily ceased. Everyone immediately stopped their actions and prepared themselves for battle.
“Gate! It’s the gate!”
However, to their surprise, no monsters emerged from the torn space in front of them. It was because I had created it.
[Gate has been created.]
When I finished building the gate connecting Jonathan’s territory to the main stage, I realized that the power inside me had been quantified.
[Your Power has decreased by 1.]
[Power: 296 / 300]
It wasn’t the power sent by Doom Kaos because I had secured it by killing the Guide Lumah-le. As the traits Interdiction and Challenger had been removed, there were two additional spaces where new traits could be secured.
The question was whether there was anything left to replace them since the System was gone now, but that was something to find out in the future.
I entered the gate first, leaving the buzz behind. It didn’t feel much different from using the insignia Teleportation. In an instant, I experienced the sensation of something wrapping me around and swiftly tossing me away before it quickly vanished. I stretched out my legs, and they naturally stepped on the ground in the central area.
Things were more hectic there as the preparations for returning home were taking place more urgently than the ongoing combat. Even the survivors under Jonathan had just joined the group and were moving.
[Remaining Time (Extinction): 15 minutes 31 seconds]
There was no time to pay attention to Lunea as I hadn’t heard from her. I decided to ask why she hadn’t kept the promise, so I looked for Yeon-Hee first.
She was hugging her Kciphos, and Orca was beside her as always. People were standing far away from them as they were afraid of either Yeon-Hee, Orca, or both.
“They are going with us, right?”
She was talking about Kciphos and Orca.
I nodded and called in Seong-Il as our eyes had met from a distance. Seong-Il couldn’t take his eyes off the urgent situation around him even on his way to me.
We moved to our seats upon his arrival where the Korean Awakened were gathered.
***
Even though I counted those from other corps who tried to kill Yeon-Hee, those who were under Jonathan, and even a few who were labeled as fanatics, there was still only a small number of people.
However, that wasn’t the reason why it was so quiet. It was because those who controlled the Stage of Advent, including me, Yeon-Hee, her pet, Seong-Il, Lee Tae-Han, and Orca, had all walked in at once. Seong-Il had finished grasping the situation.
He said in an astonished voice, “Noona, weren’t there three hundred thousand Korean Awakened in the beginning?”
His tone was higher than usual because the fact that he would see Ki-Cheol soon was in the back of his mind.
Yeon-Hee nodded. “Yes.”
“But only this many are left alive. I guess it’s around five hundred. Oh, gosh.”
Seong-Il’s comment caused everyone to pause as they realized that their survival chances had been minuscule, only five hundred out of three hundred thousand. They all stopped checking their injuries and armaments in silence.
The guy who was standing next to Ji-Ae noona was the same. They weren’t checking their condition due to the presence of monsters on earth. Rather, it had become a habit as they were uncertain of what was happening there. They soon started moving again.
At that time, Lee Tae-Han recovered from his suffering from Mary’s Touch. He seemed to have shaken off the memory of being attacked by his subordinates. He no longer looked at the others in a sharp manner.
Yeon-Hee looked at Lee Tae-Han as if she was impressed, then shifted her gaze toward me.
- How long do we have left?
I responded.
- A few minutes.
- …We should figure out how to escape from Doom Kaos after we go back home.
Yeon-Hee seemed to have been thinking the same thing as me all along. I had once told her that I wanted to make a peaceful outside world, where it would be safe to have kids. However, that hope seemed to have been pushed back one step.
Yeon-Hee’s hands suddenly wrapped around my hands warmly. She asked.
- Do you have any regrets?
I shook my head.
- I made the best decision I could and accomplished a lot. If I can effectively manage the Awakened, everything will return to normal. Your and my family will be able to enjoy ordinary life in such a world. For sure.
She nodded.
- That’s fine, then. That was my biggest concern. I was afraid you would have some regrets.
- No way.
She continued.
- Your past life was horrifying. No one living in this era has ever imagined that the path ahead of us would lead to the extinction of humanity.
I paused and then said.
- …You knew about it.
Search .com for the original.
Yeon-Hee knew that I was a past life returner.
- Why are you acting like an amateur? Of course, I knew it.
Yeon-Hee smiled softly.
- Then, you must have the same question.
- Which one?
I stated candidly.
- Was it really the Old One who gave me the chance to go back in time? When you are in doubt, it’s simple to think about who benefited the most. Doom Kaos secured me and the strongest corps ever.
Yeon-Hee pursed her lips.
- Hmm…
I continued.
- If my assumption is correct, then this era might be just a pathway to obtaining us, the Awakened.
- Then… The next stage will be the real battleground between the Old One and Doom Kaos.
I reassured her.
- We will be able to find a way to not be played around by the tricks of either Doom Kaos or the Old One. I will find it for sure, so don’t worry.
- That’s too bad because this is the perfect time to kiss my pretty lips.
She sounded quite relieved.
- Why not?
When I grabbed her waist and pulled her toward me, she smiled.
- Calm down. You shouldn’t lose your dignity, Odin.
I replied teasingly.
- It’s the opposite. My dignity will double up if I kiss Mary, the Bitch.
[Remaining Time (Extinction): 0 minutes 0 seconds]
[The Old One, who is eager to conquer your homeland, has lost its power.]
- But I should go back and finish.
She pouted.
- Right now? Ugh, the timing sucks!
- Yes, right now.
[You have used Gate Formation.]
For an instant, I felt a significant part of my power draining away, and space began to open in front of the Awakened gathered in each nationality’s group. Those who had waited for this moment eagerly shouted in excitement because they knew the pitch-black portal was the only way to return home. Others who put little meaning into this moment tightened their grips on their weapons.
I shouted at them all, “Slaughtering monsters left in the hometown is the top priority. Then, wait for instructions from the association. Go! To the land where you were born!”
The same words came out of everyone’s mouth despite their nationality.
Waaaaaaaah-!
Dust rose in the air, obscuring people’s line of sight. In the hazy sight, I could see the figures of those fleeing toward the gate.
Yeon-Hee said as she watched the Awakened disappearing quickly as if they were competing against each other.
- This era is over.
That was the best compliment to me.
1. Brain. ☜