Chapter 23

The sight of the once-powerful bodyguards falling one by one was too surreal.

It left an impression that went beyond the surreal, into the realm of the dreamlike.

In the midst of it all, Amon recalled the words the priest had once told him.

– [Only one person in a region can possess Divine Power.]

The reason is that Divine Power and Mystic Power are the culmination of faith.

When specific beliefs gather in one region, they become Mystic Power or Divine Power, and these powers manifest in someone, giving birth to a Divine Power holder or an entity.

Divine Power or Mystic Power doesn’t accumulate and manifest randomly; it follows a certain cycle, limiting it to one per region.

This is why, when a Divine Power holder is born, drawing a circle around them ensures no other Divine Power holder will be born within that area.

This was the first time Amon had heard of this concept.

At the same time, Amon was the exception to this rule.

Which is why he didn’t believe it when he first heard it.

Even the priest who told him was confused.

But soon, Amon realized why this rule didn’t apply to him.

‘I’m not the result of people’s faith.’

Whatever the Goddess did, it was clear that Amon’s Divine Power came from her.

As his thoughts reached this point, he recalled a scene from Punk City 1.

It was a quest where you had to massacre a steampunk cult, and depending on the player’s choices, the player could be sacrificed.

If that happened, the Divine Power would be drained by a demonic symbol, resulting in a game over.

But if you received a blessing through a holy relic during the quest, you could survive even after losing your Divine Power.

The reason for this choice was simple: while it’s easier to prevent the demon from being summoned, you wouldn’t get the demon’s drop items.

So, if you needed the demon’s drops, you’d get the blessing, lose your Divine Power once, and then defeat the summoned demon.

Following that logic, Amon would be fine even if his Divine Power was drained.

His Divine Power was directly granted by the Goddess.

“As expected of Divine Power. The effect is killer, right?”

Amon muttered as he watched the employees collapse before his eyes.

However, there were still survivors amidst the chaos.

The Chairman and the Doctor.

They were barely clinging to life in this disaster.

Amon could guess why.

“Wow. How many implants did they stuff into you?”

Amon watched as the Chairman’s consciousness flickered in and out.

His implants restarted his heart every time it stopped and somehow supplied oxygen to his oxygen-deprived brain.

Repeating death and resurrection, the Chairman barely held onto life.

But with each resurrection, the Chairman’s face grew more haggard.

The Doctor, who was more machine than human like the Chairman, was also barely holding on.

‘Not much longer now.’

Amon decided not to finish them off.

However, he needed to make sure they died, so he brought a chair and sat down to watch.

The Doctor, struggling to speak, squeezed out a question.

“Why…!”

It was the only word he could muster.

The mad scientist, even in his fading consciousness, wanted to understand this situation.

The answer to that question was in Amon’s mind.

All attempts to create Mystic Power by human hands end like this.

If creating a saint by cramming the Mystic Power of a hundred people into one vessel was so easy, why isn’t the Vatican doing it now?

The reason is simple.

They’ve already tried it.

On a much larger scale than the Hixen Group.

Sacrificing thousands and using an entire city as a summoning circle.

The result was a failure, and it was erased from history.

‘To be precise, they succeeded in creating something…’

The problem was that what they created wasn’t a saint, the daughter of God, but the Antichrist.

Common sense dictates that humanity’s savior wouldn’t be born from the sacrifice of thousands.

What was born wasn’t a saint, a Divine Power generator, but the Antichrist, a Divine Power exchanger.

The Antichrist wasn’t a saint who created apostles and Divine Power holders selflessly.

It was a demon of destruction that transformed ordinary people into entities.

‘And that was the story of Part 1.’

The Vatican summoned a demon, and the protagonist, a mercenary from the steampunk era, had to clean up the mess across Europe and the Middle East.

That was the story of Part 1.

Knowing this, Amon already knew the company’s saint project would fail.

‘Well, you can still use entities to power generators, so in a way, the company’s dream might have been realized in a different direction.’

And this story was a dark chapter for the Vatican.

Only the Pope might know about it.

But the Pope probably wouldn’t be too concerned.

Whether the Hixen Group summoned a saint or the Antichrist.

From the Vatican’s perspective, both had to be stopped.

In fact, telling the priests to stop the Antichrist would mean revealing the dark history.

Since the outcome of opposing the Hixen Group remained the same, they probably just told the priests to prevent the birth of an artificial saint.

Amon was confident he could explain all this to the Doctor.

‘But I don’t have the integrity to explain all this.’

But there was no reason to.

‘Who knows if he’ll suddenly come back to life later.’

He’s already transferred his consciousness to a machine.

It wouldn’t be strange to be extra cautious.

Amon kept his mouth shut.

The Doctor, with unanswered questions in his heart, finally stopped breathing.

Amon then turned his gaze to the Chairman.

The Chairman, using more expensive equipment, lasted longer than the Doctor.

But it didn’t seem like he would last much longer.

The Chairman and Amon locked eyes.

The Chairman didn’t seem curious about anything.

He was just filled with sorrow.

“Not being able to kill you… is my eternal regret…”

The Chairman, in his fading consciousness, managed to string together words.

But did he know?

He had already repeated that sentence six times.

Still, it was impressive that he could maintain his consciousness.

‘With this level of mental strength, no wonder he’s the chairman of a megacorp.’

However, there was something Amon needed to clarify.

“You’re not going to die.”

At Amon’s words, the Chairman’s eyes widened.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing. Amon pointed to one of the bodyguards who was beginning to change.

“Death is not an escape, Chairman.”

***

Humans who violated the divine taboo were always punished.

Those who ignored the Goddess’s words and fell into corruption were purified by a flood.

The Tower of Babel, which challenged the Goddess’s authority, crumbled.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which mocked the Goddess’s angels, burned under sulfur fire.

So, what punishment would befall those who tried to bring Divine Power into the human realm?

They were deprived of rest.

Sleep, peace, death.

All forms of rest were taken from them.

There are many expressions to describe such beings.

The Goddess’s forsaken children, beasts walking the abyss, beggars of ashes.

Each era had its own expressions, but in modern times, this term might be more familiar.

Monsters.

The theme of a dungeon changes depending on the type of experiment that failed.

Failed genetic experiments result in monsters or zombies, while failed AI experiments lead to roaming robots.

Among these, dungeons born from failed Mystic Power experiments are fundamentally different.

When a dungeon boss is born from a failed Mystic Power experiment, the surrounding beings are twisted.

The space where it was born transforms into a dungeon, and those deprived of rest are bound to the dungeon as souls.

They become monsters, roaming the dungeon.

Even if explorers enter the dungeon and kill them, they respawn and continue to roam the dungeon, clinging to fragments of their human memories.

This was the divine punishment that befell them.

Amon shook his head as he watched the beings around him transform.

‘Ignorance is not a sin.’

They probably never thought they would become monsters.

After all, failed Mystic Power experiments are rare, and the creation of Mystic Dungeon monsters isn’t well understood.

‘If they had known, they wouldn’t have conducted such experiments in the company building.’

But.

‘Blasphemy is a sin.’

Not believing in the Goddess and daring to challenge her authority.

They deserved divine punishment.

That’s why Amon didn’t pity them.

The employees turning into low-level monsters,

the bodyguards turning into elite monsters,

the Doctor turning into some strange mimic-like creature.

Amon believed this was the punishment they deserved.

‘Those who didn’t participate in this project won’t be punished.’

Innocent people would survive.

That was the logic.

It might sound like a dangerous ideology, but in this situation, it was the right thought.

Even the most oblivious employees would probably leave the company building on their own, so there was no need to worry about innocent casualties.

By the way, the Chairman became a mid-boss, muttering “I have to sell…” at the end.

Judging by his last line, he probably became a gimmick-type boss.

As they turned into monsters, the company building also began to change.

It seemed to be taking on the form of a dungeon.

To welcome challengers and protect the boss.

The building slowly altered its structure.

Before long, the lab where Amon was had become the Dungeon Boss Room,

and the bodyguards and Chairman near Amon were relocated elsewhere.

‘Oh. Nice.’

It was a fortunate misunderstanding.

He had planned to turn them into monsters and then make a run for the exit, but luckily, the monsters cleared the way.

‘Wait. Is this good?’

Thinking about it, it wasn’t good.

The place he was in now was the Dungeon Boss Room.

It was the most dangerous place.

Amon immediately ran for the exit.

But the voice from behind made him stop in his tracks.

“[Apostle of the Goddess.]”

A monotonous, feminine voice echoed through the room.

It wasn’t spoken through a human throat but resonated directly in his mind, as if speaking directly to his brain.

The boss was now staring at Amon with crimson eyes.

At first glance, she was a beautiful woman.

But Amon could never like her.

No, it was ambiguous to even call her a “she.”

That being was closer to genderless.

The dungeon boss opened her mouth.

“Bow down and worship me. I will give you all of this.”

The boss manipulated space with an expressionless face.

The scenery of the entire city unfolded below.

The boss, who had created this scene, spoke.

“Worship me and kiss my feet. If you do, I will give you everything to the ends of the earth. If not, I will destroy you.”

Amon’s expression twisted.

This was why he could never like the boss.

Even though the boss quoted scripture when she was born, it wasn’t because she was divine.

Contrary to popular belief, angels, demons, saints, and the Antichrist—all of them would drive you mad just by looking at them.

The only ones who could withstand it were those already mad or deeply faithful. (Both are pretty much the same.)

Since Amon couldn’t bring himself to praise a demon, he just quoted scripture, but the boss was by no means a divine being.

‘A worm pretending to be the Goddess’s authority…’

If she had been an innocent victim or a naive new life, he might have tried to compromise.

Even if she were a vengeful spirit seeking revenge on those who experimented on her, he might have tried to reform her.

But what stood before him was a demon.

A demon born from sacrificing 100 Divine Power holders and insulting the Goddess.

Not innocent, not harmless. Just pure evil.

At least, unlike the erased history, the number of sacrifices was smaller, so she wasn’t an Antichrist-level final boss. Still, a demon is a demon.

The fact that she immediately recognized Amon as an apostle and tried to test him confirmed her inherently evil nature.

Amon rejected the demon’s offer.

Instead of answering, he raised his middle finger.

“Why should I?”

Serving such a being would only lead to destruction.

The demand to bow and worship was just a fancy way of saying, “Serve me and become an entity or monster.”

The boss called it a “blessing,” but to Amon, it was a curse.

Amon was wise enough to see no reason to accept the demon’s offer.

He decided not to engage further.

He turned and headed for the exit.

No matter how powerful the demon was, she was still a boss.

Once he left the boss room, she couldn’t do anything.

As if reading his intentions, the boss tried relentlessly to keep him.

“Why do you fear me? You cannot leave this place without my permission.”

After flipping her off one more time, Amon ran for the exit.

Finally, he reached the exit.

That’s when it happened.

A line he could never ignore came from behind him.

“Even the Goddess is a coward, outdated by the times, so her apostles only know how to run away.”

Amon’s feet stopped.

Seeing this, the boss showed emotion for the first time.

The corner of her lips curled up slightly.

‘Your faith will be your downfall.’

The boss had no intention of letting Amon live.

What she wanted was Amon’s beating heart.

The overflowing well of Mystic Power within it.

She had no intention of making him an apostle.

She had to kill him to obtain it.

She couldn’t let him escape.

As expected, insulting the Goddess made Amon stay in the boss room.

He was even preparing for a fight, gathering his weapons.

‘How foolish.’

He looked like a moth flying into a flame.

The boss watched Amon with amusement.

She could attack now, but she wanted to test her power, having just been born.

Arrogance.

Some might call it that, but the boss called it confidence.

Soon, Amon, having finished his preparations, turned to face the boss.

Amon, who had been facing away, adjusted the swords in his hands and spoke.

“You come at me with sword and sorcery, but I come at you in the name of the Mother of All, the Goddess you insult—”

The boss stared into Amon’s eyes.

The more he raged, the more he lost his reason.

The easier it would be for her to take the well of Mystic Power.

But the moment she looked into Amon’s eyes,

the boss was horrified.

‘What… is this…’

Madness.

Beyond the dark pupils, only madness lurked.

Eyes gleaming with madness stared at the boss.

Amon crossed his swords.

Gnashing his teeth, his lips, stained with lipstick marks as if torn, moved behind the cross.

“Today, the Lord will deliver you into my hands. I swear, I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give your corpse to the birds. Today, all the earth will know the name of the Lord.”

Deus Vult (God wills it.)

Amon muttered softly,

and the boss took a step back.

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