Chapter 59

Well, I made a grand escape, but in the end, I just deflected one attack.

Mental confusion. Mental domination. Various symptoms, including hallucinations and auditory delusions.

The fact that these things work on me makes it clear.

It seems like this angel specializes in mental attacks. Tricky.

But, the weird thing is still that.

How did this guy, who had no connection to me, manage to dig up my memories?

Where did he get that information?

[Is it the Hub…?]

Let’s make a hypothesis: the information the angels gather is shared with that Seraphim.

Normally, that would be impossible, and even if it were possible, doing something like that would cause a mental collapse and death.

But I think that angel could pull it off.

It seems capable of that much.

Annoying. It’s not the first time I’ve been hit like this, is it?

Still, one thing I’m grateful for is that I managed to absorb a fragment of the Seraphim at the last moment.

Of course, it’s just a tiny speck, but size doesn’t matter.

If I’m given time to analyze and adapt to this…

[Repent.]

Ping-

‘……’

I opened my eyes to a new space.

What’s this? Do I have to kill myself like in *TanX* to wake up? Probably not.

Fortunately, this time, I was aware of myself without any memory damage.

Looks like I’ve adapted a bit.

I looked around, lifting my head.

Now, the inner structure came into view.

Clouds flowing into the sky.

A heavily churning sea.

The entire visible space was the Seraphim’s mental domain.

Only then did I understand what the Seraphim was.

It was less of a living being and more like a supercomputer at the weather bureau, infinitely closer to a machine for calculations.

A command center that processes and derives information gathered by angels.

That was the Seraphim’s primary role.

Combat was just an additional feature.

Now I understood why such a powerful being used trivial mental attacks instead of efficient physical ones.

So, what’s this now?

Are you telling me to kill all those monsters coming up from the beach?

“Too simple.”

Well, it’s good for me.

Those monsters are all connected to the Seraphim’s mind, a kind of mental entity.

If I kill them, maybe I can gain something.

Another endurance battle.

A fight to see who collapses first from exhaustion.

I’m so bored. Now I have to do a long-distance run with a machine?

Even divine power couldn’t be used here.

Sighing, I summoned a sword in my right hand and a spear in my left.

Boring is boring.

But fighting a large number of weaker opponents has always been my specialty, no matter the situation.

Despite the sigh escaping my lips, my mind was calculating the odds of winning against the Seraphim.

Just now, they increased significantly.

*

The Seraphim turned out to be much more colorful than I thought.

It showed an amazing technique of dredging up and materializing traumas from my childhood that even I didn’t remember.

But that just means it’s running out of material.

Because I won’t die.

Zing-

An alien tentacle monster shot a laser, and my head exploded with a *thud*.

But I didn’t die.

I regenerated instantly and stabbed the tentacle monster’s head dozens of times with my sword.

No aura, no divine power—just the simple concept of “stabbing.”

The tentacle monster screamed and vanished.

Ironically, this was more effective.

The more cornered I was, the sharper my mind became.

Right. In the end, whether it’s aura or divine power, the goal is one.

To kill the opponent.

And to survive.

Even without any power, I’ll still win.

My life proves that.

With empty eyes, I staggered and swung my sword.

Slish. The sound of cutting flesh echoed clearly.

I didn’t have the luxury to check.

Without even realizing what I had just cut, I swung my sword again.

Until I couldn’t swing anymore.

Until I killed every enemy.

Until I won.

*

Looking back now, the Seraphim’s first attempt to mess with my family was too clumsy.

Sure, it was a memory I really wanted to hide, and maybe it was important, but even the hardest memories have an expiration date.

Memories fade and wear out even in a human’s short lifespan.

Besides, my memory isn’t that great.

I’m not the type to hold onto things.

Hmm…

So, what I’m trying to say is…

[You messed up your first move.]

[Ah, ahhh…]

Black tears streamed from the Seraphim’s eyes.

A significant part of its body had already been eroded by my divine power.

It looked at my hand, blackened and piercing its chest.

Then it compared my power to its own.

What? The difference isn’t that big now.

In fact, I’m slightly ahead.

I feel good.

Not just because my power has grown, but because I survived again. And I’m happy that I’ve completely grasped the structure of the Seraphim’s core, the “Hub.”

Now, let’s wrap this up.

Whoosh-

[Ahhhhh!]

I pulled out something from its chest, something akin to the Seraphim’s heart.

The thing it had desperately tried to protect from me.

The Seraphim twitched slightly, then collapsed and disintegrated into particles.

I quietly closed my eyes as I watched.

It was really long. A long, long fight.

I hadn’t been aware of time for a while, but it was still long enough to make me want to vomit.

If I hadn’t absorbed the fragments, adapted to the Seraphim’s mind, barely revived my divine power, and secretly torn out its core…

I probably would’ve gone insane and died.

I’m sure of it.

But the reward was worth the struggle.

What I gained was immense power. And the potential for new growth.

The Seraphim was that strong…

The reason wasn’t anything special.

It was just because they were the core of the angels.

It was similar to how no matter how well a worker does their job, the boss always takes the lion’s share.

Then, maybe I could do the same.

With that thought, I stared at the white sphere extracted from the Seraphim.

The secret must be inside this.

A method for an individual to seize, dominate, and absorb the minds of many.

Let’s set this aside for now.

There’s still work to be done.

I quietly observed the place where Miho and Belva were.

Now, there’s no need to find the optimal path.

If you look for me, I’m here.

[That was too long.]

With a faint smile, I took a step forward.

*

“This is Namcheon Mountain! Namcheon Mountain! We’re facing the third tail. Requesting immediate support from higher gods!”

“What are you looking at?”

In that moment of distraction, the tail’s claw split the air.

A clear claw mark etched into space.

The comrade standing beside me was sliced into three pieces and crumbled.

Gritting my teeth, I swung my spear.

“Valhalla!”

Simultaneously, a flash erupted, and I saw a sword blocking my path.

“Step back. You need treatment.”

A soft voice pushed me away.

Warriors with winged helmets.

Valkyries.

A sigh of relief escaped me. The feeling of being alive filled my head.

If the Valkyries are here, it means their leader has arrived too.

‘That’s some support.’

Even from behind, I could feel the intense multicolored light and turned my gaze.

A goddess slowly treading through the air approached.

The leader of all Valkyries, now a legend in countless myths.

“It really never ends.”

Freya.

She had descended here herself.

“Lucy. Stop messing around. I think I need to talk directly.”

Freya glanced at me, frowned as if looking at a bug, and spoke to the Valkyrie in front.

For some reason, my heart raced.

Strange. I didn’t think I had a taste for excitement in danger.

With that thought, the smell of blood brought me back to my senses.

The Valkyrie bowed her head, sheathed her sword, and stepped back.

In front, Freya looked at the third tail, now in the form of an evil spirit, exuding killing intent. Her expression seemed sad for some reason.

…That can’t be.

How many Asgard gods died in the Nine-Tailed Fox’s rampage? There’s no way she’s sad.

As if denying my thoughts, Freya let out a long sigh, as if all this was just pitiful.

“How long do you plan to keep this up?”

In response, the third tail laughed and answered.

“Why? Do you want this world to continue too? Even though it’s almost completely broken, do you still want to live in this cowardly, disgusting world?”

“But this is our world. Where we were born and raised.”

“…No. My world was only my master.”

A red talisman appeared in Miho’s hand, growling low.

That’s it. The technique that once knocked out one of the twelve Olympian gods.

Freya also frowned and gathered divine power in her hand. The sparkling gem-like light dazzled.

“Move aside, Freya.”

“…You really.”

Just as the two were about to clash.

‘The stars…’

Unbelievably red.

Beyond the high night sky, two vividly red stars appeared.

Wait, are they stars? I’m not sure. But they were definitely getting closer. For some reason, my stomach churned, and I bowed my head. My head was dizzy, and I couldn’t breathe well. My body hurt. It hurt so much I wanted to die.

“…Ah! Ah! Aaaaah!”

At that moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox let out a scream.

“Ahahaha! They’re here! They’ve come! Freya! They’re coming, they’re coming! They’re watching me!”

The Nine-Tailed Fox screamed like a madman, tears streaming down.

It wasn’t funny; it was terrifying.

I felt chills all over my body.

Yet, I couldn’t look away.

I was only looking at those stars.

Now, something round that was no longer a star was falling rapidly towards us.

I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Freya seemed the same.

She looked at the red circle and quietly clutched her head.

“It’s all over. Now.”

At that moment, an angel with black wings appeared beside her as if it had always been there.

Freya looked at the angel and muttered softly.

“Tell me, Belva. What should I do?”

“Impact in 7 hours and 33 minutes. Estimated damage is about 88%. If limited to living beings, 97%. Let’s secure the tails first. Then, we need to evacuate as many gods as possible.”

“Evacuate…? To where?”

Then another angel appeared and answered the question.

“Over there. There’s an ark… an ark over there…”