〈 Chapter 224 〉 To Prevent Destruction
*
Congratulations on passing the trial.
At that moment, space shattered.
What lay before me was the Great Tree.
I should have been happy for passing the trial, but I couldn’t shake off a feeling of dissatisfaction.
“Excuse me…”
I was a bit angry.
“Don’t you think this was a bit excessive?”
Then, a voice echoed from the void.
In what way did you feel that?
It had a dry tone.
Yet, the essence felt like a man’s voice.
It was a familiar voice, but I couldn’t recall whose it was.
“Well…”
Of course, I was the one who got tricked the most.
However…
“Isn’t it a bit much to trick me twice?”
He replied in a somewhat apologetic tone.
True, I thought so too, but it was the God of Chains who insisted on this.
“What do you mean by that?”
Before that, let’s make corrections first.
He corrected.
This trial did not completely deceive you.
“Not completely deceived…”
I had a vague sense of what he meant.
Still, it didn’t come clearly to mind.
So, he eventually changed the subject.
Hmm, so do you know what the purpose of this trial was?
Purpose.
To be honest, I hadn’t realized the purpose while passing this trial.
I had merely been swept up in it and managed to get through it after many twists and turns.
‘So, what was the purpose of the trial?’
Let’s think about the situation when I passed the trial.
‘How did I pass the trial?’
Everything was uncertain.
If I failed, everything would become my responsibility.
In such a situation, I still decided to try to prevent destruction.
I merely showed that will.
‘Will?’
That was the moment.
Suddenly, his voice overlapped with someone else’s.
The end of swordsmanship lies in will.
I uttered that name for the first time in a long time.
“Libero?”
But he denied it.
That is not my name.
“But…”
The voice was too similar.
Moreover, even the concepts I expected him to govern overlapped with him.
Of course…
The man you speak of has already taken eternal rest.
Hearing his words sank my desire to meet that man again.
Certainly, it would be better not to disturb someone who is resting eternally.
Ultimately, what I needed to focus on was something else.
“Then can I call you the God of Will?”
Yes. But it can’t be denied that I’ve been greatly influenced by him. That’s likely why you felt a similar impression.
“I see.”
With this, I had figured out the trial’s purpose.
Then it was time to think about what he said earlier.
‘It wasn’t a complete deception…’
It was a vague statement.
It must mean that some parts were deceived, while others were not.
‘Was the Earth in the trial not entirely false?’
Some parts could have been true.
If that were the case…
“If I head towards the High Priest like this, is it true that I will be defeated?”
That is true.
“Then is the story of the parallel world also true?”
That is true as well.
Wait a minute.
No, are all of them true?
‘Could it be…’
Suddenly, a hypothesis crossed my mind.
Especially because of the God of Chains being mentioned by the God of Will, my hypothesis became even more plausible.
“Did everything I experienced in the trial actually happen?”
The God of Will, who had fallen silent for a moment, finally spoke.
Yes, it was all true.
This meant…
“I was essentially deceived until just now.”
There was no falsehood in the contents of the trial.
Nor in the story of the parallel world.
Even the fact that Sung Yoo-rang received my memories was included.
Instead, what I was deceived about was believing that it was a falsehood within the trial.
“Was that… really the trial?”
Was the me in the trial really right?
Or…
Well, I don’t think that matters, right?
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”
If we want to be precise, what you experienced was the trial. But all environments and conditions were completely identical to the real Earth. And the final judgment was as well.
With that, he asked me.
Let me ask again. What was the purpose of my trial?
“Will.”
That was the moment.
“Will?”
Looks like you’ve realized.
Yes, reflecting back, that was indeed the case.
In the final moment, it didn’t matter whether I was Allen Pleuk or Sung Yoo-rang.
After all, my will was one.
To defeat the High Priest and prevent the world’s destruction.
So, it didn’t really matter who I was.
“Understood.”
I had now completely grasped his trial.
It was indeed a trial that could be called the trial of will.
However, aside from that…
“Then Sung Yoo-rang must have already started acting over there.”
That’s likely true.
I already knew what he would do.
After all, I had shared consciousness with him during the trial.
‘If that were successful…’
It would definitely be a huge help in defeating the High Priest.
Of course, success wasn’t guaranteed.
‘Anyway, that was now out of my hands.’
That wasn’t something I had to worry about.
‘Let’s leave the High Priest to Sung Yoo-rang.’
What remained for me was one thing.
I had to find a way to prevent destruction.
And the person most likely to know that was indeed…
Looks like you’ve finished grasping the situation.
The God of Chains.
He appeared once more on top of the Great Tree.
“It’s been a while.”
Seems you were looking for me?
You know that well.
Then, I guess you’ve brought something in return.
“The God of Chains. I heard from Albert. You must have something helpful, right?”
Of course. But please don’t get mistaken. This isn’t help without conditions; it’s a reward for the achievements you’ve built up and for passing this trial.
“I understand. So…”
God of Connection.
That was the moment.
Suddenly, Albert popped out of my inventory.
He shot upwards toward the sky.
“Albert?”
The God of Chains received a descending Albert on the Great Tree.
I barely calmed my surprise and asked him.
“What is going on right now?”
No need to worry. I’ll return him soon.
As he spoke, light began to emanate from his hand.
‘What is that light… wait a second…’
For a brief moment, the light illuminated the darkness hidden within his hood.
And the figure that appeared briefly was…
‘It looks like me?’
That clearly indicated something.
‘A god greatly influenced by me?’
According to what the God of Will said earlier, that would indeed be the case.
He said the fellow had become similar in impression because he was greatly influenced by Libero.
Thus, it could be said that the God of Chains was influenced by me.
‘But…’
What concept does that guy govern, and what name is hidden behind the God of Chains?
I couldn’t begin to guess.
“You…”
I was about to ask him for his name.
As if he already anticipated, he replied.
Not yet. You haven’t completely passed my trial.
Simultaneously, the light vanished from his hand.
All done.
Instead, the glow that had shone from his hand drifted to Albert, enveloping him in a soft glow.
However, it is true that you have greatly boosted my divine authority. I did just transfer everything except for the minimal divine authority to the God of Connection.
To prove that statement, the divine authority I sensed from him had grown very faint.
Instead, he threw back a now much more powerful Albert toward me.
Here, catch.
Using the Wind’s Power, I caught it and could only stand astonished.
‘This is…!’
Classification: Weapon
Form: Sword
Relic Grade: 5-star
Description: A sword imbued with the God of Connection. It has no special power, but due to being associated with the God of Connection, it possesses tremendous divine power. This divine power strengthens the more the God of Connection grows his concepts.
The description didn’t differ greatly.
However, the relic’s grade had risen from 4-star to 5-star.
“God of Chains, why is that?”
You need a means to prevent destruction, don’t you?
“Are you saying Albert is a means to prevent destruction?”
It’s not guaranteed, but for now, he is the most likely candidate.
But it didn’t make much sense to me.
Though I had always been with him since the Leim Kingdom, I had never considered that I could use him to prevent destruction.
I can’t explain in detail. The rest is up to you.
“It’s up to me?”
However, if I were to tell you why I transferred my divine authority to the God of Connection, it’s because his divine authority is still far from being enough to prevent destruction. You understand what that means, right?
“I need to elevate Albert’s divine authority?”
Yes, you got it. But you’ll have to think of how to elevate it yourself.
The God of Chains was avoiding answering me again.
It seemed he could only help me this far.
With this, you have also grasped a means to prevent destruction. So, it should be clear what you need to do now.
A means to prevent destruction.
That must mean Albert.
I wasn’t quite sure how to use him yet, but it was definitely clear that the energy I felt from him was different from before.
And now, what I needed to do…
Had already been clarified through the trial of will.
“To prevent destruction, right?”
Yes, just do as you have been. Try and prove it. That’s how you’ll finish my trial too.
“Your trial?”
Though I’d heard that once already, it was still a bit worrying.
This was the first time he mentioned his own trial.
“What is your trial? Can’t you tell me even a little?”
Well, I suppose you already know.
“I know?”
The thing that’s always in front of you.
In front of me?
That’s when I realized.
From the moment Sung Yoo-rang’s memories entered me until now, there had been one sentence always in front of me.
A phrase I had become so accustomed to that I didn’t even pay attention to it anymore.
[Objective: Become a hero.]
‘So this was his trial.’
But if this was all there was to it, I had nothing to worry about.
After all, it was something that was bound to happen by now.
So then…
“Now let me go. I’ll finish your trial very soon.”
Sure, I’ll be looking forward to it.
With that response, my consciousness began to rise back to the surface.
When I opened my eyes, I was outside the lake.
‘I’m back.’
It felt like I had woken from a long slumber, and my mind was clear.
*
