Chapter 420:

Chapter 420:

Yu-hyun examined Jin Cheong-woon with a sweeping gaze and spoke.

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t just a remark meant to mock his opponent in front of him. Jin Cheong-woon’s condition was dreadful enough to be called a living corpse.

His seated body was so emaciated it was hard to find any flesh, and his skin was rough and dry like an old tree, etched with countless wrinkles.

Gone was his once handsome appearance, replaced by a man who looked as though he had aged ten times more than others had in the same span of five years.

“Maybe it’s the punishment for what I’ve done.”

Jin Cheong-woon answered with a bitter smile.

That calm demeanor and tone hadn’t changed a bit, even as time had passed.

“So. You called for me?”

“Yes, I asked Mordred for a favor.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Yu-hyun questioned Jin Cheong-woon as if he genuinely couldn’t understand his actions.

“You do realize it’s strange for us to even be sitting face-to-face and having a conversation like this, right?”

“I know. Honestly, I thought you’d charge at me and try to kill me the moment you saw me.”

“I still have every desire to kill you right now.”

Jin Cheong-woon was in such a weakened state that he could collapse if Yu-hyun so much as laid a hand on him.

Even if he had retained the power he once had, he was now nothing more than a firefly before the blazing light of Yu-hyun.

Jin Cheong-woon nodded, fully aware of that.

“I know you want to kill me. Well, I have a conscience, too. I’m not trying to feign ignorance of what happened in the past. And it’s not like I can run away either.”

“Then why? And what’s with this appearance? After doing all that, shouldn’t you be living large somewhere?”

Where were the Unleashed comrades who had once traveled with him?

Where were all the fragments he had gathered so far, and what was the meaning of his current appearance?

“Were you betrayed? By your subordinates?”

“It would certainly be amusing if the Prophet himself was betrayed.”

“Otherwise, there’s no way to make sense of this appearance.”

“This is... punishment for the greed I harbored.”

“Greed?”

“A greed thinking that perhaps, as I am now, I could make it. The arrogance that maybe I alone could break this cycle.”

“What...?”

Yu-hyun furrowed his brow as he watched Jin Cheong-woon muttering incomprehensible words.

Did he end up like this because of some mistake?

“Well, I don’t expect you to understand. It’s not like I’m boasting about my mistakes, after all. I wouldn’t go around bragging about the punishment I received for wanting something beyond my means, would I?”

“Who exactly did this to you?”

“Who else would be able to punish a false prophet? The one who topples Babel, unleashes floods upon the world, and melts the wings of those who try to fly toward the heavens... It’s always been that way, whether in myths or now.”

“You...”

Yu-hyun opened his mouth, struck by a sudden thought.

“Did you... face Logos alone?”

“....”

Jin Cheong-woon didn’t reply and simply responded with a strange smile. He raised his bony hand and pointed toward the door behind him.

“You came to meet him, didn’t you? Go on in. He’s inside.”

“....”

“Don’t look at me like that. Even if you don’t say anything, I’m not going to run. I’ll stay here. The moment you came here and I pointed to that door, my role was already complete. I’m of no further use, so feel free to do whatever you want with me later.”

Yu-hyun passed by Jin Cheong-woon and stood before the lone door in the cabin.

“Go on in. He’s been eagerly waiting for you.”

As if granting permission, Yu-hyun placed his hand on the doorknob.

Creak. Just like the first time he entered the cabin, the door on the inside also made a grating noise.

The moment he wondered what might be inside, Yu-hyun realized he was already within the room. How had he entered so suddenly?

He looked back and saw nothing but pitch-black darkness.

The front, below, and above were all the same.

‘Strange.’

The universe, including the Hybrid World, had already undergone countless cycles of destruction and rebirth.

“In this world, those you call Bookworms are vastly different from what you think. You believe Bookworms are creatures that emerged out of nowhere to destroy this world, but in truth, they have been here much longer than those who presently exist.”

“That means...”

“Yes. The Bookworms were the Divine Spirits of the previous universe.”

The scene quickly shifted, displaying a new vision.

It was a towering mountain reaching the heavens. Countless bolts of lightning descended from above the

clouds, while a monstrous creature climbed slowly up the mountain below.

Despite enduring the torment of the lightning strikes, the creature’s gaze never wavered from the summit.

“This is... Olympus?”

“It’s Olympus during the Mythic War. As you can see, the lightning coming down from above was cast by Zeus, the supreme god of Olympus and one of the most famous of the first-generation Divine Spirits. And the creature below enduring the lightning is...”

“...Typhon.”

“Exactly.”

After Zeus imprisoned the Titans in the dark depths, Gaia, the Earth Goddess, bore the most formidable monster, Typhon, with Tartarus, the God of Darkness, to punish Zeus.

Typhon’s purpose was to destroy the gods—a god-slayer.

With his power alone, he struck fear into all the gods of Olympus, and in every mention of mythology, he was referenced as one of the mightiest Bookworms.

“That’s what most people know.”

“What they know?”

“In current history, Typhon is known as a monster created to kill Zeus, and Zeus is believed to have defeated him to protect Olympus.”

Typhon is also famous for having fathered other notable monsters with Echidna.

Cerberus, Chimera, Orthrus, Hydra, the Nemean Lion, the Sphinx, and many others.

The name Typhon held a particular significance within the Great Army of Olympus.

“So, Typhon was a Divine Spirit of the previous universe?”

“He was no ordinary Divine Spirit. He was the previous ‘Zeus’ himself.”

“What...”

Typhon was the previous Zeus?

It was unbelievable. Then who exactly was the current Zeus?

“This world has been reset countless times. With each reset, Logos sought to erase many life forms. But... the great Divine Spirits who had lived for so long resisted him. After all, who in their right mind would willingly agree to erase the world, destroy everything, and start over? So, Logos devised a method.”

“A method?”

“He offered a select few the chance to start anew in the next universe.”

Logos didn’t try to save everyone, but he didn’t seek to kill everyone either.

Destroying everything and restarting was a colossal task for him, so Logos selected certain beings to inherit new roles and begin anew in the next universe.

“The current Zeus was a different entity in the previous universe. He was given the power and authority from Logos to defeat the former Zeus and claim the role of Zeus himself.”

“So, the gods in the myths... they aren’t their original selves but merely assigned roles?”

“You seem quite shocked.”

Yu-hyun was too stunned to reply. Shocked? Of course, he was. With a truth so staggering, who wouldn’t be?

“Those you call Bookworms or monsters, Typhon and Echidna, took on the roles of Zeus and Hera in the previous universe. And they, too, had overthrown the Zeus and Hera of the universe before them.”

“But Typhon is still...”

“Yes. They were such formidable beings that, even with the universe’s restart, they weren’t erased. However, their existence was no longer permitted in this world, and they became twisted.”

The monsters of legend who were said to exist from the beginning.

These creatures, the former gods of a previous universe, had assumed their terrifying power and forms because the current world could not accept their existence.

They clashed with the universe itself, leading to distortions that turned them into the Bookworms who disrupted the very fabric of this world.

The scene shifted once more, displaying various images in quick succession.

Thor slaying Jörmungandr.

Zeus sealing Typhon.

Ra repelling Apophis.

Indra defeating Vritra.

“The deities most celebrated by the world as the greatest stars are, in truth, mere stand-ins chosen by Logos and given ‘roles.’”

“....”

“That is the truth of this world.”