"I came to help."
Yu-hyun looked at Mephistopheles, who had come to aid them, with a gaze of disbelief.
"Weren't you fighting the other Divine Spirits?"
"The matters on that side have been left to the lords of our Pandemonium, so don’t worry about it."
Those words, as if he didn’t even care about what was left behind, were so cold they sent a chill through his entire body.
However, thanks to this, they could receive the assistance of an exceptional ally, saving their lives.
Had it not been for Mephisto’s help a moment ago, even if they hadn't died, they would’ve been severely injured by the Genesis Foundation’s concentrated fire.
If there was a problem.
It was the sheer number of Elohim that still filled the space densely.
"They're like a moving cloud."
"Oello-nim, clouds do move, actually."
"Shut up! It’s just a manner of speaking!"
"Can we break through that?"
At Mephisto's question, Oello shrugged and pointed his chin at Yu-hyun.
"Maybe this guy could."
"It’s not like I can do everything. Besides, it seems like the enemies who've been watching us from afar are now starting to move in to hinder us."
Unlike before, about 70% of the stories embedded within Baekryun were now accessible.
Even with just this much, he could wield formidable power, but Yu-hyun wanted to preserve at least half of the stories to be ready when facing Logos.
Of course, if they couldn’t reach the foundation’s core, it would be pointless to save anything.
"Now that Mephisto-nim has joined us, things might go somewhat smoothly."
"I'm sorry to say, but my abilities are specialized in defense. I don’t have the power to sweep away those white cockroach-like creatures in one stroke."
Then, what was that small black hole he used a moment ago?
It made Yu-hyun wonder, but it was also true that Mephisto had overexerted himself in blocking the previous attack.
"I can’t open the path, but I can buy us time once we’re inside an opened path. But only once."
"That will be enough."
Logos' subordinates, who had been lurking away from the blast center, rushed toward them.
They also instinctively knew that if they didn’t strike now, they would miss their chance to claim their lives.
Even though they had survived the bombardment, it had cost a significant amount of stamina and strength, so now was the prime moment to defeat them.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"Now! Kill them while their strength is drained!"
"Forget pride or waiting for a chance! Charge all at once!"
With a single sword swing from Yu-hyun, hundreds of heroes and demigods fell.
Even though the heroes were third-generation Divine Spirits, some second-generation Divine Spirits were mixed among them, which made it clear.
The level of power Yu-hyun displayed was chilling.
Thus, they thought it was only possible to kill him now, charging in desperation.
"The Elohim aside, what are those guys rushing in for?"
"They think now’s the best chance to kill us, no matter what."
"That means they look down on us, doesn’t it?"
Oello laughed with bared teeth, clearly offended. His hands were pitch-black from blocking the bombardment, mangled, yet he paid no mind as he struck his fists together with a loud bang. Ṛ
It was true he had used up much strength, and he was a bit tired.
But even so, just because those guys came rushing in, did they really think they could make a difference?
"Arrogant fools."
Even the first-generation Divine Spirits conceded a step to the King of Stories, and now it was time to show why he was called the King of Wanderers.
"Calm down a bit, Oello-nim."
"What, punk? How can I hold back from that?"
"Praytion-nim is staying calm, so why are you the only one getting so excited...? You don’t have to go out there yourself."
"What?"
"I called in some others to deal with them for us."
From afar.
Wooooooong───!!!
A grating, eerie wail began to echo.
It sounded like the flapping of insect wings or the noise of something gnawing with its mouth.
The sound grew closer and closer.
The Divine Spirits rushing toward them paled upon locating the source of the noise.
"W-what is that?"
"A storm cloud?"
At first, they thought what was approaching was a dark cloud.
But soon they realized they were wrong. A storm cloud, even if charged with thunder, wouldn’t make such a dreadful sound.
Above all, the ominous aura that seemed to crawl over one’s skin, twisting the organs with just a glance.
"Book...."
Someone with good vision recognized the true identity of the dark cloud, trembling.
"It’s a swarm of Bookworms!"
What they thought was a storm cloud.
Was actually a legion of Bookworms that had been held back in the rear before the battle commenced.
One of the Union's trump cards.
At that moment, Yu-hyun unleashed it and commanded the Bookworms.
"Sweep them all away."
Leading the charge were 30,000 intermediate and lower Bookworms, barely retaining any intelligence.
Like a swarm of locusts, these intermediate and lower Bookworms moved en masse, resembling a natural calamity.
Some Bookworms targeted the Divine Spirits lying in wait, while others lunged at the Elohim filling the sky.
The black Bookworms and white Elohim collided in midair.
And then.
Time stopped.
────.
The Elohim throwing their spears, the Overseers about to release beams from their eyes, the red spears dominating the space.
Everything on the battlefield froze in place.
Only.
Kang Yu-hyun continued to move.
“Go.”
Hearing Mephisto’s words behind him, Yu-hyun nodded in response without looking back, heading straight toward the interior of the foundation.
Having exhausted most of his strength to halt time, Mephisto’s face turned pale as he watched Yu-hyun’s figure disappear beyond the light of the foundation.
At the same time, a distant memory of the past played out before him, now faint in his mind.
Yes, back then as well, that man had proudly moved forward, showing his back to everyone.
After binding them in a contract on his own terms, he’d left, dying on his own terms too.
Now, that departed figure and Yu-hyun—
“Not looking back is something they both have in common.”
Srrrrk.
The spell that stopped time unraveled.
As the halted time resumed, the frozen spears of the Elohim painted the sky in a mesmerizing display.
The sight of countless red spears traversing the air was like a grand fireworks show.
Realizing what had happened, the Elohim bared their sharp teeth, aiming for the one responsible.
“Well, now it’s my turn to dodge?”
Knowing the dangers, he had saved just enough strength to pull back at the critical moment.
“Please join me, the two of you.”
“...Alright, I owe you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. The war isn’t over yet.”
Mephisto opened a rift in midair as he spoke.
Oello and Praytion leapt into the passageway Mephisto had created.
* * *
Yu-hyun advanced through an empty white space with nothing in sight.
When he first entered below the foundation, he briefly felt a strange sensation, as if he’d passed through an invisible thin film.
But now he simply moved endlessly through the white space, where even the direction was hard to gauge.
Was this how things looked before the birth of the universe?
There was no time for such reflections.
This place was not suited for lingering. Though not visible, the strange power of this space slowly gnawed away at his body.
The effect was incredibly faint, but if he remained here long enough, he would unknowingly be consumed by this place.
‘There.’
Yu-hyun instinctively identified the exit that would allow him to leave this space.
The pages of the Codex he carried guided him to where the original owner, Logos, was waiting.
‘Jin Cheong-woon managed to reach this place but failed to cross this white space.’
Now he understood why Jin Cheong-woon had been left in such a ravaged state. An uninvited guest would hit this wall, unable to do anything, and eventually vanish entirely.
In fact, it was remarkable that Jin Cheong-woon had even made it back alive.
‘Something’s there.’
In the distance, tree-like shapes began to appear one by one.
Upon these trees, countless fruits were clustered.
‘Fruits? No, this is...’
Inside each fruit, entities presumed to be Divine Spirits were curled up and asleep.
There were hundreds of such trees.
Feeling a chill, Yu-hyun instinctively took a step back.
“What is this...?”
[They’re sprouts meant to cross over to the next world.]
“...!”
Yu-hyun froze in place.
In front of him, standing among the trees as if waiting, was a white figure with hands clasped behind its back.
How long had it been there? No, more importantly, he hadn’t even noticed it until it spoke.
[Even when great armies like Olympus or Asgard enter my realm to fight under me, there are always some who oppose or resent me. Those individuals are simply put to sleep like this.]
Logos casually flicked one of the fruits hanging nearby with a fingertip.
Inside was a woman clad in armor and helmet.
[One of the Twelve Olympian Gods, Athena, wasn’t it? With her upright character and rigid ideals, she didn’t suit the role of a usurper. Finding a replacement for her was difficult, so I opted to seal her within a fruit, erasing part of her memory.]
Only a final hundred were said to cross over into the next universe, all as usurpers, but in truth, this was another lie of Logos.
For Divine Spirits like these who were difficult to replace, Logos sent them to the next universe intact to maintain continuity.
Of course, he erased their memories before sending them.
If they became aware of the repetitive cycles, unintentional errors could arise.
[Originally, Michael and Satan should have entered here in this era too, but after a few cycles, they ended up regaining their memories. I came to realize this process is inherently flawed.]
“You...”
[Welcome to my garden. Out of all the repeated universes, you’re undoubtedly the first human to reach this place.]
Logos’s pale face broke into a grin.
It was a grin that stretched wide, as if he couldn’t contain his delight in this moment.
[Now, let us create the ultimate story together.]