“But you created the System, did you not? If you desired our destruction, you could have simply destroyed us. Instead, you gave us the System, allowed us to harbor hope, and made us fight to protect our own homes. Was this fight, were all our efforts, even the sacrifices of those who gave their lives to protect the world—was all of it nothing more than a punishment?”

The accusation was laced with a bitter resentment. Sa-yoon found himself agreeing with Lee Jaehee’s question of whether it had all been nothing more than a form of torture. If they were going to destroy the world, they should have just done it. Why awaken them as Hunters and make them fight against their own annihilation? If destruction was the foregone conclusion, then it was nothing but a cruel game of false hope. Worse, it was merely entertainment for the gods.

Lee Jaehee’s hands clenched into fists.

“Have the gods turned their backs on us, content to simply watch us suffer?”

The man’s voice trembled. He lowered his head, hiding his face from view. Sa-yoon thought back on Jaehee’s past: a man who had thrown himself into the fray to save the world alongside his lover during a Gate Break,² only to lose her in the process and dedicate his life to fulfilling her final wish. A man who was willing to strike down the gods themselves to restore peace to people’s lives. To him, the reality they now faced was nothing short of a cruel death sentence. It was a declaration that no matter how much they struggled, they were nothing but pawns on a colossal scale.

How many people could face such a pronouncement and not feel powerless?

In the end, humanity, and Lee Jaehee’s fervent wish, would be swept away without a fight. Just as the god had said, like a sandcastle built before the tide.

And they had foolishly built that castle again and again, only to watch it be washed away by the relentless waves.

“Hah.”

A sigh escaped Sa-yoon. Listening to Jaehee, the futility of it all became crushingly real. When a man who should not speak such words, a man who should not break, began to waver, the impact was immense. Sa-yoon stared at the god, who had been looking down at the top of Jaehee’s bowed head, and saw him offer a faint smile.

“Did we turn our backs on you first?”

“…”

The question was returned with another question. Jaehee lifted his head, and his dark eyes once again met the god’s, reflecting his dazzlingly white hair.

“Though I stand opposite the Chief Gods, I understand their hearts as representatives of all divinity. If the gods had truly turned their backs on you, the sun would not have risen, and an eternal night would have fallen. The System would not have been created, and you would have been swallowed by your promised destruction. But look at yourselves now. Have you been swallowed by that destruction?”

The god asked again.

“In your world, has the sun disappeared?”

The three of them were speechless, as if their mouths had been sealed with honey.

“Behold. Not once did we turn our backs on you first. It was you who fled the sunlight and hid in the darkness. It was you who denied our existence and proclaimed the death of god. It was you who abandoned our religions, and you who piled up evil deeds under the delusion that our eyes had been extinguished. It was all your choice, your will. And in the face of that magnificent and foolish will, we could not intervene. We could only watch. And this is the result.”

The god reached out, tracing an unseen pattern in the air. As if a stone had been cast into a placid lake, ripples spread through the space, and sound began to pour out. The ripples coalesced into a blurry image, a hologram materializing to show humans fighting monsters inside a Gate.

They shouted to one another, fighting in unison. Relying on the blue system windows before them, they let out battle cries, and the monsters answered with roars of their own. Claws met steel. Assailed by blades from all sides, the calamity was finally slain.

Sa-yoon and his companions watched the scene unfold in silence. The god enlarged the hologram and continued.

“Even as the Chief Gods initiated the apocalypse, having judged that the balance in your world would not return, they did not completely abandon you. The System is the proof of that. A miracle bestowed upon you by the Chief Gods, who shared their great power. It was our last chance for you, and the last tear shed for their own creation. We, they, wanted you to take that power and change the balance. No matter what great evil existed…”

The god’s words trailed off as his gaze landed on Sa-yoon. At the precise mention of ‘evil,’ the System stared right at him, and Sa-yoon was forced to reflect on his past lives. A hot flush crept up his face, and he turned away, unable to meet the direct gaze.

While it was true the gods had compelled him to commit acts of evil, he couldn’t claim that he hadn’t committed any unnecessary atrocities along the way. He had, after all, become the very villain they so desperately wanted.

“But even after ten years, the balance of good and evil did not change. If anything, it only tilted further. In the end, they were once again made to realize that a scale so severely tipped cannot be righted. And so, the Chief Gods made their final choice. The war we were planning to start surely influenced their decision as well. They must have judged that if a world no longer holds any hope, it should be destroyed before a war can even begin. I don’t know how you will take this. Perhaps you will say that, in the end, the gods turned their backs on us regardless.”

Han Geon-joo flinched at the god’s words. Unable to hide his own expression, Sa-yoon grasped Geon-joo’s hand and then touched his own face. A dry laugh escaped. He was just as emotionally transparent as the kid next to him. If Han Geon-joo was flustered before the god, Sa-yoon was desperately trying to swallow his shame. Only Lee Jaehee had returned to his usual state of composure.

As if he had found a sliver of hope in the conversation, the despair in his eyes was pushed back, replaced by a renewed intelligence. It was another stark reminder of his attribute: The One Who Twists the Flow. If the tilted scale were ever to find its equilibrium, he felt certain that Jaehee would be the one to lead the charge, twisting the flow of fate to make it so.

The god snapped his fingers again, and the noisy hologram vanished.

“If you truly believe the gods have abandoned you, then I have something to say to that as well. Even if the Chief Gods have turned their backs on you, we have not given up on you.”

“We believe in you.”

The whispered declaration of faith sent a strange, ticklish sensation through his chest. It was different from the affection he had received from his family in a forgotten past. It was different from hearing Geon-joo’s confession, or from the moments they had kissed. This was a thrill of a different caliber than what a human could provide, subtly stimulating his mind. It was an unfamiliar feeling. This first taste of a god’s affection felt as if a child were letting out a peal of sweet laughter right against his heart.

“…What must we do to stop the apocalypse?”

The man’s wavering voice was firm once more. The God of Wisdom looked at Lee Jaehee, whose eyes were now straight and determined, and brought up the system window again. The update progress was now at 90%. In less than thirty minutes, it had climbed that high.

“Normally, after you cleared the Tower, a few gods were supposed to impart their skills to you, but there isn’t enough time for that now. I’ll make sure the skill impartation can be done later as a quest. For now, I need you to clear the Tower as fast as humanly possible and gain power.”

“The Tower?”

“Yes. After that, do everything you can to stop the apocalypse. We will do our best to stop the system update, and even if it completes, we will delay the progression of the Gates that appear. Once we are ready, we will start the war. You will participate in that war and protect your world. You must gather heroes who can restore peace from the Gates that will open in your absence. That is your task.”

In short, they had to clear the Tower, return to the frantic grind of clearing Gates, and somehow find and train other capable Hunters.

There aren’t that many useful ones.

Sa-yoon thought back on the few skilled individuals he could remember and frowned. There wasn’t enough time to find and nurture true talent. If only they could skip the Tower conquest.

“Is conquering the Fated Tower that important?”

As if sharing his thoughts, Han Geon-joo asked the question. The god nodded decisively.

“It is. The eyes that have seen the future will surely be a great help to many. And only by clearing that Tower… can you two awaken.”

“Us?”

As he said the last part, the god’s gaze shifted away from Lee Jaehee. It landed unexpectedly on him and Han Geon-joo. Sa-yoon pointed a finger at himself, and the god opened his palm toward the ceiling.

“Because you two have already set foot in the divine realm once before. Though you may have fallen from your divine thrones, that karma remains in your souls. It means you can become stronger than you are now. If you awaken that power, it will surely be a help in the war.”

“And we can get that by clearing the Tower?”

“Once you clear the Tower, we can bestow a reward upon you. We plan to manipulate that reward to awaken your power. And as it happens, there is a divine item perfectly suited for you two, who share a destiny.”

As he spoke, the god clenched his fist and then opened it. A holographic window appeared above his palm, displaying a familiar divine item and its description.

[Ruin (Divine Item)] A blessed necklace created by the European master craftsman Perse, who washed the tip of the divine artifact ‘Magic Spear Ruin Keltar’ with holy water and offered a prayer to the gods. It forms a pair with Keltar. When Ruin and Keltar are worn by two different individuals, the Destiny Set Effect is activated.

• Faith increases by 10% when equipped.
• Cannot be unequipped or transferred to others.
• 30% resistance to all demonic-attribute abilities.
• Resistance to S-Rank curses and below.
• Set effect activates when worn with Keltar or in the presence of a user wearing Keltar.
• Set effect will be revealed upon activation.

[Keltar (Divine Item)] A blessed necklace created by the European master craftsman Perse, who washed the tip of the divine artifact ‘Magic Spear Ruin Keltar’ with holy water and offered a prayer to the gods. It forms a pair with Ruin. When Ruin and Keltar are worn by two different individuals, the Destiny Set Effect is activated.

• Faith increases by 10% when equipped.
• Cannot be unequipped or transferred to others.
• 30% resistance to all demonic-attribute abilities.
• Resistance to S-Rank curses and below.
• Set effect activates when worn with Ruin or in the presence of a user wearing Ruin.
• Set effect will be revealed upon activation.

“Ruin and Keltar?”

Those were the items he had asked Gyeongjin to retrieve; they should be with him now. As his eyes widened in surprise, the god manipulated the screen.

“We will add our reward to this divine item. Like this.”

As he spoke, a new line of text was added to both item descriptions.

‘Ruin Keltar Set Effect: Upon consumption of holy water after equipping, temporarily grants a demigod body.’

“With this power, you should be able to fight somewhat evenly against the gods. However, we cannot break the rules either, so you must achieve a feat worthy of this reward. That’s why I asked you to clear the Tower quickly. You must shatter the all-time Tower clear record. Well? Can you do it?”

At the god’s question, the three of them looked at each other. Then, without exchanging a single word, they nodded in unison.

A short while later, they were released from the divine space and returned to the Tower. Facing the 91st floor, they re-inspected their weapons. As Sa-yoon checked the condition of his blade, Geon-joo approached him.

“Clearing up to the 100th floor in under three days, though. Isn’t that too reckless?” he asked, his face a little anxious as he recalled the declaration Sa-yoon had made. Sa-yoon used his free hand to ruffle Geon-joo’s hair.

“Don’t you think this hyung has a plan?”

“…Doesn’t look like it.”

“What was that?”

“I said, I like it.”

Sa-yoon let out a hollow laugh at the slippery response. After a bit more idle chatter, they ascended to the 91st floor, and the world began to wash out into shades of gray. It was a place devoid of warmth, where an extreme, sinister energy set every nerve on edge. In the center of this gray world, its master, who had been curled up, lifted its head upon sensing intruders.

—Krrrrruuuuaaaaa!

The dragon’s fear-inducing roar washed over them. A grin split Sa-yoon’s face at the chilling killing intent, and he twirled his sword.

“This immortal body isn’t just for show.”

Since he would be fully restored upon returning to the 0th floor anyway, the victor of this battle was already decided. Sa-yoon was simply going to shorten the time it took to get there.

By pushing his body to its absolute limit.

The only difference from his usual recklessness was that this time, he had two others willing to join him in it.

Kkang!

Ah, and a summoned beast, too.

Confirming Rai was running alongside him, Sa-yoon laughed and charged toward the Bone Dragon. “Don’t just rush in blindly!” Geon-joo shouted, chasing after him. Shiro and Maru kicked off the ground, supporting them from behind. Left alone for a split second, Jaehee summoned a griffin and mounted it.

“Honestly… whose summon is he.”

Jaehee gave Rai’s retreating form a bittersweet look and patted the griffin’s back. The beast nuzzled his face as if to comfort him before soaring into the air. The entire battlefield came into view for The One Who Twists the Flow.

“I’ll give orders from above. Follow them, Sa-yoon-ssi.”

At the sound of his name, Sa-yoon plunged his sword into the ground. With a great cracking sound, the earth froze over, trapping the specters that had been rising from below.

“Geon-joo-ssi, bind it!”

At the next command, Geon-joo unfurled his shadows, snaring the ankles of the Bone Dragon as it tried to take flight. Its flight thwarted, the creature thrashed its skeletal wings, whipping up a fierce gale that buffeted the three of them.

“Hyung, the flight skill!”

“Ah.”

To fight the Bone Dragon effectively, they needed to be able to fly. Realizing this belatedly, Sa-yoon, who had been busy stomping on a specter trying to break through the ice, grabbed Geon-joo’s arm and pulled him close. Geon-joo readily complied, dipping his head. As their lips met, Sa-yoon scowled.

“Don’t stick your tongue in, you little shit.”

Trying to get something extra in the middle of a battle. He gave Geon-joo a shove on the chest, who just laughed and pulled away. A blast of the Bone Dragon’s breath seared the space between them.

“Save list, Void Walk.”⁴

Immediately using the skill he had just copied, Geon-joo soared into the sky. The battlefield was now set: Sa-yoon and the summons held the ground, Geon-joo took the left flank in the air, and Jaehee took the right. Trapped within the triangle, the dragon let out an agonized roar.

“Commencing the attack.”

Lee Jaehee’s calm order echoed through the space.