Chapter 209: Life and Death
This was a world where wars and conflicts had never ceased for many years.
Even before Kutrapa, there had never been an emperor who united the entire world...
***
Naturally, there was no end to the world's wars.
Throughout the long history of war, countless heroes had emerged.
Countless heroes are still talked about.
***
Among them were even brave heroes who, unable to find any more enemies in this world, challenged dragons.
A few returned alive or brought back a piece of a dragon, becoming celebrated as great heroes in every land.
***
But in the world's long history, no hero had ever challenged gods.
Naturally, no one had ever killed a god.
***
Along with dragons, they were absolute balancers who maintained the balance of the world.
The people, unable to imagine a day when gods would die, stared in disbelief.
***
"God..." Someone muttered those words over and over, unable to finish the sentence.
Of course, Seo-woon had neither respect nor faith for the god he had slain.
***
After all, few worshiped the jealous god of curses or god of distortion, who only brought evil to the world.
"Godkiller. Do you know what that means? You just wrote a new page in this world's history."
***
Burning away all the coldness in Senruk's words, Seo-woon checked his condition and replied.
"What's so magnificent about that?"
***
"Magnificent. In 9,000 years of history, including a 200-year hiatus, not a single human has ever stood up to a god and killed him."
Seo-woon understood what Senruk meant.
***
This was the moment when the concept of an absolute god changed.
This was the moment when a god, considered an absolute being who could never be challenged in this world, was transformed into a being who could be killed by human hands.
***
"More importantly… Things have become complicated. Even if he were a fake, such a great being's existence has been eliminated. His companions might come looking for him. The deal… Can we trust him?"
***
Senruk's expression turned strange at Seo-woon's words.
"Are you leaving?"
***
"Yes. If I stay here, I'll only cause unnecessary trouble."
Senruk silently looked at Seo-woon, a look of regret in his eyes.
For some reason, he felt as if he would never see Seo-woon again if they separated now.
***
Senruk nodded, a premonition that his rival, who had become an insurmountable wall, would leave and rise so high that he would never see her again.
***
"We will meet again soon. As soon as the agreement here is finalized..." Senruk thought for a moment about how to contact him, then continued.
"...In my kingdom, there must be a player affiliated with a guild from Earth. I will contact you through him."
***
"Yes. Then let us meet again with the emperor of another world."
"It won't be long."
***
Seo-woon nodded as he listened to Senruk.
Thousands of knights and mages had come to the ruined garden.
Seo-woon, using the Dimension Lock, opened a portal, drawing the attention of everyone who had returned to the palace after dealing with the remnants of the rebellion.
***
Juriel bowed to Senruk and said, "Thank you once again for your generosity in forgiving our family's mistakes. I will never forget your kindness and compassion."
***
Despite the fact that her family, which had served Crescent as a loyal vassal for so many years, had been destroyed, Juriel expressed her sincere gratitude.
***
For all her blood relatives, except her own, had survived, and some had even been appointed to positions within the royal court.
***
"It is counterproductive to punish blood relatives who have nothing to do with the sins of a few. I only did what was best for the land of Crescent."
***
Juriel bowed her head once more and passed through the portal.
Ki-chan and Liling-wei followed.
***
Lyle's eyes welled with tears as he watched them leave so soon after meeting.
Before he knew it, his master, the palace mage, was standing behind Lyle.
***
The sorcerer looked intently at a man named Seo-woon, who had taken on a talented and extraordinary student in his old age.
He was an unusually mature student, but now he looked like a child.
***
"Brother…"
"We'll see each other again soon. Don't be so sad. I'll be back."
"Promise?"
"Yes."
***
With that, he patted Ryle's head, and Ryle finally shed tears of sorrow.
***
A large man approached the boy and spoke.
It was Dump. With his massive frame and sun-darkened skin, he comforted Ryle in his own way.
***
When Ryle moved away from Seo-woon, Seo-woon, who had been about to pass through the portal, turned around and looked at Senruk.
***
"By the way… How many gods are there in your world?"
"Twenty-seven… No, twenty-five now."
"I understand."
***
Senruk didn't dare ask Seo-woon what he meant by that question, as he nodded and walked back toward the portal.
He already knew the answer, but hearing it frightened him.
***
After Seo-woon disappeared from the portal, a feeling of exhaustion filled the people gathered in the hall.
They regretted not being able to say another word to the godkiller.
***
***
***
"He's in bad shape," a middle-aged woman said as she looked at the man whose chest had been punctured and was slowly disappearing.
Wearing a black, umbrella-like robe, the kind worn by nobles, she took a deep drag on her tobacco pipe and looked at the man who had finally found her.
***
"If you're done mocking me, at least help me…"
In response, the woman tapped the pipe she was smoking on the table.
After emptying the ashes from the pipe, she lit it.
***
Smoke began to rise from her mouth with each puff, and as the dry leaves inside the pipe burned, she took a deep breath and blew the smoke onto the man's chest.
***
"Ugh!" After blowing smoke onto the man's chest a few more times, the hole in his chest stopped growing.
And the hole in his chest, it was slowly closing, as if it were healing.
***
"You used your warp power to mock the world and wreak havoc."
At the woman's words, the man frowned, his expression pale.
***
"You fell victim to your own power. If that were the case, I would have been dead long ago! Who fell victim to my own power? I finally survived. I won't warp's final battle. I warped reality by showing it my death."
***
"You went to kill a human, barely escaped with your life, and now you call that a victory? Even if you are a god of warp, you cannot distort history."
***
The man, who had shouted in excitement, was silenced by the woman's words as she blew out cigarette smoke.
***
Defeat. He had gone through very hard times since his existence.
There had even been a few times when his very existence was threatened.
However, he had never faced such hardships or threats from a human.
***
Being defeated by a human made Metis feel humiliated.
"Even if we accept that Eva was a stubborn child, why did you bother with that human?"
***
"It was Master's will..."
"Hmph! Don't try to blame it on Master. Master never asked you to care for that human."
***
Metis couldn't say anything in response to Got, the goddess of healing's words.
"Anyway, Evara is dead. In the hands of a human. Are you going to stand by and do nothing?"
***
"I won't do anything."
Metis frowned at his answer and stood up.
***
"Then there's nothing to do."
Turning around, Metis regarded him coldly.
"Are you planning on confronting that human again?"
***
"...Have you ever watched Earth's cartoons?"
Goto's expression turned surprised by the unexpected question.
***
"On Earth. There are dozens of cartoons with the same story. One of them is about robots. In all of them, the hero's robot is attacked by an evil robot."
***
"What are you trying to say?"
When her wound had healed, the woman looked at Metis, who was speaking in her usual enigmatic manner.
***
"There's something I really don't understand about those cartoons. Why do the villains always send one or two enemies to fight the hero? If they all attacked at once, the hero's robot would easily defeat them. That's what I'm curious about."
***
Goto's expression hardened at Metis's words.
"Don't tell me you're planning on provoking the gods again?"
***
"The goddess of war loved Ebara. If she gets involved, at least ten gods will be mobilized. If they help us reach the root god, we can pass to Earth in our true form."
***
Goto sat heavily in his chair as he listened to Metis explain her plan.
***
"If the gods go to Earth…"
"His plan will accelerate. In the end, he won't be able to stop them. That guy won't last long."
***
With those words, Metis disappeared.
***
"Hmph. Do you really want that?"
He asked with a sigh, looking up at the sky.
***
***
***
***
Back on Earth, Seo-woon was busy for a while.
There were countless world-class figures who came to see him every day.
***
Starting with the President of South Korea, Presidents and prime ministers of many countries, including Sweden and the United States, came to visit him daily.
***
With the leaders of various countries flocking to South Korea, it was inevitable that the news would spread.
***
-The US President is going to Mr. Jin.
-The French leader. Germany and France are rushing to Korea.
-Why are world leaders going to Jin Seo-woon? A dimensional war. What is the truth?
-A dimensional war. Is it the gods' plan? Have the gods really abandoned humanity?
***
Countless publications were urgently planned and released, and the issue of dimensional war had already become the biggest issue on Earth.
***
A dimensional war that had never been experienced before in human history on Earth.
Especially as the word of Cloyd's existence spread, the anxiety of Earth's inhabitants increased day by day as they realized how powerful this ability from another dimension was.
***
-A dimensional war? In-depth analysis of Cloyd.
-What will happen if a dimensional war breaks out?
-How to survive a dimensional war?
-What will be the outcome of a war between the most advanced military forces and forces from another dimension?
-Who will be drafted for dimensional war? Will there be mandatory military service? YouTube is flooded with videos featuring dimensional warfare titles and provocative thumbnails, and as the number of videos increases, the prices of items released on Earth begin to skyrocket.
***
House prices in Gangnam are rising to unprecedented levels.
With item prices already skyrocketing, all kinds of people are starting to show up.
***
-How to make 100 million won in 3 days?
-How to make millions in a few days in real life?
-We're going to die in the war anyway, so let's at least make some money and spend it like water.
***
When people realized that buying items by withdrawing money from banks could generate over 100 million won in profits within a month, depending on the item, speculative demand for items began to flood.
***
Even as the world descended into chaos, no country had a plan to stabilize the situation.
First, they needed to finalize an urgent repatriation agreement instead of focusing on stability.
***
That's why the summit meeting in South Korea was held in such a rush.
"There are many unrealistic parts of the agreement."
***
Despite Seo-woon's reluctance, the other countries' leaders remained silent, and no one agreed with the Japanese Prime Minister, who had barely managed to attend the summit.
***
The interpreter who translated the Prime Minister's words looked at the other countries' interpreters in surprise.
But the reaction remained lukewarm.
***
This summit meeting had already been held with Seo-woon in a 1:1, 2:1, or 3:1 format to assess the situation.
***
The Japanese Prime Minister, excluded from the preliminary discussions due to his relationship with Seo-woon, was unaware of this and misunderstood the situation.
***
This was a summit meeting in name only; in reality, it was merely a formality, as the world's position was already unified.
***
Seo-woon, who had stared at the Japanese Prime Minister, opened his mouth.
***
"What's unrealistic?" he said, asking the interpreter to translate.
Despite the formality, Seo-woon spoke bluntly.
***
It was only natural that the Japanese Prime Minister's face contorted when he heard Seo-woon's words through the interpreter.
***
"The conditions proposed on both levels are not compatible with the situation on Earth..."
***
"Then should we throw everything away and go to war? Have you considered that?"
***
Seo-woon's words were again conveyed through the interpreter.
The Japanese interpreter looked at Seo-woon with a contemptuous expression, but Seo-woon didn't even blink.
***
Understanding Seo-woon's words, the Japanese Prime Minister stood up abruptly.
***
"This is an official summit meeting! Who are you to...?" The Japanese Prime Minister interrupted him.
***
Because of the expression on the US President's face, as he glared at him, was very cold.
***
"In order to ensure the smooth progress of the talks, I propose that Japan, which has a different view on this matter, be excluded from the talks."
***
When all the leaders nodded in agreement with the Chinese President's suggestion, the Japanese Prime Minister's face flushed as if it were about to explode.
***
"That's what they're saying. Either leave gracefully or be dragged out. Let's the interpreter handle it."
***
With his head bowed in shame, the Japanese Prime Minister tremblingly left the meeting room.
However, no one felt sorry for the Japanese Prime Minister.
***
Under normal circumstances, such an abnormal meeting would never have been tolerated, but now they were discussing an interdimensional war that would determine the very existence of their world.
***
With the lives of countless people on Earth at stake, there was no time for petty political squabbles between countries.
***
"Then, those who accept the agreement between the two dimensions, brought forward by Jin Seo-woon, raise their hands."
***
Naturally, all the leaders raised their hands in agreement.
***
"Then, let's begin discussing how to implement the terms of the agreement."
***
Then began practical discussions on how each country would maintain and manage the agreement.
***
"...So, first, we must establish dimensional control stations at all dimensional gates and conduct thorough inspections. Of course, we should also consider deploying military forces if anyone tries to force their way in..."
***
After more than eight hours of meetings, all decisions were finalized.
***
Even during the eight-hour meeting, the media buzzed about the Japanese Prime Minister, who left the meeting early, blushing and returning home.
***
When the meeting concluded and the content of the discussions was revealed to the global media, the world was once again thrown into chaos.
***
-Actor Jin Seo-woon. Stop the dimensional war.
-Jin Seo-woon, war deterrent. Who is he?
-The hero who stopped the dimensional war. Jin Seo-woon. America's hero who saved the world!
***
Naturally, Seo-woon was at the center of all matters.
***
The man who figured out the gods' plan, swiftly negotiated with the leaders of each dimension, and stopped the war.
***
The global media unhesitatingly praised Seo-woon as a hero.
The publications praising him, examining his past actions one by one, never stopped, and the media's money-making schemes exploiting his attention continued for a long time.
***
While every action was meticulously investigated, Negative issues from the past resurfaced, but there wasn't a single public criticism of Seo-woon.
***
On the contrary, broadcasts that hinted at even the slightest criticism were met with public outrage and forced to issue a hasty apology.
***
Absolute shield. The man who won global immunity.
***
A YouTube video with this title quickly surpassed 2 billion views.
***
While the entire world was ablaze with excitement for Jin Seo-woon, he continued his life as usual.
***
"I ate well."
"Didn't you eat more?"
"I ate a lot."
***
He spent time eating and chatting with his parents and, in his free time, exercising in the mountains near Wonju.
He went about his daily life as usual, as if completely oblivious to the world news, and of course, no reporters bothered him.
***
After a reporter who once covered him was criticized by the global public and fired, no other television station dared to approach him without his consent.
***
"Construction is going well, it seems."
***
Seo-woon's father nodded in response.
***
"Fortunately, the neighbors are understanding, so it's moving quickly."
They had bought the land next to their parents' house to build a house for their aunt's family.
Almost no one knew where Seo-woon's parents lived.
***
"That's good. It must be troublesome for your aunt and her family to continue living in a hotel."
***
That day, after having a normal conversation with their parents, Seo-woon left home.
Juriell and Liling-wei had become quite friendly with their parents and got along well with them, so it was a day without any flaws.
***
How much time had passed since they got into Juriell's Bentley parked outside the house?
***
Seo-woon's eyes widened with a sudden sensation.
***
"Juriell! Stop the car!"—squeak! "What's wrong?"
"Why are you acting like this?"
***
It felt like the total amount of energy in the world had suddenly skyrocketed.
Frightened by the overwhelming presence, Seo-woon pulled out the Dimension Lock and created a portal that transcended space.
***
Once inside, Juriell and Liling-wei naturally followed Seo-woon.
!!!
***
Seo-woon's expression crumpled as he appeared on Namsan Mountain beyond the portal.
There, Metis, whom he clearly thought had died by his own hand, was smiling down on him and was surrounded by nine gods.
***
"So you're not dead." "You're a god of distortion. You should be able to distort death."
***