Chapter 635: How to Kill a God (1)

The God-Slayer of the Old World.

Upon hearing those words, Lennok sharpened his senses, focusing on the reactions of others.

What did it mean for Machina, a city that had experienced the failure of the Ascension Gate, to mention it?

Did they understand what it truly meant to utter the causality of an already destroyed world?

The soldiers remained silent, as if unable to comprehend the words themselves, while the Meisters watched Hermes with subtle, unreadable expressions.

“Hermes, have you forgotten so soon?”

Someone among the silent Meisters spoke.

“We agreed to consult beforehand whenever bringing back necessary information from beyond the Gate.”

“…”

“I understand that as this quarter’s supervisor, you are tasked with exploring and researching beyond the Gate. However, a reason beyond that is needed for these adjustments.”

The Heart-Star Vault within the Underwater Barrier, opened each quarter in Machina.

Perhaps a Meister, soldiers, and a supervisor researching the Gate were assigned to reside within it each quarter, working to rectify the failure of the Ascension Gate.

‘A researcher from Machine Head, soldiers from Steel Heart, and artisans from War Hammer… It seems they’ve been managing the interior of the Underwater Barrier, maintaining a balance.’

If so, the towering, majestic rings of the gigantic circle rising behind Hermes must be a legacy born from the failure of the Ascension Gate.

“My apologies, Harvest.”

Hermes spoke in a perfectly steady voice.

“But you know, don’t you? Some things are not permitted to be spoken aloud, even at times like these.”

“…”

At his words, the other Meisters’ expressions turned cautious.

They realized that Hermes’s statement wasn’t simply a refusal to speak.

“So it’s information that has been placed under prohibition, even among the fragments of the Old World.”

“Indeed, if so, it’s certainly a reason to completely revise this quarter’s objectives. Is that why you summoned us?”

“As I mentioned, proper adjustments are necessary to load the required information at the opportune moment.”

Hermes’s clear gaze swept over the Meisters and soldiers.

“If you understand, I’d like to begin immediately.”

“…Even when we succeeded in finding groundbreaking information and fragments of knowledge, we often failed to match the cost, leaving only irreparable damage.”

An old Meister, who had been standing silently at the very back, muttered quietly.

“There isn’t much time left. This time, you must take full responsibility to ensure it doesn’t end that way.”

“Of course.”

Hermes slowly nodded.

The Meisters, who had been silently facing each other, gestured to the soldiers standing silently behind them.

“We will now begin adjusting the Gate. You are to assist with the related operations.”

“Understood.”

‘This situation isn’t good…’

Lennok, walking among the soldiers, frowned within his suit.

The Meisters seemed unaware of who the God-Slayer of the Old World was, yet they cooperated as if accustomed to such occurrences.

This must be because they had previously acquired crucial information from beyond the Gate through similar procedures whenever something unusual was discovered.

From this, two facts could be gleaned.

One was that sufficient preparation and adjustment were required beforehand to retrieve information from beyond the Gate.

The other was that the legacy of the Ascension Gate, which Lennok had vaguely intuited from Boyan’s memories, possessed the power he had suspected.

‘The Ascension Gate project undoubtedly failed. But beyond the Gate…’

It was no coincidence that traces, artifacts, and knowledge of the Old World were unusually often found in Machina.

It wasn’t a non-existent fourth world, but rather a second world whose causality had already vanished and perished.

Through the failure of the Ascension Gate, they had been retrieving memories and knowledge from WORLD 2.0, or equivalent artifacts.

Why a Gate meant to lead to the fourth world connected to a destroyed second world, or whether the Old World space beyond the Gate remained intact—Lennok couldn’t confirm any of this immediately.

He could only observe the unfolding situation, assisting with the work in the massive cavity arranged over the vast lake.

Lennok and the soldiers transported the necessary materials and items, while the Meisters began attaching wires and equipment to the enormous ring.

Woooong…!!

The massive, concentric rings, dozens overlapping, revolved above the lake with a strange vibrating sound.

Measuring devices and data output equipment were connected to each ring, rotating in different directions and speeds, and values were adjusted through temporarily installed computational devices.

During the process of transferring and exchanging materials, Lennok naturally had the chance to observe the Gate’s form up close.

Beautiful metal, glowing white and gold. It shimmered as if its form didn’t truly exist in reality, making him wonder if it was an illusion.

Davi quietly whispered through Lennok’s earpiece from within his pocket.

“There’s no related data in any of Machina’s or the mega-city’s databases. It’s an alloy that officially doesn’t exist.”

‘No, this is an Old World artifact.’

Lennok knew this was an off-spec grade alloy called Ungeum [운금].

He didn’t remember every item in WORLD 2.0, but this beautiful yet cloud-like shimmering form had been incredibly popular as a cosmetic alteration option.

And that fact attested that the Gate here now was a newly created one after the failure of the Ascension Gate.

If the Ascension Gate project had reached the destruction of the second world, then the Ascension Gate completed at that time would have been made only of materials from this world.

So then, where was the Ascension Gate that had been built and failed during the project?

‘I haven’t even found Teremer’s Demise yet, but I’ve become too entangled in this. This is problematic…’

He had thought he might find traces related to the Ascension Gate upon entering the Heart-Star Vault, but he never expected to witness the Gate being used firsthand.

And the reason things progressed so suddenly must be because of Hermes, the man who had summoned the Meisters.

From the unfolding situation, it seemed clear that this man was the most deeply involved in the city’s secrets, acting as its mastermind.

An Ex Machina committee member and part of the Machine Head faction. If he was here as the head researcher, he must undoubtedly be a major figure in the leadership.

However, Lennok’s senses, keenly observing Hermes, revealed facts that differed from the known circumstances.

‘His presence and reactions are strangely absent. It’s like facing an inanimate object.’

His breathing, metabolism, and mana patterns were undeniably those of an organic being, yet all his actions and reactions were eerily alien.

Even setting aside that his power or Hierarchy didn’t seem particularly high for a major figure in the leadership, there was an unnatural, inorganic quality to his demeanor.

Had he become somehow distorted, a side effect of long-term research and exploration of the Gate?

As Lennok was lost in thought, the Gate’s form began to spin faster, and the other Meisters moved busily.

“The released mana output is below estimation. We’ll need to increase the power.”

“We definitely overused it last time. Calling it out again so soon caused this problem. We might need to replace the Gate soon.”

“Wasn’t that because you, Oason, insisted on forcefully attempting to handle Teremer’s Demise?”

Lennok perked his ears at the familiar name while the Meisters continued to grumble.

“If an artisan participating in the Selection Ceremony can fix it, there’s no way I can’t.”

“He’s spouting nonsense again.”

“I’ve said it many times, but that artifact holds more value than meets the eye. If we properly repair it, we might be able to uncover the artifact’s shape-shifting ability.”

The artisan called Oason thumped the suit he was wearing.

“Ultimately, isn’t producing a suit with a built-in mobile workshop like this also a result of researching Old World technology?”

“…”

“I don’t think Machina’s technology is inferior, but the knowledge from the Old World undoubtedly instills new inspiration and ideas in us.”

Oason’s eyes gleamed eerily for a moment.

“This is the unique possibility left in this city. No matter the sacrifice, I will never give up this chance.”

The Meisters showed signs of displeasure at his blunt words, yet no one denied them.

This was likely because the other Meisters, though not showing it outwardly, also desired something similar to Oason and had gathered here for that reason.

“In that regard, it’s a shame we couldn’t persuade Narcissa Solmer.”

Hermes, who had been quietly listening to Oason’s words and smiling, said this.

He dusted off his hands and stood up lightly, as if simply raising the gateway from beneath the surface was all he needed to do.

“If we had the cooperation of she who occupies the Furnace General’s workshop, we could have stabilized the Gate’s condition much more than it is now.”

“…”

Perhaps it was because he mentioned the name of a Meister not present, but the others’ expressions turned sour.

“Well, not all Meisters are cooperating with this great endeavor. I intend to respect the wishes of our colleagues.”

“There are stubborn artisans like that. How long do they intend to hole up in their workshops, not even running a business, just dawdling?”

It seemed that not all Meisters were involved in this work; only certain ones cooperated with the Ascension Gate’s maintenance.

Were they providing the Meisters with Old World technology flowing from the Gate’s failure in the process?

It seemed undeniable that the one orchestrating this was the man called Hermes, standing majestically above the lake.

“But isn’t the reason Narcissa Solmer hasn’t regained consciousness because you all had no intention of respecting her wishes?”

Hermes said with a smile.

“I understand one of the people gathered here took action.”

“…!!”

At Hermes’s words, casually mentioning the instigator of an assassination attempt, the Meisters’ expressions twisted.

The Meisters quickly exchanged glances, then nodded to the soldiers who had been assisting with the work.

“All necessary adjustments are complete. Return to the work zone and await further orders.”

“Meister Grina. But we…”

“I will personally provide a separate account of the process to the Mechanical Legion Commander.”

“…Understood.”

The soldier who appeared to be in charge reluctantly nodded.

Lennok also had to stop pretending to assist and follow them out of the lake.

The lake, seen from the outside, was now surrounded by a colossal mana barrier, taking on the form of a glass tower.

Was the landscape inside the Underwater Barrier transforming and rising merely by adjusting the Gate’s output?

As soon as they stepped out of the lake, the commander spoke to the soldiers in a low voice.

“As I said earlier, erase everything you just heard from your memory. Understood?”

Watching the soldiers nod heavily, the commander subtly turned away.

“I have something to attend to, so I’ll be leaving my post for a moment. You all return to the work zone and wait.”

Though he said that, the commander likely intended to report this incident to his superior.

Lennok watched the commander leave the formation and the other soldiers silently move, then slowly began to draw up his mana.

Pop!!

Lennok used Flicker to slip out of the suit, simultaneously turning his steps opposite to the soldiers.

Despite its master’s disappearance, the suit Lennok had been wearing naturally continued to move in line with the soldiers.

It wouldn’t matter if Davi controlled the suit only until it returned to the work zone.

He adjusted the iron mask on his face to fully cover it again, concealed his presence, and this time, drew up mana to re-enter the vicinity of the lake.

With their backs to the colossal rings of light, the Meisters and Hermes were conversing.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten that we’re indebted to each other, Hermes.”

“Hm.”

“Throughout Machina’s long history, you are an unparalleled researcher, but sometimes you cross the line.”

Despite the stern voice, Hermes did not flinch or grow angry; instead, he sank into deep thought.

It was as if he was trying to precisely understand the meaning behind the words.

Lennok observed from afar, convinced that this was Machina’s true internal workings, something he should never have been able to learn.

‘Breaking through the Underwater Barrier forcefully was worth it. Or rather, is it because of that I’m able to witness this directly…?’

Lennok’s act of forcibly breaching the deep sea with a limited probe and tearing open the Underwater Barrier was, by all rights, a miracle that should never have been permitted at this point.

Because he had forcibly reached a space unattainable with variables available within Machina,

He could now instantly glimpse the periphery of Machina’s most critical secret, skipping procedures that would have otherwise taken a very long time to follow.

Meanwhile, another Meister, focused on adjusting the Gate, shouted.

“Adjustments are almost complete! Bring in the test subject for the transaction. The Gate’s condition isn’t good, it’s hard to maintain output for long!!”

“…”

At his words, the Meister who had been reprimanding Hermes, the one called Oason, turned his gaze.

“Let’s talk after the work is done…”

“After observing beyond the Gate for a long time, I realized something.”

Hermes, cutting off Oason’s words, slowly stepped forward.

“No matter how much we deny it, our glory and honor have regressed significantly compared to decades ago…”

“…”

“It was abundantly clear that this was due to the blunders stemming from the failure of the Ascension Gate.”

At Hermes’s resolute words, the entire assembly fell silent.

Even the other Meisters, who had been focused solely on the adjustment work without interfering, turned their gazes.

“Hermes. What exactly are you trying to say?”

“That discussion was concluded decades ago. Are you planning to overturn all those decisions now?”

“Machina stood at the pinnacle of magic engineering despite the Ascension Gate’s failure precisely because it didn’t ignore its failures but embraced them. Are you going to deny sacrifices made over decades?”

Despite the criticisms pouring in from all sides, Hermes paid them no mind.

“The Iron Rule. Under the rationality that we must always receive more than we give, the Gate was created, and we poured everything into it, seeking to advance to the next stage.”

“…”

“But now we offer tribute through bargains worse than a hawker’s, picking up scraps from a ruined world. I no longer consider this a failure.”

Hermes’s expression, as he turned his gaze, was a cold sneer.

“It is proof of our regression and downfall, worse than a mere failure.”

“HERMES!!”

Someone among the Meisters, unable to contain themselves, slammed the workbench forcefully.

CRASH!!

“Enough!! The Gate’s adjustments are complete, so bring in the necessary test subject. After we verify the information about the God-Slayer you mentioned, we will hold you accountable for this matter later!!”

“Revisiting faded memories and re-examining forgotten information—that’s enough for now.”

Saying so, Hermes grasped the rings of the gateway with one hand.

“I found something of even greater value beyond the Gate. And, I have finally succeeded in obtaining it.”

Kiiiiing…!!!

Following Hermes’s hand, the rotation speed of the colossal rings of light began to accelerate frantically.

Dozens of overlapping rings of different sizes simultaneously sped up, creating distortions in space, and beyond those twisted distortions, an entirely different landscape was reflected.

The other Meisters’ complexions changed drastically.

“No!! If you open the Gate without another offering, no one will escape the Rule!!”

“Stop him!! Prevent the Gate from opening!!”

Most of the Meisters were powerful superhumans capable of manipulating mana with expert skill.

The artisans, having drawn up their mana and clutching their respective tools, rushed to stop Hermes, but it was already too late.

Click.

With the quiet sound of the Gate opening, an intense radiance poured out from beyond, instantly covering the lake and flashing brilliantly.

Fwaaaash!!

Ironically, the Meisters stumbled and collapsed, unable to properly steady themselves the moment they faced that light.

Simultaneously, Lennok’s ears were assaulted by a cacophony of diverse noises—scratching, twisting, shattering, exploding, and creeping.

An overwhelming flood of random information pouring out from beyond the Gate, just as he had experienced in Boyan’s memories.

The moment they truly faced it, even the most skilled superhuman Meisters found it difficult to maintain consciousness.

“This is impossible…!!”

The artisan who had collapsed at Hermes’s feet, Harvest, struggled to shout.

“How could you, violating the Rule, open the Gate by yourself…!!”

Was it originally impossible for Hermes to open the Gate solely with his authority?

Perhaps the other Meisters had responded to Hermes’s call because they believed he couldn’t cause harm by himself.

But that belief was shattered completely when Hermes opened the Gate himself.

Instead of answering Harvest’s words, Hermes squatted down in front of the fallen man and opened his mouth.

“Harvest. Do you remember what we intended to do through this Gate?”

“…”

Instead of answering, Harvest desperately swung the folding blade clutched in his hand.

A strike swung in a gesture close to despairing struggle.

Thunk!!

Absurdly, the blade easily plunged precisely into Hermes’s neck.

“…!!!”

The other Meisters nearby, trying to regain consciousness to help Harvest.

Lennok, watching, as well as Harvest himself who had swung the knife in desperation, flinched and opened their eyes wide.

Hermes’s dazzling silver hair was sliced, falling away, and crimson blood profusely dripped from his impaled neck.

A fatal wound that would typically endanger anyone’s life, regardless of whether they were human or superhuman.

Yet Hermes, covered in blood in an instant, continued speaking as if unfazed.

“According to the Iron Rule, to retrieve what has been forgotten, you must leave something you possess within the Gate.”

“…You, you…”

“Until now, we have obtained fragments of the Old World by offering memories or knowledge as tribute, but a thought suddenly occurred to me.”

Saying so, Hermes reached out and grabbed Harvest by the collar.

“If what we obtained were the fragments of a destroyed world itself, wouldn’t there also be souls or consciousnesses that couldn’t escape from that place?”

Hermes, who had taken a great stride beyond the rings of pure white light, stood directly before the Gate, clutching Harvest by the collar.

With half his neck severed and dangling in a gruesome state, Hermes smiled wider than ever.

“And to summon a soul, not just specific information or memories, one must offer something of equivalent value, correct?”