Chapter 639: How to Kill a God (5)
Although Lennok had forcibly opened the closing Gate using the activation code stored in Elava’s mind, he knew it would be difficult to simply seize control of the Gate’s power as it was.
At a point when the Gate’s output was failing and it was closing, gaining control of its associated facilities would yield limited results.
Hermes, too, must have been aiming for that, using Kashuin to forcibly stall for time.
That’s why Lennok intended to directly enter the Gate and confirm for himself what Hermes had seen beyond it.
If he couldn’t investigate its structural design from outside and learn its principles, he had no choice but to enter and witness the landscape within.
“Based on the two keywords, ‘God-Slayer’ and ‘Archangel,’ I’ll know how much you saw beyond the Gate.” Lennok said, rapidly channeling mana to reinforce his body.
Click!!
With one foot on the massive ring of light, he looked down at Hermes.
“If I confirm the memories you obtained beyond the Gate, I can replicate the core configuration code of the Ascension Gate based on that recorded data.”
Beyond the Gate, which was directly connected to the memories of the Old World.
Lennok knew that what existed beyond the Ascension Gate was not the real Old World.
What lay beyond the Gate was a fragment of a world where causality had completely closed, and the ending was set.
In other words, it was a consciousness space close to true void, more akin to a collection of memories and information.
To be precise, it was a place conceptually closer to the Cybernetic Domain where Davi resides.
But precisely because of this, researching and exploring within it depended on how much of the memories and information beyond the Gate one had seen.
Hermes was a committee member of Ex Machina and one of the researchers who had directly explored and managed the Gate in this city.
Therefore, by securing that volume of information related to the Ascension Gate, he could seize its management authority.
This meant that Lennok himself might be able to create a replica of the Gate, provided he could match the necessary conditions.
At this point, it was an opportunity he absolutely couldn’t miss.
Only then did Hermes, who had been silent, realizing Lennok’s intentions, let out a low laugh.
“Do you think you, of all people, can achieve it?”
“……”
“If he knows the most dangerous secret of this world, he wouldn’t be a mere mortal… perhaps one of the great Watchers…”
Hermes asked.
“But can you be certain that the ‘you’ who returns after seeing beyond the Gate will still be ‘you’? Do you possess an ego befitting such arrogance?”
Before answering, Lennok gazed at the form of the Gate he had personally opened and fixed in place.
Beyond the endless spatial distortion, a void leading to an entirely different world.
What did it mean to step directly into that beyond?
It meant moving forward with the risk that his physical body might be overtaken by Old World data, like Harvest’s.
But Lennok firmly believed this was the most correct answer at this moment.
Hermes’s true identity. The true purpose of the Machine City, Machina. The secrets of the Ascension Gate and Artemeyer.
The meaning of killing God.
All those answers lay beyond this Gate.
If all the time Lennok had spent in the Machine City hadn’t been in vain, perhaps it was all for this very moment.
What did it matter if he wasn’t fully prepared, or if the situation before him was an unforeseen danger?
At the threshold of the world’s end, Lennok was merely a respondent, still hastily preparing his answer.
Click!!
Stepping onto the Gate’s ring, Lennok took a stride forward without hesitation.
Beyond the distortion of space-time, a bizarre illusion where the very sensations on his skin warped entirely.
Amidst the sensation of his consciousness scattering amidst overwhelming waves of information and memories, he traced the vestiges of the Old World based on the information he had gathered so far.
Even beyond the void where physical sensation ceased to exist, a dazzling illusion of memory shone unshakeably.
The legacy of the Old World, coexisting with the two keywords, God-Slayer and Archangel, yet sparkling with unparalleled intensity.
Lennok, certain that this was the memory Hermes had returned with, and something connected to the Gate’s management authority, seized it without hesitation.
Paaah-aat!!!
Lennok’s figure vanished from the spot with a brilliant flash of light.
How long had it been?
Since astrologers, prophets, seers, and astronomers all began mentioning the world’s demise.
He had heard that the end was coming until his ears rang, yet he lived without truly acknowledging it.
“Are you saying this world is the second? Don’t joke around so much.”
His life was a struggle, earning enough in one day to scrape by for three.
He possessed talent, but he couldn’t concern himself with personal glory or advancement.
“I’m sick and tired of hearing about the world’s demise.”
“Are you going to try to trick us by saying you’ll save us too?”
It began from a very trivial encounter.
It was an event now even the memory of which had faded.
“I’m sorry, but salvation doesn’t exist in this world.”
“…What?”
“But there is a ‘next.’”
He smiled.
“I know a way, but I don’t necessarily believe it’s the right one. There is only a brief reprieve for us.”
“……”
“I don’t know how long it will take, but there is something that holds more value than the world’s continued existence. I’m looking for it.”
Was he a common treasure hunter?
There are always those who embellish themselves with grand words.
Fortunately, he didn’t try to persuade me and simply left without hesitation after saying those words.
His face was easily forgotten, but for some strange reason, his words remained in my memory for a long time.
Time flowed on.
Just as the conversation they had shared was about to be completely forgotten, fading into oblivion, he met him again.
“You’re still alive?”
“…You, are you that cultist from back then?”
“Cultist? That’s not me; that’s the other side.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
A considerable amount of time had passed, and their positions had changed greatly.
I, who thought I would never pursue glory or status in my life, had used my skills to rise to a position of unrivaled influence.
There was a great disaster threatening the entire nation, and unexpectedly, they cooperated to resolve the situation.
He left without hesitation, and I forgot him just as easily.
More time passed.
I lived for hundreds more years, using my talents.
I stepped down from my position, looked back at ruined nations, and traveled across continents turned into wastelands.
He was still alive.
“This is the third time.”
“…Haha.”
His nonchalant remark made me let out an involuntary, hollow laugh.
Living for over hundreds of years, I had obtained the ‘qualifications’ to challenge it.
He endured countless trials, confronted secrets, overcame tribulations, and took more lives than he saved.
He ruined more nations than he ruled, destroyed more civilizations than he revived, and made more sacrifices than he rescued.
He now knew that the nonsense he had mumbled when they first met was pointing to the truth of this world.
“Something that holds more value than the world’s continued existence. You said you knew what it was.”
“You remember?”
“Answer me. Does a ‘next’ truly exist?”
He nodded.
“At least this time, it does.”
“……”
“But as I said, I’m trying to find a different way. Because that’s not a fundamental salvation that breaks us free from the shackles we are given.”
“…What, what is that?”
“If you want to know, will you help me a little?”
He smiled.
“They say the first is coincidence, the second is inevitability. And the third is destiny.”
“……”
“There will be no fourth. This will be our last meeting.”
What would have happened if I hadn’t nodded to his words then?
But I followed him, the one I met for the third time, and began traveling all over the world.
As time passed, others like me joined him, then left again.
I, too, cooperated with him, then repeated the cycle of wandering alone when the opportunity arose.
After once empathizing with his resolve, all subsequent meetings and partings felt like fleeting moments.
Rather, they focused on observing and unearthing the events unfolding across the world.
During that time, he gradually learned trivial yet miscellaneous facts about him.
“You’re a Magic Gunner, so why don’t you use a magic gun?”
His power, observed from nearby, was terrifyingly powerful, yet its essence seemed distant from his abilities and Hierarchy.
Transcending perfection in both mind and body, yet at times, he was hampered by decisive discrepancies and distortions.
“My abilities are powerful, but they have a clear peak and limitations.”
He said nonchalantly, surrounded by other companions.
“So I’ve long sought ways to grow stronger without using my abilities.”
“…You’re a monster.”
Having attained a transcendental Hierarchy without fully utilizing his innate talent, who could say his method was wrong?
Throughout the long passage of time, there had been brilliant and outstanding geniuses and monsters, but he was, without a doubt, the most dangerously and precariously shining star among them.
He smiled nonchalantly, even as he heard the envious curses of others.
“To surpass my limits, I must redefine the very concept of the abilities I possess. Only now is it a viable endeavor.”
“Are you saying you’ll overhaul your abilities only after you’ve acquired the qualifications to challenge Ascension…?”
Even the transcendents who had reached the same Hierarchy as him couldn’t easily grasp this way of thinking, but as always, he offered no explanation.
He never held onto anyone who joined or left.
It was as if he was always doing what needed to be done, merely using what was available and disregarding what wasn’t.
In that process, he occasionally revealed emotions or humanity, but it was so faint that even those who traveled with him could only sense the faintest fragments.
More time flowed.
There were countless battles, destructions, and divisions, and beyond them, creations, coexistences, and prosperities.
They thwarted the rebellion of the Divine Machines and subjugated religious cults that worshipped Archdemons.
He prevented the world’s demise several times, and conversely, perpetrated destruction akin to annihilation.
He casually traversed the boundaries of good and evil, unearthing all the world’s secrets.
Only one fact was clear: it was all to ensure they wouldn’t stop until the very end.
Even so, the approaching end could not be stopped.
“It’s not far now, is it?”
Above the boundless ocean where no land was visible.
He touched his face reflected on the water under the starlight.
His own face, seemingly untouched by time, felt awkward no matter how he looked at it, unlike his hair, which had already turned completely white.
He glanced upwards.
The stars in the sky exploded brilliantly, burning with light, and above them, a colossal eye swept by.
Within the colossal eye, tens of thousands of tiny pupils swarmed and writhed, gazing down at the world with covetous eyes.
Monsters from outside, forever swimming in the sea of darkness.
Transcending the laws of the universe, those who dreamed eternally, recognized the existence of the world.
The only answer was to challenge Ascension, obtain the qualifications, and cross over to the world beyond the demise.
A supreme feat whose possibility was uncertain, even if one combined all the time across all worlds throughout human history.
But everyone gathered here knew that even that was only a brief reprieve.
“This is the end, isn’t it? What will you do?”
Everyone knew that their journey would conclude after preventing the submerged continent from rising from the sea.
All that remained was a brief respite for each to find their own answer and challenge Ascension.
They would probably never meet again.
All those who had gained the qualifications knew that this moment itself was a near-fleeting miracle.
Rising from his seat, he dropped something he held in his hand.
Clang!!
The magic gun that could freely change its form. The Magic Gunner’s exclusive equipment, powerful and capable of diverse outputs and abilities, yet rarely held in his hand.
The expressions of the others changed as they realized the meaning of him abandoning it without hesitation.
“You……”
“The adjustment is complete.”
He said.
“If I fluctuate the concept itself and expand it infinitely, I’ll surely reach it.”
He hadn’t abandoned or disregarded the abilities of a Magic Gunner.
He had merely been continuously adjusting and transforming that very concept, in order to make his essence the answer at this moment of impending demise.
“I’m twisting the concept of ‘shooting,’ redefining and rewriting the meaning of ‘bullet’ and ‘target.’”
He said quietly.
“I intend to use the very pillars of the world as my bullet to pierce through the irresistible apocalypse.”
“…Was that the method you had in mind?”
Someone asked, panting.
“Was this why you perpetrated prosperity and destruction, stirring up the world?”
“Once the adjustment is complete, I can only use my power in this way. That’s why patience was necessary.”
He replied.
“If the world’s end cannot be stopped, if Ascension is merely the only answer and a brief reprieve…”
His unfocused gaze turned to the eyes that vaguely covered the night sky.
Beyond incredibly distant time and space, he muttered, facing the Outer God.
“I will shoot down God and prevent the apocalypse.”