906 Episode 50 The World After The End (9)

In the library where a gentle darkness had descended, the Demon King of Salvation frowned as he read the Youngest’s story floating above the newspaper.

The debate between the kkoma Kim Dokjas who read the sentence together could be heard.

—If you want to find Yoo Joonghyuk, you should follow Nirvana.

—But can you trust Nirvana as a comrade?

—Isn’t this all because of the Demon King of Salvation?

Among them, there was the 'King of Fear' who was mumbling something softly with a slightly sad expression on his face.

The Demon King of Salvation said with narrowed eyes.

The King of Fear turned his head subtly, looked at the Demon King of Salvation, and slightly moved his lips. The Demon King of Salvation’s eyebrows furrowed.

The King of Fear nodded.

Instead of refuting that, the King of Fear waved his finger in the air. A sentence rose from the tip of his finger like smoke.

—That city is strange. I can sense an ominous imagination throughout the city.

At the Demon King of Salvation’s urging, the Outer Gods scattered throughout the library suddenly stood up and started moving busily.

The Demon King of Salvation looked at the Youngest’s records again, thinking that Yoo Sangah, who worked in a place like this, was amazing.

'New Murim District.'

In 'Ways of Survival', there were similar rebuilt cities that were born right after the destruction of Murim.

In particular, after Yoo Joonghyuk's 1,500th Round, a unique group called a 'Company' intervened in the Murim that had been eroded by capital and developed the city.

However, no matter how he looked at it, the overall system of this city was a little different from the 'Ways of Survival' that he knew.

In particular, the 'Ascension Ceremony' was strange.

If you think about it simply, it is possible that the 'Giant Nebulae' left this scenario area as a bridgehead to strengthen their power.

Tamra Heavy Industries.

Olympus Technology.

Black Cloud Foundation.

Vedas Biotech...

It seemed like they were giving the incarnations who had not chosen the proper 'Nebulae' one last chance.

But is that really all?

They think of the incarnations as consumable terminals, and they can be sacrificed for the 'Descent of the Demi-God' at any time. Were the Constellations of the Giant Nebulae that could be used simply leaving ladders for the purpose of 'recruiting new incarnations'?

A kkoma Kim Dokja brought a collection of data. Ancient books that contained information from 1,500th Round.

The Demon King of Salvation quickly checked the data. Some of them were already read in 'Ways of Survival', and some looked like a pile of unused settings.

And how much time had passed?

The page the Demon King of Salvation was looking for came to mind.

The Demon King of Salvation's expression hardened for a moment and opened his mouth.

The face of the Demon King of Salvation, who had turned slightly pale, was reflected on the retina of the King of Fear who raised his head.

While the commotion of the Ascension Ceremony had died down, I sat next to Nirvana and had a short conversation.

"So, after the leader collapsed at that time, that guy…"

It seemed that Nirvana had never met Yoo Joonghyuk since he saw him at the Washington Dome.

"The tyrant turned into a pig?"

Nirvana's eyes would flutter open whenever I said something.

"Yes, well. Strictly speaking, he didn't really turn into a pig. Because of the scenario..."

"Interesting! The tyrant turned into a pig! What kind of pig was it? Was it a cute flower pig? Or a plump, muscular pig?"

"It was a pig that ate dirt."

"Dirt, dirt? That guy?"

"Yes, strictly speaking, he didn't really eat dirt, but he ate stories..."

Nirvana let out a hearty laugh and exclaimed, panting.

"I'm looking forward to it! I'm really looking forward to it! This time, the tyrant is a tyrant I have never met before!"

"What a pity. If only the Church Leader had been with me back then... If only I hadn't met the remnants of the Giant Nebula back then."

"Don't worry! From now on, I'm here! I'll take care of those Constellation bastards who harassed you and Yoo Joonghyuk as many times as I can!"

It felt like I suddenly had a strong ally.

Nirvana was thinking about something, and then suddenly hardened his expression and asked.

"But how do you know so much about Yoo Joonghyuk?"

"That's..."

"Why do you feel closer to Yoo Joonghyuk than I do?"

A murderous spirit blooming coldly.

I smiled and answered without being flustered at all.

"I'm honored that you felt that way."

"What?"

"Have you forgotten? The Church Leader and I are one and the same. If I'm close to Yoo Joonghyuk, then the Church Leader is also close to Yoo Joonghyuk."

Nirvana twitched his lips with blank eyes, then muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"What do you know... to say something like that?"

"I'm sorry."

Nirvana looked a little lethargic, but he didn't look that angry.

It felt strange to see Nirvana like that.

Come to think of it, Nirvana always chased Yoo Joonghyuk in the main story. But while he was chasing him, did he ever have a single conversation like this with anyone?

What kind of person is Yoo Joonghyuk, what does he like, what was he like in the last Round, and what did he do in this Round?

No one would have talked to him.

Nirvana, who always says, "Let's become one."

Perhaps Nirvana's expression was an appeal to find someone to share 'this kind of story' with.

"This Round, only strange guys are getting involved. That guy Mad Sword Emperor is one of them…"

"Mad Sword Emperor?"

Instead of answering, Nirvana stared straight ahead. On the other side, he saw Reinheit and Jo Jincheol waking up from their fainting state.

The incarnations of <Olympus Technology> and <Black Cloud Foundation> that joined in afterward were approaching us.

"How dare you point a sword at a fellow Ascendant? We will definitely hold you responsible for this!"

"We at <Olympus Technology> will remember the taboo that <Tamra Heavy Industries> broke!"

Nirvana, with a cold smile on his face, slowly stood up from his seat.

"Hold it? The likes of you? The head of the Church?"

The incarnations flinched at the murderous intent emanating from Nirvana's body and stepped back.

"Nirvana! You may be the strongest here, but do you think you'll be the same in the higher scenarios?"

"If only the Elder White Night Sword and the Elder Iron Fist, who ascended last time, were still here…"

White Night Sword and Iron Fist. They were characters whose nicknames I had vaguely heard in 'Ways of Survival'.

They were Transcendent beings who had reached the realm of transcendence, but they were strong men who had thrown themselves into the Giant Nebula like the 'Master of Spears'.

"White Night Sword? Iron Fist? How funny. Do you think the main deity would be afraid of such a bunch of rascals who couldn't even match the footsteps of the Mad Sword Emperor who ascended with them?"

Mad Sword Emperor. At that nickname that I heard so often, I quietly turned to the examiner next to me and asked.

"Who on earth is the Mad Sword Emperor?"

As expected, the examiner who liked explanations began to explain with a brighter complexion.

"He's the incarnation that suddenly appeared a few months ago. He appeared in the scenario with Breaking the Sky Sword Saint, and made a fuss in the 'New Murim District' for a while."

Breaking the Sky Sword Saint?

If I remember correctly, Breaking the Sky Sword Saint and the other Transcendents escaped the Fear Realm by riding Surya's train.

So did Breaking the Sky Sword Saint visit this scenario area with Mad Sword Emperor right after getting off the train?

"He was a great strongman who had finally appeared, so much so that even Executives from large corporations couldn't match him."

Nirvana frowned as if he had overheard the conversation.

"Huh, if he had met me, it would have been a different story."

"Haha, if he had met Nirvana, it would have been a great match. Now that I think about it, I heard you were looking for Mad Sword Emperor..."

Nirvana was chasing Mad Sword Emperor?

"The Ascension Ceremony is about to begin! Everyone, prepare for [Opening]! Ascendants, please come up to the Ascension Platform!"

A shout followed. But instead of going up to the ascension platform, Nirvana pointed to Jo Jincheol and Reinheit, who were still lying on the floor, and said,

"When the Orbital Elevator comes down, take those guys first. I still have work to do here."

The examiner, surprised, asked,

"Are you saying that you're going to postpone the ascension?"

"Yes. I have work to do with this guy."

Nirvana nodded, patting my shoulder.

Honestly, it was an unexpected turn of events. I had joked that I would take the Reincarnator's bus, but I didn't know that Nirvana would even postpone the ascension.

"Church Leader, isn't 'ascension' a very important thing?"

"Even if that's important, is it as important as becoming 'one'?"

So becoming 'one'...

"I want to hear more about Yoo Joonghyuk."

Thank goodness. That's what he meant.

That's when the incarnations came running as if to stop Nirvana.

"Lord Nirvana! What on earth are you talking about?"

They were incarnations with the symbol of <Tamra Heavy Industries> engraved on them like Nirvana.

"Don't you know how important the ascension is?"

"If you do this all of a sudden, we'll be in trouble too."

Perhaps because they belong to the same <Tamra Heavy Industries>, they seemed to be less afraid of Nirvana than the other corporate incarnations.

"Lord Nirvana, if you act so unilaterally like this, even the Chairman will be in trouble."

For the first time, Nirvana let out a short sigh at the mention of the Chairman.

"Okay. Then I'll participate in the ascension. Instead, I'll take this guy with me."

"What does that mean?"

"It means we'll ascend together."

Countless incarnations suddenly turned their gazes toward me, who appeared to ascend together with Nirvana.

"That's against the rules! And that newbie isn't even affiliated with <Tamra Heavy Industries>!"

"How can you mention ascending together with a guy whose rank hasn't been confirmed?"

Nirvana said with a hardened expression.

"This guy is my 'believer'. My believer is like one body with me! There is absolutely no problem with ascending together!"

"I understand what you are saying, but strictly speaking, it is not one body, right…"

The internal strife of <Tamra Heavy Industries> came to an end when a strong beam of light poured down from the sky.

"The Orbital Elevator is coming down!"

The Orbital Elevator.

At a glance, an elevator wrapped in splendid stories was coming down through a passage of light.

It seemed that the 'Ascendants' would take that elevator and leap to the upper scenario.

It was then that Nirvana spoke.

"Believer."

"Huh?"

"Don't look up."

The air in the area was changing rapidly.

People who had been looking up at the Orbital Elevator until then were seen lowering their heads in a hurry.

Even the arrogant Nirvana lowered his eyes as if he was angry.

A bad feeling spread through my entire body.

A distant and ominous story covering the sky. Something was looking down from beyond that sky.

I clenched my fists without realizing it.

The enemies I had to fight were now above my head.

The stars I had to drop to reach the end of this scenario.

A series of memories flowed and my blood began to boil. The story inside me was stirring.

"I told you not to look."

Nirvana had come up to me and was standing there with his hand on my shoulder.

As if protecting me, his story, filled with mandalas, was wrapping me up like a lotus.

And the next moment.

Kugugugugu!

A terrible thunderclap was heard from the sky above the Ascension Platform. Beyond the thunder ripping through the sky, the Constellations’ angry voices could be heard.

"W-what…?"

The surprised people raised their heads.

"Is this how the Ascension Ceremony is supposed to be?"

When I asked, Nirvana shook his head.

"No, this is the first time this has happened."

"The Orbital Elevator is opening!"

The doors of the elevator that had fallen to the ground opened amidst blue sparks.

The inside of the elevator was revealed along with the blue-hot flames.

Whether there had been traces of a fierce battle or not, the inside of the elevator was filled with bloody shards. And.

"Uh, how…!"

There were already passengers in the elevator.

To be exact, they were passengers who had 'been in' the elevator.

"White Night Sword? Iron Fist?"

"These are the Ascendants from the last round!"

The heads of the White Night Sword and Iron Fist, which had been brutally cut off, were neatly placed on the floor of the elevator.

"Uh, how, how could this happen—!"

The astonished incarnations screamed here and there.

Beyond the horribly torn bodies of the Ascendants, there was a message from someone engraved with a sword mark on the wall of the elevator.

And only I.

I could tell who the sword marks belonged to.

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