Chapter 1008

The Battle God was not only the source of envy of all of the NPCs but also of the players of Athenae. But this very same Battle God had collapsed after his heart got stabbed.

Clang–

The Battle God, who lost grip of his sword, twitched. However, Helenia and Aegaeon just walked past him with mirth on their faces.

[The Battle God died.]

[With the death of the Battle God, the Land of the Gods slowly fell into chaos.]

[The Heavenly Army and the surviving gods scattered and crawled elsewhere.]

[Finally, after wreaking havoc for a month, they reached where God of Origin Athenae was.]

[However, Athenae was not alone. Another excellent and handsome member of the Eight Pillars was also there.]

[It’s none other than the devil who became the Guardian God, me.]

The handsome man looked coldly in front of him as he stood among hundreds of gods and tens of thousands of Heavenly Army troops. Athenae, whose face was covered and hidden by a shroud of light, stood with them in her white papal robe. She could hear the screams getting closer and closer to where they were.

[At that time, Obren did not harbor any love or respect for Athenae. But he still stood by her side.]

[As the God of Origin, Athenae knew fully what her death would signify.]

[If she died here, then the entire world would collapse.]

“...That is our final hope. It’s the final and only way for us.”

“...”

[Athenae was also preparing for something. However, Obren just shook his head when he heard those words.]

“He only has a 0.001% chance of succeeding.”

“Stop with the bullshit, Athenae. Do not try to evaluate him and limit him with your probabilities,” Obren growled.

Athenae just looked at his eyes silently in response.

BANG–!

Then, Aegaeon and Helenia appeared as the enormous doors were blasted apart. Helenia’s powerful magic swept and devoured the surviving troops of the Heavenly Army. And Guardian God Obren? He immediately charged forward to fight against them.

[I was strong. I could overwhelm Helenia, who did not have her complete powers.]

[However, the problem was the King Above Gods Aegaeon.]

[Aegaeon, the ruler of all kings, had the power to rule the army led by the kings.]

[A powerful army with nearly a hundred million troops. I still cannot forget the overwhelming momentum and majesty the army showed back then.]

The shocking sight of more than a hundred million troops charging toward Athenae’s Temple and filling it was like a sea of black. Seeing Obren fighting alone was both strange and shocking.

[How long had they been fighting?]

[In the end, one of Helenia’s magic pierced through my chest.]

“Urk...!” Obren collapsed and vomited a mouthful of blood.

[It was already a hopeless situation.]

[I stood at the forefront facing Helenia, Aegaeon, and his millions of troops.]

[At that moment, I... I remembered an old man that I liked.]

“The Evil One, Obren.”

“Why don’t you come to our side?”

[My body was already suffering from severe injuries. I no longer have any mana left. My body was already one foot in the grave.]

[Even so, I told them...]

“I have never learned how to back down.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“It’s not your duty to protect the Land of the Gods, no?”

[I was once the devil. But I learned...]

“I realized how much the children's laughter tickled my ears as I listened to their calls of ‘Uncle Guardian God’ while gathering around me.

“...how pretty the young girl looked as she looked up at me and held my hand tightly.

“...how precious the soldiers were, who waved at me despite knowing I was once the devil.

“...how sweet the apple given to me by an old wife was when I walked in the market.

“And Athenae’s collapse means that all of that will disappear. I can’t have that. So, I... will not back down.”

[My shoulders felt very heavy. However, I have already made up my mind. I will fight until the end of my life.]

[Actually, I was terrified.]

[I was already at the point where I was in so much pain that I wanted to die already. I was already questioning the meaning of life. But...]

[Someone made me wish that I could live more.]

[He brought the laughter back to my face.]

[He made me realize what it’s like to love.]

[That’s why I chose to run forward.]

[I squeezed the last of my strength and fought against them.]

Everyone saw Obren charging toward the enemy alone. But in the end, he lost his right arm. Even his left leg was broken. He had already collapsed on the ground, his body bent in strange places, and Helenia was about to make his heart explode.

“Enough...!”

[I... have never seen Athenae look so weak before.]

[Athenae looked like she had lost all hope.]

[Seeing her like that, Helenia and Aegaeon laughed. They knew that victory was now at hand.]

But then, at that moment, Obren raised his arm to the sky and spoke.

[This hand of mine has one meaning.]

[Trust.]

[It was his firm belief and trust in

him

.]

Then, the background music began to play. It sounded so lively that hope spread to the chaotic and ruined Land of the Gods.

[Then, a shocking scene appeared.]

In the world in the skies, the Land of the Gods, A stair made of tens of thousands of steps made with light slowly began to appear and break through the clouds. Then, a vast tremor shook these tens of thousands of steps of light.

Thud– Thud– Thud–

[They were a race that could only live up to a hundred years.]

[A race that is far weaker than any other race. A race that survives and lives by leaning on God.]

[This race gathered together under his banner.]

A trembling breath escaped Athenae’s lips. And Obren? He smiled brightly, his arm still raised high up in the sky.

[His army began to advance.]

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The humans began to climb and run to the stairs leading to the Land of the Gods.

[They were the guardians of Athenae.]

[Some foreigners visited the land of Athenae.]

The humans, who were wearing armor made of light, began to cover every inch of the steps of light.

“Kill them all!!!”

[Aegaeon’s army, donning black, began to descend the stairs.]

[It looked like a battle between the good and the evil.]

But as the black army stepped down the stairs, the human military, engulfed in light, began sweeping them away.

“For victory!!!”

“For victory!”

Among them stood Alexander, a player everyone was very familiar with, and countless other famous high rankers. Their presence created a deeper sense of immersion for all who viewed the video.

The black army constantly fell from the tens of thousands of steps of light. Seeing this, Helenia started to cast thousands of her magic spells to break down the stairs connecting the Land of the Gods to the world of humans.

[However, there was no trace of fear on their faces.]

Helenia summoned dozens of Meteors. These meteors fell non-stop and killed the humans as they tried to destroy the stairs.

[Just like me, they all had faith.]

Flash–!

Then, a bright light flashed and lit up the entire world at that moment. Along with that light, a grand and majestic temple began to descend upon the Land of the Gods.

[I knew that he was coming.]

A bright and colorful light shot out from the temple and gave strength to the people covered in light walking up the stairs. This was the divine and holy temple, Evangel.

Crackle–!

Then, at that moment, a bloody tentacle shot out from somewhere. The tentacle grew larger and larger while taking on a shape before slowly turning into stone. The shape that it ended up becoming was none other than the shape of a bridge. The bridge, more than five kilometers long, was connected to another world completely separate from the Land of the Gods.

[A bridge connecting the Land of the Gods and Hell was created.]

At the end of the bridge, one could see the God of Death standing atop a flying bone dragon.

[Hundreds of millions of people climbed up the bridge.]

[Even after their death, some still wanted to protect the land they were born on. They all marched straight toward the Land of the Gods.]

Standing beside the God of Death was the Slaughterer, Asura Ascar. She also joined the dead and charged toward the Land of the Gods. Those who wanted to protect the world charged from all directions.

[Everyone began to gather around

him

.]

Flash–!

Another flash of bright light appeared. Along with that, hundreds of steps made of light slowly fell from the sky above the Land of the Gods. Athenae had prepared these stairs made of light. However, even though she had prepared this, Athenae knew that there was only a 0.001% chance of getting triggered. In these stairs, the Heavenly Army troops and the gods that had scattered after the death of the Battle God began to descend.

Helenia and Aegaeon were left flustered when the gods suddenly appeared behind them.

Flash–!

Above their heads, a man shot down with his sword in hand, accompanied by a bright flash of light.

[It was an era of chaos and confusion.]

[However, in this chaotic era, one person gathered Hell, the Human World, and even the Land of the Gods together.]

[He was the only one who could do that.]

“Uwooooooooooh!”

When his sword stabbed the ground, a terrifying earthquake swept the millions of troops of Aegaeon’s army. With every swing of his sword, lightning would fall from the sky and kill hundreds of enemies.

The beat of the music grew faster and more cheerful, and the rhythm made all of the viewers shudder.

He stood there after slaughtering a considerable portion of Aegaeon’s army.

In a blink, all the humans have climbed up the stairs connecting their world to the Land of the Gods and stood behind him.

The God of Death had also crossed the bridge connected to Hell and joined his side.

Even the gods stepped down the stairs that connected them to the sky and stood by his side.

“Uwoooooooh!”

He ran toward Helenia and Aegaeon, his sword colliding with Aegaeon’s own.

Baaaaaaang–!

A huge spark exploded from the collision, and the scene changed. It returned to Uncle Tsun-tsun Obren's sitting with the children, and the children cheered loudly.

“So cool!”

“Hehe!”

“So, what’s his name?! Who is he?!”

The children had heard this story countless times, and the ending would always be the same.

Uncle Tsun-tsun Obren looked at the sky with a faint smile and said, “He is the Battle God.”

***

Joy Co. Ltd.’s conference hall.

The executives, who were only watching the completed advertisement for the first time, were all left in awe as they stared at the screen showing the video about to end.

Then, the final words appeared on the screen, accompanied by majestic and awe-inspiring music.

[Stand alongside the Greatest Monarch, the Battle God.]

Even the final line was elegant. This was a great advertisement video. However, among the applauding executives, only President Kang Taehoon was rubbing his chin.

He said, “As expected, the last line is disappointing.”

The Line Killer President Kang Taehoon had been criticized for his ridiculous lines in the past. However, at this moment, Kang Taehoon was confident that the line he had thought of would be much better.

“It doesn’t have much of an impact. Will you listen to the line that I thought of?”

Everyone pretended that they were interested in the lines that Taehoon thought of. But in reality, they felt like it would be something that would make them curl their toes with how cringe-y it was. But there was nothing that they could do. He was the president of Joy Co. Ltd, you know?!

“There’s nothing to be afraid of with the Battle God. Let’s go together, friends!”

“...”

“...”

Silence enveloped the room for a moment.

“Ha– Hahaha. That’s great.”

“It’s a

reaaaaally

great line.”

“Ha– Hahahaha! My– My heart feels like it’s shrink– no, it’s swelling with pride!”

“See? Hahaha. If we used that line, we would have secured more new players. Hahahaha!”

Team Leader Park Minggyu, smiling faintly, thought,

‘Socializing... is very difficult.’