Chapter 313: Chapter 311

The moment he swallowed the 'brain' where the Apostle of Evolution resided, Beru's 'Devour' skill began to absorb all the memories within. A tremendous amount of information flooded into him, but it was inefficient to accept all of it. He had to carefully select the most important and valuable things from this vast, disorganized pool of memories. And then...

[KIEEEEEEEEEEK!]

Suddenly, Beru, who had chomped down on the brain, let out a roar with his mouth wide open. That chilling scream was filled with a deep joy. Because the first thing that came to him from the Apostle of Evolution's memories was the image of his great and proud master!

'Arise.'

The deep bottomless darkness.

The shadow of the distant abyss.

The king who rules over death, the Shadow Monarch.

[KIEEEEEEEEEEK!]

Indeed. An overwhelming sense of fear and terror towards the Shadow Monarch. That was the emotion at the very bottom of the Apostle of Evolution's heart. Beru, trembling with pride and joy, began to explore his memories. And starting with that, the countless experiences he went through and the thoughts the Apostle of Evolution had began to flood Beru's mind like puzzle pieces.

'Monarch!'

'What is a Monarch?'

Until relatively recently, the only 'Monarch' the apostles of Itarim knew was the 'Shadow Monarch' they encountered in outer space. Indeed. They didn't know much about this universe. Honestly, they underestimated it. Their original goal was invasion, not war. The reason they came here was to scavenge the masterless mana.

But a variable appeared. The Shadow Monarch who blocked their path. The mighty power he displayed, that tremendous and great ability, overwhelmed even the armies of Itarim possessing the brilliant divine power. And the most terrifying thing was that his power didn't simply kill the enemy, but resurrected their souls and recycled them as loyal soldiers who served him. So...

That's where the misunderstanding arose. Until that moment the name 'Monarch' that the apostles of Itarim knew referred to that fearsome and overwhelming being. At least until they came to Earth. When they finally arrived in the dimension guarded by the Shadow Monarch after going around the vast universe, A truly shocking truth awaited them.

[Oh my god.]

[There was more than one Shadow Monarch?!]

It was a shock, they realized that there was more than one Monarch in this universe.

[A variable...!]

[We need to inform headquarters!]

[Impossible! We've come too far! To convey this information, we would have to go back all that way!]

This was a real disaster. The apostles, who had arrived in this remote region one after another, were confused for a while. They went through all the trouble of going around the universe to avoid the Shadow Monarch and reach the rear, but there were several more beings equal to him here?! The frustration they felt when they first discovered this information was indescribable.

[I can't believe it.]

[There were many Monarchs, like our apostles!]

[There were more beings like the Shadow Monarch?]

[What... What is this universe?]

[Indeed...! This is the only way a god could be killed by its creations!]

[Anyway, if there are more like the Shadow Monarch here, there's nothing we can do.]

[Then what should we do?]

[Let's hide for now. If the Monarchs find us, we'll instantly die. No... even after death, we won't be safe.]

[I agree. Let's lay low and assess the situation.]

[Yes. I'll change my plan to gather as much information as possible while hiding. And then convey all that to headquarters.]

That was when it started. When they began to gather information about this dimension while completely concealing themselves. Although they served different gods, they were all fighting against the common enemy, the Shadow Monarch. So they agreed to share any information they found because they all had countless questions.

[So where are the other Monarchs?]

[Why didn't the other Monarchs participate in the war?]

[The investigation revealed that some Monarchs are dead.]

[Then what about the others? Are they alive?]

[Is it possible that all the other Monarchs are dead?]

This was a truly important question. The moment those equal to the Shadow Monarch all went out to outer space, The balance of the war that had been precariously maintained would instantly collapse. And then they found out...

[Good news. According to the investigation, there is a very high probability that the other monarchs are already dead.]

[Confirmed here as well. I found out that the Shadow Monarch killed all the other Monarchs.]

[Then did he absorb all their power and become that strong?]

[No, I don't think so. If that were possible, we would have already encountered other Monarchs who became part of the Shadow Legion in outer space.]

[Then where did their power go?]

[I found out. It seems like the power of the dead Monarchs remains dormant in the Sea of The Afterlife until a successor of each race appears.]

[You mean it's masterless? Confirmed?]

[...Confirmed.]

It was a huge relief. They were surprised to learn that there were more like the Shadow Monarch, but it turned out they were already dead. As they discovered the dimensions of the dead Monarchs one by one, drifting through the dimensional gap, that information became more and more certain. There were no variables.

[That's a relief. Then all we have to do is avoid the Shadow Monarch?]

[No, I don't think we even need to worry about the Shadow Monarch. He won't have the time to care about what's happening beyond the battlefield.]

[Don't let your guard down. We have to assume that the Shadow Monarch is capable of anything.]

[That's going a bit too far. Even the Shadow Monarch is just a creation of God. He's just a very powerful weapon.]

[So what do you want to do?]

[It means we can be more proactive than before.]

They disagreed. The apostles, who had been cooperating to gather information, began to have conflicting opinions the moment they confirmed the deaths of the other Monarchs.

[Then it would be better to move separately from now on.]

[Agreed. But we should continue to share information in case there are more variables.]

[Alright.]

From that moment on, they began to act on their own, with their own goals and methods, only occasionally contacting each other. But even without saying it out loud, they already knew what the others were aiming for.

'The power of the dead Monarchs.'

If they could claim that masterless power, they too could become as strong as the Shadow Monarch. And then they discovered the 'high elves.' The race with the highest chance of inheriting the power of the 'King of the Snow Folk, the Frost Monarch,' who was now dead.

[Found where the high elves are gathered.]

[Planted divine power in the tree they serve.]

[Taught faith to the high elves.]

[They are now our loyal followers.]

[So now, no matter who inherits the Monarch's power...]

But no one said what would come next. There was no need to discuss who would claim that power until the plan succeeded. Since they each served different gods, they naturally wanted to offer that tremendous power to their own Itarim. So they simply thought that when that time came, there might be conflict among them, and they needed to be prepared. But one of them... One apostle had a slightly different idea.

'The Apostle of Evolution.'

He wanted to claim the power of the dead Monarch for himself, not offer it to God. And he was shocked to realize that... His curiosity, his desire to become stronger, had surpassed his faith in God! He was well aware where this blasphemous thought originated from.

[...The creatures of this universe killed their god?]

Was that really possible? When the Apostle of Evolution first heard that shocking information, he was stunned.

[I can't believe that's possible. I never even imagined it.]

Honestly... it hurt his pride a little. The Apostle of Evolution considered himself the wisest of all creations. At the same time, he also thought of himself as the most loyal servant of God. He believed that his overflowing curiosity and intelligence were blessings bestowed upon him by his beloved god. But... that curiosity, the moment it encountered that incredibly blasphemous truth, began to be twisted in a previously unimaginable direction.

[...Then is it possible for me as well?]

'Creations killing God?'

That was blasphemy. Something that should never happen, a taboo that shouldn't even be imagined. So, the Apostle of Evolution did not come up with such a bold idea on his own. He was simply... curious, if he too could become strong enough to kill God. Could he evolve into such a powerful and overwhelming being?

[Yes, perhaps I too can become like the Shadow Monarch...]

It was a pure curiosity that he could have as the Apostle of Evolution. And that curiosity led to research, the countless results of which were this moment.

'Sirka.'

Indeed. Not the high elves. When he learned that the Frost Monarch chose a completely different elf as his successor, The Apostle of Evolution thought it was time for his research to bear fruit. And he immediately put it into action.

* * *

The entire area was dyed in a red fog. Numerous system messages appeared before Suho. And at that moment, Greed, who had been swallowed by the red fog, suddenly popped his head out and urgently warned him.

[Something's wrong! I can't damage this fog no matter what I do! Physical attacks, magic attacks, nothing works...!] Beru responded to that.

[...Little Monarch.]

The conclusion Beru reached after going through the Apostle of Evolution's memories was much more despairing than he expected.

[This entire area is a mixture of the nightmare he created and reality. No matter how much you attack and kill him here, he'll just come back to life. Like...]

"Waking up from a nightmare?"

[Yes. Half success, half failure. His original goal was to evolve into a being like the Master, but although the method is a bit different, he succeeded in at least becoming like a shadow soldier. And to become even stronger...]

Suho could immediately guess what would come next. Just in time, an urgent message arrived from Sillad.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Frost Monarch, requests help!]

[The Nightmare Apostle is interfering with Sirka's dream.]

At this moment, Suho and Beru finally realized where the Nightmare Apostle was. In the dream of Sirka, who was sleeping inside the ice pillar. He was trying to enter there and steal the power of the Frost Monarch.

"Sillad!" Suho shouted.

And Sillad immediately summoned Suho to his world.

[Passive skill '(Unknown)' is activated.]

Time stopped, and Suho's vision was flipped. His mind began to endlessly fall into the distant abyss. Just like when Esil failed the succession ceremony and fell into the Sea of The Afterlife towards the World Tree. But this wasn't Suho's first time, so he wasn't flustered. Even as he fell, he calmly glared at the abyss where not a single ray of light could be seen. But something unexpected happened...

[Beru uses Skill: 'Nightmare'.]

'...What?'

Beru appeared beside the falling Suho.

[KIEEEEEEEEK!]

Beru was also confused.

[Little Monarch! Where are we?!]

The two fell together into Sirka's nightmare.