Chapter 293: Star, the Source (2)

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ holds up his glass and yells at everyone that they should have a party!]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ also holds up his glass in answer and shouts at everyone to put their hands up!]

[The Celestial ‘A Blacksmith in a Volcano’ says that he wants to join and screams that they need fire, fire, and fire!]

…

[Madness overwhelms the Society !]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ looks away from his brothers, saying that she does not wish to be associated with those idiots.]

[The Celestial ‘Sky and Earth’s Connecting Wing’ wonders why the Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ is suddenly saying that Buddha is handsome.[1] He is not sure if he heard correctly.]

[The Celestial ‘Sun of Reason and Arts’ frowns, asking what the commotion is all about.]

[The Celestial ‘Crescent Moon of Dawn’ quietly chuckles upon witnessing her brothers overwhelmed with madness.]

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ hands glasses filled with wine to the sun and moon twins, offering to enjoy the art of explosions together.]

[The Celestial ‘Sun of Reason and Arts’ looks at his brother in disbelief.]

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ grumbles that his brother does not know how to enjoy life.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ says that he will have a party with the people who enjoy it. He shouts in cheer when the building explodes again!]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ exclaims in enthusiasm!]

[The Celestial ‘A Blacksmith in a Volcano’ shouts along!]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ quickly exits the room in embarrassment.]

‘… It’s an absolute mess.’

Chang-Sun shook his head in disbelief as he read the messages popping up in front of him. He felt as if he could feel the madness of Bacchus, ‘Madness Infuser’, in his skin.

Considering he saw explosions as a type of art, Bacchus seemed to be having a lot of fun. Mars and Vulcanus also chimed in as they ran wild for a good reason. On the other hand, the sun and moon twins, Apollo and Diana, seemed uncomfortable with the commotion.

‘From what I heard, among Jupiter’s children, Bacchus and Apollo are on the worst terms. Maybe that’s why.’

The followers interpreted the universe from two perspectives—instincts and rationality. Instincts referred to an animal’s innate physical and psychological response while rationality meant the ability to understand the logic of things.

Bacchus and Apollo represented each perspective. The word madness was in Bacchus’ Divine Name because madness was created when one’s dormant instincts were awakened. Another reason Bacchus oversaw alcohol was that he believed that it was a tool to awaken instincts.

Perhaps those reasons were why Bacchus fervently shouted things about the brilliance of the explosions that Chang-Sun created instead of caring about the reason he started the explosions or how much damage he was causing. According to Bacchus, Chang-Sun’s explosions looked like fireworks.

Although the people suffering from those explosions would be in disbelief, Mars couldn’t help loving what was going on because combat would emerge once those explosions were over. Chang-Sun also caught the attention of Vulcanus, the blacksmith Celestial, with his weapon-handling techniques.

It wasn’t a part of Chang-Sun’s plan, but the insane Numen like Bacchus, Mars, and Vulanus loved him. Minerva, who found Chang-Sun first and planned to make him her apostle, seemed tired of how the Numen were expressing their interest in him.

‘Well, I don’t see anything wrong with it.’

Chang-Sun didn’t hate Bacchus and the others’ reactions even though it was distracting.

[You have received the blessing of madness!]

[You have received the blessing of combat!]

[Your weapons have been reinforced!]

The more the Numen cheered for Chang-Sun, the stronger he became. Chang-Sun’s explosions grew bigger with Bacchus’ blessing and his spirit grew stronger with Mars’ blessing. Meanwhile, Vulcanus blessed Chang-Sun’s weapons, increasing the damage they could deal.

The Numen showered Chang-Sun with blessings as he looked down at the entire battlefield below his feet.

[The Satellite ‘Heaven Link’ is monitoring Neo Seoul!]

The Sixth Elder instructed Chang-Sun to acquire the Hidden Piece [Heaven Link] no matter what after absorbing the [Brilliant Vermilion Light]. Becoming mayor was supposed to give him access to it.

『It was already surprising that you knew about the brilliant lights, but I never expected that you’d also know about [Heaven Link],』 Wait said as he operated [Heaven Link] on Chang-Sun’s behalf.

[Repairing the ‘Heaven Link’ system. 41, 42, 43%… 59%…]

[Increasing the image quality to Grade 4. You have gained access to all the CCTVs within the city.]

[Increasing your weapon access to Grade 3. You can now mobilize the ‘Sentry Battalion.’]

[Heaven Link] hadn’t been activated for a long time, so it had lost most of its ability. Fortunately, Wait repaired its system little by little after gaining control, successfully restoring some of its main abilities.

One of those abilities was a positron laser cannon, which amassed the elementary particles created from the activation of a nuclear fusion engine and used them to attack instead of releasing them into the air. It was so powerful that it could kill most low-ranking Celestials.

Chang-Sun repeatedly fired the positron laser cannon at the Azure Lab, which was where Lie Si and the soldiers were. He refused to let them run wild any longer now that they dared mess with Kali.

‘I’m not going to risk having an unpredictable variable in my fight against Heoju’s subordinates either,’

Chang-Sun thought.

That was why Chang-Sun checked the movement of the as soon as he accessed [Heaven Link].

“How long until the antimatter cannon is ready?” Chang-Sun asked.

『Due to the risks, the antimatter cannon is designed to only be available for use with ninety percent of the system activated, master. 』

“What if I use the master key?”

『It is still impossible,』 Wait responded.

“

Hmm

, that’s a bit disappointing.” Chang-Sun lightly clicked his tongue.

Although he likely eliminated Lie Si’s minions by bombarding the lab using the positron laser cannon, he doubted that Lie Si himself was killed. The antimatter cannon could have changed that outcome, however. As the most destructive weapon installed in [Heaven Link], it could even melt down a Dungeon depending on how it was used.

From what Chang-Sun heard, the antimatter cannon was the biggest reason ‘Doomsday City’ met its doom. Unfortunately, restoring the [Heaven Link] system required quite a lot of time, so Chang-Sun couldn’t help but wonder whether or not he would be able to use the antimatter cannon today. If he couldn’t, Lie Si would have enough time to sort out the mess and start a new scheme.

‘I have to take his [Brilliant Azure Light] too,’

Chang-Sun thought. Hence, even if he failed to exterminate them, he would still have to overwhelm Lie Si and his minions enough to stop them from pulling themselves together.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

『In that case, why don’t you use the Sentry Battalion?』 Wait suggested, noticing Chang-Sun’s concerns.

“Sentry Battalion?”

『Yes, they’re Neo Seoul’s extremely proud weapons.』 Wait grinned. On the corner of the battlefield map, he displayed an image of humanoids wearing full metal armor. Small missiles were installed under their breastplates and vambraces. They also had lightsabers on their backs and guns hung around their waists.

『They’re from a project named Spartoi. They were invented to protect public security, but depending on how they’re used…』

“They can be used as soldiers.”

『That’s right. If the mayor marks people as terrorists threatening public security, the Sentry Battalion will see them as such. Who else do you think can be a terrorist?』 Wait smoothly commented.

Chang-Sun chuckled. “How many of them are there?”

『We have a hundred seventy-one soldiers ready for deployment.』

“Good. Send all of them to the site.”

『Roger,』 Wait replied.

[The ‘Sentry Battalion’ is quickly heading to the site to eliminate the remaining terrorists!]

Chang-Sun noticed the doors of every police station in the city opening wide and the Sentry Soldiers quickly marching out of them. Now, Lie Si and the soldiers were guaranteed to fall into new danger before they could pull themselves from the shock caused by the positron laser cannon attacks.

Chang-Sun couldn’t stop smiling as he wondered how many of the would survive.

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ quietly lets out a sigh, saying that you definitely resemble somebody.]

『… I am sure now.』

“What?”

『I was right not to get on your bad side, master.』

Chang-Sun quietly snorted and ignored Wait’s remark. Wanting to check another location, he said, “Cut your gibberish. There’s something else I want to see.”

『Sure, sure. Where are your next victims?』

Chang-Sun frowned upon detecting a sign of Wait trying to get cheeky on him. He found it bothersome to point out every time, though, so he decided to just let it slide this time.

“R’lyeh.”

Much to Chang-Sun’s surprise, Wait momentarily stopped joking around and stayed silent for a bit.

『… Wh-what did you say?』

“R’lyeh, the Source. Show me that place.”

『…』

“There has to be a place where both the White Tiger Clan and Jaynix Company members are. Considering a lot of people would be there, there is no way you wouldn’t know about it. Show me that place.”

Despite the clarification, Wait still hesitated for quite some time. Hence, Chang-Sun asked, “So?”

『… I was just joking when I said this, but it seems today really will be the last day of my life.』 Wait let out a long sigh as he strengthened his resolve. 『As you ordered, I’ll show you where they are.』

Paah!

The map of the battlefield displayed below Chang-Sun’s feet changed to a giant mine—a mining field to be exact.

‘No, mining field probably isn’t accurate either,’

Chang-Sun thought.

The region was located in the west sector of the city, which was opposite the entrance that Chang-Sun and the others used to enter the city. If it were to be put on the current map of Korea, it would overlap with Yangcheon-gu and Gangseo-gu[2], including Gimpo, Bucheon, and Gwangmyeong[3]. An enormous black dome-shaped mountain was right in the middle of it, but it wasn’t a real mountain.

[Enlarging the image of the area!]

Zooming in, Chang-Sun realized what the black mountain actually was—a colossal cell mass. Every single cell in it was bigger than most buildings and was bizarrely trying to transform by ceaselessly dividing, dying, swelling, and shrinking. The cell mass also exuded thick black smoke that seemed heavily acidic and poisonous.

Moreover, they were slowly expanding their reach, making it seem as if the cell mass would soon take over Yeongdeungpo-gu and Dongjak-gu[4] too.

‘So that’s the reason behind the city’s poisonous air,’

Chang-Sun thought.

The Hangang River probably turned into wastewater for the same reason. The dead cell masses separated from the main cell mass ended up rotting in the river.

However, that wasn’t Chang-Sun’s main problem right now.

Badump!

The moment he saw the black cell mass, his [Ferocious Heart] pounded at the same beat as the cell mass’.

Thump…!

Badump!

Thump…!

Badump!

A part of the toxin in the air consisted of , so Chang-Sun couldn’t help but wonder,

‘Is my [Ferocious Heart] and R’lyeh connected in some way?’

[Further enlarging the image of the region!]

Chang-Sun now had a closer view of the cell mass’s front area, which was where the White Tiger Clan and Jaynix Company members gathered.

Badump, badump!

Wearing gas masks and resting their pickaxes on their shoulders, the miners were quickly walking into one of the entrances to the mine. There were also miners coming out from the other side, pushing carts full of what seemed to be glowing black stones.

.

The supervisors inspecting the quality of the stones had extremely bad tempers. They didn’t just whip the miners but even threw the miners who fainted due to dizziness into the cell mass. The cell mass ate them as they squirmed, becoming bigger.

The place wasn’t a mining field. It was the slave farm of the demonic beings digging up the Source’s pieces.

Badump, badump, badump!

Upon taking a closer look, Chang-Sun realized that the part that he thought was a cell actually had multiple spirits with contorted faces trapped inside.

Badump, badump, badump!

Chang-Sun’s [Ferocious Heart] raced even faster as he watched the scene. It was as if it would soon explode.

Thump, thump, thump…!

Badump, badump, badump!

Thump, thump, thump…!

Badump, badump, badump!

Despite the distance, Chang-Sun’s [Ferocious Heart] and the cell mass fiercely resonated. As they did, Chang-Sun, whose eyes turned bloodshot, met someone’s gaze.

At the center of the White Tiger Clan and Jaynix Company executives was a man staring at the sky.

‘Munseong.’

The Clan leader of the White Tiger Clan was looking straight at Chang-Sun.

1. Mars was saying ?? ??(Buddha handsome) earlier, which is a meme in Korea. When ‘put your hands up’ is quickly said, it sounds like ‘Buddha handsome’ because Buddha sounds like butcheo in Korean. 👈

2. Districts in Korea. Part of Seoul. 👈

3. Cities in Korea. Part of Gyeonggi Province, which is right next to Seoul. 👈

4. For those of you who want to get an accurate picture of what is happening right now. . 👈