Chapter 301: Backdoor

Boom!

Bifnen's Sky Castle, once again, withstood an attack from Chistka’s Hierophany form. However, the impact generated by the supermassive depleted uranium round from Chistka's main cannon lingered, shaking the castle again.

Aldin saw Bifnen steadying himself by holding onto a pillar.

Chistka said gloomily,

-It's not working, as expected. If only my Divinity level was higher...

Someone from a lower-positioned Sky Castle responded.

-It's not easily noticeable, but there's a system to these Sky Castles.

Aldin remembered Hegemonia calling them cowards.

She crawled to the edge to see who was speaking. One of the Sky Castle was in an abnormal state. It was engulfed in a yellow mist. Within that mist, black shadows swirled.

-It's a complex system, but there seems to be a simpler solution.

Hegemonia, annoyed, asked toward the Sky Castle enveloped in yellow mist,

-What's the method?

Someone crawled out of the mist. It was one of the old gods Aldin knew. Their status wasn't much different from her, but they were shrewd and not easily defeated... Still, it seemed that they already were.

The old god barely emerged from the mist, but their skin was covered in red blisters, which burst and spilled out white fluid. Even their previously pristine skin was burning, blisters forming and bursting in mere seconds. The blisters burst with such pressure that one of the god's joints snapped and broke. The god opened their mouth as if to scream, but instead of a voice, only black blood clots poured out.

Then the Hierophany form of Bolt walked out from behind. They were still in a gas mask and protective suit, but something was different. The gas mask was no longer blocking outside air but venting gas from inside the Hierophany form of Bolt.

Bolt said,

-If each Sky Castle has a security device, dismantling all castles can deactivate the protection of the top Sky Castle.

-Are you sure?

-It's harder than figuring out the patterns, but I’m sure of it.

Hegemonia laughed inside her horned helmet.

-No, I don't play that way. I prefer the sure path over the difficult one.

-I'll help now.

Bolt was again covered by the yellow mist. It slowly spread to the surrounding Sky Castles.

-Sure, you tardy little cowards.

Even while conversing, Hegemonia continued to fight against the Angels.

Now, some of the old gods were attacking Hegemonia from a distance. They all used ancient weapons that they had wielded once before, including giant projectiles, beams of light, and ranged weapons that returned after being thrown. However, Hegemonia skillfully dodged them, used the attacking Angels as shields, or caught and threw back projectiles aimed at her.

The old gods were busy figuring out how to maintain a safe distance from Hegemonia's skills. Around Hegemonia, Sky Castles were fleeing.

To Aldin, this wasn't a good sign. Each Sky Castle was positioned to a magical coordinates for maintaining protective states. If connections were lost, the magic would weaken.

-Ugh, stop with that coward talk.

Passing Bifnen's Sky Castle, the Hierophany form of Chistka landed on a lower-positioned castle. Landing neatly at the edge, their parachute quickly wrapped into a detonating fuse and exploded, making the castle descend slowly.

Hegemonia said,

-Got a problem?

-...Better keep your thanks to yourself.

The defensive mechanisms and Golems, the old gods' servants on that Sky Castle, looked at Chistka, along with the pet Angles on standby. Chistka was looking at them too.

All armaments on the Hierophany form of Chistka activated.

One of the old gods, who had raised a spear to attack Chistka, shouted hastily, "No...!"

Chistka's main gun was aimed at the old god. Fire spewed from all of Chistka's armaments. In an instant, the Sky Castle was enveloped in a blaze of light. The castle’s form disappeared momentarily in the intense brightness.

"Aldin!" Bifnen kicked Aldin in the ribs.

Aldin quickly stood up.

"What are you doing? Hurry! Now!" Bifnen, infuriated, reached for the system window.

Aldin checked Bifnen's items in the system window. It was still okay. There were still many hidden weapons left by the old gods. They would be unimaginable to the new gods.

'But... is that enough? They're already facing us, something we never imagined.'

Aldin pondered whether to inform Bifnen of this fact. Even if she did, Bifnen would likely dismiss her words as trivial and unimportant.

Aldin decided to focus on performing her assigned task instead. Before Bifnen could finish the next operation, Aldin used the system authority she had received to immediately move to the Rasdasil Ruins.

***

“Their resistance is weak,” Dordol said.

At this, Vasen stared at the screens. On each screen, there were images of Sky Castles brought by the old gods exploding, crashing, or already stranded and engulfed in flames.

Vasen then replied, "Hmm, it's because the God of War is with us."

"What do we do about the fallout?"

"Radiation? Well, we’ll deal with it somehow when the gods return."

Dordol smiled bitterly.

Vasen, even facing a problem he couldn’t solve, would resort to the same measures as now. Though Dordol, in the same position, would have eventually done the same; the issue was that Dordol would have pondered more, and perhaps not achieved as effective a result as Vasen in coordinating with the Angry One. That was the difference between Dordol and Vasen.

But the weakness of the resistance didn't mean the fight was over. Vasen was still developing strategies for the unbroken floating crystals and re-establishing battle plans for the few Sky Castles that had evaded or survived the nuclear missiles. The scale had decreased, but a more detailed approach was necessary. From here on out, peoples’ lives were more at stake.

At that moment, Hwee-Kyung picked up her mobile phone. It was a call no other had noticed; Hwee-Kyung fumbled with the device and soon handed her phone to Vasen. "General."

"What is it, Hwee-Kyung?"

"It’s an important call."

Vasen quickly took the phone, noting Hwee-Kyung's serious expression. "Hello...was it?"

"Vasen?"

"Who's speaking?"

From the other side of the line, a voice answered his question, "It's Wisdom."

Vasen immediately responded, "Binding God, forgive my impoliteness."

"No need for that. I called to check on something."

"Please go ahead."

From the other side of Avartin, Wisdom asked, "Has our infiltration force departed?"

"Yes, Binding God, as per the scenario."

This infiltration force played one of the most crucial roles in the current scenario. Wisdom also had a significant hand in it. Naturally, he was interested in the parts he had influenced.

"Ah, then that's fine. It's been hard to get a full grasp of the situation from here."

"Keep the imperial army's communications open, and I'll let you know right away."

"No, there's no need to create a bigger security risk than this. I've confirmed it, so that's enough."

Vasen, even forgetting it was a phone call, nodded. "Binding God, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Wisdom immediately replied, "Vasen, I welcome questions."

"Is it alright?"

"All right? What do you mean?"

Vasen asked calmly, "If we follow the scenario, we lose."

The scenario was prepared by Sung-Woon. To most people, it seemed like a remarkable plan considering various factors. However, Vasen saw flaws in it. The scenario underestimated the system possessed by the old gods. For it to work, the system had to malfunction, and Vasen considered that too optimistic a presumption.

Wisdom asked, seemingly intrigued, "Do you think Night Sky gave us a losing scenario?"

"Of course not."

"Then?"

Vasen replied, "If the scenario only works when the system fails to function properly, then someone must be responsible for sabotaging the system to prevent it from functioning correctly. And that someone must have naturally thought that such an event would occur. To have such certainty, that person must have directly orchestrated such an event."

"An interesting thought. So, because Night Sky has been weakened due to the Fall and infiltrated the system, that part was omitted in the scenario?"

"Is it not?"

Wisdom said with a rare hint of laughter in his voice, "That is correct."

"Will you reveal the secret?"

Wisdom answered, "Night Sky has already visited the Demon World once."

"Is that enough?"

"No, not exactly. But Night Sky was the top student in the Programming Study Club that I was captain of.”

"Pardon?" Vasen asked as he knew little about the gatherings of players. Vasen had wandered the Prairie of Beginnings longer than he had in the pantheon after death.

However, Wisdom, regardless of Vasen's questions or doubts, recalled Night Sky’s hacking skills.

"A hacker who’s succeeded in hacking wouldn't return without creating a backdoor."

***

The day before Hegemonia jumped into the fray of the Sky Castles.

Originally, aside from a sarcophagus, the interior of the Baustan Sanctuary was nothing but moss-covered stones and stone carvings, typical ornaments of the era when the sanctuary was built. However, after Sung-Woon had settled there for a day, bringing various items from the Baustan revolutionary army, the place was cluttered with random objects.

Sung-Woon sat amidst these sundries, cross-legged and with eyes closed. Although the routine visits of the revolutionary army's commanding officer's orderly at meal times disrupted his concentration, it wasn't a major hindrance. He also needed to appease his hunger at regular intervals.

It was right after dinner when Sung-Woon closed his eyes again.

‘I should be able to continue focusing for the rest of the night.'

Sung-Woon closed his eyes and submerged into a deep state. On Earth, this would be called meditation. However, in a land like Avartin, where magic existed, it was somewhat different.

There was a significant variance among individuals, but those with the talent could enter the world of mental imagery—a world of lucid dreaming. Unlike Earth, where dreams always invaded the individual, dreamers in Avartin held control. Additionally, those who could bring the secrets discovered in these dreams into reality were called Wizards.

The world of imagery and reality slightly overlapped. Nothing seemed to have changed. Sung-Woon was still in the Baustan Sanctuary, amidst the items randomly-placed by the revolutionary army. However, two small animals sat on Sung-Woon's shoulders.

A black lizard on his right shoulder said,

-Though you've lost your divinity after the Fall...

A white crow on his left shoulder continued,

-Did a Returner like you ever need such power?

Sung-Woon, who was once a God of Magic, remained a Wizard.