Chapter 336
“So, you went through a lot of trouble, didn’t you?”
“It was nothing short of a nightmare.”
Sitting face-to-face with Satan, I explained what had transpired during my exile. Satan listened silently, occasionally nodding or expressing mild surprise, acknowledging my words with interjections like “Oh my.”
I recounted the final moments of Georn, the ascension of Lean as the new Divine Spirit, and the significant internal faction changes within the Celestial Corporation. My long and elaborate story finally came to an end.
“Just listening to it sounds like you went through some extraordinary events.”
“Well, there were moments I almost died. I had to move around almost completely unarmed, leaving behind even the gifts Satan gave me.”
The inconvenience of being without Laplace was indescribable.
Even knowing that, I had chosen to go there. I took several risky gambles and succeeded in all of them.
I didn’t earn any points, but I wasn’t disappointed.
I had recovered the fragments that Georn possessed and finally understood the nature of the Ideon, which had eluded me until now.
And that wasn’t all; I had gained a reliable ally in Lean.
“Lean, you said?”
“Has the news already spread?”
“They say he’s inherited the power of the second-generation Divine Spirit, Georn, but his class and power are much greater. More than ten Divine Spirits have already been destroyed after picking a fight with him.”
“I didn’t expect it to be that intense.”
“He’s not just called the second generation for inheriting Georn’s power. Having accumulated tremendous martial arts and karma even before ascending to the position of a star, he’s practically a fourth-generation. He wouldn’t be out of place being called an ‘Another.'”
While most Divine Spirits dismiss the fourth generation, Satan, as a first-generation Divine Spirit, knew well the true fearsome nature of the fourth generation.
Unlike those born with innate strength, the ‘Another’ had achieved their position through excruciating pain and effort.
Their resolve in life was fundamentally different from other Divine Spirits.
“So, Deputy Manager Kang Yu-hyun, or should I say, since you’ve resigned, it’s odd to call you that?”
“Just call me by my name.”
“I was a bit surprised. To think you turned down the director position at the Celestial Corporation to become a freelancer. And even President Lotfiout handed you his business card?”
I could only nod and smile.
Indeed, as a first-generation Divine Spirit, especially Satan, the information was quick.
“More importantly, have you gathered many puzzle pieces?”
“Yes. While I was away, my precious contractors worked hard to collect them.”
“Oh. So now we can start to see the outline of the picture the puzzle is drawing?”
“Not quite yet.”
Though we spoke indirectly, conscious of the system, we could understand each other without much difficulty.
In my absence, Kang Hye-rim, Kwon Jia, Seo Sumin, and Yoo Young-min had made significant contributions in recovering the other fragments through the bracelets I had left behind.
With this, we had virtually recovered all the fragments within the Korean Peninsula.
The remaining issue, of course, was the overseas fragments.
“While I was checking on what had happened during my absence, I found out there are others collecting pieces besides me.”
“Oh my.”
I wasn’t the only one aware of the fragments. Jin Cheong-woon also knew of their existence, and other fragment owners had become aware of their peculiarities and noticed other owners.
As a result, the fragments shown on the map were not scattered but clustered in large groups in various places.
“That will be quite a hassle.”
“It’s fine. Since they’ve gathered them in one place, I can negotiate to collect them all at once.”
“Negotiate, huh.”
Satan chuckled in a low voice, shaking his shoulders.
“Just hearing about it, it doesn’t sound peaceful at all.”
“If it sounds that way, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Anyway, I’m glad you returned safely. Congratulations.”
“Haha. Hearing that from you, Satan, is quite an honor. The people at our management were scolding me like crazy.”
I still couldn’t forget the day I returned.
Wanting to surprise them, I went to the office without notifying anyone. Their reactions were priceless, especially Kwon Jia, who usually maintained a perfect composure, looking like a pigeon shot by a bullet, making me burst into laughter.
Of course, the consequence was severe nagging.
Why didn’t I contact them, why did I do something so dangerous without consulting them, did I know how many times I nearly got into serious trouble?
They all said the same thing, and even I couldn’t brush it off with a smile.
“I was practically detained for a week.”
“Haha. You returned after enduring hardships only to face new ones.”
“But it didn’t feel bad. Actually, it felt good.”
“Finding joy in such simple things like peace and happiness is good.”
Satan said, standing up.
“Are you leaving?”
“I’ve said my greetings, heard you’re safe; that’s enough for this meeting. I also have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll end our conversation here.”
“Take care.”
“Oh, by the way, the Sage asked me to tell you that he wants to meet you again.”
“The Sage? For what reason?”
“I don’t know that either. Only the other three who hold the title of Sage would understand. Goodness, what do they think of the Lord of Pandemonium.”
Despite his grumbling, Satan relayed the Sage’s message.
“Anyway, take care.”
[Ending the meeting with Satan.]
Leaving the private room, I returned to the management office. I sighed deeply.
To congratulate my return, numerous Divine Spirits had approached me, requesting meetings or at least one encounter, making each day exhausting.
‘Is it all because of Oelo and Lotfiout?’
There were four Kings of Stories known to the public.
Among them, I was the first freelance teller backed by two of them.
As a result, many contacted me for business or to become a strong patron.
Even with Oelo standing firm, some thought they might as well try their luck.
‘This is really a hassle.’
However, things had settled somewhat, and now only the task of retrieving the fragments remained.
Fortunately, during my absence, my excellent contractors had successfully recovered all the fragments within the country.
‘Now, only the holders of large fragments overseas remain.’
I opened the map. Bright, large golden dots were marked all over the world.
It was unclear whether fragment holders had banded together or if one person had seized others’ fragments.
But one thing was certain: those fragments wouldn’t be easily given up.
In fact, if they had gathered them like this, a conflict was inevitable.
‘Then there’s no choice.’
Since returning to Earth, I had regained the stories I had given to the members.
With the mastery of the Ideon and the ability to freely use the Seven Demon Black Heaven Divine Skill, I had become almost unbeatable on Earth.
And as I grew stronger, the situation on Earth also rapidly changed.
While I was away, Earth underwent another transformation, further widening the gap between the mixed world and the material world, which had maintained a half-and-half ratio.
Currently, about 70% of Earth’s influence came from the mixed world.
It wouldn’t be long before Earth was fully integrated into the mixed world.
‘Considering the current situation, the apocalyptic event I experienced in my past life is unlikely to occur now.’
Earth had now reached a stable point. Thus, my role in preventing the end of this world had come to an end.
There was joy in achieving my goal since my return, but it wasn’t enough to make me jump for joy.
Instead, it felt as if I had vaguely expected it to turn out this way from the beginning.
‘The important thing is what comes next.’
The Codex fragments. As Earth had changed significantly, the fragments had been drawn to it, potentially causing new problems.
‘Recalling the Georn incident, in the worst case, Earth could face a fate worse than an apocalypse. To prevent that, we must expedite the collection of the fragments.’
And, one thing that couldn’t be overlooked was Praytion.
Having witnessed how formidable Oelo and Lotfiout were, the existence of Praytion, who might be their equal or superior, weighed heavily on me.
“Hyung.”
“Oh, Young-min.”
Yoo Young-min approached me as soon as I left the private room.
We had promised to plan how to recover the fragments, but Yoo Young-min’s expression was more serious than I expected.
“What’s happened?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Young-min nodded gravely.
“The overseas fragment holders have started moving simultaneously.”
* * *
As we headed to the briefing room, three people were already waiting to greet me.
“You’re here.”
“Jia. They say the golden fragment holders are on the move. Is that true?”
“Yes, as you can see, they just started moving.”
Kwon Jia showed me the map through her bracelet. It had been almost a month since I transferred ownership, and the team had become much more adept at using the bracelets.
Though I was still the true owner of the bracelets, there was no inconvenience in using their power.
Everyone closely observed the movements of the golden dots on the map.
The shimmering golden lights were swiftly moving across the map.
“How many are moving?”
“All of them. The five groups we’ve been monitoring are moving simultaneously. And they’re heading in the same direction as if on cue.”
“… Here, then.”
The overseas fragment holders were divided into five major groups.
Europe, Russia, North America, Australia, and Africa.
Individuals or groups in these five regions who possessed fragments started moving at the same time.
‘The fragment holders are moving towards us as if someone orchestrated it.’
This kind of movement was hard to imagine unless someone was intentionally gathering them.
All five were moving at once. Analyzing their movements, I tried to
figure out what was going on.
‘For convenience, let’s classify them as organizations. If these five organizations were cooperating, it would be more efficient to move as one instead of individually.’
Therefore, one plausible explanation was that they were acting on someone else’s orders.
But there was one question.
The opponents were fragment holders. Their power, whether large or small, surpassed that of ordinary collectors.
Could such powerful individuals follow someone else’s commands?
‘Two possible scenarios. One, the fragments themselves resonate, leading their holders somewhere.’
This was highly likely. Even with my many fragments, the true power of the Codex fragments was still unclear.
Their abilities were extremely versatile—foreseeing the future, realizing possibilities, separating illusions from reality.
The abilities I possessed were far from realistic.
Fragments were enigmatic forces with no clear definition. It wasn’t impossible for such fragments to lead their holders to a specific location.
‘But the second possibility can’t be ignored either.’
A being powerful enough to intervene with these fragments might be issuing orders.
Even among fragment holders, there were distinctions in power. And as far as I knew, there was one person who had rapidly acquired fragments and understood part of the truth.
‘Jin Cheong-woon.’
He had been quiet until now but was starting to move again.
* * *
“Everyone is moving diligently.”
Jin Cheong-woon sat quietly, feeling the movement of the fragment holders.
Even from a distance, he could sense it. He hadn’t been idle during the years Yu-hyun was absent.
He had also gathered many fragments and prepared for the upcoming changes.
[Jin Cheong-woon.]
A voice echoed in his mind.
“Why?”
[You haven’t forgotten what we need to do, have you?]
“I know. Don’t worry.”
Jin Cheong-woon responded to the now-familiar voice.
“Praytion.”