I Became the Guild Leader in Exile

106 – 6# The Ghost of the Past (4)

The Valhalla System.

A system that Odin ultimately pursued to prevent the prophecy of the end. It was a system that endlessly copied the heroes recognized by Odin to counter the prophecy of the end.

And the completion of the Valhalla System was to endlessly copy only one true hero recognized by Odin. Finally, Odin found him. The true hero that even he acknowledged.

So, without hesitation, Odin used the law as a sacrifice and lured Isaac Silverter with Bifrost. As a result, he succeeded in copying Isaac. Now, there was no need for anything else.

The Valhalla System, which had obtained the true Einherjar, was virtually invincible. However, the result was completely unexpected. Odin was shocked by what he saw before his eyes.

“This can’t be. This result is impossible!”

The Einherjar were dolls that removed all the will and thoughts of warriors and only obeyed Odin’s commands. In other words, they were weapons that added Odin’s power to Isaac’s strength.

But for some reason, they were now being pushed back by a single, useless human. Odin couldn’t understand. The Valhalla System was capable of perfect replication.

At least, if there was a human corresponding to the system, whether it was a living being or a corpse. But Isaac was still showing overwhelming power.

What was going on?

Was it not a god who lived immortal?

Just a human.

How could he be so strong?

Odin, who saw humans as his tools, would probably never understand in his lifetime. Isaac’s, no, human power was not just about physical strength. It was imbued with meaning.

And Isaac’s method was crude, but it worked. The Valhalla System copied the information of the person within it. In other words, the stronger the person, the more information was copied.

However, if the Isaac from a second ago was weaker than the Isaac from a second later, then the copied Isaac from before would naturally lose to the current Isaac. And Isaac would become even stronger.

“Is the Valhalla System not keeping up?”

Overload. The Valhalla System was unable to keep up with the rapidly increasing information of Isaac, who was becoming stronger by the second, and was slowly collapsing. For now, it was barely holding on.

If this continued, the Valhalla System would eventually collapse, and an uncontrollable monster would be born. Odin, who had reached this conclusion, hastily stopped copying Isaac.

Thanks to this, Isaac’s copying was halted, but the numerous Isaacs that already existed were unable to keep up with the current Isaac and began to collapse one by one.

“But I won’t just sit back and take this!”

Odin quickly moved his hand. The insurance he had prepared for emergencies was finally taking effect. And at the moment Odin took out the insurance, Isaac’s movements came to a halt.

“You b*stard.”

The words that came out of Isaac’s lips were a curse mixed with anger. What Odin had taken out was his guild members and allies, who were like corpses with their eyes closed, their arms and legs bound in gold.

They were all still alive, Isaac realized immediately. In this situation, why did Odin take out his hidden hostages? Unless he was an idiot, he would understand. It was to perfectly bind Isaac’s movements.

“You have to prepare for unexpected situations to survive.”

“That’s your preparation? Taking hostages?”

“But there’s no more effective method, is there?”

“You trash.”

Isaac gritted his teeth. It was ridiculous that this guy, who called himself a god, would stoop so low. But from the beginning, Odin didn’t have any sense of self-awareness. He was a god like that.

For efficiency, he was a god who could willingly sacrifice all humans on the continent. And to Odin, the most efficient way to catch Isaac was to take hostages.

Of course, I thought I could easily suppress it with my power back then, but it exceeded Odin’s calculations, so I’ll let it pass. And as Odin said, the effect was very impressive.

“Don’t fight or defend. If you do, your precious family might die.”

“I’ll give you one last warning.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t even get a single hair hurt.”

If someone dies, then you’ll be erased from this world.

Despite the stern warning, Odin laughed openly and said, “Listen carefully.”

Soon, numerous fake gold idols rushed towards Isaac.

* * *

Subconscious.

Deep down, my consciousness was asleep, like a deep abyss. Odin didn’t simply put me to sleep; he made people’s subconscious desires come true as illusions. Each person was trapped in their own fantasy, unable to see reality. And the bait was swallowed perfectly. Most heroes were deeply trapped in their own fantasies.

In the end, heroes are human too. Each has their own painful past, and they fear facing it and try to avoid it. Of course, that’s why they’re called heroes, because they’ve overcome it.

But if the happiness they thought they’d lost reappears before them, who can resist it? Zik looked up, feeling like he’d forgotten something.

“Ziel!! What are you doing here?”

“……Mom?”

“I’ve been searching for you for a long time! Father and Jin are waiting for you.”

This was Zik’s dream from when he was very young: living happily with his family. But the moment he faced it, Zik realized it was an illusion.

“How pathetic. I fell into a trap, and for a moment, I even forgot my Master.”

“What’s with that tone?”

“It’s nothing, Mother.”

Zik gathered clues one by one, starting with small things, while pretending to go along with it. First, this was undoubtedly an illusion. The evidence was the vivid memories and emotions that existed.

The strong memories and emotions remained even in the illusion, keeping Zik’s mind intact. This meant that his thoughts were special.

And of course, the reason Zik could maintain his sanity was because of his special feelings towards his Master. But aside from that, this illusion was too realistic.

“My five senses are telling me that this illusion is real.”

Everything was an illusion that was infinitely close to reality. Even Zik was shaken for a moment, so how much more would others be? But Zik suppressed his emotions.

“To escape, I need to pretend to go along with it and find a way out.”

It was highly likely that his Master was fighting alone right now. Even if Zik couldn’t help his Master, at least he shouldn’t become a burden.

“Mother, where are you going?”

As he thought about this and that, Zik suddenly realized that he wasn’t at home. The hill where his mother was headed was the one that overlooked the village.

“Didn’t you like this hill?”

“You’re not my mother.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because this is a place my mother started to like after she passed away.”

Before his mother passed away and his father disappeared, Zik lived a relatively normal life, except for being oppressed. But the problem was what came next.

After his parents passed away, the village didn’t accept Zik and Jin. So, Zik would often come to this hill alone to spend time when he missed his parents.

In other words, his mother wouldn’t know about this place. The opponent already knew everything, so Zik couldn’t help but suspect. His mother smiled and said, “You’re impressive. It wasn’t easy to wake up from the illusion.”

“No matter how happy the time is, an illusion is just an illusion.”

I had already lied several times. I cried alone on the hill, longing for my parents who would never return. But those painful and sad memories are also mine. I will never give them up.

“Indeed, that child has chosen his family.”

“That child?”

“Just one more question for you.”

“……?!”

Suddenly, my mother had transformed into a woman with radiant, shining hair. I didn’t know who she was, but I knew she wasn’t human.

“Are you willing to bet everything, including your loved ones and family, to spend your entire life together?”

The arrogant voice sounded like a god’s. The weight in her voice crushed my shoulders, but for some reason, I could answer immediately.

“Of course!”

The strong determination in my voice seemed to please her. She smiled at me, and her hand slowly reached out.

“A trial is meaningful only if humans can overcome it. But I can offer you a little help.”

As she finished speaking, she snapped her fingers.

“……?!”

I could barely open my eyes.