NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51
Looking back, it was filled with questions from the start.
[Ordinary City]
Or rather, its previous form.
[Ordinary Apartment]
…
Thinking about it, it would have been absurd to get into an apartment where missing persons cases occurred one after another at such a cheap price, right in the heart of Seoul.
Before that, where was I living…?
What caught my eye as I hurriedly returned to the city with my companions was the landscape of the [Ordinary City], which looked no different than usual.
Unlike the apocalypse outside, it felt as if the scenery from the Middle Ages and near future had blended together harmoniously.
If the humans outside saw this, they would call it a paradise, [Abnormality City].
The scenery looked just the same as always.
The same buildings.
But what was this?
This sense of incongruity.
I walked toward the [Ordinary Apartment] situated in the center of the city.
The core of the ideals that make up this city.
The seriousness of my mood had my companions on edge, following me cautiously.
Arriving at the apartment, it appeared, at first glance, to be unchanged from before.
“…. So this is how it is, huh?”
At a glance, it looked similar.
To say it was similar also meant that upon closer inspection, it was different.
Truly, there were subtle traces.
In my days before getting entangled with [Abnormality] and caught up in events, I was hunting entities to make money.
Needless to say, during that time, marks were left on the apartment in the process.
Of course, I was just a fighter who was slightly above average, not necessarily a superhero, so the marks weren’t severe enough to seriously damage the building, but there were things like paint scraped off in a fist shape or walls slightly pressed in and dented.
At first glance, those could be easily overlooked, but upon closer examination, such traces should remain scattered throughout the apartment…
But there were none.
Not a single one.
“You came back more quickly than expected.”
“Did you have a good trip?”
The Deputy Priest and Teddy Bear greeted us as they emerged from the apartment.
The two looked completely oblivious.
I rushed past them and quickly opened the door to the apartment, leading to the back room, not the exterior of the apartment.
‘The connection is… intact.’
Confirming that there was no issue with my abilities, I gathered my companions.
“First, everyone gather in the conference room.”
*
At the moment I regressed for the sixth time due to [Salieri]’s [Music of Regression].
In that fleeting moment of transitioning from the seventh to the sixth.
I felt a sense of liberation as my existence temporarily vanished.
Liberation from what?
…
In truth, until that point, I wasn’t entirely sure what it was.
I couldn’t see my own soul, and by the time I reached the sixth, there were already no constraints on me.
Thus, the first time I truly recognized it was again upon hitting the seventh.
The moment I returned to this body.
In that moment, I felt it certainly.
The existence that constrains my soul.
“So, you mean… an [Security Guard] acted alone to kill the [Clown] and disappeared?”
“Does that even make sense?”
Everyone showed a puzzled reaction to my words.
Except for the Deputy Priest, who had witnessed it, everyone else seemed perplexed.
“Even if we assume he disregarded your orders, does the [Security Guard] have that kind of power?”
Jung Seong-min, who was an elite close to the core of the [Alliance], was the first to raise a question.
Since the [Clown] was a key member of the [Artist], Jung Seong-min had quite a bit of information on him.
After all, there couldn’t be any way the [Alliance] wouldn’t have information on someone as openly active as the [Clown].
[Devil]
Though not a [God], yet still an existence that was nearly impossible to confront with any sort of subpar [God].
I was aware that the [Security Guard] possessed [Divinity]…
However, even considering that the [Clown] had been in a disastrous state trapped, could it be that a mere [Security Guard] handled him?
Does that even make sense?
Everyone shared the same thought upon hearing Jung Seong-min’s words.
Right, that doesn’t add up.
Security Guard D
The rank indicated in the status window.
He’s certainly not weak, and having [Divinity] means he would be stronger than his actual rank…
But even so, it’s not enough.
However…
He does have a track record.
“His raw power should be sufficient.”
Teddy Bear chimed in.
Since she had experienced the battle with the [Alliance] that day, she knew what the [Security Guard] did.
“He had previously killed [Skoll].”
[Skoll]
An entity that pairs with [Hati], corresponding to a complete [God].
In reality, one could easily regard him as an entity like the [Clown], yet the [Security Guard] had a record of defeating such a being.
“No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense?”
Jung Seong-min became even more skeptical.
I understood.
I also brushed it off at that time, but that was only because I lacked knowledge and wasn’t able to think deeply.
After gaining knowledge afterward…
I couldn’t even entertain that train of thought now.
In fact, it was only now that I realized why I hadn’t pursued that line of questioning.
“But why would he kill the [Clown]?”
“Rather than that…”
As Lumi voiced her question, Teddy Bear looked at me as if to say that was not the important part.
“I understand that the [Security Guard] disobeyed orders and killed the [Clown], but…”
Is that really that serious of a matter?
Teddy Bear was accustomed to such incidents as a member of the [Alliance].
Sudden actions by an [Abnormality] that had been subdued and isolated were not uncommon occurrences.
Even though it belonged to Han Yu-seong due to the [System], from her perspective, it would be strange if it didn’t cause any incidents.
In fact, the initial incident was already taken care of, as it was about dealing with the [Clown] whom I had planned to kill anyway…
Is this really that serious?
“It is indeed serious.”
I answered her question.
If it were merely a sudden action by an [Abnormality], then it wouldn’t be much of a concern.
He didn’t kill a normal stronghold member; he simply caught an [Abnormality] that needed to be dealt with anyway.
“But if that wasn’t a sudden action and instead, a will was involved, then the story gets serious.”
Over time, I had gathered a variety of information about [Abnormality] and acquired some knowledge about my true abilities.
What I had misinterpreted as the ability to handle [Abnormality] and earn experience or money turned out to be completely separate powers.
The ability to physically consume [Abnormality], digest it, and use its power was my true innate ability.
In truth, it had only been a hypothesis until this battle in Busan that became clear.
By consuming [Cinders’ Child], I attained a temporary position akin to a [God].
There is no doubt that this is my true ability.
But then, what about the growth potential that I had thought was my ability until now?
[Management System]
Looking back, I had considered this [System] as my [Status Window].
Strictly speaking, this is a [System] managing the [Facility].
Well, things like [Caretaker] or entities are things bound to the [Facility] itself, so I’ll give them a pass.
But does that mean I too am included…?
Why hadn’t I felt a sense of incongruity?
Why had I accepted this as commonplace?
No, I must have sensed the incongruity already long ago.
From the moment I kept the near-absurd logic and spared the now useless [Clown].
Previously, I had realized the existence of some will observing this world while receiving both the [Management System] and the [Achievement System].
It was said that it would be better not to disturb an entity whose involvement was limited to just observation…
But…
Is that really an entity that stays quiet?
“Some will, you say…”
“Does that mean it controlled the [Caretaker]?”
“No, listening to Yu-seong, it’s not that simple.”
I threw my smartphone into the midst of the serious conversation.
With the [Achievement System] and [Management System] activated.
“First, I’m going to put forth a hypothesis, and I would like to hear your thoughts on it.”
I looked at those gathered in the conference room and began to explain the sense of incongruity I was feeling.
*
Step by step.
The entirety was pure black.
A dark space devoid of any light.
Up down, front back.
Not only direction but even the ability to discern whether one is standing properly or lying down was completely obscured.
In that space, a figure was walking.
Amidst the indistinguishable surroundings, there existed a presence whose form was curiously intact.
He wore a security hat and uniform while holding a riot baton in one hand.
[Security Guard]
Or rather, something that was [Security Guard].
An empty space.
Behind the world.
Within.
In the formless void, [God of the Void] walks.
“Unexpected. Unplanned variable.”
The realm of the [God].
Reaching the point where the boundary between [Me] and the [World] collapses was part of the plan.
I had never anticipated failure.
Having awakened his true power, confronting an opponent who could only be faced with false strength felt like a formidable challenge.
As an entity entitled to that status, rising to the stature of a [God] was almost inevitable.
Yet, a variable arose.
“‘Artist. Filthy one. Since the past. Indeed.”
They were creatures that could have simply complied and followed orders but instead engaged in all sorts of unexpected behavior.
Even so, I believed they lacked the power to cause such a significant variable.
Yet, at the very last moment, they caused such an incident.
The thoroughly excluded [Alien Power] implanted itself into the vessel.
As a result, a part of the [System] was completely usurped and seemed to have been affiliated with that side…
“Nothing works. “
Though I managed to kill the [Clown] to restore balance.
It would have been better if I had also killed [Salieri]…
At the time when I sealed him, the betrayal from [Me][This] was not clear, so it must have been intuition, right?
It’s utterly useless…
Nevertheless.
At the very last moment.
You seem to have at least some usefulness, huh?
In the abyssal emptiness.
[God of the Void] comes to a stop.
“So. Don’t think otherwise. Huh?”
[Artist]
No, that would be [Leonardo da Vinci].
The genius of all trades.