Ch.172Chapter 172 – Gods and Humans (End)

“…Truly, it’s the final day.”

Kwak Tae-woo glared at the sky. A golden ripple, vast enough to swallow the world, covered the heavens. Beyond it, the scenery of space was visible. Massive explosions and flashes occasionally flickered.

“What’s happening up there?”

With Kim Jae-min’s power, they had dealt with all the Mains on the ground, but the battle in the heavens showed no signs of stopping.

At some point, the expansion of the gate had halted and the angels pouring through had vanished, but even afterward, waves from the collision of immense powers continued to leak down to earth without pause, making observers tremble.

Kwak Tae-woo wasn’t the only one confused. Citizens lucky enough to survive the hands of the Demon King, angels, and Mains looked up at the sky that seemed ready to shatter at any moment. Though the battle on the ground had ended, it was clear that the same couldn’t be said for the sky.

So who was fighting up there? They soon got their answer to that question.

Lightning struck as if the world would split in half, followed by a thunderous roar. It certainly wasn’t due to abnormal weather. Something inexplicable was happening.

The occasional lightning cast shadows on the clouds. It was like a theatrical performance using shadows cast by lighting. Each time the bright light flashed, a terrifying dragon’s form appeared on the canvas of the sky.

A seven-headed dragon roared, spewing flames large enough to cover half the world. The heat was so transcendent that it dyed the entire sky red like a sunset.

Though the dragon’s breath didn’t reach the earth, people instinctively felt fear. Hunters, who were stronger than ordinary people and thus could perceive more, were gripped by extreme terror.

The dragon emitted magical power comparable to, no, exceeding the Four Heavenly Kings. Hunters could guess the identity of this magical dragon. The leader of demons, whose existence had only been speculated based on the hierarchy of demons and entities like the Four Heavenly Kings…

People knew what devastation the Four Heavenly Kings could cause, so they couldn’t help but tremble at the appearance of a dragon far stronger than them.

What would happen if that terrifying fire touched the ground? How many people would die, how many cities would burn?

Those trembling in fear soon realized that despite the dragon’s continuous spewing of flames, its breath couldn’t penetrate the sky. The fire was blocked as if by an invisible wall, unable to advance beyond a certain range. Why?

“Someone, someone is there… Look!”

A hunter with good eyesight pointed at the clouds.

There was a shadow, clearly smaller than the seven-headed dragon, barely visible unless one squinted and focused. It had the form of light, the form of a human. Whenever the dragon spewed fire toward the earth, someone confronted it, raising a brilliant shield of light to block the flames.

No matter how the dragon breathed fire, swung its tail, or rammed with its head, the being of light stood firm without moving a step, enduring the attacks. As if determined not to allow even a single spark to fall to the ground, it stood steadfast, silently protecting the world. Again and again.

The sight of someone fighting desperately to protect the world from an unknown place evoked a sense of reverence and awe in those watching.

Through broadcasting cameras, people around the world watched the guardian’s battle. Some recognized that person as the “Saint” revered by the Paradise Church, while others didn’t. But everyone was united in cheering for the guardian’s victory against the terrifying dragon.

“Please, win.”

“Defeat the demon…”

Humans are weak.

Ordinary people have neither the courage nor the strength to stand before a dragon. In the face of overwhelming calamity, people sway like small boats in a storm.

But even if humans perish, they are not beings who simply give up.

Since they couldn’t join that battle, they did what they could.

People clasped their hands and prayed.

“Please, peace…”

Though those without power could only wish, sometimes that act helps.

Tens of billions of prayers gathered from around the world were transmitted to someone in the heavens.

There was a significant movement from the guardian who had only been enduring. As if about to throw something, the shoulder was drawn back widely, then the arm shot forward with all its might. A dazzling ray of light crossed the sky.

Cutting through the night sky of space, cutting through the fierce breath of the dragon,

And.

***

Sataniel was the first angel created by Elohim. In this world, since Elohim created angels before everything else, Sataniel was Elohim’s first creation, his first son.

Sataniel took pride in this fact. Whenever Elohim crafted all things with his own hands and showed great miracles, Sataniel reminded himself that he was the firstborn of such a magnificent being. His infinite respect and loyalty toward his father grew day by day.

That loyalty was shattered with a single command from Elohim.

“Go to hell.”

Elohim ordered Sataniel to become the Demon King leading demons in hell. To become the leader of filthy demons! For Sataniel, who had been a high archangel in heaven, this order was the utmost dishonor and humiliation. Naturally, he rebelled, expressing his discontent.

“But Father, how can I lead cunning demons with my appearance? I have the unmistakable form of an angel; what demon would follow an angel? No one will serve me as their king.”

Elohim pondered briefly, then bestowed a power upon Sataniel.

“I will give you the power of deception. The ability to transform your body and deceive demons.”

Of course, Sataniel hadn’t wanted such a power. He had merely made excuses to refuse Elohim’s command.

Sataniel continued trying to persuade him, but not a single word could sway Elohim’s will. All of Sataniel’s pleas only confirmed how firm Elohim’s resolve was.

The angel cried out desperately, as if spitting blood.

“Father! I am your first son. Why do you treat your firstborn so poorly? Why must I abandon the glorious duty of serving by your side to become a mere keeper of such a barren land?”

Looking at the strongly resisting Sataniel, Elohim thought. Sataniel held an important position in Elohim’s plan. He needed to lead and guide demons as his chess piece.

Elohim sought a solution to convince his rebellious son. Since he seemed dissatisfied with his task due to his high pride, giving him an important mission that he could accept might work. Coincidentally, there was a suitable item that had been difficult to store…

Light gathered in Elohim’s hand, forming the shape of a chalice. The Holy Grail, created with immense power. A reset button that could turn back time in this world once.

“My son, I entrust you with an important sacred object. You shall guard this Holy Grail, which contains my power, in the deepest part of hell. Ensure that no one dares to covet it. Seal it strictly and divide the key into five pieces; you shall keep one, and the Four Heavenly Kings shall each take one.”

Soon after, an irresistible force expelled Sataniel from heaven. When Sataniel regained consciousness, he was falling from the sky with the Holy Grail he never wanted in his hand. The stuffy air of hell could be felt in his breath.

The ground was rapidly approaching, but Sataniel couldn’t move his body due to the immense mental shock and sense of betrayal. The deeper the trust, the greater the shock of betrayal. The angel’s pupils contracted narrowly in shock. With pupils like those of a snake, he murmured.

“Father doesn’t trust me…”

Not only banishing him to hell but also, due to lack of complete trust, ordering him to entrust the remaining key pieces to mere demons. Sataniel understood this as being abandoned by his father.

“Father, Father, why have you forsaken me! Was I such a useless son? Am I no longer needed? Was I merely a practice creation, a failure made before you created the world!”

A voice dripping with betrayal and disappointment cried out. An angel abandoned by God called out God’s name. But as expected, no answer came from God. He was a deity indifferent to individuals.

Sataniel’s lips twisted crookedly. Suddenly, he burst into laughter. Kh, khkhkh. What started as a hollow, empty laugh gradually intensified until it became maniacal. Sataniel laughed with all his might. Madness gleamed in his eyes.

“Don’t worry… Your unworthy son will try to play the worst demon as you wish…”

The angel’s face contorted like a demon’s, and his body began to change. His tongue split into two thin forks, his body grew larger and longer as scales emerged, feathers fell from his angel wings and were replaced by bat-like membranes. A long tail sprouted, and his nails sharpened like those of a beast.

Blood burst from his entire body, unable to withstand the rapid physical transformation. The red blood dyed the dragon’s scales crimson.

E̸̢̢̪̝̳̰̻̜̮͎̜͊͌́̐̀̆̀̿͠͠l̸̠̿̓͌̈́̂̾̑̓̐̈͛̚͘o̷̦̹̥̼̗̼̓ȋ̵̧̢̩͖͔̹̘͍̞͕̯͙̺̬̟͛́̾ ̷̛͖̺̺̟̥̤̗͇͎͕̩̔͌̐͘È̵̞̤̤͔̔̋̍͌͊͜͝l̵̢̨̟͉͕͉̣̩̮̆͋̆͂̓̀̈̎̚ͅợ̸͎͆͆̄͊̔̔̈͐̏̀̅͠͠ĩ̶̭̜̱̪̜͇̦̝͇̟̐̆́̄̇̽͝ ̵̢͉̣͙̼͔̲̦̱̫͉͈̪́̑̃̈́̈̆̒ͅL̶̺̝̏͐͐̎̉͝͝a̴̛̬͍̞͎̥͈̘̞̱̤̭̞͔͙̒̆̆̋̈́͋̑̇̋̚͝ͅm̴̨̲̳͈̖̞̜͚̭̆̑͛̋̽͋̆̃̉̾̊̈́͋͝a̷͇͌̓̽̌̑͂́̌͐̂̕ ̴̢̧̛̯͖̤̼̭̲̺̥̿̒͗̉̀͐̐̐̒̆͜͝S̷͈̻͍͊͐̈́́̂̎͛̓̄͊̓ą̸̭̲̬̲͉̤̺͇̣̃̽͂̃͑͐̓̏̾̉́̕͠͠b̵͚̮̱͉͈̪̫͇̾̒͐͑̈́̀͐̐̕a̴̡̧̛̠̤͔̖̳̥͓͓̻͖͋̂͊͛͐̄̓̀͆͠ͅc̶̡̧̖̯͇̱̳̥̭͎͍̺̫̆̉̓͛̿̔̈́̔̚͘͜͠h̴̨̟͓̹̞͍͇̮̹͉̞̙̏̒͗̾͑a̴̡̛͙̰͚͔̖̐͒͂͌́͂͐̏̕͝n̴̞̰͒͂̐͝i̵͈̖͖͉̩͎̣̼̺̰̘̱̫̺̓̑̌͊͑̋̃͑̃͊͊͌͊͝͠

The red dragon writhed in the agony of birth, screaming. It was a roar stained with anger and betrayal. That roar echoed throughout hell. Every creature in hell watched in awe as the Demon King was born.

It was the birth of Satan.

***

‘Ah… an unpleasant memory.’

Satan, recalling the old days, murmured inwardly. The day he was abandoned by Elohim, the day all his loyalty toward Elohim turned into vengeance. That single day determined the rest of Satan’s life.

Lost in reminiscence, Satan suddenly expressed doubt.

‘But why am I thinking about this?’

With the question, his consciousness surfaced to reality. A warm sensation was felt in his chest. Satan opened his eyes.

And realized his situation.

‘Oh, it was a life flashing before my eyes. How amusing…’

A spear was lodged in the heart of Satan, who had somehow returned to human form from that of a dragon. A spear made with Shin Jae-hyuk’s divinity. His heart wasn’t regenerating.

Being knocked out by a single attack and seeing his life flash before his eyes—he found his own state laughable, but instead of laughter, only a weak breath and blood spurted from his mouth.

Shin Jae-hyuk approached the fallen Satan. All the divinity possessed by the loser had been absorbed by the victor. A feeling of complete exhaustion dominated Satan’s body like a water-soaked sponge. With all his power gone and returned to his original form, Satan’s hair and wings had turned white, making him look like he did before his fall, when everything was glorious.

Having just unleashed his fury, Satan didn’t hurl curses or spew words of damnation at the victor. He had neither the energy nor the will to do so. An awkward silence continued for a while. Satan broke the silence with a blunt question.

“…What will you do now? Having absorbed all my divinity, you truly possess power that could be called absolute. With that power, you could really do anything you want…”

“…”

“…Will you become a god? You could be a god who truly cares for humans, not one who remains silent to their prayers. Will you directly save the world according to Elohim’s will? Or…”

The light in Satan’s pupils faded as he struggled to ask his final question. His raspy breathing ceased, and the angel’s body grew cold.

Shin Jae-hyuk looked down at the corpse and quietly answered.

“…One cannot stand alone by relying on God. Salvation is something one must achieve for oneself.”

From below, across the endless expanse of earth, prayers could be heard. People enveloped in helplessness and fear called out to God, pleading for help. A god is a being who ignores those calls. If one were to respond to all those requests, the god would become the master of each individual.

That must not happen. Each person should be the master of their own life, not anyone else. We must become masters, not slaves.

“Therefore… I will merely provide an opportunity.”

Shin Jae-hyuk closed his eyes and concentrated. Eyes that observed all creation found every surviving angel and demon, collecting their souls. All souls exploited and sacrificed for Elohim’s plan gathered to Shin Jae-hyuk.

He opened his inner self and released his divinity. All the souls he had rescued from hell, liberated from heaven, and received from other divine beings flowed out. They were victims of the unreasonable fate twisted by Elohim, those who had been robbed of the chance to live.

Shin Jae-hyuk decided to gift them a second chance.

“Let there be light.”

The final god spread his will throughout the world. With the light, souls were scattered across the world. The souls, following the will of the absolute being, headed to where they belonged.

New sprouts emerged from the ground covered in ash and dust.

“What…?”

Light gathered before Kim Jae-min, who had been blankly looking down at the ruined city. Following this incomprehensible phenomenon, an unbelievable voice was heard.

“Jae-min…?”

“M-Mom?”

In place of the bright particles of light that had disappeared stood a woman. His mother, whom he had thought dead, or rather, who had undoubtedly lost her life before his eyes. As Kim Jae-min doubted whether this was a dream or hallucination, a strange sensation he hadn’t experienced in over a hundred years came to his ears.

‘Ah, my ears….’

Through his healed hearing, he heard his mother’s voice, which he had longed for so much. Despite having just returned from death and being in a state of confusion, she worried about her son’s well-being, checking if he was hurt. That voice broke down the sturdy walls of his heart like a fortress. The boy embraced his mother and wept.

“Mom, Mom…. It was so hard, I missed you so much…”

Similar phenomena occurred simultaneously around the world.

“Mom, Dad!”

“Yujin!”

“Our daughter!”

Hunters who had lost their lives fighting demons,

“I can’t… hear voices. The world is quiet…”

Believers of Paradise Church who had served the wrong god,

“…Sister Grace?”

“Harin! Oh, hallelujah…!”

Civilians who had suffered accidents,

“Ugh… Did I drink too much yesterday? My head…”

And people from the destroyed Eden.

Everyone who had lost their lives since the gate opened received a new chance and rose from their graves. All those who were loved and missed by someone returned to the arms of their families.

Watching people hugging each other and bursting into tears and laughter, Kwak Tae-woo smiled faintly. It was a satisfying scene for the end of a long journey.

‘It seemed impossible… but we finally completed our mission.’

They had finally brought down the forces of hell and protected Earth. Though many cities had been destroyed, Kwak Tae-woo knew how strong human perseverance and will could be. Despite the temporary confusion caused by the sudden changes, people would soon rise and rebuild their homes.

Just like his comrades from the first cycle, the Human Resistance.

‘Those bastards who used to mock me as stubborn. Look, I succeeded…’

Kwak Tae-woo swallowed the bitter feeling rising in a corner of his heart. He shook his head to dispel such luxurious worries. Although the bonds from the previous cycle were severed and the comrades who had trusted each other were now strangers, it was better that no one remembered that terrible world…

As Kwak Tae-woo was about to move away from the crowd,

“Hey, you! Wait! Just a moment!”

Someone urgently called from behind. Kwak Tae-woo turned around at the voice calling him. His eyebrows raised. An unexpected figure stood there.

“Huff, huff. You’re that person from Saint Petersburg, right?”

“…Cha Eun-kyung?”

“I knew it! It is you!”

Cha Eun-kyung, who had been uncertain, showed a relieved expression. Puzzled by her friendly attitude, as they shouldn’t have any acquaintance in this cycle, Kwak Tae-woo asked her business.

“But why me?”

“You saved my life. I couldn’t thank you properly then…”

Cha Eun-kyung fidgeted, scratching her eyebrow. Kwak Tae-woo knew this habit. It was something she did when she was shy. After struggling to choose her words, Cha Eun-kyung smiled brightly and asked.

“So, um… Would you like to have a meal together sometime?”

Kwak Tae-woo chuckled. The regressor, finally having shed his heavy burden, formed a new connection in this new world.

As an omnipotent god, Shin Jae-hyuk could know all of this. The world overflowed with laughter, tears, love, and joy.

Shin Jae-hyuk pondered. What should I do now? Or rather, must I do anything at all?

‘Life is simply about flowing with the current…’

In the future, countless people would face numerous sorrows and hardships. He couldn’t solve all of them himself. Though he had the power to do so, it would interfere with individual growth and enlightenment.

The final god reached his final conclusion.

“Humans don’t need a god.”

Every child eventually becomes an adult. Only people free from the hand of God can truly stand on this earth and grow.

People who have lost their god might wander for a while, but they will eventually overcome. They will help each other. The hands holding friends and family will give them reassurance and confidence. Humans are animals that form societies, cooperate, and live with love.

Particles of light flowed from Shin Jae-hyuk’s body and dissolved into the void. It was his divinity. The divinity returned to the system would repair the various laws distorted by the battles of multiple divine beings and restore the world to its original form.

‘It is finished.’

As Elohim’s power that had supported the space disappeared, Shin Jae-hyuk threw himself from the rapidly collapsing heaven. The blue dawn sky of Earth greeted him as he passed through the gate.

A cool breeze brushed his cheek. That cold sensation felt incredibly vivid. The human who had chosen to relinquish omnipotent abilities and entrust everything to human hands fell from the sky to the earth like a shooting star.

As he freely fell, surrendering to gravity, the wind whistled. The wind seemed to ask: Having lost your power, what remains?

‘What remains is…’

The city he had protected spread out below. The city sparkled with streetlights, building lights, and vehicle headlights. Though many places were broken, the lights of life still burned in various spots.

“Everything else remains.”

I have protected the lights of this city. At last, the holy knight could smile brightly.