Ch.329Rupture (1)

In the repair dock of Cryx Hall.

Inside the largest repair facility, a massive ship weighing over a million tons was entrusting itself to tens of thousands of workers, waiting to be reborn in pristine condition.

They carefully peeled off, cut, and replaced the fused armor plates, then refinished the damaged internal components.

Given the ship’s enormous size, even a simple replacement would normally take at least a week. The fact that they could complete such work in just about two weeks was testament to how diligently the repair workers of Cryx Hall were working.

Rumble… Thunder…

With vibrations and noise like rolling thunder, massive cranes moved the heavy armor plates while scraping away flesh, bone, shell casings, and various debris stuck inside the ship. Pink and gray waste was already settling beneath the Sky Warden.

The pink was flesh and the gray was battle residue, but to Simon, who was surveying the scene, it was all the same.

Shriiiiek!

Just then, a whistle sounded, signaling lunch time.

The cranes immediately stopped in place, and workers gathered around in groups.

Young children and women approached, arms full of freshly heated lunch boxes, distributing them among the workers. The workers picked up chopsticks or spoons and gulped down their dry meals from plastic containers, washing it down with drinks.

At that moment, Viktor arrived on his Bruiser to where Simon was standing.

“Simon. How’s the work progressing?”

“Viktor. Everything’s proceeding without issues. But as you know, since it’s the flagship being repaired, everyone’s being cautious, so it’s difficult to shorten the timeline.”

“Well, I didn’t come to rush you. I just wanted to see how my ship was coming along.”

“I see…”

Simon said this while looking at the Sky Warden’s blueprint laid out on his desk.

To those without specialized knowledge (like Viktor), it would appear to be just a messy sketch. But to an expert, it was undoubtedly an impressive high-level design that would inspire admiration.

“I heard it would take about two weeks.”

“That’s right. At this pace, it should be completed in that timeframe. Where have you been?”

“Me? I was talking with Karyl a bit.”

“Hmm?”

Despite this being the truth, Simon raised an eyebrow.

The attendants who were with them instinctively realized this wasn’t a conversation they should be part of and excused themselves. Viktor turned to face Simon and told him about what had just happened.

“That’s how it went.”

“Huh…”

After hearing about the shocking conversation with the gods, the human sat in his chair for a moment, holding his head. A quick-witted attendant swiftly brought him a glass of dark beer, which he downed in one go before nodding as if in understanding.

“If that’s your intention, then so be it.”

It was too ambiguous to be called a sage’s answer, but how could a mere human define issues between gods? The very fact that he offered any response at all proved him to be a sage.

Viktor didn’t particularly think Simon’s answer was some profound truth either, so he simply nodded silently.

In any case, with their current situation, there were no threats to the Iron Walker party. As long as the party didn’t suddenly disband, their adventures would continue.

*

About two hours later.

The workers, having finished their meals, chose to inject stimulants rather than succumb to post-meal drowsiness, eliminating the risk of accidents. Simon and Viktor were debating the pros and cons of stimulant use when Simon explained that “their use of stimulants is an offering to Karyl of bodies resisting drugs,” which Viktor had to accept.

“Come to think of it, the Four Gods are really unfair beings. To gain power from such everyday actions.”

“Well… they’re gods born from human desires. If they didn’t interpret things broadly and flexibly, life would be pretty harsh.”

In fact, by this measure, the Sun, the progenitor of all gods, was the same.

While the Four Gods gain power from specific human actions—eating, having sex, fighting, reading—the Sun, whose essence is to protect the world and humanity, gains power from the very existence of the world and the fact that humanity is alive.

For gods whose existence is their value, there could be no greater tyranny than this.

A god who draws power from the world itself and projects that power back into the world—this was closer to a “system” than what we commonly know as a god. Perhaps that’s why the Sun remained silent for 350,000 years.

Even in games, if the administrator handled every event, what would be the point of playing? Players would just switch to another game or submit a complaint to customer service to replace the administrator.

“Honey.”

“Ah, Raisha.”

Just then, his wife arrived with Lucia.

Not wanting to come empty-handed, they brought snacks. Judging by the tiny crumbs on Lucia’s lips, Viktor thought they must have spent some time together.

“How’s Cassia?”

“They say she can be discharged tomorrow or in two days.”

“Really? That’s good.”

Viktor munched on the snacks his wife brought, speaking as if it were no big deal.

And that… sounded very different to Lucia.

Lucia had her head cracked open by him several times. While Viktor’s nature was clearly good, whether to protect that goodness or because his upbringing was too unusual, he was remarkably indifferent to the suffering of those around him.

She knew he wasn’t without compassion—he had rescued Curtis, a poor man, and willingly stood up for the weak.

However, he didn’t seem to care much when those who chose to fight were defeated.

Those who cannot fight should be protected, but those who willingly take up arms and march to war must be prepared for death and endure whatever pain comes their way with dignity.

In simple terms: if you’re prepared to kill, be prepared to die.

While this was obvious and most warriors would agree, it was difficult for young, sensitive Lucia and Cassia (by elf standards) to accept.

It was a common reaction from those who had never experienced unprovoked hostility or hatred.

“Viktor.”

Lucia held back tears as she called the god’s name.

He looked at her, his pure and clear gaze illuminating her soul.

In that moment, her throat tightened. Though she believed this was the right decision, her lips trembled without forming proper words, and her head—broken and mended countless times—felt like her brain was leaking again.

But she had already made her decision. This was their irreversible choice.

“We want to leave the party.”

*

Silence.

Then speech.

“Why?”

Softly, solemnly, and heavily, the divine voice settled into the ground.

From Waterfall until now, they had shown good chemistry with him. There were moments when heads got cracked, but that wasn’t fatal, so it didn’t matter much.

“We can’t keep up with you. We’ve just realized that now.”

“I see.”

A simple resonance, but with deep meaning.

Cannot keep up.

Ah. They say the simplest things are the most powerful. No words could have been more devastating to Viktor, who was gradually losing himself.

The stride of gods and humans cannot be the same. Even elves who live forever are merely longer-lived ants before the majesty of a god who can turn eternity into a fleeting moment.

“Does Cassia share this opinion?”

“Yes… it’s a decision we sisters made together… we’d appreciate it if you… respected that.”

As she spoke carefully, Viktor nodded.

“Speak to the Legion Commander, and he will provide your severance pay. Take it and go. It’s been enjoyable. You who live forever.”

His head nodded once more.

Now the Iron Walker had become a party of five. The original members who had been together since Waterfall were finally departing.

Whose fault could it be? The elves who realized their weakness? The god gradually losing his humanity?

Or perhaps the sage who stood beside them offering advice, or the dwarves tightening nuts and bolts?

No one was at fault.

In the human world, it often happens that everyone gets hurt even when no one is to blame.

Even if that was never what anyone wanted.