Chapter 274

The wall was a drab, grayish-black, adorned with dry, rectangular patterns.

There seemed to be nothing unusual about it.

It was just a wall, blending seamlessly with its surroundings.

The color, the size of the patterns, the number of patterns – everything was exactly the same.

It wasn’t just me who thought so. Camian and Annette were also looking at Ran with dubious expressions, as if wondering, “What did she even find?”

“Let’s see. What’s hidden here.”

Ran’s eyes twinkled with interest.

She seemed to enjoy solving puzzles.

*Thump, thump.*

She tapped on a specific spot on the wall.

After tapping a few times, she pushed it with force.

The wall didn’t budge.

“Aha, so it’s not a simple mechanism.”

Ran grinned, her competitive spirit ignited.

And so began her struggle with the wall.

We watched silently from behind.

She was sweating and working hard, but there wasn’t anything we could do except watch.

It felt like any comment from us would only distract her.

How much time had passed?

“Oh, this part depresses.”

Ran blinked rapidly, her eyes sparkling as if she had discovered something.

It seemed like she had pressed something.

Somewhere between the rectangular patterns.

But I couldn’t see any noticeable change.

Camian and Annette were also staring at Ran with puzzled expressions, as if wondering, “You pressed it? So what changed?”

It was then.

“Then is it this?”

*Click.*

A mechanical sound.

Our eyes widened simultaneously.

“Heh heh, it rotates, it rotates.”

Ran chuckled softly and rotated one of the patterns, flipping it upside down.

A rectangle was still a rectangle, even when flipped.

The appearance hadn’t changed at all, but the important thing was that something had activated.

We had clearly heard the sound of a mechanism engaging.

We waited expectantly, our eyes glued to the wall.

But.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Nothing happened.

What the hell?

…Was that it? Just rotating a pattern?

“Um, Ran…”

Camian, unable to bear the silence any longer, spoke up.

“Yes?”

“…What happens now?”

“What do you mean? Nothing happens for now.”

“Huh?”

“This is a multi-layered mechanism. One activation won’t do anything.”

Ran said with certainty.

My eyes lit up.

“You figured that out?”

“Ahem, it was nothing.”

Ran said nonchalantly.

But her shoulders were practically touching the ceiling with pride.

Easy to read, easy to read.

I chuckled inwardly and gave her the praise she craved.

“As expected of Ran. You’re skilled, intelligent, and persistent. You’re one of the people I rely on the most.”

“Heh heh, you know me so well.”

Ran beamed, pleased with my flattery.

“Then please continue…”

“Of course. Let’s find the rest quickly.”

Ran got back to work.

* * *

*Click.*

*Whirr.*

Finally, the hidden mechanism activated.

A secret door opened.

My hand instinctively gripped my sword.

A dangerous monster or a guardian could emerge.

But.

The room beyond the door was empty.

A stale, musty smell filled the air, the result of poor ventilation.

Everyone frowned.

“It’s fine. It’s not poisonous.”

I took the lead and entered the room.

The ceiling was low.

The room was small.

It was difficult to guess its purpose.

And then,

My eyes fell upon a stone tablet.

It was covered in tiny, densely packed letters.

Fortunately, I could read them.

“What? That’s all there is?”

“I thought there would be some big secret.”

“…Me too.”

Ran, Camian, and Annette approached, their faces filled with disappointment.

But my expression was serious and grave as I looked at the stone tablet.

Because I realized, just from reading the first sentence, that it contained something extraordinary.

“What’s wrong?”

“Read it.”

“What could it be… Huh?”

Ran’s eyes widened in shock.

“T-This is…”

“W-What is this…?”

Camian and Annette also froze, their faces pale.

They had also realized it.

The heavy truth contained in the first sentence.

Truth.

Yes, it was the truth.

There was no way it could be false.

Just like the horrors of the underground we had conquered, just like the blood we had shed, this was real.

My eyes focused on the first sentence of the stone tablet.

– This world was destined to be destroyed.

* * *

This world was destined to be destroyed.

God had abandoned this world.

God had forsaken this world.

Whether it was out of disgust for the world’s overflowing sins or simply because the time had come to replace the old and worn-out with the new, no one knew.

Who could possibly understand the mind of God?

The only thing they knew was that God had abandoned this world, and this world was destined to be destroyed.

And destruction required a tool.

God’s Arbiter was that tool.

God had sent the Arbiter to this world.

Humans called this Arbiter the Dark God.

Because they couldn’t believe or accept that the god they worshipped had sent an Arbiter to destroy the world.

It had to be the work of evil.

It had to be.

Because that was the only way they could hold onto hope and continue living.

Humans were such creatures.

The Arbiter of God.

No, the Dark God.

The Dark God was incredibly powerful.

He was a calamity upon the world.

As soon as he set foot on this world, he unleashed a plague, bringing death and suffering on a massive scale.

Most humans were unaware of the truth.

They simply thought it was an unfortunate outbreak of a disease.

But a few knew.

That this was divine punishment, and that if left unchecked, it would lead to the world’s destruction.

Those few, aware of the gravity of the situation, gathered people.

No, it wasn’t just humans.

Elves, dwarves, and other races as well.

Because they also knew that this was a critical threat to the world’s existence.

And so, a coalition was formed.

A coalition to defeat the Dark God.

The best of the best, carefully selected.

This coalition, filled with determination, set out to defeat the Dark God.

The coalition was strong.

But the Dark God was a superhuman being, possessing incredible physical strength, power, and divine abilities.

A fierce battle ensued.

It was a battle that shook the heavens and the earth.

But,

The coalition was gradually being overwhelmed.

One by one, they fell, their blood staining the ground.

The Dark God’s strength was simply too great.

Despair filled their hearts.

They all thought.

That this was the end.

That the world’s destruction was inevitable.

If it wasn’t for the miraculous appearance of those two beings, it would have been the end.

Even now, just thinking about that time sent shivers down my spine.

Those two beings were…

* * *

“…They were the ones who saved the world.”

I muttered, my eyes narrowed.

Saint Lepheria.

And the Great Sage.

They had joined forces with the remaining members of the coalition and defeated the Dark God.

The Arbiter of God, the one known as the Dark God.

“No, no, wait a minute! So… the god we worship tried to destroy this world? What kind of crazy talk is this?”

Ran shook her head in disbelief.

Anyone would have the same reaction.

It was shocking news.

“Would I joke about something like this? Especially in a place where no one might ever see it?”

“B-But…”

“If this is all a lie, then the truth about this underground space, the way out… it’s all a lie too.”

“W-Well…”

“Ran, I understand how you feel, but I also believe this is true.”

“Me too.”

Camian and Annette chimed in.

They seemed to have recovered from the initial shock.

Perhaps it was thanks to their increased mental fortitude from being with me.

“…”

Ran finally fell silent, her face sullen.

I continued, “If it was just an event from the past, we could ignore it. But it’s not.”

“Yes, this underground space was where they tried to seal the Dark God, but failed…”

Annette nodded slowly, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

“Even the Saint and the Great Sage made such a mistake.”

Camian clicked his tongue.

“It was their first time too.”

I said.

At the end of the world-saving battle,

Saint Lepheria, the Great Sage, and the remaining members of the coalition had defeated the Dark God.

But the Dark God hadn’t died.

He was beyond human comprehension, an existence that couldn’t be killed by mortals.

So they had tried to seal him.

Beneath the Holy City, the sacred ground of the Church, the City of God.

Perhaps it was their only way of protesting against God.

A massive construction project, kept secret from the world.

It was only possible thanks to the full cooperation of the world’s leaders.

And it was only possible because Saint Lepheria and the Great Sage were the saviors who had rescued the world from destruction.

Even the Church had to cooperate, as the fact that God had sent an Arbiter was a scandal they had to hide at all costs.

And so, the construction began.

The dwarves were the ones who wielded the shovels.

Because they possessed unparalleled construction skills.

And they were also a race that had been saved by Saint Lepheria and the Great Sage.

Thanks to the dwarves’ skills, the construction was completed smoothly and quickly.

Now all they had to do was seal the Dark God deep underground.

Saint Lepheria and the Great Sage had intended to seal him whole.

They had believed that the Great Sage’s secret arts would be enough.

But,

“No one could have predicted that it would go so wrong.”

I muttered meaningfully.

The sealing failed.

Instead, the Dark God’s power went out of control.

Saint Lepheria and the Great Sage fought desperately to subdue him once again, but it was too late.

The underground space, once ordinary, had been transformed into a bizarre and twisted realm.

Warped by the Dark God’s rampaging power.

In the end, they had no choice but to seal the entire underground space.

That’s how it became a forbidden zone.

“It’s truly a tragedy.”

Annette said sadly.

“By the way… Aren’t you creeped out?”

Camian asked, staring at me with an incredulous look.

“Creeped out?”

“You have that… that thing…”

He didn’t specify what he was talking about, but everyone except Ran understood.

Because they were all involved.

The Heart of ??.

The Eyeball of ??.

Now they knew the identity of the ??.

The Heart of the Dark God.

The Eyeball of the Dark God.

Saint Lepheria and the Great Sage, having failed to seal him whole, had resorted to dismembering him and sealing his body parts separately in various locations around the world.

They had severed his arms, legs, hands, feet, ears, plucked out his eyeballs, ripped out his heart, removed his brain…

Fortunately, their desperate measures had worked, and the world had enjoyed peace for a thousand years.

But it seemed like the peace had lasted too long, because now a troublesome group called the Red Rain had emerged.

And there were even crazies like the Dark God Cultists, who worshipped the Dark God, the Arbiter of God, lurking in the shadows.

Anyway, I now knew the Red Rain’s objective.

To resurrect the Dark God.

I had heard it from the high elf elder.

That the Messenger had mentioned the word “purification” in the Forgotten Forest.

Connecting that word to the Red Rain’s current actions, the answer was clear.

They intended to resurrect the Dark God and destroy the world.

They were insane, believing that destruction was purification.

But I remained calm.

Because I knew that this game world was heading towards destruction anyway.

I had simply learned the method.

“Creeped out? I’m more relieved than anything. What would happen to the world if those things fell into the wrong hands and were used to fully resurrect the Dark God?”

I couldn’t trust the Church.

They were a group that had desperately tried to hide the truth about God sending an Arbiter, without revealing a single word to the world.

They had even gone so far as to blame it on evil, playing along with the other humans.

That’s how the title “Dark God” was born.

Anyway, after a thousand years, only a handful of high-ranking individuals within the Church would know the truth.

And they would still want to keep it hidden forever.

It meant that…

My expression changed as I realized something.

The truth.

We had reached the truth at the end of the underground.

It was something the Church would never want to be revealed.

They had spared us so far, bound by some unknown rule, but there was no guarantee that it would last forever.

If the situation changed…

“Yes, it’s definitely possible.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

Annette and Camian looked at me with puzzled expressions.

I said, “When the situation changes, people’s hearts change too.”