Chapter 289. Star Of Transcendence (5)

Hansoo clutched his head as he activated the Demonic Dragon Reinforcement.

‘… My soul is about to break apart.’

Though he had bought time after eating up the spirit, it was hard for him to battle for prolonged periods of time.

But he had a feeling.

‘Something’s not right.’

The virtual reality game the 3rd grade citizens were enjoying in the past.

And the 1st and the frozen 2nd grade citizens who had been attacked suddenly.

The players who played the game Exodus as well as the residents.

The residents he could understand to a degree.

Since it wasn’t impossible if Tiamet had dealt with the 1st grade citizens and established a nation with the 2nd and 3rd grade citizens.

But the players were different.

The 3rd grade citizens who should only exist in virtual reality were actually walking around here.

Of course there was no guarantee that the players here and the 3rd grade citizens of the past were the same people.

No, they should be different.

But Hansoo saw.

The face of the girl who Tiamet was holding onto and was trying to protect.

That face was somebody he knew.

No, it was a face which anybody in this world would know.

‘Clan leader of the Kalikul clan.’

Clan lord, Astania.

Someone who had gained the ownership of the special territory next to the Empire’s capital despite being a player and the person who shone the most out of the clan lords of the 15 great clans.

Their names and appearances were exactly the same.

This was too much to call it a coincidence.

If the existences that could only live within virtual reality in the past were actually walking around in reality then Tiamet had really fucked something up.

And there was only one thing that could explain this whole situation.

A contract.

Tiamet’s final words which said that he had made a contract with the devil.

Booom.

“Speak. What is the contract you made in the past.”

Hansoo choked Tiamet as he mumbled.

“Kuhuk…”

Tiamet gritted his teeth as he vomited out blood.

Because he had erased the special characteristics of all the enhanced race from himself in order to resist the orders of the 1st grade citizens… The snowstorm around him was continuously gnawing away at him.

There was no way to defeat Hansoo anymore.

‘This is the end, huh…’

The first thing he thought of was that thing.

The reason for his thousand years of hard work.

‘Those things…’

Tiamet chuckled as he thought of the fairies.

“Yeah… If you fused then you should’ve seen a bit of the past through Mudusella’s memory. Well you see, I’ve only asked for a small thing but I don’t know why things have become like this.”

Tiamet thought of the past.

***

The fairy-like existence from the past spoke to him.

And told him that he had done more than enough to have the right to ask them for something.

— Well, I really shouldn’t give anything out. But a trade if possible. You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to.

And Tiamet grinded his teeth at the fairy’s suggestion.

He had heard before.

That none of the devil’s deals were proper nor good.

A one-sided trade designed for the enjoyment of the devil.

The other party who trades with the devil will be driven into destruction.

Tiamet smirked at himself who had accepted this offer.

But he knew now.

As to why all those stories told him to be wary of the devil’s offer but why none of them refused it.

‘This is it, huh.’

Humans didn’t trade with the devil because they were weak or evil.

The devil was.

This evil thing.

It appeared right when the humans were at their weakest point in life.

That point when the humans could not deny it.

‘Kekeke.’

Tiamet realized as he looked at the fairy which was smiling in a vicious manner.

That he himself was at the weakest point of his life.

— I accept.

There was only one wish in his head.

To acquire a space where he and Astania could live together.

Destroying the 1st grade citizens or something.

And as he wished.

The fairy smirked.

— Half of it is okay… Since it’s a bit much for me to personally intervene, you do as much as you can. This place is under your jurisdiction after all.

Nepallem smiled while nodding and then stretched his hand towards the tower.

And soon.

Booooooom!

The giant tower went crazy and started to reverse the power that was pushing away the calamity that was covering the entire planet.

The ashy clouds disappeared as sunlight landed on the land across the mountain range.

Tiamet realized.

That the giant Obelisk which Nepallem had made had the power to solve this calamity.

— This bastard…

Of course he didn’t care whether the citizens died or not.

But he couldn’t help but feel disgusted at this man all of a sudden.

Nepalem suddenly spoke.

— While the obelisk is working, the third grade citizens cannot come out. Since it’s all activated with the Mudusella System as the basis. And that’s the same… For that woman.

— What?

Astania’s body disappeared into thin air.

Towards the inner parts of the Obelisk.

— What are you doing?!

— This is just a hostage. You see, it’s a contract. There’s no free lunch in this world. This is as much as we can do. And, another thing…

Nepalem approached Tiamet and lifted his hands towards the back of Tiamet’s neck.

— …!

Tiamet instinctively tried to attack Nepalem and attacked him with the white beam.

But it was futile.

— It’s not anything bad.

— What the…

The white beam was deflected away and Nepallem’s hand grasped onto the back of his neck.

Like an adult holding down a kid.

Everyone thought that Nepallem wasn’t any stronger than a 1st grade citizen no matter how much of a genius he was.

But for him to suppress Tiamet this easily.

Nepalem used a strange energy and controlled the chipset.

Booooom!

White light started to explode out from Tiamet’s body.

— In order to allow the full extent of your potential… A limiter would just get in the way.

The secret only the developer knew.

Nepalem smiled as he removed the limiter.

And Tiamet looked at his body in shock.

— What…

Power was rushing throughout his body.

Nepallem laughed towards Tiamet.

— This is as much as we can do for you. The girl is a hostage, remember.

— … A hostage?

Nepallem laughed.

— This is a trade. there’s only one reason why we’re on your side. Fulfill the reason why you were born.

***

It was simple after this really.

Though it was still a bit hard for him to go up against all of the 1st grade citizens and the enhanced race members but they were all spread out inside the ship.

He just needed to smash them apart one by one.

He killed all of the 1st grade citizens who had the power to control the enhanced race.

And he had saved all of the 2nd grade citizens and the Ains.

Since he knew it was impossible for him to do this all alone.

Nepallem’s condition was simple.

— Become strong. More than anybody else. There’s nothing for us to receive from you yet. When the time comes… We will come. We’ll let go of the girl as well. At that point our trade will be complete.

Until he transcended and attained the power to escape this world with his Skill of Annihilation.

So he had used the 2nd grade citizens and the Ains to create the White Dragon Arena.

And had sealed the Ains who could become a variable.

As the secrecy of this all was a requirement that the fairy added in into their deal.

— Whom do I need to keep this a secret from?

Tiamet asked back in confusion.

All the 3rd grade citizens were asleep and the 2nd grade citizens and the Ains knew about the history already.

The fairy responded.

— This world is going to be recycled. when that happens, focus on keeping this secret. Since it’s easier to use them if they don’t know anything.

And he realized after close to a thousand years.

Whom he needed to keep this a secret from.

— This is insane…

The tens of millions of people’s information were inside the obelisk.

Tiamet was shocked as he looked at the 3rd grade citizens who were reviving with erased memories with that information as the basis.

He then realized.

— That thing doesn’t treat us as anything other than toys.

And he realized this was even more true as he saw these ‘adventurers’ getting hunted down by the 3rd grade citizens.

He finally realized what being recycled meant.

Tiamet had finally started to understand what the final words of Nepallem were.

— Live with some confidence. You have that right. Isn’t the previous world you lived in quite dull? it was just a nursery after all.

***

‘… I guess I failed hold up my end of the contract.’

Tiamet spoke to Hansoo with a defeated expression.

“You wouldn’t’ allow me to live.”

Tiamet looked at Hansoo who wasn’t responding and nodded.

There was no reason for Hansoo to keep him alive.

Since this was the only chance he had to kill him.

And it was clear from what Hansoo was holding with his hand.

Badump. Badump.

The hand that had entered through his ribs and had grasped his heart.

He had failed.

He had failed to transcend and release Astania from being a hostage.

‘I really worked hard for a thousand years.’

It wasn’t that bad.

Since Astania would continue to live in this world.

In immortality.

‘Better than dying.’

He could just refuse to speak of the past but he did on purpose.

Because…

“You wouldn’t be able to escape it either. Because you…”

As Tiamet smirked.

Booooooom!

In the distance.

The giant spaceship in the outskirts of the city started to activate.

***

“What the… Why is this working?”

As one of the players made a shocked expression.

“Can we see outside if we turn it on? Try turning it on, I want to see what’s going on.”

“… Mmm. Okay.”

As one of the players fumbled with the panel.

One of them recorded the inner parts of the spaceship and broadcasted it.

“Now, shall we see what’s going on outside? Since this spaceship was falling across the mountain range… We will be able to see the scene behind it now right? This is being broadcasted for the first time.”

One of the Kalikul clansman laughed as he started the broadcast.