Chapter 329

Deity's Death (2)

Janus was the first to awaken an SSS+ rank. At the age of five, she became the master of the mythical era, trampling on countless enemies to reach the top of the world. She was strong, talented, and her growth knew no limits. But... that's why she became arrogant.

'I don't like it.'

An absolute person who had the chosen one's traits and informed mankind of the monsters' threat. A being who had been around her since birth and who dared to escape no matter how much she grew. Gaia. Unlike the vast majority of humans who accepted and purely followed it, she questioned it. Therefore, she tried hard to escape the influence of the Gaia system and became a transcendental person. Finally, as a result, she was able to escape a little from it.

'I can't do this.'

However, everyone but her was still under the influence of the system, and through interaction with them, she was also indirectly under its influence. What was most unacceptable to Janus was the Gaia system's secret that she naturally realized in becoming a transcendent. Originally, mana naturally sprung up and wasn't controlled. However, the Gaia system was able to artificially control it to affect the occurrence of monsters or awaken certain people. The Gaia system, Gaia, used it to change the world to her tastes.

Of course, it was controlled for the survival of humanity, and it had been a great help to them by awakening those capable and creating monsters in less dangerous places. But, what if Gaia felt different at some point? Or what if it were all camouflage, and in fact, this was just the preliminary work to control the mana of the entire universe? The Gaia system was perceived as too natural among humans, which meant they were too dependent on it. If it suddenly vanished one day, then there would be a lot of trouble. However, if it went the opposite way, the world would collapse without any chance to resist.

Janus's suspicions, having not liked Gaia in the first place, swelling up at that thought, and eventually, she arrived at the idea that Gaia should be punished. That existence of mankind should be under the control of mankind's power; they couldn't entrust their fate to other absolutes. As the world's representative, Janus came to that conclusion. Those who were already living well under the Gaia system might not understand her feelings, but some of the humans on the cultured worlds must've understood. Wasn't that the very heart of Lex Luthor, who wanted to kill Superman?

'Kill.'

Janus, who embraced the will of god, trained even more intensely from that moment on. It took quite a long time, but her traits evolved over and over until she finally reached a point where she could not understand herself. After training, she finally succeeded in crossing the dimensional wall and traced the connection with the absolute who had interfered with her the moment she awakened to find Gaia.

And then, she stabbed her.

***

"You killed her?"

"Yes."

Kang Shin-hyuk narrowed his eyes at Janus, who quietly nodded. Time had stopped for all but Janus, himself, and the now-dead Gaia. His trait had evolved, and [Dawn] was still active, but stopping time wasn't easy. If Janus hadn't urgently asked him to, he wouldn't even have tried to.

"But you spend that time to tell your own past?"

"Did I really kill her? These memories remain so vague. The problem is what happens next. Gaia has already reached the realm of myth. She can make herself pure light and won't completely perish even when she dies..."

"How much do you want to kill her that you even dreamed about it?"

"No, you stuffy grandfather, think about it!"

Janus raised her hand and banged it on her chest, but Kang Shin-hyuk, who already had a girlfriend with a better chest than Janus, wasn't shaken at all.

"Did you ever wonder why I asked you to make the Godslayer? It was because I concluded I couldn't kill a god without one! I even caught the last dragon left in the world, and I... Huh?"

"Hmm."

It was difficult to tell whether she was telling the truth or not, but given how resentful Janus seemed, he decided to pretend to accept her words.

"So, what? Did she not really die?"

"Right. She's not dead. Besides, you may know now, but with the birth of Jormungand and the Hero Universe, the universe had been completely transformed."

"Right."

"In the process, instead of the past where I killed Gaia, a new one emerged."

Janus showed her bare back to Kang Shin-hyuk. The clothing was torn from the Chiral that had come out.

"The past that I met with Gaia and divided into two by Chiral."

"It was the moment you joined the Hero Universe under the name of Janus."

"I don't know exactly when, but maybe that's it."

She challenged the gods in the past, and in return for her defeat, she became a subordinate who moved according to Gaia's will to spy on the Hero Universe. Loki, who named Jormungand himself, was probably in a different situation, but honestly, he didn't know.

"So Grandpa, I cut her neck, but it's hard to kill her."

"Is that why you asked me to stop time...?"

Kang Shin-hyuk calmly measured the limits of his abilities. He couldn't get the perfect jewel and collapse the sky, but he finally realized his harmony and ascended to heaven. Yet, even with that unmeasurable ability, it was difficult to stop time blindly. Well, especially since he just acquired the trait.

"Then, I'll release it now."

Kang Shin-hyuk let out a sigh. He wouldn't have bothered if he had known what she was asking for. It was too unreasonable for this difficult to control ability.

"No, wait a minute, grandfather! Are you listening to me?"

"Did you cut everything without thinking? I'm sorry, but I wasn't."

He turned away and swung his sword lightly, causing the passage of time to flow again. The others around them noticed Kang Shin-hyuk by Janus.

"Did you stop time, Anvil?"

"Tsukuyo, don't let anyone interfere."

"Oh, yes!"

Even though the Godslayer was made with the intent of killing a god, it couldn't easily destroy Gaia's existence. Since Gaia was a being that transformed itself into light, and the Godslayer was in an imperfect state. Nevertheless, the sword still remained and was preventing Gaia's resurrection.

"Now, it's done."

Ascaldin muttered in vain as he saw the collapsed Gaia.

"Have you ever thought about how much confusion will come if the Gaia system collapses? A few worlds many come to our transcendentals, but many other mortals? What do you mean for those who can't handle power? Janus, Anvil! Because of your personal greed, countless worlds will come to an end!"

"The Gaia system won't collapse."

Kang Shin-hyuk responded lightly.

"What?"

"No, don't you have to leave it under the name Gaia system? I can just put it together."

"Now, what are you talking about?"

"I mean the Hero Universe. Everyone here is a member."

Kang Shin-hyuk reached out and gathered the light emanating from Gaia's body. Lee Na-hee was looking for a way to help, but unfortunately, there was no room for her in this craft. As he had done a few times in the past, it was more comfortable to work alone with Kang Shin-hyuk.

"Have you ever thought of lacking somewhere?"

"Lacking... What?"

"To be honest, there are so many features."

"Anvil, what are you saying?"

Each VIP member, who guessed the one who was more closely related to the Hero Universe than anyone else was Anvil, seemed confused. Miyang, who was still on his head, pulled on his hair.

"Explain, Anvil."

"Wait a minute; this task requires focus."

"What, wow..."

Gaia's body, which had transformed into a mass of light, was united in his hands. Was that all? A gate opened on its own, and light spilled onto Gaia's body. Anyone who was aware of it noticed that the gate led to Gaia's subworld.

"What. Are you uniting the world now?"

"There will be no other world that can handle this light except here, the source of all darkness. Gaia's processing work can only be done here."

"Processing...?"

"Oh, I'll explain."

Kang Shin-hyuk responded calmly as the body of god was united together.

"For transcendental people, the Hero Universe is nothing more than a play space. But why does the Hero Universe have so many convenient features? It can even have a great influence on a capable person's growth."

"That's..."

"I can say so with confidence because I was born again and started from the bottom. The Hero Universe wasn't created for the purpose of a community of transcendental people. That means it's incomplete."

How much help had he received from the Hero Universe? Of course, he had received even more due to his VIP status, but it would greatly help the growth of those talented even if they had just the general trading board function of the Hero Universe. And, in short, some of the features meant nothing to the transcendentals. Today's Hero Universe still felt like it was in beta, but it couldn't be reborn into a complete form because someone had interfered with it.

"You mean Gaia?"

"Gaia always hated the Hero Universe invading her realm. It makes sense."

"Does that mean that the target of the Hero Universe isn't only for those who have the qualifications of transcendence, but also other capable people?"

"If there is no Gaia system."

Kang Shin-hyuk laughed lightly as he lifted up the lump of light that had been completed in the form of a single orb. Everyone around was overwhelmed to see it and fell silent.

"The Hero Universe could be a system that oversees the entire universe."

A complete and independent community separate from the Gaia system.

Now was the time to complete it.