Chapter 466: What Am I The God Of Again?

Silence fell as Cha Yeon-Joo and Oh Kang-Woo looked at each other awkwardly. Kang-Woo bit his lip anxiously.

'Shit.'

It was not like he had thought that he had become light itself after preaching it all the time. He knew very well that he possessed the Deific Essence of a predator underneath the façade of Splendor.

'But you hid it for me all this time.'

Although there had been question marks next to it, the System hid his true Deific Essence until now. It was likely thanks to the Deific Essence of Lies that he possessed before Voracity.

'So why?'

Why were they snitching on him so blatantly this time?

"... Did you say Deific Essence of Voracity?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Uhh, yeah."

"Fuuu."

Kang-Woo took a deep breath and clenched his fists as he thought about the System.

'I can communicate with them to some extent if I remember correctly.'

It was around when he had completed the Road to Becoming a Demon God quest.

'I don't know how, but...'

The System was able to read the minds of individuals and possessed an ego that was closer to artificial intelligence than that of a person.

'In that case.'

He had a feeling that his sincere feelings would reach them.

'System. System. What's with you all of a sudden? Was the bond between us that shallow? Hm? You're the Law of Titans, right? There's gonna be issues if you keep doing stuff like this. I told you before, didn't I? I'm gonna come after you once I deal with Bael. Screw the Law of Titans. The Gaia System is gone anyway, so how about I destroy you too? Hm? How about I just fucking destroy everything?'

Riiing.

[It is strictly prohibited for a being with no privileges to meddle with the Law.]

'I'm not asking for much, am I? You're just editing one word. This is good for both of us, don't you agree?'

[It is strictly prohibited...]

'Hm? You want to protect the world too, don't you? Isn't that why you put restrictions on the gods and blocked otherworldly invasions until now?'

[F-For a being with no privileges to...]

'Fucking fine. Let's just speedrun straight to the bad ending, then. I'm just gonna keep running away from Bael, okay? I'm sure he'll devour every world in his path to chase after me. Do you think he's gonna leave the Titans alone? I guess we can just all die together miserably ever after.'

[...]

'I'm out here busting my ass trying to save the world, but the System that's supposed to be managing the world is not only being unhelpful but getting in my way?'

[The privileges of the auxiliary control system 'Eve' have greatly reduced due to the Law's privileges being transferred to Bael—]

'Huh? More excuses? Is that all you have to say for yourself? Do you even love me?'

[Why am I being treated like a lover caught in an affair?]

'Forget it! It's over between us!'

[...]

An awkward silence fell. Moments later...

Riiing.

[A System error has been detected.]

[You have acquired a portion of the 'Deific Essence of (fucking) Splendor!']

"... Huh?" Yeon-Joo stared at the blue message window with her mouth agape again.

"What's wrong?" Kang-Woo asked.

"Th-The contents changed. A System error...? I-I've never seen something like this. But what's with the fucking in brackets...?"

"Oh, I've experienced that a few times too."

"You too?"

"Yeah. There have been many instances of errors popping up on message windows lately. I think it's because of the Gaia System's collapse."

Yeon-Joo tilted her head, confused by Kang-Woo's words. "Didn't you say before that the messages Players get have nothing to do with the Gaia System? You said it had to do with, uhhh... what was it? Earth's protection? That thing."

"Yeah. The Gaia System refers to the barrier that protects Earth from otherworldly invasions, and the message windows that Players get are produced by a superior system known as the Law of Titans."

"Then—"

"But you can't say that they're completely unrelated to each other. You know who the privileges of the Law of Titans have been transferred to, don't you?"

"... Bael."

"Exactly. There's no way he just left the System be."

"..."

Yeon-Joo nodded reluctantly. She more or less understood what Kang-Woo was talking about, but she couldn't help but feel that things did not add up.

'No matter how much I think about it, it sounds way too forced.'

She was able to tell from how flustered Kang-Woo had been when she mentioned the Deific Essence of Voracity.

'Getting such a reaction out of that snake means I've hit the bullseye.'

Kang-Woo would have expertly talked his way out of the situation if it was trivial, but Yeon-Joo couldn't help but be doubtful since he had been so flustered. No, even if she left all that aside, it made no sense to push it off as a System error.

"..." Yeon-Joo crossed her arms and glared at Kang-Woo. "... I knew it was strange."

"What was?"

"Hmph, what else? That you're the God of Splendor."

"..." Yeon-Joo continued triumphantly, "I at least believe that I know you better than Kim Si-Hun. All your talk about being the light and salvation is an act, isn't it?"

A lioness never let go of their prey once she had them in her clutches.

"To be honest, you're more fitting as the villain than the savior of the world, wouldn't you say?" Yeon-Joo asked.

"..."

Yeon-Joo smiled as she looked at Kang-Woo who couldn't make any excuses. She could feel that she had the upper hand. She shrugged and nodded.

"Well, I understand. I'm sure you were hesitant to say that you became the God of Voracity to Gaia and the other gods. Just the name makes you sound like an evil god." Yeon-Joo patted Kang-Woo's shoulder as if she understood and continued, "Hmph, but I don't think of you as an evil god. You're sly, a pervert, and a goddamn scumbag, but you're working harder than anyone to protect the world, aren't you? So... you can be honest with me, okay? We're soulmates, aren't we? Soulmates shouldn't be hiding anything from each other."

Yeon-Joo continued to press Kang-Woo's weakness with a wide smile. She couldn't help but shrug from the satisfaction of exacting revenge.

"... Yeon-Joo," Kang-Woo said to the brightly smiling Yeon-Joo. "What are you talking about? I'm the God of Splendor."

"Hmph," Yeon-Joo snorted as if telling Kang-Woo not to lie. "Are you trying to talk your way out of this? I already know that you're not the God of Splendor from your reaction."

She shook her head as she clicked her tongue. She then recited a line that could be straight out of a manga, "Who cares if your Deific Essence is Splendor or Voracity? What matters is that you're Oh Kang-Woo, right? Anyway, I don't care what god you are, so just be honest with me."

'That's different from me getting hold of your weakness, though.'

Yeon-Joo smirked. There was no way that she would let go of Kang-Woo's weakness that she had barely managed to obtain. She didn't give a damn about what God Kang-Woo was, but Gaia surely would.

'Hihihi.'

She couldn't help but giggle as she thought about all sorts of things that she would order Kang-Woo to do.

'First, I'll take revenge for earlier.'

Yeon-Joo's eyes set ablaze. She was planning on exacting divine punishment on the man who had toyed with her feelings.

"No, it doesn't matter whether you care or not." Kang-Woo slowly raised his head and continued with a serious expression, "Trust me, Yeon-Joo. I'm not the God of Voracity, but the God of Splendor."

"Why are you trying so hard to hide—"

Kang-Woo took out his smartphone before the irritated Yeon-Joo could finish her sentence and clicked on something.

- I-I'll never forget about what you're going to do to me today.

A familiar voice came out of the smartphone.

"...!!" Yeon-Joo's eyes widened in shock as she trembled. "Y-You bastard, don't tell me..."

"Haaa. Yeon-Joo." Kang-Woo sighed deeply and continued, "Why don't you believe me?"

- You idiot. Wh-Why would you... so forcefully...

"Why don't you understand how I feel?"

- You didn't have to do this... As long as you properly confessed, I would have...

"We became soulmates who trust and rely on each other!" Kang-Woo clenched his fists in sorrow and shouted, "So why won't you believe me?!"

- I OFFER MY BODY!! TO THE GREAT!! GOD OF SPLENDOOOOOOOOR!!!

A desperate scream flowed out from the smartphone.

"..."

Yeon-Joo trembled in pallor. She thought about immediately snatching the smartphone away and crushing it, but she knew how unrealistic it was considering who was holding it.

"Y-You goddamn... fucking b-bastard."

"Yeon-Joo..." Kang-Woo raised his smartphone volume to the max and grabbed Yeon-Joo's shoulder. "Tell me."

- O-Oppa~!

"What am I... the god of again?"

A deathly silence fell in the room. Yeon-Joo collapsed on the spot.

"Hurgh. Waaaaahh." Tears flowed down her cheeks as she wept pitifully. She said with all her might, "Th-The God... of Splendor."

Kang-Woo wiped his own tears away and nodded. "Thank you... Thank you so much for believing in me."

The truth always won. Blinding golden light poured out of Kang-Woo.

***

A boy sitting on top of a red hill made of dry sand suddenly looked up into the sky.

"Heh," the boy laughed.

"Is something wrong?" asked a musclebound giant who was kneeling next to the boy.

He was Marax, a demon subordinate of Bael and the Third Heaven. Bael crouched as he gripped his stomach without answering Marax.

"Pfft! Hahahahahahaha!!" A crazed laughter echoed throughout the arid hill. "I can't believe he meddled with the Law without any privileges."

The boy's eyes were fierce despite his bright smile. He clacked his teeth and licked his lips.

"Really..."

The Demon King always exceeded his expectations and looked down on him from above as if mocking him.

Grit.

"It's... not you." The boy's eyes filled with madness. He continued, "You're not... the master of the Demonic Sea. I am."

The boy burst into laughter as he panted heavily.

"Well, whatever."

Viscous demonic energy flowed out of the boy as he looked up into the sky. He opened and closed his hand repeatedly as if grabbing something invisible and smiled.

"Hehe." The boy said innocently, "It's about time... they arrived."

The boy hummed in anticipation.

"I wonder what otherworldly beings taste like?" He licked his lips and thought about the Demon King. "You're curious too, aren't you?"

The boy laughed as he shrugged.

Spark.

A small Rift appeared in the sky that the boy was looking up at.