Chapter 689

"Hyung-nim."

"It's President, you punk. What era do you think we're living in, huh? Do you think we're fucking copying gangsters in the late '80s?"

"President, we lost contact with the other guys."

"Damn bastards. They begged people to come because they couldn't protect a single castle on their own, and then they just vanished from the face of the earth?" The middle-aged man spat and sighed in irritation.

This man was the leader of the Sirius Guild and had been doing business inside the game.

How could one do business inside a game? A player could make money in a game with the gold they earn through gaming macros. To put it simply, the business was all about getting transactions and exchanging goods with cash.

But Alf Online was different. It was the goose that laid the golden egg. A lot of things inside the game were still undiscovered and unknown. What did that mean? It meant that they still had a great deal of possibilities and freedom in the game to take advantage of. And since he knew that the cash to goods value was high in Alf Online, the man believed that this was the best way for him to gain money.

Bang!!! Bang!!!

"President, the traffic going to the Dongho Bridge is held up. I think there has been an accident."

"You punk! Did the Hannam Bridge[1] collapse, huh?"

"Ah... Yes."

"You fucker. Then use a different route!"

The man knew that he was getting too agitated for no reason. But he blamed this on the fact that his driver was extremely clueless and stupid. The man gritted his teeth as he settled back on his seat. He then started to ponder how he would clean up those people with whom they suddenly lost contact.

"These bastards, if they did not betray me in droves then..."

Was there a reason why these people, who had not shown any signs of problem before, suddenly lost contact with them? They didn't even have any aggressive competitors in the field.

With this thought running in his head, the middle-aged man could not help but think more deeply about the matter.

Thud!!!

But the car suddenly lurched forward, causing the man to slowly straighten his posture on his seat with a frown on his face.

"Ugh..."

"Hey! You fucking bastard! Do you even know how to drive properly?!"

"I'm, I'm so sorry! The cars in front of me suddenly stopped..."

Just like the driver said, the cars in front of them had stopped. There seemed to be a large-scale accident, judging from the black smoke billowing to the sky.

Bang!!!

Then a motorcyclist, who was probably ahead of them in the traffic, backtracked by quickly taking advantage of the gaps in between the cars..

The man's frown deepened when he saw this scene. "Haa. What the fuck is wrong with that guy, huh? Damn it. Has my luck run out?"

He slowly got out of the car, and when he saw the scene of the accident, the frown on his face worsened. Seeing such a shocking sight even made his thick and heavy accent become apparent when he said, "Fuck. What the hell is that?"

Up ahead on the bridge was a massive body that was curled up. The gigantic creature, which appeared to be tens or possibly hundreds of meters tall, slowly stretched its two feet and started to rise.

"Am I looking at an illusion?"

Witnessing something unknown, fear and terror began to surge within him. Even though he was someone who wasn't fazed by most things and even absurdly knew how to hack someone with a sharp blade, what was happening in front of him was on an entirely different level.

Not long after, the colossal monster slowly turned its head. And as soon as the man saw the terrifyingly eerie gaze of the creature, a dangerous yellow fog emerged and engulfed the entire area.

The ancient being wreaked havoc and brought countless catastrophes to the world from the minute it opened its eyes, crying out for destruction.

At the same time, in Alf Online, some of the players who were enjoying the game began to change.

***

In a silent desert that was devoid of sandstorm...

Observing the extent of the hunting ground's transformation, Davey wondered whether such a change could really be possible.

Alf Online was basically a game that was designed to recover quickly, so that no significant changes would occur. Unless, of course, the situation was special. In other words, the forest would quickly recover and regain its original appearance eventually, even if it was entirely burned and turned into ashes.

But the vast and endless desert in front of Davey showed no signs of regaining its original appearance.

"Hehehe. Isn't it pretty?" Eclipse smiled bashfully as she circled around Davey, who was still catching his breath.

'What a fucking cheat. I thought the Absolute Gem was sleeping somewhere in the Peslisa Continent. How could she bring it here?'

Davey rubbed his eyes roughly, trying to remove the annoying red color that blocked most of his sight.

Pain was a very good indicator of how his body was faring. But in situations where his life was in danger, it would be detrimental if the pain became too much. This was why he would often use magic to relieve the pain whenever he fought in battles at a certain level.

But perhaps that magic had become defective? Or maybe it was because the injuries that he sustained were so severe that it could no longer be nullified even after the magic had gradually eased the pain?

Davey, who had activated the Saint's Title, frowned when he felt the speed of the power's activation being far too slow. This was the result of Davey expending every bit of the power Goddess Freyja had given him for the elevation of his spirit's level. After all, not everything would go as planned, right?

Davey, who was watching Eclipse giggle around him, used the Power of Taboo to break the leather pouch in her hands. Then he stretched out his hand and reached for the gem.

'I don't know about anything else, but it would be a problem for me if this gets lost.'

If that happened, an irreversible situation might arise.

After the encounter with Overmind, Davey realized that he would no longer die so easily. But for the very first time, he found himself in a very embarrassing situation.

Bang!!!

Eclipse's purple eyes grew wide in shock when Davey suddenly resisted her.

Without the synchronization of his body and soul, even the hem of Eclipse's skirt was out of Davey's reach. But he was able to put up resistance by directly attacking her with the Power of Taboo.

Davey blindly believed in the Power of Taboo. This unwavering belief actually stemmed from his judgment that his power had grown to the extent that he could already take on at least one of the Princesses of the Abyss, even without the synchronization of his body and soul..

The problem was Eclipse was on an entirely different level.

"Are you for real?"

Boom!!!

Davey's entire arm was ripped off as the space in front of him got torn apart.

As if she was a wounded child, Eclipse wept and sobbed, saying, "Sob... sob... Brother tried to hit Eclipse... Eclipse will hit you!!!"

Davey vomited a mouthful of blood as he looked at his missing right arm. He then went on to ask, "What the hell are you? How can you withstand the Power of Taboo?"

Not only that, but even her hardware was leagues superior than Urd's and Sleesia's. And with the uniqueness of her non-physical attributes, there was no longer a sliver of chance for Davey to defeat her.

It wasn't that Eclipse was blocking or countering Davey's power. She simply didn't have any reason to be influenced by it because she was immuned to the Power of Taboo. Something about her rendered the other kinds of Davey's power ineffective..

There was nothing complicated about Eclipse's ability.. Basically, whatever power used within her realm would simply fade into nothingness. Everything inside her realm would be thoroughly destroyed, to the extent that it could be considered extinct or have faced its utter demise.

So, how could Davey force her to reveal her true nature?

'Come to think of it... Isn't she similar to Perserque?'

"I can't die just like this."

"Sob... sob, sob... Uwaaaaaaaah!!!"

Perhaps the crying Eclipse's grievances had reached the peak. That was why she started charging toward Davey. As he watched her get closer and closer to him, Davey's mind was filled with a single thought of: 'At this rate, I will definitely die.'

There was nothing else he could do to stop her from charging forward. The only thing that he could possibly use was... Possession. But if he used Possession while he was in such a battered state, he would not be able to control it. And if he were to be honest, he wasn't even sure if he could properly execute it.

Crack!!!

When Davey felt a huge blow land on the back of his neck, he heard his bones crack loudly, and his body lost the ability to feel anything. He then collapsed on the ground.

Weeping, Eclipse slowly approached him. Then, with her small hands, she easily grabbed Davey by the neck as tears rolled down her cheeks in rivulets.

"Eclipse... Eclipse just wanted to play..."

"Ah!"

"Why can't you play with Eclipse? Why? Why can't you just play with Eclipse?! Why do you hate Eclipse, brother?!"

Bang!!!

"Brother! Bad! Eclipse will hit you!"

Bang!!!

"Eclipse likes brother! Eclipse just wants to play with brother!!!"

Eclipse raised one hand and slapped Davey. With every hit of her palm, the ground churned behind him, creating a storm. And the pressure from her overwhelming and uncontrolled force affected the surrounding area and created a crater beneath them.

Sand began to rain down because of the storm she had caused with every strike of her hand on Davey. But before any speck of sand could land on her, it would disappear into nothing.

After slapping Davey and causing several explosions in a row, Eclipse finally grew tired of it. She huffed, sat down, and continued to sob.

"Sob... Sob, sob... Waaaaaaaaah!!!"

While she wailed and cried by herself, Davey was busy trying to cling to the last vestiges of consciousness he still had in him. But despite his belief that he wouldn't die so easily, his body was quickly turning cold, as though it was rushing toward death.

Davey could only chuckle despondently as he activated his title of Saint so he could use Possession. But he didn't really have a choice other than to use this method, even though it was actually a countermeasure that was most dangerous for him.

"Sob... Sob, sob... Eclipse hates brother! Eclipse will scold you, bad brother!"

Strange and indescribable black holes began to appear behind the sobbing and crying Eclipse, who was slowly making her way back to Davey. These gigantic spheres, which had the ability to bend the space-time continuum and even absorb everything, including light and gravity, were different from the black holes described in theories.

Although the spheres looked like they were sucking in everything around them, they were actually warping and distorting everything that was within its range. Basically, it was the manifestation of the power of extinction.

The strange spheres steadily ascended to the sky above them, seemingly responding to the sorrow of Eclipse. A ray of dark purple light then appeared around the spheres before getting sucked inside. Then, like branches connecting the ground to the spheres, sand also rose and rushed toward them before ultimately getting drawn inside. The sand branches then crumbled quickly and vanished out of sight.

'If those things fell, will I even have a shred of soul left?'

Davey did not know for sure but he had a strong hunch that if those spheres fell on him, not even the Lasting Ember could bring him back to life.

Davey didn't know for sure, but perhaps it was only natural that this monstrous being could withstand the power of Hercules. In the first place, she was not originally born as a Princess of the Abyss. She was an ancient being that existed around the same time as Hercules.

And Davey couldn't help but wonder if she knew a bit about Hercules.

After Eclipse's will, the spheres carrying the power of extinction began to fall sporadically. While they were moving at a very slow speed, Davey perceived such movements to be far too huge and abrupt.

Beep!

[Equipping the Title: Saint]

'Since I'm already in a situation where I will die...'

Davey could only grin weakly when he checked the situation of his body. It was even hard for him to raise a single finger.

"I have to at least take down one fucking bastard with me, no?"

[You have used the Saint's Title. Activating the second unsealed ability, Possession.]

'That's right.'

Davey flashed a bitter smile at Eclipse, who had reached out her hands toward him.

"I'm sorry. Even if you're a clueless and naive brat, you should have learned how to do things in moderation."

Thud!!!

[Synchronizing. Carrying out Possession following the will of the Lunatic Davey O'Rowane.]

Shocked by the half-broken characters that appeared in front of her, Eclipse retreated. She watched with wide eyes as a bright and blinding light slammed onto the area that had once been a forest but had transformed into a vast and seemingly endless desert.

'You shouldn't bring an adult in a children's fight.'

In the face of the Absolute Will, which has existed since the beginning of time, Thanatos was still nothing, no matter how powerful he had grown as he became twisted for a long time.

Boom!!!

Tremendous power came pouring in. But Davey was in a situation where he could not even lift a single finger. Even if he used the two yellow cards issued to him by Goddess Freyja to increase the level of his spirit, there was no way that she would be complacent enough to transfer her will directly to a body like this.

Davey felt like this was the last thing he would ever see. But it did not matter to him.

Davey could feel a huge presence starting to encroach on his will as the dazzling light engulfed his body. It was the will of Goddess Freyja, who had started the process of accepting Davey as her bride, or rather, her spouse, so she could unite the two of them as one. Davey then felt himself slowly ascend, still enveloped in the dazzling light.

When Eclipse saw how Davey had started to change and transform into the image of god that he had taken on before, her purple eyes widened in utter shock.

"Brother?"

At her question, Davey, who had lost control of his own body, slowly stretched his hand out towards her.

Inside the light, Davey saw the figure of a little girl, who was looking up at him. Although she looked quite similar to Rinne, the girl was still distinct from her in several ways, like how her hair was so long that it reached her calves.

[I will now accept you as my bride and fulfill the contract.]

The girl reached out to Davey, as if she intended to take him without giving him a single chance to go against her. Then, as if responding to her gesture, Davey's will slowly left his body. It then began to move toward her outstretched hands.

Davey could no longer resist now that he had lost some of the blessings and protections bestowed on him by those in the Hall of Heroes and the things that had protected him vanished. All that he could do at this point was to accept the fact that he would become one with Goddess Freyja.

But just before Davey's will reached her hand, something shocking happened.

[This... Irreverent one...]

A strange light flashed in her eyes for the first time, just as an odd scar with a distinctive pattern began to appear on Davey's wrist. It was a stigmata, but it was not the same as the enormous scar that Goddess Freyja bestowed on Davey's back.

[Using the last of my will... I bestow my blessings unto you.]

When Davey had planted the Supernova Explosion in the Abyss back then, Neltarid's divine entity had called and summoned him.

Davey could only guess at this point that Neltarid had taken the opportunity to bestow him another blessing.

After Davey had consumed a substantial amount of the goddess' power, his body had already changed over and over again, and all of his powers were strengthened and enhanced by the immense holy power that filled his body.

Davey now bore two stigmatas: the one from Goddess Freyja on his back and the one from Neltarid on his wrist.

"Oh no, what do we do? Will you still embrace and take over this filthy saint's body, which still carries the stains of another god?"

There was a huge difference between the realms of Neltarid, who was half-baked, and of Goddess Freyja, the complete Primal Will. So, why was Goddess Freyja known to be on the same level of the two other gods?

It was absolutely impossible to intervene outside of one's rights and authority. So Davey couldn't help but wonder. What was so different about now? Why did they suddenly want to meddle with the world?

But those questions were not important at that moment. What mattered to him was using Goddess Freyja's power to completely destroy Eclipse.

Davey stuck his tongue at the Primal Will that was staring at him. He then said, "That's right. I cheated on you. So? What should I do about it? How about a divorce? I promise to pay you as much alimony as possible, so don't worry. What do you want? Do you want me to pray to you at dawn every single day?"

If she was not satisfied with this, then... should Davey receive Thanatos' stigmata somewhere on his body?

The goddess's will remained silent at Davey's remark. Then the entire space quaked, a testament to goddess' wrath.

[Davey.]

Her outstretched hands started to tremble as she called Davey's name instead of his usual title, Saint.

For a moment, Davey felt anxious. The fury and indignation of the goddess' will, which typically looked expressionless and devoid of her own free will, made Davey feel as though he had made a mistake.

[Davey.]

In her hands, a book of scripturesthen appeared.

'Huuuuh? Are you going to hit me with that? Nope. You can't do that.'

In the end, she didn't actually hit him with the book. But then a brighter and more dazzling light burst into Davey. Shortly after that, the space around Davey changed, and he was back to the place where he was before—the endless desert.

Only two people were in the vast desert. One was Eclipse, who was looking at him with her sparkling and innocent eyes in surprise, while the other was Davey. He had already recovered completely, with the holy power surging in his body and a bright light still engulfing him.

[Following the laws of equivalent exchange, I will now twist and distort one of the Saint's futures.]

The angry voice of god left those words before disappearing completely.

1. The raw is 한남대교는 무너졌냐. This is a parady from a famous movie named 타짜(Tazza: The High Rollers). The actor said the line as an ad-lib and made the scene memorable. It's considered a witty way to tell a person to take a different route. ☜