"Are you saying I have to break the core?"
[That's right.]
The miniature creature, resembling the eight-headed and eight-tailed silver snake, boldly explained its weakness.
[All of my power originates from there. The core hidden deep within is the source of my power. If you destroy the core, which is connected to my subconscious and my self, you can kill .]
In other words, its weakness wasn't in the real world, but in the world of the mind.
'Is this similar to what happened with Lilith?'
Since the core, which could be considered its true form, wasn't in the real world, no matter how many attacks were thrown, they were useless.
However,
'There’s no guarantee that what it's saying is the truth.'
Unfortunately, mind reading didn’t work on this creature.
Instead,
'I do have the feeling that it's telling the truth…'
I could vaguely sense that it was being truthful.
But that alone wasn’t enough to trust it.
The mini Orochi hastily continued speaking.
[Originally, this ritual was supposed to guide you into the ntal world. But for so reason, that didn’t work. However, if you desire it, it could still be done. Ti is running out. If you don’t act now, you’ll never get another chance.]
It spoke bluntly.
"How can I trust you? And why are you asking to kill you? This just looks like a lie to draw into a trap."
Honestly, it didn’t make sense.
[...I see.]
The eight heads sank into a dejected expression.
Then, as if having made a decision, it raised its head.
[Even if the core is broken, I won’t truly die. I will only return to where I originally ca from.]
"What do you an by that?"
[It ans exactly what I said. I want you to help return to where I belong. Besides, my current state isn’t normal. For so unknown reason, I’ve gone berserk and can no longer control my own power. To put it simply, I am currently being consud by my own power. That is why I am asking you for this favor.]
Hearing this, it seed sowhat pitiful.
'If I were to be overtaken by the dark energy, would I end up like this too?'
It could have been my future.
"You're saying it wasn’t your will that turned humans into mutants?"
[No. That power was originally ant to strengthen my children, not to drive them insane.]
Seeing the snakes with expressions of what seed to be frustration made a bit confused.
"Is it normal for divine powers to end up uncontrollable like this?"
[That’s... ]
Then, suddenly,
Whoooo—
The silver energy visibly weakened.
Hastily, it added,
[As I ntioned before, this opportunity will never co again. This is a chance born from sheer coincidence. So crazy skeleton caused chaos, and inexplicable changes occurred in certain entities that made this possible. If we miss this opportunity, we don’t know when, or even if, another chance will co. Please, stop !]
"...I’ll help you."
The eight snake heads of mini Orochi simultaneously smiled brightly.
[W-Why?]
It imdiately looked startled.
It was clear that things weren’t going the way it wanted.
Surprisingly, I understood the reason right away.
'So that’s where all this power ca from…'
Now I realized the energy I had absorbed during the battle with the immortal wraith had been consud by the black energy.
The absorbed silver energy flowed into the heads of those who had experienced mutation, solidifying within them.
'So that’s why it showed itself at this mont.'
In that case,
'Ultimately, this power was absorbed by . That ans…'
I could control it.
Referring to the information I received from the mini Orochi, I imagined a pathway leading to the ntal world.
Then,
'Open the Dongdaemun gate.'
Whoooo—
The silver energy gathered under my control, forming a door.
Zing—
This portal, the most unstable one I had summoned so far, appeared.
Mini Orochi led the way and spoke.
[We must hurry!]
I followed behind and summoned Kami, who was waiting outside.
-Beep!
With Kami on my shoulder, I entered the Dongdaemun.
Swish—
As I stepped through, the Dongdaemun portal began to shrink.
The place I entered was...
Grrrr—
It was underwater.
Everything was dark, and I couldn’t see anything in the water.
[Follow .]
Following the guidance of mini Orochi, I delved deeper into the inner depths.
***
"AAAHHH!"
Yokoyama Saito was in despair.
His body was mutating in real-ti.
"Why?!"
He had simply followed the quest instructions.
With only 24 hours to spare, he rushed through it.
Grrr—
But just after catching one, his body started mutating.
"Please, save !"
The black energy that had been aiding him didn’t take any action.
It simply watched from his heart, observing the situation.
As if it had wanted him to mutate from the beginning.
Creeeak!
In the end, Yokoyama Saito, who had despised mutants so much, beca one himself.
Imdiately after,
Whoosh—
The black energy in his heart began to move, albeit belatedly.
The silver energy, now filling his body as he mutated, was rapidly absorbed by the black energy.
And then,
Zing—
A door opened.
Whoosh!
He was sucked inside.
***
After wandering for quite a long ti, I was finally able to reach the location where the core, as mini Orochi had ntioned, was located.
[Here.]
There, a massive boulder glowed with a subtle light, asserting its presence.
[If you destroy this, everything will end.]
I stared at the rock for a mont, then turned my gaze towards mini Orochi and asked.
"I want you to answer the question I asked earlier."
[...Do you an about the rampage?]
"Yeah. Is it normal for divine beings to carry such risks?"
[It’s not like that.]
Mini Orochi fell silent for a mont before confessing the truth.
[That too is . As you can see, I have eight different wills. Destruction and slaughter are also the result of another one of my wills.]
"...."
[So please stop . If you destroy this, everything will return to how it was.]
It ant that not only would the Yamata no Orochi that had been coiled in Tokyo disappear, but also the mutants rampaging across Japan would return to their human forms.
Mini Orochi had personally guided to the place of its weakness.
I hesitated for a mont.
Should I absorb its divine power?
But after our conversation, that hesitation disappeared.
[Kamiya, co here.]
I wasn’t planning to stop at just destroying the core.
[The Samjok-o (three-legged crow) requests permission to open the power.]
[Do you permit it?]
[Yes / No]
‘Alright.’
-Beep!
As Kami revealed its true form, black flas began to flare up around us.
Whoosh!
The black flas, burning everything, engulfed the boulder in an instant.
Although the silver energy that followed the point of contact with the black flas exploded in resistance, the black flas didn’t let go, clenching onto it.
[...Wait!]
Only then did mini Orochi realize that sothing was wrong and tried to stop .
Whoosh!
The black flas blooming around made it impossible for it to approach.
[St-Stop! No!]
It must have never imagined that the Trojan horse it had led to would be the very thing that destroyed it.
Whoosh!
Mini Orochi’s words were true.
Every ti the core, the essence of its power, was consud by the black flas, mini Orochi’s figure rapidly began to fade.
In that mont.
Ssshhhh—
The burning boulder emitted a silver glow in all directions.
And then.
Bubble, bubble, bubble—
The water surrounding evaporated instantly, forming the massive head of a snake.
The enraged snake head opened its mouth wide and released silver gas from within.
Screeek!
However, it couldn’t break through the black flas surrounding and instead crumbled into the surroundings.
As the boulder was half burned,
[A hostile divine being has been detected within the residence of the supre entity.]
[Absorbing the lower-level divine being.]
And
[A new familiar has been registered.]
At the sa ti, mini Orochi’s fading body returned to its forr clarity.
「Yamata no Orochi (Lv. 1)」
Imugi.
The divine being was completely absorbed, making it the eighth familiar.
Mini Orochi, just like when Lilith was first made a familiar, stared blankly at the burning boulder.
‘Consider it a karmic retribution.’
There was an apparent similarity between the mutants and the situation with Yamata no Orochi.
However, upon deeper reflection, they were entirely different cases.
If I had to make a comparison, Yamata no Orochi was like soone who had driven under the influence.
It was just making excuses by saying that rational judgnt was impossible due to intoxication.
On the other hand, those who had mutated were like victims who had been hit by the drunk driver’s car, causing other collateral damage in the process.
They themselves had been severely injured, and in the process, others had been killed from the collision.
Therefore, the mutated individuals were not to bla.
‘It’s over.’
This would not be a satisfying outco for everyone.
Even if Yamata no Orochi disappeared, it wouldn’t heal the hearts of those who had been hurt.
For the wounds to heal, all they could do was wait for ti to pass.
‘I hope this brings at least so comfort.’
With Yamata no Orochi gone and many of the mutants returning to human form, there would likely be cases like Takahashi Ryou or Fujita Kaya, where people would be reunited with their loved ones.
‘I have a lot of work ahead.’
The squad to defeat Yamata no Orochi was no longer necessary, but now I had to go around rescuing survivors spread across Japan.
Besides,
‘I still have so internal issues to deal with.’
There were people who had gained citizenship while being vampires, politicians hiding in underground bunkers in Gangwon Province, and small conflicts between criminals and civilians.
As the number of citizens grew endlessly, the problems also multiplied.
And then, there was the issue of the aircraft carrier heading towards the United States across the Pacific.
‘For now, let’s get out of here.’
Just then.
‘Hm?’
A sudden sense of discomfort filled the air.
I felt sothing strange from a part of the black flas surrounding .
Right after I sensed that sothing was wrong,
Whoosh—
A sticky, black energy shot out from the black flas and covered .
“!!!”
And then,
‘...What’s going on?’
When I regained my senses, I found myself in pitch-black darkness, unable to see an inch ahead.
[Kamiya?]
I imdiately tried using telepathy.
Fortunately, there was no problem using telepathy, but Kami did not respond.
‘Then.’
In desperation, I activated my defensive asures.
Whoooo—
A blue light surrounded my body, and the surroundings beca visible.
“Where is this...?”
Concrete with rebar sticking out everywhere.
A destroyed road with abandoned vehicles on top of it.
Broken windows and collapsed buildings.
I was in a ruined city with no light at all.
And then, a voice rang out.
"Nice to et you."
The voice sounded familiar but slightly strange.
“I’m Kim Jae-hyun.”
A being with the sa face as mine was standing behind .
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