ALL NOVEL Chapter 13
In the age of mythology, in the distant past when humans were still the slaves of the Gods.
In that era, when transcendents with physical forms roamed the world and numerous humans built temples to worship them, there was a group formed by those who hated the gods.
Foolish beings who dared to oppose the absolutes that even modern civilization could not challenge.
And those foolish beings were granted the power that embodied their desires, enabling them to stand against the gods.
“I’m losing strength….”
Just a moment ago, the teddy bear, which had been moving fine, now drooped lifelessly.
The energy it exuded diminished to the point where it wouldn’t be surprising if it suddenly extinguished.
Crumble—
“This is.”
As I forced myself up, the armrest of the chair broke apart in a dispirited manner.
No, it wasn’t just the doll and the chair.
Flicker—
Flicker—
The light flickered as if it would break at any moment, and the once pristine walls of the building now appeared shabby.
As if the entire back room was being suppressed by something…
“You seem fine.”
Even amidst all this, I glanced at the Security Guard, who exuded an ominous presence.
“Hurry up, the owner of this space has an obligation to protect it.”
The Security Guard glanced at me, insisting that I take action.
Honestly, I wanted to say, “Who do you think you are to give orders?” but…
“I know even without you saying it, you know?”
Unfortunately, it seemed time was not on our side.
Boom—
The enemy had invaded the back room.
*
Something fell from the sky, stained red.
Clearly abnormal entities colored black.
Those shadowy figures took on human forms.
From somewhat anachronistic ancient armor to modern combat gear and suits.
It was like a legion that gathered across time.
“Kyah?”
And a small line was etched into the neck of the shadow.
Swish—
With a clean stroke, the sword, akin to a divine weapon, glided across the shadow’s neck, and the shadows perished without realizing their own fate.
“Really, the Alliance Leader, this madman…!”
The suited company employee who severed the shadows surveyed the urban landscape.
Right in the heart of Seoul.
It wasn’t the entirety of Seoul, just a radius of about 1 km around an Ordinary Apartment, but still, this was Seoul.
The capital of a nation—
And especially for South Korea, which has a serious capital concentration!
“What the hell are we going to do about this…?”
Had he really gone crazy?
The sky was stained with crimson.
As a department head of the Company, he knew.
After all, anyone new to the underworld might not know about it, but it was famous enough that no one else should be unaware.
The Humanity Innovation Alliance.
One of the oldest factions in the world, the Alliance’s decisive weapon.
The reason that ancient humanity, weaker than now, was able to topple the gods.
Only the desires to overthrow the gods, gathered within the Alliance, created something extremely rare in this world—myth-level abnormalities.
“Ragnarok….”
The department head said as he pulled out his walkie-talkie.
“Everyone, if you’re not wearing your suits, put them on immediately.”
Those who had some time likely equipped themselves quickly when the sky turned red, but let’s not take any chances.
“How dare they bring out that monstrosity.”
Having caused the downfall of the gods and reduced them to mere anomalies, that myth-level abnormality led to the end of the age of myths.
A battleground that weakens anomalies while granting power to humans to augment their abilities.
Although it sounded like a wide-area attack, in fact, it was a horrifying anomaly capable of annihilating modern-level abnormalities in mere moments.
Granting anomalies to humans.
It wasn’t just a simple buff.
It was the power to turn humans into abnormalities.
Just by being within the ongoing Ragnarok, they would be consumed by the anomalies and driven mad, ultimately becoming anomalies bound to the very boundaries of the spell.
Unlike other anomaly beings whose powers were restricted inside Ragnarok, these soldiers faced no restrictions and would endlessly revive even after death.
“There’s no answer.”
I pondered, but it seemed futile.
Given that Ragnarok was unleashed, the Union’s full might would likely be needed.
With our current forces, which had been dispatched for information gathering, we could not oppose it.
“Mission briefing! Gather at Point A!”
First, we had to regroup.
It was still the early stages of the situation, so it was manageable, but if we spread out, we would just be picked off one by one.
“Seriously, I guess I’ve really gone senile.”
While retreating, the department head badmouthed the Alliance Leader.
I couldn’t blame him…
“We can hold out thanks to the power of our suits.”
But the hundreds of civilians living nearby could not endure it.
Boom—
The walls of a typical residence crumbled, and from inside emerged a woman with a shadowy form.
Following her was the shadow of a small boy and the shadow of an infant crawling out from the ground.
Similar scenes unfolded all around.
The daily lives of those who knew peace were shattered in an instant.
They who mingled in daily life were no more.
What remained were only the shadowy soldiers, obedient to their orders.
The goal of the Alliance was clear.
It must be the retrieval of Han Yu-seong.
I thought they might be obsessive, but this was a level of insanity I didn’t expect.
‘Did they really think that anomaly being was worth such a cost?’
Would they sacrifice so many civilians carelessly?
The view I saw while retreating was starkly different from the peaceful scenery of the past.
Buildings collapsed.
Corpses left behind, having been murdered before they could even become anomalies.
Gas exploding and smoke rising from all sides.
The scene was like…
“It feels like the end of the world.”
*
> A quest has arrived.
“… So this so-called Management System also gives quests?”
Using my achievement points, I bought ‘Debuff Resistance LV1,’ and after that, the enemies that entered the back room were easily repelled by the revitalized entities.
They weren’t even that many to begin with.
Once I stepped outside, my smartphone buzzed with an incoming quest.
■ [Emergency] Assault by the Alliance
└ The senile old man from the Alliance who has his sights on you finally got his heavy butt up and set out.
The senile old man who has lived since the age of myths will never give up on you.
Destroy the cursed barrier and defeat the old man to restore peace.
■ Conditions
└ Destroy [Myth-Level Abnormality – Ragnarok] (0/1)
└ Defeat the Alliance Leader (0/1)
■ Rewards
└ Special Upgrade Coupon (Granted for achieving each condition)
“Well, it’s only natural to beat down the one who threw the first punch.”
I said this as I gazed at the view outside the apartment.
“What a sight to see.”
Even in a world of apocalypse, it wouldn’t fall apart this quickly.
The entities that had been outside were already annihilated.
It wasn’t surprising, given that even if they understood the situation and released their debuffs, they were safe within the interior of the back room during the first assault, while those active outside had no time to recover.
Boom— Bang—
With a single punch, one by one they fell.
Each strike landed like an inhuman blow, tearing through flesh.
The situation differed from that time when I crashed into a car and broke my arm.
Even if it was imperfect, the body that consumed anomalies once called gods had surpassed the realm of mere humanity!
“Indeed.”
Honestly, having heard the words from the agents who came before and Kim Yu-na, I had thought it was absurd.
What a weak power for something claiming to manage the world.
Even as I got the Status Window and learned the clear parameters, my thoughts only deepened.
So, it seemed strange…
“This is what the Alliance’s main strength looks like.”
Unlike the past when I captured anomalies, nothing was being absorbed.
As the bodies fell and melted away as if liquefied on the ground.
“It’s similar to my apartment.”
In the back room of the Ordinary Apartment, entities would continue to be produced, whereas these shadows were like the appendages of Ragnarok.
No, given that even entities vanish upon defeat, this…
“Isn’t it revival rather than reproduction?”
Soldiers that infinitely revive within the confines of the barrier.
Moreover, most are slightly weaker than my entities, but that’s not always the case.
Whirr—
“What the hell is this?”
A shadow approached and swung a sword.
A muscular figure clad in ragged cloth, with armor covering vital points.
I was startled, like a relic of ancient warriors, and just then the shadow swung its sword again.
Boom—
“Hold on…?”
The shadow parried my punch with a shield held in its opposite hand.
Despite the shield crumpling under transcendent strength and the arm twisting at an odd angle, the shadow remained unscathed and moving.
Swish- Swish-
“Hm!”
As I was taken aback, I heard the sound of slicing wind.
Just as I dodged, two shadow arrows embedded themselves where I had been.
“Warriors and archers, and….”
Shadows appearing in bewildering forms echoing through time.
Soldiers wielding swords, spears, axe-sized weapons, bows, and crossbows.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It really is in poor taste, continuing from the age of myths!”
Though they were anomalies, they didn’t feel like anomalies.
Amidst the phantasm-like sensations, there was clearly a human essence mixed in.
“Those who claim to be doing this for humans…”
No matter the organization, with time, they rot and twist into something unrecognizable…
To that degree, didn’t they already derail from the start?
As the shadows drew nearer during our brief standoff.
‘This odds aren’t good.’
If I could absorb them, I could recover my stamina while defeating them, but that wasn’t the case.
At this point, I was just an ordinary human without special powers, so facing a large number of enemies wasn’t feasible.
“What a hassle, if I were alone, this would take some effort.”
Dust began to scatter from the apartment behind me.
“Why didn’t you arrive a little sooner if you were going to come anyway?”
If they had, it might have been possible to win.
Rumbling—
From every door and passage of the apartment, an overwhelming amount of ash began pouring out.
Then it gathered into one form, creating a massive figure made of ashes.
“A soldier meant to combat the gods?”
Then, let’s see if you match my scale.
Don’t bother harassing ordinary humans.
Flames began to rise from the gathered ashes, engulfing the world.
The Ashen King.
An imperfect god who had once died and vanished had descended once more into the world.