Chapter 376: Chapter 376
Beijing, just a few days ago, a battlefield where a war for the fate of the world had unfolded.
Now, amidst the ruins and debris, a massive altar stood tall, a testament to the destructive power of the breath attack that had leveled the city.
A towering structure, built in tiered levels like a ziggurat, its sides hundreds of meters long.
It was a construction of impossible scale, something that couldn't have been built in just a few days… but for the being currently standing atop it, it was a trivial matter.
‘Hmm, this is sturdy enough. It’s just a one-time use altar, but it wouldn’t be bad for it to remain as a… landmark.’
Horus, a massive golden dragon, paced across the altar, testing its durability, and nodded with satisfaction.
This altar was where the Dragon Heart restoration ritual would take place.
It would become a historical monument, preserved for generations, and that would generate a steady stream of Karma for him, its creator.
‘…Though it’s insignificant compared to what I’ve already earned, and what I’ll earn in the future.’
…and then White Dragon’s deep voice echoed in his mind.
[“Are you sure about this? I’m not doubting your abilities, Horus, but this is our first time trying this.”]
[“He’ll be fine. He’s already mastered sorcery beyond most, and with his magic from his original world… I couldn’t even understand half of it.”]
Azure Dragon and Red Dragon’s voices followed, but Horus was the only one physically present.
The others were in the Dragon God’s Temple in the hidden realm, communicating with him through telepathy.
[“This wasn’t how we were supposed to do this… but it can’t be helped. We’ve set up safety measures, so even if something goes wrong, we can always revert to the original plan.”]
Horus chuckled wryly at Black Dragon’s grumbling.
She had initially opposed his plan.
Why take risks with an unproven method when they already had a guaranteed solution?
She didn’t care about the human sacrifices, the Dragon’s Children, so it was an understandable reaction.
‘…Though it wasn’t difficult to convince her.’
The Dragon’s Children weren’t just ordinary humans.
They were apostles of the Dragon God, chosen and sent to this world.
In a way, they were related to the Five Dragons, who claimed to be the Dragon God’s true descendants.
He had emphasized that point, and Black Dragon, who was surprisingly lenient towards those within her own circle despite her hostility towards humans, had reluctantly agreed.
[“We’re also ready. We’ll begin in a few hours, when the sun reaches its zenith.”]
Horus, gauging the sun’s position, shifted his gaze.
Towards the southwest.
A group of people was approaching.
The Dragon’s Children, essential for the ritual, and the Murim Alliance experts escorting them.
And among them, a massive barbarian, carrying a sinister black coffin on his back.
All the necessary ingredients were gathered.
The sun, shining brightly in the clear sky,
Zhuge Hyemi, climbing the steps of the altar, exhaled slowly.
It was much easier to breathe here, away from the oppressive atmosphere of the demonic realm, as if she had entered a different world… but she couldn’t calm her racing heart.
‘I never thought this was possible… Could it be… that…’
A future she hadn’t dared to dream of was now within reach.
She had thought happiness was a luxury she couldn’t afford, destined to be sacrificed and forgotten…
But now, she could actually… dream?
To live in a peaceful world, free from conflict, her body healthy, surrounded by her loved ones…
‘…To get married, have children…’
Her cheeks flushed at the thought, her pale face turning a delicate pink.
‘No, no! That’s too much! We’re not even…!’
She shook her head, trying to dispel the image of a certain someone that had suddenly appeared in her mind, and took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
Her usual composure was gone, her thoughts a chaotic mess.
It was an unusual reaction, a clear sign of her emotional turmoil.
But no one here paid much attention to her.
The other Dragon’s Children were also nervous and anxious, their breaths shallow and rapid.
They finally reached the top of the altar and looked up at the massive golden dragon, a creature they had only heard of in stories, their eyes wide with awe and fear.
[“There’s no need to be nervous. It won’t take long.”]
A voice, deep and resonant, filled with an overwhelming presence, echoed in their minds.
A strange voice, both arrogant and childlike.
It was meant to reassure them…
…but it had the opposite effect.
After all, they had witnessed its power firsthand.
The golden beam of light, descending from the heavens like divine retribution, the massive explosion, the mushroom cloud…
And now, standing on the altar, they could clearly see the result.
‘Where the buildings and walls used to be…’
…an empty plain, stretching as far as the eye could see.
They had flown over Beijing, escaping the destruction, and they remembered.
There had been countless buildings and structures here, a dense and complex urban landscape.
And now, they were facing the being responsible for its destruction…
They felt like sacrifices, offerings to a monstrous deity.
Even though the reality was the opposite.
[“Take your seats. I’ll handle the rest. Just relax and take a nap.”]
A black coffin rested on a pedestal in the center of the altar.
And around it, stone chairs, as if they had sprouted from the ground, formed a circle.
They were uncomfortable, their design clearly not prioritizing the user’s comfort… but they couldn’t complain.
They hesitantly took their seats, and after a brief moment,
[“It’s time. Let’s begin.”]
…Horus, looking up at the sky, declared the start of the ritual.
It began at the Dragon God’s Temple.
As the other dragons activated the ritual, the atmosphere in Beijing began to shift and churn.
It was an unstable and volatile phenomenon, as the Five Dragons weren’t all present, and the Dragon’s Children hadn’t been sacrificed yet.
If it continued, the situation would only worsen.
But then, the situation changed dramatically as Horus, in Beijing, took over the ritual.
The strange symbols carved into the altar began to glow, drawing in the surrounding energy.
Horus’s eyes glowed with a golden light.
The knowledge he had accumulated, the magic and sorcery he had learned from countless worlds, converged and combined, forming a complex and powerful spell.
A massive magic circle appeared in the sky, connecting to the altar below.
A fierce gale swept through the area, and the earth trembled.
「Ruler of All」 controlled the surrounding energy, 「Seeker of Mysteries」 refined and processed it, and 「Resistor of Fate」 eliminated any potential variables.
A massive surge of energy, flowing through the seated figures, connected to the Karma Jiangshi—the Heavenly Demon—lying in the center of the altar.
The Heavenly Demon, like a straw, began to draw in the surrounding karma, its energy flowing into him.
The other Dragon’s Children, unable to withstand the strain, lost consciousness, and even Zhuge Hyemi could barely maintain her awareness.
‘I’ve diverted most of the ritual’s burden, so it shouldn’t be too taxing on their bodies. That’s what the altar is for.’
Small cracks appeared on the surface of the sturdy altar.
Horus, feeling the pressure on his body, frowned slightly and checked the Heavenly Demon’s condition.
And then, as he deemed it the right moment,
…he channeled the accumulated karma through a pre-prepared pathway.
Towards the sacrifice below the altar, Tam’s remains.
The massive body convulsed as it absorbed the incoming karma.
[“Kkuk kuk— He’s quite the glutton, isn’t he? An excellent choice.”]
Hans, assisting with the ritual from below, nodded with satisfaction.
Tam, a monster whose very existence was defined by consumption, was the perfect vessel, even in death.
[“Excellent. It’s almost over.”]
Tam, the Six-Headed Dragon, a being who had touched upon divinity.
And the Dragon God’s will, contained within the Dragon’s Children.
The collaborative effort between a Gold Dragon and an otherworldly Demon King was nearing completion.
Tam’s massive body dissolved into light,
…and a brilliant pillar of light, extending from the depths of the earth, through the altar, and into the sky, erupted, its radiance visible even from the farthest reaches of the continent.
A majestic and awe-inspiring spectacle.
Everyone, their eyes wide with wonder and disbelief, stared at the sky.
Even Zhuge Hyemi, barely conscious, and the anxious experts waiting outside the altar, the factions preparing for the aftermath, and the ordinary people struggling to survive…
…all looked up at the sky, tears streaming down their faces.
And then, after a brief moment,
…the avatars in Ganghwange instinctively knew.
That the fate of this world, the intertwined threads of causality, the predetermined future…
[“Horus! You did it! The balance…!”]
[“Wow! We actually did it! Now…!”]
[“I can’t believe it worked…!”]
The dragons’ excited voices echoed in Horus’s mind.
They had also sensed the change from the Dragon God’s Temple.
He didn’t worry about potential side effects or the possibility of it being a temporary phenomenon.
He had irrefutable proof.
《Great Feat Achieved! You have restored balance to a crumbling world.》
《As a reward for normalizing a dimension, you have acquired the perk “Savior”. All restrictions in other dimensions are negated.》
《You have achieved a world-altering feat. Karma increased significantly.》
It wasn’t just an ‘achievement’.
It was a ‘great feat’, something he had never accomplished before, aside from crossing dimensions.
Inside a hidden dimension near Earth.
A figure, sitting in a meditative pose, its body as still as a statue, suddenly twitched.
Once, twice… the tremors grew stronger with each passing moment.
And then, its eyes, which had been closed, slowly began to open.
The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, who had been immersed in his cultivation, refining his divine power, instantly grasped the situation.
A reaction of this magnitude couldn't be a minor matter.
It wasn't difficult to identify the cause.
The dimension where one of his apostles, the Heavenly Demon, had died.
He had been annoyed when his apostle, the one responsible for gathering faith and divine power in that world, had been unexpectedly killed… but this time, it was a different kind of problem.
The flow of causality connected to him had shifted dramatically.
The dimension he had meticulously destroyed, a world he had deemed beyond recovery… was being restored.
It wasn't just because his apostle had died.
‘Did the Main God intervene? No, even a Main God has its limits. And Ganghwange’s god is a hands-off type.’
A Main God, a being of immense power, couldn’t micromanage the affairs of its world.
It could destroy and recreate, but restoring a damaged and corrupted dimension to its original state… it was practically impossible without incredible luck.
‘I thought I had thoroughly destroyed it… It seems I missed something.’
A Main God could only offer guidance and hope, leaving the actual work to its creations.
He had taken precautions, but it seemed they weren’t enough.
‘I had a bad feeling about it when the Heavenly Demon died.’
It seemed like a great hero had appeared in that world.
Someone with the potential to change even a predetermined fate.
“Tsk, it can’t be helped.”
There was nothing he could do right now.
He had already extracted everything he could from Ganghwange. Returning there would be a waste of time and effort, a pointless act of revenge.
It was more efficient to explore new worlds.
“…Right, it’s time to move on.”
Within the quiet, isolated space, detached from the world,
…a slumbering giant began to stir.
To devour another world and satiate its hunger.
I nodded with satisfaction, a beer in one hand and a chicken drumstick in the other.
Hard work deserved to be rewarded.
And the moment of reckoning, the time to collect one’s earnings, was the most anticipated moment for any worker.
Especially after completing a major project.
The last time he had checked, it had been after absorbing the Heavenly Demon Cult’s headquarters and enhancing 「Dimensional Barrier Weakening」 with 6 million Karma points.
He had depleted his reserves, barely having enough to buy the “Growth Elixir (7 days)”…
『Karma Owned - 9,510,657』
And now, his Karma balance was overflowing.