Chapter 379: Insufficient (4)

“Ugh… Ugh…!”

Sohyi, though she had covered her eyes with both hands, couldn’t believe what was happening.

Bang! Kwang! Bang!
The white lines, stripped of their power, crashed to the ground—
And in an instant, they turned blood-red.

How–!

Sohyi couldn’t believe it.

“Ugh, how…?!”

How is it possible that he cut through my white lines so easily?

She couldn’t believe it, even seeing it.

Kim Hae-il.

That man had awakened his own Unique Power—
A form entirely his own.

The seed had sprouted.

And it was a Unique Power on a level higher than Sohyi’s.

Still—

Even so, Kim Hae-il’s Unique Power hadn’t completely suppressed Sohyi’s strength.

It hadn’t erased the white lines—
Only dyed them blood-red.

That’s normal!

No matter how important the level is in a Unique Power, it's normal for the seed to go through countless failures before it fully sprouts and takes root.

But how—

How is it possible that the man she had just fought—
Who hasn’t even fully developed his Unique Power yet—
Is doing this?

He only has the seed.
He hasn’t even formed it properly!

And yet…
Is he crushing her power with nothing but his aura?

Is that possible?

Amidst the confusion, a single thought struck Sohyi.

It can’t be…!

One possibility.
Just one.

Five colors—

A level that only three people had ever reached within the Five-Colored Family.

Is he… five-color level?

But that level wasn’t granted so easily.

Only a handful of Wanderers—after forming contracts with the Celestials—had ever developed a Unique Power.
And even among them, reaching five-color level was…

“Ah.”

A faint smile formed at the corner of Sohyi’s lips.

She slowly lowered the hands that had been covering her eyes.
She couldn’t see—her vision was drowned in blood.

All she could do was feel it.

Placing both hands on the ground, she raised her head.
And with a cracked voice, she spoke.

“You–”

That guy who had cut her.

“You’re not just a Single-Lifer, are you?!”

It was said that there were people who were born with a destiny.

“You were born with the destiny of a hero—”

A hero who would save a world. It was said that only at that level was the rank of Transparent or higher granted.

“You were one of those guys!”

He wasn’t like her, who had started from the bottom, trying to overcome a huge difference, only to end her life as a Wanderer.

No, he had been born with the destiny to live as a hero. A lucky guy!

“Damn it!”

She couldn’t contain her resentment.

How–!

How did I get this far!

I did everything I could to enter the Five–Colored Family!

How despised I was, for being the weakest of the Five–Colored Family!

Despite that, I endured and endured.

To someday, firmly establish my domain—

To create my own kingdom!

How much I’ve worked!

Eliminating all obstacles, absorbing all the nutrients that could help me accumulate power!

And I’ve come this far!

To be defeated like this, by a guy who hasn’t even fully awakened his Unique Power…!

She felt resentment, and more resentment.

Who is that guy…?!

Then, she came to a thought.

Yes. Who is he?

Why didn’t she know someone like this?

She opened her mouth.

“Who are you? Who are you, truly?”

I can’t fully deploy my Unique Power now—not after losing my sight.
Even escaping… is difficult.

“Who are you?!”

Then, I have to find out at least something.

One of the Wanderers will surely come to rescue me.

Because I know a lot, despite being the lowest.

“Right now—”

Her voice cracked.

Tell me right now! Who are you?!

Hhhhhhh..!

A strange moan began to spread around her.

As if she was going to lose control.

And Sohyi, as if accepting that possibility, shouted.

“Reveal your identity! If you don’t want to die in an explosion!”

It was at that moment...

“Threats, even though you don’t intend to die?”

An indifferent voice was heard.

“!”

And Sohyi felt as if her entire body was becoming stiff. It wasn’t just her.

“Your Majesty, hurry—”

“Hmm.”

Queen Tamahi, who was guiding her ministers towards the arena, stopped.

It wasn’t of her own will.

She couldn’t help it.

“!”

She felt like she couldn’t breathe suddenly.

Swoosh—

A flow of wind.

The arena had calmed down so much that the sound of the wind could be heard, as always.

Only the queen, her close associates, and some martial artists remained.

All of them were people with a high level of Wu in the Kingdom of Lan, or experts in other areas, with a lot of accumulated experience.

Despite that—

“…”

“…”

No one could easily open their mouths.

Though the sky remained blood-red, the white line and the Black Yong had vanished. Now, it only seemed slightly darker than usual—but the arena had changed.

The people, who had begun to calm down after a momentary sense of peace, suddenly felt a chill run through their bodies.

“……!”

Queen Tamahi’s pupils trembled. Her gaze shifted to one person.

It wasn’t the Heavenly Demon.
It wasn’t Choi Han.
Not even Alberu, standing beside her.

Her eyes were fixed on—

The masked one.

Cale.

Tamahi looked down at her hand.

“……”

Her fingertips were trembling.

She felt a chill run across the back of her hand.

No sound.
Nothing visible.

And yet—something was pressing down on her.

Fear.

That’s what it was.
But it wasn’t violent.
It was gentle.

A fear that crept in slowly, silently—like being pulled into a swamp.
And little by little, it began to consume her.

That’s when she realized what kind of fear it was.

I don’t know.

She didn’t know what she was afraid of—only that it was already inside her.

Countless possibilities flickered through her mind, but she couldn’t hold onto a single one.
She couldn’t remember.
She couldn’t define it.

Simply…

She remembered a night—
A terrifying night from her childhood.

What’s going on…?

It made her remember something primal—
The fear, the terror buried deep in human instinct.

And slowly, it began to suffocate her.
Not with violence—
But with dominance.

It’s a warning.

Queen Tamahi understood.

The masked man…
He was warning them.

And he’s holding back.

Just enough to make them feel it.

But for the enemy?

That would be different. She was certain.

“Hhhk…!”

A deep moan escaped Sohyi’s mouth.

It was different from the scream she had given when she had lost her sight.

That deep moan, emanating from the depths of her body, clearly showed the situation she was in.

“Ugh, ugh!”

She pressed hard on the two hands that were resting on the ground.

Her entire body trembled. She felt like her body would collapse, dominated by that fear that was squeezing her, if she eased up even slightly.

What’s going on?

What is this aura?

It’s not the seed of a Unique Power.

Aura? Mana?

No—!
It wasn’t anything like that.

Then… a Unique Power?
Or—

An Ancient Power?

Ancient Power—the term now used as a general label for forgotten Unique Powers.
Is that what this is?

No.

It’s not that either.

A force that’s already diminished shouldn’t be able to pressure her this much. Not to this degree.

Then, what is it?

She couldn’t see who was using that force—her sight was already gone. But Sohyi could only think of one person.

The masked one.

It had to be him.

What kind of person can crush a Wanderer with just his aura?
Even a God wouldn’t be able to do that so easily—

“Ugh…!”

As she struggled to endure, the answer came to her in a sudden, terrifying realization.

God!
Yes, a God!

At first, she had assumed Kim Hae-il was just an AI, a collaborator working under Ahn Roh Man. But after witnessing his Unique Power—after confirming that he was another Wanderer—she had started to believe he might be aligned with the Gods.

And that God…

Naturally, she had thought that he was part of the group of Gods of Balance, in the Divine World, which had been divided in two by the God of Chaos.

Therefore, she had decided that she had to kill him. Because the enemy had already reached this New World.

But, if I think about it, it’s strange.

The Divine World is divided in two, how is it possible that those Wanderer guys, who only serve one God, have come this far?

And this force…

Fear.

Also, it stimulates primal fear.

Then, the answer is simple.

The Chaos fear!

An ability valued above all by the God of Chaos—bestowed only upon his true devotees, the Saints.

If it was that, then everything made sense.

The God of Chaos had always been watching them.
And though he appeared friendly at times, his vigilance was relentless.

How annoying must the Wanderers, those rising to the rank of God, be to him?

And according to what I heard from the spies, it seems like the God of Chaos is doing something in the Demon World now.

Wouldn’t the God of Chaos be doing something else in the New World?

More likely, he was only pretending to be preoccupied—acting worried about the chaos in the Divine World—while preparing to strike them from behind.

Because the time was near.

The Absolute God was about to appear, and the preparations were almost complete.

If the God of Chaos wanted to take control of everything, now was the only moment he could act.

“Ha.”
An ironic laugh escaped Sohyi’s lips.

She couldn’t believe it.

“You—”

She turned toward the source of the overwhelming aura, her lips curling into a twisted smile.

“Were you the follower of Chaos?”

But her smile couldn’t continue.

“Ugh!”

A pressure, twice as great as before, was pressing on her.

That feeling of being dominated.

That faint existence of fear.

“Follower, you say.”

A calm voice cut through the air—closer than she expected.

Cale had knelt down, face to face with Sohyi.

Though she couldn’t see him, he smiled.

“Why would I be a follower? I have no intention of following anyone.”

Of course, he had no plans to serve the God of Chaos either.
But if the enemy wanted to believe that… all the better.

His gaze moved past Sohyi—
To Queen Tamahi, who had approached but stopped in her tracks.

Alberu stood at her side. He met Cale’s eyes, then turned to Tamahi with a mischievous smile.

“Your Majesty.”

Ah.

Tamahi suddenly understood what she had to do.

New World.
Raising My Precious Absolute God.

There was a reason why users maintained order in this game, despite its overwhelming freedom.
Without that reason—without purpose—
Evil players would have run rampant, committing every crime imaginable.

“The criminal, Sohyi,” Queen Tamahi declared.
“Take her to the underground prison of the royal palace.”

Criminal.

The moment someone is declared one by a nation and imprisoned, it changes everything.
Even if a game user logs out and logs back in, they'll still be in prison.

And the underground prison of the royal palace?
To escape from there, you'd need the strength to challenge the palace itself.

It didn’t matter whether it was an NPC or a Semi-NPC—

That rule also applied to Semi-NPCs, who could log out, like game users.

Probably, this Wanderer is a Semi-NPC.

If it were a normal NPC, it couldn’t even leave the game.
And Semi-NPCs—they were fundamentally different from game users.

If you die here, you don’t come back.

Game users, even if they die in the game, can revive multiple times.
There’s a penalty, of course—but still, they’re given a chance.

But Semi-NPCs?
They simply die.

“Sohyi.”

Cale called her softly, almost affectionately.

“!”

Sohyi flinched.

Regardless, Cale—now releasing even more of his Dominating Aura—continued speaking gently.

“Don’t think you can escape.”

He leaned in, whispering near her ear.

“If you really want to stay in the game forever… go ahead and run.”

Staying in the game forever—
That meant death.

“Damn it!”

Sohyi writhed, a shiver crawling up her spine from the chill in Cale’s voice.

Vreeeeeee—!
Kiiik—!

The white light around her began to twist violently—
Fluctuating, as if it was moments from bursting.

“Your Majesty!”

As the officials and martial artists, who were about to catch her, were startled.

Swoosh.

A small, horizontal scar was carved on Sohyi’s neck.

“!”

Cale was surprised, but he restrained himself and turned his head.

He could see Choi Han’s sword.

A drop of blood had formed on the tip of the sword and was falling.

It was Sohyi’s blood.

“…”

Sohyi couldn’t say anything.

Choi Han, who had cut the white light, and had carved a horizontal line on her neck.

Sohyi was silent in the face of the terrifying aura.

Cale was a little scared.

It seems like she really can’t see anything now!

It was understandable.

After all, weren’t those guys the ones who had done that to Choi Jung Gun?

The fact that Choi Han was letting her live, was proof that he’s truly a kind and gentle guy.

– Kim Hae-il.

Of course, Cale also had a reason to provoke Sohyi.

– When the white light rose a while ago, a line flew into the distance.

Under the blood–red cloud.

This was the Heavenly Demon’s domain.

Cale, who had heard the Heavenly Demon’s words, stared intently at Sohyi, who was trembling, oppressed by the Dominating Aura.

One by one—

We’re going to hunt down those Five–Colored Family Hunter guys, one by one.

And then, we’ll make the God of Chaos, the Hunters, and the Demon World fight each other.

Everything was unfolding according to plan—within the general framework he had anticipated.

Cale glanced around the chaotic arena and turned to the queen.

“Your Majesty, you must take her immediately,” he said, motioning toward Sohyi, who remained frozen in place.

Then he added, almost casually, “Since we've caused this commotion, we'll accompany you as well.”

To the royal palace.

He had to meet the queen’s husband—the prince consort —at the palace.
That, too, was part of the plan.

Perfect.

Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, without the need to waste more time.

However—

“Hmm.”

Cale glanced at the people of the Kingdom of Lan—their eyes fixed on him, the Heavenly Demon, and Choi Han.
And he wondered.

Will this really be okay?

Everyone looked terrified.

Still, Cale offered a gentle smile and spoke kindly,
“We’re going to have a conversation together. And if there are any misunderstandings, we’ll resolve them.”

Of course, he was still wearing a mask.

Alberu, standing beside him, was the only one who quietly shook his head.

Rumble—

The blood-red clouds slowly began to fade, revealing patches of clear blue sky.
And as sunlight broke through, it began to shine faintly on the Sword of the Sun—the sacred object worn at Alberu’s waist.

No one noticed that.

 -----

P/R Thought:

Cale didn’t swing a sword—he just breathed and the arena froze. Absolute chills. 🩸😶‍🌫️

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Mayank]