Chapter 407: The Night and the Light (3)

Cale surveyed the sanctuary area and then turned around.
Crown Prince Alberu spoke.
“It’s beneath the Primordial Roots.”
The sanctuary was positioned at the center of the Death Cliff, which was shaped like a cross. It lay beneath the single bridge that connected the Demon Kingdom at the junction of the two intersecting gorges.

“The reason the bridge disappears on the new moon is because of the Night of Pleasure.”
Rosalyn spoke, and Alberu nodded.
The Heavenly Demon, who had been stealthily observing their surroundings, spoke next.
“This entire city feels like a single cult.”
Like the Demonic Cult.
“Honestly, it’s worse than the Demonic Cult.”
As they quietly made their way here, leaping over walls and rooftops, the group silently agreed with the Heavenly Demon’s words.
The countless buildings they had passed—
Houses, shops, even what seemed like government offices—
All carried the same ominous air.

There were more people than they expected.
It truly looked like a city.
But compared to the vast expanse of land, its actual size was closer to that of a small or medium-sized one.
Even so, the number of people was considerable.

Everyone here is a follower of the God of Chaos.

Moreover, they were fanatics—those who genuinely delighted in the horrific ritual known as the Night of Pleasure.

They are all enemies.

Except for the captives taken as sacrifices, Cale couldn’t trust a single person here.

"It's strange."

Rosalyn spoke, drawing Cale’s attention.
“Although they worship Chaos, this place is more orderly than anywhere else—terrifyingly so.”

It really was.
Every street, every building followed a pattern.
“All the buildings face the sanctuary,” Rosalyn added.

On their way here, every structure they passed had windows facing in only one direction.
And at the end of that line of sight lay the sanctuary.
To be precise—
“They’re all oriented toward the Primordial Night.”

The center of the city.

The Primordial Roots.

The sanctuary that existed beneath.

The Primordial Night sanctuary at the center of the sanctuary.

Every building in the city had its windows facing that place.

Gashan, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.
“There’s no grass or wildflowers here.”

It was true.
Outside the city, the forest stretched endlessly—
But within these walls, not a single blade of grass grew.

“And there are no birds flying.”
Indeed, there were no birds.
No beasts.

“There are no insects either.”
Not even the faintest chirp of an insect could be heard.

“...There’s no life at all.”

Except for the followers of the God of Chaos,
There were no living beings here.

Under the gray sky, only the followers existed.

“But even so, it’s full of energy.”
Gashan’s expression was tense.

In this place devoid of other life, the followers of the God of Chaos lived as if everything were normal—
Laughing, chatting,
Their voices echoing through the still air.

Yet the atmosphere was strangely lively.
Even though night was fast approaching.

Beneath the gray sky, where even the sunset couldn’t be seen,
Their excitement could not be hidden.

“They seem to be waiting for night to come soon.”

After the Heavenly Demon’s low voice, silence fell.

Cale looked around at his companions in silence—
Then stopped his gaze on one person.

Someone who had been quietly staring at the sky for a while.
“Eruhaben-nim.”

The Ancient Dragon slowly lowered his gaze and met Cale’s eyes.

“It would be better to split into two teams.”

There were six of them in total.

“One team will rescue the sacrifices. The other will explore the sanctuary. That’s how we’ll move.”

The rescue team would be led by Eruhaben.
He already knew where the captives—those chosen as sacrifices—were being held.

“We have to save them.”
It was the right thing to do.
Morally, and strategically.

More than anything, stopping the ritual meant stopping the arrival of the God of Chaos.
To prevent that, the ritual itself had to be destroyed.

“Gashan.”
“Yes, Cale-nim.”
“Rosalyn.”
“Understood.”

Gashan, Eruhaben, and Rosalyn.
Those three would form one team.

Even without Cale saying more, Eruhaben already knew exactly what had to be done.

“There are four detention sites,” Eruhaben said.
“East, west, south, and north.”

Along the inner walls of the four gorge entrances, the sacrifices were being held.
“The total is about five hundred.”
At each site, between one hundred and one hundred fifty people were confined.
Eruhaben had already confirmed the numbers.

Rosalyn added, “You can’t teleport inside the Demon Kingdom.”
They’d tried to move the captives with a large teleportation circle, but it was impossible here.

“And we only know one secret passage,” she continued — the narrow route Hinpa Gong had shown them, wide enough for only two adults to pass at a time.
There was no way to evacuate five hundred people through it. It would take too long, and the sanctuary’s followers wouldn’t stand idly by.

Eruhaben spoke calmly, “The best way is to get all the sacrifices out at once.”

One possible method was mass teleportation—but that was impossible.

Cale’s gaze lifted toward the sky.
Rosalyn, following his line of sight, spoke quietly.
“Even if we can’t teleport, if we gather the people and use wind magic to lift them out of the gorge, it might work.”

Lifting five hundred people at once and carrying them beyond the gorge’s edge—
It wouldn’t be easy.
But with Eruhaben, Rosalyn, and Alberu, it wasn’t impossible either.

“But that gray sky is the problem.”

Eruhaben had already considered a similar plan.
However, there was one obstacle.
The gray sky.

“Wouldn’t users or semi-NPCs die—or disconnect—if they touch that gray mist?”
That was the rule of the game.

“It’s likely the power of the God of Chaos,” Rosalyn murmured. “We don’t know what will happen to the sacrifices inside it. Or if we can even pass through it ourselves.”

Eruhaben’s expression hardened.
He already knew how vast the power of the God of Chaos was—
He had seen it with his own eyes, when it appeared before Cale.

“Hmm…”
Rosalyn let out a slow sigh.

Cale spoke.
“Let’s do it that way.”

Lowering his gaze from the sky, he addressed the two great mages.
“We’ll lift all the captured sacrifices through the sky and get them out. That sounds good to me.”

“But the sky—” Rosalyn began, but Cale continued before she could finish.

“In Hinpa Gong’s memories, the Night of Pleasure wasn’t gray.”

Eruhaben’s expression shifted.

“It was just night. A moonless night.”

The real sky.
A night without the gray mist.

In Hinpa Gong’s memories, the Night of Pleasure had simply been a moonless night.

“I don’t know what it’s like in the other areas,” Cale continued, “but in the Primordial Night—the place where the ritual takes place—the sky wasn’t gray.”

That day, they didn’t know whether the rest of the city’s sky had remained gray.

But in the Primordial Night—the stage where the sacrifices died—the sky was real.

“Alright.”
Eruhaben made his decision.

“Raon and Choi Han will arrive soon. They’ll wait outside.”

Raon and Choi Han, who had entered the Demon Kingdom following the map Alberu had left for them, were on their way here.

Tonight was the moonless night.
If the gray mist vanished, and the true sky opened above the Primordial Night sanctuary—

“When we send the sacrifices up later, Raon will be there to receive them.”

“Yes.”

That meant only one thing.

“When all the sacrifices are inside the sanctuary…”

When all five hundred people were gathered beneath the Primordial Night.

Before the ritual began—

“Before the saint does anything with the sacrifices, we’ll send them all at once.”

Eruhaben’s gaze turned toward Rosalyn.

“Yes. We’ll do it together.”

Rosalyn smiled confidently.

Tonight, all the followers would gather at the sanctuary—
To celebrate.
To worship.
To revel in madness.

And there, in the middle of the enemy,
Eruhaben and Rosalyn would have to protect five hundred lives
While sending them out of the gorge.

“I’m sure.”
“Of course.”

The great mage and the ancient dragon exchanged a natural smile.

“Soon.”

Cale looked at the darkening sky.

“When the sun sets completely and the sky darkens…”

When night comes.

“That’s when the ritual will begin.”

In terms of time—
“It’ll be in about an hour.”

Cale calmly informed his companions of the schedule.

“After each team finishes their preparations, let’s meet at the Primordial Night sanctuary.”

Gashan, standing beside Eruhaben, spoke.
“If they followed the trail properly, the Wanderers should arrive around that time—or a little earlier.”

Wanderers Cho and Ryeon.
Though unintentional, their timing would be perfect.

“See you later.”

Eruhaben, Rosalyn, and Gashan left first.

Cale had a reason for keeping Eruhaben and Rosalyn together.
He didn’t know what would happen once chaos broke out.
Even if they couldn’t save the captives, at the very least, they could protect them—with shields and magic.

– I'm here too. I’m good at protecting as well.

The Indestructible Shield, the gluttonous priestess, made her presence known.
Cale pretended not to hear her.

I don't know how it will turn out.

At first, Cale had only planned to make the cult of the God of Chaos clash with the two Wanderers—to let them destroy the sanctuary themselves.

…But now, he wasn’t sure how the cult would react.

The Primordial Night.
If this place wasn’t just a sanctuary, but a vessel for the arrival of the God of Chaos—
He had no idea what the cult might do to protect it.

And if it's a place for arrival, we must destroy it no matter what.

Cale had more than one reason to bring it down.

Saving Choi Jung Gun.
Securing the divine artifact for the Blue Wolf.
Preventing the descent of the God of Chaos.

Three goals.
All essential.

To achieve them—
“Let’s go.”

Cale moved with the Heavenly Demon and Alberu.

The Heavenly Demon was the only companion who had manifested his Unique Power and possessed martial skills. Furthermore, he is also the leader of the demonic cult—no one understood such fanatics better than him.

And Alberu…
His strength and magic were both superior.

He's the person who knows my intentions best and will act in my place if I'm in trouble.

Cale needed someone like that at his side.

If Cale fainted or entered some unknown state.

He must give orders in my place.

For that, he had to show Alberu the important places.

"Let's complete the mission conditions and obtain the purification ritual in the archives."

[Go to the hidden place in the archives and obtain the 'Record of the Power of Chaos'.]

[Go to the Primordial Night and destroy the acquired record.]

“Then, let’s meet at the sanctuary.
When we’re about to rescue the sacrifices, we’ll break the record in the Primordial Night.
The other two will focus on protecting Eruhaben-nim and Miss Rosalyn.”

The Heavenly Demon spoke.
“The Primordial Night… that’s where the saint performs the ritual, right?”

“Yes.”

The Primordial Night sanctuary —
The very center of the city.
The place where the saint stood, forcing the captives to slaughter one another under the influence of chaos.

The Heavenly Demon nodded and added.
“And while we’re at it, we can secure the divine artifact for the Blue Wolf.”

“Yes. Correct.”

Whether it was in the archives or within the sanctuary itself, a divine artifact would be there.
Amidst the chaos, stealing it wouldn’t be difficult.

“And—”

Cale added one more objective.

Something to be done before they regrouped at the sanctuary.
If possible.

“If possible, let’s check the saint beforehand.”

The saint.
Cale hadn’t expected to find him here, but it was the day of the ritual — the saint would be in the sanctuary.

“Alright.”
The Heavenly Demon smiled slowly.
“The saint and the Wanderers will clash.”

“Correct.”

That was the scenario Cale pictured.
The Chaos Fear — the saint’s signature skill.
What kind of person would wield it? How strong would the saint be?
Would there even be a pope here?
So many questions.
There was only one way to answer them.

Cale exhaled once and spoke.
“Let’s go.”

The temple. They only had to infiltrate it.

The Heavenly Demon already knew exactly how to make that happen.

"Will stealing clothes from some low-ranking priests be enough?"
"Yes. Mid-ranking priests would be better."
"That should do."
The Heavenly Demon took the lead—then vanished.
He must have used his martial skills.

Soon, Cale was sure he’d have the priest’s uniform of the God of Chaos cult in his hands.

There's no time, so let's hurry.

One hour.

It wasn't much time.

Huh?

A strange thought crossed his mind, and Cale halted.

Someone who should’ve been following his steps was silent.

"Your Highness?"

Crown Prince Alberu.

He was standing behind, motionless.

Come to think of it, he had been silent for a while.

When the Heavenly Demon left for a moment, only Cale and Alberu remained.

"Hey."

The moment he heard Alberu’s voice, Cale’s expression stiffened.

Something’s wrong.

Cale had a bad feeling.

"A mission appeared."
A mission.
At this moment, there was only one kind of mission Alberu could receive.

"Is it the hero’s mission?"
Cale had a reason to think that.

Buzz.

The sword hanging at Alberu’s waist.

The Sword of the Sun.

A weapon that held the power of the God of the Sun, one only a hero could wield.
The blade vibrated violently.

Cale finally noticed the faint golden glow radiating from Alberu’s body.
Alberu’s gaze met his.

Cale repeated his question, almost certain now.
"It’s the hero’s mission, right?"

Alberu shook his head.
"No."

"Huh?"

Before Cale could respond to the unexpected answer—

"...It’s a mission from the God of the Sun," Alberu said quietly.

"The owner of the Sword of the Sun is the God of the Sun, so he gave you a mission?"

"No."

"Huh?"

"The real God of the Sun."

"...Huh?"

Cale blinked. The sound that came out of his mouth was almost silly.

"The God of the Sun we know?"

Alberu nodded once—slowly—and, turning his gaze, looked into the void.

Zzzzt— zzzzt—

A faint, mechanical distortion filled his ears. Only he could hear it.

Then, a semi-transparent window appeared before his eyes—
broken, flickering, its edges tearing apart.

Zzzzt— zzzzt—

The golden window was vanishing in real time, as if reality itself was trying to erase it.
Something that shouldn’t exist was forcing its way through.

Yet before it disappeared completely, a message gleamed across its fractured surface.

<Finally, I have reached you.>

Below that, a line of text began to fade.

<He who has inherited the power of the sun.>

Alberu is a quarter Dark Elf acknowledged by the God of the Sun.
He is also the Crown Prince of the Crossman family—one bound to that same god by legend.

Alberu is certain now.
This God of the Sun is real.

<Thank you and I'm sorry.>

The God of the Sun had always spoken those words to him.
No—those words were not just for Alberu.
They were for the Dark Elves and the necromancers alike.

That was when Alberu understood.

This wasn’t the God of the Sun from the game.
This was the real God of the Sun.

Then, another realization struck him.

Come to think of it—

Among the gods that exist in this game, the God of Chaos, the God of Hope, and the God of Balance are not there.

But the God of the Sun exists.

Although no one has actually seen the God of the Sun, many followers in this game believe in him.

The Church of the Sun remains the largest cult in this world—
a colossal faith, far beyond comparison to the cult of the God of Chaos.

And this world is becoming real.

Didn't Cale say that they would soon be able to communicate with the God of Death through divine artifacts?

And this world—

There were countless NPCs who worshiped the God of the Sun, a deity with no form, unseen by anyone.

If this world was slowly becoming real...

Then wasn’t it possible—
that the faith of those followers had reached the true God of the Sun?

<I have a request.>

<Please stop the arrival of the God of Chaos.>

Alberu stared at the mission window as it cracked apart.

Zzzzt— zzzzt—

The mission window finally disappeared.

Then—

Buzz.

Alberu tilted his head.
Somehow, he felt a familiar energy.
No—this was more than energy. It was a presence.

Where had he felt this before?

His hand moved to the scabbard at his waist.
It was hot.

Roan.
His home came to mind.

The warm rays of the morning sun that had always illuminated him—
that same warmth now touched his hand.

The mission window was gone.

But the sun of Roan—the power he had always known—was still here.
It was resting quietly within this scabbard.

He lifted his head.
The sky above was gray.

Yet in his grasp, he held the sun.

"Ha."

Alberu let out a short laugh. There was no other way to express this strange, heavy feeling.

“…Do I have to become a real hero now?”

He said that as he looked at Cale.

Cale, of course, understood the situation—more or less.

He knew that through the plan of the God of Chaos' arrival, this world was becoming real, connecting with multiple dimensions… even with the Gods themselves.

That's why Cale only said one thing.

"Cool."

And seeing that silly expression, Alberu’s face twisted immediately.

"This is ridiculous."

For some reason, irritation welled up inside him.

But still—
the power of the sun remained within the scabbard he held.

A light that would not fade, even in the night.

* * *

“The Demon Kingdom?”

“Yes. We must go to the Demon Kingdom.”

“Is that where the divine artifact—the Sword of the Sun that carries the will of the God of the Sun—is located?”

“Yes.”

The saint rose from her seat.

The highest-ranking holy knight of the church approached her.
Sir Boltien.

When Cale had looted the Church of the God of the Sun in the Western Empire—
when he faced Bishop Serisa at the Imperial Academy—
Boltien had been there.

“I will go with you,” he said quietly.

The saint of the Church of the God of the Sun and its holy knight—
the two representatives of their faith—set out for the Demon Kingdom.

Without hesitation.
Without delay.

* * *

“Choi Han, let’s hurry!”

Raon and Choi Han both looked up at the sky.

The sunset had already faded, and the horizon was deepening into blue.
Night would fall soon.

“Our human will definitely want us there fast! We have to reach him before he vomits blood and faints again!”

At Raon’s anxious outburst, Choi Han—who had been moving quickly—suddenly halted.

Whoosh—

The Primordial Roots.

The place they were supposed to meet Cale was finally in sight.

“Huh?”

Choi Han suddenly stopped.

It had disappeared.

The Primordial Roots—had become invisible.

And there, in that hidden place, were two users.

“Hehehe!”
“I’m recording.”
“Hehehe!”

One strange person.
And another, calmly ignoring him.

Choi Han paused for a brief moment, then continued forward.

"Huh?"

The two users turned toward him. Among them, the one known as Crazy Exhibitionist looked at Choi Han with bright, curious eyes.

The appearance of a new NPC from the Demon Kingdom.

Choi Han, unsure how to react—
Raon, cheerfully flapping beside him—

A human and a baby dragon now stood before a broadcast user renowned for madness.

And soon, the saint and the holy knight would arrive.

Thus, a grand stage—
one that Cale had no idea about—
was quietly being prepared in this place.

 -----

P/R Thoughts: Cale’s teams prepare for battle beneath the Death Cliff — as Alberu receives a mission from the real God of the Sun, and gods, Wanderers, and madness converge on the Primordial Night.

***

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]