Chapter 411: The Night and the Light (7)

The Saint of the God of Chaos thought:

Who is that insane masked man?

Who is he?

Where did he come from?

Yet, among all those questions, only one truly echoed in his mind.

What is he?

What is that existence, really?

“Saint! He has the sacred texts!”

“T-The sacred texts—!”

The bishop and the other cult leaders, their faces twisted in confusion, turned toward the masked man who had appeared out of nowhere.

It was as if they couldn’t even see the chaos raging around them.

They had no choice but to focus on him.

“Oh.”

The masked man smiled mischievously and said,

“Are these the sacred texts?”

Then, he lifted one of the scrolls—
and pretended to tear it apart.

“No, no—!”

One of the high priests cried out in despair.

The masked man shouted in response, with complete confidence:

“That’s why I told you not to come any closer!”

Whoooshhh—

A fresh wind began to swirl around him—

a wind as clear and invigorating as the one that sweeps through after a typhoon,
wrapping around everything beneath an open sky.

With that wind circling him, the masked man lifted his hand and pointed.

“You! You there! And you!”

He jabbed his finger toward the cult leaders and the knights standing at the center of the valley—
the heart of the ritual.

“Back off! I told you not to come any closer!”

Bam! Bam!

He struck the altar as if ready to destroy it.

Then he shouted again.

“Hey, believers!”

He pointed toward those who, amidst the chaos, were rushing forward to aid the cult—
even those whose abilities rivaled that of low-ranking knights.

“If they move, I’ll rip the sacred texts!”

He pretended to tear one of the scrolls again, his voice echoing through the valley.

“Or should I just destroy this altar instead?”

Bam! Bam!

He continued to kick the altar.

“Th-that crazy guy!”

Among the believers, anger and confusion spread like wildfire.

“Hahaha! This is the joy of being a villain! Hahaha!”

The masked man burst into wild laughter.

At that moment, the bishop rushed toward the Saint and shouted,

“Saint! How is it possible for that man to touch the sacred texts?!”

The reason why the Saint and the cult leaders were so confused was simple.

“Only the Saint and the Pope can touch the sacred texts!”

“No.”

The Saint finally spoke.

His tone was calm—almost eerily so.

“It’s not like that.”

He raised his eyes, watching the masked man who laughed amid the chaos.

“The sacred texts can only be touched by those who possess the divine authority granted by the God of Chaos.”

Currently, only the Saint and the Pope possessed that divine authority, so only they could touch the sacred texts and survive.

Anyone who tried to handle them without the proper divine authority would be devoured by their power and meet a gruesome end.

What is he?

That’s why.

What is that guy?

What kind of being is he, to be able to touch those sacred texts?

Once again, the corner of the masked man’s mouth came into view—
a malicious smile.

The Saint hesitated at that smile.

But he quickly gathered himself.

Whoooshhh—

The gray wind around him surged, growing denser.

“I’ll handle him.”

The Saint was the only one who could confront the man holding the sacred texts.

At that moment, the bishop—after a brief pause of realization—hurriedly cried out,

“Saint!”

Touching the sacred texts… meant possessing divine authority.

“What if he’s someone sent by the God of Chaos?”

“It could be.”

But—

“However, there is another existence that can touch these sacred texts.” “What?”

“Yes.”

Only one.

The sacred texts left by the God of Chaos—an ancient deity.
The only existence that could touch them was—

“A Five-Colored Level Wanderer.”

“!”

“And one more.”

The Saint intensified the gray wind swirling around him and prepared himself.
To touch those sacred texts, one needed a power comparable to divine authority.
That’s why—only a Wanderer with a Five-Colored Level Unique Power or— “A god.”

Only a god with true authority could do it.

“What? A god?”

The bishop’s eyes widened in shock.

“Contact the Pope immediately.”

The Saint said that and extended his hand.

Whoooosh—

Then, he raised both hands.

In each hand, a sword appeared.

They weren’t swords like those used by knights or swordsmen.

They were more like butcher blades.

Ripple—

They were weapons that didn’t suit the wide priest’s robe at all.
But the moment the Saint’s gray eyes gleamed with a strange, shifting light—

When those eyes, filled with the dread of chaos, locked directly onto the masked man—

Rumble—!

The earth trembled.

The Saint and Cale faced each other.
Cale, still smiling, spoke first.

“You arrived just in time.”

For a moment, silence fell.

Then—

The Saint was the one who had to avert his gaze first.

Boom—!

Boom—!

A huge explosion erupted right behind him.

“Ahhh!”

“Ugh! Stop him!”

The shouts of the believers and the hurried footsteps of the cult’s forces reached his ears.

He turned his head.

Behind him, the masked man spoke calmly—
“Why did you take so long? I was waiting for you.”

It was a cheerful yet complaining voice.

While those words echoed behind him, the Saint turned back toward the massive creature before him—
a gigantic red worm.

“…Wanderer.”

He muttered softly.

“Crazy people… it seems they were doing another insane thing again!”

“Hahahaha!”

The Wanderer, Cho, burst into laughter as he moved his hands in rapid succession atop the colossal worm made of molten lava.

Whoooosh—!

Whoooosh—!

Wherever he pointed, rivers of red liquid burst forth, devouring everything in their path.

“Ahhh!”

The cult was crumbling.

The believers were fleeing.

“I’ll kill them all!”

Cho’s eyes were wide.

He was in a state of extreme excitement.

He poured out the anger he'd been bottling up — the shock of Wanderer Sohyi’s disappearance, the sting of betrayal, the stab in the back, the loss of an arm, the humiliations inflicted by his enemies.

“I must destroy everything! I must burn everything! How dare they touch me!”

Even thoughts of Sohyi flickered and vanished like dying embers.

The air trembled with heat and fury—

Then—

“A moment.”

The Wanderer Ryeon’s calm voice cut through the madness.
Her brother was losing himself again.

She would handle it.
She always could.
Even in the midst of rage, she was the one who could still think clearly.

“What’s going on here?”

They had stormed the God of Chaos cult—
tearing through everything in their path—
yet they had seen no one except a few scattered guards.

Sensing that something was wrong, they pressed on until they reached the Primordial Night, the sacred hall where all the believers and leaders of the cult were gathered.

“…The Saint.”

The Saint was there as well.
And besides him—

Furtive glance~
Furtive glance~

One by one, the figures responsible for this chaos began to emerge.

Two mages and a swordsman—

She didn’t even notice the weak sacrifices.

Who are they?

A man wearing a mask and a black suit stood at the center of the sacred place.

“!”

Their gazes met.

The man of unknown identity opened his mouth—and shouted,

“They’re trying to summon the God of Chaos here!”

Not only Ryeon’s eyes, but also Cho’s eyes opened wide.

“What?”

It was crazy.

Why would the hunters choose this virtual world?
Because here, there was no divine intervention.
And now—someone was saying that a god could actually intervene?

“Ah…”

Could it be—
something that had changed as this world began to turn real?

The moment Ryeon’s eyes flashed with a glimmer of understanding.

“From the beginning… this was a plan to trample on the Absolute God!”

The masked man shouted again.

“Shut up!”

A high priest, without realizing it, shouted in panic.

“…….”

Ryeon stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking.

“It’s not a lie.”

The waning moon.

The night sky was fully visible now that the primordial roots bridge had disappeared.

The answer was clear.

“Destroy it.”

The Wanderer Sohyi.

The Kingdom of Lan.

That wasn’t all.

The God of Chaos cult had already betrayed us.

“Cho,” she said quietly.
“Even if we die, we must destroy everything.”

And in that instant, she made her decision.

Even if that person—the Five-Colored Level Wanderer—were to arrive,
the fate of this place was already sealed.

Destruction.
The death of everyone.
That was all.

Crack—

The air around Ryeon began to freeze, ice slowly crawling across the ground.

“Yes! Destroy everything!”

A mischievous voice rang out.
No—an excited one.

“Hahaha!”

The masked man.

Suddenly, he was getting off the altar.

“Let’s destroy everything—and loot while we’re at it!”

The Wanderer Cho blinked.

“Who is that crazy guy?”

But there was no time to question him.

Whoooosh—

The Saint moved.

He was in a hurry.

He moved quickly, riding the gray wind.

The altar?

No—he wasn’t protecting it.
He was heading straight for the man who had just left it.

“S-Saint!”

At that moment, someone called him hurriedly.

He couldn’t help it.

Boom!

The earth trembled violently.

“!”

“What the hell is going on!”

Ryeon and Cho were just as bewildered.

Wuuuummm— Wuuuummm—

Wuuuuummm—

Suddenly, the entire place began to tremble, as if on the verge of exploding.

Is he that strong?

Ryeon had noticed the two mages earlier.

Although their mana was quite large, it wasn’t something to worry about, so she had ignored them.

But then—

Silver.
Red.

Two colors of mana soared into the sky.

Kraaaash—!

And the moment they collided with the ground—

Wuuuuummm—

The two colors of mana spiraled toward the center of the valley and intertwined—
forming a massive magic circle.

“No!”

The bishop, realizing the situation, tried to intervene.

– Rosalyn.

– Yes.

– Instead of the sacrifices, let’s lift the others and then drop them. Can you control that?

– Yes. I just need to block their mana.

A dragon and a mage exchanged a brief glance—then clapped their hands.

Clap.

The sharp sound echoed through the valley.

Whoooosh—!

A blinding light—silver and red interwoven—burst upward from the circle.

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

“Ahhh!”

The bodies of everyone inside the magic circle began to rise swiftly into the air.

Over five hundred sacrifices—
their bodies enveloped in silver and red light—
rose into the air.

“Ah—”

People from other worlds, who had lived different lives and spoken different tongues,
looked upward.

Beyond the brilliant glow, they saw the night sky—
the waning moon,
and the distant stars that also shone in their own worlds.

And as they ascended toward that night and those stars,
they understood, instinctively—

They were being rescued.

No—
they were living.

It couldn’t be anything else.

The light surrounding them carried warmth—
a warmth without a single trace of malice.

The silver mana shone like lightning,
the red like fire.
But neither sought to harm.

They only felt the will—
the will to free them from this wretched place.

Bam—!

But those who hadn’t received that will—
those who had risen into the air only to crash back down—
quickly regained their senses and screamed in despair.

“Stop them!”

“Catch them!”

The others also shouted.

“Catch those mages!”

“And catch the sacrifices!”

Tens of thousands of believers reacted to those words.

Because they knew—
“Our night—”
“No! Today is the Night of Pleasure!”

For them, this ritual was sacred.
The most important ceremony of their faith—
and now, it was being destroyed.

That could not be allowed.

And the bishop, thinking that he had to stop this situation, looked around and shouted.

“Saint, we must stop them—!”

But his voice faltered.
His eyes widened.

Wuuunng—

The Saint didn’t even glance at the sacrifices.

He had moved the moment the magic was activated—
leaving the area of the spell behind.

He was heading in one direction.

Toward the masked man.

Toward Cale.

The Saint ran at full speed.
He couldn’t help it.

“No!”

For the first time, a desperate voice came out of the Saint’s mouth.

How!

How did he know that?

Even in such an urgent situation, that question lingered in the Saint’s mind.
He couldn’t help it.

Splash~

Cale, having leapt down from the altar, stepped into the lake.

– Sniff, sniff!

The sound of the wind caught the scent of the sacred object.

– It’s mine……!

Besides, feeling Cheapskate’s obsession with the altar.

Cale headed down from the altar and raised his head for a moment.

“This… this guy—!”

The Saint was closing in—
butcher knives in both hands, riding the gray wind like a divine storm.

His gray eyes were filled with the Chaos Fear, But—

– Hmph.

The Dominating Aura scoffed.

– He’s not a god, but a Saint.

That’s why—

Cale smiled, a crooked, malicious grin spreading across his face.

The Saint, having unleashed all his power through the Chaos Fear, could see Cale smiling.

Cale simply waved his hand.

The valley was in chaos—
lights were still rising into the air.

Splash!

He dove into the small pond.

– Sniff, sniff! An incredible sacred object!

– Pant, pant! Let’s steal the altar too!

Cale could see it clearly now—
a small bay at the bottom of the pond.

There, a faint swirl of gray wind was spinning.
And at its center, something faintly gleamed.

That’s it.

The sacred object gathered for the return of the God of Chaos.

Hehe.

I’ll steal that and run away!

I’ll disappear like a true villain!

Cale grinned to himself, happily imagining his escape plan as he swam deeper.

Splash!

He knew the Saint would follow him.

Cale heard the splash behind him—the sound of someone diving—and quickened his pace toward the bottom.

This is almost over.

The Wanderers had already destroyed most of the sacred ground and the cult.
While he kept the Saint occupied, his companions would rescue the sacrifices.
Choi Han and Raon, outside the gorge, were preparing a path for everyone to escape.

Yes. This is almost over.

I just need to steal it and run away.

* * *

“Huh?”

The Crazy Exhibitionist.

He stood frozen, staring at the gorge where the primordial roots of the Primordial Night had vanished beneath the waning moon.

“…Light?”

A silver and red radiance—twined together in perfect harmony—was rising toward the sky.

“People?”

That light was carrying people upward, their faces trembling between tears and relief.

“Magic?”

Yes—magic.
Magic that lifted hundreds of people into the air.

“#%&^&.”

“@#%!”

He couldn’t understand what those people were saying.

Can a game be like this?
Is it a mistake?

While he was still lost in thought, a voice reached his ears.

“…I feel the power of the sun.”

It was the Holy One.

She, who had been silent until now, finally spoke—
her eyes fixed on Choi Han and Raon.

“I also feel something else… extremely sinister and evil powers.”

Drip.

Cold sweat ran down her cheek.

“But without a doubt,” she continued softly,
“among those enormous powers, there is also the power of the sun. And that light surrounding those people—”

She paused, her gaze lifting toward the glowing sky.

“—that light is warm.”

The Holy One asked.

“Who are you?”

But—

Flap, flap.

Raon was too busy to answer.

– Raon, can you hear me?

The gray sky cleared, and Eruhaben’s voice reached his ears.

– Those people are the sacrifices. We must save them.

The people rising toward the sky—

Raon understood immediately.

“We must save them!”

Flap, flap.

Despite his frantic flapping, dark mana began to gather around the small dragon’s body.

The overwhelming power made the Holy One, the holy knight, and even the one obsessed with madness—the Crazy Exhibitionist—hold their breath.

“We will save them!”

Raon’s bright eyes shone with determination.

The Holy One and the holy knight stopped, stunned by the purity in that gaze.

The little dragon, the color of night, was not dark.
The black-haired knight beside him wasn’t either.

Because both of their eyes were too clear.

Whoooosh—!

Choi Han was already rescuing those who were rising from the canyon.

Raon turned to the Holy One.

“When I gather the sacrifices, everyone must help!”

Flap, flap!

“We will save the people!”

And at that moment, a system window appeared before the Crazy Exhibitionist and his companion player.

[Do you accept the ‘Night and Light’ mission?]

[Where there is night, the light shines brighter. Here, night and light are working together to save this world. Will you help them?]

…Save this world?

Is this world in danger?

A glimmer of understanding flickered in the Crazy Exhibitionist’s eyes.

He suddenly saw them—
Raon and Choi Han,
the Holy One,
and the holy knight who worshipped the God of the Sun.

But—

The real place isn’t here.

He could feel it.
His obsession with madness had been triggered.

It’s below.

Something was happening below.

There—
where night and light coexisted—
they were facing the true threat of this world.

But what did it mean for this world to be in danger?

At that moment, a new line appeared in the mission window.

[Can you help save this world, this place, this game?]

“Huh?”

This game?

Panic flickered in the eyes of the two players.

The Holy One stepped forward and asked.

Her voice was urgent.

“Who are you?”

The moment she shouted, Raon—focused on saving the sacrifices and realizing the situation was critical—answered while casting his spell.

He remembered something Cale had told him once.

It was better for him to speak, since Choi Han couldn’t.

“We are the Kingdom of Darkness!”

The two followers of the God of the Sun—
and the two players—
all froze at those words.

Raon puffed up his chest and declared proudly,

“We are very strong!”

“We, the Human and our companions, are very strong.”

“That’s why we can save them all!”

With eyes as bright as the stars in the night sky, Raon activated his magic.

A massive net of mana formed across the gorge—
replacing the broken bridge—
and it gently caught the rising sacrifices.

“Help us, Holy One! Holy knight! And you, humans!”

Choi Han had already leapt toward the net, helping to guide the people safely out of the gorge.

Flap, flap!

Raon turned to those who still stood frozen.

“Let’s save everyone!”

And when he saw the purity in those eyes,
the Crazy Exhibitionist moved his hand—
without even realizing it.

[You have accepted the ‘Night and Light’ mission.]

And the Holy One moved.

Wuuunng—

A sacred power erupted from her body—
a radiant, healing force that spread through the air.

The Death Cliff of the Demon Kingdom.

There, the black and white light began to sprout.

Crack.

And within the Demon Kingdom—

The residents who lived in that despised place began to move slowly in the darkness, responding to those lights.

 -----

P/R Thoughts: Under the waning moon, light and chaos collide — Cale dives for the sacred relic, the Wanderers burn the night, and Raon rises as the beacon that bridges night and light.

***

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]