Chapter 415: Confront and Protect (2)

Splash.

The gray water reached the feet of those closest to the pond.

“Oh, oh—God, God—!”

A believer.

“God of Chaos—ah, ah—!”

A priest.

At first, even though they were terrified, they welcomed it with joy.

But the moment they touched the water—

the moment they inhaled the gray smoke—

“Ahhhh!”

“Ugh—!”

They clutched their heads.

Excruciating pain and despair—

and at the same time, maddening pleasure and joy.

Tens of thousands of emotions surged through them all at once.

Their heads burned; their thoughts blurred.

The heat was unbearable—

as if their skulls were about to burst.

Drip.

Everyone began to bleed.

But the blood of those who had touched the water wasn’t red—

it was gray.

When humans who had lived their whole lives under rules

faced true Chaos—

when they were consumed by that terror—

Clang!

Clang!

“The… the Chaos—!”

Someone drew a weapon.

“Ugh!”

Someone screamed.

“Hahaha—!”

Someone else cried while laughing, unable to stop.

But there was one thing they all shared.

“Die! Stop screaming!”

“Stop crying!”

Some tried to kill others.

“Stop, stop…!”

Others, unable to bear it any longer, turned their weapons on themselves.

Everyone was rushing toward death.

“What… what is this—?”

The Wanderer Cho looked at his sister, Ryeon.

“Sister… can you hear it now?”

He, too, was facing the Chaos.

Ryeon’s face was pale.

“We must… flee—”

As Wanderers, and with a Transparent-level Unique Power, Cho and Ryeon were probably the only ones resisting amid this Chaos.

It was fortunate they hadn’t gotten close to the pond.

Then Cho spoke again, his voice low.

“Can we escape?”

He was afraid—

for the first time.

His gaze lifted toward the sky.

The gray smoke, rising with the water, was gradually covering the night…

the waning moon.

Little by little, as always—

it was dyeing the sky gray.

But this time, it was different from before.

That sky—

was truly a sky of death.

The Wanderers Cho and Ryeon stood frozen.

Neither could find words.

The only thing Ryeon managed to say was:

“What the hell is—”

What’s happening?

That was all she could utter.

“—!”

But she couldn’t finish.

Ryeon, known for her sharp mind, realized it before anyone else.

“There.”

“Huh?”

Cho followed her gaze.

At the center—

where the water was gushing upward,

where the rock had emerged from the pond—

there, where four people seemed to be huddled together…

“Only there.”

Yes.

Only there—

those people were still fine.

The moment Ryeon thought that and tried to move—

“!”

She froze.

“…What?”

On the rock—

one person was standing.

“Why… why—”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Why, when I see that man now…

do I think of the Patriarch—the first Wanderer?

The man standing alone.

Cale Henituse.

He couldn’t know what Ryeon was thinking—

and he didn’t want to know.

Tremble.

The hand gripping the sword was still shaking.

But he ignored it.

“Damn it!”

He ignored the pain.

He had to.

“Damn it!”

Foul words spilled out of his mouth—

because this was truly a damned situation.

Damn!

Everyone was about to die.

They were so consumed by Chaos that they could no longer regain their sanity.

Splash.

The gray water spread even farther.

It already seemed greater than what the pond could ever hold—

yet it kept gushing out endlessly.

Sssss—

And the gray smoke spread, covering everything.

- Cale.

But there was another problem.

- The smoke is rising.

Yes.

As Super Rock said, the smoke was rising.

It wasn’t just covering this sacred place—

it was spreading rapidly through the gorge,

reaching even toward the Demon Kingdom beyond.

Outside the gorge were the sacrifices—

and also Raon and Choi Han.

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Ugh…”

Eruhaben and the Heavenly Demon were gasping for breath.

The ancient dragon and the martial artist — both stronger than Cale — were suffering.

Alberu was nearly unconscious.

And Rosalyn and Gashan were barely holding on,

biting back their screams.

Tremble.

My body is trembling too.

He looked down at his hand.
The gray covering it was growing deeper, more vivid.

- Damn!

The Dominating Aura was clinging to him desperately.

Because I can see.

There are no auditory hallucinations.

My vision is clear.

All of my senses were sharp.

“Ugh…”

Cale took a deep breath.

The cold night air filled his lungs.

Yes, I’m breathing fine.

Drip.

Another line of blood trickled from his mouth.

Drop.

Cale’s gaze followed the droplet as it fell onto the back of his hand—
and his eyes gleamed with sudden understanding.

It’s red.

Cale noticed that everywhere around him, people were bleeding gray,
their bodies consumed by Chaos.

But I’m not.

Cale understood.

I’m holding out… more than I thought.

I haven’t been consumed by Chaos.

It wasn’t just his eyes.
The inside of his body — not the outside — had yet to be dyed by Chaos.

I’m fine.

Yes.

I, and the ancient powers, are fine.

Still—
It’s worth trying.
Because—

Cale raised his head.

The gray-dyed sky.

Through it, the waning moon.

The night was visible.

Through that night, through the darkness,
Cale was waiting for a very intelligent child—
an existence that would remain untouched by this Chaos.

The only existence that had remained untouched—
when the God of Chaos’ eyes appeared,
when the gray wave and tsunami struck,
and when the Blue Wolf and the God of Chaos clashed.

“Human!”

Through the darkness came a familiar voice.

Emerald-blue eyes, shining like stars, were racing toward Cale.

“Chaos again? I told you—if you touch our human or our family, I’ll destroy everything!”

Raon, filled with fury, was flying toward him, wings flapping with power.

An existence that could never be swept away by Chaos.

He arrived.

Raon—the one to whom he could entrust his companions—had arrived.

Now he didn’t have to worry about them anymore.

But it’s not the end.

The ritual had already begun.
The God of Chaos could descend.

I must stop it.

To do that, he had to face the power of this Chaos.
He had to repel the gray water and smoke.
He had to save the people from Chaos.

“Hey.”

Cale called out to an existence.

- Damn!

The Dominating Aura expressed its irritation.
It had already sensed Cale’s intentions.

- Alright! I don’t know anymore!

His voice trembled.

The Dominating Aura was reaching its limit.

But it wasn’t at its limit yet.

Cale’s Dominating Aura has never been used beyond its limit.

- Let’s try to save everyone at once!

He muttered quietly.
His voice, though trembling with tension, remained firm.

- Yes, you made it this far. The others too. Yes, we can do it.

Because the Dominating Aura also knew—

- I’m stronger than I thought!

It wasn’t just his eyes.
Cale could feel it through his red blood—
deep inside, he knew the Dominating Aura was protecting him.

He was stronger than he thought.

If he knew that, then he didn’t need to brag.

No.

In times like this, you needed to brag.

“Let’s try it.”

Cale bragged.

- Yes, let’s face it!

The Dominating Aura began to emanate energy.

- But, Cale, you might suffer more. I won’t be able to focus on you that much.

It doesn’t matter.

Cale intuitively understood that he could only release this sacred object once the gray water and smoke disappeared.

The enemy’s final move.
He had to destroy that final move mercilessly.

“It’s okay if I faint.”

Cale gave his permission.

- Alright! Come on, let’s try to repel this energy!

The Dominating Aura shouted, its voice brimming with bravado.
Yet none of the ancient powers scolded it.

Drip.

Blood flowed from Cale’s mouth again.

Drop.

The moment that drop of red blood slid down the back of his hand and touched the sacred object—

Sssss—

Then, the wind blew.

---!

And, as if it were all a lie, everyone stopped.

For a moment.
Just for a moment—

everyone stopped.

- Cale.

The Dominating Aura spoke in a low voice.

- If Chaos shows illusions and makes you feel Chaos...

Yes.

Cale already knew what the Dominating Aura was going to say.

So instead, he spoke.

“We can make them feel reality.”

Thump. Thump.
His heart thumped hard.

He could feel the Vitality of the Heart surging,
its regenerative power pushing his body to its limits.

Either way, Cale used something that the illusions created by Chaos could never conceal.

- Dominion. Terror.

The Dominating Aura spoke.

- The terror that truly touches your skin — illusions can’t overcome that.

The energy that sought to dominate everything spread across the gorge.

Goosebumps ran down everyone’s arms.

A pure, physiological reaction that no illusion could reproduce.

The moment their bodies reacted, they froze.
Because they felt true terror.
Because they felt something absolute — something that wanted to rule over them.

It was similar to Chaos, yet fundamentally different.
It brought neither pain nor joy.
It was like the air itself — unseen, unscented, unheard — and yet it wrapped around their entire being.

Of course, the illusions of Chaos still lingered.
But that single moment was enough.

- We just need to let them know that all of this is false.

As the Dominating Aura said.

We only need to tell the people—
That the illusions aren’t killing them.
That what they feel is not death... but true Dominion descending upon them.

- If they get lost in illusion and fail to greet the King, they’ll be in trouble!

The Dominating Aura trembled; its voice laced with malice.

- Now, they must greet.

It continued calmly.

- There is no God of Chaos here, only a King. Ignore reality, and you’ll be punished. Submit to the ruler.

At that moment, the power of the Dominating Aura exceeded its limit.

“Ugh!”

Cale spat out blood. The only thought echoing through his mind was—
The Dominating Aura’s bravado has gone too far.

But what should I do now?
Even if I make them regain their sanity—

“Human, human! What is this?”

—How do I get rid of that?

I can face it and resist it...

But how do I get rid of that Chaos?

- Cale.

It was at that moment.

- I’m hungry.

“...Huh?”

Cale hesitated.
The ancient power that had remained silent all this time finally spoke again.

- I’m hungry.

The Glutton Priestess.

The Unbreakable Shield.

Now that he thought about it, she had said something when they first arrived at this sacred place—

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

That’s right.

- I’m hungry.

And she’s also good at eating.

“Ha... haha—”

“Human! Why are you laughing while spitting out blood?! Your face is pale! You look like you’re going to faint! Human! Human!”

Flap, flap!

Cale ignored Raon’s urgent words as he began taking care of his companions.

Yes.

The Glutton Priestess is good at eating.

So good that she even devoured dead mana.

Just like the trees that had once absorbed that deadly black liquid—
the poison that should have destroyed the jungle—
she consumed it all.

- I don’t break.

Yes.
There was no rule that said she could only eat dead mana.

The sacred land where only green grass once grew...
No.
Even that grass had lost its color now, drowned beneath the gray water.

- I can eat it all.

Cale raised his head.

Because he had already faced it.
Because he had already resisted it.

- So, I can protect.

- This land and these people.

- Now I can do it.

Thump. Thump.

The sound echoed—
steady, alive—
like a heartbeat returning to a world that had forgotten how to breathe.

The power of regeneration—

the Vitality of the Heart—

gave strength to the Glutton.

Yes.

Because I have faced it.

Now—

I must protect.

Cale lifted his gaze.

There are no trees here.

Boom!

The gorge trembled.

The Primordial Roots.

The bridge that is the only one connecting that gorge.

But during the full moon and waning moon, that bridge disappears.

Because the trees withdraw their roots.

Four trees with bodies and roots large enough to connect the wide gorge.

Boom—! Boom—!

The four trees began to move their roots at the same time.

Downward.

Towards where Cale was, moving quickly.

- I’m hungry.

Now is the time to eat.

* * *

“Wow—”

The Crazy Exhibitionist stared toward the gorge, utterly speechless.

His entire body trembled.

“C-crazy—”

His face twisted.

A single tear slipped down his cheek.

“A-amazing…”

This— this is—

“A hundred million… no, ten billion views.”

The Crazy Exhibitionist was struck dumb with reverence.

For the first time in his life, he had witnessed something truly divine—

not beauty, not power—

but content.

 -----

Update for Readers:

From now on, two new chapters will be released every week — one on Monday and one on Thursday.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters!

***

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]