Chapter 419: Confront and Protect (6)

“Stop saying nonsense.”

Cale didn’t bother hiding the twist in his expression.

A single sheet of paper listed those destined to die within six months—
and the only name he could read was the God of Death.

“Nonsense? I just said you’re the best.”

"......"

“Sorry.”

The God of Death raised his remaining hand in apology under Cale’s silent stare.

“Was that disaster the work of the God of Chaos?”

“Mmm.”

The God of Death pointed to the parts of his body stained gray.

“This is the work of the God of Chaos.”

"And the rest?"

“This arm was from the God of War.”

“Of course. That bastard definitely teamed up with the God of Chaos.”

“Yes. War thrives in chaos, after all.”

Tsk.

Cale clicked his tongue.

Hey.

He called out to the Ancient Powers within him.

…Mmm.

But this time, none of them answered.

Tsk.

Cale took a deep breath, irritated.

“Are you worried about me?”

The God of Death smiled, but Cale ignored the lighthearted comment.

The God of War...

Cale had never directly faced the God of War, but he had heard a lot about him.

The Sky Eating Water—
the one who had judged her and suppressed her under the excuse of “divine punishment”—
was the God of War.

And Cotton.

Cotton, now part of the Mediators Alliance, had once been the God of War’s Saint.

A former Saint.

The current Saint was someone else.

The Princess of Orsena—
a noble of the Roan Kingdom, belonging to one of the strongest factions in the capital.

The Ducal House of Orsena.
Now in ruins, its princess missing.

Ugh.

Complicated, huh?

To sum it up:

“The God of War is also a headache.”

Yeah. That’s it.

The God of War is an enemy.

Aipotu.
The World Tree was subdued by overwhelming force—
suppressed by the Dragon Lord,
the Wanderers,
the God of Chaos’ Saint,
and the God of War’s Saint.

They were all on the same side back then.

Mmm.

What kind of being is the God of War?

One thing is clear:
if Cale ever faces him,
an alliance would be impossible.

The Sky Eating Water.
The sky she so desperately longed to devour?
That was the God of War’s domain.

No wonder she’s furious.

A life suppressed by the God of War.
Even after escaping, she never found happiness.

Now that the Sky Eating Water was his ally, the God of War was simply an enemy.

But it’s not like he’s going to meet him.

Honestly, Cale was practically a bystander in this divine conflict.
He couldn’t even visit the divine realm, much less meddle in its affairs.

Who in their right mind fights a god?

When elephants fight, the grass suffers.

Sigh~

The God of Death sighed.

“Yeah. War is a nuisance.”

But for some reason, Cale had a feeling he might get dragged into this mess.

“Why does a god who’s about to disappear care about other Gods fighting?”

The God of Death smiled at Cale’s words, but his expression only twisted further.

“Ugh. How annoying.”

Cale looked at him with open irritation.

“You won’t rest until I retire.”

He tossed the list back at the God of Death.

“It’s obvious. Either the Demon Kingdom or the Hunters figured out how to erase Gods.”

The God of Death studied him for a moment, then smiled softly.

“Probably not the Demon Kingdom.”

"Why?"

“The God of Justice has gone into hiding.”

The topic shifted abruptly, but Cale’s eyes narrowed.

The God of Justice.

One of the five Ancient Gods:

Hope.

Balance.

Chaos.

Justice.

Injustice.

Among them—Justice.

The one who entrusted a mission to the First Wanderer.

And—

The First Wanderer disappeared after that.

Also—

The God of Justice never revealed what that mission was,
nor whether it succeeded or failed.

And—

The leader of the Five Colored Hunter Families is the First Wanderer.

Cale knew that Choi Jung Gun had almost lost his life due to the God of Chaos’ corruption.

Cale's lips parted.

“Was the mission the God of Justice gave the First Wanderer… to erase gods?”

Nod~

The God of Death’s expression hardened as he nodded.

Cale pushed further.

“You said the God of Justice is hiding. Then how did you find out the details of the mission?”

And—

“Does that mean the God of Justice also allied with Chaos?”

The God of Death sighed at both questions.

"It's... not that simple."

Exhaustion seeped into his voice.

“I sent my subordinates to the God of Justice’s residence. There were no traces left. With the God of Chaos’ ruckus, I didn’t even notice that Justice had disappeared.”

"But?"

"There was a note."

Snap!

The God of Death snapped his fingers.

Whoosh—!

A gust of wind swept through the office-like space, a drawer sliding open with a clatter.

A single sheet of paper floated into view, landing in front of Cale.

[The Divine Realm is drowning in Corruption. The hammer of Justice shall fall.]

Cale's eyes slammed shut.

"Ha—"

Seriously.

“Gods are so annoying.”

The insults poured out without restraint.

“I’m also a God, but Gods are the worst.”

The God of Death agreed wholeheartedly.

"Sigh."

"Ugh."

They both exhaled heavily.

Cale rubbed his throbbing temples and spoke.

“After finding this, you checked the death list and saw your name?”

"Yep."

“So, you think the mission was about killing gods?”

"Correct."

“And the God of Justice isn’t with Chaos, just… missing?”

"Yes."

Balance against Chaos.

He thought it was a two-sided battle, but now a lunatic named Justice was acting on his own.

“What about the First Wanderer? Isn’t he on Chaos’ side?”

The God of Death answered calmly:

“He could be working with both — Chaos and Justice.”

He stared intently at Cale.

"What?"

Cale frowned.

The God of Death smiled.

“Anyway, the point is— the First Wanderer rejected divinity for a reason.”

Despite having the power to accept it, he refused.
And whenever someone asked him why, he would only smile and say:

“I have a different goal.”

Cale muttered to himself.

"A different goal..."

What could be more desirable than divinity?

"I doubt it's the Absolute God."

The God of Death nodded.

“Yes. I believe even the Absolute God is just a stepping stone to his real goal.”

"Mmm."

Cale crossed his arms, a deep frown settling on his face.

Let's simplify this.

The goal was clear:

Stop the Absolute God.
Destroy the Hunter Families so they can never do this again.

The only ones left now were Transparent Blood and the Five Colored Blood Families—along with the Absolute God.

The problem?
Those two families and the Absolute God were far tougher than the previous three.
But we’d handle them step by step.

Cale cut off his thoughts.

The God of Death spoke.

“That’s all I wanted to say. Ah—one more thing. You need to know where King Zed Crossman dies, right?”

Zed Crossman.

The father of Alberu Crossman, the missing king of Roan.

His time of death was certain, but the location kept changing.

“I think I know why I couldn’t pin it down.”

After saving Choi Jung Gun, rescuing the king was next.

He had promised Alberu.

“His location still shifts—jumping between dimensions.”

"And?"

Cale knew the God of Death wasn’t just rambling.

Smile~

The God of Death smiled.

“Hey. You passed out in the game— but now I can call you here, right?”

“Obviously. The game is becoming real— a true world.”

Cale thought about the God of Death’s divine artifact— the mirror in his possession.

“We can communicate inside the game now.”

“Is His Majesty in the game?”

“Ah! Seriously!”

The God of Death grumbled loudly.

“I was trying to build suspense— why did you figure it out so fast?”

"......"

Cale just stared at him.

Ahem~

The God of Death cleared his throat and continued.

“From what I’ve watched, he changes dimensions periodically during the day, but at night—”

He pointed at Cale.

“He’s there. Inside the game.”

How Zed Crossman had accessed the game was a mystery.
His current state, how he moved between dimensions— all unknown.

But they would find answers once they located him.
If he was inside the game, they would find him.

“But even though I know he’s in the game, I can’t pinpoint his exact location.”

The God of Death shrugged.

“The worlds aren’t fully connected yet.”

Cale nodded.

“With time, that world will become more real. Keep me updated on the king — you can send me messages through the mirror, right?”

“Yes. Simple messages should work.”

Cale then asked:

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

"Then send me back."

Cale said it bluntly.

“I need to hurry.”

A justified request.

That disaster—
the God of Chaos’ cultists, the two remaining Wanderers—
could their group really handle it alone, even with the sacrifices and the Church of the God of Sun?

They’d manage.

Alberu seemed to be regaining consciousness, and with cunning dragons like Raon, and allies like Rosalyn, they would pull through.

But I still need to go.

Cale insisted firmly.

"Send me back."

Smile~

But the God of Death smiled.
A downright sinister smile.

"Sorry."

"What?"

Cale’s face twisted—

The God of Death snapped his fingers again.

Whoosh—!

A gust of wind brushed past as Cale’s vision darkened.

“When you wake up, three days will have passed.”

Three days.

Enough time for everything to end.

Damn it.

Cale couldn’t hide his frustration.

As his vision blurred, he glared at the God of Death—
at that battered, half-destroyed form—
with pure, irreverent disdain.

"You're unbearable."

“Wow. Calling a God unbearable now?”

The God of Death watched Cale fade, his amusement softening into something almost fond.

Then Cale’s voice reached him—
a voice dripping with irritation.

“I’ll find a way to counter that god-erasing method. So don’t you dare die—keep working forever.”

With those final words—

Whoosh—!

Cale vanished from the office.

“Ha, haha—”

The God of Death burst into laughter, alone in the dim space.

"So sentimental."

Cale Henituse—Kim Rok Soo—was ridiculously sentimental.

That annoyed tone of his couldn’t hide the conviction behind his words.

“…Will you save me?”

Save a God destined for erasure?

“What a funny guy.”

The God of Death sighed.

“…I don’t even want to live.”

Dark fatigue clung beneath his eyes.

He stood up, drew the curtains aside, and opened the window.

"How tedious."

The once beautiful divine realm burned and rotted before him.
A realm split in two.
A battlefield.

Balance against Chaos.
Two sides locked in a brutal conflict.

“Gods are so annoying.”

The God of Death was technically on Balance’s side—
but he hated Balance too.

Her narrow-mindedness, her obsession with control, her refusal to relinquish power—
all of it disgusted him.

“Why don’t we just—”

He murmured softly.

“—burn it all down?”

Destroy everything at once?

Death.

The name ‘Death’ had never been a name one could take lightly.

But the other Gods had never faced true annihilation—
so they treated it like someone else’s problem.

Now, there existed a method to erase gods.

A way to die.

Even Gods could die.

"......"

After a long silence, he smiled.

“Well, if they don’t erase me, I’ll think about it!”

Playful words, tossed out like a joke—

But as he stepped out of the office, his expression hardened.

It was time to fight again.

* * *

Cale woke up.

But he couldn’t open his eyes.

Something soft pressed against his back — a comfortable bed.
Yet his eyelids refused to lift.

His stomach grumbled, but his eyes stayed shut.

Pant… pant…

Someone was breathing heavily nearby.

A presence he recognized instantly.

Raon.

Raon kept muttering.

“Three days. Our human and the good crown prince didn’t wake up for three days.”

Huff… huff…

“I’ll crush them all! The God of Chaos, the cult, the Hunters — even the gods!”

Pant… pant…

Raon was furious.

He wasn’t crying anymore, at least… but his voice was congested.
Like he had already cried a lot.

For some reason, Cale still couldn’t open his eyes.

Then—

Pant…?

"Eh?"

Raon tilted his head.

Between Alberu and Cale—both unconscious—Raon slowly turned.

Towards Cale's bed.

Creak.

The bed dipped slightly under a new weight.

Every hair on Cale’s body stood on end.

He kept his eyes closed.

He stayed perfectly still.

Then—

Pant… pant…

Warm breath brushed against his ear.

“Human, why are you pretending to be asleep?”

Pant!

Cale jolted, inhaling sharply as his eyes snapped open. 

 -----

P/R Thoughts: Even gods can die now — and Cale wakes up in a world where death has begun to hunt the divine.

***

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]