Chapter 430: One Person, Two Roles, and the Chaotic Demon World (5)

The Origin of Chaos.

The parchment in Cale’s pocket trembled faintly, as if reacting to something unseen.

“Human, why is that parchment vibrating?”

Cale shook his head at Raon’s question.

“I’m not sure. We’ll check it once we’re back in the New World.”

There was no reason to poke at it in the Demon World.

If it’s used in the game, the system will automatically turn it into a skill.

The New World.

Convenient—sometimes too convenient.

The corner of Cale’s lips lifted faintly.

Either way.

Unlike corruption, fear, joy, or purification, this parchment had only now revealed a reaction.

That alone made it suspicious.

No—promising.

His instincts told him so.

This parchment was more significant than the previous four.

“The human is smiling strangely!”

“It seems like something’s going to happen!”

“But those things have always been good for us.”

While calming the restless Raon and Hong, Cale tucked the parchment away and quickened his pace.

His steps grew noticeably faster.

Choi Jung Gun.

He would soon wake up.

Though there was no system prompt like in the game to confirm the result, Cale instinctively knew that the corruption in Choi Jung Gun’s body was gone.

Hm.

Once Choi Jung Gun opened his eyes, if there was anything he needed to hear, Cale would listen.

And then—

I need to find the team leader and Choi Jung Soo.

Cale’s expression hardened.

He didn’t even realize his steps had quickened.

* * *

“Pope.”

A high-ranking priest of the God of Chaos Church trembled.

Creak!

The hand gripping his head tightened. Nails dug into his forehead, drawing blood.

“Pope, what should we do?”

At the question from the Supreme Holy Knight, the Pope slowly raised his head.

The Supreme Holy Knight and the sobbing priest looked up at him.

The Pope stared down at the crying priest for a long moment.

Then he stood and spoke.

“Return to the origin—”

His voice was calm.

“—where all exists, and nothing exists.”

The moment those words left his mouth—

“Pope!”

The high-ranking priest screamed.

But the scream did not last long.

Crunch!

A massive gray arrow fired by the Supreme Holy Knight pierced straight through his body.

Plop!

The impaled priest collapsed to the side.

His pupils lost their light, death enveloping him.

“Returned to the origin.”

The Supreme Holy Knight spoke calmly as he approached the Pope.

Psssh—

The priest’s body rapidly turned gray.
Veins bulged grotesquely before the flesh crumbled away.

Dust scattered and vanished.

The Pope reached out and drew the curtains closed.

“I never expected the Saint to fall like this.”

Unhidden grief flickered briefly in the Pope’s eyes.

Beyond the curtains, an unfamiliar landscape spread before him.

The Demon World.

Its gray sky was reflected in his gaze.

The red sunset was no different from that of his homeland—or the Demon World.

“…”

The Supreme Holy Knight did not answer.

He knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and spoke instead.

“Your orders.”

With his back still turned, the Pope replied:

“The Book of the Origin is gone.”

To be precise, the four books—Corruption, Joy, Purification, and Fear—were gone as well.

But that was not the priority.

“We must retrieve the Book of the Origin.”

“Yes.”

The Pope turned and looked down at the kneeling knight.

“That person’s name is Cale Henituse, correct?”

“Yes. Based on the footage, it has been confirmed.”

The God of Chaos Church was already aware of the Hunter Families’ White Star Plan.

They also possessed footage of the Crazy Exhibitionist incident that had spread across Earth 3, along with testimonies from their believers.

“Hm.”

The Pope shifted his gaze back to the sky beyond the window.

“The Five-Colored Blood Family sent a letter?”

“Yes.”

Anger flickered across the Supreme Holy Knight’s face.

“How dare they be so insolent—”

The Pope raised a hand.

The Supreme Holy Knight immediately fell silent.

“…”

The Pope continued calmly.

“To them, we betrayed them. Of course they would hold us accountable.”

His voice remained composed.

“In fact, this response is more restrained than I expected.”

The Pope understood why the Five-Colored Blood Family and the other Hunters had not openly protested the God of Chaos Church’s betrayal.

“The birth of the Absolute God is close.”

They must have sensed it as well.

“The New World is becoming a true world.”

That was why the Five-Colored Blood Family, the Transparent Blood Family, and the other Hunters had not reacted aggressively.

“Will they remain quiet for a while?”

At the knight’s question, the Pope shook his head.

“They are Hunters, after all.”

Would Hunters ever spare their prey?

Having already branded the God of Chaos Church as traitors, they merely maintained a façade of civility while preparing to strike.

“They will investigate us quietly,”
“and they will attempt to erase our influence from the New World.”

The Pope’s gaze returned to the window.

“But we are in the Demon World.”

The Supreme Holy Knight spoke quietly.

“Pope, the grand plan will surely succeed.”

The Pope’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“It must.”

He continued calmly.

“First, we will show those who have reached the Origin World a world consumed by chaos.”

The Pope closed his eyes once, then opened them.

“The Hunters will move for Cale Henituse.”

“Yes.”

The one obstructing the God of Chaos’s descent.

Cale Henituse—
a thorn in their side since the White Star Plan.

The Hunters had no reason to spare him.

If anything, they would be far more wary of him than of any alliance involving the Demon World or the God of Chaos Church.

“We must find Cale Henituse before they do.”

The Pope’s voice hardened slightly.

“Without fail.”

“Yes.”

The knight bowed deeply.

“I will retrieve the Book of the Origin.”

“It must be done. And—”

The Pope paused.

“Cale Henituse must be captured alive and brought back.”

“Understood.”

The Supreme Holy Knight straightened.

He bowed once more to the Pope’s back—

—and left.

“…”

Left alone, the Pope gazed at the Demon World’s landscape and slowly closed his eyes.

— My child.

Gray pupils surfaced.

The God of Chaos.

Since the incident in the Divine Realm, the God of Chaos had sent no oracles.
Because of that, the Pope had never deviated from the plan.

However—

On the day the Saint fell, an oracle finally arrived.

The long-awaited voice spoke:

— I wish to use Cale Henituse as my vessel.

Direct descent had failed.

Thus, the God of Chaos chose another method.

A human vessel.

“Preparations must be made.”

The Pope turned.

Thud.

He addressed the woman descending silently from the ceiling.

“Hasten our operations in the Demon World.”

Once the Supreme Holy Knight captured Cale Henituse, they would use the chaos accumulating in the Demon World to strip away his self—

—and turn his body into a vessel.

The woman, wrapped in gray bandages and robes, spoke quietly.

“The Demon King may notice.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The Pope’s voice was calm.

“Even if he does, he cannot stop it.”

He looked toward the crimson sunset.

“The corruption has already been sown in the Demon World.”

His gray eyes reflected the fading light.

“All that remains—”

“—is for it to bloom.”

Soon, the corruption of chaos would engulf the Demon World.

Then, the God of Chaos would descend—
unstoppable by anyone.

Not even gods.

At that moment, he would use Cale Henituse’s body as his vessel.

Not only the Demon World…

The Pope envisioned it clearly.

…but the entire New World will fall under control.

A Divine Realm stained in blood.
A world awaiting the arrival of the God of Chaos, who would bring even greater chaos.

The Pope’s lips curved into a faint smile.

* * *

Beneath the crimson sunset reflected in his eyes—

On a vast plain blanketed in forest—

A young man appeared.

His gaze was fixed on a small, ancient castle rising in the distance.

“That’s it.”

Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk.

He slipped soundlessly into the forest’s shadows.

Drip.

Fresh blood stained the ground where he had stood.

The metallic scent made him frown as he tightened the bandage around his wound.

Once he confirmed the bleeding had stopped, he moved again—
vanishing without a trace.

Of course—

He left behind a marker.

One only Kim Rok Soo would recognize.

And at that moment—

Rustle.

He sensed someone approaching.

Soo Hyuk’s gaze turned cold.

He waited for nightfall, slipping deeper into the forest’s darkness.

Evading his pursuers.

Then, a thought crossed his mind.

‘It’s been a while.’

This feeling.

As if, after a long time, he was once again Team Leader Lee Soo Hyuk.

Come quickly, Kim Rok Soo.

When that guy arrived, everything would become clear.

As always, the plans would come from him.

But Soo Hyuk’s faint smile quickly disappeared.

…Choi Jung Soo.

Why was that guy out of contact again?

For now, I’ll wait.

And do what needed to be done.

That was his role now.

Night fell.

The forest sank into pitch-black darkness.

Soo Hyuk melted into it, avoiding pursuit while gathering information.

Rustle.

* * *

Cale paused while flipping through the reports.

Night had fallen.

Under the faint glow of a magic lamp, Cale reviewed reports on the spread of the Gray Disease in the Demon World. Then he looked up.

“Awake?”

Choi Jung Gun slowly opened his eyes.

“How’s your body?”

At Cale’s question, Choi Jung Gun didn’t respond. He quietly surveyed his surroundings instead.

A barren, temple-like building.

The magic array had dimmed. Choi Jung Gun lay on a bed at the center, while Cale sat nearby, a stack of reports in his hands.

“Do you remember why you ended up like that?”

Cale’s voice remained calm.

“Want some water?”

As he reached for the bottle on the table.

“I—”

Choi Jung Gun’s voice came out hoarse.

Cale looked back at him.

“I… I’m alive?”

Cale let out a small chuckle at the disbelief on his face.

As expected of a Choi.

Just like Choi Jung Soo.

And—

Like Choi Han too.

Choi Jung Gun’s dazed eyes.

At first glance they seemed unfocused, but beneath that—

They were sharp.

Like a blade quietly assessing everything.

Yes. Those eyes.

He was suspicious.

Suspicious of Cale.

Suspicious of this place.

“Why?”

Cale spoke as if he already understood what Choi Jung Gun was thinking.

“Are you wondering why I was here before you woke up?”

Choi Jung Gun froze.

“Y-You…?”

The hesitation came from the form of address.

“Aren’t you the ancestors of Choi Jung Soo and Choi Han?”

“Anc… ancestors…?”

Ignoring his confusion, Cale continued plainly.

“Or should I call you senior?”

After the battle with the White Star, Cale had seen Choi Jung Gun in trial inside a sealed temple.

Back then, he had appeared as a senior from Kim Rok Soo’s school.

That Choi Jung Gun—and the events surrounding him—had been false, an illusion.

But the fact that Choi Jung Gun had been a school senior—

And the memories of the library—

Those were real.

“…Hm.”

After a brief pause, Choi Jung Gun let out a quiet chuckle.

Cale didn’t give him time to settle.

The village doctor had already confirmed that Choi Jung Gun’s body had fully recovered.

“Choi Jung Soo went missing while investigating the God of Chaos and the Demon World.”

“…”

The light vanished from Choi Jung Gun’s expression.

In truth, Cale knew nothing about the Choi Jung Gun standing before him.

For both of them, this was their first real meeting.

Choi Han.

Choi Han, standing guard outside like a sentry, likely already knew Choi Jung Gun had woken up.

He might even be listening in.

But—

Cale needed answers now.

Why?

Why had Choi Jung Gun nearly been killed by chaos corruption?

And—

Choi Jung Gun had told Aurora something else.

That the leader of the Five-Colored Blood Family was the First Wanderer.

“Do you have anything to tell me?”

At Cale’s question, Choi Jung Gun answered without hesitation.

“The First Wanderer wants to become the First Transcendent.”

“…Transcendent?”

The word carried an unfamiliar weight.

Choi Jung Gun looked at Cale.

“Cale.”

His expression turned complicated.

“Do you think the Absolute God— that child— is evil?”

A subtle change passed over Cale’s face.

---

P/R Thoughts: When chaos seeks its origin, even gods start choosing vessels instead of thrones.

***

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]