The Foreigner on the Periphery

At the Committee's Talent mining base.

Two Kavites were having a conversation.

"What's the current output?"

"We've lowered it to 35% of normal operations. The lower reaches of the blood vessels are completely filled with Talents without a single gap, and the water level upstream is also nearing its limit."

They were gradually lowering the Mining Machine's output according to the grand committee member's instructions. This was a measure to prevent the backlash of a sudden stop.

As the Mining Machine—an artificial planet extracting Talents from the tunnel-like dimension—slowed down, the mining volume decreased, and the water level inside the dimension rose.

"By the way,"

the reporting subordinate added, voicing a concern.

"Since the establishment of the Mint Bureau, the Mining Machine has never stopped even once, right? If we leave the bleeding as it is and block the spout like we're doing now... won't the blood vessels burst? I understand that the tunnel-like dimension pierces through all dimensions."

"Then an unmeasurable mass of Talents would evaporate in a catastrophe..."

Hearing this, the Mint Bureau director muttered inwardly. 'He's saying the exact same thing as that guy Gedwok.'

In a way, it was a natural question to ask. The Kavite overseeing the Mint Bureau reassured his subordinate, telling him there was no need to worry.

"Don't worry. It seems that dimension was designed with this kind of situation in mind."

Though phrased as a guess, the Mint Bureau director held absolute certainty in his words. He merely had reasons for not displaying that confidence in front of his subordinate.

The subordinate turned his gaze back to the machine, voicing an unresolved question.

"It's truly bizarre. Why did the primordial race... design that dimension in such a grotesque shape in the first place? A circulatory system that doesn't circulate. It has a heart and blood vessels connected to it, yet those vessels don't lead back to the heart but just cut off halfway."

The Mint Bureau director murmured in a tone that left a strange, lingering nuance.

"Well, only the ones who designed it would know the reason."

   *

Alext felt he had reached the limit of his patience.

=Oh, my word. Dear God!=

He floated, pressing his spiritual body right up against the ceiling of the blood vessel. Below his feet, the rising Talents surged and rippled, threatening to touch him at any second.

The spray, shimmering like stardust, threatened to swallow him whole.

=Just how high is it going to rise?! Oh, God. Why bring this sudden trial upon me! Why this disaster!=

His feeling that the water level of the river of Divine Blood was rising was no illusion. In fact, after he noticed it, the rate of change had accelerated drastically. The point where Alext had first entered Elahu-Praga with the divine beast was likely already entirely submerged in Divine Blood.

Alext struck the ceiling of the tunnel, the Dimensional Wall, with all his might. He hoped, against all odds, that he might be able to break through it.

But he possessed no bizarre abilities like Ha Eun-seong. Since he couldn't even pierce a transparent barrier, passing through a dimensional boundary was naturally impossible for him.

=If I stay like this, I'm doomed.=

The further downstream he went, the higher the water level rose, and the upstream was blocked by a wall.

It was the definition of a dead end.

=If I get swept away by those rapids... no, I can't even call them rapids anymore. I'm just going to drown!=

The outcome was obvious.

The collapse of his ego.

=God! Save me. Oh, primordial race!=

Just then, it seemed the providence of the universe smiled upon Alext.

Vwoom!

=Ah!=

The face of the spiritual body, previously twisted in despair, blossomed with hope once more.

=Oh! Thank you, God. I am deeply moved that you have shown me I am still of use to you!=

What appeared before the clergyman was the black rift he had passed through when first entering the sanctuary.

The door seemed tailored to Alext's exact position. It opened narrowly near the ceiling, just high enough to avoid touching the Talents.

Alext looked beyond the transparent wall one last time.

=Divine beast, I am sorry. I can endure this no longer. Perhaps God will save you as well. I shall return first.=

His murmurs flashed by at the speed of thought, and Alext's next action was just as swift.

=...=

The deputy pope threw himself forward without hesitation. The black hole swallowed his spiritual body and immediately snapped its maw shut, vanishing completely.

The torrent of Talents crashed over that spot a split second later. Filling the tunnel, the river of Divine Blood rising from downstream surged over the transparent wall. Then, completely reversing its previous course, it continued to flow backward.

   *

Ha Eun-seong fought back the urge to let out a mental scream.

The voice hiding inside him was broadcasting a bizarre vibration in all directions, something too grotesque to even be called a mental wave anymore. The ghost could feel a vivid madness radiating from it.

Fwoosh!

Tiny black dots began to break out all over his body. They were grains smaller than dust, yet they were perceptible only because they burned, wrapped in black flames.

Ha Eun-seong could tell that these particles were the true form of the 'crumbs' that had hidden inside him and followed him all this way.

Yet their source, the fundamental material they were composed of, felt familiar.

Something standing on the boundary between a spiritual body and physical matter. However, unlike the brilliantly shining Talents, it resembled a darkness that devoured all light.

=The shadow monster!=

It was like a microscopic fragment of the monster Minjun had treated as his own limbs until recently.

=When did it even stick to me?!=

Ha Eun-seong had no way of knowing, but the crumbs hiding in his body were a part of the being once called Adkiel. Even the shadow monster had a name.

Adkiel had slipped a piece of herself out of Minjun's body when his mind was entirely focused on retrieving the fragments of Asiph-1.

Just as the priests' and Ha Eun-seong's spiritual bodies had been knocked out of their shells and shaken at the time, the restraints on the shadow monster had also momentarily loosened. Minjun's control weakened as he poured all his strength into summoning Asiph-1, and Adkiel did not miss that opening.

Gathering the reason she had recovered over a long period, she severed a shred of her shadow and flicked it away like a droplet of water. The separated piece floated, spinning along the surface of the pillar of light Minjun had created. However, it was in such an unstable state that if left alone, it was in danger of dissipating into the atmosphere.

It was then that Adkiel targeted the fragments of Asiph-1, which were also spinning along the pillar of light.

She paid special attention to a crumb among them that couldn't maintain a distinct ego on its own.

In the end, Adkiel's self-introduction had been a mix of truth and lies. Merged with the crumbs of Asiph-1, Adkiel split into two branches. A portion joined the nearly perfectly reassembled Asiph-1 to plant false memories, while the other portion hid inside Ha Eun-seong, whose spiritual body had repeatedly detached and reattached to his host.

All of this had happened during the little over half a day that the pillar of light was maintained.

=Ugh!=

A chilling mental wave crashed against Ha Eun-seong's mind. It was a storm of hostility and hatred. Its goal seemed to be capturing Ha Eun-seong's ego completely.

But the ghost resisted desperately. The shadow stuck to his spiritual body apparently couldn't deploy effective brainwashing like Asiph-1. That was likely why it had used the roundabout method of hiding and bewitching him with its voice and false temptations until now.

- My, you're stubborn. It's pointless obstinacy.

The voice giggled, pressuring Ha Eun-seong.

- Now, listen to me. Let's destroy it all... so that they can never wake up again!

Ha Eun-seong screamed back.

=Why should I? Am I crazy?!=

Ha Eun-seong thought to himself. He had to go back. He'd come this far after being tricked by this insane shadow, but now that he knew the truth, he had no intention of continuing to be used.

He would rendezvous with Alext and escape Elahu-Praga!

Resolutely, he dove toward the passage connecting the Core to the blood vessel. Divine Blood cascaded along its curved edges, but there was still enough space for his spiritual body to pass through without touching the Talents.

Throwing himself into the blood vessel, Ha Eun-seong flew back through the passage he had traversed. Toward the direction where the transparent barrier had been.

And a moment later.

=Oh, damn it!=

Ha Eun-seong's spiritual body popped right back out of the hole.

The ghost cursed as he ended up right back at the entrance of the Core—the massive space resembling a hollowed-out planet.

=What the hell is going on?!=

His spiritual body's expression severely distorted.

He hadn't even managed to make it to the spot where he'd parted ways with Alext.

He didn't understand why, but Talents were overflowing and rising from downstream. Ha Eun-seong had a track record of absorbing up to a million Talents, yet the moment he saw the boiling waves filling the tunnel, his intuition screamed.

This was no longer a scale that could be expressed in units like millions or tens of millions.

His vessel couldn't contain all of that. That instinctive sense of crisis had made him avoid touching it and flee all the way back here.

=Damn it, if it comes to this...!=

Ha Eun-seong turned his gaze the other way.

The wall storing countless members of the primordial race. The inner wall of the sphere.

=The one who advances? The one who transcends all boundaries? Then... I should be able to break through that wall, too!=

Reaching that conclusion, Ha Eun-seong charged toward the wall of the sphere.

He didn't know what was on the other side, but the Talents surely wouldn't be able to cross over it!

He threw himself at the Dimensional Wall. The instant he made contact, Ha Eun-seong felt zero resistance. His spiritual body effortlessly slipped straight through the wall.

=I did it!=

But his jubilation was short-lived.

=...Huh?=

His vision rapidly shifted.

Frozen in place, Ha Eun-seong looked around.

=What the, where am I now? Just how many Cores are there?=

Past the wall, the internal scenery of the Core stretched out before him once more. A vast cavern created by the gathering of countless lights.

Except, the direction he was facing was slightly different.

=The front was definitely blocked a moment ago...=

Now, the path ahead was wide open and empty.

=Wait. Could it be that there isn't another Core here, but...=

After repeating the same action several times, Ha Eun-seong became certain.

=Even if I break through the wall, I just end up right back here!=

He couldn't fathom the mechanics of it. No matter how many times he tried, passing through the wall of the Core just sent him back inside through a symmetrical point on the sphere's inner wall. It was as if space itself was warped.

He tried the same thing toward the blood vessels connected to the Core just in case, but the result was identical. The only difference was that he popped out from a slightly closer vessel wall.

- See? There's nowhere to run.

The voice whispered with a snicker.

- If the blood vessels fill up like this and even the Core is entirely submerged in Talents... what do you think will happen? You felt it instinctively too, didn't you? You won't be able to exist as yourself anymore. So...

The shadow tempted him sweetly.

- There's only one way out. We have to break the dam. Let's collapse this entire dimension. Shred the Core... into pieces!

A word lingering in the distorted memories of Asiph-1.

The shadow monster revealed its exact meaning.

- The Core is the heart of it all. This massive sphere where they slumber is the Core. The method is simple. There's a power device on the ceiling of the sphere. Instead of passing through the inner wall, just overlap your spiritual body with it. I'll take care of the rest!

As a spiritual body, Ha Eun-seong was limited to passing through and overlapping with objects, but the shadow monster could exert physical force. It merely needed 'feet' to reach the target.

Ha Eun-seong looked up with a pale gaze. A highly suspicious device came into view. Complex magic circles were layered hundreds of times over, and various artifacts were intricately connected.

It was a structure that clearly shouldn't be tampered with—one he would never want to overlay his spiritual body onto unless forced to.

He turned his head back down and looked at the hole where the Talents were cascading. He remembered the hardships he had suffered every monsoon season when he was alive. Soon, a similar phenomenon would erupt from that hole. The Divine Blood would overflow and surge like a backing-up sewer.

There was no way to run.

Anxiety boiled up inside him, feeling as if it would explode right through his soul.

=Did you... expect this?=

A situation where he had to collapse the space and slaughter all the sleeping people just to avoid the Talents.

Had the monster been so sure that Ha Eun-seong would eventually have no choice but to follow its orders?

Hee-hee!

The laughter rang out once more.

- To be exact, that sinner expected it!

And the monster had decided to exploit that expectation exactly as it wanted.

Adkiel released a mental wave, seemingly unable to contain her glee.

Observing that reaction, Ha Eun-seong thought.

'It could have used the overflowing Talents to threaten me from the very beginning, so why didn't it mention it earlier?'

Instead, the shadow monster had initially threatened him by bringing up a dragon.

The reason was...

'It wanted to finish everything before the Talents flooded up to here—preferably well before that happened.'

In other words.

'Coming into contact with that much massive Talent is dangerous for the shadow monster too!'

Ha Eun-seong quietly made a resolution.

Oblivious to his inner thoughts, the voice continued its seductive whispering.

- They have nothing to do with you anyway. They're a different species, a race sleeping after enjoying an unimaginably affluent life for a very, very long time. What does it matter to you if a million, ten million, or even hundreds of millions of them die? Especially... when you're already dead yourself!

The shadow monster urged him on.

- I'm right, aren't I? You never cared if tens of billions of people you don't even know drop dead, did you? Besides, this is out of your hands. If it's to avoid danger yourself, who cares what happens to complete strangers?!

Ha Eun-seong didn't know this, but to Adkiel, this was revenge. A counterattack designed to inflict the most horrific despair upon the sinner.

The dead spirit, having resolved to slaughter her entire race just to cast one person alive into hell, didn't cease her madness-stained voice.

But Ha Eun-seong didn't reply immediately. Despite the desperate situation, he stared intently at the hole before barely managing an answer.

His tone suggested he had already sorted out his thoughts.

=How can I even trust you when you say I'll be safe if I kill all these people?=

He continued.

=And, even if it's not a lie this time...=

A solid will crystallized in his mental wave.

=I can kill any number of them because they're strangers? Because they've been asleep for so long, they're practically dead anyway, so it's fine to kill them?=

Ha Eun-seong snorted.

=No matter how ignorant I might be... do I look like such an idiot that I don't even know right from wrong?=

- ...!

The shadow monster panicked.

- You, don't tell me!

Adkiel figured it out.

Instead of following her words and collapsing the place, Ha Eun-seong intended to make contact with the overflowing torrent of Talents.

The monster shrieked as if in a frenzy.

- Don't get arrogant! Just because you withstood a million Talents, do you really think you can survive that?!

More than a reply to the monster, Ha Eun-seong shouted as a vow to himself.

=I can do it!=

It was a lie.

He wasn't confident. He was terrified. He had no idea what would happen.

But there was no way to escape. He couldn't submit to the monster without any certainty that its words were true, either.

'Endure it, Eun-seong. Let's hold on this once. No matter how absurdly massive that amount is!'

He muttered the words over and over like a spell. As he did, a tingling, resonant sensation spread through his spiritual body. Beyond the entrance of the Core, the wave of Talents surged forward, completely filling the tunnel. His soul was already resonating with it.

With a mind oscillating between fear and defiance, Ha Eun-seong thought.

'Agent Minjun has held out all this time for the people sleeping here.'

Even though he didn't know the full story, he could guess that Minjun had endured unimaginable pain and trials.

The beings who had kept Minjun going were asleep right here. Just as Ha Eun-seong had strived for his younger siblings even after his death, these people were that kind of existence to Minjun.

'If all those people were to die?'

Aside from his emotional sympathy and compassion for Minjun, Ha Eun-seong had another reason for making this choice.

'The Agent is already practically a god.'

Minjun was fully prepared to reign as a god in the new era to come.

Specifically, he had secured a Space Mothership capable of waging war against the factions that ruled the universe, and he commanded blind allies whose free will he could sway at his whim, as well as fanatics willing to charge forward without sparing their lives.

'If the reason a person strove so hard—even going as far as becoming a god—were to vanish.'

Growing up in the Orc community, Ha Eun-seong had witnessed the ruin of people time and time again.

Even those who survived in hellish environments eventually collapsed. It happened when the crutch supporting them was brutally ripped away.

When that happened, a person's reaction generally fell into one of two categories: being swallowed by depression and destroying themselves, or...

Expressing that hatred outward.

'The Agent might completely lose his mind.'

A helpless pauper going crazy without even a single gun in his hand was on a completely different level from a Transcendent going mad while wielding the most powerful weapons.

Perhaps a mad god, fully prepared to dominate the universe, would be born.

Ha Eun-seong believed he had to prevent that, if nothing else.

- Stop! Listen to me! I'm telling you, you can't withstand this!

Facing the monster's screeching, Ha Eun-seong forced a confident smile.

=The Agent can't end up like that. Even if he's someone who hates me... he shouldn't have to suffer something like that.=

And, the biggest reason Ha Eun-seong couldn't kill those people was...

=And to me too...=

He forgot the mental wave he murmured next the moment he was swept up in the roaring torrent of light overflowing the passage.

Submerged in the wave of Talents, Ha Eun-seong felt absolutely no pain. In stark contrast, the fragment of the monster hiding inside him burned alive, letting out an agonizing scream.

What overwhelmed Ha Eun-seong right now wasn't pain. Rather than any distinct sensation, it was the feeling of losing all his senses.

Amidst the fading waves of his thoughts, Ha Eun-seong asked himself. 'What was it that I tried to say to that monster just now...?'

He couldn't remember anymore. What was certain was that, this time, it hadn't been a lie.

As even that question blurred, Ha Eun-seong became incapable of thinking at all.

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