Chapter 322

Editor: Tide

God of Hope (1)

“Is he dead?”

[No, his body is not completely burnt yet,] replied Seregia as she looked at the burning fake

.

Although completely unconscious, the fake stayed alive .

[We can’t remain here any longer, so just let him be,] said Seregia .

I refused . “That’s too cold . ”

[The right thing to say depends on who the speaker is, so, sometimes, it can just be a dog barking . ]

You just mean to say I’m talking shit, right?

That wasn’t my personality .

[I’m just saying what I’ve heard before . ]

Seregia shut her mouth .

I scratched my head . My hair didn’t burn despite the intense heat, but it felt like the moisture in it was utterly dried up .

I knew why Seregia urged me to kill the fake quickly . Her strength was exhausted by the battle just now . Depleted energy and helplessness made humans feel languid, but Seregia viewed it differently as a weapon .

In the midst of this, she was impatient and anxious to break into the Holy Land of the God of Hope .

It would be painful to wait for that fake body to burn away .

“But let’s wait a little longer . ”

Seregia did not answer .

I watched the fake slowly be consumed by the heat . I didn’t know whether I should call it a clone or an incomplete version of myself .

I thought incomplete suited it better .

That fake was still breathing, but it was already dead . It had been like that before he met me . The only time that he was truly alive was when he clashed with me . The fake would have thought so, too .

At last, all of the fake’s defenses had run out .

The body genuinely began to burn .

The fake, who had maintained his human form for a surprisingly long time, quickly became a lump of black charcoal soot .

I didn’t know if the fake would agree with me . But it seemed that even the fake liked his ending .

This alone made me quite confident that he was me from the past, dependent on self-destructive excitement and pleasure .

He was well aware that if he fought as he was, he would die soon . However, he put itself in a dangerous situation . Back then, I did not take the time to settle down and kept on advancing . I quickly climbed the floor as if I had gone mad, but I felt sad whenever the Tutorial’s remaining layers were reduced one by one .

It was not a long-term goal to live and clear the tutorial and return to Earth .

I’d only followed the sense of accomplishment that I felt by breaking through the thrill and growth walls that I felt as I broke past every moment of danger .

Even though I knew there was a high possibility of me dying, I kept going .

Instead, I hoped for more .

I hoped every moment of my life would be filled with heat, with excitement, and was ready to die when the flames of danger were shining brightly .

[You’re overly involved . ]

So what if I was overly involved? He was just like me in the past .

I couldn’t help the fake . But at the very least, I wanted to watch its end .

[Very weak-minded . No matter how much you have in common, it’s never good to have feelings for the enemy . ]

“That’s true . ”

Acknowledged . It was a weak and foolish decision .

But… “It’s not always good to be strong . ”

I didn’t know what Seregia would think about protecting herself as a weapon . I thought she might do the same .

[Do you sympathise with him?]

Well…

Maybe it’s remorse for my past self who became a monster .

Suddenly, I thought of the 20th floor . I remembered the two tribes I had met there: Chimera and Idy .

The 20th floor was the stage where I began to change most dramatically among all the stages in the tutorial .

Since then, I had started to run towards a new goal . I was still running, but I felt a lot had already changed when I thought about that time .

Maybe more would continue to change .

It may change from running somewhere to a goal completely different from the previous one . I was preoccupied with one goal and tried not to think deliberately about it afterwards . Now, I wondered if it was time to think about it again .

I whispered as I looked at where the fake had disappeared, now completely turned into ash .

May you have the peaceful ending you had wished for .

“I’ll take revenge for you . ”

[Did that fake wish for the fall of the God of Hope?]

Well, probably not .

“Why does that matter? I said I’d do it . ”

[That’s true . ]

Seregia was also positive .

“Let’s go, then . ”

The Holy Land of the God of Hope had already been found, and the fake had already been burnt .

It was easy to find because the God of Evil told me the detailed coordinates .

* * *

Part of the space cracked, and a circular hole formed in it . Beyond the hole, I could see the Holy Land of the God of Hope . Before rushing in, I looked at the Holy Land .

It was uniquely shaped like a colossal sandglass made of glass walls . Ordinary people inhabited the upper compartment of the hourglass .

Small rooms, reminiscent of a vast hive, were packed tightly in the compartments above the hourglass .

One person lived in each room . The number of people living in the rooms seemed quite large .

At the lowest estimate, it was about 10 million rooms . From a distance, each room resembled sand in an hourglass .

In the lower compartment of the hourglass… there was nothing .

I was looking into the structure when suddenly the inside of the hourglass began to shake . In the small rooms, people halted their actions and began praying . It was a desperate and sincere prayer that I could feel, even when I knew nothing about it .

Soon, the vibrations of the hourglass stopped . Then the room at the bottom of the upper compartment fell into the lower compartment . It was akin to sand falling down an hourglass .

Humans, of course, were not sand . The impact shattered the room that fell to the lower compartment . The man in it, of course, died . The rest of the people in the upper compartment continued their prayers, terrified by the shock .

A moment later, mechanical equipment emerged from the bottom of the compartment below and removed the body from the fallen room . I wondered what kind of crazy situation this was .

Hochi used to look at the 60th floor and ask if it was okay to decorate it like that .

I wondered what he would say when he saw this Holy Land . I turned my sight to the ceiling of the hourglass . There was another world on the ceiling .

Unlike the hourglass’s interior, it had a clear, glowing sky with a lush, green garden just below it .

That place was well decorated, like a beautiful paradise . In the middle of it was a temple built of pure white stone . It was quite a marvel from a human’s point of view . The place was truly worth being called a temple .

The imbalance between the floors was strange, but I was quite satisfied . I was very, very pleased . The Holy Land of the God of Hope was a beautiful place worth burning .

Perhaps because I looked into the Holy Land, someone noticed me and asked, [Who is it?]

It was not the God of Hope . It seemed to be a guard of the Holy Land .

[What’s going on?]

[Someone is trying to break into the land without permission . ]

[I don’t know who it is . ]

[The God of Hope said nothing . ]

[Can you tell from where they’re trying to invade?]

[I don’t know . But beyond space, there’s a tremendous amount of energy . However, I cannot foresee the amount of power the intruders hold . ]

[Strong . ]

Shocked conversations broke out . There must be a lot of guards .

How fun .

[Stop! Stop spying and come forth! This is the Holy Land of the God of Hope!]

I came to the right place .

I chuckled and thanked the God of Evil .

[If the God of Hope does not allow it, no more can come in . First, reveal who you are!]

Reveal who I am?

Hmm, how should I introduce myself?

[Who are you?]

Only after a moment’s consideration did I come up with the right answer .

I told the God of Hope’s guard, who asked who I was .

“Your despair . ”

At the same time, I fired at the front .

The spatial barrier was in layers, but the power I sent ripped it apart as though it were paper . Black smoke flowed into the Holy Land, and the extreme temperature differences distorted the air .

I cut through the storms created by the hot air flow and entered the Holy Land .

[An unexpected appearance of a villain . I’m glad you’re like this, Warrior,] said Seregia .

As she said, I must be the antagonist in this situation .

I heard the voice of the God of Hope . Several guards had appeared after I entered and had been trying to attack .

[Die, intruder!]

“You, too . Die . ”

* * *

Ah .

It felt good to burn this place . It was worth burning when there was so much greenery, pretty birds flying around, beautiful buildings .

I didn’t want to burn places that were already in ruins .

The level of the guard was excellent . They weren’t divine beings, but they had as much power as a god .

Considering the apostles’ characteristics, the God of Hope’s apostles were the ones who could show more ability than the others .

Thanks to this, I had a taste of their power whenever I burnt them alive, one by one . It was very satisfying .

Ahhhh!

Help me!

The temple has fallen!

Oh, God!

People’s screams came from afar . There were also people in the Holy Land above the hourglass .

Basically, they were ordinary people who didn’t feel much different from those who were trapped in an hourglass .

The number of believers must have been quite high in the Holy Land, given the screams heard .

My satisfaction grew even more .

[Damn it… . ]

It was the God of Hope .

As soon as I heard the somber voice, I felt extremely pleased .

Hahahaha .

[I thought you both would die together…]

That’s exceptionally optimistic of you to think so .

It’s a hundred years too early to think that! You pathetic fly!

[Stop! Cease-fire! I call a cease-fire!] the God of Hope shouted in an urgent voice .

It seems that he had not recovered yet .

“Why do I have to do that? It’s over if I catch you . ”

[Don’t be pretentious! You’ve run out of power!] the God of Hope pressed out .

Unfortunately, he was wrong . I had enough power left to capture the God of Hope .

I’d absorbed all the power that the fake left behind . Anyway, I used my ability again to prove that I had enough left .

“Zit pop . ”

[Damn it! Please don’t use that damned skill!]

I didn’t have to use Zit Pop . Of course, I didn’t have the means to create a skill as explosive as Zit Pop right now, but I didn’t mind using any other skill at this time when no one was able to stop me .

But…

If you tell me not to do it, I want to do it more . [1]

I sent one more blow over to the collapsing Holy Land of the God of Hope .

“Yes, Zit Pop . ”