Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint - Chapter 553



With the Malevolent Deity

What, another strange thing has crawled out? A malevolent deity? To me, the heavenly deity is the malevolent one.

What even is a malevolent deity? There’s no way such a thing could exist. How could a demon that feeds on the wicked hearts of humans come into being? The chicken or the egg debate is a good topic, but there’s no room for debate on whether humans came first or demons did. Demons are creations, after all.

I asked the reincarnator.

“Shei, what is a malevolent deity?”

“They’re demons. The incarnations of sin that the first saint sealed away in the past. They all perished before the first year began, but their remnants remain.”

“Why would something like that suddenly emerge? Weren’t we supposed to stop the King of Sin?”

“The malevolent deity is the beginning of it all. You could say it created the concept of sin.”

It’s a story I’ve never heard before. If it were such an important concept, I should have thought of it long ago. Ah, now I’m really lost. At this point, I wonder if they’re just teasing me.

“I don’t know much about that, but recently, it seems that the priests of the malevolent deity have been running rampant across the nations. I’ve heard stories of entire villages being offered as sacrifices, and those who have lost their kin are wandering here and there. Many drifters are flowing into this Piou Village as well.”

“That’s a good lead. Is there any chance we could meet them?”

“Of course. Let me introduce you. The Guard!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Callis’s call, a boy adorned with large bone earrings rushed over and stood at attention. Callis naturally issued commands to him as if he were in a military camp.

“Is the Skull Tribe still in the shelter?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Guide these people to the Skull Tribe. Tell them I sent you. I will finish my distribution and come right away.”

“Yes, sir!”

The barbarian boy approached us, awkwardly mimicking the military protocol. It was only awkward for a barbarian without a uniform to try, but strangely, the boy seemed to take a liking to the military’s mannerisms.

“Here! This way! Please follow me!”

With a voice full of enthusiasm, the barbarian boy led us onward.

It was a difficult experience to describe. The Skull Tribe was one that wore the skulls of beasts on their heads, and due to their custom of hunting larger beasts as their heads grew, they had gradually evolved to have smaller heads. With heads smaller than even those of the returnees, they spoke in booming voices while donning the skull of a deer.

The ground opened, and the evil god crawled out. The priests of the evil god had offered several other tribes as sacrifices.

It was far too verbose and utterly useless information. The only meaningful detail was the location where the Skull Tribe claimed to have witnessed the evil god. After spilling all they knew, the Skull Tribe appealed to us.

“What of the immortals? Why do the immortals, who should protect the people of the world with their undying strength, not help us?!”

“The world has been destroyed for quite some time now.”

“What? The world has fallen? Nonsense! We are alive and well here!”

“Is news delayed by about a thousand years here, or do you romantics believe that as long as the people are alive, the nation still exists?”

The world was originally born as a loose assembly of barbarian tribes.

The government of the world had a fairly systematic structure like a kingdom or empire, but most barbarian tribes regarded the immortal as a being akin to a legend or superstition. Ironically, that was why the immortal could reign, as the barbarian tribes living in the jungle and grasslands could not be controlled by civilization.

However, perhaps because of this, even now, long after the world’s fall, they seemed unable to feel the void it left behind.

“How long will the immortals just watch? If the bloodlines continue to die one by one, only the immortals will remain in the world!”

“Hey. You’re being quite overbearing for someone who came seeking help. Calm down a bit.”

Lash replied surprisingly firmly. As the Skull Tribe’s deer antlers clacked shut, Lash shrugged and continued.

“We are also keeping an eye on things to some extent. As you said, if the evil god has appeared, then it’s our turn next, isn’t it? However, we too must seek permission from our deity. We cannot act hastily until the next offering ceremony.”

“The offering deity….”

At the mention of the deity’s name, the Skull Tribe hesitated to speak further. Unlike their god, which existed solely through tradition and faith, the god of the immortals was real.

“The great spirit who conveyed the power of immortality to the Toin Tribe… is still delivering messages to the immortals, isn’t it?”

“Of course. That is why we are still immortals, isn’t it?”

Since they needed the deity’s permission, they could not press further. The Skull Tribe bowed their heads in despair.

“However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be us who provide help, does it?”

“…Is there someone who can help?”

“Here. These are the strangers from beyond that meadow. I’ve heard they’re here to prevent the end of the world or something like that. I’m not sure, but if it’s them, they might be able to help you!”

The Bonehead tribe scanned us up and down, nodding their heads.

“Strangers? Somehow, they seem too frail to be called strong immortals.”

“Hahaha! They may look insignificant, but their skills are undeniable! If you judge too hastily, you’ll regret it!”

“…Hmm.”

No matter what, it seemed they couldn’t shake their preconceived notions, as the Bonehead tribe exchanged doubtful glances between me and the Returner.

“They look like they couldn’t even break a twig; what could they possibly do against the priests of the evil god…?”

Ding ding ding!

It was then. The sound of a large bell rang out repeatedly. People instinctively shrank their necks and rushed outside to assess the situation.

“What’s happening!”

“It’s an attack!”

I heard Kalis’s sharp voice. Immediately after, the barbaric tribe clad in metal armor began to charge toward the fence in unison.

In the midst of the chaos, someone pointed at the trees and shouted.

“It’s the monkeys!”

Piwchon had a high and sturdy fence, but no matter how tall it was, it couldn’t surpass the ancient trees that had greedily absorbed the earth’s essence and grown for over a thousand years. Hundreds, thousands of trees stretched their branches, peering over the fence.

And there, several barbarians wearing monkey masks were climbing the trees, looking this way. From beneath the masks, a grating laughter echoed.

“Kikikiki. Everyone’s hiding like ostriches, burying their heads in the sand. How long do they think the immortals will take care of them?”

One of the monkey masks raised a hand high. About twenty ‘monkeys’ hanging from the branches began to crawl up the trees, making beastly laughter.

I looked at Rash and asked.

“Monkeys? What are those?”

“They’re the ones who control the jungle monkeys! They’re despicable thieves with nasty habits!”

“But why are they here?”

“There’s only one reason thieves come! To steal!”

“Steal? What are they stealing…?”

Before I could pry further, the monkey masks showed us through their actions. The monkeys that had climbed over the fence swiftly scattered throughout Piwchon. As people screamed and scattered, the monkey masks darted around with their long arms and legs, shouting.

“Catch the young and fresh ones! The great spirit loves pure souls!”

“Humans!”

Right after he spoke, Rash kicked the ground and ran. At the edge of his vision, a monkey mask was trying to snatch a child from a woman.

“What do you think you’re doing here!”

Rash extended his massive fist. It was a swift strike that belied his large frame. The monkey-masked figure, sensing Rash’s approach, nimbly leaped back to evade the attack. Rash swung his fists like cannonballs, but the figure, with its bizarrely long limbs, hopped away effortlessly.

“Oh no, there’s an immortal!”

“Kikikiki. You’re too slow! Ignore him and grab the kid!”

Similar chaos was unfolding throughout the village of Piwchon. Calis and her vigilante group led the charge, pushing back the monkey masks, but they only managed to reduce the damage, not defeat the enemy. The monkey masks mocked the vigilantes as they wreaked havoc across the village.

The Regressor muttered as he observed the sudden turmoil.

“Just in time, isn’t it?”

“Is this also a blessing from the saint?”

“It seems this blessing is quite effective. Just as the incident occurs.”

“At this point, it feels like they know our path and cause incidents as they happen. Isn’t it more like a curse than a blessing?”

“It’s something we can resolve. That’s much better.”

At that moment, a shadow rose behind us. The monkey-masked figure approached with more agility and stealth than any beast, extending its long arm to snatch the Regressor’s waist.

“Kikikiki! There’s another oddly-shaped little one here! We should take….”

“Who are you calling little?!”

Cheonbangyeong, Geokroe.

Cheon-aeng burst forth like lightning. The arm that had aimed to grab the Regressor was severed cleanly, spraying blood in a fountain. The barbarian in the monkey mask screamed in horror at the sight of its once-proud long arm now reduced to a stump.

“Kieeeek!”

At the sound of the agonizing scream, the monkey masks halted their rampage and turned to look at us. The one with the severed arm clutched its bleeding stump and howled.

“Ukkit! What’s going on?!”

“You picked the wrong fight.”

The Regressor extended Cheon-aeng, surveying the surroundings.

On the rooftops, behind walls, in the middle of the road, near fences. In a single moment, the Regressor pinpointed the monkey masks and, gasping for breath, cut them all down with a single stroke. The invisible trajectory of the sword etched itself into the rooftops, walls, roads, and fences, as the sword wind ravaged the monkey masks.

With a gust of wind, the monkey masks fell, spewing blood. The remaining monkey masks, startled by the death of their comrade, cried out in fear like beasts.

“Kieeeek! It’s the wind! The spirit of the wind is upon us!”

“Run! Run! Kieeeek!”

“It’s already too late.”

Now that the incident had occurred, there was no reason to spare them. I would leave just a few alive to extract information and kill the rest. I had already read their thoughts.

However, it wasn’t necessary to kill them all. Before the Regressor could wipe out the intruders, I stopped him.

“Wait a moment.”

Just as I was about to touch the Regressor’s shoulder, the world suddenly went dark, and up became down. The moment my hand made contact with his shoulder, the Regressor’s body dove beneath me like a ghost, striking in an instant.

Now it was so familiar it was almost tiresome. Another Cheonbangyeong. Does this guy’s energy control not allow for friend-or-foe identification? Just as I was about to hit the ground, the Regressor was poised to stab me with the Cheon-aeng he had drawn in reverse.

—

“Ah, the Celestial Mirror!”

Now, just because my chest is pricked a bit doesn’t mean I’m dying. I’m relaxing my strength when the Regressor reacted. Just before my back hit the ground, I pulled back urgently, yanking Cheon-aeng behind me.

As a result of the sudden change in posture, the Regressor and I became one, rolling around together.

“Don’t touch me suddenly! I almost sliced you!”

“How can I not touch someone who’s carelessly trying to cut me?”

“Why are you trying to stop me?”

The Regressor, who had roughly pushed himself up, discovered the monkey masks fleeing through the underbrush. Sure, we could chase them, but the jungle is dense and dark. Tracking each monkey mask scattering over the trees wouldn’t be efficient.

“If you hadn’t stopped me, they would’ve all died here!”

“Thanks to not killing them, we can find out their base.”

“What?”

“The ones who got a good scare will return to their base, right? If we follow them back, we’ll know their hideout without lifting a finger.”

I could ponder over something to catch, or I could read their minds, but there’s really no need to turn back. The Regressor thought for a moment before responding.

“Is that so…? I see? Not bad.”

“It’s simple. With the blessing of the Saint, you didn’t think of this?”

“You thought of it. That’s what matters.”

Grumbling, the Regressor stood up and surveyed the aftermath in Piuchon. Despite the sudden attack, the people of Piuchon seemed accustomed to such situations. This harsh land of savagery had made enemy raids a part of daily life.

Rash, dragging the corpse of a monkey mask, spoke as if in disbelief.

“Those monkey b*stards dared to invade our territory? Ha! If they had just come looking, I would’ve treated them to a meal…”

In response to Rash’s muttering, Calis replied.

“Technically, it’s not the territory of the Immortal. Piuchon is merely a place where wandering Piou gather. Without the ‘consideration’ of the Immortals, survival is impossible. And if we can’t overcome an attack like this with the strength of Piuchon alone, we’ll remain subjugated until the end.”

Calis, coldly responding, directed the members of the vigilante group lined up before her. The vigilantes, armed with makeshift armor and spears, began to disperse to assess the situation.

In the midst of this, a vigilante approached a crying woman and shouted.

“One child is missing!”

To the woman, her child is everything, but to Piuchon, it’s just one among many. Losing only one child in an attack of this scale is quite a fortunate outcome.

“…I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. We can’t chase monkeys in the jungle.”

However, the woman’s heart was not in that statement. Calis, as a military mage officer, made a rational decision. The barbarians of Piuchon, though not openly showing it, secretly agreed with Calis’s judgment.

Of course, we didn’t have to follow Calis’s decision.

“We’ll bring them back.”

After all, we had conveniently kidnapped just one.