#207

The Sword of Judgment wielded by God strikes down the sinner.

Athanas grit his teeth. Even though the blade was not pointed at him, his knees trembled so violently that it was difficult to stand straight.

A surge of desire rose within him to simply collapse and pray.

Pray.

If you pray, everything will be resolved.

The Lord has descended, so everything will flow according to providence.

However, instead of clasping his hands, Athanas drew his spear and drove it into the ground.

It was the only way to keep himself from collapsing.

‘Why?’

What exactly am I resisting right now?

“Ah, what a waste. The War God’s entire fortune is burning up.”

At the eerie voice, Athanas looked to his side.

A red-haired man was slowly shrinking.

He was meeting his death, warping and contorting grotesquely.

“…It seems he is committing suicide out of fear of condemnation.”

“Suicide? Please call it apoptosis. I am simply returning to my mother.”

“What did you do? Tell me what you are plotting.”

“Athanas, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we meet again as brothers next time. Embraced in our mother’s arms together….”

Athanas swung his sword and severed the thing’s neck.

The red-haired man opened his mouth to shout something, but only a hissing sound like wind leaked out.

“The place you are going is hell.”

‘It seems self-destruction is impossible while in the middle of committing suicide.’

A Heretic Inquisitor can summon and interrogate souls that have fallen to hell.

Unfortunately, Athanas did not possess such authority at the moment.

Of course, there likely wouldn’t have been much to learn from interrogating a self-destruct unit like that anyway.

Athanas continued his thoughts as he crushed the flesh with his Divine Hammer.

‘He said the work was finished. What is the connection between the Lord’s awakening and this “work”?’

They acted as if they had been waiting for the Lord to open His eyes.

Of course, he didn’t believe the Lord would be deceived or manipulated by them.

But since these people seemed confident in their ability to avoid the Lord’s lightning….

‘…I must find out what happened.’

Athanas walked toward the place where the Heavenly Punishment had struck.

For some reason, he had a feeling that Fabio was there.

‘Fabio.’

The Heavenly Punishment had not fallen on Fabio.

The evidence was the fact that he felt no particular pain in his pinky finger.

However, it wouldn’t be strange if the next strike fell on Fabio.

Fabio had committed a sin.

The sin of usurping the name of God to give a name to something without a soul.

It was a heavy sin that deserved hundreds of years of repentance in hell.

He had no intention of denying that it was a sin.

But the reason Fabio committed such a sin was….

‘…Because of me.’

The Lord had said.

When a poor man, unable to endure hunger, commits theft, it is also the sin of the rich.

If so, was the sin Fabio committed not also his own?

If Athanas had protected him properly, there would have been no need to commit such a sin.

If Fabio were to be condemned, Athanas intended to offer a prayer to the Lord.

O Loclem, he rang the bell for you.

Even in despair, he strove to save the person before him.

Please, give him a chance to atone….

Flash.

Heavenly Punishment struck once more.

This time, the interval between the light and the sound was shorter.

‘Did they not die from the previous strike?’

Or were there two high traitors in one place?

Soon after, a tingling pain was felt in his finger.

Judging by the intensity, it didn’t seem that Fabio had been hit by the Heavenly Punishment, but it meant he was in a state of experiencing pain.

Athanas grew anxious.

‘I mustn’t use Regression yet.’

There was too much he didn’t know.

If he didn’t know the details of the incident, he couldn’t save him even if he turned back time.

The place where the Heavenly Punishment struck was the Main Hall.

Was Fabio really there?

Why did it move to the Main Hall this time?

Because I didn’t take the ‘Codex’?

Athanas passed through the ruined main gate of the Main Hall and headed inside.

“Aaaaaagh!!”

At the sound of the agonizing scream, it felt as if the blood was draining from his entire body.

The Halo of Order caught his eye in the distance.

It was Sextus of Emotion.

‘Is that… Fabio?’

He couldn’t be sure.

It sounded less like a human scream and more like the howl of a giant beast.

“Get a hold of yourself! Fabio! At this rate, you’ll be hit by the Heavenly Punishment too!”

“Fuck, I’ll take it! I told you I’d take the damn punishment! Get lost! Leave—me—alone!”

‘Leave me alone.’

Athanas stopped for a moment.

It felt as if a force difficult to resist was gripping his ankles.

“Fabio! The more you act like this, your sin….”

“…Who is it?”

Despite a sword being pointed at his throat, Athanas could not take his eyes off ‘Fabio.’

“Fabio’s lover, I see.”

Apostle Ada lowered her sword as soon as she recognized Athanas.

‘Fabio’ was curled up on the floor.

Blood and ink were dripping from his halo.

“…Fabio?”

The thing slowly raised its head.

Athanas felt his heart racing.

Fabio.

Was his eye injured?

What was he clutching in his arms?

Athanas approached Fabio.

Though it wasn’t the reunion he had imagined….

‘He’s alive.’

“Stop! Adna, why did you let this guy in?”

“…What happened?”

“To put it very briefly, he ate something he shouldn’t have.”

‘…What?’

The explanation was too short to understand.

Apostle Sextus shouted in an irritated voice.

“Adna! Get him out! Erase his memories too!”

“Isn’t this a situation where we have to grasp at straws? He might listen if it’s his lover speaking.”

Even amidst the confusion, Athanas checked the remaining time.

He had less than 10 minutes left.

“Athanas, why….”

“…I’m sorry I’m late.”

“…….”

“How did your eye get hurt?”

“…Is that really the first thing you ask in this situation?”

“While I was gone, what happened?”

“Too many things happened to explain….”

As he drew closer, he could see what Fabio had swallowed.

Something stained with blood-red sin was embedded inside Fabio.

It was a soul so worn down that it could no longer maintain its shape.

‘No, he probably didn’t swallow it.’

If a sinner committed suicide before dying from Heavenly Punishment, they would return to the one who took them as a Vassal.

Just like that red-haired man who smiled, saying he was returning to his mother’s embrace.

“…I want to hear it. Please explain everything to me, without leaving anything out.”

He could afford to lose the time it would take to run to the Apostle’s Hall.

As long as he could fully understand Fabio’s movements.

“Athanas….”

“Yes, Fabio.”

“There was something I really wanted to tell you.”

Fabio’s halo trembled faintly.

“Let’s break up.”

“…….”

“Let’s sever all ties. Just act as if we’re strangers. Don’t be curious about anything anymore, just drift away. Athanas. Don’t come close. Leave me alone. Don’t be curious, and don’t try to find out. Please turn around and leave.”

It was a command using Divine Power.

But Athanas ignored the command.

“I cannot do that.”

“Athanas, please….”

“Fabio, I possess Regression.”

Fabio’s halo paused for a moment.

“Regression…?”

Fabio feared Regression.

But it was different when something terrible happened.

The joy and relief that this situation could be reversed became greater than the fear of Regression.

Fabio had submitted in resignation, waiting for the moment of ‘Regression’ with an expression mixed with ecstasy and despair.

Athanas expected Fabio to be the same this time.

That he would look at Athanas with eyes full of fear, euphoria, and anticipation….

“…And?”

But Fabio’s reaction was dry.

He was surprised for a moment, but that was all.

“Tell me what I must do to save you.”

“Haha….”

Fabio hugged the bundle of clothes tighter.

“Save me? Who are you going to save me from? Athanas. The Order you believe in? The Saintess? Or those Apostles?”

“I will stop you from becoming like this.”

“How do you plan to do that? Will you work with the heretics to make sure Order doesn’t wake up?”

“Fabio.”

“Your God wouldn’t want that, Athanas. Do you intend to defy the Lord’s Will?”

“If you do not commit sin, the Lord will protect you. So, as much as possible….”

“Ah.”

Fabio wore a hollow expression.

“I guess this is your first time? Well, you need a 1st playthrough to have a 2nd one. Hahaha. I should kindly explain the current situation so that the Savior of Order doesn’t make a wasted trip. I personally hate repetitive gameplay elements that exist just to artificially extend play time. Yes. Order needs my body. Because He has to pull up the corpse of the ‘Record’ from down there. It’s also necessary so the Saintess doesn’t become an idiot. That’s all that matters to Order. If you interfere with that, He delivers Heavenly Punishment immediately. While leaving the Knight Commander to be devoured. Haha. Fuck, so no matter what you do, I’m destined to be sliced into pieces and thrown down there. Do you understand? Mr. Athanas, the Savior of Order and possessor of Regression?”

“…There must be another way.”

“Oh, of course. There is. I have a trait called ‘Restoration.’ I can recover severed parts very slowly. If there’s enough time, He could collect enough pieces without killing me. I’d end up like Perpetua!”

“…….”

“But since Order doesn’t allow the second method, it’s as good as non-existent. Order absolutely loathes my Pandemonium. In the end, there’s only one answer. Wow!”

“…Fabio.”

“Athanas, you don’t need to use Regression. Ah, of course, since I’ve said strange things in front of the Apostles, you’ll have to delete this moment. Turning back about 10 minutes should do. But don’t waste it on me. Because there’s nothing you can do for me. The moment Order wakes up, I’m destined to end up like this anyway. Ah, I guess you could do something helpful for Order. Like hunting other heathens….”

“Somehow, I will find a way.”

Fabio smiled faintly.

“So you’re saying you won’t listen no matter what I say. How much time is left?”

“…2 minutes, no, about 1 minute.”

“Fine. I’ll give you some important advice. Athanas. Actually, there isn’t much you can solve with Quicksave. What great thing can you do with just one hour? Learn how to give up. An NPC set to be unsavable will just die repeatedly no matter how many times you save and load. This is what they call ‘forced failure.’ Get used to it. This is a fucking shitty game. And you have to kill the heretics. There was never a way for you and me to be on the same side from the start.”

“Fabio, let me ask one thing. One hour ago, where were you?”

“…You really don’t know how to give up. Fine, I’ll answer. One hour ago….”

Ah. Fabio let out a small exclamation.

“Dice! The true random number generator was the counter to Regression. No wonder! An Othergod wouldn’t have put in such a power for no reason. Haha….”

“…Fabio?”

“Fuck, it’s still a useless piece of trash regardless. It tasted terrible, too. Fuck fuck fuck….”

“Fabio. Where were you?”

“Athanas, just give up now! Random Gacha doesn’t give better results just because you spin it again. To answer you, I was heading toward the Main Hall. With a 1-in-6 probability!”

Fabio spat out words that were incomprehensible.

A 1-in-6 probability.

If there were no other variables, shouldn’t the same result occur?

What is a true random number generator….

Sensing bloodlust in an instant, Athanas rolled his body to avoid a sword.

“…For a final conversation between lovers, there’s a lot of strange content mixed in.”

Adna’s halo rose high.

“Can you explain?”

Athanas gave up on organizing his questions and made a quick decision.

First, get the ‘Codex.’

He had to find out what happened to Fabio first.

…Athanas used Regression.

Nyapoleon snapped his head up in the middle of praying to ‘Fabio.’

“Insanity! Insanity, my Insanity!”

He was so excited that the fur all over his body stood on end. Nyapoleon shouted, slamming his tail hard against the floor.

“It’s just as you said! One person increased without any omen! Someone who knows Mother’s name!”

As Insanity had previously instructed, Nyapoleon issued a revelation for all local copies to report the situation.

Among them, none had encountered ‘Athanas.’

Regression!

Athanas had used Regression!

Nyapoleon felt a slight thrill.

Insanity—no, qwerasdf—always managed to surprise him.

Nyapoleon quickly curled his body into a ball to convey this fact to Insanity.

The half of the ‘Firstborn’ who had not yet been born could only be met when he slept.

This was because he was growing inside the womb of the ‘Lord of Nightmares’ player—who had had their brain replaced and most of their body modified, but was still alive—meaning they hadn’t suffered a Game Over.

The characteristic of a cat, sleeping 16 hours a day, was a huge help at times like this.

Of course, that wasn’t the reason he became a cat!