He wanted to listen. To listen to information on Eckheart from the mouth of a man who lived in the same era.

“He sold us a large variety of items over a long period of time. Honestly, a few of them were quite useful. But he didn’t amount to more than a dog we were raising. It was really something when he managed to find a woman that looked just like Vestiare and had a child with her. Do you know what Vestiare said? She said it was disgusting. That otherwise elegant and composed Vestiare.”

Desfort laughed very loudly. But Sungchul could tell right away that the laughter was fake and forced. Desfort continued to speak.

“Second Calamity from the abyss and onward were difficult to deal with. The Merfolk were powerful and attacked the world from all sides at once. We were feeling the limits of our strength. So we finally headed for the stairs. To the place called the God’s Furnace where a powerful ancient race went extinct.”

“Eckheart must have been there as well.”

Sungchul spoke. Desfort nodded.

“We the Seven Heroes also went together up the stairs. The first one to give up was Sajators. One by one the others gave up as well. The last to remain were just Vestiare and I. But then Eckheart appeared. The reason was simple. He was worried about Vestiare. Even though it could have killed him.”

“…”

“It was a ridiculous obsession. He even had his own kid. Vestiare at the time was completely fed up with him and fiercely refused his help. But her fervent rejection must have lit a fire in him.”

Nostalgia filled Desfort’s eyes. The scenery of that moment in time filled his vision. Desfort at that time was pushed to his absolute limit. The stairway that continued endlessly into the heavens caused extreme pain and doubt that pushed the limits of patience with every step taken. Any further, then he will be destroyed, like the ancient race of people that went extinct.

So Desfort Stopped. But the boy who followed behind him did not.

“…It was pure madness. Madness of a deeply mediocre man seeking desperately for recognition.”

“But it appears he gained something in return.”

“Apparently so. And because of it, he ascended as one of the gods of this world.”

Desfort raised his swords as he spoke. This marked the end of story time.

“As a thanks for listening to the inane rumblings of a fallen hero, I shall tell you one more thing.”

“Speak.”

Sungchul could tell right away. That Desfort no longer had the will nor the strength to live on. Therefore, Desfort had not the slightest reason to lie.

“The world seems to think that we humans were the first in this world to overcome the Calamities. But this is not true.”

“That’s the first time I’ve heard such a thing.”

“Of course. The world becomes completely reset each time the Calamities arrive. The insignificant things like what happened in the previous era could easily be fabricated or twisted by the survivors at whim.”

Desfort grinned.

“Calamities are a ceremony. A ritual.”

Sungchul was overtaken by surprise. Desfort continued to speak.

“It’s a ritual used to choose a new god of the world once the previous god dies. Unlike real gods, those who ascend to godhood can’t live indefinitely.”

“…”

“And to those who fail to ascend to godhood during the Calamities, a cruel fate awaits them.”

Desfort plunged one of his swords into the ground and pointed at himself.

“You become a part of the Calamity?”

“To be precise, you become a servant of Calamity. Of course, there is also the choice of remaining an ordinary survivor and living care-free in the new world the god created.”

Desfort scoffed at the end of his sentence. This made Sungchul think.

‘This man. He intentionally chose to become a Calamity to begin with.’

If you can’t become a god, then destroy the world instead. That was the mindset of this man named Desfort. In the fuzzy vague recollection of his memories, someone of similar image came to Sungchul’s mind. The image of a selfish child flipping the board of Monopoly upon landing on Boardwalk.

‘What a little piece of **.’

He knew that the Seven Heroes were disgusting people in reality, but he did not have imagined that the leader would be such an infantile human being.

“So that’s why you’re throwing a tantrum. Because Eckheart, the person you so scorn, managed to ascend to godhood.”

Sungchul said as he glared at Desfort. Desfort grinned.

“Say whatever the ** you want. This world is already over.”

Desfort crossed his swords and took up a stance. It looked like he was preparing to make one final attack of his life.

They talked long enough. Sungchul, too, took a step forward to end Desfort’s life.

“How strange.”

A word escaped Sungchul’s lips.

“That someone who ascended to god-hood wasn’t able to save even his own daughter.”

Sungchul spoke as he felt the weight of Bertelgia hiding in his pocket.

“It is because he became a god that he did not save her.”

Desfort said as he swapped his swords.

“Unlike humans, a god must oversee and direct all things. The moment he ascended to god-hood, all of Eckheart’s humanity was extinguished.”

“What a troubling thing to say.”

Sungchul made his move. Desfort was successful in reading his movements, but his body did not react. He was already mortally wounded and his body which inhaled a devastating amount of deadly miasma left him without any strength to put up meaningful resistance.

Plunge

A sword was stabbed into Desfort’s body. But what appeared on Desfort’s lips was a grin.

‘It’s finally over.’

He waited for the sweet release of oblivion. But something was wrong. Although he was stabbed through the heart and therefore should be dying, he felt his mind becoming sharper and his body more sensitive.

‘Wha…what is this?’

He turned his head to look at the sword sticking out of his heart.

‘Now that I think of it, when did he take out that sword?’

The sword in his chest was a strange red and black long sword that looked more like a type of living creature. The identity of the sword was the weapon of Calamity, Agony.

A sword designed to save lives rather than end. It was this accursed weapon that pierced his heart.

“Wha…what are you trying to do?”

Desfort yelled hately. But Sungchul was already running somewhere in the distance and left Desfort behind.

“Watch carefully.”

Sungchul was headed towards the volcanic crater. He glared down the hole Desfort used everything he had to create.

‘It’s quite large.’

Next to the large opening was a motionless abandoned Colossus. Sungchul turned to speak to Bertelgia.

“Bertelgia. Are you able to move that?”

“Mmm… It would be difficult without the key, but maybe we can do it like last time.”

“Good. So you’re saying you might be able to earn your meal.”

It was then that the identical voice to Bertelgia spoke from next to him.

“What are you trying to do without killing Desfort?”

Sungchul looked at the book with a sideways glance and answered in a disinterested tone.

“Close the hole, with him watching.”

The book understood his intentions right away.

“Then I shall give you a hand.”

Something shining appeared before Sungchul.

It was the key to the Colossus.

Although there were a great deal of things he wanted to ask, Sungchul grabbed the key and silently headed towards the control room. The control room of this Colossus was not too different from the other Colossi. Sungchul took out the key and presented it to the book that controlled the Colossus.

Boo boom

The Colossus began to move. The reanimated Colossus began to use the nearby debris to close the hole where the miasma was escaping from. Desfort who could neither move nor die because of Agony was forced to watch in horror as the Colossus repaired the hole he had made.

“Fuck!”

Although Desfort shouted very loudly, it didn’t amount to more than an echo in the air.

The Colossus slowly but tirelessly filled up the hole, and finally the last bit of gap was obstructed by stone. No more Miasma of Death seeped out. Although the Miasma that already escaped into the atmosphere colored the world yellow, it would not be able to bring about the complete destruction of the world as Desfort had wanted. Sungchul who finished ruining Desfort’s plan made his way back to Desfort once more. Bertelgia was shaking slightly in his pocket. It was out of concern that Sungchul might change again due to the Weapon of Calamity.

Sungchul nodded and spoke calmly.

“Do not worry, Bertelgia. I will end it quickly.”

Sungchul approached Desfort and pulled out Agony out of his chest once he was done speaking.

“Ahh!”

Desfort let out a cry of pain and rolled on the ground. Although he did not die due to the power of Agony, he was forced to endure a terrible feeling of helplessness and indescribable pain in return for the life energy he received.

Clack.

Sungchul’s foot appeared right in front of his face. And the calm voice that soon followed rang like a stern declaration of verdict.

“The world is not something someone as insignificant as you can destroy.”

Desfort put all of his strength into lifting his head to glare at Sungchul.

“You…damned insect…!”

Fal Garaz rose up high before falling.

Splat.

The final moment of Desfort, the leader of the Seven Heroes, was pathetic.

Sungchul gazed at Desfort’s corpse with disinterest as he waited for the inevitable message. And finally, shining words covered Sungchul’s vision.

You have resolved the Second Calamity.

You have earned the right to come closer to understanding the inner workings of the world.

You now have the Gods’ attention.

Reward:

– Lector {Beginner}

2: Fragment of Calamity

Sungchul’s eyes reflected his surprise.

‘Lector?’

The ability to read and understand the Letter of God. It was the ability that Sungchul’s lady of fate Ryze Himerr once had.

‘But beginner level…’

He could always check the limitations and boundaries of that ability later. Sungchul retrieved another Fragment of Calamity from the ground close to his feet. It was larger and had a more sinister energy compared to the one he had gotten from defeating the Demon King. Sungchul placed the Fragment of Calamity in his clothes before waiting for the next event to fire. He did not have to wait long.

Desfort’s corpse began to give off black smoke. It was no ordinary smoke. It contained immense negative energy full of bottomless malice and unimaginable regret. Sungchul watched such a unholy sight without blinking an eye as he watched the movements of the Calamity. And finally, dark words appeared in his vision.

Witness of Calamity

You have seen the essence of Calmity.

You who observed the power of God have come one more step closer to the secrets of the world.

The rewards for being a witness is proportional to intuition.

Reward: Magic Power 130, Intuition 120, Magic Resist 120

His status points rose. Sungchul calmly verified the changes that occurred within him. It was a fair reward.

And there was yet another reward awaiting Sungchul.

Sungchul turned to look at the book floating not too far and opened his mouth.

“Keep your promise, imitation.”

As if it was waiting for Sungchul to speak, a small bottle materialized in the air before him. Inside the meticulously decorated bottle that gave the impression of Diamonds was a brilliant crimson liquid.

Sungchul picked it up and checked its name.

Final Elixir

Sungchul had fought the heavens and the earth to finally obtain this item.

‘Ryze Himerr. My promise to you will soon be fulfilled.’

A promise made more than a decade ago had changed one man’s destiny. And the conclusion to his vow was now in sight. Unconcealable emotions were swirling beneath his eyes.