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95. Head for the Holy Land

“It’s been a long time, and I haven’t counted the years, but it’s been more than 1,000 years and less than 1,500. At that time, I was in the Spirit Realm.”

Kunta and the other Spirits lived in the Spirit Realm. There was no natural way for them to leave it since, as with most existences, they lived their entire lives in the dimension they were born in, after all. In particular, the Spirits were a race that regarded silence as the best virtue. Therefore, most of them weren’t even interested in the mess happening in the surface world.

In that sense, Kunta was different. He was inquisitive and pursued a turbulent life. It was probably natural for him to make a contract with a human.

“She was a sorcerer. I’ve forgotten her name now, but I clearly remember her being called a witch among the humans. What an odd woman she was. Anyway, I traveled with her for quite a long time.”

Kunta came down to the surface world at just around the end of the war between the Sarahons and the Holy Army. The Sarahons, who once dominated the continent, had fallen badly. They were driven to the outskirts and became prisoners, so the other Ains were no longer afraid. When the tiger disappeared, a brawl between the wolves began for the burrow.

“You mean there was another war?”

“Yes. As soon as the Holy Army left, the Allies disbanded and fought amongst themselves. It was amazing. I thought they were trying to make a sea out of the blood.”

The war among the Ains lasted more than 300 years, and the Sarahons completely lost their former glory. They were currently neither noble, strong, nor beautiful. Their name was solidified into the humiliating nickname Goblin, and no one remembered that they were once great. By that time, Marilyn and Dorma’s faces had hardened like stones.

Kunta looked at them and said, “Should I keep talking?”

“No problem. Please tell me.”

“…Then I’ll finish. The Ains called it the age of war. I think the age of problems would be more appropriate. Well, whatever the name may be, spears rained down every day. And in the end, an entire race was annihilated.”

“What race are you talking about?”

“It was the Dwarves.”

Kunta cleared his throat briefly and explained.

“Even though the Dwarves were eccentric, they were a race that hated blood. So they pulled themselves out of the fight for territory early and hid underground.”

“But why did they become extinct?”

“It’s because of humans.”

“Because of humans?”

“The humans oiled the Dwarves’ dungeons and set them on fire.”

Ko Byeong-gap sighed while Kunta smirked.

“The flames went up from the tunnels, and it was able to reach the heavens. The Dwarves turned into lumps of charcoal and screamed as they came out. It was like seeing hell spill into the world.”

“…”

“Human beings are smart. If you’re smart, you can be clever and tenacious. Their persistence soon led to cruelty. In times of war, the humans won, no matter what.”

Ko Byeong-gap didn’t know whether to feel proud or ashamed of this passage. He just wondered what his men would think of him.

“Hummm!”

Kunta coughed dryly, perhaps because he had been talking for a while.

“Dorma, take the water out of your backpack.”

“Yes.”

Dorma handed him a bottle of water. Kunta hesitated for a moment, then accepted.

“At a glance, the water is clear. You’re in a good situation, aren’t you?”

“So what happened after that?”

Instead of answering, Ko Byeong-gap urged him to continue the story. Kunta grinned after a few sips of water.

“What happened? There was real chaos that was different from the war between the Ains.”

The war of the Ains that was maintained for decades, was never settled properly. One day, the Devil appeared with no foreshadowing or indication. The Devil was taller than most giant trees, and his whole body was pitch black. When he spread his wings and flew in the sky, night fell even in the middle of the day.

The Devil raised his long arms and devoured everything he held in his hands.

“That’s right….”

Dorma murmured. His forehead was damp with cold sweat.

“What do you mean by that?”

“When I heard that, I remembered. That’s how it looked when it chased us. It was huge, black, and long… he flew like a hawk when he found us. He snatched us at once and swallowed us in one gulp. It happened in a flash, and we couldn’t resist.”

Dorma trembled as he recalled the past. Terror was evident in his face. Suddenly, he raised his head and asked Kunta.

“But old man, was that the Devil? As far as I know, the Devil—”

“Yes, the Devil is the bastard that lived in the underworld.”

“But how…”

“What the hell is the Devil?”

Ko Byeong-gap couldn’t stand it. Kunta shook his head slowly.

“There won’t be anyone in the world who knows exactly what the Devil is. However, as they say, the Devil was inherently a weak being. No, even the expression weak is inappropriate. He was like moss, for example.”

“Moss?”

“Yes, he’s not dead, but he’s not alive. A lump that you can’t even think of. That’s the nature of the Devil.”

Ko Byeong-gap had a rough idea of what he meant, but it didn’t make any sense. Kunta continued before he could ask again.

“I don’t know what skills it possessed to have its form and self. It’s not exactly important. What’s important is that the whole world was devastated.”

Chaos descended to the surface world when the Devil broke out. The Ains fought against it desperately. However, the difference in power was overwhelming enough to overshadow their effort. In front of the predator named the Devil, the Ains were nothing but prey. Was it because of their extreme environment? A noticeable change occurred to the Ains. It was… such a terrible change.

“Hundreds of years passed since the Demons broke out, and it became impossible to tell what a Demon was and what an Ain was.”

“…The people turned into monsters.”

Kunta’s eyes grew bigger.

“You know that.”

“Yes.”

He heard it from a monster in a dungeon not too long ago, so he knew. However, there was only one catch.

“By the way, did you say hundreds of years? Just hundreds of years?”

It was perfectly natural for living things to evolve according to their environment, but a few hundred years was too short. Although he was ignorant of this field, he knew that it took apes countless of years to become even vaguely human.

In response to the question, Kunta replied.

“Well, from the moment the Devil’s rose, common sense lost its meaning. At that time, the sun rose in the west, but it wasn’t unbelievable.”

“…”

“Maybe the Devil broke the laws of the world.”

The Devil and its subordinates occupied the surface world for hundreds of years. In the meantime, Kunta fled to the Spirit Realm, but one day, the Demons invaded the Spirit Realm too. The Spirit Realm, of course, turned upside down. The Spirits were aware of the situation in the world below. Still, they could remain calm thanks to their belief that the Devil’s touch wouldn’t reach them.

However, the Demons abandoned their bodies and set foot in the Spirit Realm. Again, the indiscriminate slaughter began.

“The Spirits didn’t even think about confronting them. Most of the Spirits who had only ‘existed’ for a long time couldn’t comprehend the concept of struggle. So they fled to the surface world like mutts on fire. At least they thought there wouldn’t be Demons there.”

There were certainly no Demons on the surface world because all of them had given up their bodies and ascended to the Spirit Realm. The shells that they left behind, the Gruggles, were still strong, however, and the residents of the realm, who became monsters, weren’t friendly with them. The hard life of the Spirits began. A long time passed, and all the Spirits who failed to escape the Spirit Realm were consumed and killed.

The Demons who conquered the Spirit Realm invaded the Heavenly Realm without stopping. They took it over as if it were their home from the start.

Ko Byeong-gap asked, “How did you, staying in the surface world, know the status of the Spirit Realm and the Heavenly Realm?”

At the question, Kunta tried to refer to the God Madmut, but Ko Byeong-gap quickly stopped him.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Dorma, cover your ears. No, go out for a second.”

“Alright.”

Dorma walked away gently; only then did Ko Byeong-gap feel relieved.

“Okay. Keep talking.”

Kunta had questions, but he kept them to himself.

“Hmm, of course. I didn’t see the Demons advancing into Heaven, but I saw Madmut escape from to the surface world.”

“You mean God ran away?”

“Ha! Where else would he go?”

Ko Byeong-gap blinked as if to urge him to continue. Kunta recited the tale in a lower voice.

“That irresponsible God destroyed us… no, he abandoned this world! He disappeared beyond the dimensions, taking his children with him!”

***

The absolute God, Madmut. He took the Ains, who had turned into monsters, and disappeared beyond the dimension. Ko Byeong-gap felt his mind go blank at this part.

‘…As expected, the Deep Impact wasn’t a natural disaster. It was a crime planned by someone.’

Whether or not there was a supernatural being behind Deep Impact had been a topic of debate for quite some time. Some groups worshipped the unknown, regardless of whether it was true or not. A typical example was the Six-rays Bridge.

On this day, Ko Byeong-gap could infer the identity of the transcendent being that the believers in the Six-rays Bridge so desperately wanted to know. Yes, the transcendent being seemed to be Madmut.

‘Madmut, who ran away from Ashvilam, scattered monsters on Earth… for what reason?’

Of course, he didn’t know what it meant.

“Well, there’s nothing much after that. God abandoned the world, and all the Spirits left struggled to survive. If they were alive, they couldn’t live a happy life because they had a hard time looking for anything to put in their mouths.”

“Why didn’t you return to the Spirit Realm? Are you wondering if there are any Demons left?”

Marilyn, who was quietly listening, asked the question.

“There is a reason for that, but… even if I wanted to go back now, my body has become something that can’t bring me back to it.”

Kunta said so and pointed to his body.

“Just as the Ains have turned into monsters, we’ve changed a lot. We’re like chickens that can’t fly. We’ll have to learn how to separate our soul and body, just like the Demons. Heh.”

Kunta smiled bitterly and stood.

“My story is over. There are many things I want to hear too, but I think it’s too late. Why don’t we stop here for today?”

Ko Byeong-gap checked his watch. Unbeknownst to him, it was past 1 am, so he and Marilyn also stood.

“Thank you for your story. I’ll tell you my story when it’s dawn.”

“Alright, follow me. I will guide you to your room.”

They left the hut, catching up with Dorma, who was waiting outside patiently.

“You’re here. Is the story over?”

“Yes, you had a hard time waiting.”

“Hard work, that’s ridiculous.”

Ko Byeong-gap’s party was introduced to a cabin similar to Kunta’s. It wasn’t very pleasant, but it was enough for the night.

“Then, take a good rest.”

“Thanks to you, I found out a lot. Thank you.”

Kunta left with a simple goodbye.

“Lord, are we going over to your world?”

“No, I can’t ignore their sincerity, so let’s just sleep here today.”

“Yes, I understand.”

They quickly went to sleep. The three of them had their thoughts surging through their heads. They had a lot to say, but they decided to postpone it due to their exhaustion.

“Have a good night’s sleep.”

“Lord, have a good night’s sleep.”

“Yes, good night to you, too.”

It didn’t take a long time for the cabin to be filled with static. The first night seemed to pass without any trouble until guards armed with spears stormed in.