Episode 174
Root (4)
A place that humans can only reach after accumulating enough levels and attaining enlightenment.
This is where the words “shedding the shell” and “transcendence” come from.
Because transcendence means breaking free from human limitations, and transcendence means breaking free from the causality that has bound him and being reborn as a true god.
“I never thought I would see this place with my own eyes.”
Suddenly, Lordbroke’s spirit appeared next to Theo and stroked the large iron gate with his hand.
“Rhodi.”
“Are you coming to your senses now?”
Lordbroke’s face, looking back at Theo, was somehow filled with sorrow.
‘I kept looking for it when I was cursed.’
In fact, Theo was hearing the voices of Lordbroke and the ghosts of the Mausoleum Sword in the darkness, trying to somehow bring him back to his senses.
However, at the time, I was not in my right mind, so I ignored those voices and had a delusion that they were trying to harm me.
But when I came to my senses, I felt so sorry about everything.
“I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble.”
“Huh! When I think about how I almost got caught up in a curse because of you… …! Phew!”
Lordbroke didn’t seem to be taking Theo’s apology lightly.
In reality, since the minds of two people are connected through channeling, any mental damage received by one person will be directly transmitted to the other person.
It would have been especially dangerous for Lordbroke, who was currently concentrating on his recovery.
“A box of mint chocolate ice cream.”
Snap!
“Hmm! You wouldn’t be trying to tempt me with something like that, would you?”
But Lordbroke turned his head and shouted in displeasure.
Theo didn’t miss the moment when Lordbroke’s ears perked up.
‘I didn’t think it was real, but you’re really serious about mint chocolate.’
Well, it wasn’t like there was no way.
“No way. I’m just asking you to be more open-minded. How about adding a mint chocolate latte? When this war is over and you return to Winterer, I’ll take care of you for a whole month.”
“Latte?”
“Don’t you know? It’s coffee mixed with mint chocolate. I heard it’s popular in Winterer these days.”
“Wow! As expected, humans are really ingenious! To think of such ingenious ideas!”
As a pure coffee lover, Theo was more concerned about why I was drinking coffee that tasted like toothpaste.
Well, what can I do? It’s a matter of taste.
“Ahem! Good. Your companion’s heart is very special, so I will forgive you just this once.”
While Lordbroke nodded willingly, the ghosts of the Mausoleum Sword that had come out were looking at Theo with tired expressions.
-You’re the only one who can tempt a dragon with something so bizarre.
-No, more than that, we! We have to give too!
-That’s right. We suffered so much because of you…
“Instead, aren’t you giving the elders a good tour? When will you come to a place like this?”
-That too, but… … .
-Hey, you’re trying to gloss over it like this again.
-Somehow it seems like you’re getting more and more clever.
The ghosts followed Theo and looked at the iron gate, grumbling.
Entrance to the Pantheon.
Sure, we had only heard of such things in legends and myths, but we never thought we would actually see them, so everyone had a look of surprise on their faces.
Will I be able to see the paradise of Mu-rung-do-won where gods play baduk, or Valhalla where great warriors go?
-Still, we have a good descendant, so we can enjoy the view even after we die.
-But is that true?
-what?
-Shijo-nim. There was a rumor that he died and ascended to heaven as a god. If that’s true, then I can meet Shijo-nim, right?
-Is that so?
For a moment, the ghosts’ gaze turned to Lordbroke.
Theo’s gaze followed suit.
‘There certainly was such a legend.’
The legends about the fate of Sigurd the Founder vary.
There is a legend that he settled in the North, died, and closed his eyes in peace in front of his descendants.
There is a legend that he died while fighting off the demons of the Mahe who were pushing in from beyond the Great Wall.
There are legends that he went into seclusion to seek greater realms, and that he is still watching Ragnar from somewhere in the Winter Mountains.
But among them, the legend that people believed the most was ‘ascension’.
The legend goes that he attained enlightenment, became a god, and ascended to the Pantheon on a pillar of light that came down from the sky.
As a descendant of Ragnar, it is only natural that I would be curious.
Among all those legends, what is the truth?
however,
「… … .」
For some reason, Lordbroke just kept his lips tightly shut and said nothing.
There was an ominous atmosphere, as if he was telling me not to ask for details.
“Then I will open it.”
Theo put his hand on the iron door, thinking there must be a reason.
If Sigurd really did enter the Pantheon, then we will really be able to see him.
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It was at that moment that I was trying to stop the force in my hand.
Kwarrrrrrung!
Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the sky so loud that I thought my ears were falling off.
Theo, Lordbroke, and the ghosts all looked upwards.
Suddenly, dark clouds began to gather from far away.
Accompanied by strong winds, lightning and heavy rain.
‘No, that’s… …!’
But when the dark cloud got close enough to be seen with the naked eye, Theo knew he had been mistaken.
It wasn’t a dark cloud or anything.
It was a lump of monsters.
-Hey, what is that… …!
-Is it a demon from the sea? But it’s too high to be called that!
-Is there a seed similar to
The dark cloud was actually a mixture of numerous strange monsters.
A monster that seems to have crammed hundreds of monsters into a small space, with limbs sticking out here and there and brain matter and blood dripping endlessly from its broken muscles.
The eyeballs, stuck to the clump of cells, rolled around and stopped on Theo’s side.
right-
Woof- Woof-
Theo had a strong feeling that it was similar to the
Clearly, its hideous appearance was no different from that of a monster.
The magical energy that emanated from it was also close to that of the
But something was subtly different.
At least the guy had his own will and personality.
He was also intellectually advanced enough to find Theo ‘funny’.
But that wasn’t it.
[Hatchling Synchro] When examined, it was found that it did not have a consistent pattern of thinking.
Countless living beings are entangled, accidents collide, and no conclusions can be reached.
It was a beast that acted only impulsively, without any foresight, judgment, or thought.
That is, a monster.
A monster of great strength and chaos.
It was that in itself.
Kiaaaaaaaah-!
The monster opened its mouth wide and screamed.
Theo hurriedly launched three swords into the air and pulled out Drake’s blade.
-Shit!
-Why are you fighting such a strange guy even after dying?
-How can there be another guy like
The ghosts also hurriedly prepared for battle.
If anything, I was about to use Theo’s power to activate the chronograph.
But Lordbroke was calm and looked elsewhere.
“No. I don’t think we need to step forward ourselves.”
There was no need to ask what that meant.
Above the iron gate, you could suddenly see hundreds and thousands of meteors racing across the sky.
At the end of those long trails, there was a large number of celestial warriors clad in golden halos.
I could tell intuitively.
They are the ones, exactly.
“Gods of the Pantheon… …!”
The gods that I actually saw were so splendid that I wondered if they were really the foolish gods I had only encountered in messages.
No, it overwhelmed everything.
Each of them was already a completed world, and ultimately a collective concept.
Rather, that was why Theo could not read anything from them.
Because it was an existence too distant for him to see.
Absolutely flawless.
Couldn’t you say that?
Doctrines, sanctifications, legends… none of the references to them that remained in the world seemed able to adequately explain their majesty.
The mighty god comes from the darkness.
Perfection is in the light.
Black and white became entangled in the middle of the sky, causing the heavens and the earth to shake.
As the world was in turmoil as if it was about to be destroyed or created –
“Sigurd!!”
Suddenly, Lordbroke leapt forward and shouted.
A voice mixed with various emotions such as sadness and longing, pain and anger, jealousy and resentment.
It was the first time Theo had ever seen Lordbroke overcome with emotion.
‘You’re the founder?’
Theo followed Lordbroke’s lead with his eyes.
The heavenly army of the pantheon had one man at its head.
Black hair and red eyes.
He had a look that anyone could tell was Ragnar, and his face also looked somewhat like Theo’s.
It was to the point where I thought it would be okay if Theo just kept growing like this.
-Then that person… … ?
-So the legend of ascension was true… …!
Even the ghosts were equally amazed.
“Answer me, Sigurd!”
Lordbroke shouted again.
If anything, it looked like it would return to its original body and fly up into the sky.
At that moment, Sigurd glanced over and licked his lips.
‘Lordbroke.’
Theo could read the shape of her lips exactly.
‘This is not your place yet.’
Then this time he turned his gaze and looked straight at Theo.
The lips moved again.
‘So go back, my distant descendant. And then.’
Sigurd waved his hand roughly in this direction.
‘You who have received the blessings of karma.’
Wheeee!
In an instant, a strong wind blew and pushed Theo and his party outside at once.
[Forced eviction from Mansinjeon.]
Theo must have felt like he was falling to the ground.
The feeling of having grown so much but then becoming infinitely smaller again.
And slowly down… … .
… …
…
‥
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[Arrived safely on the 13th floor.]
[Congratulations! You have successfully completed Scenario Quest #7 by climbing all of the White Towers and visiting the Pantheon behind them.]
[Rating: S+]
[As a reward, you have acquired ownership of the White Pagoda, a relic of the Ancient Dragon. For more information, please ask the Guardian.]
[As an additional reward based on your evaluation, you can now freely use
“I never thought that even the outsiders would come and see you… … This is a result that is beyond my expectations. Now I understand why the other Guardians held you in such high regard.”
Certosuchus, who had appeared out of nowhere, glanced around.
There were all the other guardians gathered there, including the Fairy Dragon. They had serious expressions on their faces.
Of course, Magara still hated Theo and tried not to even make eye contact with him.
“Foreign news?”
Theo thought of a being that did not even have a proper form or thoughts.
It would not be strange to express it that way, as its power was not at all inferior to that of the heavenly hosts of the Pantheon.
「Hmm… … Actually, these parts are so heavy that I tried not to tell you until you had acquired some of the Ancient Dragon’s relics.」
Certosuchus smiled, stroking his chin with his hand.
“Since you have seen the Pantheon and even foreign news, there is no need to hide it. Since you have already realized Nirvana, it would be a problem to think of you as being on the same level as other ordinary choosers.”
The explanation continued.
“Foreigners are, to be precise, beings that have come from ‘outside’ this world. They are not bound by the laws of this world at all, and are greedy monsters that eat everything they see.”
“Then why was the Pantheon built there… …?”
“Yes. To block foreign news. That is the reason for the existence of the Pantheon.”
“… … !”
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
Then suddenly my thoughts wandered elsewhere.
The atmosphere of the foreign press was very similar to that of
So what happens to their relationship?
Certosuchus read Theo’s thoughts and smiled as he added an explanation to this.
“Shame… … So, the being you call the
In the sky, the Pantheon blocks foreign gods,
On the land, the Guardians fight against the nameless monarch.
and,
‘If a reset occurs every time the fight between the Pantheon and the Guardians fails and the world ends… …!’
Theo felt as if he had been hit hard in the head with something blunt.
We were one step closer to the secrets of the world, and the secrets of time.
“Wait a minute! Then what exactly is Ragnar… … ?”
“A medium connecting the two.”
Certosuchus laughed.
“And you can think of us as a clan with a duty to protect the world.”
How the bastard of the Return Sword Family lives
