Chapter 309: Start of the 『End of THE WORLD』
As Kyung-joon received the ‘Hero’s 0th Mark’ from the Pope, the items in his inventory started to react.
[Unique item in inventory 『Monster Language Encyclopedia』 is reacting.]
[Legendary quest has been created.]
[Legendary quest 『Hero’s 1st Mark (Rimi Nuhu)』 has been triggered.]
The Hero’s Marks Kyung-joon had obtained so far started from the Fairy King’s 2nd Mark to Lupera’s 7th Mark.
And the mark Kyung-joon received from the Pope was not the 1st Mark, but the 0th Mark.
Because Huma’s mark was the most important mark that connected the marks of the 7 heroes.
And in response to that, the quest to obtain the 1st Mark, the ‘Rimi Nuhu’ quest, began.
▶Xrud-Ittan Knaz’ ur Sunu. Si ni Bailtani Shaq ‘ khe n……
[Quest has been canceled.]
“What is this gibberish? I’m busy. I’m not playing language games anymore.”
Kyung-joon immediately canceled Rimi Nuhu’s quest.
However, his quest was persistent.
▶Descendant. I am beyond the desert, in the East……
[Quest has been canceled.]
“The world is going to end, what East are you talking about?”
[Quest has been canceled.]
▶Descendant. Please listen to me without interrupting……
[Quest has been canceled.]
．
．
．
“Teemo, this quest keeps popping up, can you take care of it?”
<^o^7>
<Yes, I understand.>
<I will set up an infinite loop algorithm for quest cancellation.>
After Teemo said that, the quest window no longer appeared for Kyung-joon.
Seeing that, the Pope asked with a slightly bewildered look.
“Wait, didn’t you need the Hero’s Mark? Why would you refuse a legendary quest that would give you the mark……”
“Ah, it’s okay. I have 6 basic marks and the 0th mark I just received, so I can roughly analyze and replicate the 1st mark. I can just roughly insert it like correcting a low-resolution photo by creating a machine learning algorithm.”
Of course, Kyung-joon was planning to use Ceram for that task since he would be very busy from now on.
Ceram had the ability to read the memories of stones, and the Hero’s Mark was also, in a broad sense, no different from a stone.
Moreover, since Ceram was a disciple of Rimi Nuhu in the past, he would be able to replicate it if Kyung-joon provided him with the right equipment and environment.
“……”
The Pope was speechless at Kyung-joon’s remark.
Not only did he not understand the jargon about machine learning, but could he really replicate the Hero’s Mark, an ancient artifact from 700 years ago?
It was an unbelievable story, but he had no choice but to believe it.
Judging from Kyung-joon’s expression, tone, and what he had done so far, it didn’t seem like a lie at all.
He felt like he could definitely do it.
“Ahem, anyway.”
The Pope cleared his throat and continued what he had been trying to say.
“There’s one thing we need to change in this scenario. Since our Holy Cross Church can’t openly help you, we need to pretend to be fighting on the surface. Otherwise, the guy you call the Second Demon King will suspect us.”
Kyung-joon smirked at the Pope’s surprisingly sharp point.
“Sounds good.”
“Hmph. Don’t mistake us for being on your side. We’re only joining hands temporarily for the greater good.”
“The greater good, sounds good. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kyung-joon extended his hand to the Pope.
The Pope took his hand without hesitation.
They shook hands and said simultaneously.
“See you in half a year then.”
“See you in half a year then.”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Somewhere in the Study Territory.
The location is unknown to anyone except Kyung-joon.
It was a pitch-black space with no light, and there were four other people besides Kyung-joon.
▼Ceram (NPC)
▼Kingyear (NPC)
▼Kim Elsa (Player)
▼AngerManagementVodka (Player)
These were Kyung-joon’s closest confidants and the few people he could completely trust.
Kyung-joon glanced at the four of them and spoke with his usual expressionless face.
“I will now give you an overview of Operation ‘End of THE WORLD’. But before that.”
Before announcing the beginning of the end of The World, Kyung-joon once again reiterated the precautions.
“As you all know, this operation is a massive operation that encompasses both reality and the World, and it’s an operation that will change the landscape of the world. We don’t know what variables might occur, and not only the people here, but also the residents of the territory, people in reality, and even I could die. It’s a very dangerous operation.”
Kyung-joon glanced at them again.
They still looked okay.
“On the other hand, this operation might be a cruel one where you might take the lives of tens of thousands, or even millions of people. In this operation, ‘End of THE WORLD’, there are no individuals. There are no human rights either. There are only numbers, figures, and scenarios. Of course, if things go according to the scenario, the sacrifices will be minimized, and the devastating destruction will quickly lead to a new revival. However, if the situation escalates to the worst-case scenario outside of the scenario, we are even considering pouring mana reaction bombs on the headquarters of Seolha Entertainment and the Holy See of the Holy Cross Church.”
The mana reaction bomb is a byproduct of Kyung-joon’s fusion of the forefront of physics and magic engineering.
In theory, its destructive power far surpasses that of a typical nuclear bomb, and even a hydrogen bomb is no match for it.
It is truly the strongest and worst weapon that instantly vaporizes everything within its range.
The four, who had already seen a rough outline of the scenario in the briefing window, gulped nervously.
“Perhaps tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of casualties might occur. This will be blood that can never be washed away, and should never be attempted to be washed away. Of course, this is in the worst-case scenario, but are you prepared to stain your hands with that blood without hesitation? If not, you can withdraw from the operation.”
Then, Kim Elsa raised her hand.
“Yes, Ms. Kim Elsa. Please answer.”
Kyung-joon continued to use his usual polite speech instead of informal speech, even to Yoo Seol-ha.
It was for the sake of the atmosphere.
“……There’s no way it will escalate to the worst-case scenario, and there’s no way we’ll just stand by and let it happen. That’s why we’re here, aren’t we?”
There was no hesitation in Kim Elsa (Yoo Seol-ha)’s eyes as she spoke.
It seemed like she had already made up her mind.
Kyung-joon scanned the four of them again, but they were the same.
Kyung-joon smirked with satisfaction.
“Good. Then we’ll start with Mr. Ceram.”
“Yes!”
Ceram straightened his back and prepared to listen to Kyung-joon’s words.
“As you’ve already seen in the briefing window, Mr. Ceram’s goal is to replicate the Hero’s 1st Mark in half a year, no matter what. I’ve prepared all the equipment, theories, and principles. The important thing here is that it shouldn’t be faster than half a year, and it definitely shouldn’t be later.”
“You mean it has to be completed exactly in half a year?”
“Yes. That’s when I will release the seal of the 1st ranked Baal. It’s the climax of the scenario, and the time when the Demon King’s seal will be completely released.”
“I understand. Then I’ll proceed quickly in advance and at that point……”
“That’s not possible either. Mr. Ceram, you must always exude the pressure of having to create it as quickly as possible, and complete it right before the seal is released, or more precisely, a few hours before. That way, you won’t be suspected.”
“Suspected……you say? By whom?”
“Chairman Yoo.”
Kyung-joon answered shortly.
“The moment the seal is released and my contract with the Demon King is broken, Chairman Yoo will make a contract with the Demon King and be reborn as the Second Demon King. And he will think that the biggest threat is the Hero’s Mark that I possess, rather than me. So he will definitely try to take the Hero’s Mark in advance on that day. The best time would be right before the seal is released, at the same time that you, Mr. Ceram, have barely managed to complete the Hero’s Mark.”
“Take it away……I will never let that happen.”
“No. No matter what countermeasures you take, it will definitely be taken away. Even if you protect it with an Isolated System and hide it somewhere, it will definitely be taken away after he is resurrected as the Second Demon King.”
“Huh? Then instead of me taking all the marks, I could keep some with Kyung-joon-nim and take countermeasures……”
“There’s no need for that. You’ll need the other marks to replicate it anyway, so you’ll be entrusted with all the marks. Keep them with you, resist desperately, and eventually lose them. Then, make sure you are torn apart with resentment and regret.”
“Ah……”
Ceram finally realized Kyung-joon’s intention.
Completing the Hero’s Mark and having it taken away by Chairman Yoo, and not having it suspected as a plan.
That was what Ceram had to do.
“Next is Kingyear and Kim Elsa. You’re both smart, so you probably know, but I’ll reiterate the important parts.”
The two nodded silently.
Kyung-joon looked at Kingyear first.
“First, for the next few months, you just need to handle the mutant monsters as you’ve been doing. The only difference is that you’ll now be cooperating with the Holy Cross Church. For cooperation, make good use of our territory priest, Rone. He may seem like a delinquent priest who’s always drinking and smoking Divine Cross, but he knows the Holy Cross Church better than anyone else, objectively. I’m sure the Holy Cross Church will use him for communication as well. I believe you’ll do well up to this point without any major problems. However.”
Kyung-joon’s voice became slightly serious.
“However, the problem is after that. The exact timing will probably be when the mutant monsters are mostly dealt with, when hope blossoms among the public, and when the seals of the 40th to 30th ranked demons are released. From this point on, the situation will change drastically.”
“The Demon King’s curse……are you referring to?”
“Yes, that’s right. You read the briefing well.”
“You flatter me.”
Kingyear expressed his gratitude for Kyung-joon’s compliment.
“The briefing probably just briefly mentions it as the Demon King’s curse, but this curse is a real curse. It’s different from the formless thing we created during Luxemb. The curse will erode people without black magic stones, and those with the weakest will and monsters will be affected first. Or, conversely, those with too strong a will will also be affected. This applies to you as well, so be careful with your mental management. Please.”
Seeing the four nod their heads simultaneously, Kyung-joon continued.
“Those cursed by the Demon King will become undead zombies. And those who are attacked will be infected. So they too will become undead. I deliberately taught the Demon King the ‘Eternal Telomere’ Imprinting so that there would be as few casualties as possible. So from then on, there will be no deaths caused by the Demon King’s curse, but it will completely turn into a living hell. Kingyear, you will lead the Study Territory and its related forces and somehow endure for half a year. You need to keep pace with Ceram. You can’t endure too well, and you can’t endure too poorly either. You must fight desperately for your life and eventually fall into despair. Make it happen.”
Kyung-joon immediately turned his gaze to Kim Elsa.
“Kim Elsa, the same goes for you.”
Kyung-joon continued to use his usual polite speech instead of informal speech, even to Yoo Seol-ha.
It was for the sake of the atmosphere.
“However, while Kingyear is around the Study Territory, you will be active in the Humanity Cantons. There will be direct combat, but you will probably be more focused on the development, production, and distribution of magic engineering weapons.”
“I understand. Then the development of a cure for the Demon King’s curse……no, the cure wouldn’t be the priority. We’ll start developing sedatives and palliatives after the Demon King’s curse occurs, and complete the cure when the seal is completely released, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. As expected of the all-time best student.”
“What are you talking about? And it’s the all-time best daughter. I’m not anyone’s daughter in the first place.”
Kim Elsa shrugged with a self-deprecating chuckle.
Although not completely, it seemed like she had come to terms with her birth to some extent.
“That’s all for the World side of things. Next is the reality side, which I’ll talk about separately with Mr. Vodka.”
“Huh? Not even to me?”
“Kim Elsa should only focus on Kim Elsa. Please forget everything about Yoo Seol-ha.”
“Why?”
Kim Elsa frowned.
“Are you worried I won’t be able to do it properly? I don’t really care about Y999 or that damn bastard Chairman Yoo anymore. No, it would be a lie to say I don’t care, but it won’t interfere with my work.”
At Kim Elsa’s words that she was fine, Kyung-joon shook his head.
“It’s not a matter of caring or not caring, being okay or not okay. I want you to focus solely on the affairs of the Humanity Cantons, and you’ll find out why later, after everything is over.”
“……Is it part of the plan to not tell me on purpose?”
Kyung-joon neither nodded nor shook his head.
He just looked at her silently.
Eventually, Yoo Seol-ha sighed deeply and resigned herself.
“Sigh, alright. As you said, I’ll focus on being Kim Elsa and not Yoo Seol-ha.”
“Yes. Please do so. And Mr. Vodka, please stay a little longer after this is over. As I mentioned earlier, I’ll tell you about the operation regarding reality.”
AngerManagementVodka said”Okay”in Russian.
Finally, Kyung-joon once again brought all four of them into his field of vision.
Kyung-joon was still expressionless, but his eyes held a different kind of seriousness than before.
“Then, we will now begin Operation ‘End of THE WORLD’. Everyone, see you in half a year.”
And.
Half a year passed in an instant.
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