Chapter 1290
Chapter 1290
The story was not long.
A long, long time ago, right after the end of the dawn of creation, around the time when the Creator vanished from the world...
Just before the sentient beings and demigods of the world waged a great war on the followers of the Creator, one of the demigods of that era, the God of Prophecy, Oracle, left behind a warning.
A pillar of white light shall rise one day.
I leave this prophecy behind for that day.
After those words, Oracle split the prophecy in two.
One half was entrusted to the angels, while the other to the demons.
Then, he disappeared from the world forever.
“Hmm...” After listening to Michael’s story, Siegfried thought long and hard before breaking the silence. “So you’re saying those white pillars rising right now might be related to that prophecy?”
“That is correct.”
“Do you think Oracle split it so that neither the angels nor demons can use it for their own gain?”
“I am not sure what his true intentions were.”
Siegfried thought for a moment and said, “Maybe... The angels and demons will have to work together in order to interpret the full prophecy?”
“...Pardon me?”
“If Oracle deliberately gave it to two races that naturally despised each other, then the message it contains could mean...”
“No way...”
“...That a threat so great is coming, and neither race can face it alone?”
“T-That.. That may well be true.”
“But where are the halves of that thing?”
“One half is here with me,” Michael replied, taking out a crescent-shaped clay tablet.
[Alert: You have obtained Oracle’s Prophecy (1/2)!]
It was the half Oracle had left to the angels.
“Hmm... I guess it’s impossible to decipher with only one half,” Siegfried said, inspecting the clay tablet.
“Indeed,” Michael replied with a nod.
“Then where’s the other half? You said the demons have it, no?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know anything about that since I’m an angel... but you should, though, shouldn’t you?”
“How the hell would I know? I wasn’t born a demon, remember?”
“Ah, right...”
“It’s not like Elder Baal gave me a proper handover either. I know I’m the Demon King, but how the hell am I supposed to know anything about some ancient prophecy? Mind you, this prophecy is from the dawn of creation.”
“Ah...”
“It’s fine... You can just say what’s on your mind. You’re thinking that I’m a lowborn, upstart, good-for-nothing Demon King, aren’t you?”
“N-No! That’s not what I was thinking! Far be it!”
“It’s fine... I’m just an upstart Demon King after all...”
“S-Siegfried!”
“You were probably thinking that some nobody suddenly came out of nowhere and became the Demon King, right?”
“T-That is not what I meant! Please do not misunderstand me, Siegfried!” Michael exclaimed, almost on the verge of crying.
“Hey, owner punk. I think you should stop teasing him now. He’s gonna cry at this rate. Kyuu!”
“Should I stop?”
“Yeah! You should stop! Kyuuu!”
“Kekeke!”
Michael finally realized that Siegfried had been teasing him.
“I’ll head to the Demon Realm and look for it myself.”
“...Okay.”
“Hey, you’re not mad, are you?”
“I am not.”
“Are you sure? It looks like you are.”
“I said I am not.”
“Aw~ You totally are! You’re pouting, Michael! Chief Pouty Angel, Michael.”
“...”
“Oh, come on! Don’t sulk, man. Let’s go,” Siegfried said, grabbing Michael by the arm.
“W-Where are we going all of a sudden?”
“Where else? To the Demon Realm!”
With that, Siegfried dragged Michael away to the Demon Realm.
***
Meanwhile, the provincial nobles of the fallen Marchioni Empire began to bear arms while Siegfried was heading to the Demon Realm.
The reason they took up arms was simple.
For these nobles, this was their one and only chance to seize as much land as possible and eventually establish kingdoms of their own.
In other words, war was inevitable.
Until half of the rebelling nobles were destroyed and those who remained seized enough land to establish their own kingdoms, they would continue clawing and tearing at each other.
At least, that was the plan until now.
When Siegfried, using his authority as the Emperor of the Proatine Kingdom, decreed that they had only one month to wage war, outrage spread like wildfire among the nobles.
“That damned brat! Who does he think he is?! How dare he tell me what to do?!”
“It’s not like he can rule all this land anyway. Why does he care if we fight amongst ourselves or not?”
“Even if he is the emperor of the world’s most powerful nation, he is overreaching his authority! He is meddling in our affairs!”
“He crossed the line this time!”
Discontent among the nobles boiled over. One month could be long or short depending on the situation, but it was indeed not enough time to settle borders through war. Even if they fought nonstop, without stopping even to sleep, eat, or rest, three months would barely be enough to settle the borders.
“Hmm... This won’t do. I can’t let this continue.”
The most powerful one among the rebelling provincial lords, Count Amun, finally came to a decision.
During his time serving the now-fallen Marchioni Empire, he governed a massive domain. His vast territory had a huge population, allowing him to contribute a sizable army whenever the empire needed it.
The empire had fallen, so now, he commanded the largest and most organized army among the rebel warlords. He stood to gain the biggest share of land in the end if the warlords continued to fight over territory.
In other words, the fact that there was a time limit to the wars was against his interests.
“I’ll summon the warlords for a council meeting. We can’t just sit back and let Siegfried von Proa walk all over us like this.”
With that resolve, Count Amun sent out messengers to the other warlords, summoning them to gather.
It was, in truth, a sound decision. Both the Proatine Empire and its allies had suffered heavy casualties from their war with the Marchioni Empire and were now focusing on recovering from it.
They were in no condition to fight another war, which meant that this was the opportune moment for the warlords to hit them.
***
Taking Michael with him, Siegfried headed straight for the Demon King’s Castle located in the Demon Realm. There, he immediately began searching for the clay tablet that was the other half of the prophecy—well, he tried to do so.
No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find it anywhere in the castle.
‘Hmm... Where could it be?’
Though he was the current Demon King, he honestly did not know a damn thing about the Demon Realm and its history.
He lacked even the most basic knowledge that any demon ought to have naturally, so for someone like him to locate a relic that had been passed down since the dawn of creation was essentially impossible.
“How are we supposed to find it?” Siegfried asked.
“...”
Michael was too dumbfounded to reply.
‘If the Demon King doesn’t know where it is... then how are we supposed to find it?’ he wondered.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
A neatly dressed old butler appeared and bowed deeply before Siegfried.
“Erm... Who are you?” Siegfried asked.
He had never seen this butler before in his life. Well, that was only natural, as this was the first time he ever set foot in the Demon King’s Castle after becoming the Demon King.
“My name is Sebastian, sire.”
“Sebastian...?”
“I am the demon in charge of managing this castle.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I am the twenty-third Sebastian serving the lineage of the great Demon Kings.”
It turned out that the name "Sebastian" was a title passed down through generations.
“By any chance... Do you know anything about a clay tablet? Something to do with a prophecy?” Siegfried asked.
“Yes, sire. That tome is kept in a sealed chamber that only the Demon King can open.”
“Oh? Where is this chamber?”
“Please, allow me to guide you, sire.”
As someone who had served in the castle for generations, Sebastian seemed familiar with the things happening within it.
“I think we got a lead. Let’s go, Michael.”
“Okay, Siegfried.”
Following Sebastian, Siegfried and Michael soon arrived at a sealed chamber.
Just as the old butler said, this chamber could only be unsealed by the Demon King.
Wooong...!
Siegfried channeled a tiny bit of his Primordial Force into the lock and—
Click... Clack!
—The door was unsealed. Siegfried and his companions entered the chamber, and they finally found the other half of the prophecy.
[Alert: You have obtained Oracle’s Prophecy (2/2)!]
As soon as he obtained the other half, the two halves merged together.
Then, glowing letters engraved by the Oracle began to hover in midair.
The message read as follows:
In the distant future, an Executor of Destiny shall raise a pillar of light in the mortal realm.
When six pillars rise and the star ascends, the Father of All Things shall descend.
O failures of the Creator! Prepare for that day!
No flawed creations will be spared by the Creator!
‘Hold on. Did it just say the Executor of Destiny?’ Siegfried froze after reading something familiar.
“The fate of this world is already sealed. Even if you manage to stop us, the other Executors of Destiny will inevitably come to bring about this world’s ruin.”
“Even if you crush the Church of Osric, a second Osric will emerge. If you destroy the second one, then a third will rise. You cannot prevent the Executors from coming. Your efforts are futile, and no matter how hard you struggle, your struggles will dissolve like mist in the wind.”
The dying words of Acheron, the Immortal Alchemist and the leader of the Church of Osric, echoed vividly in Siegfried’s mind. The Executors of Destiny were beings who sought to bring about the destruction of the world.
Acheron, the Immortal Alchemist.
Lucifer, the former Chief Archangel.
Both of them were most likely Executors of Destiny, too.
Even Lee Geon, who had summoned the Fallen Angels into the Middle Realm, was probably an Executor of Destiny, too.
‘Destiny...’
It was something one was born with, and it couldn’t be changed, no matter how much one struggled.
‘So this world is doomed to be destroyed after all?’ Siegfried thought.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind...
“Ah... So it has come to this in the end,” Michael muttered, sighing heavily.
“Why? Did something come to mind?” Siegfried asked.
“The Father of All Things.”
“Hm? What about it?”
“That is our Father, the Creator.”
“...!”
“And the failures mentioned... are us. We are the failed creations. Every single being in existence is considered a failure.”
“But why?”
“Because before our Father, the Creator, vanished... He was deeply disappointed by everything.”
“What was he disappointed in?”
“In what He saw in His creations. We were not what He envisioned when He first brought us into existence.”
“So you’re saying... Just because he doesn’t like what he made, he’s going to destroy everything? Like a potter smashing his own vase just because it did not turn out the way he wanted?”
“...That is a rather fitting analogy. Yes, from what this prophecy says, it seems our Father intends to erase all of us.”
“Ughh...” Siegfried groaned, covering his face in exhaustion.
First it was Acheron, Lucifer, and then Lee Geon. He had fought and defeated countless enemies just to protect this world, yet now it turned out the next enemy could be the Creator himself.
In the end, he would probably have to fight against the very god who had created the world’s system in the first place.
***
While Siegfried and Michael were busy deciphering the Oracle’s Prophecy in the Demon Realm, a press conference was taking place in the real world.
It was not just local media outlets that had gathered here today. Game journalists from all over the world had gathered, filling the hall to the brim.
And the reason behind it was simple—Lee Geon.
He was the gamer hailed as the very embodiment of talent. For the past ten years, no one had come close to matching his skills. Despite possessing godlike abilities, he had never gone pro. Instead, he found himself annihilating professional players while remaining an amateur.
He was the most infamous legend who existed outside the system. That same Lee Geon had called for an official press conference.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
When Lee Geon entered the venue flanked by bodyguards, camera flashes erupted like a blinding storm.
‘I wonder what he’s thinking...’
‘He’s never done interviews, no? Or revealed anything about his private life before.’
The journalists were puzzled by the sudden press conference from Lee Geon, but they held their questions until the event officially began.
The press conference finally began, and it was mostly trivial small talk.
When the atmosphere began to settle, one of the reporters with permission to ask questions finally asked the question on everyone's mind.
“What prompted you to hold such a press conference?”
Lee Geon leaned toward the mic and calmly said, “I’d like to make an offer to Han Tae-Sung.”
“What?!”
“This is a scoop!”
“Front page game stuff!”
Lee Geon intentionally did not say anything else, letting the anticipation build.
“Let’s find out who is the best player in the world at BNW. A live broadcast match—one on one.”