Chapter 167

The manifestation of a god.

It was a term referring to the moment a god appears before humans.

I couldn’t understand why he suddenly mentioned that he had been waiting for a god’s manifestation

I pondered for a moment, but the more seriously I thought about it, the worse the ideas became.

The god he was waiting for was likely the god he met in <Zero>.

After all, it hadn’t been that long since Je Hyeon-oh and I had met.

No matter how hard I tried to force the pieces to fit, there was no way that I was the god he had been longing for this much.

Why do I keep thinking of another god...?

I quickly shook my head to dispel the rising thoughts.

I wasn’t a child; it wasn’t as if I demanded he only liked me.

The fact that he thought of another god while looking at me was unpleasant, but I could bear it.

No, was this also the thinking of a young god?

The thoughts were so intertwined that it was difficult to tell them apart.

But even I hated the idea of my subordinate belonging to another god.

’Ah, please.’

I forced my thoughts in a different direction to stop the crazy train.

Come to think of it, ’Manifestation’ was the same as the name Je Hyeon-oh had received from the Trial.

The names given by the Trial either represent the characteristics of the suitable candidate or hold some symbolic meaning.

If that were the case, then because he waited for the manifestation of the god he met in <Zero>, his name was...

I took another deep breath and chased away the impure thoughts.

Then, I tried to adopt a positive mindset.

Since my subordinate had been hurt by a previous god, couldn’t I just treat him well?

’To the point where he can’t even remember the old god...’

It seemed like a decent plan.

With my heart calmed, I carefully withdrew my hand from the screen.

I couldn’t waste any more time. I had to get Je Hyeon-oh out.

I was slightly worried that I might get sliced while pulling my hand out, but fortunately, Je Hyeon-oh let go of me obediently.

It seemed he was feeling a bit better now.

Once my hand was out, I was startled.

My hand, which had clearly been covered in wounds, was perfectly fine once it emerged from the screen.

Now that I think about it, I had crushed the mafioso to death in the racing game earlier, but there wasn’t a single bloodstain on my hand when I pulled it out.

Wondering if I had healed myself or if it was simply because it was a game and didn’t apply to reality, I looked down at the control panel.

The arcade machine’s control panel consisted of a joystick and two buttons.

The joystick was for maneuvering the craft, and the buttons were for using the primary weapon and the special move.

I pressed the buttons to check the attack methods.

The primary weapon fired black crescents in a straight line, like ammunition.

If I collected items, they would upgrade, increasing the number of lines to two or three.

When using the special move, black lines like the claw marks of a beast, would slash across the entire screen, slicing all enemies to pieces.

However, the special move could only be used once the gauge was full.

Just as I finished the quick check and was about to start the game, an unexpected thought occurred to me.

[Je Hyeon-oh believes he does not need the touch of a god. He intends to destroy the enemies before him alone.]

Je Hyeon-oh’s dot character began to move on its own.

I stared blankly at the sight, still gripping the joystick.

’He’s actually pretty good at this shooting game...’

Honestly, I prided myself on having decent skills.

I was sure I could play well enough to satisfy Je Hyeon-oh, so I felt a tiny bit slighted that he wouldn’t give me the chance.

Why did he keep refusing?

If it had been the god from <Zero> instead of me, he would have accepted it obediently, wouldn’t he?

As strange thoughts began to fill my head again, I tried to focus on the game.

As the game started, spaceships appeared on the screen.

Several spaceships, seemingly piloted by aliens, fired a barrage of beam shots at Je Hyeon-oh’s character.

I flinched instinctively at the sheer volume of beam shots pouring down.

But Je Hyeon-oh was Je Hyeon-oh.

He evaded the countless beam bullets pouring from the spaceships with minimal movement.

Simultaneously, he attacked the opponents with black crescents.

Every attack hit the enemies precisely. The spaceships, hit by successive black crescents, were sunk.

As three ships were sunk in a row, an explosion effect appeared on the screen along with the text ’BOOOOM!’ A weapon item emerged from the wreckage of the spaceships.

’He needs to eat that.’

It was an item that upgraded the primary weapon.

Since you didn’t know when the next one would appear if you missed it, it was essential to collect it.

However, Je Hyeon-oh was too busy attacking other spaceships.

I hesitated for a moment and then moved the joystick. Text immediately appeared.

[Je Hyeon-oh hopes the god will not do useless things.]

I’m just going to take the item.!

I quickly moved the joystick, guiding Je Hyeon-ohs dot character to dodge through the beam shots and collect the item.

Immediately, the primary weapons black crescents increased from one line to three.

The spaceships on the screen began to be demolished in an instant.

I waited with a subtle sense of anticipation.

I hoped for pixel text like "The new weapon is satisfactory", but there was only silence.

Je Hyeon-oh simply sank the spaceships even faster with the three-lined black crescents.

I just watched the aliens falling from the destroyed ships.

The aliens continuously popped up speech bubbles. However, they were all blocked out, making them unreadable.

In fact, before I could even try to read them, Je Hyeon-oh dealt with them by firing crescents.

Having cleared the stage in a flash, Je Hyeon-oh reached the first boss.

The first boss was seafood.

I felt a momentary sense of familiarity at the sight of the giant eyeball and wriggling octopus tentacles.

Then, a black line slashing diagonally across the screen sliced the octopus into pieces.

[CRITICAL HIT!]

He started by cutting the octopus’s health in half and then proceeded to beat it mercilessly with black crescents.

The way he practically turned it into sashimi made me feel slightly sorry for the octopus.

But on the other hand, I felt proud of my subordinate’s overwhelming ability.

Having quickly dealt with the octopus, Je Hyeon-oh began flying through space again.

I watched him on the screen.

Unlike the previous games I had played, Je Hyeon-oh’s game was set in space.

Despite it being a completely surreal space, Je Hyeon-oh showed no sign of confusion.

He simply drifted silently through the void, moving his black metallic wings.

It was while I was quietly observing him.

A giant hand suddenly reached into the screen.

It was the hand wearing a white glove, the same one I had seen in Mo Hae-in’s game.

I became highly alert and kept my eyes on the hand.

If that thing did anything to my subordinate, I intended to jump in immediately.

However, the hand did nothing to Je Hyeon-oh.

It simply swept across the screen once.

As the gesture brushed past, the ordinary spaceships were transformed into massive warships.

Just as I widened my eyes at the unusual sight, the screen went dark.

At first, I thought the arcade machine had lost power.

But Je Hyeon-oh’s character remained.

Beam shots flew through the darkness that had turned black.

The visibility had vanished.

The beam shots flew while hidden in the dark, revealing themselves only a moment before impact.

Naturally, the aliens’ spaceships were invisible, and even the attack patterns became insanely difficult.

It was a level of difficulty unbelievable for a mere second stage.

This place was designed simply for the player to die.

It might have been manageable if one had memorized the patterns, but this was a first play.

I didn’t have enough coins to play the game multiple times.

It had to be a one-coin clear. Since there was only one chance given, failure was not an option.

I watched Je Hyeon-oh with tense eyes.

Je Hyeon-oh moved nimbly to evade the beam shots.

He was dodging using his reflexes, targeting the moment they appeared just before impact.

But I felt it would be dangerous if he encountered the second boss in this state.

I didn’t want to see my subordinate get hurt.

Just as I was hesitating whether to intervene.

"Uh..?"

A blank sound escaped my lips unconsciously.

A meteor shower was falling.

The golden meteor shower falling across the black screen was exactly like the one I had created for Mo Hae-in.

And the moment he witnessed the golden meteor shower.

Je Hyeon-oh paused for a very brief second.

It was truly only a split second, but in a situation where beam shots covered every direction, it was fatal.

Je Hyeon-oh was mercilessly bombarded by the beam shots.

The tiny character was buried under the beams, and the health bar plummeted instantly.

I couldn’t watch any longer. I grabbed the joystick.

An exclamation mark speech bubble appeared over Je Hyeon-oh’s head, but I ignored it and controlled him.

First, I focused on dodging the beam shots.

Since they only became visible right before impact, the visibility was narrow, and it was tricky because even a graze on the tip of the wing counted as a hit.

However, I was able to dodge by a hair strand, a difference of a single pixel.

The moment I evaded a sliver light, I fired crescents whenever there was a slight opening.

I attacked by instinct, recalling the positions of the warships I had seen just before the screen went dark.

Fortunately, seeing the gauge gradually fill up, it seemed I was hitting them correctly.

As soon as the gauge was full, I immediately used the special move to slash across the entire screen.

Speech bubbles indicating exploding spaceships appeared one after another on the black screen.

After clearing enough enemies to catch my breath, I quickly withdrew my hand.

In my heart, I wanted to peel away the black screen.

But the white glove had created it directly.

Since it felt like an entity that acted as the game’s administrator, this might be related to clearing the game.

It seemed better not to touch it.

Instead of removing the darkness, I created new stars for Je Hyeon-oh.

I overlaid my golden light upon Je Hyeon-oh so that he wouldn’t be confused by the fake.

A golden border appeared around the black crescents the dot character was firing.

The gold-rimmed crescents carried light with them even through the darkness.

It was a sight as if Je Hyeon-oh were creating the meteor shower himself.

[Je Hyeon-oh looks at the stars created by the god’s touch.]

I glanced at the pixel text, hoping he was satisfied.

Adding the light helped the game progression significantly.

His attacks, which had been buried in the pitch-black background and were barely visible, were now clearly revealed.

Furthermore, the trajectory of the gold-rimmed crescents temporarily cleared the darkness, securing visibility.

Just as I thought the boss fight would be no problem.

An ellipsis speech bubble appeared over his head as he gazed at the procession of gold.

Then, pixel text appeared.

[Je Hyeon-oh recalls a very old memory.]

What memory?

I wanted to know more specifically, but the pixel text ended there.

I continued to wait to see if new text would appear.

At some point, Je Hyeon-oh looked up at the sky.

In a universe full of stars... he looked at me.

[Je Hyeon-oh accepts the touch of the god.]

I felt a certain sensation.

A complete sense of assimilation washed over me, as if the subordinate and I had become one.

The thrilling sense of alignment I had felt previously with Mo Hae-in and Kwak Han-mook surged through my entire body.

I felt the golden light flowing from my eyes grow even stronger.

I moved Je Hyeon-oh.

[Je Hyeon-oh already knows the will of the god.]

I also knew what he desired.

I could feel which way he wanted to shift his trajectory.

He moved with the same intent as I.

He flew through a universe shining with stars and crossed the Milky Way.

No matter how overwhelming the warships that appeared, or how many beam shots poured down to cover the entire screen.

They could not hinder my subordinate, who had received my will.

[Je Hyeon-oh perfectly follows the will of the god.]

He was the strongest existence.

An existence that could fly freely and cut through anything.

Because I made him that way.

Because he is my subordinate.

[Je Hyeon-oh proves the will of the god.]

Together with Je Hyeon-oh, I reached the final stage.

However, even though I had cleared all the stages, the final boss did not appear.

Instead, the giant hand that had intervened in the game time and again made its appearance.

The white glove swept away the black darkness that had been covering the screen.

Then, with the universe as its backdrop, it positioned itself majestically as if it were the final boss.

’What is it trying to do?’

Immediately put my hand into the screen.

It was to protect my subordinate, but...

Something... was a bit strange...

The white glove trembled the moment it saw my hand enter the screen.

Then, it suddenly grabbed my hand.

Just as I was on guard, wondering what trick this was, the white glove began to shake my hand vigorously.

While shaking hands, it popped up a heart speech bubble frantically.

What is this?

Since the white glove had acted creepily or interfered with the game every time, I had considered it a hostile entity.

But somehow, its actions were full of affection toward me.

When I belatedly came to my senses and tried to shake off the hand, tear speech bubbles rained down over the white glove.

While popping up about ten tear bubbles, it gripped my hand tightly and refused to let go.

Just as I was about to forcibly shake off the hand due to the incomprehensible behavior.

A ferocious claw mark was carved into the universe.

A strike infused with golden light sharply sliced through the entire screen.

With a rupturing sound as if space itself were being cut, the center of the white glove’s back was deeply torn.

Broken glitch fragments erupted from the tear.

[CRITICAL HIT!]

A notification announcing a critical hit appeared.

However, even while leaking glitch fragments, the white glove did not let go of my hand.

Going a step further, it even made gestures as if asking me to hide it.

While I stood there with my mouth agape, wondering what on earth was happening, Je Hyeon-oh’s character flapped its wings and flew toward me.

Pixel text appeared below.

[Je Hyeon-oh asks if you want to be killed by the god.]

No, that’s absolutely not the case...

For now, it seemed I had to take this thing out to clear the game.

I put strength into my hand and shook off the white glove.

The white glove staggered as if it had been shocked.

It started popping up tear bubbles again, then suddenly displayed a large speech bubble containing a dot graphic of a little lamb.

I narrowed my eyes at the speech bubble that filled half the screen.

And, with a feeling of "no way", I tried calling out to the white glove.

A pervert?

"Mr. Black Block...?"