The Divine Twilight's Return

Chapter 292: Star, the Source (1)

[Your Class has increased!]

…

[Your personality has strengthened.]

…

[You have gained the right to reclaim some of your revoked Divine Name’s letters.]

[You have recovered four letters.]

[‘T, W, I, L’.]

[‘■■ne Twil■’ is opening his eyes!]

Paah!

Chang-Sun’s eyes opened.

『… Master? Hey, master. Answer… What’s wr…!』 Wait frantically called out to Chang-Sun. 『… If you’re not going to answer me, I won’t have any other choice but to wake you up with my adorableness. Cough, cough!』

Only half unconscious, he felt great yet lightheaded. It was as if he was walking in the clouds, so he didn’t want to wake up.

『Kyoo?』

Chang-Sun only came to his senses when a middle-aged man with a deep voice began making noises.

『Kyoo, kyoo? Kyoo, kyoo, kyoo?』

Tap!

Emotionlessly, Chang-Sun brought up the login window and attempted to deactivate the whole system.

『W-wait! Stop!!! P-please, stop!』

/ ／ ヽ "?

｜ o● ●o ｜

〝、 ： (＿人＿) ：。ノ

Gaudy emoticons were printed on the monitor.

After typing the master password, Chang-Sun glared at the monitor with his finger on the enter button.

『Please don’t! I’ll be quiet, so please don’t do this, master!!! It can really kill me!』

ヽ(;?;?;?; )?

(′×д×`三?д? ;)

ヾ(((;???;)))?

“… You’re distracting me. Stop using those weird emoticons,” Chang-Sun said.

( ? ?? .? ? ? ?)

『A-are you not going to turn me off?』

“… I’m not going to, so stop it already.”

『... Okay.』

The emoticons disappeared from the screen, once again replaced by a middle-aged man. It made Chang-Sun frown deeply. Despite his looks, he made adorable kitten sounds and printed cute emoticons. Although Wait was an AI, he still shouldn’t cross certain lines.

“If you do weird things like that again, I’m going to enter the self-destruct code and blow you up with the entire lab.” Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes.

『Fi-fine, so please…!』

“One more thing.”

『…?』

“Speak formally if you want to keep calling me master,” Chang-Sun said.

『… Yes, master.』

Chang-Sun didn’t pay attention to how gloomy Wait became.

『Gosh, master. You’re a geezer…!

Chang-Sun could hear Jin Prezia speaking from somewhere, but he didn’t pay attention to him either since he had to get a grasp over the situation first.

Keeping his eyes on Wait, Chang-Sun asked, “How long have I been out?”

『About… fifteen seconds, master.』

“Fifteen seconds?”

『To be more accurate, it’s fourteen seconds and thirty-two—』

“I’m not asking about the exact number. Have I really been out for that long?” Chang-Sun confirmed in disbelief.

Wait nodded.

“Mmm…”

‘I thought I had been out for a long time…’ Chang-Sun spent some time pondering.

Chang-Sun knew the flow of time differed for each plane, but he didn’t expect this at all. Nevertheless, he eventually realized that this was for the better.

‘I gained a lot within that short amount of time.’

He recovered more letters of his Divine Name and learned that his past lives were out to get him. Above all…

‘After taking out Heoju, Mephistopheles said he’ll accept me as his disciple, and <Deus Ex Machina> said that he’ll aid me.’

The biggest achievement he made had to be establishing contact with Mephistopheles and <Deus Ex Machina>.

After some time, a memory flashed across Chang-Sun’s mind. “What about [Li’s Fragment]? What happened to it?”

『Th-the quantal analysis is already done. I’m building the vaccine program now.』

Chang-Sun was worried that gaining access to the ‘Changgong Library’ meant losing [Li’s Fragment]. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“How long will it take?”

『Please give me an hour.』

Chang-Sun quietly nodded. He could wait that long.

‘I have to check on my reward anyway.’ Chang-Sun’s eyes grew sharp.

* * *

[Achievement unlocked!]

“Vaccine Creation”

Reward: Intelligence +15.

Chang-Sun swiped the message upward, then looked at the object inside the translucent sphere floating in front of him.

『Ah! This is the [Brilliant Vermilion Light]. I thought I would never be able to see it again…』

Following Chang-Sun’s order, Wait eliminated all the viruses as soon as the vaccine program was completed, successfully giving Wait full control.

Chang-Sun watched the [Brilliant Vermilion Light] shining like a ruby. Just like what his [Monster Excursion] was ceaselessly warning him, he could feel a large amount of energy in the pool of light.

Wait felt deeply touched as he finally got to look at the old power source again after hundreds of years. He then turned to Chang-Sun and cautiously asked, 『I did pull it out as you commanded, master, but… are you sure you’ll be okay?』

Knowing full well how much energy the [Brilliant Vermilion Light] possessed, he couldn’t help but be worried.

『I’m not sure if you know about this, but although it was just used as an energy source to light up the night sky in Neo Seoul, the Lionheart Empire praised it as an infinite power source. It possesses far more energy than a gigantic star. The moment you try to absorb it—!』

While Wait was warning Chang-Sun that this entire Dungeon could blow up, Chang-Sun grabbed the [Brilliant Vermilion Light] without hesitation.

Paaah!

When he did, the [Brilliant Vermilion Light] shone even brighter. At the same time, it was sucked into Chang-Sun’s palm, beginning the absorption process.

『… I do not know anymore.』 Wait sighed.

Chang-Sun closed his eyes and used his mana to embrace the colossal energy source entering him. As a result, his [Integrated Magic Circuit] began to overheat.

“You said you blew up to death after making a mistake with the [Tricolored Brilliant Light]. Even if I safely acquire the lights by getting them in the order you told me, the lights would still contain too much energy, wouldn’t they?” Chang-Sun assumed.

“You’re right, but you likely won’t have to worry about that.”

“How come?”

“Overcome your limit, your shell. You told me that you’ll have the shell of a Giant by that time.” The Sixth Elder shrugged.

“… Are you talking about <Molting>?”

<Molting> consisted of five stages. Chang-Sun had gone through three of them, becoming the king of <Muspelheim> and acquiring the [Gnostic Eye]. Chang-Sun was now on the fourth <Molting> stage.

[Your Mana is quickly absorbing the ‘Brilliant Vermilion Light’!]

[Filtration Progress: 97.2%]

…

[The 2.8% unabsorbed residue has been filtered again.]

…

[You have completely absorbed the ‘Vermilion Brilliant Light.’]

[Your Mana has significantly increased.]

…

[The property of your Mana has undergone great changes.]

[The attribute of your Mana has undergone great changes.]

…

[The level of the Skill ‘Integrated Magic Circuit’ has increased!]

[The level of the Skill ‘Integrated Magic Circuit’ has increased!]

…

[You have entered the ‘Supersaturated’ state!]

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

Chang-Sun was beginning to overload with mana. The energy that made up the [Brilliant Vermilion Light] and his lightning-attribute mana were such a perfect match that the amount of his mana increased insanely quickly. As a result, it repeatedly destroyed and recreated his [Integrated Magic Circuit].

Crack, crack―! Crack!

Hell broke loose within Chang-Sun as the new energy entered his mana, soul, and cells. Nevertheless, he smiled instead of suffering in pain. After all, he could clearly feel the new energy changing his mind, power, and body.

[Changing your physical traits!]

Despite how he looked, Chang-Sun had the body of a Giant. As a kind of elemental spirit, Giants had no limits to how much stronger they could become for as long as they could control their energy. Moreover, Chang-Sun inherited the vessel of the <Muspelheim> king, so he was certain that he could harness the energy.

Having done meticulous calculations for his plan, he began the whole process.

[The seventh chapter of ‘Prelati’s Spellbook’ has been opened.]

[C?lo Fulgente has been applied, caussing your lightning power to energize you!]

Pzzzz!

The color of the lightning energy around Chang-Sun turned from purple to black, then scarlet red.

[You have entered the ‘Meta’ state!]

[Starting Morphosis!]

…

Crack, crack―!

Paah…!

Under the lightning energy, Chang-Sun’s skin cracked up.

[The Effect ‘Double Retribution Fire’ has been upgraded to the Effect ‘Triple Samadhi Fire’!]

[The Effect ‘Hundred Toxin Immunity’ has been upgraded to the Effect ‘Thousand Toxin Immunity’!]

[The Effect ‘Martial Omniscience Body’ has been upgraded to the Effect ‘Divine Lightning Body’!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ shouts with joy, asking for another explosion!]

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ shouts with joy, asking for another explosion!]

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ shouts with joy, asking for another explosion!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ massages her aching temples, thinking she should do something about the Celestial ‘Madness Infuser.’]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ shouts along with his brother!]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ shouts along with his brother!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ scolds her childish brothers, telling them to stay put!]

[The Celestial ‘Sky and Earth’s Connecting Wing’ bursts into laughter.]

…

[The Celestial ‘Madness Infuser’ holds his glass high, wishing for a series of explosions.]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ shouts cheers, holding up his glass like his brother!]

[Madness overwhelms the Society <Olympus>!]

Booom!

An enormous explosion occurred.

[You have successfully <Molted> for the fourth time!]

Chang-Sun’s red lightning energy soared through the factory roof like a pillar and spread in every direction

[The Title ‘Jigwi Spirit Incarnation’ has been upgraded to ‘Ultimate Jigwi Incarnation’!]

…

[You have successfully absorbed the ‘Brilliant Vermilion Light,’ earning you the position of ‘Neo Seoul’ mayor!]

…

* * *

[You have successfully acquired the ‘Brilliant Azure Light’!]

[You have become the vice mayor of ‘Neo Seoul.’]

Acquiring the brilliant light didn’t keep Lie Si happy for that long. The message made his face crumple up. “… Vice mayor?”

“What’s wrong, corps leader?”

Acquiring the [Brilliant Azure Light] resulted in the death of half their forces. Although they could finally catch their breaths now, they couldn’t help tensing up and wondering if they made any mistakes during the operation because of how Lie Si reacted.

“We’re only second.” Lie Si gritted his teeth.

“What do you mean…?”

“Someone acquired one of the brilliant lights before we could.”

“…!” The subordinates’ faces darkened, finally realizing the magnitude of the situation.

“We need the mayor’s authority to seize control of the city… This messes up our plan.” Lie Si narrowed his eyes.

The [Tricolored Brilliant Light] wasn’t just an infinite energy source. It was also the key to fully awakening the dormant ‘Doomsday City.’ However, the mayor of the city was the only one that had control over the Dungeon.

Various kinds of weapons were all over Neo Seoul. Biped walking robots, antimatter engines, nuclear fusion reactors, EMPs, super vibration energy—a highly advanced civilization’s tools and weapons were all over the city. Unlimited access to all of those would not only give them a lot of utility inside the Dungeon but also significantly increase the military strength of the <Troop>.

“We need to get our hands on the Heaven Link no matter what…!” Lie Si bit his lower lip.

Among those weapons was a satellite known as Heaven Link. It was likely orbiting the thermosphere of ‘Doomsday City.’ Lie Si’s goal was to seize command of it no matter the cost. After all, the satellite could be used to monitor the entire city in real-time and also had an antimatter cannon, one of the best weapons in ‘Doomsday City’.

As the vice mayor, Lie Si could use some of the city’s subsidiary weapons, but only the mayor had access to Heaven Link.

Lie Si did not just fail to get his hands on the Heaven Link, which he planned to use to wipe out Chang-Sun and Heoju’s groups. They also sustained great damage for nothing.

Who could have beaten them to the punch? Heoju’s subordinates were busy with R’lyeh, so they shouldn’t have had time to care about [Tricolored Brilliant Light].

Lie Si straightened up, coming to a sudden ominous realization. ‘Wait.’

The <Troop> assumed that Lee Chang-Sun was ‘Divine Twilight’ and that he partnered up with the <Underworld> to return to Earth. If their assumption was correct, then Chang-Sun’s information-gathering ability should be just as good as the <Troop>’s. In other words, he was likely also aware about the Hidden Piece named Heaven Link.

As the mayor, would ‘Divine Twilight’ just keep Heaven Link orbiting around the thermosphere of ‘Doomsday City?’

“Everyone, take co—!” Lie Si yelled at his subordinates.

Flash!

However, before he could finish, a pool of incredibly bright lights struck the lab they were in.

Booom!

Rumble…!

[‘Heaven Link’ is active….]

[You have used your authority as the mayor to select the ‘Azure Lab’ as the enemy headquarters.]

[Wiping out the area!]