Chapter 182

Harvester

And regardless of whether the surroundings stirred from that bombshell declaration or not, I kept my eyes quietly locked onto Urgan.

Various words had been exchanged, but in any case, I still hadn’t heard the most important reason why he had spoken to me in the first place.

What exactly was the divinity targeting me, and why was it targeting me?

The core ‘help’ I wanted was precisely to hear that kind of information directly from a god’s mouth.

From that perspective, I continued making bold eye contact that clearly conveyed I wanted to hear more.

[…….]

This time, Urgan also simply met my gaze without giving any answer.

Only silence returned as a response, with no meaning carried in any voice.

As if it was obvious that I had already guessed what it was…….

And after that silence continued for quite a while.

Urgan finally opened his mouth.

[-]

I know you’ve met that servant recently.

Saying that, Urgan quietly looked down at me.

[-]

Try to work things out with that bastard. You’re good at that, aren’t you?

“……Good at it?”

[-]

You know it too.

“…….”

Hmm.

Putting aside just how rude this god was being right now, there was still room to think about what he had said.

Honestly, if there was a divinity that could be entangled with me in a bad way right now, only one came to mind.

‘……It can only be the god of the demonkind.’

If it wasn’t Wornil, the God of Devouring, there really wasn’t any other divinity that would take interest in me like that.

Considering the attempts to approach me in a shady way using the demonkind from before, and everything else, I had heard enough about it to make my ears ring.

As one of the representative gods who had been sealed because many in the Pantheon feared his power, there was such a being.

“…….”

But even so, what still hadn’t been fully revealed until the end was the existence of the Outsider that Rania had kept talking about, the one who had ‘chosen Aiden.’

‘……Then who exactly is the Outsider that chose me?’

As I quietly mulled over that thought, Urgan looked down at me with a smirk.

[-]

Haven’t you already met them?

“…….”

As expected of a god, it felt like he had seen right through what I was thinking and spoke accordingly, making me flinch as I looked up at him.

[-]

You’ve already met them, and if you think carefully, you’ll soon realize who it is, child.

“……Is that so.”

A hearty burst of laughter came back instead of an answer.

……True to a god’s laughter, it alone rumbled like thunder.

[-]

Ah, and.

As he said that, Urgan’s gaze swept around the surroundings.

His presence was far more vicious than before. Compared to when he had manifested here earlier, enraged after being openly provoked by the Mountain God, it was no less—if anything, even more ferocious.

[-]

At the beginning, who was the one who laid out all that against this guy?

Following Urgan’s expressed intent, everyone’s heads snapped in the same direction.

Those ‘relics’ filled with Urgan’s energy were lined up in abundance.

They were also the pile of items I had skipped over in one go earlier by riding the Mountain God.

“……Th-that would be me?”

At that question, the tribal leader who had guided me hesitantly raised his hand. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He didn’t seem to know the intention behind the question, but since it was a question directly from the chief god he worshipped, it was clear he had answered reflexively.

……If he had known what would follow, he definitely wouldn’t have done that, regardless of faith.

[-]

Ah, really?

With those words, a bolt of lightning filled with divine power mercilessly struck down toward the tribal leader who had raised his hand.

It wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was certainly powerful enough to leave him nicely roasted…….

“…….”

“…….”

Leaving behind the tribal leader collapsed without even being able to scream, a heavy silence settled in all directions.

Before anyone could properly understand what had just happened, Urgan, as if satisfied, leaned back leisurely and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

[-]

Don’t touch what’s mine. If you don’t want to die.

“…….”

“…….”

[-]

I’m leaving.

While the humans still there struggled to grasp the situation somehow, Urgan left those words behind indifferently, as if it had nothing to do with him, and disappeared.

There was at least one final remark he left.

[-]

You’re going to have a hard time.

“……?”

I, who was standing at the end of those words, made a puzzled expression.

……Why he left such a remark, I was able to understand soon enough.

▣

When a god manifests, judging by the reactions when Sia manifested in the Holy Crown Kingdom before, it was an event that would be classified as a major incident in any nation.

However, even though a god had just revealed his entire form and then disappeared, it was clear that not a single human here could properly grasp the aftermath yet.

Even though everyone was still dumbfounded, there was someone who first realized something was wrong and muttered.

“……Wait.”

The Great Chieftain—no, the Great Chieftain’s daughter, who had been wearing a mask, opened her mouth in a stiff, hardened voice.

Compared to earlier, the atmosphere was far more—

“The fact that the god left without receiving the ritual—”

—the fact that she was the first to recognize it as ‘bizarre’ showed that her senses were more than sharp enough.

That was evident just from the way she suddenly sprang to her feet and shouted as if squeezing the words out.

“Evacuate everyone immediately!”

“……Pardon?”

One of the attendants following her opened his mouth blankly.

Having just witnessed Urgan’s appearance, it was hard to say he had recovered from the aftermath, but from the Great Chieftain’s perspective—knowing what was about to happen—it was an unbearably frustrating response.

That much was clear from how she immediately kicked off the throne, shoved the attendant aside, and snatched the tool in front of her.

“Everyone, get out of the altar area!”

Gritting her teeth, she shouted in a desperate voice.

In a way—

“—The Harvester is coming!”

—it sounded like a voice filled with fear.

The first to react to those words was, as expected, the priestess, who possessed the deepest knowledge regarding religion.

Cretin also snapped back to her senses and raised her head.

‘Harvester?’

It was a being Rania had mentioned to her before they even came here.

Why that name had suddenly come out of the Great Chieftain’s mouth—her mind quickly began organizing the information.

‘If a god manifested—’

Originally, manifestation itself was an extremely rare phenomenon, but because it was such a major event, there were very clear protocols for what must be done when it occurred.

If a god revealed itself in the material world, it would always have some ‘intent,’ and accordingly, one must prepare a suitable ‘offering.’

Wasn’t the reason there was even an altar set up here, performing a ritual for the god, simply a simplified process of offering such sacrifices?

But.

If the god had revealed its form and still left without receiving the ritual.

Then there were only two possibilities.

It was dissatisfied.

Or it had ‘deliberately’ refused.

As if it intended to personally take the ‘offering’ that should have been given to it.

“…….”

Cretin’s face turned pale as she looked at Rania.

Rania still wore a calm expression.

In stark contrast to the surroundings, which had become chaotic as people scattered in all directions due to the Great Chieftain’s words.

As if.

Alone, she—

had already known this would happen.

“Unni.”

And toward Cretin, who was looking at her, Rania spoke in a completely flat voice.

“Do you remember what I said earlier?”

—No matter what happens to me.

Don’t ever mind it.

“Rania, you, what—”

Cretin spoke to her in a trembling voice, but instead of answering, Rania simply gave a faint smile.

It was the first human emotion she had shown until now, having not displayed any real change in expression.

Soon, she slowly rose from her seat and began walking toward the altar, from which people were retreating like a receding tide.

In front of the altar lay the Void Zone.

A land where countless demonic entities slept.

And as she looked straight at the being slowly rising from the very edge of that land, Rania quietly murmured.

“If this is what Urgan desires.”

A priestess was someone who came into the most direct contact with divinity, and because of that, she possessed an ability close to foresight when it came to predicting the future.

By brushing against the consciousness of the gods of the Pantheon, who existed outside the axis of time, she inevitably came into contact with all sorts of information—it was merely a byproduct of that.

And the reason she could vaguely foresee what would happen today was because of that as well.

‘After this, it’s all darkness.’

The information about her existence, which had continued until now—

would be completely cut off after today.

It meant that from this point on, Urgan would no longer be able to ‘perceive’ her as a human.

In that case, there was only one conclusion Rania could reach.

That today would be her last day.

“…….”

There was no anxiety.

Perhaps because she had spent too long possessing a perception that transcended humanity, even she found it strange that she could face death so calmly.

If there was one thing that concerned her—

‘I hope unni doesn’t grieve too much.’

She was the kind of person who would go beyond grief and blame herself.

She only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“…….”

As she took a deep breath and approached the altar, she could now clearly see the ‘being’ that had fully formed and risen from beyond the Void Zone.

It was exactly as described in the investigation from before.

Among the demonic beings that appeared when Urgan did not receive an offering, the strongest one.

The Harvester.

Black smoke, a tattered and torn hood, and behind it, grotesque structures resembling wings and horns.

And behind its back, a massive ‘scythe’ fully revealed.

No matter how one looked at it, it resembled the embodiment of a reaper.

“…….”

Watching that being slowly walk toward her, Rania let out a deep sigh inwardly.

“Hey.”

Her voice fell toward me, who was standing atop the altar, frowning as I watched her.

“Take care of my sister.”

With those words—

—……

As a black aura rose ominously.

Toward the Harvester, which was tearing through the barrier as if ‘opening a door’ from beyond the Void Zone—

Rania quietly threw herself forward.

“……I refuse.”

If that voice hadn’t stopped her, that would have been the end.