Chapter 86

Even the loose sleeves of the Elder Lich’s robe were a decent fit.

Perfect for resting your head on as a pillow when you felt sleepy.

“Mala-nim, the item you requested has been prepared.”

『Fear not!』

Mala-nim waved about over the mural, inspecting each section carefully.

Then, suddenly, a pure white radiance burst forth, and she took on her avatar form.

Still breathtakingly beautiful.

Still emanating that timeless, refined aura.

And that wasn’t the only change.

Maybe Alexei had been right about growth; her fingers and toes, along with her overall height, had stretched significantly.

With a more mature appearance than before, Mala-nim met my gaze and offered a gesture I couldn’t quite decipher.

“Chu—”

“Pardon?”

“Chuuu—”

She spread her arms wide, lifted the heels of her polished shoes, and approached me with a completely neutral expression.

I immediately relied on fifteen years of built-up intuition.

Understanding her intent, I prostrated myself on the floor.

“Understood. You mean to sweep aside anything blocking your path like autumn leaves in the wind, correct, Mala-nim? Be it human or demon, all obstacles shall be removed.”

“Crrrackle!!”

Mala-nim ground her teeth.

Truly, as the Master of the Void, born of hunger and fear, the accomplishments I had achieved were likely worthy of modest praise—but clearly, they were far from satisfying her appetite.

It was finally time to receive guidance regarding Mala-nim’s ultimate goal, one I had never even heard in the Demon Realm.

I watched as the final piece of the mural was completed by the workers.

The first of the four panels depicted Mala-nim being attacked by four other Outer Gods, just as I had seen before.

The Outer God of Revelation, Salvation, Judgment, and Justice cowardly ganged up on her, though each was dozens of times smaller, and absorbed part of her power.

Eventually, Mala-nim fell exhausted across the Demon Realm, finally crashing down to Earth.

She saved me, on the brink of death, and made me her apostle.

“But… why did the Archdukes have Star Scars? And in such quantity?”

“Hoho, that’s because they originally came from the Demon Realm and crossed over to Earth.”

Startled, Sebas suddenly appeared from beside me.

Mala-nim had repeatedly said she had no intention of recruiting anyone other than me as an apostle.

Yet, as she absorbed Star Scars and her presence grew, followers naturally began to gather.

Sebas, formerly a follower of Revelation and now managing both the Cult of the Void and its affiliated orphanage, had also changed slightly in appearance.

Notably, the scars from the time he was manipulated by Patel and stabbed himself had vanished without a trace.

Even the bald scalp had sprouted thin, self-moving strands of hair.

This… was a miracle.

Still, it was irritating that my moment had been interrupted—but for him, an ordinary human, to appear so suddenly without triggering my senses must have had a reason.

Sebas remained completely unshaken, even in the presence of Mala-nim’s avatar.

He simply acted like a museum curator, calmly explaining the murals.

“As you know, Brother Hayan, demons are always driven by power, trampling those weaker than themselves to climb higher. Their claws and teeth are no different from what they aim at the Outer Gods in the sky.”

Among the masters of the Demon Realm, those who were exceptionally strong had, at some point, begun siphoning the Outer Gods’ power.

So the Outer Gods hurriedly crossed over to Earth and asked humans with exceptional abilities to hunt the demons.

The Gate opened shortly after that.

Four stars hovered above the five Magic Towers.

That’s what the second mural represented.

“Of course, this is all an old story now. Today, only a very few Archdukes still possess Star Scars, and they’re avoiding you, Brother.”

“Did I mention that I was chasing Archdukes?”

“Hehe, my hair, which had fallen out, has naturally begun to grow again. I suppose even this is an intended effect by a great being.”

“…….”

The third mural stretched out for quite a distance, but even without Sebas’s commentary, its meaning was clear.

It depicted me, having fallen to the Demon Realm, being saved by Mala-nim, battling the Archdukes together, and eventually returning to Earth.

For some reason, I was depicted not as a human, but as a large, black tentacle. Other than that, everything matched perfectly.

Still, a slight pang in my stomach began to emerge.

Was it really necessary to explain in such grand detail my relationship with the other Outer Gods—or why the Archdukes possessed Star Scars?

I mean, in this day and age, a mural that cost tens of millions of won could probably be rendered in a snap by AI.

And for this, I had to endure all that trouble?

Sensing my irritation, Mala-nim quickly returned to her tentacle form and bellowed at me:

『Fear! Fear not!』

“Is this really the final mural? Let’s see.”

I approached the spot where the fourth mural had been painted.

It was the only section of the wall around the cult building covered by a blue cloth.

Unlike the other three, this final mural was carved into an inner wall, invisible to outsiders.

The rear courtyard was off-limits, and no one but the cult’s high-ranking officials could approach.

Sebas bowed lightly, presenting the honor to me.

“Take your time. At present, the only one qualified to behold this mural is Brother Hayan.”

“What about the artists?”

“Oh, those who glimpsed the divine intent couldn’t withstand it—they blinded themselves. Don’t worry, we rushed them to a hospital.”

“…….”

After watching him leave, I drew one of my tentacles and lifted the cloth covering the wall.

Finally, Mala-nim’s long-cherished wish would be revealed to the world.

Whoosh!

As the cloth fell, a grand and radiant, mythic painting appeared—equal in magnificence to the previous murals.

Above the ashen sky of what looked like Earth, a massive Outer God opened its eyes.

Countless limbs stretched outward, resembling Mala-nim’s full restored form.

Between the ruins of collapsed buildings, birdlike creatures resembling demons flew peacefully.

The four stars that had hovered above the skies in the second mural had seemingly perished, falling to the ground; now, the only beings in the sky were the Outer Gods born from the Void.

In the center of the mural, two figures—clearly Mala-nim and myself—embraced each other.

“Hm… this isn’t bad. So basically, we just need to collect Star Scars not only from the Archdukes, but from the other Outer Gods as well, right?”

『Fear not!』

“And we have to deal with the thieving cats too? Where?”

『Fear! Fear!』

Mala-nim burst out of her sleeve and began digging into the bottom of the wall with her tentacles.

As the stone was peeled away, a buried portion of the mural was revealed.

Pure white tentacles were smashing down on the heads of several cats, thump! before ultimately becoming entangled with a black tentacle.

Each cat had clear traits meant to resemble people around me: red fur, cat-ear headsets, swords at their waists.

『Fear! Fear!』

Who knew how many paintings she had hidden underground where no one could see them—no matter how much she dug, cats kept appearing endlessly, like an overstocked stray cat feeding station.

There were tiny cats, cats in wheelchairs, cats depicted as nothing but black silhouettes with question marks floating above their heads.

It seemed every woman around me had been drawn at least once.

Strangely enough, there was even a massive, muscular blond cat that looked suspiciously like Alexei.

That was when I finally understood why the mural had never been “finished,” no matter how much money I poured into it.

If she was wasting time and effort on nonsense like this, of course it would never end.

I carefully grabbed Mala-nim while she was still digging up murals she hadn’t gotten to show me yet.

Then I brushed the dust off her sleeve and spoke gently.

“Mala-nim.”

『Mala?』

“Please stay inside Digestion for a while.”

『Mala! Mala!』

And with that, I exiled Mala-nim to the depths of Digestion.

Afterward, I used the nearby shovel and rake to smooth the overturned earth back into place.

Just as I was finishing up, Sebas returned.

Like the first time I came here, he had his eyes covered by a tentacle blindfold as he draped the blue cloth back over the wall.

“So? How was it, Brother Hayan? Was the Great One satisfied?”

“Yes. Though if the Great One’s sole apostle ever fails to be satisfied and this mural has to be redone, I feel like the world might honestly end.”

Beneath the ground I was standing on lay an astronomical amount of money—enough to fully max out <Special-Grade Monster Cat Gargantua (SSR)> multiple times over.

Sebas laughed awkwardly at my words, then softened his expression and lowered his voice.

“Haha… I see. I’m sorry to trouble you during such a sensitive moment, but you have a visitor.”

“A visitor? For me?”

Officially, I had no connection to the Cult of the Void.

Special Agent Sae Hayan had only been here once on duty, and there was no official record of him returning.

As for the Apostle of the Outer God—and Patel—I had always operated far beyond the reach of the Bureau’s intelligence net.

Even if someone were looking for either of them, this place would be the last location they’d suspect.

Which made this visit all the more unusual.

“Do you know who it is?”

“Well…”

It could have been another pawn sent by rival Outer Gods, just like when I met Seona before.

Sensing my tension, Sebas relayed the visitor’s description as he’d heard it from Margaret.

-We planted tentacles in dry land and brought down rain, glory to our Outer God~

-You defeated the cunning thieving cats and claimed your one and only apostle as your own~ Glory to our Outer God~

The orphans’ hymn echoed outside the reception room.

Flaurios and Velada were standing in the back, earnestly trying to match pitch.

An Archduke and a monster on par with one, singing alongside children—truly the end times.

“Don’t you think so, Elder?”

“Hoho, even after all this time, you’re still sharp-tongued, child.”

The old man seated across from me chuckled, lifting his teacup.

Sword Immortal Yoo Chae-seon.

Yoo Se-byeol’s grandfather, and a Transcendent Awakened who had once crossed blades with me in Mount Cheonsan.

“Or perhaps you’ve simply gained too much to protect, and that’s dulled your edge?”

“How did you know I was here?”

“At my age, my joints ache before rain falls. When I read the signs atop the mountain and saw a hole torn open in the sky, how could I not bring an umbrella?”

His words were still difficult to interpret—but unlike the first time we met, I could now grasp their meaning.

He had sensed Mala-nim’s presence when I used even a handful of tentacles.

Naturally, I couldn’t help but be wary.

The man known as the one who cuts stars hadn’t come here bearing a congratulatory wreath.

My relationship with Yoo Se-byeol wasn’t bad—but Yoo Chae-seon himself had once aimed his blade at an Outer God.

It was probably for the best that I’d sent Mala-nim into Digestion.

As I discreetly checked for members of the Old Gods’ Wound in the vicinity, the Sword Immortal spoke gently.

“Rest easy, child. This place is far too unsuitable for the kind of heart-to-heart conversation you and I once shared.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To put it bluntly, as the young people say—I’m here to make a proposal.”

The setting sun cast long shadows across the room.

Blowing a small tentacle floating in his teacup toward the rim, Yoo Chae-seon asked calmly:

“Have you ever considered helping me kill the other Outer Gods?”