Chapter 135

Chapter 135
## Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Serpent’s Stomach

Eyelids drifted open to reveal a void.

A dense, suffocating blackness where vision failed even at arm’s length.

‘It appears I’ve been consigned to Jörmungandr’s gullet.’

Luckily, his life had not yet been extinguished.

Being consumed did not equate to an immediate demise, evidently.

However, the frenzied star that had gulped down its own master along with him was unlikely to permit his continued existence.

Ssssss.

A presence shifted within the gloom.

Invisible to the eye, yet unmistakable to the senses.

Something gargantuan and ophidian, stretching into infinity.

‘That is the authentic Jörmungandr.’

This realm belonged to Jörmungandr.

Shifted into the dimension where the true Jörmungandr dwelled, it gorged itself here.

The Great Serpent that devoured the world.

Living up to its reputation in all its terrifying splendor.

Standing before such a titan, he was reduced to a mere grain of sand.

-You…

Jörmungandr spoke.

Yet, its tone wavered for some unknown reason.

Dripping with sheer confusion.

-You… what manner of creature are you? How is it that ‘Uroboros’ poison’ flows through your veins?

Uroboros’ poison?

Ah, it must be referring to the toxin Gracia used on Baal.

Reflecting on it, since Baal had merged into his being, the Uroboros poison likely remained preserved somewhere within his frame.

And upon being swallowed, the venom had leached into Jörmungandr.

-This… defies logic…

Kuuuung.

As Jörmungandr struggled in agony, the reality around them fractured.

Then, the shroud of darkness evaporated.

“…Randolph?”

Isabella stepped out from her place of concealment.

Her gaze was wide and startled, like a prey animal.

She remained untainted, her mind entirely her own.

“Why have you traveled this far? Return at once. Now!”

Instead of relief, Isabella’s voice rose in anger.

“For what reason should I go back?”

“That is…”

“Explain it to me.”

Isabella gnawed on her lip.

“…The former Desert Queen conducted trials on me and the others. Rituals involving the ‘pollution sources.’ Those phenomena known as sky plagues were actually ‘summoning rites,’ in truth.”

“Summoning rites?”

“This land ascended to the sky, touching the borders of countless ‘realms ruined by destruction.’ The sky plagues are ceremonies meant to call forth entities still drifting in those decimated worlds to this realm.”

Realms ruined by destruction.

Did that imply Earth was not the initial world targeted by the Invasion of Destruction?

“The Desert Queen herself hailed from one of those otherworlds. She plotted all of this to bring the ‘Blood Demon King’ from her dying home. Youths with immense potential, rare talents—they serve as ‘gateways’ to these other dimensions.”

The truth behind the emergence of pollution sources.

It wasn’t a natural plague or the evolution of a species, but a ritual to pull beings from neighboring shattered worlds.

“I had to put an end to the Desert Queen’s machinations here. The sole method was to host the pollution source myself, internalize the Blood Demon King, and perish alongside this city.”

“You absorbed the source? Where is it located now?”

“…Did you not just finish battling it?”

Ah.

So that serpentine Jörmungandr manifestation was the pollution source.

That clarified why it had acted independently.

It also shed light on how Isabella had maintained her clarity of mind.

Isabella wore a sorrowful grin.

“Randolph. Please leave. I… have no home to return to regardless.”

“Why say that? I gave you my word to come to me.”

“…”

“The agreed-upon time hasn’t expired, has it? Or is it that you have no desire to return?”

“It isn’t that. I just…”

“Then remain here. I will ensure you have a path back.”

He began to walk back toward the source.

There sat the colossal snake, slumped in a state of profound fatigue.

The pollution source was still present.

Furthermore, this location was a paradox—real yet illusory.

It existed within the mental landscape Isabella had formed, shaped by the star.

He parted his lips slowly and

Crunch!

consumed the pollution source,

Jörmungandr.

Blood Demon King

Rustling Forest.

The spirits within the woods turned their heads in unison toward ‘New Green.’

Rustle rustle!

Saaaah!

The foundation of New Green pulsed with a delicate tremor.

As if letting out a silent cry.

New Green caused the woods to flourish and elevated the power of the dryads, the ‘forest kindred,’ but none could comprehend the cause of such agitation.

“Recently, New Green’s state has been peculiar.”

“High Dryad, the instability has worsened since that youth’s arrival.”

High Dryad.

The protector of the woods looked toward the youth resting against New Green.

A figure of delicate features, with locks that shimmered like azure embers.

The ‘Singer of Nature’s Song.’

Their ‘brother’ had escorted the youth to these woods recently.

The youth was of the forest kindred, one of their own, so there was every reason to welcome them.

‘Yet they are a lineage that typically associates with elves.’

The ‘Singer of Nature’s Song’ was a rare breed dwelling alongside elves in the ‘City of New Green.’

However, the ‘City of New Green’ was isolated from the external world, so even the High Dryad possessed no means to reach its elven ruler.

Naturally, he was at a loss on how to interact with this race.

Consequently, the dryads had maintained a respectful gap.

‘Their brother rescued them from the shackles of human bondage.’

The brother of Rustling Forest, Randolph.

The youth he had delivered here.

The High Dryad was moved by his brother’s virtuous heart in liberating a slave.

The dryads could not disregard a plea from their brother.

Particularly not him, the High Dryad.

“Child. Are you in communion with New Green?”

“…”

He had posed the question many times over.

Yet the youth remained as silent as a stone.

The High Dryad tried once more.

“Prior to your arrival, every leaf on New Green withered. They have returned, but we cannot interpret New Green’s intent. Can you not explain why the tree acts thus?”

“…Pain.”

The youth’s inaugural words since reaching the forest.

The High Dryad leaned in, focused.

“Pain? You mean New Green is suffering?”

The youth ran a hand over New Green’s bark.

“The master of the tree. In pain.”

“The master of New Green… You aren’t referring to Randolph?”

Nod!

The youth gave a single nod and leaned their forehead against the trunk.

As if trying to catch the rhythm of a distant pulse.

The High Dryad felt a wave of internal confusion.

His brother Randolph had indeed nurtured the seed of New Green. But he had never imagined the tree would mirror Randolph’s personal status.

Randolph was tethered to New Green.

‘In that case, the recent shedding of leaves…’

Taken literally, he had stood on the threshold of death.

Yet the foliage had returned in a heartbeat.

It meant he had survived the ordeal and endured, somehow.

The High Dryad spoke with a heavy seriousness.

“Does this mean my brother, Randolph, is currently in jeopardy?”

The situation became desperately critical.

New Green’s behavior was far beyond typical.

It wasn’t just the leaves; the very roots were convulsing.

If Randolph was in danger…

The entire forest, himself included, would need to rise up to support their brother.

“Tell me, I beg of you. Who has the audacity to threaten our brother…!!”

His jaw tightened.

He was furious with himself for being ignorant while his brother faced the end.

But now that the truth was out, he would not sit by.

He would bring the forest’s divine wrath down upon the guilty.

‘I shall rend them apart.’

Mince their vitals for the predators, and pin their skins to the trunks to create ‘ents.’

Ents kept only their mind, enduring a perpetual torment without the release of death.

The most horrific sentence a dryad could pass.

To the dryads of Rustling Forest, Randolph was more than a companion.

He was a brother.

As dear as one of their own blood.

How could they show mercy to those who endangered him?

The High Dryad watched the youth’s lips intently.

The child of nature whispered.

“Belly ache. Swallowed something bad. Hurting.”

“…?”

Gurgle!

Grrruuuurgle!

His midsection was in a violent uproar.

The result of consuming something strictly non-edible.

Taking in what was never meant for digestion.

“…!”

His insides felt as though they were being shredded.

Beads of cold sweat broke out across his skin.

His consciousness blurred; he fought back the urge to retch.

《‘Glutton’ declines the offering.》

《Your physiology initiates a severe rejection protocol.》

《Status ailment ‘Special Disease’ has been applied.》

《Status ailment ‘Special Slow’ is taking effect.》

《Status ailment ‘Special Bleeding’ has commenced.》

《Status ailment ‘Special Weakness’ is manifesting.》

Total turmoil.

His entire system was fighting the ‘pollution source.’

It struggled to vomit the thing back up.

Discarding it would end the damage, but by forcing it down, he was inducing these failures.

Even the all-consuming ‘Glutton’ found this revolting.

Rumble rumble!

His stomach roared like a storm; he squeezed his hands into fists to hold on.

It was like the worst case of poisoning imaginable.

Following a brutal internal conflict,

《‘Corrupted.’》

《‘Pollution source’ attempts to subvert the mind.》

《‘Eternal Randolph’ nullifies the attempt.》

《‘Pollution source’ attempts to subvert the body.》

《‘Iron-Blooded Lord’s Heart’ obstructs the attempt.》

《‘Pollution source’ begins to circulate through the physical vessel.》

《By absorbing the final pollution source, the ‘Corrupted Lord’ shall emerge.》

Gratifyingly, total possession was blocked.

Despite that, he was drenched in sweat.

-…Offering yourself as a martyr?

The titanic snake, Jörmungandr, came back to its senses and observed him.

He had only taken in the tainted segments of Jörmungandr.

He had no desire to consume the entirety.

This was Isabella’s star, won by her own hand. Usurping a functional ‘star’ wasn’t the way of the Star Successor.

Every class possessed its own core identity.

Violate that, and the character falls apart.

Furthermore, Jörmungandr’s star wasn’t something he could simply claim.

Named stars chose their own heirs.

Just as it had bestowed the ‘Jörmungandr’s Mystery’ upon Isabella.

-You witnessed it as well. My vessel retrieved memories through our connection.

He was aware.

Absorbing the pollution source had caused a deluge of shared recollections.

Fragments of Isabella’s ascension.

To be precise.

-Memories of your true self. Not Randolph, but Park Hyun-myeong. That girl will never grant you absolution for the misery you inflicted upon her. Once she discovers your masked identity, your actual face, she will shudder with the weight of your betrayal. Even knowing this, you choose to rescue her?

Just as he had absorbed data from Jörmungandr, the serpent had caught glimpses of his own secrets.

But a more pressing problem was surfacing.

…Isabella had regained memories of his existence.

She recognized his life on Earth.

She knew his features and despised the person who had shattered her world.

And she wasn’t alone.

‘The characters I developed and then discarded. They will all remember everything the moment they transcend.’

Now the identity of the Reaper Church’s supposed alternate characters made sense.

Perhaps the Reaper Church was a coalition of abandoned player avatars that had attained transcendence.

That would explain their profound malice toward players.

They were unable to forgive those who had treated them like playthings.

He would likely harbor the same resentment.

‘If Isaac finds out… that would be the ultimate disaster.’

Isaac was the primary concern.

Among all his alternates, Isaac had carried out the most heinous deeds.

He was built originally to test if the creators of Pangeniar monitored player behavior.

Isaac’s reputation was so blackened that he had convinced himself those acts were his own choices.

He hardly recalled the specifics of what he had done.

He only knew the stories.

But finding out that a puppeteer was behind it all? The fury…

It would be beyond calculation.

‘…I walked away from hundreds of characters.’

It wasn’t just them.

Not only Isabella and Isaac, but a multitude of alts left behind for a thousand reasons.

Hundreds of them.

Many were on the verge of transcendence, and some had already crossed that line.

And every single player had abandoned a trail of alts in this world.

Thousands, tens of thousands across Pangeniar.

If they all returned as ascended enemies?

The thought alone was dizzying.

…The Reaper Church seemed to be hunting for such characters to force their transcendence.

Then Jörmungandr spoke once more.

-If, after calculating all this, you still intend to save this girl, I will remain silent. For your sake, and for hers. I will ensure she remains ignorant of the truth.

A pledge to keep the secret.

A commitment to move forward.

Jörmungandr possessed some sense of duty, it seemed.

-But that ‘pollution source’ is overwhelmingly powerful. The summoned ‘Blood Demon King’ is a supreme being. Even I could only manage to house it. What is your plan?

His plan?

He didn’t have anything elaborate.

Only.

“I will force it to manifest within my own body.”

What Isabella had intended to sacrifice herself for, he would take upon himself.

-…You are truly willing to perish?

“We shall see who is left standing when the dust settles.”

He gave a thin smile.

It was a gamble either way.

His own hardened physique was a better cage for that Blood Demon King than Isabella’s.

He sliced through the fabric of space and made his exit.

The Blood Demon King opened his eyes.

‘At last, the ceremony is complete.’

A fresh world. The long-standing efforts to penetrate this dimension had finally yielded results.

So much time had passed.

Eons. An impossible gap had finally been bridged.

For an entity of his ‘stature’ to cross over, such massive groundwork had been required.

His offspring, sent in advance, had finalized the preparations.

A new realm, a fresh start.

The final opportunity for the Blood Demon Clan to rise to glory once more.

‘Rebirth.’

He would undergo reincarnation.

He was too immense to cross over in his original state.

As the progenitor of the clan, he would spread his essence throughout this new place.

He had sensed others attempting the same path.

Once the rite concluded, he would consume the primary ‘seed’ and be born anew.

As a flawless entity!

“The descent begins.”

The gateway swung wide.

Toward the final pollution source, the heart of the ceremony.

Only a single step remained.

The Blood Demon King shivered slightly.

A sense of infinite triumph. A wave of emotion, his spirit soaring.

Everything was in place.

No obstacles remained.

Simply take in the waiting seed.

Seize control of the vessel that held it.

The Blood Demon King moved slowly across the threshold.

‘Wait…?’

…Something was fundamentally wrong.