Chapter 367

Chapter 367
### Chapter 367

Basara.

It was unheard of for her to answer when someone else called.

However, on this occasion, she found it impossible to remain still.

The instant that specific identity was uttered, she was compelled to take action.

‘This individual…’

Park Hyunmyeong.

…He was standing directly within her line of sight at this very moment.

‘Are you truly Park Hyunmyeong?’

—

The moment the conclave for the new Pope concluded, the festivities of the Goddess’s Festival commenced without delay.

The Goddess’s Festival was a massive celebration spanning forty-eight hours within the Holy City of Adrium. It was a time of city-wide jubilation, dedicated to honoring the Goddess Lea on the opening day and the Goddess Pina on the following day. It represented the sole occasion when the doors of the Goddess’s Church were thrown wide open to the common folk.

“What sort of man is Pope Aaron?”

“He is the most distinguished protege of Cardinal Johanson. His reputation has always been one of deep piety and unwavering fairness.”

“I had heard whispers that he was something of a degenerate…”

“Shhh! Refrain from such dangerous talk! Even if those rumors had teeth, they are likely nothing more than blown-up tales of the kind of wild youth anyone might have.”

“Is… is that the case?”

Influential figures from a multitude of realms congregated, their conversations dominated by persistent questions regarding the newly crowned Pope. A cloud of skepticism hung over them all concerning this young leader who seemed to have risen from obscurity.

Furthermore, the stories trailing Aaron had been far from flattering.

He was a rogue in every sense of the word. Not merely a troublemaker, but a thoroughgoing delinquent. These accounts were so pervasive they had even reached the borders of the Empire. The word was that he was prideful, debauched, and viewed other human beings as mere playthings.

And this was the man chosen as Pope?

“…I’ve caught wind that the ‘Order of the Round Table’ pulled the strings in this selection.”

“They must have installed a puppet. Seeing as they were the ones who conquered the ‘Tower of Destruction’ by themselves.”

“He certainly looked like someone who would be easy to manipulate.”

Predictably, there were those who didn’t hide their cynical theories. The prevailing sentiment was that Pope Aaron was merely a ‘front’ for the Round Table. Otherwise, such a meteoric and irregular rise would have been unthinkable. Had he not bypassed or ignored nearly every traditional protocol required to ascend to the Papacy?

There was even a kernel of proof to support their suspicions.

‘—Where… is the lord of the Round Table?’

They had all heard it clearly—that needy tone, that specific way of speaking. It was reminiscent of a hatchling crying out for its protector. Yet, on a day of such monumental significance, the leader of the Round Table was nowhere to be found. He remained entirely hidden, acting as though the entire affair was beneath his notice, no matter how long the crowds lingered in expectation.

“By the way, who exactly is this new master of the Round Table?”

“The man hasn’t shown his face even once.”

“Was the Round Table truly such a formidable faction to begin with?”

Perhaps because of this absence, the seeds of resentment began to sprout.

Originally, the ‘Order of the Round Table’ was a group believed to have been annihilated during the Great Expedition—a venture that ended in catastrophe despite the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops. For them to suddenly reappear, claiming to be the sole conquerors of the ‘Tower of Destruction’, was a pill many found impossible to swallow.

“Perhaps the ‘Tower of Destruction’ wasn’t such a hurdle after all…”

“The one they call the new master is likely just a mediocre figurehead, don’t you think?”

“The prestige of the Goddess’s Church hit rock bottom a long time ago anyway.”

“This isn’t the Church of the legends.”

“We’ve wasted our journey.”

“Gather the gear. We are leaving.”

Many began to form their own conclusions. They spoke disparagingly of the new Pope and the Knights of the Round Table as they made ready to depart. These were people who had crossed vast distances solely to catch a glimpse of the ‘master of the Round Table,’ and his continued absence left them profoundly bitter.

It was in that moment of unrest.

*Zzzzzzzzaaaaaa—!*

Accompanied by a deafening, metallic shriek.

*Kuuuuuuung!*

A colossal shaft of ‘light’ erupted within Adrium. Every eye was pulled toward the towering radiance. Then, a figure emerged, stepping through the very heart of the brilliance.

“I am Kasim, the Knight of Radiance. O Round Table, I refuse to acknowledge you.”

The Radiant Superhuman, Kasim!

Having reclaimed his full panoply of gear, he stood complete, enveloped in a blinding aura. He was not unaccompanied; more warriors stepped forth from the pillar of light.

The Twelve Holy Knights!

At the sight of them, several onlookers began to shake.

“Kasim… did he say his name was Kasim?”

“Could he truly be the Radiant Superhuman who vanished without a trace three centuries ago?”

“There is no way a man could live that long!”

“B-but those Holy Knights… there’s no mistaking them. Those are the Knights of Radiance!”

Kasim was a name found only in the dusty pages of chronicles. He, along with his twelve subordinates, had once crushed every heretical sect that opposed the Church. He was a mythic hero who had completed twelve impossible feats and struck down the dark deity summoned to the world 300 years prior before vanishing into thin air. Without his intervention, the continent would have fallen to that malevolent god. He was the pivotal figure who ensured the Goddess’s Church became the dominant faith.

If this truly was Kasim, not even the Pope could afford to be dismissive. The burning question was why he had chosen this moment to return. Why appear during the Goddess’s Festival—the most sacred of holidays—specifically to challenge the ‘Round Table’?

“I demand a trial by combat. Let us determine who is truly worthy of the title ‘Knight of the Goddess’. The hour is noon tomorrow. The location is right here. Should you fail to appear, I will deem it a confession of cowardice.”

With that blunt ultimatum, he stepped back into the column of light. The radiance flickered and died, leaving no trace of Kasim or his Holy Knights.

“….”

“….”

The crowd stood in stunned silence. But the message was crystal clear: a challenge to prove which faction truly held the Goddess’s mandate.

“The Order of Radiance against the Order of the Round Table…”

“It seems our trip wasn’t a waste after all.”

“Unpack everything. Now!”

Those who had been on the verge of leaving quickly changed their minds. Monarchs, guild masters, and city lords turned their gazes toward the Knights of the Round Table with renewed fervor. The Order of the Round Table had been a mystery built on rumors, but it seemed its true strength was finally about to be tested.

“…This is turning into quite a spectacle.”

Fredric, the King of the Iron Kingdom and the Demon of Pride, let a grin spread across his face. He had managed to infiltrate Adrium by exploiting the fading strength of the Goddess’s protection.

‘So, the old fool was still breathing.’

It was a shock. He hadn’t expected ‘Kasim’ to be among the living. It was Fredric, the Demon of Pride, who had masterminded the summoning of the dark god three centuries ago—or more accurately, the ‘demons’ as a collective. Their plans had crumbled when the Goddess’s Knight appeared. In the aftermath, the demons had retreated into the shadows.

Even in that era, Kasim had been a freak of nature.

‘That monster. He’s actually grown more powerful.’

‘Has he been doing nothing but honing his blade in isolation for three hundred years?’

Judging by the intensity of the light, he was far beyond his former self. Now that he had reacquired his legendary equipment, he would likely surpass the peak of his youth. His Holy Knights, veterans of his ancient campaigns, were equally formidable.

By contrast, what of the Knights of the Round Table?

‘Destruction has resurfaced. This is the ultimate chance we’ve been waiting for.’

Long ago, when Destruction first rose, the demons had reached a status that rivaled the gods themselves. They didn’t fear the heavens. If Destruction had returned, it should have been a dawn of opportunity for demonkind. Yet, the Round Table had reportedly cleared the Tower of Destruction, and ‘Destruction’ itself was nowhere to be found. How was such a thing possible?

‘Did the supposed master of the Round Table actually wipe out Destruction?’

‘Destruction isn’t something that can be slain.’

‘Ridiculous.’

It felt like a fantasy. Destruction was an invincible force. Even if Greed were to return, the outcome would be the same. Besides, hadn’t the goddesses who assisted Greed already served their roles?

…Regardless.

‘If the lord of the Round Table fails to show up, they haven’t a prayer against Kasim.’

The situation was becoming delightful. Whether the Round Table could actually withstand that relic Kasim, who had only sharpened his teeth over three centuries, remained to be seen. King Fredric suspected they would fail unless their leader stepped out of the shadows.

‘Step into the light. O master of the Round Table.’

—

The roster for the ‘Black Dome’ reconnaissance mission had been finalized. The team assembled by Vice-President Lee Arin consisted of ten elite members. Most were top-tier rankers representing South Korea, supplemented by rising stars from the second generation of Awakened.

However, there was one inclusion that caught everyone off guard.

“That guy…”

“Is that really Park Hyunmyeong?”

The members of the expedition whispered among themselves as they observed a solitary man. This was the person who had walked into the Association and calmly identified himself as ‘Park Hyunmyeong.’

The Association had been thrown into a state of total chaos. The name Park Hyunmyeong was currently rewriting the record books in the Hall of Fame. Everyone was desperate to know his identity. He was the phantom who had dominated the tutorial on the Island of God and then vanished as if he had never existed. Endless resources had been spent trying to track him down, all for nothing.

And then, he simply walked through the front door.

‘He’s much more…’

‘Plain than I imagined.’

‘He doesn’t give off a powerful vibe…’

That was the consensus on Park Hyunmyeong. He possessed a solid, athletic build, but nothing more. He didn’t radiate the presence of a being who had just pulverized ‘Main Quest 6’ with an impossible score. His track record in previous trials had been equally mind-blowing. He was the new titan of the era, appearing in the wake of names like Wilhelm and Randolph.

‘Could he be an impostor?’

Countless frauds had claimed the name Park Hyunmyeong before. None had ever been the real deal.

“You…”

At that moment, a man approached with a swaggering, insolent gait. It was Choi Kang-nam. He was the most talked-about second-generation Awakened in the country, hailed as ‘the future of Korea.’

However, he had been humiliated by Park Hyunmyeong time and again. The gap in their Hall of Fame scores was so vast it was insurmountable. It had reached a point where Choi Kang-nam had literally lost his mind and collapsed from the sheer shock of the disparity. Naturally, he had sprinted to the scene the moment he heard the name Park Hyunmyeong.

“So it really is you, Park Hyunmyeong. That freak I encountered on the Island of God!”

Choi Kang-nam ground his teeth together. His intuition was confirmed. During the final test on the Island of God, Park Hyunmyeong had decimated the top ten rankers in a matter of heartbeats. Choi Kang-nam had been one of his victims. At the time, he couldn’t wrap his head around the idea that the man was ‘Park Hyunmyeong.’ But seeing him now, there was no doubt.

This meant the monster before him was indeed the record-breaker.

“You… I’ve been itching for this. Let’s go again. We’ll decide right here who the true number one in Korea is!”

Choi Kang-nam hurled an open challenge.

‘I’m not the weakling I was back then.’

He had grown exponentially since the Island of God. To him, Hall of Fame rankings weren’t the end-all-be-all of combat prowess. He was certain that in a real fight, he wouldn’t be swatted away like he had been during the tutorial. In fact, he didn’t believe losing was an option. He was the golden boy, polished by the full weight of the government and the Association. He had no peers among his generation, and he was confident he could break into the top 100 of the first generation in no time.

‘The first Korean to reach the Global Top 10 will be me.’

South Korea had no one in the official Top 10 yet. He was convinced he would be the first to change that.

“I don’t care what kind of cheap ploys you’ve used, they won’t work on me anymore. I need to see for myself if you’re actually qualified to be on this team.”

This was his shot at redemption—a perfect chance to wash away his previous shame and prove to the world that he was the pinnacle of the new generation. Choi Kang-nam wasn’t about to let it pass. A smug grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“What’s wrong? Scared? I suspected it since the Island of God. You’re just a ‘bug user’, Park Hyunmyeong.”

Choi Kang-nam was certain of it. The tutorial on the Island of God was strictly for ‘non-Awakened’ individuals. A normal human, regardless of their training, has a hard ceiling. Even a lifetime of martial arts couldn’t bridge the gap. Yet, the Park Hyunmyeong he had faced during those final moments had already transcended human logic and limits.