Fantastic Baby
With an unusual laugh, Hel tore open the warp and appeared.
Unlike the other orthodoxies, he did not possess several pairs of wings.
Yet with just a single pair of wings, with Hel’s existence alone, it was more than enough to draw everyone’s attention.
“…….”
Those who had endlessly boasted about their own orthodoxy.
“…….”
Those who had sneered and frowned while looking at other orthodoxies.
“…….”
Even No. 1, the man with the golden mask.
—Kyakyakyakyakyak!
Everyone fell silent, staring at Hel, who sat on my head.
And of course they would.
They all knew the difference, the gap that existed between the orthodoxies they summoned and my orthodoxy.
“Wings……”
“White?”
“Is that… a hybrid?”
Even they—those who acted like they knew everything in the world, those who behaved as if they could overlook the world itself—couldn’t define Hel properly.
One white wing and one black wing.
Compared to the wings of all other orthodoxies, which were black, he stood out clearly.
A true hybrid, mixed.
Why did such a difference occur?
‘The Spirit Tower, the Trial of Chaos. It was at the very end.’
When I climbed the Spirit Tower in the Dryad’s Forest.
At the very end of the Trial of Chaos, what I barely discovered was none other than a Heavenly Spirit Egg.
I recalled the description of the Spirit Egg I saw back then.
★ A mysterious egg that fell from the "Heavenly Realm," the end of Light, Darkness, and Chaos.
★ Only a "Celestial Person" can see and hatch this egg.
Just two sentences.
But those two sentences alone were enough to explain the value of the egg.
‘An egg fallen from the Heavenly Realm. A being that only a Celestial Person can see and hatch.’
That was Hel.
Though, that condition alone is slightly lacking to explain the difference between him and the other orthodoxies.
There must be a decisive reason their orthodoxies differ from Hel.
If I had to guess—
‘Corrupted Honor.’
The Demigod trait dungeon.
The notorious section that everyone deemed impossible, the one Wilhelm himself had failed to clear!
After defeating the dungeon master Demigod and devouring all of the “Corrupted Honor” that overflowed from him, Hel finally broke out of the egg.
That was the decisive trigger for Hel’s hatching.
Of course, he may have been a naturally exceptional orthodoxy from the start, but when you look at the process of discovering and hatching him, everything was extraordinary.
Those differences piled up, shaping the Hel of today.
Naturally, he could never be the same as an orthodoxy awakened by normal means.
“…Even seeing it with my own eyes, I still can’t believe it… but it must truly be the twelfth orthodoxy.”
“But a white wing on an orthodoxy?”
“And yet, it can’t use ‘Reaper Power’?”
“Impossible. That orthodoxy hatched not long ago. It doesn’t even look like it’s had a proper meal.”
“Hmm, indeed. The true value of an orthodoxy begins at three wings.”
The owners of the golden masks commented one after another as they stared at Hel.
Appearance aside, one word caught my attention.
‘Reaper Power?’
It seemed to refer to the power orthodoxies used.
Since Hel had only just hatched, it couldn’t use that power yet.
Meaning that beyond freezing and controlling warps, they could perform other miracles.
—Kiki?
—Kekekekekeke!
—Kokokok!
…Another astonishing thing happened.
All the orthodoxies, which had gone silent the moment Hel appeared, suddenly began making noise all at once and circled around it.
“What… what are they doing?”
“This has never happened before…”
The patrons frowned in confusion as they watched their orthodoxies.
Ignoring their gazes entirely, the orthodoxies soon surrounded Hel in a perfect circle.
As if performing some kind of ritual.
Were they happy to meet another of their kind?
Or were they celebrating the appearance of a new orthodoxy?
Or was there yet another reason?
No one knew.
Not them, not me.
‘Orthodoxy and Rightful Successor.’
One thing was clear—they were calling Hel an orthodoxy.
But the nuance was slightly different.
"Orthodoxy" meant the same line, the same lineage.
And when Hel first awakened—
【Heavenly Spirit】
【Rightful Successor】
It clearly said Rightful Successor.
Even now, the same.
The mark floating above his head, visible only to me, proved it.
‘If other orthodoxies had the same marking, they would call them successors, not orthodoxies.’
This was what puzzled me.
Why call them “orthodoxy”?
If they were all “Rightful Successors,” then successor would be the more correct term.
Who would look at a “Rightful Successor” and call it “orthodoxy”?
I thought about it carefully.
‘If there were originally twelve eggs in the Heavenly Realm, and Hel was the only one that fell…’
Then their words—“There cannot be a twelfth orthodoxy”—made sense.
If they didn’t know an egg had fallen, they’d never imagine a twelfth existed.
But the problem was the hatching condition.
Only a “Celestial Person” could awaken Hel.
‘Then do all of them have a celestial trait?’
Did all of them possess the same Heavenly hidden trait as I did?
No.
I shook my head internally.
No matter how mysterious or powerful the Empire was, I only obtained the Heavenly trait after paying an astronomical amount of SP.
It was impossible for eleven people to share that trait unless they gave up the entire world.
Other hidden traits aside, Heavenly was especially so.
And despite everything, these people were too human to be Heavenly beings.
‘…They are all human.’
Definitely human.
And I was certain humans could not become Celestial Persons.
The Heavenly Spirit Egg had clearly fallen from the end of Light, Darkness, and Chaos.
If neither celestial nor Celestial Person, then how did their orthodoxies awaken?
‘Their orthodoxies didn’t have that condition to begin with.’
Unlike Hel, their orthodoxies likely had no such limitation.
“……What is this?”
“Looks like they’re singing a choir.”
—Kyakyakyakyak!
If it was a choir, then Hel was clearly the conductor.
One thing was certain—all the orthodoxies were “delighted.”
“…….”
Everyone was speechless, watching that scene for a long moment.
***
“Well, if there are no more doubts, let us begin the ‘Banquet.’”
How much time had passed?
As the endless choir continued, the man with the golden mask spoke.
The Banquet of Reapers. He signaled its beginning.
He continued speaking.
“First, we will confirm the results of the ‘disinfection.’ In this disinfection of the Darkan Territory, twenty-five sinners were identified.”
“Only that many?”
“Weren’t they the ones you collected so carefully?”
“I assumed at least fifty.”
Everyone sounded surprised.
The number was too small for a disinfection led by a golden mask.
The golden mask then looked at me.
“That black goat won our bet. Thanks to him, I learned that what I saw was not completely accurate.”
“You wagered on the ability to see ‘sinners’?”
“Yes.”
“……And you lost?”
“Yes, I lost.”
He admitted it openly.
Then the gazes of the other masked owners shifted toward me.
Not as intensely as when Hel appeared, but clearly—winning a bet against the golden mask was astonishing to them.
“In any case, all the sinners captured in the Darkan Territory will be offered to the banquet.”
“Well, of course.”
“That can’t be all, can it?”
The golden mask smirked.
“Obviously, if that were all, I would not deserve to attend the banquet.”
In that moment—
Srrrrrrr!
Behind the golden mask, reapers dressed in black began appearing one by one.
They all carried small flames atop their scythes.
Looking closely, inside each flame was trapped a sinner.
Souls collected by the reapers.
But everyone’s gaze focused on one flame.
A flame easily three times larger than the rest.
“A high ranker within the top 100?”
“That’s… ‘GlutinousRiceBeanCake’! Oh ho. You found him well.”
…GlutinousRiceBeanCake?
That nickname often appeared within the top 100 of the Hall of Fame for main quests.
These lunatics… they hunted not only players but rankers too?
“Hahaha! Is that all you’re presenting for the banquet? I’m disappointed, golden mask!”
The one wearing the golden lion mask spoke.
Behind him, reapers appeared as well.
But they looked different.
Just like the orthodoxies, the reapers had horns.
“I captured Gracia! No one has prepared a finer ‘banquet’ than I!”
“Oh? Gracia?”
“So you finally caught that rat.”
…Wait. He caught Gracia?
Frowning, I looked at the large flame hanging from the reaper with three horns.
And indeed, Gracia was inside.
Trapped in the flame, standing motionless.
But that wasn’t all.
“But why isn’t it moving?”
“Is that really Gracia?”
Other souls trapped in the flames were all struggling desperately to escape.
Yet Gracia was frozen like a painting.
As someone pointed it out in confusion, the golden lion spoke.
“……There was an interference, so I only stole his ‘youth.’ But thanks to that, we now know his exact location in real time. Of course—leave him alone long enough, and he’ll die soon anyway.”
“Hmm, then you’ll catch him before long.”
“Who dared to interfere?”
Though regretful, capturing him was inevitable.
Someone asked, and the golden lion answered.
“The Star Bearer.”
“The Star Bearer, hm…”
“In any case, is there anyone who has prepared a finer ‘banquet’ than mine?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Even if only his “youth” was stolen, Gracia was still the most exceptional sinner.
Since no one stepped up, the golden lion roared with laughter.
“Khahaha! Of course. No one would surpass me. Unless someone captured Randolph, that is!”
They even knew me, the player Randolph.
From their tone, it was clear they also knew I had surpassed Gracia to enter the Hall of Fame.
And judging by their reactions to the name “Randolph,” it was obvious that I was the player they most wanted to capture.
‘I absolutely cannot be discovered.’
I never intended to reveal myself, but this reaffirmed I must not.
After all eleven showcased their reapers and their “banquets”—
“……Hm, black goat. Since your orthodoxy does not yet possess ‘Reaper Power,’ you will have no banquet to present.”
The golden mask addressed me.
Reaper Power seemed to mean the ability to summon reapers.
Naturally, the young Hel could not.
“But do not worry. If your orthodoxy challenges the ‘Full Meal’ in this banquet and dines, your orthodoxy will gain Reaper Power.”
“…You want to give the ‘full meal’ opportunity to someone who has shown no banquet?”
“Golden mask, isn’t that too generous?”
“I was the one who caught Gracia first!”
The others protested.
Especially the golden lion.
It seemed that the order of eating was decided by the grade of the banquet presented.
The golden mask shrugged.
“You all challenged the ‘full meal’ in your first banquet thanks to the courtesy of others. That is the custom and rule. Or have you forgotten?”
“Hmm.”
“…Very well. But only the opportunity.”
They reluctantly agreed.
The golden mask then looked at me again.
“Black goat. Your orthodoxy will challenge the banquet first. This is also a chance to gauge the vessel of your orthodoxy.”
“What exactly am I supposed to do?”
“Simple. Your orthodoxy must ‘eat’ the sinners we offered. When the first challenger consumes all sinners, we call it a ‘Full Meal.’ But no orthodoxy has ever reached the Full Meal. If one fails, the next orthodoxy eats, and this repeats until the flames disappear completely.”
Hel must eat those souls.
The meal of orthodoxies—the essence of sinners was their primary source of growth.
But until now, Hel had only eaten my “Honor.”
Perhaps that was why his growth was slow.
—Kyakyakyak?
Sensing my gaze, Hel came close.
Then he looked at the “great flame” placed atop the banquet table.
A flame made by merging all sinners’ flames.
Inside it were countless spirits!
“Moreover, this ‘sinner’s flame’ is larger than any banquet before. You are fortunate.”
Everyone nodded subtly at the golden mask’s words.
He then examined Hel.
“Let us begin. Considering your orthodoxy’s condition, this will be its ‘first meal,’ so it is best to feast until bursting. If by any chance it reaches the ‘Full Meal,’ it shall gain tremendous Reaper Power.”
As he said, Hel was reacting strongly to the flame.
—Kyakyakyak!
Hel began circling around the flame joyfully.
Was he really excited to eat?
Yet I hesitated.
‘These are all players, or Pangaenians.’
This went against everything I believed.
Why was I here?
Because I was curious about the Reaper Church?
‘……I must stop the Four Evils.’
Of course not.
I stepped in here to stop the Four Evils from destroying Pangaenia and Earth.
Baal, released because of me, had already sunk four neutral cities into the abyss.
So yes, I felt a heavy responsibility.
But without certainty, acting recklessly might waste my only chance, so I had stayed here.
If I had tried to seize Baal’s Armor right after winning the bet, the golden mask would’ve exploited that and demanded something even bigger.
So I couldn’t tell Hel to eat the flame that contained Pangaenians and players.
—Kyakyakyak!
In that moment—
Without asking my permission, Hel opened its mouth wide.
Fwooooosh!
The flame shook violently with the gust of wind.
“……!!!”
“……What?!”
And the result that appeared next shocked everyone, myself included.
End and Completion (Revised)
The Mercenary City Cartel.
To eradicate the Fourth Evil Baal, countless people once again gathered in the last neutral city.
‘……In the end, we never found the Soul of the Hydragon.’
At the center stood Gracia.
White hair fluttering, holding the unique-grade sword, the Blue Radiance.
Despite the massive announcement, they failed to locate the Soul of the Hydragon.
Even Korea’s Hero Alliance put forth their full effort, but it proved useless.
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