Goblin Workshop In Me

109. The Truth of the World

– The being introduced himself as “Madmut.”

Countless missiles hit the ground. There were explosions everywhere. At that time, the sky and the Earth shook as if there was an earthquake.

The last 18 people left looked up at the sky in a daze.

Why the hell? They couldn’t understand at all.

At the expense of tens and thousands of Hunters, they had captured the ultimate enemy. They were heroes of mankind regardless of politics, ideology, and war.

However, they couldn’t believe that they were paid with explosives.

It was when they stood at the brink of death that they realized the purpose of the Allied Forces of Humanity: “Bury them with the Monsters!”

And then, without any sign, the world stopped.

The last 18 awakeners opened their eyes in a space filled with colorful rays of light. Seo Si-hee described it as ‘a universe where infinite meteor showers are pouring.’

Each shooting star that passed by was time and space. It was a space-time gap. No one explained it, but she figured it out.

There was also the ‘last enemy.’ It was called by most hunters simply called it the Last Enemy because they wished there was nothing more beyond him.

“It’s so funny. To be beaten with fire sticks in return for sacrificing for a cause. That is the limit of your infinitely imperfect mortality. You are too easily divided by fear.”

“The Last Enemy,” who had never opened his mouth, spoke to them.

The message was delivered directly into their head, not directly spoken by mouth. Although the last 18 people standing had experienced countless impossibilities before, their mouths dropped to this surreal experience for the first time in their lives.

“You have failed, and I failed too. But that failure doesn’t mean the destruction of opportunity. You have overcome the limitations of mortality, and I value you. So I’d like to give you a suggestion.”

“What the hell are you?”

“I’m the largest piece of the universe. The most perfect of imperfections. What you mortals call heaven, world, sun, or God. I am Madmut.”

When the name Madmut was mentioned, Ko Byeong-gap swallowed without realizing it.

Seo Si-hee remained silent for a while, drinking tea as if her throat burned. It was when Ko Byeong-gap’s patience reached the end when she opened her mouth again.

“Madmut. He explained his plan to us.”

“What was the plan?”

“He said… He was going to make another space. He said that it was a perfect space where only paradise exists. He said he could only live there.”

“A perfect space?”

“Yes, he called it the Heavenly Realm.”

‘Heavenly Realm!’

The familiar word had now been mentioned.

Heavenly Realm was where God and his servants lived. His children lived in the Earthly Realm, also referred to as the surface world, and the Spirits lived in the Spirit Realm. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get any further information from Landriol’s memories. Still, it was possible to guess.

‘Madmut could only live in heaven? Wait, but they said the Devil who invaded the Earthly Realm had invaded the heavens, right?’

His head was spinning rapidly.

‘Madmut, who had fled from Ashvilam, appeared on Earth. His purpose was to create another Heavenly Realm. So…’

A series of accidents ensued. It didn’t take too long for him to conclude. He slammed down the table and shouted, “Damn it! Is that what happened?”

“What do you mean?” Seo Si-hee sighed, questioning the context.

“He was kicked out of his home, so he invaded the Earth to make a new home. Shit. So, it’s all because of those Demon bastards… Ugh!”

His face, as he muttered, soon turned white. Seo Si-hee frowned as she looked at Ko Byeong-gap. He shook his head, and a shriek leaked through his gaping lips.

“Summoning the Devil… Was it the Sarahons?!”

***

Ko Byeong-gap found a terrible part in Landiol’s memory. It was around the time when the race was cursed by Madmut, and Ashvilam fell into ruin.

Many knew that Landriol became closed off after Queen he wasn’t. He was continuing his research for revenge.

And finally, he found one possibility, but it stayed in the forbidden realm, the Realm of God, which meant that it was something not to be overlooked.

However, Landriol didn’t back down. He had to do anything as the ruler of his kind, let alone to save their destruction. He had nowhere else to turn to.

On the day when a lunar eclipse overshadowed the whole world, Landriol summoned the “Primordial Devil.”

People thought of the Devil as simply a ‘thin lump that was neither alive nor dead.’ However, it was an overly downgraded assessment.

The essence of the Devil was ‘the fault of God.’ This was a past that was so far-fetched that it couldn’t even be counted. The shell that God threw off to ascend to heaven. Simply put, its root was the same as God.

The Primordial Devil asked.

– For what reason did a creature of the Earthy Realm awaken me?

– Make a deal with me. I will give you spirit and wisdom. In return, give me strength.

– I refuse.

– What? Why? Haven’t you existed in nothingness for a long time? I thought you’d be desperate for life.

– Our power is macroscopic. You creatures living in the microscopic world can’t afford it. It’s obvious that the order of the world would be reversed, and chaos will come.

– What’s the point of you worrying about the order of the world? Tell me honestly. Aren’t you just afraid of Madmut?

– How dare you say that…

– Have you not existed for eons in time as nothing? Don’t you want to get away from that cursed condition? As you said, I’m microscopic. Nevertheless, I waged a war with God and defeated the seven Holy Warriors.

– Holy Warriors?

– Yes! Even me, a mere creature, was able to collect the blood of the Holy Army. What more would you fear from the world if you were once part of Madmut? Even if you come out to the Earthly Realm, Madmut would not be able to do anything about it.

– …

– Think about it. If you weren’t afraid, why would you put yourself in an underground world with no light? Make a deal with me. I will help you to exist on your own. Instead, share a little of your power.

The Primordial Devil answered after a long thought.

– I accept your offer.

Landriol dedicated thousands of Sarahon souls to the Devil. He gained the power of God in return. Based on his newly acquired power, he had prepared a source for his future revenge.

In particular, the Ancient Shop was a rare masterpiece he created, but there was something that even Landriol couldn’t have predicted. It was the Devil’s escape.

‘Landriol didn’t expect that either. He didn’t expect the Demons to break into the Heavenly Realm and the Spirit Realm. He didn’t even imagine it.’

A chain of disasters from Ashvilam to Earth. Landriol was the one who stood at the starting point. In other words, it all started with a small ball that Landriol had rolled.

When he realized it, Ko Byeong-gap felt like he was out of his mind.

‘Landriol… You’re such a piece of shit.’

“What’s wrong? You don’t look well from before,” Seo Si-hee asked in a concerned voice.

Ko Byeong-gap pulled the cigarette case out of his arms and stood up. “Sorry, let’s take a break.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

He smoked in the biting wind of Cheondo Mountain. It was natural that smoking only one cigarette led to him smoking in a row. This meant that his thoughts deepened.

‘This is making my head hurt.’

Ko Byeong-gap seriously considered if he was responsible. Either way, he felt uncomfortable. His head turned hazy like cigarette smoke.

Eventually, he returned to the log cabin without concluding his thoughts.

She continued the story. As soon as Seo Si-hee rushed in, Ko Byeong-gap realized that he had to act immediately in some way.

“Madmut, the creature, said that it takes a sacrifice to create the Heavenly Realm.”

“A sacrifice…? That’s not what I think it is, is it?”

“You’d be right to think. Yes, sacrifice refers to humanity. Alpha, get me a map.”

“Yes, Master.”

Alpha, who was enjoying the bonfire, quickly delivered a map. Seo Si-hee spread the map on the table. She pointed a few places with her finger.

“China, India, and the United States. These three places were selected as altars.”

“… Damn. These are all populated places.”

“Right. And you know the recent Monster Wave incident in Argentina.”

“Of course I know. It’s not usually this messy.”

“The United States is indiscriminately accepting South American refugees. The same was true during the Monster Wave in Africa last year. I’m advocating refugee relief, but…”

“The reality is, they’re gathering people together to make sacrifices.”

“It would be reasonable to infer that. It can be interpreted that the forces that promoted the end of humanity have infiltrated the American leadership.”

Ko Byeong-gap chewed his lips and asked a question.

“Hey, hey! A Monster Wave is going on in Korea too. What’s going on here?”

Seo Si-hee shook her head with a firm face.

“I don’t know the exact inside story. It could be a plan to move Koreans to China or the United States. Or maybe it’s just a natural phenomenon.”

“Natural phenomenon?”

“The monsters had never come out of the cracks since the Deep Impact, but they began popping out of nowhere last year. That’s… It’s not a weird thing,” she recited with a stiff face.

“This is proof that the world has already been transformed into an environment suitable for monsters to live in.”

“God… Why did it happen all of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. For the last 20 years or so, mankind has relied on these Magic Stone Power Plants. The Magic Stone Power Plants changed the Earth’s environment.”

Ko Byeong-gap trembled like a person who had just been electrocuted.

“Is that why you guys smashed the power plants?”

“Right. It’s become meaningless now.”

She added in a sad tone, “Blocking one of the dozens of holes didn’t stop the leak. I should’ve noticed earlier, but it’s too late.”

“Huh…” Ko Byeong-gap sighed for a long time. He wanted to snuggle cigarettes, but he decided to put up with it because children were around.

Seo Si-hee calmly continued, “I’ll have to finish what I was talking about. Madmut told us his plan and suggested it to us. If we cooperated with him, he would take us to heaven, and it awakened the hatred within us. Hatred of those who betrayed us.”

“…”

“All the last 18 people agreed with his plan. There was no reason to refuse. We were burning with betrayal and vengeance.”

“You, too?”

“Yes, I tried to kill all of the weak ones. Don’t you think you would have? Imagine being betrayed when you fought, life and death, for the good fortune of mankind.”

“Ah, well… I probably would too.”

It was understandable, so that was why he understood. It was only two months ago that he was stabbed in the back by his trusted subordinate.

However, Ko Byeong-gap felt an inexplicable separation. Seo Si-hee seemed to be trying to save the human race, but wasn’t she saying the opposite?

Seo Si-hee continued straight away.

“Madmut sent us back to the past. Then it happened to me, and it changed my mind.”

“What is it?”

“I met this in the gap between time and space.”

Seo Si-hee closed her eyes, and when it opened, her eyes were golden.

The cry of a beast escaped from her mouth.

“Crrrrr…”

“Huh?!”

Ko Byeong-gap felt the hairs on his body stand up. Her presence changed 180 degrees.

A very fierce and sharp presence. She was like a vicious predator. Ko Byeong-gap put his hand on the hilt of his sword without realizing it. Fortunately, she soon returned to her original form.

Ko Byeong-gap asked in exasperation.

“Wha… What was that just now?”

“It’s another me in me. What you saw a while ago is the ruler of this land.”

Seo Si-hee chose to breathe and said, “It’s called the Dragon. It’s a creature that lived on this continent a long time ago. At the same time, its race was exterminated by Madmut.”