Player who Returned 10,000 years Later

No matter how much anyone thought about it, there was only one being who could even be capable of corrupting Celestial Goddess Seraph.

"I’m… not sure either," Gaia said as she shook her head. "However, I’m sure that it has something to do with the Demon of Prophecy."

"In that case, there is no question about it," Oh Kang-Woo said, a serious expression on his face. "Rakiel must have been the one who corrupted Lady Seraph."

It was obvious, since Rakiel was the Constellation of Corruption and a loyal subordinate of the Demon of Prophecy.

"W-Wait. What are you talking about?" Uriel looked around in confusion.

He already knew very well that the power of Seraph keeping the Constellations of Evil sealed was gradually weakening. Her soul, which had gone missing a few years ago, needed to be found to restore that power. The other angels were searching across the entire continent of Aernor as they spoke, but…

’Lady Seraph’s soul… has fallen into the Demon of Prophecy’s hands?’

Uriel’s face paled. If that was true, then it was a massive deal.

"Shit, shit! That’s impossible… There’s no way that Lady Seraph’s soul has fallen into the Demon of Prophecy’s hands!" Uriel shouted aggressively.

Crackle!

Blue lightning sparked around him.

"Calm down, Lord Uriel." Kang-Woo grabbed his shoulder.

"Ah…" Uriel lowered his head as if he were embarrassed. He said in a low voice, "Sorry."

"It’s okay. I’m just as confused as you are."

Kang-Woo also swept up his hair as if he couldn’t understand what was going on.

Gaia, who had been listening in silence, opened her mouth. "It seems I haven’t properly relayed Lady Gaia’s revelation. Lady Seraph’s soul has not been corrupted."

"… What?" Uriel’s eyes widened. "Then are you saying that she sided with the Demon of Prophecy despite not having been corrupted?"

"… Yes, according to Lady Gaia."

"Nonsense!"

Slam!

He stomped on the ground.

"Lady Seraph had been willing to be annihilated in exchange for sealing the Constellations of Evil! And you’re saying that, of her own free will, she sided with a demon out to destroy the world? How does that make any sense?!"

He glared at Gaia.

Kim Si-Hun stood between them. "Please calm down, Lord Uriel. Gaia has only relayed the revelation that she received. Do you think arguing with her would change anything?"

"Ugh…"

"It’s okay, Si-Hun." Gaia sighed. "I didn’t hear the details either. There is a high chance that Lady Gaia does not know either."

"…"

"The important thing is that Lady Gaia has come to a decision due to this."

"… A decision?" Kang-Woo asked while frowning.

’What decision could that useless god possibly make?’

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

’Just please stay useless.’

His head was already hurting because of Rakiel, so what was she trying to do now?

"Yes, Lady Gaia has said that… we need to restore the impaired Gaia System."

"…"

’What?’

"W-Wait." Kang-Woo raised his hand. "There was a way to restore it?"

His mind was set ablaze with fury.

’What the actual fuck?’

If there had always been a way to restore the Gaia System, then there had been absolutely no point in Kang-Woo going through all that shitshow.

’You fucking bitch.’

The rising of the Demon Cult, the trespassing of the Nine Hells, the connection with Aernor, and even the interference from several other worlds… all had happened because there had been no way to restore the Gaia System, which had been broken by the Demon of Prophecy.

’But now she decides to mention that there’s a way to restore it? Fucking hell! That’s the first fucking thing you should’ve told us!’

Kang-Woo was so angry that it felt like his head was about to explode. He, of course, wasn’t the Demon of Prophecy, but if he were, the thought of wanting to destroy the world would cross his mind.

"Yes, but it is not a permanent solution."

"Ah…" A short exclamation left Kang-Woo’s mouth.

’She still should’ve told us.’

They were in no situation to discuss whether it was a permanent fix or not, but if one’s house was burning, they should at least try to piss on it to put it out.

"Why did she never tell us about it if she knew how to fix the Gaia System all this time?"

’Yeah, Yeon-Joo, well said.’

Cha Yeon-Joo also frowned in disbelief, and so did Si-Hun, Tian Wuchen, and Grace McCubbin. They didn’t say it outright, but they were just as flabbergasted.

Gaia sighed deeply.

"I also asked Lady Gaia regarding that matter. After all, she had said that there was no way to restore the protection until now."

"What did she say?"

Gaia remained silent for a moment, clenching her fists before slowly opening her mouth. "After hearing her explanation… I understood why she had kept quiet about it all this time."

"So, how do we do it?"

Gaia explained, "When the Demon of Prophecy went through the Earth’s protection and came here, Lady Gaia said that a huge Rift appeared in the barrier. It’s… a wound of sorts. If we enter the Rift and destroy its core, we will apparently be able to close it, albeit temporarily."

"… That still doesn’t explain why she had kept quiet about it all this time," Yeon-Joo stated while narrowing her eyes.

Entering a Rift and destroying its core certainly sounded dangerous, but it still didn’t make sense why she would keep quiet about the Rift despite it having caused Earth’s protection to fall apart.

"Is it because the one who destroys this Rift Core can never come back or something?" Kang-Woo asked while narrowing his eyes.

If that was why…

’I’ll have to split that bitch Gaia’s head open.’

The true threats always lay within rather than outside. If she really had been hiding the truth because she did not want to force someone to be a sacrifice, he would actually need to consider getting rid of Gaia.

’Surely she can’t be that useless.’

At that point, it was no longer a matter of her being useless or not. She would just be a straight-up nuisance.

"No, nothing like that. We would apparently have more than enough time to escape before the Rift closes after we destroy its core. However… we would be stuck in the dimensional crack for all eternity if we don’t manage to escape."

Kang-Woo sighed in relief.

’Thank God she’s not that dumb. In that case, why didn’t she tell us?’

He gave Gaia a questioning look.

Gaia opened her mouth, a heavy expression on her face. "This Rift does not appear under normal circumstances. Earth’s protection is frantically sealing the Rifts, so it’s impossible to enter Rifts like we do Gates."

"Then…"

"Yes, to enter this Rift…" Gaia said with a trembling voice, "Earth’s protection must be temporarily lowered."

There was a heavy silence.

Kang-Woo put his hand on his forehead.

"Fuck…"

The only good thing about this was that Gaia had not been as useless as he had expected.

’This could seriously fuck us over.’

To put it simply, they had to go to surgery to save a patient, but they could proceed with the surgery only if they stopped the patient’s heart beforehand.

’Shit.’

If they failed, it was the end.

Even if they succeeded, if they didn’t manage to do it in time, all sorts of otherworldly beings would invade Earth.

As soon as the Gaia System was suspended, they had to enter the Rift, destroy the core, and come back out as soon as possible to reactivate the Gaia System. And despite the massive risk they would have to shoulder, it would only be a temporary fix.

"… I can understand why she kept quiet about it."

It wasn’t something a sane person would consider. Leaving the danger aside, the risk was unfathomable.

"Yes, but… with Lady Seraph having fallen into the hands of the Demon of Prophecy, Lady Gaia has said that this is the only way to restore the Gaia System."

Kang-Woo narrowed his eyes. The choice was up to him.

’The situation’s actually nowhere near as perilous as Gaia thinks.’

He was the only one who knew why Seraph was siding with darkness despite not having been corrupted. There was nothing Gaia needed to be worried about.

’But…’

It was ultimately a matter of time. As long as the Gaia System continued to weaken, the end was inevitable. Kang-Woo’s original plan had been to get stronger and raise Guardians to the point that they would be able to protect Earth from otherworldly interference.

’But if this plan works…’

He would be able to delay that end. Kang-Woo closed his eyes and wondered what he should do. The scale in his head was not tilting in favor of either side.

"Is halting Earth’s protection really that big of a deal? What’s so bad about turning it off for just a bit and then back on?" Yeon-Joo asked while tilting her head.

She didn’t exactly know Earth’s circumstances and what the Gaia System was.

Si-Hun said, "The Earth’s protection is—"

"Let me explain," Gaia cut him off. She then explained to Yeon-Joo the Earth’s current situation and the otherworldly beings that would invade as soon as its protection disappeared.

"Wh-What?" The longer the explanation went on, the paler Yeon-Joo’s face became. "Wait. If that’s the case, then isn’t this plan absolutely insane? If we’re not able to close the Rift quickly enough after we deactivate the protection…"

"In the worst-case scenario, Earth could be invaded by an otherworldly army."

Yeon-Joo remained silent. She had already experienced the hell of the entire Earth being invaded by an otherworldly army.

"You’re saying that… something similar to what happened on the Day of Calamity might happen again, right?"

"… Yes." Gaia nodded.

Once again, there was a heavy silence.

"But that actually isn’t the biggest problem," Gaia said.

"… Then what is?"

"Not even Lady Gaia knows where the Rift is."

"Wh-What? Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!"

If the same analogy of the surgery was used again, then forget stopping the heart; they couldn’t even perform the surgery since they had no idea where the injury was.

"Lady Gaia said that… three days was the absolute limit. If we don’t find the Rift, destroy its core, and escape by then, a catastrophe of the same level as the Day of Calamity will happen again."

"How the hell are we supposed to find it in three days?!"

Finding a Rift that they had no idea where it could be in just three days was just absurd.

"… Gaia. I agree with Yeon-Joo. This operation is far too reckless," Si-Hun said while also shaking his head.

Gaia smiled bitterly while nodding. "Yes, I think so too. I’ll do my best to tell Lady Gaia. Please forget about this and—"

"Wait," Kang-Woo interrupted. "If we know where the Rift is… the success rate would skyrocket, wouldn’t it?"

"Oh, yes. Of course."

Kang-Woo clenched his fists.

The scale in his head tilted instantly.

’The Rift that had formed when the Demon of Prophecy had come to Earth…’

He knew exactly where it was.

"Let’s do it."

The restoration of the continuously weakening Gaia System was in his hands.

erigiii’s Thoughts

I’M FINALLY DONE WITH THIS GODDAMN FIXING!!! GOD THAT WAS THE WORST 310 CHAPTERS OF MY LIFE. I’M NEVER DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN