Chapter 641: I'm an Accomplice?

 

The Temple of the Creator God.

The Creator God stood silently, gazing at five nearly completed paintings among dozens of unfinished ones.

The first painting depicted the Creator God and the next Creator God smiling as they played a puzzle game together.

In the second painting, the next Creator God was seen standing and cheering, having won the game. However, a single puzzle piece was left on the chair they had been sitting on—a piece the Creator God had searched for endlessly but couldn’t find.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the next Creator God had accidentally sat on the piece.

The third painting showed the next Creator God belatedly discovering the missing puzzle piece and looking flustered.

In the fourth painting, the next Creator God, now frightened, was clutching the puzzle piece and watching the Creator God from a distance, unsure of what to do.

The fifth painting depicted the next Creator God, unable to confess the truth, ultimately hiding the puzzle piece.

"So, this was the cause..."

As the Creator God observed the five paintings, they realized where the next Creator God’s descent into corruption had begun.

It all stemmed from that one small puzzle piece they had accidentally sat on—a trivial mistake. If they had just confessed honestly, it would have been nothing more than a fleeting incident.

But to the young next Creator God, the mistake seemed enormous. Overwhelmed, they lacked the courage to confess and decided to hide their error.

That decision to conceal their mistake gnawed away at the next Creator God.

Like rust consuming iron, the guilt consumed the next Creator God, ultimately leading to their downfall.

It was a seemingly insignificant cause for the destruction of hundreds of thousands of worlds. Yet, such was the nature of existence—worlds often ended for trivial reasons.

The Creator God walked to the place where the next Creator God had hidden the puzzle piece.

And then:

"It's still here."

They found the puzzle piece clumsily tucked between the pages of a book.

When the Creator God picked up the piece, it emitted a faint glow, as if it had been waiting for the Creator God to retrieve it, before disappearing entirely.

And then:

Swish...

The beads in the fifth painting began to move, altering the image.

Now, the next Creator God was seen handing the puzzle piece to the Creator God with a frightened expression, while the Creator God smiled and patted their head.

It was a depiction of one of the next Creator God’s dreams—a moment of forgiveness from the Creator God.

At the same time, a small knot of resentment buried deep within Destruction’s heart unraveled.

The Outskirts of Destruction.

"Everything seems fine."

"Puhuhut. Everything’s fine, meow!"

Sejun and Theo, who had woken up early to check on the giant Tears of Destruction, nodded in satisfaction.

Having finished their inspection:

"Hmm-hmm-hmm."

Sejun hummed as he returned to the Black Tower to prepare breakfast.

He also made seaweed soup and Choco Pies for the dragons.

-"Puhihihi. It’s dragon chicken!"

"Brother-in-law, isn’t it amazing?"

-"Yes! You’re the best, brother-in-law!"

Sejun earned some points by making Ace’s favorite dish.

"Aileen, here."

After sending food to Aileen, Sejun handed Choco Pies to the pink-furred creature that had brought Queng and settled down to enjoy breakfast.

Beep!

[Greetings, Sejun-nim!]

A messenger rabbit appeared before Sejun, bowing politely.

"Yes, what’s the matter?"

Beep!

[This is a letter from His Majesty Black Moonbok, King of the Red Ribbon Kingdom.]

The messenger rabbit respectfully handed over the letter with both front paws. Black Moonbok, still anxious after Pochi's warnings, had sent another message to Sejun.

As Sejun read through the letter:

"Yuren has entered the kingdom..."

Sejun frowned.

Yuren’s presence didn’t always bring misfortune, so Black Moonbok’s worry seemed excessive.

But then:

P.S.: Uncle, I dreamed of eating an entire rotten carrot! I’m so scared! Please come quickly!

"What?!"

Reading the postscript, Sejun suddenly understood Black Moonbok’s anxiety.

He knew all too well what happened whenever Black Moonbok dreamed of eating rotten carrots.

In the past, whenever Black Moonbok dreamed of even a bite of rotten carrot, misfortune would follow.

When Black Moonbok dreamed of taking a single bite:

Sejun ended up with Aileen's infamous health soup, and he and Black Moonbok had to relocate to another floor over a property dispute.

When the dream involved two bites:

Sejun nearly died after being struck by Aileen’s tail.

When it was three bites:

Kamangi had to face the indigestible, immortal Gray Lion Raknos, nearly causing the downfall of the Red Ribbon Kingdom.

Initially skeptical, Sejun eventually believed in Black Moonbok’s uncanny misfortune forecasting, which had proven more reliable than weather reports.

Until now, Black Moonbok had never dreamed of eating an entire rotten carrot...

"An entire carrot?!"

This was a critical situation.

The misfortune forecast signaled unprecedented calamity.

"Everyone, wake up. We’re heading to the 55th floor of the tower."

Sejun’s family hurriedly prepared to descend to the 55th floor.

"Puhuhut. Are we going to see Moonbok, meow?"

"Kwiit kwiit kwiit. I’m excited to see Pyo Pyo again."

Kkuhehehe. Kkuengk!

["Hehe. It’s been a while since I last saw Brother Moonbok!"]

Kkihit. Kking!

["Hihi. I’ll show Brother Moonbok how much stronger the great Kamangi has become!"]

Of course, everyone except Sejun remained carefree.

 

The Black Tower, 55th Floor

“Uhehe. More food here, please!”

Yuren was incessantly ordering food.

Although it was safe to stay for up to three days, Yuren planned to leave tomorrow instead of the day after, just to be cautious. Until then, he was determined to eat as much as possible.

Beep.

Meanwhile, Piyot had already filled his belly long ago and was now sound asleep.

At that moment:

"Excuse me, Mr. Yuren, but with the amount you've paid, this is all the food we can serve," said one of the staff members.

“Really? Then let me borrow this cup. Kwuik!”

In response, Yuren picked up a cup and used his talent, Hand of Midas.

Srrrk.

The cup transformed into gold.

"Here, for the food. And please bring me 100 servings of this spaghetti. It's delicious. Uhehe."

"Right away, sir!"

Yuren handed the golden cup to the staff and ordered more food.

And:

"Mohehe. Yuren-nim's misfortune has become even richer!"

Poyo, basking in happiness, licked at Yuren’s increasingly potent misfortune, which had grown stronger with the use of the Hand of Midas.

However, even Poyo couldn’t detect or consume the deeper misfortune brewing within Yuren.

The talent Hand of Midas resented Yuren’s defiance against his fate of misfortune. The cost of that resentment would soon manifest as the world’s screams.

Something ominous was spreading across the 55th floor, yet no one had realized it.

Kwek.

["Miss Lara, why don’t we grab something to eat while we keep watch?"]

Pochi suggested to Lara, who was monitoring Yuren.

They were in a nice restaurant, and Pochi wanted to enjoy a meal and create a pleasant atmosphere with Lara.

However:

Beep?! Beep!

["Don’t you see we’re on duty?! If you want to eat so badly, do it alone!"]

Lara’s response was icy.

Kwek… Kwek…

["No, I just wanted to eat with you, Miss Lara…"]

Pochi, flustered, tried to explain himself.

Crunch.

Suddenly, from beyond a fractured space, a monstrous hand formed as all probabilities converged into misfortune, and it struck at Lara.

Kwek!

["Not so fast!"]

How dare you target Miss Lara!

Shhk.

Pochi quickly enveloped his fingers in aura and sliced through the monster’s hand.

But the hand was not alone.

From beyond the fractured space, thousands—no, tens of thousands—of monstrous entities began to pour through.

 

The Battle Store Headquarters

"What?! This isn’t good..."

The God of Misfortune, observing the accumulating misfortune in Yuren’s surrounding dimensions, felt a sense of foreboding.

The idea of the God of Misfortune finding misfortune ominous sounded like a bad joke—akin to the God of Joy dreading happiness. Yet, the unease felt by Misfortune was entirely rational.

Yuren’s misfortune wasn’t pure.

The misfortune amassing around him was tainted, filled with malevolent, primal malice far deeper than rage or killing intent. It was a corrupted misfortune.

And then:

It’s watching me!

Even the tainted misfortune had turned its gaze upon Misfortune, as if waiting patiently.

 

Roar!

Screech!

The monsters born from the worst probabilities each took on a different form.

However:

Kwek!

["Slash them!"]

Shhk! Shhk!

Pochi, the Hero of <Hamk>, wielding thirty swords, made quick work of the monsters before him.

Yet, even with his thirty blades, there were simply too many of them. Eventually, the monsters began spilling out into the open space.

Piyot!

["Messenger’s Sprint!"]

“Kwuik! Pink Crush!”

“Sandstorm, arise!”

Piyot, Yuren, and Poyo handled the monsters trying to escape.

Beep!

["This way, take cover!"]

Meanwhile, Lara guided the rabbits to safety.

And then:

Whoosh.

From the corpses of the slain monsters, a dark crimson energy quietly began to coalesce high above, unnoticed by anyone focused on the battle.

A short while later:

Beak!

["Attack!"]

Black Moonbok, having rushed to the scene after receiving the report, joined the battle with his subordinates, giving the front lines a brief respite.

At that moment:

Wobble.

By sheer misfortune, a monster tripped, causing Pochi’s sword to miss its mark.

Initially, it seemed like a coincidence.

But then:

Kwek?!

["Another stumble?!"]

Beak?!

["Why am I slipping suddenly?!"]

Piyot!

["The wind’s blowing against us out of nowhere!"]

“Kwuik?! Why is there a hole in the ground?!”

One by one, minor misfortunes began affecting Pochi and his allies, making them realize something was off.

On top of that:

“Be careful! I can smell something delicious coming from all of you!”

Poyo’s decisive observation confirmed it—this was no coincidence. The group was slowly being engulfed by misfortune.

The chain of small misfortunes gradually created gaps in their defenses.

Screech!

One of the monsters broke through the encirclement and charged toward the area where the rabbits had taken refuge.

Beak! Beak!

["No! Stop it!"]

Black Moonbok shouted as he fought off the monsters, urging his subordinates to chase the one that had slipped past.

Piyot!

["I’ll stop it!"]

Thud!

Queng leaped forward and punched the charging monster square in the face.

Bang! Crash! Boom!

The monster tumbled backward, rolling straight into the rift from which the monsters had been pouring out, temporarily blocking it.

For a while, no more monsters emerged.

“What’s going on here?”

“Puhuhut. Nice to see everyone, meow!”

“Kwiit kwiit kwiit. Long time no see!”

Kkuengk!

["Hello, everyone!"]

By then, Sejun and his group had arrived.

Beak... Beak...

["Finally, we’re saved..."]

Black Moonbok sighed in relief, seeing Theo clinging to Sejun’s knee, Iona holding onto Theo’s tail, and Queng latched onto Sejun’s side.

It was a perfect dream team. No matter the enemy, they could handle it now.

Kkihit! Kking!

["Hihi! The great Kamangi has arrived!"]

The Kamangi family barked energetically, trying to assert their presence.

Beak?

["Oh, it’s the youngest?"]

But to Black Moonbok, they were just the youngest ones in the group.

With Sejun and his companions joining the fray, the monsters were quickly pushed back, unable to emerge fully before being slaughtered.

“No experience points, huh.”

Sejun lamented as he noticed no system messages appearing.

At that moment:

“Meow?!”

Theo looked up at the sky.

“Vice Chairman Teo, what is it?”

“There’s something up in the sky, meow!”

“An enemy?”

“No, meow! It’s something good!”

“Something good?”

Whoosh.

As Theo answered, he leaped into the air.

Breaking through the clouds, Theo discovered a massive, dark crimson sphere of misfortune that had gathered above.

“Meow!”

Let this help our great hybrid Chairman Park!

Flash!

Theo struck the sphere with his shining golden paw, imbued with money he burned as an offering.

Boom!

The crimson sphere turned golden before exploding.

And then:

No!

The Hand of Midas, the talent controlling the sphere, was destroyed.

 

[The Black Tower’s Luck Target, Park Theo, has achieved the great feat of annihilating the talent Hand of Midas from the Black Tower’s Disaster Target, Yuren Damon.]

[The Black Tower’s Luck Target, Park Theo, has acquired the epithet: Talent Slayer.]

[You have acquired the epithet: Accomplice to Talent Slayer.]

“Huh?!”

I’m an accomplice?

At the same time, Sejun got a strange tinnitus.