Chapter 646: The Apocalypse Beast Has Awakened! You're in Big Trouble Now!

 

<Sek>

As Sejun used the portal scroll—

Rumble.

The ground trembled, and an arched gate made of white marble appeared.

When Sejun pulled the handle—

Swish.

The door opened smoothly, without resistance, revealing a shimmering blue space.

"Am I supposed to go in here?"

With steady steps, Sejun placed one foot inside and entered the blue space without hesitation.

Normally, the timid Sejun would never act so boldly. Yet, the blue space seemed oddly non-threatening, which gave him the confidence to move forward.

As his body entered the blue space—

[You have entered a portal connected to the Temple of the Creator God.]

A message appeared.

Step. Step.

With each step forward—two, then three—his surroundings turned completely white.

Step.

On his fourth step, a radiant, glowing structure came into view. A completely different space. It was the Temple of the Creator God.

Just as Sejun was about to take his fifth step into the temple—

"Huh?"

He finally noticed three figures standing before the portal.

One was a blonde woman, another a man with blue hair, and the third—

As Sejun tried to get a better look at the third figure—

[The Orb of Deceit warns you of an impending death.]

A foreboding crimson message appeared before him, contrasting starkly with the serene blue of the space, making it all the more ominous.

But—

"What?!"

Thud.

Before he could react, Sejun had already exited the portal and stepped foot inside the temple.

I'm doomed!

"…"

A suffocating wave of immense blue energy engulfed him, and Sejun lost consciousness.

The Temple of the Creator God

Hum.

The portal began to open.

"Finally! Sejun is here!"

The Creator God, along with the Apostles of Creation, Emilia and Amur, rushed to the portal to greet him.

Amur, in particular, was brimming with anticipation.

At last, I can finally put the unruly youngest in line.

Determined to discipline the so-called "troublesome youngest," Amur waited eagerly.

Though Amur hadn’t been told who the third Apostle of Creation was, they knew Sejun was with them.

However—

Against Amur, one of the Twelve Apostles of Destruction, who would emerge victorious was painfully obvious.

At that moment—

Step. Step.

"He's coming!"

The sound of footsteps echoed from beyond the portal.

And then—

Thud.

Sejun, Theo, Iona, Queng, and BetBet collapsed the moment they stepped out of the portal. The overwhelming presence of the Creator God had mentally overpowered them, causing an overload of their senses.

"Ah! Sejun!"

It was a grave mistake!

In their joy at Sejun's arrival, the Creator God had forgotten to suppress their presence—a massive blunder.

Quack?!

Oddly, the Kamangi family was perfectly fine.

The Apostles of Creation were naturally protected by the Creator God's blessing, and the Apostles of Destruction were inherently resilient against such an aura. They were, after all, the Twelve Apostles of Destruction.

At that moment—

Rustle.

Theo, who had fainted, quietly got up and began dragging the unconscious Sejun, Iona, and BetBet out of the portal.

In response to the emergency, a backup personality—“Chairman Park, Version 2.0”—activated and took control of Theo's body to move the others.

Simultaneously—

Rustle.

Queng also woke up.

But instead of heading out of the portal, Queng waddled over to the Creator God and—

Thud!

"Ugh!"

Kicked the Creator God in the shin with an annoyed expression.

And—

"Hey! Creator God! Get your act together!"

Queng even had the audacity to speak informally.

"…?!"

"Huh?!"

Emilia and Amur were stunned.

Heehee! Quack! Quack!

[Heehee! Big bro Queng! The Creator God made the boss faint! Kick them harder!]

The Kamangi family cheered Queng on, eagerly tattling on the Creator God's mistake.

But in reality, it wasn’t Queng.

It was the Doom Beast. Enraged by the Creator God’s blunder, the Doom Beast had awakened.

"I’m sorry…"

The Creator God avoided eye contact with the Doom Beast and quickly apologized.

The Doom Beast was a being that could erase existence itself. They outranked and overpowered the Creator God, overwhelmingly so.

"How could the Creator God make such an absurd mistake?"

As the Doom Beast, still in Queng’s adorable form, chastised the Creator God—

Quack?!

[Why didn’t any of you greet me?!]

"Do you even know who this is?!"

Screech!

Shimmer!

 

Kamangi and Their Followers Begin Scolding the Two Apostles of Creation

"Are… are you really the Apostle of Creation?"

Amur’s voice was filled with hesitation as they asked the question, their formal tone slipping out naturally under the pressure of the Doom Beast, who was busy scolding the Creator God.

Quack! Quack!

[That’s right! The great Kamangi graciously decided to serve as the third Apostle of Creation!]

‘That tiny little runt dares to be so arrogant...’

Amur felt a surge of indignation. Kamangi wasn’t strong individually but was acting cocky because of their group’s strength.

"Of course. I look forward to working with you," Amur said politely, lowering their body to meet Kamangi’s gaze. Then, subtly reaching out, they touched Kamangi and linked their minds.

‘I’ll teach you some manners!’

Amur planned to scold Kamangi in their mental world without alerting the Doom Beast.

But Amur should have thought more carefully.

Why was the Doom Beast simply shaking its head at Amur and continuing to reprimand the Creator God?

Why hadn’t the rest of Kamangi’s group fainted like everyone else?

Why did Kamangi and their followers remind them of the Apostles of Destruction from the past?

Had they realized these things—

Thud. Thud.

"Growl. Trying to pull a fast one, huh?"

They could have avoided meeting Kamangi’s family in the mental world altogether.

"You… you’re an Apostle of Destruction?!"

"That’s right! Back in the day, this noble wolf was known as Fenrir, the God Hunter. Of course, now I’m the great Kamangi. Hehe."

Kamangi chuckled proudly, clearly favoring their new name over their old one, Fenrir.

"W-what does that even mean…"

Amur stammered, unable to process the situation.

"Guys, teach them a lesson."

"Yes, sir!"

Kamangi’s family helpfully stepped in to clarify things for Amur.

Pow! Thud!

"Ack!"

Using a hands-on approach, they made sure Amur understood through their bodies when their minds failed.

After thoroughly disciplining Amur, Kamangi turned their attention back to the matter at hand.

"Growl. By the way, who’s Amur?"

Kamangi asked, intending to hold Amur accountable for the offense of not properly including Sejun in their family portrait.

"Th-that’s me…"

Amur felt a wave of dread but answered honestly. Lying would only lead to a worse beating if discovered.

"So it was you, Amur?! You dared to leave out Chairman Sejun?!"

Thwack!

Kamangi grew furious, and one of their followers began pecking Amur aggressively with their beak.

Crash! Bang!

The others joined in, delivering blows one after another.

"Growl. How dare you erase our family’s caretaker from the portrait?!"

Even Kamangi personally stepped in to ensure the punishment was delivered.

Amur, still clueless about what they’d done wrong, endured the relentless attacks.

"Growl. Make sure you fix the portrait properly. Got it?!"

"Y-yes…"

After receiving their “training,” Amur was finally released from the mental world.

But—

[Who is this Amur?!]

Someone else wasn’t done with Amur.

Yongbun, who had rushed over upon hearing about Sejun’s fainting, was now looking for them.

More Scolding Ensues

[Creator God, this is unacceptable! Chairman Sejun could’ve been seriously harmed!]

Yongbun scolded the Creator God in their true form.

[How could you leave out the most important person, Chairman Sejun, from the family portrait? It’s not a family portrait without him!]

Simultaneously, Yongbun’s avatar form turned to Amur, reprimanding them as well.

Nod. Nod.

The Doom Beast and Kamangi’s family nodded along in agreement as Yongbun spoke nothing but absolute truths.

"Phew…"

Emilia quietly sighed in relief from the corner. Thankfully, she hadn’t wronged Sejun in any way.

The Creator God and Amur, however, weren’t so lucky. They were relentlessly scolded until the portal’s 24-hour time limit ran out.

"Let’s stop here for today. Be careful from now on."

Quack! Quack!

[You better watch yourselves! Especially you, Blue! I’ll be watching you!]

As the portal began to close, the Doom Beast and Kamangi’s family exited.

[Be more careful in the future!]

Yongbun, in their true form, issued a final warning before leaving.

When the portal finally closed—

"Phew…"

"Sigh…"

"Sniffle…"

The once-magnificent Temple of the Creator God was left echoing with nothing but deep sighs and quiet sobbing.

But—

[What are you waiting for?! Hurry and build a room where Chairman Sejun can stay!]

Yongbun’s 205th avatar, who hadn’t yet departed, snapped at them.

The “room” was essentially a cell meant to confine the Creator God while Sejun stayed.

[Make sure it’s done in 100 days!]

Under Yongbun 205’s strict supervision, the Creator God and the two Apostles of Creation began their work.

<Sek>

"Ugh…"

Why am I lying down?

Sejun, who had lost consciousness, slowly regained his senses and looked around.

And then—

Growl.

Rumble.

Grumble.

Gurgle.

...

 

Beside Him Were His Sleeping Companions

Squish. Squish.

“...Huh.”

Sejun, feeling strangely empty, absentmindedly poked at his companions’ cheeks and bellies, enjoying a moment of quiet healing.

I’m sure I passed out the moment I stepped through the portal.

He recalled losing consciousness.

"But why did I faint?"

Unable to figure it out, Sejun pulled out the portal scroll.

"Huh?! The picture…"

He noticed that the family portrait on the front of the portal scroll had changed.

Sejun's face was now clearly and prominently drawn.

Wow, whoever this is, they’re seriously handsome.

He praised his own depiction before noticing something else.

"Huh? The others are here too?"

He saw that Besugu, Shipdeokgu, and Kkabulto had been added to the portrait—figures who hadn’t been included when the portrait was originally created.

They had badgered Amur into drawing them in at the last minute, completing the Sejun family portrait at last.

"Still sleepy… I’ll sleep a little more."

Before lying down again, Sejun handed a piece of the World’s Energy to Kamangi, placing it in their mouth. He planned to let Kamangi use it to continue their penance while he rested.

Heeheehee.

Kamangi, still half-asleep, thought it was food and grinned contentedly.

99th Floor of the Black Tower

A week had passed since Sejun’s return to the Black Tower from <Sek>.

"Stretch."

Sejun woke up, stretched his arms wide, and took a deep breath.

"Finally feeling refreshed."

For days, he had been struggling with the lingering shock from the Creator God’s overwhelming presence.

Normally, he would have recovered sooner, but—

[The Tower Administrator says they worked hard to make this for you.]

[The Tower Administrator assures you that only good ingredients were used, so it’s definitely healthy.]

"Uh… thanks. I’ll eat it."

Sejun’s recovery was delayed thanks to eating Aileen’s cooking. While his body had grown stronger, the mental toll was significant.

It’s all that Creator God’s fault!

Through Kamangi, Sejun had learned the reason for his fainting and now resented the Creator God.

After a full week of rest, both physically and mentally, Sejun had finally recovered completely.

"Meow…"

Quack…

Sejun, Theo, and Kamangi’s family stepped outside and headed to the cooking area.

(BetBet: Soak the leech seaweed~ Sauté slime meat with garlic~)

BetBet perched on Sejun 12’s shoulder, singing a cheerful tune about making seaweed soup.

It was a blessing that Sejun 12 had appeared before Sejun’s trip to <Sek>.

Now, Sejun 12 not only prepared meals for him but also entertained BetBet by listening to their songs.

"Add sesame oil too~"

Sejun chimed in, lowering the song’s quality significantly.

Flap. Flap.

(BetBet: Huh?! Chairman Sejun, you’re awake?)

BetBet flapped their wings and landed on Sejun’s hand, excitedly asking.

"Yeah. BetBet, were you having fun?"

(BetBet: Yes!)

Sejun stroked BetBet’s head as they chatted.

Eventually, BetBet began nodding off mid-conversation and soon fell completely asleep.

Sejun gently placed BetBet on his shoulder, stroking their head a little more.

Shhh.

BetBet nestled in, fully camouflaging themselves as they dozed off.

A Little Later

"Alright, let’s get going."

After finishing breakfast, Sejun and his companions moved to the first floor of the Blue Tower.

He had rested enough—it was time to work again.

The Land of Destruction

"Did they escape?"

A voice dripping with disappointment echoed from the corrupted entity occupying most of the Destruction’s body. However, the expression on their face betrayed no real regret.

In fact, they seemed delighted. A new game to play had emerged.

Hehehe. No matter what, you’re as stuck in this place as I am.

"Search for them!"

At the corrupted one’s command, Destruction’s energy spread across the land like an enraged hunting dog, scattering in all directions.