In the Name of God - Chapter 54.1
<The Guardian Deity □□□ vows to stay by the Apostle’s side until the day he dies.>
When my Apostle was still a young child, I had made such a promise.
Back then, countless people were killed or eaten by monsters every single day, and the same held true for the Awakened who fought with gritted teeth.
Perhaps that was why.
Why did that child accept the words “until death” so readily?
Since everyone was going to die soon anyway…
The world at that time was so dire that it wouldn’t have been strange for it to perish at any moment.
Time passed, and it was around the time the child who held my protection rose to the rank of a hero. It was also a period when the forces of Awakened and humans, who had once been unilaterally slaughtered, began to push back the monster swarms time and again, seeing a ray of hope.
-I don’t want to die.
My Apostle spoke with a serious face.
-If you die, it’s really the end. So why do you say “until death”?
That’s because… I don’t have much time left to live.
Just as you said, once I die, the existence known as “I” will no longer remain in this world, so I won’t be able to be with you after that.
Therefore, it meant that until then, for as long as I was alive, I would surely stay by your side.
But the child said he hated those words that implied an end.
So I promised again. Just as my Apostle wished.
<The Guardian Deity □□□ promises to stay with you forever.>
To me, it held the same meaning, but that promise must have reached you with a different weight.
I had a premonition that this very promise was what brought me to this place.
In truth, I thought that might be the case.
It was strange that while I remembered everything from my previous life, the memories regarding that child specifically were fragmented.
If he really was the one who called me here, with what kind of heart and what kind of resolve did he have to do so?
Just what was the price he had to pay?
“Do-yoon.”
While I was recalling the memories of the past that remained within my shattered mind, Lee Sunho, who had picked up the black core of the Boss monster, approached me quickly.
With a stiff face, he looked incredibly cautious and anxious for some reason.
‘Why is he making that face again?’
Seeing this side of a guy who was always calm and composed, I could tell just how much I had worried him.
He was someone who reacted sensitively even to a hurt ankle, yet right in front of him, I had been possessed by a hallucination and had stood there dazed as soon as the Boss was caught.
I’d be worried too if I were him.
I intentionally curled the corners of my mouth upward.
My mind was still in chaos, but I was already entering a stage of abnormal “adaptation.” Before long, whether I wanted to or not, I would come to accept it all.
So it was fine.
“Good work. We caught it thanks to you.”
I patted him on the shoulder. As if relieved, the tension in his eyes softened.
<The first fragment of ■■ ■■■ has been destroyed.>
A system window floated up belatedly before my eyes.
I frowned at the familiar filtered text.
It meant that the hallucinatory monster was named the “first fragment” of something, so just how many more of those things were there?
‘It leaves a bad taste in my mouth; I don’t want to face them ever again.’
<The dungeon contaminated by shadows has been purified.>
Along with the notification from the system window, the surroundings felt as if they brightened instantly.
The damp, gloomy energy receded, and the darkness that filled my vision settled significantly. The black mist that had spread over the walls and nearby objects vanished as well.
Only then could I see what kind of place the Boss room we were standing in actually was.
A broken cross.
The remains of torn-up pews.
A half-collapsed altar.
A statue of the Virgin Mary with everything below its waist shattered to pieces.
‘A cathedral…?’
For some reason, a sense of déjà vu washed over me.
While I was feeling puzzled, the next system window appeared.
Normally, it should have contained details about my lifespan being extended, but…
<Due to the influence of purification, all sanctuaries in “Earth-637” recognize the existence of the Guardian Deity □□□.>
It was another sentence I had never seen before.
I was even confused as to whether it was possible for a sanctuary to “recognize” something like a living being. I wondered if it made sense for a space that was nothing more than an inanimate object to notice and react to something, and it was difficult to judge whether this was a good sign or a bad one.
However, there was one thing.
I felt certain that this sentence would soon be connected to my Apostle.
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