I Never Run Out of Mana-Novel

Chapter 169. No Vacation

From seeing the expression of the commander who took the phone call, I could tell that something bad had happened.

If the call was some regular office call, he would’ve left the scene to take it, but it seems that this situation was far beyond that.

Only after a while did he realize that everyone noticed and tried to move to a more discreet location, but I gave him a knowing look.

The look I gave have signaled that we all knew it was serious, and I wanted him to let me know of it as soon as possible.

It didn’t take long for Yoon Jong-sun to hang up the call and look towards me with a serious expression.

Unlike before, he spoke with a much lower tone.

“Min-Cheol lad, could we speak in private for a bit?”

“Understood.”

“Then, let’s go out to enjoy the breeze for a bit.”

“……”

After briefly trying to gauge the mood of my mother in the kitchen with a glance, I followed the commander to the garden.

I was positive that I had gotten rid of all the portals on Earth with the Authority of the Demon King.

This meant that we would no longer be harmed by the monsters.

Then what could this be?

Is Earth some kind of popular local restaurant now, with another dimension trying to invade once more?

This wasn’t some movie or drama, so that was unlikely.

Hiding my worry, I followed commander.

“Hm… I’m not sure where to start.”

“What has happened? I thought all the portals are gone?”

“That’s right. All the portals are gone. With that, all the dungeons disappeared with them.”

“Is it because of the bloodstones? That’s……”

“That’s not the case.”

“……”

“Remember the Gate that you used to head to the demonic realm.”

“Yes.”

“I have received a call informing me that another Gate of the same size has appeared.”

“Huh? Is that true?”

“I’m not sure of it as well. I just received the call after all. I’m going to use Warp to head there right now. Will you come with me?”

“I will do so.”

I had used Warp to head to the Gate when I was in the demonic realm.

Warp had a 12 hour cooldown.

However, that didn’t matter at all right now.

Due to being able to use mana freely as I willed, I could ignore the cooldown easily.

To be precise, I was technically able to use all skills with disregard for the cooldowns since I’ve become Awakened.

However, only now did I start doing so, since I didn’t know how to use mana properly before.

I headed for Yangpyeong with the commander at the same time.

****

“Karupedan. Just what are you thinking, resorting to this?”

“Hehe! What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you tortured them enough? The humans have obtained peace once more through their own strength. However, you’re……”

“Hey, Gera. I don’t think this is something that you should be involving yourself with?”

“……”

“Just because we’re both gods… You dare try to lecture me?”

“That… That is……”

“Arrogance. Do you understand?”

“……”

“Pfft! Look at your expression. Were you surprised? Don’t hate me too much for this. After all, it gets interesting for you only if I continue killing life, right? This tampering is beneficial for you too!”

“I don’t want such pointless deaths!”

“Huh? That shouldn’t be the case, you know? To think that the God of Death Gera dislikes death. Ha!”

“All the gods of the celestial plane do not approve of your meddling. I’m sure you’re already aware of it though? Now please stop this.”

“So what? What are you going to do about it? Are you planning to kick me out or something?”

“……”

“Try bringing them here. Those who disagree with what I’m doing, that is. Hm? I’m curious as to if they’ll be able to say that while looking straight into my eyes.”

“This isn’t something I’m saying as a fellow god, but as from the same bloodline. Please stop your anger on those innocent lives. Please.”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something here…… Gera, even if I didn’t intervene, they hate and kill each other. Despite all sharing the status of creations, the strong are worshiped, while the weak are abused. Am I wrong? That means that they want a greater war and more blood to spill.”

“That’s just one of the many ways they live. This isn’t something that you should be meddling in!”

“I thought so too at the start. I felt that their deaths were in vain, and wanted to stop them. But as time passed, I became more confident that I was wrong. Now stop. Because of that, my mood is ruined…… Get the fuck out of here. Disappear from my sight, Gera.”

“……”

The celestial plane that Min-Cheol had arrived with the guidance of Barub.

There, a god with the appearance of a young girl existed.

It was a peerless god that most humans thought of as the definition of a god.

It was true.

While many that had thought that the idea of god was made up by humans and didn’t exist, god really did so, and was very similar to what we idealized in terms of ability and strength.

A peerless existence that created monsters, and controlled both life and death.

However, this peerless god wasn’t the only existence.

Many gods existed, each with their own traits, and the one that Min-Cheol had met, displaying unrivaled power, was Karupedan.

It was a god with a peerless power, able to control all life and death, and had complete dominance over all dimensions and worlds.

Looking at Greek myths, one could be led to believe that these gods had once briefly remained in the realm of the humans.

Gera, the one who pointed out the brutality of the peerless god, and Karupedan were siblings.

Since gods did not have genders, there wasn’t really a way to express their relationship other than as from the same bloodline.

After all, concepts such as older sister or older brother that addressed genders were made up by humans.

Gera was the head of anything related to death.

All life, once they die, their souls returned back to Gera.

Afterwards, with the help of the God of Life Milgrass, the souls would obtain new life.

It was also up to Milgrass to decide what dimension this new life would go to.

The peerless god Karupedan didn’t care much about the humans, despite the fact that humans were the ones that Karupedan poured the most amount of effort into creating.

This was the equivalent of making a pretty sandcastle, then destroying the entire thing in one blow similar to how a child throws a tantrum.

Karupedan was a peerless existence from the start, with no idea on how they had risen to the status of a god.

Their memories started only after they had risen to the seat of godhood, and it was the same for the other gods.

Just like that, the humans were suffering from Karupedan, with the reason being something that only Karupedan themself knew.

“The first one to pass my test was a human? Pfft! Everything’s gone crazy. I’m making them suffer without reason? No. A part of the memory that remains with me is howling in anger at the humans without rest.”

****

“That’s……”

“I had hoped that this wasn’t the case. Sadly, it was true.”

The area around the Gate that led into the demonic realm had been completely sealed off.

Not only was it to prevent entry by humans, but it was a measure against possible appearance of monsters.

The Gate was covered by a dome of nanomaterials, and a joint force of both the military and the Awakened association kept it all under lockdown.

The moment that the two of them had spoken, dozens of the guards ran up to Min-Cheol and the commander at the same time.

After all, the Warp had just appeared in the middle of the restricted area in plain view.

“Halt! Who are you two?”

“The Association is working hard, Commander.”

“Hoho. It is I, the commander.”

“Turn around facing the wall, and keep your hands up!”

“……”

“……”

The military and Awakened Association forces moved busily to confirm our identities.

There was no way that they did not know the face of the commander.

However, they were moving just as the manual they were instructed to follow to the letter.

The commander might have been annoyed, but he followed their orders without resistance.

Finishing the checks, one of the Awakened spoke.

“Commander, I apologize. But who is the other person……”

“No need to worry about him. He’s my acquaintance.”

“Yes. Please forgive our discourtesy.”

“No worries. Rather, knowing that you all are doing your jobs properly puts my mind at ease. Enough of that though. Is that it?”

“Yes, that’s correct. A short while after the expedition force to the demonic realm returned, it suddenly appeared.”

“Hm…”

“Unlike the Gate from before, we did not sense any movement at all. Right now, the Gate is still, only letting out a bright light.”

“I understand. I shall go speak with the acquaintance that has come with me about this, so please go back as you were.”

“Yes, Commander!”

“What do you think of this?”

The previous Gate was connected to the demonic realm.

Facing that Gate, another Gate of the same size had formed.

It was a Gate that glowed brightly, almost as if many LED lights had been turned on.

However, there wasn’t any reports of anything pouring out of the Gate.

Menacingly glowing, it merely existed without doing anything.

However, Min-Cheol could tell in an instant just who had made this.

“What is your motive, god…”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No. I think it’s just my luck to be overloaded with additional work like this.”

“……”

“That is probably a Gate that leads into another dimension. I’m glad that there are no signs of movement at least.”

“What should we do? I plan to organize an expedition group and investigate the Gate.”

“No! That’s pointless.”

“You…… Your expression shows that you know something. Aright.”

“I understand the situation clearly as of now. It’ll be brief, but I’ll be returning home to rest for a bit.”

“G… Go head… I’m just worried that the appearance of this Gate is a sign signaling another disaster upon us……”

“Then……”

****

[Cannot move to the selected dimension.]

[Cannot move to the selected dimension.]

“Even the Demon King’s Authority is nothing before the power of a god?”

After returning home, I tried teleporting to the celestial plane.

However, that was impossible.

Despite being the king of the demonic realm, it seemed that it was impossible to use that power to affect the peerless existence’s realm.

“If it’s the tunnel of time and space… It might be possible there.”

In a split second, I felt as though my body was being sucked in.

Looking around me, it seemed that I had arrived without issue.

I had entered the tunnel of time and space that I could’ve only entered by swallowing the Piece of Time and Space before.

I could see a blinding light coming closer from far away.

“Barub……”

Arriving, Barub spoke with a formless appearance as before.

“To be able to come and go as you please to the tunnel of time and space. It seems that you’ve grown quite a lot, human child.”

“I’m still discontent that I’m not able to get to the celestial plane right away, but instead have to take a detour here first.”

“For what reason have you come here once more?”

“I wish to see that god once more. Also, I wanted to know what you meant when you said that we’ll be meeting again.”

“I shall guide you to that god.”

“You knew already, didn’t you?”

“……”

“Personally, I think I’ve finished quite the difficult task. But if that god’s reward for me is something like this…… Even as a god, they have no excuses they can say. No. Even if they had ten mouths, the only thing they can say is an apology. Isn’t that so?”

“I am just a guide of time and space……”

“Right. Or not. Either way, let’s get going for now, so I can go meet the cruel seven year old god.”