[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 394

[You have killed an NPC.]

[The role of NPC Lafaro has been removed.]

Jeong-hoon walked out of the prison holding Lafaro’s severed head.

In front of him, Ariel stood with both hands tightly clasped together. When she confirmed it was Lafaro’s head, her eyes began to tremble faintly.

“Is it done now?”

“…Thank you. Now Ross can finally rest in peace.”

Irene bowed her head in gratitude.

Above her head, an exclamation mark flickered.

[You have completed the quest.]

[You have obtained the Key of ???.]

The Key of ???.

Irene took a key from her bosom and held it out.

“What’s this?”

“I’m sorry. The pendant was actually an advance payment.”

“An advance payment?”

“Yes. The pendant can’t be opened without this key. If you try to force it open, it will be destroyed.”

“I see.”

“So think of this as the remaining payment.”

“Alright.”

Jeong-hoon nodded.

So opening the pendant was the way to move on to the next stage.

“Then, please hand over that head to me.”

“What do you plan to do with it?”

“I can’t just let it go as it is. I’m going to curse it in every way I can and then burn it.”

“…”

The quest was already over.

Jeong-hoon handed Lafaro’s head to her without resistance.

* * *

The Pendant of ??? and the Key of ???.

The thing they had in common was that their details couldn’t be viewed.

Jeong-hoon went to the chapel.

“What is it now?”

Loel turned her head sharply, her face clearly showing irritation.

“Explain this pendant to me.”

“…You only ever come to me when you need something. You really are too much.”

“If you don’t tell me, I won’t open it.”

“Ha, do as you please. You’re the one at a loss, not me.”

Oh? So this was how she wanted to play it now.

Jeong-hoon scratched his head, then set the pendant and the key down.

“Then you take care of it however you want.”

In that case, he just wouldn’t open it.

Better to use this time to hurry and find another quest to restore his level and stats.

Jeong-hoon had turned his back without a second thought when Loel’s flustered voice called out to him.

“W–Wait, excuse me?”

The corners of Jeong-hoon’s mouth curled slightly.

“What is it?”

“You’re seriously just going to leave this behind? Do you even know what this is?”

“How would I? How am I supposed to know how valuable it is?”

“Wow… this is actually the Archangel Michael’s—!”

Loel quickly clamped her mouth shut.

“Michael’s?”

Jeong-hoon turned his head.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“Nothing? You already let slip whose item it is.”

“Or maybe I’m just tricking you!”

“If that’s acting, you should absolutely become an actor.”

“An… actor?”

“It’s a thing.”

Jeong-hoon picked the pendant and the key back up.

If this really belonged to an archangel, it would definitely help in his recovery.

“Ahem… just keep it a secret that I told you.”

“No.”

“…What?”

“If you don’t explain it in detail, I’m telling everyone.”

“Why… why are you like this to me?”

“So go ahead and explain.”

“…You have to promise. You never heard this from me.”

“I promise.”

Only after getting his word did Loel cautiously begin.

The pendant was called the Pendant of the Oath.

It was an item bestowed upon Michael by the Lord God, said to guide its possessor to one of the Seven Great Charities.

Michael, as the leader of the angels, had sealed it away and kept it until now.

Unsealing it now was, of course, for the purpose of capturing and imprisoning the ones from the Demon Realm.

“You must keep your promise.”

“Got it. But why is this a secret?”

“Because it’s not yet time for the Seven Great Charities to be revealed.”

“And the reason?”

“I don’t know… I only know that they exist at all. Even we don’t know the details.”

Loel’s eyes didn’t waver in the slightest—at the very least, she wasn’t lying.

“Understood. I’ll keep my word.”

“Good. I’ll trust you. If you break it, divine punishment will befall you for three generations.”

“Is an angel even allowed to curse people like that?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Fair point.”

With a faint smirk, Jeong-hoon stepped out of the chapel.

‘Master, how about we just screw them over for fun?’

‘If I hadn’t pressured her, she never would’ve talked. There’s no real need to keep a promise like that.’

Mukho and Anima clearly didn’t think highly of Loel.

“Forget it. Better to build up trust so we can milk her again later.”

Of course, Jeong-hoon didn’t think well of her either, but there might be more to exploit from her in the future—so for now, he decided to hold his tongue.

Seven Great Charities, huh.

He had already gathered all of the Seven Deadly Sins once before.

His true identity—Thanatos.

If he were told to collect them again, he was confident he could, but now wasn’t the time.

The authority he had taken from the Demon Realm only extended to Earth and New World.

If he opened the gates to the Demon Realm in the current situation, it would be no different from walking straight into their hands.

For now, let’s see what this thing is.

Jeong-hoon inserted the key into the pendant and turned it sideways.

[Do you wish to break the seal on the Pendant of ????]

Release.

[The seal on the Pendant of ??? has been broken.]

The pendant shattered into dust as the seal was undone.

The glowing particles scattered, then began to gather together, forming the shape of a portal.

[???]

Just like before, its information couldn’t be read.

That meant this was a portal that didn’t originally exist in New World.

Jeong-hoon stepped through it.

[Transferring.]

It was a portal that didn’t even bother to ask for confirmation—it just forcibly transported him.

Once it had swallowed Jeong-hoon, the portal vanished without a trace, as if its role was complete.

* * *

At that moment—

Earth Korea.

“What the hell do you mean it can’t be restored?”

They still hadn’t been able to return to work.

The reason: when the timer that had been etched in the sky vanished, the entire system crashed.

The real problem was that the frozen system showed no signs of recovery.

“Team Leader, the game itself is running normally.”

“Ha… you’ve got to be kidding me…”

All of Earth Korea was effectively paralyzed.

If that was all, they wouldn’t have been this desperate—but now they were being bombarded with an endless stream of player complaints.

—Are you kidding me? You revamp quests without any notice?

—You guys really think of your players as complete trash, huh? I swear I’ll destroy you.

—Do you have a death wish?

—XX XXX XXXX!

—I should just show up right now and tear your mouths open!

Threats and abuse so foul they were barely fit to repeat.

And Earth Korea… couldn’t give them any answer at all.

They hadn’t heard a single word about any quest revamp either.

So, they felt just as wronged.

“Communication with headquarters has been completely cut off.”

“Ha… what on earth is HQ thinking…?”

If HQ was just going to run things however it pleased, then there was no reason for Earth to even exist.

“Team Leader! We’ve got an email!”

“An email?”

“Yes! They say it’s from HQ, but the address is different.”

“Hold on…”

Oh Jin-soo moved his mouse and opened the inbox.

[Headquarters has been relocated.]

—Accordingly, as of this moment, all employees will have their employment forcibly terminated.

Forcibly terminated?

What kind of nonsense was this?

Oh Jin-soo couldn’t comprehend it for a moment and reread the first line several times.

—Compensation will also be provided for the termination. A base payment of 1 billion won will be given, with an additional amount according to seniority and position, up to a maximum of 10 billion won.

Even if you have complaints, this is a finalized decision, so there is nothing that can be done.

We once again ask for your understanding.

Perhaps because of the promise of such an extravagant payout, the employees’ resentment quickly subsided.

“A base of 1 billion? Up to 10 billion… yeah, that’s not bad at all.”

“Right? At that rate, quitting doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Seriously… when would we ever get to touch that kind of money otherwise?”

It was true Earth offered good benefits.

But earning 1 billion won there required a lot of time and effort.

Now they were offering it as a base payout, and with seniority and position bonuses, some could walk away with up to 10 billion won.

That was enough to easily buy an apartment in Seoul.

“Real estate’s not really my thing… maybe I’ll just put it in the bank and live off the interest.”

“Prices are already through the roof. If the bubble bursts, you’re screwed.”

“I’ll just buy US stocks. As long as the dividends are good, I’ll never starve.”

Many, of course, were already thinking of using it for investments rather than housing.

“You idiots… we’ve been abandoned. They’re just throwing money at us to get rid of us.”

Oh Jin-soo muttered with a hollow expression.

It wasn’t just about the good treatment—they had an emotional attachment to the company.

He had devoted himself to it since his younger years, and now, being tossed aside so openly, left a bitter taste.

Those who had joined in the early days and worked there for years felt the same—not joy, but emptiness.

* * *

[You have entered ???.]

???

Once again, no information appeared.

Pure white pillars supported the ceiling, and the walls and floor were made of solid gold—a breathtakingly beautiful space.

“Where is this…?”

Jeong-hoon glanced around as he took a few steps forward.

Then, an angel appeared before him.

“You’ve arrived.”

===

[NPC Information]

—Nickname: Michael

—Level: X

—Class: Archangel

===

He was Michael, the one who had been entrusted with the pendant.

Like Uriel, he held the position of Archangel.

“Were you expecting me?”

Because of his promise to Loel, Jeong-hoon feigned ignorance as he asked.

“That’s right. Uriel told me everything—how you not only defied causality, but even opened the gates to the Divine Realm.”

“Thanks to that, we now have a chance to capture the ones from the Demon Realm.”

Jeong-hoon gave a faint smile.

Michael, in turn, let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’re right. I’m grateful to you.”

“So, what’s the reason you were waiting for me?”

“Draw the Holy Sword.”

“I don’t have it.”

“…Don’t have it?” Michael asked, his expression full of disbelief.

“Yes. I haven’t drawn it.”

“Hah, and why not?”

“I’ll draw it when I need it. That time isn’t now.”

“…Do you not trust the Divine Realm?”

“To be honest, yes. When I saw the Holy Sword’s master remain by its side even in death, I became certain—it’s no easy task to bear its weight.”

Now was not the time to make an enemy of the Divine Realm.

So he dressed up his refusal in the best possible light.

“That’s a lie.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t deceive Michael’s eyes.

“And why do you think that?”

“I can tell truth from falsehood.”

Michael took out a scale—its weight tilted toward falsehood.

“Well… I didn’t know you had something like that.”

When Jeong-hoon touched his forehead in mock defeat, Michael put the scale away.

“If you don’t want to say, then you don’t have to.”

“Really? I thought you’d be more curious.”

“I am curious, but I dislike forcing answers from someone unwilling to give them.”

“I like that attitude.”

“Heh, so will you refuse what I’m about to give you as well?”

“What is it you want to give me?”

Michael snapped his fingers, and a pure white chest appeared in front of them.

Is this the chest Loel mentioned—the one containing one of the Seven Great Charities?

As Jeong-hoon studied the chest, Michael smirked.

“What’s wrong? Looks like you want it.”

“To be honest, yeah, a little.”

“Good. I like honesty. Then take it.”

“You’re just giving it to me?”

It was unexpected—he’d thought there would be some kind of test for worthiness.

“From the moment you opened the gates to the Divine Realm, there was no reason to withhold a passing mark. Why? Were you hoping for a trial?”

“Of course not. I’ll gladly accept it.”

With a shrug, Jeong-hoon took the pure white chest.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]