[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 404

Purity.

It was a trial of enduring the removal of every impurity within one’s body.

The process of purging those impurities came with unbearable pain, and only by refusing to lose consciousness could one pass.

But the agony was so severe that it nearly forced him to black out. Knowing full well what would happen if he did, Jeong-hoon somehow endured it to the end and cleared the trial.

Next came Modesty.

The trial to obtain Modesty—symbolizing diligence and sincerity—was one of cleansing the mistakes of the past.

In a way, it resembled Purity, but rather than purging physical impurities, it weighed every action Jeong-hoon had taken up until now, judged them on a scale, and erased his shortcomings through “tasks” assigned in accordance with them.

No matter how one looked at it, six hours should have been far too short for such a trial, yet Jeong-hoon passed with ease.

‘Wow… how is he clearing them all so smoothly?’

‘Something’s off….’

Mukho and Anima both voiced their doubts, but Jeong-hoon offered no explanation.

Or rather, he couldn’t.

‘Is it because of the Spiritual Energy settled in my body?’

He wasn’t sure why, but the trial of Modesty brought no suffering. Just like with Temperance, simply stepping onto the scale that appeared was enough to be recognized.

Either way, with Modesty obtained in an instant, only two boxes remained.

Jeong-hoon opened the next.

* * *

The timer struck zero.

Gabriel, who had been waiting in Heaven, returned to his post. The sight before his eyes left him speechless.

“You mean… you opened them all?”

Every box stood open.

From the beginning, he had been prepared to hand them all over, but he never imagined Jeong-hoon would truly open every single one within six hours.

He had even considered pulling him out in case he ended up trapped inside a box.

“Ah, perfect timing. I just obtained Charity.”

[You have acquired ‘Charity.’]

[The acquired Orchestration is engraved onto your soul.]

[You have obtained x2 Fragments of the Beginning.]

The timing couldn’t have been better.

Exactly as the six hours expired, Jeong-hoon received recognition for the final Orchestration and obtained Charity.

With that, all Seven Orchestrations were gathered.

‘Then why isn’t there any change, like with the Seven Deadly Sins?’

When the Seven Deadly Sins had all been unsealed, their full power had been restored.

Yet even with the Orchestrations complete, nothing seemed to change.

“Six hours should have been nowhere near enough… how did you manage it?”

Gabriel’s tone was both intrigued and doubtful.

Starting from the left, it had been Temperance, Patience, and Purity.

Even opening just those three would have been an astonishing achievement—but Jeong-hoon had gone further, claiming all the way up to Charity.

How in the world had he opened all six?

“By not losing consciousness, it worked.”

Jeong-hoon answered plainly.

“Not losing consciousness?”

“Strictly speaking, I only lost consciousness the first time. I endured the rest.”

“…Huh.”

The first Orchestration, Humility, had been granted by Michael.

Humility would recognize anyone who opened the box so long as they could handle Spiritual Energy.

That was why it was relatively easy to obtain, but the rest were different.

If one attempted a trial and failed, their soul would be mercilessly bound and imprisoned for a set time.

Escape was impossible unless an Archangel personally pulled them out.

And the difficulty of the trials increased sharply from left to right.

Yet this man struggled with the lowest—Temperance—and afterward never even lost consciousness?

‘But Michael only gave him a single Sacred Pill….’

Gabriel held six Sacred Pills in his hand.

They had been entrusted to him along with the boxes by the other Archangels.

His plan was to pull Jeong-hoon out of the boxes if needed, then supplement him with additional pills through lighter trials.

For normally, one would need to consume at least five Sacred Pills to obtain the final box, Charity.

‘But he cleared all of them with just one.’

That meant this human was a monster.

Now it made sense why he had been allowed to open the gates of Heaven.

He was a being beyond reason.

“Now then, hand it over.”

Jeong-hoon extended his hand toward Gabriel.

Gabriel, usually quick-witted, could not hide his surprise this time.

“…What?”

“What else? The Sacred Pills.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve opened all the boxes. If we add the Sacred Pills on top of that, shouldn’t it be enough to bring down the demons of the Abyss?”

“…Then promise me you’ll draw the Holy Sword.”

Even with all the Orchestrations gathered and the Sacred Pills consumed, without the Holy Sword he would still be at a disadvantage.

The only weapon capable of truly striking the demons was the Holy Sword.

“Fine.”

“Really?”

Jeong-hoon nodded without hesitation, though suspicion flickered in Gabriel’s eyes.

Even so, refusing was not an option.

If Jeong-hoon had gathered every Orchestration, it was as good as proving his worth.

There was no reason to withhold power from him.

Gabriel took out every Sacred Pill he had.

A total of six.

All six Sacred Pills were handed over to Jeong-hoon.

“And you’re giving them to me even though I haven’t drawn it yet?”

“You’ve already obtained all the Orchestrations. I believe you won’t lie.”

“Do you?”

Jeong-hoon had not originally intended to draw the Holy Sword.

He was sick of wielding it.

But after obtaining the Orchestrations, his mind had changed.

[You have been recognized as the Master of the Holy Sword.]

[You have become the true master and can freely control the Holy Sword.]

By obtaining the final Orchestration, Charity, Jeong-hoon was automatically recognized as the Master of the Holy Sword.

Now, as its complete master, he could control it freely.

That meant he no longer had to fear being manipulated by the Heavenly Realm.

This was why Jeong-hoon had so readily accepted Gabriel’s demand.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. The Abyss likely knows your every move.”

“As I thought.”

“But now you can rest easy. Since you’ve obtained all the Orchestrations, they won’t be able to read you anymore.”

“So that’s why you hurried.”

“You could say that.”

“They’ll be sharpening every sense, waiting for me. Am I right?”

“…Why? What do you intend to do?”

Jeong-hoon only smiled faintly and turned his body away.

* * *

[All levels have been restored.]

[All stats have been restored.]

It was done.

He had consumed all six Sacred Pills given by Gabriel, and used all the Primordial Fragments obtained from the Orchestration boxes.

As a result, his levels and stats had been fully restored.

‘It was the right call to wait until after gathering every Orchestration to use them.’

The rate of recovery was on a completely different scale.

With all the Orchestrations acquired, his regenerative ability had multiplied.

Thanks to that, by using the Primordial Fragments he was able to regain his original level, and along with it, his divine energy exploded upward until it reached the maximum.

[Your divine energy has reached Max.]

So this was what allowed him to ascend to Demigod?

Celestial power.

Ultimate power. Googlᴇ search NovᴇlFir(e).nᴇt

All thresholds had been broken through by the hidden quests.

Then, did divine power come through the God Himself?

As the thought arose, a new message appeared.

[You have met the requirements.]

[Do you wish to ascend to Demigod?]

Requirements met?

Jeong-hoon tilted his head.

Could it be that obtaining all the Orchestrations was the condition?

“…Ascend.”

In that instant, Jeong-hoon’s body shone once, then vanished as countless messages flooded his vision.

[You have ascended to Demigod.]

[The class Heavenly Martial Divine Emperor has been adjusted to God rank.]

[You have awakened Spiritual Power. You can now control Spiritual Energy.]

[To one who has shed the shell of humanity, the God’s Blessing is bestowed. The God’s Blessing is permanently fixed.]

[The will of the Peerless Martial Emperor of Ten Thousand Battles has been upgraded to God rank.]

[‘One Who Reached Godhood’ has been upgraded to ‘Demigod.’]

As expected, another force was required to control Spiritual Energy.

That force was Spiritual Power.

Jeong-hoon closed his eyes and gathered the Spiritual Energy within his body into his right hand.

Unlike before, the energy now responded to his will.

It condensed fully into his right hand and was then released.

What followed was a scene like pure white dust scattering into the air—yet it was something that only Jeong-hoon could see with his own eyes.

For along with awakening his Spiritual Power, he had opened the Spirit Eyes—something no one else possessed.

“With this power… I can bring down the Named Ones, can’t I?”

Those Named monsters who had brought him misfortune.

He swore he would strangle the life out of them with his own hands.

* * *

Muran.

Having obtained all Seven Orchestrations, Jeong-hoon was now free to traverse the entirety of New World, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at its final region—Muran.

A city incomplete, devoid of NPCs or monsters.

At the center of that barren place towered a colossal tree.

“That must be it.”

The massive Core, the very one Gabriel had spoken of.

Through this Core, even though the Abyss had lost all authority over New World, it could still observe everything that occurred within.

Even Gabriel had attempted to destroy it himself—and failed.

Jeong-hoon drew the Holy Sword, Arsias.

‘Why in the world did you drag me here!’

At his side, the sword’s former master, Harnion, continued his endless tirade of complaints.

No wonder—though Jeong-hoon had claimed the Holy Sword, Harnion had failed to ascend into sanctification.

It was because Jeong-hoon had forcibly bound him to Arsias, preventing his release.

“You’ve wielded this Holy Sword for ages. Surely you know its capabilities inside and out?”

‘That’s something you’re supposed to figure out yourself as you wield it!’

“I don’t intend to waste time.”

‘Did you just call that not wasting time!’

“Either way, now’s not the moment for bickering.”

For now, destroying that Core was the highest priority.

‘Damn it… if you destroy that thing, you’d better release me into sanctification!’

“When all of this is over, I’ll grant you sanctification.”

‘Haa…’

“Well then, shall we begin?”

Stepping into the Heavenly Demon Lord’s Dominion, Jeong-hoon shot forward.

—Shiiik!—

In an instant, the branches of the massive tree twisted like whips, lashing toward him.

As the countless branches descended, Jeong-hoon raised the Holy Sword and unleashed his Spiritual Energy.

At once, the branches poised to strike him disintegrated into dust and vanished.

‘So that’s how it works.’

Just as he suspected, Spiritual Energy resembled the Power of Creation.

But unlike Creation—which manifested existence out of nothing—this was far stronger.

Jeong-hoon willed that anything touched by his Spiritual Energy would be erased, and with Arsias in hand, he swung, pouring forth its power without restraint.

The countless branches no longer dared to strike at Jeong-hoon, and he reached the Core with ease.

The Core had taken the form of a massive tree.

Buuuum—

Without hesitation, Jeong-hoon swung the Holy Sword at it.

Boom!

But the sword failed to cut through the trunk and was instead repelled backward.

‘Looks like destroying it physically isn’t possible.’

At his side, Harnion pointed toward the top of the tree.

There, a small opening had been carved out—just large enough for a person to enter.

“No. I’ll finish this here.”

Jeong-hoon shook his head and swung the Holy Sword again.

But the result was the same—it bounced off.

‘Didn’t you say earlier you didn’t want to waste time?’

“Exactly.”

What sense was there in wasting time?

The Seven Orchestrations were already united within his body.

To give up simply because Gabriel had failed to destroy it would have been nothing but foolishness.

If he couldn’t even erase this Core, then facing the Named Ones would be impossible.

That meant he had to be certain—he had to test whether it could be destroyed.

Jeong-hoon drew up more of his Spiritual Energy and swung the blade.

‘Perish.’

A torrent of immense power surged forth, colliding with the Core.

Crack—!

From deep within came the sound of splitting wood, and the colossal tree toppled sideways.

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]