950——————==

True Martial Home

Mask.

The reason I thought this way wasn’t some special insight. It was simply that the astonishing antics displayed by the Divine Thief were utterly beyond human ability. But that doesn’t mean he’s a Divine Being. So, all I could conclude as a Mask Practitioner who had trained hard was this:

The Divine Thief was originally just a mask.

I don’t know how he retains human traits, but that’s the only conclusion. Changing one mask into another is remarkably easy. A Mask Practitioner has to ‘wear’ a mask, but a mask can skip that entire process, increasing its chances drastically.

… It’s not incomprehensible.

Having experienced countless adventures, I realized that all kinds of beings exist in this world. Accepting that the Divine Thief can be both human and a mask isn’t a stretch. Given that we know aliens and gods exist, how can I dismiss such a strange existence?

But if that’s the case, how did the Divine Thief achieve the martial arts of the Absolute Realm and even acquire Divine Skill?

No human could gain such insight into the power of the Primordial Void…

In response, the Divine Thief, borrowing the form of a spirit, replied.

[Yes, you’re right, junior. I’m both human and a mask. I am the Divine Thief and a mask.]

“How is that possible? Moreover, right now you’ve… stolen the body of an Ancient God.”

I looked at the Divine Thief in disbelief.

In reality, if I accepted that a being of such a foreign demonic nature existed, I wouldn’t have a hard time wrapping my head around it. I could hardly imagine how many wicked and bizarre monsters lurked in the other realm.

However, even if there are many monsters in the world, very few can steal the body of an Ancient God! The Ancient God was a transcendent being who could manipulate the laws of the universe and command the constellations. How did he manage to ambush and seize the body of a being with power beyond the Old Ruler?

[It’s simple. The original owner of the mask had much higher status than this spirit. So high, that once I turned into a mask, almost no one in the universe could take my body… While I’ve awakened the capabilities of the mask distinctly.]

“Status? Original owner?”

[I would like to explain, but I don’t have time right now. Focus your mind and follow my orders, junior.]

“What?”

Tsu tsu tsu –

The Divine Thief moved the body of the Fire Spirit. His arms, which were previously holding the heavens up, slowly came down and formed a hand seal. As soon as I saw the shape of that hand seal, I understood its significance.

‘The Wisdom Fist of the Great Sun Tathāgata!’

There was no doubt about it!

The form recorded in the book of Chi You. Since I had memorized the scriptures of Chi You, I couldn’t possibly forget it. Without thinking about how the Divine Thief could use such a technique, a mandala spread behind him, shimmering like an aura. The Divine Thief maintained the Wisdom Fist and spoke to me.

[What Dharma asked of me was to successively seal the spirits into the Four Great Spirit Deities. I will seize their bodies and insert them into the spirit artifacts; then you will make the sealed artifacts your own, one by one.]

“……!!”

[You can do at least that, right? Junior.]

I was flabbergasted by the sudden statement. It was hard to make sense of how things were unfolding.

‘Seal the spirits into the Four Great Spirit Deities?!’

Did that mean Dharma intended to help me? As I stood there dumbfounded, the Divine Thief loudly chanted an incantation.

[Sabaha!]

Shwaaaack!!

The Fire Spirit scattered in the air like a dance of crimson beams and, after a boom, was sealed into one spirit artifact. I hastily tried to catch that artifact with my magical arm, but at that moment, my magical arm melted away.

“Argh.”

I screamed in agony, but soon realized it was a rejection reaction.

‘The spirit artifact sealed with the spirit refuses magical power!’

If the essence of the spirit was connected to the order of the universe, which is both a spirit god and an Ancient God, it made sense to dislike the magical power of the Old Ruler. I detached my magical arm and reached out with my normal arm to grasp the artifact; this time, while I didn’t feel the burning pain, another problem arose.

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t lift it!

It merely appeared to be a long and light cannon, yet I couldn’t lift it with my body’s pure strength. I tried using Qi to enhance my strength, but I still couldn’t hold it. Just as I was struggling, the voice of the Divine Thief came from behind me.

“It wouldn’t be a weapon you can lift with brute force. Maybe there’s another requirement?”

When I turned around, the Divine Thief had resumed his human form. It seemed he had seized the spirit while extracting his own being completely. Given his overwhelming abilities, I was secretly astonished and retorted.

“Another requirement?”

“That weapon can’t yet be considered an artifact of our world. It’s merely kept the Ancient God sealed. I can’t say what needs to be done to turn it into a weapon.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Divine Thief. What did you mean earlier? I know you’re a mask, but I can’t fathom what it means to steal your own self.”

The Divine Thief’s eyes brightened at my question.

“Junior. Wasn’t your goal to obtain that artifact? Seems you have the leisure to ask about my motives with it in front of you.”

“I have no leisure. But I feel I’d regret it more if I don’t understand who you really are.”

The Divine Thief was dangerous.

And important.

I intuitively felt that pursuing the retrieval of the Four Great Spirit Deities without understanding this person’s true intent would be futile. So, despite the risk of wasting time, I wanted to hear a proper story from him.

The Divine Thief smirked.

“Hey. First, hold the artifact and then we’ll talk. That’s the most important thing; what will you do if you skip it?”

“No matter how much internal power I throw into it, I can barely hold it!”

“You’re only trying to lift it with internal power, right?”

“Ah!”

In that moment, I realized what I had overlooked. I focused my intention and uprightly summoned the Heavenly Pillar, creating my will.

I’ll lift it.

Simultaneously, I felt the Intent Heavenly Pillar of the Absolute Realm distort the laws of the world and bestow upon me an unknown power. As I slowly began to lift the artifact, unlike before, it felt as if it was weightless, easily graspable in my hands.

As I succeeded in lifting the artifact, the Divine Thief said.

“Just as I thought. You need to wield intention or the Primordial Void to use the artifact.”

“……”

“Now, let’s go seal the next one.”

“… I don’t understand.”

I glanced around and spoke.

“The four spirits are working together to hold back the Evil God and other Old Rulers. In this situation, sealing the spirits one by one into the artifacts is akin to suicide, isn’t it? The barrier will collapse immediately!”

“That would only be the case if you did nothing. Just don’t take it.”

The Divine Thief continued walking as he spoke.

“Baek Woong. When the next attack from the Evil God comes, face it with the artifact.”

Swoosh!!

The moment the Divine Thief finished speaking, he vanished from sight again. It appeared he intended to ambush another spirit for sealing. As soon as he disappeared, I noticed a sound like a tremendous scream from the sky.

KiyoOooooo!!

A massive Old Ruler had materialized, writhing and thunderously assaulting the barrier. And it looked like the barrier was weakened because the Fire Spirit had vacated. Moreover, behind that beast, the Evil God seemed poised to strike the barrier with a raised fist.

‘No way!’

If the Evil God attacks now, it’ll definitely break through!

That intuition made me realize I had to deal with the Old Ruler attacking the barrier first. So, I raised the long cannon-shaped artifact and aimed it outward.

“Hmm… So this is… how do I use it?”

The Four Great Spirit Deity imbued with the Flame Spirit appeared to have a firing mechanism. However, nothing indicating a trigger was visible inside the opening. It looked like a cannon, but I had no idea how to operate it. There was nothing to press to fire.

It was then that a voice echoed in my mind.

[Human… How dare you seal a great spirit into an object…!!]

The Flame Spirit was furious and seemingly about to explode in my mind. I listened to its rage and replied.

“Sorry, but please help me! If you don’t assist now, the True Martial Home will fail.”

[……]

“Didn’t someone assign you a mission! That mission must be to help protect the ceremony, so you must help!”

[You selfish fools… Do you think you can disregard even gods for your own goals… Truly a race of chaos.]

Muttering with disdain, the Flame Spirit finally spoke.

[… My name is #%&@&*$.]

“What?”

[You mortal Baek Woong. Convert my name into your language as you see fit. Then, I will become bound to this weapon and a contract will be established, granting it my power.]

“Hmm!”

I realized why the Flame Spirit revealed its name.

[Name] Contract!

Even the Ancient God could not ignore the weight of the name, and by revealing its true name, it permitted the contract. I could recognize that name in my mind, but trying to translate it into human language was proving difficult. It was simply too abstract a higher-dimensional [Name] to convey in any language.

Just as I was struggling, a faint voice flowed into my mind.

[… Agni (अग्नि)…]

Huh?!

When I turned my head toward the source of that thought, there stood Dharma, whose chest was melting into chaos. Dharma sent me another thought.

[Baek Woong… It’s sufficient to define that existence as Agni… It is the name that can incorporate that being’s power into the artifact with the least loss… A name recognized after countless attempts…]

[Dharma! Are you alright?!]

[Hurry… do it…]

[I got it!]

I realized Dharma’s voice was fading and quickly shouted.

“Your name is Agni! The contract is established!”

[Good… I shall became the artifact and provide my power according to our contract!]

Fwooosh!

At that moment, radiance surged from the cannon, unleashing an overwhelming force. With no time to react, enormous flames erupted from the cannon. The roar of the Ancient God echoed.

[My name is Agni! Destruction incarnate that burns the myriad devils!]

Four Great Spirit Deity

Activating

Kukwakwakwang!!

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaak!!]

In the next moment, the hundred-legged serpent-like Old Ruler, entangled within the barrier, shattered from the waist with a single blow. It struggled to recover, but before its magical power could peak, the artifact’s force ignited its head in an instant, and for a moment, the white flames lingered before the ruler was completely obliterated.

Fwooosh!!

The flames of the Four Great Spirit Deity Agni didn’t stop there; they flew towards the Evil God behind. The Evil God flapped its bat-like wings, trying to deflect the flames, but it seemed the wings were singed. The Evil God appeared startled, halting its spellcasting mid-chant as it stumbled backward.

“……!!”

The power of the Four Great Spirit Deity was this strong!

I was astonished, staring at the cannon in my hand.

‘Even the Seven Luminaries didn’t have this level of power!’

While the visible effects might have been similar to the Seven Luminaries, the Four Great Spirit Deity appeared capable of delivering direct blows to the Old Ruler. That was a monumental difference. While the Seven Luminaries might strike the Old Ruler if used by someone of at least Demon King caliber, the increment wasn’t substantial; the Four Great Spirit Deity seemed blatantly capable of Divine Killing. Naturally, since it sealed cosmic-level spirits!

Dharma’s words echoed in my mind once more.

[Hurry… move, Baek Woong… You must gather all the Four Great Spirit Deities to have even a slim chance of… surviving… Just relying on the barrier maintained by the spirit gods can’t possibly last until the True Martial Home finishes…]

I was flabbergasted and shouted.

[Dharma! You should’ve told me about this plan long ago!]

[I’m sorry… However… there were already many Old Rulers watching my surroundings… Especially for you, my disciple, the spiritual cues were more serious… I could only tell you after the operation began…]

[… What happens when the book is completed? Does the world perish instantly?]

[……]

Dharma didn’t answer. Yet from the silence, I felt like it didn’t mean that instant destruction was the case.

[Baek Woong… Using that artifact requires an enormous… an enormous cost… What’s happening now, hurling it around, would normally be impossible… It’s an artifact of the world’s strongest… But I’m currently bearing that cost while maintaining the altar… So spare no effort in repelling the Old Rulers…]

[I got it!]

I gritted my teeth and headed toward the next defense. As I moved to the next location, I found the Divine Thief just about to seize the body of the Wind Spirit.

Swoosh!!

The Divine Thief sealed the Wind Spirit into what appeared to be a horn or maybe a trumpet. He tossed the spirit artifact to me and said.

“Here’s the second artifact.”

“… You still haven’t revealed your true intentions.”

As I caught the artifact in mid-air, the Divine Thief narrowed his eyes.

“That’s absurd… Do you really think I would be able to share all my thoughts with you, the successor of the Divine Thief? Just as you don’t trust me, I certainly have no reason to trust you. Out of sheer stubbornness, I probably wouldn’t want to tell you. Am I wrong?”

“……”

“I don’t get it. With your level of capability, I wouldn’t expect you to have such a pure aspect still…”

The Divine Thief murmured in a complaining tone. I looked at him and said.

“Promise me.”

“Promise you what?”

“Once I gather all the Four Great Spirit Deities, you’ll tell me your true intentions.”

“… Didn’t I just say I have no reason to share it with you?”

“Tell me.”

I stared directly into the Divine Thief’s eyes.

“If I don’t recognize you, I won’t consider you the Divine Thief, the Supreme Thief.”

“……”

The Divine Thief’s expression twisted. Then he responded.

“What a ridiculous brat. Do you think that would be considered a threat?”

“Why wouldn’t it?”

“What?”

I crossed my arms.

“I’m your only successor left in the mortal realm. The only being who inherited everything from the Divine Thief in the heavenly and earthly realms is me alone. And if you are just a mask rather than a human, then I’m the only one who can recognize you as the greatest Thief in the world. Especially when the world is facing its end.”

“……”

“If I don’t acknowledge it, you won’t achieve your goal as the Divine Thief; you’ll just end up as a mere mask. Am I wrong?”

But my words didn’t seem wrong.

“……”

The Divine Thief seemed greatly unsettled. I could practically see his pupils trembling.

‘It’s getting through…!!’

In truth, under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t amount to a threat for a regular human. Saying I either recognized him or not shouldn’t matter to the Divine Thief at all! So I felt a bit conflicted when I first spoke up.

Yet, somehow, despite his pretense of indifference, it was clear he was paying attention to my words. I had no clue what that strange obsession and goodwill stemmed from, but at that final moment, I began to intuit the reason behind that.

[As a human], the Divine Thief.

[Though a mask], he was clinging onto that for the sake of his identity.

Keeping a trace of himself so that a [junior] could follow him in the mortal realm—that must have been the reason.

After a while of silence, the Divine Thief said.

“Fine… I’ll tell you at the end.”

He spoke with a slightly wounded sense of pride, his eyes glinting fiercely.

“Damn it, junior.”

Pa-at!

As soon as the Divine Thief disappeared, I finished forming a contract with the Four Great Spirit Deities. This time, I named the artifact I’d designated as Vayu, using it to blow a horn in the air, creating a massive defensive barrier that enclosed the area firmly.

Whooooom!

While this could be utilized offensively, the primary use appeared to be for protection and support.

‘I see. I’m supplementing the empty spots of the spirits by obtaining the Four Great Spirit Deities, buying more time until the True Martial Home is complete…’

I glanced back.

Pa-zzik!!

The book was forming its fourth fragment. We were approaching the halfway point. If I continued this way, I felt we could endure until the True Martial Home was completed.

But it was while I was heading for the third artifact that I felt it.

Kugugugug…

“What’s that?”

Uneasy tremors echoed from outside. And the Old Rulers, which had been raining down endless magic on the barrier until now, retreated, lining up as if they were waiting for something. The Divine Thief muttered while watching this scene.

“So it’s finally here.”

“What is?”

The Divine Thief closed his eyes and said.

“The Mother of All Wisdom shall descend soon due to the reverence of the Old Rulers…”

HooOOo!

I felt an indescribable, almost black-horned congregation of wicked creatures flowing down from the other realm with a green light from beyond the universe. And all the Old Rulers, forgetting to attack, prostrated themselves in utmost reverence to that soon-to-descend existence. Even the Evil God seemed to bow before the reverence of ‘something’ existing beyond the other realm.

It was a comically absurd scene to see the Rulers crouched down in submission, but I quickly comprehended what it symbolized, and my palms grew sweaty.

Soon, an Outer God would descend.