D.I.O

[Should I know those two?]

Looking at Merlin, who was still thoroughly confused, Person laughed.

[I’m fairly sure you know them.]

[Wait, are they… no way, right? But they’re a completely different race…]

In truth, Merlin had heard of reincarnators and saviors before, and some of those beings popped into his mind when he heard the children’s titles, but it was still hard for him to believe.

A reincarnator? Reincarnation was a largely Buddhist concept, but it wasn’t a concept exclusive to just Buddhism, so how could one be definitively titled the Reincarnator?

Besides that, the Reincarnator was blonde and white, not a Middle Easterner or Central Asian figure. How could the Reincarnator, who should have been a Galilean Semitic to be exact, be white? Was the Reincarnator’s image something that was created by later generations?

[What does one’s outer shell have to do with anything? What you know of them is not their true selves. Anyway, those two have visited my civilization several times as well.]

[… Huh?]

The moment Merlin expressed his confusion at Person’s incomprehensible words, the little monk boy got up from his seat.

And then, the young monk took a step forward.

Step.

He walked. And then, according to his movement, lotus flowers bloomed. And by the time the number of lotus flowers reached ten, then eleven, and then twelve… the young monk had completely escaped the spatial realm that contained the tree and was facing a being [outside].

- Screech! Screech!

The outside being was an indescribably ugly monster. It was not so big that it towered over the small child monk, but it was by no means an ordinary monster.

[… What is that?]

The monster’s eyes shone brightly. Countless stars were born and disappeared inside its eyes, and countless galaxies swirled around its body like blood.

Merlin realized that the monster, which was standing in front of the child monk, could destroy an entire universe. The non-universe conforming monster was no different from a universe in and of itself.

But at that moment, Person grabbed Merlin’s shoulder and said,

[That being is just an unfinished toy. Look behind it.]

[Behind… it?]

With a dazed expression on his face, Merlin raised his head after hearing Person’s words.

And there…

[She] was there.

Whoosh!

A steel tower stood diametrically opposite from the huge tree; there, Merlin saw a black-haired girl sitting in front of the tower.

Unlike her surroundings, which looked neatly drawn as if everything was part of a still life portrait, the surroundings of the girl sitting on the other side was turbidly distorted, as if drawn by a mad expressionist artist.

[Consider yourself fortunate.]

As it was not easy for him to face her, Person spoke in a slightly weary tone of voice.

[If you were a lower-rank god, you would have gone crazy the moment you laid eyes on her. Just like how an ignorant ghost doesn’t recognize a detrimental talisman, you’re okay because your level is so low. In fact, it’s even hard for me to look straight at her.]

[That… That’s…]

Merlin’s entire body trembled. He trembled because he felt an endless sense of innocence from her. However, there was a sort of malice in that innocence, like an innocent child smiling while tearing off the wings of a dragonfly.

[What the hell is that?]

[That’s Her. She’s the beginning of all problems.]

[Beginning of all problems?]

In response to Merlin’s question, Person nodded his head.

[Yeah. She’s the only Other Being.]

When He first opened His eyes, there was only Him.

And due to His loneliness, He made the universe.

Since that was the case…

If that was the reason He created the universe, because of His loneliness…

Perhaps…

[The war 400 years ago, was it because…]

[Oh! You’re smart enough to figure that out at once, huh? Yesterday, no, as you said, the war that spread throughout the universe 400 years ago was actually something that should have been an impossibility. Because He loves his creations and creatures… which is the reason He always managed His universes with care.]

In the past, there was an existence called Asura, who was called the other side of the Creator God and was the one responsible for maintaining order in the entire universe. It was said that Asura’s power of control was so strong that even gods with transcendent powers couldn’t interfere with the fate of the universe except by very limited means.

[But you’re saying that’s no longer the case?]

[Right. He is not as interested in His own works and ideas as He used to be. In fact, it is for that reason that He promptly got rid of His ‘other side’, Asura. Moreover, He…]

Person gave a bitter smile.

[He is not alone anymore.]

Merlin looked at the girl. She was laughing.

Obviously… she wasn’t laughing at Merlin. In her eyes, she saw only one thing.

Merlin turned his head to follow her unshakable gaze.

[He] was there.

“You’ve arrived, bug.”

A man so huge that Merlin’s height didn’t come up to His knees was sitting and leaning against the trunk of the tree. A man with such a presence that Merlin couldn’t understand how he didn’t notice Him earlier when he first arrived at this place and laid eyes on the tree.

There were all kinds of animals around Him. A dazzlingly bright bird and a bird with colorful feathers. Various kinds of dragons, including Flame Dragon; a cute monkey; Poong-ho; a lion; even a snake and a cat.

Other than that, there were boys and girls who looked human, but they were all fast asleep against His body.

[Who are you calling a bug?]

Merlin asked involuntarily, but He didn’t even look at Merlin. No, to be precise, His gaze never left [Her] for a second.

“I will give you a little authority. And some qualifications.”

When He spoke up to there… Boom! A thick booklet appeared over Merlin’s hand and fell into his grasp. While still maintaining his gaze on Her and not looking toward Merlin, He continued,

“Move according to the Rules.”

That was the end.

He didn’t explain anything. Why wasn’t He punishing Merlin? Didn’t He just call Merlin a [bug]? He didn’t even seem inclined to fix the situation Himself.

Perhaps from now on, even if Merlin fell on his knees and begged for His attention, or even attacked Him with a burning sense of resentment, He would no longer show any interest towards Merlin.

‘Has… He gone mad?’

And at that moment, Merlin was shocked.

‘My heart hurts.’

Even when he came here, Merlin had no reverence for Him. The Creator? So what? Father of all things? Was there anything that He did that helped Merlin?

But even so, the moment Merlin realized that He had no interest in Merlin, a feeling of extreme sadness washed over Merlin. Merlin prioritized His feelings over his own. Hence, Merlin felt a deep sense of sadness that seemed to originate from the depths of his soul.

[Person.]

[Yes, junior. You’ve come a long way.]

[There is no need to say that. That thing, no, I mean She…]

[I know. Dangerous, right?]

Merlin looked at Her. Beautiful yet ugly. Good yet evil. Pure yet corrupt. Huge yet thin…

It was impossible to describe Her in one word. However, there was one word that came to Merlin’s mind while he looked at Her.

Destruction.

[Why isn’t He having Her removed?]

[Who would dare? Us? Even if we have become singular beings, She is more than that.]

At his words, Merlin looked back at Person.

[What if it was Him?]

[Of course, if it was Him, it might be possible to remove Her. He also knows that She is dangerous.]

It was impossible to be ignorant of Her wickedness and malice. Wasn’t it a situation where these monsters, all of which were her creations, were continually trying to erode and infiltrate His creation? All of Her creations went [outside] and wreaked havoc on the physical universes, leaving hardly any highest-ranked gods, if any at all, behind.

However, nonetheless…

[But why would He do such a thing…]

Person sighed deeply.

[… when all of His attention is solely centered on Her.]

***

“Don’t be ridiculous! What kind of enlightenment is that…!?”

Merlin opened his eyes to the sound of Shen’s defeated and disapproving shouts.

“That’s so obvious and simple!”

Merlin felt as though his head was blank. His surroundings, which had changed from 2D to 3D, felt foreign and awkward, most likely because he was kicked out so suddenly, just as abruptly as when he entered that space.

“Merlin, are you okay? What is that above your head?”

“Above my head?”

At Arc’s sudden words, Merlin lifted his head.

And there, he saw the following text floating in the air…

[GM Merlin]

“What the heck is this…”

As Merlin grumbled and got up, something fell to the ground and cracked open. When he looked down to see what it was, he saw red scales.

“It was hair originally… ah, whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

Merlin took a quick look at his body. His body was in optimum condition. Moreover that [method] he tried to deploy, when Lancelot was buying him some time, was successfully completed. He succeeded in creating a miracle that no one could imitate, which would mark the history of spiritual power and talent studies.

But why did he not feel happy?

“The size and scale of what I received is so monstrously big…”

Merlin looked around with a blank expression on his face. The three great enemies of the Union were besieging him and his party members. They were transcendents with powers that would be worshiped as gods in any low stage civilization.

However…

‘Were they always this small and weak?’

[Stop.]

[Wait. Please pause.]

The two Legion members called out to him, but instead of answering, Merlin started walking with a thick book in one hand and a jeweled sword in the other. After walking about four to five steps, the jeweled sword in his hand, the Editor Blade, turned into a circle-shaped pattern and was engraved on the cover of the book.

“It’s a book of rules… so I’ll call it a Rule Book,” Merlin murmured to himself.

“What the hell are you? How can you handle such power without a divine position, divinity, or divine status…?”

“Hahaha, you’re going to have to stop right there… huh?”

The two Grotesque members tried to block Merlin, but Merlin was able to ignore them and pass between them. In the end, Volcano, who tried to step in front of Merlin, couldn’t stop him.

“What… What the hell is going on? Why can’t I attack him?”

Volcano was confused, as he was unable to wield his sword, even though he had made up his mind to sever both of Merlin’s legs. There was nothing wrong with his body. He didn’t suffer from some sort of mental attack, nor was he disturbed or interfered with in any way, but for some reason, he was unable to fulfill his will.

“Well, I guess it makes sense… He has big muscles and is good at fighting…”

Merlin turned the pages of the Rule Book. Rustling sounds of paper being flipped over could be heard. Countless amounts of information were being sucked into his head.

“A Rank 9 public official shouldn’t be able to beat up a minister rank official.”

This was the effect [He] had on Merlin. After all, every being was a mere thought that existed in His imagination, so they couldn’t deny the effect of the qualification He bestowed upon Merlin. It was quite a vicious force; one would probably be unaware of Merlin’s qualification even while one suffered from its effects.

[Turn it off… I hate it… I hate it…]

Then, collapsed on one side, like a huge mountain range, Leviathan’s body began to shake. There would have been nothing strange if Leviathan were to die right now, but Leviathan moved from its desperate will.

And that wasn’t all.

Crack! Pop!

Leviathan’s huge body started to get smaller and smaller. It was a compression, not the destruction of its body. In addition, Leviathan’s skin color, which was close to black, started changing to red.

‘… I see.’

Seeing all this happening, Merlin realized something.

‘He became interested in me not only because of my Editor Blade… but also because of this guy.’

The fact that He, who can be said to be the universe’s law itself, had sat idly by and only observed the rules that governed Earth, which wasn’t facing some sort of Apocalypse or end of days scenario, being broken several times, meant that [He] had largely turned His interest and focus away from His work. It was also proof that the entire universe had become [loose].

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[She] was born between 400 and 500 years ago, based on the flow of time in the physical world.

This was the point where other beings in the great universe, not just the beings bound by His [Rules], began to change.

‘Tan isn’t the problem. The real problem is…’

Merlin felt a chill run up his spine.

‘The real problem is the Planet Gods.’

However, Merlin didn’t have time to think about this thought for long.

Whoosh!!!

Leviathan was getting smaller and smaller. Its color was also getting redder. It looked like it was on fire.

[Hate it.]

It was Apocalypse. An existence that announced the end of everything in a world that entered the end stage.

It was Satan.