"Something to say… What is it?"
"Before that, I want to ask about your intentions first."
"My intentions?"
Seong Jihan tilted his head.
After going through the trouble of possessing Sophia's body, the first thing she asked about was his intentions?
"Yes. Why you became the Blue Administrator and what you plan to do from now on."
"Asking for a lot of information despite occupying Sophia's body."
"I'm only temporarily connected to her due to our past ties. I can't stay in her body for long. You don't need to worry about that."
Pythia spoke softly with a face quite different from when she was the Martial God's loyal disciple.
Seong Jihan looked at her closely.
Pythia's current possessed state.
Could it be reversed with Blue stat?
'Hmm… This level of distortion is too weak to even be called one.'
Pythia's power was so weak that it would disappear in less than an hour.
With this level, it was ambiguous to even break the distortion.
Seong Jihan decided to have a conversation with her for now.
"Why did I become the Blue Administrator?"
"Yes."
"It was better than picking either red or green. And the Benefactor of Life left such a will too."
"Benefactor of Life… You mean Ashoka?"
At Seong Jihan's words, Pythia asked back.
"Yeah, I have to repay my debts."
"…I see. You gave up the path to becoming a Permanent Administrator and repaid your debt of life."
"Well, in the first place… If I had chosen red, I would have just become a host for the Red Administrator, and if I had become green, I would have been subordinated to Yggdrasil. There was no choice."
"No, if you had even a little ambition to become a Permanent Administrator, you wouldn't have made such a choice."
"Permanent Administrator? What's the point of becoming that? It would just be bothersome."
"Permanent… You said it's bothersome?"
Pythia's eyes widened.
"I didn't expect you to assess the position of a Permanent Administrator like that."
"Isn't it obviously bothersome to manage BattleNet for life without being able to die?"
"…You have surprisingly little ambition. But how did you come this far to become a temporary Administrator?"
"Because of your master and the Red Administrator. I have to live, don't I?"
That Martial God bastard kept trying to reset this world.
And the Red Administrator was trying to become a transcendent being through humanity.
He only came this far resisting them.
"You came this far for survival. But for someone who wants to live so much, your face is in a terrible state."
"This?"
Tap. Tap.
When Seong Jihan tapped his left face, Pythia nodded.
"Yes, if you leave that, you won't live for even a year."
"A, a year…"
"That's right. The reason you put on that Void despite knowing its danger… It's because the one you need to save is not you, but her, right?"
Swish.
Pythia then looked at Yoon Seah.
Seong Jiah quickly stepped forward and hid her behind his back.
"Oh my. I was just looking. In the first place, I have no special connection with her, so I can't possess her."
[It's better to be careful of anything.]
"Really… You're too much for a fellow divine eye owner."
Pythia smiled and looked at Seong Jihan again.
"So, what's your answer to my question?"
"Well, isn't it natural to try to save one's family?"
"Is that so? There aren't many people around me who do such obvious things. Especially cases where they try to save someone while gnawing at their own lifeline."
"Uncle, is that really true… That face…"
At Yoon Seah's worried words, Seong Jihan answered nonchalantly,
"I'll remove this with the Administrator's ability, so it's fine."
"T-That's possible?"
"Yeah. I think it's possible."
Among the functions of Blue stat, severance had already borne some fruit.
Now, if he developed the restoration function to return things to their original state, he could find a clue to solving this Void fracture.
If there was a way to live, there was no need to die unnecessarily.
"I'll just cut off that Martial God bastard's head and live well on my own, so don't worry."
"Cut off my lord's head…"
Even at the mention of cutting off his head, Pythia showed little reaction.
Considering her past loyalty to the Martial God, it was a puzzling attitude.
While Seong Jihan was looking at her closely,
"I'll help with that too."
"You'll help in fighting the Martial God…?"
"Yes. To be exact,"
Tap. Tap.
Pythia pointed to her forehead.
"I'll give you the divine eye. To you."
* * *
"…What's with the change of heart?"
"Change of heart? This was my original purpose for coming here."
"Your purpose was to give me the eyes?"
"Yes. And not just that."
Flash.
As light flickered in the divine eye,
the image of the old man Gilgamesh looking at the sea was reflected.
"I was going to tell you Gilgamesh's location too."
"…I can't help but be suspicious. Why are you, who was more loyal to the Martial God than anyone, suddenly…?"
"Because you achieved the reason I pledged loyalty to him."
When did he?
As Seong Jihan looked at her with puzzled eyes,
Pythia smiled slightly.
"You removed the Red Factor from humanity. You did."
"…Removing the Red Factor was the reason for your loyalty?"
"Yes. It was all because of that factor that my children were burned by the Blood clan."
As she said that, Pythia's eyes sank.
"The Martial God said he would do it someday, so I believed and pledged my loyalty… But you did it."
"…Because of that, your attitude changed and you're even giving me the eye? I can't easily believe it."
Even if removing the Red Factor was her lifelong wish,
it was not easy to understand her saying she would hand over the divine eye.
As Seong Jihan did not let go of his suspicion, Pythia shrugged.
"Actually, I was just going to tell you Gilgamesh's location. Although he has lost his reproductive ability now, that bastard can become a seed that spreads the Red Factor again. I wanted you to eliminate him."
"Don't worry about that. From my perspective, Gilgamesh is also someone I need to eliminate."
"Yes. But… When I thought about dying, I became curious about your thoughts. Why did you become the Blue Administrator? What will you do with that power from now on?"
"So that's why you asked those questions earlier."
"Yes."
"What's your impression after hearing it?"
Pythia smiled and raised the corners of her mouth.
"Hmm… You came this far for a more mundane reason than I thought? You became an Administrator just to save one person."
"Wh-What's mundane about that!"
As Yoon Seah flared up, Pythia's smile deepened.
"And despite becoming an Administrator, you have no ambition. It's enough to make the constellations who strive to become transcendent beings feel deflated."
"While evaluating like that, you're still willing to give me the divine eye."
"That's why."
She answered brightly.
"I'm tired of those overflowing with ambition. Since I was human."
"…"
"You may also develop greed over time and try to reign as an Administrator… But you're still better than those who are already like that."
Already like that.
The Martial God or Gilgamesh.
No, was she referring to both of them?
As Seong Jihan quietly looked at the divine eye, she said,
"The Martial God's power is mighty, so even if I give you the divine eye, it won't be of much help. It will still be difficult for you to subdue him."
"Even though I've become an Administrator?"
"Yes. The power he has accumulated is endless, so he will still overwhelm you."
Indeed.
The Martial God, who had gathered and accumulated power to become a Permanent Administrator in one go.
No matter how much Seong Jihan became a temporary Administrator and developed Blue,
if you only consider the total amount of power, he would have the upper hand.
"Still… With my divine eye, you will be able to interfere with his future vision."
"Your eyes play that much of a role?"
"Because even the divine eye summoned by the Martial God are based on mine."
At those words, Seong Jihan furrowed his brows.
That Martial God bastard.
He exploited Dongbang Sak's ability to use Martial Soul.
Were the divine eye the same?
'Isn't this guy's real ability parasitizing on others' powers? To this extent?'
He really wanted to take away the Martial God title from that Martial God bastard soon.
While Seong Jihan was thinking that,
"You seem to be in a dilemma. Well, it's natural not to trust me. Then,"
Zing…
As light emanated from the divine eye,
[…Pythia. Isn't it about time you showed your usefulness? At this rate, I will be able to specify the location of the World Tree.]
A voice began to be heard from Gilgamesh, who was looking at the sea.
Was he trying to find the World Tree in the West Sea?
He's really persistent too.
"Wouldn't it be better to deal with him first?"
Seong Jihan nodded at Pythia's suggestion.
He could think more about obtaining the divine eye.
"Yeah. Where exactly is the location?"
For now, he decided to deal with Gilgamesh first.
* * *
Above the Martial God's star, Tuseong.
In the part above the sky where the constellation's relics were located,
There was a brilliant light shining brightly enough to illuminate even Tuseong.
[…Now all the power has gathered.]
The identity of the light was the Sun King.
Defeated by Dongbang Sak, he had mobilized all his power
and finished preparing to invade Tuseong.
It's just that Tuseong was sealed for three months as punishment from the Administrator, so he couldn't invade.
'The three-month seal. It turned out well. I was able to gather power.'
The power of the Sun King, which had spread throughout BattleNet.
It took quite a lot of time even for him to gather it all together.
The three months Tuseong was sealed was utilized as a preparation period for him to gather his full strength.
[When the seal is released, that monster will come to stop me again…]
The Sun King recalled the Cosmic Demon who had subdued him.
Although he was incomplete at that time, he was sliced by the Cosmic Demon without being able to put up much of a fight.
This time, he had drawn all his power, but considering the strength of the Cosmic Demon, the same result as before might come out again.
[There's no need to fight him…]
The Sun King decided to avoid a battle with the Cosmic Demon, who possessed immeasurable power.
In any case, his goal was to take possession of the Martial God's body.
It was enough to just activate the stigma engraved on his 17,777th son.
The important thing was to somehow enter Tuseong and make contact with him.
[Yes. If I take possession of the Martial God's body, I will be able to make even that mighty Cosmic Demon my subordinate…]
So there's no need to fight him.
The Sun King made such a strategy and,
Scattered the gathered light widely to surround Tuseong.
No matter how strong the Cosmic Demon was, he wouldn't be able to block all directions.
He would attack from all sides at once and take possession of the Martial God.
The Sun King finished his invasion preparations like that.
Then the only thing left to do was to wait until the seal was released.
'I should check if there's anything unusual outside.'
The Sun King turned on BattleTube.
In that world where numerous channels were rampant,
There was a video that drew incomparably unique attention.
'He uploads videos even after becoming an Administrator.'
Seong Jihan, the Blue Administrator.
Even after reaching the position of an Administrator, he was uploading videos on his BattleTube channel.
It was absurd for such a classless bastard to become an Administrator.
While feeling the absurdity, the Sun King played the video.
And,
'The Red Administrator… He even won over the Arena Owner.'
While interestingly examining the characters appearing in the video,
'That's…'
A red eye appeared on the screen.
As it formed 'Hell', he only stared at it as if enchanted.
And then,
[Haha… Even a mere beast doesn't dig only one den…]
As the Red Administrator left such a will to Seong Jihan before dying,
Twitch.
Changes began to occur within the Sun King's light mass.
[Ugh… T-This is…]
What emerged from the light mass was a giant made of pure white light.
It closely resembled the appearance of the giant he had fought against Dongbang Sak.
And from all over his body,
Plop. Plop.
Red eyes began to pop out one by one.
[M-Master… Since when…!]
The Sun King tried to resist this somehow while looking at his rapidly changing body, but,
[Since when, you ask? Why do you think I took on disciples?]
[T-That's…]
[It was all to use at times like this.]
Poof! Poof!
The giant of white light instantly turned red.
Swish…
The light surrounding Tuseong also changed to the same color.
[You're quite useful, my disciple.]
And the Red Administrator, who had taken possession of his former disciple's 'body',
looked at Tuseong and said with delight,
[But there's something even more useful over there…]