Novel Boss
Chapter 619
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 619
A completed Hell.
Wasn't that the goal pursued by the Red Administrator trapped in Blue and Red?
'For it to be here...'
[I might be in there.]
Seong Jihan nodded at those words and looked at the eye.
"Is this the place you said was suitable for staying?"
[Yes. Of course, you'll have to break the door.]
That was not difficult.
Seong Jihan lightly thrust Blue and Red into the huge white door, but
Whoosh...!
As crimson flames rose from where the sword penetrated,
Ting!
The door quickly restored to its original form and repelled the inserted Blue and Red.
[This is the red's flame.]
"Indeed. Did it come from the Hell beyond the door?"
[It seems so. When you pierce the door, could you lift Blue and Red's seal for a moment? I'll absorb the flames trying to restore the door.]
"Alright."
Following the Red Administrator's words, Seong Jihan inserted the sword again and withdrew Blue from Blue and Red.
Then, as flames rose from the door,
Swoosh...!
They were all sucked into Blue and Red.
'Indeed, when the Red Administrator absorbs it, it doesn't regenerate.'
Bang!
Seong Jihan entered inside after breaking enough of the door for him to pass through.
In the center of the largest inner space since entering Ark,
Sizzle...
Crimson flames were continuously burning.
'Is that the completed Hell?'
The aura of hostility was certainly immensely condensed, but as Seong Jihan quietly looked at the fire reaching the ceiling,
Tick. Tick...
A light clock rose from the middle of the fire, then,
Swish...
A figure emerged from inside the fire.
[That's...]
A red giant with red eyes all over its body.
That appearance was familiar even to Seong Jihan's eyes.
'Red Administrator. Is that your physical body?'
[...Yes. It's my body.]
And so, the body of the Red Administrator that appeared as the clock turned,
Whoosh...!
Slowly disappeared while engulfed in flames.
When his body was about to be completely burned,
Tick. Tick...
The clock appeared again, restoring his body.
And as soon as it was regenerated, the body burned again.
This regeneration process was repeating every 3 minutes.
[The flames of the completed Hell... I wondered what they used as fuel, but it seems they used my body like that while regenerating it.]
'You're quite calm about your body burning.'
[Even if it burns like that, it doesn't affect me anyway. Rather, I'm curious about the method of completing Hell by burning my physical body.]
As the Red Administrator was expressing his curiosity while watching his body burn and regenerate,
[Did you see Hephaestus well?]
Zing...
The eye of light flew towards Seong Jihan.
"...Yes. It was written that he's a collection. What's that about?"
[Urd recognised Hephaestus as valuable in the previous server and was permanently preserved. So he became the 3rd collection.]
"The 3rd collection... Does that mean there's a 1st and 2nd?"
[Yes. They're beings you know well. Yggdrasil and Dongbang Sak.]
"Those two..."
[And you will be the 4th. As planned.]
Seong Jihan frowned at those words.
"I'll end up like that too?"
[Yes. You'll be squeezed as a new power source in this Ark.]
"...You know quite a lot. Well, isn't it time you told me who you are?"
[I said I'd tell you when we meet in person.]
"Well, the environment doesn't seem bad for conversation even now."
As Seong Jihan said this, the Divine Eye looked towards the Hell's flames.
[...If you want an answer, first take control of Hephaestus.]
"That?"
[Yes. By controlling him, you can control the southern area of Ark.]
"Hmm... Is this the southern area?"
[Yes. If you had become a collection, you would have been in charge of the eastern area.]
So, did each collection take charge of one area?
[Taking control of Hephaestus is absolutely necessary for you too.]
"Why?"
[He's the power source in charge of supporting Ark's system. If you control him, you can return to Server 4212 through the server management device here.]
Could he return to the original world if he controlled the Red Administrator's body?
This was something he must do to secure a way back.
Then,
"First, should I destroy the clock?"
[If you destroy the clock, Urd will wake up. You must control Hephaestus while maintaining the current state.]
"...Is that so? The conditions are quite strict."
To control Hephaestus without destroying the clock.
As Seong Jihan was lost in thought, watching the giant's body that regenerated and disappeared every 3 minutes, the Red Administrator suggested a method to him.
[Try cutting off my body's head. Then I'll try to enter through that gap.]
'Hmm. Will that be okay?'
[If there's a problem, you can smash the head again. As long as we don't destroy the clock, it should be fine, right?]
'Well, that's true, but...'
[Let's do it quickly. I want to directly experience the completed Hell with that body.]
So that was the real purpose.
Even though there was a chance he might get trapped there, his curiosity took precedence.
Seong Jihan clicked his tongue but nodded.
"Alright. Let's try it then."
Whoosh!
Seong Jihan jumped towards the head area, holding Blue and Red.
Just as Hephaestus' form was fully revealed due to regeneration time,
Slash!
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Blue and Red extended long and directly cut off the head.
And as the blue light was withdrawn from the sword,
[I'm going in.]
Whoosh...!
The Red Administrator inside Blue and Red entered Hephaestus' head.
And soon,
[Ooh...! Is this the completed Hell...?]
The Red Administrator, who entered the giant in the fire pit, ignoring his body burning and disappearing, was purely exclaiming in admiration.
At first, it seemed natural for such a reaction seeing the completed form of the Hell he had longed for, but
[Ah, this is what was missing... Hmm. As expected of me. Did I complement the Hell's shortcomings like this?]
As he became more focused on the Hell than the original purpose, Seong Jihan spoke up.
"Hey. You're controlling that body too, right?"
[Of course. I need to control this body to examine the Hell. My concentration is at its peak right now.]
"Hmm... But your body is almost gone? How about coming out and going back in? When the clock turns back, your existence might be deleted and rolled back."
At Seong Jihan's words, the giant, whose body was already over 70% gone, tapped his head with his hand.
[You're right. Alright, cut it. I'll escape and go back in.]
Sizzle...!
So Blue and Red split Hephaestus' head that was about to disappear again, and
Swish...
As the Red Administrator entered the sword again, the giant's form disappeared and reappeared.
[Alright, then again! Let's go in quickly!]
This guy was excited.
Seong Jihan felt the Red Administrator jumping around inside Blue and Red and split the giant's head again with the sword.
Like this,
After repeating splitting and retrieving dozens of times,
[Hmm... Now I can definitely control it.]
The Red Administrator said this from inside Hephaestus, then
Swoosh...
Moved the giant's hand to point at the floor with a finger.
[Then first, I'll create a return device.]
Whoosh...!
As flames rose from the floor, soon, something huge revealed itself there.
The object made of white metal, commonly seen in Ark, was familiar even to Seong Jihan's eyes.
"...Isn't that a BattleNet Connector?"
* * *
The BattleNet Connector, the device used to connect to BattleNet.
The object created by the Red Administrator after entering Hephaestus' body was very similar to the connector.
[Yes. The server access device is similar to the connector. I created it based on the information contained in this body.]
"Hmm..."
[First, could you split my head again?]
Was the 3-minute cycle already approaching its end?
Seong Jihan split the giant's head, put the Red Administrator back into Blue and Red and as he was waiting for Hephaestus to regenerate,
[No. I won't go in this time.]
"What's the occasion?"
[One of Urd's collections detected an anomaly. I touched quite a few things in there.]
"Urd's collection..."
[It's called the Infinite Sword.]
The Infinite Sword.
Wasn't that the ultimate stage Dongbang Sak reached in his final moment?
The one in the Tower couldn't recall about Infinite due to powerful seals, but...
'It was here?'
Urd.
She collected all the good stuff, as always.
As Seong Jihan was frowning,
[Return to Server 4212. Until the Infinite Sword returns to the northern area and is stuck there, you shouldn't be active here.]
The Divine Eye flashed, urging Seong Jihan to return.
[I'll withdraw as well.]
Flash!
The eye of light quickly disappeared.
It was fleeing in an instant, showing how threatening the Infinite Sword was.
"It's running away fast."
[We should quickly enter the server access device too. The principle is not to damage the connector, so we should be safe inside it.]
"Right. There's no need to confront it now."
Swoosh.
Seong Jihan quickly entered the server access device.
Soon after,
Boom!
There was a sound of the door exploding, then,
Swish...
Only the sword handle floated, approaching where the hell's flames were.
'Is that the Infinite Sword?'
A sword with an invisible blade, only the handle visible.
If not for the sword handle, he might not have even detected its presence.
The Infinite Sword circled around the connector a few times,
Then moved once in front of Hephaestus.
Then,
Whoosh...!
The Hell flames disappeared in an instant.
And the red giant standing alone,
Sizzle...
Its entire body split into tiny pieces, completely shattered and vanished.
'Hmm... I can't block that.'
After hard training with Dongbang Sak, he had gained some confidence in his martial arts.
But the power of the Infinite Sword was shattering Seong Jihan's confidence.
If he faced that, he'd probably end up like Hephaestus.
Tick. Tick...
As the light clock activated, Hephaestus and the Hell flames reappeared, but
Sizzle...!
The Infinite Sword kept shattering them.
'What on earth did you touch to make it react like this?'
[I tried accessing the central server a bit. Just following the light eye's words seemed too passive.]
'Is that why it came out?'
[Yes. The security was strict... It will probably cut Hephaestus like that for about a week, so let's return for now.]
Seong Jihan nodded.
With the Infinite Sword doing that outside, going out would be suicide.
It was better to retreat for now.
Moreover,
'If I show Dongbang Sak the image of that sword, he might recognize the Infinite Sword again.'
This was like bringing back some spoils of war.
Thinking this, Seong Jihan looked around inside the server access device.
'The interface is similar to the connector.'
Tap.
As Seong Jihan pressed a button on the server access device,
Zing...
Light leaked from the server management device embedded in his chest and a message window appeared before his eyes.
[Do you want to finish the emergency inspection and reconnect to Server 4212?]
[Please select the time to connect.]
[You can roll back the server up to 1 day before the emergency inspection started.]
Seeing the message that appeared,
Seong Jihan's eyes gleamed.
'It can be... rolled back?'
[Translator - Asura]
[Proofreader - Gun]