Kim Dojin mulled over the words he had just heard.
“He was the Apostle of Superbia… if that’s the case.”
Doesn’t that mean he’s not an Apostle now?
He was puzzled.
‘Could the position of an Apostle be relinquished without dying?’
No.
If it were that easy to relinquish, Kim Dojin would have given up long ago.
Why would he have thrown himself into a competition where he was almost certain to lose his life?
Hadn’t Gula said as much before things escalated to this point?
That an Apostle only lost their position when they lost their life to another.
That’s why he asked.
“If you’re no longer an Apostle, there’s no way you should be alive, is there?”
He replied in a flat, indifferent tone.
“As you know, for an Apostle to lay down that heavy burden, they must also lay down their life.”
The moment one becomes an Apostle and embraces a god’s Divine Authority, it becomes deeply intertwined with the very source of human life, making it inseparable.
In other words, Divine Authority is as good as life itself.
Losing such Divine Authority naturally means losing one’s life.
“However, it’s not as if there’s no method at all.”
To be precise, there is exactly one method.
And that is.
“To directly transfer an Apostle’s Divine Authority to another.”
“……?”
Kim Dojin’s face twisted upon hearing this.
It was incomprehensible.
It was already absurd enough to willingly give up Divine Authority, but for that to be the path to survival?
As he looked puzzled, the other man continued.
“To be precise, it’s transferring the Divine Authority, excluding only the amount necessary to sustain life.”
“Ah.”
As if realizing something, Kim Dojin let out a gasp, his eyes wide.
It was something he had never considered.
‘To leave only the Divine Authority necessary for sustaining life and hand the rest over to someone else.’
It was an incredibly simple solution, yet at the same time, an answer that no one could have conceived of.
Humans, especially those called Hunters, are beings who covet power more than anyone else, aren’t they?
For such individuals to willingly hand over the power they barely obtained to another?
‘That’s impossible.’
Even if such a thing were to be accomplished, it’s questionable whether it would truly play out as intended.
No matter how great the power one possesses, it’s human nature to desire even greater power.
So, could one simply pass by a weakened opponent?
With countless questions surfacing, Kim Dojin asked again.
“That alone doesn’t fully explain why you’re still alive.”
The one to whom he transferred the Divine Authority of Superbia was, in all likelihood, Chris Emir.
A human consumed by the ambition to dominate the world wouldn’t just leave prey right before their eyes, would they?
As that thought occurred to him, one question was resolved.
“…That’s why Hexagram is targeting you.”
At those words, the corner of his mouth, which hadn’t shown the slightest change until now, curved upward ever so slightly.
“Correct.”
His survival was a reward for having faithfully lived as the goddess’s servant all this time.
“I was once proclaimed by her to be the greatest talent of all time.”
Strictly speaking, Ricardo wasn’t the ideal talent that perfectly suited Superbia’s preferences.
Nevertheless, he was able to receive her full grace thanks to the overflowing talent within him.
An absurd, monstrous strength that allowed him to fight against even seasoned Hunters when he was still an ordinary person.
A body both sturdy and flexible, enabling him to wield this power without hesitation.
And finally, his unwavering loyalty to the goddess who had taken him in.
Although he did not possess the serpent-like wisdom she desired, he was such a talent that he made the goddess harbor expectations that he might, with his overwhelming physique, stand tall over the world.
“But such expectations were brutally crushed with the appearance of one man.”
“Are you talking about Chris Emir?”
Ricardo nodded silently.
Chris Emir, who had appeared out of nowhere, was the talent Superbia had so desperately desired.
Exceptional abilities, and the cunning, serpent-like wisdom that perfectly supported them.
With his appearance, there were two Apostles of Superbia.
And soon, there was only one.
“I didn’t like him.”
It wasn’t for some petty reason like having the goddess’s affection stolen from me.
“He is a cunning serpent.”
He had seen.
The boundless ambition slumbering within Chris Emir.
“He’s not someone who would stop at mere world domination. He would likely try to conquer not only this place but also worlds existing in other dimensions.”
That wasn’t all.
“And in the end, he would even bite the neck of the goddess who granted him power.”
Thus, he offered counsel.
It wasn’t a suggestion to cast Chris Emir aside.
He simply told her not to take her eyes off him.
To give him affection as she did now, but to constantly remain wary in a corner of her heart.
However, she did not listen.
On the contrary, she found his counsel displeasing.
“It’s understandable to find it laughable. To advise a god to be wary of a mere human, it must have felt like mockery.”
Having failed to persuade her, he challenged Chris Emir to a duel.
The winner would become the sole Apostle and serve the goddess.
In a fierce battle where either could have won, Chris Emir ultimately emerged victorious.
It was as she had said.
The cunning, serpent-like wisdom had created that single, decisive difference at the very last moment.
“Having been defeated like that, I should have simply died.”
But he did not die.
Superbia had made an offer.
Acknowledging his past efforts, she would not take his life, but he must relinquish his Divine Authority himself.
Believing this to be the goddess’s mercy, he transferred his Divine Authority without a moment’s hesitation.
And he left.
Leading a body sustained by only a handful of Divine Authority.
He had preserved his life, but he wandered the world in a body that was meager compared to his past self.
In that process, he saved K and other pitiful individuals who were in similar circumstances.
The relationships born from a sense of kinship had, before he knew it, grown into a massive organization.
At first, he was at a loss.
Because he had neither the desire nor the ability to lead such a massive organization.
So, while he was at a loss, unsure of what to do and completely unable to find his bearings.
“That guy came looking for me.”
Chris Emir.
He didn’t know how Chris Emir had found him, but he came, flicking his cunning tongue, and spoke.
“He told me to create the goddess’s army.”
An army that would rise and fight alongside her when her will eventually cast its shadow upon the world.
Kim Dojin then asked.
“So, what did you say?”
It was an important question.
Because depending on his answer here, the future atmosphere could change drastically.
He replied with a faint smile.
“I replied that I would gladly do so.”
“…….”
The atmosphere flowing between the two men instantly turned hostile.
From the very beginning, his intentions were ambiguous.
Whether he truly intended to join forces with me.
Or if he had some other ulterior motive, trying to deceive me.
Meeting him was also for that reason.
Because if I didn’t meet him directly, it would be hard to grasp what he truly wanted.
Now that I’ve met him, I understand.
Why he wanted to meet me.
“Did Chris give you an order? To kill me?”
Perhaps his original purpose wasn’t to join forces with me, but to assassinate me.
As if confirming his prediction wasn’t wrong, Ricardo nodded.
“Correct. He suddenly came to me and told me to kill you, Kim Dojin.”
He braced himself, attuning to the flow.
So that he could respond no matter when or where an ambush might strike.
A preemptive strike was too soon.
Because there was still one more question remaining.
He couldn’t corner his opponent based solely on the offer he had received.
“So, what was your answer?”
What mattered was how he had answered.
He slowly opened his mouth.
“I couldn’t outright refuse, could I? For now, I said I understood.”
“‘For now,’ you say.”
Did that mean he wouldn’t try to kill him outright?
Kim Dojin exhaled a little of the tension that had risen to his shoulders and finally sat on the sofa.
His gaze followed him to Ricardo, who sat opposite.
‘He said he’d kill me, but he doesn’t seem to actually intend to.’
It seemed he was weighing his options.
Between himself and Chris.
Which of the two held more weight.
Where he should align himself to get what he wanted.
“I’ll ask you directly.”
“What is it?”
He asked, unhesitatingly downing the whiskey in the glass that reflected the light this way and that.
“What exactly do you want?”
It was the most important question.
Because depending on what he wanted, he could predict their future relationship.
“What I want, you ask?”
The man, who had been lost in thought, gripping and swirling his drink with a hand as large as a pot lid, finally replied.
“Do you know something?”
“What?”
“The question you just asked has pierced through my entire life.”
“…….”
“After losing the position of an Apostle and wandering the world, I always wondered: What should I do now? What do I truly desire?”
The man, who had completely emptied his glass, continued with a bitter smile.
“It wasn’t easy to find an answer. Ever since she abandoned me, my chest felt hollow. It would have been impossible to find an answer before filling that void.”
His face looked somewhat relieved.
Seeing this, he realized.
“That void, it seems to have just been filled.”
At my words, Ricardo scowled.
“K was right. He said that sometimes your perceptiveness is so quick it feels like you’ve seen right through me, and it wasn’t a lie.”
The man, with a look that said he threw up his hands in surrender, nodded freely and admitted.
“You’re right. I’ve finally filled that void in my chest. Seeing you, and hearing your question, made me realize.”
His gaze shifted to K, who stood between them.
“What’s important to me is family.”
“Family, you mean… the organization?”
“Yes.”
Ricardo nodded subtly, a somewhat sheepish expression on his face.
“Though we don’t share blood, we are clearly family. No, I believe that precisely because we don’t share blood, we’ve forged an even stronger, more enduring bond of camaraderie.”
Family not by blood, he thought.
It suddenly came to mind.
That there were once people he thought of in the same way.
While he was briefly lost in thought, the man continued.
“What I want is the safety of my family.”
Safety, he mused.
Did that mean protecting them from Hexagram?
Or did he wish for them to escape the shadows and live openly?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
“If that’s what it is, then I can certainly…”
Just as he was about to boast that he could do it.
“Therefore, Kim Dojin.”
The man, who had instantly unleashed an immense killing intent, finished his sentence.
“You die here.”
The moment his words reached Kim Dojin’s ears, the man’s fist flew right before his nose.
CRASH—!