Decumanus.
The twelfth child of Gula.
Being the last born among the first generation of Irregulars who inherited Gula's power, Decumanus had lived a life of struggle due to being weaker than his siblings, all to win Gula's favor.
It was a struggle to survive the pressure and persecution from his brothers.
A sibling rivalry turned into a war where they aimed for each other's lives, a competition that drove them to the brink of death day and night for their mother's affection.
At the end of endless battles, after enduring a long and arduous eon, Decumanus was ecstatic when he finally gained Gula's favor. However, the merciless world announced Gula's downfall just as Decumanus had secured the coveted affection of his mother.
Gula, growing insatiably hungry and half-mad, had devoured the world nurtured by a great being, even swallowing the chaos of the world. Gula became an entity beyond persuasion or control by his children, and there was no escaping the great being's wrath against the overreaching Gula.
The mother who committed these sins was imprisoned, along with all the beings she had created.
Naturally, this included Decumanus and the other first-generation children, as well as the second and third generations born of Gula's making, all sent into the abyssal prison.
The dark abyss swallowed the space where Decumanus had lived, confining him and the first generation of Irregulars within it, and exhausted from placating the rampaging Gula in prison, the Irregulars eventually fell into a deep slumber.
Waking up after such a long sleep, Decumanus found himself in a world completely different from the one he had known.
It was not the primordial world that his mother had devoured.
It wasn't the place where burning ice existed, where bright nights were real, where the sun rose three times a day, and where the greatest being had cultivated the land, that primordial place.
While confined in prison, a great deal of time had passed, and the earth Decumanus emerged onto was populated only by small, frail beings leading peaceful lives atop a well-tended world.
Instinctively, he realized that these were the next beings chosen by the great entity that had abandoned their mother, these squirming creatures called humans.
The joy of escaping the abyssal prison quickly turned to disappointment.
He couldn't accept that the great being had ousted his powerful mother only to harbor such insignificant beings. Decumanus wanted to immediately challenge the leader of this world to test his strength, but sadly, he could not.
They were sinners.
While third-generation Irregulars and below, who could be called remnants of their mother, might be free from the great being's 'will,' the first-generation Irregulars born from fragments of their mother's power could not do the same.
The great being had not yet forgiven the sinners. They were not pardoned and released into the world; they had merely escaped through a crack made by their mother in prison, making them no more than escaped convicts.
They had become beings that could not see the sun.
Movement was only possible within the pyramid, and even that was often hindered as their bodies would stiffen like stone. Despite sensing the existence of humans, direct contact was impossible.
Then, for the first time, people entered the pyramid. When Decumanus saw them, he was certain.
These small beings were much weaker than him.
So frail and delicate, it seemed they would break if gripped too tightly – these were the rulers of the world.
A scoff escaped him.
It was clear that he was the strong one and humans were the weak. How long had he waited for such a moment?
Disappointed that humans ruled the world, Decumanus harbored a grand ambition.
No siblings who had escaped prison were yet known. Since they were stronger, it would take them longer to emerge.
Thus, he must offer the humans who entered the pyramid as sacrifices to aid his mother's revival and swallow those with similar energies to increase his power.
He aimed to grow his power and authority so he would no longer be disregarded by his siblings but rule over them instead.
Harboring such dreams, Decumanus offered all who entered the pyramid as sacrifices or consumed them. He never considered that anything could disrupt his plans.
But he had.
'Why!'
When Decumanus was first pierced by the gaze of a boy with an unusual aura, he was quite taken aback. Even up close, the boy seemed insignificant. Though he felt a slightly stronger aura from him than from others, it didn't seem threatening enough.
Judging so was a mistake.
The bold young boy pierced his gaze in an instant, targeting even the hidden weakness on the ceiling and stripping him of his power. As the power amassed from his mother dissipated, the great being's punishment arrived.
His body melted as if standing in front of a scorching
sun.
He would surely die if this continued.
That couldn't happen.
How had he endured and persevered to come this far?
He didn't want to repeat the frustration he had already experienced. Success was within reach, and unwilling to let it slip away, Decumanus madly rushed towards the boy he had marked as a sacrifice.
To survive, he needed to eat.
He had to swallow the power within the fallen boy and digest it.
That was the only way to live.
That was the only way to have lived.
Sensing the crisis, his body erupted with explosive power, reaching the distant boy in an instant. Without any hesitation, Decumanus pulled the boy from a transparent barrier and brought him to his mouth.
And he devoured him.
Or, he attempted to.
Until the boy charged at him.
***
I don't know where this strength came from.
I clearly couldn't muster any strength in my legs, but when I came to, I was holding an ice sword in my hand, rushing towards Decumanus.
I heard Uiheon and the American team shouting something behind me, but it faded away. All I could see in my vision were Decumanus and the Haeun he was holding.
Woong, woong―.
The core pulsated violently.
It was different from signaling a limit. It throbbed violently as if responding to some will, even the fourth core that hadn't been activated yet.
A hot and strong energy seemed to surge from within my heart.
Kang Sihyun didn't resist the wildly moving core. Letting it run wild as if unleashing the reins, it felt as if the cores merged into one.
Then, a sharp pain overwhelmed me.
“Kuhuk!”
Blood poured from every orifice - my nose, ears, mouth, and eyes. My limbs trembled, but strangely, I didn't fall. Despite excruciating pain as if my body and veins would burst, my feet moved. Kang Sihyun, as if unable to feel pain, leaped from the ground.
As I overcame gravity and soared into the air, I landed on Decumanus's hand.
Flare-!
My sword pierced directly through the back of Decumanus's hand. Weakened as he was, Decumanus, who hadn't flinched at such attacks before, screamed and curled up.
Thud.
The writhing Decumanus dropped the Haeun. Waiting for this moment, Kang Sihyun kicked off the ground to grab Haeun, but this time Decumanus was faster.
Swoosh―!
A fierce wind fluttered Kang Sihyun's hair. With a strong will to live or an insistence on not handing it over, Decumanus caught Haeun in mid-air, looking at Kang Sihyun with his unfrozen eye.
How.
His trembling pupils seemed to ask that question.
How could you move when you had exhausted all your strength? When your mana and stamina should have been depleted?
What was the nature of the energy emanating from your body?
Of course, Kang Sihyun was in no state to answer. His heart continued to race, and his vision narrowed to only focus on Haeun.
I must save it.
Me.
No one else but me.
As his will strengthened, a brilliance flickered in his blue eyes. Desperate enough to hear hallucinations, he seemed to hear a voice.
‘Do you want it?’
A voice a bit lower and more solemn than his own.
To that voice, Kang Sihyun unknowingly responded.
Yes, he wanted.
He wanted to save that child.
At that moment, a vast amount of mana poured out from Kang Sihyun's core. As if it had never been depleted, a huge amount spilled out, circulating throughout his body.
Flutter.
The blood flowing from the wounds finally dropped to the ground.
Decumanus, realizing this was going south, took a large step back and fled to the very corner of the space.
His movement was too fast to catch with the eye.
“Haeun!”
Jihye called out to the Haeun in Decumanus's grip as if crying.
Kang Sihyun! Are you okay? Kang Sihyun! I'll help you!
The voices of the American team were also heard. Uiheon said something lengthy, but Kang Sihyun couldn't make it out.
Trembling, as he focused on Decumanus, the latter smirked with a distorted face.
As if to say, whatever you plan to do, at least this time it won't work. A confident expression of victory.
After smirking at Kang Sihyun, Decumanus again opened his mouth wide, and his hand holding the Haeun rose.
Dangling.
Just when the Haeun was hanging like a toy between his fingers, all sound ceased.
Screams of people, the sound of the American team running to stop Decumanus, and the shouts calling for me – it was as if the organ of hearing had never existed, leaving me in utter silence.
And then.
'You are the one to end chaos at my side.'
'A protector.'
'A savior.'
'And thus, you shall be the first and the last apostle.'
Adam.
That is your name.
A voice, familiar yet paradoxically strange, pierced through my mind.
Boom!
As if heralding the rebirth of heaven and earth, a deafening roar sounded, and a powerful wave emanated from Kang Sihyun's body, strong enough for Decumanus, even at a distance, to feel.
No, strong enough for the entire pyramid to feel.
As proof, the pyramid shook as if it were about to collapse, not just one space, but as if the entire building would sink.
Within the violently shaking building, every being trembled. An indescribable pressure weighed down on them, causing even Decumanus to shiver and stare ahead in terror.
Kang Sihyun was the only one standing unscathed.
As all eyes focused on him, his lips slowly parted with a look of ecstasy.
"Bow down and worship."
"Kuk..."
"The balance has been tipped."
"Kaaaaaah!"
With each word as if imbued with power, Decumanus's body grotesquely folded upon itself. No, it would be more accurate to say it was twisted. Like paper being crumpled, he bent and twisted in all directions, eventually being flung across the room and smashing into the opposite wall.
"Ughk..."
Decumanus, foaming at the mouth, groaned miserably in a crumpled heap. The companions quickly caught the falling Haeun.
"Haeun!"
"Haeun!"
Cries filled with deep concern echoed.
Amidst the chaos, only Kang Sihyun, still tranquilly closing his eyes, watched as Haeun safely landed in Sherry's arms before the ferocious and domineering energy emanating from his body began to subside.
Finally, when all the energy was reabsorbed back into the boy, Kang Sihyun lowered his eyelids.
Tilt, the boy's body weakly leaned.
"Kang Sihyun!"
Rumble―.
A noise like the collapse of the building resounded.
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