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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 136: Earth, Once Again in Turmoil.
On the screen, Asura was looking around.
Despite his grotesque appearance as a dreadful entity, the horror seemed somewhat reduced due to the distant camera angle.
With his foolish expression, he even looked a bit amusing.
[Uh, should I look over here?]
Did he get an OK signal or something?
After clearing his throat several times, Asura suddenly summoned multiple weapons in his many arms.
Swords, spears, axes, and other weaponry.
Then, out of nowhere, he started demonstrating martial arts.
Suddenly, a message appeared in the center of the TV screen.
[The current footage is in slow motion.]
Just as I was wondering what he was doing, bullets started pouring down on him.
Dududududu!
Bullets rained from all directions.
With his huge frame, he made for a perfect target.
But Asura began to skillfully deflect every single bullet with his weapons.
Not a single round reached his body; he knocked them all away.
Even though the footage is in slow motion, Asura's movements are incredibly fast.
The bullets fly at an excruciatingly slow pace, while he alone moves as if in real-time.
[Now resuming normal speed.]
As that caption appeared, the playback speed suddenly accelerated.
Bullets, now moving at their usual rapid pace, were barely visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, Asura swung his weapons at an insane speed, forming what looked like an impenetrable wall.
After deflecting all the bullets, Asura lightly pressed his foot to the ground.
Thud!
The wasteland beneath him caved in.
The cameras filming Asura all rose simultaneously.
The angle naturally shifted upward, capturing Asura’s face.
He cleared his throat.
[Ahem. Even if you are not awakened, if you join me, Asura, you too can awaken! Come to the temple and take part in the Awakening Ritual. I will make you strong!]
Then, the screen gradually darkened, and a message appeared.
A list of temples offering the Awakening Ritual was displayed, along with a note to visit the website for more details.
What is this?
Did I just hallucinate?
As I sat there, baffled, another commercial began.
This time, it's an angel.
[By the will of God, salvation for believers. Judgment upon Olympus.]
Unlike Asura’s over-the-top display, this advertisement was calm and composed.
The angel’s eyes glowed white, but their skin tone and features resembled an East Asian.
Not Michael, then.
Another angel?
[Come to the place of faith and awaken. God will lead you to heaven.]
The camera then shifted to an ICU.
Inside, the angel walks among the patients.
As they pray in the center of the room, a majestic light fills the intensive care unit.
When the light faded, the patients slowly opened their eyes and begin to move.
A literal miracle.
The angel smiled gently at the recovering patients.
Then, the screen gradually blurred, revealing a list of churches and cathedrals in Korea offering the Awakening Ritual.
A note instructed viewers to check the website for details.
“What the hell is going on? Are gods just casually intervening in the world now?”
As I stared at the TV in disbelief, more and more commercials promoting religious awakenings appeared.
Christianity and Buddhism, already dominant in Korea, promoted their numbers, while smaller religions highlighted their exclusive support for awakened individuals as a selling point.
It seems like there are more awakening advertisements than actual product commercials now.
“What the hell happened in just one month?”
While watching these divine power showcase ads, the news broadcast began.
I grabbed another beer and turned my attention to the screen.
The first scene was already shocking.
[As always, our top story covers the latest from the UN and the World Hunter Headquarters.]
[You’ve seen this footage many times before, but we’ll replay it once again.]
The footage played.
A large conference hall marked "UN Headquarters" filled with people engaged in heated discussions.
Then, the atmosphere grew tense, and the UN Secretary-General stepped onto the podium.
"Humans, cease your meaningless debates."
Suddenly, a massive figure dropped into the frame.
Thud.
The UN Secretary-General was crushed underfoot, his body pixelated on screen.
But the crimson color seeping out left no doubt—he's been obliterated.
The conference erupted into chaos as security forces rush in, opening fire.
But the bullets passed through the figure as if he weren’t even there.
"Burn."
With a mere gesture of his finger, flames engulfed the delegates.
World leaders were reduced to nothing more than ashes in an instant.
"Aaaahhh!"
The cameraman screamed, and the figure pointed a finger at him.
"Freeze."
The camera locks in place.
The man smirks.
His face resembles Ares.
The only difference is their hair—Ares has wavy curls, while this man has long, straight hair.
"I, Apollo, proclaim this."
Apollo?
That explains the resemblance—they’re half-brothers.
He continues his arrogant declaration.
"Humans, accept your fate. My father, Zeus, will soon resume his judgment. Devote yourselves fully when that time comes."
Apollo’s body starts to fade.
His final words echo through the chamber.
"Zeus' judgment will continue. Surrender your hearts and obey. Become the Thunder Spirits."
Then, he vanished completely.
The UN Secretary-General is dead, world leaders have been incinerated, and only the cameraman remains... or so it seems.
"Rise."
"Time Reversal."
A flash of light erupts in the air, and familiar figures begin to appear.
Michael, taking the form of my father, and the Guanyin Bodhisattva I saw at the seal.
One by one, other divine beings representing major religions manifested in the UN hall.
As they extended their hands, the deceased began to revive.
Time itself reversed within the space, restoring everyone to life before they burned.
"What... is this?"
"How...?"
The leaders, bewildered, look around in shock.
"Leaders of the world, I am the Avatar of Michael."
"And I am the Avatar of the Bodhisattva Guanyin."
One by one, the gods introduce themselves.
The gathered humans stare at them in disbelief.
"We were sealed away by Olympus."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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"But now, freed from our seals, we have descended to actively protect humanity."
The gods slowly began to ascend the platform.
The news broadcast ended there.
[From that day on, the gods informed us that Zeus intended to turn all of humanity into thunder spirits.]
[After that, various religions began conducting their own awakening rituals.]
[The gods have stated that Zeus' judgment is less effective on those who have awakened.]
The broadcast then explained how certain religions were more specialized in particular classes, while others had their own areas of expertise.
News outlets also promoted the idea that in religions with fewer followers than the major ones, people could become awakened more quickly since there was no waiting list.
[Asgard, once suspected of colluding with Olympus, has been officially cleared of such allegations by the Divine Alliance.]
[In fact, the Divine Alliance announced that thanks to Asgard’s decision, they were able to break free from their seal. At the same time, they declared that Asgard would now be accepted into the Divine Alliance.]
The news had completely transformed...
There was no more ordinary news—only endless stories about the gods.
Well, it had to be shocking, after all.
Looking through the news and gathering information online, I was able to confirm a few things.
Zeus' lightning strike and time manipulation had been erased from people's memories.
However, some high-ranking awakened individuals still remembered.
Many of them suffered unbearable pain, with some even losing their minds or going insane.
Among them, a few claimed that Zeus had mentioned "Kim Jiho" and started asking who that was...
But since it was such a common name, my identity hadn’t been exposed.
And ever since Zeus’ judgment that day, nothing else had happened.
However, starting two weeks ago, sealed gods began to take action and deliver divine messages to their followers.
As a result, a week ago, the UN convened a meeting of world leaders...
But then, Apollo appeared and killed them all.
Then, after he vanished, the gods appeared and resurrected everyone.
The timing of all this was way too perfect.
[Haha, I got the guardian deity Asura! My starting stats are insane—my strength is 20!]
[If you go to a minor religion, they pour all the ability points into each individual! My friend went to Cheondoism and got all stats at 25.]
[ㄴ Stop spreading baseless rumors. Don’t promote minor religions.]
[ㄴ Yeah, my friend tried a minor religion, but the organization had poor support, and he couldn’t even get into a dungeon. No proof, no talk.]
Online, heated religious debates were in full swing.
But rather than fighting over doctrines, people were arguing about which religion offered the best perks.
In our country, the dominant religions were still Christianity and Buddhism.
And now, Asgard—previously seen as the ruling force of the world—was being accepted as one of the major religions.
Lower down the ranks were somewhat less popular "minor" religions, which had been categorized in online rankings.
Islam and Hinduism, which weren’t widely practiced in Korea but had large followings overseas, were considered stable minor religions.
They were probably major ones in the Middle East or India.
Below them, the situation was much more unpredictable.
Because of rampant misinformation, people were hesitant to make a choice.
That’s why major religions were selectively recruiting only highly talented individuals, while minor religions were accepting just about anyone.
As soon as they joined, people were awakening.
Stronger bodies, firmer skin.
Even the elderly were regaining their youth, as seen in interviews.
"Major religions don’t easily accept new members, especially not old folks like us. The best way to live a healthier life, even for just one more year, is to awaken as soon as possible—no matter where."
The screen showed Lee Junghoon (73) being interviewed.
He barely looked like he was in his 30s or 40s.
He even revealed his ID, urging people to join minor religions and enjoy the benefits of youth.
He proudly shared how he and his wife had both awakened, regained their youth, and even revitalized their marital life before the interview ended.
Wow, grandpa got his groove back.
At this rate, the entire population would become awakened beings.
[Soaring number of awakened individuals, but not enough dungeons—urgent measures needed for dungeon supply.]
[The closed-off Broken World—Hunter industry jobs disappearing.]
[Anonymous hunter insider warns: At this rate, everyone will be stuck at F or D rank and die.]
Browsing the news, I saw more and more reports like these.
Especially in the Hunter community, discussions about dungeon shortages were everywhere.
Well, it made sense.
High-level hunters used to level up in the Broken World.
But now that it was gone, their path to gaining strength had disappeared.
The Chaos beings claimed that dungeons would still appear, but there was no way they could meet this overwhelming demand.
"Whatever, it’ll work itself out."
That wasn’t something I needed to worry about.
I already had enough on my plate with SP trading and everything else.
And now, there was even something called the Divine Alliance—they could handle it.
After a month of being away, my phone had been off.
As I charged it and browsed the web, a call came in.
[Caller: Lee Jinseong.]
Well, he’s the only one who’d call me anyway.
As soon as I picked up, he started yelling.
-Oh, mighty god! Have you finally finished your awakening?
"Yeah. How’d you know?"
-I got a message too. It said the god I serve has fully awakened as the True Soul God.
Oh?
So even my apostles get notifications?
Interesting.
-So, I called to check, and you actually answered.
"Yeah. Nothing major happened, right? I just finished awakening and started catching up on the news—it's crazy."
Lee Jinseong hesitated for a moment.
Then, he spoke cautiously.
-Someone wants to give up being your apostle.
"Huh? Someone wants to renounce apostleship?"
-Yeah. Do you remember that middle-aged guy among your apostles?
I recognized his face, but I couldn’t recall his name.
I checked the Apostle Status window for confirmation—his name was Lee Jaehyun.
But next to his name…
[Inactive.]
An "X" mark appeared beside it.
"It says he’s inactive. What happened?"
Lee Jinseong sighed before answering.
-Well… the thing is…
After hesitating for a bit, he finally explained.
-That guy… he's been in a coma ever since the day Zeus’ lightning struck.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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