### Chapter: 423
God of Thieves.
Kraush stood there, dumbfounded at the sight of her emerging from the door the gods had prepared.
I mean, who would have thought he’d run into the God of Thieves here?
“What are you doing coming out of there?”
When Kraush asked, she fully exited the door.
[ I came to let you know. ]
At that moment, her voice echoed directly in Kraush’s mind.
Just like the technology used by the God of War, it was a direct link.
“I came to let you know? About what?”
Kraush replied, puzzled, as she casually scanned the surroundings.
The gods were falling one by one, defeated by the humans.
At this rate, they’d all be squashed in no time.
[ Given the situation, I’ll be quick. ]
This was the perfect chance to avoid the gods’ eyes.
They needed time to return home after being summoned into the Middle Realm.
[ The gods attempted to disrupt the balance by manifesting in this world. ]
“Balance, you say?”
[ The more the world erodes, the more power the gods can exert in the Middle Realm. ]
Suddenly, it clicked for Kraush about how the end of the Golden Age meant fewer skills granted by the gods.
Could it be related to world erosion?
[ It’s the power of another world’s erosion. The gods could infiltrate the Middle Realm through the gaps. ]
But thanks to Kraush, the erosion rate had drastically dropped.
As a result, the gods couldn’t flaunt their powers in the Middle Realm anymore.
‘The talents humans accrued after they died were in exchange for skills granted.’
These talents were food for the gods’ growth.
They must have been sweating bullets.
Their buffet of the Middle Realm just got shut down.
So what could the gods do?
Nothing but force the closed door to open again.
[ This door is the gateway to summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. ]
Kraush’s eyes widened in shock.
These crazy gods were ready to drag in the Four Horsemen just to up the world erosion rate.
All for their own greed.
Anger bubbled up in him.
He thought gods were supposed to be unapproachable, but learning the truth, they were far worse than imagined.
“These bastards.”
Kraush openly expressed his rage, and the God of Thieves tapped the door twice.
[ The Four Horsemen won’t cross through this door. I’ve locked it up tight. ]
That was a relief.
Kraush knew well the horrors of the Four Horsemen.
[ But, despite today’s events, the gods won’t stop. ]
They were selfish beings living solely for their own desires.
They’d find a way to intervene in the Middle Realm, no matter what.
Kraush’s face darkened.
He knew the gods wouldn’t easily give up.
[ That’s where I can step in and stop them. ]
Kraush’s gaze shifted back to the God of Thieves.
[ And you must help me with that. ]
The God of Thieves slowly smiled.
From her grin, Kraush couldn’t help but sense something familiar that he’d felt from other gods before.
A greedy lust willing to use any means for their objectives.
He could feel that desire burning in her gaze.
‘Now I get it.’
The God of Thieves had been providing him the Black Hood and support all for today.
This was a deal.
And the sponsor who had helped him was now looking for him to deliver on that deal.
“Wait a sec.”
Just then, Arthur, sensing danger in the flow of events, spoke up.
“You’re the same kind of god, right? What are we supposed to trust?”
In response to Arthur’s question, the God of Thieves tilted her head slightly.
[ Trust isn’t important. Other things are. ]
“Hah.”
Her words made Kraush laugh lightheartedly.
He passed by Arthur, who was blocking his path.
“Guess you have a point there.”
There was no trust between Kraush and the God of Thieves.
But that very lack of trust made her all the more trustworthy.
Having paid a fair price and established a deal means they could both deliver what they wanted.
“God of Thieves.”
Kraush called out to her, still not knowing her true name.
“What’s your purpose?”
As he asked, she looked up at the sky.
[ The Divine Realm and the Middle Realm. ]
Then she stared directly at Kraush.
[ The complete separation of the two worlds. ]
The Divine Realm would no longer interfere with the Middle Realm, and the Middle Realm wouldn’t be affected by the Divine Realm.
Kraush recalled what he had heard about the God of Thieves in the past.
She was said to be a god who would steal even the powers of the gods themselves.
During the First Ragnarok, she drained all the gods of their powers and continued the same antics in the Divine Realm.
‘If the Divine Realm and Middle Realm become completely separated…’
The gods would lose their means of growth.
So, who would be the only one able to grow in that scenario?
‘The God of Thieves herself.’
Kraush began to sense where her desires were pointing.
Perhaps she was aiming for something bigger than anyone suspected.
“What should I do?”
But for Kraush, that was all fine.
If the threat of the gods were eliminated, the Middle Realm wouldn’t have to face any outside interference.
At that point, the God of Thieves’ purpose aligned perfectly with Kraush’s.
There was enough value in helping her out.
[ The Center of the World. ]
The God of Thieves pointed in a direction.
[ The gods will soon open the Lower World Gate to descend into the Middle Realm. ]
The direct descent of the gods.
It would be a scale completely different from merely invading through a contractor.
And Kraush knew all too well how much chaos that could trigger.
[ I’ll convert that door into a Succession Gate. ]
Kraush’s eyes lit up.
He pieced together her plan in his mind.
“You want me to ride that door up to the Divine Realm?”
[ Exactly. ]
She answered simply, but it was anything but simple.
He had no idea what the gods holding grudges against Kraush would do if he climbed up through that door.
He’d be forced to battle gods directly.
[ Only low-tier gods can use the Lower World Gate. ]
High-tier gods are bound by laws and can’t interfere deeply in the Middle Realm.
Let alone directly descending.
That was just nonsense.
If they tried, even they’d end up regretting it.
[ With your current strength, you can definitely handle low-tier gods. ]
Low-tier gods were waiting at the Lower World Gate for him.
The God of Thieves suggested he take them down instead.
“Kraush, wait. This is completely insane.”
If things went like this, Kraush’s safety wouldn’t be guaranteed.
Arthur rushed forward, worried about losing Kraush. Kraush raised a hand.
“Arthur, this world is the result of what you, I, and many others fought to protect.”
The cycle that Arthur couldn’t achieve after countless repetitions,
that cycle was this moment.
Arthur shuddered.
The sincerity in Kraush’s eyes was something any fellow regressor would struggle against.
“I’m not about to lose this world.”
This world was the result of Kraush’s hard work.
With their very existence threatened, could he just sit back?
Kraush didn’t have that kind of patience.
And it was precisely that trait that brought him to where he stood today.
“I’m going to the Divine Realm.”
As Kraush declared his intent, the God of Thieves turned and prepared to leave through the door.
“Wait. Let me ask one thing.”
Kraush stopped her in her tracks.
“What’s your name, anyway?”
He had never heard her name before.
As he asked, she glanced at Kraush and slowly raised her lips in a smile.
[ Steal it yourself. ]
With that, the God of Thieves vanished beyond the door.
Steal it myself, huh?
That was such a classic move for her.
As the God of Thieves disappeared, the light from the door extinguished completely.
Soon, the Succession Gate would open up.
If he climbed through there, he’d reach the Divine Realm.
“Kraush, you seriously…”
Arthur wore a complicated expression before exhaling.
“If you’re going, then I’ll go with you.”
Kraush turned back to Arthur.
“Didn’t you just say it was dangerous?”
“Well, if we go together, it should be less risky.”
What kind of logic was that?
But Arthur showed no signs of backing down.
Kraush could feel his determination to follow no matter what.
Arthur’s stubbornness was something Kraush understood well.
Once he set his mind to something, it was hard to shake it off.
“Besides, you were the one who suggested going to the Divine Realm first.”
Wasn’t the situation a bit different back then?
“And I’ll prepare too.”
Before the Succession Gate opens.
Arthur revealed that he’d use his knowledge from his regression to get ready.
Before regressing, Arthur had been strong enough to face the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
If he could get that strong again, then surely there wouldn’t be much to worry about.
“Alright.”
In the end, Kraush accepted Arthur’s suggestion.
There’s a saying that two heads are better than one.
More importantly, he could definitely trust Arthur’s strength.
Boom!
At that moment, the last god finally fell.
Kraush witnessed the scene and saw the people celebrating their victory.
The Second Ragnarok.
They had overcome the gods’ manifestation with nothing but human strength.
As he watched the jubilant faces, Kraush raised an arm and patted Arthur on the shoulder.
“More than that, we should get what we need to.”
They had finally driven away the gods that had caused chaos in the world.
Couldn’t they share a bit of the joyous victory together?
“Though, Kraush, you won’t even get a chance to rest.”
As Arthur shot him a glare, Kraush sheepishly smiled.
He had to completely rob the fallen gods of their skills.
To do that, he’d probably have to slog through the entire day without a break.
But Kraush didn’t care at all, rolling up his sleeves.
“Gotta do what needs to be done.”
The time until the Succession Gate opened wasn’t long.
He had to muster enough power to fight against the gods before then.
“When that gate opens, I’ll see you later.”
Kraush grinned at Arthur and gave him a wave.
Arthur, looking at him with some displeasure, spun on his heels, blonde hair flying.
“Don’t show up in some ridiculous state when we meet next.”
Who was he to say that?
“Oh, well, I probably won’t show up like that anyway.”
Just then, Kraush realized Arthur was staring at something.
As he turned to follow Arthur’s gaze, he saw faces he recognized well.
And those familiar faces belonged to none other than his wives.
Kraush froze.
Their eyes were quietly fixed on Kraush, who was with Arthur.
“Kraush-nim?”
Bianca asked, smiling briefly as if she wanted an explanation.
Looking at her smile, Kraush rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Would it be too much to ask for the Succession Gate to open a little faster?
