I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

On the first night after entering CCC, every member of the Special Mission Team except Han Goyo gathered in the basement to discuss the situation.

They had to make a decision.

Should they complete the main quest, “Rescue Han Goyo,” or follow the plan he had proposed?

Lieutenant Colonel Je summarized Han Goyo’s condition in a single sentence.

“He’s lost his mind.”

Mo Haein, still as pale as before, bit down hard on her lip.

The section of the basement assigned to her was connected to the entire mansion, making it easy to move around, but aside from that, it had no advantages.

It was the place where the most dangerous Creatures continuously respawned.

Unlike the elegant Creatures on the upper floors, the ones in the basement were grotesque in appearance and far more violent.

Even so, thanks to the Ray Gun Han Goyo had won for her on the roulette, she could deal with them without too much difficulty.

Sitting on a damp wooden barrel, Mo Haein absentmindedly stroked the Ray Gun in her hands.

Han Goyo was an indispensable member of the team.

That was an entirely logical conclusion.

“I think we should complete the main quest.”

She deliberately expressed her opinion as objectively as possible so that it wouldn’t sound like a decision based on her personal feelings.

“At the moment, the method the Recruit proposed for reaching the True Ending directly benefits the mansion. There’s a risk that the situation will change before we can reach the True Ending.”

Kwak Hanmuk, crouching on top of a dented bucket, raised a hand.

“I agree with Captain Mo.”

Han Goyo had asked them to feed the cleaners to the Creatures in order to reach the True Ending.

But the more cleaners the mansion devoured, the more powerful it became.

Everything depended on Han Goyo being able to keep his sanity for those seven days.

If he ended up fully assimilating as a Butler and changed his mind—

It would all be over.

Not only would they lose the True Ending.

They might end up making the mansion even stronger.

Trying to keep her tone calm, Mo Haein continued.

“The only thing we don’t know is what conditions we have to fulfill for the system to recognize that we’ve actually rescued him.”

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Lieutenant Colonel Je absentmindedly moved his metallic hand and asked,

“And the third option?”

There was still one more alternative.

Abandon Han Goyo and clear the Trial with only the rest of the team.

Even if they ignored the main quest, there would surely still be a way to complete it.

Mo Haein once again suppressed the nausea rising in her throat.

Fortunately, Kwak Hanmuk spoke instead.

“Rather than wasting time looking for a third option, it’d be better to rescue Han Goyo. It’s the main quest, after all. It’s the safest bet.”

Then he added his personal opinion.

“Besides, Han Goyo has an enormous amount of knowledge about Trials, and he causes strange interactions with both NPCs and items. If he ends up becoming a complete NPC, I don’t think anything good will come of it.”

Then he added one final remark.

“Besides, Samra won’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Lieutenant Colonel Je absentmindedly ran his hand across the wall.

Creaaak.

The unpleasant scraping echoed through the basement.

Yet the stone wall didn’t receive so much as a scratch.

He stared at it for a few seconds before speaking.

“I don’t want to leave him behind either.”

He had mentioned the third option, but in reality, he didn’t seem willing to abandon Han Goyo either.

‘Though if we had to abandon him, he’d probably prefer to kill him himself.’

While thinking that, Kwak Hanmuk waited for the final decision.

“Then we’ll do the main quest.”

Once the plan was decided, Lieutenant Colonel Je proposed the simplest solution.

And also the most violent one.

“Let’s destroy the mansion.”

The idea was to solve the problem physically before the infection progressed any further.

Kwak Hanmuk suspected it wasn’t so much a strategy as Lieutenant Colonel Je’s personal preference for smashing every Trial to pieces.

But he couldn’t think of any other way to rescue Han Goyo.

So he had no choice but to agree.

They decided to begin the operation on the second night.

Tasked with luring Han Goyo away, Kwak Hanmuk headed to the guest room on the third floor.

He hid himself and waited.

Not long afterward, Han Goyo stepped into the hallway carrying a lantern.

From that moment on, Kwak Hanmuk silently followed him.

Watching him act, he could only click his tongue.

‘If we leave him like this, we’re screwed.’

That was the only thought that came to mind.

There was nothing more terrifying than someone who knew the game perfectly.

Han Goyo waved the lantern to attract cleaners panicking in the darkness, then used the mansion’s Creatures to dispose of them.

He did it with astonishing naturalness.

He looked like an NPC who had always been part of the setting.

If an NPC capable of luring cleaners the way Han Goyo did ever appeared in CCC.

It would be an incredibly troublesome enemy.

The Trial’s difficulty would increase by at least one rank.

After listening from outside as the ballerina Creature twisted the cleaners into spiral-shaped masses.

Kwak Hanmuk finally called out to Han Goyo.

If he let him continue, there wouldn’t be a single cleaner left alive.

While trying to stop him from killing any more of them, he carefully observed Han Goyo’s behavior to assess the extent of his infection.

It felt absurd watching him work so hard to fulfill his role as an apprentice Butler.

Even so.

At that level of infection, if they managed to get him out of the Trial, there would be no reason to execute him.

After a brief struggle, he managed to subdue Han Goyo.

Then he completely restrained him with the pagoda wood bead rosary.

Up until the moment he ran out of the mansion carrying Han Goyo, who continued struggling despite being bound.

Everything seemed to be going reasonably well.

Lieutenant Colonel Je had made his move earlier than planned, but Kwak Hanmuk still believed they could handle the situation.

At least.

Until the Butlers appeared, utterly enraged.

“You will not be granted a merciful death!!!”

The voices of the two spear-wielding Butlers made his internal organs tremble.

Kwak Hanmuk spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped his chin with the back of his hand before cursing.

He had expected those Butlers to be strong.

But this far exceeded anything he had anticipated.

’…Damn it, they’re at least four-star level.’

Originally, you never had to fight the Butlers in CCC, so he hadn’t known, but it was obvious they were far beyond ordinary four-star enemies.

Just as Kwak Hanmuk decided to leave the matter to Lieutenant Colonel Je and get out of there with the deranged Night Chestnut—

“…Gunbam?”

Something happened that was completely outside every possible plan.

The Butlers, who should have prioritized protecting the mansion above all else, ignored the fact that it was under attack.

And they put Han Goyo first.

Along with his confusion came a deep sense of disbelief.

‘How can that possibly make any sense?’

For NPCs to prioritize a suitable candidate over the mansion itself—the very foundation of their own existence—was absurd.

It was as absurd as imagining Lieutenant Colonel Je treating a Trial with kindness.

But he had no time to think about it.

Kwak Hanmuk broke into a run.

“Gunbam!”

To his dismay, both the Cat Butler and the Rabbit Butler chased after Han Goyo.

Boom!

The Black Moon Blade blocked the Cat Butler’s Sun Spear.

The violent shockwave whipped through Mo Haein’s short hair.

Without changing her expression, she faced the Cat Butler and clicked her tongue.

“Come here, kitty.”

The provocation was extraordinarily effective.

The Cat Butler flew into a rage immediately and launched his assault.

Beams erupted from every direction as his elegant spear technique enveloped Mo Haein.

She was already short, but compared to a Butler, she looked tiny.

Using her small frame to her advantage, she dodged each attack by the narrowest of margins before counterattacking.

And the Rabbit Butler.

Lieutenant Colonel Je was supposed to deal with him.

“Damn it, Lieutenant Colonel Je!”

But he was doing something else.

After landing on the ground, Lieutenant Colonel Je separated his metallic wings into countless feather-shaped blades and said,

“Wait.”

When a lieutenant colonel gave an order, a captain had no choice but to obey.

So all Kwak Hanmuk could do was keep running from the Rabbit Butler.

The Rabbit Butler raised his Crescent Spear.

The sight of that enormous figure wielding an even longer spear was genuinely intimidating.

His voice made Kwak Hanmuk’s brain vibrate.

“Gunbam. I will save you.”

The Crescent Spear tore through the night sky.

Countless beams scattered in every direction along the spear’s trajectory.

They were so fast that dodging them while carrying Han Goyo was nearly impossible.

Kwak Hanmuk created a barrier with the bead rosary to block the attack.

Rumble!

The continuous impacts made everything spin before his eyes.

The instant the barrage of beams stopped, he hurled the rosary, wrapping it around the Rabbit Butler’s spear.

At the same time, a sharp pain shot through his heart.

He braced himself for the next attack.

But for some reason, the Rabbit Butler simply stood there, watching him.

Seizing the opportunity, Kwak Hanmuk pulled on the rosary with all his strength.

Screeech!

The beads twisted with a shrill metallic screech.

But the Rabbit Butler remained completely motionless, holding onto his spear.

After watching Kwak Hanmuk for a few moments, he spoke in a much darker voice.

“How insolent.”

The Rabbit Butler swung his spear violently.

Unable to withstand the force, the rosary shattered, and the beads flew apart.

As Kwak Hanmuk tried to gather the scattered beads—

The mansion screamed.

“Aaaaaaaagh!!!”

It was a horrifying shriek, like the cry of a creature born from the abyss.

Both the Cat Butler and the Rabbit Butler froze.

Cruuunch… Craaack…

The east wing of the mansion began to warp.

As though an invisible force were crushing it, the entire structure twisted.

Then it exploded.

BOOM!

The remains of the east wing blasted in every direction.

Standing before the explosion, Lieutenant Colonel Je remained perfectly still as he gathered the metallic blades once more to reconstruct his wings.

The Cat Butler and the Rabbit Butler silently stared at the completely destroyed east wing.

Even though neither of them had eyes, the direction of their gaze alone was enough to send chills down Kwak Hanmuk’s spine.

‘What the hell did that lunatic do?’

After a brief moment of awe, Kwak Hanmuk started running again.

Both Butlers simultaneously pointed their spears at Lieutenant Colonel Je.

A scorching light as hot as the sun and another as cold as the moon began gathering at the tips of their weapons.

This was a completely different attack pattern.

Both lights continued to grow.

Until they finally merged into one.

Then they fired an immensely powerful beam.

Lieutenant Colonel Je immediately took off to dodge it.

But it was useless.

The beam pursued its target.

So he twisted in midair and flew straight toward the main building.

Since he was going to be hit anyway.

He intended to destroy the main building as well.

However, as though they had perfectly anticipated his intentions, the Butlers swung their spears once more.

Another beam erupted from a different direction, striking from the opposite side and trapping Lieutenant Colonel Je between the two attacks.

Flash!

For an instant, everything shone as brightly as midday.

When the light disappeared.

Lieutenant Colonel Je’s body fell toward the ground.

He spread his wings at the last moment, barely cushioning the impact before crashing down.

He staggered forward several steps before dropping to one knee.

His protective glasses cracked.

Then split cleanly in two before falling to the ground.

Lieutenant Colonel Je slowly raised his head.

And Kwak Hanmuk realized he needed to run even faster.

Not because Lieutenant Colonel Je had survived such an attack.

That alone was already monstrous.

What was truly dangerous was that beneath his blood-covered face.

His eyes were shining with pure excitement.

‘We’re screwed.’

Whenever he reached that state.

Lieutenant Colonel Je stopped distinguishing between friend and foe.

Anyone who stayed near him inevitably got caught in the middle of the fight.

On top of that, the Butlers’ offensive power was completely abnormal.

If this continued.

They could all end up wiped out.

As he gripped the bead rosary tightly, he heard a very faint voice.

“Captain Kwak…”

Kwak Hanmuk was even more startled than when Lieutenant Colonel Je had survived the twin beams.

Without receiving any command from its owner, the bead rosary moved on its own and released Han Goyo’s gag.

His face completely pale, Han Goyo spoke.

“I’ve come back to my senses. Please untie me.”

Naturally, Kwak Hanmuk couldn’t believe him that easily.

So he resorted to the oldest verification method there was.

“The Butlers are a damned cat and a damned rabbit. Say it.”

“The Butlers are a damned cat and a damned rabbit. Now please untie me.”

Kwak Hanmuk removed the bead rosary.

The moment his feet touched the ground again, Han Goyo rubbed his arms while looking over the devastation surrounding them.

Then, all of a sudden, he apologized.

“I’m sorry, Captain Kwak.”

A system window appeared before Kwak Hanmuk.

‘Han Goyo’ has registered ‘Kwak Hanmuk’.