The Changes of Judgement of Destruction (Shamash)

"You... Nanook?"

Kevin looked at the figure behind him and asked. However, the figure had all its limbs intact, no infamous scar across its chest, and looked just like an ordinary person.

The figure didn't respond to Kevin's question and continued walking forward on its own.

As "Nanook" stepped closer to him, Kevin found himself once again unable to move. He watched as the figure walked straight through him, step by step, until it reached the cliff's edge.

"Nanook" stepped off the cliff but didn't fall; instead, he floated in the air. Looking down at the swarm below, he turned and spread his arms wide as he spoke to Kevin.

"This is His homeland—Tayzzyronth. It has witnessed the Emperor's War and has been consumed by the swarm."

"He walked these lands for countless years, feeling destruction, understanding it, accepting it, and becoming one with it."

"You resemble Him greatly, but you will never become Him. Your powers are no different from those of a ghost, swimming against the current."

"I have expectations of you..."

"Who are you, really?" Kevin quickly asked.

"Nanook" said nothing more. His form became blurry, twisted, and then dissipated into nothingness. Immediately, the space around them collapsed, and everything returned to chaos.

Kevin slowly opened his eyes. The scene from earlier was like a knife carving itself into his mind, impossible to forget.

He propped himself up and sat upright. That person couldn't have been Nanook. They had spoken of the place and Nanook from the perspective of a third party. Who were they really? And their aura...

And what did those last two sentences mean? What exactly were they expecting?

Kevin found himself increasingly fed up with these riddles.

He reached out and touched the mark on his chest. It no longer felt hot, and the black gem embedded in it had vanished.

Could it have been absorbed by him, just like in the simulated universe? But this time, he didn't feel anything.

[No, you've gained a riddle].

A voice in his mind retorted.

Kevin ignored it, lowering his head to rummage through his pockets for the gem when a flash of fire passed before his eyes.

He looked up and saw that the Judgment of Desty, which had been stored in the Imaginary Space, had inexplicably appeared beside him, floating in the air.

Why did it suddenly show up?

Kevin reached out to grab it, but Destruction dodged.

Kevin: ???

"Come here," Kevin commanded.

Destruction wobbled in the air, clearly indicating it didn't want to comply.

Could it have developed a consciousness? Like a sword spirit?

Kevin said with a hidden smile, "Be good, behave, and I'll treat you to some instant noodles."

He didn't have anything else of value on him, and instant noodles were the only thing he could offer. Hopefully, it would work.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Destruction immediately flew over. Kevin quickly reached out and grabbed it.

Kevin held onto Destruction tightly, inspecting it for a long while. Destruction seemed to sense the scrutiny and began trembling.

Truth be told, the Judgment of Shamash wasn't like the Void Archives, which possessed a rudimentary consciousness from the start and later developed a great deal of wisdom, able to guide its wielder through its knowledge.

Shamash was created purely for killing and destruction. Moreover, the Herrscher Core of Flame within it didn't retain any consciousness, which made it unlikely for it to develop a new awareness.

Until now, all of Shamash's actions had been controlled by Kevin himself or preset programming.

Kevin didn't like weapons with consciousness. They were too unpredictable. If Shamash stayed loyal, that was fine, but the initial signs of its new consciousness seemed rebellious.

But if it did become a problem, he could always wipe out its awareness.

Kevin transformed Shamash back into its dual-gun form. As expected, there were notable changes.

Previously, in dual-gun mode, the Herrscher Core of Flame had been split in half, with one half in each gun. Now, one of the guns housed a complete Herrscher Core, while the other contained a black gemstone.

Well, that explains where it went.

The two guns now had entirely different auras. The one with the red gemstone felt no different from the original Judgment of Shamash, except that its energy was now more volatile—likely because it held a complete Herrscher Core.

The one with the black gemstone, on the other hand, was filled with the aura of "pure destruction"—reckless, angry, destructive. Though the terms might seem similar to the Flame Core, the energy it emitted was fundamentally different, more chaotic yet restrained.

Could Shamash's new consciousness be related to the black gemstone? Or was it tied to that mysterious entity? This felt suspiciously like some hidden plot.

Kevin picked up the gun radiating the destructive aura and aimed it at a distant monster. He pulled the trigger.

A black beam shot from the barrel, hitting the Rift creature squarely. But there was no expected gore.

The creature was only slightly knocked back and then started howling, as if shouting, "Who? Who hit me?"

Then the howls turned into screams. The creature clutched its head, collapsed to the ground, and began slamming its head into the ground repeatedly. Even as its head shattered, it didn't stop, not until its body twisted, swelled, and exploded, leaving nothing behind.

How strange.

Kevin shot at several more creatures, needing to test it a few more times.

But each monster's final performance differed—some danced, others tore their own heads off and kicked them like a ball—but all inevitably ended up exploding.

"This is ridiculous..." Kevin murmured.

This method of killing didn't feel like destruction at all—it seemed oddly... joyful?

Kevin looked down at the twin guns, thinking of something else. He combined them, and they once again became a greatsword.

The power of the Flame Core and the power of "Destruction" didn't repel each other but achieved a delicate balance.

"Can you wield only one power at a time?" Kevin asked.

Shamash shimmered. The next moment, the sword's blade brightened, the aura of destruction fading as pure flames ignited along its edge.

Then the blade dimmed again, turning pitch black as dark flames roared to life.

"Behave, and I'll treat you well."

Seeing this, Kevin took out two cups of instant noodles from the Imaginary Space—one for himself and one for Shamash.

Before long, the noodles were ready. He got lucky with this batch—they were both seafood flavor.

Kevin picked up his cup, slurped a mouthful of noodles, and turned his gaze to Shamash, curious about how a sword could eat noodles.

Shamash seemed to sense Kevin's confusion and shifted into its gun form.

What's it doing?

Under Kevin's puzzled gaze, the twin guns inserted themselves into the cup, and the noodles and broth began disappearing rapidly, with faint slurping sounds audible.

"Is it... slurping noodles with the barrel?" Kevin asked, dumbfounded.

[A barrel is a mouth too...]

The voice in his mind seemed equally surprised by this novel approach.

In less than a minute, the cup of noodles was gone, not even a drop of broth left.

Judgment of Shamash lifted one of its barrels, emitting steam, as if... burping.

Then it pointed its barrel toward Kevin's cup of noodles.

Naturally, Kevin wasn't willing to give it up. He quickly turned around and slurped down his noodles in big gulps. Having barely tasted his seafood-flavored noodles, he wasn't about to let them go. At most, he'd let Shamash have some broth.

After downing the noodles and a few gulps of broth, Kevin handed the cup over. Shamash didn't mind the leftovers and "glug glug glug" finished the broth, even shaking off the remnants from its barrel.

Afterward, it pointed its barrel back at Kevin, as if asking for more.

Seeing this, Kevin quickly flipped the gun around and warned it.

"Remember, never point your barrel at anyone. Behave, or I can erase you at any time."

Judgment of Shamash shifted back into greatsword form and wobbled, as if to show its understanding.

Kevin stood up, packed the empty noodle cups back into the Imaginary Space, and gestured for Shamash to follow. It returned to his side obediently.

"We should head back now. I wonder if they've woken up yet."

Kevin sliced open a dimensional rift with Shamash.

"By the way, can you actually taste instant noodles?" Kevin asked curiously.

Shamash wobbled.

"You really can? You're so weird..."

Kevin stepped through the rift.

...

At that moment, Stelle was dreaming.

"...They will suffer. There will be sacrifices. Some will die because of my orders," Cocolia said in a voice full of guilt.

"To welcome them does not mean their death... They will be embraced by the cradle of a new world," a mysterious voice explained to her.

"But what about the people below? They will lose the protection of the Builders. They will see me as... a tyrant."

"You have glimpsed... the world we have promised."

"A temporary misunderstanding... in exchange for eternal prosperity."

"The decision is yours... We will respect it."

"..."

"I understand now," Cocolia's voice grew firm, as a coldness began to emanate from her.

...

"Why hasn't she woken up yet? She's been asleep for too long, don't you think?"

A mischievous voice, tinged with impatience, broke the silence.

"Relax, Sampo, it's not your problem. Logically speaking, she should wake up soon."

A gentle female voice sounded, but there was a hint of coldness in her voice...serious?

"I really don't know what you want to do, Sambo. What do these things at the upperground have to do with you? Why do you have to go through this muddy water? You also brought them to the lower ground. You think you are not conspicuous enough, so you have to be targeted, Are you satisfied if you focus on the fire?"

"Don't say that! I, Sambo, always take care of my friends. That white-haired man helps me, otherwise I will be in jail and I have to repay my favor no matter what."

Sambo spread his hand and said.

"Besides, what about the fire... maybe these things I brought here can make a difference, especially the white-haired man. The smoke has no effect on him, so it doesn't matter. It's easy to say."

"Is this why you let a few of them run around? I'll just go out for a while, and they'll disappear."

Natasha crossed her arms and stared at Sambo with a frown.

"Oh, what an accident, just an accident! I'm going to find them all right now."

Sambo scratched his head and said embarrassedly.

Natasha sighed after hearing this and urged.

"That little girl... you'd better find her quickly and keep an eye on her. Her lower body has been sealed off for more than ten years, and the child has almost forgotten what her upper body looks like. Suddenly, a man wearing a silvermane iron guard's clothes appeared…"

"Think about what Wildfire would do to her and you if they knew?"

After hearing this, Sambo nodded quickly, as if he didn't dare to neglect.

"I understand, I understand! I'm going to find the eldest sister right away. I'll ask you to take care of our guest. I'll be back soon. Remember to explain it to me."

Sambo left after speaking.

With the sound of the door closing, Stelle also woke up from his dream.

She opened her eyes and slowly stood up. Natasha also noticed the movement behind her, looked back at Stelle and said.

"Little sleepyhead, you've finally woken up."

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The author seems little incosisten in the the name of Judgement of shamash (Destruction) in one lines they called it Judgement of Shamash in other lines they called it Judgement of Destruction, you all can think whatever keep the name of Shamash or Destruction in the comment and i will change it in the future update.

"If you enjoy my translation work, feel free to support me in ko-fi.com/nebulaarheina"

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