Chapter 61 – Waiting Quietly (2)


    「HAH, PUHAHAHA! Yes, a regressor couldn’t have already discovered this ce.」


    Its eyes sparkled as if it wanted to capture my appearance.


    「You, who have be even more splendid, the ninth appointed Demon King. Do you intend to return to the Demon God?」


    “Me? I’m a fine person without such things.”


    「PUHAHA! Still endlessly arrogant.」


    “More importantly. You, were you abandoned by the Demon God? Can you even resurrect?”


    「There’s no value in answering that. However, you are qualified to make that statement.」


    “It seems you still don’t respond to your shorings. You have to acknowledge your weaknesses in order to move up.”


    「Is there value in answering such foolish questions? The power of brutality bestowed by the Demon God still resides in me.」


    “Good to hear. I’ll make sure to kill youpletely when we meet this time, so look forward to it.”


    「Yeah, I’ll be waiting. Pleasure can wait. And when the timees, let’s finish the fight we couldn’tst time.」


    Creak.


    A pair of eyes slowly closed.


    「But as you are now, you will die by my hand.」


    He disappeared, leaving only his voice behind.


    His demonic qi was fading away like an afterglow.


    Seo Boram and Yoo Eunchae were pale in the presence of the Insect Dragon King’s overwhelming existence.


    Anyway.


    ‘There was a regressor, after all.’


    And I already had a guess who it might be.


    ‘Such a suspicious fellow he is, Seon Woohyeon.’


    His actions were as if his mind was sharp, but his body couldn’t keep up.


    ‘Does everyone know about it?’


    A regressor was someone who could repeat their actions by moving back in time.


    However, it never led to good things.


    I knew it. The transcendents and gods knew it, too.


    Regressors couldn’t change the past.


    Should I call it the fate of the world?


    No matter what was done, what will happen will happen.


    If those who know the events in advance tried to prevent something,


    ‘Then something even more tremendous follows.’


    It’s like a butterfly effect.


    More vicious, more secretive.


    And on arger scale.


    That was why regressors cannot change anything.


    Although they knew the future, so what?


    That future was already an observed future, and if it only amplifies the events, turning everything into aplete mess, then regressors can do nothing.


    I quietly closed my eyes.


    ‘The system mentioned the Celestial Gods.’


    The Celestial Gods.


    I looked at the system. It seemed like they were the system’s creators.


    ‘Regressors really aren’t that good.’


    Plus, Seon Woohyeon’s talent wasn’t that great.


    Others may talk about him being ‘The Chosen One’ or whatever…


    Honestly, if I were to assess him, I think he might be in the lower ranks among my sses.


    If we’re talking about talent alone, that is.


    However, Seon Woohyeon might have a different kind of talent, like using traits well or perhapsbining them well.


    It’s because of such a brilliant talent that he was able to maintain the top position.


    “The incident just now…”


    “You’ll get hurt if you know.”


    I interrupted Seo Boram’s words.


    Knowing could indeed lead to actual harm. And there’s enough power for that to really happen.


    Knowing about the Insect Demon King can lead to a curse or contamination by demonic qi.


    It was something Seo Boram shouldn’t know yet.


    ‘Someday, she’ll have to know.’


    Insect Dragon King.


    I had a suspicion that that creature was going to resurrect soon.


    It was my Intuition. The intuition that had elevated me to a transcendent twice was telling me so.


    ‘I didn’t expect to see him here.’


    Insect Dragon King.


    I’m talking about that guy, the king of the Insect Demon n.


    For a Demon King, he was quite secretive.


    After all, countless insects became his limbs and agents.


    The demonic Insects were quite bothersome.


    Numerous, yet so small. They hid everywhere, sucking people’s blood.


    More troublesome than anyrge monster or viin are the demonic insects.


    So, I provoked him.


    Told him toe at me before he escted the situation and umted power.


    Having been thoroughly defeated by a human once, he would want to restore his pride.


    At that time, I had most of the empire’s resources.


    He wasn’t only facing the Purple Tower Master.


    He was practically facing the entire empire.


    At that time, I had enough strength.


    It was bad luck for him.


    That’s what one could think.


    ‘And I’ll have a way to deal with it somehow now.’


    [Trait, Celestial Body (A+) begins to evolve into Heavenly Martial Body (S).]


    [Please wait in a safe ce.]


    Crack.


    Just as I was thinking that, my body started moving on its own.


    I frowned.


    Come to think of it, there was one of the rewards.


    Celestial Body.


    The thought that it was evolving into the Heavenly Martial Body came to mind.


    ‘Is my Heavenly Martial Body returning?’


    Crack, crack.


    My skeleton twists. My muscles expanded and then contracted. The mana that had been sleeping in my meridians began to move actively as if trying to create an even more optimized body.


    “Are, are you okay?”


    “Oh, I’m just receiving a reward.”


    Celestial Body.


    The process of evolving into the Heavenly Martial Body.


    ‘I can manage somehow while moving.’


    But still, I haven’t eliminated the annoyance.


    I stared at one side.


    “Yoo Eunchae, Seo Boram.”


    “Yes!”


    “Yep.”


    “There’s something you have to do.”


    “What you’re experiencing is normal! By acquiring physical traits, your body is reconstituted.”


    “That’s true, but.”


    I stared at one wall.


    Earlier, I couldn’t see the entrance because a trait had hidden it.


    However, I had already confirmed it with my Heavenly Eyes.


    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.


    ‘I wonder if she knows or not.’


    I looked at Yoo Eunchae.


    Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to know.


    I see a famr ability hidden in the corner.


    Soul Origin Qi.


    A grey mist lingered in my hand.


    I clenched my fist.


    Using Heaven-Surrendering Godly Technique would be a waste. Soul Origin Qi is made to match the Heaven-Surrendering Godly Technique by itself.


    ‘Killing the enemy isn’t the goal.’


    Capturing him alive was.


    I clenched my fist and swung it.


    Boom!!


    Striking a blurry spot, the barrier shattered.


    And then, a man in a white gown, shivering, came into view.


    ‘A guy I’ve seen before.’


    No, saying I’ve seen him before didn’t quite fit.


    It would be more urate to say he was someone I remembered.


    I smirked.


    「My goodness, to think that a worthless scoundrel from Iron-Blood Sword n had this much power?」


    「Rather, his Unique Trait is too outstanding—a case of unrealized potential. It’s a very fortunate oue for us.」


    “Hey, long time no see.”


    I waved my hand lightly.


    The one who led the human experiments on Han Seojin— the original inhabitor of this body.


    It took a bit longer.


    I grinned.


    Crack crack.


    My body was transforming. The pain was rushing in. But it was transforming just fine.


    My soul transforms into a body it remembers—the body I had in my third life.


    The Great Sky Dancing Divine Mantra has started to be extremely active.


    The divine that was asleep was slowly opening its eyes.


    “Ah, do you know this person?”


    “We have a poignant rtionship. He is the one I’ve been unterally searching for.”


    “Ugh…”


    He looked at me with a frightened face.


    Though he imed to be a member of the Iron-Blood Sword n and had quite a decent hidden trait.


    ‘You got caught once, didn’t you?’


    Unlike the others, I didn’t let myself be fooled the same way more than once, like Yoo Eunchae.


    But there was no time.


    The rewards they arbitrarily gave are starting to cause trouble.


    ‘It seems I need to step back for now.’


    I formed a seal with my fingers.


    cial Heavenly Moon.


    Life-Controlling Ice Seal.


    A seal that holds onto life.


    I ced it on him.


    With this, they won’t be able to act recklessly.


    [Please evacuate to a safe ce]


    I clicked my tongue inwardly as I looked at the blue window.


    My physical condition was not normal. In this state, even if I wanted to continue, I couldn’t.


    ‘It’s also not something I should do.’


    It was because of who I was that I could afford to dy like this. For others, doing so would have led straight to immediate consequences.


    They could go mad or even be invalids.


    “Yoo Eunchae, Seo Boram. Take care of it yourselves. Keep them alive no matter what.”


    I needed to rest for a bit.


    「You have mysterious eyes.」


    It was a warm voice.


    I really liked that voice.


    However, it was a situation where I had no choice but to like it.


    「Such beautiful eyes. The kind of eyes that mages would desire the most.」


    「You are…」


    「There are many epithets for me. But I prefer to go by the Duke of Extermination. So, you should call me that too.」


    「…」


    「You seem to have a lot on your mind. Rest for now.」


    「What will be of me?」


    「What will be… Your life from now on could unfold differently.」


    「A different life?」


    「Yes, if you wish, you could be the master of a grand mage tower or rot in a ditch, wasting your talent. Oh, and by the way, the master of a mage tower can live morevishly than most kings of significant kingdoms.」


    Duke of Extermination gave me an opportunity.


    The chance to live as a human.


    「Your magical attribute is heaven. That’s quite unique. But there are water, ice, wind, and lightning. I’ll teach you lightning. There’s someone to teach you ice, but water and wind might be a bit difficult.」


    Moreover, she was a mentor in my life,


    「Do you want to go to the academy?」


    「There’s no ce like school for life experiences. Now that the prince is here try to get close to him.」


    She was also my guardian.


    「 Our visits have be less frequenttely. I heard that the daughter of the Duke of the Heavenly Master is interested in you.」


    「Maybe it’s best to get rid of her…」


    She was also my lover.


    「Don’t worry. I am magnanimous. I live a life span different from humans. But… don’t flirt too much. If there are too many women, even I won’t know what to do.」


    「Hey, Duke of Extermination? Han Seojin is already half-dead, you know?」


    「Oh my.」


    Well, she could be quirky at times.


    I considered her the benefactor of my life during my second life.


    Sometimes, she really was quirky.


    But still,


    I.


    ‘I think that was a dream.’


    It was indeed a dream.


    The first thing I see upon opening my eyes is Yoo Eunchae’s face.


    My mood soured the moment I woke up.


    “What?! Suddenly frowning upon seeing someone’s face!?”


    “I saw something unpleasant as soon as I woke up.”


    It was a good dream.


    Also, it is a dream that can nevere true again.


    I brushed my face with my hand once.


    Fortunately, I didn’t end up ugly crying or anything like that.


    “Did you wake up, master?”


    “Yeah. The prisoners?”


    “They’re over there.”


    Seo Boram pointed with a finger to a corner.


    There, a researcher was shivering, frozen in ce.


    “Did you find out anything from those guys?”


    “They spilled everything easily. Usually, these types would have all their fingernails pulled out and still im they know nothing!”


    “Is having your fingernails pulled out a joke to you?”


    I couldn’t help but let out a hollowugh at Seo Boram’s words.


    Once someone has transcended or been subjected to something like torture, they can’t remain intact, and ordinary people would spill everything if they were really tortured.


    The human body was more fragile andplex than one might have thought.


    And I knew hundreds of ways to condition that fragile body properly.


    “Take the prisoners.”


    “What about the master?”


    “I have things to do here.”


    “…I don’t know what it is, but don’t overdo it.”


    “Do I look like I would overdo it?”


    I snickered at Seo Boram’s words.


    “That doesn’t seem like it.”


    “Then we’ll take them to the staff room.”


    “Yeah.”


    After sending off Yoo Eunchae and Seo Boram.


    I leaned my head against a nearby wall.


    My body wasn’t tired. Rather, it felt refreshed thanks to my body evolving into the Heavenly Martial Body.


    My whole body was overflowing with energy. Yet, I didn’t feel very good.


    It was because of that dream.


    Because I had a dream.


    Such memories made me suffer.


    A kind of mental illness… no, this was definitely a mental illness.


    Reincarnation.


    I went through reincarnations.


    Although the more I reincarnated, the stronger my power became, I felt my mind deteriorating in proportion.


    Finally, the sense of loss from my past connections disappeared.


    And then…


    I opened my eyes.


    p.


    I pped my cheek.


    ‘Snap out of it. There’s nothing to gain from wallowing like this.’


    Time is what Ick, even if I run forward without looking back.


    I closed my eyes and went outside.