<h4>Chapter 722 - Complete Chaos (8)</h4>


    [Vimcitra has crumbled into pieces.]


    [The crumbled pieces of Vimictra’s legends are projecting images one after another.]


    Between the scattering particles of Vimcitra’s crumbled spirit body, the legends Vimcitra achieved over the years started to appear. The scenes of his legends appeared and disappeared one by one.


    Vimcitra was born in the world of hell, at the very bottom of the three realms and six nes. And, even within hell, he was born in the bottom-most wrung of the hundred eight levels of hell. From the lowest point and humblest of beginnings, Vimcitra had risen to be the Asura King.


    His legends started with his earlier life, which was filled with constant battles and wars. Then it moved on to the time he was trapped in the Tower and then his time on Earth. All were recorded and yed back. His end was also recorded.


    [ording to Vimcitra’s will, a part of Vimcitra’s legends will be reyed in full for the ck King’s ego.]


    ***


    After the Tower copsed, Vimcitra went directly to Earth, unlike the other gods and demons who quickly returned to their homnds after being released from the restrictions of the Tower. He had moved to Earth because he had no doubt that Yeon-woo would someday awaken.


    Though many heavenly societies were now interested in Earth, as they were interested in R’lyeh and the fragments of darkness, at the time the Tower had just copsed, many of those in the heavenly societies actively avoided Earth because it was the central location where the ck King would arise and where the Night sought to be.


    However, Vimcitra did not care about these things. No, on the contrary, he was open to the idea of being attacked. He had never lost the will to fight. In his mind, every ce was a battlefield.


    On Earth, Vimcitra did not often reveal his divine powers or openly show himself to humans. He often went somewhere deep in the mountains or forests, where there were few people, and concentrated on self-cultivation. Thus, the Andes became his hiding ce.


    During that time, a man came to see Vimcitra. Strangely, at that time, Vimcitra thought the face of the man who visited him seemed ‘familiar’, but uponter recollection, Vimcitra could not recall any of the man’s features, as if it had been shrouded in shadows.


    Back then, Vimcitra recalled that the man gave him a positive impression. Other than that, nothing of note came to mind, neither what clothes the man wore nor the characteristics of his divine powers.


    “Are you Vimcitra?”


    “…Yes?”


    “I’d like to hang out with you.”


    “Stop being a bother and go away.” Vimcitra had waved his hand to shoo away the stranger. After achieving his divine-being status and powers, Vimcitra only shed with those who he deemed worthy. And each time he shed, Vimcitra had always been in top condition to battle with all his might. He was in the same frame of mind as he waited for Yeon-woo to awaken.


    The main reason Vimcitra chose to go into hiding was to avoid being tangled in unnecessary shes and to maintain his peak condition so that he could fight Yeon-woo as soon as he appeared. If necessary, Vimcitra was willing to stay in one ce for hundreds to thousands of years.


    Thus, when an unknown being, who Vimcitra had never seen before, appeared and started a fight, Vimcitra had no desire to cross swords.


    If his opponent was powerful, then a fight may allow Vimcitra to sharpen his skills and powers, but if the man was not a worthy opponent, Vimcitra felt that he would only be expending unnecessary energy. Therefore, his intention was to not get involved in a troublesome situation.


    “Well! This will disrupt ‘our’ ns.” The man spoke as if there were other people besides himself. “I’ve heard from others, so I know you’re strong. The Heavenly Demon had worked hard to defeat you and get to where he is today, and even the Bull Demon King refrains from bragging about his strength in front of you, right? So, ‘we’ think of you as arade who can understand and agree with our intentions.”


    “I’ve made myself clear. Scram.”


    “Don’t be that way. Why don’t you just have a talk with ‘us’? Even if you don’t want to, you might change your mind if you sh swords with us.”


    “What you just said… It seems like you’re going to resort to force if I don’t listen, am I right?”


    “Oh, did you interpret it that way? Well. I never meant it that way. There are some ruthless characters among ‘us’, but I’ll try to persuade them to not act out as much as possible.”


    “Do you know what I hate most in the world?”


    “Oh! I guess you’re open to having a conversation. What do you hate most in the world?”


    “Talkative people.”


    “…Oh?”


    “Whenever Ie across talkative people…” At that moment, Vimcitra shot forward. “I kill them all.”


    Whoosh! Vimcitra swung Shizu Sword violently with the intention of getting rid of the guy in front of him. Since Vimcitra had struck with his full force, he expected his opponent’s spirit body to be torn into pieces, as would be the case for most divine beings. However, the man easily blocked Vimcitra’s attack without much difficulty.


    “I guess you’re not just a guy with an overactive mouth.”


    “Oh no. I had no intention of wanting to fight like this… But I think it’s good that it hase to this.” Though the man initially gave a bitter smile, as if he was put in an awkward position, his expression soon conveyed a sense of interest.


    At that moment, Vimcitra realized that the man in front of him probably walked a different path than him, but his inclinations were like Vimcitra’s. Through their brief sh, Vimcitra was certain that the other man had also fought through countless battles and battlefields. He felt his opponent’s fighting spirit.


    Thus, the sh between the two beings started in earnest. It was at that time that the Andes Mountains, where Vimcitra had been hiding, became a magic region. Their battle had left almost nothing unscathed.


    ***


    “…Ha! To think I’d be defeated so easily.”


    Whoosh! Facing an iing barrage of attacks, Vimcitra smirked with a sense of despair. The ce where he had quietly stayed for several years became a wastnd, and with the destruction of several nearby cities, many people lost their lives. However, Vimcitra did not concern himself with those things.


    Only one thought was in Vimcitra’s mind. Defeat. Total defeat. Even though they had only exchanged a few strikes, Vimcitra was forced toy his Shizu Sword down. Moreover, Shizu Sword had received its fourth permanent scar.


    With two such divine beings shing against each other, the Earth should have been blown to smithereens. However, his opponent had minimized and offset Vimcitra’s attacks to the point where only the South American continent had been devastated.


    When was thest time Vimcitra lost by such an overwhelming skill gap? Even when he was defeated by Indra, Vimcitra had lost because he had fallen into a trap that wasid down by the members of Deva. Vimcitra did not lose in terms of skill. When he was defeated by the Heavenly Demon, Vimcitra had lost out in a one-on-one battle, but if he shed with the Heavenly Demon now, Vimcitra was certain that he would not lose in terms of ability. However…the man in front of him was different.


    “You are definitely strong. Even if you’re not as strong as ‘us’ yet, you have nothing to worry about. You can still develop and shore up your weaknesses. What say you? I like you very much. Would you like to work with ‘us’?”


    Vimcitra rejected the offer. It was true that he felt momentarily terrified from the shock that such a strong being existed in the world. However, Vimcitra did not want to be mixed up in his opponent’s ns because he knew all too well that he would end up losing his independence if he associated himself with such an existence.


    Rather, the more Vimcitra thought of the possible restrictions, the stronger his thoughts of wanting to break away from those restrictions with his own two hands.


    “Well… If that’s the case, I guess nothing can be done.” The man gave a bitter smile and then fired a sword strike at the fallen Vimcitra. The strike left a deep scar on Vimcitra’s spirit body. It was a wound unlike anything he had ever suffered in any of his previous, countless fights.


    “The scar is a kind of reminder. It will haunt you forever. ‘We’ will make you find the ‘dream’ on Earth, and I will take that ‘dream’ someday. Until then, I n to prevent the owner of the ‘dream’ from taking the ‘dream’.”


    In essence, the man and the others associated with him were saying that they would make Vimcitra a watchdog. It was not exactly known what the being was aiming for. However, like in the past when the Great Sage Sun Wukong was forcibly tied up to be a disciple of Xuanzang, the man’s intention was to forcibly detain Vimcitra on Earth in a simr fashion.


    Naturally, Vimcitra was not the type to put up with such a condition. Thus, he resisted. However, Vimcitra had suffered severe wounds from the fight, and the scar left on his spirit body bound him too strongly.


    “In the end, even the Great Sage was never able to solve that scar. It’ll probably take a lot of work and effort on your part topletely get rid of it.”


    The scar was a cursed brand.


    ***


    After that meeting, Vimcitra had to go through a lot of troublesome things. He had to y countless humans. They had swarmed him stating something along the lines of seeking revenge for losing their homnd. Some of the swarming humans mentioned something about the association or government as well, but Vimcitra did not care or listen to their words.


    Vimcitra was annoyed that he had to fend off the countless waves of annoying flies rather than concentrate on his recovery. Moreover, noticing that Vimcitra’s condition was different from normal, many gods and demons came out of the woodwork to challenge Vimcitra, so he needed to contend with these opponents as well. During that time…


    “You… What are you?”


    Vimcitra met a girl. She was a scruffy, wide-eyed girl who appeared to be about five years old. She was so skinny that her bones could easily be seen from the surface of her skin. For a little over a year, because he had killed so many humans, there was no one around Vimcitra anymore. He had been taking a breather when the strange young girl appeared.


    Though he did not know much about humans, Vimcitra knew that a healthy young human girl should not be so skinny. Furthermore, there were no signs of any parental care. The fact that she was left alone in such a ce meant that she was not in a good situation.


    When Vimcitra was about to turn away from the girl…she cried out, “Mister!”


    “…?”


    “Aren’t you hungry?”


    “…What are you talking about?”


    “I’m hungry! Give me food!”


    Even though Vimcitra was shocked by the young girl’s shameless attitude, as if she was confronting a debtor, Vimcitra threw some emergency rations which he had taken off some dead humans to the girl.


    At the time, Vimcitra did not understand why he had responded to the girl. Maybe it was because he was bored, or maybe it was because he was annoyed by the scar, which was slowly devouring his soul, and he needed to calm his heart a little.


    However, from then on, in a ce of plete chaos’, Vimcitra and the girl’s bizarre life together began. Most of the time, they spent their days chatting. One could say that the time they spent together was peaceful, or one could say it was boring.


    Looking back now, Vimcitra feltfort when he was with her. For him, who had been crazy about fighting all his life, he had never taken a rest. There was no ce that offered him any sense of rest.


    Bound by the scar and forced to take on an unknown mission, while his heart was filled with impatience and anger, it was the girl, Sarina, whoforted him.


    [The yback of Vimcitra’s legend is over.]


    “…” Yeon-woo slowly raised his head without uttering a word.


    “Mister! Mister! Please open your eyes! We’re friends! Howe you’re leaving your friend? Don’t go! Waaaaa.” Sarina mmed on the wall of the barrier while pouring out tears. No one knew what her story was, but one thing was for certain. She must have been happy during the brief time she spent together with Vimcitra. The barrier was proof that Vimcitra considered her as someone important as well.


    Yeon-woo’s heart throbbed as he recalled his own emotions when the Martial King perished. Additionally… ‘Was he…a friend?’ Just as Vimcitra was Sarina’s most precious friend, Yeon-woo also felt that Vimcitra had been one of his precious friends.


    Vimcitra had silently supported Yeon-woo from the time he was a yer, and when Yeon-woo attained his divine status, Yeon-woo thought Vimcitra was just an expectant old geezer who was crazed about fighting and looking forward to shing swords with Yeon-woo. It seemed that Vimcitra was not such a simple, one-dimensional being. Maybe Vimcitra saw a glimpse of his past self in Yeon-woo.


    In the end, Vimcitra was satisfied in getting what he longed for, finishing his fight with Yeon-woo.


    Although the wound he suffered from the mysterious man had notpletely healed, Vimcitra was satisfied in having given his all, even if it was in a partially recuperated state. And when the result turned out to be his defeat, he wanted to convey and exin all the circumstances he had gone through to his friend, Yeon-woo.


    However, Vimcitra could not freely divulge all the facts due to his scar. Therefore, he deliberately wanted to have a match on Earth rather than in Yeon-woo’s illusory world. If the Earth were to be blown away, the things the mysterious man and his associates were trying to hide in the magic region would be exposed. Moreover, Vimcitra would be able to show a part of his legends to Yeon-woo.


    Thanks to this, Yeon-woo was able to see and hear Vimcitra’s side of the story and learn about the mysterious existence and its intention behind the magic regions.


    The being behind the curtain wanted to obtain R’lyeh. In addition, Yeon-woo was able to recognize the face hidden in the shadow, which Vimcitra had forcibly ‘forgotten’ to convey his partial legend.


    “Father.”


    『Ugh, I have no idea. Why the hell is he there…?』 Seeing everything that Yeon-woo saw through their unity, Kronos was thoroughly confused and at a loss for words.


    “Taking the ‘dream’. That’s our goal.”


    The face shrouded in shadows… It was a face that Yeon-woo had seen in Kronos’ legends as well.


    ‘Why is Oceanus…?’


    Oceanus. Kronos’ elder brother and Uranus’ eldest son. Oceanus was the one who defeated Vimcitra. In other words, Oceanus was the one behind the magic regions, the being behind the curtain.