Chapter 201
Chapter: 201
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 201
>Chapter Title: Louise (4)
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Did Mores have the flame image determination from the very beginning?
At that question, the Holy Emperor stared at Seongjin with an inscrutable gaze for a moment before spouting something utterly unrelated.
[You're filling that little head of yours with useless thoughts again.]
[...Pardon?]
[Indeed, my son. Your guess is correct. You were born with the flame image determination. It didn't activate every time for some reason, but you sure knew how to channel it whenever you teamed up with Hernan or Gades for your pranks.]
What? Son?
In that instant, Seongjin felt a surge of something bubbling up inside him.
This guy, seriously...!
Seongjin shot up from the bed, shouting at the Holy Emperor, who hadn't so much as twitched while gazing at him.
[How long do you plan to keep pretending like you don't know?]
For the past several months, the question had been stuck in his throat, as if someone had clamped down on his neck, refusing to come out.
Now that the dam had finally broken, all the anxiety, doubt, and resentment he'd bottled up came flooding out at once.
[Why do you still call me your son? Your Holiness. Can't you even see what I look like right now?]
He didn't need a mirror to know exactly what he looked like. He could trace the fine contours of his face just from the feel of the air against his skin.
It had been decades since he became a hunter and started absorbing the essence of monsters, and he hadn't aged a single inch since.
[You know what? I'm actually really old! Way older than you could ever imagine!]
In fact, you could call me your father and I'd believe it.
No, even without knowing my age, it's the same.
Just going by appearances, shouldn't I be the older brother here?
[Why...!]
And finally, the question Seongjin most wanted to ask slipped from his lips.
[Why won't you look for your real son?]
Thump.
With every word he uttered, the tightly locked bolts inside him began to spring open one by one.
[You could do it if you wanted! You found me all the way at the dimensional border! So why pretend not to notice when a wicked spirit like me has taken over your son's body?]
Thump.
His heart began pounding harder, like it was knocking on a door.
For a fleeting moment, it seemed the blood drained from the Holy Emperor's impassive face, but the words were already out, impossible to take back.
[Is it because you can't keep this body alive until you find Mores's real soul? If that's it, just tell me the truth! I'll hand it over just like you want!]
Yes. Right now, he could still give it back.
As long as you don't let him grow any more attached to this body.
Thump thump thump.
Was this just his heartbeat, or the thrashing of some unknowable something else?
Seongjin couldn't decide if he should let this thing bursting at the seams pour out or shove it back down and lock it away.
[Even if I'm some evil spirit, I'm not shameless enough to steal a young kid's body! So let's drop this family charade—it's better for both of us! Are you really okay with this? What about my clueless sister, Logan, and Sir Masin? What did they ever do to deserve this!]
As his emotions surged, his thoughts accelerated wildly.
Whoosh.
His consciousness expanded, stretching to every corner of the narrow room without a single gap.
Now, Seongjin was watching the Holy Emperor's stony expression while simultaneously observing himself shouting at the man from afar.
Ah, I know what this is.
I've definitely felt this sensation before...
[Calm yourself.]
Tap.
A light touch on his head startled Seongjin, halting his thoughts for a moment.
Huh, wait, hold on! Something's...
Tap.
Before he could grasp the sensation, the Holy Emperor tapped his head again. His mind began to clear, like cold water had been poured over him.
Tap tap tap.
The steady pats brought a strange sense of stability while also preventing his thoughts from scattering wildly.
In an instant, his vision normalized, and his heartbeat settled calmly.
[You mustn't doubt yourself like that. There's still no need for you to go there yet.]
When Seongjin came to his senses, he was panting heavily, as if he'd sprinted full-tilt for ages.
And toward such a Seongjin, the Holy Emperor called out in a low voice.
[Mores.]
This guy still...
Seongjin, his rebellious fury boiling over as he moved to brush the Holy Emperor's hand away, suddenly realized his line of sight was far below the man's—and he froze in bewilderment.
...Huh?
Seongjin widened his eyes and stared down at his hands.
They were covered in calluses here and there, but they were unmistakably smaller and younger than the hands he remembered.
Mores's...? What the hell?
[Mores.]
[......]
Stubbornly clamping his mouth shut, Seongjin racked his brains.
What just happened?
Right, this is the flame image world. Maybe this guy can arbitrarily change my appearance too...
[My son.]
[...Yes.]
Reluctantly answering the persistent voice, Seongjin prompted a soft sigh from the Holy Emperor.
[Indeed. It must have taken great endurance for someone with your temperament to hold back this long. I know full well how frustrating it must have been, not understanding why. But have you considered this? Why haven't you asked me sooner?]
Why?
At first, he hadn't wanted to exorcise him pointlessly, and later, it had been too much of a hassle to overthink it.
Plus, thinking of the Holy Emperor's people worrying over Mores's whereabouts had made it hard to speak up.
But at the same time.
'...Is that really all?'
Another part of his mind was quietly filled with doubt.
[Then why were you only able to voice that doubt now?]
[......]
Looking up at the Holy Emperor with complicated feelings, Seongjin watched as the man gave his hair one last ruffle before withdrawing his hand.
[It's because you've finally, however clumsily, escaped Delcross's dimension. You must have instinctively realized the conditions and constraints required to fully belong to one world.]
[...Conditions and constraints?]
Confirming Seongjin had fully calmed, the Holy Emperor slowly sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the book he'd set aside.
[Yes. Perfect timing, in fact. Let me explain this flame image dimension I just created for you.]
It was a sudden tangent, but Seongjin listened quietly.
He had a hunch that the explanation would ultimately connect to his questions.
[Long ago, there was a [Catastrophe] that led an entire world to ruin. An uncontrollable power that severed and destroyed all things, or crumbled boundaries to mix everything into chaos. It even rendered even the strongest lingering thoughts—those that crossed dimensions—utterly powerless.]
Fwwip.
The Holy Emperor's eyes were darkly sunken as he idly flipped through the pages.
[So an arrogant fool came up with an idea. What if he engulfed the boundaries entirely in the Catastrophe? Could he completely isolate even the psychics who opposed him?]
[Psychics?]
[Yes. And astonishingly, the plan worked. No matter how powerful the lingering thought, none could breach the [Catastrophe]'s barrier. Countless psychics met their futile ends at his hands.]
Thud.
The Holy Emperor closed the book with a snap and met Seongjin's gaze steadily.
[This place is merely a crude shadow imitating that space. An amateur dimension with only a small area and the Catastrophe surrounding it. No proper physical laws, no real substance. That's why you and I here exist in unstable bodies that directly reflect our soul states. Even vocal cords to produce sound and air to carry it are half-baked, so conversation happens solely through thought.]
Mulling over the explanation, Seongjin suddenly wondered.
How could such a place remain so vividly etched in the Holy Emperor's memory?
[But Mores, I, the dimension's king who created it, suddenly had this thought.]
The Holy Emperor slowly lifted the book as he continued.
[Actually, this dimension has no paper, does it? No civilization to make paper, so perhaps this book is really made of stone tablets.]
In that instant, the book slipped weakly from his hand.
Boom!
It hit the floor with a heavy thud.
[......!]
Did the book just turn to stone?
[But then I realized— this book corresponds to a 387-page history tome. So the stone tablets making it up should total exactly 387 pages.]
Creeeak.
Suddenly, the book began writhing violently on the floor.
Seongjin watched in horror as 387 stone tablets shattered, broke, and compressed endlessly to fit into a single book.
[And then another doubt arose.]
The Holy Emperor gazed down at the book, which seemed ready to explode, his face utterly emotionless—making Seongjin briefly wonder if he'd turned to stone fragments himself.
[Does this dimension even have history to record? Properly existing stone to engrave it on? Perhaps this book never existed to begin with.]
Tremble tremble.
The rapidly shrinking book could no longer withstand the compressing force and floated a handspan off the floor. The sheer speed of the volume change shook the entire small room as if it might collapse.
'...Dangerous!'
Seongjin could sense what this terrifying prank would lead to.
[Stop it now...!]
At that moment.
Boom!
The book vanished in a small explosion.
The Holy Emperor's hand, which had wrapped around it just in time, suffered the same fate.
Splatter!
His right arm blew off from the elbow, spraying blood-red purple across the room.
[Father!]
Seongjin rushed over in panic, supporting the staggering man.
Yet, leaning on Seongjin's shoulder just to stay upright, the Holy Emperor mumbled this nonsense with a blank face.
[See? The dimension king's careless words have unwittingly twisted the fate of this fine history tome completely.]
Twitch.
A vein bulged on Seongjin's forehead.
[Are you seriously talking nonsense right now? Hurry and use holy power to fix this!]
Seongjin desperately wrapped bedding around the Holy Emperor's arm to staunch the bleeding. But in vain—the sheets soaked through with blood in seconds.
[...And suddenly, another question comes to mind.]
No, what else are you wondering about now?
Quit yapping and fix this already!
[In a place with no physical laws or governing forces of the world, does holy power even exist?]
This guy...!
Seongjin paled and yelled.
[Stop! How can you say that in this situation? It exists! Holy power definitely exists! Wherever you are, that power is always there! Go ahead, doubt all you want!]
But the man, pale from massive blood loss, began spouting more bizarre words in a feeble voice.
[Yes, as you say, I am undoubtedly God's proxy. A proxy proves the existence of holy power, God's blessing upon the world. So I thought—what am I, then? Can I even exist where there's no holy power?]
...No way?
Seongjin couldn't believe it. Did this man even realize what he was saying?
And Seongjin's grim premonition soon proved true. The Holy Emperor's body began fading, then slowly vanishing from the feet up, as if erased by a rubber.
In a total panic, Seongjin grabbed the man's remaining arm, terrified he'd disappear completely, and shouted frantically.
[I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I won't doubt anything anymore! I am your son! Really!]
[......]
[Call me your son all you want! Call me Mores! No, I've been Mores from the start! Yes! Of course!]
[......]
[It was all my fault! So please!]
Tap.
Suddenly, a soothing pat landed on his head.
Tap tap tap.
'...Right hand?'
Startled, Seongjin looked up to find the Holy Emperor gazing down at him with a perfectly fine face.
His body, right hand included, had regenerated flawlessly, and not even a single blood splatter remained on the walls.
And in that same infuriatingly calm voice as always.
[Yes, that's the proper attitude.]
[Uh......]
Seongjin's face twisted in frustration.
No, this guy, seriously—I've had it!