Chapter 391: Heaven and Hell
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 391: Heaven and Hell
I felt like I could finally understand the saying about humans looking like ants. It was just as Ha Yuri had said. Right now, they looked like ants to me. Ants I could step on and crush to death whenever I pleased.
I didn't know why, but I couldn't stop sighing. At the same time, a surge of irritation rose within me. It was because I couldn't understand why I was saving Ha Yuri. It wasn't out of pity, nor was it because we had shared so many conversations. I didn't understand her, nor did I think she had paid for all her sins.
There was no grand, noble reason. If I had to say, I even thought she deserved to suffer a little more.
But…
But it was because I had remembered.
It was simply because I had remembered—remembered wondering what might have been, if only someone had helped me and Choi Seulgi back then.
‘She’s just like me.’
Perhaps it was because I saw my former self in her. I was getting needlessly sentimental.
That was how much she resembled me. In fact, she was far better than my past self. Unlike me, who had half given up, she was striving, living with a desperate, frantic intensity.
I could ignore other things, but not that. I couldn't stand seeing that life of hers be denied by a pig-fucker like Shin Duk-ho, who had killed me and Choi Seulgi.
“You dog-like bastards… I’ll rip you to shreds.”
Come to think of it, I never got to kill Shin Duk-ho’s gang with my own hands. Choi Seulgi had already taken care of them before I found them. I felt like I could finally resolve that lingering dissatisfaction.
When I lifted my head slightly, the men, teeth chattering as they trembled, came into view.
“Me… Mercy…”
There was no way they didn't know who I was. There was no way the ants living in an anthill wouldn't recognize the one who created their entire world.
“P-Please spare us. We… we have committed a mortal sin. We never imagined you were the Savior.”
They had never seen me in person. They had likely only seen my image projected from the surface. They must have seen the statue of me projected from above every single day. I’d heard that priests were occasionally sent down to deliver my word, so they had to know.
The massive horns, the dusky skin, the fanged mouth and red eyes, the long, stretching tail—I looked exactly like the paintings and statues above. But what they would have felt even before my appearance was my presence. Not a single one of them was standing. Some had their faces slammed into the ground, while others trembled uncontrollably, turning their heads away as much as possible.
They understood that with a mere flick of my finger, I could crush them to death. They were at a level where I couldn't even judge if they were weak or strong. I didn't know how much magical power I possessed, but they must have understood it instinctively.
That they were going to die here.
“You…”
“What…”
Ha Yuri was biting her lip and glaring at me, but honestly, I had no interest in her right now. I tossed the cheap hood I was wearing to Ha Yuri, who was trying to cover herself, and she silently draped it over her body. She looked uncharacteristically ashamed.
“P-Please spare us. We made a terrible mistake… P-Please.”
I swung my tail toward the one who was chattering noisily.
With a sickening crunch, the man’s upper body was sent flying.
“I didn’t plan on killing you this easily…”
I had only swung it lightly, yet one of them was already dead.
“Weak. You really do look like ants.”
They remained frozen, plastered to the ground, unable to take a single step. Move and you die. They understood. One of them must have had a bit more courage, as he screamed and tried to run in the opposite direction, but I simply reached out and seized him with my magic.
It wasn't a technique I could use on a comparable opponent. But against vermin like these, it was more than enough.
CRUUUUUSSSSHHHH.
“Ah… Aaaaaaaahhh! Aaaahhhk!!”
As I clenched my fist, the magic in the air distorted, beginning to knead the man’s body like clay. Seeing a human being turned into a sphere or a square is quite the rare spectacle. Even these men, who had casually eaten human flesh, were retching at the sight, so nothing more needed to be said.
“Uuuurrrggghhh…”
“Kill… kill me…”
An unidentifiable voice leaked from the ball of flesh that had once been a body. I clenched my fist again, and with a splat, blood sprayed in every direction. Some of it splattered onto Ha Yuri, but I didn't particularly care.
“H-How… could this happen.”
“I don’t know either, you pieces of trash. Just consider yourselves unlucky.”
I grabbed the arm of a nearby man, tore it off, and began to vent my anger indiscriminately. There was no form, nothing that could be called a technique. It was just simple, raw venting.
“Aaaaaaaahhh!”
CRACK!
“Ah… ah… ah… aah…”
CRUUUNCH!
“Save me! Save me!”
“Run! Run!! Savior… O God… Please…”
It was even easier than crushing ants with my fingers. Some of them, having grasped the situation, began to fight back, but it was adorable. It was like trying to pierce a boulder with a toothpick; it barely registered. I tore the legs off a mage who had been casting spells.
I had planned to savor it a little later, but perhaps due to old age, he quietly breathed his last on the floor. The ones with shields held them up, trying desperately to push me back, but both had their heads torn off, dying on the spot.
“W-What is this…”
The pig who had orchestrated this was trembling at the very back. His eyes showed that he already understood what was about to happen to him.
I swung my tail, and his wrist was cleanly severed.
“Aaaaaaaahhh!! Uwaaaaaahhh!!”
He tried to clutch his severed wrist with his remaining hand, but he couldn't stop the gushing blood. Because I had completely cut off his other arm as well.
Hands, arms, legs—I swung my tail relentlessly, slicing him apart until his body was nothing more than a mangled heap of flesh.
By the time I felt the blood rushing to my head in my excitement, the entire area was already drenched in splattered blood. Ha Yuri, who had been staring blankly in my direction while wrapped in the cloak, gasped and bowed her head the moment our eyes met.
“Th-Thank you. For all my… my rudeness… p-please for… forgive me…”
Just moments ago, she had been glaring at me with a resentful expression, but now she seemed to have fully grasped the situation.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“The… the woman who was with you.”
“She’s who you think she is.”
At my words, Ha Yuri bit her lip. She was undoubtedly thinking of Jeong Ji-young, who was living with her in her home. Her mind must have been a whirlwind of thoughts, starting with why these bastards were here and undoubtedly recalling past events.
“P-Perhaps. Jeong, Jeong Ji-young is…”
“I have no intention of touching your husband. And being addressed so formally is uncomfortable. I won’t blame you for speaking casually.”
“…”
She still looked like she couldn't believe me. Well, considering how many times I’d backstabbed her, that reaction was understandable. The charade where I used Lee Wanyong to have a conversation with myself was an absurdly ridiculous plan, even in hindsight.
She had also witnessed with her own eyes the foolish-looking man she had tried to protect transform into Blood Dagger. There was likely nothing she could trust. I let out a sigh before speaking again.
“I give you my name on it. I don't care if you treat me casually. Regardless of what happened in the past, I keep my word, so let’s just talk like we did before. I’m more comfortable with that, too.”
“…”
“You can really relax.”
“You fucking, goddamn con artist.”
I hadn’t expected a curse the moment I told her to speak casually, but it was very much like her. In a way, she was quite similar to Choi Seulgi.
“I didn’t expect this kind of reaction… You said you were happier here than on the surface, so shouldn’t you be thanking me? And a ‘thank you’ for saving you should come first. If it weren’t for me, you’d be in those bastards’ stomachs by now.”
As I spoke, Ha Yuri’s eyes blazed as she began to glare at me. The first thing I saw was, of course, an expression of betrayal. She must have thought she’d found someone she could open up to, only to be stabbed in the back, so that look was only natural. But seeing that expression on Ha Yuri’s face wasn’t unpleasant. If I had to choose, it was rather amusing. As the corners of my mouth lifted, her voice came again.
“Th-Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“…”
A brief silence fell, but it didn't last long. Ha Yuri, who had been quietly watching me, clutched her clothes with one hand and muttered.
“Did you come to see for yourself? To see just how miserably I’m living, how filthily I’m struggling to get by?”
“Of course not.”
“Don’t make me laugh, you filthy bastard. You must have had a great time making a fool out of me. What a shame this must be for you. I’m not eating garbage, and the elves’ expressions don’t annoy me anymore.”
“So it would seem.”
“You must have had a real blast. You were probably laughing to yourself, thinking you’d reformed someone. You must have been mocking the great Sword Saint of the West for becoming so weak. Right? It must have been hard to hold back your laughter when you ran into the Inquisitor, too… huh?”
“Do you think you’ve been reformed? It seems you’ve changed, that’s true. But I didn’t send you here because I wanted you to change. In fact, seeing you like this was quite surprising. To be honest, I wanted you to suffer. But it seems that wasn’t the case. The power of love is truly amazing, isn’t it?”
“Stop sneering. So you couldn’t stand to see me like this, and that’s why you came back down? To throw me back into the pit…”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come here specifically to see you. I just came to look around the underground. Frankly, you were completely off my radar. Besides… you were the one who dragged us into this first, weren’t you? Ha Yuri, Champion of Justice. Quite the impressive sight. What are you, the neighborhood watch?”
Her face flushed red at my light taunting.
“Th-That was.”
“Just as you said, a favor for a favor, revenge for revenge. That’s my motto. Let’s call us even for the help you gave me when I first came here. I would have solved it even without you, but things could have gotten noisy.”
As I slightly raised my arm, I saw Ha Yuri flinch.
“Don’t be scared. I was just trying to shake off the blood.”
“Sh-Shut up.”
This was quite unexpected. As I’d felt just a moment ago, the Ha Yuri who would have screamed for me to just kill her was gone. She truly cherished her current life. As I used my magic to flick the blood away, Ha Yuri bit her lip hard.
Her expression was quite complex. I was her enemy, but at the same time, I was the one who had gifted her a new life. It wasn't what I had intended, but she had found a new life and was living happily. Her face began to show a mix of emotions: anxiety that her current life might be shattered, fear of me, resentment toward me, and even a hint of gratitude.
I couldn't sense any despair from Ha Yuri.
The face I saw with my own eyes was reflecting a multitude of emotions for me to see.
“Are you… really not going to do anything?”
“When it comes down to it, there’s nothing you can do. It’ll be easier for you to just believe my words.”
“Irresponsible.”
“That’s how I am.”
When I fell silent, Ha Yuri also clamped her mouth shut. It seemed she had decided it was best to play along for now. The suspicion in her eyes subsided a little.
“Let’s head back for now. It looks like I’ll have to stay here a little longer, too.”
“Before that. There’s one thing I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“You’d better explain the situation properly to Choi Seulgi. Just like you think, my life is precious to me now. I don’t want to die just yet.”
“What are you talking…”
I trailed off as I looked at Ha Yuri’s state and shut my mouth. She was naked, wearing only my hood. The clothes she had been wearing were all torn to shreds thanks to those bastards, and she didn't look to be in good shape. If Choi Seulgi saw her like this, she might just lunge at Ha Yuri without a second thought.
“…”
“If you understand, then stop staring. You said with your own mouth that you wouldn’t touch my husband. I’ll believe what you said just now. The anger in your eyes doesn’t seem to be there anymore. You probably came down here to gather emotions or something, so it’s probably best you just stay for a bit and then go back up. I’ll let you keep using the room.”
“Won’t that be uncomfortable?”
“Damn right it’s uncomfortable. But what can I do? The great Savior who created this anthill says he’s going to stay. Staying on his good side is the best way to avoid trouble.”
Ha Yuri picked up the monster carcass from before and slowly began to walk away. Her retreating figure didn't look so bad, so I flicked my tail to shake off the blood and nodded.