Chapter 406: Growth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 406: Growth
[After the Savior stood at the pinnacle of the Green Skins, he made his way to the holy temple. All the faithful rejoiced and sang. Gazing upon the great statue of the Savior and the wooden idol carved from the World Tree, the Savior spake, ‘My beautiful devotee. The day shall come when all you have done for me will be rewarded.’ Thus it was… [Omitted].
After bestowing mercy upon the vile demons of the underworld, the Savior ascended once more to the surface. Nodding in great satisfaction, many of the faithful bowed their heads. After surveying the temple once more, the Savior spake, ‘My beloved devotee. I shall bestow upon you a gift for all you have done.’ And from the heavens descended an eternal flame that never goes out, brightly illuminating the beautiful city day and night. - The New Testament of Blood Dagger… ]
“What the fuck did you do now?”
“…”
“Open your eyes, Kim Taesung. I know you’re awake.”
I heard Choi Seulgi’s voice. I wanted to lie there a little longer, but I couldn’t just ignore her. More than that, I wanted to identify the subtle emotions flowing into me.
Sorrow and anger—a complex mix of Choi Seulgi’s emotions began to seep in. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw her face. It was only natural for her to be angry when the man who was practically her boyfriend—no, it wouldn’t feel strange to call him her husband—kept collapsing at the drop of a hat.
‘Can I feed on this kind of emotion too?’
My body felt perfectly fine. No, in fact, it was overflowing with power. That was because sorrow wasn’t the only emotion pouring out from the underworld of the Eastern Continent. Anger directed at oneself, anger directed at me, anger with no target at all—it all continued to flow into me.
I opened my eyes slightly and slowly parted my lips.
“There’s nothing wrong with my body. You don’t have to worry.”
Her face was contorted, but her expression also held a hint of relief.
“What do you mean? Of course I’m worried when you collapse all the damn time. What, did you pick up fainting as a hobby?”
“It wasn’t because of the aftereffects this time. It’s actually good news.”
“I can tell that from what you did, even without you saying a word…”
“What I did?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”
Choi Seulgi’s eyes widened as she shot the question back at me. Of course, I had no memory of doing anything. It had ended with me simply accepting the Seat of Wrath. But from her expression, it seemed something had indeed happened.
“You’re unbelievable, Kim Taesung. First, let me ask. What is it this time?”
“The power that the fallen prince had has come to me. A little late, but… I shoved all the emotions I gathered from the underground city into it to bring it over.”
“Wrath?”
I had explained the powers I possessed to Choi Seulgi in detail before. When I nodded, she nodded back.
“It’s a good match for the underground city, then.”
“Of course. It’s still flowing into me even now. It doesn’t feel bad; in fact, you could say it feels good. Anyway, how many days was I out?”
“Three days.”
“Hmm…”
“When did you get here?”
“Three days ago. Do you have any idea how shocked I was to see you passed out?”
“I wasn’t passed out, I was probably just asleep.”
“It’s all the same to me, Kim Taesung.”
Choi Seulgi’s expression turned menacing.
“By the way, how were things in the North…?”
“You said Jang Ye Ri already told you, right? It’s the same story. That the Western Continent is trying to make contact… the North’s position, and well… various other things… At the very least, our So-Hye has no intention of allying with the West. She’s of the opinion that the Green Skins are far more trustworthy.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You really think I’d let them become your enemy when I’m here?”
Choi Seulgi thumped her chest and spoke with a satisfied look.
“Did he ever come to meet you in your dreams?”
“Of course. He was spouting bullshit. I slit his throat on the spot. He didn’t show up after that.”
The image was quite terrifying. The thought of her charging at him with a dagger without a word was like something out of a horror movie. Since Choi Seulgi was a person of influence in the North, it was only natural that he would seek her out, but it felt like the process was moving along quite quickly. As I scratched my chin for a moment, Choi Seulgi slowly spoke.
“Anyway, let’s go outside for a bit.”
“Okay.”
Even though it had been a while since I’d gotten up, my body didn’t feel stiff or sore. On the contrary, it felt as if all my accumulated fatigue had vanished. I didn’t know if Wrath had done me a service, but I took a slightly lighter step and spoke to Choi Seulgi.
“What about the others?”
“Our Queen of the East was watching over you, but she had urgent business and returned to the East. She said she was just borrowing Nicole for a bit. Did something happen?”
“Ugh… I’ll explain that to you later. It’s a long story.”
“Things are never boring around you. I leave for a little while, and what? A whole fucking pile of new incidents just pops up? Even Hayeon would be shocked speechless if she came here.”
I couldn’t quite imagine the Jung Hayeon being shocked speechless, but if it did happen, it would be a pretty amusing sight. More importantly, the news that Jang Ye Ri had really taken Nicole was something I hadn’t known. I had to admit that Choi Seulgi was right. I had only been lying down for a few days, yet it was incredibly difficult to keep up with all the events that were unfolding.
“What about Baek Ahyeon?”
“We’re on our way to see Ahyeon right now.”
“Why?”
“You really don’t know, do you? You’ll see.”
As we walked a little further through the castle, I could hear a constant murmuring sound. It was quite loud, and perhaps because there were so many people, I could also hear the sounds of some unknown construction.
“Savior!!”
“Savior!!!”
It had been a while since I’d heard the voices of the devotees. For some reason, I started to feel increasingly anxious.
“Can you guess what you did?”
“Not yet…”
When Choi Seulgi gestured vaguely out the window, what I saw below was a flame that filled the entire training ground. It was definitely the place where Kim Yoora and I had clashed.
“What is that?”
“Why are you asking me? Shouldn’t you know better? And hey, do you know that fire doesn’t go out?”
“What?”
“It doesn’t go out when you pour water on it, and it doesn’t go out when you cast magic at it.”
Of all the things I’d heard, this was the most absurd. The only undying flame I knew of was the Flame of Ruin that could be summoned with Levatain. But that fire wasn’t the black flame summoned by Levatain. And it wasn’t my magic that was sustaining it, either.
Curious, I channeled magic into my eyes and was able to discern what composed that fire.
‘Wrath.’
The wrath I was drawing out from the underground city was serving as its fuel. I instantly understood what Wrath had said to me before it entered my body.
The flame in that spot was the one that had appeared when I accepted Wrath before I collapsed. As long as the underground city existed, that flame would likely never be extinguished. What was a little baffling was that there were people working around the fire.
“Huh…”
I could even see people working right in the middle of the flames.
“Strangely, there are some devotees who don’t burn. Of course, when Baek Ahyeon and I went into the fire, we were completely fine. It didn’t even feel hot… in fact, it was a little cozy. Did you intend for this?”
“I didn’t intend for it… To be honest, I wasn’t in my right mind when I made it. I don’t even know if I’m the one who made it… Anyway, what are they doing now?”
“What does it look like they’re doing? They’re making more of your merch. I’m looking forward to seeing what masterpiece they come up with this time.”
“No…”
As I observed the situation more carefully, I began to see clearly what they were doing. I could see devotees working, whether to erect a statue or create a sculpture, and I could also see Baek Ahyeon, passionately directing the work at the forefront.
Of course, what stood out the most were the Japanese laborers who had been dragged there.
“Ah… Aaaaaaaah!”
Suddenly, the flames began to swallow up a man who was working nearby.
“Oh, it burns them. A few have died already. Or was it a few dozen? Unless you’re a high-level magician, you can’t suppress that fire… so there were a lot we couldn’t save.”
“…”
Curious as to whether I could control it, I extended my hand slightly, and the flames that had been consuming the man suddenly began to die down. Of course, the devotees witnessing this strange sight also came into view.
The Japanese man had a look of utter confusion on his face; he was relieved to see the flames that were about to devour him suddenly become docile. Of course, the devotees watching the scene were shouting in extreme excitement.
“You have repented.”
“What? Th-that… what do you mean…”
“Inquisitor Park Jihye. It is the Savior’s will. Please take that Japanese man and begin the procedure for him to become a devotee. And don’t forget to let him rest his body thoroughly beforehand.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Something was very strange about this situation.
“A miracle! It’s the Savior’s miracle!”
“It’s the Savior’s miracle!”
“The Savior has bestowed another miracle upon us! How can he be so merciful!”
Perhaps I was a better fit for Pride than I thought. I genuinely started to think so. As I wore a slightly fed-up expression, Choi Seulgi, who seemed to be thinking something similar, spoke her mind freely.
“The way I see it… the fucking Seat of Pride shouldn’t have gone to Ha Yuri. It should’ve gone to you. I guarantee it. If the first thing you’d gotten was the Seat of Pride instead of Sorrow, you would’ve unified the entire continent within five years.”
“…”
She might actually be right. As I nodded at her strangely persuasive words, Choi Seulgi spoke again.
“Let’s go down.”
“Can’t we not?”
“Since you made it anyway, you should promote it.”
When I hesitated slightly, Choi Seulgi began to lead me down. It wasn’t long before I arrived at the scene of the legend I myself had created. As soon as they saw me, all the devotees, including Inquisitor Park Jihye, slowly began to kneel.
Of course, the one who came rushing out to meet me was none other than Baek Ahyeon.
“S-Savior. Sob…”
“Ahem…”
She was crying. She was clearly moved and crying. I felt like I could probably extinguish that fire with my will, but if I did it now, I was certain something tremendous would happen.
“S-Savior. Thank you so much. I never imagined you would give such a great gift to us, your unworthy devotees. Sob… Thank you so, so much, Savior.”
“…”
At some point, Choi Seulgi also put on a moved expression. What was even more absurd was the reaction of those around us. Everyone looked as if they didn’t want to miss this historic moment. There was even someone rapidly writing something down. Next to Choi Seulgi, a Japanese woman had appeared out of nowhere and was diligently sketching a picture.
It was obvious how I should react. I gently patted Baek Ahyeon’s shoulder and spoke in the most solemn voice I could muster.
“This is a gift for all that you have done. Do not trouble yourself over it.”
“Savior… sob… sob…”
All the devotees were crying, waiting for me. Though I hadn’t intended it, Levatain suddenly began to resonate as well.
‘Wh-what the?’
—Finally, it’s my turn. I can finally get one over on Gram!
Hearing the voice even without having integrated with the weapon, I swallowed hard.