Chapter 197: Miracle. (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: Miracle. (7)
The sight of the boy, pierced by blue lightning, slowly falling to his knees.
Everyone who witnessed it screamed his name.
The opponent seemed to have sustained a significant wound as well, but it went without saying that the boy’s injury from the blue lightning was far more severe.
He coughed up something crimson.
The way he collapsed without even being able to scream was enough to evoke ominous memories.
He had always been like this.
Whittling away his own life to save others, sacrificing himself as if it were nothing, and eventually staggering back up to move forward once more.
But in that process, he was clearly being worn down.
Who wouldn’t fear death when it stood before them? Who wouldn’t find it agonizing to have their wounds torn open?
Perhaps he would stand up again this time, too.
No, he almost certainly would.
But just because he would stand up didn’t mean the wound didn’t hurt.
Even if a wound is festering and ruined, that is no reason to treat it so carelessly.
“…Huh?”
For some reason, the villain looked flustered, but Lilac didn’t give a damn about that.
Watching the scene as he ran, Lilac made a wish.
He needed power.
In the heart of the boy who always wished to protect and always sought the righteous path, a new wish was born—a whirlpool of resentment, despair, anger, hatred, and countless negative emotions.
More than the desire to protect, it was a wish bordering on a curse: the desire to crush and destroy the existence threatening his precious people.
And as if responding to that wish, he felt a single sword at the center of the vortex.
— You should have one more sword.
It was the sword he finally became aware of after hearing those words.
It was entirely different from the power that usually lent him strength; it was far more destructive and menacing, yet it possessed the power he had lacked.
Since it exuded an energy diametrically opposed to the Holy Sword, this one had to be called a Demonic Sword.
Could he defeat that monster with this power?
He hesitated for a fleeting moment, but in the end, Lilac made his decision and accepted the power of the new sword.
The thick demonic energy of the Demonic Sword flowed out, staining the White Rose Sword in Lilac’s hand black.
The Demonic Sword, meant for destruction, was far more violent than the Holy Sword meant for protection; it even tried to swallow its master.
In the past, he surely would have lost control and gone berserk.
In fact, if he hadn’t gained a new realization here, it might not have ended with a mere rampage—he might have been devoured by the sword entirely.
But not now.
Though it was precarious, he felt certain he could control it.
And he was also certain that with this new power, he could seize the things that had eluded him until now.
The Demonic Sword tore through the lightning the enemy unleashed.
* * *
That’s something that never even appeared in the original work before it went on hiatus.
Even as my consciousness blurred, the sight remained vivid in my eyes.
Lilac is actually one of the few multi-talented individuals in this world.
Back when this world was still a novel, that was the reason he had the ‘Munchkin’ tag.
The setting was that within his body, the Holy Sword that lent him strength and the Demonic Sword whose energy was suppressed by the Holy Sword coexisted. If he felt intense rage, the energy of the Demonic Sword would try to dominate him.
Well, to put it simply, it’s an intermediate awakening—the stage before he fully awakens and masters Holy-Demonic Energy.
The reason the protagonist of this world was ranked A-rank instead of S-rank was also because the Holy Sword consumed its power to suppress the Demonic Sword, preventing him from exerting his full strength.
Given Seo-ha’s personality, Lilac’s Demonic Sword was likely intended to be a power that could never be easily controlled.
She probably prepared a ‘Darkening’ plotline where, when the future Lilac finally snapped, he would use that power to cut down not just enemies, but allies and companions as well.
It was a violent power that even Lilac, who possessed a vast vessel, found difficult to handle.
While it would clearly be a help once awakened, it was also true that it was a dangerously volatile power.
That’s why I’ve been managing Lilac’s stress up to this point.
Until I could use the energy here to expand Lilac’s vessel itself, I kept him under constant stress while ensuring he never truly exploded.
To be honest, it had never appeared in the original, and there was the unstable factor of him not being fully mature yet, so I was genuinely worried about what would happen if it failed.
But he pulled it off, making my worries seem pointless.
Though it’s still violent and incomplete, he is clearly distinguishing between friend and foe while controlling the Demonic Sword.
Well then, I guess Lilac is sorted.
Looking around, I saw equally satisfying sights.
Judging by how they were cornering the lightning villain, it seemed that not only Lilac but everyone else had succeeded in making the energy their own.
Mm, this makes getting a hole in my stomach feel worthwhile.
“Cough…”
By the way, this really hurts.
I thought this would be enough to kill me instantly, but seeing as the Double Coin hasn’t activated yet, it seems I’ve become a lot tougher than I thought.
— You foolish brat. Is that all you can think about after having your insides roasted by lightning?
As I was blankly thinking that, Sun Wukong spoke to me.
But why does he sound so angry?
‘I didn’t want to do things that would worry the kids if I could help it. But it was necessary. I just have to recover and show them I’m fine.’
— No, never mind. I thought you might have improved a bit, but you’re still the same. What does “wanting” or “not wanting” have to do with anything? It’s not a matter of preference; why don’t you understand that this is something you simply should not do?
‘I know. I told you, I really hated it too. I’ll do better so the kids don’t worry.’
— You feel guilt for deceiving them, yet why do you have no realization that you’ve harmed yourself?
…Harmed?
Ah, right. I suppose so.
But I have a way to recover anyway. If sacrifice is needed to awaken everyone, it’s better that it’s me than someone else.
I thought it was fine because I wasn’t really defeated, but thinking about it, blowing a hole in your own body with lightning isn’t exactly a sane thing to do.
‘But it couldn’t be helped.’
If I had self-harmed out of guilt, I’d just be a madman, but this was all done out of necessity.
Lilac and everyone else need to become stronger.
I won’t be able to protect everyone forever, and if they don’t get stronger, they won’t be able to overcome the enemies to come.
And for growth, they need something to stimulate them.
If they need to see a dramatic sacrifice or a friend getting gravely injured, it’s better that it’s me than the others.
That’s not all. Once they overcome that villain today, everyone will be able to grow even more.
Not only have they absorbed the dungeon’s energy to reinforce their weaknesses, but now that their vessels have expanded, even those like Cheon Yu-hak or Ga-eul—who I thought had hit their limits—will be able to progress further.
So, this was necessary.
Ah, whether it’s due to blood loss or my mangled organs, the signals are starting to come.
A sensation I’ve grown somewhat used to—death is slowly reaching out its hand to me.
One by one, precious things come to mind, and I hear voices calling me to let go.
Ignoring the voice that tries to persuade me as if everything I’m holding onto is a lingering regret, I stall for just a moment until the sound of a coin flipping echoes in my head.
When I opened my eyes, my body felt light and all my wounds had vanished.
[Your understanding of death has increased slightly. Currently, your understanding of death is below 50%, so additional effects cannot be confirmed.]
See? It hurt a bit, but there’s no problem.
“Ah, I almost died because of you.”
To celebrate my resurrection, I glared at the villain who was being cornered by my kids. He began to look at me with eyes full of a mix of injustice and terror.
Well, if you feel it’s unfair, why don’t you try telling the kids the truth—that I’m just a fraud who staged his own injury?
Wow, I’m sure everyone will find you incredibly persuasive and believe you.
Right?
— Why don’t you understand that even iron eventually cracks and breaks?
I turned my gaze away, pointedly ignoring Sun Wukong’s words.
The kids, seeing that I was safe, had reactions that were half “Yeah, I figured as much.” It seems that while they were worried, they had expected me to stand back up.
Mm, the kids’ power-up event ended smoothly, and now if we just catch that guy…
“…You haven’t changed at all, have you?”
It was a cold voice, as if something was being tightly suppressed.
The owner of the voice that rang out just when I thought it was almost over was the woman who had been huddled behind the lightning villain, doing nothing until now.
I couldn’t see her face because she was wearing a robe, but I knew she was there.
The problem was that I had no idea who this woman was.
Her voice felt strangely familiar for some reason, but since it didn’t give me a pleasant feeling, I wondered if she was just a passing acquaintance.
If she had intervened during the fight, I might have paid more attention, but since she was just trembling the whole time, I didn’t think to check.
And then she suddenly approaches me and says I haven’t changed?
With trembling hands, she pulled back her hood and revealed her face.
It was a face that was familiar, to say the least.
It was also the face of a villain whose life had been ruined by me, both before and after the regression.
May. The boss who organized the group called the Twelve Zodiacs, and originally, the person who was supposed to reach the pinnacle of evil in this world.
She wasn’t particularly talented herself, but the people who happened to gather around her were quite capable, and with a stroke of luck, she had been highly successful.
She was also the woman who had been betrayed by me and died before the regression.
…So what?
But surprisingly, my emotions didn’t stir much at the memory of betraying her.
I mean, think about it. With my kids, I felt incredibly sorry and guilty because I was the one who unilaterally did them wrong.
But this woman had crossed the line far too many times, and she had given me so much shit.
I might feel bad for others, but I don’t feel a shred of pity for that perverted elf bastard or this woman.
“Yes, those eyes are the same, too. Eyes that don’t see people as human beings.”
However, the words that came out of her mouth next caught my attention.
Since the regression, my only point of contact with her was the Professor Cathy brainwashing incident.
And naturally, there wasn’t much conversation between us during that incident, and I certainly didn’t remember us being close enough for her to say something like that.
Yet she was treating me like someone who knew me very well, and like someone who harbored deep resentment toward me.
She glared at me with the kind of gaze not the current her, but the woman who died shedding tears of blood back then, would have used.
“…Who are you?”
“Ha, I guess your thoughts have changed a bit now? Huh? Right, you probably didn’t expect me to regain my memories.”
Regained her memories, huh.
“You bastard. How dare you betray us? And as if that wasn’t enough, you start over and thoroughly interfere with us? Do you think that makes you clean now?”
…Aha. I wondered why Seo-ha picked up that useless thing. So this is how she intended to use her.
I began to get a sense of what was going on.
Memory transplantation. With the help of an Authority, it wouldn’t be that difficult.
It’s somewhat similar to what I did to the deity.
Judging by the way she talks, it doesn’t seem like her original memories were erased, but I wonder how she perceives the regression.
Well, anyway, I have to admit it. This is one hell of a gift. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised. Shocked, even.
But I think I said this earlier.
“So what?”
Because when it comes to this woman, I really don’t feel sorry at all.
I could kill her right now, for that matter.
As I grabbed her by the throat, she began to struggle with her pathetic strength.
This woman’s innate combat power isn’t very high.
She’s an idiot who has no talent other than boasting as if the status she gained thanks to numerous artifacts and capable subordinates was her own power—and despite that, she’s a mass of greed.
I have to kill her.
I wasn’t sure why, but ever since I heard her say she had her memories, that thought had been circling in my head.
“I cherished you so much…!”
The way she screamed as if she were the victim was disgusting.
It felt like a ghost I had killed had returned from hell, like she was going to dig up my sins, and it irritated me.
And the moment my thoughts reached that point, I realized.
Ah, I see.
This was anxiety.
I’ve had nightmares about it, but I’d never actually worried about it before.
The fact that they might regain their memories from before the regression—the existence of an enemy who remembered my sins exactly as they were—made me incredibly anxious.
What if?
What if Seo-ha could return their memories without me knowing?
What if the favor and affection they showed me turned into hostility and contempt?
Would I be able to endure that?
I hated it.
Just the thought that the warmth I had finally found might disappear made me so afraid that it was hard to make a rational judgment.
I knew that killing this woman wouldn’t change anything, but it felt like this anxiety wouldn’t go away unless I killed her right now.
My grip on her throat tightened, and even the screams she let out while struggling gradually faded.
The only thing I could hear was the sound of her gasping for breath.
My fingers dug deeper and deeper into her slender neck.