Chapter 357: Ascension to Immortality (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 357: Ascension to Immortality (13)
Beings who have attained a certain rank cannot actively interfere in the affairs of the Human World.
This was a rule they had established and created themselves—an unspoken law and a promise that neither god nor Demon King could break. If they did not abide by it, humans would inevitably lose their free will, whether by choice or by force, and degenerate into mere playthings. Such an outcome was far from what these beings desired.
However, there is no such thing as an absolute in any matter.
If those of the Heavenly Realm wished to interfere in the Human World for some reason, even at the cost of ignoring these rules, they had to pay a corresponding price. The more severe the interference, the greater the price; the more they changed, the more agonizing the punishment.
And here, there was one goddess who had paid that price to change the fate of a precious child.
“…Do you really not regret this? It hasn’t been long since you finally recovered. This time, you might lose your rank entirely.”
The goddess for those who regret.
The Witch of the Time Flower.
She was a deity who performed the greatest miracles permitted to humanity.
“Hmm, well, if I disappear, the next ‘Time Flower’ will just be chosen, right?”
“That’s not it. A god who has lost their rank is, in the end…”
“Are you worried about me? It’s okay. I already made up my mind when I first decided I had to become the Time Flower.”
The one worrying about her was also a goddess.
The goddess for those who wish to flee.
The Lord of Myriad Worlds.
A god who loses their rank is eventually exiled from the Heavenly Realm. With no way to maintain their divinity, they naturally face the result of annihilation. It means their soul is truly shattered until they no longer exist, leaving no hope for reincarnation or rebirth like the cycle of death.
No matter how unique a god the Time Flower was, and even if it was for the sake of the ‘son’ she had when she was human, it was hard to understand why she would go this far. Most gods lost much of their worldly attachments upon ascending to divinity.
“And since this time it’s halfway related to Hell, it doesn’t seem like such a huge price is necessary, does it?”
…Seeing as she didn’t say there was no price at all, it likely wasn’t something that could be ignored.
“Why go to such lengths? It would be enough to stop here.”
“…Well, going to Hell is cheaper than descending to the Human World, isn’t it?”
Though she giggled like a child, she was intentionally avoiding the question.
“Saving them should have been enough. Why are you paying an additional price just to meet those children?”
“Because my daughters-in-law are so cute.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I’m also curious about who’s going to marry my son first.”
“…It might sound rude to say this, but aren’t you worried about your son?”
“Even if I worry, there’s nothing I can do.”
At those words, the Lord of Myriad Worlds fell silent. She, too, was in a position where she could no longer interfere excessively with him.
Perhaps it was the backlash of having experienced too many miracles already. He had nearly exhausted all the blessings permitted to a human in a lifetime—what one might call ‘luck.’ He was somehow overcoming continuous misfortune and barely holding on because someone was sharing the burden of the price, but seeing as the girl paying that price had also broken down significantly, it wouldn’t last much longer.
“That’s why I’m going to believe in him.”
“Pardon?”
“Worrying doesn’t help, and there’s nothing I can do for him, so I’ll just believe in my son even more fervently and wait for him.”
“What if he collapses?”
“There are so many girls there to catch him so he doesn’t fall.”
Reflected in her eyes were the images of several women and one boy. The boy looked quite clumsy as he stared around Hell with a bewildered expression.
“So, from a mother’s perspective, shouldn’t I go meet them when the opportunity arises?”
Faced with her mischievous smile, the Lord of Myriad Worlds finally gave up on trying to persuade her.
“But it’s a bit of a shame that our Na-hyun isn’t there yet. Na-hyun will eventually marry So-hyun too.”
…Is this goddess actually insane?
* * *
A shadow, mimicking countless voices, shrieked as it tried to strike me down.
“Ugh…!”
I threw myself to the side to dodge the falling fist, but the subsequent surge of agony forced me back to my knees. My body was already a wreck from the side effects of the medicine and the impact of the fall, so it wasn’t surprising that it protested such sudden movement.
…How am I supposed to escape this?
Part of me wanted to just take the remaining medicine and tear apart this bastard who was still trying to pull off that pathetic acting, but if I did that in my current state, I might actually die and become a permanent resident of Hell. Not that I had many other options.
“Ah, seriously, if I could just use one artifact…!”
The Black Shadow was impossible because it required Innate True Qi, and the Ruyi seemed to still have some of the restrictions Sun Wukong had placed on it. I thought about using the Will of the Saint to absorb life force and immediately convert it into Divine Power, but no response came—perhaps because I was in Hell, or for some other reason.
The last thing left was the dagger in my hand.
The Touch of the Devil.
Even though Lucifer and I were on friendly terms, I doubted she would lend me her power for free. Moreover, just like the Will of the Saint, no response came when I tried to communicate, as if something was blocking the connection.
At least this one was a weapon in its base form, so I was managing to use it as such.
“In this state, a physical brawl with that thing is a bit much.”
It might have been different if I were in top condition, but my body was in too poor a shape to engage in melee combat against a massive shadow with nothing but a dagger.
As if determined not to let me escape this time, the giant shadow raised its fist. Caught in a dilemma, I tried to leap away despite the pain, but the fist the monster swung suddenly split apart.
“Ah, shit.”
I was stupid.
Had the pain and fatigue dulled my mind? To make such a moronic mistake in the middle of a fight. Even if the opponent had taken the form of a massive giant, its true nature was a cluster of shadow monsters that had been divided into many.
I should have considered that it could split apart again, but I had simply thought of it as fighting a single large enemy.
Moving well enough to dodge the fragmented shadows was impossible for me now. I tried my best to flee, but one of the shadows eventually caught me. Realizing it would be over if my legs were pinned, I tried to cut the shadow with my dagger, but the monster, seemingly thinking the same, desperately blocked the blade.
The moment I was caught by the shadow…
The shadow began to squirm, slowly pulling me inside, and something incredibly unpleasant started to seep into my mind. All sorts of lingering regrets and memories so distorted they barely held their shape. These were things held onto desperately by those who couldn’t endure the punishments of Hell and had become shadow monsters—no, wraiths—even though they had forgotten their own forms.
— Become one with us.
Become one?
— If you become one with us, you won’t be lonely. It won’t hurt anymore.
Judging by how the sensation in my legs, which had been sucked in first, was slowly vanishing, becoming ‘one’ didn’t seem like it would be a positive experience for me.
…I was getting annoyed.
It was exhausting enough having those voices nagging me to achieve enlightenment, and now these wraiths were bothering me with their ‘become one’ bullshit. It was beyond unpleasant.
I said I was fine.
I said I would endure and handle it myself.
Who the hell did they think they were, peeking into someone else’s head and acting up?
“You monsters with nothing left but gluttony and regret. Stop pretending to pity me. It’s disgusting.”
I made up my mind. I’d just tear this thing apart, take the Doctor’s medicine, and find a place to recover before the effects wore off.
As I gathered my strength, the monster stopped swallowing me and began to tremble. What, did you realize you swallowed something you shouldn’t have? Who told you to just pick up anything and try to eat it?
Just as I was about to use Reinforcement to blow the thing away…
“Hmm, young man, I don’t know if that’s a self-destruction move or what, but I’d appreciate it if you did that somewhere far away. Rare herbs grow around here, you see.”
The man appeared out of nowhere.
Carrying a herb basket on his back, he had been busy distinguishing weeds from medicinal plants. He suddenly looked at me as if something was strange and spoke.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a living person besides myself, so I was mistaken. My apologies. I thought you could handle a fellow like that easily, but when I saw you using your life force, I thought you were trying to blow yourself up.”
He gave a sheepish chuckle, adjusted his herb basket, and moved a distance away.
“If I’d known you were just caught, I wouldn’t have told you to explode somewhere else. Oh well. I’ll give up on the herbs, so good luck with the rest!”
…I mean, I didn’t expect him to help, but this was a bit too random.
Wait, what? He hasn’t seen a living person besides himself in a long time? Does that mean he’s a living person too?
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that? I told you, feel free to self-destruct or commit suicide as you wish.”
“Could you… perhaps help me?”
“…Hmm? You’re not a suicide candidate, yet you came all the way to the lower layers of Hell to fight wraiths and try to use up your life force?”
“Yes, well. I don’t have many other talents.”
“…Hmm? I don’t think that’s true.”
He tilted his head in confusion, then sighed and set his herb basket down again.
“Anyway, my apologies again. You looked exactly like a suicide candidate, so I didn’t realize you needed help.”
He pulled a revolver from his coat and aimed it at the massive wraith that had me half-swallowed.
“But, you see.”
“Yes?”
“If I help you now, what can you give me in return?”
“…Oh, I thought you were going to help me quite naturally, but you’re more thorough than I expected.”
“Hey now! Young man! Where in the world is there such a thing as a free lunch! Free! The problem with youngsters these days is they want everything handed to them on a silver platter. Back in my day…!”
…Should I just tell him I’m sorry and he can go on his way?
The thought crossed my mind for a brief moment, but if he really was someone who could save me, it was right to swallow my pride. Surely it would be better than taking the medicine and enduring the side effects.
“I’m not sure what would satisfy you. Since you’re in Hell, I assume you don’t need money?”
“Hmm, true. Hell currency might be one thing, but money from the land of the living isn’t of much use right now. Come to think of it, there isn’t much I can get from you.”
I wondered if he would just leave, but after a moment of serious thought, he grinned.
“Alright, then. It’s been a long time since I’ve met a living person, so if you promise to be my conversation partner for a bit, I’ll save you.”
“…That’s not hard, but you’re not going to keep me trapped forever while saying it’s just ‘for a bit,’ right?”
“I’m not that starved for conversation. I’m just curious how you ended up coming to Hell alive.”
With a clack, the bullet was chambered. He aimed at the wraith’s head, and a golden flash erupted from the muzzle.
[Lightning Spear.]
He had fired a high-ranking lightning-attribute spell from a gun without any incantation or even the movement of mana.
I stared at him, wondering what on earth had just happened. He watched the wraith collapse as its head was blown off by the spear of lightning and muttered to himself.
“…Ah, was the one in this pocket a Mana Bullet? A regular bullet would have sufficed. I made a mistake since it’s been a while.”
It was hard to tell if this man was incredible or just eccentric.
“Anyway, are you alright?”
“Yes, thank you. You saved my life. That bullet seemed quite valuable.”
“Haha, it’s fine. The Mana Bullet is a bit of a waste, but I’ll consider it the price for finding an interesting conversation partner after all this time.”
A Mana Bullet…? That was? Mana Bullets that directly use magic aren’t supposed to be developed until much later. And they almost never contain such high-ranking spells.
A few years into the future, weapons called Mana Bullet Guns—a concept similar to Orbs where magic is sealed into bullets—would be developed. However, those couldn’t hold such powerful magic, and they weren’t even designed for Superhumans in the first place.
Unlike Orbs, which required a certain level of mana manipulation, Mana Bullet Guns were mediocre weapons whose only advantages were that even an ordinary person could use magic by pulling a trigger and that they were very fast since no calculations were needed.
That was the Mana Bullet Gun I knew.
“Hmm? It seems you’re interested in this weapon. You have a good eye.”
Misinterpreting my gaze, he nodded and picked up his herb basket again.
“Including your interest, let’s talk while we head to a safer place. So, what is your name?”
“I’m Kang So-hyun. And you are…”
“Ah, me? Well, I’m not really someone worth naming myself. Just call me ‘Mister.’ I’m just a herb gatherer in Hell as a hobby.”