Chapter 316
Chapter 316
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 316
Chapter Title: Sepiro (2)
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As the magic power of the sealed heart was released...
...Sepiro awoke.
At the same time, he grasped every phenomenon.
He pieced together the entire situation: the errors and witches swarming chaotically around him, the deal between 'Night' and the other Sepiro—everything.
'Oh.'
It was the first time.
This level of euphoria.
This pure curiosity and pleasure.
'I've truly gone back to the past.'
The axis of time had been rewound.
He had touched the 'rules' of the world, something even the ultimate couldn't achieve.
The God of Offerings.
What on earth had it sacrificed to make the impossible possible?
Even for Sepiro, this was a realm beyond understanding.
The being who created the 'Demon-Sealing God's Chalice' had to be someone superior to him, beyond the Great Rift.
It was hard to admit, but that only made him more curious.
Perhaps the 'timeline' was different—an entirely separate dimension?
But if the timeline differed, the past should have changed too.
Park Chan-woo had rewound the world along the exact same past timeline.
In other words, this world was the 'same dimension' on the 'same timeline.'
The problem was the 'sacrifice' required to make it possible.
This offering followed precise equivalent exchange.
To rewind one second of time, one second of time was needed.
To rewind the world's time, the world itself had to be annihilated.
'Is that even possible?'
It must be, since he had returned.
Even he had been half in doubt.
That bastard called the God of Offerings had performed a miracle Sepiro couldn't.
Sepiro had thought Park Chan-woo was meant to be a weapon to destroy beyond the Great Rift.
But experiencing it firsthand changed his mind.
Perhaps...
'An experiment.'
It might have been a test.
To see if time could truly be rewound.
Using Sepiro's heart, Park Chan-woo's existence, and the God of Offerings itself as collateral.
But even that wasn't enough.
Sepiro recalled.
The final moment.
When the Transcendent Dragon revealed its true form.
【I shall grant you the greatest despair.】
【Humans, be erased.】
With draconic words, it wiped out humanity.
Thinking back, the 'humanity' it erased seemed to have become an offering too.
One of his most vital hearts was already inside the 'Demon-Sealing God's Chalice.'
'It used me. Unbelievable.'
Had there ever been a being that exploited him so thoroughly?
It was beyond astonishing—positively intriguing.
Most wouldn't even dream of using him; they'd be too busy surviving.
And that wasn't all.
Humanity needed redefining.
Was 'humanity' truly the only thing erased by the Transcendent Dragon's true form?
If 'human' meant primates, bipeds, upright walkers with developed brains, tools, culture, and language?
The draconic words triggered it, but if the God of Offerings arbitrarily interpreted them?
This was the guy who offered Sepiro's heart as if it were his own.
If he had truly done that...
'He's madder than me.'
The God of Offerings wasn't sane.
He was the craziest bastard across the entire Abyss.
Of course, even the Transcendent Dragon couldn't wipe out every race.
There was one possibility.
If the Transcendent Dragon itself became the offering to draconify 'race extermination.'
Then nearly all races would perish.
In exchange, the Transcendent Dragon's true form would vanish too.
The remaining shortfall would be covered by whatever was sealed in the chalice.
Realizing this sent chills down his spine.
Why go this far just to return to the past?
One misstep, and everything would crumble.
The Abyss would vanish, hurtling toward destruction.
Did the Abyss's fate mean nothing to it?
His view shifted: it wasn't forging Park Chan-woo as a weapon for the collapse beyond the Great Rift.
'Could it be to rewind time beyond the Great Rift?'
Time beyond the Great Rift likely flowed differently from the Abyss.
It was better seen as an entirely separate world, a distinct dimension.
If the Demon-Sealing God was a 'tool for rewinding time,' its creator might have tested it in the Abyss.
'The Abyss's timeline rewound, but the one beyond the Great Rift stayed the same.'
What the hell was out there?
He'd have to go and touch it to know.
For now, it was utterly incomprehensible.
What was clear was that the return had succeeded.
And...
'...This body isn't bad either.'
He had successfully taken over Park Chan-woo's flesh.
Park Chan-woo knew his ego might vanish or be replaced, yet he unsealed the heart.
To save him.
He'd risked it all for someone else over himself.
'Fool.'
Sepiro had planned to leave him be, but now he doubted entrusting this heavy mission beyond the Great Rift to such a guy.
Having much to protect didn't make one strong—it created weaknesses.
More concerns, more distractions, and such thoughts hindered 'magic's' progress.
'Surprising he already created absolute magic, but if the result is this...'
Results mattered.
The process was just process.
Still, Park Chan-woo's 'absolute magic' was remarkably useful.
It generated 'Wishes' used as materials for absolute magic—in reverse.
And bestowed those Wishes upon beings tied by fate.
How could that not be foolish?
With Wishes like that, he could have done anything he wanted.
'I'll dispel your delusions, Park Chan-woo.'
Sepiro thought.
Park Chan-woo undoubtedly had talent.
Talent as an archmage.
Ideas and abilities even he couldn't conceive.
Guided toward the proper 'truth,' that talent could reach beyond the Great Rift.
His delusions were useless for magic's advancement.
So Sepiro decided to kill them all.
He'd set the stage for them to kill each other.
Dragons, humans, witches alike.
Wasn't that why they summoned him, knowing what he was?
Risking danger to lighten their own burdens.
What Park Chan-woo couldn't do, Sepiro would.
What Sepiro couldn't, Park Chan-woo would.
A perfect combination.
His loyal dragons?
Screw them.
Beyond the Great Rift came first.
If he reached that unknown, even the ultimate's beyond would be within grasp.
A sacrifice of the few for the many.
The dragons would deem it an honor.
But then.
"...Die."
Sepiro turned his head.
His eyes met Adora's.
'Reaper?'
Death surged.
In an instant, death struck his heart.
"...!"
Sepiro's brow furrowed.
His heart was slowly being devoured by death.
"Did you create this too?"
Sepiro quickly realized and admired it.
The Wish Park Chan-woo granted.
That Wish had birthed death—an absolute spell... no, an 'absolute curse.'
No wonder the Black Witch coveted it.
Talent rivaling, or surpassing, Park Chan-woo's.
"If it were me from the past, this might have been tricky."
Sepiro smiled faintly.
The past.
Meaning, the current Sepiro would have been somewhat troubled facing this 'absolute curse.'
However, the Sepiro sealed in Park Chan-woo's heart was a step further.
He had lived slightly longer.
Shuuung.
Shuuuung.
Countless 'Wishes' floated up.
Sepiro reached out.
Grasped one of those 'Wishes.'
And—
Crush!
Detonated it.
A way to mitigate the absolute curse.
Now death would be erased.
But.
"...?"
Sepiro tilted his head.
The Wish wasn't working.
The reason was simple.
'It's a Wish that follows Park Chan-woo, not me.'
It defied his will.
No—
'It's calling him.'
Astonishing.
The detonated Wish didn't erase the heart's curse.
It erased Sepiro.
It was calling Park Chan-woo, erasing Sepiro.
Combined with Adora's absolute curse, its effect intensified.
His attempt to dispel the curse had backfired.
...He'd thought it mere baggage.
Sepiro looked around.
Shim Mi-ho, the demon merchant Dagon, Lee Hyuk-soo.
Ataraxia, Darkan, Arcana...
He pondered.
Observed them.
Would these help Park Chan-woo?
Were they necessary to cross the Great Rift?
"You lot are amusing."
He spoke, then shook his head.
"Park Chan-woo. You're truly amusing."
He muttered as if to himself.
He had realized.
Everything that touched him changed.
They escaped passive fate, becoming inevitable existences.
Their fate's magnitude... 'entropy' exploded rapidly.
Becoming errors.
'Before rewinding time, I grasped the nature of errors.'
Sepiro understood 'errors.'
The current Sepiro hadn't yet, but in the final moment, he had sensed it.
Entropy.
Fate, order, chaos, change.
It signified their expansiveness.
The sum of uncertainty when fate deviated from its predetermined path.
A total flow of change and errors cracking the fixed world structure.
Park Chan-woo maximized this 'entropy.'
Touch him, and one's entropy index rose similarly.
In short.
'Park Chan-woo rewrites fate.'
He was an archmage from the start.
Instinctively wielding the energy of uncertainty that even the God of Offerings and Sepiro couldn't control.
Thus, Park Chan-woo was.
'Like the master of errors.'
He had innate talent for handling errors.
Talent so overwhelming it deserved the title 'Master of Errors.'
"Let's watch a bit longer."
To see if his path exceeded expectations.
What upheaval these 'errors' touching Park Chan-woo would bring.
Sepiro shrugged and yielded the stage.
Breaking the 'absolute curse' on his heart required time, so.
He resealed the cursed portion.
The remaining unsealed part.
'A gift.'
He left it as a gift for Park Chan-woo.
For he was the first in history to excite him this much.
And so.
"......"
Park Chan-woo opened his eyes.