Chapter 275
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Master
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Lee Jung-jun opened his eyes as 'Jun'.
The first person he saw was a man with black hair and gray eyes.
Damian.
His master—the man he both hated and despised.
Yet Jun's gaze was calmer than ever.
No, it wasn't even calm.
Nothingness.
With an expression as transparent as glass, devoid of any emotion, he opened his mouth toward his master.
"How did you pop up here?"
"Hundreds of lingering spirits that pierced even the flow of time. An emperor scheming who-knows-what. Even a god who met its death has shown itself here. Why wouldn't I be able to do the same?"
"...Word Seal. You appeared the moment the power of Demon God Body was released."
"As expected, you're wise. Your ability to grasp situations has always been exceptional, from back then to now."
"...Then why bother showing yourself? You could've just stayed hidden quietly."
"And yet here you are, asking another foolish question."
"Just answer me."
Even at Jun's words, Damian merely shrugged once and snapped his fingers.
Mana gathered in the dimensionless space, forming a chair.
"As you probably guessed, I'm the consciousness of the main body residing in the Word Seal."
"..."
"And when the Word Seal vanishes, even this will of mine will disappear."
"So you came out because you're reluctant about that?"
"Exactly. This will of mine doesn't fear death, but it does have regrets."
"What do you think you can even do?"
"I can leave behind knowledge."
"You expect me to learn from the likes of you?"
For the first time, thick disgust settled on Jun's previously transparent expression.
"It's been a while since I've seen that look. Indeed, after emerging into the world, you rarely made such faces."
"This is ridiculous. If you're dead, stay dead. Don't cling to the world so pathetically."
"Don't be so cold. After all, I am..."
A twisted smile settled over Damian's face atop his contorted expression.
"Your father, aren't I?"
"Hurry up, you slowpoke!"
"No, it was fine until just now—why's it suddenly shaking like this?!"
"Isn't this all to figure that out? If you're already losing your cool, what are we supposed to do?!"
"Argh, fine, just shut up! You're driving me crazy!"
"Is it that you can't see because you're losing your mind? Hey! Get your foot off that pattern you're standing on right now!"
"Ugh, damn it! When did this...!"
Suddenly, cracks began forming on the orb.
The orb, which had always been quiet during Jun's turns, was now shrieking.
The party's attention snapped to it in an instant.
"Wh-what's going on...?"
"Could Senior be in danger...?"
"No way. I even saw a god."
Eleanor said that, but her face was etched with worry.
"What're you staring at from afar, sword girl? If you're worried, go ask."
"No, he looks busy just from here."
"Still, we need to find out what's happening..."
"Y-you madman! What the hell are you doing in there?!"
Shylock's scream-like shout erupted, and the party's faces grew increasingly grim.
Son.
At that word, Jun's eyes changed.
"Son?"
"Yes."
"No. You're not. You know that. I'm not your son."
"Correct. You're a different being that entered my son's body."
"And yet you still call me son?"
"Back then, yes. I didn't think of you as my son."
"And now it's different?"
Ha, isn't that way too late?
No, having this conversation at all was absurd.
"A mere wisp of will clinging to a spell dares say that?"
"A mere wisp, yes. But do you think this 'me' now is different from the previous 'me'? No. You know why you could kill me."
"..."
Word Seal.
A power so immense it could suppress even Demon God Body, Damian's unique magic that binds the target's soul.
But its power came at a harsh cost.
The caster's soul was bound in proportion to the power imposed on the target.
Thus, the more he used the Word Seal, the weaker Damian became.
After casting it on Jun, even 3rd-circle magic became difficult.
But precisely because of that, his soul was deeply etched into the Word Seal, and the will before him now claimed to be the 'real' one.
"Back to the point... You are my son."
"Physically, maybe."
"Wrong. You're still viewing the world so one-dimensionally."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do you really think the soul from another dimension completely pushed out my son's soul?"
"...Do you expect that to make sense? You know the situation when you first found me."
Before Lee Jung-jun entered this body... it had ended its own life.
By hanging from a rope on the ceiling.
"Did my son really die then?"
"...?"
"Souls don't vanish that easily, Jun. Especially those filled with resentment and lingering attachment. You know that better than anyone."
"..."
When Lee Jung-jun first entered this body.
He was half-mad.
Because of the original owner's memories.
"So you're saying my soul merged with the original owner's?"
"Similar, but different. Memories are like that. What were the memories like when you entered that body? Did you perceive them as someone else's? Then why did they torment you so much?"
"..."
If it had just been reading someone else's memories, Jun might have viewed them more objectively.
But he couldn't.
He drowned in those memories, grieved, suffered, and hated.
"And to begin with... was it mere coincidence that you from another dimension entered that body?"
"..."
"Ponder it. Only by understanding that difference can you achieve growth beyond now."
"Ha."
A twisted smile formed.
At the same time, he looked at Damian with silver-gray eyes.
"No. I don't need to."
"..."
This time, Damian fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I don't need it. That kind of agonizing."
A split soul reuniting into one? Or were his soul and this one one from the start?
But as he said earlier.
Jun didn't care about such things.
"Whether 'me' and 'mine' are one or two doesn't matter anymore."
"..."
"His memories, my memories—they're all mine now. I've accepted them as such. From the day I killed you and first stepped out into the world."
So why bother separating them now?
Jun's memories or Lee Jung-jun's—they were all experiences he had been through.
No need to deny or turn away from them.
"I see."
"Feeling guilty now, are you?"
"I won't deny it. Yes, I do feel guilt."
"I figured. Your half-hearted choices ended up wounding 'me' the most."
A child born from a one-night whim.
He deemed the woman unfit for the master of the Mage Tower and discarded her.
But was it mere caprice one day?
The mother succumbed to an incurable disease, and before leaving, she left a letter leading him to the village where she and the child had lived.
There, he found it.
A child with Demon God Body.
An overwhelming power too vast for mere humans to comprehend.
Yet one that granted access to realms no one else could dream of.
Thus, Damian was conflicted.
A child he'd abandoned anyway—perfect as research material.
But for some reason.
He couldn't easily act on it.
Something kept halting him.
He realized it was guilt only after losing his body and remaining as a mere 'will'.
"I still can't forget it. That disgusting expression of yours."
When he learned that 'Jun' had chosen suicide and another soul had entered the body.
Damian laughed.
Toward the starless night sky.
As if overjoyed above all else.
Or feeling sorrow.
He laughed madly.
Jun had witnessed it all firsthand.
Relief, guilt, sorrow, joy, agony, anticipation, disappointment.
All mingled in a profoundly human—and thus repulsive—expression.
"And now you talk of guilt? If you're feeling that, just end it right now."
"This body will scatter with time anyway. Your abilities have grown this far. I can no longer suppress Demon God Body."
When Jun's level was low, the Word Seal sufficed, but as Jun grew, so did Demon God Body.
"But are you sure you can handle it? Once I'm gone, you'll have to bear Demon God Body alone."
"..."
Just moments ago, he had nearly dissolved into mana, unable to contain its power.
And that was merely from reaching 7th circle.
"Yes, it'll be tough alone. But I won't accept your help."
"Stubbornness? Or arrogance?"
"Theory."
"Theory?"
"And intuition."
The power of Demon God Body was undoubtedly dangerous.
But there was a way to protect himself from its flow.
"Mental Image Manifestation?"
"Yes."
He knew it instinctively.
Mental Image Manifestation.
In the game, it was portrayed as a mage character's ultimate skill.
But in reality, it wasn't something explained by a mere mouse click.
The surest means to fully embody one's existence...
The one power unique in this vast universe.
"Of course, it's tough right now. At least 8th circle. Maybe higher."
Upon reaching the supreme realm of 8th circle, 8th level, he would no longer be swayed by Demon God Body.
"Another task added... but it's what I've always done."
It was familiar. Preparing for the future.
"So vanish already."
[Mental Image Barrier: Arang Domain]
He had no intention of learning from that man. But plundering? That was different.
A starving wolf bared its maw.
In the blackened dimensionless space.
From all directions, wolves' glaring eyes fixed on the clear enemy, slowly opening their mouths.
To fill their ravenous bellies.
Solely to sever the prey's breath.
"I see."
Even as dozens of massive wolves opened their jaws, Damian's gray eyes remained steadily fixed on Jun.
"You've had the answer since then."
The monster living in memories finally vanished between the wolves' jaws.
"Senior... are you okay?"
As soon as he emerged, the party rushed to Jun.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Well, things were going crazy outside... Wait. Captain, you're...?"
"7th level already? Sword girl beat me to it?"
Eleanor and Maya were the first to notice Jun's expanded vessel, and Aiden soon sensed the stark change in his aura.
"It feels like... the shackles binding Senior have been released."
"Ah... Haha. Yeah?"
"Could you tell us what happened?"
"Hm?"
"Inside. What Senior went through."
Aiden was asking gravely before he knew it.
The other two mirrored him, gazing at Jun with serious expressions.
"Uh. Well, I met someone."
"Who?"
"My master bastard."
"What?!"
The response came from an unexpected place.
It was Shylock, who had been tinkering with the artifact.