Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Method
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"...Ha. You sure got here fast. Dumping that baggage on me like this."
"If you want me, you've gotta at least endure the rampage of an ex-girlfriend, right?"
"I figured something had changed, but you've gotten awfully sly."
"Just say I learned how to live more flexibly in this world."
Well, she wasn't even an ex to begin with.
Even if I conceded a hundred times that I might've had feelings once, after learning Erdell's true nature, I'd slammed the door shut tight. No emotional exchange had happened since.
...Or had it? Does this even count as broken up?
"...Whatever. It's not a bad look. That's more human-like. You always showed that pathetic side, but it's been a while since I saw those pretty eyes."
"When was I ever not pretty?"
"...Can't even hold your tongue."
"...Hey, is your man really okay? What if he got caught in a fight and hurt his head or something..."
"Well, he's probably leaning harder into it right now because he's had some realization and his memories are resurfacing. Give it a few days, and he'll be back to the guy we know."
"What, you think? We'll see when it happens."
...But I'm starting to get a little nervous myself.
Feels like my hormones are going into overdrive right now.
I can already picture myself kicking the blankets later, cringing at this moment.
...Anyway, that's a problem for future me.
"So. You're acting all confident, which means you've got a way to deal with that ex who chased you across dimensions, right? You're not gonna dump her all on us, I hope."
"Hmm... Having the Heavenly Demon around would make things easier..."
"That woman's powerless right now."
"Why?!"
She retired?!
How the hell?!
"She sacrificed her divinity as an offering. Probably to that transcendent being of death you fought... In the middle of battling her, its divinity suddenly scattered, and it sealed her away in some spatial prison. It'll take her a while to break out."
"Whoa..."
Unlike my clueless past self who knew nothing of battle, with my hero memories intact, I had a sense of the Heavenly Demon's power level.
It was impressive she'd even tried something like that against her.
"You know it all now, don't you? Why she treated you that way."
"...Chaos, probably."
The law of the world that emerges when gods break its rules and shatter the balance, restoring the scales.
The Heavenly Lord and gods likely violated it by forcing me into reincarnation here.
And the Heavenly Demon, as this world's embodiment of chaos, had no choice but to make eliminating me her purpose in life.
Honestly, I should've died by her hand long ago without issue.
"It evolved in another direction. Isolating you from the outside world and monopolizing you until death could count as removing you from the world, in a way."
...If that's the influence of my charm, then sure.
If any of Erdell's countless words held truth, it was that the karma etched into me could twist fate itself.
......Or maybe the Heavenly Demon was just a special case.
"Well... No helping it if she's out. Throws a wrench in things a bit..."
Erdell's power was immeasurable, but since this foreign land was 'another world' by her standards, she was surely restricted.
Having absorbed all divinity and life into one body tied her true self inseparably to that dimension. What was here was close to her main form, but essentially an avatar.
In other words, we had a solid shot at winning.
"Even if it's an avatar, so what? It's still that strong. I'm asking if there's a way to drive her off."
"Theoretically, yeah, there is."
The key to resolving this mess was the holy sword I'd wielded.
Its growth toward enhancing single strikes was useful enough already.
But if I'd truly slain the King of the Undying with one blow, the sword must have evolved further.
Toward dealing effective hits on divine beings.
I explained this hypothesis to Yeo So-cheon straight up.
"...Sounds plausible. Achievements aren't just for the user—the weapon shares in them. Part of that massive karma you took went to the sword, and if it processes karma to grow..."
"It can land a solid hit on Erdell, the sole divinity of this dimension."
Erdell Bright.
Discarding the surname 'Bright'—said to be bestowed directly by the goddess of her lineage—and calling herself 'Saintless' revealed her feelings toward the gods.
And she'd claimed to have slain all gods herself, yet here she was wielding divine power unscathed.
Only one answer: She was now the sole living being and god of that dimension.
"But you okay with this?"
"With what?"
"That woman. Seemed pretty close to you... She's lost it now, but... you don't mind?"
"..."
Close, huh...
Not wrong.
We'd shared halves of ourselves, relied on each other once, and fought to the end as comrades. Undeniable.
But...
"A woman clinging that pathetically isn't my type."
Even after I made my refusal clear, if the hero insisted otherwise and stuck like glue... I'd endured it back then out of necessity.
But not anymore.
If she'd only harmed me, maybe, but crossing lines like this? Time to cut ties.
"Alright. Let's get to it quick. So where's that holy sword?"
"No clue."
"...Pardon?"
That was the current problem.
We needed to find the holy sword for our breakthrough, but I had no idea where it was.
Still, worth a shot.
Erdell had granted Sword Flower access to the armory, so the dimensional rifts from summoning weapons should linger around here.
"Kinda half-doubting it, but... worth trying. Ayoung, come here a sec."
"Huh? Oh, sure."
Dang Ayoung, who'd been blankly following our talk, snapped to and approached me.
*Smack*
"Mmph?!"
"Don't panic... Focus as hard as you can. Pour all your emotions into it."
"O-Okay..."
"...Mm."
I told her to pour everything into the kiss, ignoring the sharp glare from the side, and dove in myself.
*Slurp slurp slurp...*
I hadn't been proactive with affection before, but I'd decided to change that.
*Slurrrrp slurp slurp*
Wait, hold on.
*Chomp*
"Mmmph?!"
'W-Wait! Too intense!'
I'd said focus hard, but not this hard.
I needed to max out the feeling of love, sure, but this was blowing my mind away too...
*Thud! Thud thud!*
"Mmmph!!!"
I frantically patted Dang Ayoung's back to signal surrender, but she wasn't hearing it.
Love was overflowing from her eyes like crazy.
*Twitch!*
'A-At this rate, it'll be like before...!'
Just as that dark history was about to repeat—
*Tug*
*Pull*
"No idea what you're doing, but that's enough, right? You're gonna pass out again, you idiot."
"Ah!"
"Phaaa..."
Yeo So-cheon yanked me free, saving me just in time.
"Hoo... Hooo..."
"Thought you'd changed with that sly attitude, but your body's the same weak sauce. Maybe even weaker?"
"...Anyway, it worked. Here."
*Shing*
I ignored her jab, raising the pristine white sword now in my hand for her to see.
"What the—?!"
"W-What is it? How?!"
Yeo So-cheon and Dang Ayoung reacted identically to the sword appearing from nowhere.
"Just testing a theory. The holy sword's contract is soul-bound, so a link should remain. The god who forged it ruled over life and love, so I summoned it by channeling intense love to reconnect with the soul imprint."
"...No clue what that means, but you're looking competent today."
"Haha... Been using it forever."
*Kiiing...*
I gazed at the sword in my hand with complicated eyes.
After being summoned as a hero, I'd carried it everywhere except unavoidable cases. Deep attachment, but also, it was one culprit behind dragging out that hellish life.
Half my combat power came from Erdell's divinity. The other half from the holy sword's buffs.
Of course, their synergy multiplied efficiency several times over.
"Here. You should be able to use it too."
"...Not my style to switch swords, but circumstances..."
*Click*
I adjusted it for her use and handed it over.
*Flash!*
"...What was that?"
"Oh right. Forgot about the recovery boost. Never needed it myself."
"...What kind of weapon has every gimmick under the sun?"
"Think of it as my prized project."
Just off the top: body enhancement, mental defense, recovery boost, single-strike amp. Loaded to the gills.
And now divine destruction property too. Even deadlier.
"Alright. I'll hang back safe. You finish her off."
"...This feels weird. Taboo or something?"
"I'll cheer loud."
"Sigh... Falling for you is my sin."
Real talk: Me near the battlefield was just a hindrance. Cheering from afar helped most.
As I sent her off—
[Herooooooo!!!!!!!]
*Rumble!!*
"W-What is that?!"
"F-First, evade! Hop on quick!"
"Eek?!"
[You're back, right?! Right?! The hero from back then is back?! No one but you knows the holy sword's summon ritual! Right?!]
Too far to see clearly, but a figure presumed to be Erdell was slicing through flames and sword strikes, charging at us at insane speed.
[Run fast! That woman's prepping some weird sorcery! Dimensional transfer or something... If she grabs you, you're done—flee!]
[You're safe?! Anyway, gut says dodge! No killing intent, but... muttering like she wants to drag you off somewhere...]
[Yuseong! See you later! Sorry for crushing your dantian! I'll make it up la— Oh, got it, Master!]
When did Sis So-yeon recover her memories?!
This is insane.
Heard she came here earlier, but calling me Yuseong means she remembers back then...
"F-First, run! If she catches us, we're screwed!"
*Crackle!*
"I'll hold her off! You take him and run as far as you can! Assume capture ends it all!"
"Y-Yes!"
Memories flooding in were chaotic enough; thinking too much would split my head.
How to handle Sis... Sword Flower? Later, after this.
Every hand on deck right now.