Chapter 276: Opening the Eye (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 276: Opening the Eye (3)
Valerion had dumped a couple of massive dilemmas on me. Though to be fair, the others I'd met recently—Yoo Se-in, the Pope, the God of Sword—had been much the same.
The difference was that those three had only dropped one bombshell at a time. The Dragon Lord had delivered two shocks at once, starting with the Demon Eye all the way to calling me a sword that slays gods.
There was plenty I wanted to ask, but I had to pick and choose my questions carefully. A single question could easily breed more questions. If he grew even slightly suspicious, he might wreck this place and drag only Hon back to the Demon Realm.
‘The Head of the Auditore Family vouched for Valerion, saying he was fine, but…’
You shouldn't vouch for someone so recklessly. People don't even co-sign guarantees for family. The patriarch was being far too naive here.
Anyway, I asked the most suitable question for the moment—one that wouldn't raise suspicion.
"What on earth is the Demon Eye Defying Heaven?"
Demon eyes were extremely rare abilities, so even within the 'Miracle Blessing M' system, the revealed information was miniscule. I had only learned about the 'Evil Eye of the Loop' when I went to subjugate the Basilisk. So there was no way I could know about the eye possessed by Lycan, a figure from seven hundred years ago. Though, technically speaking, I was the one possessing it now, but whatever.
The Dragon Lord, staring at me with a sullen expression, asked back, "Are you asking what the power of the Demon Eye Defying Heaven is, or are you curious about its origin?"
The power, obviously, you old lizard. I couldn't care less about its origins.
I hate going into painstaking detail, and I hate listening to it just as much.
"Well... I feel like if I rack my brain a bit, the origin will eventually come back to me."
I put on a needlessly serious expression and pinched the bridge of my nose. It was my attempt at acting. I knew I should tailor my performance depending on who I was dealing with, but this was the best I could do.
"But I don't remember a single thing about what its power actually is."
"I am not particularly skilled at explaining things, but will that be fine?"
I nodded. Neither was I, so we were even.
Valerion stroked his chin briefly, lost in thought. He seemed to be pondering how to explain it effectively in short sentences.
Before long, he spoke up.
"In terms of pure burst power, the Evil Eye of the Loop is the greatest in recorded history. However, Lord Ouroboros once mentioned that the Demon Eye Defying Heaven surpasses it in complexity and potential. For starters, its surface manifestation is 'distortion.' Though, after all that buildup, stating it like that sounds rather mundane."
Distortion is mundane? That's an insanely broken ability! To me, this sounded even more overpowered than the single-burst Evil Eye of the Loop.
However, it was only after hearing Valerion's elaboration that I understood why it came second to the Evil Eye of the Loop.
"However, the objects of distortion are non-physical. That is to say, distortion occurs only within abstract concepts such as time, space, and dimensions. Because it feels like divulging the secrets of heaven, we named it the 'Demon Eye Defying Heaven.'"
Simply put, it couldn't exert direct physical force. Unlike the Evil Eye of the Loop, which twisted the very logic of the world, the Demon Eye Defying Heaven merely introduced variations. It felt like the explanation had gotten even more complicated, but that was probably just my imagination.
"What do you mean that the Demon Eye Defying Heaven has greater potential than the Evil Eye of the Loop? From what you're saying, no matter how I look at it, the Evil Eye of the Loop sounds like a strictly superior version."
Valerion shook his head.
"The Evil Eye of the Loop activates at the cost of the user's life. In contrast, the Demon Eye Defying Heaven requires only that the user possesses sufficient qualification."
He went on to add that the requirements for fulfilling those qualifications were ridiculously demanding. So much so that even the original owner of the eye couldn't truly use it properly.
"However, a lower cost is not the sole reason it holds a higher rank than the Evil Eye of the Loop. The most definitive difference lies in worldlines. The Demon Eye Defying Heaven can interfere with worldlines—something even the Evil Eye of the Loop cannot do."
At this point, I gave up trying to understand. Still, I pretended to get it, nodding along thoughtfully.
Afterward, the Dragon Lord added various other explanations regarding the Demon Eye Defying Heaven. By the time he finished, he looked thoroughly exhausted from speaking.
"That is all I have to tell you. Even if I wanted to explain more, my own knowledge is limited. So let us move straight to the main point. We shall begin the awakening ceremony."
"Right now? In here?"
"Yes."
He abruptly stood up. As I made to stand up as well, he pressed down gently on my shoulder and said, "You may stay as you are, Sword Demon. Just remain seated and close your eyes. I will inject magic power to open all the channels in your body."
"W-Wait a minute. Inject magic power into my body? Did I hear that right?"
"It seems we won't need to unblock your ear channels. You heard correctly."
I was dumbfounded.
"My body right now is no different from a complete human's. If I forcibly absorb magic power in this state, wouldn't there be a risk of backlash?"
"There is no need to worry. When I first met you, I checked with my Demon Eye, and the probability of such an outcome is zero. On the contrary, once magic power resides in that body of yours, it will knock on the ceiling of your power limits."
Valerion met my gaze. His eyes were unyielding as ever, reflecting the lofty, solitary dignity of one who had lived through spans of time unimaginable to humans.
"I dislike admitting this with my own mouth, but Kuarne is strong. Before Metatron appeared, he was an angel who nearly swept the heavens. After accepting black magic, he must be even stronger now than back then."
He spoke as if giving advice.
"That does not mean you are weak. Frankly, I was surprised. Becoming that powerful in a human body without lightning magic is remarkable. Looking at your rate of growth alone, it could be said you are faster than even the Hero of the Origin. Reaching this level in just one year means in two or three years, you would be fully capable of taking on Kuarne."
Had he experienced a change of heart during our conversation? His taciturn, manly demeanor had softened considerably.
"However, there is no time. I cannot say precisely when, but he has been preparing for war for a long time. So that he can invade at any moment."
"...What is Kuarne's motive for preparing a war? I thought the Dragon Lord's Demon Eye would be able to discern that."
Valerion wore a strange expression.
"Even my Demon Eye cannot perceive his objective. However, since the scope of my foresight is limited to this world, I can only surmise that his purpose is related to what lies outside this world."
"..."
"However, if it is you, you can stop his plan. And to do that, you must awaken the Demon Eye Defying Heaven."
As if deciding not to take any more questions, Valerion moved swiftly. He pressed his right thumb onto the center of my forehead.
After a moment's hesitation, I decided to cooperate. I sat cross-legged properly and closed my eyes.
"Only if you survive can we survive. Though we were born enemies, we are the two pillars that compose this world. In other words, we exist only because this world exists."
Apart from securing the safety of himself and his clan, I could feel that he was genuinely worried about the future. His unusual chattiness was probably due to that as well.
"To achieve that, I would have no regrets even if I were to pass all my magic power to you..."
Mid-sentence, Valerion let out a dry laugh. He muttered self-deprecatingly, "...So this was how Lord Ouroboros felt when he passed the Evil Eye of the Loop to the Hero of the Origin."
In the room settled with an awkward silence, the human and the demon faced one another.
Right before injecting his magic power, the Dragon Lord conveyed his final thoughts to me.
"Recall the lost past, Lycan. You were not wicked enough to be called evil, yet you worshipped violence too much to be called good. That is precisely why you were the pride of the Demon Clan."
At that moment, my vision—which should have been pitch black with my eyes closed—turned milky white, then buckled and warped inward from all sides.
"O King of the Demon Realm, please open your eyes and reveal true Demonic nature."
Before I could even admire the curved, pure white space, the ground beneath my feet dropped out.
Feeling a simultaneous sense of powerlessness and falling, I sank deep beneath the floor of space. Into the abyss.
* * *
It had been two hours since Kang Geomma and Valerion went into the adjacent room.
Choi Seol-ah was pacing restlessly. Half curious, half worried, she hovered in front of the door.
‘Not a single sound is leaking out. They must have cast a Silent Magic spell.’
According to what Hon had told her earlier, the Dragon Lord was a man of few words. Yet that very same Dragon Lord had been talking with Kang Geomma for two whole hours. Given that there hadn't been a word out of them so far, they might be engaged in a war of nerves inside.
Sure, fine, let's say that's okay. But this was her home! She hadn't even finished paying off her key-money loan yet! She might have signed up for industrial accident insurance, but there were limits to everything.
Insurance only applies to the living. It was useless to the dead. The same went for the house. If her place blew up into smithereens, that was the end of it.
‘Ahhh.’
There was a time when Choi Seol-ah had plenty of money. Just six months ago, looking at her bank balance was enough to make her feel full and secure.
The problem was that back then, Choi Seol-ah spent money like water. Her main expense was luxury goods. Adorning herself in luxury brands made her feel like her self-worth increased.
And what about now? Not only had her income stream completely dried up, but two-thirds of her total wealth had been extorted by her lord. Forget luxury goods—even her recurring monthly expenses were looking precarious.
She hadn't known back then that just breathing cost so much money. She was feeling the sorrow of the working-class ordinary citizen to her very core.
Interest rates had skyrocketed through the roof this year. Her loan interest snowballed out of control, and to make matters worse, she unexpectedly had another mouth to feed. If it were a normal mouth, she wouldn't complain. But despite having a scrawny body, the girl ate like an elephant.
Suddenly feeling a surge of anger, Choi Seol-ah glared at Hon. Hon also looked nervous, but her grease-slicked belly gleamed brightly under the fluorescent lights.
‘You sure ate well before coming back, didn't you.’
Choi Seol-ah thought about nagging her, but decided against it. Doing that in the presence of the Head of the Auditore Family might lead to a nasty outcome. Ah. Now that she thought about it, the Dragon Lord was that girl's grandfather. Hon didn't just have a thick waistline; she had thick backing too.
‘Patience, Seol-ah, patience.’
Then, her eyes happened to fall upon the black plastic bag left on the dining table. It was the Korean beef her lord had told her to cook and eat. She'd been so distracted she completely forgot about it.
A broad smile bloomed on Choi Seol-ah's face. She glanced at the door once, then stopped caring. Fine, whatever happens, happens. Isn't living purely in the moment the true villain way?
Besides, there was that Native American proverb: “If worrying made worries go away, there’d be no worries.” Rather than hovering anxiously in front of the door, it was far better to make her mouth happy. Choi Seol-ah was halfway to enlightenment.
She turned on the gas burner and heated up the pan. After admiring the two cuts of meat with marbling blooming like flowers as if looking at a painting, she gently laid them onto the pan. Sizzle. Welcome rain poured from the pan.
"Ah, this sound, this smell."
Choi Seol-ah flared her nostrils as if unwilling to miss even a whiff of the aroma. All her anxiety and worry melted away along with the beef fat. The corners of her mouth softened into a relaxed grin.
It was right as she was relishing that brief moment of bliss.
KABOOM!
A deafening roar. The door to the adjacent room where her lord and the Dragon Lord had gone burst open and flew off its hinges. Concentrated magic power erupted like a gas explosion.
"...!"
Everyone's gaze turned toward ground zero. Among them, Choi Seol-ah's face turned deathly pale. Chills ran down her spine. Oh no, my house!
However, she was even more horrified by the shocking sight that followed. In an instant, the background bled into ash-gray. Wooden splinters floated up into midair and began piecing themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was time reversal.
Amid the rewinding time, her mouth hung open in dazed shock. The meat that had been sizzling to a mouth-watering turn was ultimately undone, reverting into its raw, dark reddish hue. Thanks to this, she saved on house repair costs, but lost her SSS-rank Korean beef.
Choi Seol-ah looked ready to cry. Life is a continuous cycle of suffering. To her, who had gone from nouveau riche to commoner, that sentence struck far deeper home.