Chapter 137
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Echoes of Despair
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A small dining table sat beside the kitchen.
A girl of about seven, wearing a frilly pink apron, was grunting as she kneaded bread dough on the cutting board.
Her movements were proper enough, but her small hands made the process agonizingly slow. Watching her struggle stirred an odd discomfort in him, so he spoke up.
"Need a hand?"
Wouldn't it be faster if he, with his larger hands, took over? But the girl shook her head at his offer.
"No way. Uncle No. 12 has no dexterity."
"......"
To hear that from someone whose position as chief researcher was all but guaranteed next year...
It was absurd, but he held his tongue.
Getting offended by a child's words would be ridiculous, and besides, she clearly wanted to do it herself.
Unable to bear the strange silence settling over the table, he changed the subject.
"Where's your dad?"
"He went to work. He's busy preparing for the Offering Ritual next week."
"......"
His expression hardened for a split second at the word "Offering Ritual" slipping so naturally from the girl's lips.
The ritual to complete a vessel by offering one's soul to a sacred treasure. It was an experiment they'd conducted countless times, yet with each passing year, the process felt more and more unsettling.
'Am I just worn out...?'
With this ritual being such a crucial project, his constant tension might be to blame.
He continued rationalizing it to himself when the girl spoke first this time.
"You're leading this Offering Ritual, right, Uncle?"
"......Me and the other researchers together."
"How does it work?"
She asked while still kneading the dough.
Perhaps from spending the last few years alone with her father, she seemed unusually mature for her age. He hesitated a moment before answering.
"We stabilize the body, synchronize it with the vessel, and transfer the soul inside. This time, it'll be through flames."
"Flames......"
"Flames will envelop the body, naturally melting it from the inside. No pain."
Her hands paused briefly on the dough as he added that almost defensively. But soon they resumed their slow rhythm, and she spoke calmly.
"Dad said the other day that this Offering Ritual will be the greatest one across all the labs. He said he'd make it that way, so don't worry."
"......"
"I've never seen him so happy. Not even when I first made him a snack..."
Her murmur carried a hint of resentment and bitterness.
For some reason, he couldn't meet her eyes and let his gaze drop naturally.
The security chief's daughter had always made him uneasy. She seemed like any ordinary child you'd see anywhere, yet that precocious maturity provoked an inexplicable disgust.
'That damned bastard...'
If he'd invited him in the first place, shouldn't he at least stick around? As he silently cursed the security chief inwardly, the girl continued.
"Still, I'm glad. He was devastated when Mom's ritual failed... If I do well this time, he'll be happy too."
"......"
"And everyone says the Offering Ritual is wonderful. The ultimate bliss beyond compare... Even that boy who bullied me whined in envy."
The Offering Ritual created perfect sacred treasures and freed one from an imperfect body.
A profound fulfillment unimaginable in flesh and blood, coupled with ecstatic transcendence filling the soul.
That was the knowledge taught in Gongyang, and it wasn't wrong—backed by research results.
'Right. It's not wrong...'
Those chosen as materials for the ritual volunteered their souls willingly.
Forcing them through torture or threats degraded quality or warped performance.
So their actions were beyond reproach, regardless of public opinion. From the start, these were people who'd chosen perfection over harsh reality.
As those thoughts deepened endlessly,
"Uncle."
Her voice weighed heavily on him.
"It's good, right?"
"......"
"I want to hear it from you. You're the smartest person I know... and you wouldn't lie."
"......"
"Please... I just want to hear those words."
Her desperate plea clenched his fists and bit his lip. Finally, he forced out an answer.
"If you believe it... then it will be."
The Offering Ritual was the path to paradise. But if you didn't believe in that paradise, where did it lead?
He couldn't know himself, so that was the best he could say. In the corner of his vision, her small hands stopped kneading.
Transparent droplets fell onto them. His gaze naturally lifted,
and
"I'm scared..."
A face he could never forget filled his mind.
"......!"
The moment consciousness returned, Kim In-cheol scanned his surroundings, drenched in cold sweat.
Purple mist filled the workshop. Clearly ominous, he held his breath and activated the ventilation system.
Whiiirrr!
The hallucinogens, stimulants, and amplifying dream mana in the air were expelled outside.
With the workshop now clear, Kim In-cheol inspected the interior and spotted a familiar man across from him.
"......"
The man leaned against the workshop wall, gazing his way. His face was more haggard than he remembered, but that signature smile lingered on his lips.
As Kim In-cheol stared, speechless at the unforgettable sight, the man—the Flame Blade Hunter—spoke.
"Long time no see."
"......Yeah. Long time. Security Chief."
The old title felt awkward on his tongue, drawing a chuckle from the Flame Blade Hunter.
"I quit that ages ago, so drop it. Now... yeah, Flame Blade Hunter works."
"Flame Blade Hunter...... So it was you."
"Bingo. Snooping around for traitors earned me that nickname."
The mysterious criminal who targeted only artisans crafting fire-attribute blades, severing their hands.
Eyeing the man he'd half-suspected, Kim In-cheol's gaze darkened.
"The recent incidents... Were they aimed at me?"
"Not exactly. Well, kinda, but it's complicated... I don't know the details. The higher-ups decide."
The Flame Blade Hunter shrugged with a grin.
"Anyway, you look old. Mana prevents aging, they say... Feels like you took 20 years straight."
His tone was playfully familiar, like reuniting with an old friend. But the instability beneath suggested it could erupt anytime.
Bracing for a sudden attack, Kim In-cheol sharpened all his senses and replied slowly.
"That's rich coming from you."
"Ouch. Good one."
The Flame Blade Hunter gave a wry smile and sighed.
"Trained hard, but mental stress is a killer. Barely two hours of sleep a day, and even that's nightmares. Tough stuff."
He murmured softly, then fixed his gaze on Kim In-cheol.
"So, No. 12... or Kim In-cheol now?"
"......Call me whatever."
"Right. You looked comfy sleeping earlier, In-cheol..."
His eyes gleamed as he stared.
"What'd you dream about?"
Was that why he hadn't killed him in his sleep? To hear this?
Despite the wariness of his warped mindset, Kim In-cheol answered honestly.
"Memories from the lab."
"Huh. Figured you'd forgotten after becoming one of the world's top 100 artisans and Babel's top professor... Guess not."
His response mixed sarcasm and relief. Kim In-cheol replied gloomily.
"The past doesn't vanish."
Even after escaping the institute, wandering the world, and settling at Babel for a new life, his time as Researcher No. 12 remained.
He could never escape it, and now a piece of that past stood before him.
"Good answer. Worried you'd forgotten."
With a satisfied nod, the Flame Blade Hunter straightened from the wall.
"Wish we could chat more, but we're at the endgame. Details later."
"......Later?"
"Yeah."
Kim In-cheol's question drew a smile.
"You're coming with me today."
Boom!
As the words ended, the Flame Blade Hunter exploded forward, thrusting his left hand out.
The distance closed in a blink.
An accomplished A-rank hero back then, now near S-rank after two decades.
A lifelong blacksmith like him stood no chance in combat against such power.
Click—
That's why he'd prepared everything for this moment.
Clang!
A thick barrier erupted around Kim In-cheol, blocking the left hand. Walls slid open, unleashing a barrage of embedded shells.
Kaboom!!
Explosions ravaged the workshop in an instant.
Not ordinary shells—these disrupted mana flow and contained deadly poison, lethal even to high-rank heroes.
'But this won't kill him.'
Gongyang wouldn't send the Flame Blade Hunter alone without reason.
As the traps bought time, Kim In-cheol opened the lid of the brazier he'd guarded behind him.
Whoosh!
Searing heat burst out. At its core lay the Shattered Flame, superheated amid fragments. He grabbed the hilt barehanded and yanked it free.
Sizzle!
A force that scorched even his flame-resistant body. Grimacing, he attached the prepared black hilt—Emberwood—to the end.
Fwoosh!
The Emberwood ignited on contact with the Shattered Flame but, preheated for ages, held without melting.
Ignoring his melting left hand, Kim In-cheol poured mana into it, shoving the Shattered Flame's tang deep into the Emberwood, fusing them.
Hummm—
As they meshed, the flames leaping to his left hand vanished like a lie.
The Emberwood's effect, using mana as fuel to shield the user from flames, suppressed the Shattered Flame's heat.
"Hoo... Hoo..."
Now partially controlling the Shattered Flame, Kim In-cheol whirled to face the Flame Blade Hunter.
Fwoosh!
The protective barrier melted under the Shattered Flame's heat. Through the thick smoke, the Flame Blade Hunter emerged.
Dozens of hero-grade sacred treasures pierced his body, their power and curses gnawing relentlessly.
Fatal wounds that would have killed any ordinary hero.
"Hahaha... You're well-prepared."
Yet the Flame Blade Hunter laughed gleefully amid it all.
Gripping the Shattered Flame with both hands, Kim In-cheol declared,
"It's over."
"Ahh. Yeah. Time to end it."
The Flame Blade Hunter nodded slowly, clutching his empty right arm.
"I've seen your struggles."
Drip.
Crimson flames flowed from his severed shoulder like blood, forming an arm.
A long blade sprouted from the hand.
Resembling the Shattered Flame but vastly more powerful, it widened Kim In-cheol's eyes.
'That... No way!'
Alarms blared in his mind. Without warning, both swung their flaming blades simultaneously.
─────!
A colossal blaze like the sun engulfed them.
Sudden weightlessness and disorientation.
He wanted to see what happened, but his vision was a white blur refusing to clear, ears deafened—likely ruptured eardrums.
The silence felt like death. Then sensations trickled back faintly.
Whoosh—
Wind brushed his body. Vision cleared gradually, revealing the surroundings.
'Forest...'
The mountain behind the workshop. He'd been flung hundreds of meters. Checking himself, he found more unbroken spots than not—utter ruin. Internal mana backlash from the clash twisted his senses, blood trickling from his mouth.
Worst were his hands wielding the Shattered Flame.
Left hand charred to coal; right severely burned.
'Is this the end...?'
No pain despite the state. Death's shadow loomed.
More worry than fear gripped him. Had that strike felled the Flame Blade Hunter? He prayed desperately it had.
"What a mess."
A leisurely voice echoed from ahead.
Fwoosh.
The Flame Blade Hunter approached casually, Flame Blade in one hand, Shattered Flame facsimile in the other.
Flames rose from wounds etched across his body, healing them tracelessly.
Clink, clatter!
Sacred treasures piercing him melted or expelled as his body mended. Realizing the new ability, Kim In-cheol muttered,
"You underwent Specialization..."
Fusing body to Gongyang's completed sacred treasures.
A rite for perfect works, reserved for the worthy.
"Yeah. Revived the origin you failed to reclaim and implanted it in me."
The Shattered Flame's origin, resurrected via Vermilion Bird power and Sanctification Furnace, grafted inside.
Granting him phoenix regeneration and Shattered Flame-level firepower.
"Finally... we meet."
Gazing at the Shattered Flame in his hand, the Flame Blade Hunter's face swelled with emotion.
His daughter's soul formed its core vessel, dwelling within.
Fusing it with his implanted origin would perfect the treasure—and reunite them.
As he moved to absorb it after decades of waiting,
"Don't...... do it......"
Kim In-cheol rasped.
"Fusing it...... will bind your daughter's soul again...... Is that what you want......?"
Bam!
Before he finished, a kick sent him smashing through dozens of trees into a massive boulder.
"Gah..."
Blood surged from within. Vision blurred. As Kim In-cheol struggled, the Flame Blade Hunter grabbed his hair, forcing his head up.
"You filthy traitor dares chime in? My daughter offered her soul and body to create a perfect treasure and ascended to paradise first. She succeeded where even her mother failed, at such a young age."
Outraged at the perceived insult to his daughter, he shed his composure, unleashing pent-up fury and loathing.
"And you—a hypocrite hiding betrayal and prancing here—think you can judge?"
"......"
"Answer me. No. 12... Kim In-cheol."
Gathering his fraying mind, Kim In-cheol replied.
"I...... thought it fine to use human souls if they willed it...... They all strove sincerely for perfect treasures...... And so did I."
Even if his turn came, he'd have offered willingly. That's the resolve he'd joined Gongyang with.
"But...... as time passed, rituals shifted from volunteers to selecting materials and persuading them......"
Convincing suitable souls for use. If genuine, he'd accept it—but from then, he couldn't.
"Were those persuasions truly proper? If perfect treasures lead to paradise...... what awaits failed ones?"
Even hellish voids—if self-chosen—he'd respect. But opacity meant unforgivable sin.
"Materials sourced worldwide...... Orphans and slum kids...... You think Gongyang never interfered?"
Were ideal souls "coincidentally" from orphanages and slums truly chance?
Once doubt bloomed, it cracked his faith endlessly. The Flame Blade Hunter's daughter drove the wedge.
"Your daughter feared the Offering Ritual...... death. She hid it to make you happy and climbed on."
"......"
"Truly oblivious? A real parent would know......"
Stab!
Faster than words, the Flame Blade pierced his thigh.
Sizzle!
"Urk..."
It melted bone, muscle, nerves.
Dulled senses raged wildly; blurred vision sparked clear, revealing the Flame Blade Hunter's face.
"Ranting nonsense. Disgusting."
"......"
"She feared... Fine. If you insist, I'll show you."
Dispelling the Flame Blade, he yanked a remaining spear from his body and stabbed Kim In-cheol's shoulder.
Stab!
"Guh...!"
It pinned him through to the rock behind. Stepping back, the Flame Blade Hunter sneered.
"Watch closely."
His flaming right hand gripped the Shattered Flame, infusing origin power.
Hummm!
Cracks etched in the blade filled with flames, reshaping it.
A straight crimson blade extended. A red crystal gleamed demonically where the tang should be; flames linked it to the Emberwood hilt.
Fwoosh!
After decades, the Five Elements Sacred Treasure—Flame Heaven Greatblade—was complete.
Its power surged outward. A voice echoed in the Flame Blade Hunter's ears.
Aaaaah───
The unforgettable voice of his daughter, sustaining him till now. Overjoyed, his eyes widened, then teared.
"Yes...... I'll never lose you again...... Nowhere......"
Her soul vivid within the blade, oneness like a single body. He felt fulfillment recompensing endless decades.
──Aaaack!
Kim In-cheol felt bottomless despair.
Screams erupted from the blazing blade. Hundreds, thousands of souls used in vessel and origin.
Burned like kindling inside, fueling mighty flames. At the horrific sight, he sighed.
'So... it ends like this.'
Failure to free them. Amid utter helplessness,
Vrooom—
A massive red motorcycle barreled through the forest, slamming into the Flame Blade Hunter.
Crunch, grind!
Silver threads from the bike bound him tight, grinding him into the earth as it sped on.
Far away, it hurled him aside.
KABOOOM!!!
A monstrous explosion rocked beyond the trees.
The blink-fast "accident" defied imagination. Kim In-cheol stared blankly.
'Why my motorcycle...?'
His beloved steed, customized over years. Why appear and explode now?
Frozen in confusion,
"Phew."
Lee Se-hun landed after tossing the bike, flashing a grin.
"Came to save you."