Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: More than words
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Something overflowed from my body.
The amount of information on objects reflected in my field of vision had become incomparably precise compared to before.
I could capture even a single strand of hair shaking as a human moved, perfectly in my sight.
Time seemed to flow slowly.
My cognition moved faster than time.
My thoughts accelerated accordingly.
It felt like I had gained five senses capable of piercing through everything in this world.
This was on a whole different level from when I had evolved from Vampire to Noble Blood.
Even though it was just a temporary evolution triggered by the Trait Inflection...
⚔ TRAIT EVOLUTION ⚔ Level.3 - True Ancestor The final realm a vampire with noble blood can reach. The progenitor of vampires and the true king who rules the night. Even the sun is no longer a match. A perfect being with no weaknesses. Performs miracles using blood and can turn humans into vampires. Those without mental resistance will be enchanted just by gazing upon the beautiful form of the True Ancestor. Possesses five senses that pierce through this world and overwhelming physical abilities. Can use Blood Magic. *This is a temporary evolved state.
The trait reaching Lv.3 granted me tremendous power.
A small change occurred in my appearance as well. My hair had grown long and flowing. The long hair was more cumbersome than expected.
The back of my neck and the crown of my head felt thick and stuffy. How do women even deal with this...
Anyway.
As the trait evolved, new knowledge flowed into my mind.
Blood Magic.
If Noble Blood was merely the stage of manipulating blood, True Ancestor used blood as a cost to cast magic.
Blood Magic was slightly more sinister and cruel than Mimir's or Zero One's magic.
Things like consuming one's own blood to turn people into vampires, or heating or coagulating the blood inside an enemy's body to kill them. There were many spells with high lethality.
Additionally, the moment the trait evolved, a vast knowledge of Blood Magic was stored in my head. It was as if I'd connected an external drive to a computer and uploaded data.
It came to mind as clearly as the short stories I'd enjoyed from childhood to adulthood.
Well then, shall we give it a try?
First, something low-risk. And there were plenty of suitable targets around.
I extended my arm forward, palm down.
A hole opened in the center of my palm.
Blood poured out from the hole, and as I stared at the falling droplets, I murmured.
"Mix all that springs from a single root, and torment the great creator." ⟨ Bleeding ⟩
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Bleeding Blood magic that causes bleeding in those of lower racial hierarchy.
I targeted a massive Dimensional Beast heading toward the shelter where the refugees had gathered.
As the incantation ended, blood poured from the giant Dimensional Beast's entire body, and it collapsed, bleeding from all seven orifices.
I stepped forward beyond the Dimensional Beast's corpse.
Good. Preparations complete.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The horde of Dimensional Beasts swarmed around their queen.
Even though the Federal Guidance Bureau and Hunters had thinned their numbers, they were still formidable.
The three hundred Dimensional Beasts all bowed their heads toward the queen, assuming postures of submission.
The queen placed her hand on the head of the bravest Dimensional Beast closest to her.
Black sparks began flowing from the Dimensional Beast's body, and evolution commenced.
Grk... Grk...
Its skin and flesh began splitting like the shell of a molting crustacean.
Blood poured out like a waterfall. The bear-like Dimensional Beast began self-harming in symphony with the pain.
Amid the white steam rising from the red-hot meat, the Dimensional Beast revealed its true form.
"Grrr..."
It had been a mere Grade 3 Dimensional Beast moments ago, but after receiving the queen's grace, it completed its evolution into a Grade 1.
The others were the same.
The Dimensional Beasts gathered here at the queen's call began evolving.
The shells confining them melted away. They roared in forms even larger and more powerful than before.
From the rooftop of a four-story building, I watched the evolution unfold.
More precisely, I stared at Han Cheong-ah standing at its center.
Her aquamarine-blue eyes lacked their usual vitality.
The curiosity and passion that had filled her were gone.
They resembled the eyes of a corpse, so I clenched my fists tight.
"That look doesn't suit you at all."
Normally, Han Cheong-ah was a sparkling harmony of pinks and countless colors.
But now, through the True Ancestor's eyes, her colors appeared close to deep gray.
Like looking at a character from a black-and-white comic, in dark tones.
If a model's appearance changed so suddenly, I couldn't properly finish the painting in progress.
I hadn't even started coloring yet—it was quite troubling.
Besides, Han Cheong-ah in near-monochrome lost its appeal as an illustrator's subject.
"Huuu..."
I took a deep breath.
On the rooftop, I clenched and unclenched my hands, focusing my mind.
To restore Han Cheong-ah to her original self, the first step was exterminating the Dimensional Beasts blanketing the ground.
I coldly looked down at the monsters that had once been human.
There was no hesitation. They were already dead humans.
Pity for villains who chose suicide through their own folly was wasted.
Thus, annihilate them all.
What I attempted was a fusion of Psi ability and magic.
I was the world's only monster and Psyker.
This fusion would be a first in history, right at this moment.
It was the moment I pioneered an unknown realm not even featured in the original work.
Shimmering heat haze rose from my left hand.
Blood poured from my right.
Heat welled up around me, filling the area.
What I envisioned was a star.
The only celestial body in this world that generated its own energy.
A great heavenly body that bestowed blessings on distant stars while unleashing calamity like divine punishment on nearby planets.
At the center of the gathered Dimensional Beasts, I formed a small sphere.
Plasma with enough heat to vaporize all matter slowly took on an ellipsoidal shape.
The heat devoured everything.
Concrete and earth began to melt. Objects losing form to the heat turned liquid and flowed across the ground.
Even the Dimensional Beasts with strong heat resistance fared no differently.
Their skin, bones, and flesh began to burn.
"Grraaaaaah────!!"
The miniature star's heat swallowed even their roars.
Even as the monsters became piles of ash, it showed no mercy.
Everything in the area melted into goo.
Having fulfilled its role, the intensely radiating miniature star vanished in an instant.
In the ruins still lingering with heat, only Han Cheong-ah stood unscathed.
She looked up at the rooftop where I stood.
I lightly leaped down from the rooftop.
Hating the sweltering heat, I drove it away with a cold snap.
In the cool air, her blue eyes met my red ones.
"Han Cheong-ah."
"......"
Naturally, no response came from Han Cheong-ah, whose reason was absent.
Still, I continued speaking.
Because there were words I needed to convey to her.
Words of thanks I could only say now that she'd lost her mind.
"I've always wanted to say thank you."
"Truth is, this place felt so alien and unfamiliar to me. Like a traveler stranded in a distant world..."
"I struggled to adapt to the new body and surroundings, but the more I did, the stronger the sense of alienation grew..."
"That's because I'd lived much longer in my original world than as Baek Do-hyun in Academy City. It was inevitable."
"You once said to me: 'I'm afraid that someday, today will vanish into illusion like the past 15 years.'"
"I'm the same. Why am I here? Why am I continuing my life in this place instead of my original world?"
"Am I dreaming now? Or maybe the life I've lived was the 'dream.' Who am I really?"
I smiled.
Under the sky with its red moon, as cool rain soaked my body───.
"You gave me the answer to that."
"I'm the same, Han Cheong-ah."
'Watching myself beautifully drawn on a white canvas in Do-hyun's eyes makes me realize I'm not an illusion.'
"Every time I draw you. Seeing your reflection in your eyes beautifully rendered on a white canvas lets me realize that the life I've lived, the life I'm living, isn't an illusion."
"So from now on, I'll draw you a lot, a lot more. Drawing a beautiful girl named Han Cheong-ah is surely enjoyable."
"When you return as Han Cheong-ah."
I am an Inflector.
I am Baek Do-hyun.
I am ■■■.
Thus, I will save you here.
Perfectly, completely, artistically.
Like a master's masterpiece painting without a single blemish.
I began to extend my hand of salvation.