Chapter 403: Karmic Fire (Part 13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 403: Karmic Fire (Part 13)
Flames surged upward.
Like dancing spirits, the crimson fire swirled around Muen, gradually igniting the intricate magic patterns. It climbed along the massive, pitch-black walls of the tower, reaching toward the heights of the heavens.
The fire wasn't scorching, nor was it fierce.
But when its light flooded the entire space, it illuminated a million faces twisted in sheer terror.
"An Evil God?"
The old woman shrieked manically. "Another Evil God? You’ve actually colluded with an Evil God? Aren't you supposed to be..."
"Relax, I haven't colluded with anyone," Muen said softly. "I'm just borrowing a little something."
The flames finally reached the massive amplification magic array at the top of the tower. Clusters of fire bloomed like exotic lotuses in the height of summer.
"Ahhh!"
Piercing screams erupted as fire that seemed capable of incinerating all of existence began to ignite atop the many deformed figures.
"To think you actually possess the power of an Evil God!"
The old woman’s wrinkled face suddenly contorted with rage. Further aberrations sprouted from her body; within a few breaths, she no longer looked remotely human.
"But so what? What if it is the power of an Evil God? It isn't the god itself! In the end, you are just a man—and a heavily wounded one at that. You’re so weak even I can see it."
"And I..."
"And we..."
The old woman raised her arms and roared, "There are a million of us!"
The sea of mud erupted in fury.
It roared.
It surged.
Monstrous black waves swept upward, threatening to drown the world. A massive shadow loomed, looking down coldly at the tiny, blonde man.
What does a million people actually look like?
If a town has a thousand people, you would have to slaughter a thousand towns to reach a million.
If a million people each spat once, the sheer volume could drown Muen where he stood.
Even if they were a million pigs lying there waiting to be slaughtered, Muen would work himself to death from dawn to dusk before he could finish the job.
And now, these million souls were gathered as one. Their collective rage and roars created an aftershock powerful enough to grind a small pebble like Muen into dust.
"True. Just this doesn't seem to be quite enough," Muen coughed slightly, surreptitiously wiping blood from his palm.
His internal injuries hadn't fully healed.
The rejection from the alchemy core was still tearing at his body every second.
Right now, he was at his absolute weakest. Liya could probably knock him flat with a single punch.
And yet.
Muen remained composed.
He even gave a slight nod toward the towering black waves, as if admiring the sheer majesty of a million souls united.
Then, he closed his eyes.
He issued a familiar call.
"Black Book."
【 I am here. 】
Deep within his consciousness, the black book—which seemed to have been waiting for this—awoke from its slumber. Words manifested on its pages in response.
"Can you separate the Withered King's Divine Blessing from me?"
【 I can. 】
The Black Book swayed gently. 【 However... 】
【 Are you certain you wish to do this? 】
"I'm certain. There's no outside interference right now, so I can temporarily suppress the rejection. Do it."
Muen answered without a hint of hesitation.
He felt no lingering attachment to this "gift" from an Evil God.
【 ... 】
This time, the Black Book didn't respond. Instead, its pages flipped at high speed until a single blank page tore itself free.
Muen opened his eyes, and the page appeared in his palm.
It was no longer blank. A drawing had manifested upon it: a massive, hideous eye, its iris expanding with lifelike detail—terrifying and majestic.
"This... what is this?!"
The moment the page appeared, the encroaching black waves ground to a halt. The old woman’s ugly face emerged from the center of the surge, shrieking in terror:
"No! You can't!! You can't do this!! Is this... could this be...?!!"
Once they realized what the page in Muen's hand represented, the emotion known as fear infected the entire sea of mud in an instant.
The old woman’s expression shifted again, becoming fawning and wretched. "Calm down, please, let's be calm. We can talk! It doesn't have to be that girl who saves us. You can take your girl and go. We can choose someone else. We aren't picky..."
"Not picky? You make it sound like you're reviewing a meal," Muen said, his gaze remaining mocking as his fingers slowly brushed against the page.
"No! Even so, you cannot kill us! Do you know the consequences? Do you know what happens if you kill us all? We are a million people! This is the collective sin of a million souls!"
"Even a professional executioner would be tormented to madness by such sin, let alone you! I know you are a good person. To travel with the Saintess, you must be a good man. Since you are good, please—"
"When," Muen interrupted the old woman, speaking slowly, "did I ever say I was a good person?"
"Eh?"
"Quite the opposite. I'm not a good guy at all. I'm a villain."
Muen looked at the stunned old woman, then at the million souls. He spoke each word clearly, his voice low:
"In this story... I am the officially designated, one-and-only yellow-haired villain!"
With that, Muen slammed the page onto the magic patterns beneath his feet.
Infinite crimson flames erupted toward the sky.
Every magic pattern and array was instantly incinerated. No magic could amplify this—this was a fragment of an Evil God’s own... Authority.
Even if it was only a tiny portion.
"Look, everyone!"
Muen clapped his hands and shouted:
"The salvation you wanted, the sun you craved—it has risen!"
And so, a sun truly did rise from the peak of that massive black tower.
An infinite, brilliant light pierced through the clouds and dispelled the blood-mist.
It illuminated this kingdom, a place that had never known a sun.
*
"About nine more to go. I win! Yay!"
In front of the Black Giant Tower, a blood-stained Annie looked at the crystal in her hand, which was nearly full. She glanced at Margarita beside her and couldn't help but flash a smug smile, puffing out her chest.
Though they were all fighting together against the twisted monsters surrounding the tower, Annie—as a war machine of a Reta—was still outperforming Paul and his excellent swordsmanship when it came to kill counts.
At this rate, the position of the next Saintess was practically in her pocket!
"I'd advise you not to get too excited. It’s not over yet, and besides..."
Margarita wiped a streak of blood from her cheek and sneered. "Besides, you have to survive this to actually sit in that Saintess seat!"
At their feet, monsters continued to swarm up the narrow staircase in endless waves, their numbers seemingly never-ending.
If this continued, they would soon die of exhaustion. They weren't even sure if being exhausted was enough to trigger the teleportation scrolls.
"Tsk, fair point."
At the thought of this, Annie’s expression soured. She gritted her teeth. "Damned Freya, dying so easily without telling us how long we have to hold out. This dump doesn't even have a sun. We can't exactly... huh?"
Annie, who had been grumbling, suddenly froze. She slowly, stiffly, tilted her head up.
Beside her, Margarita had noticed the anomaly even sooner. Her face was already as white as a sheet.
She wondered if it was an illusion... but it felt like the sky was getting bright. Dammit, it wasn't an illusion. It really was getting bright.
And a sun had risen—right above their heads!
"Is this... is this a freaking Evil God?!"
Annie recognized the nature of that "sun" instantly. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Why would an Evil God descend directly here? Cantville is under Church control! Does this mean..."
Annie turned pale with horror. "The Church has been wiped out? Is it the end of the world? What... what do we do? I haven't even used my influence as a Saintess to create a world where A-cups are the standard of beauty! How can I—"
"Calm down!"
Margarita snapped back to her senses and barked, "While I support your pathetic dream, look closer! That isn't an Evil God in person. It’s only the power of an Evil God, without the will!"
"Oh... I guess you're right."
"And... look at the surroundings."
"The surroundings?"
Annie followed Margarita’s gesture and... her eyes widened.
All around them, the twisted monsters had stopped their desperate assault.
One by one, they knelt where they stood, gazing up at that sun radiating infinite destructive power.
Even as their bodies burned, even as the pain made every inch of their flesh convulse, they looked upon it with a sense of deep longing, tears streaming down their faces.
"Thank... you..."
The vanishing monsters knelt toward the sun, speaking with the voices of humans.
*
"Is it... finally over?"
Watching the sea of mud being consumed by the crimson flames and the million souls struggling in agony within it, Muen finally found the strength to let out a long breath.
He felt as if something was missing from his body, an uncomfortable sensation of emptiness.
Since the Withered King's Divine Blessing had been severed from him, such a feeling was only natural.
"A shame. Big Brother Withered's stuff was actually pretty useful."
Muen looked up at the sky. From this angle, the sun was a magnificent sight.
"But compared to a beautiful girl, it’s nothing. Especially compared to Liya."
"So, losing the Crimson Flame is no big deal. It’s just..."
Muen gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Having killed a million people, I must be the greatest executioner in the world."
It was just as the old woman had said. Even if they were sinners, even if they had betrayed all of humanity...
Killing a million people was still a very real... sin.
"I hope I don't get hit by divine retribution."
Muen chuckled bitterly. He brushed off his clothes and forced his weakened body to stand.
He still had to go congratulate Liya on becoming the Saintess. He couldn't look too pathetic.
"Sinner..."
Muen’s footsteps suddenly froze.
The forced, relaxed smile on his face slowly vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness that bordered on the monstrous.
He turned his neck stiffly. The voices he had thought were hallucinations were becoming clearer.
"Sinner..."
"You sinner!!"
"Murderer!! Executioner!!"
"Why did you kill us? I curse you! I curse you!!"
"Mommy, it hurts!!"
In his vision, the people struggling in the flames suddenly lifted their agonized faces, roaring in fury at Muen.
But in a blink, he saw them only wailing in pain, bloody tears flowing from their eyes only to be instantly vaporized.
"What... what the hell?"
Muen suddenly stumbled. A cold aura, like a nest of vipers, coiled around his skin and bored into his body.
He saw a pitch-black mist appearing from nowhere, wrapping around him with whispers that threatened to split his skull.
His consciousness and his physical body began to be... eroded.
"What is this?"
Muen clutched his head, the veins on his forehead bulging. His face truly became distorted.
【 Pollution. 】
The Black Book answered:
【 The hatred and resentment of a million people at the moment of their death has formed a mass of pollution. 】
"Why is there such a thing?" Muen stammered.
【 It is simple. As lambs raised by an Evil God, that being naturally added a little something extra to their feed. 】
"So you're saying that Evil God is the type to spit in his food even if he isn't planning to eat it yet?"
【 Precisely. 】
"Dammit, that's disgusting."
Muen gritted his teeth. "So? What's going to happen to me?"
【 You will naturally be eroded by the pollution, turning into a monster that even I cannot predict. 】