126
126 ― The World Inside the Seed
Light sweeps in. An intense light that Jin-woo had never seen before - not from Kalesian, not from Silvern, not even from the dozens of dragons that attacked the snowy mountains.
Even in a situation where he seemed about to be swept away and shattered at any moment, Jin-woo maintained a thread-like balance. The creature was offering up its soul to kill him. It was within striking distance. If he fled this place immediately, he might survive, but rather than running away to live, he chose to die trying to kill him.
At this moment, when the opponent was launching its strongest attack with maximum killing intent. That's precisely why this was an opportunity. To cut through the creature's soul and end everything.
"Jin-woo!!"
Kalesian intervened. Jin-woo's eyes wavered, but his stance and resolve did not waver. Kalesian had also intervened, risking his life. If he panicked here, nothing would work out.
The magic power he deployed partially absorbed and disrupted Jeraxon's light, reducing the power of the breath. It wasn't enough to completely block it, but it bought him just a little time. With that time, he could swing a slightly more perfect sword.
'Hoooo.......'
It was strange. Though the moment the light touched was only an instant, there was time to take one breath. His actual body had stopped breathing and was concentrating, but his flame took one breath. It was the opportunity Kalesian had created for him.
And then, he swung.
His sword touched the light but did not touch it. No matter how much it was Rondar's sword, if it took a direct hit from Jeraxon's breath, it would inevitably break. But the sword passed through the black light and rushed toward the creature's body.
No, it didn't even touch the body. It didn't shatter scales or cut flesh. It didn't disturb the countless magic barriers that were deployed, and it passed through both heart and organs.
The sword aimed for only one thing. The black flame crouched at the creature's center. The seed of that flame.
'The Lord's Seed!'
The seed that had transformed Jeraxon from an ordinary divine spirit into a being called the Lord of Erosion. That thing which was said to have been torn into twelve pieces and scattered by someone called the Primordial Lord.
For the first time, he perfectly recognized that existence. Even when he met Rondar, even when he met Belkarim, it hadn't been visible this perfectly. He had only felt a vague sense of wrongness that the Lord's flame was somehow different from ordinary erosion flames.
But now he could see it properly. Would it be visible in Belkarim too? He was curious, but there was no time to turn his eyes to the sky. Rondar's sword was swung toward the seed embedded in Jeraxon's flame.
At the same time, the light reached him. It was impossible to tell which came first. The creature probably didn't know either. That's how simultaneous the two events were.
Whether cutting through the seed would come first, or the breath shattering him to pieces would come first.
The last thing reflected in Jin-woo's eyes was the sight of the seed split in half.
***
[ Huff...... huff...... ]
Jeraxon staggered and caught his breath. His head was dizzy and his legs were trembling. Blood poured from his mouth. Due to the breath he had fired by gathering all his life's strength, his mouth had torn and was spilling blood.
The opponent...... Was not visible. He had completely disappeared. He felt that the being had been decomposed without leaving a single particle behind.
[ Kuh, kuhahahahahaha! ]
He laughed loudly and roared. He killed him! He killed that creature!
Even though it was a lowly human body, that creature's soul could not be taken lightly. The hateful man who had stolen his freedom and trapped him in a false sky!
But he had overcome it. He had blown away not only the flesh but also the mind and soul completely. He wouldn't be able to do things like reincarnation anymore either.
My victory!
[ $@#%@%#$% ]
He heard Belkarim babbling something. The wolf that swallowed the moon. One who lives eternally in sunlight.
She was an opponent who couldn't be taken lightly. There was nothing good about confronting her when his physical condition wasn't good either. But strangely, he was confident.
If it was now, he could win. He could easily eliminate that annoying woman too.
In fact, he had strength remaining. It was strange that he had this much strength left when he had clearly just fired a breath, using all his power.
But he didn't realize the strangeness. Opportunity and greed enough to blind his eyes were prepared before him.
[ Die! ]
Thinking that way and fighting, he ultimately won. He completely devoured Belkarim's soul. He had blown away that hateful man along with his soul so he couldn't even reincarnate, but Belkarim didn't need to be treated the same way. He completely devoured her and absorbed her as his own power.
After that, everything proceeded smoothly.
That man who would interfere with him was gone, and having devoured Belkarim, he had collected two seeds.
The power between the Lords is antagonistic, and if they clash recklessly, both sides will only face destruction. In that case, it would be a third party who would rejoice. One seed cannot overpower one seed.
Even so, Jeraxon had been unable to endure that stable balance and had only looked for opportunities to somehow disrupt it, but it had been a difficult path. He somehow invaded other stars and gathered their energy to build his strength. He didn't forget to make subordinates and also strived to gain enlightenment himself.
Because he was prepared in that way, as soon as the second seed came into his hands, he could move immediately.
Using Belkarim's authority, he recovered his body over the course of a day. After that, he attacked other Lords, picked fights with them, and won. He destroyed their territories, slaughtered their subordinates, and stole their seeds.
Collecting the third and fourth seeds that way, he finally defeated all the Lords and ascended to the sky. He had truly become the master of this sky.
In the Spirit Realm, there were many divine spirits other than the Lords. Some were native divine spirits older than most Lords, and their power was something that even a Lord could not take lightly.
However, they could not stop Jeraxon who had collected all twelve seeds. His current power was comparable to the Primordial Lord of the past. That being who had tended this Spirit Realm as a garden and governed all cycles and nature.
Having become an existence equal to that level, what could the native divine spirits do? No matter how old and powerful they were, they were ultimately just creatures living in the garden. They were no match for one who had gained the master's power.
Thus all divine spirits bowed before him, fearing and worshipping him. Those who resisted were killed and their souls collected, while those who submitted were mercifully accepted. He was the Lord of Oppression and Ceiling. Those who accepted oppression were citizens living in his territory, so there was no reason to kill them.
His power and influence did not stop at just the Spirit Realm. The planets he had originally been invading, including Earth, and the Dragon Star Realm and the worlds within the gates beneath it could not escape either.
Originally, gates were like underground areas arranged below the Spirit Realm, so it wasn't difficult. By suppressing the Spirit Realm, he could dominate all worlds.
That's how he regained it.
'Everything!'
The glory of the past. That position where no one could touch him and no one could harm his freedom.
No, the days when he was free in the past were nothing more than an illusion. His sky in the past was a sky that was not a sky.
But now it was different. Now he had truly dominated and placed the real sky beneath his feet. Oppression was for things on the ground, and he above them was freer than anyone.
He was a tyrant, but merciful to those who did not oppose him. The Spirit Realm he ruled was peaceful beneath him and above all, comfortable.
Once again, he could leisurely stroll through the world, and that made his heart flutter.
"How vast."
In this vast world, only he alone rejoiced in complete freedom. All the oppressed beings just needed to live desperately down below. Only he had ascended to the sky.
He was satisfied with this world. Without readily realizing that it was a world inside a split seed.
***
At the same time as cutting through the seed, all the intense light and magic power were sucked into it. It was an incomparably stronger force than even the gravitational pull of a dragon that endlessly drew in magic power. Nothing could resist it.
That's how Jeraxon was sucked into the seed along with his breath. However, the creature didn't know that fact. He was losing awareness, satisfied with the fleeting world unfolded inside the seed.
"What should I do with this......"
The seed gently descended into Jin-woo's hand. The split part had sealed itself, crudely woven together. It didn't look like a solid and stable existence.
Was Jeraxon trapped inside this, neither destroyed nor annihilated?
"Puh!"
Just then, Kalesian popped out from under the buried rubble. He had tried to block Jeraxon's breath but had been knocked away due to insufficient power. Still, the amount he had blocked served as time-buying, allowing the sword technique to be refined.
"Are you unharmed?"
"Hoooo...... I'm alive somehow. Though my magic power is depleted."
Kalesian's magic power was completely drained. Though he was in a hatchling's body, his magic power was no less than an adult's, but that vast magic power was showing bottom. It would take considerable time to recover.
"What is that...... Gasp! A s-seed?"
"Yes."
About to ask about the seed Jin-woo held, he noticed it himself and closed his mouth. He had only heard stories about the Lord's Seed but was seeing one directly for the first time.
Instinctive curiosity arose, but surprise came first. Jeraxon's presence was emanating from that seed.
"Jeraxon is surely......"
"Trapped inside this."
"......You couldn't kill him completely?"
"He wasn't completely cut through."
Not being able to kill Jeraxon was regrettable. He had wanted to cleanly bisect him, but he was tougher than expected. It meant his sword skills weren't at that level yet.
Even so, the seal-like form it had taken was unexpected. Since Jin-woo didn't know sealing magic or anything like that, this result was due to the seed acting on its own.
"What will you do? It doesn't seem like something you can easily discard."
"Well...... I'll have to keep it until I find a way to dispose of it."
He couldn't just abandon it like this. Someone might find and misuse it, or Jeraxon might realize it himself and break the seal to escape. Either way, separating it from his body would be the worst plan.
The seed seeped into Jin-woo's hand and settled in his flame. Though it didn't completely mix, the absorption process was smooth.
For the first time in a long while, Jin-woo felt his energy rising considerably. The emptiness that hadn't been filled no matter what elixir he consumed had been partially resolved.
It was a satisfaction he hadn't felt even when receiving elixirs from Kalesian or when absorbing Silvern's soul.
Did this mean the power the seed possessed was that great? Or was there another reason?
'......Either way.'
He couldn't carelessly release this seed into the world. To put it bluntly, another divine spirit might pick it up and become a new Lord.
[ I witnessed something interesting. ]
And then, Belkarim, who had been observing all the events until now, descended. Jin-woo's eyes pierced through her. Inside that black flame too, a seed similar to Jeraxon's was dwelling.