Chapter 280

Desire in the sky shone brightly as it extended like jelly. Its spikes wriggled, then became sharp teeth that devoured Blood Moon, which had countless cracks on it and was about to be destroyed. It was akin to a shrimp swallowing a dying whale.

[Recording the story of Overcoming Deficiency in the Akashic Records.]

[Desire devours Blood Moon, and the story of Unification fades away.]

...

[The Readers are impressed by the thickening history of Overcoming Deficiency.]

[500,000,000 Karma obtained.]

...

[An enormous amount of causality accumulates within Desire.]

[Enhancing the magnitude of Desire.]

[Magnitude: 8.5 → 7.5]

...

[Gene of the race Vampire, absorbed.]

...

[Drastically heightening all stat calibers.]

***

The magenta lightning, a mix of Catastrophic Thunder and Rust of Ruin, died down.

[You killed the Recorder of Blood Moon.]

[You defeated an enemy of unfathomably higher caliber.]

[The result is deemed impossible with your current stats, caliber, and skills.]

[1,000,000,000 Karma obtained.]

...

[Condition of Trait Quest: Rebellion of the Weak IV, fulfilled.]

[Converting Trait: Mystery Killing to Reverse Killing.]

...

Akasha Messages flooded his vision, but his eyes were only on the teardrop-shaped red gem in his hand.

[Bloodstream Stone

Description: A stone that holds the past, present, and future of the race Vampire.]

A race stone! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly.

This was the second race stone he had touched since the Destiny Stone in his past life. Although he had also obtained the Earthquake Stone Fragment, it had been but a fragment of a race stone.

The race stone was by far the most mysterious item in the Mirror World. If it were to be taken by another race, the race that originally owned the race stone became that race’s subordinate race. More importantly, if it were to be taken by the Chaos, the entire race would become Chaos monsters.

It was undoubtedly an item of great wonder, but Seong-Hwi knew that was not all a race stone was capable of.

I’m certain the Destiny Stone had something to do with my regression!

He might be able to find a hidden secret in the race stones if he thoroughly examined the Bloodstream Stone.

But before that... Seong-Hwi trailed off in his thoughts as he shifted his gaze to the half-dead Pseraslav in steel restraints.

His right bloodshot eye with lightning-like vessels shone demonically. He manifested the Ace of Swords and approached Pseraslav.

“You... Cough!” Pseraslav mumbled, vomiting blood as he glared at Seong-Hwi once he sensed his bloodlust.

“Let there be no resentment between us. After all, I had you promise me when I agreed to cooperate,” Seong-Hwi remarked expressionlessly.

Pseraslav recalled their conversation a while ago.

“Very well. I will join you.”

“Ohhh! Gahaha! I like your style!”

“However, you must promise me a few things.”

“Hm?”

“If it comes to it... I will prioritize what benefits me and humanity.”

“Gehe...Hehe... Indeed,” Pseraslav said.

“And you had mentioned that you would do so as well,” Seong-Hwi added, pointing the Ace of Swords at Pseraslav once he reached him. “There are no witnesses. Master Gargantua is keeping Ranko away. Besides, it would be rather troublesome if I kept you alive.”

“Cough...Hehe. Are you... afraid of me?”

“I am. I am afraid of your revenge and resentment, so I will kill you.”

“What if I... promise I won’t take revenge?” Pseraslav asked.

Seong-Hwi remained silent for a moment, then shook his head and replied, “Even so, I will still kill you. That won’t change even if you give me absolute certainty with a quest!”

If I kill and devour you, my magnitude will enhance again! I will earn even more Karma! he shouted inwardly, letting his madness of filling his deficiencies control him.

Seong-Hwi swung down the Ace of Swords.

Pseraslav stared at his approaching death and mumbled, “Ranko... It looks like... I won’t be able to keep our promise.”

He closed his eyes, accepting death. However, he did not feel pain or the slicing of flesh. All he heard was the clanging of metal.

“What the...” Pseraslav trailed off, opening his heavy eyelids.

The light blue sword, carrying the power of air, had been blocked. The restraints around his limbs had turned into armor that protected him. Seong-Hwi turned around and saw Bafor with a hardened expression.

“That’s far enough,” Bafor said.

***

The hot air rose to the top of the dome, and the cold air blew below, messing Seong-Hwi’s hair.

“Why?” Seong-Hwi asked, unable to understand.

“You told me that you would use Pseraslav to kill Haema Sanguis, but you never said anything about killing Pseraslav,” Bafor replied.

“What are you talking about?! Of course, I should kill him! If he’s alive, we would have to go to war against Barbaria!”

“Then what are you planning on telling Ranko outside the dome after killing Pseraslav?”

Seong-Hwi let Bafor know what he had planned. “Naturally, I will tell him that he died together with Haema Sanguis. That way, Ranko and Barbaria will proclaim their revenge against the vampires, and we will help them do that.”

They would be killing two birds with one stone. Not only would Seong-Hwi kill Pseraslav, but he would use the beastfolk’s rage from Pseraslav’s death to wipe out the vampires.

However, Bafor shook his head and said, “You severely underestimate the beastfolk—no, Modak.”

“Cough! Gehehe... He is... right,” Pseraslav chuckled lifelessly and continued, “Heh...hehe... Old Man Modak... won’t be fooled... that easily.”

“What do you mean?” Seong-Hwi asked.

“Beast King Modak has a very accurate gut feeling. He’s not someone you can fool with such shallow tricks,” Bafor remarked.

“An accurate gut feeling? Are you seriously suggesting we spare Pseraslav over something so unreliable?”

“I am.”

Seong-Hwi remained silent after hearing Bafor’s firm reply. The air between them grew heavy.

“What if I say... I will kill Pseraslav, no matter what you say?” Seong-Hwi asked.

“Then Faber will leave Underground effective immediately.”

Seong-Hwi’s eyes widened in shock from the completely unexpected reply.

“Why would you go that far?!” he shouted.

“Are you seriously unable to understand? Why have you... become like this?” Bafor stared at Seong-Hwi compassionately. “You weren’t like this back when you helped Lilar. What made you this heartless?”

“Heart...less?”

“Your plan was perfect, except for one thing.” Bafor pounded on his chest and continued, “This world isn’t a chessboard, and we aren’t chess pieces. Your plan is devoid of heart.”

“Heart?” Seong-Hwi mumbled dumbfoundedly, then his expression crumpled intensely. “What kind of idle crap is that?! We’ve gotten on the wrong side of massive superpowers like Echion and Orbis. We’re busy enough trying to survive and reach the top!”

“You promised to cooperate with Pseraslav, but not only would you betray him, but you would even kill him?”

“Throw away those bullshit principles! This is the Mirror World. Morals won’t give you shit!”

“How am I supposed to trust you after I watch you break your promise of cooperation and stab your comrade in the back? Would you also call that a principle?”

The agitated Seong-Hwi froze like a broken doll. Only now did Seong-Hwi understand what Bafor meant by his plan being devoid of heart.

“Huuu, must I calculate the costs and benefits so thoroughly for you to understand?” Bafor said.

“You are... different from Pseraslav,” Seong-Hwi said, but he knew he was being childish.

Why have I... become like this? he asked himself.

He had not been like this when he was the leader of Clan Calasanz in his past life. He used to be so emotional in crucial moments that he thought about relinquishing the role of clan leader to either Jurie or Lina many times. Every time he thought that way, his comrades would tell him the same things.

“Idiot. That’s why you’re the leader.”

“You’re just the right amount of both logical and emotional. That’s why you can simultaneously embrace intellectuals like me, and the idiot trio like Leo, Tae-Jin, and Hector.”

“You’re not so different from us, Jurie.”

“A romantic pragmatist. That is what you are, Seong-Hwi.”

A romantic... pragmatist, Seong-Hwi said inwardly.

As a literature kid who had spent his whole life on Earth in a library, he used to be both logical and emotional. To him, the Mirror World was the most shocking experience of his life. This place was neither logical nor beautiful, instilling in him only hatred, contempt, and disappointment for humankind.

The ones who had given him strength as he was falling apart were his comrades of Clan Calasanz. However, he did not create Calasanz in this life because he realized, after experiencing Dragon King Regnator, that they needed one absolute being instead of a group of weak beings.

Seong-Hwi did not believe that judgment was wrong. After all, he had grown exponentially stronger compared to his past life. However, it had cost him something priceless.

He recalled what Leo had once told him.

“I still believe, Seong-Hwi. Although we live in a world like this, we have yet to lose our humanity. Humans are selfless creatures, right?”

Humanity, Seong-Hwi mumbled in his head.

“How about a glass of gimlet? Why waste time thinking so hard about things? Life is just a series of dice rolls.”

“My... poor neighbors.”

“Send my packages to the trash who make autonomy meaningless!”

“Kekek! Ahhh, Great Satan! I shall send the next sacrifice to your side soon!”

“Who is the next scapegoat? Is it you? Not very special.”

Seong-Hwi’s head felt like it was splitting from the echoing voices of the various destinies.

How much... has my psyche been corrupted?

Borrowing Destiny had a terrifying penalty: his psyche was taken without him realizing it, and he believed the choices he made were his alone. He no longer had nightmares thanks to Bulgasal. No, he was having nightmares—he just didn’t remember them. Although the lack of nightmares was good for his mental health, it also meant he had no idea about the extent of his psyche’s corruption.

Seong-Hwi remained silent as he canceled the Ace of Swords, which turned into light blue wind. He rubbed his temples with a pained expression. His eyelids felt like fire, and his brain felt like it was boiling.

“Why are you in such a rush? You are becoming stronger far faster than anyone I have ever seen. Faster than even Lee Kang-San,” Bafor said quietly as he stared at the pained Seong-Hwi. His green eyes shone warmly as he continued, “There is no need to rush. You can take a rest. No, you have to. When was the last time you let everything go and just rested?”

“The last time I rested...” Seong-Hwi trailed off.

He had not rested even once. He had restlessly sprinted with all his might ever since returning to the past. Because of that, he became a World Ranker, killed the Ninth Fiend, and obtained a race stone. However, at the cost, he had lost himself to the point that not even his comrades recognized him.

He recalled what Jurie had asked him before heading to Lunatic.

“You’re... Seong-Hwi, right?”

What am I... doing this for? Does all this... have any meaning? Seong-Hwi wondered.

He thought he would see the answer one day as long as he pushed forward, but he wondered if he was simply running on a Möbius strip.

Is that life? Is that destiny? Is that being human? he wondered.

“Nothing has meaning...”

“You only need to think about charging...”

“Even if I am a sword...”

Seong-Hwi ignored the echoing voices and stared at Pseraslav to ask, “Does your earlier promise... still stand?”

“Gehe...hehe... The promise... to not... Cough! Take revenge?” Pseraslav said.

“Yes.”

“You’re not... going to... kill me?”

“Yes.”

“You won’t... get another... chance... like this... Are you sure?”

Seong-Hwi turned to look at Bafor and replied, “I can’t afford to lose a precious comrade by killing you.”

“Pfft!” Pseraslav snorted and nodded with difficulty, then lost consciousness once his tension subsided.

The armor protecting him became a bed for him to lie on.

“You made the right choice,” Bafor said with a smile.

Seong-Hwi stared at Bafor intently and said, “Thank you very much.”

“For what?”

“You helped me remember what I had been forgetting. I am a human, unfortunately enough.”

“Ahaha! That’s the Seong-Hwi I know. Yes, I am a dwarf, unfortunately enough.”

Seong-Hwi smirked and remarked, “Please don’t ever say that you will leave Underground. I felt my heart drop.”

“Haha! I immediately regretted saying it, too. Me? Leave Underground? That will never happen. I’ll hold on for dear life, even if you try to kick us out!” Bafor nodded and placed his hand on Seong-Hwi’s shoulder. “And I meant it when I said you need to rest. Even a perfectly wound clock is bound to malfunction at some point. There are times when you have to open it up and do some maintenance. What you need now is an overhaul.”

“I will... keep that in mind,” Seong-Hwi said with a smile and nodded.

“Ahem, perhaps this was unnecessary advice. I’m sure you would have gone in the right direction. I learn more from you than you from me—especially when it comes to being decisive,” Bafor said as he stroked his dark grey beard. He then clapped his hands together and remarked energetically, “Now, why don’t we discuss the plan for Underground going forward—”

Just then, an insanely heavy voice interrupted Bafor. “Very good. You make up for each other’s flaws. Your comradeship is well-balanced.”

The steel dome made with the Iron Vein Seal was instantly shattered as if it were an eggshell.

“What in the world?!” Bafor shouted as his eyes widened.

Seong-Hwi began to draw out his mana. He saw two giant pillars beyond the broken dome.

“Are those... fingers?” he mumbled.

They were difficult to recognize because they were so massive, but he was sure they were fingers because of the presence of joints. Since one pillar was shorter than the other, they were likely a thumb and an index finger.

“Oh, I was trying to lift it, but I ended up breaking it instead. I’m sorry, Bafor. You’re not injured, are you?”

“Y-you’re—” Bafor stuttered as he looked up at the giant who looked as if he could destroy the entire world.

He couldn’t see the giant’s face, but he was certain of who he was.

“Master Grandis,” Bafor mumbled.

“What... did you say?” Seong-Hwi said blankly. “Grandis, the Guardian Titan? The First Lord!”

“It has been a while, Bafor. And...”

The wind pressure generated simply from Grandis turning his head slammed Seong-Hwi alongside the giant’s high caliber. Seong-Hwi groaned, being pushed into the ground by the immense gravitational force. He felt like an ant looking up at a human.

“It is nice to meet you, my small, interesting friend.”

The appearance of the largest being in the world ended all trivial quarrels.