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Chapter 254: Star, the Apostle Battle (4)

「Hmm?」

“Why would I bother with that?” Chang-Sun replied with a cold smile. “If he’s going to die anyway, it’s better to die quickly.”

「W-Well, that’s true…」

Simon chuckled dryly, thinking it was a good thing that he lacked a body. If he had one, he would already be sweating profusely. Regardless, he felt pity when he saw the heads of the Archangel Leader and the Kraken, who were overlords of the <Saha World>, being split apart whenever Chang-Sun threw his axe. In truth, Simon himself was also a demigod. Perhaps it would be different to die honorably as a warrior after directly fighting a one-on-one battle, but he really did not want to be butchered like that.

‘…No, maybe it’s not that different, because I’d die either way,’?Simon thought as he glanced in the other direction through Chang-Sun’s eyes. Although he had tried to run away from death, he could not avoid it in the end; in contrast, a certain person still lived, standing far away from him. Looking at Jacque the Manticore, whose halo shone around him, Simon quietly spoke up.

「Master.」

“What is it?” Chang-Sun answered.

「Can I…?!」

“Go on,” Chang-Sun said with a nod.

「…Can I really go?」

“Isn’t that why you asked for the [Golem Core]?” Chang-Sun replied with a chuckle.

Simon gasped. Although that actually was one of the reasons why he had asked forthea [Golem Core], he had never expected Chang-Sun to give permission this easily. He grumbled.

「Well, that’s true, but I might run away or betray you, you know.」

The [Golem Core] left by Ben Eddy was Saxnot’s relic. Simon had been learning the secrets of sorcery and magic through [Prelati’s Spellbook] and [Bestla’s Poem], which meant could put the [Golem Core] to better use than Ben. Of course, once he merged with the [Golem Core], he would become as powerful as—no, stronger than those apostles. Still, Chang-Sun did not seem to care about that.

“You can betray me if you want,” Chang-Sun said with a shrug.

「What…?!」

“But you’d better prepare yourself to deal with the consequences,” Chang-Sun continued with a chilling tone.

Simon chuckled dumbfoundedly.

「Yeah, I knew it, but…」

He gradually burst into genuine laughter.

「..Yeah. Simon Magus’ master should be like this.」

Ooooong!

The [Golem Core] appeared above Chang-Sun’s head, then spun and quickly absorbed the blood splattered all across the battle stage. Since the blood belonged to the representatives of civilizations and planets, it contained a lot of Divinities. As it entered the [Golem Core], the silhouette of a human began to manifest, traced in dark red light. Soon after, something that resembled a robe fell from the air and covered the figure, and what appeared to be its hand put an iron mask on its face.

Click―!

Once the figure put on the plain iron mask, a strange set of lights began to emanate from it. It reminded Chang-Sun of the ‘Iron Mask’ Grizman Adelie, who had actually been Simon.

[Your Subordinate ‘Simon Magus’ has successfully merged with a Golem!]

[Starting now, your Subordinate ‘Simon Magus’ can use all his Skills.]

[Starting now, your Subordinate ‘Simon Magus’ can use all his magic spells.].

Jacque Valentine silently looked at Simon with an emotionless expression.

「Jacque Valentine—no, Vercingetorix, the king of Gauls.」

Tap!

Landing opposite from Jacque, Simon spoke coldly.

「Our feud has lasted for two thousand years. It’s time to end this.」

* * *

Chang-Sun had not yet retrieved the [Jin Can Axe], because the Elemental Spirit Knight, Plague Monster, and Urash were still present. Above all…

‘I haven’t seen a message about the Sea King Creature’s death,’?Chang-Sun thought.

Just as expected, a large amount of seawater appeared in the air and transformed into the Kraken, which shouted.

『How dare you fool me?!』

Although Chang-Sun had gone for the head, it turned out that his attack had not quite dealt critical damage; still, it had been destructive on some level. The Kraken’s remaining eye had been crushed, rendering him blind. The Kraken could not maintain his form and his body distorted, indicating that his Class was also very unstable.

『I’ll… I’ll make you end up the same way!』

The Kraken opened his mouth wide and fired a waterfall of ink, dyeing the battle stage black. Chang-Sun’s storm ‘disappeared’ as soon as it came into contact with the Kraken’s ink, and the world around him turned pitch-black.

‘Oh, this is a bit troublesome,’?Chang-Sun thought, realizing that the Kraken was going to blow himself up.

It seemed that the Kraken, seeing no chance to escape alive, had decided to blind Chang-Sun in turn. With such a high Class and massive body, his self-detonation would no doubt have a powerful impact.

Pzzzz!

Chang-Sun swung the [Yuchang Sword] fiercely, creating a lightning bolt infused with white divine energy to split the Kraken in half. However, the Kraken self-detonated first with a shout.

『See you in hell, Lee Chang-Sun!』

Boooom!

The Kraken’s ink splattered everywhere, covering the entire battle stage and Chang-Sun.

[The Sea King Creature has activated the Authority ‘Unholy Creature’!]

[You have become trapped in the Sea King Creature’s mind palace, your consciousness subsiding.]

…

[Escape the mind palace safely.]

[The world is turning dark.]

…

…

‥

·

·

Beep, beep!

Chang-Sun woke up from the noise of the alarm clock and looked around, soon recognizing where he was. A high-spec desktop, two computer monitors, a poster on the wall, over a dozen trophies displayed in the bookcase… It was his room. He was in his room right now.

‘When did I get here?’

he thought in annoyance, but the door to his room suddenly opened.

“Chang-Sun! If you’re up, you should come out and eat breakfast! Don’t you have a game today?” So Yu-Ha, his mother, called out as she appeared in the doorway, holding a ladle in her right hand and wearing an apron.

For a moment, Chang-Sun looked blankly at Yu-Ha. Although she was always full of concern, she looked unusually young today.

“What’s wrong? You’re just looking at me without saying anything,” Yu-Ha said, tilting her head and looking at Chang-Sun worriedly.

“…Nothing. I wasn’t fully awake,” Chang-Sun replied.

“Okay, come on out. Everyone is waiting for you,” Yu-Ha said with a smile.

Wait for him? Not understanding what Yu-Ha meant, Chang-Sun followed her and trudged to the living room. He felt very sluggish and tired for some reason, as if he had not slept for days.

“Hey, did you sleep well?” his brother asked with a smile.

“Woah! Look at the dark bags under your eyes. When was the last time you slept?” His sister, Lee Yu-Seon, added with a frown.

The table was full of delicious dishes, and the rest of the family was sitting around it. Although Chang-Sun’s father did not even try to look him in the eyes, his brother and sister happily welcomed him. Although Yu-Seon might have scolded Chang-Sun, her tone was playful. It was one of the mornings he had experienced in the past.

“Sit,” Chang-Sun’s father said, putting his spoon into a bowl of seaweed soup.

Chang-Sun sat down in his seat as if he had been bewitched by something. When he looked down, he saw warm bowls of rice and seaweed soup. At that moment, Yu-Ha sat down on the opposite side and put down a plate of spicy stir-fried pork in the center of the table.

“There’s still a lot left, so help yourselves,” Yu-Ha said, gesturing at the family members.

“What?! Wow, this is really unfair,” Yu-Seon grumbled in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Chang-Sun’s brother asked, looking at Yu-Seon.

.

“Mom is playing favorites. On the day of my music competition, she cooked me a pot of kimchi-jjigae and that was it, but when Chang-Sun enters a competition, he gets spicy stir-fried pork, seaweed soup, skate fish salad, and other seasoned vegetables… It’s a wonder that the table legs didn’t give out,” Yu-Seon said, pointing at the plates on the table one by one.

Yu-Ha gasped and exclaimed, “Yu-Seon! You always eat well even if I don’t cook for you, but Chang-Sun doesn’t. That’s all.”

“That’s ridiculous! Then I’m going to starve from now on!” Yu-Seon yelled.

Yu-Ha was about to scold her childish daughter when Chang-Sun’s brother blurted out, “You can’t, Yu-Seon.”

“Why can’t I do that?” Yu-Seon replied with a pout.

“Can you starve yourself for three days? You can’t eat bread for a snack,” Chang-Sun’s brother answered.

“Are you crazy? How can I do that?!” Yu-Seon exclaimed in shock. She loved bread so much that she could not go a day without eating a piece of bread.

“He can,” Chang-Sun’s brother said, pointing at Chang-Sun with his chin. “I saw him eating instant cup noodles in front of his computer for a week. Can you at least do that much?”

“…Impossible,” Yu-Seon said, shaking her head firmly.

“There is one more reason,” Chang-Sun’s brother added.

“What is it now?” Yu-Seon asked.

“You should earn as much money as him,” Chang-Sun’s brother said with a raised brow.

“Psh!?My salary isn’t low, you know!” Yu-Seon protested.

“One-tenth of Chang-Sun’s? No, one-twentieth of his salary,” Chang-Sun’s brother said.

“Then what about you?” Yu-Seon asked.

“Mine is one-fifth of Chang-Sun’s, so it’s impossible for me too,” Chang-Sun’s brother replied.

“…Man, it’s really unfair for people who can’t earn much money,” Yu-Seon said with a pout.

“Guys! When have I discriminated against you all for your salaries?!” Yu-Ha scolded Yu-Seon and Chang-Sun’s brother to stop their strange conversation, but the two continued regardless.

It was a peaceful and ordinary morning… but Chang-Sun could not pick up his spoon for some reason.

“Do you not feel like eating? Or is the soup too salty?” Yu-Ha asked cautiously, worrying about Chang-Sun after noticing his condition.

Chang-Sun’s brother and Yu-Seon also stopped talking and looked at Chang-Sun. Although his father had not said anything the whole time, he had begun watching Chang-Sun with a worried gaze.

“I knew it,” Chang-Sun muttered inaudibly.

He really could not remember his family members looking at him in that way. As the scene took place before he had even passed through the Door of Reincarnation, it had to have happened at least hundreds of years ago.

His family members had never liked his occupation, but the only people he had been on bad terms with were his father and his other relatives. In fact, his siblings and mother had supported Chang-Sun’s work as a professional gamer, saying that the best way to live a life was to do what one wanted to do, so he had enjoyed spending time with his family members.

Everyone in the family was always busy, but they were close enough to always have breakfast together. However, their peaceful lives had come to an end ever since Chang-Sun retired. He had entered a downward spiral and become an alcoholic. During that time, the relationship between him and his siblings had soured so badly that they even started to have fistfights. In the end, everything had been Chang-Sun’s fault.

Thus, Chang-Sun had needed to set things straight after he had returned to Earth, but he could not—no, had not. He had been unsure where to start and delayed making amends, under the pretext that it was just too difficult a matter. Complacently thinking that his family members would eventually know how he truly felt, he had just continued running away.

His lingering feelings, left deep in his heart, had just shown up as a hallucination. Everything he was watching right now was part of the past memories he had buried deep in his mind. It was a happy memory, but he had just replied in annoyance at the time, being stupid and arrogant. However, he really wanted these mornings back.

“Mom,” Chang-Sun said, finally managing to swallow something back down.

“What’s wrong? Do you not feel good?” Yu-Ha asked, approaching Chang-Sun with a worried expression.

“Dad,” Chang-Sun continued. Noticing something was strange, his father put down his spoon and paid attention to him.

“Hyung, noona,” Chang-Sun continued. His brother and Yu-Seon looked at him, blinking.

“I’m sorry,” Chang-Sun said.

The moment he finally said the words he had buried deep in his heart…

Crack!

…cracks spread in every direction, revealing a black void. The world around Chang-Sun ceased to be.

“I’ll give you all a proper apology in person no matter what,” Chang-Sun said, clenching his fists.

[Your ‘Gnostic Eye’ has opened!]

Crrrack―!

Shatter!

Cracks spread across the black space, and it collapsed.

『How… My Authority…!』

Chang-Sun could see the Kraken’s soul wavering in front of him. The Kraken had sacrificed his soul to activate his Authority, but it had been nullified with too much ease.

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ dwells on your past, which he saw through his apostle, feeling intrigued!]

Swoosh!

Chang-Sun drew up divine energy from the [Yuchang Sword] and slew the Kraken’s soul on the spot. While the soul disappeared with a scream, he slowly walked forward.

Splash.

Splash.

Splashes echoed from the puddles of ink on the floor.

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ groans.]

[The Celestial ‘Plague Monarch’ tilts her head in confusion.]

“...Indeed, it was you.”

The first person Chang-Sun ran into was the Elemental Spirit Knight, a woman with short red hair who was wearing a blindfold. She was carrying a greatsword that was taller than her, making her stand out. She was definitely a martial artist, but she exuded a mystical aura like that of a prophet.

“What are you talking about?” Chang-Sun asked.

“The reason why the Kraken put you under a hallucination even at the cost of his life was to dig into your past, but he unexpectedly uncovered another fact,” the Elemental Spirit Knight replied, the ends of her mouth curling up slightly. She continued, “You’re Odin’s reincarnation.”

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