전생검신 92권 20화

I said to Yaldabaoth.

[Using this flame might harm you, but I can’t control it right now.]

[You know well… That’s the foundation of Ain Soph Aur… trying to unleash it without being able to.]

[But…]

I shouted while passing the flames to the dark spirit that was facing my palm.

[The stronger the light, the stronger the shadow!]

Flare…!

The flame ignited on the Zhuge Sect’s dark spirit. The fire blazed fiercely, almost as if it would incinerate the dark spirit, but instead, the spirit’s darkness deepened, transforming into a hue that began to absorb everything. At the same time, it swelled and quickly grew more than ten times its size.

[No! Could it be…!]

I shouted as Yaldabaoth realized what I was trying to do.

[Go!]

In that instant, from the greatly inflated dark spirit, a sudden flash of light shone, and the spirit extended into a massive black thunderbolt aimed at Yaldabaoth. Upon being hit by that bolt, Yaldabaoth let out a horrific scream.

[Khak!]

Boom!

It was the moment Yaldabaoth got struck by the black thunder. I found myself back in my original body as the bizarre space, where time had seemed to freeze, vanished. Over there, I saw Yaldabaoth suddenly emitting dark smoke while making strange noises.

[Ugh… Eugh…]

Yes… I did it!

Boom!

[Khahaha! Can’t move all of a sudden!]

[The attack is working.]

With Yaldabaoth immobilized and unable to do anything, Hel and Zhu Rong began to enthusiastically beat him down even further. Until now, every attack had been nearly useless, but now, a few clear wounds started to appear on his body from divine power.

As I watched that scene, I approached the collapsed Zhuge Sa.

“Zhuge Sa.”

But Zhuge Sa’s body lay still and wasn’t breathing.

Ssssss

Instead, a moment later, Zhuge Sa’s body turned into black dust and disappeared in an instant.

“…”

As I gazed down coldly at that scene, I heard Zhuge Sa’s voice in my mind.

[…Heh. You got that body only recently, and you’ve lost it in no time.]

I shut my eyes tight and replied in my head.

[Zhuge Sa. I’m sorry.]

[Hehehe… You’ve really grown. I can’t believe you managed to figure out and turn the situation around in such a short time.]

Zhuge Sa in my mind spoke as if he was excited for some reason.

[The reincarnation curse was Simon Magus’s trap from the start. After the spell was cast, it absorbed the weak sorcerer’s soul into a stronger Sephiroth sorcerer.]

[…Seems that way.]

[Your power as a Sephiroth sorcerer is much stronger than mine. Though it’s the same tier, it seems there’s a correction in “power” itself, so it was inevitable that I would lose my spirit and be absorbed into your Sephira.]

[…]

Exactly. The trap of the reincarnation negation that even Zhuge Sa hadn’t noticed! From the beginning, it was Simon Magus utilizing Zhuge Sa as his helper, intending to absorb Zhuge Sa’s weaker soul right after the spell ended.

It appeared that he was forcibly kidnapping the opponent’s soul into his own soul’s Sephira and imprisoning it. The sudden disappearance of will from Zhuge Sa’s spirit, turning it into a dark shell, was because it had lost its soul and was nothing but a husk.

Zhuge Sa continued speaking.

[But from there, if we merge our Sephira into the Trimurti to create a powerful flame of the soul (Aur), and use that flame to amplify the power of Qliphoth and counterattack… it would be incredible…!]

[Would it work? I could only do that…!]

[Hehe! That’s praise. Truly, if your understanding of Sephiroth hadn’t reached a remarkably intuitive level, you wouldn’t be able to conceive such an idea! You must have trained quite diligently in the world of angels.]

Zhuge Sa continued, sounding a bit euphoric.

[You figured out that my empty spirit has the attributes of Qliphoth. Baek Woong!]

Just as Zhuge Sa said. His hollow spirit seemed to be nothingness but was not. Connected to the World Tree, the spirit that had lost its essence had become something closer to Cliphoth, the shadow of the World Tree.

[And creating a powerful light of Aur into the Trimurti, not stopping at defeating the enemy but also using it to strengthen Qliphoth and attack again… splendid.]

I felt embarrassed by Zhuge Sa’s praise and countered.

[It’s thanks to the clue you gave me. You already knew the answer.]

[That might be true? But even if I gave you a clue, just reaching that conclusion itself is amazing.]

I was guessing why Zhuge Sa continued to praise me. So I couldn’t just be happy about his compliments.

Feeling gloomy, I bit my lip and spoke up.

[…Zhuge Sa. Having lost your spirit and being absorbed into Sephira… you can’t return to the outside world, can you?]

[…]

Zhuge Sa paused briefly before answering.

[That’s how it is.]

Just as I thought…!

I realized my worst fears were correct and squeezed my eyes tightly. No matter what, a soul that loses even the “vessel,” the spirit, is nothing but sheer emptiness! Some might argue that Zhuge Sa’s very soul is not even a reality but merely residual consciousness. Even though I had divine power, pulling a soul that had lost its spirit from the Sephira and recreating a body was impossible.

[It’s obvious. The selfish betrayal magic Simon Magus created aimed to absorb me from the start to elevate his spiritual status… in other words, you swallowed my soul whole, so separating my soul here is nonsense. It’s a completely different story compared to possessing and merely sharing a body.]

[Damn… Is there really no way?]

[No. For that to be possible, you would need to have dominion over all the Sephira, which is equivalent to becoming the master of the World Tree’s Sephiroth.]

[…!]

[Well, until your trial is over, I will be stuck in your mind, so no worries. I may become a ghost after a few days, though.]

[What do you mean, don’t worry?! At this rate, you’re just like a sacrifice!]

I spoke in an agitated tone, and Zhuge Sa replied nonchalantly.

[The reincarnation remains important, not me.]

[What…?!]

[What’s important now is whether Seo Mun-hye escapes the cycle of reincarnation or not? Whether I disappear in this realm or not is not crucial. It would be the same if all our companions were annihilated. You should be focused on the goal, not sweating the small stuff, right?]

[…]

I was taken aback. Here Zhuge Sa was, about to become a ghost, and he spoke of his own destruction so casually? As I lost the words to respond to Zhuge Sa, he calmly said.

[Baek Woong. We are weak, now and always… To defeat those who have everything, those with nothing cannot afford to be picky.]

[But… ]

[No time for chit-chat. Another calamity has shown up besides Yaldabaoth.]

Flash!

At that moment, from one side of the multi-faced entity, something was summoned with a great flame, and it materialized right where Asura stood. Asura, with a stiff expression, watched it being summoned in front of him, and the summoned entity proclaimed its existence in the hall.

[The Four Seats of Le Rue, Amon… I shall fight until the stars reside eternally in their place by the command of the Great Being!]

Boom!

I couldn’t help but scream.

“Asura!”

The moment Seat Amon descended, Asura, who was nearby, couldn’t even resist and was annihilated. It was shocking, but given the vast disparity, I felt it was inevitable.

Rumble…

At that moment, everyone in the hall felt a slight chill of fear. This couldn’t be contained just with Yaldabaoth because Amon, being summoned afterward, was no less formidable. And in that moment, I felt beads of sweat forming on my forehead as I realized.

‘[The One Who Turns the Stars] wasn’t talking nonsense…!’

The beings within the top ten ranks of Le Rue are all monsters!

Whether it’s Yaldabaoth or Amon, they could easily turn the cosmos upside down, and yet, they all gathered here!

And what in the world is this Evil God who commands such beings and even gathers faith?!

Zhuge Sa calmly uttered from within me.

[Amon is the primordial ancient god of Memphis and an absolute evil deity. He is also known to be the absolute nemesis of the Sun God Ra.]

[What? If they say the Sun God Ra… ]

[He is the strongest in the Memphis Divine Temple and a being that will be resurrected in the future. In other words… Amon is on par with the Three Sovereigns. Why is such a being in Le Rue?]

[…!]

[You need to remember. If you’re sane, never confront such monsters head-on. Got it?]

I felt the world around me darkening. I had anticipated this but realized again that these beings, forgotten in history, were nightmare-like entities who would rule the universe, regardless of whether humanity remembered them or not.

Now I understand.

Le Rue truly must be the strongest Divine Temple!

Zhuge Sa said.

[Baek Woong… Regardless, this is our last chance! We have to rescue Seo Mun-hye while Yaldabaoth is weakened.]

[Got it!]

Boom!

I quickly dashed in and used the Technique of All Things to pull Seo Mun-hye from the grotesque tree and rescue her. Normally, Yaldabaoth would have prevented this, but given the earlier attack from Qliphoth hitting him dead on, he was so disoriented that it was possible. I couldn’t waste the opportunity made by Zhuge Sa sacrificing his spirit.

“Cough! Cough… Cough…”

Seo Mun-hye, covered in goo, was slowly coming to her senses, coughing.

“Seo Mun-hye! Are you alright?!”

“Baek… Woong-nim…”

Seo Mun-hye, barely regaining her senses, spoke.

“You shouldn’t have… rescued me…”

“What?”

At that moment.

Boom!

Suddenly, a new light fell on each of the remaining five altars of the multi-faced entity.

As if like shooting stars, the deities of Le Rue began to appear on the altars.

‘Oh.’

This can’t be…

Just when everyone in the hall was lost in thought about what was happening, Yaldabaoth came to his senses and wailed in despair.

[Uwooo! Great Being… Please forgive me for falling for such a trick! Please…!]

Boom!

That was Yaldabaoth’s last word. Before he could finish, his head exploded, and from his neck, a massive arm emerged, and as blood gushed out, something inside him seemed to squeeze out and reveal itself.

Flap!

Finally, as a gigantic figure spread its bat-like wings, I lost the words to say.

“…”

Evil God…?

I couldn’t fathom why the Evil God suddenly appeared, but a fleeting thought crossed my mind.

‘No way…’

Is it possible that if we succeed in rescuing Seo Mun-hye against Yaldabaoth, it would trigger the appearance of the Evil God regardless of consciousness…?

‘Ugh!’

A wave of panic surged, and I felt tears welling in my eyes. Not only was victory out of the question, but it was also predetermined that everyone here would suffer a horrific death. Yet, forcing myself to suppress that emotion, I shouted as if in desperation.

“Al… Karda! I’ve succeeded in the rescue! Now please close the book!”

No matter how strong the Evil God is, what does it matter?!

I accomplished the goal of this reincarnation, so I can just leave!

And along with my shout, a voice that seemed like it belonged to Al Karda echoed.

“Understood.”

Thud.

Outer God Al Karda was about to close the book.

No, he was going to.

Until the Evil God reached out a hand toward the sky.

Crash!

“…?!”

Did the Evil God’s outstretched arm destroy Al Karda’s hand and taint the bookmark with blood, or was it just my imagination?

No… it must be an illusion.

It has to be an illusion…

[You will not be able to close the book until I desire, Al Karda.]

The chilling words of the Evil God echoed just as I began to think that way.