1312——————==

Soul of the Evil God

I went with my companions to the spot where the ship had just disappeared. But there was nothing left, only the empty Sea of Chaos. Then Mangnyang looked at me and said.

“Baek Woong. Use the Fire Eye Golden Spirit technique to investigate the dimensional distortion. And let me know which way it stretches.”

“Umm!”

I immediately activated the Fire Eye Golden Spirit, focusing my eyes, and gradually the world turned black and white, revealing a web-like crack before me. It was as if a funnel was sucking something in, and, just as Mangnyang said, the crack led to a white thread somewhere. I looked in that direction, realized where it pointed, and pointed it out with my finger.

“That way.”

“Truly, having top-notch [eyes] is convenient. Wait a moment.”

Mangnyang mumbled and cast the Corpse Dissolution Technique, standing silently for a while, beads of sweat rolling down his face. Only after some time did he finally speak.

“Umm… the dimension has been torn apart to a ferocious degree! What kind of Chaos Zone is it…?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if it was the Eight Parts of the Divine or if that ship just now did this, but at the end of the distortion zone, the dimension is shredded, creating a gigantic dimensional hole. However, if it’s that unstable of a dimensional hole, there’s no guarantee we’ll be safe entering…”

“Will entering the hole take us to the Death Sea?”

“Probably, but we need to be able to protect ourselves while passing through the dimension. Yet, I still can’t use that level of defensive technique.”

“Hmm.”

Mangnyang seemed unsure of himself, which was understandable. After all, it had only been two years since he received the Three Sovereigns’ Inner Gate fortuitous encounter from me, and he still lacked the superhuman mastery of techniques. When I glanced at Seimei, he spoke up.

“I can use the defensive technique. But I won’t do it here.”

“Huh?! Why not?”

“It’s just better if you use the Four Great Spirit Deities. By using the Water Spirit Varuna to deploy a protective barrier, it’s much stronger and more certain than my Yin and Yang technique, and you’ll also be able to handle the magical power that arose from absorbing the Demon Beast just now.”

“Aha!”

Seimei made a valid point. I was about to summon the Four Great Spirit Deities when suddenly, Mangnyang urgently stopped me.

“Wait, Baek Woong!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you really going to follow? From now on, we can’t guarantee life or death, and there’s a high risk of dying pointless deaths. After tricking the Eight Parts of the Divine into a trap, walking into danger like this…”

I tilted my head.

“You were the one who suggested chasing after them earlier.”

“…But now that I’m here, I feel scared. The future ship, dimensional distortion, and the massive dimensional hole… seeing it with my own eyes…”

Mangnyang’s eyes shook in genuine fear, and his body trembled.

“It feels different from when I saw it indirectly through your memory. I realize I’ve gotten involved in a battle that’s on a different dimension than the human world…”

“……”

“To be honest, I wasn’t ready for this. I truly wasn’t.”

“Hmm…”

“In my head, I know it’s right to chase after that ship and plunge into their confrontation to gather information, but to throw my life into danger just feels…”

This was a somewhat unfamiliar side of Mangnyang, who had always seemed indifferent to life and death. How could he be feeling the fear of death so vividly?

‘…Considering the scale of the battlefields I’ve faced so far, this feels quite tame.’

I had seen continents explode, stars flare, and the universe unravel, so this level of battle didn’t impress me at all. I was surprised by Mangnyang’s different demeanor, but soon I understood his actions.

‘Ah… I get it. In his previous life, where there was hardly any hope, defeat was a foregone conclusion, allowing him to be detached. But in this life, where he’s gained some potential, his greed and attachment have created this fear.’

Perhaps other companions wouldn’t understand, but I could empathize with Mangnyang’s psychology. I didn’t think he was pathetic at all. If I were in his shoes, I’d feel the same.

I too am afraid of death, no matter how many times I die; it always feels painful.

After a moment of silence, I responded to Mangnyang’s words.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you die without pain, risking my own life.”

“……”

“Whatever it takes.”

The fear of the pain is greater than death.

Letting someone die without pain is the ultimate kindness.

And hearing my sincere words, Mangnyang was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter.

“Puhahaha!! Did you just say that as comfort?! Hahahaha…. Uhahaha.”

“Huh?”

“Hahahahahaha! So this is what a Reborn Person is… I see… Just because you can see memories doesn’t mean you know what the person is.”

He laughed gleefully, nearly tearing up, then brought his fan to his mouth and said.

“I made a fool of myself. I’ll trust that you can let me die without pain, so let’s go.”

“Alright!”

With Mangnyang regained his courage, I headed straight for the realm of the Four Great Spirit Deities.

Woong

“Varuna! I ask you to create a defensive barrier for me and my companions that can keep us safe in the Death Sea’s dimensional hole!”

Upon hearing my request, Varuna appeared in the air, taking on the shape of a Water Spirit, and replied.

[Alright. In exchange for this, I’ll take an equivalent amount of your current magical power. Do you agree?]

“Got it!”

[The contract has been established.]

Chwazwaq

The moment we exited the realm of the Four Great Spirit Deities, a water barrier enveloped me and my companions. Seimei touched the barrier with his hands and spoke in awe.

“Truly the Four Great Spirit Deities…. Its power exceeds expectations.”

“Seimei, with this barrier, we can enter the Death Sea, right?”

“Absolutely. Let’s go.”

Paat

We entered through the white passage created by Mangnyang’s Corpse Dissolution Technique, and moments later, we were able to teleport right to the massive dimensional hole Mangnyang had spoken of. Upon seeing that dimensional hole, I understood why Mangnyang was so astonished.

‘It’s the size of a continent.’

Even from a great distance, it filled my view, so it was easy to imagine. Personally, having seen such gigantic objects many times, I felt little impact, but for Mangnyang, it must have been stunning. As I observed the chaotic currents swirling from the dimensional hole like a storm, I thought it seemed dangerous but soon set aside my worries, trusting in Varuna’s power.

“Let’s go!”

Woowoo—

Before long, we all began to get sucked into the dimensional hole. In an instant, it felt as if my body was squished, my bones ached, and my head felt like it was spinning. But that pressure was only for a moment, and soon my whole body’s blood flow returned, and I could see chaos in full color surrounding me.

…….

‘I can’t see my companions.’

Neither Mangnyang, Asura, nor Seimei appeared at all. It felt as if I were walking alone in a mist of darkness.

Did I indeed enter the Death Sea, the final area of the Aokigahara Life Sea?

“Hm.”

I continued walking, puzzled. Strangely, unlike the Sea of Chaos, the Death Sea felt like wandering through a deep dark mountain range. I could feel a solid yet unknown ground beneath my feet, making walking easy. However, every step stirred a shivering wave of chaos vibrating around me.

‘Should I try to stay calm….’

I didn’t feel anxious about being separated from my companions. I had enough trust in Varuna’s defense that my intuition told me this wasn’t a dangerous situation. I began to walk calmly along the dark mountain path, using Qi Sense and Intent to scan my surroundings.

Then it happened.

Pajijik

Pajijijik

I saw lightning flashing in the distance. Simultaneously, a silver gleam caught my eye, so I slowly approached that location. After walking about a hundred and fifty steps toward the hill, I finally saw the object clearly.

“……!!”

Is that an Ark?!

It looked like the [Ark] Yi Seong-gye, which I had left at Soeul Village, had crash-landed, spewing gray smoke. The only difference from Yi Seong-gye was that this ship shimmered with a much stronger silver light and looked about twice as large. Even though there were still some distant steps left to reach the ship, it indeed had to be a colossal vessel.

Tadat

I hurriedly approached the ship. Upon getting closer, I noticed the ship was wrecked, crackling and smoldering with metal scraps strewn around. Those scraps looked human-like, but inside were intricate machines, making me furrow my brows.

“Androids?”

No doubt about it.

It was an android with most of its body mechanical!

It reminded me of the secret agents from the United States I had encountered en route to the Great Bear Empire in my 28th life.

‘Could there be enemies lurking…?’

I invoked Intent Heavenly Pillar, amplifying my Qi Sense and Intent to the maximum as I started scanning the surroundings. Above all, I had to determine the ship’s owner, so I focused all my energy.

At that moment, I sensed a presence. Simultaneously, a clear voice echoed.

“Since you know about androids, are you also from another world like me?”

Whoosh

I turned to where the voice came from. There stood a man in a blood-red mask and uniform, pointing a gun at me.

“Oh, don’t mind that I have a gun pointed at you. Take your time answering.”

He was standing about twenty steps away from me, so at this distance, I could easily take him down before his finger even pulled the trigger. Thus, I felt no fear, but I couldn’t help but be very curious about the man in the blood-red mask.

“Who are you?”

“I asked first, so how about you follow the order, friend?”

“You speak my language!”

It was not because I knew his language that we were communicating right now. I responded because I heard fluent Daming Empire Mandarin. He was still conversing in Mandarin.

“Hmm?”

The man in the blood-red mask paused for a moment, as if caught off guard by my words, then chuckled and replied.

“Oh, it’s because of the Ethereal Mask’s automatic translation feature. You seem like a medieval Chinese person; I must have time-traveled.”

“…….”

Ethereal Mask?

Time travel?

Did this mean he traveled through the [Small Cycle] aboard his ship?

‘What’s that guy up to?’

Why did he appear in the Sea of Chaos with a ship identical to the Ark and now enter the Death Sea?

I was puzzled by the unexpected situation and tried to figure out the identity of the individual. But since I still had no clues, I decided to speak.

“My name is Baek Woong. I’m the village chief of Soeul Village.”

It seemed the other party wanted to know my identity, so I thought I should share a bit to move the conversation forward. Upon hearing my answer, the man in the blood-red mask seemed disappointed, pressing a finger against the side of his mask.

“Baek Woong… totally unfamiliar name. It’s not even in the database of peerless masters from the Daming Empire era?”

“Well, I told you my name, so can’t you tell me yours?”

“Why?”

“…Why do you ask why? We need to introduce ourselves.”

The man in the blood-red mask seemed to chuckle.

“I never said I’d tell you.”

“…….”

No way, man…

This guy’s attitude seems familiar…

As I glared at him, the man in the blood-red mask lowered his gun slightly and said.

“Well, we can skip the formalities for now. You seem like a master from the Absolute Realm, so a gun wouldn’t work on you anyway.”

“What? You recognized that….”

“Oh, wait!!”

Suddenly, the man in the blood-red mask yelled at me. Startled, I raised my guard as he spoke seriously.

“Concentrate!”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Focus!”

“……!!”

I was already maximizing my Qi Sense to detect everything around me within a hundred paces, yet there was someone capable of hiding from that?! And he could sense that enemy?! Just how strong was that opponent?!

I involuntarily tensed up, turning my focus back to see if an attack was coming.

Taang!

That was close. I dodged the bullet that was travelling at a speed much faster than sound, probably hundreds of times faster, all thanks to my Absolute Realm senses.

“……”

I stared in shock at the origin of the bullet, where stood the man in the blood-red mask, now reloading his gun, licking his lips.

The culprit was obvious.

He had asked me to focus and then shot right in front of me.

He seemed impressed and put his gun back into its leather holster, applauding.

Clap clap clap

“Nice dodging! Truly Absolute Realm!”

You little punk!!

I gritted my teeth and drew my sword.

“Do you… wish to die?!”

The man in the blood-red mask flinched at my killing intent, waving his hands defensively.

“Whoa, relax! There’s a reason for this.”

“A reason?”

The man in the blood-red mask spoke with a desperate tone.

“I need to get back home, but I think I need to defeat a boss monster to cross this weird other world. I followed the coordinates entered into the artificial intelligence of the advanced ship, but now I have nowhere to go. So, I just wanted to check how strong you are and figure out if you could help me.”

“Checking how strong I am means shooting a gun at me? What the hell….”

As I raised my killing intent again, the man in the blood-red mask seemed panicked.

“Wait, wait! I’m sorry! I used the Intent Heavenly Pillar to check, but the strength in the Absolute Realm varies a lot, right? So I just gave it a shot. I didn’t expect you to dodge even the fastest bullets from the Human Alliance!”

“……”

“I’ve been raised in a world full of betrayal and assassination. This has always been my personality, so please just let it slide. I learned it from my Master!”

He seemed to be rambling. It looked like he immediately sensed the power gap and was trying any means to wriggle out of this situation.

‘This guy has indeed mastered martial arts to a significant level.’

Knowing about the Absolute Realm and identifying my Intent Heavenly Pillar already meant he was no easy opponent. Moreover, noticing the difference in strength in an instant suggested he might be at a higher level than I’d anticipated.

I eased my stance a bit and said.

“Another world? Boss monster? What the heck are you talking about?”

The man in the blood-red mask cleared his throat, seemingly embarrassed.

“Ahem. I’ll also reveal my name since I’m sorry.”

Pshhh

When the man in the blood-red mask pressed a button on the side of his mask, it began to hiss as it deflated, slowly revealing his face. Once the mask was fully off, a handsome young man with black hair appeared.

He looked to be in his late teens, with a distinctly youthful appearance. As he put the now-tiny mask in his chest pocket, he spoke.

“I’m Major Lee Hwan of the Northeast Asia Liberation Army, 7th Division of the Human Alliance. Please help me return to my original world.”