Chapter 277

Chapter 277

The 31st Piece Turns the Tables

Chapter 277

Crack—!

The seed’s golden energy grew even more intense as the crack quickly spread throughout its body.

Fwoosh...

Everyone except Mi Ah tried to block the light from entering their eyes with their palms.

Crack!

Swoosh...

Along with a mysterious mist, something sleeping inside the seed awakened.

It had an appearance that left everyone, including Seol, astonished.

[The One body, Multiple Avatars has been born.]

[The One body, Multiple Avatars is an entity that follows its master like a mirror.]

A naked figure kneeling with its head bowed appeared before them.

Seol cautiously approached the figure radiating the brilliant light.

Swoosh...

"Seol! Isn't that dangerous?"

Chi Woo tried to stop Seol, but he waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to worry.

Seol gently made the figure lift its head.

"..."

He then looked at its eyes.

The figure's eyes looked exactly like his.

'This being is... connected to me.'

He couldn't explain how, but he immediately knew how to make the 'One body, Multiple Avatars' move with his mind.

The mouth of the One Body, Multiple Avatars opened.

"How interesting..."

"I-it talked..."

"It talked..."

Everyone looked at Seol in surprise as the avatar spoke.

"I'm speaking through it."

Swoosh...

Watching it from the Void, even Ur seemed surprised by how the Avatar worked.

- Oh... How interesting. It’s an independent entity that resonates with its master? Is it self-conscious?

'Yes, it seems so. But the energy is weak.'

- That self-consciousness is a dangerous power in itself. It could rebel against its master at any time.

'I don't think there's much to worry about, though.'

- Why's that?

'Although its self-consciousness is weak, its awareness is clearly imprinted.'

Ur became surprised.

- So, does it understand and accept its situation?

'Yes, that seems to be the case.'

- I see... Now I understand.

'Understand what?'

- Why did this take so much time? Creating a creature that resembles oneself isn't easy, but it shouldn't have taken this long. An avatar that is absolutely loyal and even capable of independent thought must probably go through such a process. How interesting.

Swoosh...

As Seol stood up, the avatar followed.

After a few more tests, Seol became convinced that the avatar would be extremely useful.

WHOOM...

When Seol extended his hand, a dark energy began to envelop the golden clone.

Whoosh—!

Whoosh—!

[The One body, Multiple Avatars, is reacting to its master.]

"Oh my god..."

"That's... Seol..."

The avatar looked identical to Seol. Even Seol Hong and Chi Woo were confused by it, so others probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

- Master... That one... Is a fake.

- I'm... The real...

Seol poked the avatar's body, checking several areas of its skin before absorbing it.

Whoosh—!

Swoosh...

Seol’s avatar was sucked back into the shadows.

- What about its lifespan?

'I don't think it has one.'

- What happens if it's attacked? Does the damage affect you as well?

'I can sense if it gets damaged, but it doesn't seem like I will get harmed. It seems it can keep regenerating as long as I'm alive to provide mana as well. Even if the avatar gets damaged temporarily.'

- Perfect! It seems that unpleasant Watala guy—or whatever his name is—has given you quite a gift.

Seol briefly looked at his hand and chuckled. Although he hadn't used it yet, he was certain this ability would be incredibly useful in the future.

* * *

And thus, the promise that transcended time was kept.

After sitting and talking joyfully for a while, Seol and his group began to say their goodbyes.

Mi Ah, who was seeing Seol off, was smiling.

"Mi Ah, what do you plan to do from now on?"

"I'll stay here and paint. And... I'll wait for Hye Myeong."

"..."

"Don't think I'm being foolish. After all, Hye Myeong said he would return someday."

"Then he'll surely come back."

The wandering Mi Ah was no more.

'She's changed a lot.'

Seol didn't expect to become so involved with her, but now he felt a deep affection.

After everything, he left Mi Ah his final words.

"May you find peace, Mi Ah."

"It's thanks to you, Seol... I'm happy now. I hope you find rest someday too."

With that, Seol and his group left.

Since they had dealt with most of the urgent matters, it was time to deal with the smaller ones.

Before anything else, Seol wanted to see how Seol Hong and Chi Woo had changed after coming into contact with Hye Myeong.

However, when Seol asked, Chi Woo and Seol Hong tilted their heads in confusion.

"There doesn't seem to be any immediate change."

- Oh...

[ (New) [<Seong Jo was abandoned>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just Now]

[Title: Get out of Seong Jo, there's no hope here.]

Exactly as the title says.

Even with monsters running rampant, no real plan was set in place.

The amount of closed workshops and abandoned farmlands keeps piling up... Anyway, everyone should leave while they can.

- Eh? You...

- I'm staying here. After all... Seong Jo is my home...

- No!! You must stay with us!!

- But... Who are you?

- The Russian who posted earlier. Let's just say I'm a Seong Jo community favorite.

[ (NEW) [<Future Predictor>’s Post]

[Title: Oh... Ooh!]

It's dark!

I can't see anything! Seong Jo has collapsed!

- But Khan seems really huge. Considering how many Dragon's Flowers there are, how come not even one was sent to Seong Jo?

- The vigilante groups and the few dispatched soldiers will reach their limit soon...

- I mean, how many times do they expect us to deal with this? Isn't this a bit too much? Are we going to spend our whole lives fending off the waves of monsters here?

- Do transferees even have a reason to protect the city? Maybe we should just run away.

- Agreed.

- Don't go~ Seong Jo's doomed without you guys ᅲᅲ

[ (NEW) [<Use your Connections>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just Now]

[Title: Does anyone have connections to the Dragon Palace?]

Please, bring us a decent Dragon's Flower ᅲᅲ and maybe some troops too...

- The Dragon Palace is the hardest place for transferees to infiltrate. There's no way someone got there, hahaha.

- I heard there are transferees among the Dragon's Flowers.

- They're most likely Dragon's Stones.

- Aah.

- Even so, they're beings who serve Dragon's Flowers. What power could they possibly have?

The city of Seong Jo in Khan.

It was a city near a large mountain that hadn’t developed much due to its difficult access.

Bandits roamed freely, frequently ambushing traders near the city—they were groups that even Khan's military had struggled with.

However, recently, those bandits and thieves had been completely wiped out.

As they were unprepared, the unprecedented outbreak of monsters in the mountains and the ghosts crossing the borders overwhelmed them quickly.

Soon, the monsters and ghosts began to set their sights on the city, and the first major assault by monsters was launched.

It was only the combined efforts of vigilante groups and the Central Army dispatched in response to the crisis that arose recently all over Khan that allowed the city to remain.

However, the damage was severe.

The overwhelming power of the monsters led to a mass exodus of transferees, leaving a gap in their defenses.

As a result, the facilities around the city had to be abandoned one after the other.

At this point, the city's survival was truly in doubt.

Just at that moment.

[ (NEW) [<Woah>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just Now]

[Title: They're here! Our Dragon's Flower has arrived!]

Ooh! We don't have to leave! I'm glad! ᅲᅲ

- Who came?

- Who?

- Who is it?

- Seol Hong, that short one.

- Ah.

- Damn it ;;

- Who is it?

- I don't know. I complained because everyone else was.

[ (NEW) [<Seol Hong's Fan Club>’s Post]

[Post Date: Just Now]

[Title: It's Seol Hong! Seol Hong came!]

This is insane! Lady Seol Hong! Please, take me!

- But why Seol Hong?

- Haven't you heard of the Sodoong Mine?

- The place where Phantom showed up?

- Yes. Seol Hong is the Dragon's Flower who saved the miners there.

- Wait. That was Seol Hong? But she came to Seong Jo?

- Yes, hahaha

- But I haven't heard of Seol Hong being strong.

- If she uses Large Soldier, she's strong.

- Wouldn't everyone be strong with Large Soldier?

- If she weren't strong after using Large Soldier, that would be a problem by itself.

- But there aren’t any Large Soldiers in Seong Jo ᅲᅲ

Creak...

The carriage door opened.

Thud...

Thud!

Following the commander's lead, soldiers lined up around the carriage and saluted in unison.

"Salute!"

"Sa—"

Seol Hong stepped down with a slightly awkward expression, and the soldiers couldn't hide their disappointment upon seeing her.

Nothing about her seemed to be anything particularly special.

"Damn it... I knew it would be like this."

"Shh... She's going to hear you."

The soldiers mumbled in disappointment.

At that moment.

Creak...

Two more people exited the carriage.

"Huh...?"

It was Seol and Chi Woo.