Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – Waiting Quietly (2)

「HAH, PUHAHAHA! Yes, a regressor couldn’t have already discovered this place.」

Its eyes sparkled as if it wanted to capture my appearance.

「You, who have become even more splendid, the ninth appointed Demon King. Do you intend to return to the Demon God?」

“Me? I’m a fine person without such things.”

「PUHAHA! Still endlessly arrogant.」

“More importantly. You, were you abandoned by the Demon God? Can you even resurrect?”

「There’s no value in answering that. However, you are qualified to make that statement.」

“It seems you still don’t respond to your shortcomings. You have to acknowledge your weaknesses in order to move up.”

「Is there value in answering such foolish questions? The power of brutality bestowed by the Demon God still resides in me.」

“Good to hear. I’ll make sure to kill you completely when we meet this time, so look forward to it.”

「Yeah, I’ll be waiting. Pleasure can wait. And when the time comes, let’s finish the fight we couldn’t last time.」

Creak.

A pair of eyes slowly closed.

「But as you are now, you will die by my hand.」

He disappeared, leaving only his voice behind.

His demonic qi was fading away like an afterglow.

Seo Boram and Yoo Eunchae were pale in the presence of the Insect Dragon King’s overwhelming existence.

Anyway.

‘There was a regressor, after all.’

And I already had a guess who it might be.

‘Such a suspicious fellow he is, Seon Woohyeon.’

His actions were as if his mind was sharp, but his body couldn’t keep up.

‘Does everyone know about it?’

A regressor was someone who could repeat their actions by moving back in time.

However, it never led to good things.

I knew it. The transcendents and gods knew it, too.

Regressors couldn’t change the past.

Should I call it the fate of the world?

No matter what was done, what will happen will happen.

If those who know the events in advance tried to prevent something,

‘Then something even more tremendous follows.’

It’s like a butterfly effect.

More vicious, more secretive.

And on a larger scale.

That was why regressors cannot change anything.

Although they knew the future, so what?

That future was already an observed future, and if it only amplifies the events, turning everything into a complete mess, then regressors can do nothing.

I quietly closed my eyes.

‘The system mentioned the Celestial Gods.’

The Celestial Gods.

I looked at the system. It seemed like they were the system’s creators.

‘Regressors really aren’t that good.’

Plus, Seon Woohyeon’s talent wasn’t that great.

Others may talk about him being ‘The Chosen One’ or whatever...

Honestly, if I were to assess him, I think he might be in the lower ranks among my classes.

If we’re talking about talent alone, that is.

However, Seon Woohyeon might have a different kind of talent, like using traits well or perhaps combining them well.

It’s because of such a brilliant talent that he was able to maintain the top position.

“The incident just now...”

“You’ll get hurt if you know.”

I interrupted Seo Boram’s words.

Knowing could indeed lead to actual harm. And there’s enough power for that to really happen.

Knowing about the Insect Demon King can lead to a curse or contamination by demonic qi.

It was something Seo Boram shouldn’t know yet.

‘Someday, she’ll have to know.’

Insect Dragon King.

I had a suspicion that that creature was going to resurrect soon.

It was my Intuition. The intuition that had elevated me to a transcendent twice was telling me so.

‘I didn’t expect to see him here.’

Insect Dragon King.

I’m talking about that guy, the king of the Insect Demon Clan.

For a Demon King, he was quite secretive.

After all, countless insects became his limbs and agents.

The demonic Insects were quite bothersome.

Numerous, yet so small. They hid everywhere, sucking people’s blood.

More troublesome than any large monster or villain are the demonic insects.

So, I provoked him.

Told him to come at me before he escalated the situation and accumulated power.

Having been thoroughly defeated by a human once, he would want to restore his pride.

At that time, I had most of the empire’s resources.

He wasn’t only facing the Purple Tower Master.

He was practically facing the entire empire.

At that time, I had enough strength.

It was bad luck for him.

That’s what one could think.

‘And I’ll have a way to deal with it somehow now.’

[Trait, Celestial Body (A+) begins to evolve into Heavenly Martial Body (S).]

[Please wait in a safe place.]

Crack.

Just as I was thinking that, my body started moving on its own.

I really liked that voice.

However, it was a situation where I had no choice but to like it.

「Such beautiful eyes. The kind of eyes that mages would desire the most.」

「You are...」

「There are many epithets for me. But I prefer to go by the Duke of Extermination. So, you should call me that too.」

「...」

「You seem to have a lot on your mind. Rest for now.」

「What will become of me?」

「What will become... Your life from now on could unfold differently.」

「A different life?」

「Yes, if you wish, you could become the master of a grand mage tower or rot in a ditch, wasting your talent. Oh, and by the way, the master of a mage tower can live more lavishly than most kings of significant kingdoms.」

Duke of Extermination gave me an opportunity.

The chance to live as a human.

「Your magical attribute is heaven. That’s quite unique. But there are water, ice, wind, and lightning. I’ll teach you lightning. There’s someone to teach you ice, but water and wind might be a bit difficult.」

Moreover, she was a mentor in my life,

「Do you want to go to the academy?」

「There’s no place like school for life experiences. Now that the prince is here try to get close to him.」

She was also my guardian.

「 Our visits have become less frequent lately. I heard that the daughter of the Duke of the Heavenly Master is interested in you.」

「Maybe it’s best to get rid of her...」

She was also my lover.

「Don’t worry. I am magnanimous. I live a life span different from humans. But... don’t flirt too much. If there are too many women, even I won’t know what to do.」

「Hey, Duke of Extermination? Han Seojin is already half-dead, you know?」

「Oh my.」

Well, she could be quirky at times.

I considered her the benefactor of my life during my second life.

Sometimes, she really was quirky.

But still,

I.

‘I think that was a dream.’

It was indeed a dream.

The first thing I see upon opening my eyes is Yoo Eunchae’s face.

My mood soured the moment I woke up.

“What?! Suddenly frowning upon seeing someone’s face!?”

“I saw something unpleasant as soon as I woke up.”

It was a good dream.

Also, it is a dream that can never come true again.

I brushed my face with my hand once.

Fortunately, I didn’t end up ugly crying or anything like that.

“Did you wake up, master?”

“Yeah. The prisoners?”

“They’re over there.”

Seo Boram pointed with a finger to a corner.

There, a researcher was shivering, frozen in place.

“Did you find out anything from those guys?”

“They spilled everything easily. Usually, these types would have all their fingernails pulled out and still claim they know nothing!”

“Is having your fingernails pulled out a joke to you?”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at Seo Boram’s words.

Once someone has transcended or been subjected to something like torture, they can’t remain intact, and ordinary people would spill everything if they were really tortured.

The human body was more fragile and complex than one might have thought.

And I knew hundreds of ways to condition that fragile body properly.

“Take the prisoners.”

“What about the master?”

“I have things to do here.”

“...I don’t know what it is, but don’t overdo it.”

“Do I look like I would overdo it?”

I snickered at Seo Boram’s words.

“That doesn’t seem like it.”

“Then we’ll take them to the staff room.”

“Yeah.”

After sending off Yoo Eunchae and Seo Boram.

I leaned my head against a nearby wall.

My body wasn’t tired. Rather, it felt refreshed thanks to my body evolving into the Heavenly Martial Body.

My whole body was overflowing with energy. Yet, I didn’t feel very good.

It was because of that dream.

Because I had a dream.

Such memories made me suffer.

A kind of mental illness... no, this was definitely a mental illness.

Reincarnation.

I went through reincarnations.

Although the more I reincarnated, the stronger my power became, I felt my mind deteriorating in proportion.

Finally, the sense of loss from my past connections disappeared.

And then...

I opened my eyes.

Slap.

I slapped my cheek.

‘Snap out of it. There’s nothing to gain from wallowing like this.’

Time is what I lack, even if I run forward without looking back.

I closed my eyes and went outside.