Chapter 84
A Piece of Memory (1)
A collapsed building. Hot sandy wind cutting through the spaces. Dust and radiation. Magic power mixed together erodes the source of life. A land of death where only terribly transformed mutant monsters survive. In the center of it stood a tower made of dead monster corpses.
“Let us begin the magical formula.”
Quirin said. The named Beings of Chaos standing around swallowed nervously.
-Wooooong
Magic power escaped from Quirin and the Beings of Chaos, heading toward the corpse tower. Then the magic circle drawn beneath the corpses emitted a bright light.
“We’ll finish this in one go. Concentrate.”
At Quirin’s words, everyone sharpened their minds.
Sssssrrrr…
The monster corpses gradually began to sink into the brightly glowing magic circle. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Finally, all the monster corpses were completely sucked into the magic circle. The magic circle shone even brighter and then shot out tremendous magical power.
Kwaaaaaaa!
Immeasurably vast magical power soared toward the sky. The magic power that rose as if it would pierce the sky spread throughout the entire world. The magical power appeared to embrace the Earth like a protective shield.
Wooong…
For a moment, it felt as if space itself was trembling slightly. Feeling this, Quirin exhaled a sigh.
“Phew… It’s over.”
The spell that took about half a day finally ended. Fortunately, the magic was successful. Now the magical power surrounding Earth stabilizes space and dimensions. This way, even a transcendent being can stay here for a short while.
“Quirin. How did it go?”
“It was a success. I should say it was a great success.”
The Beings of Chaos cheered at Quirin’s words.
“Now this dimension is also finished.”
“When the Lord arrives, everything will be settled.”
The Beings of Chaos felt deep relief. They had feared being reprimanded by their Lord as too many Beings of Chaos died during the previous Beijing attack. But now that they successfully completed the ritual, there’s nothing to worry about. They were concerned that their enemies might come here to interfere. Fortunately, those enemies didn’t step out of their cities at all.
“Stupid fools.”
The Beings of Chaos held back their sneers. Thinking about those enemies throwing parties, absorbed in their small victory, made them pitiable. Not knowing that only destruction awaited them.
“Let’s send a signal to the Lord right away.”
The Beings of Chaos showed slightly surprised expressions at Quirin’s words.
“Right now?”
“Yes. There’s no need to waste time.”
“Understood.”
The Beings of Chaos concentrated on the ritual again. This was to open the path for the Lord to come.
Hwaaaa!
As magic power concentrated, a black portal opened in front of Quirin. Soon, the Lord would use this portal to come to Earth. Actually, the Lord could open a door and come directly without this process, but this was a kind of courtesy. To use an analogy, it was like rolling out a red carpet.
“It seems the Lord is coming right away.”
“Having been there for quite some time, the Lord must have felt confined.”
The black portal began to ripple. Although there was still considerable time before the Lord’s arrival, the powerful magic power could already be felt. Black magic power surged inside the portal and poured out. The ground trembled and the sky gradually turned black. Everyone shivered at the overwhelming magical power that dominated everything by its mere existence.
“Phewww…”
It was impossible not to be excited. Now they would devour this dimension and grow one step further. But Quirin’s mind was complicated with different thoughts. ‘When will he arrive?’
He had already contacted Kang Hyeon. By now, Kang Hyeon should have arrived.
‘He needs to get here quickly and sweep away these guys…’
Quirin planned to devour all the Beings of Chaos here before the Lord arrived. With everyone distracted in relief, this was the perfect opportunity.
‘If not, I’ll have to do it alone…’
Just as Quirin was considering launching an attack by himself, he finally began to sense a familiar magical power.
‘He’s here.’
Quirin smiled. Now it was time to deal with the fools here. Quirin’s magic power moved stealthily.
***
Ippotranslation
***
With a swishing sound! Sharp and hard tentacles extended from Quirin’s body. The tentacles targeted all the heads of beings of Chaos simultaneously.
“Kuh, kuheck…!”
“What are you suddenly doing!”
Some of the beings of Chaos noticed something strange and avoided it with their bodies. But most of them had their heads shattered on the spot and perished. It was a futile death for Beings of Chaos who had made all living creatures tremble while invading dimensions.
“Quirin! You bastard!”
“Have you gone mad!?”
Only three Beings of Chaos survived Quirin’s tentacle attack. Quirin sneered at them.
“Pathetic fools. You probably think I have gone mad.”
“I have simply decided to ascend higher than where I am now.”
The Beings of Chaos trembled at Quirin’s words.
“You… Are you rebelling against the Lord!”
“I am opening a new era. You may be satisfied with the present, but I am not.”
The Beings of Chaos were enraged at Quirin’s words.
“Damn it! To think we have been following someone with such foolish thoughts all this time!”
“You, who should know the Lord’s power better than anyone, harboring such thoughts. I cannot understand.”
Quirin shook his head.
“I do not ask for your understanding. You just need to die here.”
“This bastard until the end…!”
“Are you afraid of death? You must have been prepared for it when you killed countless lives. That you too would someday meet such an end.”
The Beings of Chaos did not answer Quirin’s words and quietly gathered.
One Chaos whispered softly.
“Stall for time a little. The Lord will arrive soon.”
“Is there any need to wait? The three of us are enough to deal with him.”
“Despite appearances, Quirin is one who received the Lord’s full affection. There is no reason to take unnecessary risks.”
In any case, the Lord would arrive here in a few minutes. That was something Quirin could not prevent no matter what he did. If they stalled until then, the Lord of Chaos would personally deal with that traitor.
“Stalling for time… Is that even possible?”
Quirin grinned. A Being of Chaos frowned and shouted at Quirin.
“Your confidence is sky-high for someone who ambushed others when they were off guard.”
“No matter who you are, against the three of us… Huh!?”
The Being of Chaos who was speaking was startled. This was because magical power was felt right beside him. When he turned his head, an unfamiliar human was visible. How long had he been there? They had not sensed his approach until he came this close.
Snow-white hair. A human with crimson-dyed eyes smiled fiercely.
“You’re annoyingly noisy with all that chattering.”
Kang Hyeon raised his fist.
“How dare a mere human!”
“Die!”
The Beings of Chaos instinctively recognized Kang Hyeon as an enemy. They tried to draw up magical power and shoot it at Kang Hyeon simultaneously. But Kang Hyeon’s fist reached their heads a little faster.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
Tremendous magical power extended from his fist. The three Beings of Chaos who were clustered together had their upper bodies explode in an instant, and they all perished. Seeing this, Quirin whistled.
“Kang Hyeon. You arrived on time.”
“It seems like you didn’t really need me anyway.”
“I didn’t expect them to be this stupid either.”
As he spoke, Quirin busily absorbed the Beings of Chaos. Regardless, these were Beings of Chaos personally named by the Lord. Even as corpses, they contained tremendous magical power. Kang Hyeon watched Quirin devour other Beings of Chaos before turning his eyes to the black portal.
“When is the Lord coming?”
“He will arrive soon.”
Having consumed all the corpses, Quirin sighed. In truth, it would take several years to fully digest this amount. But in a situation where they had to fight the Lord immediately, he couldn’t leisurely lie down rubbing his stomach.
“Will it be possible?”
At Quirin’s question, Kang Hyeon chuckled.
“What if it’s not possible? Are you thinking of backing out now?”
“No, that’s impossible now. I was just asking about your resolve.”
“Resolve…”
At the mention of resolve, Kang Hyeon closed his eyes. He could feel the Lord of Chaos gradually approaching. Magical power that overwhelmed even Kang Hyeon, who had already set foot into the realm of Transcendence. Perhaps this being might be even stronger than when he himself fully ascended to Transcendence. Thinking about this, Kang Hyeon opened his eyes again. Kang Hyeon’s red eyes emitted a strange radiance.
“I am always prepared to die.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Quirin shook his head repeatedly.
“That is truly reassuring.”
“Don’t worry. That’s just my mindset.”
“Then?”
“You may not know this, but originally when it goes all the way, I always win in the end.”
There is a saying by a famous general.
If you seek to live, you will die.
If you seek to die, you will live.
Kang Hyeon was someone who had experienced this firsthand. Kang Hyeon became gradually desensitized to death as he repeated resurrection alone. Ironically, as he always fought with the mindset that he would die, he gradually moved further away from death.
‘Now I can no longer resurrect… but it doesn’t matter.’
Even though he could no longer resurrect, his mindset remained unchanged. He would always fight as if he could resurrect. Until the very last moment.
***
Ippotranslation
***
Lord of Chaos, Leksaldo.
He was keeping his eyes closed in the deepest part of the abyss. How much time has passed since he was imprisoned here? It has been thousands of years since he became a lord. Perhaps even longer than that.
During that time, Leksaldo spent most of his time in this place. Moving to another dimension without preparation would cause the space to collapse, and he himself might be annihilated.
He waits. Until his subordinates complete the preparations. After waiting for tens or hundreds of years, he only moves when a dimension where preparations have been completed appears.
That time is just a few weeks. At most a few months. A time that is incomparably short compared to the wait. Although he has become accustomed to this life now, sometimes he too wonders.
Why does he exist? At first, he simply struggled to survive. From some point on, he struggled endlessly to become stronger. After becoming a lord, he reached a state of transcendence from everything. But he couldn’t help thinking about whether this was the right thing to do.
The meaning of existence. There was a time when he thought he stood at the apex of everything. Lately, he thinks that perhaps he too might be a component of a vast world.
‘Am I getting old too?’
Having no concept of aging, he had never particularly thought about getting older.
It’s just that whenever he had such thoughts, he worried that his soul might have become too worn.
“Uh… TZ3… 9.”
Suddenly Leksaldo’s eyebrows twitched. He was feeling a familiar magical power.
Woong!
Soon, a black portal was forming in front of him.
“Yes. I suppose there’s no need to think about such things.”
Leksaldo grinned.
Vitality was returning to his face, which until just a moment ago had looked as if he were dying. Yes. He was merely tired from the too-long wait. He will climb even higher. So that someday he will see the end of this world.
“It seems Quirin has handled things well.”
Leksaldo rose from his seat.
Tracing the magical power, this portal seemed to be connected to Earth. Recently, he had dispatched chaos to Earth on a large scale, and it seems the results have appeared faster than expected. Leksaldosaldo stepped into the portal. The massive heart within his body begins to beat more fiercely. He will destroy everything. All beings will revere him and tremble in fear. Primal excitement dominates his body.
The Lord of Chaos, Leksaldo, who has no need to be mindful of anyone, displayed such emotions without reservation.
“Kuhahahahaha!”
The inside of the portal shook wildly at Leksaldo’s laughter. At last, a bright light begins to appear in the distance. Leksaldo stepped outside the portal without hesitation. The world seemed to push back, as if it could not handle Leksaldo’s magical power. But Leksaldo forcibly pushed his body in. The stabilization work was already completed anyway. There was nothing to be concerned about.
“Hoo…”
As he exited the portal, an unfamiliar landscape came into view. A desolate world, but to Leksaldosaldo, it was an excellent and fresh world beyond comparison.
“You have arrived.”
His loyal servant, Quirin, bowed his head in greeting.
“Well done, Quirin.”
Quirin bowed his head even deeper at Leksaldosaldo’s praise.
“Where are the others?”
There are twenty chaotic beings dispatched to Earth. Including those who were already there, the number is twenty-three. Even if some had died in the meantime, it doesn’t make sense that only Quirin is here. Could they possibly have abandoned their posts at this historic moment when the lord himself descends?
“They are all dead.”
Quirin said in a flat tone.
In that moment, Leksaldo’s eyebrows twitched.
“Dead?”
“Yes. And you will be too.”
As Leksaldosaldo sensed something strange in Quirin’s words, he felt magical power behind him. When he turned his head, he saw red eyes filled with peculiar madness.
‘This is…’
Kwah!
A solid fist struck Leksaldo.
