Chapter 360

Rêa​d& ;o&n; &K;a&t;Ｒ​&e;ａｄínģĊa‌ｆe​

‘…I almost had my memorial day today.’

Karma swallowed hard, his throat dry. It was a sweltering summer, but perhaps it was too hot. 

He nonchalantly sat on Surtr’s shoulder, but his back was drenched in cold sweat.

He almost died. He almost died without even leaving behind bones. 

‘Seriously, Azazel, how could you attack with all your might when I’m right here? Did you think I’d dodge it just fine? Do you have a problem with me or something? Then say it with words, with words!’

Muttering words that would make Azazel clutch the back of his neck and collapse if she heard them, Karma swallowed tears inwardly. 

The problem was getting close to the fire giant to catch the falling girl. With his abilities, he could have brought the girl back safely without having to approach. The wind, the flow of air, was his will.

But the existence of Surtr became a variable.

The fire giant was a constantly burning, volcanic monster.

The immense heat had a considerable adverse effect on Karma’s abilities.

The flow of the wind became unstable, and the heated air itself was a deadly weapon.

What would happen if the unconscious girl was exposed to a heatwave that could melt even steel in an instant?

With that thought flashing through his mind, Karma jumped into the inferno without thinking.

And he almost died.

He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn’t used Surtr as a shield.

‘Oh, my God.’

He wanted to get up, but he couldn’t.

How long had it been since he felt death so vividly?

At least not since the fight with that disgusting snake demon, five years ago.

As a result, his legs gave out.

Was this okay for someone who was supposed to be a captain?

No, even a captain is human, so physiological traumas are unavoidable.

Karma, who inadvertently ended up sitting on Surtr’s shoulder, desperately tried to hide his trembling legs. His butt was hot, but he couldn’t get up. 

‘Save me, Azazel.’ 

In the meantime, he hugged Lucia tightly with both arms to protect her. He had cut off the flow of air from the outside, so this child would be safe from the heat.

‘…Well, let’s stop whining here.’

Karma’s closed eyes curved like a crescent moon. Apart from his physical condition, his mind was racing. He was constantly working to assess the situation, analyze the state of affairs, and derive the best possible outcome.

‘First of all, this giant… If it had rampaged properly, we’d have to redraw the map by now.’

Captain-level powerhouses were all strategic weapons.

They were monsters capable of physically destroying a city on their own.

Even Karma, one of those captains, was in awe of the fire giant.

Whatever else, the firepower.

That alone was unmatched.

Azazel’s (Michael’s) attack, which even Karma, a top-tier captain, was sure would kill him.

Just the fact that he managed to deflect it somehow showed a glimpse of Surtr’s power.

‘It’s been quite a while since it descended. Yet the city’s form is still somewhat intact…’

Of course, it wasn’t perfect.

The epicenter of the battle would be difficult to rebuild.

Unless they dealt with the lava-like flowing ground first, it was no longer land where people could live.

But this was relatively mild.

Because someone had held back this immense destruction from spreading elsewhere.

‘Who on earth are you…’

Karma looked down at Lucia as if he was seeing her in a new light. He knew who she was. A student from the Academy. The girl who had been kidnapped by the Family last time. 

He remembered reading about her in the files. But the girl’s supernatural ability was super regeneration, and she didn’t have the power to stop Surtr. If she had been this strong in the first place, she wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

“Ah, could it be…?”

The giant tree that had bound the fire giant.

He had seen something similar before.

Why Lucia had been kidnapped.

What had been done to the kidnapped girl.

What she had looked like when she appeared before the Celestial Corps.

Tracing them back in order, he was able to find the answer quickly.

“Are you human right now?”

Or are you a devil god?

If it was the former, it would be fortunate.

But if it was the latter…

“This is troublesome. I don’t want to get my hands dirty.”

If she was a devil god, the best thing to do was to end her life while she was unconscious. An invisible blade formed at Karma’s fingertips. A blade made of wind. It was a sharp blade that wouldn’t be too difficult to pierce the neck of a fragile girl. 

But that blade never pierced Lucia’s neck. Karma swung his arm wide. Then, a deafening noise and a whirlwind swept through.

[Keuk?!]

Blood, flesh, and ashes scattered. The hand that had reached out to grab Karma failed to achieve its purpose and was mangled. This would normally be impossible. Karma couldn’t easily penetrate Surtr’s near-invincible durability.

“It’s like you exposed your flesh. Too bad. I don’t like seafood.”

The solid outer shell was shattered by Azazel’s attack.

The flames that had been burning external attacks were now only embers.

The defenseless body of Surtr that was revealed as a result.

Even that was quite tough, but not to the extent that Karma’s blade couldn’t reach it.

“I get it. Yes, I think I understand.”

The giant tree was an ability that the devil god Belial had shown during the Family subjugation war. Creation of life, was it? 

Karma had only seen the remaining traces, but even that was enough to guess how terrifying it must have been. With that ability, it wouldn’t be impossible to stop the fire giant. It might even be possible to subjugate it. No, it was possible. The power of the devil god was clearly superior to that of the monsters.

“It seems you and I are of the same kind.”

Strictly speaking, they were different from the root, but they were the same in that they used otherworldly power.

The girl wasn’t a devil god. Karma was sure of it. If she was a devil god, there would be no reason to fight the fire giant, and even if she had fought for some reason, the damage couldn’t have been this small. 

A result that couldn’t have happened unless the spread of damage was intentionally prevented. Then the answer was as good as already out.

The girl fought the monsters to protect people. It didn’t matter what kind of power she used in the process. What mattered was the girl’s actions and the resulting outcome.

“Excellent. Foolish but pleasing. I think there will be many things to teach you one way or another.”

Yearning for power and reaching out to otherworldly beings was extremely dangerous. The invasion of the monsters had been going on since 300 years ago, and countless victims had been created in the process. 

Supernaturals who died fighting on the front lines, and countless non-supernaturals who were killed by monsters. If you piled up the lives that had fallen during that time, it would pile up higher than a mountain.

Among that chain of tragedies, there were occasionally people like that.

Non-supernaturals who tried to hunt monsters directly out of hatred for them.

Most of them were meaningless acts of suicide.

They had been swayed by a moment of anger and cut off their own lifelines.

Non-supernaturals couldn’t handle mental corruption, and even if they endured mental corruption with superhuman mental strength, they couldn’t overcome monsters with force.

That’s why supernaturals were needed. Supernatural abilities were essential for fighting monsters. Then how should those who didn’t have supernatural abilities fight monsters? Did they have no choice but to pray that the supernaturals would avenge them?

Frustration and agony.

Days of anger and sorrow.

Some madmen came up with a crazy answer.

Let’s defeat monsters with the power of monsters.

People who agreed with that idea stole the bodies of subjugated monsters and tried to transplant them into their own bodies.

Most of them just died. It was an even worse act of suicide than a non-supernatural attacking a monster. Starting with the body’s rejection reaction, mental corruption endlessly eroded reason from the transplanted body. 

Die, die, and die again. One day, as death continued like that.

There was a result.

Humans used the power of monsters.

Non-supernaturals killed monsters.

This news was never leaked to the public. It was too dangerous. Transplanting a monster’s body was an act of suicide. The probability of success converged to 0 without end. 

Infuriated by the first success story, the transplantation of monster bodies even spread like a fad among the bereaved families of the victims. 

As death repeated meaninglessly like that, the commander eventually stepped in and banned the transplantation of monster bodies, and strictly controlled information.

Now, only a very small number of people know that it’s possible to transplant a monster’s body.

Karma was one of those very few people.

“Don’t worry. I’ll educate you directly so you don’t go crazy and die.”

Everyone who transplanted a monster’s body part died. Even the ones in success stories eventually died. They either died because they couldn’t withstand the continuous mental corruption, or they were conversely devoured by the transplanted monster’s body and became monsters. 

The only surviving person was one.

“It might be painful, but what can you do? It’s better than dying, right?”

Karma gently brushed away the hair that was covering Lucia’s sleeping face. He felt both admirable and sorry for this little girl. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Karma himself had chosen it himself, but this child wouldn’t have.

[ROARRRRR!!]

A huge shadow loomed over.

An angry voice. The dying flames regained their heat. Surtr’s burning hand once again aimed for Karma’s life. It wouldn’t be easily pushed back this time. Now that the weakened flames had returned to an extent, Surtr’s absolute durability had also regained some strength. Karma’s invisible blade would be blocked by the flames and wouldn’t even cause minor damage.

“It’s a shame you’re unconscious. I wanted to show you.”

The subtle smile that had been hanging on Karma’s lips gradually faded. Long, thin eyes. His closed eyes slowly began to open.

“This is how you use otherworldly power.”

What was revealed was an otherworldly pupil.

Cold, emotionless, and inorganic.

Like a topaz.

It resembled that of a snake.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Today’s author’s note is…

Hmm.

Sorry! Actually, there’s nothing to say today too!

What? You’re saying you don’t mind this time either?

See, I knew everyone loved me after all!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Alexa, give me ways to painlessly torture a human.

Anyway, in another world, Karma is his own protagonist. 

In this world? Comedic relief senior.