Ch.63Chapter 63 – To Save You (2)

“Why should we become your disciples?”

“Yes, is such a procedure really necessary?”

Kim Hyul and Sieg-hardt spoke with disbelief after hearing my proposal. They had already been deceived by Bing-seol-hwa and had their families taken hostage.

In a way, their distrust was understandable.

“First of all, I’m probably the only one who can resist the Outer Gods.”

I explained to them why they needed to become my disciples. Just as I had persuaded the final bosses, I presented my own reasoning.

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, you must have fled here because you know you can’t stand against Shub-Niggurath.”

I was the only one who could overcome the presence of the Outer God that Azazel had shown in the north. Even the final bosses, who were confident they had become stronger than the protagonists through the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament, couldn’t withstand it.

“That’s right. Even I, who hosts Morgidian, couldn’t endure what Brother was able to withstand.”

Azazel spoke with her hands clasped to her chest, as if supporting my words. Her expression was filled with sincerity.

“Ah, what a holy calling this is… I, Azazel, wish to become not the Saintess of the Outer Gods, but the Saintess of Bing-yeon…”

Azazel showed her excitement as the tentacles on her back wriggled, a sight that gave all of us goosebumps.

“…So you’re not completely ignorant after all.”

Kim Hyul nodded at my statement. He seemed to be testing whether I was hiding something.

After all, anyone could see that the appendages on Azazel’s back were related to the Outer Gods.

“So, what do you want to do going forward?”

Sieg-hardt also asked me what he was curious about. He probably thought there was no need to blindly become disciples.

“I need to train you to wield time and space as your sword, and give Kim Hyul fists that can shatter even diamond.”

I spoke while recalling Kim Hyul’s late-stage appearance in the original “Diamond Fist King” and Sieg-hardt’s final moments in “I Need To Kill The Hero.”

To reach that level would require extensive training, just like my other disciples.

“Joining our sect will make it easier to get help from others. I want to minimize variables.”

Bing-seol-hwa might send assassins throughout the martial arts world on a large scale.

Unlike me, she was the heir to the North Sea Ice Palace, and she had already tried to kill my disciples at the Dragon and Phoenix Tournament.

“…I’ve already felt to the bone that I can’t face that woman alone.”

“The sensation of your internal organs twisting, your organs and skin reversing—if you can overcome that, you might be willing to risk your life.”

Kim Hyul and Sieg-hardt trembled slightly as they shared their experiences facing Shub-Niggurath. They said they had already tried every method to escape from her.

“I’ll become your disciple, Bing-yeon. I’d like to erase the traces of that creepy woman anyway.”

“I’ll do the same. I look forward to working with you.”

After some persuasion, the protagonists agreed to become my disciples, just like the final bosses.

In truth, they didn’t have many options, having abandoned everything to come here.

“Well then, do you have any good ideas in mind?”

“First, we need to gather the strongest martial artists and create a formation around our sect to prevent damage elsewhere.”

I pointed to various parts of the map on the wall as I spoke.

Our sect was located in a treacherous mountain range, slightly removed from populated areas. Ultimately, luring Seol-hwa here would be the best option.

“Actually, I’d like to evacuate everyone and fight the Outer God alone…”

As I said this, I looked around. Bi-wol and Azazel were already clinging to my arms. Verdandi pretended not to understand but then hugged me from behind.

“That is not permitted. Where Master goes is my destination as well.”

“That’s right, Brother. You’re going to face Shub-Niggurath, and you want to fight without the person who knows the Outer Gods best?”

“I refuse to let another woman take my master! Unless it’s someone here with us now!”

They seemed fully determined to fight Bing-seol-hwa. The final bosses from a novel, burning with resolve in their eyes, asking not to be left behind.

“…So this is how things turned out.”

I sighed deeply as if I had no choice.

Without them, I might become Shub-Niggurath’s plaything like Kang Si-woo. After all, it was that Outer God who had possessed me into this world.

I needed to maximize our chances of winning.

“Don’t leave us out either. We want to make her feel the consequences of touching our families.”

“That’s right, experience fighting against a powerful opponent is invaluable—something money can’t buy.”

Seeing this, Kim Hyul and Sieg-hardt exchanged glances with slight disbelief and smirked. To an outsider, they would look like disciples who followed their master well.

If they knew we had just been fighting over who would perform the Absorbing Yang to Supplement Yin technique, they would look at me like trash.

“Azazel, do you think others can respond to the presence of an Outer God?”

I deliberately changed the direction of the conversation by asking Azazel, the Saintess who had already contracted with Morgidian.

The last time I went to meet her, everyone except me had fainted.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. No matter how much we prepare, we’re dealing with an Outer God, unlike me.”

“With Verdandi’s Holy Armor and your future sight, it might not be impossible.”

Combining armor that provides absolute defense to its wearer with eyes that can see the future might allow us to prepare for an Outer God’s attack.

“…Can I do it? Since encountering Shub-Niggurath, I’ve become somewhat afraid of seeing the future.”

Azazel deliberately avoided my gaze. Her future sight allowed her to see “possible parallel universes.”

“I fear seeing a future where Brother dies. If I were to see you as a cold corpse, I don’t think I could bear it anymore.”

Azazel bit her lower lip as she spoke. I too had been shocked when I later learned of Seol-hwa’s suicide. Only those who have experienced it know the feeling.

“Still, please try to see the future. It’s necessary.”

I gently stroked Azazel’s head as I asked. Even if I died, I would have no regrets if I could save everyone here.

“Alright… Then would you place your hand on top of mine? I think that would help me be less afraid.”

Azazel examined my eyes and made a small request. Her lips and eyes were trembling slightly with fear.

“…Like this?”

I placed my hand on top of hers as she clasped them together, and I began to feel a warm sensation. A slightly higher body temperature than others.

After the whole process, I could hear Bi-wol grinding her teeth beside me, but I paid no attention.

“Yes, thank you.”

Azazel’s rainbow-colored eyes stared at me as if they would devour me, and I could almost feel a hint of joy mixed in them.

* * *

When Azazel regained consciousness to see the future, she was greeted by a barren wasteland.

In the darkness without moon or stars, she illuminated her surroundings with holy power and looked around.

‘…Where is this?’

Azazel sensed immediately that something was wrong.

The battle with Shub-Niggurath should have taken place at the Ice Dragon Fate Sect, but where was this place?

Just to be sure, Azazel bent her finger backward to test whether this was reality or the future.

‘It doesn’t hurt. So this must be the future…’

Her finger bent like a bow without pain, and she sighed with relief.

Because of her innate ability to glimpse the future just by making eye contact with others, Azazel sometimes confused reality and the future.

‘Where are Brother and the others?’

Azazel couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been abandoned here alone. There was no sign of life, no structures, not even traces of human habitation.

“Hello, Azazel.”

At that moment, she heard someone calling her from above.

The voice was familiar—an androgynous tone mixing female and male that she had heard when trying to glimpse Bing-yeon’s future again.

“It seems you’ve come to peek at the future, but it’s useless. I just killed the Demon King and absorbed his power.”

As soon as she heard this, Azazel felt a pain as if her brain was being gouged out. She had experienced something similar before.

“Ah, aaaah…, aaaaaaah!!”

Azazel could only scream helplessly. She realized that the place where she stood was not just a wasteland.

This was where the Ice Dragon Fate Sect had been. When the Outer God Shub-Niggurath descended, everything had been erased as if it had never existed.

Even looking up at the sky, the reason she couldn’t see stars or the moon was because the Outer God’s body blocked everything.

– Azazel, snap out of it…!

Morgidian was resisting with all his might as he watched Azazel.

– Mother of All Things, why are you doing this…!!

Having barely managed to save her life last time, he shouted at Shub-Niggurath’s shadow floating in the sky.

He couldn’t understand why she showed such interest in people connected to Bing-yeon. Normally, an Outer God’s attention would drive people insane or kill them.

Just as an ant cannot understand a human’s expression of love, no matter how much the human loves it.

“Why, you ask? Because I want to see the end of this world.”

Shub-Niggurath revealed her intentions to Morgidian. She wanted to see how a discontinued novel would end, to see the conclusion in her own way.

“And if it’s the ‘new’ ending that this man Bing-yeon is hiding so carefully, all the better.”

Shub-Niggurath grinned and expelled Azazel, who had tried to glimpse the future, from this place.