Ch.8383. The Fallen and the Rising

I lifted Morgan’s body.

There was no proof that Morgan was Somi.

Perhaps Choi Minseo was trying to sow discord between Kang Yerin and Ji Se-hwa, just like before.

I had figured out exactly how the ability extractor that Somi entered worked. Her body had undoubtedly been broken down to the atomic level inside that machine in an instant.

Morgan had said that she was also a being formed from the fusion of human and monster.

There’s no need to overthink this.

No need to hesitate.

I just need to save her and hear the explanation directly from her lips.

Her heart had only stopped recently. She has a monster’s body. The fact that she hadn’t gone berserk meant she hadn’t reached the stage of complete destruction yet.

There is a way.

I open the system window and use an achievement reward.

It’s the reward from the “Early Ender of Civil War” achievement I received recently.

It allows me to restore a destroyed item once.

The target is obvious.

The item I received from Morgan but destroyed without using.

I brought back the “Injury Transfer Stone” to my hand.

Swoosh!

Soon, two stones appeared in my hand.

– Injury Transfer Stone · First / Second

Effect: This is a set item. When consuming “Injury Transfer Stone · Second,” all your injuries will be transferred to the target who has consumed “Injury Transfer Stone · First.” Cannot receive damage exceeding maximum health.

Back then, Morgan had secretly given it to me to take on my injuries.

Now my stats are superior.

I can withstand the damage that led to Morgan’s death.

I forcibly opened Morgan’s blood-covered mouth and shoved one of the stones in.

It felt like stuffing ingredients into a chicken when cooking, as she was nothing more than an unresponsive piece of meat.

Then I put the remaining stone in my mouth without hesitation and swallowed it.

The effect was immediate. In less than a second, all the wounds on Morgan’s body were repaired, and the blood was sucked back into her body as if time had reversed.

And conversely.

“Hmm.”

Splash!

Wounds appeared on my body and blood gushed out.

It’s a significant injury, but I can endure it.

Because Vengeance is no longer a weak, minor organization but the world’s strongest villain organization.

The weight on my shoulders has become the strength supporting my legs.

I looked down at Morgan.

I can’t help but see Somi overlapping with her unconscious face.

…If Morgan really is Somi.

If she woke up to find herself not in the afterlife but transformed into the monster she had fought all her life, and had already committed unforgivable sins with her own hands.

She’s different from me, who willingly embraced evil.

Considering Somi’s nature, that would have been an utterly unacceptable reality.

How must she have felt?

I can’t imagine.

“…Ui-seok oppa.”

An unpleasant voice came from behind me.

It was Ji Se-hwa.

“I, I didn’t know, I really didn’t. I followed Choi Minseo here, and I, I wanted you to acknowledge me…”

“Revelation.”

[REVEL■TION]

“White Plague.”

[L■ESALBEDO]

A bow of light forms in my left hand, an arrow of light in my right. Both are connected as one plague, so there’s little meaning in the distinction.

The bowstring I’ve drawn tens of thousands of times.

I instantly turned my body and fired the white arrow precisely at my target.

—Swoosh.

The small white arrow was shot without flashy effects or loud sounds.

“…Huh? Op…pa…?”

And where Ji Se-hwa’s heart should have been, there was now a clean fist-sized hole.

It was a misjudgment to think I could make any use of Kang Yerin and Ji Se-hwa after watching the Eridanus battle.

It was naive to think I could use them and then dispose of them.

It was greedy to plan to gather the Dragon King Sentai in one place and destroy them all.

Exchanging words with them and wasting my mental energy was a loss from the start.

This is how it should have been from the beginning.

“…It hurts.”

Thud.

The piece of meat that was Ji Se-hwa lost its strength and collapsed to the ground. Her Leviathan Saber made a loud noise as it clattered.

I carried Morgan and moved. Using the method Dorado had taught me, I manipulated the portal to return to where my subordinates were.

“Lord!”

“Are you alright!”

My subordinates worried about my injuries, but I brushed them aside. I laid Morgan down inside the spaceship.

That’s when she opened her eyes.

“…Ugh, Red Dragon. Why! Seeing you with me means the agreement with Dorado has fallen through…!”

Ignoring her words, I took her hand and asked.

“Somi?”

Her eyes wavered. Then she slowly answered.

“…I wasn’t trying to deceive you. By human standards, I’m not Han Somi. And I’ve already crossed a line I can’t return from…”

“I’ll decide that by my standards.”

I looked into her eyes, into Somi’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Somi.”

Tears welled up in Somi’s eyes.

A pained expression I had never seen when she was pretending to be a monster.

A face that showed relief as tension drained away.

Somi’s face crumpled as she fell into my arms, sobbing heavily.

“Yes…! I missed, I missed you, Ui-seok…!”

I embraced Somi with all my strength.

Her body no longer had human warmth, but her tears were still properly hot.

Our embrace didn’t last long. We both knew the situation was urgent.

“So an ability user’s power resides in what you might call the soul. The Dark Kingdom’s ability extractor pulls out the soul.”

“Yes. I think I’m… not human anymore. I’m just a soul sealed in a Dark Kingdom monster… The seal was broken when Dark Arthur died.”

“I think you’re human.”

“Ah…”

I looked at Somi with dragon eyes. Unlike before, all the noise had been removed.

—

Morgan=Ursula=Han Somi

Occupation: Monster

Rank: T5

Ability: Rainbow Serpent Yulong Lv.27

Affiliation: Galaxy Empire Raniakain

Alignment: Lawful-Good

Talent: Hero of Light (T15)

Ideal Wife (T20)

Though she became a monster, she still loves Jung Ui-seok.

—

The system says she’s not human.

I don’t care.

“There’s no one left on Earth who can challenge me now. Let’s go back together, Somi.”

“But then Dorado…! If he finds out you have a connection with me, he’ll think humans who can handle magical power are a threat!”

Somi protested.

“You seem to have forgotten that I’m a hero too. I can’t let the world be endangered because of me.”

“And you seem to have forgotten that I’m not the kind of person who would leave you behind, you know that, right?”

Somi fell silent at my firm response.

“Besides, Dorado isn’t the problem right now.”

I could feel rage boiling up from my fingertips, up my arms, and striking my brain.

“We need to deal with Choi Minseo.”

Somi neither agreed nor disagreed.

“He killed you. The first time, and this time too. He betrayed everyone and led the Dragon King Sentai to ruin. He’s now as dangerous a variable as Dorado. I’m going to crush him before he grows any stronger.”

I could tell Somi was conflicted.

Somi is inherently someone who cannot harm others. Even if it’s an evil person who killed her, she would surely look for a way to resolve things through dialogue…

“Yulong, assist Ui-seok.”

A rainbow-colored dragon emerged from Somi and wrapped around me. I felt my wounds gradually healing and my stats increasing.

That was a quick decision.

“Ui-seok, Choi Minseo appears to have eight legs but actually has ten, so be careful. He uses curse-type magic. His weakness is his short range.”

“You’re being quite proactive, aren’t you?”

That’s a bit unexpected.

“…It’s my fault that you were betrayed for clinging to justice. So please let me take responsibility.”

“So that’s what you meant.”

Now I understood what she meant when she first told me to live according to my desires.

“I shouldn’t have said those things. Especially considering what we meant to each other. Those last words became a curse, and you…”

“They’re not last words anymore. Take your time to think. And.”

I corrected Somi.

“I’ve been doing what I wanted all along.”

Somi raised the corners of her lips slightly at my words.

“I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Time to move.

It’s time to finish off Choi Minseo.

***

“…Ah.”

Ji Se-hwa regained her hazy consciousness. She barely managed to turn her body over, spitting blood.

“It hurts, it hurts. Ui-seok… oppa. He… killed me. For real.”

She looked at the gaping hole in her chest. Her heart had already been consumed by the void and disappeared.

Only the seawater created by Leviathan was swirling there, forcibly supplying oxygen to her entire body.

“…It’s over. It’s really over now.”

Ji Se-hwa buried her face on the ground in despair.

She had really tried to do well this time.

Why did it end up like this again?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

“…Let’s give up.”

Ji Se-hwa relaxed her body and tried to release the blue dragon. Nothing mattered anymore. When Jung Ui-seok killed her, he didn’t say a word, didn’t even move an eyebrow.

There was no hope left.

Dying here as he wished would be the right ending.

She wanted to be free from this pain.

Just as she was about to let go of everything.

“Aaaaargh!! Jung Ui-seoooook!!”

Boom!

With an explosion, a figure appeared.

It was Choi Minseo, who had been sent flying by Jung Ui-seok’s attack.

Her face was torn, but she hadn’t shed a single drop of blood, and was now looking for Jung Ui-seok with her face contorted in rage.

“…Choi Minseo.”

Light returned to Ji Se-hwa’s eyes. She instinctively grabbed her sword that had fallen to the ground.

“Before I go, I’ll at least get that bitch.”

Vitality returned to her nearly lifeless body from somewhere.

The blue dragon responded.

“I’ll stab her in the gut!!”

She instantly kicked off the ground, with the power of the sea surging around her as she charged.

The sharp tip of her sword rapidly approached Choi Minseo’s body.

“Ha, you stupid girl who doesn’t know her level!”

Choi Minseo swung her staff and fired an aura.

At that moment.

“You fucking bitchhhhh!!!”

Something in Ji Se-hwa surpassed its limit.