Chapter 1180: Scorched World.

If you’re talking quality, this energy isn’t much different from inner energy.

Energy connected in a single stream. Despite being an extremely small amount, it shows tremendous destructive power.

The scene that just burst forth in front was the proof.

But.

“Hmm.”

While assessing the energy, I scrunched up my face.

‘Indeed, the amount is too small.’

That last strike. It used up more than half of my reserves. Although it’s being refilled in an instant, it won’t be able to catch up to the speed.

‘What is this even.’

It’s like giving someone a disease and then the cure. After draining all my inner energy, the power is this strong.

Should I be happy about this or not?

‘Hmm.’

For now, if I had to choose.

‘It’s not good right now.’

The small quantity. It was putting a considerable strain on me in actual combat.

KUGUGUGUNG-!!

A part of the forest, damaged and smashed. Billowy sand dust rises above it.

It was shattered quite far.

‘Clearly.’

I was hit directly. I definitely felt the sensation in my hand.

‘As expected…’

Then, what happened to the opponent? As I was about to rush to check my great-grandfather’s condition.

HWAAAHHH–!!

“…Damn.”

I smirked at the storm that suddenly surged. It wasn’t just any storm. It was a storm made of flames.

This means…

‘It hasn’t ended.’

It was a sign that my great-grandfather was unharmed.

As if to prove this, as soon as the flames died down, a figure appeared from within them.

But.

“Ha.”

THUMP-!

The single word I softly uttered echoed in my mind.

‘He’s changed.’

Something is different. The feeling was completely different from before.

“Not only did you bloom the seed, but you absorbed it into your body too.”

The Master’s Class.

Something noble and unfathomable could constantly be felt.

“But why? How did you appear as something other than a spark of fire?”

He means he cannot understand.

“You are a member of the Gu family. You should possess flames too.”

Hwa-reu-reu-reuk.

Flames rise from my great-grandfather’s body. It was a ferocious crimson flame. A crimson flame burning hotly, as if to swallow everything.

KWAAAHHHH-!!

That crimson flame started from my great-grandfather’s hand and reached out towards me.

“Tsk…”

Hwa-reuk-!

To counter, I burned forth my flowing blue flame and shot it at him.

KWAAAHHHH-!!

The flames collided, creating ripples with heat. I’m being pushed back. My firepower was weaker.

‘This is really annoying.’

Since the energy quantity is small, I was trying to control it, but that makes the firepower an issue again. It’s overwhelming compared to the amount of energy, but like I said, the quantity was the problem.

The flames were slowly pushed back. At that time, I thought hard.

‘If the blue flame is blocked.’

Furthermore, if that is the Master’s Class.

‘What about the white flame?’

Pama’s flame.

That power which worked on non-humans, including the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon.

I can use it even though the energy became a single stream. Because.

‘The very rank given to me is that itself.’

The main power of my flowing blue flame is the white flame.

I knew that instinctively.

KWAAAH-!!

The color of the flowing blue flame gradually faded. Eventually, it completely turned pure white.

At that moment.

KWAAAHHHH-!

“Huh!?”

The white flame began to advance forward, swallowing the crimson flame.

“This is…”

At the situation that unfolded, my great-grandfather’s eyes widened.

“God Killing (神殺). Ha. You bastard…!”

HWAAAHHAK-!!

My great-grandfather, who had been shooting the crimson flame, released his power. As he dodged aside, the white flame poured into that spot.

HWAAAHHH-!!

Since the white flame can’t harm anything other than non-humans, it just swept across the ground and passed by.

‘It works.’

But it works on my great-grandfather.

That was what was important to me right now.

“You possess God Killing. I wondered why I couldn’t steal the fire. What on earth…”

He was clearly bewildered. God Killing? I thought the name was quite strange.

‘The power to kill gods.’

I’d simply called it Pama’s flame. God Killing. What an aggressive name. And if you were to mention it properly…

‘…Are non-humans considered like gods?’

Whether it’s dragons, goblins, or anything else.

I wondered if they were considered equal to gods.

“To possess God Killing while holding the Master’s Class. The world wouldn’t have left this alone. Especially if you are a Gu family member who inherits the curse.”

My great-grandfather’s voice continued, his bewilderment gradually fading into a faint anger.

“What is your purpose, descendant? You aren’t even from this place, so why are you here disrupting the karma.”

“I didn’t exactly want to come here either. Anyone who saw would think I came here deliberately to cause trouble.”

“Then what on earth is your purpose?”

“I’m busy looking for that purpose myself right now.”

As I spoke, I assessed my energy. Fortunately, it was all refilled.

“The Gu family must inherit the curse. There are deeds that must be borne so this land doesn’t collapse. Why are you trying to twist the foundation?”

“Aah, that damn karma.”

Annoyance surged instantly.

“I’m just cleaning up the crap the ancestors left behind, so I don’t know why they’re acting like they’re doing something so grand.”

“What did you say?”

“Who asked them to? They make a mess and then expect me to bear all the consequences? They’re f*ing selfish!”

“Ha-!”

HWAAAHHH.

At my words, flames erupted from my great-grandfather’s body.

“You harbor misguided thoughts. A member of the Gu family shouldn’t think like that… Ah.”

My great-grandfather, who was speaking, suddenly faltered.

“…I see. The foundation itself has already been twisted. Who is it? Who laid hands on you? The problem starts with you becoming a non-human of a different clan in the first place. Who are you?”

“You’re asking quite late.”

Tap tap. I brushed off my hands.

I circulated my energy, ready to use the white flame anytime.

“It’s not strange for a Gu family member to become a disaster. Perhaps it’s predetermined. After all, it was a seed prepared for that.”

“…Hmm?”

Hearing that, my expression crumpled. “A seed prepared for this?”

“Wait a second. So that seed from the divine tree was meant for the disaster born from the Gu family?”

“You didn’t know? How ignorant you are.”

“How the f* am I supposed to know if you don’t tell me?”

It’s absurd. Who would know that?

‘Then that seed.’

It was mine from the beginning?

The disaster born from the Gu family.

This refers to me. I already understood and acknowledged this.

My fate was supposed to become a disaster.

‘The fact that I ended up blooming the seed.’

This also followed like fate.

‘What’s strange is…’

Even if I became a disaster…

‘Nothing has changed.’

If I become a disaster, so what? They said I’d have to erase all other life and become the master, or something like that.

It was different from what I had heard.

No, in the first place.

‘It’s strange that a change occurred just because I bloomed the seed in this world.’

The Blood Demon’s sentience felt a sense of foreignness and disappeared. It mentioned something about its five senses. It disappeared as if it had no interest in the fake world anyway.

‘Seeing this.’

It’s confirmed that this world is a fake world, just as the ancestor said.

So.

‘The reason nothing changed even though I became a disaster…’

Maybe it’s because blooming in a fake world means nothing.

Or.

‘…Something.’

The arrangements my mother made. They might mean something.

“It’s twisted. The foundation of the world has been shaken. You aren’t Scorch Marks. You are-“

My great-grandfather paused, then continued.

“Embers.”

“…Embers?”

“A place already burnt, completely burnt, where nothing remains. You are the embers barely left behind in that place… This is a pointless game of hope. Who is pushing you?”

“…”

A desperate struggle within a predetermined fate.

Thinking about it…

‘It fits.’

Embers.

That word seemed perfectly fitting.

The people pushing me forward to help with that were the same.

“Well. There are too many, so I don’t know.”

It’s hard to dwell on each one when so many are helping me.

So I said it casually with a smile.

“It’s a pathetic act.”

My great-grandfather, expressionless, simply conjured flames from his body.

“Do not defy fate. No matter how you struggle, the path you must take leads to only one place.”

“That’s a really boring thing to say, and something I don’t want to hear.”

HWAAAHHH.

Matching his flames, I raised the white flame.

“According to the karma, I cannot leave the Scorch Marks as they are. Descendant, if you refuse to inherit the legacy, I will simply erase you to prevent a rift.”

Is that a warning that he’ll kill me?

“Then I have to fight my ancestor… Hmm.”

Do I really have to fight my precious ancestor? What a heartbreaking situation.

But.

“It’s okay. That can happen.”

It’s okay.

Betraying your elders is hard the first time, but is it hard the second time?

I’ve already killed my father with my own hands.

“Would it be that difficult just because he’s an ancestor?”

KWAAAHHH-!!

Wrapped in the white flame, I charged at my ancestor.

The crimson flame spread out, but once again, it was useless against the white flame.

Just like that.

KWAAK-!!

My hand reached my great-grandfather’s chest.

PAAAAHHHH-!!

The white flame burst, radiating in all directions. My great-grandfather was engulfed in the brilliant light.

I could see my great-grandfather’s body slowly burning within the flames.

The problem is.

“Huh.”

Watching him burn, I realized something I hadn’t noticed.

“…This.”

It seems…

“It’s not the real body…?”

It doesn’t seem like the real body. Touching it, I knew for sure.

“Wait there.”

While burning, my great-grandfather- no, the flame in his shape- spoke.

“This time, I’ll come see you myself.”

Pa-seu-seu-seuk-!

After finishing his words, he completely faded away.

“…”

Watching the scattering ashes disappear, I swallowed hard.

“…This is troublesome.”

Is it this strong even as just a mere thought-form? I wondered what would happen if he brought his real body.