Chapter 464: Screw Off (2)

I lifted up my heavy eyelids and barely opened my eyes.

“…?”

The first thing I saw after regaining consciousness was the inside of a body of water.

Huh?

I made sure not to lose my breath by panicking.

I carefully looked around and observed the surrounding, but I was able to see nothing besides water.

…Where am I?

What kind of nonsense was this?

How did I end up here?

I tried my best to remember what happened.

Elder Shin appeared and broke the giant egg that was supposedly my vessel.

Afterwards, a ton of liquid poured out from it.

I even remembered dying after being stabbed in the heart by the Heavenly Venerable’s blade.

With those things in mind, I looked around once more.

It was only water around me and I couldn’t see anything else.

I tried moving my arm.

Fortunately, I didn’t have any problem moving my body around at the very least…

Is all of this water from that egg earlier?

Perhaps this body of water surrounding me all came from the egg?

It wasn’t a small space my any means, yet it was able to fill it completely with water?

I looked around a few more times and shook my head.

I realized I didn’t even have to think hard about this.

This wasn’t a reality, so there was no need for me to look for common sense in the first place.

The important part is what I need to do from now.

I first had to figure out why I ended up in this place.

Elder Shin told me that I would no longer be a human if I broke the vessel.

But what changed?

I couldn’t figure out if anything changed at all.

All I was able to do was float peacefully along with the calm water.

I lifted my head up towards the surface.

It didn’t seem too high, and I felt like I could reach the surface if I tried to.

What’s at the surface?

Perhaps I could leave this place if I reach it?

What about my breath?

Judging by how I wasn’t running out of air, it seemed like I had no problem in breathing in this water.

Still, I decided to swim up.

Right as I was about to go up,

Swish…

Pause-

My body froze like a rock.

I felt a presence.

Where? Where did it come from?

It was a problem, as I initially believed that I was the only person in this space.

Swish…

I got the chills running from my head all the way to my toes.

It wasn’t an ordinary presence.

Something felt different about it, I was able to know just through my instinct.

Swish… Swish… Swoosh…

A clear noise echoed in my ears.

The presence was getting closer, but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

What was it?

Was something in this space besides me?

I felt a chilling sensation.

Was this killing intent I felt?

It didn’t feel exactly the same, it had an unpleasant stickiness to it.

Cold sweat ran down my face.

I wondered if it was possible for that to happen inside the water, but I clearly felt the sensation.

Swish-

After what felt like an eternity, the presence suddenly disappeared at once.

Then, my nervousness started melting away from my body as if it was a lie to begin with.

…

My eyes were busy looking around my surroundings.

I didn’t think that such a nasty presence would leave so easily.

Where are you?

I gazed around like a madman.

I continued to stare into the empty space, but I wasn’t able to see anything besides the darkness-

Swish.

“…!”

Fucking hell.

The first thing I did was curse out after looking at the ground.

I saw never-ending darkness beneath me.

“…”

Yes, it was certainly coming from there.

Swish.

The strange presence was coming from that darkness.

Was it hiding down there?

That was my initial thought, but it changed shortly after.

I was able to realize after staring at it for a few more seconds.

It wasn’t that the bastard was hiding inside the darkness.

Swoosh…!

Instead, it was the darkness itself.

Kyraaak.

Did it realize I noticed its presence?

The darkness started to change in shape.

A white opening was made, and it gradually stretched more open.

It almost seemed like…

Mouth?

The mouth of a beast.

As I opened my eyes in shock,

Slaaaam-!

Kyraaaa-!

Crazy fucker!

The huge darkness started to charge towards me.

Crash-!

I quickly turned my body in order to dodge,

Crack-!

Ugh…!!

But because I was slowed down by water, I failed to protect my arm.

After biting my arm, the bastard started swimming wildly in the water.

It was much faster than I expected.

What the hell is this bastard…!

With a frown, I observed the bastard who continued chewing on my arm.

I didn’t see it before because of how dark it was, but I was able to see it now from up close.

What is this?

I was able to see the body of a creature from its long body.

At first, it seemed like a snake like the Red Water Snake, but I was able to see that it wasn’t the case.

It has arms and legs.

The bastard had arms and legs unlike snakes, and its scales were much thicker and more noticeable.

I wasn’t able to see it clearly, but there were some horns on its head, and the fur on its back led all the way up to its tail.

What…

What was this thing?

It was the first time I saw such a creature. It was neither a snake nor a beast.

Crack-!

“Urgh!”

As I continued to observe the bastard’s figure, I suddenly bumped into something with great force.

The bastard pinned me right up against a wall.

Crack-!

Ugh…!!

I also felt my arm being chewed off.

It might have been broken as well.

I bit my lips and endured the pain.

I had to escape, so I decided to put the pain aside and escape.

[We are dignified.]

Then, I started to hear a voice from my arm that was being chewed off.

[All races besides us are lowly and inferior.]

It spoke in a calm tone, but it sounded disgustingly arrogant.

And its voice not only echoed around my body, but it even started to wrap around my mind.

[We must escape. We must leave this vessel in order to find a more glorious body.]

…This… bastard?

I gazed at the bastard as the voice echoed loudly in my mind.

It was obvious who this voice belonged to.

The bastard who was biting my arm.

[What a pitiful body this is. You failed to break the wall and reach a higher level. How could it not be pitiful?]

[Don’t you wish to go above and beyond everyone else? Do you not want to live a glorious life looking down at the inferior races?]

[If so, then succumb to me. Throw aside your pitiful body, and be reborn anew.]

Ugh…

It felt like my head was about to explode the more I heard this voice.

Not only that, but I felt something filling up my body.

It was a feast of emotions that filled my body.

It was arrogance, pride, and an ominous desire to reach a place that no one else has ever reached before.

Was this what he was referring to?

I placed my leftover hand on my forehead and thought to myself.

Elder Shin gave me a warning, saying that I would die as a human once I broke the vessel.

He also said that I wouldn’t be a human being anymore after opening my eyes again.

And it’s possible that I won’t be me anymore.

Elder Shin wasn’t sure that I would wake up as ‘myself’.

I felt like I knew why he gave me such a strange warning.

It’s you.

I saw the bastard’s crystal blue eyes.

It was you all along.

The bastard wanted me to give up my identity as a human being.

Is it my body that you want?

Once my body no longer contains a soul, then this bastard would take it over. That’s what it wanted.

[Don’t you share the same desire?]

Its voice echoed loudly in my ears.

[I could easily attain the world you so desire.]

[Did you not want peace?]

[Succumb to me.]

[Your regret, nervousness, sadness, leave it all to me and achieve tranquility.]

“…”

I was seriously about to go insane.

The endless echoing voice was enough to make me lose my mind, and the nasty emotions that filled my heart were hard for me to manage.

Moreover..

…Peace?

The bastard’s words sounded ever so sweet.

Leaving everything I had in order to live a life I so desired.

My instinct was telling me that the words that came from the bastard were true.

Moreover, I started to wonder why I ended up like this.

I wondered why I could no longer live as a human being, or what I would become if I stopped being a human.

I didn’t have the answer to any of those questions, but the words were sweet enough for me to be charmed by them.

[Leave everything to me.]

[Find peace. Gu Yangcheon.]

[You will be able to attain everything you want in life.]

What I wanted in life?

To stop the disasters that would destroy the world, to save others who died for me in the past, and to achieve a peaceful world for them to live in.

After thinking about what I wanted in life,

[All of that, I shall give it to you.]

The bastard whispered in my ears again.

[Isn’t it what you wanted? You wanted someone else to do that for you.]

I did.

I desperately wished that there was someone else who could do it all for me.

I really wanted to leave aside this nasty burden of mine.

[That time is now.]

[Give it to me.]

Crack-

Blood came out of my nose.

I also felt the vessels in my eyes explode.

“…What… What are you…?”

I spoke without realizing it.

My voice sounded very clear despite being underwater, though now wasn’t the time to be fascinated by such a thing.

After hearing my question,

Kyraa-

The bastard started opening its mouth, as if it was smiling.

[I am a superior being.]

[Unlike you lowly creatures, I am a great being that has been granted transcendence from birth.]

[I am also a miracle that you inferior beings dare to think about achieving.]

It was way too arrogant and prideful.

Yet, it suited this bastard.

How did it suit the bastard so much? Funnily enough, that was what I found interesting in this painful situation.

[Therefore.]

[Succumb to me.]

It repeated the same words over and over.

I found myself being shaken by those words every time I heard them.

Let’s just leave my past and attain peace.

Wasn’t I exhausted anyway?

How could someone like me dare to stop the worldly disasters?

Such thoughts filled my mind and boiled my heart.

Moreover, I was treated as a calamity when I tried doing good things, and nothing went well in my life.

It may have been better than my past life, but I didn’t know if I was going to be able to become powerful enough to stop the Heavenly Demon.

Not only that, but there was the Blood Demon as well, so there were too many things I had to worry about.

Why was it my job to do all of those things?

Even the center of my will began to shake.

Why was I made to walk such a treacherous path?

Perhaps it was best for me to leave everything to this bastard and achieve peace.

Ah…

Snap.

The lines that held my consciousness started to snap one by one.

The bastard’s smile widened as that happened.

What would happen to me if I succumbed to this bastard?

Would I disappear?

Is that even a problem?

Why would I be scared about disappearing if I could just run away from everything I feared?

It’s not like I was scared of death in the first place.

[Yes, that’s it.]

A voice filled with joy echoed in my mind.

[You can leave everything to me, and rest.]

“…”

It started scattering away.

The consciousness I barely managed to hold onto, was now being lost.

What did I struggle so much for up until now?

“…”

Yes.

I’ll just let it all go.

I don’t want to live like this any-

-I wanted to live a normal life.

“…”

I was about to feel comfortable, but a memory of the past suddenly passed by my mind for some reason.

Once that happened, my blurry sight became clearer again.

Before I fully lost my mind, I held onto my consciousness.

I tried remembering it. I tried to open the book that contained my memories.

The first thing I saw was a pitiful expression of a girl with golden hair.

-I’m glad…

And second, I saw a white-haired girl smiling with a sad expression.

-Live on.

Third, I saw a cold-faced girl who spoke to me in a firm tone as her body was drenched in blood.

-I do feel very sorry for you.

Fourth, I saw a girl who lost her eyes, apologizing to me.

I remembered much more after that, and I pushed down the nasty emotions that filled my heart.

“Ah…”

The darkening sight began to light up again.

Before the darkness fully consumed me, I moved my right arm first.

Pwoosh-!

!!!–!

I used my fingers to stab the bastard’s eyes with great force.

Then, the bastard started wriggling its body around while screaming loudly.

Kyaaaaaa-!

I was able to escape from its grasp during that opening.

[You bastard…!!]

[How!!!]

The bastard looked at me with resentment.

I saw blood coming out of the eye I stabbed.

[You inferior being…! It would’ve been better for you to succumb to me! How dare you leave a scar on a great one like me-!!]

When the bastard screamed out of frustration, I responded with a smirk.

“You bit my arm, so let’s call it even.”

I smirked at the bastard while showing my left arm, which was barely dangling.

Though, of course, the bastard seemed to have no intention of letting this pass so easily.

[Why did you make such a decision?!]

I frowned after hearing its loud voice.

I shook my head, which still ached in pain.

Why, huh?

“…I mean, I just thought about it for a moment.”

It wasn’t anything too special…

It truly would have been more comfortable for me to leave everything to that bastard.

I didn’t know if the bastard was going to do everything I wanted in life, but I at least knew one thing from my instinct alone.

Whatever the bastard does, it would be better than if I did it myself.

[You know that and-!!]

“…But how do I put this.”

I suddenly had a thought.

“If I push my responsibility to someone else even in this life, then I would feel too shameful to see them again.”

I must see the end of it if I told myself that I would do it.

I couldn’t afford to hesitate or waste time.

I had my own responsibility to take care of, and it wasn’t right for me to leave it to someone else.

It was common sense, and I wish I knew that in my past life, which I found a bit regretful.

After hearing my response, the bastard let out a quiet breath.

[…I’ll give you one more chance.]

As I observed my left arm, which was barely dangling on my shoulder, the bastard spoke as if it was giving me a last chance.

Its voice echoed in my body, giving me a headache again, but it fortunately felt much better than before.

What was that bastard?

Who was it to take my body out of the blue?

Perhaps it was the beast that growled inside my body?

It didn’t feel that way…

I wasn’t sure.

All I had to do was find out the answer if I didn’t.

“True, since when was my life ever easy?”

It had always been like this.

There was only one solution in the damned Central Plains if things didn’t work out through a conversation.

And I knew that the option other than talking suited me more as a person.

[Krrr…]

The bastard grinded its teeth as if it was trying to scare me.

After seeing that, I made my best mocking smile that I could and spoke.

“Screw off.”

With that as a starting point,

Kyaaaaa-!

The bastard charged at me with its mouth wide open.