107: AWAKE
[The immortal Demon King, Rustica Asmodeus, has enforced a regression of the fixed axis.]
[The point of immortal regression has been updated.]
[Time – Year 1108 of the Continent Calendar, January 13, 02:44]
[Location – Markeiteuriseu, the Upper Region of the Promised Plain, Western Gate of Small Town Kern]
In front of me, where a panel appeared disconcertingly, Lucy slowly detached her lips that were pressed against mine.
Was it an illusion? Lucy’s pale, bloodless face seemed to be tinged with a slight red hue.
“Kaha. One swing, and it’s curtains for ya! Guess I ain’t rusted out yet.”
Suddenly, Lucy flailed her arms theatrically and spoke arrogantly.
What on earth is she talking about? I immediately furrowed my brow, casting her a curious glance. In response to my gaze, Lucy instead pointed somewhere with a snap of her hand.
Naturally, I redirected my sight there—and what I beheld was an infuriating spectacle: my lifeless body sprawled out with my head cleanly severed.
“If ya have questions, go ask your corpse, not me.”
“……”
“Phew. I should take a rest. Trying to do this 88th repeat is exhausting.”
Whatever words I had intended to say all disappeared. Lucy’s blatant dismissal left me devoid of any surprise.
I approached my corpse in a disoriented daze, reaching my lantern at my waist towards the gloomy glimmer of residual memories. Somehow, my body moved automatically, as if half-controlled.
[Item activation – Izanami’s Heart]
[Residual memories from the previous life have been acquired.]
[8 points in Strength, 19 in Agility, and 0 in Intelligence have been recovered.]
[No lost skills from the previous life, no skills recovered.]
[All memories from the previous life have been recovered.]
“Ugh… Aaaah, resurrection complete!!”
Crushing waves of memory engulfed me, causing me to curl up, but I rose abruptly with a thunderous battle cry.
Refreshed. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as invigorated after a resurrection. Like getting relief from years of indigestion or finally visiting the restroom after a long bus ride.
The reason for this immense relief is simple:
“You bastards, you scumbags! I feel so damn satisfied having wiped all of you out!”
Finally, finally! In the previous life, I managed to wipe them all out.
The downtown of Kern, the residential zones, the commercial districts, and even the back alleys where the minor remnants lingered—20 snipers, 30 units of mutated monsters, the high-ranking demon sister among the remnants, and the remaining forces—roughly 550 of them. Every single one of them was killed.
They were far too many. Even without the influence of ferocious demons, it was an extreme massacre that could naturally wipe out someone’s humanity. I repeated this disarrayed slaughter battle 11 times.
As a result, my level right now is…
[Name: Park Jeong-yong]
[Nickname: The 163417413th official hero. Guardian of the Demon King’s Egg. The one subordinate to immortality]
[LV. 348]
[HP: 2800/2800, MP: 1550/1550, Physical Condition: Mild Lunacy]
[Strength: 395, Agility: 612, Intelligence: 61, Hero Sense: 19]
[Remaining stat points: 0]
In short, I’m no longer human.
Just by looking at the panel numbers, one might only say, “the numbers have insanely increased.” So I’ll use a direct, simple example. Right now, I can essentially handle most action scenes from shonen manga.
Like deflecting an incoming sniper bullet with the speed of Mach 3 using a hand blade.
Like engaging in ultra-fast combat moves like in Dragon Ball or Naruto, where the movements can’t be seen by the naked eye.
Or spreading oppressive killing intent to make the ground tremble or weaken the legs of weaker opponents.
The first two I accidentally tested out myself, and the killing intent is no joke.
A genuine skill emerged.
[Skill Information]
[Name: Malevolent Blade Spread]
[Effects: Within a 50-meter radius, an overwhelming rigidity effect occurs to entities whose level is lower than my own by 200.]
[Details: A technique mastered through relentless battle in slaughterfields. The immense force manifests as ferocious edges cutting down the weak. As the skill level increases, the effect radius also grows.]
This skill naturally emerged when my level exceeded 300.
It seems everyone, whether a hero or a local, automatically gains this skill at level 300. When I learned it, I immediately thought of Halsenberg and Adrang.
‘Both these individuals… had levels surpassing 300 by the time I met them.’
The overwhelming sensation I felt when facing them as enemies is still vivid. The sensation of my legs involuntarily weakening, as if facing a wild beast, was due to this skill.
This is definite. I’ve used this skill countless times in my previous life and know its unique feeling.
‘Well, I guess I’ve had my fair share of fun thanks to it.’
Since the Immortality Sect recruits vary wildly in skill, a large number of them are easily incapacitated by this skill—far more than expected. Thanks to this, in the recent attempts, it’s become practically an essential skill. Given that my points have been overflowing compared to my number of skills, because of my excessively high level, I’ve already maxed it out at 20.
Initially, the effect radius was only 5 meters; now it’s increased tenfold, covering 50 meters.
“Dammit… it’s so frustrating.”
I scratched the back of my head, muttering to myself. The regret was palpable.
What’s regrettable isn’t the loss of level experience. To begin with, I’ve already reached the limit by exterminating the disciples of the Immortality Sect. Nowadays, eliminating 50 common Immortality Sect disciples barely increases my level by one.
The level-up limit situation I had foreseen has finally arrived.
‘Adrang. If only she had participated in the battle…!’
I found myself lamenting her absence anew.
Even at my level, now in the mid-300s, I have the strength to annihilate the Immortality Sect of Kern alone.
Had someone of Adrang’s caliber or greater been present, there would have been no need for me to toil so much. There would have been no need for me to die repeatedly in numerous attempts.
Of course, I wouldn’t have become this strong either. Truthfully, I never wanted to become a human weapon. Hell no.
‘Was this the 88th time, Lucy mentioned?’
I chuckled lightly recalling the outrageous number Lucy mentioned in my previous life.
At the time, I was dying, so I didn’t have the chance to deeply reflect. But now, I realize I’m a bit crazy. I assumed there were about ten deaths I couldn’t remember, yet 88 was beyond imagination.
‘That situation just now… probably repeated as well.’
Lucy undoubtedly tried to stop me several times, as she did in the previous life.
But it’s obvious I refused. After coming this far, anyone would feel invested and determined to succeed. Stubborn, no future, but still a “yes” macho man.
I know myself best—I’m that kind of guy.
“Wow. I’ve already died over a hundred times right here?”
Tricked (truthfully, not really) by Minerva and brought to this alternative world only three months ago.
22 times in the sewers and Halzenberg, 34 times in the white explosion, and 87 times here alone. My death count has already reached 143.
Now, of those, I only recall about thirty or so deaths, but that’s still quite a lot.
“Um… is there no way?”
This time, instead of recklessly storming Kern, I decided to take a serious strategy moment to think about ways to uncover Adrang’s whereabouts.
I used to spout bravado like “I’ll survive till sunrise with my strength,” but now I’m logically aiming for Adrang for a justified reason.
‘There’s just no way I can accomplish this alone.’
I realized that deeply, painfully, embedding in my chest.
The continuous reincarnations with level-ups to systematically wipe them out turned out to be a great success. In the end, I annihilated every last member of the Immortality Sect in that life.
However, that’s when I realized. Even though I wiped them out, the fragment of Astarte was still summoned. I couldn’t protect Seop Baek.
‘And this… It was the same in every previous life.’
Where Seop Baek was located was not a big issue.
Whether she was in the Promised Plain or came to Kern to protect me, the Immortality Sect leader and the leader of Cassas always manipulated events, leading to the same summons of Astarte’s fragment as if it were predestined.
Once that occurred, the game is over. I still haven’t overcome that chilling monster.
Even if I do win, it’s meaningless since Seop Baek suffers horribly and dies.
‘If I can prevent the ritual from proceeding even at the initial stage by not meeting the minimum summon conditions…’
I’ve long determined that the summoning ritual requires a minimum number of human lives.
I don’t know exactly how many, but if I can stop it, there’s a chance. However… the minimum number is one I simply cannot handle alone. That’s why I’ve failed 88 times.
The entire approach is clearly wrong. That’s my conclusion.
“Urgh….”
Still, I couldn’t think of any ways to find Adrang’s whereabouts.
After some thought using my lackluster intelligence, the best conclusion I reached was: ‘Judging by the previous encounters in Kern, she probably isn’t very far.’
Just wasted time. Adjusting my mouth, I prepared for the 12th operation when…
—Hey, you.
I snapped around. My gaze searched everywhere.
Behind me, Lucy, worn out after her transformation, was staring at me silently. Upon meeting her gaze, she raised an eyebrow.
“What? Why are you staring?”
“… Did you not just call me?”
“Now you’re hearing things? You’re pretty out of it. Tut tut.”
Lucy only clicked her tongue in mock sympathy.
What is this? Was it really just an auditory hallucination? While scratching my head awkwardly, I resumed heading toward Kern.
Or rather, I was about to.
—Can you still not hear me? After 143 deaths, it’s about time you start hearing me, right?
143 deaths.
A rather brash man’s voice clearly spoke.
When I recognized that exact phrase, I couldn’t ignore it, even if it was an auditory hallucination.
“What? Who’s there?!”
I stopped in place, wildly turning around. But there was no one visible in the surroundings.
What’s going on? Is this a special “auditory hallucination” skill for crazy people? Feeling like I’ve been possessed, I blinked several times.
—It’s me! Come on, idiot, over here! The dark side! Look at the Vestark, hero!
The playful man’s voice reverberated in my ear.
Taking a gamble, I turned my gaze to the blade of the Vestark at my waist. My eyes widened.
“… What is this?”
Crawling across the blade’s surface were ominous red characters, a phenomenon I’d never witnessed before. I swallowed hard.
[Yojutsu Vestark has absorbed peculiar demonic energy, completing its growth.]
[A latent ego within the Yojutsu Vestark has awakened.]
With a chilling tone, the panel’s appearance confirmed that my eyes weren’t deceiving me.
—Let me confirm. Are you my master?
The voice that then resonated grandly in my head proved that I wasn’t yet hallucinating. Dazed by the sudden situation, I blankly stared at the sword.
Then, after a serious inquiry, the voice made a sound like deflating laughter.
—Honestly, if it’s a Demon Sword, I better throw this joke. Right? Right, approved.
A few more annoying remarks followed.
