No one was awake in that building.
There wasn’t a single person awake here.
Look.
That warrior who faced his end with composure.
That man who ingested a lethal dose of Tetrodotoxin and died.
Though he died from poison, his death was dignified, and despite the pain of stiffening limbs and labored breathing, he maintained a strong expression through sheer will.
Where else can you find a warrior like him?
Though his armed force wasn’t high, his mental resilience was.
Ah, that warrior was worthy of respect.
“Fehu.”
Jinseong approached the lifeless warrior.
He then squirted insect fluid onto his fingertip and lightly brushed the ashes scattered on the ground.
So, the black ash clung to his finger as he used it to draw upon the fallen warrior’s corpse.
A single stick.
Two diagonal lines pointing upward.
It symbolized Fehu, a Rune Character.
A character with various meanings and applications.
The reason Jinseong carved this character into him was simple.
Flame!
As the character completed, it turned a bright red.
As if it were absorbing the fervent light of the flames roaring nearby.
The now crimson character became absorbed into the skin like a brand, and soon, it began to spew fire.
The erupting flames spread across his body like a cloth soaked in oil being set ablaze, consuming him in an instant; it engulfed him as if he were a living sacrifice being burned. The intensity was so fierce, one might suspect it was a divine act taking him away.
Considering that Fehu represents fire and implies cows and wealth…
The flames rising with a determination to leave no trace of the warrior’s body surely held profound significance.
Thus, the warrior vanished without a trace.
Leaving not even ash behind.
Completely gone from the world…
But there was no need to feel sorrow for that fact.
What Jinseong performed just now was a humble funeral and a form of respect.
It was a small kindness shown to a mentally resilient warrior.
That warrior was more than worthy of Jinseong’s kindness.
Of course, it wasn’t enough to be called a grand kindness, but still, it was something.
And thus, the kindness came to an end.
What remained now were those who would not receive his kindness.
Those who would be used by him.
Jinseong headed towards where Lucas was.
Lucas lay collapsed.
His body was paralyzed due to a trace amount of Tetrodotoxin, and he was unconscious from the synthetic poison injected after.
Of course, the amount was small enough not to endanger his life…
Well then…
Is surviving truly a good thing?
Jinseong reached out into the air.
As if he were performing a magic trick, pulling an object from far away.
But right now, all he had was his insect-like body.
There was no need to go that route.
His form could transform into any shape if it willed itself.
As he extended his hand, it dissolved.
As if merging into the air.
His arm faded into the surrounding scenery, like paint melting into a canvas, and a part of his body transformed into pincers before snagging what looked like construction materials from a distance. From there, his fingers elongated, transforming into something that snatched something like an insect’s mouth, fluttering wings bringing back another object.
Thus, items piled up neatly before Jinseong.
As the items stacked sufficiently, Jinseong nodded in satisfaction. Then, he swiftly thrust his arm into the flames.
He waited until his arm caught fire, just enough to cook it well.
Like grilling meat.
And, just as he intended, flames ignited upon his arm.
The flames wrapped around him, and even Jinseong was not spared.
Especially since he desired it even more.
Then the fire began to blaze using his arm as fuel, and a savory yet unpleasant smell wafted throughout the floor.
Jinseong slowly raised his flaming arm.
Then, as if trying to shake off the flames, he swung it down with force.
WHOOSH-!
As a result, the burnt skin from his flaming arm peeled off and fell to the floor.
As if he had a long glove on.
Or perhaps, as if he had coated his arm in oil.
It resembled a performance by a juggler, but…
Sadly, it was devoid of any tricks.
The same went for deception.
One side of Jinseong’s arm shed its skin.
The part encasing it was gone, revealing something akin to muscle lying underneath.
The muscle that should have been pink was black, brown, green, blue, and white.
The pink should have been there was nowhere to be found.
What lay beneath his skin resembled assembled parts of varying colors writhing.
It was alien yet revolting.
If anyone were awake here, they might have hurled.
Flame!
The grotesque shell that had covered it started to burn on top of the stacked items.
Then, as if it had no reason to maintain its form in the flames, it broke apart, revealing itself piece by piece.
As it shriveled and turned black, it unmistakably resembled a bug tossed into the fire.
And the flames fueled by this bug ignited the fine firewood underneath it.
Flame!
Black smoke began to rise.
Dark, exceedingly dark smoke.
At a glance, it seemed teeming with toxic substances.
Jinseong stared at it blankly before returning the assorted items he had gathered made of bugs back to their place.
With a rustling sound, his arm was reassembled, and he grasped the hair of Lucas, who lay on the floor.
Then…
“Cough!”
He thrust him straight into the black smoke.
As if trying to smoke him alive.
Naturally, Lucas struggled in agony against the suffocating smoke.
Even with his consciousness gone, his instincts made him cough violently.
Then, he strained his body in an effort to twist away.
As if he needed to escape that smoke as quickly as possible.
But what could he do?
His body was paralyzed from the poison, and even if it weren’t, Jinseong had a firm grip on his hair.
He couldn’t do anything.
He could only inhale the toxic smoke full blast.
Jinseong let Lucas breathe in the smoke for a while.
Then, perhaps due to the toxins, or the substances he had previously injected, as Lucas’s complexion gradually changed, he freed him from the torment of the smoke.
Liberation.
Indeed, liberation.
Puff.
Once more, a needle plunged into Lucas’s body.
What was injected this time was a liquid with color.
But this color was a sinister dark hue.
It must contain one of the substances the smoke harbored, or something even more terrible.
Thus, once again, poison was injected into Lucas’s body.
And that poison would surely grant him eternal sleep.
An eternal slumber.
“Cough, cough. Sweet dreams. It will continue, so you can just enjoy it…”
Thud.
Jinseong briefly fixed his gaze on the collapsed Lucas before looking away.
Then, he gazed at the towering column of flames blazing.
The pillar of fire.
The towering flames that had grown by consuming people.
That gigantic blaze summoned by sacrificing a Loa imitation.
That flame had… countless uses.
“The fire rises from below, and its brilliant light brightens the night. That radiance is both power and authority; is it not the power of a god? If so, this place, filled to the brim with divine power, is heaven. Ah, surely a paradise, being high above and suffused with divine strength.”
Jinseong recited an invocation while stroking the pillar of fire.
Yes, he stroked it.
As if petting the wool of a sheep.
Though that expression might seem truly mismatched for caressing a pillar of fire…
If one were to look at Jinseong’s expression, and see the flames softly rolling as his hand touched them, and witness the gradually diminishing presence of the pillar as his gestures continued… one might truly think the pillar was just livestock being cared for by someone.
Thus, the pillar of fire gradually weakened.
It ceased spiraling, its thick body thinning out until, ultimately, it disappeared, leaving only traces like scattered sparks of fire.
From there, the flames that had been creeping up the wall also vanished.
Like a puddle that disappeared once the flow of water ceased.
Jinseong watched a few of the fading flames.
Then, he transformed his hand into a net and snatched them up, drawing sinister patterns on them before tossing them down the hole that extended to the first floor.
Then, with a smile indicating his work was done, he vanished completely.
