Chapter 623 (2/2)

“Let me ask you something. Did you live under the control of Allforone? Were you a doll controlled by me? Are the memories you possess right now yours or Allforone’s? And what about your current thoughts? Your ego? Aren’t you self-aware?”

Bam! The Martial King’s left hand wrapped around Nocturne’s right hand. Nocturne tried to shake off the Martial King’s grasp, but The Martial King narrowed the distance between them and tightly bound Nocturne.

“Don’t waver. Don’t be scared. Don’t be afraid. What is there to be afraid of? You’re living your life, so don’t create stress from things that don’t matter to you. Also…”

For a moment, Nocturne could feel his body stiffen. Strangely, he could not even budge. Then, Nocturne realized why. He realized what the Martial King was holding. It was his source code. How the hell did the Martial King recognize and read his source code? As long as the Martial King was part of the system, he shouldn’t have the power to do this.

Though it had not been long since the Martial King initiated his exuviation and transcendence, the Martial King had already reached Allforone’s power level. This meant that the Martial King could also utilize the Tower’s code like Allforone, something that even the top administrator could not easily touch.

“Since you’re my disciple, you should show some guts and pride, you wimp.” The Martial King swiped Nocturne’s stomach with his hand.

Boom! At that moment, Nocturne slightly bounced upwards as the halo of light that surrounded him was torn apart, revealing his true form. Nocturne’s eyes were full of astonishment and confusion. Nocturne’s transcendence, which was based on the Tower’s system, had been aborted.

[System error!]

[System error!]

[Transcendence has been aborted. Player ‘Nocturne’ will be downgraded.]

[The system cannot interfere.]

[The system cannot interfere.]

......

[System error!]

[All system attributes applied to the player ‘Nocturne’ will be suspended.]

Despite this unbelievable act, The Martial King laughed as if it were no big deal. More than half of his torso had deteriorated, and his vision was already blurring. He forced his eyes open and looked straight into his disciple’s face. “I’m happy we could clash like this. Before, you were just a duckling who only knew how to imitate me… Now, you can flap your wings and fly. Haven’t you found your own path? Your adolescence was pretty long, no?”

Adolescence. Before children became adults, they worried about their identities, what they would do in the future, and how they could establish who they were. To the Martial King, Nocturne was just like an adolescent.

Nocturne pretended to be mature, but it was only now that he had gotten rid of his dependence and rebelled against the Martial King. Once Nocturne overcame this period, he would be reborn as a wonderful, unique duck.

“However, even if you’re going through puberty, doing something wrong still means it’s wrong. You should expect an appropriate punishment for your mistakes, right?”

Bam! The Martial King smiled as he moved. He was truly enjoying this moment. “Because that’s what a teacher, a parent, and an adult should do for you.”

Nocturne closed his eyes tightly. He did not know what the Martial King planned to do, but since the system was shut down and no longer providing him with power, he could not do anything. Even if the Martial King sneezed on him, he would have no choice but to die. Nocturne could no longer resist. 『Master?』

Nocturne was tense, expecting a huge blow, when he felt a warm touch on his head instead of pain. His eyes popped open to see the Martial King smiling at him warmly. The Martial King looked proudly at his mature disciple as he gently stroked Nocturne’s head. “I’m proud of you.”

Plop. Nocturne sat on the ground and burst into tears.

***

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

Boom! Boom! Boom! Yeon-woo swung Vigrid wildly, trying to break the barrier down in any way possible. At Yeon-woo’s command, the Ghost Giants and the dragon of death bombarded the barrier with their attacks, but the barrier did not budge. They could not even scratch it.

Yeon-woo’s anxiety and anger grew, his eyes burning with fury. It was just like his goddamned master to do this to him. Why did the Martial King want to commit to such an absurd act? What did he want Yeon-woo to see? What the hell did the Martial King mean about mortality and immortality? Once one died, none of those things mattered. Why was the Martial King acting so flippantly? There were many things Yeon-woo wanted to say, but he could not verbalize them.

As Yeon-woo struggled with himself, the Martial King, still shimmering with light, overwhelmed Nocturne. Now that he’d lost his own halo of light, Nocturne crumbled to the ground and dropped his head while shedding tears of regret.

Yeon-woo stopped without even realizing. The Martial King turned his head to Yeon-woo. His body had deteriorated so much that the missing parts outnumbered the remaining ones. More than half of his face was missing. The Martial King was probably trying to hold onto it just so he could leave his last words.

The Martial King was like a candle flame shining brightly right before being extinguished. His eyes were dazzling. “Did you observe everything?”

Yeon-woo wanted to say something. However, those words were not appropriate for this moment. It was his master’s last moment. It would be silly for Yeon-woo to cry or be angry at his master’s smiling, fading face. Thus, Yeon-woo forced himself to smile and nod while tears rolled down his face. And though it was difficult to move his lips, Yeon-woo quietly eked out, “Yes.”

“That’s it then.” The Martial King nodded as if satisfied with this last lesson. After looking at his two disciples, the Martial King moved his gaze to his son, who was looking sadly from afar, and his tribe members. “If I had known this would happen, I would have had a drink every now and then instead of just fighting around with my students and children. How unfortunate.” The Martial King clucked his tongue and quietly disappeared.