Chapter 328: At the Eleventh Hour (1/2)
However, he could see one thing.
“For… the future.”
It was the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s final state of mind.
To protect this world, no, for the reconstruction of this world, he sacrificed himself without hesitation when he could have instead been reborn as an Earthling and live a normal life without a care about this world.
The Emperor of Blood and Iron truly strived for a great cause!
“How was it?”
Kang Chul-In heard the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s voice.
“… Emperor of Blood and Iron.” Kang Chul-In stared at the Emperor, who stood just in front of him. “Where is this?”
“Here.”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron tapped his own head.
“Whose?”
“Yours, of course. Who else? I’m already dead.”
“True...”
“To be honest...”
“...?”
“I did have some pathetic thoughts.”
“Pathetic thoughts?”
“For example, stealing the body of my reincarnation, Kang Chul-In.”
“...!”
“Ah, of course...”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron added.
“Those who share the same soul can’t take over each other’s body… but there’s still a way.”
“A way…?”
“I can erase your memories.”
“...!”
“And inject my own memories into your body.”
What a ghastly statement.
“If I really wanted to steal your body, then it’s more efficient to erase the memories of the individual called Kang Chul-In and replace them with my memories. It’s less risky too.”
“Risk?”
“The one who got his body stolen would constantly fight back to reclaim it.”
“Ah…!”
“But what can he do when all of his memories are erased? His ‘existence’ itself would be deleted.”
“A pathetic thought indeed. Really nasty.”
Kang Chul-In was seemingly disturbed. Just the thought of it gave him the chills. The deletion of all of his memories… that could be the definition of a true ‘extinction’...
“Hmm...” Kang Chul-In spoke. “Why didn’t you?”
“What?”
“As you said, why didn’t you erase my memories and put in yours? Isn’t that a more perfect reincarnation?”
“You’re right.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron replied. “Actually, that was Emilia’s suggestion as well.”
“Emilia’s suggestion...”
“She trusted me but not my reincarnation.”
“Ah?”
“Of course she didn’t. Nobody could predict my reincarnation’s personality, capability and attitude towards our great cause. From her perspective, it would be a hundred times better to entrust me with the world’s future.”
“Therefore… Emilia hoped that I would reincarnate completely. In fact, she strongly encouraged me to do so.”
“I would think so.”
“If Agrippa the Archwitch didn’t have the power to foresee 1000 years into the future, I might have erased your memories and reincarnated completely… no, I definitely would have.”
“Why didn’t you?” Kang Chul-In had to ask the same question to the Emperor of Blood and Iron. “Why didn’t you reincarnate perfectly? That would have been better for you.”
“...”
“It shouldn’t have been easy to suppress your temptation, either.”
Yes, temptation. If the Emperor had achieved a ‘complete reincarnation,’ he could have reunited with his beloved Arshelly.
“You’re right.” He agreed. “Even as we converse now, I still wonder how things would have been if I had reincarnated fully. However...”
“...?”
“I was the one who erased the memories of 20 million people. Even worse, I erased the memories of my own daughter, Arshelly. Do I deserve to reincarnate completely? As Arshelly’s father and the leader of the human race, I did not wish to become an ignoble existence. I wanted to be an honorable and proud man.”
Thump! Kang Chul-In was shocked to his core.
This guy… he is a real man, alright.
Surprisingly, Kang Chul-In admired the Emperor of Blood and Iron inwardly. At this point, he had to acknowledge the truth. The Emperor of Blood and Iron wasn’t a lame apparition with dodgy intentions. He was the real Messiah of this world.
“Also...” The Emperor of Blood and Iron added. “Through Agrippa’s prophecy, I saw potential in this man called Kang Chul-In. Vigor, perseverance, patience to endure through any rigor, a reasonable amount of evil, courage to explore new options, an ambition to become stronger and the talent to bring it to fruition. Furthermore, a good brain and cruelty to kill the enemy without hesitation. The only downside is your shitty temper...”
“Ahem…!”
“You have the potential to save this world. Hence, I decided to entrust this task to you, instead of reincarnating completely myself. To be honest, you are the greatest man I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m not saying this just because we share the same soul.”
That was a compliment, from the Emperor of Blood and Iron himself.
“Who are you to assess me?”
Of course, Kang Chul-In replied in his typical, rude manner.
“What a temper.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron shook his head, as if he were too tired to respond. “Somehow, you seem to have an even shittier temper than me.”
“A kettle calling the pot black.”
“...”
“Ah, do you know?”
Kang Chul-In began his counterattack.
“Know what?”
“What’s my hobby?”
“How the hell would I know?”
“Sometimes in my free time, I purchase and read old books about Pangaea. Your name appears every now and then, so I tend to pay extra attention when reading the archaic texts.”
“...!”
“Now, guess. How do you think you are described in these texts?”
“T-That…!”