Chapter 465 - 465 (2/2)

”I don't get it. Just what does it take for someone to grow desensitized to the deaths of other people?”

Su-hyeun also heard opposing voices. This conversation sounded as if it was between those who agreed with Su-hyeun's actions and those who didn't.

The loud conversation continued for some time. Su-hyeun wanted to tell them to quiet down so that he could get some sleep, but he couldn't think of a way to voice his unhappiness.

”Let me sleep, will you?” he thought.

In the end, he got royally irritated in his mind and ended up yelling angrily. Rather unsurprisingly, though, his inner voice didn't reach the owners of those voices.

The one they were yapping about didn't want to think about anything due to his exhaustion, yet they went on and on regarding his actions.

One side argued that he did something unnecessary. In contrast, the other side opined that what he did was par for the course, something completely necessary.

And as they chatted away, though, a familiar voice could be heard within their arguing.

”Well, it doesn't really matter either way.”

Su-hyeun's attention naturally focused on that voice.

”Whatever the end result is, 'we' will be the one to pass the final judgment.”

That voice belonged to one of Su-hyeun's past lives, Cheon Mu-jin.

* * *

Huff—!

Su-hyeun hurriedly sat up breathlessly as if he had been holding his breath for a long while.

His body still felt as heavy as a lump of lead, but at the very least, his mind didn't feel too tired to think, thanks to getting a bit of rest.

Still, he felt dazed and numb for a moment. Without focus in his eyes, he found himself sitting on the ground.

”What...the hell was that?”

Was it a dream? But for a dream, it was far too vivid. Also, the last voice he heard belonged to Cheon Mu-jin. He was sure about that.

In his past life as Cheon Mu-jin, an existence referred to as the evil phantom—the heavenly demon—drove his world to destruction. Su-hyeun clearly recalled that man's life. That was how he recognized the voice immediately.

What a weird conversation they were having, though. Just why were those beings discussing the right and wrong sides of Su-hyeun's actions among themselves?

But that wasn't the only thing that bothered him.

”He said 'we,' didn't he?”

During the last exchange, Cheon Mu-jin definitely said ”we.”

The ”we” obviously referred to the owners of the voices arguing just then. But more than that, Su-hyeun instinctively felt that he too was included in that ”we” they were talking about.

The reason for that was simple enough.

”...My past lives.”

Slap—

Su-hyeun face-palmed himself.

It wasn't as if all of the past memories had returned to him.

Through one of the abilities of the Six Paths, he had ”awakened” his past lives, allowing him to acquire their memories and experiences.

However, he still hadn't awakened every single one of his past lives. As a matter of fact, he had a feeling that the lives he had awakened so far were nothing more than a tiny sliver of the long history of the universe.

The voices just then belonged to Su-hyeun's past lives, which could only mean one thing.

”Cheon Mu-jin wasn't the only one, huh?”

From Su-hyeun's perspective, Cheon Mu-jin was easily the worst villain bar none. Compared to him, even someone like Hwang Jun-peong, the guild master of the Dump Guild, which was a gathering of bloodthirsty murderers, came across as a relatively nice guy.

Cheon Mu-jin resented his world, and through his own strength, he led that world to destruction. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one out of Su-hyeun's past lives to think the same as him.

Thankfully, though, Su-hyeun wasn't bothered at all about his past lives. Whatever the case might have been, their lives were already finished. They were ”past,” and the current him had already drawn a clear line to denote that he was different from them.

Maybe that was why he came to realize only one thing through this ”dream” event.

”Wow. If the Path to Hell's effect was also influenced by the past lives, then it would've been terrible for me.”

Even if several of his past lives were similar to Cheon Mu-jin's, he also lived several other past lives similar to his current.

”I am me,” Su-hyeun told himself one more time, then tried to get up from the ground.

This happened just then.

Lick—

A wet tongue licked him from above his head, leaving behind hot and sticky saliva. He looked behind him to discover a colossal dragon sitting on the ground, its wings neatly folded away.

”Miru?”

Grrrr—

The huge red dragon that had almost reached adulthood after its ”puberty” stage ended was indeed Miru.

It was at this point that Su-hyeun discovered Miru's saliva soaking his whole body. He hadn't been aware of it during his ”slumber,” but it seemed that Miru had been licking him constantly while he was unconscious.

”My injuries...they are almost all fully healed.”

The grievous wound Fafnir had inflicted on him had healed up nicely. Su-hyeun figured it would at least leave behind a scar, but his skin was so blemish-free that he even briefly wondered if he got injured in the first place.

He realized that this was all thanks to Miru's recovery ability, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, ”Thanks, Miru.”

Gya-rrrrr—

Even though Miru was an adult now, its growl didn't sound that much different. Sure, it might have gotten a bit deeper, but its ”gya-ong” remained the same as back then when it was still a newborn.

Su-hyeun patted Miru's head a couple of times, then got back up to his feet. He walked over to Fafnir's corpse next.

”It's not completely over, now is it?”

In the beginning, he believed that everything would be over after he defeated Fafnir. He thought that when he stopped Armageddon, things would get back to how they were.

But with time, he learned that it wouldn't be the case. He realized how narrow and shallow his worldview was and how difficult the job of protecting his world actually was, which turned out to be well beyond the scope of his imagination.

For that purpose, Su-hyeun still required even greater power.

Step—

Fafnir, who had died standing up, didn't even move an inch from the spot.

”From now on...”

[You are activating the ”Necromancer” trait.]

[By using ”Death Aura,” you can either see or command the dead.]

Shu-shushu...

Death Aura began leaking out from the tip of his hand.

”Become my slave.”

And right at that moment...!

Sha-aaaaah—

The crimson aura leaking out from Fafnir's corpse suddenly flowed over to Su-hyeun and began surrounding him like a halo.

”Huh?”

Su-hyeun flinched at this unexpected response. He planned to use the Necromancer's special ability to turn Fafnir into one of his summoned creatures. Still, this reaction was completely out of his expectation.

Shu-aaaaaah—!

And so, the crimson aura escaping from Fafnir's corpse began seeping into Su-hyeun's body. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't even put up any meaningful resistance.

Right afterward...

[You are now acquiring ”Dragon Blood.”]

[You have acquired ”Predation.”]

One after another, two messages popped up in his view.