Chapter 168 – Night of the Festival (3)

She was an annoying woman as she was the only one among those he knew of that could be of threat to him . With that said, the simplest way to resolve that problem would be to kill Sujin here and now, but Sungchul didn’t give any credence to that idea . Countless people had told him that Sungchul would be swallowed up by his strength and become a Calamity himself, and he had seen it himself: The Giant bearing the same name as him and the countless bones beneath that dark skeleton’s feet .

‘I will not fall . ’

It could be that he was simply being stubborn, but Sungchul wanted to show them all . He wanted to show them that the future she and those countless others have seen in which he destroys the world as a Calamity will not come to pass .

“Where is the Necromancer?”

Sungchul asked Ahmuge who was frozen stiff . It looked as though she still hadn’t come out of shock .

‘Why… Just why is this man here? There was no record of this man appearing in La Grange according to the Records of the End…’

What was driving Ahmuge to further confusion was Sungchul’s question itself . Her brain, that was already in part paralyzed, came to a rushed decision .

‘Could it be… that this man is an ally of the Necromancer that was driving this city to ruins?!’

Sungchul held up Krumbui toward Ahmuge who was struggling through the shock .

“Do you want more innocent victims to come to harm?”

Krumbui opened its mouth to speak as soon as Sungchul finished his thought .

“This woman . She’s trembling like sheep before a wolf!”

Her shoulders twitched . Another possibility lit up in her eyes, shocking her again .

‘Could it be… that this man is not trying to destroy the city but…’

Ahmuge had only just now understood Sungchul’s intentions: The man called the Enemy of the World had arrived at this place with the same goal as her . However, it wasn’t something that she could accept . The Enemy of the World that she was familiar with was an absolute evil that would swallow up everyone in his path and eventually lead the world to destruction . How could an absolute evil be saving people? It was something that couldn’t happen .

Her trembling stopped and her mind grew clear . She straightened herself toward Sungchul and spoke boldly .

“What are you scheming? If you’re going to kill me, just do it . No need for trickery!”

“You’re mistaken, Returnee . ”

Sungchul replied calmly .

“Someone of your caliber isn’t enough to be considered an opponent . ”

“…”

Ahmuge, who was suppressed by the chilling aura pouring out from Sungchul, couldn’t utter a reply . The silence didn’t last long . Sound of something large collapsing couldn’t be heard from a distance . Guessing by the direction of the sound, it was around Section 6 . The weighty sound mixed with the faint shouts woke Ahmuge to a few truths that she had been forgetting .

‘The situation is growing worse!’

She didn’t have the luxury of contemplating her chances of survival against Sungchul in this place . She had to kill the Necromancer and end this incident as soon as possible, or at least before the festival fireworks stopped . If the festival was interrupted, everything she had built up until now would be lost . She would lose not only her reputation, but also her foundation for growth . In the worst case, she might even be killed by the people in power . She would lose her reason for giving up everything and returning to the past . Aside from having to witness the horrible past repeat itself . This she wanted to avoid at all costs . She bit down on her lip and steeled her resolve .

“Follow me . ”

She tone was defiant, but her actions were quick . Sungchul quickly followed Ahmuge, who could barely be felt, through the dark streets in the night . Of course, Sungchul didn’t forget to test out new techniques even in this urgent time .

‘Second Soul Gem: Faerie Light . ’

When he cast the spell of illumination that he had purchased before, a sphere appeared that lit up Sungchul’s surroundings as it followed him . Sungchul was immensely pleased with the new magic’s performance .

‘It’s not bad . This here . I think it’ll be quite useful . ’

Ahmuge suddenly peeked back towards the sudden light that appeared behind her, but quickly fixed her gaze forward again and pushed forward .

“Are you the only one seeking out the Necromancer?”

Sungchul quickly followed suit and threw out a question .

“… Probably . ”

She replied sounding unsure, but that was a lie . The only one at the present trying to find the Necromancer that was causing such chaos within the Human Empire was Ahmuge alone . The Defensive Fleet led by Arquebus was positioned above them, but he was simply dragging his feet without any intention of mobilizing them as it might cause the festival to end due to him . Anyone with half a brain might leap into action even at the cost of the festival, but to someone like Arquebus who had grown accustomed to a world governed by logic based on the opinions of one’s superiors, the interruption of a festival with the favor of the Emperor on the line would feel more important than the immediate casualties suffered by the citizens . At the very least, the festival would have to be cancelled before he might take action .  

It wasn’t just Arquebus . This was the common sense of those that governed the world at the present .

“I feel the sinister aura of dark magic from that direction . ”

Among the assignments given to an assassin on a battlefield was the assassination of mages . Ahmuge who had received the tracking technique from the Assassin’s Guild swiftly discovered the location of the Necromancer . The Necromancer was raising a corpse on top of a bell tower looking down on Section 8 . There were undead with powerful auras surrounding the vicinity of the bell tower roaming about in order to defend their master while a lean swordsman stood by her side .

‘They were the culprit as expected . ’

Sungchul immediately recognized the Necromancer and her companion in a single glance . They were the pair he had met at the Catacomb . They had ended up causing an incident in the end .

That Half Elf . She looks stronger than you were back when you were carrying me around?”

Krumbui looked over at Angelo before speaking . As expected of a magical sword that had survived thousands of years, he was able to grasp a swordsman’s abilities at a single glance, and Sungchul agreed with his assessment .

“He’s definitely one of considerable strength . ”

However, he couldn’t compare to Sungchul any more . Ahmuge who was well aware of this fact didn’t say anything . She wasn’t happy about it, but there was nothing she could do as nothing would change whether she acted or not . If anything, she wanted this man to clear the threat before him .

Of course, there was a question in her mind that couldn’t be contained, but thankfully, Sungchul asked the question before her .

“Why are you doing this?”

In her future, Sungchul was the Calamity itself . People called him God’s Tool as the tool that would destroy the world in god’s stead . Sungchul who swung the Seven Weapons of Calamity would kill every person who opposed him and stomp on every kingdom known to man before tracking and hunting anyone that remained .

It was known that **** would punish the world with fire or disease, but the Tool of God would go to various places across the continent to mete out punishment directly . No one could escape his judgement . They could run, but they couldn’t hide as no one can run forever . Any place that the Tool of God crossed turned to a land of death where not a single blade of grass would grow . Ahmuge could still remember all this vividly and couldn’t understand Sungchul’s attempt to help people, so she asked again .

“Why do you… the Enemy of the world that would destroy the world… help people?”

Her voice was calm, but it held excitement that couldn’t be contained . Sungchul looked toward her and replied without much emotion in response .

“I suffered an accident when I was young . No one stopped to help me, and I who suddenly became an orphan thought to never become like those trash myself . ”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re doing this out of some shallow sense of justice?”
 

The calm in her voice melted away by the heat of her excitement, and Sungchul who heard her couldn’t stop from chuckling .

“Justice?”

“Why do you laugh?”

“I’ve never even thought about such things . ”

“So self-satisfaction then?”

Sungchul shook his head and replied in his usual way .

“It ruins my appetite . ”

“Appetite…”

Sungchul looked incredulous as she asked again when Sungchul raised his head to look onwards . The Spirit Mage and her companion on top of the bell tower were looking in their direction . They had heard the brief conversation and determined their location .

“Looks like we have guests?”

Angelo cracked his neck and rose from his seat .

“I guess that’s the signal that we should get moving?”

Phoebe continued to manipulate the corpses with no expression on her face . When she raised her hand, the corpses that had been wandering below the bell tower turned and looked toward Sungchul . The warriors of the Cult of Extinction that had been protecting Sarasa had become an unsightly undead at the beck and call of the Necromancer after having their heads swapped around .

Ahmuge could feel an extraordinary energy emanating from the recently raised corpses .

‘Dangerous!’

She could not face them alone, but when the most fearsome man in the world was standing beside her, the story was a bit different .

“…”

Sungchul stepped forward with Krumbui in hand .

“I don’t particularly like chilled blood of the Undead . ”

Krumbui complained .

“Hoh? That guy . Haven’t I seen him before?’

Angelo spoke with an amused expression on his face as he watched Sungchul with his massive greatsword approaching him .

“Worker . When we entered the catacombs . ”

Phoebe remembered exactly when they had met Sungchul .

“What a lucky guy, seeing as he wasn’t there when we cleaned out that gang in the catacombs . But he must not be so smart to seek death on his own two feet . ”

“Then we should punish him . ”

Phoebe waved her hand, and when she did, the twelve corpses drew their weapons and rushed toward Sungchul . They appeared someone disheveled, but flawless . It was clear that their bodies perfectly recalled the combat experience of their former lives . No one could take twelve warriors who were not just ordinary, but at a Superhuman-level, without fear of death moving in perfect sync lightly . Twelve undead bodies made strange whistling cries from where their severed heads didn’t quite completely connect with the neck as they lunged toward Sungchul .

“Don’t kill him . ”

Angelo called out before the attack .

“Let’s play around while we’re killing time . ”

Phoebe nodded in response to that bone-chilling request .

“Ok . ”

However, their leisure collapsed after 5 seconds . The dozen undead warriors were pitifully cut down after a single moment by the sword of a worker doing menial tasks in the sewers .

Angelo who witnessed this pulled out his blade and muttered cautiously .

“Phoebe, that guy is strong . ”

“Maybe the Emperor himself?’

“It’s probably not the Emperor . The Emperor doesn’t look that poor . ”

Sungchul’s shocking appearance was enough to set the pair from the east on edge, but even this was within their expectations . Angelo stood in front of Phoebe and stopped her .

“Let’s use that . ”

“Ok . ”

She nodded and pulled out a box from her Soul Storage . It was no ordinary box . Sungchul’s Eye of Truth discern that the box itself contained preservation, chilling, and more rare, water attribute magic cast upon it .

‘Just what is that box?’

He didn’t have to wonder for long . The box contained the decapitated head of a man with his eyes closed . Ahmuge took a step back because she recognized the head .

“My goodness…”

The box contained the head of Dalphain, the 9th Continental Champion, one of the Continental Champions that symbolized order in this world . He was a corpse, but being kept within the Soul Storage had perfectly preserved the man as he was in life making it more shocking . When Phoebe raised her hand, the eyes of the detached head flew open and its mouth opened wide . The head let out an indecipherable sound . Angelo attached the head onto a headless corpse wandering below the bell tower and muttered loudly .

“You’ll soon be like this, but not right now . We’ll play with you first . The festival isn’t over just yet . ”

The corpse of Dalphain, the Paladin, raised its unfamiliar body . Sungchul who had belonged to the 13 Continental Champions as he did knew the man well .

‘Dalphain . ’

He was looked on poorly by the church and was called the Emperor’s minion due to his poor judgement and tendency to only look what was right in front of him, but his faith and his desire to fulfill his calling was true . That once noble holy warrior was now blocking Sungchul’s path in the form of some hideous meat puppet .