Chapter 27: Azhi Dahaka

Meanwhile outside, Si-woo was holding Eun-ha's body as it turned black.

At this rate she might go berserk. No, she might already be dead.

Her heart isn't beating. Probably because the Core consumed it. So there's no way to tell if she's dead or alive.

"Eun-ha?"

[Get it together! Si-woo! Focus on the enemy in front of you!]

"Again. She died again! Eun-ha is dead!"

[You said you wanted to become a girl but now you're getting emotional because someone you like ended up like that? Think rationally! If something happens to you too, this world is finished!]

After going through the trouble of regressing, he couldn't fall here.

The Constellation of the Divine Sword was trying to bring Si-woo back somehow. But Si-woo seemed hung up on what happened before the regression.

The Constellation wanted to step in right now but that was difficult.

In this state, forcing 100% synchronization is impossible.

"Crazy bitch. To think Jin-seok's sister would make such a reckless choice. Well fine. This bitch will go berserk soon, so shall I kill the 2nd Divine Sword User with my own hands."

Kim Jae-soo raised his spear high.

[Hey, Si-woo!]

Clang!

Just as the Mutant Kim Jae-soo's spear was about to pierce Si-woo's neck. The red-haired spearwoman with flame-like hair, Han Soo-ji, blocked it.

"Master!"

"Heh, who do we have here. If it isn't my cute disciple. I raised you well but you're just a half-wit who can't even beat the 2nd Divine Sword User or Jin-seok's sister."

Soo-ji was shocked by Kim Jae-soo's Mutant form.

What the hell kind of state is that. He was always gloomy and unlikeable, but she had believed in and followed him as someone who took care of her and raised her as his successor. To think he became a Mutant. Now she'll be labeled as the disciple of Mutant Kim Jae-soo rather than the legendary spearman Kim Jae-soo.

Above all else.

How will Eun-ha see her now.

Will she look down on or despise her as a Mutant's disciple.

Maybe that's why she felt even more angry. Kim Jae-soo shouldn't have made such an insane choice, if not for her sake.

"You didn't need to choose to become a Mutant just because of that!"

"You fool. This world is all about power anyway. How many people do you think can beat me now?"

"Says the one who's going to run away before Jin-seok shows up!"

Kim Jae-soo felt deeply pissed at his disciple's words.

Right. He had lost to Jin-seok multiple times, so it became a trauma.

Even now after becoming stronger as a Mutant, he wasn't confident he could win against Jin-seok.

"You bitch! I was nice to you as my disciple but. Today I'll thoroughly educate that half-wit body of yours!"

"Have you heard of surpassing your teacher?!"

Soo-ji ignited flames in the Flame of Purification Spear.

Seeing Soo-ji freely wielding the Flame of Purification Spear, Kim Jae-soo clicked his tongue.

Maybe I shouldn't have given it to her after all.

But even so, the spear he has now is no worse than the Flame of Purification Spear.

After all, it's a Demon Spear made from the scales of an S-Class Monster, the Demon Dragon. In terms of strength alone, it's absolutely not inferior to the Flame of Purification Spear.

Swoosh-Kwang!

Just as the battle between master and disciple was about to begin. A massive arrow flew towards Kim Jae-soo and exploded.

Kim Jae-soo had already deflected the arrow with his spear, but he couldn't help getting angry as enemies kept appearing.

"Who the fuck is it now!"

"I can't forgive you for making Eun-ha like that and Si-woo...kun? Eh? Yang? Anyway, for making them like that!"

Since Si-woo's appearance with student uniform torn in places showing skin was different from before, Reina glossed over Si-woo while aiming her bow at Kim Jae-soo.

"You're really something. Fine. Today I'll kill all of Hanseong's talented ones!"

The S-Class Villain Kim Jae-soo charged at Eun-ha's heroines.

* * *

Countless memories come flooding in.

Not memories of hundreds of repetitions.

From much longer ago. My life. Being born by someone's hand and killing the world's living beings, using magic to make humans confused and watching them kill each other while enjoying their cruel forms.

I appeared in various forms and killed many people.

Back then I existed not as a human but as an Evil Dragon.

Being intelligent and cunning, I didn't move directly but incited people to kill.

Initially I killed people directly in dragon form.

At the end I got lazy and took the form of a woman that was easy for people to approach, causing confusion to make them kill each other.

I was no different from a beast that was extremely honest to its instincts.

One who felt sexual pleasure watching people die and kill each other.

"Ugh!"

"Seems you remembered what you did?"

"No fuck."

The urge to vomit rises again.

"You even masturbated while watching people kill each other in the form of a nun..."

"Stop. Don't say anymore."

I really don't want to think about myself from back then.

Was that even me to begin with? No. It shouldn't be. I can't accept it for various reasons.

No, putting everything else aside, I killed 1 billion. How could I accept that.

The Writer silently watches me.

Not a hint of emotion in those eyes.

"What."

"Sigh, you don't need to blame yourself that much. I'm the one who created Azhi Dahaka in the first place. The fact that over 1 billion were massacred means I'm the killer. Strictly speaking, the Great Cataclysm happening was my fault too."

That's that and this is this.

How could I easily forget such horrible things.

"Then why did you return these memories?"

"You must feel it too. That you're clearly different from back then. You're just Yoo Eun-ha who inherited Azhi Dahaka's power and memories. Past of killing people? By that logic should everyone who was a mass murderer in their past life suffer?"

That's different from this case.

The scale of massacre itself is different. I burned countless people to death with breath and threw them into chaos with magic.

I did all sorts of evil things to kill them.

"Even so."

"Hah. Well you made it here after hundreds of tries, so I'll give you another unique ability. Originally I was holding back from giving it since I wanted to mess with Azhi Dahaka more."

"What? You can just give and take abilities like that?"

"I'm not completely omnipotent either. I'm squeezing out what energy I have left to give our Yong-yong a gift."

Yong-yong? That feels pretty damn gross. Makes it seem like I've become a pet dragon.

Whether she knows my thoughts or not, she starts writing something in her notebook.

Soon after, a quest notification appeared in the air.

[Mission Objective: Talk with the Writer]

[Reward: Unique Ability]

[Mission Complete]

[Reward: Calmness]

The unique ability Calmness. This activates when confused or emotions aren't moving rationally against one's will.

It definitely feels better than before.

"Do you have to go through the game system like this every time? Makes me confused whether this is a dream or reality each time."

"It gets boring just staying here. Gotta do something like this by myself."

Come to think of it, is this place this Writer. A space just for Eun-ha?

It's similar to Eun-ha's room in reality. But she's obsessed with white like me, I like that it's all white.

Then is this an unconsciously existing. Something like an Imagination World?

If so, there's no need for me to appear on the outside.

It's not that I don't want to live, but I don't want to use someone else's body.

"This body's original owner is you anyway right? Then I don't need to exist."

"No. That's a bit."

She smiled awkwardly like she was troubled.

Ah, I get it. She's like that too.

"It's because of responsibility after all right?"

The responsibility of creating me. Making 1 billion people die and even causing the Great Cataclysm. Maybe she found it hard to show her face looking like this.

While I methodically killed people more thoroughly than mythological Evil Dragons back then, this woman created me without a second thought.

If she had created a different being that could help the world instead, maybe it would have made a peaceful world without the Great Cataclysm.

To my question, she turned her head and muttered.

"Well, you're not wrong. They say the dead are reborn in the cycle of reincarnation, but while you just followed your instincts because I created you for fun, I'm the one who made you do it."

"If that's the case."

"That body to begin with. It's no longer human. That body that gained Azhi Dahaka's power is practically immortal. But even though I'm finally a Writer, I can't go into a Mutant's body. I have my pride too. I prefer lounging around here."

"Wow you're annoying. You."

She even openly called me a Mutant!

Well, by human definition, I am a Mutant.

Since I have more talent for handling Demonic Power rather than simple Magic Power, that is mana.

"Just kidding, and like I said I'm not completely omnipotent. Creating one world and moving my creations to another world, do you know how much power that consumes? I need time to recover my power."

"Then what about the final battle?"

"That might change according to causality too. The world before Si-woo regressed was just like the original work. The berserk SS Core in Eun-ha's body affects the Otherworld and causes a 2nd Great Cataclysm at the end. One that causes tectonic shifts in the world. Then SS-Class ones appear in droves and at the end they catch the Devil. That story. You get it right?"

"Yeah."

Was it like that? If the Writer says so, must be.

Yong-yong just shuts up and nods.

"Since that future doesn't exist anymore. Maybe the previous villains, the Sins, could become the final villains. By getting stronger that is. I'm thinking of leaving this alone since it might get weirder if I meddle."

"Greed was in China."

Of all places, one of the Sins is in China right now.

They haven't appeared yet, probably keeping quiet and building up power.

Don't know how strong they'll get later, but given how things are now, I need to fully awaken my power to fight too.

"Thanks to Kim Jae-soo going wild this time, the Association is totally screwed. Well, the story from here on is for Eun-ha to create."

"You're Eun-ha though. What am I supposed to call you? Writer? That's not cool. I might be getting ahead of myself but since you're the god who created Azhi Dahaka, I should call you by name."

"Fine. Let's use each other's real names when we're alone."

Ah, and there's something I'm curious about.

"By the way what's this tattoo on my stomach? Some kind of lewd text (？？) keeps appearing. Plus these piercings on my ears and here."

I don't get what kind of taste you need to have to do this to your own body. I left the ones on the ears since they're pretty though.

"You did that to your body when you were a nun. And you only read manga with those tags when you were a guy too. So I customized it thinking you'd like it? You lewd Yong-yong."

"Be honest."

At my question, she rolled her eyes really cutely before carefully answering.

"Haah, half of it is true. You as a nun did that, and I think that might have been an artifact. Something to seal a bit of power maybe. Well you see what you want to see. Sigh. The one on your stomach isn't some outrageous common sense tattoo of erotic text, if you look carefully it's Azhi Dahaka's crest."

That really wasn't me. When I massacred 1 billion, that absolutely wasn't me.

But isn't it the creator Eun-ha's fault that Azhi Dahaka's crest looks erotic?

"My women, huh."

"Aren't they? Right now they all think you're dead so they're fighting Kim Jae-soo you know?"

Still fighting Kim Jae-soo? Hasn't Si-woo gotten stronger?

He should have awakened enough to beat Kim Jae-soo.

"I'm going now."

Since they're my women, gotta go protect them.

"Ah, don't overdo it since bones dissolve."

"...I'll try."

That's only if the women leave me alone. It's not like bones will dissolve just from a little rubbing.

At least not now...

* * *