Chapter 63: To Save You (2)

"Why should we become your disciples?"

"Yes, is such a procedure really necessary?"

Kim Hyul and Sieghart spoke as if they found my proposal absurd. They had already been deceived by Bing Seolhwa and had their families taken hostage.

In a way, it was natural for them to be distrustful like this.

"First of all, I'm probably the only one who can resist the Outer God."

I explained to them the reason why they should become my disciples. Just as I had persuaded the final bosses, I presented my own reasons.

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, you must have fled here because you know you can't face Shub-Niggurath."

Only I could overcome the level of the Outer God that Azazel had shown in the North. Even the final bosses, who were confident they had become stronger than the current protagonists through the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, couldn't withstand it.

"That's right. Even I, who carry Mordegian, couldn't endure what Brother was able to withstand."

Azazel spoke, clasping her hands to her chest as if supporting my words. Her expression was imbued with devoutness.

"Ah, how holy this is... I, Azazel, want to become Bing Yeon's saint, not the Outer God's saint..."

Azazel showed an excited appearance, even her tentacles on her back wriggling, which made the rest of us feel slightly creeped out.

"...You're not completely ignorant, I see."

Kim Hyul nodded as he heard my statement. He seemed to be testing whether I was hiding some ulterior motive.

After all, the body parts on Azazel's back were clearly related to an Outer God.

"So, what do you want to do from now on?"

Sieghart also asked me about his curiosity. He must have thought there was no need to become disciples blindly.

"I'll have to cultivate your power to use even time and space as a sword, and make Kim Hyul able to have fists that can shatter even diamond."

I spoke while recalling Kim Hyul's late-stage appearance from the original "The King of the Vajra Fist" and Sieghart's final moments from "A Hero Must Die."

To reach that level, they would need countless training sessions just like my other disciples.

"Joining our sect will make it easier to get help from others. Let's minimize variables as much as possible."

This was because Bing Seolhwa might send assassins to the martial world on a large scale.

Unlike me, she was the heir to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and had already tried to kill my disciples at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.

"...I've already felt painfully that I can't face that woman alone."

"The sensation of internal organs twisting, the whole body's organs and skin reversing, if we can overcome that, we can even risk our lives."

Kim Hyul and Sieghart shared their experiences of encountering Shub-Niggurath, their bodies trembling slightly. They said they had already tried every method to escape from her.

"I'll become your disciple, Bing Yeon. I wanted to erase the traces of that creepy woman anyway."

"I'll do so too. I look forward to working with you."

After some persuasion, the protagonists agreed to become my disciples like the final bosses.

Originally, they didn't have many choices since they had come here abandoning everything.

"Then, do you have any other good ideas in mind?"

"First, we'll gather the strong of the martial world, create a formation around our sect, and prevent damage from spreading elsewhere."

I spoke while pointing to various parts of the map on the wall.

Our sect was located in rugged mountains slightly away from where people lived, and ultimately, luring Seolhwa here would be the best option.

"Actually, I'd like to evacuate everyone and fight the Outer God alone..."

I looked around as I said this. Bi Wol and Azazel were already clinging tightly to my arms. Verdandi acted as if she didn't understand and hugged me from behind.

"I won't allow that. Wherever Master goes is my destination as well."

"That's right. Brother, are you trying to fight Shub-Niggurath, the Outer God, without the person who knows most about Outer Gods?"

"I absolutely hate the idea of losing Master to another woman! Unless it's to the people here!"

They already seemed full of determination to fight Bing Seolhwa. The final bosses of a novel, burning with resolve in their eyes, asking not to be left out.

"...So this is how things have turned out."

I sighed deeply as if I had no choice.

Without them, I might become Shub-Niggurath's toy like Kang Si-woo. After all, it was that Outer God who had possessed me into this world.

I needed to maximize our chances of winning.

"Don't leave us out either. We want to make her feel the pain of touching our families deeply."

"That's right, the experience of fighting a strong opponent is priceless, something money can't buy."

Seeing this, Kim Hyul and Sieghart exchanged words with a slightly incredulous smile. To an outsider, they would just look like disciples who followed their master well.

If they knew we had just been fighting over who would do the body nourishment, they would look at me like trash.

"Azazel, do you think others can respond to the Outer God's level?"

I deliberately turned the direction of the conversation and asked Azazel, who had already made a contract with Mordegian, the saint among them.

The last time I went to meet her for the first time, everyone except me had fainted.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. No matter how much we prepare, unlike me, the opponent is an Outer God."

"With Verdandi's Holy Armor and your future sight, it shouldn't be impossible."

Combining the armor that provides absolute defense to its wearer and eyes that can see the future might allow us to prepare for the Outer God's attacks.

"...Can I do it? I've become a bit afraid of seeing the future since encountering Shub-Niggurath."

Azazel deliberately avoided my eyes. Her future sight involved seeing 'possible parallel universes'.

"I'm afraid of seeing a future where Brother dies. If I see you turned into a cold corpse, I won't be able to bear it anymore."

Azazel spoke while biting her lower lip hard. I too had been greatly shocked when I later learned of Seolhwa's suicide. Only those who have experienced it know that feeling.

"Still, try to see the future once. It's absolutely necessary."

I gently patted Azazel's head as I asked. Even if I died, I felt I would have no regrets if I could save everyone here.

"Alright... Then, would you place your hand on top of mine? I think that way I'll be less scared."

Azazel looked into my eyes and made a small request. Her lips and eyes were trembling slightly with fear.

"...Like this?"

I placed my hand on top of hers as she clasped them together, and a warm sensation began to be felt. A slightly higher body temperature than others.

After the whole process was over, I heard Bi Wol grinding her teeth next to me, but I didn't pay attention.

"Yes, thank you."

Azazel's rainbow-colored eyes were staring at me as if they would swallow me whole, and I could almost feel a hint of joy mixed in them.

The moment Azazel focused to see the future, she was greeted by a barren wasteland.

In the darkness where not even the moon or stars were visible, she looked around, illuminating with her holy power.

'...Where is this?'

Azazel instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Surely the fight with Shub-Niggurath should have been at the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet, but where on earth was this place?

Just in case, Azazel performed a test to check if this was reality or the future by bending her fingers backward.

'It doesn't hurt. Then this must be the future...'

Her fingers bent like a bow without pain. Seeing this, she sighed in relief.

Due to her innate ability to glimpse the future just by making eye contact with others, Azazel sometimes confused reality and the future.

'Where are Brother and the others?'

Azazel couldn't shake off the feeling of being abandoned here alone. It was a place with no signs of life, no structures, not even traces of human habitation.

"Hello, Azazel."

At that moment, she heard someone calling her from above.

The voice was familiar. It was the androgynous tone, a mix of female and male, that she had encountered when trying to glimpse Bing Yeon's future again.

"Looks like you've come to peek at the future, but it's useless. I just killed the Demon King and absorbed the power."

As soon as she heard this, Azazel felt a pain as if her brain was being gouged out. She had experienced something similar before.

"Ah, aaaah..., aaaaah!!"

Azazel could only scream blankly. She realized firsthand that the place she was standing wasn't just a wasteland.

This was where the Ice Dragon Flower Banquet had been. As soon as the Outer God Shub-Niggurath descended, everything had been erased cleanly as if it had never existed.

The reason why no stars or moon were visible even when looking up at the sky was because the Outer God's body obscured everything.

- Azazel, snap out of it...!

Mordegian was resisting with all his might as he watched Azazel.

- Oh Mother of All, why are you doing this...!!

He, who had barely managed to save her life last time, shouted towards Shub-Niggurath's shadow floating in the sky.

He didn't understand why she was showing such interest in people related to Bing Yeon. Originally, an Outer God's attention would drive people mad or kill them.

Even if humans love ants, ants can't understand their way of expressing affection.

"Why, you ask? Well, because I want to see the end of this world."

Shub-Niggurath expressed her will towards Mordegian. She wanted to see how a discontinued novel would end, to see the conclusion in the way she desired.

"Even better if it's the 'new' ending of this world that the man called Bing Yeon is hiding so carefully."

Shub-Niggurath grinned and expelled Azazel, who had tried to glimpse the future, from this place.