Chapter 191 – Battle for Possession (1)
FtKGUMKang Geom-Ma shredded the serpent like he was grinding it down. The screams were harrowing. But in that completely dark space, there was no exit.CF8d12
zvnJMXThe Basilisk was disemboweled while still standing, its flesh stripped layer by layer. Resistance was impossible. All it could do was humbly accept the bluish blades slicing it apart.SjZ
8polSlash!1MS0Jm
aD69aDtTotal darkness in its vision. The Basilisk had just died for the 3,423rd time. Its consciousness vanished, but immediately its eyes opened again. The same place, the same human awaited once more. And the same ending.9UD8WSE
xAnnNTThis was a space beyond the bounds of time. Here, the duration of the [Blessing of Pain Immunity] was infinite. Kang Geom-Ma wielded his sashimi blade. The ruthless edge split open the serpent’s scales. From within, a black tar-like fluid gushed out.YliVf
46TRnThough it had experienced it thousands of times, the searing pain never became bearable. The serpent’s head fell, and just as it exhaled its last breath, life was granted anew—only for Kang Geom-Ma to snatch it away again.hUv
uhxslCA world where violence was normal and life held no value. The Basilisk’s soul was worn down by the very human it once scorned and ridiculed.EEKsM2
DdL7Slash!hrn1
80426qThe serpent died. Died thousands of times. Died hundreds of billions of times. And when the line between life and death became meaningless, the Basilisk finally chose to beg pitifully.g0H
wiaI“…Please… stop… just kill me for real…”BUB5pw
PI04PKThe Basilisk pleaded with Kang Geom-Ma. Its eye muscles were completely slack, and its pupils drifted apart.bazjB
FpsUv0“There’s a problem with that sentence.”BNF
QPOZGKang Geom-Ma spoke as he wiped the blood from his sashimi knife. His expression remained unreadable. That blank look struck a primal fear into the Basilisk.1wUl
Fiuzui“Haven’t I been killing you this whole time? And now you’re asking me to kill you? That’s still not enough?”bvcQtX
5p8MK“T-That’s not what I mean. Just… please, free me from this prison!”T3MESd
GGe2Ylo“Your way of asking leaves much to be desired.”cDhuzb
3b0wTruthfully, Kang Geom-Ma was starting to get bored and had considered ending it. But seeing the serpent’s reaction, he concluded it still wasn’t enough. With a tired sigh, he adjusted his grip. His rejection was clear.IjPj
BOVAwR“Think it over through the next few thousand deaths. Maybe then you’ll learn how to beg properly.”GmXO
Ct9ic“W-Wait…!”o7hWc6
QyKSXB2Murasame once again tore into the Basilisk’s entire body. The blade, once wiped clean, was stained anew with fresh blood.4u7Tf7h
E79Only after so many deaths that the Basilisk’s mind turned vegetative did Kang Geom-Ma finally stop slashing.Qbv
sy1DThat’s when the Basilisk realized that even the sincerest pleas… would only be met with silence.ljl
cY38PAnd so, after its 9,608,251,206,530,847th death…el8
sp2***tmeDX
SmXVHorn stood frozen, completely bewildered, her blank eyes staring at the scene. She saw it, yes… but didn’t understand a thing.miTTAf
G3Yu4GhCaught in a phenomenon that transcended the bizarre and edged into the supernatural, her legs gave out. She murmured softly.BV1BE
pq1kL2“This is… the Eye of the Ring.”Nti
emN3zbUThe Demon Eye once thought to be only a myth. And now, she was witnessing its power firsthand. The surroundings were rewinding to their pre-destruction state. It was time reversal.F2HS
nHkSsssss…IFr8ER
F06PhJust then, the pulverized statue regained its original form. The fragments of Choi Seol-ah floated weightlessly, assembling like a three-dimensional puzzle.FS9M7X
j3BBUThen, the cold stone surface faded, giving way to soft skin.7dj7r
LiIkIFinally, Choi Seol-ah dropped headfirst onto the exact spot where she’d been destroyed.WzbN3T
KyMKln“Ugh!”KQGm2
i3NgShe groaned, clutching her head. The pain brought tears to her eyes. After a few seconds, a chill ran down her spine.rv7
6bsxeq‘Oh, right… I died.’dcP4g
HCS7SO6As soon as she realized it, her heart sank. Trembling, she looked up. What reflected in her eyes was a sight too impossible to believe.EYiw6l1
IdnVJ1‘…Is this the afterlife?’ZAY3
biqEverything resembled the place where she’d died. But everything was moving in reverse, like a rewound video.1Bi8
T9CujTShe had expected a river of souls or a face-to-face meeting with King Yama, but this looked nothing like the afterlife she’d imagined.DI4
lGqsh“Bo-Boradori…?”1gekMa
VHPPt7A trembling voice called from behind. At first, she thought it was a ghost and shut her eyes tight. But the voice… was too familiar. Annoying, yes, but strangely comforting.uZTrDO2
gtmXbChoi Seol-ah spun around. The long-eared one. Horn covered her mouth with both hands, trembling slightly. Choi Seol-ah’s eyes tripled in size.01YacN
SUBVlG“Huh? W-What are you doing here? Did you die too?! Ah, damn it, you idiot! I told you not to follow me! Didn’t you have anything better to do than join me in the afterlife?!”CL7RIn
CFotNcAgitated, she clutched her forehead. She was convinced she was dead. As she scolded in frustration, Horn wiped her tears away.BK7rP
urd“I didn’t die… Boradori, you’re the one who died. But not anymore. You’re alive now.”G9AL7MY
3G2“Hey, long-ears… I get that people can lose their minds after trauma, but it’s times like these we need to stay calm. Look at me, so composed even after dying.”85C
izRi“……”FZl4o8
iNMW“I don’t care about much else. As long as I didn’t end up in hell… heaven’s too much to ask, but maybe something in between? Like a gentle kind of hell? Am I asking too much?”yFEU
yGL1WZ“……”adbx
DzuhILuHorn felt the emotions of the reunion fade rapidly with Choi Seol-ah’s nonsense. Her teary eyes dried instantly.7lkmLk
FwbCVCl“Haa. Seriously, even dying and coming back doesn’t change you. You’d think something like this would transform a person…”yeSl8w
THlmHorn let out a long sigh, then pointed in a direction. Choi Seol-ah tilted her head in confusion but eventually looked where indicated.YX17b9C
8TfP“Huh? Huh? Huh?!”ugJ9f
fds6Her face filled with astonishment. A figure with their back turned, black hair, wielding two shining sashimi blades. Her first feeling was intense confusion. But what followed immediately was a wave of relief.A6D8p
e0vHx2LShe didn’t fully understand what Horn had said—dying and coming back to life? Nonsense. But there was one thing she was certain of.8iz4X
ePaHZ“My… Lord…”Pt5
3NDqrHe couldn’t be dead. And if she was in the same place as him, then this couldn’t be the afterlife. This was, without a doubt, the land of the living.CHckH6m
qUnmD‘I’m alive.’Kc55g5i
Dy8qo4CThat realization hit her. With watery eyes, she clutched her chest. Something was welling up inside her.otb5ptr
KOHThe emotional spark that had been reduced to ashes when she became a villain… was reignited. She had died and come back. She had literally been reborn—and with it, had reclaimed her humanity.AViNg
ADY8ODgShe could feel her pulse in her fingertips. Her heart beat steadily. But more than the joy of being alive, what surged through her veins was a greater feeling—pure reverence for her Lord.Si43V
rjdy“…This is exhausting.”riz8t8t
TTHsfAt that moment, Kang Geom-Ma rolled his neck side to side and suddenly turned around. He saw Choi Seol-ah, sobbing and trying to speak with trembling lips… And at that sight, the tension in his face softened.OOfJ3F
pfMeMd‘…Choi Seol-ah came back from the dead. I can’t even imagine how badly causality’s been distorted.’ZzwLWE
2Um4UBut so what? What mattered was that Choi Seol-ah was alive and whole. That was enough.UFkPE
D6YggKang Geom-Ma said with a faint smile.US4T9hZ
ElK“I’m tired of this place. Let’s finish this and go home.”gWE2Uhj
c7nHorn gave a subtle nod. Choi Seol-ah, a vigorous one.4uiB6
hzZ***SNw
ngrATime flew by.VcgNT
FWmlPChoi Seol-ah, Horn, and I agreed to take a proper rest. After a disaster like that, we were all exhausted. Though, of course, it wasn’t complete rest.r4ZPU
WEDDuring those days, I reported the elimination of the Basilisk to Media. I left out delicate details, like the “Eye of the Rings.” I didn’t have the strength to explain all of that.9ZAz
Gv7MuYAs expected, Media exploded. She yelled at me for going off without telling her, accompanied only by a rookie instructor.Csd
UqARLI had to stop her from summoning Choi Seol-ah for questioning. Not because I cared about her salary, but because if she got careless, she might expose Horn’s true identity. Fortunately, Media didn’t press too hard. She just crossed her arms and pouted.ZdZfrM
Ye3DjBBy the way, Horn was still living at Choi Seol-ah’s house. Her mission was over. However, instead of returning to the Demon Realm, she chose to stay at the academy.bu0eA8
D6X6I heard they struck some kind of deal. Sometimes, Choi Seol-ah would message me, complaining that the long-eared girl was draining her wallet.68Hm
fvXjXyNaturally, I ignored them all. Not worth replying to.kFtI
xClbYzv“……”7LWuNd3
JgTBI was lying down, using my arm as a pillow, staring at the ceiling lost in thought. I’d handed over the “Crystal of the Fallen Dragon” obtained from the Basilisk to Volundr. I needed a breather to clear my head.fNWHD
Glfyqk‘Lately, I’ve been charging too far ahead.’h4sW
FGvnebPBut thanks to that, I’d already gathered four fragments. For now, I needed to stabilize my mind, body, and energy—so I could keep moving forward without burning out.Sq22
JdkDaWhile still lying there, lethargy wrapped around me. Outside, the western sky was turning orange like a watercolor painting.K8Awx
3S3ew‘In just a few days, the afternoon wind has gotten colder.’IHSgyp1
P61cxSoon it would be November. The season where autumn ends and winter begins. With that, I would have gone through all four seasons at Joaquin Academy. It felt strange.SfhzBMQ
VV7“When I first enrolled, I was just struggling to survive…”MMIylOf
hhSI let out a bitter laugh and jumped off the bed. Relaxing was fine, but lazing around didn’t suit me.rkIr
VKGThat’s why I decided to visit the academy’s training area for the first time in a while. The membership was expensive, but I bit the bullet and paid. I couldn’t keep sneaking into the practice field forever. Every time I went, the students found out and swarmed me like bees.cXPr
S5CRThe guys would record me from every angle, and the girls would scream with excitement. If I tried to run, they’d chase me like it was a hunt.Rrxyd
4mkCs7I hated crowded places by nature. I didn’t like attention, and the sticky stares from the students made me uncomfortable.KO2
hRL9Yv7So I decided to pay good money to train in a comfortable environment. My goal wasn’t so much to improve my technique, but to raise my “physical level.”gV2
arSjX“Hope no one’s there today either…”nyJ
Z563h9kIf even that place got overrun by students, I’d have nowhere left to go. With that slight worry, I headed to the training area.844hq
mLH***IdT
zWJCc4BJoaquin Academy Training Grounds.ChUHrF
BGdiJEAbel stretched her arms and legs to warm up. Since she hadn’t trained in a while, she needed to loosen her muscles properly.bJuy7
tLNLately, Abel had been focusing more on flexibility than sword training. That’s why she’d started doing pilates. Shail had recommended it nonstop.4hbsV
XiHfShe tried it without high hopes, but it suited her surprisingly well. Still, she couldn’t neglect swordsmanship forever, so she’d returned to the training field after nearly two weeks.8zZZ4LV
EpG“That should do it.”daCOQJ
gYLCFinishing her warm-up, Abel gripped her sword. Maybe it was because of the break, but today it fit perfectly in her hand. Plus, during the chaos at the haunted house, she’d mastered a new technique. Seeing clear progress was the best motivation.TyJflJ
9mRvKyO‘If I keep this up, maybe one day I too…’KT46h
AiBvgJust as she smiled proudly and took her stance, someone calmly walked into the training area.1ZLPf
woSuk3y‘…Saki?’UG22
3v4FA4Abel looked at Saki with surprise. She briefly glanced at Abel, then walked off to a corner far away.N4xh358
MEJUk‘Saki… in the training grounds?’AK834
kDD2t5Abel knew Saki’s personality well. Even when they were in the same class, she avoided any form of physical training. Whenever there was running involved, she’d sneak off to the nurse’s office to nap.Kg705s
6UTJWAnd now she was here to train? Abel turned her head toward the window. The sun was setting in the west. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.F8VR
PX2i‘But it’s not like the sun’s risen from the west!’XT11q
wjsFPAbel looked back at Saki. As she hesitated, Saki stared back with a neutral expression and spoke.XDzvd
Zdl“Why are you staring so much? What, did you come to check if the sun rose from the west just because I showed up here?”8X3dfh
ermAbel flinched. A direct stab at her conscience—she couldn’t even reply.tvcCujb
AuySaki narrowed her eyes and looked away.LUM7ZLT
lurShe began unpacking her gear. A training bow. It was Class C, the same level as Abel’s equipment.yCzlX0
YyEXaShe tested the bowstring, pulling and releasing to check its condition. A bit stiff from lack of use, but still in decent shape.hG4oh
YFMcKcW“Abel.”2m02VVt
pT5b“Huh? Yeah?”i4GT9
q1HSaki slowly approached and stood in front of Abel. Without preamble, she spoke.e3rzIaG
Sqi“Let’s duel.”9k8jD
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Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaOho our waifu is going to fight.
Haimiya_cutie.
MahayanaBro is really cold and ruthless he killed him that much I just remember Subaru.