Book 2: Chapter 423
There wasn’t any great feeling of excitement.
That was Lukas’ first thought as he looked at Lee Jong-hak’s bloodied form. Even though they had a connection from the outside world, which could be considered quite close in a way, he didn’t feel much emotion after meeting him now.
Whether he was alive or dead. There was no sentimentality to speak of.
“Lee Jong-hak.”
Perhaps he heard Lukas’ voice. Or perhaps it was just a physical reaction.
Lee Jong-hak’s body trembled.
“…cough.”
Then he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He opened his eyelids with great difficulty, but the light within them was so faint that it seemed like it would go out at any moment.
“…”
Lee Jong-hak seemed to mutter something, but it wasn’t clear. It didn’t even have a sound. Did he not have enough energy to speak?
Lukas knelt and placed his hand on Lee Jong-hak’s back. He could feel that his physical condition was a mess. Covering his entire body… was mostly sword scars. It was as if he’d been attacked by multiple enemies. Including the minor scratches, there were over a dozen on his body.
…Sword technique. Was it a sword technique?
He felt that it was somewhat familiar. Lukas felt like he could tell if he looked at the wounds more closely, but if he delayed any further, Lee Jong-hak would really die.
[Is that a bad thing?]
[No. It’s not bad at all.]
Lukas put his hand to his carotid artery.
Whoosh, the void around them began to swirl.
He changed the arrangement and adjusted the laws. The power he was manifesting this time was the power of regression. If there was a difference from the usual, it would be that he was changing the scope of the application from his own body, to that of someone else.
The Void, which had been wandering around aimlessly, gradually began to move according to Lukas’ will and began to seep into Lee Jong-hak’s body.
Gurgle…
Then his wounds began to regenerate. The tears in his flesh knitted themselves back together and the sunken flesh filled out once again.
But Lukas’ expression was strange. Something wasn’t right.
The regression speed was extremely slow. For reference, in Lukas’ case, he could completely regenerate in seconds, no matter how fatal his injury was.
But Lee Jong-hak’s body was different. At this speed, it would take 10 minutes, or maybe even more than that.
…Void, this was the first time he was returning the body of someone else to its most perfect condition. Could that be the reason?
If that was the case, then there might be more side effects that Lukas didn’t know about. Even though he was pondering that, he didn’t stop healing Lee Jong-hak.
Did he think that since he would die if he left him, there was nothing to lose? Was it really only because of such a rational decision?
In fact, regardless of Lee Jong-hak’s appearance, wasn’t he already thinking that he had nothing to do with him?
[You know it well.]
[That’s a great self-objectification.]
…Lukas waited patiently.
“My wounds…”
After he’d recovered to a minimal level, Lee Jong-hak’s voice came out.
“Five minutes.”
Lukas briefly told him how much time was left. Lee Jong-hak’s eyes widened for a moment, but only briefly. Soon afterwards, he closed his eyes and focused on calming his mind and body.
After the mentioned five minutes, Lee Jong-hak was completely healed.
Lee Jong-hak stood up and looked at Lukas. For a moment, he could feel complex emotions swirling in his eyes. This was natural. Unlike Lukas, this was Lee Jong-hak’s first time facing him.
“…thank you.”
Nevertheless, Lee Jong-hak displayed his grat.i.tude for saving his life before anything else.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
There was a hint of agitation in his voice. Unlike the agitated Lee Jong-hak, Lukas’ response was cold.
“No.”
“…how did you get here?”
“Long story.”
It wasn’t strange for this short conversation to make Lee Jong-hak feel uncomfortable. In the past, Lukas hadn’t been one to talk a lot, but his voice had always carried a faint gentleness.
It was like a warm spring wind, it was hard to notice it unless you were conscious of it, but it gave everyone who felt it a feeling of security that warmed their heart.
But now, Lukas’ voice was dry. It didn’t seem to carry a single emotion, and his expression was so cold it was as if he was wearing a mask. It was enough for him to even mistake him as a different person.
Lee Jong-hak was shocked by his changes, but Lukas spoke before he could ask any question.
“Who made you like that?”
“…ah.”
Lee Jong-hak stretched his neck. Although his entire body had been healed, Lee Jong-hak still felt like there were foreign things stuck inside him. For example, there were some blood clots stuck in his throat. Lee Jong-hak spat out his blood soaked saliva as quietly as possible.
“…I don’t know. When I was locked in the prison cell, a huge shockwave suddenly shook the ground. The cave shook as if it was going to collapse. Then, a huge flash of light seemed to engulf everything and I felt pain as if my entire body was being ripped apart. That’s the last thing I remember.
“…”
A flash? And a huge shockwave?
Something wasn’t right.
He’d seen the sword scars that covered Lee Jong-hak’s body.
Had the enemy taken the time to carve Lee Jong-hak’s body when he was unconscious?
The probability of that being true was extremely low. If an enemy had fallen unconscious, it would have been much wiser to just cut their head off.
…Flash of light.
That was the only clue.
Lukas narrowed his eyes.
“How did you come to this world?”
In truth, this was a question Lukas had wanted to ask when he’d first encountered Lee Jong-hak. Lukas glanced at him for a moment before opening his mouth.
“G.o.d’s trick.”
“…huh? What does that mean?”
Lukas turned around instead of answering him.
“What a minute… Is Ha-rin okay?”
At that moment, Lukas’ body froze.
It was strange.
Ha-rin… Ha-rin…
Min Ha-rin.
The disciple that Lukas had accepted.
It felt like he’d forgotten that child.
Was that intentional? Or…
Throb.
He felt a headache that was incomparable to before. It felt like his skull was going to split in two. Nevertheless, Lukas simply clenched his fists instead of screaming.
He couldn’t even remember the last conversation he’d had with Min Ha-rin.
“Please answer me. I’m…”
“Shut up. Don’t say anything.”
After saying those words, Lukas staggered up the underground stairs.
Despite looking hesitant, Lee Jong-hak followed after him.
* * *
Lee Jong-hak’s home universe, where the world called Earth existed.
The science that humanity possessed had been quite advanced, but a race known as the Demons invaded. In an instant, the blue planet became h.e.l.l. At least that was the case from a human perspective.
And Lukas had gone to that universe as the saviour of humanity.
It was the last world visited by Lukas the Absolute, and it was also the place where he’d made the most connections outside of his home universe.
He had apprentices.
He’d reunited with those he thought dead.
And he’d met a child who called him father.
…Lee Jong-hak hadn’t forgotten him. The same was true for Sedi.
According to Haspin, she was looking for him even after becoming one of the Twelve Void Lords.
If that was the case then,
Min Ha-rin and the people of Earth…
Crunch.
Lukas gritted his teeth. The weak thoughts that had been buried in a corner of his mind quickly expanded until they filled his head.
What kind of disgusting thought was that? Now that the beings from his home universe had forgotten him, was he going to whine to them?
Of course, that wasn’t really wrong. However, he couldn’t forget that it was an insult. Lukas, the role that guy wanted from them was just to be a simple subst.i.tute, right?
[Why is that?]
[Don’t you think they’re better than the trash that forgot about you anyway?]
“Shut up, shut up…”
Lukas muttered harshly.
He kept ignoring it, but this voice was. .h.i.tting the nail on the head. So he couldn’t help but react.
The figure of Lee Jong-hak following him was beginning to bother him. Even more than Pale and Jacob.
Gurgle, his killing intent was beginning to rise.
He wanted to kill him. And he wanted to eat him. The body of a trained warrior must be quite delicious.
“Are you okay?”
Lee Jong-hak tried to approach him with a worried expression on his face. Was he trying to help him? It was already the fourth or fifth time he’d asked that question. And it was the same number of times that Lukas didn’t answer.
However, this time, instead of blatantly ignoring him, he did something else.
“Stay away from me.”
“…”
Lee Jong-hak followed his words faithfully. He didn’t ask Lukas anything more.
Not only did he not ask what happened for him to change so much, he also didn’t say anything more about Min Ha-rin. Perhaps if Lukas had been in better condition, he would have appreciated his consideration.
After walking aimlessly, at some point, he realised that he’d climbed to the middle of the mountain.
Whoosh-
Ashes floated up even to such a high place. Although there wasn’t any natural energy, Flower Mountain had definitely been a beautiful place. But now, it was ruined.
But more than that, Lukas was able to learn about the scars on the territory.
He could see the deeply carved ground. The thing that had set fire to the forest was something powerful, continuous, and irregular.
“…”
By this time, Lukas’ head had calmed down a bit.
The pain hadn’t disappeared, but his mind felt a bit clearer.
‘I climbed halfway up the mountain, but I didn’t meet anyone.’
As Sama Ryeong had said, it was clear that most of the Flower Mountains’ masters had been lost.
Originally, he had been planning to kill anyone he met on his way up the mountain and obtain information from them. But since he didn’t feel any movement, he decided to change his plans.
It would be faster to hear it directly from Sama Ryeong who had gone up first.
Jwak
After finding the place where there were the most life signs, he split s.p.a.ce apart.
“…”
Lee Jong-hak followed him with a strange expression.
His vision turned black for a moment and when it returned, they were standing in a house.
“What…!”
“Who are you?!”
Ssrng-
He saw a lot of familiar faces.
Not only were Sama Ryeong and her Martial Brothers who had gone up ahead there, but also the blue and red robed elders who Lukas had fought the last time, and Jacob.
Jacob flinched when his eyes met Lukas’ then he looked away as if he’d done something wrong.
He had planned to kill him the next time he saw him, but this meeting was not Jacob’s fault. In all honesty, it was Lukas who had come here and met him.
Besides, he wasn’t that interested right now.
Lukas’ attention was directed towards a bed that was in the middle of the room.
The purpose of his visit to Flower Mountain was right there.
“…”
Yang In-hyun was panting and his entire body was covered in bandages. There were also dozens of b.l.o.o.d.y bandages scattered beside him.
“I asked who you are!”
“What kind of sorcery did you use to break into Cloud Pavilion?”
If he didn’t answer, they would start slicing immediately.
Just as Lukas decided how to deal with them, Sama Ryeong spoke.
“You two elders, put your swords away.”
“…huh?”
“What are you-”
“I won’t say it twice.”
Sama Ryeong’s voice was soft, but it was filled with firmness that couldn’t be easily denied. The two elders hesitated greatly, but the authority of the Seven Flowers was higher than the elders. They had no choice but to resheathe their swords.
Lukas walked up to Yang In-hyun and looked down at him.
“Why haven’t you treated him?”
“They’re saying that treatment didn’t work.”
Sama Ryeong answered.
“Didn’t work?”
“Right. They said that they not only used specially selected preserved meat, but also elixirs from the main mountain, but he couldn’t be cured.”
The preserved meat in question was probably referring to the jerky.
Lukas then asked the next question.
“Then why don’t you kill him?”
The two elders thought they’d heard wrong for a moment, but Lukas continued, ignoring them.
“The current Yang In-hyun is completely defenceless. Even a baby would be able to kill him if you gave it a sword.”
“This unpardonable b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
“You dare to say such things in front of us!”
Sama Ryeong’s expression became a bit embarra.s.sed. Yang In-hyun was well aware of her desire to kill him. Even though he knew, he didn’t kill her or exclude her, but instead, kept her closer to his side.
To be honest, in that regard, Yang In-hyun’s container was very large. However, even the elders were not aware of that.
“…the Sect Leader is the pillar of the main mountain. In a situation like this, we need his presence more than ever.”
In the end, Sama Ryeong avoided the question by speaking about the immediate situation.
“Right. So your hatred was so shallow.”
As he said that, Lukas reached out his hand to Yang In-hyun.
Clang-
At that moment, all of the Seven Flowers present drew their swords. Four swords were aimed at Lukas’ neck. There were no gaps between their blades and his skin, so even the smallest movement would cut his throat.
“Move your swords.”
“Move your hand.”
“You all are misunderstanding something. I also have no intention of killing Yang In-hyun right now. It doesn’t seem like any of the people here understand the situation so I’m trying to hear it from him directly.”
In any case, it wasn’t difficult for him to kill the current Yang In-hyun.
Instead, he wanted to solve the confusion that he’d felt since coming to Flower Mountain.
“So? Does it mean you were reaching your hand out to heal him?”
“It was simply emergency treatment. And it’s already over.”
“What?”
Twitch.
Yang In-hyun’s finger twitched.
“…!”
All of the people in that room had reached the level of master, so there wasn’t a single one who hadn’t noticed Yang In-hyun’s movement.
Yang In-hyun’s eyes slowly opened.
“Sect Leader!”
“You’re awake?”
“…”
Yang In-hyun’s eyes widened slightly. His eyes moved to look around.
Then his eyes met Lukas’.
…It was strange.
This was the first time he was meeting Yang In-hyun in this life. However, his eyes as he looked at him were calm, despite being bright red from burst veins.
No, they were only calm for a few moments.
Because when Yang In-hyun’s gaze shifted to someone behind him.
They went extremely wide.
“…behind. Be… careful.”
His voice leaked out.
Behind?
Behind Lukas right now was… Sama Ryeong, her Martial Brothers.
And Lee Jong-hak…
Crackle!
He heard the sound of an electric current. For a moment, his consciousness went white. This was because a huge bolt of lightning penetrated his body. He lost control of his body and he couldn’t move as if he’d been paralysed.
[Hahaha! Uhahaha-!]
Then he heard a loud laugh from somewhere.
After that, everything happened in a flash.
Lee Jong-hak, who had drawn his sword, cut the necks of two of the Seven Flowers and cut off the arms of the other two.
Before their blood had even fallen to the ground, Lee Jong-hak’s figure appeared before Lukas’ nose. He saw an unfitting, violent smile on his face.
Even until then, Lukas was unable to move his body.
The sword which extended towards him was exceptionally clear.
Shuk-
He heard the sound of skin being cut.
Lukas’ expression hardened. That sound hadn’t come from his body.
Just before, someone had pushed Lukas away and was stabbed instead.
“Kuk…”
With his eyes wide open, Jacob collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood
(TL: Well… plot twist?)