The Emperor of Blood and Iron deployed his ‘Joker’ card, which led to both his and Rindermergel’s demise. Kang Chul-In could not comprehend how the Emperor of the Blood and Iron defeated Rindermergel, because the emperor’s old memory was truncated after his final speech.
However, he could see one thing.
“For… the future.”
It was the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s final state of mind.
To protect this world, no, for the reconstruction of this world, he sacrificed himself without hesitation when he could have instead been reborn as an Earthling and live a normal life without a care about this world.
The Emperor of Blood and Iron truly strived for a great cause!
“How was it?”
Kang Chul-In heard the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s voice.
“… Emperor of Blood and Iron.” Kang Chul-In stared at the Emperor, who stood just in front of him. “Where is this?”
“Here.”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron tapped his own head.
“Whose?”
“Yours, of course. Who else? I’m already dead.”
“True...”
“To be honest...”
“...?”
“I did have some pathetic thoughts.”
“Pathetic thoughts?”
“For example, stealing the body of my reincarnation, Kang Chul-In.”
“...!”
“Ah, of course...”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron added.
“Those who share the same soul can’t take over each other’s body… but there’s still a way.”
“A way…?”
“I can erase your memories.”
“...!”
“And inject my own memories into your body.”
What a ghastly statement.
“If I really wanted to steal your body, then it’s more efficient to erase the memories of the individual called Kang Chul-In and replace them with my memories. It’s less risky too.”
“Risk?”
“The one who got his body stolen would constantly fight back to reclaim it.”
“Ah…!”
“But what can he do when all of his memories are erased? His ‘existence’ itself would be deleted.”
“A pathetic thought indeed. Really nasty.”
Kang Chul-In was seemingly disturbed. Just the thought of it gave him the chills. The deletion of all of his memories… that could be the definition of a true ‘extinction’...
“Hmm...” Kang Chul-In spoke. “Why didn’t you?”
“What?”
“As you said, why didn’t you erase my memories and put in yours? Isn’t that a more perfect reincarnation?”
“You’re right.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron replied. “Actually, that was Emilia’s suggestion as well.”
“Emilia’s suggestion...”
“She trusted me but not my reincarnation.”
“Ah?”
“Of course she didn’t. n.o.body could predict my reincarnation’s personality, capability and att.i.tude towards our great cause. From her perspective, it would be a hundred times better to entrust me with the world’s future.”
He was right. To protect this world from the second coming, also known as Apovigna in Pangaean language, of the Agnagas, a motivated and capable individual was needed. In other words, the Emperor of Blood and Iron was clearly the better candidate over Kang Chul-In.
“Therefore… Emilia hoped that I would reincarnate completely. In fact, she strongly encouraged me to do so.”
“I would think so.”
“If Agrippa the Archwitch didn’t have the power to foresee 1000 years into the future, I might have erased your memories and reincarnated completely… no, I definitely would have.”
“Why didn’t you?” Kang Chul-In had to ask the same question to the Emperor of Blood and Iron. “Why didn’t you reincarnate perfectly? That would have been better for you.”
“...”
“It shouldn’t have been easy to suppress your temptation, either.”
Yes, temptation. If the Emperor had achieved a ‘complete reincarnation,’ he could have reunited with his beloved Arsh.e.l.ly.
“You’re right.” He agreed. “Even as we converse now, I still wonder how things would have been if I had reincarnated fully. However...”
“...?”
“I was the one who erased the memories of 20 million people. Even worse, I erased the memories of my own daughter, Arsh.e.l.ly. Do I deserve to reincarnate completely? As Arsh.e.l.ly’s father and the leader of the human race, I did not wish to become an ign.o.ble existence. I wanted to be an honorable and proud man.”
Thump! Kang Chul-In was shocked to his core.
This guy… he is a real man, alright.
Surprisingly, Kang Chul-In admired the Emperor of Blood and Iron inwardly. At this point, he had to acknowledge the truth. The Emperor of Blood and Iron wasn’t a lame apparition with dodgy intentions. He was the real Messiah of this world.
“Also...” The Emperor of Blood and Iron added. “Through Agrippa’s prophecy, I saw potential in this man called Kang Chul-In. Vigor, perseverance, patience to endure through any rigor, a reasonable amount of evil, courage to explore new options, an ambition to become stronger and the talent to bring it to fruition. Furthermore, a good brain and cruelty to kill the enemy without hesitation. The only downside is your s.h.i.+tty temper...”
“Ahem…!”
“You have the potential to save this world. Hence, I decided to entrust this task to you, instead of reincarnating completely myself. To be honest, you are the greatest man I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m not saying this just because we share the same soul.”
That was a compliment, from the Emperor of Blood and Iron himself.
“Who are you to a.s.sess me?”
Of course, Kang Chul-In replied in his typical, rude manner.
“What a temper.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron shook his head, as if he were too tired to respond. “Somehow, you seem to have an even s.h.i.+ttier temper than me.”
“A kettle calling the pot black.”
“...”
“Ah, do you know?”
Kang Chul-In began his counterattack.
“Know what?”
“What’s my hobby?”
“How the h.e.l.l would I know?”
“Sometimes in my free time, I purchase and read old books about Pangaea. Your name appears every now and then, so I tend to pay extra attention when reading the archaic texts.”
“...!”
“Now, guess. How do you think you are described in these texts?”
“T-That…!”
“Want me to elaborate?”
“I thought I got rid of them all…!”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron was genuinely disconcerted.
“Seems like you tried to bury your embarra.s.sing past, but what now? Countless historians have secretly recorded your terrible wrongdoings down.”
“Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds…!”
“You shouldn’t have gone overboard. You closed down every candy shop in the empire just because a hair was found in Arsh.e.l.ly’s candy...”
“E-Enough!”
“You once squandered 9% of the empire’s annual budget because you dumped your paperwork on your servant. Right?”
“...”
“Who was it that promised the empire’s knights that he would teach them swordsmans.h.i.+p, only to end up beating them up? You even said that pummeling someone is the best way to relieve stress, didn’t you?”
Kang Chul-In revealed the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s dark and embarra.s.sing past relentlessly.
“Is my personality still more atrocious than yours?”
“...”
“Heh… what a saint you are, Emperor of Blood and Iron.”
Objectively, both of them had s.h.i.+tty personalities. It was difficult to tell whose was worse.
“T-That’s not the point!”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron quickly changed the topic. He realized that he had no right to critique Kang Chul-In’s personality.
“Anyways, you should know that that’s not important. The second coming of the Agnagas is imminent. Kang Chul-In, you have to be prepared against the approaching threat.”
“Is there even a threat?” Kang Chul-In asked. “What threat?”
“Didn’t I just tell you? The second coming...”
“An antic.i.p.ated threat is no longer a threat.”
“...!”
“I get it, so pa.s.s me the rest of your memories and get lost.”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron realized something from Kang Chul-In’s blunt words.
“You’ve decided, I see.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron smiled.
“You’ve decided to protect this world from the second coming of the Agnagas.”
“Do I have a choice?” Kang Chul-In shrugged. “My dream is to conquer the world and become the Emperor. I can’t just let those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds destroy my nation. Also… I will never let Arsh.e.l.ly go, Emperor of Blood and Iron.”
“...!”
“I will protect my daughter. Not only her, but also my people, family, subordinates and this world. I don’t like how I’m cleaning up your mess, but… I will never repeat the tragedy that you had to face.
This was Kang Chul-In’s will. Moreover...
That’s right, Kang Chul-In. You are now complete. A man who overcomes his past mistakes is bound to be stronger than anyone… You finally appear trustworthy...
This was the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s motive… genuine growth! He wanted Kang Chul-In to grow not only in strength, but also as a human. The Wheel of Return had fulfilled its duty!
“Good.” The Emperor of Blood and Iron smiled in satisfaction. “I believe in you, Kang Chul-In.”
“Suit yourself.”
“...”
“Didn’t I tell you to get lost?”
Kang Chul-In lashed out at the Emperor of Blood and Iron again.
“Fine.” He nodded. “Well then… I leave it to you, Kang Chul-In.”
“You worry too much.”
With that, the Emperor of Blood and Iron began to fade into thin air.
“Please...” The Emperor of Blood and Iron pleaded for the last time. “Please take care of my daughter, Arsh.e.l.ly. My daughter, not yours. Remember. Arsh.e.l.ly is my daughter.”
For a moment, the veins on Kang Chul-In’s forehead popped up.
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d… how dare you…! Arsh.e.l.ly is my daughter, not yours...”
However...
“...”
The Emperor of Blood and Iron was nowhere to be found. He had p.i.s.sed off Kang Chul-In just before running away. A cheap move indeed.
“Real man my a.s.s.” Kang Chul-In muttered. “I take it back. Sneaky b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
They say people who are alike loathe each other. These two men who shared the same soul could never become friends. They clashed at every encounter.
Let’s just concentrate.
Kang Chul-In focused on absorbing the influx of data and memories from the Emperor of Blood and Iron.
***
“Kang Chul-In, Kang Chul-In!” Dorian shouted. “Hey!”
“...”
“Reply to me!”
“...”
“Can’t you hear me? Huh? Hey! Why aren’t you replying to me? Huh?”
However, Kang Chul-In remained silent.
“Eek… What’s going on…!”
Kang Chul-In had been frozen in place for 48 hours. He was merely breathing with his eyes closed.
“That should be the cause, right…? Should I forcefully take it off?” Dorian pondered. It appeared as if the strange silver substance surrounding Kang Chul-In’s whole body was the cause.
“d.a.m.n it… I can’t be reckless too...”
Dorian had yet to finish his sentence, when...
Flick! The Ectoplasm Oversuit wrapped around Kang Chul-In’s body suddenly opened up.
Chulkuk, chulkuk! It then began to shapes.h.i.+ft.
“W-What!”
Dorian was flabbergasted.
Chulkuk, chulkuk! The Ectoplasm Oversuit refused to stop its transformation.
And after some time,
“Wow… wowww…! T-This is really…!”
Dorian was in great admiration of the Ectoplasm Oversuit in its final form.
“What the heck is this…!?”
Suddenly,
“Phew…!” Kang Chul-In let out a long sigh and began to gradually open his eyes.