Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 122

I looked at the Black Viper Syndicate Head.

Delicate features typical of East Asians, with platinum blonde hair flowing softly.

Even for a mixed-race individual, the appearance was quite striking.

‘This person is the Black Viper Syndicate Head of the past.’

The sunlight streaming in from the window enveloped the Syndicate Head.

The already faint presence of the Syndicate Head seemed like a snowflake about to melt away at any moment.

In my past life, the Black Viper Syndicate Head overcame the aftereffects and, with outstanding strategy and skill, turned the Black Viper Syndicate into one of the major powers.

However, it was hard to reconcile that strong figure with the Syndicate Head before my eyes now.

“I am Lee Cheol from the Sungmoo Lee Family. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Thud-

The Syndicate Head rose from the chair.

The woman who was acting as a bodyguard quickly approached and supported the Syndicate Head’s body.

“Lia, I’m fine. I can stand up.”

The Syndicate Head gently placed a hand on the woman’s hand holding her arm.

The woman called Lia pressed her lips tightly and carefully removed her hand.

The Syndicate Head slowly walked over and stood before me.

Despite the sickly impression, she confidently extended her hand to me with a smile.

“I don’t have a name, so I can’t reveal it. Please just call me Syndicate Head.”

I gently took her hand and shook it.

“Yes, I will. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Syndicate Head.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

I carefully released the Syndicate Head’s hand.

I recalled the sensation that brushed against my fingertips.

‘Cold.’

It felt like touching cold ice rather than a human hand.

Even more so, like thin ice that would break with just a little touch.

‘The bone structure is incredibly weak. The muscles hardly seem to function either. I couldn’t examine the magic circuit… but at this level, it’s amazing she can even walk.’

I looked into the Syndicate Head’s eyes.

They were an unusual color.

Transparent gray eyes like faded amethyst.

And soon, I realized that there was no light in those eyes.

“Have you already started to lose your sight?”

At my words, the Syndicate Head’s eyes widened slightly.

On the other hand, the woman standing behind her and Baek Gyeong-hui looked at the Syndicate Head with shocked faces.

The Syndicate Head wore a subtle smile.

“How did you know?”

“Warriors often observe their opponent’s eyes.”

“That’s not what I was asking.”

At the Syndicate Head’s words, I glanced at the woman standing behind her and Baek Gyeong-hui, who was standing behind me.

“Is it okay to talk about it here? I don’t mind.”

The Syndicate Head wore a subtle smile at my words.

“It’s really amazing. I’m curious. How much do you know, and how did you find out?”

Soon, the Syndicate Head tilted her head slightly back and said.

“Natalia, leave us alone with the young master for a moment.”

Fluent Russian flowed out.

I couldn’t understand it, but I could roughly guess the meaning from the tone.

“That won’t do.”

Natalia shook her head firmly.

Her eyes, filled with wariness, turned to me.

The Syndicate Head very slowly turned her body and looked at Natalia.

“Lia.”

“Syndicate Head, I was asked by the previous Syndicate Head to protect you. Until I know what kind of person this is, I cannot leave this place.”

“Natalia, I am not a young lady, but the Syndicate Head.”

“……”

At the Syndicate Head’s words, Natalia flinched.

“I don’t want to order Natalia.”

At the Syndicate Head’s firm tone, Natalia soon took a deep breath.

“……I understand.”

“Thank you.”

The Syndicate Head smiled brightly.

Natalia glanced at me, looking like she wanted to say something, but soon closed her mouth and stepped out, opening the door with Baek Gyeong-hui.

“We invited a guest, but it’s a bit much to keep standing. Would you like to sit over here?”

“Yes, I understand.”

The Syndicate Head gestured towards the table where she had been sitting.

Following her gesture, I sat down on the chair in front of the table.

“There’s black tea, would that be alright with you?”

“Yes, I like it.”

“I think I’m quite good at brewing tea. You can look forward to it.”

She skillfully moved her hands as if she could see, brewing the tea.

I clearly captured each of the Syndicate Head’s movements in my eyes.

“Then, I would like to hear the story now.”

The Syndicate Head placed a teacup in front of me, looking straight at me.

As if changing masks, her aura changed in an instant.

“How much do you know about the curse that runs in my bloodline?”

It was an obvious probe.

I chuckled and replied.

“I thought you trusted me from the moment we started this private conversation, but you’re still testing me. I know it’s not a curse.”

The Syndicate Head wore a subtle smile.

I brought my hand to the teacup and asked the Syndicate Head.

“Currently, to what extent has the Spiritification [becoming a spirit] progressed?”

* * *

Natalia and Baek Gyeong-hui walked out of the cabin.

Baek Gyeong-hui carefully asked Natalia, who was silently keeping her mouth shut.

“What is the current state of the Syndicate Head?”

It was a bit clumsy, but it was Russian that was understandable enough.

Natalia looked at the scenery of the forest without answering.

“Please tell me. As someone who also serves the Syndicate Head, I need to know.”

“……It’s quite bad.”

Natalia opened her mouth with great difficulty.

“She already lost her sense of taste a few days ago. For the past week, she hasn’t put any food in her mouth except for drinking water. And to think she’s also losing her sight……”

Baek Gyeong-hui’s expression distorted at Natalia’s words.

“The previous Syndicate Head didn’t progress this quickly, did she?”

“Recently, ominous energy has been rising in unexplored territories around the world. Accordingly, the Syndicate Head’s power is also increasing, and the speed of Spiritification is also accelerating.”

Baek Gyeong-hui let out a deep groan at Natalia’s words.

Natalia looked at the Black Night sword placed on the rack.

Then, she turned her head back to look at Baek Gyeong-hui.

“Do you really think that boy has a solution?”

“I don’t know either. In the first place, the Syndicate Head ordered us to bring him here even though there was nothing certain.”

“Then let me ask differently. Is that boy someone we can trust? What if he just obtained information through some kind of trick and came here……”

“That’s not likely.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“That’s……”

Baek Gyeong-hui closed her mouth for a moment and fell into thought.

Why did she think that wasn’t the case?

She couldn’t say for sure either.

If she had to express it, it would be a hunch.

‘Lee Cheol has a solution.’

The moment she met the amber eyes of that boy from the Sungmoo Lee Family, Baek Gyeong-hui had a hunch at the same time as she doubted.

However, she couldn’t just say it was a hunch.

Baek Gyeong-hui chose to mumble.

“I’ll say it again, but in the end, it was the Syndicate Head who told us to bring him here. Isn’t she someone who sees what ordinary people cannot see?”

“Well, that’s true, but……”

Natalia turned her head and looked at the entrance of the cabin.

All her senses were directed towards the inside of the cabin.

“I just don’t want to see the young lady disappointed again.”

Baek Gyeong-hui also let out a long sigh at Natalia’s words.

* * *

Spiritification [becoming a spirit].

It means exactly what it says.

The process of natural energy spontaneously gathering and becoming a spirit with its own will.

However, for the Black Viper Syndicate Head, the meaning is slightly different.

Becoming a spirit in a human body.

The true nature of the disease the Black Viper Syndicate Head is experiencing is exactly that.

“I know that it’s an aftereffect caused by the mixing of spirit blood in the Syndicate Head’s blood. The spirit side is swallowing up the human side.”

The Syndicate Head’s expression became subtle.

“It’s amazing. Many people haven’t believed it until now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Spirits aren’t beings with physical bodies. But a mixed-blood with them? Even I, the person involved, can’t believe it.”

I laughed at the Syndicate Head’s self-deprecating words.

“My family also has incredibly absurd characteristics. If it’s even more absurd, it’s not an unbelievable story.”

“Are you talking about the Sungmoo Lee Family?”

I nodded.

If you train, you will have a body that cannot be cut even if hit by a sword, develop a sixth sense close to ESP [extrasensory perception], and be born with special abilities.

Moreover, even if there are slight differences for each child born, they are unconditionally born with black hair and brown eyes.

“Come to think of it, that’s true. Haha. Your bloodline is also quite mysterious.”

There are many families around the world, and there are special bloodlines, but there are few as unique as the Sungmoo Lee Family.

I grew up in such a place, so a mixed-blood with a spirit… To be honest, it’s hard to believe, but it’s a level that is somewhat understandable.

The Syndicate Head wore a faint smile.

“You’re right. I’ve only heard stories, but I’ve heard that there’s spirit blood mixed in our family. According to the handed-down stories, they tried to save the spirits and were covered in their blood, and their bodies began to transform into spirits.”

It was the content that the Black Viper Syndicate Head had said in her previous life, revealing the origin of her power directly.

Due to the influence of the mixed spirit blood, the bloodlines of the successive Black Viper Syndicate Heads were all born with extraordinary brains.

Humans see what they cannot see, and feel what they cannot feel, so perhaps it was a natural phenomenon.

However, there were side effects.

That is, the part of being human is gradually being eaten away by the part of the spirit.

Those who inherit that bloodline invariably become part of nature before the age of 50 and scatter like spirits.

Not having a name, living only in magic-filled territories, and avoiding artificial objects as much as possible were all efforts to slow down the process.

“Not only me, but my ancestors have also tried to find a way to eliminate the spirit part flowing in this blood. But they haven’t obtained any meaningful information.”

The Syndicate Head’s voice was flat.

It was a voice that felt like she was deliberately suppressing her emotions.

“All that the predecessors have found out is just an old spirit’s prophecy that there will be an answer to solving Spiritification somewhere on this land. Besides that, we’ve tried many things, but nothing has worked.”

She lifted the teacup to her mouth.

However, perhaps it was difficult to even lift the teacup; her fingertips trembled.

“But are you really saying that you know a way to cure my constitution?”

I nodded.

“Yes, of course. Even if I wasn’t here, the Syndicate Head would have found a way.”

The Syndicate Head was surprised at my firm words.

It wasn’t just empty words.

Because that’s what actually happened in the history of my previous life.

The Black Viper Syndicate Head in her previous life often appeared in the media as if she wanted to be compensated for being trapped all that time.

She left behind a lot of stories about herself.

I was just conveying her story again now.

“Then I would like to ask. How can I escape this cycle?”