Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 288

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 288

My ancestor’s story slowly unraveled, and I listened with a blank mind.

And when my ancestor stopped speaking.

I didn’t even answer, but looked down at the floor, clenching my fist tightly.

“Child.”

After a while, my ancestor called me and stroked my clenched hand, and only then could I come to my senses.

“Even a warrior must know how to cherish his body.”

I regained my senses and released the strength in my fist.

Perhaps because I clenched my fist too tightly, my nails had dug into my palm, staining it red.

When I raised my hand, blood flowed.

Droplets of blood trickled down my palm.

I stared at the bright red blood flowing along the curves of the blood vessels in my wrist for a moment.

“Everything you heard is true. I personally chased after your father and found out.”

“Yes, it’s not that I don’t believe it.”

“Are you shocked?”

“It would be a lie to say otherwise.”

The history of the family.

The origin of the 숭무이가 [Sungmuiga] organization.

And even the purpose of the existence called Yi Hyul-hyun.

I was shocked.

But I cooled my emotions and suppressed them.

“It’s not that I don’t believe what you say, Ancestor, but I need my own conviction.”

“What conviction do you need?”

“You don’t need to give it to me, Ancestor. I have to find it out myself.”

I can’t blindly trust what someone told me.

Even if it’s my ancestor.

I’m going to find out myself.

“After you find out?”

“If it’s all true….”

My eyes gleamed.

“Then I will simply act.”

A firm tone.

Despite hearing a shocking story, I recovered my emotions quickly.

Yi Hyang-seon quietly gazed at his descendant who would be born in this distant future.

A strong body, and an even brighter, stronger spirit.

Moreover, he was born with the blood of the 숭무이가 [Sungmuiga] and even the blood of the 숭정최가 [Sungjung Choi-ga].

Unbelievably high level, exceptionally rare lineage, and with such talent.

‘Perhaps….’

Suddenly, Yi Hyang-seon felt a deep resonance in his heart.

He had given up and had no choice but to entrust it to future generations.

He entered this cold tomb with vague expectations and frustrations.

But perhaps he had encountered a child who might be different from himself.

This child might be able to clear away the darkness of the 숭무이가 [Sungmuiga] and thwart his father Yi Hyul-hyun’s obsession.

‘Still lacking. But….’

All that’s left is to fill it in.

Perhaps he could guide this child a little further.

Even if he was just a record from the Aerial Fortress, even if this reality wasn’t real, there might be something he could pass on.

“…But there’s not much time left.”

“Ancestor?”

Crack!

At that moment, I realized that my ancestor’s body was aging even faster.

His hair became dry and white as if it had been bleached, and his skin cracked and wrinkled.

“I want to hear more stories and tell you more stories, but I only have this much time left.”

“No. I am very grateful.”

I could see my ancestor shaking his head.

Soon, my ancestor used his long sword as a support and rose from his seat.

“Right now, I don’t even have the strength to speak at length. I can only do it once at most, so engrave it clearly in your eyes.”

“What do you mean….”

Suddenly, my ancestor drew his sword.

I swallowed hard and took a few steps back.

A tremendous presence began to surge within the tomb.

He had only drawn a sword and taken a simple stance, but… a vast energy filled the wide tomb to the point where it felt small.

‘Could it be.’

I knew what my ancestor intended.

I used my Mystic Eyes and took a few steps back, staring directly at my ancestor’s sword.

My ancestor was trying to impart his teachings to me with his last remaining time.

Whoong!

And something unfolded.

I felt my vision distorting.

All the powers reflected in my Mystic Eyes changed simultaneously.

It was a power that could not be explained or expressed.

All the powers and rules of the world… were being transformed according to my ancestor’s standards.

The realm that my father and Luga had shown….

“The realm of Mind Sword is not the end.”

My ancestor’s voice echoed.

“Mind Sword is just opening the door, so there is something beyond….”

Mind Sword, the realm beyond.

I felt goosebumps all over my body, and an indescribable enlightenment flooded my head.

“After obtaining this, your weapon will reach him….”

Crackle….

With those words, the tip of my ancestor’s sword began to turn to dust and scatter.

The tremor that started from the sword soon spread to his fingertips, and starting from there, his entire body began to crumble like a sandcastle from the extremities.

Like the moment I had seen at my ancestor’s tomb before, my ancestor soon disappeared, leaving only a handful of sand.

Woo-oong!

Soon, I felt the space vibrating.

-The test is over.

Leaving behind the overwhelming enlightenment, I saw a dwarf descending from the distant ceiling.

It was the voice announcing the end of the third test.

* * *

A total of seven organizations had set foot in the Aerial Fortress.

Each organization was a globally renowned powerhouse, and naturally, their troop numbers were considerable.

However, upon reaching the third test, a large number of those troops deserted.

From the start, the Aerial Fortress’s test was not one that ordinary people could overcome by chance.

Trials to select those who possessed a strong karma to resist the primordial monster.

Those who could undergo such tests and challenge the next test were only those born with a strong destiny befitting it.

And among those born with such strong destinies, there were also incomprehensible and mysterious individuals.

A cult that was causing a stir in the world after the Aerial Fortress incident.

Behemoth.

The three apostles leading them were also facing the third test.

“Oh, oh, oh….”

From the First Apostle to the Third Apostle, the only three beings in Behemoth who did not wear masks uttered strange exclamations.

They stood in the desolate desert, facing the blowing wind.

It was no ordinary desert.

Everything from the sand grains to the sky and air was dyed black, making it an extremely ominous place.

Goo-ooo….

The desert night wind, pushing the sand, emitted a heavy wail.

A sight that any human with normal sensibilities would want to turn away from immediately.

However, the three apostles instead widened their eyes even more and moved their feet.

“Finally, we have come face to face like this.”

“Was it here?”

“Oh, ooh….”

Although it was clearly a human face, human emotions were expressed for the first time on their faces, which looked more like masks than masks.

Although their expressions still looked like they were forcibly made by twisting rubber, there was clearly something resembling the joy of ordinary people in their expressions.

“It’s there. It’s inside there.”

“We must be careful.”

“After all, these are just fictions.”

“The dwarves’ records are different from others. Power dwells in what has been accumulated over time.”

“I don’t care.”

The three apostles exchanged such words, and soon a man who seemed impatient strode forward.

Soon they were able to face the cause of the desert being dyed black.

It was a huge pit that looked like a hole or the mouth of a beast.

Usually, no matter how deep a hole is, the top part is bound to be visible.

But that was just black.

No, in the first place, it is not even known whether it is a hole or a pit.

It was just a round circle that was so black that it was blown open on the ground.

The people of the world call this hole the Blue Hole.

The central Pacific Ocean. An unknown space located in a place untouched by humans.

“Our god is sleeping here.”

The three apostles stared blankly at the hole.

The expression Blue Hole is wrong.

It was just called that because it was just a hole in the sea.

In the first place, this place was not even a hole.

The majority of people would not even be able to guess the identity of this place.

Only a very small number of chosen beings would know.

This is where the primordial monster sleeps and wakes up again.

The land where everything begins and everything ends.

The people of the world often say that monsters popped out of this hole.

It wasn’t wrong.

If the primordial monster is the beginning of all monsters, then this place, where the primordial monster begins to take its steps, was the origin where all monsters began.

“There. It’s starting.”

Soon, one apostle raised his hand and pointed.

There, other humans existed besides the three apostles.

Several humans.

Judging by the clothes and the shape of the tools they were holding, they were ancient humans whose era could be guessed.

“They are our beginning.”

The three apostles stood far away and watched their origins.

The humans were trembling, but as if drawn to something, they were moving towards the hole more and more.

Everything started from coincidence.

In the first place, the human species was made without knowing how to settle down, and ancient humans tried to walk on land and cross the sea for various reasons.

They were one of those people.

The humans who were drifting in the sea arrived here following the direction of the current.

No, perhaps even that coincidence was a branch of karma that had to happen.

Koo-ooo-ooo!

A strange vibration filled the ground.

The ancient humans did not even feel the vibration, and constantly moved their feet towards the hole.

And.

“Kkyaaaaaa!”

“Kuaaaaa!”

A scream echoed under the sky.

The piercing cry soon subsided, and the humans who touched the black pit soon fell powerlessly to the ground.

Their appearance was already too distorted to be seen as human.

An appearance that resembled a mixture of monsters.

There were several arms, compound eyes, scales growing on the skin… it was an appearance that seemed to be mixed with all kinds of creatures.

After a while, the three apostles headed towards them.

And the hands of the three apostles covered the heads of the fallen people.

“Can we finally find a way….”

“They are the only humans who have reached the primordial land….”

“Their records will open the way for us….”

Thud! Flutter!

The apostles’ hands were clenched tightly.

The moment the apostles’ hands touched them, the bodies of those who had been human began to convulse and twitch on their own.

The apostles did not care.

They pressed down on the struggling humans without a care, and they were pulling their hands as if tearing something from the bodies of the fallen people.

Crack!

And soon, along with a grotesque noise, something dark and dull was caught in the apostles’ hands.

The struggling humans fell and died.

“I found the way.”

The apostle muttered, looking at what was caught in his hand.

“Finally, the way to reach this place….”

“It is the beginning of the great work to make the world in the right form….”

“There is still one last condition left.”

They turned their heads.

A dwarf was slowly descending from above.

“The child of destiny born with a cursed bloodline.”

“Lee Cheol. That guy will be the key to finishing everything.”

The eyes of the three apostles turned somewhere.

The next test.

They looked forward to the next time, shining their eyes.

* * *

The dwarves all gathered in front of the crystal ball.

“Again, again. Again.”

“Again, the one who returned from death caused it. An anomaly.”

“He is full. Always an exception.”

The dwarves now had expressions that seemed to feel fear rather than feeling uncomfortable.

“In the end, it is meaningless. For us to do something. Just watch. What will happen will happen.”

The first dwarf said that and glanced at the fallen second dwarf.

“I said it. Several times. We are not the ones who decide. Just the ones who act. The ones who record. The ones who watch… just look at his appearance….”

The dwarves all closed their mouths.

“The problem is not just that. The ones wearing masks. They finally got it. I don’t know. Their purpose. It’s dangerous. They too.”

“It may be the answer. Their purpose too.”

“Is that really so?”

“Besides, there are too many. The ones left. More than we thought.”

One of the dwarves brought up such words.

Already, the majority of the troops had fallen while undergoing the test, but the dwarves were saying that even that was too much.

“Now it’s a test. Next.”

“I have to do it. A little earlier. A fight.”

“What? Already like that?”

“It’s not twisting it. Just taking the test early.”

“…….”