Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 319

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 319

After all the memories I had experienced ended,

I was enveloped in a bright light.

No, now that I looked closer, the bright light was flowing from around my heart.

The Choi family’s power, the power of purification.

A power passed down from the family’s ancestors to my mother, from my mother to Butler Choi, and from Butler Choi to me.

After learning about my origins and obtaining answers to countless truths, I felt a profound realization washing over me.

Whoosh!

The power of purification spread even more intensely throughout my body.

It was a vast and gentle power, unlike anything I had felt before.

‘Mother.’

I felt my mother in that power.

That will, which had bestowed all her life force, mana, and power to protect me.

The bloodline of the Soongmoo Yi family and the bloodline of the Soongjung Choi family, which could never mix.

What made that impossible feat possible was none other than the loving will of a woman named Choi Yu-jeong.

The light wrapped around me even more warmly.

Feeling the magnitude of that power, I slowly opened my eyes.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, a dark space built with old bricks came into view.

It was the same scenery I had seen when the final test began.

Then, chattering voices penetrated my ears.

“One who has returned from death.”

“Did you win?”

“To think it would be like this……”

“Amazing. Great. Congratulations.”

…….

The chattering voices of the dwarves continued.

At that moment, one dwarf approached me.

“One who has returned from death.”

It was the first dwarf.

The one who had subtly taken care of me from the beginning, unlike the other dwarves.

“Did you see it? What.”

I took a long breath for a moment.

The memories I had just seen flashed quickly through my mind.

“I saw the truth.”

I learned everything I had been questioning.

I let out a hollow laugh and closed my eyes tightly.

‘The fact that the timelines didn’t match, the ill-fated relationship between Six Nights [an enigmatic organization], and the main family. And above all… what about Father.’

The reason why Father didn’t try to give me attention in my previous life.

I would have done the same.

Because his lover’s child, who had died decades ago, appeared before him as a baby.

Moreover, the place where that child was kept was related to Six Nights.

‘Perhaps this might be my flaw.’

Having Choi family blood mixed in isn’t a problem.

But being entangled with Six Nights for a long time was definitely a problem.

If someone knew this, they would try to pressure me with it.

‘I don’t care.’

But I really thought that didn’t matter.

My mother’s will to protect me even as she was dying was far more important than that.

…Of course, not all questions were resolved.

‘Why did you accept me in this life?’

That was the question.

At first, Father didn’t care about me like he did in my previous life. Even Butler Choi must have been the same.

But as the days went by, Father gradually paid attention to me.

Although he treated me equally with the other brothers, he favored me during the cadet corps, the duel with the sixth child, and the conflict with the Council of Elders, and even left me the Simgeomgyeol [a secret sword technique manual].

Clearly, that was a very different side of Father.

‘I have a lot to ask Father.’

I felt like the image of Father I saw in my mother’s memory and the image of Father I experienced were mixed up.

These are things I can’t know right now.

I felt like I needed to have a proper conversation, combining both my past and present lives.

It was then.

“……Kuh, heu.”

A strange groan was heard.

I raised my head and looked straight ahead.

“So, that’s how it was… that’s what it was. Keuheuheuh!”

It was the old monster who had taken over Michael’s body.

No, it wasn’t even Michael’s body anymore.

Whether the body changed according to the soul, his appearance was becoming closer to the old monster’s appearance I had seen in the mental space.

“Did the other half come too?”

As soon as I saw it, I knew what had happened.

The other half of the soul, not the half that had been planted in Michael, had awakened again using that body.

The old monster chuckled lowly, muttering.

“So that’s what it was. One who has returned from death. So that’s why you were called that, it was regression. Regression. Regression. So my experiment didn’t fail… so that’s what happened……”

The old monster seemed to have realized something, staggering as he rose from his seat.

“Did you come looking to die again?”

I raised the sword made of black energy and slowly approached him.

The old monster grinned.

“Keuheuheuh! Although I made a mistake, there’s no problem now. You’re still my masterpiece. Did you think you could wield black energy because of your power? Wake up! In the end, I’m the one who created you!”

The old monster shouted, his eyes flashing open.

“Child. It’s because of the black energy I injected that you could become like this. It was when you absorbed the fragment in Zone B-1 that it finally bloomed and turned back time. You regressed, and you could wield that power! That’s! Because! I! Made! You!”

The old monster shouted as if struggling.

The old monster had succeeded in sending a fragment of his soul to his ‘outer’ self in order to convey the truth, even as his soul was being torn to shreds by Lee Cheol’s spirit.

After absorbing that fragment, the old monster finally learned Lee Cheol’s true nature.

‘What a miracle. A being who can wield black energy was born from the mixing of Soongmoo Yi and Soongjung Choi! It’s me, I’m the one who achieved this!’

The old monster felt greed.

Only then did he realize what Lee Gun-seong was aiming for.

That body.

If he had that, he could do anything!

“I won’t lose this time! You are mine……!”

Just as the old monster was about to flash his Evil Eye again and drag Lee Cheol into the mental world.

“I’ve already experienced it once, did you think I’d fall for it again.”

Lee Cheol’s cold voice.

In that voice, an emotion akin to anger could be felt.

And.

Swoosh-!

A chilling slicing sound rang out.

The old monster was puzzled.

‘Why is my vision…?’

The ground was slowly rising towards him.

No, now that he saw it, his head had fallen to the ground.

‘I was cut? My neck? I definitely activated the Evil Eye?’

The old monster couldn’t understand why his Evil Eye hadn’t worked, why the spells, hypnosis, and mental attacks hadn’t worked.

It was a simple principle.

Knowing the danger already, Lee Cheol had simply extended his sword beforehand.

“The miracle was achieved by my mother’s will, not because of your dirty desires.”

I placed my hand on the silver-colored jeogori [a type of traditional Korean jacket].

“Just die. You old monster.”

The drawn-out Black Night was swung without hesitation.

So that that tenacious life would never continue again.

So that that soul would never give birth to tragedy again.

Crack!

The old monster’s head didn’t even leave a trace.

* * *

Michael’s corpse disappeared without a trace.

There was no need to worry about any possible aftermath.

Because through my Evil Eye, I had observed the old monster’s soul completely disappearing.

‘The grudge has been repaid. Mother.’

Although I have never met you, nor spent time with you, I have taken care of that grudge as a son.

“It’s over. All the tests.”

At that moment, the dwarves approached me and stared at me intently.

It was true.

All the long, long tests were over.

“But.”

“We have no choice but to worry.”

“To fret, to be concerned…….”

“You are a dangerous existence. You, who have returned from death.”

“Although you eventually achieved it, we don’t know.”

“You were different from the singularities up until now.”

The dwarves said such things and looked at me.

“I want to ask.”

“Do you have confidence? You, who have returned from death.”

“The confidence to stop the primordial monster.”

The light in the eyes of the seven dwarves began to intensify.

In an instant, their voices changed to telepathy.

-Now, the final question.

-Give us your answer.

-Do you have confidence?

-Can you do it?

-Do you have the power to postpone the end of this world?

Facing the seven pairs of eyes, I clenched and unclenched my hands.

Those guys still say it’s impossible.

What I’ve felt while living is that there’s no such thing as impossible.

My mother made the impossible possible and gave birth to me, and I inherited that possibility and have now come to stand in this place.

So the answer I have to give is simple and clear.

I chuckled and replied.

“I think I’ve said it every time, but I just don’t plan on stopping.”

-……?

“Whether it’s the primordial monster or whatever, if it rises again, I’ll see it to the end. If you fight to postpone it like a coward, even what could be won won’t be.”

I will end it.

I said those words and looked down at the Black Night, which was ringing loudly.

“I will kill it. The primordial monster. I am confident that I can do it.”

I will believe it is possible and move forward.

If there is no way, I will find it, and if it is impossible, I will make it possible.

It was an answer I had already given several times.

-That is your answer.

The dwarves looked at Lee Cheol like that and hesitated.

It wasn’t that there hadn’t been those who had given such an answer until now.

But they had all failed.

Even that Yi Hyul-hyeon.

But… at the same time, they felt a certain uncertain belief rising.

Lee Cheol was always making the impossible a reality.

His very existence was a newness that had never existed before, and his uniqueness was different from anyone in history.

Yes, if… if there really was someone who could do it.

If there was really someone who could kill the primordial monster.

It could only be that Lee Cheol.

-……I will believe.

One dwarf came forward and said that.

Following that dwarf, the remaining six also looked up at me all at once.

Seven pairs of yellow eyes stared straight at me.

-You, who have returned from death.

-You have overcome the countless histories recorded on this land and proven the possibility.

-You have won.

-You have proven it.

-From now on.

-The owner of this castle is.

-You, who have returned from death. You will be.

Kugugugung!

The entire space I was standing in began to vibrate.

-Since the beginning of human records, from the immemorial past until now.

-All the threads of cause and effect and destiny that have been connected will reach you.

-This castle will now move for you and become your wings to fight to protect the world.

-All these records will now be yours.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the dark space I was standing in was filled with bright light.

I widened my eyes.

The space I was standing in was filled with countless crystal balls.

I could tell without even asking.

That each and every one of those crystal balls was a ‘record.’

And that those records had now become mine.

Wiiiing!

At that moment, I felt a stinging pain on the back of my hand.

When I quickly looked at the back of my hand, I saw a pattern being engraved there.

-It is a symbol representing the owner of the castle.

-Wherever you are, whatever you do, this castle will follow your will.

The dwarves all looked down at me.

-Please do as you wish. You, who have returned from death… no.

-Our master.

The voices of the seven dwarves echoed.

That’s how I came to possess the Aerial Fortress.

* * *

Even though I became the owner of the Aerial Fortress, nothing had particularly changed.

This was because the Aerial Fortress had entered recovery.

“As the scale of the test was large, the castle itself consumed a great deal of power. It needs time to recover.”

The first dwarf followed me and explained.

The other dwarves seemed to be busy stabilizing the castle.

“It won’t take long, Master. However, there is simply no room to create anything or replay records.”

As I was listening to the story without any particular thought, I felt a sense of incongruity.

This was because the voice was so clear even though it wasn’t telepathy.

“The reason you can hear my voice is the power of this pattern, Master.”

“I see. But it’s strange because you suddenly became so polite.”

“I apologize.”

“Don’t be so polite. Just make yourselves comfortable.”

I looked at the first dwarf for a moment.

Was it just my imagination that the voice sounded familiar?

I smiled lightly and gestured.

“Then how long will the recovery take?”

“Three months should be enough.”

Three months.

It was just the right amount of time.

“It’s ahead, Master.”

The place the first dwarf led me to was a huge magic circle in the center of the castle.

It was a teleportation circle.

“If you step here, you will be able to go down to the ground.”

The reason I was looking for the teleportation circle was to finally go outside after finishing the long test.

“What are you planning to prepare outside?”

At the dwarf’s words, I took a short breath and replied.

“I’m thinking of going back to the family.”

The depths of the family I learned about here.

My second sister had returned, and I had made several preparations just in case, so I didn’t know if it would be okay, but… I was worried because I couldn’t know the situation outside.

‘I never thought I would spend so much time in the Aerial Fortress like this. Not only the family but also the international situation must be a mess.’

I didn’t know any information about the outside world right now.

The dwarves also said that they hadn’t kept records because they were in charge of the test.

“Then I’ll be going……”

I turned around and got on the teleportation circle.

No, it was the moment I was about to get on.

“……!”

In a brief passing moment, I felt that the yellow light in the first dwarf’s eyes was somehow too familiar.

There was the name of a certain being flashing through my head.

I quickly called out to him.

“You, perhaps……”

After pausing for a moment, I opened my mouth politely.

“Are you… Ru?”

The dwarf’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“We do not remember our original lives, Master. I am merely a librarian who protects the records of this castle. And even if that were the case, our relationship was not one that continued in reality.”

I looked at him for a moment.

His voice, his way of speaking, even those eyes.

Was it just a misunderstanding?

Or was it the truth?

Of course, even if the first dwarf was Ru, as the dwarf said, I had not seen Ru in reality.

I had only seen him in the replayed records.

However, even so.

The strong sense of homogeneity in the cause and effect that Ru and I shared was a fact that could never be denied.

The progress he made was also a fact that was passed on to me.

But.

“……I see.”

Anyway, it might not be important.

I chuckled and got on the teleportation circle.

“Once again, I wish you good fortune.”

The dwarf’s voice continued.

I nodded and left the castle.

* * *

When I left the castle like that.

What greeted me was too different from what I had expected.

“What is this, exactly?”

I frowned and looked around.

There was no one.

The land I had descended on.

What was on it was a wave of dark energy so thick that it completely engulfed the land.