The consciousness fades away.
At some point, the ground beneath my feet vanished.
Gradually, it feels as if I’m falling endlessly, downwards, downwards…
The senses are dulling.
My mind is hazy.
It’s a different feeling from when I was about to disappear into the void.
This is dying.
I call out desperately for Mi Jeong but find her nowhere.
I can neither see nor touch her.
It’s only natural, after all.
Humans are always alone at the moment of death.
‘I can’t die like this.’
If I die, Mi Jeong dies too.
She placed that curse upon herself.
Not only that, but I still haven’t taken Yerina out, and Jill and Yulia are waiting outside…
Anyway, I can’t die yet.
I must survive.
Absolutely, definitely…!
Huh?!
In that moment…
I felt my vocal cords resonate as my voice burst forth.
The sensations in my hands and feet returned, and my vision cleared.
I thought I’d be a mess after waking up from freezing, but surprisingly, I’m in decent shape.
I never expected to see this many times…
…?!
At that moment, a ‘voice’ penetrated my brain folds, sending chills down my spine.
It’s the voice of the God of Underworld.
Yet, for some reason, despite hearing that voice directly, I only felt a bit of fear.
There were no responses of blood gushing or splitting headaches.
You certainly didn’t expect a third encounter, did you? No way a mere mortal would step into the Underworld three times without dying…
The God of Underworld mutters as if incredulous.
Honestly, I’m baffled too and feel like crying.
Who would want to see your face this often?
It really feels awkward, driving me mad.
Isn’t this fate? How about taking a look around the Underworld while you’re here? It’d be easier to do your work if you had a glimpse first.
No… I’m fine…
At the moment I desperately rejected the God of Underworld’s offer, I felt something odd about my body.
I can feel sensations, but it’s different from usual.
I then realized that the sensation I was feeling wasn’t arising from my physical senses.
Huh…!
So, you’ve finally noticed. It seems this is your first experience of leaving your body in a spiritual state.
I have no physical body!
I thought I had transcended beyond the void into the Underworld.
Turns out my soul had been separated from my body and was just swept along by the natural flow of attraction into the Underworld.
This is insane!
Did I really die?
So distinctly, with no room for turning back?
Trying my best to calm down, I took a glance back.
It’s hopeless.
Just an endless, dark void…
No, only the fleshy form of the God of Underworld endlessly stretches out.
Without a body, I can’t use demonic energy or mana either.
I feel a certain degree of attraction.
But the pull of the Underworld is so strong that I can’t escape its flow.
I can’t go back.
There’s really no way at all.
It’s like having my arms and legs completely severed.
Why are you trembling like that? Lift your head.
I know it’s an outrageous request, but… Please, just once, just this once, will you help me? Spare my life. If you give me this one chance, I swear to support you forever in the Underworld after death. So please…
Hahaha! If you know it’s shameless, at least lift your head first!
…
The God of Underworld laughs cheerfully.
I slowly lifted my head and gazed at the God of Underworld’s form.
In the pitch-black darkness, the faint image of a will peeked through.
It clearly wasn’t a personality; it was just mimicking human traits and emotions, yet it felt surprisingly vivid.
As I thought, gazing directly at the God of Underworld meant I was already dead.
When I was alive, just hearing the God of Underworld’s voice dealt damage to me.
But now, in this spiritual state, I could stare directly at it without any repercussions.
The God of Underworld, cloaked in shadowy flesh, looked intensely at me while showering me with a joyful essence.
You probably think you know this, but it doesn’t matter if you have shame or not. I only operate according to my own principles. I have no intentions of bending for anyone, including you. No matter how enticing the conditions may be, I will not agree to a contract. After all, the laws can’t be twisted with weak restraints like contracts.
So, that means…
Yes. I have no intention of sending you back. No, intention…? Hmm. That’s a peculiar choice of words. Desire? That doesn’t suit something without a heart either. It seems this misunderstanding arises from borrowing human language. Anyway, as long as you understand the context, that should suffice, right?
You’re absolutely right… Throwing a tantrum won’t change anything…
Exactly. So, let’s use this opportunity to converse.
Alright. Let’s do that.
I reluctantly kicked my feet.
Then, I broke free from gravity and physical restraints, floating freely.
I dove into the darkness, and soon the scene of the Underworld unfolded before my eyes.
It seems you’re carrying out the task I assigned quite well.
A task, you say? Ah… So that’s what you meant.
I slightly pulled out flowers from my pocket.
Yellow jasmine, black equipment, blue cyclamen, and red camellia.
As a spirit, I think these came along emulating my appearance right before I died.
Of course, only the appearance is manifested, not the actual flowers reaching this place.
With all the essence loaded from Yerina’s martial arts, the cyclamen shined again, while all the flowers regained their vitality.
No. The camellia seems to have been fresh from the start…
But what use does this have…
I’ve already died…
The essence that forms you is the connections you’ve crossed paths with. Thus, it’s a smart judgment to base your new inner world on that. If you had tried to separate one of your essences and use that as a foundation, it would have failed without question. Doing so wouldn’t be creating anew, but merely restoring something. You seem to have remembered not to forget what I said about restoration being impossible.
…
Restoration is impossible.
However, it’s possible to create anew from the beginning.
Hearing that, I immediately commanded Mi Jeong to bring the flowers from my inner world.
Though they aren’t my essence, all my purpose and joy in living are there.
Honestly, my essence could be whatever happens to it.
As long as my loved ones exist there and memories with them remain, that’s all I care about.
Those flowers should be enough to create and maintain my inner world. I, as the King of Hell, guarantee it.
Thank you…
And that sword, did you make it yourself?
Yes. That’s right. I thought it would make handling martial arts easier…
Willpower gathers in my hand, forming the shape of a transparent sword.
The sword, absorbing the martial arts secrets of Yerina, is sturdier and sharper than ever.
It’s not the same sword that would have blown away with a gust of wind.
Now, it surpasses even a real sword, and could stand against a magic sword.
It feels like it would grow even stronger with further refinement.
Since this has materialized through my will, I can summon it even in a spiritual state.
That was a brilliant choice too. Well, I may not know much about martial arts, but I understand that sword can touch the essence of things. If used well, it can greatly aid in slicing through the inner world and unfolding your status. It really is an extravagant tool for a human.
Thanks…
Every guess I had was spot on.
Recharging the flowers before wilting.
Forging the sword with the essence of three martial arts secrets was an instinctive action, yet all of it was the right judgment.
With this, I had completed preparations to cultivate my inner world anew.
But at the very end, I ended up failing.
In a void, I died.
It’s frustrating and painful.
I feel tears bubbling up, but…
Without any bodily functions, I was able to sufficiently suppress them with my will.
The God of Underworld, quietly watching me, finally spoke.
Do you regret it?
I stopped regretting that long ago. It was a valuable life.
Have you accepted it?
Not at all. I’ve never given up hope and I won’t. I will likely continue to dream of revival. I won’t resort to wicked tricks like necromancy… But I will probably endlessly search for a way to return to the current world.
Hahaha… Is that so? Even teasing might become a burden soon. Anyway, realize this now. You are not dead yet.
What?
What is this guy talking about?
I became somewhat dazed.
Have I ever treated you as a corpse? I treated you purely as a guest. I was curious how long you would mistakenly think you were dead, and it seems it’s endless!
Then what on earth is this…?
From what I can gather, you’re currently in a dying state. Your physical body has died, but your spiritual body hasn’t been marked with death yet. However, it seems the aura of death clinging to your soul is so dense that you unintentionally flowed into the Underworld. If you master the art of astral projection, you should be able to freely come and go to the Underworld whenever you wish.
My face heated up.
So I’m not dead but just in a dying state?
Feeling both ridiculous and relieved, a sigh of comfort escaped me.
Besides, the thought of freely visiting the Underworld through astral projection…
That sounds horrific.
I’d never learn astral projection, even if I died!
They say a person’s true feelings come out at the last moment. Thanks to that, I had a good view of your true feelings. I really look forward to the afterlife. To have a human-born aide! Ah! It’s been so long!
I’ll take my leave now. It was enjoyable.
Leaving behind the God of Underworld who seemed to be screaming in ecstasy, I closed my ears.
This truly is the last time visiting the Underworld.
I must do lots of good deeds so I won’t have to visit after dying…
I swore and swore in my mind.
And just as I was about to open my eyes…
The blue cyclamen in my hand began to blink brightly, and I felt my spiritual body being forcefully dragged somewhere.
Instinctively, I knew.
Yerina was calling me.
And my physical body was being revived.
