Hoo-ook.
“…!”
Somewhere in the east of Teshiniria.
The seven shadows, serving the great darkness in the pitch-black dark, gazed toward one point, startled.
At the end of their gaze were seven candles.
Seven candles standing against the endless darkness.
Except for one that had gone out first, another candle lost its light.
“Oh… the Earth?”
“The fire of the Earth!”
“The fire from the West has gone out. This must mean the Earth has perished.”
“Is this the second after Space…”
“Indeed, that wave from earlier must have been caused by the Earth’s annihilation.”
“……”
“Is that day approaching?”
The shadows were all cloaked in darkness, wearing masks that made it impossible to distinguish one from another.
Among them, the shadow at the highest seat nodded, exuding even darker shadows.
“The one who destroyed the Old Prison. He surely used the powers of Space and Earth. That person must have killed the Earth and seized its power.”
“Heh. Does that mean he now possesses two great powers?”
“Not quite. The power of Space has been torn to shreds and scattered throughout the world, so he doesn’t have it all. At best, he has the ‘largest piece’.”
But even the largest piece is ultimately just Space.
The one who usurped the Earth must have obtained overwhelming power, beyond anyone’s reach.
The shadows murmured.
While other sects were wary or hostile toward beings referred to as ‘ancestors’ or struggled to absorb their power by any means, those serving the darkness were different.
“They genuinely worship the darkness.”
When the shadow at the main seat lightly tapped Space, everyone’s gaze focused on one point.
“It doesn’t matter. We proceed as planned.”
“It doesn’t matter? What do you mean? That existence will surely target the great darkness.”
“Anyway, the ‘Sage’ of life will awaken everyone when the time comes. By then, our plan will be complete. Until then, we just need to remain as deep as possible in that person’s darkness.”
“But what if they come this way? Time may be running out.”
“Having already investigated her, we know the next target.”
As he shared knowledge through the darkness, all the shadows nodded in agreement.
Certainly, if things go on like this, there will be enough time.
Churuk.
As the shadow at the main seat took a stance with a clenched fist, the other shadows mirrored the position.
Like a perfect reflection of the great darkness, they all vanished into an even deeper darkness at once.
■
Kuwung!
“Looks like things are finally falling into place.”
[Is it really the end now?]
[It took a while, lol]
[Will Episode 3 open right away?]
[Let’s push it all the way to Episode 10, haha]
[Time to do something else soon]
[Now, don’t we not have the Holy Seal?]
[Let’s catch the month report]
[Are we ending the stream?]
[For real haha]
Having packed all the expensive items, books, and precious treasures from Jongsa’s Space, I was slowly ready to leave Teshiniara.
I’d love to gather all these star pieces (1/7), but the next episode hasn’t even opened yet, so I can’t just charge ahead blindly.
Even though I could enter another sect, I couldn’t just recklessly turn everything upside down.
At least like the Earth, I need to figure out what the deal is one by one, but retracing my steps after a week feels a bit much.
‘I’ll have to come back later.’
“Are you all set?”
“Of course. Should I give you this?”
“That’s enough. I don’t need it anymore.”
As I held out the Spirit of Earth, gathered neatly by Jongsa, ‘Earth’ shook its head.
I made a promise with Earth.
‘I will grant you revenge, so please follow my request.’
Earth was on high alert because of our previous conversation, but it had no choice but to accept.
If I ran away like this, I wouldn’t gain anything.
Wuuuum…!
The old star piece in my hand was the Dragon Heart of the Earth Dragon, radiating powerful energy.
“I believe you won’t abuse it.”
“Of course. Just trust me.”
Earth transferred most of its power, excluding Elder-level strength, into the Dragon Heart.
I pondered.
‘What should I do with Earth now?’
In the past, colossal disasters caused by monsters could be classified into two types.
One would be to beat them down to near death and seal them into my soul or weapon.
‘Or simply kill them.’
Sealing is all about the logic of ‘value.’
If Earth were useful, I would have sealed it separately, but unfortunately, the standards here were too high for Earth to enter.
In the end, Earth is just a ‘piece.’
No matter how it came to be, there’s no value in sealing such an incomplete existence.
After returning, unless it’s a special situation, I wouldn’t seal it.
But does that mean I would kill it? No, that’s not it.
“I’ll return it to you when the time is right to use it.”
There’s room for improvement.
Unlike ‘Karabus’ who massacres because they took a hit or to fill a void, Earth has its own story.
While the malicious monsters are merciless, those like Lasty and Pharaoh, who have their own narratives, can be considered for leniency if shown the possibility of improvement.
I’m not arguing about the ‘treatment’ based on the gravity of the sin, but I do discuss ‘how to handle’ it.
Sure!
“…When?”
“When you grow up?”
“……”
[What’s with the New Year’s money?]
[Hahaha]
[???: I’ll give it back when you’re an adult~]
[Got my New Year’s money stolen lol]
[The Earth is kind of pitiful]
[Not much different from a Sage lol]
[Hahaha]
[Great Lily]
[New Year’s Money Raider Great Lily ㄷㄷㄷ]
“…It feels weird, but okay. It’s better than having uncontrollable power.”
“I won’t be beaten up wherever I go, but just be careful. If people find out you’re alive, there’ll be chaos everywhere.”
“I know that much.”
“And there’s only one chance.”
Flinch.
At my static words, the Earth slightly steps back.
The reason for leniency.
“If you go wild a second time, it’ll be too late. You probably won’t even have the power for that.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“It seems like what the Sage said happened indeed.”
The Sage proposed the plan of ‘separation of power’ instead of waking everyone up.
His suggestion was to share the immense power and existence of the Children of God to prevent destruction.
For reasons of stability, we didn’t follow that plan, but looking back, it progressed similarly.
The Earth nodded heavily.
“…It happened this way for me, but it’d be best to be cautious with other humans. They’ll likely try to use their brothers for gain.”
“I’m prepared for that.”
“I’ll handle it, but beware of the Subordinates of the Source, Darkness, and Lightning. Other than Life, others are mostly enemies of brothers, while these are more like cooperative relationships.”
“……”
“Especially the humans on the Darkness side are fanatics and will definitely seek to wake their enemies…”
“…Of all three.”
“?”
The Source is the Dragon Lord, Light Dragon Sharlodo.
Darkness is the Black Dragon Seriphed.
Lightning is the Thunder God Dragon Plgurr.
These three are evaluated as the strongest among the dragon tribe, along with the Ice Dragon Sugarado.
Although the rank might be slightly lacking, the Earth possesses power around the Intermediate level, so they must have gotten quite strong as well.
‘Sharlodo is almost upper-tier level.’
The position of Dragon Lord is definitely not a place to be taken lightly.
“…As expected. It seems the Sage’s plan should not be executed.”
If such power gathers, it might surpass even the Celestial Being Ertarn.
No matter how much the Sage has no greed for power, he couldn’t refuse that level of strength.
The strength of these dragons must go to the rightful masters.
I handed half of the collected items to Minja, asking her to tidy up the mess caused by the Earth.
At my command, Minja, having gorged herself on the offerings and elixirs, bowed her head with the aura of an Urgent Disciple, while some were sent to the Elder Council.
Sent to the Elder Council.
The Elder Council must be in chaos by now.
The death of the oldest elder has stirred the entire continent.
They’re probably debating whether they should move now or not in this chaos.
“I’ve sent the maintenance costs, so they should manage just fine.”
Personally, I hope my “Dull Technique” keeps evolving.
[Isn’t there something we forgot?]
[It’s such a waste to give the Elixir away.]
[Let’s not give it—let Lily eat it all.]
[Currently, only Lily can get that, and selling it would fetch a pretty penny.]
[LOL]
“Are you leaving?”
“I’ll return later. It’ll take some time, though.”
“Thanks to you, I could avenge my grudge.”
The Earth bows its head.
It was an opportunity to avenge past grievances, but in the end, he neatly let go of that grudge.
Unlike the priest who tried to take advantage until the end, the Earth had changed.
“If you want to save it one last time, speak now. I won’t save it if you ask later.”
“I don’t need it.”
“I can even erase the memory.”
At my words, the Earth jolts.
Right now, if I wanted to, I could erase the memory of ‘losing someone.’
Of course, touching the soul requires a considerably high rank of power, so it wouldn’t be easy, but if the Earth completely lets its guard down, it might be possible.
The Earth could live on with its lover from now on.
“…It’s not going to work after all.”
“It’s not a bad option. Choose well—”
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“That’s a path where only I become happy. It isn’t for Jina.”
“……”
[Wow]
[So cool]
[Wait, can you erase Lily’s memory too?]
[What a romantic idea]
[ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
“In that case.”
I rose into the air without a trace of hesitation.
As Jongsa’s space split, the area that had lost its master crumbled completely, and I emerged with the Earth outside.
The Earth bowed its head once more and departed, leaving me alone in the void.
“Well, I should do one last thing before I really leave.”
[What?]
[Are you going to kill the Earth?]
[That one thing?]
[?]
“I have a purpose for coming here.”
The reason I had to come to Teshiniria in the end.
“Extreme Scythe Faction.”
“I need to collect the table fee.”
It’s time to collect the extortion fee.
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