Chapter 97. The First Move Isn’t Something I Yield
It wasn’t a complete Burst Annihilation. More like a simplified, makeshift Burst Annihilation.
And so—once, twice. Three times in a row—
KWAANG! KWAANG! Ruuuumble, KBOOM!
The makeshift Burst Annihilation drilled into the ground, and the earth screamed as it caved inward.
The cavity where Destrow had been sleeping collapsed with a roar, and Aster’s body fell into the hollow along with the crumbling rubble.
A voice came at that moment. <Truly a savage guest.>
BZZZZZZZZZT—!
“Ah, damn it!”
A voice that suddenly tore at his eardrums! With a ringing that thundered as if it would split his skull, Aster ground out a curse.
Was it because the pitch was high? No—no.
It was simply because that voice was so utterly impure (不淨).
‘What is this….’
Aster started to lift his head to look at the source, then gently closed his eyes.
He felt it instinctively. If he looked now… his eyes would never be intact.
But only for a moment.
“Hoo.”
With his breath, Aster found calm.
Pure mana had many uses. No matter how incomprehensible—and at the same time, impure—the energy was, he could endure it a little.
And that wasn’t all.
Bzzzz—
A strange energy spreading out from the Fire Seal (火印). As it began to spread through him—
He felt much more comfortable.
The Fire Seal’s energy granted him immunity against Destrow’s impurity.
With a fully relaxed expression, Aster raised his head.
“What, you were already awake?”
<Hm. Is it the care of Yeokcheon (逆天)? No—rather, it is your own capability.>
“Answer what I asked, you rotten bastard. And are you Destrow?”
He knew without asking.
But he asked for another reason.
Compared to Destrow’s fearsome reputation as a monstrous (凶物), the existence before his eyes was a handsome man with a gleaming face.
Only the body made of black and white signaled that he was not human.
“Tsk. Ignoring me again.”
Aster glared at Destrow, who gave no reply.
But unlike his outward casualness, his thoughts were complicated.
Normally, around now he should’ve punched him in the face once, but….
Why couldn’t he?
‘…This bastard is too strong.’
An overwhelming presence that felt like his eyes would be ripped out just by holding it.
He couldn’t even dare.
Like standing before a mountain with no visible end.
Had Destrow sensed Aster’s thoughts? <I offer you a proposal.>
Destrow spoke with a faint smile at his lips.
His graceful fingers extended softly, pointing to Aster’s left chest.
<Give Yeokcheon (逆天) to me.>
A voice you couldn’t refuse.
As if every sweet voice in the world had been gathered and refined into something seductive.
Of course, that was only how it sounded to Aster, who had blocked the impurity—someone else would’ve heard it as a hideous sound that shook the mind.
Anyway.
“Yeokcheon? You mean the grimoire?”
<A grimoire… yes. It had taken such a form. Give it to me.>
“Hmm….”
Arms crossed, Aster looked at Destrow with a crooked gaze.
“If I give it to you?”
Destrow’s smile deepened slightly.
<After I rule the world, I will place in your hands the most fertile land and the highest throne. And the sharpest treasured sword, and the wisest staff.>
He didn’t understand.
He got the land and the throne, but a sword is a sword—what the hell is “the sharpest treasured sword,” and what kind of nonsense is “the wisest staff”…?
Meanwhile—
Wiiiiiiing—
The Fire Seal (火印) shook violently.
As if it were saying—
— Don’t be fooled.
…Like that.
‘Tsk. Stay still for a second, will you.’
Destrow.
Calling himself “I,” spouting incomprehensible nonsense.
If he were just some random lunatic, Aster might’ve suspected he’d stuck a flower into his own head, but to dismiss him as simply crazy….
‘He’s too strong. Seriously, that’s….’
In Aster’s mind, the strongest was Paharen.
A mage for whom the title “the strongest of all time” wasn’t exaggerated at all. No matter how unlucky his face and beastlike his insides, the magic he wielded could only be called divine.
So think.
What if you compared Destrow and Paharen?
The answer was….
‘I don’t know, damn it.’
It felt like they were different units altogether.
Like asking whether 100kg is bigger or 100m is bigger—how could you compare that? Weight and length. Different units.
<Hm. Your hesitation is long. Do you dislike my proposal? I can give you everything.>
That was the truth.
Destrow.
In life, he had been the first Emperor since the dawn of humanity.
A ruler who had placed the entire world beneath his feet.
There had been no land in all creation that wasn’t his, and even the fruit that ripened on some nameless wild hill had all been his.
He had never once lied.
A lie was… in the end, a tool used by the weak, the lacking, those without enough ability—used to obtain what they wanted, or to hide themselves.
Even before becoming Emperor, Destrow had been the greatest mage without equal. There had been no reason for him to lie.
If he said he would give, then he would give.
Whatever it was.
<O master of Yeokcheon. My patience runs deep, but it is not infinite.>
Translated: decide quickly.
At that urging, Aster let out a deep sigh.
“Yeah, fine.”
<Ho. Have you decided?>
Aster nodded.
“Honestly, I needed a little time to prepare myself.”
<I understand. Yeokcheon is that kind of object. However, in this moment, your judgment—abandoning greed and accepting reality—shines the brightest.>
“Does it?”
Aster smirked.
“Then wanna see me shine even more?”
<…?>
“Watch this carefully.”
He thrust his palm forward. The moment Destrow’s gaze fixed on it—Pajijik! Light burst out.
Krrrrumble…!
With a rumbling sound like thunder, a cluster of light erupted from his hand!
<…!>
“Ahh, this is called Burst Annihilation.”
‘Of course, it’s a makeshift one.’
The Burst Annihilation Aster detonated bared savage fangs right before Destrow, the Emperor’s nose.
Dying in a fight and suicide are different.
And from Aster’s perspective, fighting the Emperor was no different from suicide.
That was what he meant by “preparing himself.”
Taht!
Aster flung himself backward at once. At the same time, a question spun through his mind.
‘Damn it… how many seconds will it buy me.’
Three seconds? Four? Eh—still, it’ll hold for ten seconds, right.
But maybe a person isn’t destined to die so easily.
— [Devour him.]
A distant voice in his ear. Familiar yet unfamiliar, unfamiliar yet familiar.
The Fire Seal (火印), the grimoire!
But—devour him?
Hwaaaaaak—!
At the monstrous killing intent (殺氣) pouring out from the Emperor, cold sweat trickled down Aster’s spine.
‘Who’s about to get devoured right now… damn it!’
It was just killing intent, and yet it was so vicious.
The killing intent itself tightened around his throat as if to snap it. Sharper than any famed sword—so sharp no blade could compare!
But only for a moment.
— [I will return it.]
‘Return what?’
There was no reply.
‘You rotten bastard….’
After waiting briefly for an answer, Aster spat—no, he didn’t spit. With a mask on, he’d only be spitting on his own face.
Anyway—tap, tap. To buy time, he flung himself back up toward the cavity entrance….
Tap!
The moment Aster rose to the surface, the change began.
Zzzzzzzzt….
“…?”
Unknown afterimages overlapping his body.
Over Aster’s body, a shape formed with pajijik, like a hologram being projected.
At first, it appeared and disappeared like a broken projector, but gradually its form grew clear.
As if a new document were being overwritten on an already-written page.
Aster let out an exclamation only after the change ended.
“Huh. What the hell is this.”
His eye level had changed.
No—more than that.
Kkudeudeuk.
His fist clenched without thinking. From where was this strength coming? An uncontrollable gigantic strength (巨力) burst from his muscle fibers.
And what about his core?
Krrrrr…!
Rough mana filled his heart to the brim. A sea of boiling lava sprawled inside his core.
But not everything had improved.
Mana Limbs (魔力肢體). The realm had risen by several stages, but how should he put it….
‘It’s crude.’
And that wasn’t all.
The mana in his core was full and boiling, but its purity had dropped severalfold.
Even his circuits clearly felt thick with turbid impurities.
It was like….
Yeah.
‘My previous life….’
Wasn’t it exactly the state he’d been in right before he died?
Snap!
When he flicked his finger, a curtain of mana appeared before his eyes. It was so transparent that his face showed through entirely….
“Ha!”
Seeing it, Aster couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“This is me.”
It was exactly him in his previous life.
Right before the final battle with House Deculan. The outfit from right before that.
As if everything from his peak had been copied over perfectly—everything was the same.
Just then—
<Yeokcheon… you play an interesting trick.>
Destrow rose from the cavity.
His voice was boiling—he seemed seized by no small amount of rage.
“What, you took a bit long, so… what’s with you?”
Aster tilted his head at Destrow as he climbed up.
Because—
Zzzzt… zzt.
A body where only light and shadow existed. Something rippled and writhed over it.
Looking closely, it was….
Strange characters.
The same pattern as what was engraved on Aster’s chest.
But unlike Aster’s, its effect didn’t seem beneficial to Destrow.
Destrow panted roughly.
<Hoo, huff….>
Seeing him like a ferocious beast caught in a trap, Aster asked inwardly.
‘Is it you?’
No answer, as expected.
Or maybe this was an answer, in its own way.
— [I will suppress him.]
A voice like an explanation.
Aster let out a small laugh.
“Bastard. I thought you’d shoved me straight into a dead end—turns out you had a conscience.”
He almost would’ve been hurt.
Anyway, Destrow panted under the Fire Seal’s (火印) scheme.
<Yeokcheon. You… you cannot do this to me.>
How much effort had he put in, to perfect himself.
After placing the entire world beneath his feet, he had offered countless citizens as sacrifices.
He had sacrificed the sharpest treasured swords—meaning the greatest knights.
And he had used the wisest staffs—the most profound mages—as nourishment.
<And yet….>
A boiling voice.
At that moment, a fierce wave of force burst out around Destrow.
<You left me… and then, for a mere wretch like him!>
PAAANG—!
At the same time, strange characters shattered outward in all directions.
He couldn’t shake them all off. But compared to before, a great deal of bondage had fallen away.
Watching that, Aster shook his head as if exasperated.
“You’re a clingy bastard.”
<How dare you not shut your mouth!>
“Whoa….”
Perhaps because he’d shaken off some restraints, he was indeed fierce.
‘Tsk. Try a little harder. Lazy bastard.’
Aster scolded the Fire Seal (火印) again—after having praised it just moments ago.
His attitude flipped back and forth like turning a palm, but for Aster, it was only natural.
“Still pretty strong….”
Aster had become stronger, Destrow had become weaker. The gap had narrowed sharply, but Destrow was still above him.
He could feel it clearly.
“Yeah, well… this much, I should handle myself.”
What more could he ask?
From a pure suicide act, it had at least been adjusted to a level you could call a “battle.”
Of course, he was still strong as hell….
‘Let’s do it.’
When had Aster ever jumped in because he thought he’d win? Compared to earlier, even this was something to be grateful for. <I will tear you apart.>
“Go ahead.” <Then Yeokcheon will realize its judgment was wrong.>
“Ah, what’s wrong is your obsession.”
<….>
“…. ”
As Destrow glared fiercely, Aster slowly raised his arm and crooked his finger.
“I won’t yield the first move.”
That finger was his middle finger.
<You will regre—.>
“Yeah. I take it back.”
Aster sprang forward. A raging Burst Annihilation detonated against Destrow’s face.
Unlike earlier, it was a complete Burst Annihilation.
