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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“…Thank you… Yoo-jin… for not… giving up… on me…”
“I couldn’t. We’ve come too far.”
“…Yes.”
Undecided smiled, her cheek pressed against my chest. It was a new, expressive face, but her voice was hoarse and hesitant.
I knew instantly, regardless of my Guardian Knight trait, that this was the Undecided I knew.
But she wasn’t exactly the same. She had avoided talking about her past, but now she had faced it, overcome it. I was with her in her past, I was with her now, and I would be with her in the future.
She had chosen to suffer with me, instead of seeking happiness. I had to bear that responsibility.
I wouldn’t abandon her.
“How much do you know about this facility? Even Alicia doesn’t know about this place…”
“I wonder… how much do you know about me?”
The old man’s lips twitched.
He might be a genius mage, but he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions. He had definitely met me before.
The question was, was he a regressor like me…?
“Tower Master, how many loops has it been?”
“…”
He took the bait.
He tried to suppress it, but I caught the subtle twitch in his facial muscles. I wasn’t as perceptive as Yerina, but as a superhuman, I could detect lies and hesitation.
‘He knows about regression.’
His reaction was too flustered to be genuine confusion. He understood what I meant just from the word loops. He definitely knew something about regression.
“Zero. I haven’t succeeded in regressing yet.”
“What?”
“But how did you know I was researching regression? Ah, I see… you were researching it too! I’ve dedicated my life to separating the soul from the body and sending it back in time, but you’re trying to send memories instead! I finally understand the meaning of our conversation! That method is certainly more efficient and faster… but even if you succeed, it would only create a second person with the same memories. The real you would remain in this timeline, a fatal flaw-”
The old man suddenly started muttering to himself, lost in his own world, as if struck by a sudden epiphany.
I had been wrong.
He wasn’t a regressor, just an ordinary mage researching regression. He was studying souls for the same purpose – to undo his past mistakes.
After he calmed down, I spoke.
“May I leave now? Thank you for providing the facility.”
“Not at all. I’ve learned more from you. Memories, instead of the soul… an unexpected approach. It’s worth exploring. I’m the one who should be thanking you. But may I ask one thing?”
“What is it?”
“The orb in your bag. If you let me examine it, I’ll be eternally grateful.”
Was he talking about Kali’s true soul? I had felt it stirring inside the box, and the old man seemed to have noticed it too.
Revealing Kali’s true soul could attract Belphegor or Luna, but… we were in the basement of the Magic Tower, a secure and shielded facility.
There was no risk of being detected.
I opened the wooden box.
The old man’s eyes widened.
I thought it was because he had never seen such a large mana stone, but…
“H-Heeek…! Please close it! I’ve never seen anything so terrifying!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Who did you kill?! Whose soul is this?! It’s so ominous!”
The old man shrieked, his face pale with terror.
I froze.
According to the old man, who could see souls…
‘Kali’s soul?’
This mass of demonic energy… this mana stone… was Kali’s soul.
“Get out! Now! I’ve seen enough!”
“Thank you…”
I left the White Tower, ignoring the old man who was waving his hands frantically, Undecided’s hand firmly gripping mine, and Nameless still hiding in my sleeve, trembling slightly.
‘If this is Kali’s soul…’
I had a clue. This mana stone was Kali’s soul. And it would transform into something once it accumulated enough energy. And that something was…
‘Kali’s true resurrection?’
Perhaps it would allow her to return as a spirit.
The Kali resurrected by Luna was incomplete. Her personality had been reconstructed from the memories remaining in her corpse, so while she spoke and acted like Kali, she wasn’t the same.
That’s why she had coveted this mana stone. With her soul, she could be fully resurrected.
What if I had lost it back then?
Solra would have been killed, and I would have been at Kali’s mercy.
The thought sent shivers down my spine.
‘I have to seal this.’
This wasn’t some exciting random box, it was a dangerous, terrifying object.
The atrocities I had witnessed in Undecided’s past solidified my resolve.
“Sorry, but resurrection is out of the question.”
“Woo?”
I stroked Nameless, who was peeking out of my sleeve, with my pinky finger. If the soul was released, it would probably try to possess Nameless.
Kali’s wish would never be fulfilled.
Nameless wouldn’t become the successor of a monstrous Great Druid. I wouldn’t allow it.
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A vast plain.
A dark vortex appeared in the peaceful field, and a black figure emerged.
|Ah! Aaaah! Aaaaaah!!!|
The figure collapsed, screaming in pain. The Archdemon’s dignity was gone.
He writhed on the ground, clutching his abdomen, and barely managed to close the dimensional rift.
|Jill Diner, that bitch! Why did she have to interfere…?!|
Black blood flowed from his abdomen. It was a serious, near-fatal wound. The thought that he had been played by the Saintess enraged him.
He had suspected Solra’s betrayal, but when he arrived in Cologne, Solra was imprisoned, awaiting execution.
Fearing that he might lose Solra, he had acted rashly, falling into the Saintess’s trap.
Dozens of barriers had appeared simultaneously, trapping him.
Solra, freed from his restraints, had drawn his sword and attacked. Hundreds of mages emerged, bombarding him with spells.
It hadn’t been a problem at first. He could have broken through the encirclement and escaped, despite the surprise attack.
They had probably prepared an even more elaborate trap but scaled it down, fearing detection.
He had tried to escape, but the Saintess’s holy magic had thwarted his plans. It interfered with his demonic energy, preventing him from using magic or curses.
A brutal melee ensued.
The Archdemon tried to escape, and Solra pursued him relentlessly. He was decapitated multiple times, his limbs severed countless times, but he kept regenerating and running.
He had lost a lot of power, but the Saintess’s magical power ran out before he did.
After hours of pursuit, he finally regained the ability to use his demonic energy. He opened a dimensional rift and escaped to a random plain.
|Those damn bitches! How did they join forces?! And what happened to Luna?!|
He had lost a significant amount of power. Not only had Solra, his potential recruit, betrayed him, but ‘His’ power had been withdrawn, and now he was severely injured.
|It must be his doing!!!|
The mastermind was obvious.
The man who kept interfering with the Heavenly Kings’ plans, the one who traveled with the blood ghoul girl, that annoying, pretty-boy bastard.
|If I encounter him in this state, I’m dead…|
The balance of power had shifted dramatically. With ‘His’ power gone, his options were limited. He would be hunted down one by one, just like Kali.
He needed a plan. And there was only one plan that didn’t involve relying on ‘His’ power.
|I have to join forces with Luna…|
It wasn’t ideal, but it was time to unleash his ultimate weapon.
The undead army.
It was time to unleash Luna’s final weapon.
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[Your Text Here]
Luna’s undead army is gone right?
I think that was just the arny she made in her spare time while working with Solra. True undead army is something she has spent centuries working on (the one earlier was merely a couple weeks worth of corpses).