Chapter 170: Chapter 170
Seong Jihan's newly displayed martial art, Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
That martial art, possessing the earth attribute among the Five Elements, seemed to be a failure at first glance.
Whooooosh…
The smoke rising from the three swords didn't rise any further and settled onto the ground, soon disappearing.
However,
[Unbelievable.]
The succubus queen, who was in the sky, couldn't help but gaze at a certain spot with amazement. The location she was observing was the ground where the three swords were embedded. There, a small pattern was barely visible near the swords, appearing as a mere doodle of red markings when seen from a distance. Even when zoomed in, the enigmatic characters and geometric patterns made it impossible to grasp what it was.
Nevertheless,
[…A seal against demonic contracts. Impossible.]
The succubus queen, after just a brief glance, already had some understanding of Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods. A demonic contract is an absolute, universal law that even most divine beings cannot break. However, a seal made by mere humans prevented soul induction.
[…I cannot believe it.]
The Succubus Queen scrutinized the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods then changed her tone gently towards Seong Jihan.
[Alright. Breaking it seems impossible. Then… would you consider making a deal? If you release the soul of the contractor, I will offer you a substantial reward.]
Unable to break it, negotiating seems to be her alternative. Seong Jihan pondered if there was anything to gain from the succubus queen in her current smoky state and responded.
"If you promise never to come to this planet again, I'll think about it."
[That's impossible. I've already been assigned here.]
"Who assigned you?"
[I cannot disclose that.]
Seong Jihan furrowed his brow. In any case, it seems like she's coming back.
In that case, he couldn't afford to hand over the soul.
"Alright then, leave."
[Don't be like that… How about 10 succubi? I will specially bestow girls prepared to serve gods. They will follow you as their master until your death.]
"I don't need that."
[To be so decisive… Perhaps you prefer the same gender? While they are succubus underlings, I can also provide incubi. I have a deep connection with them as well. Hehe.]
Incubi, are those male demons? Seong Jihan furrowed his brow and brushed his hand.
"I don't need anything else."
[Then what do you like? In the Palace of Lust, there are entities that cater to all your tastes. Just name it.]
"I just don't wanna see you."
[Oh, do you desire me? You are not yet qualified to be with me.]
Is she even listening properly?
Seong Jihan decided not to respond and stared at the ground.
'The scale is so small, it's closer to failure.'
Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
Unlike its name suggesting it seals 10,000 ghosts,
What Seong Jihan has just unleashed is barely enough to contain one soul, that of Shizuru.
Perhaps because his internal energy level wasn't high enough yet, and he wasn't using it from the skill window like in his past life.
His proficiency in Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods was severely lacking, resulting in this small scale.
'But even this much can…'
It could still demonstrate some of Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods' power.
As Seong Jihan twisted the three swords.
Swish, swish…
The pattern of Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods simultaneously spun around then
[However, if you become stronger, I might consider meeting you as an avatar… Hmm?]
The succubus queen, who had been babbling for a while, rapidly began to disintegrate.
[Me too? It doesn't simply end at the sealing formation…!]
With those words as her last, the succubus queen was completely sucked into Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods. Once she disappeared, Seong Jihan withdrew the three swords from the ground, and once again struck the patterns.
Bang!
As he did, the patterns of Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods that were drawn under the swords burst out.
Ahhhh!
From there, a sinister wail echoed, chilling to the bone.
'Unintentionally, I've completely annihilated Shizuru's soul as well.'
Though she was an enemy, he hadn't intended to destroy even her soul by using Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
Who could blame her when she made a contract with the Succubus Queen.
Seong Jihan casually returned Ganjang and Makya to the Sword King then spoke breezily.
"It's over. Let's head back now. To Korea."
"…Yes. We can finally go back."
The Sword King's voice was tinged with remorse. Now he had to figure out how to face his daughter, Yoon Seah, in Korea. The moments when he repeatedly claimed to have no daughter while representing Japan at the national level suddenly flashed in his mind.
No matter how infatuated he was with Shizuru, he shouldn't have said such things.
"Sigh…"
As the Sword King sighed deeply in his melancholy, Akari cautiously asked Seong Jihan.
"Um… May I ask how you plan to go back…?"
"We'll go the same way we came."
"On the cloud?"
"Yeah. Summon Lightning Cloud."
As Seong Jihan promptly summoned a lightning cloud upon saying that, Akari's expression turned sullen.
If it wasn't for the fact that she had a diamond-ranked physique, she probably would've vomited several times crossing the ocean on cloud.
"We're riding that again across the ocean all the way to Korea?"
"How else do you suggest we go?"
"The National Intelligence Service gave me an emergency contact method… They said they can send transportation at any time."
"You wanna keep waiting on this remote island until those people arrive?"
"No…"
Akari sighed and kicked the beach where Shizuru's corpse had been.
If you were gonna die like this, why run all the way here to cause trouble for others.
Useless to the very end.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
At Seong Jihan's gesture, Akari stopped kicking the sand and got on the cloud.
It was the end of a long and intense pursuit.
* * *
Amidst the sea of stars.
"Hmm…"
Dongbangsak, who had been looking up at the sky, took a deep breath and plucked a strand of his beard. It transformed into a Dongbangsak, who had been looking up at the sky, took a deep breath and plucked a strand of his beard.
It swiftly transformed into a single sword.
Srrrung!
The sword cut through the air once.
In the starry sky, a scene unfolded on a single screen. Within it, Seong Jihan was using the Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods.
"Oh. Can you do that with a sword too? Dong— No, Jangbansa. Don't you not need a smartphone?" With a smartphone in hand, Longinus spoke. After waking up from a long sleep, he never let go of the smartphone he bought on Earth for 24 hours. Although using a phone in a space full of interference required a considerable amount of GP, Longinus could easily handle it.
"This is no time for jokes, Longinus."
Unlike his usual smiling face, Dongbangsak's expression was sharp.
He enlarged Seong Jihan's Myriad Ghost Sealing Gods to look at it then furrowed his brows.
"Even though it's small… It's remarkably similar to what the Master did. Unbelievable…"
"That's why I'm saying. Do all those with internal energy do that? The Master alone was plenty to steal my destiny."
"Your destiny… was Divine Slaying."
"Yes. Yours was Sealing Gods, right?"
Dongbangsak's destiny from the Age of Primordial Chaos, Sealing Gods.
That was originally the fate humanity had given him, to divide the world where humans and ghosts were mixed.
Since he was born into that era, it was something he had to do no matter what.
However,
"The Master did it in my stead…"
"Not did it, he seized it."
The Wandering Martial God seized what Dongbangsak should have done and made him his descendant instead.
"Hoho… But I conceded at that time. Compared to me, the master was an incomparable existence. And he granted me eternal life. So I willingly gave up my destiny and became his descendant."
"Yes, you really liked eternal life."
"Right. So I don't have much attachment to my destiny… But…"
Dongbangsak pointed at Seong Jihan.
"It's strangely hard to endure seeing that child display Sealing Gods. I don't know why it makes me so angry."
"I feel the same way. So, about that…"
Longinus, who had finally looked away from his smartphone, pointed at Seong Jihan.
"Why don't we go educate him?"
"Educate him?"
"We can't kill an existence that challenges the master, but beating is fine right?"
Despite just saying "educate" at first, Longinus' true feelings came out.
It seems Seong Jihan repeatedly using the Blood Cross had kept irritating him.
"What nonsense are you talking about? At this age, tsk…"
"Honestly, aren't you curious too? As long as you don't kill him, that's fine."
"Oh, right. It's not beating. We're just going to train him."
Although Longinus teased Dongbangsak, in the end, he revealed his true intentions. Dongbangsak, who had been irritated by Seong Jihan repeatedly challenging the master , seemed to have exploded with pent-up emotions.
[Cease your folly.]
As the earth shook and the absolute being's voice rang out.
He furrowed his brows and knelt.
Seriously, They can't talk shit on this damn star.
"…Understood, Master."
"I shall obey, my master."
As Dongbangsak and Longinus replied, the earth vibrated again.
[If you cannot awaken the third, I will take him. So remain still.]
Hearing that, the two looked at each other.
The third descendant, who had already been asleep for 400 years.
For Seong Jihan to wake him, he had to seize destiny like this.
'There's no way he can accomplish that…'
Neither of them believed Seong Jihan could achieve this.
That was how impossible the third destiny was.
'The challenge ends here.'
The two concluded Seong Jihan's future as such.
* * *
The World BattleNet Association was facing a perplexing issue. Recently, the Japanese BattleNet Administration has been consistently raising concerns.
"The player 'Yoon Sejin' took hostages and killed someone, even broadcasting it worldwide. We can no longer give player qualifications to such a heinous criminal. Japan will formally propose permanent revocation of Sword King's player qualifications to the BattleNet Association!"
For players who committed serious crimes like murder, the World BattleNet Association had the authority to revoke their player qualifications. However, such cases were rare, primarily because there were few instances of serious crimes, and the resources of national representative-level players were scarce.
Moreover, most crimes could be easily covered up within their own countries. This time was different. Sword King had broadcasted a hostage situation and murder live on BattleTube. It wasn't a situation that could be easily brushed aside.
"Player Yoon Sejin received severe brainwashing from Japanese players, and during the process of breaking free, some rough behavior occurred. On top of that, a murder charge? The person who died at that time was Ito Shizuru's clone, wasn't it? How can a clone be considered a person?"
The representative of the Korean management office, dispatched to New York, argued, but the Japanese side countered strongly.
"A clone…! No, that's not it. She was undoubtedly a person with blood flowing and a beating heart like us! Moreover, there is another piece of evidence that he committed murder. Several people, including the Prime Minister, said they were freed from enchantment!"
The Japanese side presented the breaking of enchantment as evidence.
"…Isn't it good if the enchantment is broken?"
"Well, why would the enchantment be broken? It's because Sword King killed Ito Shizuru!"
"That's just speculation!"
While they were arguing vehemently, news of Seong Jihan's party arriving in Jeju Island reached them, bringing a temporary halt to the global BattleNet Association dispute.
"It has been confirmed with their return! Ito Shizuru is dead, and the murderer is Seong Jihan's group! In addition to Yoon Sejin, Japan will also propose the revocation of player qualifications for Seong Jihan on charges of aiding and abetting murder!"
"The Japanese side's claim is absurd!"
"Is Korea now supporting murderers?!"
As the two country representatives shouted at each other, tensions between the already strained nations escalated further.
With this incident, it seemed like the emotional divide had deepened. Additionally,
"For Seong Jihan, it might be hasty to impose punishment based on such evidence…"
"Yoon Sejin must have his player qualifications revoked. Broadcasting murder on BattleTube is clearly a serious crime."
Representatives from other countries in the Northeast Asia League subtly supported Japan.
'If Seong Jihan and the Sword King join the same team…'
'The Northeast Asia League is done. Korea will inevitably be the first.'
'We must somehow prevent this.'
And it wasn't just them. Representatives from other powerful BattleNet nations harbored similar thoughts.
'If those two participate in the Champions League together next year… Even America won't have it easy.'
'We have to stop the Sword King from joining Korea's national team next year.'
That was the atmosphere within the association, with wariness towards Korea underlying it.
"Ha, you're going too far. Seong Jihan risked his life for humanity in the promotion match, achieving a difficulty downgrade as well!"
The Korean representative sensed this internal atmosphere and vented his frustration, but it was not enough to change the tide.
"Ahem. That's why we're only making Yoon Sejin an issue."
"Broadcasting a murder live is too much, no matter how you put it."
It was an uphill battle for him to change public opinion alone.
As the mood in New York leaned towards revoking Yoon Sejin's player qualifications,
"…Finally back."
Seong Jihan and his group, who had landed in Jeju Island, took a flight to Seoul.
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