Past Life Returner

Multiple beams of light that pierced through the pitch-black outer wall were concentrated on the throne where Doom Kaos was sitting. When I faced him previously, I could not fully open my eyes because of the intense brightness.

However, a giant shadow was blocking the path between Doom Kaos and me. The light radiating from Doom Kaos was acting as a backlight, so Doom Arukuda’s figure was visible only as a silhouette. The only thing I could clearly see was its relatively small mouth that kept moving. Doom Arukuda was constantly chewing something.

It was not inferior to Caso in terms of physique. Its silhouette was crouched down in a way that it resembled a fighting dog being raised by Doom Kaos.

Soon, signs of Joshua and Yeon-Hee appeared under the stairs. However, since Doom Kaos was watching my every move, I lowered my posture. Only then did Doom Arukuda’s silhouette, which had been looking at me, turn toward Doom Kaos.

Right then, an intangible energy surged from Doom Kaos, flew past me, then went down further, penetrating the entire curtain. It was not an aggressive energy. It seemed like a collective of his consciousness and that was right.

“I, Doom Mary, will preside over the meeting.”

I heard a female voice from downstairs. I had not heard her voice for nearly three months. Contrary to my worries, she sounded healthy.

Doom Kaos’s consciousness then caused another wave of reverberation.

“Over time, our master Doom Kaos has been very lenient with us, the lords. You have recognized our desires. But there were those who tested the generosity of Lord Doom Kaos without knowing their place. Doom Insectum and Doom Entegasto were two of them. And today…”

Doom Kaos was conveying his voice through Yeon-Hee. An ominous feeling stuck to my body. The reason Doom Kaos had urgently convened the meeting was to pursue me, and it was all too clear that he was passing that task to my girl. Just as expected…

“And today…today…”

Yeon-Hee stopped talking, trailing off.

I felt something weird from the throne, so I hastily looked down. Just like when I was looking inside the underground kingdom, below was also dyed with the black color of the curtain.

However, even as she looked up at this side and raised her eyebrows, Yeon-Hee’s face was clear. In contrast, Joshua was not moving at all.

I tried to speak out before the anger of Doom Kaos reached Yeon-Hee, but she continued, “...Today, Doom Mary stands trial for the crime of testing the generosity of Lord Doom Kaos.”

What?

“I, Doom Mary, confess my sin. The charges against me are as follows. First, the crime of collusion with enemies. Second, the crime of intentionally failing to execute orders. Third, the crime of disturbing Doom Undead, who was in the process of carrying out orders. Among them, Doom Kaos has charged me with the last crime and chose Doom Undead as the executioner. The punishment is flogging. Doom Undead, execute the punishment. Now.”

Within an instant, everything happened.

“Come on, Osiris!”

Joshua stood up as Yeon-Hee shouted. He had no hesitation in climbing down the stairs. Yeon-Hee was also ready to face him, clutching her dagger tightly. Both of them seemed stronger than they had been the last time I saw them.

Nonetheless, the difference from the starting point was evident. While Yeon-Hee’s weapon was obtained from a Spirit King, the whip that the demon from Joshua’s hand reeked of Entegasto's stench. The whip was different in form from the sword Entegasto used to fight me, but the sound emanating from it was identical.

It was the thumping sound of heart. There was no mistake.

Thump, thump-!

The noise ringing from the whip was indeed the heartbeat of Entegasto. Joshua also possessed Entegasto’s unique red color power.

Then, Joshua struck the ground with his whip.

[Doom Undead has expanded the realm of ‘Chaos.’]

Slap!

Red projectiles sprouted the moment the whip hit the ground.

[Doom Undead has spread the foreboding of death.]

To Yeon-Hee and the other lords, they appeared as phantoms with the faces of countless bodies they had killed. They poured toward Yeon-Hee all at once as Mount and Caso quickly stepped outside.

Each and every one of them contained the power that completed the strong curse of Contempt for the Weak. There could be no stronger proof than this. Joshua was the one who had inherited the remaining power of Entegasto. Moreover, seeing Yeon-Hee also drawing out the power of a Spirit King and her eyes turning black…

They were definitely not acting, and the result was predetermined. A merciless whipping would take place from my loyal Joshua to my girl, Yeon-Hee.

***

[* System]

[Reconstructing the abilities of the System Administrator Odin. (Rebuilding)]

[The trait ‘Passion’ has been removed.]

[Your Sense has increased to 900 (MAX).]

[You have entered the Realm of the Ultimate.]

“Coward!” I cried out as I threw myself down.

At that very moment when I was breaking through the veil and descending, a threatening attack came creeping from behind such that I couldn’t help but reflexively change directions.

[The trait Forerunner has been removed.]

[The trait Sensitive has been removed.]

[The trait Strongman has been removed.]

[The trait Gifted has been removed.]

[Your Agility has increased to 900 (MAX).]

I leaped far into the void. The flaming shield and the silver spear flew into my hands.

[* The power of the Great Silver significantly increases against entities of the Doom Kaos faction.]

Doom Arukuda was at the place where I had avoided the attack, stopping me from descending under the veil. It had downsized its cumbersome giant flesh to match my size like Entegasto had in the past. The sight of it standing on two legs gave me the same impression as well.

The muscles clinging all over its body was abnormal. Its trapezius was so swollen that it reached its lower jaw. Its abdomen was taut and bulging as if about to burst at any moment. Saliva kept dribbling from its tiny mouth that was continuously chewing something.

The relatively huge size of its face was also weird. Its large eyes took up most of the space in its large face as they spread sideways.

As soon as our eyes met…

Worship Doom Arukuda.

Worship Doom Arukuda. 

Worship Doom Arukuda. 

Its voice reached this far then scattered.

[Doom Arukuda’s Unique Power ‘Worship of Soul’ has been destroyed.]

However, I could not underestimate it due to its bizarre appearance or blocked Power. I knew it was not doing its best for me. It was harboring other thoughts while watching me as it had considered itself more than capable of stopping me with such composure.

The myriad forces felt from its rounded abdomen and the mysterious strength felt from its mouth were…

Then, I saw Yeon-Hee collapsing.

[Doom Mary has been afflicted by the Negative Effect ‘Contempt for the Weak’ of Doom Undead.]

Joshua raised his whip high and struck it down in an attitude of looking down at Yeon-Hee. Flesh and blood splattered. They hung in the air as if time had stopped.

The headache intensified. The whip was coming down again at Yeon-Hee.

“Stop! Joshua! Stop!”

[You have created Valkyrie.]

…

[You have created Valkyrie.]

The delicate yet solid backs of the Valkyries appeared, blocking my view. They were in a dense formation.

My briefly obscured view was opened again as they rushed toward Arukuda. I intended to stop Joshua during this time. All the Valkyries needed to do was confuse Arukudua for a moment. I did not expect anything more.

However, the semi-transparent forelimb of the Great Green sprung out from Arukuda’s eyeball.

Swaaaaah!

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It swept everything around it with its tremendous size as soon as it appeared. I had no choice but to change direction upwards again when I was jumping down. I got closer to Doom Kaos unintentionally. When I looked down, more flesh and blood were scattered around Yeon-Hee.

Joshua probably was not aware of me. His whip moved mercilessly again.

Stop, Joshua! I will deal with Doom Kaos!

I shouted at Doom Kaos, “Leave them alone and question me. The Old One is not this cowardly. Do you really expect loyalty after all this? You are working against me instead of giving me rewards. This is why you could not end the war against the Old One.”

I was not trembling at all.

“I will confess my sins. The sin of protecting my homeland that you did not protect. The sin of helping on your side during the war with power that was absorbed from my aides. The sin of choosing a master who is not worthy of loyalty. The sin of not turning to the Old One despite this. The sin of not being distracted by the intent to end the war. The sin of still waiting for your answer while you are ignoring my pain. Please choose Doom Arukuda as the executioner for these deadly sins!”

I was sincere. Throughout my impassioned speech, the whipping had not stopped. I clenched my teeth and suppressed my anger. I wanted to overthrow everything, but could not imagine the pain Yeon-Hee was suffering and the mental distress Joshua was going through. If I could not stand it now, then their pain would be meaningless.

I could torment Doom Kaos by infinitely repeating time. I could have directly challenged Doom Arukuda by adding my inherent power and the authority from the sanctuary of the System Administrator.

However, just as Doom Kaos tried to teach me lessons through my close people without directly targeting me, it was tough for me to impulsively turn my back on him.

Shit. 

Doom Kaos was deliberately buying time. When I could no longer sustain the Realm of the Ultimate, all the sounds that had been pressed until then poured out all at once. One scream per whip stroke. When dozens of noises hit one after another, my heart was also frequently pained as if it was carved out.

By the time the whipping stopped, I could not feel anything when I saw the sight of Yeon-Hee’s bones visible within the puddle of blood. I was no longer disturbed even after seeing her blood falling from Joshua’s whip.

I felt like I was standing all alone. There was no fear or anger. The force that I put in my grip every time I heard the sound of whipping was gone.

[* The power of the Great Silver significantly increases against entities of the Doom Kaos faction.]

Such a message had all disappeared. I shifted my gaze toward the throne.

I knew what answer Doom Kaos was waiting for.

“I know you are testing me. But as you know, I will not change until the end of this war. The Old One is the eternal enemy. Please withdraw your suspicious gaze toward me, and give me more strength. I will kill the Great Red and come back.

“Then, when I come back, please give me the chance to challenge Doom Arukuda. I want to face the Old One with you right under your feet. Then, I will challenge your throne. When that time comes, please give me the same lesson today so that your servant cannot harbor such ambitions.”

As soon as I closed my mouth, a message appeared without a bit of a gap.

[You have received a command from the Main Instigator (2).]

Sure enough, Kaos was only waiting for me to surrender.

[Carry out the unfulfilled order quickly. (Command)

There was an order from early on to find and kill the Great Red. But you cannot postpone it anymore.

If you succeed: You will be able to open additional Unique Power, Hierarchical Challenge to Doom Arukuda.

If you fail: The opportunity will go to Doom Undead.]

I threw my body under the curtain. Caso and Mount’s gaze naturally turned toward me, but Joshua only kept his head down toward Doom Kaos.

I passed by Joshua and went down the stairs. Yeon-Hee did not even squirm in the puddle made of her own blood. She was extremely light when I picked her up. Even if she had lost weight, she should have felt heavier than usual as she was drooping, but she had lost a lot of flesh and blood due to whipping.

“Let’s go home, Yeon-Hee.”

Just as I was about to turn around with Yeon-Hee in my arms, the energy that surged from the top of the stairs stopped me.

[Main Instigator (2) encourages you.]

[You have gained the item ‘Doom Kaos’s Amulet.’]