Past Life Returner

There was the possibility that Doom Kaos could first take over the Old One, the possibility of being disrupted while restoring the World Tree’s root, the possibility of traps left in the tree’s root, and the possibility of the Old One seeking me out first. I was keeping all possibilities open. Of course, there was the possibility that Doom Kaos might try to defeat me first, even at the expense of giving up the Old One.

[System Administrator Odin: If he shows up by himself any chance…you know it, right? Don’t even think of helping me at all.]

[Woo Yeon-Hee: As per the leader’s command.]

Even if it would be the case that I could die… She knew well enough that if we did not unite with a single purpose, we would confront the worst-case scenario.

[System Administrator Odin: Then get ready. It is about to start.]

She took her place and had a dagger in each hand. The Silver that had changed its shape to suit her, and the enhanced Clown’s Dagger, which was her main weapon, were in her hands.

She armed herself and ignited her fighting spirit.

[* System]

[Act Two, Final Battle, has started.]

[Users are moving to each battlefield.]

The power of the divinity stretched out from my fingertips.

Swoosh—

A golden mirage swiftly wrapped around the root of the World Tree.

[Restoration will be completed in one minute.]

[Remaining Time (Until Restoration of the Old One’s Purification Device): 1 minute]

Tik.

[Remaining Time (Until Restoration of the Old One’s Purification Device): 59 seconds]

There was no sign of anything, even as plenty of time passed. I hastily withdrew the power I had spread around and frowned. Only then did her gaze, which was not fixed anywhere, follow me.

[Yeon-Hee: There is no obstacle.]

[System Administrator Odin: It doesn’t seem like he will come straight in either.]

She shifted her gaze to the root. Although the root was largely exposed and appeared undamaged, the reality was different.

Sure enough, Doom Kaos had prepared a strategy for the root, which began from within, not from the outside. I had been cautiously managing my power as I was conscious of the possibility, and now I needed to be more delicate.

[Warning: Doom Kaos’s curse ‘Corruption of the Ruin’ has been discovered. (Destroyed Old One’s Purification Device)]

[Corruption of the Ruin (Curse)

This is a powerful curse consolidated by sacred power. You are not an exception. If you are subjected to it, your sanctity will be temporarily blocked and you will face unbearable pain.

Expected result when subjected: Loss of Divinity for seven days, Level down from GOD to END section for seven days.]

[The remaining time (until the Restoration of the Old One’s Purification Device) has been extended from 59 seconds to 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.]

Remaining time (Until Restoration of the Old One’s Purification Device): 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

I glared at it over and over again. The uncomfortable sensation tangled in the sensory network was exceedingly messy. Once I could align with these nasty feelings, as if completing a circuit, the blueprint that I was not seeking flashed in my mind.

[You have acquired the blueprint ‘Corruption of the Ruin.’]

Those who had long fought as divinities were truly different. A curse that locked away one’s divinity was beyond my imagination.

However, who would be a fool to fall into such a malicious power that was so blatantly condensed? If it had camouflaged by a deception as powerful as the curse and exploded right in front of them, maybe? No, that was not enough.

It was an attack method that could only be attempted when the opponent was in such a heated state that they could not let their guard down. That meant he did not plant this curse in the root hoping that I would fall into it. He wanted me to be tied up here.

[System Administrator Odin: As expected, he begins by inflicting a wound.]

I pulled the energy of the curse from the root, and it appeared as a black parasite wrapping around the entire root. The curse left there was one of the possibilities we had considered.

Nonetheless, to not only let the Final Stage work properly but also to recover the power of the Old One that remained in this world, the blueprint that was embedded in the root was absolutely necessary.

Losing an eyeball was a meaningful sacrifice on the road to victory even if it meant living a lifetime with only one eye.

[System Administrator Odin: Look at me carefully because this may be the last time you see my face with both eyes intact.]

It was not a joke. I wanted her to remember my intact face, even if things went wrong.

Yeon-Hee looked at me as if she was glaring at me. She knew what was going to happen as well.

[System Administrator Odin: The Awakened have started to attack the light pillars. Your bastards are also ready. Even if he is Doom Kaos, he won’t be able to react immediately.]

[System Administrator Odin: But, still stay on your guard.]

The pain suddenly surged up like a blaze. I pulled out my left eyeball myself, then started right away.

[You have sealed the curse of Doom Kaos, Corruption of the Ruin.]

[Sealing Entity: Odin’s Left Eye]

The parasite-like things wriggled up to the palm of my hand towards my left eyeball, where blood was dripping.

***

Doom Kaos’s response was indeed too late.

[Remaining Time (Until Restoration of the Old One’s Purification Device): 0 seconds]

[Old One’s Purification Device has been restored.]

The World Tree had grown vigorously, only to spew out a design and wither in sight.

[You have acquired the blueprint ‘Old One’s Purification Device.’]

The noisy commotion subsided, and the surroundings were filled with the corpse of the Grafs. Their king, who had been slaughtered by Yeon-Hee, was not an exception. In the past, it was a bipedal intelligent creature, but it had been reduced to just a monster due to the repercussions of Doom Kaos’s power.

Yeon-Hee looked at me while wiping off the blood and flesh flowing down her face. There was no congratulations because this was just the beginning. Greetings were too luxurious for the situation. Her purpose here was done.

[User Woo Yeon-Hee has been moved to the battlefield (Final Stage).]

Click!

Just before she moved, she threw Silver into my hand. It no longer needed to stay in the form of a dagger. I held it, which had transformed into a spear, and got into my bedroom.

Kim Ji-Hoon and other devotees were keeping their positions at the door as usual. Then, the door opened. It was not just Kim Ji-Hoon but all of them poured into the room at once and froze immediately when they saw me. They must have also detected the dreadful yet malicious power that was being controlled in my hand.

[Corrupted Left Eye of Odin (Item)

It was a part of a god’s physical body. The powerful curse ‘Corruption of the Ruin’ is sealed inside.

Item Class: SSS

Item Level: 720]

The urgent matter was to prevent this from appearing in the world, and to make it so that no one could find or approach it. Simply hiding it in a different dimension was not enough.

I built a wall using a material that was the same that constituted the ancient shrines and the stairs of darkness. Then, I expanded it throughout the fortress. The room turned into an Eternal Maze with the door as the boundary.

Ddddd—!

The castle vibrated for quite some time as I moved the purification device to the center of the maze. When the enhancement of the device was finally completed, the heart of the Great Red, which had been embedded in it, was reduced to merely a strengthening material.

[* Purification device ‘System Server’ has been upgraded to the final level.]

[* Upgrade List

1. The device has become stronger.

2. You can now recover powers that originate from other dimensions.

3. The power of the Old One remaining in the elves will naturally be recovered upon their death.

4. Once other gods are eliminated, their powers will naturally be recovered.]

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Number four was the role of the World Tree. However, it would not be able to prevent Doom Kaos from directly taking the Old One.

I moved my position, opened the door, and stepped out. Kim Ji-Hoon also had Night Eye, so he would have seen the sight from the gap. That place must have appeared as the super-class dungeon, the [Eternal Maze], for him as well.

[System Administrator Odin: Do not step in under any circumstances. You will not be able to escape.]

[System Administrator Odin: Also, always be ready for an attack. The monsters have become stronger. As everyone has embarked on the final war, you too, will inevitably have to fight. The likely target of the monsters will be here.]

“I will keep that…in mind.”

[System Administrator Odin: Show it through results.]

***

Power continued to flow in from the elves on the brink of extinction and from the Awakened in the middle of the battle.

I was searching areas that did not overlap with Doom Kaos, chasing the Old One. Even then, the bastards reported Doom Kaos’s whereabouts, but some of their information was delivered too slowly.

The distance from Doom Kaos was closing as time passed by. He was moving while sweeping everything from the western part of the Elsland to here in the east. As I was conscious of it and maintained a distance from him, I had pushed myself to the edge of the east. I was pushed as far as the region not far from Red’s hideout.

The Old One was somewhere in Elsland, and I was certain about it. What was even more certain was that it was not in the areas that Doom Kaos had passed through. Therefore, the Old One’s range of activity was also narrowing somewhere in the east here.

Moreover, it was highly suspected that the Old One was hiding itself with a structure similar to polymorph. That was the only way it could evade the gaze of Doom Kaos and me.

Then, what I needed to do became clear. Just like Doom Kaos, I too, had to narrow down the Old One’s range of activity towards Red’s hideout! I had to create a reason why the Old One had no choice but to find Red. Even if Red did not keep his promise, I would be able to approach the Old One first.

Invisible barrier, which was the hideout of the Great Red… I had its location.

Finally, at one point…

[The Great Red has cast the Emergence of the Main Body.]

[Would you like to respond to the call?]