* * *
The First Catastrophe.
As emphasized, the words were enough to silence everyone in the room, including Lee Sungmin.
Even Sima Ryunju, who wasn’t very interested in the ending, couldn’t easily get over what Geniella had just said now.
[First Catastrophe…]
Heoju also murmured in Lee Sungmin’s head. Geniella referred to the ending as so, yet the Apostles of the Emd had not intervened with the laws of causality for some reason.
“Is it that easy to speak about?”
“I didn’t tell you the basic story of what will happen, so it doesn’t matter. Moreover, the end has already begun.”
Geniella answered Lee Sungmin’s question with a grin.
Through Lee Sungmin’s questions and reactions, she could tell that he already had a very strong understanding of what was going on with the ending.
It was enough to arouse her interest. A man whose face could not be seen in the future, and whose presence could not be seen through.
And the fact that he knew so much about the ending, was already something a lot of people did not know about.
“About Kim Jonghyun.”
Sima Ryunju opened his mouth.
“I know the original nickname of that Dark Wizard, The Devil of the North. I know roughly what happened in the forest where the subjugation was supposed to take place.”
“I think I can elaborate on that.”
“If you see him as the first of a series of catastrophes in the future, do you mean to say that we can’t stop him as we are now?”
“It means you can’t do anything with this much information that I’m giving you.”
Sima Ryunju smiled bitterly at the answer. With regard to information, it was Geniella who held the knife.
Sima Ryunju himself was well aware.
No matter how strong he was, he could not force his way against Geniella to extort information from her.
That was possible against Jehu, but impossible for Geniella. It was impossible to overpower or kill her with her ridiculous regeneration power.
“Then tell me.”
“Thanks to the magic of the Grimoire, gathered by thousands of hearts, souls and fear of humans. The ritual that Kim Jonghyun performed in the North turned him into a Devil of sorts.”
“Oh my god…”
Scarlett murmured at Geniella’s words. Sima Ryunju and Lee Sungmin were ignorant of magic, but not Scarlett. Her face turned white because she completely understood the implications of what Geniella said.
“Turning a human into a devil……that can’t be possible.”
“It’s possible, because the Grimoire’s magic is not magic made from humans. I don’t know if the Wizard Guild Master knows, but the Grimoire is made and written in the Devil’s Language. The magic inside was written by a true Devil. “
“Isn’t that even more contradictory? The magic is made by a true Devil, but why is a human able to become a Devil through that book let alone interpret it??”
“It’s to do just that, don’t you think?”
Geniella grinned broadly at Scarlett’s question.
“The Grimoire is a record of magic that was created by a Devil for man to learn. If you think about it, it was a record left in a mortal world for humans to interpret. If you look at it instead as a book that is geared towards creating a Demonic Human instead of a book full of dark and evil magic, you’ll be able to see what it is truly for.”
“Who the hell created such a book……?!”
“I don’t know that and I don’t think it really matters, does it? Arbeth couldn’t use the magic even though he had the Grimoire in his possession, but Kim Jonghyun could. He was the most special human being I knew in that manner.”
“But the integration of his consciousness into the Demonic body he was creating…. Must have failed.”
Jehu murmured. It was none other than him who ruined Kim Jonghyun’s ritual. The Divine Maiden herself, had told him to go in person to stop his ritual from completion.
‘Wait, but she said the Heavenly Spirit didn’t say kill him…….’
The Divine Maiden would have definitely said to kill Kim Jonghyun in the order if they wanted him to die. Jehu was sure of it due to the nature of past orders he was given.
Yet that was not what the Divine Maiden had told him to do. Not only that…. But the words Geniella had just said were clinging to his ears.
A puppet.His confidence in Beyond the Heavens was slightly wavering, but those words truly made his body get the chills.
“Yes, the integration of his consciousness failed. Kim Jonghyun didn’t become a complete Devil.”
“So then if he failed, why is he the First Catastrophe?”
Lee Sungmin asked the question. If he failed, then why were they so worried? Although he failed to kill Kim Jonghyun, Jehu had still interrupted Kim Jonghyun’s ritual and failed the full integration of his consciousness.
“A true Devil cannot exist in this world. There is a reason why the Queen of the Spirits does not exist in this world and lives in the Spirit Realm, and the Queen of the Fairies does not come out of her Forest. This is because of a promise they made a long time ago.”
A long-term promise with the creator of this world. Lee Sungmin had heard it from Oslo a while back.
“A true Transcendental being like them should not be brought to this world. Some interference is possible, but it shouldn’t be deceptive. If Kim Jonghyun’s consciousness was successfully and fully integrated into his body, and he turned into a complete devil, he would have been expelled from Eria the moment he became a true Devil.”
Geniella laughed out loud.
“But it failed. He succeeded in turning into a halfling, but he didn’t become a true Transcendental being like the Gods and Devils in this world currently. You might wonder what this means. This means he gained the powers of a true Devil without being expelled by this world’s laws.”
“…oh…it can’t be…….”
“Why did your organization give you such an order? You must be wondering that, right? Was it really to just stop Kim Jonghyun? If it was just to stop the ritual, then why did they order you to stop him during the integration phase and not just kill him? If he had just become a true Devil or had been killed, he would have either died or just been sent to the Demon Realm had he succeeded completely. But why in between? Huhuhu… in the end you were just a puppet.”
Jehu’s shoulders shook and trembled.
“Oh you must have thought they knew everything about you and that you must have known everything about them… Hahaha… Hic… Hic!”Geniella laughed so hard that she started to squeal.“Those arrogant idealists. They aren’t anything but a bunch of frogs in a well. Like a lab rat who doesn’t even know that they’re being used for experiments. Do you think that Predator is truly their equal? A bunch of humans who have barely lived for a hundred years, and that just because they were able to live so long, that makes them strong? You think the 5 Black Stars of Predator and the monsters associated with us who have lived for over thousands of years are anything close to the level of those pariahs?”(T/N : A pariah is an untouchable in indian culture. Basically trash. It’s a terrible term in modern day society so…. Hopefully you understand what this means.)
Geniella continued to laugh in a high-pitched voice.
“That’s why I let them be. They’ve been surviving thanks to the mercy of Predator. But it won’t be for much longer. Our mercy has limits. The First Catastrophe in the south will be a sign of why our human-derived monsters called themselves ‘Predators’.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not the one doing anything. Kim Jonghyun and Volander might be different though.”
“Volander…?!”
Lee Sungmin’s eyes widened when Geniella said the name. The Ghost Ship that wandered the Southern borders of the Sea. Volander was one of the Five Black Stars of Predator.
Lee Sungmin also met with him by chance. The hundreds of Death Knights and their leader, Volander Ebrale.(T/N : Author mentions this as the full name in English : Bolander Ebrale)
“Kim Jonghyun was able to give Volander and hundreds of Death Knights that followed him, what they desperately wanted. He became a Demonic Human and became able to use the powers of a true Devil. Do you know what their goal was to be?”
“To be human.”
Lee Sungmin answered in response. Geniella smiled with a pleased expression as Lee Sungmin truly did know a lot about this world.
“For the sake of that vision, the Volander and the army of Death Knights will have no mercy in slaughtering anything Kim Jonghyun wishes as they are the greatest army to ever walk this earth. In the South, the Army of Death will reign with terror. This will most likely be the First Catastrophe. A lot of people will die and those bodies will rise as new undeads with the magic of Kim Jonghyun.”
“If that is just the first, what’s the second Catastrophe?”
Sima Ryunju asked the question at Geniella’s words. To that question, Geniella laughed without giving him an answer.
“Unfortunately, I can’t answer that…. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not pretending that I don’t know. I don’t know everything about the future, but I do have a clue as to what it is.”
“The Predator of Massacre.”
Sima Ryunju opened his mouth.
“The Predator of Massacre rumor has been around for hundreds of years, even though nobody has ever seen it. However, I’m wondering if you’ve seen it?”
“Yes, that’s right. I saw the future of the massacre that will happen due to the true Predator of Massacre. I didn’t know who it was though at the time.”
“So you can see the future with that happening, but is that going to be the true end of this world?”
It was not a question worth answering for her. Seeing Geniella smiling, Sima Ryunju realized she was choosing to remain silent as he smiled bitterly.
He shook his head and asked another question in an incomprehensible voice.
“The end is the end of everything in existence. But will it end with the Predator of Massacre or is that just one of many Catastrophes that will come.”
“I can’t figure that out actually either. The future I’ve seen is only in visions that don’t go past a certain point. All I can say is…… the last vision I have been able to see up to is the one with the massacre of humankind, and all of my actions and Predator’s actions are to reach that future.”
“So you don’t know.”
Sima Ryunju narrowed his eyes as he muttered to himself.
“I know you and your organization want the Predator of Massacre to emerge and I also know that your actions up until now are for that future. But my question is if you truly want that future. Do you really think that you’ll be able to control whatever creature the Predator of Massacre may be?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t intend to control the Predator of Massacre. It is the King of all our people. That’s all I want to see. I just want to see in-person, the monster that kills and devours everything that is human. That is what I want to watch and see with my own two eyes.“Is that alone, aiding and abetting a Catastrophe?”
“Yes.”
Geniella replied with a bright smile.
The words left everyone speechless. A true Transcendent. Speaking of such beings, Jeniella mentioned the Queen of Fairies and the Queen of Spirits.
A Devil was a creature who had risen to the same rank as them. They shouldn’t ever be brought down to earth.
However…… Lee Sungmin recalled his time in the City of Endless Night. At that time, the Queen of the Spirits was undoubtedly able to Descend, albeit temporarily.
‘The Queen of the Spirits once descended upon this world though.’
I broke that long-term promise as well. I don’t know exactly what the promise is, but I know that if I break it and get caught, I’ll be paid for it in full.
That’s what Oslo had said to him. What the Spirit Queen did was a breach of said contract.
Whatever the contract or long-term promise was, Lee Sungmin couldn’t possibly know now.
“I can see that much now that you’ve said it out loud.”
Sima Ryunju opened his mouth.
“I know you’re not normal. And…… now that you’ve told these stories freely, nobody can stop Kim Jonghyun from functioning as a disaster. Also you need the First Catastrophe to happen in order for the Predator of Massacre to emerge.”
“Of course.”
“Then I don’t need to talk to you anymore.”
“Are you leaving?”
Asked Geniella. She tried to say something more, but she couldn’t say anything further.
Her eyes widened and her mouth slowly closed.
After a bit of awkward silence, Geniella grinned.
Sima Ryunju and Geniella stared at each other through the silence.
Geniella was saying something to Sima Ryunju via telepathy.
After a while, he nodded slowly.
“Is that so?”
“Are you going to go?”
“You told me because you know that talking to me doesn’t change your behavior.”
“Yes and no, maybe I can change it. I’m telling you because I’m sure whatever you do will not be a variable in the future that I really want.”
Sima Ryunju grinned at the answer. He slowly turned away.
Geniella called for Lee Sungmin, who followed Sima Ryunju.
“……No no.. I see now.”
Towards Lee Sungmin, Geniella shook her head slowly.
“There’s a good reason why I didn’t see you. I didn’t want to make a variable out of your appearance.”
“……what do you mean?”
When asked by Lee Sungmin, Geniella only smiled.
Sima Ryunju quickly came out of the mansion. But he didn’t get on the wagon since the horses that had turned into ghouls were now dead completely.
Sima Ryunju ordered Ye-Hwa to get horses to pull the wagon for them as he stood there silently.
“Hmm.”
After thinking about something for a while, Sima Ryunju glanced at Jehu.
Jehu, who made eye contact with him, tilted his head.
Click.
Sima Ryunju took off his mask. Jehu, Lee Sungmin, and Scarlett looked at him curiously as he suddenly took off his mask.
“AHHH!”
It was Jehu that suddenly screamed.
Suddenly, the body of Jehu’s, which was grabbed by the neck, fell back.
Swick!
Sima Ryunju, who grabbed Jehu viciously by the neck with one hand, quickly used his free hand and stabbed at Jehu’s pressure points. Jehu couldn’t move as he quickly stiffened up from being subdued with his blocked pressure points.
“I swear.”
Sima Ryunju stared at Jehu coldly as he spoke.
“You will now swear to me right now. You will swear that you will never try to turn my disciple against me. No… you will also swear not to harm Ye-Hwa or Scarlett or cause them to betray me for that matter or harm them.”
“Huh…What the hell…?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Jehu looked at Sima Ryunju with a bewildered look. Lee Sungmin and the rest, also looked at Sima Ryunju with a confused look as they couldn’t understand the sudden words or actions from him.
“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?”
Lee Sungmin also asked because he couldn’t understand the sudden behavior of his master. To that question, Sima Ryunju answered as if it were insignificant.
“The Vampire Queen told me something.”
“What?”
“That I am going to die.”
Contrary to what was said, the tone of Sima Ryunju was completely serene and calm.