* * *
“Didn’t you die?”
Seeing Lee Sungmin for the first time in 10 years, Selgerus reacted exactly as expected. Lee Sungmin smiled awkwardly and averted his gaze as Selgerus looked at him with curious eyes.
“I’m not dead.”
As Selgerus seemed to be curious, Lee Sungmin briefly told her what had happened.
Neville didn’t know what had happened either in terms of specifics, but he listened to Lee Sungmin next to Selgerus as he learned of what had happened. Selguerus clicked her tongue and shook her head in dismay when she heard about Lee Sungmin being sealed.
“I’ve met various people and experienced various situations in this job. But you seem to always have something weird going on everytime I see you.”
“Trust me, I feel the same about it as well.”
“And I’m more brazen than I was at the beginning.”
Lee Sungmin agreed to the remark to some extent.
“How are you, Ms. Selgerus?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to you, I became the apprentice of the chief. So… did you contact me just to tell me you were alive?”
“It’s….”
“You, don’t tell me..!”
When Lee Sungmin stuttered at the end of his words, Selguerus’ expression changed. Her shoulders shook in confusion and frustration as she realized what Lee Sungmin did.
“When I woke up… I couldn’t find it.”
“Oh my….”
Selgerus covered her face with both of her hands. It was a spear that could compare to no other weapon in all of Eria. It was made with the materials processed from the remnants of the extinct Dragons.
Not only that, but the spear was forged and created by the best blacksmith in the entire world. But now… to hear that Lee Sungmin, the owner of such an amazing weapon…. had lost it?
“……What the hell……… What did you do to lose it?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Fu-!”
Selgerus cut herself off before she was about to curse at Lee Sungmin. There were so many curses in her head but she stopped herself before sighing.
In fact, it was Lee Sungmin who had brought the legendary materials to create the spear in the first place, so Selguerus could not cuss him out without recognizing that Lee Sungmin did at least know the worth of it. Despite these thoughts, Selgerus wondered just what kind of martial artist lost their own weapon like the idiot in front of her did.(T/N : totally didn’t add my own frustration into that line at all)
“Do you have any more materials left?”
Luckily, before leaving the Village of the Dwarves, Lee Sungmin left all the remaining materials of the dragon he had to Selgerus and McKendor, the Dwarven Chief. This was because he thought there was no place to use it even if he had extra materials, and at that point, he did not think that he would need more spears or armor.
“There should be.”
Selgerus grumbled with clear dissatisfaction.
“Your body hasn’t changed compared to 10 years ago, has it? You haven’t gotten taller at all or grown longer arms have you?”
“No.”
“Is there anything else you want to ask for?”
“….No.”
“Well, whatever. It’s just a spear and I’ve made plenty of them in my lifetime. I’ll try to make it better than the one I made you 10 years ago.”
Selgerus turned around as she grumbled. The connection through Neville had not ended yet though. Selgerus was rummaging through something in the background and came back with a spear.
“Use this temporarily until it’s done. I didn’t make it roughly, so it’ll be useful.”
Neville received the spear from Selgerus and handed it to Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin looked at the spear lightly and nodded his head.
“Thank you.”
At that action, the connection with Selgerus ended. Originally, after this, Neville should be paid a brokerage fee and would disappear. But Neville didn’t disappear.
[Uh…..]
Neville looked puzzled. He staggered for a moment and grabbed his temples lightly. After a while, he looked at Lee Sungmin with a troubled expression.
[……Excuse me for a moment.]
“What?”
At the moment Lee Sungmin spoke the words, Neville’s image was distorted. The space wriggled, and the darkness of the night, which the light of the bonfire had failed to illuminate, swallowed Neville’s body. It wasn’t Neville standing there a moment later. A person wearing a mysterious black cape and hat suddenly took the place where Neville was just standing.
‘Is that even a human? No…’Lee Sungmin felt a deep sense of incompatibility with the man in front of him. Apart from looking like a human, Lee Sungmin didn’t even know if the being in front of him was alive. Despite that, the man was certainly not an undead. Lee Sungmin could tell that much from a glance.
[Nice to meet you.]
He took off his hat and bowed his head politely.
[My name is Laplace. I’m the one who runs and manages Erebrisa.]
“……What’s your business with me?”
Lee Sungmin asked with a slight sense of vigilance. He didn’t feel any hostility from Laplace, but Lee Sungmin also could not measure the strength of the man in front of him called Laplace. All that Lee Sungmin knew was that Laplace would certainly not be an easy opponent if he turned hostile to him.
[Lee Sungmin.]
Laplace called out Lee Sungmin’s name.
[You became a member of Erebrisa through the recommendation of Mush, the goddess of hardship and tribulations.]
Lee Sungmin did not answer but thought back to the time he had indeed become a member of Erebrisa. It had been quite a long time ago.
[To be honest, I wondered how many times I hesitated and thought about whether to revoke your membership since you joined.]
“……why?”
[I was almost certain your fate would end up with you becoming the Predator of Massacre.]
Laplace shrugged and replied nonchalantly. Lee Sungmin’s brows furrowed immediately.
Now that Laplace mentioned it, Denir, Oslo, and several others seemed to have known in advance that Lee Sungmin would become the Predator of Massacre.
Nevertheless, why did they show a friendly stance towards him?
If the words of the Predator of Massacre were true, then the True Transcendental beings in Eria were supposed to unconditionally accept the fate of the Apocalypse. However, Mush and Denir were quite… different. They seemed to be opposing the creator of this world for some reason based on the Predator of Massacre’s words, which made their actions even more indecipherable.
It wasn’t just them, but it seemed like every Transcendental being in Eria seemed to have their own agenda for the Apocalypse.
“However, each time I decided not to, it was because I thought it would be better to wait and see for myself if you could escape your fate. Now it has finally paid off, seeing that you have successfully somehow escaped such a tragic and horrific fate.”
In the world of Eria, the biggest variables to the fate of the Apocalypse that the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion had interfered with, were Wijihoyeon and Lee Sungmin.
Thanks to the fact that Lee Sungmin had regressed, he was inevitably fated to become the Predator of Massacre and it was a strongly bound fate at that. However, the amount of variables that the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion had accumulated around Lee Sungmin was not small either.
Sure, Lee Sungmin did awaken the Predator of Massacre.
But thanks to the variables like the Black Heart, absorbing the mana that Arbeth had accumulated in the City of Endless Night, the Dragon heart and inheriting the power of the strongest martial artist in existence : Sima Ryunju, had all played a part into giving Lee Sungmin the power to stop his fate from falling upon him.
Oslo said though, that she favored him. Despite her actions indeed showing that she favored him, Lee Sungmin had now yet to know what that meant.
Lee Sungmin was conflicted as he was confused whether she meant that towards the Predator of Massacre or Lee Sungmin, himself.
‘No, Oslo is neutral.’Oslo had in fact been the one to tell Lee Sungmin that one day he would have to make ‘a choice’.
Not only that, but Oslo’s behavior would have clearly changed if she was in fact friendly with the Predator of Massacre. She was only on his side.
Lee Sungmin did not want to be the Final Catastrophe of the Apocalypse. Therefore, Oslo had sealed Lee Sungmin’s monstrous ego within his mental world to give Lee Sungmin more time to confront it.
“What is Erebrisa exactly?”
Lee Sungmin looked directly at Laplace and asked directly. Laplace said it was right to watch Lee Sungmin until the end, but that also indirectly stated that Erebrisa or rather Laplace would not just watch if Lee Sungmin turned into the Predator of Massacre.
In the end, the unidentified intermediary guild, Erebrisa, seemed to not want the Apocalypse to happen. But still, Lee Sungmin had to confirm it.
“Hundreds of years ago, as you know, the Dragons completely disappeared from this world.”
In the past, Lee Sungmin had asked Neville what Erebrisa was and what it was created for, but Neville could not answer his question and avoided the topic.
“The Dragons were wise and great creatures. They knew that the fate of Eria could not be avoided no matter the costs and also knew that no matter what means they tried, they also could not stop it from coming.”
[Smart and great my ass… They’re just a bunch of shitters.] (T/N : LMAO)
Heoju grumbled. Lee Sungmin ignored Heoju’s reaction and continued to listen further.
“In the end, the Dragons all chose to leave the world together.”
Lee Sungmin knew the story. In the past, he had heard about it from Jehu.
“The Dragons have passed on, but in this world where they were born and raised… They couldn’t just abandon it. But they also couldn’t stay because they also knew too much about its horrid purpose. The world is and was nothing but a breeding ground maintained for some purpose, and if its purpose is achieved, the world itself will collapse. In fact, the Dragons even learned that this cycle had been repeated many times before they had even come into existence.”
“……so?”
“The Dragons wanted to change the fate of the world. So, before they left this dimension, they left a huge system that was maintained through their magical knowledge and prowess. That system became known as Erebrisa.”
The qualifications to become a member of Erebrisa were simple : to become a “variable” that could influence the world’s end. In that sense, it made a lot of sense to create something like Erebrisa and seemed to fall in line with the Dragons’ goals.
“I see.”
Lee Sungmin nodded his head. At the time, he couldn’t understand what it meant, but not now. Lee Sungmin had learned almost too many truths about the world.
Erebrisa wants to change the fate of the Apocalypse. The reason the members of Erebrisa were labeled as variables in the past, was meant that they could be variables that might be able to change the fate of the Apocalypse.
“Why did you show up in front of me?”
“Well….You are…”
Laplace slurred the end of his words.
“It was our biggest investment and risk at the same time. I was wondering if we were truly supporting our own goals in creating variables, or rather just helping you become the Predator of Massacre. However, Mush seemed to recommend you strongly for a reason.”
Mush also had known Lee Sungmin’s identity at that time when she recommended him to Erebrisa as the potential candidate to turn into the Predator of Massacre.
“That faith has paid off. Lee Sungmin, you have escaped the fate of becoming the Predator of Massacre which is fated to appear, and you have become a person who is not caught up in any fate. The reason I came to meet you as the manager of Erebrisa is to tell you that you are now unbound by fate…. And to let you know about things that are currently unknown to the rest of the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“Information about the Minor Heavenly Demon.”
At the mention of Wijihyoyeon, Lee Sungmin’s expression hardened.
“……What do you know about her?”
“I know a lot. The Minor Heavenly Demon is the biggest variable that could lead to this world escaping the fate of the Apocalypse.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Well… while it is true that she is the biggest variable, she is also protected by the Devil of Maryeong Pavilionl. The end of the world is being delayed because of the Devil’s betrayal to the creators of this world…… But I would not trust the Devil if I were you.”
“What if I said I am also under the protection of the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion?”
“What?”
Laplace widened his eyes at Lee Sungmin’s provocative question. After looking at him for a bit, Laplace shook his head.
“No, I don’t feel any traces from the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion on you.”
Thanks to Laplace’s affirmation, Lee Sungmin was able to make sure of the reason why he was able to restore his mental world after the Predator of Massacre had died with it.
It was the effect of the Black Heart’s regeneration, not because of some power given to him by the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion like the aura of favorability in the past.(T/N : I’m almost certain now, but the God of Ghosts that was translated is actually the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion. Not sure why they tled it that but it is what it is. For reference, it was back in chapters 60 ish or so when LSM first visited the Shaolin.)
The Black Heart embedded in the body regenerated even the broken state of Lee Sungmin’s mental world. The Black Heart that was obtained by Lee Sungmin was also a huge reason why he was able to become a monster in the first place, but it also served as a method of survival for him in the end.
In the end, as a result, Lee Sungmin was able to extinguish the Predator of Massacre but still survive in the process.
“You are not caught up in any fate.”
“Okay… but what do you want from me?”
“I don’t want anything big. What we, Erebrisa, want is to prevent the end of this world.”
[I think that’s pretty big if I’m being honest with you.] (T/N : LMAO)
Heoju grumbled.
“There are no rumors circulating around the world about the Minor Heavenly Demon. But I know where she is and what she is doing.”
“…Where is she?”
“The Minor Heavenly Demon is wandering around and clearing Dungeons.”
For 10 whole years? Lee Sungmin was shocked.
“There are times when Dungeons are revealed to the world periodically, but even before they are revealed in Eria, they exist between the gaps in the dimensions. And… when it comes to the Apocalypse…. All of these Dungeons will simultaneously break at the time of the Final Catastrophe and the monsters inside of them will pour out.”
That too, was new information for Lee Sungmin.
“The Heavenly Demon is wandering alone and taking down such dungeons. Not only that, but the artifacts and power that the Dungeons provide is being monopolized by her as well and helping her grow stronger.”
“Aren’t her actions in order to prevent the Apocalypse? Why do you speak as if it’s a bad thing?”
“As I said, although she may be doing that, we do not trust the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion.”
Laplace shook his head solemnly. Laplace’s presence suddenly began to fluctuate inside of the space.
“Avoid meeting the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion. The Devil can’t get out of the Pavilion within the Hugal Mountains. So… never go there. You’ve become a person who doesn’t have any fate bound to them since you have overcome your own, but if you encounter a True Devil…… You may be caught up in a forced fate that they want you to have.”
With those last words, Laplace disappeared. The same was true of Neville as he never reappeared after. It was because it was dangerous for them to have any more conversation than that.
Even if the Dragons had left Eria, the system they left in place known as Erebrisa would continue to look to carry on their will.
That meant looking for more variables and keeping track of them.
“Don’t trust the Devil of Maryeong Pavilion?”
Lee Sungmin muttered to himself.But could Erebrisa or Laplace for that matter be trusted too? The question remained unsolved.