<h4>Chapter 140</h4>


    <i>Crackle-</i>


    The charred, ckened forest crumbled powerlessly into ashes, mingling with the acrid smoke that filled the air. Starfire ze had scorched thend and consumed even the mes of the Fire Heaven Greatsword, leaving everything in ruin.


    Se-Hoon exhaled slowly.


    “<i>Whew</i>...”


    It was the first time he had used Demonic Blood Art during this timeline. He hadn’t fully developed Soul Honing yet, but he had managed to execute it forcefully. What was fortunate was that its power wasn''t too bad.


    <i>About seventy percent of what it was before the regression huh.... Master would throw a fit if she heard about this.</i>


    The most crucial aspect of the Demonic Blood Art was unleashing the stored power of the weaponpletely, anytime and anywhere. Yet he wasn’t able to unleash thirty percent of that power; if it was before the regression, his master would have criticized him harshly for days.


    <i>I was in quite a tight spot back there...</i>


    The only reason Se-Hoon was able to defeat the Fire Sword cksmith Hunter who was armed with the Fire Heaven Greatsword was that the mes of Starfire ze, a weapon created by the Demonic Blood Art, were of a higher level than the mes of the Fire Heaven Greatsword.


    In terms of everything else, he was at a disadvantage. If both the Fire Heaven Greatsword and the Fire Sword cksmith Hunter had been in perfect condition, his neck would have been cut off long before he even got the chance to draw Starfire de.


    <i>I still have a long way to go.</i>


    Even if the weapon worked, it was meaningless if he couldn’t swing it.


    Taking a moment, Se-Hoon reflected on his shorings. And it was during that moment when a giant crack spread across Starfire ze, extinguishing its me.


    “<i>Hmm.</i> Looks like it reached its limit.”


    The Soul Weapon created by the Demonic Blood Art was merely a reproduction of the weapon imprinted on Se-Hoon''s soul. So when its power was exhausted, all that remained was the empty shell of the weapon.


    As he gazed at Starfire ze, which was now basically charcoal, he suddenly remembered something.


    <i>Come to think of it, wasn''t Puppeteer’s Surtur used to make this thing? </i>


    Looking at the charred ck Fire Heaven Greatsword, which had been used to make Puppeteer’s automaton whose fragments wereter used to create Starfire ze, Se-Hoon sighed.


    The Fire Heaven Greatsword was so burned that both the vessel and the core were unusable.


    <i>It’s basically worthless now...</i>


    Shaking off his disappointment, Se-Hoon turned to check on In-Cheol’s condition.


    In-Cheol, having been knocked out by a blow to his chin,y limp on the ground. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have been burned by the mes, but the wounds he had sustained earlier still looked pretty serious.


    <i>He won’t be able to hold a hammer anymore....</i>


    His left hand''s mana circuits had almost beenpletely destroyed, making it impossible to contain any mana, and his right hand showed signs of mana impairment. His life as a cksmith was practically over.


    Se-Hoon shook his head at In-Cheol’s pitiful state.


    <i>I’ll think about himter.</i>


    For now, getting out of their current situation was the priority.


    He kneeled down to try and support In-Cheol, but then he immediately stood back up upon noticing shadows emerging from the charred forest. Recognizing that they had the same faint presence as the ones he felt while helping Sung-Ha, Se-Hoon sighed.


    “You idiots really didn’t get the hint, did you...”


    There should have been a clean end to the fight, but they just had to ruin it. Suppressing his rising irritation, Se-Hoon assessed his situation.


    The Iron Desire’s enhancements of his physical abilities were over, and Starfire ze’s me had gone out. All he had left were his depleted mana and a body on the brink of copse.


    <i>Trying to use the Demonic Blood Art again would be a bit risky...</i>


    Given his current state, using the Demonic Blood Art without the help of a Bond Imprint had a high chance of failure, meaning it was dangerous. Yet, he was currently surrounded by shadows, so he had to make a decision.


    <i>Well, it’s probably still better than being dragged away after going through all this.</i>


    Resolving himself to endure some more injuries, he began to move his blood to use the Demonic Blood Art once more.


    <i>Squelch-</i>


    But that caused blood to gush out of the wound on his chest.


    “...?”


    The wound through his heart, which should have beenpletely healed by Soul Honing, had somehow reopened. It was so surprising that Se-Hoon looked down and forgot about the enemies around him.


    <i>What...?</i>


    He had double-checked that there was no difference in the process of activating Soul Honingpared to before the regression. Hence, there was only one exnation for the current situation.


    <i>Something changed.</i>


    There had to be something different about his body and soul. Unfortunately, the realization came toote and the bacsh from the Demonic Blood Art began manifesting.


    <i>Drip-</i>


    Tears of blood trickled down his eyes, tinting his vision red, and something sticky surged up his throat.


    “<i>Blurgh...!</i>”


    Unable to control his body, he spewed out ck blood from his mouth. Clutching the wound on his chest, he staggered.


    “Goddammit...”


    Before long, he lost consciousness and fell forward.


    <i>Thud!</i>


    Seeing Se-Hoon copse to the ground, the shadows encircling him—Tuner’s assassins—exchanged nces. They had realized while watching his battle with the Fire Sword cksmith Hunter that Se-Hoon was an extremely meticulous being.


    “We should sever his limbs before approaching him.”


    “Let’s do that.”


    To get rid of any variables, one of the assassins spun a wide, square de attached to a chain a few times and hurled it at Se-Hoon''s arm.


    <i>Slice-</i>


    But it was never able to reach its target. A golden sword aura had shot out from the burnt forest and bisected both the de and the assassin.


    The attack was so sudden that the assassin''s body fell to the ground before his mind even realized he was dead. But the remaining assassins had; they all turned to the assant, startled.


    “<i>Hmm</i>...”


    A woman with golden hair was holding Starfire ze in her hand, examining it closely. The assassins froze, unsure of how she had gotten there so suddenly and quietly.


    “She’s dangerous...”


    “We’re already within her range.”


    They were a few dozen meters from her, yet she didn''t even nce at them, as if they were insignificant to her. The assassins could feel it; they would be instantly cut down if they made any move, so they stood absolutely still and just watched her.


    Meanwhile, the woman—Aria Myers—continued to inspect Starfire ze with a look of fascination.


    “How intriguing...”


    She hadn’t seen the entire battle, but the scene around her alone made it clear that Se-Hoon had used the sword in her hand to defeat the Fire Sword cksmith Hunter. However, given that he hade out victorious, the quality of the sword was surprisingly poor and the materials that he seemed to have used were particrly odd.


    <i>Even if the power within has been drained, there should be some traces left... yet there’s nothing.</i>


    If the value of the materials used to create Starfire ze was set at one, a typical cksmith would produce something worth one hundred. To her though, she thought Se-Hoon had created something worth ten or even a hundred times more than that.


    “...”


    The sword defied any sense of logic she knew in the world.


    Captivated, Aria stared at the hollow shell of Starfire ze for a long while. Eventually, she turned her head.


    <i>Bang!</i>


    And the moment she did, the assassins all gritted their teeth and charged together. In unison, the ampoules hidden in their teeth shattered, causing their bodies to grotesquely swell and their eyes to lose all reason.


    This was theirst desperate struggle.


    Still gazing at them, Aria lightly swung Starfire ze horizontally.


    <i>Swish-</i>


    A golden light cleaved everything before her in half. Whether it was the charging assassins or the surrounding trees, everything in the path of her sword was split.


    She looked at Starfire ze in her hand once more.


    <i>Crackle-</i>


    Due to her sh, it shatteredpletely into ash and scattered. She had expected such an oue, knowing it was only a shell to begin with, but she continued to stare at her palm, entranced, even after the sword had vanished.


    <i>That sensation just now...</i>


    For a very brief moment, almost an instant, the hollow sword felt like a part of her. She knew the faint sensation would barely register an assimtion rate of one percent, but it stood out so sharply because she had never felt anything like it before.


    “...”


    Gazing at her hand for a moment longer, she finally brushed the ashes from her hand and approached the fallen Se-Hoon, squatting down to look at him with her hands on her chin. His twisted face, bloodied from the reason behind his sudden copse, looked pitiful.


    After staring at him for a brief moment, she made an intrigued smile.


    “You’re definitely worth keeping an eye on.”


    <strong>[A bond has been sessfully established with the subject ‘Aria Myers’.]</strong>


    ***


    <i>Whoosh-</i>


    A strange gust of wind howled over the North Pacific Ocean.


    Standing above it in midair, Ludwig surveyed his surroundings again at the sound of the fierce gale.


    <i>Roar!</i>


    Huge scars marred the ocean, creating an endless cascade of water that formed massive waterfalls. Gazing down at the surreal scenery, Ludwig made a troubled expression.


    “Maybe I went a bit too far...”


    He had intended to gently hold them back, but when they went out of their way and attempted to kill him, he responded a bit too seriously.


    As Ludwig awkwardly looked at the changed scenery, a mocking voice echoed from the white hole beside him, <i>“Here you are, talking so calmly after twisting the Earth''s axis of rotation. I wonder if others will be the same way.”</i>


    “I restored it immediately, so it should be fine.”


    <i>“Fine, you say. Well, maybe soon—”</i>


    <i>Vrrr-</i>


    A vibration from Ludwig’s pocket cut off the voice before it could finish. Pulling out his phone, Ludwig read the iing message.


    <i>Karl Anderson: Fix it quickly.</i>


    Seeing that Karl Andersen, his fellow Perfect One and the founder of the Pilgrimage Church, sent the message himself, Ludwig chuckled wryly.


    “Seems like I <i>did </i>go a bit overboard.”


    If Karl, who protected the entire world with his barrier, the Pilgrimage Path, was urging him, the impact must have been substantial. Ludwig looked up again at the ravaged ocean and lightly waved his hand.


    <i>Rumble-</i>


    The deep scars through the ocean and the distortions in space vanished without a trace, restoring the North Pacific Ocean to its original state. However, the remnants of his power still caused the ocean to rage wildly.


    So, Ludwig stretched out his hands and gently pressed them down.


    <i>Whoosh-</i>


    In an instant, the water calmed down, and he soon saw a tranquil blue ocean spread out before him like nothing had ever happened to it. Still, some aftereffects of the battle remained, which might result in tsunamis at some coasts, but Ludwig was sure the Heroes Association could handle those.


    “Now, as for the rest...”


    Having restored order to the, Ludwig turned his body and his surroundings naturally shifted back to a few hundred feet above Babel.


    Now back, Ludwig surveyed his garden and zeroed in on Borsippa being the center of all themotion. He then spread his mana throughout all of Babel in an instant to assess the situation.


    <i>The damage is... less than expected.</i>


    If the Vermillion Bird’s barrier, Vermillion Sky, had been fully deployed, several areas in Babel would have been reduced to ashes. He deduced that thanks to the barrier not being properly deployed initially and Sung-Ha, who had continuously weakened the effect by toppling the red pirs, many of the areas had only experienced small fires.


    <i>And they also captured the Vermillion Bird alive...</i>


    ncing at Luize, who was pacing nervously, Ludwig then confirmed that the Vermillion Bird was securely bound.


    He then looked at the other side of Babel.


    There, he saw Se-Hoon being carried to the hospital ward in Aria’s arms. Concerned about the severity of his injuries, Ludwig checked and found that, despite being covered in blood, Se-Hoon was rtively unharmed.


    <i>Hmm... there’s something peculiar about his injuries.</i>


    Se-Hoon’s wounds didn’t seem to be typical battle injuries. His interest piqued, Ludwig observed the wounds more closely. It was at that moment that Aria, who was running along the road, nced briefly in his direction.


    “<i>...Oh</i>.”


    She quickly averted her gaze, but Ludwig knew that she had noticed his presence.


    <i>“With that level of talent, she might climb a Tower of Heroes before that Iron Lump.”</i>


    The voice within the white hole surprisingly praised Aria''s talents,paring her to Eun-Ha.


    Ludwig nodded in agreement. “Indeed, if things continue this way. But Dean Ryu has been changing a lot recently too, so we don’t know yet.”


    <i>“Perhaps. But more importantly, someone over there is ying tricks.”</i>


    Ludwig turned his gaze toward the Askus, where the two they had been watching just now were heading. The hospital was chaotic, with medical personnel rushing out to the site after hearing about the incident at Borsippa.


    Yet one room remained calm andposed.


    “So then... oh, dear. They''ve already returned,” muttered Howard, who had been conversing with someone while seated in a chair.


    He looked at Lea, who seemed to be tightly bound to the bed, unable to move.


    “You should think about it carefully,” he advised before standing up and opening the window of the room. He then climbed onto the windowsill, looked up at the sky where Ludwig was standing, and raised his middle finger.


    Then, with all his might, he threw himself out of the window.


    “What, this can’t be... Puppeteer, sir...”


    <i>Thud-</i>


    His short, dying gasp was followed by the end of his life. For the third-year honor student of Borsippa, it was a rather pitiful end.


    <i>“He should have considered the consequences before borrowing someone’s powers.... I guess a fool remains a fool, no matter how talented,”</i> disdainfullymented the voice from the white hole.


    Despite his extraordinary talent and noble lineage, Howard had overestimated his worth, thinking he could trade equally with the Ten Evils. In reality, though, he was just an insignificant being, easily discardable after delivering a few messages.


    “He never even had a chance to bloom...” Ludwig murmured with a regretful expression as he looked at Howard''s lifeless body with a sense of mncholy.


    Tearing his gaze away, he surveyed the entirety of Babel to bring closure to the incident.


    <i>“How will you handle this?”</i> inquired the voice, seemingly with a hint of anticipation.


    Answering the voice’s expectation, Ludwig coolly said, “By leaving nothing behind.”


    <i>“Excellent. Let''s get on with it quickly, then.”</i>


    Heeding the voice''s urging, Ludwig slowly extended his hand toward Babel, forming a massive, transparent cuberge enough to envelop the entire artificial ind.


    Then, after scanning the structure of the cube he had created, he slowly clenched his fist.


    <strong>“Spatial Istion.”</strong>


    The cube waspressed in the blink of an eye to the size of a fist. It then swept across the ind, moving back and forth as if trying to sieve out something.


    When the sweep finished momentster, Ludwig brought the nowpact cube to his hand and peered inside.


    <i>Crack-</i>


    Inside the cube, an indistinguishable mass of many different things twisted together filled it like sludge.


    Peering at it, Ludwig waved his hand lightly.


    <i>Whoosh-</i>


    And just like that, the intruders who had dirtied his garden vanished instantly without a trace, resolving the wholemotion cleanly.