Chapter 103: The Meaning Of Faith (6)


    As the Mines head was crushed, its body began to turn to ash. Some of the ashes flowed into my body.


    [Conceptual Stat Energy of Defying Heaven increases by 1.]


    Realizing the total amount of Energy of Defying Heaven had increased, I took a deep breath.


    The Mine was dead.


    But the viin remained. Through the broken mask, the viins face was visible. One arm was gone, and he held a sword, broken in half.


    Ha, damn it. This guy was only worth a few hundred million?


    The viinughed in despair. I drew the ck Heavenly Demon Sword.


    You, the unpleasant masked bastard.


    The viin clenched his teeth. He knew I was going to kill him.


    His sword had been aimed at Mine, but he knew he wouldnt be spared either.


    The murderous intent flowing from one eye visible through the broken mask was proof of that.


    Your end is death. Youve caused too much trouble. After wiping out the Mines in Seoul, the higher-ups will move to kill you.


    This was a kind of curse.


    A curse thrown out of his resentment at his own death.


    So what


    I answered indifferently and swung my sword.


    Swish.


    With that sound, the viins head flew off. A displeasing sensation brushed my fingertips.


    I controlled my mind with True Heart.


    The unpleasant feelings subsided in an instant.


    Ding! A semi-transparent screen appeared in my retina.


    [Achievement content being settled]


    [Sub Quest Chapter. 1: The Proof of Faith perfectlypleted. Upgrading.]


    [You have proven your faith. Gold and mes. This proof will evolve into one branch when your faith evolves. The reward will be upgraded.]


    [Seolhwa Ryeon was deeply impressed by you. She felt a determination upon seeing you. You gain 5,000p.]


    [A rtionship is added.]


    [Parental. The feelings Seolhwa Ryeon has for you are close to dependency, recing parents. Initially parental, but it could change depending on your decisions.]


    Was Seolhwa Ryeon here?


    [Achievement content being settledYour Faith Stat can evolve into a facet of Divinity, allowing for an evolution into Divinity.]


    [Choose between the Divinity of Alchemy and the Divinity of Gold and mes.]


    I looked at the choices. Neither was bad, but neither was what I wanted.


    What I wanted was a Divinitybined with the Energy of Defying Heaven.


    As I harbored the intention to refuse, a message appeared on the screen.


    [Would you like to postpone?]


    Yes.


    [Acknowledged.]


    I looked at the reward. Regrettably, the reward seemed to end with just 5,000p for elevating faith to Divinity.


    But more importantly, was Seolhwa Ryeon nearby?


    I steadied my breath and left the ce.


    I wanted to sit down and rest, but there were too many people around. Several cameras were already filming me.


    A video.


    I pondered. If I asked the Electronic Witch, the situation could be settled.


    But the Electronic Witch had been strained from thest incident.


    In that case, maybe its not bad to ask her to hide the ck Heavenly Demon Sword and adopt a different identity.


    I contacted the Electronic Witch to consult about it.


    [Is everything okay?]


    The Electronic Witch asked.


    [Ive frozen all the videos for now. But I didnt edit the scene with the golden mes. Instead, I made it look like a highlight.]


    After saying this, the video arrived in just 5 seconds.


    [Here.]


    I yed the video. The ck Heavenly Demon Sword was held at a perfect angle, leaving an impression, but the red line in the middle was almost invisible.


    There was no scene of the sword being used, and the focus was on the golden mes and the mask.


    [But editing the broken left eye of the mask to show the eye was a bit tricky.]


    Its fine.


    Honestly, I kind of wanted it to look cool. I asked the Electronic Witch to spread this video.


    Hows your body feeling these days?


    [Really good. Having taste simtion is unbelievable! Ive been conquering Seouls omakasetely; its be a hobby!]


    The Electronic Witch chattered happily.


    I ended the call after a casual chat with her.


    Hm?


    While tuning my body with ck God Martial Arts, I noticed a foreign substance inside.


    Is this turbidity?


    It was residue from burning the blood of those killed in the recent fight. Not good for my body if umted, I had no choice but to expel it through my mouth.


    Cough.


    I spat out blood. ck blood flowed out.


    This feels bad.


    Disgusted, I looked at the dead blood when I sensed someones presence.


    Elder


    Turning my head, I saw Seolhwa Ryeon looking at me with a sad expression.<hr>


    Seolhwa Ryeon had watched the fight between Lee Seo-ha and Mine.


    Ready to jump into the fight at any moment, she tuned her body.


    If necessary.


    The elder must be saved. Even at the cost of her own life, the elder must be preserved.


    With this solemn resolve, Seolhwa Ryeon kept a close watch on the fight.


    But the elder was pushing back both Mine and the viins, using a golden me she had never seen before.


    Truly remarkable.


    It was a level she couldnt dream of reaching. Handling two opponents alone, the elder might truly be a top-tier powerhouse.


    Seolhwa Ryeon destroyed the phones and cameras filming the elder and quietly followed.


    Cough.


    And she saw it.


    The elder vomiting ck blood.


    Could it be.


    She thought of the golden mes. They were not ordinary mes, but sacred mes, almost divine.


    But such power couldnt havee without a cost. It was contrary to the elders own power, which negated everything.


    Perhaps.


    The elder had burned his own life to obtain this power. Seolhwa Ryeon bit her lip. While she excitedly watched the elder fight like a child, he was burning his life away.


    Even though it was the residue of the elders life.


    Tears seemed to flow from her eyes.


    Elder, I finally understand. How could you bear such a sacrifice?


    Such a tough battle in my absence


    ?


    I watched the fight just now. The elder, wrapped in golden mes, was magnificent, but


    Seolhwa Ryeon trailed off, looking at Lee Seo-ha with sad eyes.


    The elders dedication is, in a way, sublime. Its hard for humans to burn their lives for precious others.


    It was indeed a noble sacrifice. If the elders deeds became known to people, he would have been considered a great person.


    But Seolhwa Ryeon disliked that idea.


    To have hunted Mines all this time forplete strangers


    Hwaryeon.


    Im sorry, elder. I dont think I can understand your feelings. Because you are precious to me.


    Seolhwa Ryeon said this with a determined expression.


    She preferred being with the elder over anything else. Like a childs words, she simply wanted to be with him, as if he were a parent.


    Hwaryeon, listen to my story


    The elders sacrifice is sublime. But I dont understand it. No, I dislike it. I prefer the elder over unseen strangers.


    Seolhwa Ryeon clenched her teeth and said this with resolve. She was weak. Too weak to help the elder, too weak to stop the only remaining member of her family.


    She didnt want to lose her remaining family. Thats what Seolhwa Ryeon thought.


    But how to stop him?


    If only she had been stronger, maybe she could have forcefully stopped the elder.


    I will be stronger. Strong enough that the elder doesnt have to sacrifice. To annihte all the Mines.


    Saying this, Seolhwa Ryeon turned away.


    Maybe she also thought this. Perhaps the elder was doing this for the familys revenge.


    Revenge begets revenge.


    Seolhwa Ryeon wished the elder to live happily rather than being involved in that. She would bear the burden of revenge. It was her duty as the sole heir of the assassin family.


    Her head was dizzy. Rational thinking was impossible. Seolhwa Ryeon turned her head away.


    Elder.


    She wanted to protect the only remaining member of her family. That was all.<hr>


    The misunderstanding with Seolhwa Ryeon was the worst.


    But should I really clear up her misunderstanding? If she misunderstands now, she might be stronger.


    Ill clear up the misunderstandingter.


    More than that, I was exhausted.


    Maybe because I fought with limited power, I had to use more strength than usual.


    Or perhaps, its fortunate that I managed to handle two top-level opponents.


    I took off my mask, changed clothes, and stored them in a pocket dimension. With the Electronic Witchs help, I checked all CCTV locations and appeared from a distance.


    Sitting on a nearby bench, I checked the video.


    That was fast?


    The video the Electronic Witch said she would distribute was already ranked.


    [Unknown hermit appears who stopped top-level Mines and viins!]


    That was the title.


    It was a bit cringeworthy, but I checked it out. The content was about me jumping in and killing Mines and viins.


    Wow, is this the emergence of a new top-level?


    Seems more like an ultimate-level, right?


    Really no joke. Even with just the left broken mask, you can see hes handsome;;


    Verifather


    Combination of Veritas (truth) and father, indicating the growing affection and respect among young people for Veritas as a father figure.


    Verifather, a new word thats fun and heartwarming.


    This is totally Young, right? Totally MZ, right?


    You guys believers? Or fake anti-believers?


    Fing antis, man.


    Dont bring Veritas into the masked mans video. I agree Veritas is amazing, but you guys make me start to dislike him.


    Its obvious Veritas is great.


    You guys!!! Because of you, Im starting to dislike him!!!!


    Were the ones you dislike?


    Are you guys illiterate as a group? Lost your eyesight?


    We saw Veritass wisdom the moment we saw him and became blind followers. Jinman.


    F off, you guys!!!