Chapter 118:
We kindly ask for your understanding regarding the inconsistency of character pronouns, particularly for the Entities (ex. The Greedy Predator). In Korean, pronouns are rarely used, making it challenging to ascertain a character's gender or identity until later narratives unfold. Given this is a guest-funded site, the time to backtrack is better used to keep other works' going. On a more important note, refrain from sharing this work on social media to ensure our survivability. Thank you for your cooperation!
“I’m going insane,” Seong Jarim muttered as she realized she had fallen into the Path of Sin.
“I knew this would happen, but it’s just too predictable…”
The tower constructed from ore, the magical stone-powered transportation device, and the vibrant stones embedded in the bodies of the residents of Baskar—all of it resembled the scenery Seong Jarim had encountered when she was first trapped here.
“I feel terrible.”
Planet Baskar had attained a more advanced civilization than Earth, thanks to the magic power infused in the ores. If there had been no way to return to Earth, they might have accepted their fate and lived reasonably well here. In fact, a few people, including Seong Jarim herself, had held onto that hope.
However, the administrator of this place chose to exclude them.
Just like now.
“…”
A burst of red liquid suddenly erupted in front of Seong Jarim, who stood frozen. Even though she recognized it as an illusion, the intense heat overwhelmed her.
One by one, those trapped here were perishing. The administrator was literally slaughtering the people from Earth, not concealing their hatred toward them.
Why?
For 108 years, Seong Jarim had tirelessly pondered this question.
Why does the administrator of Baskar harbor such deep hatred toward the people from Earth? Why do their actions brim with anger? What did we do?
Even a single reason would have made the massacre feel less senseless. Yet, the administrator adamantly refused to disclose anything, choosing instead to seek their annihilation.
Unexplained rage ultimately ignited anger within the other party as well.
“So, this isn’t my fault…”
The tower crumbled, crashing to the ground, and a person running toward it became trapped in the debris. The magic stones’ mana went wild, causing the transportation device to explode, and the vibrant light emanating from the residents of Baskar gradually faded away.
Amidst the chaos, she stood at the center, consumed by anger, destroying everything.
She had awakened as an L-class due to the constant threat on her life and possessed the ability to drain her opponents’ vitality. No one could halt her rampage. The administrator’s relentless attempts to eliminate her had become a twisted form of a last push.
When Seong Jarim finally regained her senses, the once magnificent civilization lay in ruins, and Elona, who had tried desperately to save her, had perished.
“Now I understand why I succumbed to the sin of wrath.”
An empty land, a sky devoid of its radiance, and her sole friend in this place—dead.
All of this was the price she paid for her anger toward the administrator.
With a bitter smile, Seong Jarim clenched a handful of sand in her hand. In the past, she would have been consumed by guilt, tormented, and slowly driven to insanity.
“But I have changed.”
Not anymore. With Seora’s assistance, she had regained her sanity, recalled her homeland, and come to believe that the administrator of Baskar had committed the gravest wrong. However, the guilt of having taken innocent lives still haunted her.
Her hands were stained with sin, perhaps she wouldn’t meet a noble death, and even in death, she would suffer. But for now, not yet.
There were still tasks she had to accomplish while she remained alive.
【Someone has destroyed the head of ‘Wrath’. Awakened ‘Seong Jarim’ has been freed from ‘Path of Sin’.】
Look. Aren’t they urging me to get out there, saying there’s no time to be tormented by guilt? Seong Jarim beamed at the system message illuminating the lightless sky. Outside, Yun Soera grabbed her by the collar and pulled her out. Yes, let’s escape. Instead of wasting time suffering illusions that hold no truth, I’d rather seek forgiveness from the innocent lives I’ve taken.
Seong Jarim tightly gripped the light and shattered the illusion that held her captive.
***
“Are you alright?” Seora examined Seong Jarim carefully. Her complexion looked much better than Seora had expected.
“I’m fine,” Seong Jarim replied calmly, easing Seora’s concerns. Seora had been worried that she would have a difficult time, but it seemed that Jarim’s mental strength had improved.
“You poor regressor and returnee.”
Tsk, tsk. Seora clicked her tongue and hugged Seong Jarim tightly, just as she had done with Kang Sejun when he was struggling. Seong Jarim seemed slightly surprised by the sudden embrace, but soon relaxed and leaned into Seora’s embrace.
She found solace in this embrace, despite its smaller size compared to her own.
“Oh.” Just then, a loud rumbling sound echoed in the distance. Seong Jarim’s mouth dropped open as she witnessed the spectacle of six-headed dragons battling angels. “Wow. What is that? Am I still seeing illusions?”
“It looks like a painting from the Renaissance, doesn’t it? But we don’t have time to admire it. Get up. I may have taken off one head, but there are still six remaining.”
Seong Jarim belatedly noticed one of the dragon heads wriggling on the ground. Even without looking, she could tell whose handiwork it was, with the broken and charred crown, horns, and the tongue sticking out.
“Thank you for getting me out,” Seong Jarim said gratefully.
Seora grinned. “Breaking the horns weakens the Path of Sin, and breaking the crown or severing the head eliminates it completely. We still need to rescue four more, so hurry and join us.”
“Four more? Besides you and Oliver Ross, who else has been freed?”
“Kang Sejun. I couldn’t sever the head of Greed, but I broke the horns.”
“You’ve really been through a lot, haven’t you?”
“Then hurry up and help me. Oliver won’t last much longer due to his depleted mana.” Seora briefly glanced at Oliver, who was starting to show signs of exhaustion. “Oh! Leave the green-headed one to me. I’ll be the one to kill that guy.” Seora’s smile turned merciless. While Jarim wasn’t sure about the details, the green-headed one seemed to have seriously crossed Seora.
Alright, we must never interfere with Seora’s prey. With a nod, Seong Jarim immediately picked up a sickle with two blades and rushed toward the battlefield.
After confirming that Seong Jarim and Kang Sejun had joined, Seora approached Oliver. His complexion was pale.
“Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that. You’ve been working hard to free both of them on your own.”
“If you hadn’t summoned the army of angels, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Here, use this magic potion for now.”
“Isn’t that yours? I can manage on my own, so save it for later.”
“I know you’ve already used up what you had. If you run out of energy, it will only make things more difficult for us, so just accept it.”
“Hold on… Ugh!”
Seora forcefully pushed the potion into Oliver’s mouth. Gulp, gulp. He sure knows how to drink it.
“You, more than I expected…”
Seora smiled brightly at Oliver, whose complexion had significantly improved. “Do you think I’m rougher than you expected? But we don’t have time for unnecessary arguments in this situation.” Seora scratched under the chin of the approaching nine-tailed fox. It seemed to enjoy it, its ears folding as it made a purring sound. “Now that both of them are awake, Mr. Oliver, don’t interfere and focus solely on maintaining the army of angels. Elizabeth, make sure you guard them. If the dragon tries to approach the cube, stop it.”
Yip!
【Administrator: ٩( ᐛ )و】
“No matter what, I’m supposed to be the Tanker…”
“Well, Garcia or Captain Ali will take care of that once they wake up. Just do as I say for now. At least until Monique is freed.”
Leaving a request to the nine-tailed fox, Seora hurried back to the battlefield.
With Kang Sejun and Seong Jarim joining in, the intensity of the battle increased. Kang Sejun weakened the scales’ defenses with lightning, while Seong Jarim inflicted wounds with her scythe. Their teamwork was exceptional.
“I’ll be the one to deliver the finishing blow here.”
Taking down just one head was not enough. To be recognized as the top contributor, at least two heads needed to be taken out. Seora examined the remaining six heads. Kang Sejun’s freedom meant that greed was no longer a concern, and as for lust… well, it was embarrassing, but there was still one more person to be freed, so she decided to postpone it for now.
That left indigo for sloth, red for pride, yellow for gluttony, and blue for envy.
Since she wasn’t well-acquainted with the other L-classes, she couldn’t be certain who was where, but she had a hunch about one.
‘I think Julian might be the prideful one.’
There were already enough DPS, so she decided to delay dealing with Julian for now. Without much thought about Julian suffering in the illusion, Seora casually turned her head in another direction.
Sloth, gluttony, envy. Which one should she attack first? After a brief moment of contemplation, she quickly made up her mind.
“Kang Sejun!”
As Seora reached out her hand, Kang Sejun, who was engaged in combat, flicked his finger. A crimson magic circle appeared beneath Seora’s feet, lifting her body into the air. The dragon’s tail swung towards the blocking cube.
“Ugh!”
The impact of the strike reverberated through the cube, but Seora swallowed the bitter taste of blood and endured. Kang Sejun, who had been launching attacks from above, quickly approached to support her.
“You fool! Leave the rest to us and take a break. Your mana has significantly depleted.”
“I still have potions left. And these kinds of injuries will be easily treated once Monique is freed.”
“The problem is not knowing which one is holding Monique.”
“Haven’t you seen her in the past?”
“Things have changed. It was originally Garcia who was trapped in wrath, not Seong Jarim. Besides, I’ve also fallen into greed, which I’ve never experienced before. It’s possible that others have changed as well.”
Seora glanced briefly at Seong Jarim, who was relentlessly carving through the dragon’s scales below. Hmm, it seems like she’s lost control again.
“Well then, let’s attack them one by one. Let’s eliminate them in order.”
“Who’s first?”
“That one.”
Seora pointed her finger at the yellow-crowned head, the head of gluttony. “You can fly in front of the dragon together with the angels. Even a dragon would find flies annoying. Meanwhile, I’ll break the horns and crowns with Seong Jarim.”
“Did you just refer to the angels as flies?”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. No one is listening anyway.”
Seora looked at Michael, who was battling the red head. His flaming sword struck the red crown repeatedly. Clang, clang. The sound of metal resonated. Julian would soon be liberated even without their assistance.
“If it were Michael’s true power, he could have severed at least two heads by now. But since Oliver’s skill summoned him, it’s probably difficult to cut off more than one. Even in Armageddon, there are limits when summoned by a contractor.”
“Then while Michael serves as a decoy, we’ll cut off the remaining heads. Let’s go.”
Seora kicked Kang Sejun’s buttocks with her foot. Despite his bewildered gaze, she called out loudly to Seong Jarim, who was on the ground.
“Seong Jarim!”
Her voice was so loud that not only she, but also the angels and the dragon, turned their attention toward her. However, Seora paid no mind and aggressively pointed her finger toward the yellow head.
It was so blatant that it would be stupid not to notice her intention.
<Do you think I’ll just stand here and watch!?>
The heads opened their mouths wide, preparing to unleash their breath attack. Seora created a small cube in the air and kicked it, propelling herself high into the sky. Thanks to Kang Sejun’s flying magic, she swiftly escaped the range of the breath attack.
<RAAAARGH!>
Seizing the perfect timing, Kang Sejun attacked the open mouths. Lightning tore through their jaws, causing the dragon to writhe in pain. Blood oozed between its teeth, but its heads still clustered around the yellow head.
Once again, the tail swung through the air. Kang Sejun narrowly avoided it, but the angels, unable to evade in time, were torn apart and crashed to the ground.
With the heads’ attention focused on the sky, Seong Jarim skillfully maneuvered through the thrashing body of the dragon. Her movements, grabbing onto scales and leaping, surpassed even Yun Seora’s.
<How dare you!>
In an instant, another head lunged toward Jarim as she stood atop the yellow head. Just as Kang Sejun had done, she also attempted to swing her scythe toward the mouth of the head.
“Huh?”
Something caught her attention. What was that? Why was that there, no, why was Seora there?
“…Seora?”
Above the blue head, Seora, wearing a wicked smile, tightly gripped the crown of sloth instead of gluttony.