Chapter 418
Going back to before the assault on Dawn’s New Delhi base, the Seeker had proposed a simple plan to Se-Hoon.
“You’re saying you’ll be the bait?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea, right?”
Her plan was to equip Sophia with the Beads of Omniscience, which allowed the Seeker to seize control of her body, and infiltrate the base under the guise of an ally before utterly destroying it. Given the base’s facilities and the possibility of external interference, it was a decent plan.
However, there was one major concern.
“What makes you think that I’d trust you?”
From what Se-Hoon had seen so far, the Seeker was an obsessed pursuer of knowledge, willing to even steal bodies and betray without hesitation if it furthered her research.
However, what made her truly dangerous was not her actions themselves, but rather her belief that they were unavoidable sacrifices. For her research, anything could be justified as long as she was eventually forgiven or compensated for.
“Come on now. After all the time we’ve spent together, how could you say something like that?”
“That’s exactly why I can’t trust you. If you were in my position, would you?”
“Well, of course, I... uhm... damn it. I can’t even lie about it.”
Clicking her tongue, the Seeker, bound by the restrictions of her power, sighed and spoke the truth. “Alright. If I were you, I’d definitely be suspicious.”
“Then—”
“But I wouldn’t outright reject it either. If I made such a proposal, there would have to be a good reason for it.”
Se-Hoon remained silent, staring at the Seeker—a signal to continue.
Taking the cue, the Seeker continued. “First of all, let’s get something straight. What you call betrayal—actions taken in the name of research—should never be done on impulse. Rather, they should be enacted with clear standards and cold calculation.”
“What kind of standards?”
“That the person of interest is weaker than me.”
“...”
Under Se-Hoon’s frosty glare, the Seeker coughed and hurriedly continued. “Look, people just don’t say it out loud, but they’re not so different from me. After all, survival matters most when it comes down to it.”
Even Se-Hoon, who consistently sought cooperation even from those who posed a threat to him, would just secretly carry on with whatever he deemed right if he failed. Many would call such actions cowardly, or rather downright disgraceful, but they were not entirely condemnable. Self-preservation was simply a universal truth buried deep within everyone’s primal instincts.
“Anyway, from that perspective, you are someone I absolutely cannot defy right now. Even if I came at you with full strength, the outcome would be uncertain. And now? Fighting you with only one arm and two legs? That’s basically asking to die twice.”
“...I didn’t expect you to rate me that highly.”
“If I’m being honest, I think I’m still underestimating you a little. I still can’t figure out where your limits lie.”
Se-Hoon, with his unique ability to master and adapt to multiple powers of Perfect Ones at unbelievably fast speeds and his body capable of enduring the burden of absorbing fragments of others’ souls, was an existence that had already taken a step into the realm of the mystical.
“Back then, I had no choice but to coexist with you because only my consciousness remained intact. But now, I’m willingly asking to stay by your side. To me, sticking with you presents me with more opportunities to gain knowledge.”
“Hm...”
“And most importantly, the rest of my body parts...”—the Seeker glanced at Sophia—“they’re similar to me in some ways. So, without a doubt, they’re going to go around doing something unpredictable again.”
Hearing the Seeker’s firm argument, Se-Hoon considered everything she said and ultimately accepted the proposal. The benefits of using her as bait weren’t bad. And, more importantly, he was confident that if the Seeker tried to betray him, he could suppress her at any moment.
There was also the unknown factor the Seeker mentioned—the potential “variable” that the remaining Regions would create.
BOOM!
Remembering his conversation with the Seeker as he crushed the enemy’s heart, he realized his decision had been correct.
“AGHHH!”
Anushka screamed, feeling the pain from the hole the size of a human head that was punched through her chest.
Se-Hoon quickly retreated.
Crash!
A spear of wind struck where he had just stood.
Realizing there had been no casting signs or fluctuations in mana, Se-Hoon immediately turned and started sprinting.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Hundreds of spells erupted behind him, chasing after him. At a glance, he was in grave danger—one misstep, and he’d be engulfed.
The truth, though, was the complete opposite.
Why... why isn’t he getting hit?!
Anushka wasn’t using conventional spells. She was using her self-modified World Reformation, a spell that imposed her own rules on the world itself. The spell, one of the Seeker’s most powerful creations, was directly tied to her power of Omniscience.
And it had been that very spell that had allowed her to stop time over a one-kilometer radius, effortlessly immobilizing the Seeker and Doppelganger. Yet, inexplicably, Se-Hoon was completely unaffected, moving freely and even retaliating.
How the hell did he do it...? No, how did he even hit me in the first place?
The time-stopped zone was absolute; absolutely everything within its radius had to halt the moment it was activated. Even the Seeker and Doppelganger had both been caught in it, so how had Se-Hoon entered the frozen space afterward and attacked?
Unable to make sense of it, Anushka scowled and checked her own condition.
I need to restore my heart first...
Her life functions weren’t affected, but the destruction of her heart drastically reduced the duration of World Reformation. If the time stop was lifted, she would have no chance of survival.
Knowing the danger, she hastily began healing herself—
Whoosh-
Se-Hoon’s fist slammed into her gut once more.
BOOM!
“GAAH!”
The heart she had just begun regenerating was obliterated again. The sheer agony made her eyes bulge, and she reflexively declared a new rule.
CLANG!
Space twisted, transforming into dozens of interlocking gears that rushed toward Se-Hoon, attempting to grind him into nothing. But instead of dodging, Se-Hoon drew his sword and met the attack head-on.
“Stellar Radiance.”
Slash!
A sword of blue light, infused with golden stars, streaked through the air.
Along its arc of light, everything in its path was severed and shattered. Just like World Reformation, it was a technique that touched upon the realm of the Perfect Ones’ powers.
Of course, it wasn’t completely on par, but against Anushka, who could only utilize the Seeker’s power impractically, it was more than enough.
“Ugh...!”
Seeing Se-Hoon charging forward without even bothering to dodge anymore, Anushka hastily gathered the last of her strength and unleashed World Reformation once more.
A pure white star formed in the sky. A comet of blinding white flames, powerful enough to erase every living thing within a one-kilometer radius, plummeted toward him at Anushka’s command.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed the entire area, filling it with an inferno so intense that it could melt a planet. Despite the frozen world where time had stopped, the fire burned eternally.
“Huff... Huff...”
Standing alone amidst the all-consuming white flames, Anushka caught her breath, her face slightly pale.
She had risked World Reformation collapsing in order to unleash that strike. Had she miscalculated even slightly, she would have been caught in it herself.
Trembling, she clenched her fists and surveyed the surroundings.
No way he avoided that...
The flames were comparable to a supernova, reinforced by dozens of rules that blocked all methods of evasion, defense, and regeneration. Even a Perfect One would have struggled to escape unscathed.
Confident in her victory, Anushka ignored the feeling of inexplicable unease as she cautiously scanned the area.
Fwoosh-
Then, all of a sudden, violet flames began to flare before her. The dreamlike fire, more akin to mist, slowly devoured the surrounding area before extinguishing—having taken on a human form.
“Hm... it isn’t as hot as I expected.”
Completely nonchalant, Se-Hoon, perfectly intact, was revealed by the flames. He had completely regenerated his incinerated body.
Anushka’s eyes trembled.
“How...?”
How could that even be possible? It was as if... he existed in an entirely different world from how he stood there calmly, completely unscathed.
Unable to believe it, Anushka’s mind raced.
...A different world?
An idea struck her, and she enveloped the world with her crimson mana. When she then looked at Se-Hoon standing within it, her eyes widened in shock.
Woong-
A deep, midnight-blue aura wrapped around him, speckled with glowing stars like a night sky.
“How....” Anushka murmured in disbelief.
She had assumed he had used some kind of skill that allowed him foresight to evade her attack or altered reality with the power of Omniscience.
World Reformation was a spell derived from the power of Omniscience, meaning the only way to counter it was to dismantle its very foundation. But Se-Hoon hadn’t done that, and neither had he used foresight.
He created his own world and overwrote the rules...? How is that... even possible...?
The dark blue mana surrounding him was its own world, distorting or outright ignoring the rules established by Sophia’s World Reformation. Yet even though she was witnessing it with her own eyes, she still couldn’t believe it.
“...No. This is impossible.”
Even Perfect Ones could only become part of the world’s laws after conquering a Tower of Heroes.
To create a world of one’s own? That was an ability no mere human could achieve—it was a power belonging to the realm of gods.
“This is a lie...! Yes, this has to be a trick!”
She was the one who had become a God. How could an ordinary human wield such power? Forgetting she was in the middle of battle, Anushka screamed in frustration.
Meanwhile, Se-Hoon, now wrapped in Silver River, was staring at her with mild exasperation.
Is this really something that’s so shocking...?
He had merely blocked her attempt to assimilate him into her power using Silver River. Yet, she was reacting as if her entire reality itself had collapsed?
Well... I guess this isn’t a bad outcome.
When a skill’s embedded synesthetic mindscape faltered, it typically lost its strength. And when it came to Incantation Magic, that effect was especially strong.
Thinking about Incantation Magic’s weakness, Se-Hoon naturally recalled the boastful Blast Dog, who had laughed about the weakness.
“Confidence is everything in Incantation Magic. The only reason your mouth shuts whenever I tell you to shut up is because I’m confident I can make it happen.”
Reminiscing about how that very arrogance had earned her a satisfying defeat, Se-Hoon smirked before steadying his mind and strengthening Silver River once more.
Whatever spell she’s using... as long as I dispel it, that’s all that matters.
If his belief that Sophia’s Incantation Magic couldn’t affect him wasn’t strong enough, then he would only suffer massive damage once. But if it was? Then none of her magic could ever touch him.
Woong!
Like crashing waves, Silver River streamed out of his body, sweeping away Anushka’s crimson mana. And with that, the flow of time resumed.
“No... No, this can’t be happening...”
The omnipotent power she had believed in was being washed away, unable to withstand the deep-blue waves. With her convictions wavering, World Reformation weakened even further. Blood trickled from the still-gaping hole in her torso, and the undeniable pain that followed shattered her final illusions.
“Ah... ahh...”
If the situation remained the same, she would die without achieving anything. Finally understanding the urgency of the situation, Anushka heard a warning bell ring in her mind.
She decisively abandoned her grip on time, focusing all her remaining power on restoring her heart.
Ba-dump!
Her newly regenerated heart pulsed violently as a surge of strength rushed through her body, all the way to her tongue.
She was no God. She did not possess omnipotence. But if she could borrow such power—just once—then perhaps she could make her one desperate wish come true.
Lee Se-Hoon...!
She hastily constructed a new synesthetic mindscape from desperation and resentment. Then, glaring at the man who had ruined everything, Anushka invoked the Seeker’s voice.
“Dieeee!!!”
The scream was closer to a wail, and the world’s very laws pierced through Se-Hoon’s heart simultaneously.
Crack-
Reality itself denied Se-Hoon’s very existence, wanting to erase him completely.
The sight made Anushka grin, overwhelmed with ecstasy.
It’s working...!
The attack carried power equal to that of the Seeker at his peak; she was certain that not even Se-Hoon could withstand... it...?
“...Hmm.”
From behind came the voices of Sophia and the Seeker. While the sounds were subtle, it sent a chill down Anushka’s spine.
As if hypnotized, her head creaked around. And there stood the Seeker, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold.
“It’s just as I thought; you can’t beat me even when you use your full strength.”
“...?”
She couldn’t comprehend what that was supposed to mean. But before she could ask, a foreign sound tickled her ears.
Ba-dump.
It was a heartbeat. A sound that should not exist.
Her mind blanked as she returned her gaze forward
And to her dismay... there he was—Se-Hoon was well and alive.
He didn’t seem to be in the process of resisting death, nor actively enduring it. In fact, he was standing there as if he had never even encountered it in the first place.
Doubting whether he had actually reverted himself through time, a realization dawned on her.
“Regr—”
Slash!
Before she could finish her sentence, the golden blade of Stellar Radiance sliced through her throat.