***

***

Yoon Seah, unfazed by the sudden voice, slowly turned around.

A huge man wearing a hat and a black mask was standing with his arms crossed, looking down at her calmly.

Given the way he entered the room without any sign, it was clear he was a player.

Why should I die?

In response to Yoon Seahs retort, the man reached out to her.

In his hand was a yellow talisman.

Youre a brave child. Blame your Gift.

What? My Gift?

The lady says she definitely cant go to gold rank.

What exactly are you talking about?

Things like this exist.

Thud.

Jiangshi transformation.

As soon as he attached the talisman to Yoon Seahs forehead, her body stiffened.

Her eyes lost focus and her life functions seemed to cease as if she was turning into a jiangshi.

Rise, my servant.

And in such a state, Yoon Seahs body abruptly stood up from the bed and slowly walked towards the window.

Creak!

As Yoon Seah opened the window herself and fell out,

Its a success.

The masked man, who carefully erased his tracks once again, clicked his tongue.

The lady truly cant reach gold by being pushed this far to think she resorts to murder

With that one line, the man disappeared.

And not long after,

Seah, uh where did Seah go?

Seong Jihan, who finished his phone call outside, looked around the hospital room with a puzzled expression, and with that,

The illusion ended.

Uh

Everyone from Seong Jihans party, including Christopher and Sophia, looked at Yoon Seah with a surprised expression as the illusion faded.

Especially the most astonished one was,

What the heck? Why did I die?

Yoon Seah, who had just died in the illusion.

Why was I in the hospital in the first place? Uncle Why did you take a loan?

Even I, blind as I am, saw this illusion. The man who uses jiangshi magic Whats he doing? We need to investigate and eliminate him right away.

Yoon Sejin, deeply shocked after seeing his daughter killedeven if it was just an illusionwas shaking uncontrollably with his fist clenched.

Yoon Seah pondered for a moment and then a hint clicked about the murderers words.

A lady who cant make it to gold.

Plus the Gift.

Could this be about Xin Youhwa from China that Seong Jihan eliminated before?

Ah! Uncle, the thing that the murderer mentioned!

[Stop right there. It is indeed related to that late bloomer, but this isnt the place to discuss it.]

What could it be?

Seong Jihan quickly sent a telepathic message, stopping Yoon Seah from talking about late bloomers.

This illusion it seems to reenact the events of my previous life

Seong Jihan, who was also unaware of this scene linked to the death of Yoon Seah, bit his lip.

If he had known she was murdered, not a suicide, in his last life,

He would have killed Xin Youhwa from the beginning.

He regrets giving her such an easy death this time.

But how does noona know this? No, is she really my noona?

As the illusions about his past life unfolded, Seong Jihans doubts only grew.

Still, there are more giant dungeon portals to check, lets continue investigating. Christopher. Are you ready for the next one?

Yes! I can. I received the Akashic page; I must do my part!

Then, lets head out immediately.

And they arrived at the third dungeon portal.

Seong Jihan and the Sword King, whose minds were more urgent now, quickly subdued the interior of the dungeon.

Here it is!

As soon as Christopher found the dungeon core, the others from the investigation team became mere spectators, watching in the background.

Wow that was really fast.

Were giant dungeons always this easy?

With the worlds top warriors and an S-rank exploration expert mixed in, its like pushing a bulldozer.

Is the travel time taking the longest now?

Arent we kind of useless here?

The exploration team, looking on at Seong Jihans dungeon domination with a mix of awe and dejection.

But why are we moving so fast?

Maybe they have something to figure out about the dungeon core.

Perhaps the Sword King wants to finish the exploration quickly and return back.

Oh, I see. Well start the league again soon. If there are achievements in the exploration, hell probably want to return quickly.

Hes aiming for Koreas Champions League, huh.

Unaware of the family issues, the exploration team assumed Seong Jihans party was speeding things up due to the national competition.

Separated from the investigation team, Seong Jihans party, having found the third dungeon core, began.

Lets begin, Seah.

Okay, Void Arrow.

Whoosh!

As the Void Arrow appeared, purple energy erupted.

And the party faced another illusion.

* * *

The dungeon portal was filled with pale purple mists.

Step! Step!

Sword King Yoon Sejin, with two heads impaled on the end of his twin swords, was wandering aimlessly inside.

The owners of the heads, although decayed to the point it was hard to identify, were

Shizuru and Akari?

Seong Jihan roughly recognized them.

Is this about the time when brother-in-law went missing in my previous life?

In the previous life, Yoon Sejin was already the strongest warrior and continued to grow.

Growing enough to wield a wooden sword after getting beaten with a punch by a high elf.

So, when he faced the World Trees Wooden Sword that day, he panicked and exited the game. The current illusion seemed to depict events after that day.

You were alive.

The Sword King, adorned with the Aegis ring around his neck, gazed at something within the purple smoke.

Although the shape of the dark shadows rising in the smoke was unclear.

Jiah

Yoon Sejin was certain it was Seong Jiah.

[Why did you come?]

Why did I come?! Once I found out youre alive, I have to get you out!

[Oh, really? Then come over here.]

Swoooooosh

The black shadow grew larger, overflowing with ominous energy.

It seemed like a situation where one should never enter.

However,

Alright.

Yoon Sejin bit his lip and stepped into the darkness.

And then, with a thud, the two necks impaled on the twin swords fell, with Akaris disappearing in flames

While Shizurus head started darkening.

[I saw everything Yoon Sejin.]

You saw

[Yes. That you abandoned your daughter and went to Japan. That Seah was murdered that my brother became a permanent servant of a monster]

[Im already dead It was okay for you to meet a new woman. To fall in love again, even if you had to leave the country. But What about your daughter? Was Seah only my daughter? Wasnt she your daughter too?]

In the darkness, Seong Jiahs voice quietly reached Yoon Sejin.

At her words, Yoon Sejin knelt helplessly to the ground.

Im sorry. My sin is too great. Thats why I tried to free you, and then die

[Die? According to whose will? Thats a luxury. You need to endure more pain.]

Swoooooosh

Like Shizurus head,

Yoon Sejins body too began to darken completely.

[The Witch of the Void commands. Become the Apostle of the End, Asura, Yoon Sejin.]

Flutter! Flutter!

Yoon Sejins body became lumpy, and monstrous arms emerged from within him.

In an instant, he transformed into not a human but a monster, with three heads and six arms.

Looking at his transformed self with composure, Yoon Sejin lowered his head.

[Go to China and avenge your daughter. Thats the only thing you must do.]

Yeah. If thats your will.

[I dont even want to speak with you. Go crazy. Be consumed by madness, become a monster.]

Ah, ahhhahh!

Yoon Sejin, burning with hatred even as his sanity was taken,

Turned into a complete monster, and with that,

The illusion ended.

* * *

Was my brother-in-law Asura?

In the last days of humanity.

20 Apostles of the End were summoned from different countries. Among them, the colossal monster Asura was summoned in China.

While the Heavenly Demon Wang Lin was absent, China barely managed to capture Asura.

Just like how the Succubus Queen obliterated LA in the United States, Asura also laid waste to several major cities in China. Among the 10 surviving countries out of the 20 where the Apostles arrived, China suffered the most casualties, even more than the United States, which detonated a nuclear bomb in LA.

The Witch of the Void Can that existence create the Apostles of the End? But to think that its my sister

The Witch of the Void had more authority than expected. And to think it was his missing sister.

Seong Jihan scowled as he pondered.

And the brother who became a permanent servant of the monster It seems like its about me.

Monster, could it be the Wandering Martial God?

Eternal servant reminded him of a talk about a seed every time he met with Dongbang Sak.

Did I almost become a seed in my previous life?

Even when Yoon Sejin became Asura, Seong Jihan had only received full backing from the Wandering Martial God.

There wasnt even any mention of being a seed.

But what did Seong Jiah see to make such a conclusion?

Noona do you have the ability to foresee the future?

As Seong Jihan was delving into deductions about Seong Jiah,

It would be too cheap this way.

Thud!

Yoon Sejin sat down, slumping powerlessly with his head bowed.

If something unthinkable happened to Seahsomething I cant even imaginethen it would be cheap to be treated this way

Otherwise, thank her for giving me the power to get revenge. To Jiah

As he remained melancholic,

Smack!

Hey! What are you talking about in front of the living?!

Yoon Seah slapped him on the back.

Ah. Se..Seah

Im alive, arent I? Dad! Were not in that bad ending situation right now!

Thats true.

Lets get more power and quickly retrieve mom. Seriously! The Witch of the Void and uncle becoming a servant to a monster, whats that all about?

Jihan, whose servant are you?

I am not.

There was no need to tell them the story about the Wandering Martial God.

Seong Jihan chuckled and looked around at everyone.

Everyone still got energy left?

Yes, Jihan, arent you tired?

Im fine. Now, lets go raid the last dungeon.

In the next dungeon, will the reasons for me becoming a servant emerge?

With that thought, Seong Jihan led the party to the fourth dungeon.

* * *

Meanwhile,

On the star of the Wandering Martial God,.

Krrrrrr

Emergency, Emergency!

As the ground shook, a person in full armor appeared.

The helmet concealed the face, and the voices bright tone was that of a womans.

Huh? Whats this Why did you wake up?

Its strange that the fourth one woke up first, not the third. Interesting.

Longinus and Dongbang sak, who were preparing to descend to the ground, looked at the abruptly awakened woman with curiosity.

Jeanne werent you supposed to wake up when the end of your world was near?

Thats an old name. Nostradamus is the latest.

That name is too long.

Then just call me Pythia. I hate hearing Jeanne. It sounds like your name, Kang Sang.

Dongbang Sak chuckled bitterly as he stroked his beard.

The fourth Apostle with the power of prophecy.

Did she really hate the name Jeanne dArc that much?

Alright. Pythia, why did you awaken?

I saw a terrible prophecy!

What is it?

The girl who was supposed to become the Witch of the Void in my stead was released!

Why is that terrible?

Because I have to take her place and oversee the end. I wont be able to act as this stars navigator for a while.

I still dont understand what youre talking about.

Watching Phytia create a commotion on her own, Longinus shook his head in bewilderment.

The fourth Apostle with the ability of prophecy. It wasnt easy to comprehend most of the things she said.

More importantly Ah, right. Perfect timing. You said youd give me a prophecy last time, right? Take a look at this one.

Swoosh!

Longinus took out his phone, displaying Seong Jihans image.

What do you think his future will be like? Will he be embarrassingly crushed by his master?

Expecting him to be brutally trampled by the Wandering Martial God, he showed Seong Jihans picture to Phytia but,

This one is immune to the prophecy? Who is he?

Pythia, with a grave voice, stared intensely at Seong Jihan.

A case like this theres only the master.

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