Chapter 443 – Part 2 – Annihilation

[Min Do-jun. Now that we’ve made a contract, please tell me. How do you still have traits? Here in the underworld where there’s no physical body?]

[It seems like all the traits I’ve absorbed so far have been imprinted on my soul.]

[What? Only the Hunter Slayer trait should be imprinted, right?]

[I thought so too, but the traits are being used. I can’t check with a status window since I don’t have a physical body.]

[Wait. I have a way to check. Could you extend your arm for a moment?]

Doubt flickered in Choi Seong-min’s eyes, but only briefly.

‘Now she’s completely under my command, so she won’t betray me. I even put it as a condition in the contract.’

Trusting the contract, Choi Seong-min extended his arm.

When Dayna grasped his arm, after a moment.

Light flashed from near Dayna’s heart area and flowed into Choi Seong-min’s body.

[Just a moment. I’m analyzing Min Do-jun’s soul.]

Even without explanation, Choi Seong-min had already seen through it with Insight.

It was a technique only developers could perform, checking the soul’s components and connection status with Elsis.

[Ah…]

Dayna, who had finished the examination, let go of her hand.

Though she didn’t have clearly defined features like eyes, nose, and mouth, the way she opened her mouth showed she was somewhat surprised.

[How did it turn out?]

[It’s… just as Min Do-jun said. There are 1,004 traits imprinted.]

[If it’s 1,004, then all the traits I had seem to have transferred over.]

[It seems that when absorbing traits, you absorbed not only Divine Force but also fragments of trait data. The absorbed Divine Force naturally goes through a process of融合ing with the soul to make Min Do-jun a transcendent, and during this process, the absorbed trait data flows in and gets imprinted on the soul.]

Choi Seong-min nodded.

It was the moment when his hypothesis, guessed through Insight, was confirmed as fact.

[Still, it’s amazing. To think that becoming a transcendent would imprint all the traits… I never thought data fragments would fuse too…]

Watching Dayna standing still and pondering, her thoughts were naturally read.

*I should research this part later by comparing it with Elsis’s mechanisms. Since I’ve contracted to work under Min Do-jun, I can research to my heart’s content.*

At that sight, Choi Seong-min chuckled.

‘She’s definitely an Elsis developer.’

Seeing her research even in this situation, he truly thought she was like a developer.

Then, as if something occurred to her, Dayna asked:

[Min Do-jun. Then are the traits manifesting even in your soul state?]

[Something like that.]

[Really?]

[Why would I lie?]

[How is that possible? The traits are things I designed and created using the Awakener System tool. Things that were supposed to work only in the living world are affecting even the underworld? That doesn’t make sense.]

The Awakener System was a program within Elsis.

For traits created through this to apply even to transcendents?

By human standards, it was as nonsensical as a computer game affecting reality.

[I don’t know the details either. But wasn’t making the impossible possible what Elsis was about?]

[Still, this doesn’t make sense…]

[Then does making an ordinary soul into a transcendent make sense?]

[……]

Dayna closed her mouth.

Thinking about it, it wasn’t wrong.

[If you can create transcendents using Elsis, then it wouldn’t be strange for traits to apply to transcendents too.]

[Th-then you’ve been grasping everything with the Insight trait this whole time? Reading my thoughts freely with the Mind Reading trait too?]

[Something like that.]

[Ah…]

Dayna instinctively hid her inner thoughts.

But unlike Choi Seong-min, Dayna wasn’t the type who could completely empty her mind.

[Then the reason you could interpret the latch’s rune script was also…]

[It was possible thanks to the Interpretation trait.]

If it hadn’t been for the Interpretation trait that Choi Seong-min possessed, he wouldn’t have been able to avoid the latch’s trap.

[Huh? But the Interpretation trait wasn’t absorbed from another human but was a trait you basically had. So how did it get imprinted on your soul?]

[Well…? Maybe it’s because I committed suicide?]

[Suicide? Ah…!]

Dayna nodded up and down as if she understood.

[You killed yourself and absorbed your own trait data. That’s why it got imprinted.]

[Seems like it.]

Now that all her curiosities seemed resolved, Dayna asked no more questions.

Except for one thing.

[When are you going to kill Derkius? Are you going to leave him like that?]

[I’m waiting for him to come to his senses. I have something to ask him.]

Just as Derkius seemed to regain consciousness and lifted his head, Choi Seong-min approached.

[Derkius.]

At Choi Seong-min’s call, Derkius flinched and trembled.

Then, unlike when he showed no reaction even in front of Dayna, he began trembling like an aspen tree.

Fear had already dominated his soul.

[How is it? Are you a bit more conscious?]

[……]

[Why are you trembling so much? Did someone threaten to eat you?]

[……]

[I received the 3 billion Divine Force well. Along with control of the underworld.]

Choi Seong-min’s mouth was smiling.

[I released you from the Illusion Prison as per the contract, so I kept my promise, right?]

Derkius silently nodded.

Even if he didn’t agree, the contract they had made had already disappeared.

The conditions had been met and its effectiveness had expired.

[Now that you’re free, what are you going to do?]

[……]

[You’re not thinking of getting revenge on me, are you?]

At those words, Derkius hurriedly shook his head.

[N-no way.]

His way of speaking was also polite, unlike before.

He had no choice.

The opponent was the ruler of the underworld who possessed over 3 billion Divine Force.

He was a pitiful transcendent who had become penniless and was about to be thrown onto the streets.

No, he had become an existence that was embarrassing to even call a transcendent.

A transcendent without Divine Force was no different from an awakened person who had lost their hunter equipment.

‘Revenge? What revenge. I’m lucky just to escape from that demon’s grasp!’

Derkius, who had been looking at Choi Seong-min, trembled inwardly.

In his eyes, Choi Seong-min was a demon wearing human skin.

The demon smiled wickedly.

[I’m glad you won’t seek revenge. Then can I ask you something? It’s a very important question.]

[Of course. Please ask anything.]

As Derkius, who had submitted to power, bowed his head and groveled, he heard the question.

[Where is my family?]

[……]

It was a question that could be easily anticipated if one knew Choi Seong-min, but for Derkius, it was an unexpected question.

Indeed, Choi Seong-min’s family had already disappeared from his memory.

[Family? Which family are you referring to…]

[Which family?]

Choi Seong-min’s eyes turned murderous as he grabbed Derkius’s neck.

[Kuhuk…!]

[Which family? Are you kidding? Are you asking because you don’t know?]

[S-sorry! My memory isn’t good… Perhaps you’re referring to Choi Seong-min’s family…]

[Whose family would I have left in the underworld? Of course I mean Min Do-jun’s family. Cha Ye-rin, Min Su-ho, Min Seo-yeon, and the great-grandchildren.]

[Ah…]

Derkius belatedly remembered Cha Ye-rin and her family.

And what had happened to them.

‘Damn… this is big trouble.’

If he had a physical body, he would have broken out in cold sweat at this troublesome situation, but Derkius tried not to show it.

‘If the demon in front of me finds out what happened to the family, it’ll be terrible. I absolutely must not tell him.’

But Derkius didn’t know.

That Choi Seong-min had 1,004 traits imprinted, and that traits affected transcendents too.

[You bastard… You annihilated my family.]

[What? Wh-what do you… Keeeeek!]

As Choi Seong-min, who had read his inner thoughts, twisted his neck, Derkius made sounds like a deflating doll and suffered in pain.

[You never intended to keep your promise from the beginning. That’s why you can’t remember even though only a year has passed.]

[Sor… kek, ry… kek, kuk, keoheueuk…!]

As if he had no intention of listening to apologies, force was applied to Choi Seong-min’s hand and.

Pssssss-

Derkius’s soul, unable to withstand the excessive force, went through the process of annihilation.

[Derkius has finally died.]

[……]

Dayna, who had been watching, spoke as if relieved, but Choi Seong-min wasn’t in a very good mood.

[To think my family was annihilated…]

Though he had hoped otherwise, he didn’t know Derkius had planned from the beginning to annihilate his family.

[Dayna.]

[Yes?]

[What happens when ordinary souls enter the Spring of Oblivion?]

[Well, they have their Divine Force extracted and are annihilated.]

[How much pain is there when being annihilated?]

[It would probably be hard to describe in words. Since Divine Force needs to be squeezed out to the maximum…]

[Hah… damn it.]

He tried to hold back, but eventually cursing burst out.

It was a devastating reality, but surprisingly, no tears flowed.

Because he had an easy solution.

[I need to turn back time.]

[Are you planning to use Soul Regression to save your family?]

[Yes. If I turn back time by just one year, I can get back my annihilated family.]

Elsis had a Soul Regression function.

An ability to turn back the time axis and regress specific souls to a state with memories.

Using this, even annihilated souls could be revived.

Turning back time meant restoring everything to its original state.

[By the way, unlike the original world, time flows 10 times slower in the specimen world. Divine Force costs 10 times more too.]

[Don’t worry about that. I have plenty of Divine Force.]

The Divine Force for one year of Soul Regression was 30 million.

Ten times that would be 300 million.

With 3.2 billion, spending 300 million wasn’t burdensome.

Especially if it was used to save family, he was prepared to pay any amount.

[Do you know this? When you turn back the time axis, all the souls you’ve killed so far will be revived. All the Great Heroes that Min Do-jun killed will come back to life too. All the assassination missions you’ve done will become as if they never happened.]

[I don’t care. As long as I can meet my family, I’ll kill those bastards as many times as necessary.]

Realizing that Choi Seong-min’s determination was firm, Dayna no longer tried to dissuade him.

She wasn’t in a position to dissuade him anyway.

[Then what about the soul to regress? Do you have a soul in mind?]

Naturally, to use the Soul Regression function, a soul was needed.

Transcendents didn’t qualify for this.

Choi Seong-min had no choice but to find a substitute.

Dayna’s question about whether he had a soul in mind was made with this in consideration.

[Transcendents aren’t affected by regression. Even if you turn back the time axis, transcendent Derkius won’t be revived.]

[I know that.]

[Then you also know that transcendent Min Do-jun can’t regress. To turn back time, you have no choice but to choose an ordinary soul…]

[No.]

Choi Seong-min interrupted midway.

[I’ll do the regression.]

[What? That’s impossible…]

[It’s not like there’s no way.]

Choi Seong-min knew through Insight.

That among Elsis’s functions, there was a function to adjust grades.

[If I downgrade my grade to ordinary grade, it’s possible.]

[That’s a function used to divide the ranks of ordinary souls. It’s impossible to lower a transcendent’s rank… ah, wait.]

Dayna stopped talking briefly and thought deeply.

[Come to think of it, it’s not impossible. If I just put an ordinary soul grade frame over it and modify it a bit so the Soul Regression function recognizes Min Do-jun as an ordinary soul…]

[Right?]

Choi Seong-min smiled as if he had believed it would work.

[Then could you modify Elsis’s function? I need to go meet my family quickly.]

* * *

The time axis was turned back.

The coup became something that never happened, and the dead 8 Heroes were revived again.

The time that Choi Seong-min had created over one year was reset to the beginning.

‘Phew, I really came back. To this damn hospital room.’

Choi Seong-min, who had awakened from his coma, remembered everything.

From first possessing Choi Seong-min’s body to killing the 8 Heroes, awakening as a transcendent, and settling things with Derkius.

Everything was vividly remembered.

It had to be vivid since it had all happened in just one year.

‘I was thinking of putting forward another soul if necessary, but this really worked?’

The plan to regress by making himself, a transcendent, be recognized as an ordinary soul had succeeded.

Though Dayna had worked hard in the process.

‘I should give her some Divine Force as a performance bonus when I go back.’

Of course, being recognized as an ordinary soul didn’t mean his body had actually changed that way.

‘My information.’

-Name: Choi Seong-min (Min Do-jun)

-Existence: Transcendent

-Authority Level: Administrator

-Divine Force Held: 2,909,128,391

Choi Seong-min could still use Elsis.

He was only recognized as an ordinary soul on the outside, but inside he was still a transcendent.

He was also the master of the world who held control of the underworld.

‘Having to kill those damn 8 Heroes once more…’

He could have set up a substitute, but to prevent humanity’s extinction, he needed to kill them once again.

‘It’s fastest if I step forward myself.’

It was troublesome work, but it was also unavoidable if he wanted to save his family.

Choi Seong-min, who had left the hospital room, looked up at the sky.

It was a clear sky.

‘I wonder if my family is doing well?’

Since he had turned back the time axis, they must have been revived to before their annihilation.

‘I should contact Dayna later and check if my family is safe.’

Though he couldn’t see their faces, he wasn’t worried.

‘Dayna will protect them well while I’m gone.’

He had even written a separate contract to prevent any harm, so there would be no problems.

‘This is the second time experiencing regression in the same body.’

Though he had to postpone the joy of reunion for later, Choi Seong-min wasn’t worried.

It wouldn’t take very long to meet again.

‘One year? This time I’ll kill them all within two months.’

Choi Seong-min checked his status window.

It was the status window of an absolute being with 1,004 traits.

-End of Part 2-