171 – Death (3)
“……The Underworld.”
“It’s a quieter place than you think, isn’t it?”
Choi Si-woo nodded his head towards Leah, who smiled at him.
It was definitely a much quieter and calmer place than I thought.
But now, it doesn’t matter what the scenery is like here or what the structure and principles are.
“That’s right. I’ll explain it as quickly as possible.”
Leah, the goddess of death, also accepted his wishes and spread her low hands.
One of the spheres floating around slowly approaches her hand.
The sphere was soon engulfed in blue flames.
It began to weather little by little in a turbulent circle.
“…I felt it from the first time I saw it. Is that sphere some kind of soul?”
“Yes. The soul of a lion. The power of the relationship he has built up throughout his life. And as the goddess of death, I actually mean death. I do not have the power to take another person’s life.”
“…Then?”
Leah smiled and looked down at her sphere in her hand.
In the meantime, the sphere was wrapped in flames, burning, breaking into small pieces, and emitting even more transparent light.
“Reincarnation.”
“…Do you mean reincarnation?”
“Yes, the real power I have is the power to reap souls and reincarnate those beings. And to guide them.”
Choi Si-woo silently listened to Leah’s explanation.
She said.
When an ordinary soul dies and reaches the underworld, it goes through the process of reincarnation and loses all ties it had.
“The blue flame you just saw is that process.”
It is said that the soul purified in this way mixes with another purified soul, or is completely transformed and moves on to a path of life that even she does not know about.
“Life…”
“That area is under the influence of Irelua. Of course, her power is not hers alone. She also has a god in her midst who fulfills her duties.”
“…What does that have to do with my children?”
“To be impatient…”
Leah picked up something that might be a burning piece or fragment that was lying on the floor.
“Usually, these are completely purified and disappear. However, when the power of the soul is so vast… Sometimes, this fragment itself forms a soul body and wanders the nine heavens.”
“…No way.”
“Choi Si-woo, a being with enough power to threaten the life of a demon god. Yurika, a saint who was loved by the goddess and has countless blessings and fate. They are the children who inherited the blood and fate of those two.”
Of course it can’t be an ordinary soul.
“Death, which died here without ever seeing the light, must have also been the cause of those children wandering in the Nine Heavens. Their instinctive struggle to survive must have left them as half-hearted souls.”
“……”
“However, the soul body does not have such a solid body, ego, and power.”
Choi Si-woo said, ‘There is definitely a man in the middle who was manipulative. It’s embarrassing… ‘How dare you invade the role of the Goddess of Death on your own?’ Leah quietly interjected.
“…Is this No Face?”
“I don’t know that much. Unfortunately, it was not the present me who took away the souls of the two children. It was done by the ‘me’ of this world who has already disappeared… So I can only guess.”
Choi Si-woo touched his forehead.
Be it reincarnation, fragments, or soul bodies.
In the end, isn’t it true that these two children are my children?
‘… ‘What on earth should I do?’
It is different from the enemies I have encountered so far.
It is different from the great evil beings that you can just train, train, join forces with your colleagues, use the knowledge of the future to catch them off guard, prepare for them, and defeat them.
They are my children.
These are Yurika’s children.
He is a blood relative who has not even been given a name.
Aim a knife at those two?
Take your own life?
I can’t. At least I can’t.
‘… But I can’t leave it alone.’
Both… Because it’s too dangerous.
Choi Si-woo was in agony, holding his head for a long time.
Leah approaches him and grabs both of her hands.
“Don’t worry. That’s why I called you.”
“…Is there a way?”
“What do you think of me? I am one of the three great gods.”
Leah said ‘ahem ~’ and placed her hand on his waist.
He proudly puffs out his chest and snorts his nose.
Looking at this… It’s a sister story.
There is no difference at all from Irelua.
“Now, take off your clothes.”
“…I don’t have the strength to tackle you, but you’re not trying to do anything weird, are you?”
“What do you think of me? I’m just trying to carve a pattern like my sister and brother.”
“…Really? Is this even reported as s*xual harassment?”
“What a rude bastard!”
*
In a moment.
Choi Si-woo frowned at the black heart symbol engraved on his side.
“…It’s not some kind of drawing board. Why does this guy named God like getting tattoos?”
“It can’t be helped. Patterns are the best medium for expressing power. Anyway, through this, you and I are spiritually connected. Now, if you pray like you did to your sister, you will be able to use my power.”
“…You mean the power of reincarnation?”
“That’s right. A true divinity that reaps souls and rests. If you have used the power of your sister and brother, you will instinctively know how to use it.”
I looked at the pattern in silence for a moment.
“…If I ever use it.”
“We will be able to destroy them without even the slightest resistance. Because both children are beings covered with lies.”
“……”
Any way you use it is up to you. “Let me just give you one piece of advice.”
Leah giggled and gently grabbed both of Choi Si-woo’s hands.
“Young apostle. Both children are afraid of you.”
“… That’s right. The man called father… Gave his daughter a knife-“
“-That’s not the story.”
She made a pitiful face for a moment.
Soon, she uttered one word that made her heart sink.
“…The two children from my previous life did not receive your love.”
“……”
“I know it couldn’t be helped. Everything was the worst. So I can’t blame anyone. But it’s true that neither child was chosen by you until the last moment.”
“……”
“So this time, show them both. How much you loved them and how heartbroken you were. And tell them. Not the name you learned from someone else…The name the apostle gave you.”
Dara showed me…
How on earth should it be shown?
Isn’t it impossible to materialize memories?
“What are you talking about, Apostle? Don’t you already have the power to do that?”
“…Yes?”
“Have you already forgotten? The ‘thing’ you used to go to meet the Empress of Dreams.”
At that moment, I remembered ‘that’ ticking beyond my completely forgotten memory.
If that is definitely the case, then it is the Given to us by Leah, the goddess of death.
It may be possible if you use two.
‘But… ‘
But, but.
In the end, no matter what number you use.
“…I’ll never see my children again…Won’t I?”
An extremely sad question.
Leah looked bitter at those words, as if she was about to cry at any moment.
“…Young apostle. The two children have already set off on a journey beyond where even I cannot reach. What you saw are just fragments of the soul. It is not the true bodies of the two children for whom you were so heartbroken.”
“…But…Even that-“
“-I know how heartbreaking it is. So…”
Leah slowly approaches.
She gently hugged Choi Si-woo.
“Now, truly let go. Don’t just bury it in your heart. Stop freeing the wounds and shackles. That’s the best thing you can do for the two unloved children.”
“……”
Choi Si-woo stayed still in Leah’s arms.
Is it because it touches my heart more than I thought?
He couldn’t say anything for a moment.
Well, that’s it, I guess I should say what I have to say.
“…Over there…”
“Do you have any questions?”
“…Could you please leave for now? I have a body…”
“…A nasty bastard.”
* * *
Choi Si-woo looked at the flashing blue portal before his eyes.
“That’s it…”
“It is a device that reverses the flow of the spiritual world. If you go up there, you will be able to return to your original place.”
“…I guess I’m fine.”
“There may be some aftereffects, but we have overcome the crisis. Of course, it was dangerous.”
Leah said, ‘Was it Kay? She answered, ‘It’s because the cute kid who was called that and the kid who only had big breasts and looked stupid did their best.’
“…Do you hate big breasts?”
“I don’t like it. What is it? Suddenly, your eyes turn to my chest…Don’t look. Look, don’t look!”
Anyway, it’s time to go back.
“…Thank you.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Just wait a moment. Now I have to tell you the real reason why I called you here.”
Choi Si-woo looked embarrassed at those words.
“…Wasn’t it to explain about the children?”
“Didn’t you tell me that it was difficult because the Apostle was so strong? I couldn’t tell you that since he never died immediately after returning in the first place.”
…… Tell me?
The doubt in my mind soon turned into surprise.
Leah slowly approached and placed a small jewel on her hand.
This energy.
This feeling.
She had definitely experienced it.
As soon as her hand touched it, the pattern engraved on her side glowed black.
“…SSS level privilege.”
“It’s the last we can give.”
Choi Si-woo looks at the floating message window.
The more I read, the more surprising it became.
“…This is amazing. This is definitely it.”
“It will definitely be the driving force for you to give everything. However, as written, it is disposable and can only be used ‘once.’ I think you know why.”
It’s definitely a feature like this, but it would be nice if it could be used multiple times.
“So, I hope you use it when it’s most important.”
“…I understand.”
“Okay, I’m sorry for holding you back until now. Go back to your loved one.”
Leah smiled and slowly approached.
Lifting her heel, he gets close enough for his mouth to collide with hers.
“…Hey, it’s too close?”
“Stay still. I have to send you back.”
“…If there’s a portal, shouldn’t I just hop on it?”
“You have to get my permission before that! This is just a process, so stay still!”
Leah violently grabs Choi Si-woo’s face.
Choi Si-woo was appalled at the sight of his lips pursed.
“This is s*xual harassment!”
“Why is the apostle so scared!”
“It’s not about fear, it’s about keeping chastity!”
“It’s funny! He’s already had s*x with several women!”
“Ah, that’s just the first round!”
In the end, Leah succeeded in leaving a deep kiss mark on Choi Si-woo’s forehead.
“…Damn perverted goddess.”
“Uh huh! What a foolish thing to do in front of the goddess of death!”
It was a time of grumbling.
As my body gradually became lighter, I realized that I was naturally being drawn to the portal.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
“…Thank you.”
As soon as I said hello, my eyes naturally closed.
* * *
When I re-opened, the first thing I saw was.
“…Choi, Choi Si-woo?”
“…Yuri…Ka?”
“Hmm…”
Yurika’s face was swollen after nursing all night.
Sprinkles.
She cried like a child and sighed with relief. Choi Si-woo smiled bitterly as he immediately offered a prayer of thanks to Goddess Irelua.
I stroked her head, swallowing the terrible pain that made me cry out loud.
“…I’m sorry. I made you worry.”
“Huh…It’s okay.”
The two looked at each other and smiled like idiots for a while.
