Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 228

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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228
“Alice, I ask one final time. Are you confident you can continue Jae-in’s research?”
“Yes. It has to be me.”
Alice nodded with grim determination.
“From this moment forward, use whatever resources you need. Find a way to kill that damned Manager and a method to protect us. I’ll take full responsibility.”
“I’ll handle it.”
* * *
The Hospital had restored Jung Min-gi’s missing parts, but he still hadn’t regained consciousness.
I could have replenished his life force, but if his soul was damaged, there was nothing I could do.
To calm my weary mind, I leaned against the Hospital corridor wall and closed my eyes.
“Ji-seok!!!”
“Lulu?”

At the familiar voice, I opened my eyes to find Lulu diving straight at my head. Not in the mood for games, I placed my hands between his horns to stop him.
“What are you doing here?”
“You haven’t been visiting, so I came to see you.”
“Lulu, now isn’t a good time.”
“Why do you look so sad?”
Apparently, my expression was so sorrowful that even a young demon could read it clearly.
“Well… many of my friends have died.”
“Really? People die easily, you know.”
“Yeah. They died so meaninglessly.”
My gaze shifted to Gaff standing behind Lulu.
Gaff was no longer in the form of a child, but wore the appearance of an adult in a black suit. Like someone who had come to a funeral.
“You knew something, didn’t you?”
It was suspicious that he had dragged out the meal earlier, and now appeared like this.
“I did know. But don’t misunderstand—when I met you in the Demon Realm, they were already dead.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why should I?”
“Damn demon bastard…”
“Why are you angry at me for doing nothing? On the contrary, I’ve helped you more than once, and this is how you repay my kindness?”
“…Get out. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“So prickly. At this rate, I won’t even bother playing with you. Lulu, let’s go.”
“No! I want to play with Ji-seok!”
“I said let’s go.”
Gaff pulled Lulu’s hand.
Lulu climbed up Gaff’s arm in reverse and hung upside down, then bit Gaff’s arm hard with his fangs bared.
“Screeeech!!!”
Even as Gaff swung his arm wildly, Lulu refused to let go, driving his teeth deeper. Only after Gaff slammed Lulu against the wall several times did the young demon finally release him.
The Demon King Gaff showed no mercy, even to his own daughter.
“Grrrrr….”
Of course, that didn’t injure Lulu in the slightest. Lulu’s momentum remained undiminished as he growled at Gaff.
“What are you, a dog?! Why do you keep biting?!”
The flesh on his bitten arm hung in tatters, but demonic energy swiftly enveloped Gaff’s limb, knitting it back together in an instant.
“No! If Ji-seok is sad, we just need to save his friend, right?!”
“Recor!”
“…You can save him?”
“You said he was an exceptional human, didn’t you? Then, if we go to Heaven and retrieve that human’s soul…. Mmph!!”
“My apologies. I’ll return another time.”
Gaff clamped his hand over Lulu’s mouth and hurled himself into the black clouds.
I fell silent, lost in thought.
Gaff’s actions felt unnatural.
Why had he deliberately brought Lulu here at this precise moment?
To subtly reveal that information to me?
What was his intention in sending me to Heaven? Was it a trap? But… even if it were a trap, I didn’t care.
Jae-in couldn’t die yet.
Even if she did, I would resurrect her again and again, and work her until she withered away in old age.
I immediately headed for the Research Facility.
“Alice! How far have you progressed with the soul research?”
“I shelved that project earlier because you instructed me not to touch anything related to souls.”
Alice swept her hand across the empty air from left to right, and the holographic project vanished entirely. She then opened a folder labeled Soul Project in its place.

“I researched the knowledge obtained from the Ark and the Tower. Zena, tell me the results of our research so far.”
[Understood, Miss Alice. Souls. Every living thing in this world possesses a soul. Plants, animals, humans, and other races all have souls, but the higher the life form, the stronger the soul it possesses.]
“Where does the soul go when a person dies?”
[When a living creature dies, its soul flows through the Waterfall of Souls into Heaven and the Demon Realm. Then it is reincarnated as another life form in the Lower Realm, but among them, exceptionally powerful souls transform into Angels or Demons.]
“Is Jae-in B a reincarnation of Jae-in?”
[No. When dimensions diverge at a branching point in history, souls also multiply and diverge. Jae-in B is a soul that diverged at that branching point.]
“Then, you’re saying there’s a Jae-in in Heaven or the Demon Realm?”
[The more exceptional a human is, the higher the probability of reincarnating as a Demon or Angel. However, if reincarnated as an Angel in Heaven, the soul undergoes considerable transformation. The method to restore an Angel’s soul back to a human soul remains unknown.]
“I can help with that.”
Ji-hae and Jae-in B entered the Research Facility. A Hunter followed behind Jae-in B, ostensibly as an escort but also as a guard, though after investigation, they had determined he posed no immediate threat.
“So the me of this world was blessed. To think I conducted research in such a facility.”
He surveyed Jae-in’s Research Facility.
“You can help with this?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure what the me of this world researched, but I’ve studied the separation of souls. I can’t guarantee success, but I can attempt it.”
“His memories? Can you restore his memories too?”
[Director Park Jae-in digitized and backed up his own memories. If we regenerate the body and soul, we can artificially inject most of the memories.]
“…Please… bring him back…”
Ji-hae’s voice trembled with emotion.
“I… I need that person.”
Ji-hae’s expression twisted in pain, and even Jae-in B’s face contorted.
“I can’t stand seeing a woman cry. We have work to do, so don’t get in the way and get out.”
“Please.”
Even the fierce Ji-hae made a gentle request to Jae-in B this time.
* * *
“Why did you research soul separation?”
Alice worked alongside Jae-in B to search for and analyze data.
“Because the soul is the driving force that makes humans strong, I wanted to separate and inject it. I actually conducted several experiments and achieved partial success.”
“…You conducted human experimentation?”
“Don’t you do it here? It’s remarkable you’ve survived this long with such a soft heart.”
“Director Park is a far better person than you.”
Perhaps because of their different expressions, Alice’s attitude toward Jae-in B was somewhat sharp.
“We share the same genes, don’t we?”
“Blood doesn’t determine everything. It’s the path that person walked, their experiences that make them who they are.”
“Then, is it my fault that I turned out this way?”
Jae-in B gestured toward his own legs.
“…I didn’t say that.”
“Hmph. Let’s just work.”
Alice lowered her head and pored over the documents with Jae-in B.
“Then, shall we use a golem for the body?”
“If the me of this world shares my personality, he’d like that.”
“Clones.”
Ji-hae, who had settled into the Research Facility with the children, spoke. The babies slept peacefully in their portable cribs, oblivious to the world.
“What?”
“Make them clones instead.”
“Why? Golems are far stronger and more useful.”
“How is a husband made of cold metal supposed to hold a child?”
“…Understood.”
Jae-in B listened well to Ji-hae’s words.
* * *
“Gaff.”
While Alice and Jae-in B continued their research, I returned to the Demon Realm to meet with Gaff.
“You turned me away so coldly just moments ago, and now you come seeking me immediately?”
Gaff lounged lazily in his chair in the Demon Realm, greeting me with an air of boredom.
“Did the people who died on Mars come to the Demon Realm?”
I believe the humans I’ve worked with are virtuous, but virtue is quite subjective. Even on the same Earth, an act considered virtuous in one nation might be deemed wicked in another.
Without knowing the Heavenly Kingdom’s standards, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have gone either way.
“Some came, but they were probably already ground up at the Waterfall of Souls in the Demon Realm.”
“I see… But what about exceptional humans like Jae-in?”
“Ah, those types survive. But they didn’t come here. They probably went to the Heavenly Kingdom and transformed into angels instead.”
It would have been easier if they’d come to the Demon Realm, but there was nothing I could do about it.
“You plan to save them?”
“Yes. I’ll have to visit the Heavenly Kingdom.”
“Human greed truly knows no bounds!”
“That’s right—it doesn’t. Even in death, he must continue working for me.”
“How ruthless. You’ll definitely fall into the Demon Realm when you die.”
“So… you still enjoy making the Heavenly Kingdom suffer, don’t you? Isn’t that why you brought Lulu here to put on that act?”
Gaff, sprawled across his chair, flashed a mischievous grin.
“You’re not entirely oblivious, are you? Can you imagine what expression Metatron would make if a human stole a soul? That arrogant face? Kehehehe.”
“Will going up the same way as last time work?”
“No, last time we barely made it to the entrance and got caught. In the vast Heavenly Kingdom, we’d need to find a single soul, and we can’t be discovered. You must go as a spirit.”
“Like this?”
I shed my physical body and transformed into a spiritual form.
“No, that’s your soul with power infused into it. You need to be in a pure spiritual state without any power.”
“How do I do that?”
“Who do you think I am? I am the King of the Demon Realm, the Master of Souls, Gaff!”
Gaff straightened up and unnecessarily unleashed demonic energy in all directions, setting the mood.
“What’s the price?”
I asked calmly.
“Hmm~ What should I make you do this time?”
Gaff’s expression became like that of a child choosing ice cream.
“Damn it….”
My debts just keep piling up.
* * *
“Your head’s gotten so damn big that if you don’t cooperate, I can’t seal your body without damage.”
“Even the great Gaff himself?”
“Extracting it without damage is difficult, but killing you is possible, so don’t push your luck.”
Gaff’s expression turned stern.
“The soul sealing will proceed at the World Tree. A vessel of your caliber requires nothing less.”
“Sealing my son’s power required a vessel the size of the Moon itself, and you’re saying it can be done on Earth?”
“That’s only because you incompetent fools tried to seal him. If I had done it, even for your son, a small jewel would have sufficed.”
Well, no matter how much research I’d conducted, I couldn’t handle souls better than the Demon King, so I understood.
“World Tree, prepare the cocoon.”
Eres commanded the World Tree Spirit.
“Are you really sure about this? I like Jae-in too, but you’re risking your life to save him?”
“You live with this stubborn fool, don’t you? Do you think you could ever break that resolve?”
“Sigh…. No, I couldn’t.”
The Spirit’s eyes glowed emerald green as it raised its hand.
Branches sprouted from the roof and floor of the World Tree House, connecting together, and in the center, rounded masses clustered to form a cocoon.
“Don’t forget. You must have the will to seal your own body.”
The cocoon split open with a crack, creating a space large enough for a person to enter.
“So you’re the one extracting the soul, Gaff?”
“That’s right. And I’ll throw it into the Waterfall of Souls. After that, you just climb back up like a baby salmon.”
“Don’t forget. You must not regenerate. Your soul must maintain only its minimal form so you won’t be discovered.”
“Understood, Eres.”
“Once you escape from Heaven, ride the waterfall back to the Demon Realm. I’ll see you soon.”
I nodded and lowered myself into the cocoon.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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