Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 283

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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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283
Massive chasms that pierced through the Moon’s interior carved across its surface—several of them. From the depths of those chasms, an enigmatic crimson light flowed forth, streaming toward Earth, toward the World Tree Research Institute itself.
“That… that direction is?!”
“Take cover!”
“Everyone evacuate!”
As the mysterious light curved and plummeted toward the Research Institute, people scattered in panic, and Ji-seok deployed his domain.
“Brother, what is that?!”
“That’s it! Ji-ho’s sealed power has been released!”
The crimson light, which spanned several kilometers in width, narrowed like a funnel as it reached Earth’s atmosphere, condensed, and pierced into the Research Institute.
Ji-seok sensed no ominous feeling from that light, but uncertain what would happen if Ji-ho reclaimed his power now, he reflexively enveloped the child.
The crimson light—Ji-ho’s sealed power—passed through Ji-seok’s domain, through Ji-seok himself, through Bae Na-young, and was drawn entirely into Ji-ho.
The moment the power and Ji-ho merged, a shockwave erupted, sending Ji-seok and Bae Na-young flying backward, while Ji-ho’s body glowed crimson and levitated into the air.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!!!
Despite being indoors, documents and equipment from the Research Institute were swept away by the currents of unknown power.
“Ji-ho!”
Bae Na-young screamed and tried to approach, but the powerful currents pushed her back, making it impossible to get close.
“What… what is that?!”
Gaff pointed at Ji-ho. The Administrator was dead, and Gaff had maintained an indifferent attitude about Earth’s affairs—but now, seeing Ji-ho, his face twisted with terror.
“That’s my son! If you know what’s happening, tell me now!”
“That is… Father’s power? How is he your son?”
“What?”
As all the crimson light was absorbed, the currents ceased, and Ji-ho, who had been suspended in midair, dropped. Bae Na-young threw herself forward and caught the falling child.
“Ji-ho! Are you alright?!”
Bae Na-young examined Ji-ho carefully, but there were no obvious signs of injury, and his eyes appeared clear and alert.
“…Mama.”
“Hmm? Hungry? I’ll get you food soon. We need to leave now.”
I didn’t know what state Ji-ho was in, but evacuation was the priority.
The World Tree Branches and the Destruction Gods were locked in combat, so I wasn’t certain this dimension could hold much longer—but if the Destruction Gods outnumbered the Branches, they wouldn’t last. In other words, this dimension could collapse at any moment.
First, I needed to get away from here, assess Ji-ho’s condition, and feed him.
Grrrrowwwl!
“Just now… did that sound come from Ji-ho’s stomach?”
At the loud rumble that seemed to come from a monster’s belly rather than a child’s, Alice pointed her finger at Ji-ho.
“We must… we must dispose of it immediately! Father’s power cannot be contained in such a lower dimension!”
Gaff, a demon who now looked as though he’d seen a demon himself, pointed accusingly.
“Mama! Mama!”
Ji-ho cried out, and the life force surrounding him was suddenly drained away in a wave.
“Ugh…”
Ji-seok and Bae Na-young, who transcended S-rank, could withstand some life force drainage. But those who had provided life force support to Ji-seok during his battle with the Administrator were already depleted. When their life force was drained once more, they collapsed unconscious where they stood.
Ji-seok shot life force in all directions, replenishing those whose vitality had been stolen.
“Bae Na-young! Give Ji-ho here! If he stays, he’ll kill everyone!”
As Bae Na-young’s life force was suddenly drained and she collapsed halfway, Ji-seok caught her as she fell and poured his own vitality into Ji-ho. Yet the absorption rate was like pouring water into a bottomless pitcher.
Ji-seok felt the power of Ji-ho in his arms as something akin to a black hole—no, something far worse.
Initially, he’d only planned to leave Earth, but unless he satisfied Ji-ho’s hunger, the fundamental problem would never be solved.
“Gaff! Open a Gate! Beyond the World Tree Branches! Into the Void!”
“Right! Abandon it! Good thinking!”
Gaff opened the Gate.
“Brother?! No!”
At Gaff’s words about abandoning, Bae Na-young convulsed.
“Trust me.”
Before Ji-seok threw himself through, he looked back and met Bae Na-young’s eyes. She nodded, anxious yet resolute, and Ji-seok leaped through the Gate.
“Damn it!”
Ji-ho’s life-draining power was overwhelming. At this rate, even someone like Ji-seok would become a mummy in no time.
Beyond the Gate, the situation was absolute chaos. Countless lighthouses clung to the World Tree Branches like barnacles, and Destruction Gods spewed absorption vortices trying to consume them.
The World Tree stretched out vine-like tendrils to capture the Destruction Gods. Most vines were sucked away, but occasionally a Destruction God caught by a tendril was crushed and absorbed into the World Tree.
“Son! Mommy’s here!”
Ji-seok absorbed life force from a nearby lighthouse and channeled that energy to Ji-ho.
The lighthouse’s life force was so immense that even absorbing a single one seemed questionable for Ji-seok.
And there were countless such lighthouses.
Ji-seok positioned himself close to the branches, avoided the vines, and absorbed only the life force. But Ji-ho’s absorption was far more powerful than Ji-seok anticipated.
“Hah… Gasp…”
Even while absorbing the life force of a colossal lighthouse, Ji-ho drained Ji-seok’s vitality like a bottomless pitcher, leaving Ji-seok’s mind hazy.
As Ji-seok’s focus scattered from exhaustion, one of the Destruction Gods’ absorption vortices caught his foot.
“Ugh!!”
Snapping back to awareness, Ji-seok flew free from the vortex. Before, he wouldn’t have resisted at all, but he’d evolved another stage through his battle with the Administrator.
However, the other Destruction Gods, sensing Ji-seok’s life force, unleashed their own absorption vortices toward him.
Ji-seok’s body vibrated wildly as vortices came from multiple directions. He wrapped Ji-ho in his arms and took the attacks on his back.
The fact that Ji-ho remained unharmed despite exposure to multiple vortices meant Ji-ho possessed physical durability equal to or exceeding Ji-seok’s own, but Ji-seok had no time to contemplate this.
“Bug bug!”
Bae Na-young, who normally despised insects, had taught Ji-ho to call bugs “bugs,” so Ji-ho thought of serpent-like Destruction Gods the same way. He swung his small hand in a striking motion.
The life force Ji-ho had consumed until now condensed and flew from his tiny hand.
The Destruction God, mindlessly attempting to absorb life force, exploded and died instantly. When Ji-ho swung his arm several more times, killing more of them, the Destruction Gods melted into the darkness and fled.
They had judged Ji-ho as a threat greater than the World Tree itself.
“Uh… uh…”
Could they really be killed that easily? Destruction Gods? Ji-seok looked down at Ji-ho with bewildered eyes.
“Hungry!”
Having expended his life force, Ji-ho grew even hungrier and now absorbed the lighthouses’ life force directly, bypassing Ji-seok.
“W-wait. Stop, Ji-ho!”
The problem was the speed. Each lighthouse represented the life force of millions of intelligent beings.
Ji-ho devoured each lighthouse like candy.
Just what Ji-ho had consumed so far amounted to the life force of tens of billions.
I had come with the intention of absorbing the lighthouse’s life force, but I couldn’t be certain whether leaving it in this state was the right decision.
However, no matter how much I called out to Ji-ho, he didn’t respond—he simply absorbed the lighthouse.
“Hngh.”
Eventually, Ji-ho absorbed every last lighthouse.
For Ji-seok, even a single one would have been burdensome to absorb. Without creating clones or expending energy, even I couldn’t contain such an enormous amount of life force within my body.
Yet Ji-ho remained in the form of a child.
“You… are you alright?”
Ji-ho’s eyes blinked slowly.
“What? You’re sleeping after eating? Heh…”
“How amusing.”
I spun around in alarm at the voice that echoed from within my domain. Someone had entered my territory without being detected.
When I turned, what stood before me was the chicken that had vanished from the Administrator’s Planet.
“So you could speak all along.”
“Ah, do I still appear as a chicken to you?”
Light radiated from the chicken’s body, and its shadowy form grew larger, transforming into the shape of a person.
“How about this?”
The light faded, revealing a man dressed in a tunic and trousers that resembled ancient Greek garments.
He had black hair and dark eyes, yet his features didn’t evoke the feeling of an Oriental person—in fact, he didn’t seem human at all. Yet he was different from the Elves as well.
I had never encountered a presence like this before.
“That child—I’ll be taking him.”
Without a word, I drew upon my power, tightening and reinforcing my domain. I dragged my right foot backward, contemplating an escape. I couldn’t fight while holding Ji-ho. Moreover, I had no idea about this being’s identity or abilities.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I had never been this startled in all my life. The being had clearly appeared directly behind me. It wasn’t a clone. He had simply… moved.
This world had Gates and teleportation magic, but moving at such speed without any flow of mana was impossible under the laws of this world.
Though I created distance between us, he remained motionless, adhering to me as if we were bound together.
“Tsk, enough of this. Since you’re a seed I planted, killing you would be awkward and terribly bothersome.”
After several large jumps, he finally stopped in place.
“A seed, you say…?”
“I am the one who planted seeds in your dying dimension.”
“…”
I still couldn’t comprehend what he meant. What was he talking about?
“My, do I need to explain from the very beginning? You understand that the World Tree Branches contain dimensions, and when certain events occur within a dimension, it splits, yes?”
I nodded.
“However, merely going to a single point on a branch and exerting influence doesn’t automatically cause it to split. For a dimension to fracture, there must be a strong causal chain. If you kill someone at a certain point in time, another will be born to replace them. If an unnecessary person enters a certain timeline, they will inevitably die regardless. It’s like a dimension’s self-correction mechanism.”
“I understand that you planted a ‘seed’ capable of causing our dimension to split. But why did you plant it in me?”
“In you? You’re mistaken. I scattered seeds across many dying dimensional branches. Yours simply happened to be one of them. I never concerned myself with where my power would go. What’s truly fascinating isn’t where I planted the seed in your dimension, but that it split in the past. That’s why I watched so intently through the chicken’s eyes.”
In my previous life, my regeneration skill had suddenly evolved from B-rank to S-rank, and even now, stronger than before, I had gained a regression ability I never possessed.
My regeneration skill had absorbed part of the power given by this mysterious being, and judging that even in this state I couldn’t defeat the Administrator’s army, he had sent me back to the past.
“But if you possess such power, why have you left things alone until now? Wouldn’t it have been troublesome for you if the World Tree died because of the Administrator?”
“Hahahaha! Troublesome for me? Why would it be? There are countless trees like this. I could uproot this pathetic thing right now if I wished.”
A small sphere of light materialized in his palm.
Though no larger than a ping-pong ball, the power compressed within it to its absolute limit might obliterate not merely the branches, but the World Tree itself.
Ji-seok swallowed hard, his throat dry.

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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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