The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 39

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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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Chapter 39
Han Eol formed an Energy Barrier while simultaneously wrapping a Spirit Barrier around his body.
Eek-eek-eek, shreee-eek—
With a spine-chilling phantom sound, countless spectral forms—malevolent spirits, rather—poured forth from the Skull Bracelet and began spinning in dizzy circles around Han Eol’s body.
On top of the Energy Barrier and Spirit Barrier, Han Eol ran his fingers over the Bark Armor he wore and the Pyros Ring on his hand, checking each one in turn.
‘But even this might not be enough.’
A quadruple defensive system alone failed to settle Han Eol’s mind, so he took one step further.
On the Earth where Han Eol had lived, there was an axiom: “The best defense is offense itself.”
Recalling that maxim, Han Eol immediately summoned the Rainbow-Colored Hand.
Chapter 2
Whoooosh—
The Rainbow-Colored Hand, bursting forth from a dimension one step higher, seized control of the airspace above the arena-like Circular Arena the instant it appeared.
Two pinhead-sized eyes, protruding like pustules on the Rainbow-Colored palm, blinked and rolled, scanning the targets hidden beneath the arena’s awnings.
In that instant, images of eleven targets beneath the awnings etched themselves onto Han Eol’s retina.
The number of enemies (?) totaled eleven.
The number of awnings matched the number of opponents exactly.
In other words, one figure was seated beneath each awning.
The problem was that these eleven belonged to different races entirely.
Half of them were Demon races of a form Han Eol had never seen before, and the other half were races he had at least some knowledge of.
‘Of course, I’ve never directly encountered these races myself—I only gathered information from the Blood Drop Library.’
Han Eol rifled through the data stored in his mind, trying to recall what abilities these races possessed.
But the next instant came.
‘Ah!’
Han Eol abandoned the attempt to search through the information.
All eleven of them had different shells, but their contents were the same.
Even if Han Eol scrubbed his eyes and looked carefully, he could see no soul. Where a soul should exist, there was only a deep and empty void.
‘All eleven of them are Spirit Beings.’
Han Eol bit the inside of his cheek.
A race that exists as soul alone, without flesh.
That was the true nature of these eleven.
Fortunately, Han Eol’s first impression of Spirit Beings had not been entirely unfavorable.
‘It was a Spirit Being who left me a vast inheritance not long ago.’
Upon inheriting that legacy, mysterious Golden Runes were inscribed on the inner walls of Han Eol’s Soul Container, granting him access to the Blood Drop Library.
Even then, Han Eol had been unable to see that Spirit Being’s soul directly with his own eyes. The other’s essence had been hidden deep within an unfathomable void.
Once Han Eol discerned the true identities of the eleven figures beneath the awnings, his anxiety eased considerably.
But did that mean Han Eol could trust Spirit Beings?
That was another matter entirely. Han Eol stood with the Rainbow-Colored Hand hovering above the Circular Arena, arms crossed arrogantly.
[Who summoned me to this place?]
Remarkably, a brainwave distinctly characteristic of Spirit Beings emanated from Han Eol’s mind.
Until recently, Han Eol had been sealed away within the Blood Drop Library for some decades—though in truth, no actual decades had passed since time stood still there—and he had devoted himself to perfecting several of the Spirit Beings’ abilities.
Chief among them was his mastery of Brainwave Communication.
The Spirit Beings who received Han Eol’s brainwave bristled with indignation.
[Ho? A newcomer with quite the nerve, it seems.]
[This arrogant attitude and arrogant tone are rather disagreeable.]
[The fact that you’re supposed to be the Growth Star Seat’s successor doesn’t excuse such impudent behavior.]
[And what in the world is that appearance? Such an unsightly form—whose lowly species’ guise are you mimicking?]
All eleven Spirit Beings chattered noisily over one another.
Han Eol had sensed this before, but Spirit Beings were far more talkative than he had expected. In Earth terms, they might be called excessive talkers.
Yet Han Eol could not dismiss these chatterers. Each of these Spirit Beings was an unfathomable Transcendent Species who enslaved adult Giritt as mere servants. Should they take a mind to it, tearing Han Eol apart would be child’s play.
Moreover, here in this very arena gathered eleven such Transcendent Species.
‘Damn it. Why do these trials keep finding me?’
Han Eol felt like weeping.
Yet he could hardly break down in tears in a situation like this. Han Eol forced himself to gather his composure.
‘It’s okay, Han Eol. Everything will be fine.’
Han Eol braced his core and managed his expression carefully.
Fortunately, he had something to lean on.
‘That Spirit Being I met at the 7th Relic Site was terrified of me. More precisely, terrified of the Rainbow-Colored Hand.’
That Spirit Being had feared Han Eol so deeply that he had performed an incomprehensible act: transferring his entire legacy left on the 5th Continent to Han Eol for nothing.
Of course, this came with two conditions.
First, that Spirit Being had mistaken Han Eol for one of his own kind.
Second, that Spirit Being harbored certain expectations of Han Eol. For that reason, he left a Brainwave Communication message saying, “When you ascend to the 4th Continent in the future, I ask that you remember my goodwill,” and then passed on the legacy he had built on the 5th Continent to Han Eol.
Han Eol recalled that memory at once.
‘Maybe it’ll work again this time.’
Han Eol fixed his gaze on the Spirit Being at the three o’clock position, steeling himself with the resolve to win or lose consciousness in the attempt.
At that instant, a Rainbow-Colored Hand descended from above and thrust its fingers into the creature’s deep, shadowed cavity, attempting to claw out the soul within.
[Screeeee!]
The massive serpentine Spirit Being, which had been coiled lazily beneath the awning at three o’clock, suddenly convulsed, foaming at the mouth.
This Spirit Being—shaped like a serpent with three horns, long whisker-like appendages, and two arms—shattered dozens of protective barriers with a sharp Pop! and fled to the top of the Circular Arena in the blink of an eye.
[W-what was that? What in the world was that thing from just now?]
The Spirit Being at three o’clock trembled as it posed the question to Han Eol, its eyes quivering.
Terror was not confined to this one Spirit Being alone.
[Gasp?]
[This is—!]
Among the eleven Spirit Beings, those positioned at nine o’clock and twelve o’clock also leaped from their places.
Chapter 3
The Spirit Being at nine o’clock appeared at first glance to be a wolf grotesquely enlarged.
Yet unlike Earth’s wolves, it bore wings; its fur gleamed with flawless, brilliant golden light; and it possessed not one head but three—a detail that stood out starkly.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Being at twelve o’clock resembled an ancient tree blanketed in pristine white frost.
Its trunk was indeed wood, yet it bore an unmistakable head, and what appeared to be two root-like legs—a peculiarity all its own.
[Twelve Star Seat, did you sense it just now? That hideous thing.]
The golden wolf-form Spirit Being at nine o’clock called out to its elder at twelve o’clock.
The Spirit Being known as the Twelve Star Seat—tree-shaped in form—fell silent for a moment instead of answering. Then it raised its head and spoke carefully to Han Eol.
[That ability from just now—is it an inborn power of yours?]
The tree-like Spirit Being seemed curious whether Han Eol’s first mental image—the Rainbow-Colored Hand—was his unique innate ability.
[…….]
Han Eol, uncertain how to respond, remained silent.
It was something he’d experienced before: when dealing with Spirit Beings, silence seemed to work remarkably well.
‘When I keep my mouth shut, the Spirit Beings imagine things on their own, jump to conclusions on their own, and draw conclusions on their own.’
This was Han Eol’s way of thinking and his strategy.
That strategy bore fruit once again.
The tree-form Twelve Star Seat murmured to itself.
[Mmm. We Spirit Beings are truly a blessed race, possessing talents too valuable to confine to the 5th Continent alone. Truthfully, we possess abilities excellent enough that we might well aspire to the 4th Continent, even the 3rd, and indeed even the 2nd. Compared to us Spirit Beings, other races are so contemptible that it would be only fitting for them all to spend their lives as our servants.]
The Twelve Star Seat spoke without hesitation, words that teetered on the edge of arrogance and sounded like empty boasting.
Yet the other Spirit Being Star Seats did not regard the Twelve Star Seat’s words as mere boasting.
After collecting his thoughts briefly, the Twelve Star Seat swept his gaze across his junior Star Seat companions and continued his Brainwave Communication.
[Yet look at our true circumstances. We Spirit Beings have only managed to control half of the 5th Continent.]
[You speak truly, Twelve Star Seat.]
[The legacy we have built is indeed shabby compared to our true abilities.]
[I concur as well.]
Waves of assenting Brainwave Communications echoed from various quarters.
Satisfied, the Twelve Star Seat moved several frost-laden branches, stroking what served as his beard, and continued his discourse.
[Of course, our Spirit Being foundation is not limited to this 5th Continent alone. After long years of cultivation, there are esteemed seniors among us who have ascended to the 4th Continent. This old one has heard that they are now striving valiantly and have succeeded in establishing a foothold in certain remote regions of the 4th Continent. Among them, naturally, is the former Growth Star Seat who graciously passed his Star Seat position to such a brilliant junior—much like this one here. Hehehehe.]
The Twelve Star Seat subtly elevated the former Growth Star Seat while gauging Han Eol’s reaction.
The other Spirit Beings also watched for Han Eol’s response.
Han Eol remained expressionless and still.
‘I’m not sure how I should react to this.’
Such was Han Eol’s honest sentiment.
The Twelve Star Seat quickly changed the subject.
[Ahem, ahem. Truly, a taciturn individual. Well, very good. In any case, among our Spirit Being seniors, some have established substantial forces on the 4th Continent, and I hear that dozens of our legendary seniors have ascended to the 3rd Continent and settled there safely, while our mythical ancestor—revered as a demigod among our kind—once succeeded in climbing all the way to the 2nd Continent. Ahehehehe.]
As the Twelve Star Seat mentioned this mythic Spirit Being who had ascended as far as the 2nd Continent, he studied Han Eol’s expression with particular intensity.
At that moment, Han Eol had lowered his head slightly, absorbed in analyzing the information he had just received, and did not notice his counterpart’s scrutiny.
‘I already knew that the Spirit Beings control more than half of this 5th Continent. I also suspected that some visionaries among the Spirit Beings are struggling to establish footholds on the 4th Continent. But I hadn’t realized that a special few among them had actually ascended to the 3rd Continent, or even the 2nd.’
Han Eol’s attention was drawn especially to the Spirit Being ancestor who had risen as far as the 2nd Continent.
[Ahehehehe.]
The Twelve Star Seat stroked his beard-like branches with laughter. As he did, he regarded Han Eol with a deep, penetrating gaze.
[Hahaha.]
[Hohoho.]
[Hehehehe.]
The other Spirit Beings joined in the laughter.
‘Huh? Why are they all laughing?’
Han Eol lifted his head, his expression bewildered.
The Twelve Star Seat regarded Han Eol with warmth radiating from his eyes.
Indeed, from the deep hollow where the Twelve Star Seat’s soul lay hidden, a pastel-hued radiance poured forth.
As if a pastel-colored lamp had been hidden in a deep, dark pocket and then switched on, that glow suffused the space around the hollow with a gentle luminescence.
Yet the Twelve Star Seat was not alone in this. Most of the other Star Seats’ souls had also taken on deep pastel tones.
Of course, one or two among the Star Seats also let slip a faint violet hue.
Violet signified envy.
But when the color was so pale, it spoke not of fierce jealousy but of something closer to admiration.
Moreover, seeing that the friendly pastel tone shone alongside it, all the Spirit Beings here appeared to harbor favorable feelings toward Han Eol.
‘I’m fine with this, but why are they being so welcoming? That Spirit Being from last time—the former Growth Star Seat—gave generously to me, and these folk have a warmth about them too.’
In any case, with such formidable Transcendent Species approaching him with friendliness, Han Eol found his mind at ease.
Chapter 4
[Ahem, ahem.]
The Twelve Star Seat turned the heated gaze he had fixed on Han Eol to the side, surveying his kindred.
[Why should we Spirit Beings, who are unquestionably the most preeminent among all races, content ourselves with merely the 5th Continent or the 4th Continent? It is precisely because we Spirit Beings are far too virtuous. Is that not so?]
Before the Twelve Star Seat’s Brainwave Communication could even finish, voices erupted from every corner.
[Quite right.]
[The Twelve Star Seat speaks with perfect wisdom.]
[We Spirit Beings suffer from being too noble.]
[A truly lamentable state of affairs.]
Han Eol’s head suddenly spun with vertigo.
‘What? The Spirit Beings are virtuous?
They were the ones dragging countless Giritt and Cape slaves to the 6th Continent, forcing them to labor under brutal conditions. The exploitation perpetrated by the Spirit Beings was many times—no, dozens of times—harsher than the colonial plunder the great powers of old Earth had inflicted. Han Eol had witnessed scenes of that plunder many times through the infrastructure networks of the 5th Continent.
Han Eol had witnessed scenes of that plunder many times through the infrastructure networks of the 5th Continent.
‘But now they’re saying the Spirit Beings are too noble and that’s the problem? How does that make any sense?’
Han Eol blinked.
Yet the Twelve Star Seat interpreted this gesture as a signal of agreement.
[Ah, splendid. Our taciturn newcomer blinks his eyes in accord with this old soul’s argument. Hehehehe.]
[Hahahaha.]
[Ehehehe.]
All the other Star Seats gazed upon Han Eol and laughed with genuine delight.
From those Star Seats’ souls, pastel-hued radiance blazed forth resplendent.
The Soul Harvester Puppeteer
Author |
Junon
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(주) Samyang C&C
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Editorial Department
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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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