The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 257

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 257
-You have a peach blossom curse clinging to you.
That’s what my Grandmother said while looking at my face.
When I first heard those words, I immediately furrowed my brow.
-…Grandmother. You didn’t go to the hospital?
As I spoke with concern, my Grandmother struck my forehead with the wooden back scratcher she was holding. Smack!
-Ugh…!
Clutching my forehead in pain, my Grandmother sighed and spoke.
-You fool? Is this the time to be spouting nonsense?
-…It doesn’t seem like I’m the one who said something ridiculous?
Who exactly said something ridiculous just now?
-What person in this world would tell me I have a peach blossom curse?
There are mirrors everywhere in this world. I can see my own face just by going to the bathroom. So what?
-A peach blossom curse, my foot.
Women are already terrified whenever I approach them, saying I look scary. A peach blossom curse for me? It was absurd.
-Sigh.
At my reaction, my Grandmother let out a quiet sigh.
-Boy. If it were such a simple peach blossom curse, I wouldn’t even mention it. That’s precisely why it’s a problem.
-So there are different kinds of peach blossom curses?
-There are. Your peach blossom curse doesn’t apply to humans. Well, it does apply. That’s why I’m telling you this.
Tap, tap. The back scratcher tapped my shoulder a couple of times.
-Deranged women will become entangled with you.
-….
Should I even call that a curse? My mood soured instantly. Not even normal humans, but crazy women getting involved with me….
-…So, I should just be careful around those crazy women, right?
-No, that’s not it. Didn’t I just say? If it were only humans, it wouldn’t matter.
-Then what is it?
Growing frustrated, I urged her to continue, and my Grandmother suddenly swung the back scratcher she’d been tapping my shoulder with in a wide, swift arc.
-Kyaaaaaaaa!!
A Ghost behind me shrieked and vanished.
-…What the. What was that?
How long had it been there? I didn’t even know it existed.
Whack!
-Ugh!
Then I got hit on the head with the back scratcher again. Why this time?
-…You fool…you fool….
My Grandmother kept sighing while looking at me. Her eyes seemed exasperated, yet also worried.
It was probably worry. Even with her fiery temperament, I knew well that she cared for me more than anyone.
-…Stop hitting me and just tell me. What’s the problem?
-A Ghost Curse. Something bad has attached itself to you.
-…What even is that?
-Apparently, I carry a grotesque destiny that attracts Demons.
-Wow.
I marveled at what I heard.
-My life is truly a mess. No wonder nothing ever works out for me.
As I spoke, I dodged the bamboo stick.
-Ah, please stop hitting me!
I’ve already suffered enough from witnessing things I shouldn’t have seen since childhood.
And now a destiny that attracts Demons? My life was undeniably wretched.
-…All the misfortune has fallen upon you.
My Grandmother spoke as if lamenting. The thin, small figure saying something so pitiful made it impossible not to feel concerned.
-Why think like that? We can still live well even so.
Seeing ghosts doesn’t kill you.
Well, I’m trying not to die.
I spoke with deliberate composure, and my Grandmother looked at me and said:
-…My grandchild.
-Yes.
Tap.
The bamboo stick touched my crown again. It didn’t seem like she meant to hit me. It was merely a gentle touch.
-A life cannot be erased. No matter what you do, life cannot be erased.
Whether you perform rituals or cover yourself in talismans.
There were things that could never be erased.
If my Grandmother, who could erase even the unerasable, spoke with such certainty, it must be quite serious.
-To receive a Demon’s affection means your life is no longer yours. You cannot live that way.
-But you said it can’t be erased. Then what… isn’t there no answer except enduring it?
-It cannot be erased. So… shouldn’t you hide it instead?
-Hide it?
-Yes.
Hide your life.
My Grandmother said so and told me she would place a ring upon me.
She would wrap cloth and fasten a ring so the Demons could not see.
Thus, ninety-nine days.
I spent that time locked away on a mountain with my Grandmother, even withdrawing from the school I had been attending reasonably well.
My Grandmother, not wanting my life to descend into ruin, layered cloth and a ring upon my soul.
A ring and cloth that would hide my life from the Demons’ sight.
-Remember this well.
My Grandmother, drenched in cold sweat, stroked my cheek and spoke.
-No matter what happens, you must never remove this ring. If you do, you will not be able to live the life you desire.
A warning. Or perhaps a plea.
My Grandmother earnestly begged me not to do so.
-I understand.
I had answered that I would do so.
But.
Life is such that things rarely unfold as we wish.
After my Grandmother passed away, I eventually found myself forced to undo the seal.
From that moment on.
My entire existence twisted violently out of shape.
Having experienced it firsthand, I swore to myself again and again.
Never to undo the seal again.
To simply pretend not to see, to avoid meddling in unnecessary affairs, and just live carelessly.
That was the vow I had made.
‘Ah, you fool.’
Now, in this moment, I regret it once more.
‘This is the problem.’
Humans should never meddle in others’ affairs.
Kyaaaaaaaa–!!
Kiiiiiii!!
Crack! Crunch!
Demons swarm in, devouring my soul.
As if honey had been smeared on me, they rushed forward without pause.
Thump-! Thump-! Thump-!
Boom boom–!! Boom boom boom–!!!
My heart raced violently, and my chest swelled as if it were bursting with something far too vast for such a small space.
“Ugh….”
I fully revealed my demon mark.
The Demons came crawling in, drool dripping from their mouths.
I rolled my eyes to sense if there were more Demons nearby.
I felt nothing. I stared at the black seal floating in the void.
Crackle crackle.
The seal gradually fractured, and before long it crumbled and vanished, the oppressive sensation fading away with it.
‘…Thank goodness.’
I don’t know what that seal was, but I’m satisfied that it’s gone for now.
If I had tried to concern myself with that as well, there would have been no end to it.
‘Now.’
Sensing no more Demons, I wrapped the cloth and seal around my demon mark once more, concealing it.
-Kyaa?
-Kiiiii…?
The Demons that had been panting frantically suddenly froze. It was because the flesh had vanished—they seemed momentarily confused, having lost their purpose.
But Demons are creatures with only resentment and obsession remaining.
-Kyaaaaaaaa!!!
-Aaaahhhhh!!!
My instincts surged wildly once more, thrashing about within my body.
“…Ugh….”
It had been so long since I felt this—it was no joke. These damned things were absolutely unbearable.
Screeeech–!!
Realizing the entrance through which they’d entered had vanished, the Demons thrashed frantically within my body.
I’d swallowed them all, sealed them inside me. There would be no way out, naturally.
Moreover.
‘I couldn’t let them escape.’
Why would I have bound them so deliberately only to let them loose? That made no sense.
‘If creatures like this were released all at once….’
The Demons I’d already disturbed were rampaging. And there weren’t just one or two of them.
If I counted, there were at least thirty.
Thirty Demons, all contained within my body.
‘Am I insane?’
The shattered ring. What was its true nature that it drew the Demons like this?
If Demons had gathered in such numbers, a Calamity Deity might truly have been born.
I couldn’t simply stand by and watch that happen.
‘If a Calamity Deity appeared.’
It wouldn’t end with merely affecting the surroundings.
I had already experienced it countless times in my past life.
This creature had to be stopped by any means necessary before its birth.
That’s why I’d sealed all the Demons within myself.
‘…Even one alone is overwhelming.’
An ordinary person’s mind would shatter with just two or three Demons clinging to them.
Yet I had taken them into my own body.
Dozens of them, at that.
Kyaaahhhhh–!!!
죽여어—!!!
A maelstrom of thoughts wracked my entire body with agony.
I clenched my lips and shut my eyes.
In that moment, beyond my flickering vision, I felt splashing footsteps.
캬아아아아아아—!!!
A pool dyed in crimson light.
I stood alone above a space completely submerged in blood.
It was the space within my body where I’d sealed the Demons.
햐아아아아아—!!!
As I entered my Mindscape, the Demons’ eyes gleamed as they fixed their gaze upon me.
Beings with bloodshot eyes weeping tears of blood.
Looking upon them, I grasped the space between my brows with my index and thumb.
“…Ah….”
There are more than I expected.
“…This is a mess.”
What am I supposed to do with all of them?
If I don’t handle this quickly.
‘I’ll be devoured.’
I won’t be able to hold out for long.
‘It’s been far too long.’
Exorcising a Demon. It’s been an eternity since I’ve done something like this.
‘Will it even work?’
I gave it a shot, but whether it succeeds is anyone’s guess.
‘I wish I’d had time to think this through.’
The moment I saw the Demons converging, I moved on pure instinct.
There was no time for thought or hesitation.
Pat, pat.
I brushed my body with my hands. I felt nothing.
“I’ll try regardless of whether it works.”
I can’t approach this with the concept of salvation.
Exorcism.
With that thought, I hardened my body.
Shhhhhhh—!!!
Something flowed and filled my body.
It wasn’t my own energy.
I overlapped my index and middle fingers, steadying my resolve.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
The sound of paper rustling came from somewhere.
It wasn’t real. It was merely a delusion.
“…Man(人)….”
I chanted softly.
캬아아아아—!!!
The Demon rushed forward, spewing malice as if to blot out the sky.
And at the moment I was about to flick my fingers in response.
Slice—!
“Huh?”
I heard the sound of something being severed. My eyes snapped open simultaneously.
Kyaak—….
One of the approaching Demons had its neck sliced clean through.
Slice—!
The Demon behind it was also bisected vertically, severed in two.
“What?”
What’s happening? Why are they acting like that?
As I was bewildered by this unexpected turn of events.
Slash—! Slash—! Screeeeeech—!!
Kyaaaaaaah—!!!
A gust of wind swept past, and all the demons were sliced to pieces in an instant.
Dozens of demons fell in a single moment.
“What…?”
What on earth just happened? As I was blinking in confusion.
Splash.
“…!”
I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my head.
This space should have been empty except for me.
Yet someone was standing upon the Blood-filled Lake.
“…Who are you?”
I asked cautiously. I wondered if it was another demon.
A human clad in a tattered black robe, their long hair obscuring their face.
A slender hand, pale as snow, was visible above their frame that easily exceeded seven feet in height.
And in that hand, they gripped a sword with its blade completely dulled.
‘…It’s not a demon.’
I realized upon seeing them.
This being is no demon.
No, one cannot even compare them to such creatures.
“…What manner of Deity are you?”
A Deity.
One far beyond the level of generals or mountain spirits.
Something of such a caliber that even my eyes could perceive nothing from them.
An existence capable of erasing the demons that entered here in a mere instant.
Why does such a being exist within me?
My voice trembling, I spoke to them.
Whoosh.
“…!”
They began to move.
Quietly raising a withered index finger to their lips.
“Hush.”
They uttered a single word.
That was all.
Roooooaaar—!!!
The Blood-filled Lake surged violently, engulfing me entirely.
“…Ugh!?”
Swept away by the violent pressure, I was pulled under.
“Cough…!!”
I gasped for breath as consciousness returned, my body swaying unsteadily.
“Huff… huff…”
I barely managed to steady myself, trembling.
“…What?”
What just happened?
What did I just experience?
‘I was expelled?’
Expelled from my own body. Before I could even process the absurdity, I held my breath.
‘Why does such an existence dwell within me…’
Before I could even voice the question.
Thump-!
“…Ugh!?”
A violent recoil struck my body.
Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash-!!!
An incomprehensible sound of water roared fiercely, and something began surging within my dantian.
촤아아아아아아—!!!
A tidal wave was rushing in.
An unexpected deluge of qi had arrived.
‘What is this…!’
A violent wave with nowhere to be contained.
It erupted throughout my entire body, invading not only my dantian but every meridian within me.
The qi that filled my entire being soon reached the crown of my head.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming force.
Snap-!
“Ugh!”
I lost consciousness without even spilling blood.
Darkness enveloped me.
When I finally dispelled the darkness and regained awareness.
So much had changed.

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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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