The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 433

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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 433
‘What do you believe a Deity to be?’
I lowered my gaze toward the foolish question. The air hung heavy and stagnant, the building a murky shade of decay.
Above the crumbling walls fractured with countless fissures, I offered my answer.
‘Who knows.’
At first, it was merely a question.
‘Beings who feign enlightenment, yet ultimately succumb to attachment?’
I had already settled upon my own answer. Through the course of my life, I had come to understand that Deities were neither noble nor magnificent.
They might even be more instinctual than beasts.
Or perhaps more foolish than humans themselves.
Thus, I neither revered them nor held them in high regard. Was that not so?
Even now, one of them knelt before a mere human.
‘A mere human, you say….’
The figure before me let out a hollow laugh.
‘How you demean yourself so thoroughly.’
The Old Man laughed.
‘You who gaze down upon the sublime. You are a being too precious to be called merely human.’
‘This is absurd.’
At those words, I lifted the corners of my mouth.
‘I am human, so who are you to judge otherwise?’
By whose authority? I’m sorry, but I was human. From the moment of my birth. And I remained so until the moment of my death.
‘Do you not desire eternal life?’
‘What are you talking about.’
Why would eternal life even come up here?
‘Does ceasing to be human grant you eternal life? That’s nothing but arrogance.’
It was a ridiculous misconception.
‘Without flesh, even if the spirit alone wanders, you cannot call that immortality or eternal life. There is no emptier delusion than that.’
‘If the soul persists, the body becomes irrelevant. The essence lies in the soul—surely you understand this?’
‘That’s precisely why it cannot be so.’
If the essence truly lay in the soul, then it was all the more impossible.
‘If I forcibly alter my soul and maintain it, will my original thoughts and values remain intact? I don’t believe they will.’
‘That applies only to those whose lives are finite.’
‘Exactly. Which is why one must not pursue the infinite.’
To abandon a finite life and choose an infinite one instead.
‘The infinity gained would hold no meaning whatsoever.’
Humans have always been thus.
‘We are beings whose existence holds value only when we live with death in mind.’
‘….’
The Old Man falls silent upon hearing my words. Beyond that gaze, both profound and shallow, I could see myself.
Myself, my soul already torn asunder, on the verge of complete annihilation.
‘One must live with death in mind to find meaning… truly, what a wretched saying.’
‘Heh.’
Hearing those words, I smiled.
‘You’re wrong. It should be called radiant.’
‘Ha.’
The Old Man laughed once more.
‘…Yes. A radiant saying indeed. And so, you who chose radiance.’
Crumble.
Within the collapsing ruins, the Old Man’s gaze shifted.
‘Moreover, Shinsarja, you who sought different meaning beyond infinity itself. What ideal world do you envision?’
An ideal world. To that question, I answered with unwavering certainty. There was no hesitation. It was an answer I had decided upon long ago.
‘A peaceful life.’
Safe and free from danger.
Without needing to witness troublesome things or involving myself in matters I had no desire to pursue.
That was the life I yearned for.
‘…Hahahaha…’
Hearing such words, the Old Man laughed in eerie silence.
‘An impossible dream.’
‘…That’s harsh.’
It was the most ordinary and simple wish anyone could have, yet he trampled upon it so decisively.
I held back the sigh that threatened to escape.
Crunch crunch crunch crunch.
The ruins continued to collapse. As the space around me began to shatter, I ran my hand through my hair.
‘I can’t deny it.’
That it’s an impossible dream.
I couldn’t deny it, curse it all.

* * *
A deep, resonant hum—!!!
-Gack!
The vibration shook Gungwi’s spiritual form. Pain flickered across her face. Or perhaps bewilderment came first.
-What is this…!
“That’s why I told you it’s dangerous to wander around in your spirit form.”
Astral projection was incredibly perilous, yet she moved through it as if it were nothing.
Or perhaps.
“Did you not anticipate that I could do something like this?”
That was likely it. If she had foreseen this, she wouldn’t have come in such a manner.
-What exactly…
“It’s nothing special. If you had come in your physical body, I couldn’t have done it. But with a spirit form, it’s much easier to reach the soul directly.”
It was called a curse.
A hex that those possessing Spiritual Essence unleash imbued with resentment and malice. A power that could prove troublesome even to those lacking Spiritual Essence.
‘Conversely, I can use it against those who do possess Spiritual Essence.’
Soul reaching toward soul.
That was the power I had unleashed.
‘I don’t typically employ curses, though.’
It wasn’t a power to be used carelessly. Casting curses accumulated karmic debt, and there was nothing good about abusing such a technique.
So I preferred to avoid it when possible.
‘But this situation calls for it.’
Right now, it was necessary.
‘…Though something does concern me.’
Just how exceptional was this being called Gungwi? If her level exceeded my expectations, it would be a gamble. But from what I could see, that wasn’t the case.
[Hahahaha…!]
The Celestial Demon’s laughter echoed. The divine blade bound at my waist trembled.
[I did not anticipate this. Truly remarkable. That I would fail to perceive this…]
Words brimming with admiration. The sound rippling in my ears was subtly irritating.
[I never imagined you could reach this far. How did you manage to hide this all this time?]
‘How else would I hide it?’
I hid it diligently.
From my past life until now.
‘High Spiritual Essence brings nothing but trouble.’
Demons, Spirits, Immortals, even Superior Deities—all took interest. My body and soul were precisely that kind of cursed vessel.
A damnable form capable of drawing the attention of those called supreme.
-Gack… Kugh!
Gungwi resisted, attempting to counter the curse I had unleashed.
“It won’t work.”
A sharp, tingling sensation—!
-…!!!
Gungwi’s spiritual form trembled more violently.
“A futile attempt. You’re already caught.”
-What…!
“Flesh has burrowed into your soul. If you wanted to shake off the curse, you should have blocked the approach from the start.”
Astral projection is the manifestation of the soul itself. This was what I had warned was dangerous. Since direct intervention on the soul becomes possible, resistance becomes equally difficult.
-Ugh…!!
“If I wanted to, I could do it-”
Difficult, but not impossible. If I desired it, I could manage it. However.
‘If their control surpassed mine.’
If the domain of shooting and managing flesh was higher or broader than mine, it could be done. But.
‘That won’t happen.’
I was certain. Gungwi’s spiritual power was indeed formidable.
‘But that’s all it is.’
Just that level, nothing more.
As I poured flesh into her, shaking the spiritual form itself.
-What exactly… are you?
Gungwi’s expression changed markedly from before. Identity? It had been so long since I heard that question, I needed a moment to consider.
Or perhaps there was no need to consider at all?
“You already know.”
My personal affairs are already so widely discussed in the world that there’s nothing more to say.
“I am the successor of Sword Saint Yoo Cheon-gil.”
The deputy leader of the Cheonwol Sect.
“The hero of Hannam and.
Called Wol-hyeop.
“The youngest son of Bangseong-yeon.”
-That’s not what I’m asking right now…
“There’s no need to answer further. And this is a warning.”
Click. The ring fastened around my heart moves. It was becoming dangerous. If I loosened it any further here.
‘The Deity might notice.’
The higher beings might become aware of me. That would be truly troublesome.
Click. I lock the soul again and push the spiritual essence back in. Simultaneously.
“This is a warning not to touch me in this field, so I hope you understand.”
I stopped shooting the flesh. Or rather, I didn’t stop—I pushed it in.
Then the spiritual form trembled and twisted.
Poof-!!!
It vanished before my eyes.
“Is it done?”
I dusted off my hands. It had been so long that my mind felt a bit dizzy. The disappearance of the spiritual form wasn’t the problem. Since I released what I was holding, it must have returned to the main body. At this level, probably…
“The main body took some damage too.”
Gungwi’s condition would not be good.

* * *
“Cough—!!”
“Mentor…!?”
Gungwi, who had her eyes closed, regained consciousness immediately and coughed up blood. At the sight of blood spraying forth with her cough, the Old Man beside her flinched in alarm.
“What in the…!”
“What the…!”
“…Ugh.”
Gungwi narrowed her beautiful eyes and bit her lip.
Though the blood staining her lips might have appeared alluring, what surfaced in her gaze was anything but beautiful.
“This…!”
Fury rose within her. Yet what consumed that rage was confusion.
“…How exactly.”
How had I been pushed back? And worse.
“Ugh…!”
Gungwi hurriedly examined her arm at the sensation of pain. Across her pale skin, something black had risen.
It resembled script or characters.
“This is…!”
The Old Man’s eyes widened upon seeing the markings. It was something invisible without divine sight, and it bordered on a curse.
“Mentor. What has happened…?”
“A vexing opponent indeed.”
Gungwi let out a hollow laugh upon recognizing the curse. It was a curse woven from flesh itself. Moreover.
“…My soul remains unharmed.”
Despite taking such a blow to the flesh, my soul suffered no damage—only my body was impacted. This could not have occurred unless my opponent exercised precise control.
The problem was.
“…They controlled it to that degree?”
Not only did they direct the attack meant for the soul to affect only the body, but they also bound the curse while allowing the soul to slip through. How was such a thing even possible?
‘Such a thing.’
It shouldn’t be possible.
This defied Gungwi’s understanding. I hastily examined my arm. I tried to decipher the bound curse, but.
‘What is this?’
I couldn’t even read the curse. The script was unfamiliar—neither from the Central Plains nor from beyond its borders. What could this be? I attempted to break the curse through force, but.
Uuuung.
“…!”
Gungwi’s movements froze at the sensation of something vast. Before her lay a wall. When I tried to examine the curse, a colossal wall confronted me.
Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be woven from threads. Threads bound so tightly they could never be undone.
Those threads had compressed into a wall.
The moment I saw it, my breath caught. The emotion that rose to my throat was something Gungwi could not define.
If forced to choose a single word.
‘Overwhelming.’
‘Transcendence.’
The emotion felt upon witnessing something that can never be surpassed.
The moment Gungwi recalled this, her vision returned.
“…Ugh….”
“Mentor…. What is the matter….”
The Old Man.
The Death King asked with a worried expression.
“…You said her name was Bangseong-yeon.”
Gungwi spoke with eyes that gleamed with sudden clarity. Her forehead was already drenched in cold sweat.
“Yes. What on earth could that girl be….”
“Contact the Northern Sea and the Sect.”
“…!”
At Gungwi’s words, the Death King flinched in shock. The Northern Sea was one thing, but to contact the Sect? His surprise was brief as Gungwi carefully rose to her feet.
“…It seems I must meet with the Deity for a moment.”
This was the moment when what needed to be done became clear.

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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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