The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 523

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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 523
It took but an instant to comprehend the situation.
Whether this Chung Daekyeop or whatever—the moment that nameless man fell, the Captain and those within the room displayed the most contemptible of reactions.
“P-please spare us…!”
“We were wrong…!!”
How pitiful, watching them grovel in terror.
“Explain.”
I approached the Captain and demanded answers. The moment our eyes met, terror flooded his gaze to its absolute peak.
“What exactly are you doing here?”
“…T-that is…. That….”
The trembling Captain finally began his explanation, barely managing the words.
“…W-we were offering sacrifices so that the Deity would not grow angry. Without doing so, our village would be in danger….”
“A Deity? What sort of Deity?”
“…The Sea Deity…. Sacrifices offered to the Sea Deity.”
“Those people?”
I gestured toward the women bound within the room.
Still trembling, I turned my gaze toward Paeng Dojin.
I said nothing in particular, yet Paeng Dojin naturally moved toward the women.
Tap, tap tap.
Gathering energy in his hands, he severed the cloth and ropes binding them.
“Sob…. Sob.”
The women held back their tears. Watching them, I questioned the Captain further.
“What changes when you perform human sacrifice? What manner of Deity is this Sea Deity?”
“…It is a Deity that has dwelt in this river for ages. If it grows angry…if it grows angry, calamities pour down upon us.”
“Then, you gathered only women?”
“…The Sea Deity will not accept sacrifices unless they are women.”
A river Deity that accepts only women. My mind churned. Something felt deeply wrong.
“So you abducted women and offered them as sacrifices? This time as well?”
“…T-that is…. Without doing so, the village….”
“This is absurd. Absolutely absurd….”
I ran my hand across my face.
Offering sacrifices. It was never a laughable matter. It had always been thus.
“Are we finished talking?”
Paeng Dojin asked me. His voice was quieter than usual. Yet that quietness did not extend to his heart.
I could sense his fierce rage. His eyes burned with savage fury.
“May I destroy them now?”
“Wait a moment….”
Destroy? A cruel word indeed. Far more terrifying than death itself.
“It disgusts me that creatures like these still draw breath. Are there more?”
“Yes. There are more. So please wait.”
True to form, this wild boar acts first and thinks later.
Or perhaps I’m simply exercising considerable restraint.
“Is there no schedule for these offerings?”
“…A… schedule, sir?”
“I mean the cycle for sacrificing victims.”
“Typically once every two months….”
“How many do you throw in each time?”
“…Th-three, sir.”
Three people every two months. Seeing all those water ghosts, I wondered just how much time had truly passed.
“Revolting creatures.”
I rose to my feet and seized the Captain’s throat.
“Gack!”
“I’d like nothing more than to kill you outright. But there’s something I need to see first.”
I lifted him and moved forward, heading outside the ship.
“Hold on.”
Paeng Dojin called out to me, so I turned back and spoke.
“Do as you wish with the rest. I’ll be taking this one for myself.”
“….”
After saying that, I approached the Iron Gate. Then I spoke to Yoo Yeon.
“Look after the women for me.”
“….”
Yoo Yeon nodded. I closed the door and headed back up.
“Huff… gasp, gasp.”
The Captain continued trembling in fear.
“Don’t worry. I won’t break you like that man did. I won’t kill you directly either.”
“….”
A faint glimmer of relief crossed his eyes. Did he think he might survive?
‘That’s not it.’
There was no need for me to intervene. I didn’t have to lift a finger.
‘He won’t live much longer anyway.’
He had no idea how many malevolent spirits and demons clung to him. Yet he’d continued through this space even after accumulating such karma aboard the ship?
‘It’s remarkable he’s still alive at all.’
It wouldn’t have been strange if he’d died in an accident long ago, yet somehow he’d survived until now. The mystery didn’t linger long.
‘That’s it.’
The one called the Sea Deity. He was protecting this man. It had to be. Otherwise, who would feed him?
“I suppose you could call it fortunate.”
Though I didn’t know exactly what a Sea Deity was, I could make an educated guess. Having caught the eye of such a being hardly qualified as good fortune.
I climbed toward the stern of the ship.
“Captain.”
“Gack… yes, sir.”
“Can you see this?”
I grab the Captain by the throat and dangle him over the ship’s railing so he has a clear view of the river.
“Gasp… Ugh.”
“What do you see?”
“I… I can’t see anything. Nothing at all.”
Probably just darkness to him. That’s what his eyes would perceive. But my vision told a different story.
Water Ghosts of terrible malice writhed within the depths. They stared at the Captain with eyes wide and unblinking.
-Kyaaaaaaaa.
-Aaaaaaaaa—!!
Pale hands stretched upward, reaching to seize the Captain, appearing as though they would touch him at any moment. Yet they never quite made contact.
‘So that’s it.’
Something was blocking them. A compulsive force was at work, preventing this Captain from falling victim to the Ghosts.
Uuuoong.
My soul trembles. A Superior Deity. One of considerable rank. It seems to be a Deity of even higher standing than the one attached to Paeng Dojin’s sister.
That would make sense. Which is why she has remained in this place for so long. She must have accumulated considerable power.
“…And yet, after all that time, you’d think she’d have gained some sense.”
Is this how she wants to live? A hollow laugh escaped me unbidden.
“Perhaps I should introduce myself.”
I had wanted to pass through without entanglement if possible, but things have progressed beyond that point.
It seemed inevitable now, no matter what.
Whoosh—! I tighten my grip on the arm I’m holding.
“Gack!? Ugh!?”
The Captain is hurled directly into the river.
“No, wait—!”
Splash—! The Captain plunges into the water.
“Gasp. Cough!”
I watch as he thrashes about, swimming desperately. The beings bound to the river surge toward him repeatedly, desperate to seize him.
They rush at him with furious faces, wanting to drag him down, deeper and deeper into the abyss.
But it’s the same as before. Their hands never reach him.
Something was protecting him.
“Gasp… Cough.”
As I watch his struggle intently.
‘There it is.’
A shadow moves beneath the surface. The very thing I’ve been observing all along.
It grows larger and larger, forming a silhouette in the dark waters.
Sploooosh.
Then something emerges, bursting through the water.
“H… Help… O Divine Spirit of the Sea…”
The Captain speaks in terror. Behind him, an enormous form rises from the depths.
It’s roughly half the size of the ship. If I look closely, it resembles a serpent. Scales glisten across its body.
“I’ve heard about them, but I never expected to see one like this.”
Fascinating.
“You called it a Mystic Creature?”
A Mystic Creature.
What appeared was an enormous blue serpent. Was this what they called a Mystic Creature?
A mysterious existence said to dwell in certain places throughout the Central Plains. An entity born as an animal that harbored ambition and evolved into something entirely different.
So sacred and secretive that its location remained unknowable—only news of its rare discovery ever circulated.
‘It looks like a dragon.’
I never expected to encounter this. Now that I knew, I could see what was previously invisible.
I had always found the concept of a Mystic Creature strange.
It wasn’t simply a creature with ambition.
“Isn’t it shameful for a Deity to dwell within such a lowly creature?”
[Ssssssss.]
A Deity dwelling within a lowly creature.
It seemed the possession had been forced upon such a thing.
Perhaps that’s what had transformed it into a Mystic Creature. At least, that’s how it appeared now.
Its gleaming eyes fixed upon me with malice.
[Human.]
A scratching, low voice. Hearing it sent chills down my spine.
[Human.]
“Yes. I am human.”
[What are you doing?]
The Mystic Creature speaks. Or perhaps the Deity within it is the one speaking.
[Offer me a sacrifice. Do not interfere.]
“…You’re wrapping up a simple demand for food in quite elaborate language.”
I exhaled a sigh.
“Why not simply swim gracefully instead? Why bother dwelling within such a thing?”
[Ascension is noble. You cannot comprehend it.]
[You possess a noble vessel. If my voice reaches you, then you must have a remarkable soul.]
“I hear that often.”
Normally, that voice wouldn’t be audible to most.
“So this ascension of yours—you swallow young girls whole, use their bones to build legs, is that it?”
[A noble sacrifice.]
“Ha. Pathetic. At least have some restraint. What, does climbing that way make you grand?”
[Do not interfere. You do not understand.]
“I have no desire to understand.”
It was remarkable that even in such a wretched state, it still attempted something. But the fact that it sought to devour humans to achieve it was repulsive.
That pitiful form couldn’t even comprehend what was wrong with itself.
“Still, there’s one good thing.”
If there was one silver lining to this.
“Having a physical body means I don’t need to waste effort on unnecessary things.”
When facing a Deity, I must engage them as a soul in direct combat, but if they’ve assimilated and fallen like this, the situation is entirely different.
“I simply need to defeat them.”
I draw my blade. The moment I unsheathe the Celestial Demon Divine Sword, laughter echoes from within it.
[Tsk, tsk, tsk… A Mystic Creature, how long it has been.]
I narrowed my eyes at the Celestial Demon’s words.
‘It seems you’ve encountered one before.’
[I have indeed. There was one in the Demonic Sect as well. Though it showed little promise.]
The Demonic Sect had a Mystic Creature too? That’s an intriguing revelation, but now isn’t the time to dwell on such matters.
[Shall I cut it down?]
‘For now, yes.’
If I can cut it, I should try. I gripped the blade and tensed my body.
Crackle—!!! White energy erupts as I activate Wol Cheon.
Simultaneously, I immediately activate Divine Sword Union.
[Kyaaaaa—!!]
The serpent’s jaws snap wide open. It charges at me ferociously. It seemed to have noticed my intent to fight.
Of course it would.
I channel force into my blade. Releasing my inner energy, I crouch my body.
Time slows. I fully enter Divine Sword Union.
The moment its sharp fangs rush toward me.
Crash—!!!! Radiant Moon Severing Light blazes with brilliance as I strike it away.
Bang!!!
[Kyaaaaa—!!]
Its jaw snaps upward. Blood sprays. The massive form convulses. I launch my body forward in pursuit.
I pour more power into my body as it tears through the empty air.
‘This might be my first time fighting something that isn’t human.’
At least in this lifetime.
[Grrrrr!]
The wound isn’t deep. Damn thing is incredibly tough. I tighten my grip on the blade.
Can I even hunt this? Why am I fighting it in the first place? I should have at least devised a plan.
All of it remains a mystery.
“Haa—”
Whoooosh—!! My body moves contrary to my thoughts.
At the same time.
Whoooosh—!!!
Heat bloomed in a corner of my heart.
That sensation which had been tickling my chest all along.

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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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