The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 525

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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 525
The first thing that came into view was a hazy expanse. Or perhaps not the sky at all. Waves. At first glance, it appeared as though water was flowing slowly.
-Save me, please.
-I beg you, save me…!
-I don’t want to die in a place like this…!!!
-Mother… Mother, I’m so cold…
-Kyaaaaaaah!!!
A cacophony of screams and chaotic sounds pierced my ears in succession.
Glub.
From the sensation at my lips, I realized I was submerged in water.
Yet, breathing posed no significant difficulty.
‘What is this?’
What kind of situation was this? I surveyed my surroundings with blurred vision. Pale white hands circled around me.
What had happened just before? Even that memory was hazy. Ah, that’s right.
‘The Sea Deity.’
I remember being dragged into the water while grappling with the Mystic Creature.
And then.
‘Something.’
It seemed like something burned? Flames appeared and incinerated the Sea Deity, sweeping it away entirely.
After that, I reached toward the remaining spiritual essence.
‘Did I come here that way?’
Chronologically, that seemed to be the correct sequence. So then.
‘…What is this place?’
A spiritual dream? No, it didn’t seem to be one. The feeling was different. It was quiet and still. At first glance it appeared like a spiritual dream, but the sensation wasn’t one that could be perceived as such.
Ssshhh.
An unpleasant sensation washed over me. As I looked around, pale white hands drew closer, attempting to ensnare me.
Water ghosts. Malevolent spirits of those who had drowned in the sea, seeking to wrap around me.
I didn’t like this. Just as I rose slightly to escape—
[How amusing.]
A voice resounded. Following its direction, I saw someone floating above, looking down at me.
Dark robes. Pallid skin with crimson eyes.
‘The Celestial Demon.’
It was the Celestial Demon.
[Now you call me so casually. What an insolent creature.]
‘I thought this wasn’t a spiritual dream, but it is one?’
[Similar yet different. This place is not your inner realm… Rather, it is the interior of that fool’s soul—the one you captured. The Sea Deity’s inner realm.]
I had entered the Sea Deity’s inner realm. Was such a thing even possible?
Kiiiiiii.
The pale white hands still reached toward me but ultimately could not touch. They began to hesitate, as if seized by fear.
If I had to guess the reason, it was likely because of that presence before me. Such was my thought.
“Do you truly believe that will be the case?”
The Celestial Demon regards me with an expression of disbelief as he speaks.
“My existence cannot exert any influence whatsoever. What power could a fragile soul clinging to the divine blade possibly possess?”
Fragile? That’s absurd. If that man were fragile, who in this world could possibly be considered strong?
Yoo Cheon-gil? Without him, I can’t think of anyone else who would qualify.
“This is entirely due to your presence. Did you not sense it?”
‘…Well, I haven’t actually done anything in particular.’
Just to be safe, I examine the state of my soul, but the locks I had placed remain firmly sealed.
I loosened them slightly because of the situation with Peng Doyen, but that degree of loosening shouldn’t have any effect.
If there were an effect, it would be…
‘…the karmic debt accumulated when I took in that Deity.’
That seems to be the issue, but even so… I didn’t think it would be significant enough to worry about.
‘Has something gone wrong?’
Perhaps. There could be any number of problems manifesting in this body.
I deliberately ignore the unsettling feeling.
‘So what exactly has happened?’
I wonder why I came here. As the question escapes my lips, the Celestial Demon nods at me.
“You truly do not understand?”
‘No, I have no idea whatsoever.’
Nothing comes to mind. There’s nothing particular I’ve been thinking about or doing.
What could be the problem? If I had to identify one…
‘That flame.’
The blue spark of fire. The one that devoured the Sea Deity—that’s what comes to mind.
“Yes, that is it.”
The Celestial Demon speaks to me as though confirming the answer. That’s the answer? That flame?
‘What is it?’
I had never seen anything like it before. I wondered if it was a power I had used… but since it appeared for the first time, I have no way of knowing. The information is scarce.
“Karmic Flame.”
The Celestial Demon answers my question. Karmic Flame? The term is familiar enough. So that’s the name of that blue flame.
“It burns away lesser spirits and reduces unrighteous souls to ash. It operates in the realm of soul essence rather than vital energy—yet you have obtained it.”
‘…I’m not sure how I obtained anything.’
Even if I did obtain it, I don’t know the method. Is such a thing even possible?
‘A flame that burns even Deities…’
If it operates in the realm of soul essence rather than vital energy, then it affects spiritual bodies rather than living creatures.
‘…I see.’
Can I use it? Before I even finish the thought, a response comes.
Whoosh.
As my chest tingles, a flame ignites in my palm. A blue flame.
Is this the Karmic Flame? The moment I observe it with wonder…
Kyaaaaaaa—!
Ahhhhhhhhh!!
Screams erupt from all around me. The pale hands instantly recoil from me. The Evil Spirits had caught sight of the hellfire and were seized with terror.
‘This is amusing.’
I pour more power into it. The flames intensify. As their size grows, so too does the distance they maintain from me.
It is certain. The Evil Spirits despise this fire.
But that is not all.
Shhhhhhhhh-!!!
‘What?’
Water from all directions surges toward me. It does not enter through my mouth or nose, but seeps directly into my dantian like vital energy itself.
‘This is…’
Then it accumulates as vital energy.
[This is the essence of a Mystic Creature’s core. Absorb it completely. It is precious—obtain as much as you can.]
I have no time to respond to those words. The surging energy rapidly increases in both speed and volume.
‘Gasp.’
It feels as though it will overflow. Unable to maintain my composure, I immediately steady my posture. Even submerged in water, assuming a proper stance proves effortless.
I settle into a lotus position and focus my breathing. The quantity is vast and immeasurable. Wave after wave of this magnitude crashes into me.
‘Ugh.’
Should I lose focus for even a moment, everything will scatter.
I suppress my anxiety and struggle to maintain my grip with all my might.
Thus I endure, and endure still. Several minutes pass, my teeth grinding.
Whoooooosh-!!!
The energy that had been raging as if being pulled inward gradually settles.
The quantity diminishes and the speed slackens.
When I finally open my eyes with newfound composure.
‘Ah.’
All that water has vanished entirely.
What remains is perhaps a grassland, perhaps a hillside.
I float in the sky, gazing down upon the earth below.
A vast landscape unfolds before my eyes. Is this the inner realm of a Deity’s consciousness?
Before I can even express my astonishment.
[Now open your eyes.]
[You have obtained all there is to obtain.]
The Celestial Demon spoke.
Whoosh-!!
My consciousness within the realm erupts outward.

* * *
“Cough!”
I open my eyes and hack violently.
“Gasp… hack.”
I spit out a bucketful of water onto the deck. Everything spins. I’m struggling to prop up my torso as the world tilts around me.
“Bangseong-yeon! Are you alright?”
A voice filled with concern reaches me.
“…Yes.”
It’s Paeng Dojin. He’s supporting me.
“Thank goodness you’re alive. I thought you were dead since you wouldn’t regain consciousness!”
“…What happened?”
“What do you mean what happened? You fell into the water, so I pulled you out. Thanks to that, I got to take a swim after a long time.”
“….”
Looking closely, Paeng Dojin’s clothes are soaked. Just as he said, he must have plunged into the river to save me.
“Are you coming to your senses? What about that monster?”
“…It should be dead.”
“Oh. Looks like you dealt with it then. But I don’t see the corpse of that massive thing anywhere. Did you at least secure the Spirit Core?”
“…There wasn’t time for that.”
I did obtain the Spirit Core. I even absorbed its essence, but it seems best not to reveal this.
“Cough.”
I finish expelling the water. With a sigh, I lean against the ship’s railing and lie back. Then people emerge from below deck.
Yoo Yeon, Dok-ryong, and Woon-ryong.
“…What’s going on?”
“What in the world is…”
Dok-ryong and Woon-ryong seem bewildered by the sudden situation, while Yoo Yeon appears to have reassured the women below.
“…I’ve mostly handled it all.”
Too lazy to explain, I wave my hand dismissively.
“Ah.”
Then something occurs to me. Now that I think about it, there’s one problem.
“…Hey.”
“Yes?”
I call out to Dok-ryong casually. He immediately senses something ominous and makes a wary expression.
“Do you happen to know how to sail a boat?”
“…A boat… sir?”
“Yeah, a boat.”
“Why a boat…?”
Now that the situation is resolved, a problem remains.
“I killed the captain, so I have no idea who’s supposed to sail this thing.”
“….”
We’re in the middle of a river, and with the captain dead, there’s no one left who can navigate the vessel.
I only now realized the gravest problem. Ah, what do I do? While my mind churned with unease.
“…But couldn’t we simply recapture him?”
Paeng Dojin asked.
“He fell into the river anyway, and the Captain doesn’t seem like someone who can’t swim. Should we find and recapture him now?”
Since he couldn’t have fled far anyway, recapturing him should suffice. At those words, I shook my head.
“No. It won’t matter.”
“What? Why? If you’re exhausted, I can recapture him right now…”
“…No. It’s already too late.”
Recapture the Captain? That was absurd.
The Sea Deity is dead. Then the water ghosts suppressed in the river would have been liberated. But what happens when the one they resent most falls into the river?
‘What could possibly happen.’
The events were already unfolding.
It was painfully obvious without even looking.

* * *
“Cough…gasp.”
An aging man swims frantically through the river. Then he glances back. The boat appeared in the distance.
Where had the Sea Deity they served gone? He didn’t know. Could they have actually hunted that existence?
‘Impossible.’
Even if he were Wol-hyeop, could he kill that monster? The Captain gritted his teeth.
He had to escape. If captured now, he would be killed.
‘No. I can’t.’
He had to return to the village immediately. Though in the heart of the river, he had lived here for decades.
A little more swimming and the forest would appear. His stamina was waning, but he could make it.
‘I must survive.’
Only the desire to live filled him. If the Sea Deity truly died, perhaps it was for the best. No need to offer sacrifices to that monster anymore.
He would return to the village and live quietly, like a dead mouse. Or simply pack his belongings and flee.
Just as the Captain, grinding his teeth, was about to swim frantically—
Splash—!
“Gack!?”
Suddenly his body is pulled down into the river.
“Glub! Cough!”
What is this? The Captain’s eyes roll back. Was there seaweed? Something suddenly seized his feet.
“Choke!”
His breath is cut off. The Captain turned to escape, reaching for the sickle at his waist to cut through the seaweed and flee—
“…!”
The moment he turned around, the Captain’s body went rigid.
It was not seaweed.
It was a hand.
Pale hands and the faces of women with veins bulging.
Hundreds of women, their eyes burning with malice and resentment, clawed at the Captain’s feet, dragging him downward.
‘Ah… Ahhh…’
Paralyzed by terror, the Captain could not move, could not act.
Pale white hands emerged in succession, wrapping around his face.
It was his end.

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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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