After finishing the recollection, an unidentified voice echoed inside Lee Taeseong’s mind.
Instinctively, Lee Taeseong realized that the owner of the voice was the “Mother of Two Faces” from Anna’s memories.
[……Ho. You are not my apostle. I have not bestowed any blessing upon you, and yet you carry my power? No, this too is not bad. With you, I could spread even more suffering across this world.]
As the mysterious voice faded, the power of the evil god contained within Anna Kreuzen’s crystal began writhing inside Lee Taeseong’s body, quickly corroding him.
A murky aura rippled through his entire body.
His crimson eyes turned completely black, and his skin became pale, as if poisoned.
“……”
[This too must be fate. New apostle, accept my power. There is nothing to fear. Simply entrust everything to me.]
Although Anna referred to the power she possessed as a blessing, in truth, it was merely a finely fragmented piece of divine authority.
Yet, even if it was only a fragment, its source was the power of a god.
That small piece alone contained an immense force far beyond what an ordinary human could endure.
However, Lee Taeseong was not an “ordinary human.”
‘Yapping on and on. How noisy.’
[……!]
The evil god’s power, which had been corroding Lee Taeseong’s insides, trembled.
No matter how deeply it tried to burrow into him, there was no end to be found.
Instead, it felt as if it was being swallowed.
[You.]
Its original intention had been to devour even his soul, but Lee Taeseong’s soul was surrounded by countless layers, tens, hundreds, perhaps even more.
It had barely peeled away a single layer……
[You are no human.]
It dared not estimate his true size.
[Only the shell was human.]
‘Silence.’
[Maybe this isn’t so bad either…….]
That was their final exchange.
Even Lee Taeseong himself did not know exactly what had happened within him.
The important thing was that no more voices could be heard.
‘As expected, beings who possess divinity are on a whole different level. To think it tried to swallow me with nothing but such a pathetic fragment…….’
Though he showed no outward sign, had the situation worsened just a bit more, he had been prepared to lift the “seal.”
‘I almost had to use the power I’ve been saving. Well…… it’s nothing, I can just gather it again.’
Besides, it had only been a few days since he imposed the restriction, so there wouldn’t have been much of a loss.
Lee Taeseong’s gaze turned toward Anna.
“We had something to talk about, didn’t we?”
Anna Kreuzen, the woman in the black dress, stared at Lee Taeseong with a startled face.
Her eyes were filled with terror.
[Huff! Huff! W-what are you……? No, what are you…… truly?]
The reason for her overwhelming fear was simple.
From Lee Taeseong’s actions just now, she had felt the “death” she had long forgotten.
Lee Taeseong’s crimson eyes rippled quietly.
He reached out and gripped Anna’s throat, muttering as if crushing it.
“Do you understand now? That I can kill you whenever I want?”
Anna frantically nodded.
[Y-Yes! Yes! I-I-I’m sorry. I won’t ever dare to act up again. Please…… please, spare my life. If you let me live, I’ll return to being a mere tree entity, living quietly as if dead.]
“Even after spending so long playing with corpses, you still cling to life?”
Lee Taeseong added under his breath, ‘While some are struggling just to die…… how fortunate you are.’
The “someone” he referred to was Apostle Lee Han.
[……I still want to live.]
Lee Taeseong pondered for a moment.
A conversation he had with Choi Harin up in the sky resurfaced in his mind.
—Ah, Team Leader! Just in case, let me say this: among the transport subjects, there are some you must not eliminate! If possible, try to incapacitate and isolate them instead.
—Not eliminate them? Why?
—Yes. Subjects like the Gamma-class ‘Corpse Peddler Saint’ or ‘Chainsaw Killer Jack’ are ones the Tree is watching with great interest, so if possible…… of course, if the situation doesn’t allow it, you’ll have no choice, but given your strength, I thought you could manage. Haha.
—I’ll consider it.
—Thank you! And just so you know, this isn’t my personal judgment! It’s a direct order from the Branch Director!
—Got it.
The “Corpse Peddler Saint” was an extremely unique entity.
Although classified as Gamma-class by the Tree’s measurements, if certain conditions were perfectly met, she could be promoted all the way past Beta++++ to Alpha-class.
Of course, fulfilling those specific conditions was near impossible, but conversely, it meant she carried the potential to reach Alpha-class.
The reason her power seemed so trivial was simply that she couldn’t fully wield the evil god’s authority.
In terms of raw ability, she was theoretically close to the strongest.
‘The Anna Kreuzen I saw at the edge of memory possessed power fitting of an Alpha-class entity. She…… was literally a walking army.’
The more strong individuals she killed, the stronger her army grew.
In Lee Taeseong’s recollections, Anna Kreuzen had eventually grown powerful enough to topple an entire empire alone.
‘Necromancer…… far beyond expectations.’
Given such abilities, it was understandable that the Tree’s researchers would take an interest.
However……
‘Chainsaw Killer Jack? Why the hell……?’
He had no idea.
Having made up his mind, Taeseong spoke.
“I’ll let you live. But I’m giving you a final warning. If you so much as try anything foolish, I’ll chew you up without leaving even a scrap of flesh behind. Understood?”
Anna nodded her head repeatedly with a delighted face.
[Yes! Yes! Of course! From now on, I am your loyal slave! Just give the order!]
“Then first……”
[Eh? W-what are you doing……? Why are you holding that…….]
Without hesitation, Taeseong used Shisan Hyulhae in his hand to slice off both her arms and legs.
“You won’t die anyway, right? Since I’ll be carrying you around, I thought I’d remove the hassle.”
Slice! Slice!
Then he opened a subspace and tossed the severed limbs inside.
Popping out mid-walk, The Eight-footed Ghost was startled at the sudden appearance of the arms and legs.
“Popo!?”
“It’s a gift, Popo.”
The subspace closed.
Anna, now reduced to just a head, stared blankly.
[…….]
Seeing that, Taeseong murmured in satisfaction.
“Much better.”
Anna thought to herself, ‘What the hell is this crazy bastard…… I’m so screwed. Fuck.’ but wisely kept her mouth shut.
A giant wolf, which had appeared at Taeseong’s side before she realized it, was licking its chops while staring at her.
“Wairang. This one’s not food.”
[Whimper. Whimper.]
“Start guiding the way.”
[……Yes.]
With Shisan Hyulhae in one hand and Anna’s head in the other, Taeseong moved forward.
Now that he had a reliable navigator, he didn’t have to worry about getting lost.
[Grrrraaaargh!]
The enormous wolf made of black smoke began rampaging like an untamed colt.
Having grown stronger after devouring snake meat in Aokigahara Sea of Trees, Wairang swung its forepaw, turning the creatures crowding the hallway into minced meat.
[Hurk!]
Chomp chomp.
Having cleaned out the hallway, Wairang crunched down on a creature’s head while looking at Taeseong.
It was asking for praise.
“Well done.”
Wairang let out a pleased sound and wagged its tail gently.
However, since it was so massive, each wag sent heavy gusts of wind whooshing through the corridor.
‘Controlling a monstrous wolf like that as if it’s a pet…… Just what is he? Could he be an Alpha-class administrator?’
Step. Step.
Taeseong strolled down the hallway, never forgetting to feast as he went.
“Where should I go now?”
[If you turn right here, there will be stairs. Go down those, and you’ll reach the second floor.]
The navigation’s performance was excellent.
As Taeseong descended the spiral staircase, crushing the head of a creature in passing, he asked,
“Who was the one who set you free?”
[A Beta-class entity…….]
At that moment.
Suddenly, Taeseong froze.
“It’s been a while, Captain Lee Taeseong.”
“…….”
A man with a familiar face stood before him.
“Sergeant Choi?”
Second-in-command of the HID Special Missions Anti-Terror Response Team.
Sergeant Choi Sang-hyuk.
The one and only comrade Taeseong could truly trust and entrust his back to had appeared.
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