I couldn’t control my emotions.

“

Ahh…

Genny… Genny!” I yelled.

“...”

“Gen…

Heuk… heuuuk… AAAHHH!!!

” I cried.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The sadness of losing someone precious to me engulfed me. I examined Templar Gen just in case, but he was already cold to the touch. He had perished in the body of a monster, but he looked both worried and kind of satisfied as if this was the ending that he wanted for himself.

Templar Gen probably hated himself.

It was for the sake of his mission, but he had turned his back on the light despite being a priest of the light.

Thus, he probably considered himself too unclean to stand next to the Priest of Prophecy and the God of Sacrifice and Revival, which was why he thought that this ending suited him.

A disgusting and dirty ending for the sake of the brightest light. He had chosen to at least indulge in the decision that he had made, as it was for the sake of the priest who descended from the surface world and changed his life.

“

Ahhh… ahhhhh!

”

What brought him this far was the shadow I had left behind. He believed my ridiculous lie about going up to the surface world and getting help from the others up above. He believed I’d come back, so he spent countless hours wandering around underground.

“

AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Genny!” I cried.

I could not believe that he died just like that. I bawled while holding onto his body. I was running out of mana, and I was crying so hard that I could not breathe properly.

I couldn’t control my emotions to the point that I questioned if I was too engrossed in my role.

My heart was also racing, pounding wildly against my chest. It felt like it was going to burst anytime soon. I was so out of it that I had no idea what was happening around me.

I felt weak, and I had no idea what I was doing right now.

All I knew was that I was crying while holding onto Gen's corpse.

“Genny…

Aaaaaah!

” I sobbed. Of course, my sadness lasted only for a moment because I came back to my senses.

'Can I come back to my senses later?'

To be honest…

‘I wasn’t that sad.’

I was thinking about using him and then throwing him away afterward, anyway.

That was the plan, so there was no reason for me to be sad.

Templar Gen… he was just a toy, and I knew that better than anyone. I was also aware of the fact that this was the best way to use him, as he was just a chess piece that I had been using to reform the Order.

In some ways, this was the best outcome for him.

I could save Kim Hyun-Sung and myself.

“

Heuk… heuuuk…

”

It was better for him to die in my stead. If I had died instead of him, then Hyun-Sung would have been devastated. The raid would have ended there.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…

Heuk… heuk… AAAAAH!

” I cried.

I thought of Park Deok-Gu's demise and Doom Doom Hyun-Sung's death—I reminded myself of these scenes that I saw in Kasugano Yuno's eyes. I told myself that I had to keep having sad thoughts to provoke Hyun-Sung, which was why I cried nonstop.

“I’m really…

Heuk… heuuuk…

”

He was just a traumatized toy, so this was a great outcome for him.

“

Ahh… heuk!

” I sobbed.

The pig porridge that he fed me alone was enough for me to chop his head off, and I would still not feel better after that. It was the same when he yelled at me, covered me with a dirty blanket, and wasted my energy on cleaning that moldy room.

Genny was kind of cute, but I was pretty frustrated with him.

“

Ahhhhh…

I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Genny…” I mumbled.

I knew he was just a toy, but damn it, people often grew fond of their toys.

It was about time I threw him away, but I did not want to do that just yet. It was like I had an ice cream that I was about to finish, but it somehow fell to the ground. I was in a bad mood.

Ironically, things couldn’t be better, as anyone could tell that I had completely lost my mind.

I had lost my mind because someone precious to me had died. I cried while holding onto Gen's body, and I exaggerated my facial features to show Kim Hyun-Sung that I had gone crazy.

At this point, I was sure he could tell that Gen was special to me.

Kim Hyun-Sung would definitely think—no, he was already thinking about it.

The Red Goddess of War and Jung Ha-Yan attracted the monster’s attention, and he awkwardly comforted me with his hand. He definitely thought about how he could have lost someone close to him if it hadn't been for Templar Gen.

However, he was not happy that Templar Gen had sacrificed himself for me. He was focused on my sadness; he was worried, and he sympathized with his deceased comrade, even though he was a bit puzzled by what was going on.

‘This is good.’

I wanted to hug the toy a bit longer, but Kim Hyun-Sung’s hand was no longer on me.

What could I do with the remaining time?

‘How can I use this?’

“Mr. Ki-Young… Ki-Young… are you…” Kim Hyun-Sung paused.

“

Heuk… heuuuk…

” I cried.

I learned against Hyun-Sung’s comfortable arms for comfort, but I pushed him away moments later.

‘Honestly, you’re at fault as well. You think you have the right to comfort me?’

I had to remind him that it was his fault as well.

'Kim Hyun-Sung, you’re disqualified, damn it!'

He took a step backward in shock, and I looked at him with fury and resentment.

‘Take my eyes of resentment.’

'If you had just listened to me… Templar Gen wouldn't have died.'

‘If you hadn't brought me back from the distant past…'

“Ki-Young… Mr. Ki-Young… I—That’s not…” Kim Hyun-Sung stammered.

Of course, he was surprised. Was he not expecting my resentment? However, his shock did not last long, as we were in the middle of a battle.

Bahamut wasn’t friendly enough to wait until we were done filming our drama.

Bahamut rammed the Red Goddess of War before charging at us.

Seeing that, Kim Hyun-Sung had no choice but to join the battle.

I heard them fighting, but I didn’t care. I looked up to the ceiling quietly as if I had given up on life. I cried hard and grabbed my head in pain.

Anyone could see that I looked out of place here.

I activated the Regressor Instruction Manual to ensure that he'd know my condition.

Sadness, confusion, despair, fear, and anger. I was angry at the bad kid who broke my toy.

I made Kim Hyun-Sung feel my burning rage toward him.

I silenced every other emotion aside from anger and got up slowly.

Of course, I couldn't really do anything here, even though I was angry. It was not like I could suddenly wield a sword or use the death of my comrade as a driving force to make a breakthrough into the next level.

All I could do was make Kim Hyun-Sung shut up, as he was trying to escape my grasp.

‘No.’

'I can’t let it end here. I’m sure I can use him more. At the very least, I can use his pitch-black blood. '

It was a pretty shocking idea, but I did think about it at least once because Templar Bahamut had made three breakthroughs after devouring the bull.

I assumed that I could do the same.

The pitch-black blood was an amalgamation of negative energy.

It was probably from the demon’s seed that Lucifer had made, so if Bahamut could do it, I could do it, too. I scooped up the pool of blood beneath Gen's corpse and got ready to drink it quietly.

‘Templar Gen is dead.’

However, he was going to live inside me. He was going to live inside my blood and become one with me.

I was overdue for an advancement, anyway.

This kind of ritual anyway was actually unnecessary, as I was close to the light.

I didn’t reject it because I could change jobs, so I knew how to use this kind of power.

Moreover, there was a high chance that it'd be easier to summon them using this power.

The same thing happened to Bahamut, and there weren’t any side effects.

It was kind of scary, but it was worth a try.

Of course, there were people against it.

“Mr. Ki-Young… Mr. Ki-Young! Don’t!” Kim Hyun-Sung roared.

“Darling? What are you doing?! Get away from there

now!

” Cha Hee-Ra yelled.

“Oppa…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

However, Bahamut was running rampant, so they didn’t have the time to stop me.

“No—no!!!”

I brought my hand to my lips in slow motion.

Kim Hyun-Sung attempted to stop me, but Bahamut blasted him away toward the other side. Kim Hyun-Sung looked up from the debris, and he looked like he was in despair.

Thump.

I had to scream, as that would make me look cooler.

“

AAAAAAAH!!

” I yelled.

I got on my knees and wrapped my arms around myself. Moments later, I heard grotesque cracking noises all over me, and wings sprouted from my back.

The problem was that they weren’t ordinary wings.

I heard hissing noises afterward, and I saw a myriad of snakes popping out of my skin as if they were going on a riot. My grotesque wings sent a shiver down their spine, as they were made out of intertwining white snakes.

‘Shit, what is this? Shit, shit, shit! What is this?!’

I grabbed my head, and my hair transformed as well.

‘Shit, they’re snakes, too!’

My hair had also turned into a bunch of white snakes with red eyes.

I assumed my eyes had become red as well.

My skin felt a bit smoother than before, and it resembled a snake's skin rather than a human's skin.

My tongue became longer as well.

'Damn it. I must’ve turned into a monster! What should I do? Hyun-Sung, Ha-Yan, Hee-Ra noona. What should I do?!'

I had no idea what to do, as I couldn’t really see what I looked like, but one thing I was sure of was that black tears were flowing down my cheeks. I tried to stop the tears but it was to no avail.

Just like how Bahamut was constantly drooling, I was constantly shedding unholy tears.

‘The tears… are… kind of cool.’

Instead of a radiant light, a burst of white darkness that seemed to be capable of devouring everything burst out of me. I assumed it was my passive skill, but the cloud of white darkness distorted the space around me.

The white darkness did not stop there.

The snakes all over me hissed, and they intertwined as if they were comforting each other. The only consolation was that the snakes weren't

that

heavy, which was great because I had to move naturally.

My entrance always had to be impactful, after all.

‘One step.’

'Look at me, you lowly humans.'

‘Take another step.’

'Do you remember me, mortals? Your nightmare and fear? The Plaguelord has descended.'

[Mythic]

[Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep]

‘Huh?’

[The Monarch of Lust and Eternal Sleep has descended.]

‘What the—I don’t like this at all.’