Chapter 25
In a village deep within the desert—
A child wielding a spear walked across the sand.
The weather was chilly.
The sun had set, and the temperature had dropped sharply.
Whooosh!
Within the whirling wind, humans trembled in fear.
“……”
The child walking with heavy steps came to a halt.
Because he sensed someone’s presence.
“M-Mom…?”
It was a young human girl.
She looked at the child with terror in her eyes.
‘Can’t blame her.’
More than 80% of the people in this place—
Had been cut down by his spear.
“Mom! Mom!”
Frozen in fear, the girl did nothing but cry out for her guardian.
The child felt bitter.
It was a scene that mirrored his own past.
Back when humans had forcibly gouged out his eyes—
The name he’d screamed over and over again.
‘Mom.’
Shing.
The child quietly raised his spear.
Its blade was caked with dried, dark-red blood.
“H-Heuuuhk! Mom! Mom!”
“……”
He hesitated at the girl’s sobbing.
Normally, he would have severed her head without a second thought.
Or pierced her heart and buried her in the sand.
But now—he was clearly hesitating.
“……”
He was conflicted.
Who, exactly, was his true “enemy”?
Was it only the grown humans who understood the world?
Or was it the entire human race, including girls like this one?
To fill the wounds he’d suffered—
Was inflicting the same pain really the answer?
The young Sun Spear wrestled with himself.
Just then—
“C-Come here, child!”
A woman—likely the mother—ran over and embraced the girl.
A picture the child had once desperately wished for.
“……”
In the end, he turned away.
Humans were just playthings that could be killed anytime.
He didn’t want to let this pair fester his wounds further.
Yes—
Forgiveness too…
Was the right of the one who was wronged, wasn’t it?
The child nodded to himself and walked on again.
But then—
Squelch!
A chill struck him from behind.
A stinging pain flared across his nerves.
“……?”
He felt it.
He knew who had just raised a blade against him.
“D-Die! You monster!”
The girl he had spared.
“Just die already! Disappear! You demon! You beast!”
The choice made by the human he had tried to show mercy to.
Ah.
So in the end, humans really were beyond salvation?
Sun Spear felt sorrow.
And so he screamed.
A storm of blood howled through the desert.
* * *
I walked toward Sun Spear.
“……”
No old staff.
None of the skeletons who had always been by my side.
All I had was this transparent body.
Step, step.
And at last—I arrived.
Where the auras of Sun Spear and the old man clashed.
‘Normally, I’d have been torn to pieces. Or wouldn’t even have been able to approach.’
The only reason I could now—
Was because I fully understood this was an illusion within my own mind.
“Tsk. You’re a strange one, as always.”
The old man clicked his tongue and stepped back.
“Then again, you’ve been weird since the day we met. That’s why I liked you.”
He respected my will—not just as a master, but as a fellow human being.
That fact alone made me feel grateful. Stronger.
‘Thank you, sir.’
I gave my silent thanks.
Even if he complained all the time.
Even if I sometimes thought he was just a senile old geezer—
I knew everything he did was for my sake.
Whatever his reason.
As a human being, I should be grateful.
“Filthy human! Cunning, deceitful human!”
And now—
“You think someone like you! A mere human! Can possibly understand me?!”
Sun Spear’s resentment and obsession poured fully onto me.
“Don’t make me laugh! I despise humans! I curse them! After centuries of observing them—do you know what I concluded?!”
“……”
“Humans are unnecessary in this world! Worse than waste! Worse than disease!”
His screams cut through the air like blades.
And then—
Craaaack!
A slash from Sun Spear’s spear tore through my chest.
It pierced my heart. Split my bones.
Ripped through muscle. Gouged out my eyes.
“Ghhkk!”
My insides churned and vomited blood.
Crimson liquid gushed from every hole in my body.
[Skill: Pain Resistance (B-rank) activated.]
Ah.
It hurt.
It was agonizing.
If the old man hadn’t built up my tolerance, I’d have lost consciousness.
‘But I’m still fine.’
I felt the pain clearly—
But I still existed.
I wasn’t dead.
Because—
This was a world of illusion, born from my mind.
My torn-apart body knit itself back together.
In here, I was no different from an Undead.
“Right.”
I opened my eyes wide.
And met the enraged gaze of Sun Spear.
“Go ahead. Let it out.”
I raised a spear.
Clang!
Being in a mental world, a beautifully crafted weapon appeared in my hand like a dream.
“Pour out everything you’ve got.”
Honestly, some might say this was nothing more than whining.
Call it self-justification.
That he hurt others as much as he’d been hurt.
That his retaliation had gone too far.
But I didn’t sneer.
I chose to understand.
Because I’d seen it.
I’d felt it through the skill.
“My resentment?”
Sun Spear scoffed.
His weapon radiated murderous intent.
The same bloodlust that had skewered thousands.
“You say you’ll take in my resentment? Ridiculous. Even if you fully understand me, it’s impossible. What could someone who’s never known true suffering possibly comprehend? Such arrogance!”
The spear flew again.
But it wasn’t a weapon.
It was emotion.
The terror of a child fighting to survive.
The fear of losing sight.
The fear of losing parents.
The fear of being left alone in the world.
It wasn’t physical pain—it was psychological.
“I had no one. Not a single ally in this world. A half-beast, born of a human and an eagle monster. Who could ever love someone like that?!”
His weapon howled in sorrow.
“I should never have been born. From the moment I opened my eyes, people drew blades on me. Tried to take my eyes, my hands, my feet. Do you know what that agony felt like?!”
“I see.”
I nodded and received the attack.
“That must’ve been hard.”
“Hmph. Yes, there were those who pitied me.”
“……”
“But they were all the same in the end. They feared me. Stabbed me in the back. Until all my feelings had died. Humans were nothing but ‘lies’ and ‘betrayal.’”
“I see.”
I simply listened.
Because I wanted to.
It was like watching a crying child beg to be heard.
“It wasn’t just me! There were thousands, tens of thousands who suffered like I did!”
“There were many like you?”
“Yes! Humans slaughtered countless races for comfort and prosperity! No responsibility, no respect in their wake!”
His emotions pierced my body like spears.
The pain didn’t stop.
“They cursed me. Feared me for tearing them apart. And then they said it—they should’ve killed all half-beasts at birth! Ridiculous! They don’t even realize I became a monster because they called me one!”
But I endured.
Because I had already felt all of it through the skill.
The old man, hands clasped behind his back, silently watched.
Thwack! Thwack!
Bone Two—no, Sun Spear—kept attacking.
Pouring out his emotions.
‘…So this is the process of releasing his resentment.’
I could feel it clearly.
With every attack—
His strength waned.
His emotions loosened.
After about an hour—
His strikes had slowed noticeably.
At last—
A gap had opened.
“Sun Spear.”
I called to him.
“How long are you going to stay sad? How long are you going to keep suffering?”
“……”
“Human fate is like the flip side of a coin. If there’s pain—there’s bound to be happiness too.”
Flinch.
His eyes widened at my gentle tone.
He was caught off guard.
“Think about it. If you keep drowning in pain, who does that hurt? The dead humans? The ones who wronged you? Or you?”
Whoosh!
As I spoke, I thrust my spear.
The technique I learned from the old man—’Pierce’ (C-rank).
I infused it with emotion.
“Hahaha.”
The old man laughed with admiration.
“You rascal. I thought you were a slow learner—but you’re already embedding emotions in your strikes?”
He had fully stepped back now, watching with interest.
Whoosh!
I kept swinging my spear.
“To be honest, you know exactly why you’re hurting.”
I knew better than anyone.
Because I’d seen his heart directly.
‘He loves humans as much as he hates them.’
Truly.
If he had no feelings for them, there would be no pain.
No disappointment.
He’d just kill them like any other enemy.
No expectations.
But he did care.
He wanted to try.
He wanted to feel it.
The warmth of a parent’s embrace.
The joy of laughing with friends.
The love of a mother who’d die to protect her child.
There was no doubt human blood ran in his veins.
“How dare you!”
Clang!
Sun Spear deflected my strike.
The force was immense—
It took dozens of steps to steady myself.
“Ghhah!”
I let out a strained breath.
“You say I know why I suffer? Fine. I admit it.”
His light was blinding.
“But it’s too late! I was abandoned, and my emotions dried up. My wounds have festered for centuries and turned to scars. What do you think can change now?!”
The light from his spear was scorching.
“Does an apology heal a victim’s wound? Does regret undo abuse? Absurd! What’s done is done! Spilled water cannot be retrieved!”
He charged forward—
But I didn’t retreat.
Backing down here meant defeat.
I had to—
Convince him.
Heal him.
And from experience, people like him—
Respond better to firm words than soft ones.
“You’re right. What’s done can’t be undone.”
I admitted it plainly.
“I’m not asking for forgiveness.”
And continued.
“I’m telling you to be reborn. For your own sake.”
“…What?”
Sun Spear narrowed his eyes.
“You’re dead.”
My spear flowed with grace.
“Your life ended back there. You killed everyone in your world. There’s no one left to hate. How long are you going to stay stuck like a loser? It’s time to live again. Aren’t you tired of this? Don’t you owe it to yourself?”
“…My life ended…?”
His pupils widened.
As if he’d only just realized he was dead.
He looked stunned.
“Right. This place is the pyramid. Your tomb—where you buried yourself after slaughtering all humans.”
Where he laid his burning grudge to rest.
I nodded.
“Yeah. Even after death, you were still trapped in pain. The ones who hurt you are gone. You already killed them.”
“……”
He stayed silent for a long time.
The battle had come to a standstill.
I patiently waited.
And finally—
He opened his mouth.
“…Live a new life?”
His voice was far gentler than before.