Chapter 132
‘Boom! Crackle!’
The ‘White Flame Storm’ surged forward.
‘Lightning…’
Suho gazed up at the sky, where dark clouds roared and twisted violently.
“Son, watch closely,” Cha Hae-in said with a soft smile as she stepped toward the center of the battlefield.
“Back in the day, your mom used to…”
No, should she call it a past life?
She couldn’t quite explain the feeling. Meeting her son after so long, she wanted to show him her best.
‘Crackle! Zzzzt!’
Lightning crackled and surged, coiling along the blade of Cha Hae-in’s sword as she let out a faint chuckle.
Then, she moved.
‘Skill: Sword Dance’
– ‘White Flame Storm’
‘Whoosh!’
From the tip of her sword, a radiant flash scattered into hundreds of streaks, covering the entire battlefield.
The streaks rained down like a storm, striking directly at the Apostle of Itarim.
Suho watched, captivated.
His mother, whom he was seeing after so long, was… awe-inspiring.
‘So strong.’
He couldn’t find any other words to describe the scene before him.
Countless bolts of lightning rained down on the Apostle of Itarim.
‘Clang!’
‘Boom! Crash!’
Each bolt of thunderous lightning struck the Apostle’s massive body with tremendous force, shaking the forest with every impact.
– “[Kraaah! How dare a lowly creation defy me!]”
The Apostle of Itarim writhed in pain, flailing its blue wings.
‘Whoosh!’
But this wasn’t just a mere flap of wings.
A sudden, ferocious gale tore through the air, causing the spirits around them to scream in terror.
The icy wind quickly transformed into massive, spear-like shards of ice, crashing down toward Cha Hae-in like a tidal wave.
A calamity.
It was a disaster no mere human should be able to withstand.
And yet…
‘Rumble!’
– “[…!]”
The Apostle of Itarim’s eyes widened.
Cha Hae-in had raised the Demon King’s Longsword high into the air.
The bolts of lightning that had scattered into countless streaks now converged into a single, blinding flash, shooting skyward.
And then—
‘I will cut you down.’
‘Skill: Blade of Light’
– ‘White Flame Storm’
A massive bolt of lightning, shaped into a sword, descended in a single, straight slash.
‘One strike, two halves.’
The blinding flash cleaved through the heavens, engulfing everything in its path, and instantly split the incoming tidal wave of ice into two.
But it didn’t stop there.
‘Shwoooosh!’
The slash continued forward, bisecting the giant with blue wings.
—
“……”
“……”
The forest, frozen in ice, fell silent.
The Apostle of Itarim, split perfectly in half by Cha Hae-in’s sword, was dead.
Its massive body slowly disintegrated into the cold snowstorm, fading away.
Not death—annihilation.
Because the Apostle existed in a spiritual state, its death left no physical remains, only a void.
Suddenly, Suho noticed a system message floating before his eyes.
[You have defeated the Apostle of Itarim.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
‘But I didn’t even do much this time…’
Suho’s contributions to this battle had been minimal.
Given his low contribution, it was only natural that he wouldn’t gain much experience.
Yet he had leveled up twice.
This alone proved how powerful the Apostle of Itarim had been.
And to think it had been defeated in a single strike…
Even though he’d seen it with his own eyes, Suho couldn’t believe it.
Unlike him, who had inherited some of his father’s power and received blessings from other rulers, his mother had reached this level purely through her own ability.
‘So this is the strength of an S-Rank Hunter…’
Suho’s body still trembled with the awe he felt as he replayed every moment of his mother’s battle in his mind.
‘Clench.’
‘Someday, I’ll…’
Suho clenched his trembling fists, his eyes shining with determination.
But Suho wasn’t the only one feeling such a strange mixture of emotions.
Thomas Andre, standing nearby, wore a troubled expression, his brow furrowed deeply.
– “[Kieek?]”
Beru narrowed his eyes as he noticed the change in Thomas Andre.
Some of the energy that had scattered into the air after the Apostle of Itarim’s annihilation had seeped into Thomas’s body.
Suho noticed it as well.
“Did he just level up like me?”
– “[It is not a level-up. It is more like he has regained a portion of the power he once lost.]”
“Lost power?”
– “[In a timeline that no longer exists, Thomas Andre was once a ‘National Power-Level’ Hunter who surpassed even S-Rank.]”
The title of ‘National Power-Level Hunter’ originated from the Kamish Raid, the first S-Rank Gate and the most devastating raid in human history.
After surviving the raid, which nearly destroyed the United States, five individuals were deemed “living nations” and granted recognition equal to that of an entire country.
Thus, the title ‘National Power-Level Hunter’ was born.
But there was a secret behind the strength of those first National Power-Level Hunters.
They had been chosen as vessels and granted power by the Rulers.
In short, Thomas Andre had been exceptionally strong compared to other S-Rank Hunters because of the power of a Ruler.
– “[However, that is no longer the case.]”
Now, Thomas Andre was merely a normal S-Rank Hunter.
This was because Sung Jinwoo, using the Chalice of Reincarnation, had rewound time and erased the traces of both the Rulers and the Monarchs from this world.
As a result, in this new timeline, neither magical beasts nor Hunters existed, and the power of the Rulers was no longer granted to individuals like Thomas Andre.
However, while the vessel that once held this power had been emptied, it hadn’t disappeared entirely.
This emptiness was the source of the “void” that Thomas Andre had felt throughout his life.
– “[It seems the Apostle of Itarim’s energy has filled that void. Since his body was once capable of holding the power of a Ruler, it seems it could also contain the energy of the Apostle.]”
Suho nodded, now understanding the situation.
“So, while others lack the vessel to accept the power and let it dissipate, Thomas Andre can absorb it. Does that mean my mother was also a National Power-Level Hunter?”
– “[Kieek?!]”
At Suho’s words, Beru’s gaze snapped toward Cha Hae-in, his eyes widening in shock.
Just like Thomas, the remnants of the Apostle of Itarim’s energy floating in the air were being absorbed into Cha Hae-in’s body.
“…What is this energy?”
– “[Lady Hae-in! Are you alright?!]”
“I’m fine. Too fine, actually,” she replied with a wry smile.
Beru frantically examined Cha Hae-in’s condition, but she appeared perfectly normal.
The first National Power-Level Hunters, chosen as vessels to hold the power of the Rulers, were capable of enduring such energy.
However, for an ordinary human to accept the power of a higher being would typically result in their body being destroyed.
Yet, astonishingly, Cha Hae-in remained unscathed while absorbing the energy of the Apostle of Itarim.
The reason for this anomaly was unclear—until…
– “[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, clicks his tongue, saying it’s only natural.]”
“Silad, do you know something?” Suho asked.
The Monarch of Frost responded.
– “[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, says that just as the power of the Rulers inhabited other humans, her body once housed a similar being.]”
Suho’s eyes widened in shock.
“What? Someone similar to the Rulers was inside my mom? Who?” (T/N: WTF. Did I think of the same thing? LOL)
– “Ah.”
– “Oh.”
“…?”
Both Beru and Cha Hae-in turned to Suho simultaneously, then glanced at each other, nodding in understanding.
“Uh?”
Confused by their reaction, Suho furrowed his brows, then suddenly realized something and pointed to himself.
“Wait… was it me?”
Beru nodded with certainty.
– “[Indeed, My Liege, you are the son of the great Shadow Monarch. It’s only natural for Lady Hae-in’s vessel to have expanded while carrying someone of your magnitude.]” (T/N: Ahhhhhh. My green, green mind. Sorry folks! lol)
Cha Hae-in also nodded, her expression calm and knowing.
Who could understand the exceptional nature of her son better than her?
“Now that you mention it, Suho was different from the start. He kicked so much in my womb that I thought I was giving birth to a dinosaur,” she said with a playful smile, her eyes warm as she looked at him.
“That’s my son.”
—
Some time later.
As the colossal body of the Apostle of Itarim completely disintegrated, the Ice Dungeon, which had seemed on the verge of collapsing, grew strangely calm.
Although the dimension itself was left in tatters, the damage began to heal at an astonishing rate.
Still, there were lingering concerns.
Sirka, while recognized as the successor of the Frost Monarch, was not yet a sufficient vessel.
– “[The King of Yetis, Monarch of Frost, clicks his tongue, saying that Sirka is far from ready to accept the Primordial Darkness.]”
The Primordial Darkness—the source of power from which the Monarchs were created by the now-dead god.
To inherit such power, one needed a suitable vessel.
“Why is everything about vessels? Seems like they’re a big deal no matter where you go,” Suho muttered.
“I can buy you a big vessel, Suho!” Ryo Singh interjected cheerfully, pulling out his corporate card and waving it around.
“……”
Seeing his behavior, Suho finally understood why Ryo Singh hadn’t been promoted within the guild.
While Ryo Singh joked around, the Scavenger Hunters were busy under Thomas Andre’s orders.
After all, they hadn’t come to the dungeon just to leave empty-handed.
Since hunting the Ice Elves in Sirka’s village was out of the question, they focused on gathering the ‘Echo Forest’s Spring Water.’
“Don’t spill a drop! This is potent detox potion material!”
“Yes, Boss!”
The spring water was a natural underground resource, endlessly replenished no matter how much was collected.
Since it would directly translate into profits for the Scavenger Guild, the Hunters were thrilled by the prospect of their hard-earned reward.
Furthermore, Sirka had helped them locate the gate in the Echo Forest that the Ice Spirits had used to travel to Earth, securing a way back home.
Thanks to Suho’s potions, there were no casualties among the Hunters, making it a perfect conclusion to their expedition.
‘Just as that old woman predicted,’ Thomas Andre thought, recalling Norma Selner’s prophecy.
She had insisted he bring Sung Suho to the Ice Dungeon, no matter what.
Satisfied with the outcome, Thomas, who had been busy directing his subordinates, approached Suho.
“I plan to take this spring water and use it on the former National Power-Level Hunters,” Thomas declared.
“That’s a good idea,” Suho nodded in agreement.
Those who had once been chosen by the Rulers, like Thomas Andre, were prime targets for the Apostles of Itarim.
Moreover, since they would have likely regained their S-Rank Hunter status in this timeline, they could pose a significant threat if they sided with the Apostles.
If Thomas Andre used the spring water to purify them preemptively, such risks could be mitigated.
However, Suho had one concern.
“Just in case, you should prepare for the possibility that some of them might already be under the influence of the Apostles…” Suho trailed off as something dawned on him.
He widened his eyes, staring at Thomas Andre.
“Why the rabbit eyes?” Thomas asked, grinning.
“Thomas… don’t tell me…”
Thomas bared his teeth in a wide smile.
“Yes. I remember. Everything.”
