The Returner

Chapter 129: Well now, been a while so let’s go crazy (4)

The highest-ranked spirits were an absolute existence.

Although they weren’t as incredible as the king of spirits, reputedly only one in existence throughout the universe including all dimensions, but even then, each one was powerful enough to be truly called peerless, matchless creatures.

Especially so in the case of the Seti, a high-ranking creature of light, small worlds might even end up worshipping it due to all the aura of divinity oozing out of it.

And that Seti was being trampled underfoot by Yi Ji-Hyuk.

Affeldrichae quietly looked on at that man.

An overwhelming, absolute power.

All he did was gave out a single order to attack, and then, used his magic just once. Yet, just that playful flick of his hands defeated a high-ranking spirit, it incapable of resisting him now.

That was Yi Ji-Hyuk.

This was the power of the man who ripped and tore Berafe asunder.

He might have struggled a lot while trying to defeat the Zombie Dragon, but the moment he got his hands on just a tiny fraction of his former monster army.... It felt like he had regained just a little bit of his former glory of being the Bringer of Apocalypse.

Shudder.

Affeldrichae’s body shuddered.

Even with her mental fortitude that could perfectly maintain her calm no matter the circumstances, she could only shudder in fear as she recalled the past appearance of Yi Ji-Hyuk.

Yi Ji-Hyuk had completely aligned himself with the ‘core’ of the demon world, got to wield a monster army of millions, and controlled limitless Mana. He had risen up to become a god, even though he was a mere human.

He was an existence that overwhelmed and blanketed the entire world in monsters and dark magic, as incomparably thick, dense dark Mana poured out from him like a flood.

Truly, the ruler of Apocalypse. He certainly deserved that nickname.

“Now, now. Let’s see here.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s lips formed a chill-inducing grin as he stepped on the neck of the Seti.

“Euh....”

Jeong Hae-Min frowned deeply as she looked on at that sight.

Just why did he have to act like a dang villain all the time?

Of course, even she understood that Yi Ji-Hyuk was the one fighting for the sake of this world, and that white spirit thing was the one trying to destroy it, yet.... She couldn’t help but feel very weird since the visuals certainly didn’t look that way.

Ah, ahhh....

Seeing the look of torment on the face of the Seti, Jeong Hae-Min also ended up feeling pained in her heart as well.

But, that was about it. Yi Ji-Hyuk’s eyes didn’t change one bit.

He opened his lips ever so slightly and bared his white teeth, before leaning closer to Seti’s ear.

“Did you know?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Of course, Seti didn’t answer back.

“There are lots of different types of spirits out there. Spirits of light, spirits of fire, spirits of water, spirits of ice, etc, etc....” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

However, there was this one type of spirit that didn’t exist in nature.

“There are no spirits of darkness. But, why is that?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

The answer was very simple.

Because, the darkness was born from the lack of light, that was why.

The darkness was almost like the floating clouds, where there were no actual physical substances.

“And that is why.... There’s no naturally-occurring spirit of darkness, you see. However....” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Just like the darkness that shouldn’t exist, but did....

The spirit of darkness did also exist, even though it shouldn’t.

Exactly like how an absence of light created the darkness.

“Kekeke.”

Yi Ji-Hyuk grabbed the Seti’s neck.

“Well, then. Time for you to pay for making me break out in sweat.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Sure, he didn’t really do anything, but.... Well, there was this thing about one’s feelings and all, no?

“Do your best, okay?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Either die....

Or....

Get corrupted.

From Yi Ji-Hyuk’s right arm, jet-black Mana bubbled up and began pouring into Seti’s body.

Aaaaah!!

A cry akin to a woman’s shrieking scream tore into the heavens and reverberated throughout the land.

“Kekeke.”

Yi Ji-Hyuk continued to cackle on as he stared at the Seti’s face, now contorted from unimaginable pain.

What would happen if one poured dark Mana into a spirit of light?

Just what would happen if one were to pour in black ink into a clear, pure body of water?

The black ink would spread out in the blink of an eye, that’s what.

If there was a lot of black ink, then the pure water would soon become inky black as well. That was what Yi Ji-Hyuk was doing right now.

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s condensed dark Mana poured into the pure, uncorrupted white Mana, and the Seti’s body acted like a sponge, sucking in every single drop.

Aaaaaah!!

Seti continued to cry out in pain.

Tu-tuk!!

Seti’s white body twitched and thrashed about as the dark Mana swam around in its innards, like blood coursing through its veins.

Its body expanded before contracting again; its white eyes changed colour to black, before reverting back. These processes repeated over and over again.

Aaaah!!

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s smile deepened as he continued to take in this spectacle.

A high-ranking spirit – it’d be a fine weapon to wield if he could make it his. However, what if it ceased to exist from the Mana backlash?

That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, either. Well, he was originally here to kill this creature anyway, wasn’t he?

*SFX for glass shattering*

Shortly afterwards, the sound of glass shattering came from somewhere, and the Seti’s body was dyed in black in the blink of an eye.

“Hmm.....”

Yi Ji-Hyuk whistled soft and observed the changes taking place in the Seti.

Its bright white body changed to pitch-black, and its pure countenance had transformed into a sensuously seductive one.

The rays of light shimmering around its body disappeared, and.... And, wings resembling soft fabric dancing in the wind sprouted out from the back of its neck all the way down to its legs and they began wrapping around ‘her’ body.

“Congrats on your corruption.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

....Dear spirit of darkness.

When Yi Ji-Hyuk lightly stroked the cheek of Seti, no, the existence that was once Seti, ‘her’ red tongue peeked out and seductively licked his hand.

“What should I name you, then?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Okay, what would fit perfectly here?

Should I just go with ‘Ti-se’ instead?

Mm, that’s a bit.... low-brow, so.... (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

“I shall name you ‘Tirie’ from now on.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Tirie must’ve been happy with its new name as it swirled around the air once, before it slowly took a look at its surroundings. Then, it drifted towards Yi Ji-Hyuk and silently entered his back.

It instinctively sought out the place with the most amount of darkness nearby.

“Hmm.....”

Yi Ji-Hyuk didn’t resist and simply accepted ‘her’.

After absorbing Yi Ji-Hyuk’s Mana, it was pretty much the same thing as ‘she’ forming a sort of a contract with him. To be more specific, rather than forming a contract, it was more like a slave relationship, though.

Affeldrichae slowly made her way towards Yi Ji-Hyuk and spoke with a slightly angry tone of voice.

“Your old habit hasn’t changed, I see.” (Affeldrichae)

“Mm?”

“Ceasing to exist can sometimes be a blessing, too.” (Affeldrichae)

Yi Ji-Hyuk clicked his tongue.

“You and your old-fashioned way of thinking. Rather than dying, it’s better for an existence to keep surviving by changing to something else. You ask anyone, ‘Wanna die, or change to something else?’ and I’m telling you, they will all choose to change. You and your lot don’t know the true fear of death because you live for tens of thousands of years, and that’s why you can spout that kind of nonsense.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“I don’t think that’s something a man who stabbed his own heart with a god-slaying weapon to kill himself should say.” (Affeldrichae)

Well....

I’m a special case, so that’s why.

You shouldn’t use me as an example when talking about normal people, don’t you agree, you dumb Miss lizard woman? (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

“Well, I think the person in question seems to like it, though?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Tirieh poked her head out from just above Yi Ji-Hyuk’s shoulder and licked his cheek a little before baring her fangs at Affeldrichae.

After being on the receiving end of that hostile glare from the Tirieh, Affeldrichae could only spit out a groan. It was never a happy sight, seeing a creature that once enjoyed the blessings of gods become corrupted and fall into darkness.

However, that’s how Yi Ji-Hyuk operated until now.

Maybe this was the adverse reaction to his life being a twisted, complicated mess; he simply enjoyed corrupting other creatures whenever an opportunity presented itself.

That personality was probably the reason why he was able to control millions of monsters, but still.

“Kaahaack!”

When ‘she’ coiled around threateningly as if to pounce forward at any moment, Yi Ji-Hyuk simply grabbed Tirieh’s head and pushed it down. When that happened, she obediently lowered her head and silently slipped back inside him.

“Are you planning to store it inside you from now on?” (Affeldrichae)

“There aren’t any other suitable places around, so can’t be helped.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“That is now a creature of darkness as well. I’m sure you know very well what kind of an effect such a creature will have on a human being. Just how many times do I have to repeat myself to you?” (Affeldrichae)

“Yeah, I know. But if I leave it alone outside, it’s gonna disappear, so, as I’ve said before, there’s no other choice.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Hah......”

Affeldrichae shook her head and waved her hand about.

Wuuoonng!!

A small tear in space opened up in front of Affeldrichae. She inserted her hand inside and pulled something out.

“You can connect to the ‘infinite storage’?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Actually, I can’t. But this is a much smaller, separate space I prepared just in case.” (Affeldrichae)

“.............”

Even then, if you pull out whatever is inside there and sell it, you’ll end up as a billionaire, no? You’ll end up with more than enough money to play around for the rest of your life.

Regardless of what you say, you probably only packed the most ‘essential’ things from the lair of the Dragon Lord, so.... (Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)

Affeldrichae extracted a bangle from this ‘separate space’ and handed it over to Yi Ji-Hyuk.

“Store the spirit in this.” (Affeldrichae)

“But, she’s a spirit of darkness, you know?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“This item is element-less.” (Affeldrichae)

“Well, in that case.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk received the bangle, put it on, and studied it from this angle and that.

He wasn’t so keen on the fact that this thick metallic bangle didn’t really match with his blue tracksuit, but still, this thing must’ve been a high-class artefact, that’s for sure.

Now that he thought about it....

Yi Ji-Hyuk spat out a long groan after he finished looking at the bangle.

He could be described as someone holding a huge interest towards anything related to items.

Back then, he used to walk around while kitted out in divinity-grade artefacts from top to bottom, such as a shoe that would’ve made the top sorcerers and wizards of Berafe go mad with avarice, trying to sell their significant other just to buy it.

Yi Ji-Hyuk recalled a certain robe stuck inside a forgotten corner of the closet back home.

When the family was moving house, mom threw it away and Yi Ji-Hyuk had no choice but to dig through the local trash dump in order to recover this much-treasured robe.

However, it was now trash. A trashy treasure, then?

“Wait, is it possible for you to repair broken artefacts?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“You really think that’s possible?” (Affeldrichae)

“Hah......”

What a useless lizard woman!

While Yi Ji-Hyuk and Affeldrichae argued with each other, Jeong Hae-Min sneaked in closer and cautiously opened her mouth.

“....By the way, are you planning to go around with that?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

‘That’?

“Uh, oh. Yeah, it’s my slave now.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Jeong Hae-Min frowned deeply as her eyes locked on Tirieh’s body peeking out from Yi Ji-Hyuk’s torso.

That thing wasn’t a human.

Of course not.

Right.....

However.....

Just what was up with all that slick, smooth and bouncy jiggliness of that thing?!

It was already really beautiful to begin with, yet now, it exceeded that beauty and stepped into....

“....Sexiness...”

Yi Ji-Hyuk’s eyes widened considerably.

“Did you just cuss me?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk) (TL: the Korean word for ‘sexiness’ sounds pretty similar to ‘a son of a b*tch’.)

“No, not that sexiness, you idiot!!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“Then, what other sons of b*tches are out there?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“.....Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min spat out a lengthy groan.

“Besides all that, don’t you think it’s a bit too risqué looking like that?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“What, this?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk snorted derisively.

“Looks like you haven’t seen what being real risqué is yet.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“..............”

Jeong Hae-Min’s face reddened up slightly.

“You, you saw lots of s, s, s, such things?” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“What, me?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

Yi Ji-Hyuk formed an expression of an arrogant politician and straightened his back, his stomach bulging forward.

“Hah. What’s the point of talking to a shorty like you? It’s a waste of my energy.” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“.....You....”

Just as Jeong Hae-Min began trembling, a very taciturn voice could be heard next.

“Indeed, he has seen a lot.” (Affeldrichae)

“Ng?”

Affeldrichae spoke as if it was nothing.

“He has seen and experienced the peak of pleasure that no human can possibly experience, after all. Especially so, when he has enjoyed the type of harem that no one in this world could even dream about.” (Affeldrichae)

“Ha, ha, harem??!” (Jeong Hae-Min)

Jeong Hae-Min’s eyes shook around as if there was an earthquake happening right now.

A haren?!

Is that the same ‘harem’ as the one I know?? (Jeong Hae-Min’s inner monologue)

“Euh..........”

Utterly failing to recognise the signs of Jeong Hae-Min revving her engine, Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked triumphantly, while Affeldrichae followed up to her own words.

“He used to be surrounded by many different races and fantastical creatures, too.” (Affeldrichae)

“D, different races??” (Jeong Hae-Min)

“For instance, elves, dark elves, and.... well, those types of races, you know?” (Affeldrichae)

Tremble.

Seo Ah-Young finally noticed Jeong Hae-Min’s back trembling ominously and hurriedly jumped in, but it was far too late by then.

*SFX for Jeong Hae-Min’s really loud wailing*

“What the hell?!” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)

“Kyyahhhck?!” (Affeldrichae)

Yi Ji-Hyuk freaked out and hurriedly took several steps back, and Affeldrichae cried out cutely while completely forgetting about the dignity of being the Lord of all Dragons. With eyes of pure dumbfounded confusion, the two of them stared at Jeong Hae-Min and her loud sobbing.

Did half of her blood come from a Siren or something?!

Seriously now, there was a limit to how forceful a sonic attack could be.

Affeldrichae somehow succeeded in casting the ‘Silence’ spell on Jeong Hae-Min even when suffering from the ear-splitting pain. She then groaned out grandly and spoke up.

“This woman really is worthy of being researched.” (Affeldrichae)

“Eh-whew.....”

Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head in helplessness.

Not one person around him was sane. Not even one!

< 129. Well now, been a while so let’s go crazy -4 > Fin.