Free Web NovelChapter 18: A Coward’s Narcissism.
"Who the hell are you now?!"
I stared at the newly appeared figure before me. It was a man with long white hair, crimson eyes and a neatly trimmed beard. Nothing like this had happened in my previous life so naturally, I was surprised.
Is it the soul of Kosetsu or something?
My thoughts spiraled but I immediately dismissed the possibility. Some artifacts possessed powerful wills but none of them throughout history had ever displayed true sentience.
The old man offered a polite smile as his presence flooded outward as I immediately understood one thing.
Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t an ordinary person because that presence he was emitting was the one only someone who had reached the Transcendent Rank could display.
My frown deepened when the old man failed to answer my question.
"Hello, dude. I am talking to you." I pointed at him. "Who the hell are you?"
I didn’t bother showing respect just because he possessed a transcendent aura. Whatever he was, he wasn’t alive and was merely a soul and under normal circumstances, a soul could never directly harm a physical body regardless of how powerful it had been in life.
More importantly, since the trial was done, I could leave this space anytime I wished for.
"You don’t recognise me?"
The old man paused in surprise for a moment before his expression shifted and his eyes narrowed. It was only after several moments of silence that he spoke again. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Oh? How far has my bloodline fallen that not even one of my descendants can recognize this great personality?"
He placed a hand over his chest and continued dramatically.
"Have you ever asked the sky what it is? Have you ever asked the water what it is?" He spread his arms wide. "Then why must you ask me, the great progenitor of your bloodline, who I am?"
The old man looked genuinely offended.
"Could you truly not recognize this great personality?" He shook his head in disappointment. "Has the stain of time eroded every record of my existence? Ahh, such is the fate of even great personalities like mine to be forgotten in vain."
My eyes twitched as a shiver ran down my spine from pure cringe but I somehow managed to keep my expression calm.
I knew it wasn’t particularly difficult for a Transcendent-ranked existence to leave behind a will and fragments of their soul within an artifact.
What I couldn’t understand was why this guy was here now and more importantly, why hadn’t he appeared when I cleared Kosetsu’s trial in my previous life?
Had his remaining soul finally awakened because of something I had changed? Or had it simply faded away by the time I arrived in my last life?
Either way, something was different.
"I greet the great founder."
I played along half-heartedly, curious to see where his theatrics would lead as the old man looked immediately displeased.
"What kind of dead greeting was that? Even the chimpsmunks of the Southern Mountains know how to greet their elders better."
He let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Ah, how painful it is to witness my descendants becoming inferior to mere apes, both in appearance and in their manners."
He placed a hand over his chest dramatically once again.
"How much better it would have been had I simply vanished..." His eyes turned toward the heavens. "But I must endure so that such a tragedy does not continue into the next generation."
A vein bulged on my forehead as the next moment, my bloodlust instinctively responded to my will and an overwhelming pressure descended upon the old man.
It wasn’t aura or mana, it was the pressure of my soul, the weight of my intent and the karma accumulated through countless battles and slaughtered enemies in my previous life.
The old man’s expression twisted instantly, his eyes widening in disbelief as he staggered back several steps.
"Y-You..." His voice trembled. "What are you?"
The arrogance that had filled his face moments ago vanished completely.
"How could a brat like you possess such a terrifying presence?" He stared at me as though he were looking at some unimaginable monster. "What in the world are you?"
My smile widened at his immediate change in attitude as I took a step forward.
Someone weak wouldn’t even notice bloodlust and would at most, they would feel a faint sense of unease, as though something were pricking at their instincts.
After all, bloodlust worked directly upon the soul and only those capable of sensing souls could truly perceive it.
The strong.
Or...
Souls themselves.
And among souls, those who were strong when alive could sense it even more clearly than others.
I would have been cautious about using it in the real world because with my current strength, revealing something like this would only attract unnecessary trouble.
But inside this space, I wasn’t worried since the only other resident here was someone who couldn’t physically touch me.
With that thought in mind, I took another step forward as the founder immediately took ten steps back.
"S-Stay away, you monster!" His voice nearly cracked. "If I had known such a monster would enter this space, I would have extinguished myself rather than appear before you!"
He pointed at me with a trembling finger.
"What are your intentions? State them this instant! From afar naturally otherwise you shall experience my wrath."
Despite his attempt to sound authoritative, the fear in his voice was impossible to miss and seeing that, I was once again reminded just how exaggerated the old legends truly were.
To think this coward had been glorified as the Butcher of the North.
A sigh escaped my lips as I finally understood why this guy had never appeared before me in my previous life.
Back then, I had already surpassed the Transcendent Rank by the time I entered this place and he had probably been too terrified to show himself.
My eyes sharpened as I looked at him as the bloodlust pouring from my soul grew even denser and immediately in response, all of his movements came to a halt.
"I will ask this only once."
My voice remained calm.
"If you fail to answer me, I will ensure that this fragment of your soul experiences pain beyond imagination until the last trace of its existence is extinguished."
The old man’s face paled.
"Do you understand?"
He nodded weakly while biting his lip.
"Good."
I took another step forward.
"Now tell me what you were doing here."
I paused.
"And while we are at it..."
A smile slowly appeared on my face.
"Tell me again who was worse-looking than a chipmunk."
