Martial God Regressed to Level 2

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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Side Story 26

'This is... my sister?'

Seong Jihan recalled the former Witch of the Void.

Back then, it was clearly the petrified figure of Seong Jiah, bound by five chains.

But now, only her nose and eyes were plainly visible within the dense purple mist.

"That... what is that? Why does it look so distorted..."

Christopher, who was watching with confused eyes, gradually started losing focus in his pupils.

'It's similar to the symptoms Jin Yuhwa showed me last time.'

Even if those eyes and nose belonged to Seong Jiah, she was an otherworldly entity covered in the void.

That was why it was having an effect on Christopher, who was protected by the Blue Domain.

It was a relief that he wasn't losing his mind as quickly as Jin Yuhwa had, though.

Swoosh.

Seong Jihan quickly turned Christopher's body away and covered his eyes.

"M, Martial God...? Why suddenly..."

"Didn't you feel it too? If you want to die, then look."

"Ah... I understand. I'll stay like this."

Then, Seong Jihan turned towards Yoon Seah.

Unlike Christopher, she was looking ahead with a normal expression.

"You, don't you see anything strange? About that."

"Me? Ah. Yes! I'm fine. What do you mean by 'look strange'..."

"Like last time when you saw the alien race, do you see it broken or something like that? Do you have any of those symptoms?"

"No. I can see it clearly. The stone statue's eyes and nose revealed in the purple aura, right?"

Yoon Seah blinked as she said that.

"Hmm, it feels like I've seen it somewhere..."

Eyes and nose, and also a shape made of stone, that was why.

Yoon Seah didn't think that it was her mother's.

But, as if it wasn't unfamiliar, she tilted her head and took a step or two forward.

Then.

Grrrr...

Along with the sound of stone grinding,

Light began to flash in the petrified eyes.

[...]

Zzzzz.

A purple ray of light stretched out straight towards Yoon Seah.

'What... is this?'

Seong Jihan immediately reached out and blocked it halfway, but,

Sss...

A part of the void mist cleared.

And from there, petrified lips began to appear.

[How... how are you alive... ?]

And when an inexplicably familiar voice came out from there, Yoon Seah widened her eyes.

"....Huh? That voice..."

Before she could even finish her sentence.

[Fleeting, an illusion... Even so. I will be deceived again. I will capture it countless times.]

Paaah...!

The void that had been covering the Witch of the Void began to stretch out towards Yoon Seah all at once.

Of course.

Bang! Bang!

Before it could even reach her, the void was blocked by the Blue Domain and burst in the air.

Sss...

As the void disappeared, the entity within revealed its form.

A purple statue that was exactly like Seong Jiah.

However, the surface of her stone body was entirely covered in layers upon layers of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams diagram.

The only parts that were empty were the eyes and nose that were first revealed.

The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams diagram had already extended to her mouth.

"Mo... Mom?"

Even though her entire body was covered in symbols,

As soon as the void cleared, Yoon Seah noticed that the statue looked exactly like Seong Jiah.

Her voice and her appearance were the same as her mother that she remembered.

"Is it... really Mom?"

Seong Jiah, nodding at Yoon Seah's question,

Paaah...!

Shot the void towards Yoon Seah once again.

'This is quite something.'

It felt like she was even less communicative than the previous Witch of the Void.

Seong Jihan blocked the void that came at him recklessly, time after time.

Then.

Sss...

The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams symbol covering Seong Jiah's mouth temporarily disappeared.

[Fake, get out of the way...!]

She yelled sharply as she looked at Seong Jihan.

She called him 'fake', seemingly sure that Seong Jihan was not her younger brother.

"Instead of just shooting the void at me, why don't you tell me your business? Do you not know what happens when the void touches a human?"

The Witch of the Void, who stared at him for a while at Seong Jihan's words,

Slowly opened her mouth, seemingly judging that she couldn't break through his defenses.

[I am grateful that you saved my daughter. But your role ends here. Together with my daughter, I will leave this world.]

"Leave?"

[Yes.]

Then.

Zzzzz...

A quest window appeared in front of Seong Jihan's eyes.

[Choose one of the two quests.]

Unlike before, this quest came with choices.

Seong Jihan looked at the message that followed.

[1. Allow Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.]

Allow Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.

Yoon Seah accepts the void and transforms into the Witch of the Void.

The two Witches of the Void leave for an unmanifested outer world, and the current Yoon Seah completely disappears.

[Reward - Blue + 100, White Light + 10]

A free handout reward, just for handing Yoon Seah over to the Witch of the Void's embrace.

In particular, the stat Blue 100 was an ability that, if obtained, could easily defeat Dongbang Sak inside the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Diagram.

They were just giving away this much of a reward if he just pushed Yoon Seah away?

However.

'White Light 10, you say?'

White Light, which was Mitra's power and could manifest the power of creation.

Seong Jihan had sealed this power in the Martial God Tower to avoid using it.

But here, they were offering him White Light?

'This world... was it related to the sealed power of light?'

It was definitely too good of a recreation of the world to be a bug.

Seong Jihan looked at the next choice with a calm gaze.

[2. Block Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.]

Block Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.

Seong Jiah will keep targeting Yoon Seah, sometimes enticing her with words, and sometimes forcing her with power.

As the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams engraved on the statue disappear, the power of the void will weaken.

Seong Jiah's obsession will only stop when she is convinced that Yoon Seah can stand on her own.

[Quest Clear Conditions - Clear Sub-Quest 1, Clear Linked Quest [True Overcoming]]

[Clear Reward - Stat Blue + 10]

'The conditions are strict and the rewards are stingy.'

Sub-Quest 1 was Yoon Seah reaching Diamond League.

In truth, this was just a matter of time and not a difficult quest.

'But, what is the Linked Quest [True Overcoming]?'

Having to clear a second quest was a considerable burden.

Honestly, if you only looked at the rewards, it felt like anyone would choose option 1 on that quest selection screen.

But Seong Jihan's choice was already made.

'It's still option 2.'

Giving the White Light was a choice that was nothing less than a trap.

There was no way he could accept that.

On top of that, making Yoon Seah a Witch of the Void and sending her to an unmanifested outer world.

Was not something he would ever do.

However, before choosing.

"Yoon Seah."

"Yes...?"

"Do you want to follow the Witch of the Void?"

Seong Jihan asked for her opinion.

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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* * *

"If you're talking about the Witch of the Void..."

"I'm referring to that statue. The one that you said looked like your mom."

"Ah..."

At that, Yoon Seah looked at the Witch of the Void with trembling eyes.

A statue that looked just like her mother.

[Daughter, this world is already over. Your father abandoned you, and that one is a fake. The only family you have left is me...]

She was trying her best to erase the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams on her lips while persuading Yoon Seah.

"Is it... really my mom?"

"I don't know. I can't say for sure."

"...If I were to follow her, what would happen?"

"You would become a statue like that. Buried in the void."

[It's better... than dying... Fake who claims to be the Martial God.]

It was harsh of her to call him a fake who claimed to be the Martial God.

Seong Jihan let that go with a chuckle, but

"The Martial God is not a fake, though?!"

Rather, Yoon Seah got more worked up.

[No. Look at the opposite side. The true Martial God is sitting there. The fake will soon be destroyed...]

The Witch of the Void turned her gaze to the north, where the Martial God Dongbang Sak was located.

She seemed certain that he would lose against Dongbang Sak.

[If even that fake disappears, how will you live? So follow me... return to the void.]

Then, the void started to rise again from the Witch of the Void's body.

It showed that she was determined to take Yoon Seah with her, no matter what.

Seong Jihan asked again.

"What are you going to do?"

"...I, I'm still not sure. Do I have to choose right away?"

"No. You can think about it slowly."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It would be hard for her to choose right away.

When Yoon Seah delayed her decision like that.

He chose the second quest in the options.

'Block Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.'

Then.

Zzzzz...

A change occurred in the Sub-Quest window.

1. Yoon Seah reaches Diamond League.

2. Absorb 'Taiji's Lost Soul' (Recurring Quest)

3. Block Yoon Seah's Void Assimilation.

Out of the three sub-quests, two of them were replaced by ones related to Yoon Seah.

As Seong Jihan was looking at it for a moment,

"Uh...?"

Flash...!

In an instant, a pure white light flickered from Yoon Seah's body.

'Is that the power of the White Light?'

Stat White Light.

It had first appeared in the choices just now, was it now trying to move the power of light in earnest?

Seong Jihan looked at Yoon Seah with a calm gaze, but

"Martial God... I suddenly got a new title."

She was just blinking with a calm face.

"A title? What is it?"

"Well... it says 'Disciple of the Martial God'."

Disciple of the Martial God.

Wasn't that a title that the Martial God used in the past when he was using constellations, including Dongbang Sak?

But that was even coming out as a title in the system?

"The title effect says 'You can accompany the Martial God in sealed areas.'"

"Sealed areas..."

"Yes... What do you think? Should I wear this title?"

At that question, Seong Jihan stared at Seong Jiah.

Even while she was having her void destroyed by him repeatedly, she wasn't taking her eyes off Yoon Seah.

If he entered the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Diagram, she looked like she would reach for Yoon Seah with her void immediately.

"It would be good to equip it."

[Fake Martial God... Now, are you planning to make my daughter your disciple...!!!]

"It's just words. Isn't it?"

"Yes. The Martial God always looks out for me."

Then, without hesitation, Yoon Seah equips the Disciple of the Martial God title.

[Fake, how dare you...!]

Then, the void that the Witch of the Void emitted started to get even denser.

'Well, it's not hard to block it.'

No matter how much the Witch of the Void emitted the void, it couldn't cross into the Blue Domain.

However.

'Christopher is here too, so I should retreat for now.'

If it was just Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah, he would have been fine entering the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Diagram that was engraved on the Witch of the Void.

But if he left Christopher behind and went in, there was a high chance that he would see his corpse when he came back.

It would be better to pull the expedition back and come back later.

"Christopher. Are you okay?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm okay. But, well... in the chat, they were saying that Mom and mother have the same meaning."

Even though his eyes were covered and his back was turned, did he still hear it?

Whether it was someone who was translating Korean in real-time in BattleTube, he was still curious even in this situation.

"Yoon Seah-nim's mother is the Saintess Seong Jiah...?! The person who was sacrificed during the Dungeon Break is here!? What kind of connection is it?! Hah, could I, just for a moment, turn around?!"

"No."

"Ah, I can't stand my curiosity...!"

As he tried to turn his head slightly.

"Eeeek!"

Christopher's body turned while his face stayed in place.

Crack.

As the sound of his neck joint twisting resounded, Seong Jihan chuckled.

"Let's go back for now."

Swoosh.

After saying those words and raising his hand,

Christopher flew up into the sky first.

Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah also followed after him.

[To have my daughter stolen from my eyes...!]

Then, as if she was in pain, the Witch of the Void shouted out from the bottom of her heart.

[Fake! This debt, I will repay it...!]

Her voice was filled with hatred, but.

'She's lively. This sister over here.'

In contrast, Seong Jihan was only relaxed while listening to it.

However, unlike his attitude.

During that short time while the expedition returned from the Abyss to Seoul,

-No way...

-Is that statue really Seong Jiah-nim???

The world had been turned upside down.

[Translator - Asura]

[Proofreader - Gun]

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