CH 284

Gi-Gyu used those four days to help his Eden creatures and check their evolution.

“Hal,” Gi-Gyu called out.

“Yes, Grandmaster.”

“How are you doing?”

Hal’s lips curled up into a smile. He now had a perfect human form. His skin still looked dull and black, almost like a cadaver’s, but his form was perfectly human now. He used to look very corpse-like, so this was a huge improvement.

“I would love to…” Hal sounded determined. “Go out to battle again right now.”

Hal’s evolution was unexpected. Moreover, most creatures inside Eden had undergone an evolution during Ha Song-Su’s raid.

“How about your drake?”

“Grr…” Death Drake growled. It used to be Hal’s phantom steed, but it had evolved along with Hal into this new beast. Now, Hal could fight in the air without Griffin King.

“Excellent.” Gi-Gyu nodded in satisfaction. Before long, he was done checking on his subject’s evolution.

Hal was now Death Drake-Knight.

The undead members were now either skeleton knights or something even higher.

The mantises had gained tougher skin, and the chimeras’ regeneration ability had also improved.

“How about you, Hart?” asked Gi-Gyu.

“I’m great.” Hart had also evolved, but not during the fight. “I don’t know what to do with the overwhelming amount of sorcerous energy.”

“And you’re still spending a lot of time with Baal?”

“Yes, Grandmaster,” Hart replied. He had been learning magic from Baal lately.

A point to note was that only the creatures who could use sorcerous energy had evolved, not all.

One such exception was El.

Gi-Gyu called out to her, “El.”

“Master.”

El’s wings had somehow become even more glorious, and something like a crown adorned her head now. The amount of power she could utilize had also increased dramatically. This was a surprise to Gi-Gyu.

While he was chatting with El, a black wolf came to rub against Gi-Gyu.

“Grrr. Grrr.” Bi could no longer be called a puppy. Now a Fenrir, it could no longer stay in its puppy form. It was now a handsome wolf with a shiny black coat.

Gi-Gyu picked Bi up and patted it. “Good job evolving, Bi.”

Thankfully, Bi could still minimize its form. It would look like a miniature wolf then, not a puppy.

“Now, is that all?” Gi-Gyu asked. He was done assessing his creatures’ improvement and categorizing his foot soldiers.

‘But I’m curious why many of them no longer have a status screen…’ The status screen for some still showed up but was missing for most.

“I wonder why…” Gi-Gyu mumbled, curious about the change. It had begun with El when her status screen disappeared after her evolution. Now, it was true for nearly everyone linked to Gi-Gyu.

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Gi-Gyu had a couple of theories.

“Could it be that Gaia is losing her power?” If Gaia were weakened, there was a possibility she couldn’t maintain the status screen of every being.

Another possibility was that Gi-Gyu’s creatures had gained the kind of power that couldn’t be assessed and marked by the status screen. Or perhaps their level was beyond what the status screen could measure.

Gi-Gyu thought about his last theory. ‘Maybe I have become almost as powerful as Gaia.’

If he were nearly as strong as Gaia, she wouldn’t have the authority to evaluate Gi-Gyu’s creatures. He had many other theories but found this one the most likely.

“Master,” El called out to him.

He didn’t answer. He only nodded because he knew what El wanted to say. Gi-Gyu mumbled, “I know it’s time.”

Paimon’s four days were over. Gi-Gyu was about to walk away when several creatures begged. They look upset.

“But Grandmaster…”

“I’m sorry. I’ll talk to the rest of you later,” Gi-Gyu apologized.

Botis, who looked like he was about to cry, replied, “Of course, Grandmaster…”

Botis slumped weakly. Most creatures who possessed sorcerous energy had evolved. Gi-Gyu didn’t know if Haures did as well because he was outside Eden. But as far as he knew, the only creature who didn’t become stronger from this recent battle was Botis.

“Haa…” Botis sighed. “Does this mean I might be weaker than Hal now?”

Botis wondered if he needed to train more. He hadn’t trained much since he won the Seat of Power; perhaps it was time to get back to it.

Or…

Botis had another idea, but it would have to wait.

“I’ll have to tell the grandmaster later,” Botis said to himself. He watched Gi-Gyu leave, feeling a little better.

***

Clang! Clang!

The hammering sound rang in the air.

“No, this isn’t right!” Paimon screamed.

Gi-Gyu stood before a closed door and contemplated. Was Min-Su learning an important lesson from Paimon? If he entered, would he be interrupting?

“Again!” Paimon yelled again.

Gi-Gyu opened the door. This would never end unless he ended it.

Crack!

The moment Gi-Gyu entered, he saw Paimon break a beautiful sword.

Paimon shrieked, “You call this a sword?! You must bring out your true talent! Your—”

Paimon stopped screaming when he saw Gi-Gyu but didn’t drop the broken sword. Gi-Gyu silently looked around the room.

Min-Su was sweating and hammering something.

Clang!

In another corner, Old Man Hwang was doing the same.

Clang!

Only Paimon had seemingly spotted Gi-Gyu.

Paimon gave Gi-Gyu a look, silently asking him not to disturb Min-Su and Old Man Hwang. He had never looked this serious to Gi-Gyu before.

Gi-Gyu left the room quietly, and Paimon followed him.

“Thank you.” Paimon showed his appreciation to Gi-Gyu for doing what he had asked.

Gi-Gyu licked his lips before asking hesitantly, “This isn’t child abuse, right?”

Min-Su was sweating profusely and hammering nonstop. Gi-Gyu couldn’t even tell if the boy had rested during the last four days.

But before Paimon could answer, Gi-Gyu shook his head. Min-Su didn’t look like he was suffering. He was hammering with all the passion in the world. The boy had never looked more serious and eager.

There was no way this was abuse… Right?

“Is it already time?” Paimon asked.

Gi-Gyu nodded silently. It had already been four days, and he still hadn't gained any information from Paimon. He assessed Paimon’s condition. Nothing much had changed, but Paimon certainly wasn’t in better condition.

Paimon only had three days left to live. Gi-Gyu didn’t think it would be impossible to kill and re-sync with him. But his condition couldn’t be restored to normal.

Gi-Gyu knew Min-Su and Old Man Hwang wanted more time with Paimon, but this wasn’t possible.

“I need to hear everything now,” Gi-Gyu announced.

Paimon didn’t ask for more time. He only nodded.

***

Paimon, Gi-Gyu, Lou, and El sat together in the control tower of the Sephiroth Tree. Hwang Chae-Il had been avoiding Paimon, perhaps because he had tried to steal Paimon’s legacy.

Creak.

The door opened and one more person entered.

“There you are,” Gi-Gyu greeted Soo-Jung brightly.

“He is finally talking, so I am obviously here to listen.” Soo-Jung sat down with a smile.

Paimon sat in the middle of everyone and was wiping his monocle. He was shirtless, and they could see the sweat dripping down his thin yet well-muscled body. He was a picture-perfect oddball.

Gi-Gyu prodded, “I kept my promise. I didn’t bother you during the last four days, so it’s time for you to keep your end of our bargain.”

“I was going to, so don’t worry.” Paimon put on his monocle. His kind of arrogance couldn’t be seen in a single one of Gi-Gyu’s creatures.

When Paimon waved his hand in the air, a white hoodie appeared. He put it on and offered, “Ask away. I promise I will answer truthfully.”

Gi-Gyu resented Paimon’s haughty attitude, but he couldn’t help becoming excited at the prospect of finding out the answers.

“Tell me what you have been up to. Why were you in China, and who planned the trap for me? Tell me everything you know about Andras’ plan. And how did you clone the hell kings? Tell me about Ha Song-Su too. I need answers for everything, even the questions I didn’t ask. Tell me things I need to know. You can tell which information would be useful to me, don’t you?”

With a relaxed smile, Paimon said, “I’ll start slow.”

Gi-Gyu frowned at his leisurely attitude, but Paimon began his story.

“How much do you know about my legacy?” asked Paimon.

Gi-Gyu didn’t answer.

Paimon muttered, “It looks like you don’t know anything.”

Old Man Hwang used to keep Paimon’s legacy safe until his son, Hwang Chae-Il, stole it. And that was how it ended up in Andras’ hand, and it was probably used to bring back Paimon.

Unfortunately, Paimon was right. Gi-Gyu didn’t know anything about it.

Paimon shrugged and opened his mouth. “My legacy isn’t just one thing. I am held in one of them.”

It was as baffling an explanation as any.

Noticing Gi-Gyu's confusion, Paimon added, “Idiot. You can take it literally.”

“Are you saying you placed your ego in one of the things you made?” Lou asked.

“Indeed. No wonder you used to be my master.” Of everything in Eden, Paimon was most respectful toward Lou. He explained, “Just as my old master stated, I wanted to see the full extent of my weapon. I wanted to see what it could do without its user. Without the user’s ability and power...”

Madness appeared in Paimon’s eyes. Gi-Gyu hadn’t seen this since he had synced with him.

Paimon continued, “I wanted to create a weapon that could turn any user into the greatest fighter. A weapon that is power itself. I believed that something like this would be the ultimate weapon.”

“It’s true… An ultimate weapon should be able to do that,” Gi-Gyu agreed.

For a user to become stronger the moment they hold a weapon would be a dream. Theoretically, a child could slay a dragon, and an orc could defeat a high demon. This wouldn’t be because the child or the orc was special. It would be possible only because of the weapon.

“The ultimate purpose of a weapon…” Lou mumbled.

Paimon continued, “I worked hard to create this ultimate weapon. I didn’t hesitate to do anything and everything to achieve this. I dedicated my life to this, even willing to sell my soul for it.”

His lunacy began marring his voice as he continued, “A weapon needs to be powerful… To do this, do I need good material? Do I require a special technique? Or did I need to mix magic into it? I was desperate for the answer, and in the end, I found an ancient record.”

An ancient record? How old did this record have to be so that it was considered ancient by Paimon? Gi-Gyu couldn’t even imagine.

A broad smile appeared on Paimon’s face. Gi-Gyu could already guess what it was that Paimon had found.

And it turned out that Gi-Gyu was right.

Paimon added, “An Ego item. I believed that this was the ultimate weapon.”