Sacrificing the flesh to take the bone.
It was a very dangerous approach.
It could not be helped, as attempting to give up flesh might result in losing a bone, or rather, losing one’s heart.
To use such a tactic, one must have 100% confidence.
I had to be able to fully understand the opponent’s attack.
I had to be able to control that attack completely.
And I had to be able to exploit that situation.
In truth, if the gap was that large, it was no different from a master facing a novice.
With such a striking difference in skill, there would be no need to sacrifice flesh; simply suppressing them normally would suffice.
And I was clearly superior to him.
Darkness was, how should I put it?
To use an analogy, he was nothing more than a three-year-old toddler wielding the strength of an adult.
Although the body itself was perfect, his experience in handling and using it was so shallow that he could not exercise its power properly.
A person who can perfectly use ten units of strength is stronger than someone who uses twenty out of 100.
Of course, as I mentioned before, I could have crushed him with overwhelming skill.
However, I did not have much time.
This was Leon’s mental world.
No matter how used to and skilled I was at separating my ego, I could not stay in another person’s mental world for long.
If I made a mistake, I could be absorbed into Leon’s consciousness and lose a part of myself forever.
But the darkness was different.
He could stay in the Vessel of Creation as long as he wanted and maintain his ego.
So, I prepared a gamble.
A strategy of sacrificing flesh to take the bone — no, not the bone, but cutting through the entrails to take the heart.
“Thump!”
Strength vanished from his grip, and the greatsword fell.
And then, it immediately turned into particles of darkness and began to scatter.
“How did this… what happened…?”
The darkness widened its eyes as if it could not believe it.
“Even if a three-year-old toddler holds the power of an adult, he cannot demonstrate his full strength due to the difference in experience. That is exactly what you are.”
The arrogance of a god who achieved everything through authority.
No matter how perfect and outstanding a body is, if the ability of the one handling it is lacking, it can no longer be called perfect.
Furthermore, if one is armed with the determination to even give up their flesh, it is not difficult to strike a fatal blow during that momentary opening.
What my will desired was his annihilation.
According to that will.
-Ssssss
The creature’s form was collapsing.
The remains, scattering like powder.
-Slither.
They were being absorbed, becoming a part of Leon.
It was the process of the creature’s ego perishing while its power was absorbed by Leon, finally transforming him into a single, perfect existence.
“Why would a mere human… why such a possibility…?”
Still unable to accept death or defeat, the creature spat out its question.
“Because we are finite.”
I did not have to answer.
But for some reason, I wanted to respond to those words that looked down on humans.
In the past, I probably would have ignored it.
However, as I absorbed the personalities that had been separated into several pieces, I was gradually recovering my eroded emotions.
Unable to tolerate the words mocking humans, I provided the answer.
“For beings like you who live for eternity, competitiveness and intensity must be secondary emotions. But humans, who must live a finite and extremely short life, cannot survive unless they are intense.”
Human life is a series of competitions.
One must be fast at speaking.
One must be fast at walking.
One must be fast at riding a bike.
One must be first in their studies.
One must graduate from a good university.
A series of competitions after competitions.
That cycle of competition exists because life is finite, a short existence that does not even reach 100 years.
That thing called intensity can shine because life is short.
But what about the gods?
They live eternal lives.
They can massacre races below them with a single finger by obtaining powerful authority without any effort.
Of course, they would have competitiveness and intensity too.
But that was just a type of amusement to escape boredom.
How intense could such beings really be? How desperate could they be?
Ultimately, because they live infinite lives, they can never become perfect.
They were more pathetic than the most incomplete human.
“A person with too much talent ultimately fails to master all of it. Just like you now.”
That was the decisive difference between gods and humans.
And it was the reason I had no choice but to win this battle.
“So now, disappear.”
I pushed the creature’s forehead as if telling him to know his place.
At that moment, his body, which had turned completely into black dust, vanished.
The remnants fluttering in the air were absorbed into Leon’s mind.
“Rumble!”
In that instant, a change began to occur as if an earthquake had struck.
Now, by absorbing the darkness, Leon was being reborn as a single, perfect being.
Just as I had been able to return to being human by absorbing my personalities.
***
In the basement, a secret experiment was in full swing.
“Aaaaargh—!”
A place where terrible screams echoed.
A being lay flat on a cold laboratory table.
And.
“Zap, crackle!”
Something was being implanted into that being’s forehead.
It was a yellow gemstone.
Surprisingly.
A mysterious and bizarre jewel, inside of which something like a small heart squirmed, was digging into the flesh.
But the resistance was formidable.
“Crackle!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
Eventually, the being who could not withstand the resistance began to melt.
“Drip, drop”
Like melted candy, it melted thickly and flowed down.
“Hmm.”
The one observing this scene was Emile Ricard, who until recently had been praised by people as the sole alchemist.
The mysterious being who had created the creation known as Leon Ricard.
Salmora, who was once called the Plague Legion Commander, was continuing a great experiment.
It was none other than a new humanity, a new race.
The most perfect race in the world.
Having reached the point of imitating creation out of envy, he resumed the experiment for the goal of the most perfect species.
“Next is…”
After thinking deeply he flicked his fingers.
“Snap!”
Then, the sticky liquid that had decorated the laboratory table until a moment ago disappeared.
And.
“Snap!
Flicking his fingers again, a being appeared on the laboratory table.
It was Altain, the noble Vampire who had been on the verge of annihilation by human forces not long ago.
He lay flat on the laboratory table in his primordial form.
“Now, I shall ask you again.” Salmora asked with a meaningful smile, “That determination. Is it still the same?”
Determination.
That was the obsession and the source of energy to kill Kim Si-won and all the humans.
“I will say it clearly. I still hate them. And no matter what happens, I will pull them down from this world and finish them off.”
“Even if you die from a failed experiment?”
“Yes. My resolution has not changed.”
Salmora stared at Altain.
“Snap!”
When he flicked his fingers again.
“Aaaaaah!”
The image of the previous subject turning into liquid due to the failed experiment unfolded.
“Even if you fail and die without being able to maintain any form?”
This was something he had not done until now.
The subject’s state of mind was very important.
Therefore, one had to provide care so they could be as stable as possible, but now he was showing the failure of the experiment, which made the mind unstable.
Why?
It was because Altain was a masterpiece he had high expectations for, unlike any before.
In fact, all the subjects experimented on until now had a higher probability of failure than success.
Altain was the only one he could place hope in.
Therefore, even if it made his mind unstable, he had no choice but to try.
He had to confirm whether that determination and resolution were close to those of a human.
“…My resolution does not change. Even if I die from this experiment, I have no regrets.”
Those were certainly words he had heard somewhere before.
‘I don’t regret it. So proceed with the experiment.’
The one who had stepped forward in the past, willing to undergo his experiment.
He bore a striking resemblance to the Undead Legion Commander, once known as Valdevron Brocia.
“Hahahaha!”
He burst into laughter out of joy, as if seeing his old friend again.
“Yes. To be called a new humanity, one must have the same will and resolution as him. The subjects until now lacked such things.”
Humans.
Most of the Demon Clan treated them as insignificant beings, but Salmora’s thoughts were different.
Because they lived finite lives, because they were permitted such short lives, they were a race that lived more intensely than anyone else.
In fact, at first, he had no particular thoughts about humans, just like other demons.
But the moment he saw Valdevron Brocia — Kim Si-won — he had no choice but to think differently.
Martial arts.
Strength.
Karma.
That desperate struggle to obtain power forced anyone watching to become curious.
Thus, he provided much help so that he could become the existence known as Valdevron Brocia, and in exchange, he could observe his life and his path.
And so, he gained inspiration.
‘What kind of species would be born if I combined human will, demon fighting spirit, and divine eternity?’
Human will was more incredible than any other race or being in the transcendental realm.
If a being that mixed these advantages appeared, wouldn’t all laws be overturned?
He wanted to be the father and researcher who created the most perfect species.
So, for a long time, he searched for things that could become ingredients for this perfect species.
A fragment of a god.
The blood of a Demon King.
A demon born with human will.
And Altain was a subject who perfectly met these conditions.
“Through you today, I shall become the father who created the most perfect species, the true creator!”
He had sacrificed everything for that one thing.
And finally, now that everything was gathered, he would reach the domain of the creator who created the most perfect species.
Of course.
“Crackle!”
That was the story for when Altain accepted this core.
Only by accepting that thing, which contained the power, will, and traits of gods, Demon Kings, demons, humans, and various other races, could a perfect species be born.
But.
“Ugh, gaaaah—”
It was the same as before.
An enormous resistance arose, scattering messily like sparks.
It was unavoidable.
As much as this core contained diverse powers, it refused to be subjected to any being.
Because it was endowed with an ego, if it did not like the subject, it would completely annihilate its existence like the subject from a moment ago.
Only a being with the potential for the core to settle could successfully complete the experiment without such resistance.
And.
“Guh… uuuugh…”
Despite the immense pain, Altain was grit his teeth and enduring it.
That will.
That resolution.
All of it was more than Salmora had expected.
And then.
“I found it!”
Salmora heard it vividly in his ear.
It was the will of the core, rejoicing.
It was that voice, celebrating as if it had found a toy.
And in the next moment.
“Squelch!”
The core, which had pierced a hole in the space between his brows, finally entered.
-Whoosh!
A brilliant light swallowed the laboratory.