Chapter 136: Repentance

I killed a part of Salmora.

Even if it was only a portion, Salmora had lost the very source of his vitality. 

I expected him to launch a massive retaliation, but he did nothing of the sort.

Instead, Salmora hid himself even more thoroughly than before. 

He vanished as if he had erased every trace of his existence from this world.

Of course, that didn’t mean his plans had been abandoned. 

Starting from a certain day…

[Does international demon subjugation finally bear fruit? The demons are gradually vanishing.]

[The number of demons has plummeted. Return to normalcy is just around the corner!]

[The world focuses on recovery from damages caused by the Demon King’s Legion. Humanity stands united as one.]

Headlines claiming success in the subjugation of the demons and the Demon King’s Legion began pouring out daily. 

It was inevitable, as the number of monsters had noticeably decreased compared to just a short while ago, and the reports of damage were dwindling.

It was a phenomenon that looked as if they were naturally walking toward extinction on their own.

‘Salmora. He made a move.’

I saw through the fact that Salmora was behind this. 

However, it was an unexpected action.

Even though Salmora was an executive and a Legion Commander of the Demon King’s Legion, the demons he led weren’t allies or kin to him; they were closer to targets of his revenge.

It was only natural. 

To the Demon Clan, slimes were nothing more than punching bags for stress relief. 

Because of their resilient life force and soft bodies, they were used as tools to vent violence and frustration.

Even if he was a variant, Salmora must have endured such a past. 

Therefore, he harbored a deeper hatred for the Demon Clan than for humans or any other race.

Though that hatred might have been diluted over the nearly eternal span of time he spent as a time traveler, he would never accept the Demon Clan as his own kind. 

His position as a Legion Commander was merely to facilitate his experiments; he held no deeper affection for the post.

I had assumed he would feel no lingering attachment to the Demon Clan as they headed toward extinction, but…

‘He definitely has something up his sleeve.’

The possibility that he suddenly developed sympathy for his kind was zero. 

I prided myself on knowing him better than anyone. 

He was using Altain and the Demon Clan to plot something.

Naturally, I had to respond to this, but public opinion was not on my side. 

Festivals celebrating the victory over the Demon Clan were being held all over the world. 

People were already celebrating and becoming intoxicated by their perceived triumph.

In war and battle, one must be most wary of complacency, but current humanity had not reached that realization. 

And I had given up on sounding the alarm for them.

Because…

[The United States, China, Russia, Japan, and others: Now is the time to step out from Kim Si-won’s shadow.]

[We must no longer depend on a single person; we must all resolve issues proactively.]

These were the reports being delivered through foreign media. 

The words were wrapped in pretty packaging, but the message was clear: they wanted to escape the interference of the man who had been active at the very front lines until now.

They had called for me from every corner of the world when they were in need, but now that the situation had improved, they were casting me aside. 

It was a classic case of discarding the tool once the job is finished.

If this were the past—if I were in a state where my personality was suppressed—I would have passed judgment on them.

Sacrifice? 

What would that have mattered to me?

To punish the audacity of those who tried to use me, countless people would have had to bleed. 

But that won’t happen now. 

I know there are things more important than judging those who sought to exploit me.

“Huff, huff—”

In front of me, I saw Leon panting heavily.

After obtaining the complete Rank of Creation, he had certainly changed. 

He followed my teachings and the content of my training exceptionally well.

‘Exceptionally well?’

The thought made me chuckle. 

Did I even have the right to say someone was “following” me?

The teachings I was providing now were things it took me a full 1,000 years to reach. 

Yet, Leon was absorbing everything in what felt like a mere moment. 

That couldn’t be explained by the Rank of Creation alone.

‘It seems the encounter with Salmora last time served as a good catalyst.’

Salmora was the one who created him, making him a parent figure in a sense. 

Leon had realized that the reason he was abandoned was because he was incomplete, and that realization had spurred his efforts.

There is a common saying.

A person of average talent cannot defeat a genius.

A genius cannot defeat a person who works hard.

And a person who works hard cannot defeat a person who enjoys what they do.

By these standards, Leon was a genius who worked hard and even enjoyed the process. 

He possessed what could only be described as the ultimate talent.

Consequently, his growth rate was beyond imagination. 

As if one of his days was equal to one of my years, he began to rapidly absorb everything I possessed.

And it wasn’t just the training. 

Proper competition and a rival are excellent fuses for growth. 

Beside Leon, the hardworking genius who enjoyed his path, stood a rival named Altain.

Altain was a being born as a perfect species through Salmora. 

I didn’t know his exact identity, but it was certain he was the “child” Salmora was so proud of.

And then.

[The unaffiliated Altain has cleared the 5th Floor on Bizarre difficulty.]

[He becomes the Ruler of the Tower, replacing Leon, the previous clearer of Incomprehensible difficulty.]

[Altain has been appointed as the Administrator of the 5th Floor.]

[According to the Administrator’s authority, no one in the world may access the 5th Floor until the entry conditions are applied.]

Leon’s face hardened.

The 5th Floor. 

It was because he had lost control of it to Altain.

“We won on the 1st and 2nd Floors, but lost on the 3rd through 5th.”

Leon had gained control of the 1st and 2nd Floors by clearing them on Bizarre difficulty. 

However, that momentum didn’t carry through to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Floors.

Unlike Leon, who had recorded Incomprehensible difficulty instead of Bizarre, Altain cleared those three floors on Bizarre difficulty and snatched away the authority Leon held.

After the 3rd Floor, Leon had looked quite dejected. 

And now, after failing the 4th and 5th Floors in succession, he spoke, “He is certainly… an incredible person.”

Perhaps Altain was the being Leon hated most. 

It was inevitable, as Altain was the perfected version while Leon was the failure. 

Leon had been discarded by Salmora, and Altain had taken his place.

That was why Leon had tried so hard to clear the Tower, pushing himself beyond his limits to reach the Bizarre difficulty. 

Of course, that wasn’t something one could achieve at will just by being determined.

He had cleared up to the 2nd Floor on Bizarre difficulty, but the remaining three floors were cleared on Incomprehensible difficulty. 

Of course, even that was an amazing feat. 

I myself had only recently cleared things on Blood Sea difficulty. 

Yet Leon had lightly cleared the Incomprehensible difficulty, which was a step above that.

The same applied to Altain. 

These two were like rivals of the century, seizing and losing control of the floors to one another.

Furthermore…

[The Floor Ruler, Altain, has not imposed any conditions.]

[As a result, anyone may enter the Tower.

It was as if he were showing off, choosing not to exercise his authority as Ruler. 

Leon had done the same. 

As if to settle the score, they both focused on securing control without setting restrictive conditions.

It was…

‘Like a game of Go.’

A game of Go where the goal is to eliminate the opponent’s territory. 

That was what Leon and Altain were doing. 

Fighting over the control of floors, with the one holding the most floors at the end being the victor.

And this was acting as a fantastic stimulus for Leon.

“Phew—”

Leon, who had looked exhausted just a moment ago, wiped the sweat from his forehead. 

And then…

-Whish! 

-Whoosh!

He swung his sword. 

He wasn’t just swinging it; it was a sword infused with his will. 

He was completing the Sword of Will to reach the stage of the Heart Sword.

“…Are you feeling impatient?”

It was a question, a type of test. 

Of course, there was no single correct answer. 

It was more like a fork in the road where Leon’s answer would determine my future teaching policy.

“No. I am not impatient,” Leon replied, never stopping his sword.

“Why?”

“Because I trust you, Master, and I trust your words and teachings.”

I had told him once.

True greatness takes time to mature. 

I told him my teachings wouldn’t show results immediately. 

I said he might even seem slow compared to Altain’s growth rate.

I said those things because I knew what kind of experiments and teachings Altain would be receiving.

‘Salmora will surely perform the procedure to split his personality and remove his emotions.’

It wasn’t a suspicion. 

It was one hundred percent certainty. 

Salmora had used me as a test subject to split a personality, and he knew the results all too well.

After all, a mere human who didn’t die of old age had snatched the position of Commander of the Immortal Legion—a normal human without any talent or divine authority.

Having seen those results with his own eyes, Salmora would definitely try to remove Altain’s emotions and personality. 

And it would certainly show immediate effects. 

The fact that Altain, who had only been aiming for Incomprehensible difficulty until recently, had cleared the Bizarre difficulty proved it.

But…

‘He might go faster by taking a shortcut, but in the end, the one who reaches the destination first is the one who walked the Righteous Path.’

I only realized this after absorbing the personality that had been sealed for so long. 

One who removes their emotions and personality can never reach the true summit. 

It was the same principle of why I couldn’t reach the Heart Sword despite all my efforts over the years.

That was why I was giving Leon proper teachings from the start, ensuring he wouldn’t suffer such a fatal mistake. 

I had no interest in shortcuts like personality splitting or emotional removal.

However, that was my perspective. 

Perhaps Leon was impatient to show Salmora his complete self.

Or so I thought.

‘I was worried for nothing.’

It was a groundless concern. 

Was he giving me the answer he thought I wanted to hear? 

No.

I could see it in Leon’s expression and his aura. 

He didn’t think that way at all. 

He knew instinctively that the training method I provided would eventually lead to great maturity.

Therefore, he wasn’t impatient. 

He was walking the Righteous Path toward the realm I had reached.

‘He’s looking beyond that realm!’

I felt proud of Leon for not being satisfied with my level and looking even higher.

“You’re certain, then.”

In the beginning, he was merely a tool to thwart Salmora’s schemes. 

But the more I looked at him, the more I saw Leon was something special.

Talent.

Effort.

Character.

And even his positive outlook.

In a way, wasn’t he the exact opposite of me? 

I had no talent, and my personality wasn’t good. 

I had persisted solely on the single-minded goal of revenge for my wife, and I had to pay a massive price for it.

‘Perhaps this is… a form of repentance.’

My heavy sins would not vanish simply because I died. 

I had killed far too many people for my own survival and revenge. 

Those sins could not be repaid just by my erasure.

Perhaps fate—or the heavens—sent Leon to me as a way to repent and atone for those sins.

Therefore…

“If you’re okay with it, let’s take it one step further from here.”

“Yes!”

I pushed the boy, who answered me so energetically, to his absolute limits. 

Even if Leon was currently lagging behind Altain…

‘It won’t be long.’

Leon, who was walking the Righteous Path toward greatness, would surely catch up to Altain soon.