Chapter 95: Purgatory and Perks

The woman’s identity was not revealed by herself, but spilled from the lips of the researcher sprawled on the ground.

[H-How dare you…! Do you even know who this person is…!]

‘This person,’ huh.

I wondered if she was his superior.

[Center Director…!]

‘Center Director?’

It seemed she was the head of that place called the ‘Future Research Center.’

[Diverging Paths.]

A dignified, graceful woman.

Her snow-white hair was coiled up and held in place by a jade hairpin.

Slender yet voluptuous, draped in layers of sheer clothing that revealed hints of her skin—she looked just like a goddess from an Eastern myth.

[Foolish child.]

Her voice, as soft as cotton candy, was directed at her injured subordinate.

[Kh… For you to come all this way in person…!]

The researcher trembled, not even thinking to spit out the blood filling his mouth.

He must have been in pain and agony.

He laughed when turning his own colleagues into monsters with his own hands, and when those monsters crushed dozens of people beneath their feet.

Tap!

I stepped on him as he tried to crawl away like a bug.

The woman, who had been reaching out to her subordinate, paused.

She seemed startled by my action.

[Your skills… are as impressive as I heard. Truly.]

Hiss—!

At the woman’s fleeting glance, the Basilisk slithered toward me.

Sssk! Ssssssk—!

To dare to move.

Should I kill you? Can I?

—If I thought it was actually considering that, maybe I was just being paranoid.

[Still, could you stop there?]

The woman continued.

Hissssssss!

The Basilisk flicked its red-black tongue.

Its bright yellow eyes shimmered with a violet aura, making my head spin.

[I’m asking you personally. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.]

So.

“Accelerate.”

Before anything could happen, I tried to seize the woman—Diverging Paths—as a hostage.

Swish!

Her fingers brushed my cheek.

[If you ever hear a request coming from my mouth, you’d best listen.]

She moved and spoke at exactly the same speed as before.

“How…?”

My Accelerate skill wasn’t working.

It wasn’t just that she’d overcome my thirtyfold speed-up.

She was maintaining a perfectly ordinary pace—the exact same as before.

‘She knows exactly how much slower time is moving and adjusts accordingly!’

Chills ran down my spine.

The overwhelming difference in power.

I could feel it, even without crossing swords or being bitten by the snake.

I had no choice but to feel it.

[If word gets out that a child who received my name was defeated by a mere target…]

Swish!

Her fingers, having brushed my cheek, trailed along my ear.

And then.

[My own position would become… quite difficult, you see.]

Her breath touched my ear.

A supremely elegant warning.

But.

“I refuse. If I let you go now, you’ll just come after me again.”

After all, my life is on the line here.

[Of course, I have no intention of leaving you with the strength to do so. You have my word.]

“If you wanted my trust, you should have greeted me before poisoning me on sight.”

[!!]

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise, then she raised her hand to cover her mouth and smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

Then, a clear peal of laughter, like pearls rolling on a silver platter, echoed through the room.

Tick—!

Until the Accelerate skill ended, yielding nothing.

[How amusing. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a conversation with a stranger.]

After laughing for a while, the woman wiped the tears from her eyes.

Then, in a voice still tinged with laughter, she offered an alternative.

[A hundred years.]

[?!]

[For interfering in foreign affairs and disturbing order.]

[C-Center Director…?]

Diverging Paths’ eyelids quivered.

[For abandoning your duty and obsessing over a mere creature, three hundred more years.]

W-What are you…?

[Finally.]

Diverging Paths trembled, crawling on the ground.

As if my blade at her throat meant nothing to her.

[For disgracing my name by being defeated by a mere target, five hundred years added.]

[!!]

The Heaven-Piercer Sword found the enemy’s throat on its own.

Blood oozed out, but Diverging Paths didn’t care.

[Will nine hundred years suffice, child?]

N-Nine hundred…! C-Center Director! No, I can’t go back to that hell again! Please, just give me one more chance…!

[There’s nothing I can do, even if you beg. This is the only way to end things quietly…]

A hell even worse awaited her.

[Nine hundred years in Purgatory… even if you lived out your natural life, you’d never cross paths again. Is that satisfactory?]

Purgatory.

A word from ancient myths, describing a place of torment.

What happens to someone sent there?

I couldn’t bring myself to ask, but the woman spoke as if she had read my mind.

[You will burn in an unquenchable hellfire. Your flesh will melt away without a trace, only to be restored again and again, endlessly. That will repeat ten thousand, a million times… Each time your throat reforms, you’ll beg for it to be cut, desperate to end the suffering.]

I had no idea what this world’s hell looked like.

[Just kill me instead! Yes, that’s right! Eunho… kill me yourself! Please…!]

Watching her try to force her own neck onto my blade, I decided ignorance was probably better.

[Center Director… after all I did for you… kh…]

[How unfortunate. I did care for you quite a bit… but given my position, too many eyes are watching.]

[My research is not yet finished! Please…]

[If that’s so.]

For a moment, her gaze flashed sharply.

[You shouldn’t have crossed the line.]

It felt like the temperature around us plummeted.

Her glare wasn’t even directed at me, yet a chill swept over me.

[The research you were doing—I’ll transfer it to your juniors tomorrow so the work doesn’t end. Don’t worry.]

[Kh…!]

[Do you understand?]

The Center Director threw out a question that needed no answer.

Snap!

She flicked her slender fingers.

Then, with a thunderous rumble, something appeared.

Kugugugugugung—!

[Opening the Gate of Purgatory!]

A blazing crimson inferno.

A monstrous fire pit gaping wide, as if to swallow the world.

“That’s the gate…?”

The sight of hellish, jet-black flames licking all over.

BEEEEEEP!

[Warning!]

[Exposed to excessive karmic flames!]

[In 10 seconds, you will suffer status effect: Soul Burn.]

[Evacuate immediately!]

As these warnings blared in my ears, chaos erupted.

Ssssssssk—

The giant snake approached Diverging Paths.

Shaaaaaaaa—!

It opened its jaws wide.

[Ah, aaaaaaaah—!]

And swallowed her.

Ssssssk— Fwoosh!

Then spat her into the heart of the flames.

[P-Please! Azure Lotus! Eunhooooooo—!]

‘!!’

And just like that, as if its business was done, the gate of hell began to close.

Kugugugugugung—!

[Closing the Gate of Purgatory!]

“……”

Crazy.

That door opened and shut so fast, I thought my soul would leave my body.

It felt like I’d witnessed a forbidden secret.

‘What… was today?’

In a single day, I came back from the gates of the afterlife, and now I’d stared at the gates of hell…

[You look quite shaken.]

“…Yeah.”

Get it together.

Even if there’s a woman here who can open and close the gates of hell right before my eyes, I have to keep my wits about me.

Because…

The most important topic remains.

[Looks like I’m done here, so I’ll…]

“Wait.”

The woman turned at my call.

“How do you intend to pay your debt?”

[Hmm?]

“You said you’d make sure I was compensated.”

Finally understanding, she responded with an ‘ah—.’

[I swear on my name. Whenever there is an obstacle in your path, I’ll personally—]

“Sorry.”

Swish!

I fixed my eyes directly on her jade-colored gaze and spoke clearly.

“I’d like you to pay me now. The price for that one’s life.”

If you want peace, offer the proper price.

Right now.

Twitch!

The woman’s elegant brows furrowed.

But I didn’t back down.

She’d been talking in increments of a hundred years since earlier.

An empty promise with no guarantee is as good as nothing.

“I don’t like running tabs, personally.”

[T-Tab?!]

Hissssssssss!

The giant serpent raised its head and flicked its tongue.

But, you see.

After what I’d seen today, there was nothing left that could faze me.

“Since you went through all this trouble to settle things quietly…”

Nothing fazed me anymore.

“Doesn’t that mean you don’t want this to get any bigger? Am I wrong?”

[I’m not sure what you mean.]

The woman looked displeased.

Even her slightly raised eyebrow and the tip of her hand, as if she had no choice, still exuded elegance.

But.

“If this gets reported to the company, I think it would cause you a lot of trouble.”

Flinch!

After hearing my words, she could no longer remain so dignified.

[C-Center Director! No, please! I can’t go back to that hell! Please, just one more chance…!]

[There’s nothing I can do, even if you beg. This is the only way to end things quietly…]

She’d just revealed her own weakness. Wouldn’t I be an idiot not to use it?

[…You’re quite perceptive.]

“I just like to keep an eye on things, that’s all.”

[No, perhaps I simply underestimated you.]

I’d heard that a lot, so I answered calmly.

She slowly shook her head, then took a fan from her sleeve and tapped it against her chin.

[How to pay you back…]

She seemed quite troubled by my demand.

“There’s no need to agonize. An item, a skill—if not, information would be welcome, too.”

[Hmm? Information, you say?]

“What happens after this restructuring? What is the company’s real goal? Are you… even human? Anything’s fine.”

I had a mountain of questions, but it was difficult to find anyone who truly knew the answers.

The only ones who might’ve answered honestly were those bird twins, but they were just temp employees like me—no real help.

[If I told you that in advance, the Management Bureau kids would have a fit.]

“If I keep my mouth shut, that won’t be a problem.”

Apparently, even if she knew, she couldn’t tell me everything.

I tried pressing her, but she dodged the questions with flowery words.

[There’s nothing more boring than giving away spoilers, don’t you think?]

“I don’t need fun. Living and dying isn’t a game.”

A kind smile spread across her face.

Almost as if my lack of interest in fun itself amused her.

[You are someone who carves their own path.]

“A path, you say?”

[So there’s no need to be impatient. As long as you keep moving, the future will naturally reveal itself.]

Hmm.

My point was, I just wanted to be prepared for whatever future might come.

As I smacked my lips in disappointment, she continued.

[Instead, I’ll look for an item. There aren’t any treasures meant for someone who hasn’t even gone through the initiation, but…]

Tap, tap.

She flicked the fan in her right hand.

[Show me your hand?]

Her eyes curled slyly.

“Gladly.”

I held both palms out to the sky, and the woman’s fan brushed lightly over them.

A trail of smoke, like a contrail, swirled and vanished where the fan passed.

Flash—!

Suddenly, two hefty objects appeared, one in each hand.

[Choose one.]

In my left hand, a stiff, rough scroll.

In my right, a bead the size of my palm, cold and dripping with water.

“This is…”

Just as I was about to ask, a translucent message popped up over each object.

▣ Martial Arts Manual: Tendon-Splitting Bone-Misplacing

- A secret technique that splits flesh from bone to inflict pain upon enemies.
Once fully read, it disappears, granting the Tendon-Splitting Bone-Misplacing (Lv.1) skill.
- Stat Requirement: Intelligence 15+

A close-combat skill.

▣ Millennium Fire Carp’s Inner Core

- The core of a carp that has absorbed spiritual energy for a thousand years.
When consumed, all stats increase by 1.
- However, if not consumed immediately, the Millennium Fire Carp may track you down, seeking to reclaim its core.

An elixir that increases all stats by one.

‘Completely different in nature.’

Raising a skill might be better.

Stats can be increased with other rewards, but skills are hard to come by unless under special circumstances.

But if all stats go up by one, that’s a total of seven—or six, if resistance is excluded.

‘If it’s six… that’s an incredible reward.’

[Well, make your choice.]

Right.

If I can only choose one, then obviously…

“I’ve made my choice.”