Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 196

Chapter 196: A New Phase （4）

“……Did you just say Azmoon?”

Kang San’s voice hardened.

That name, of all names, should never have come up.

『Did you already know?』

The question brought him back to his senses.

Kang San had received trials from Azmoon, so he couldn’t help but know the name, separate from the Sun God Church. But Roman Bednar was different. He had only first encountered Azmoon’s name in connection with the Sun God Church, and he never imagined that Kang San might have a special relationship with Azmoon.

Now was not the time to tell the truth.

Kang San quickly made an excuse.

“No. I’m just surprised.”

『Actually, what I’m about to tell you is inappropriate to discuss over the phone, but our situation is so dire that I’m telling you this way. You know that the Sun God Church’s goal is life after the Rapture, right?』

“Yes.”

『That Rapture, it means giving up on this life and seeking the afterlife. The Sun God Church has built a system so that when they give the signal, all those believers will commit suicide at the same time. Then what is the intention of this being called Azmoon? What does it gain by pushing so many people to the brink? After investigating, the circumstances and my past life have given me the answer. It’s a kind of mission.』

He was speechless.

A mission?

It was a bewildering word.

At the same time, chills ran down his spine.

The trials he was undergoing were, in effect, a kind of mission.

『Congenitally Awakened like me, and Third Awakened. You know that some of them have ‘past lives,’ right? But where do these past lives come from? The distant past in the current timeline? Or the future? No. Like the theory of parallel universes, among the countless dimensions that exist, a life from one of them takes root in us in the present. And the commonality of these worlds is that they are worlds already destroyed by disasters, and to the survivors of those worlds, this heinous god, Azmoon, proposes one thing. If they cooperate in destroying another world, he will give their own world another chance to be tested.』

“What…….”

『You must be confused. If my past self hadn’t passed on fragments of memory, I wouldn’t have known this truth either. The Rapture of the Sun God Church is a truly cruel method. They want to make countless people kill themselves to contribute to the destruction of this world. And as you might have guessed, the Sun Priest, remembering his past life, established the Sun God Church with a clear purpose from the beginning. The Revolution is the same. Their leader remembers his past life, so he has no attachment to a world that will be destroyed anyway, and he is causing riots and harming people. And now that large-scale Links are occurring, they have finally revealed their ambitions.』

The truth washed over him.

None of it was easy to accept.

『Kang San-nim. Europe is in danger because of the Revolution’s riots. The Sun God Church, the Revolution, they are all villains who are trying to destroy this world to revive their own worlds, and I have been preparing for such a future by crafting scrolls and stockpiling vast amounts of funds and materials. I will give you all of it. Please, help Europe. No, save humanity.』

“Why? If two people who remember their past lives are trying to destroy the world, couldn’t I be the same?”

『No, you’re not.』

Over the phone,

Roman Bednar’s firm voice could be heard.

『Kang San-nim is different. Unlike them, you saved Korea in this chaotic world. What I know is only a partial truth, and I’m sure there’s something else about Kang San-nim.』

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Click.

He hung up the phone.

After saying that he would think about it, Kang San looked at the phone screen with a confused face.

“……He wants me to believe this?”

If Roman Bednar was right,

Azmoon was an evil god.

He tested a world, and if it failed the test, he destroyed it.

The survivors left in the ruined world cooperated with Azmoon’s proposal to destroy other worlds. The people who remembered their ‘past lives’ took on this important role. The Sun Priest founded the Sun God Church and created the self-destruct device called the Rapture, and the Revolution had already killed countless people.

In this series of events,

Roman Bednar’s past self, worried about the future of another world, left some fragments of memory for his future self. To prepare for destruction by crafting scrolls. So that he wouldn’t suffer the same fate as his world.

That was Roman Bednar’s story.

The problem was that it was unbelievable.

If Azmoon was truly an evil god, how could he explain his own existence, dedicated to helping people?

‘The hardships and trials given to me were clearly acts of helping people. Even if I had to sacrifice myself, they gave me the strength to contribute to saving this world. If the people who remember their past lives are the ones who will destroy this world, then what am I?’

He was confused.

It felt like his common sense was crumbling.

He couldn’t accept it.

It wouldn’t be accepted.

If Azmoon’s intention was to test this world, then his intention to scatter evil beings was too cruel.

Perhaps there was room for a different interpretation.

The Sun Priest, the Revolution.

If they were the elements that would destroy the world, perhaps he had been chosen as their countermeasure.

And the other mysterious person.

That’s when it happened.

“Shall I tell you the truth?”

It was Luca Bellino.

With her calm, deep gaze, Kang San didn’t look surprised by her sudden appearance.

He needed it.

Right now, he desperately wanted someone to tell him the truth.

“What the h*ll is going on in this world?”

“I’ll tell you.”

Why?

Kang San read sadness in her eyes.

“To be precise, I’ll show you. The life I’ve lived.”

Swoosh.

His vision distorted.

And a new world unfolded.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Well,

It was under a slightly clearer sky than the first memory of Luca Bellino he had experienced.

Monsters swarmed in.

She held a greatsword and charged, slicing off the head of the monster at the front.

Thwack.

Crack━!

That was the beginning.

Soaked in blood spurting from all directions, she swung her sword like crazy.

She unleashed superhuman strength from her explosively bulging tendons, and when a giant monster over 5 meters tall slammed its palm down, she sliced it from the wrist to the head in an instant. Luca Bellino’s appearance was a mess, as if she had been fighting for an unknown amount of time. Her hair was completely tangled with blood, and a sweet smell emanated from her mouth.

A living h*ll.

Luca Bellino was the only human there.

One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, and then ten thousand monsters.

Corpses piled up.

Luca Bellino fought and fought desperately, to the point where the blood flowed and formed a sea.

And then finally.

Crack.

A monster bit her shoulder.

As she sliced off the monster’s head, this time her leg was bitten.

They attacked from all directions.

Surrounded by monsters, Luca Bellino was no longer visible.

That was the last memory.

Even within that, she resisted by biting the monsters along with them, and at some point, she fell into a world of darkness.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Swoosh.

His vision distorted again.

This time the sky was clear.

Buildings, though in ruins, were still in relatively good shape, and unlike before, Luca Bellino wasn’t fighting alone.

“Attack!”

“Kill them all!”

A group of people.

They fought against the monsters.

At their forefront was Luca Bellino, clad in dazzling armor.

“I’ll open the way━!”

Whirl.

Boom━!

A powerful explosion erupted.

Monsters were swept away by her strike, and she dug into the space teeming with monsters.

“Wild Dance.”

Pak!

Papapapapapapak!

She slaughtered the enemies.

Slashing, slashing, and slashing again, she massacred the enemies indiscriminately.

People followed behind her.

Luca Bellino was their hope, and they knew that if this last bastion fell, it would truly be the end. One human died to kill ten monsters, ten humans died to kill a hundred monsters. Humans certainly showed boundless potential, but the endless swarm of monsters eventually overwhelmed them in numbers.

“Lu, Luca Bellino-nim━!”

“This won’t do!”

Someone’s voice.

At the desperate scream, Luca Bellino turned her head sharply and said fiercely.

“Don’t give up━!”

Behind the barrier.

There were people.

There were old people, and there were children.

They couldn’t even run away.

The adults might have a chance to try again, but they knew they couldn’t take care of all the elderly and the weak.

“I.”

Roar━!

It was a giant monster.

The Minotaur King.

An S-rank monster was seen charging, shaking the ground.

“I’d rather die here with everyone.”

Thud.

Rumble!

She kicked the ground.

Fierce flames erupted from her sword, and it clashed with the Minotaur King’s giant club.

Boom━

Kaboom!

The heavens and the earth shook.

She overwhelmed the Minotaur King with her terrifyingly swelling presence, and even though one of her arms was crushed and a chunk of flesh was ripped from her side, she eventually brought down the monster.

Thud.

Rumble.

She won.

She had finally defeated the monster.

But that was all.

『Humans. Die.』

Flap━

Giant membranous wings.

At the sight of the Black Dragon soaring through the sky, Luca Bellino’s face fell into despair.

That was.

『Poison Breath.』

Crackle!

That was Luca Bellino’s last memory.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Swoosh.

The world changed.

This time, it was completely different from the previous patterns.

The warm sunlight illuminated the world.

The buildings were intact, and among the bustling people, various people could be seen, such as a mother walking her dog and pushing a stroller. Cars filled the roads. Someone honked their horn in frustration at the traffic jam, but most people didn’t pay much attention to the everyday noise.

Among them,

“Sophia. Is it delicious?”

“Yes, it’s delicious!”

A woman was walking, holding the hand of her toddling daughter.

The child was about 6 or 7 years old?

She held the woman’s hand tightly with her left hand, and with the other, she was diligently licking a soft-serve ice cream.

The ice cream melted quickly in the sun.

The woman squatted down and took out a handkerchief, oblivious to the dripping ice cream.

“You’re incorrigible, really.”

“Hee━.”

She wiped her daughter’s mouth and clothes.

The woman smiled brightly.

They were happy days.

When she was first born, the child cried every day and gave her a hard time, and she and her husband had agreed that they would never have a second child because of the tiring childcare. But recently, her thoughts had changed. Seeing Sophia grow up beautifully, she had been visiting the OB/GYN and taking care of her body, thinking about having a second child. They say a child is a jewel you wouldn’t even put in your eye, and it was true. When she looked at Sophia, she felt that the life she had been given was truly a blessing.

“Let’s go, Daddy’s waiting.”

“Daddy━!”

Just then, her father could be seen in the distance.

“Luca! Sophia!”

He was a sturdy man.

He was a lawyer by profession, a responsible man who had proposed to his pregnant wife with a ring.

Recently, he had been going to a boxing gym, thinking that just sitting in a chair would make him a weak head of the household. He was a cool guy.

The woman,

Luca Bellino smiled brightly.

As she was about to approach Sophia’s father, her husband,

Boom━!

Crack.

Something fell from the sky, and her husband was instantly turned into mush.

Luca Bellino froze on the spot.

It was surreal.

Suddenly, screams could be heard from all around, and Sophia’s cries filled her ears.

Crunch, crunch.

The identity of the something.

It was a monster, like something out of a movie.

The monster devoured her husband’s corpse greedily, then looked at Luca Bellino, blood dripping from its mouth.

Growl.

Tap━

It kicked the ground.

Abandoning the dead body, it wanted fresh, new prey.

Luca Bellino hurriedly hugged her daughter.

Just when she thought this was the end,

『Latent ability awakened.』

Awakening.

It was the moment when the life of an ordinary woman turned a new page.