Blood Demon of the Past Life – Chapter 209

Chapter 209: The Third Person （6）

Whoosh━

Memories flooded in.

Kang San’s face was stained with complexity.

What he experienced was the downfall of a person.

As a woman, she had met her lifelong partner and given birth to a beautiful daughter. In the face of a sudden disaster, she lost everything. She resisted until the very end, never giving up, but ultimately met her demise.

He felt suffocated.

Her life.

Could it be said that it was wrong?

In the first place, at the moment she lost her daughter, nine out of ten people wouldn’t have been able to refuse Azmoon’s offer.

Yet, Luca Bellino endured the disgust.

She took up the sword and fought against the monsters.

Although she unfortunately failed the trial, she lived a life worthy of respect.

The problem is, can good deeds cover up wrongdoings?

No.

The life she lived initially could certainly be called noble, but in the countless worlds she destroyed for her personal goals, she was undoubtedly a villain. This could never be called right. If things proceed according to Luca Bellino’s plan, the world Kang San currently lives in will be destroyed. If he were to tell the people who lost their families and homes that Luca Bellino wasn’t fundamentally bad, would they accept it?

It was nonsense.

Luca Bellino was still, without a doubt, an evil to humanity.

And she herself was aware of that fact.

“…So much time has passed that I can’t even remember Sophia’s face clearly anymore. What I experienced was the first disaster. Countless trials have been conducted since me, and I’ve experienced repeated failures. But each time I failed, the point in time I could return to was pushed back a little further. At first, it was the moment my husband died, but at some point, it became after my husband died, and it kept getting pushed back until I couldn’t even save Sophia. I lost my way, and I’m just repeating my duty like a machine. I just desperately hope that if I save the world someday, my family will come back to life. But.”

Looking at Kang San.

Luca Bellino thought.

“All this time, there’s been one thing, one regret that I couldn’t challenge no matter how far back in time I went. The moment I refused Azmoon’s offer. If humanity hadn’t been defeated, what kind of future would have awaited me?”

It was the reason for her change of heart.

The power that originated from Azmoon.

A person who could fully utilize it for the first time had appeared.

Facing Kang San’s unwavering will, she felt that perhaps she could resolve the questions she hadn’t been able to answer all this time.

“So don’t meet President Eric Roberts. And kill him by any means necessary. Even if you have to borrow the strength of someone else.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

It was a simple method.

Luca Bellino’s plan.

It was to cause internal strife among humans by pitting two giants, the US President and Kang San, against each other.

Her words meant to prevent that from happening in the first place.

He couldn’t leave Eric Roberts alive.

He was Peng Mujeong’s afterlife, and if left alone, he would grow like a cancer cell and eventually lead the world to ruin. Then he had to kill him without Seo Munho’s rampage. That was the only way to prevent internal conflict.

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

Aside from Peng Mujeong’s existence, assassinating the US President, with his background, was difficult even for Kang San.

Kang San said.

“I can’t follow that plan.”

“Why? Because assassination is difficult? Or because of a guilty conscience? If you react so complacently, like my world…”

“No.”

He interrupted her words.

His calmly settled eyes showed no sign of pity.

“Because I can’t trust you.”

“…What?”

Luca Bellino’s life.

He believed it.

It was a consistent story, and because she lived such a life, she might have revealed the truth to him in the end.

But even so, nothing would change.

“Even in the midst of confusing and intertwined situations, I’ve made judgments and acted based on what I’ve confirmed myself. Even if there’s some intention behind it. Rather than that, I’ve moved towards what I’m pursuing because of those decisions. You’re telling me to kill President Eric Roberts without even meeting him because your story is true? What if you’re lying? What if Eric Roberts isn’t actually Peng Mujeong’s afterlife? What if there’s some other variable I haven’t even considered? That’s entirely my responsibility to bear.”

The reward of the trial.

He had shared Eric Roberts’ perspective.

The emotions he felt then weren’t the malice of someone trying to destroy the world, but the sense of responsibility he carried as a leader.

The only part he didn’t understand.

That’s why he had to confirm it.

Whatever reason Luca Bellino had for making such a decision now wasn’t that important.

“This is my life. If I were to be swayed by a variable like you, I would have lived the same life as the ordinary people you mentioned in the first place. I’ve been unilaterally swayed by the name of ‘trial’ all this time. There was an element of coercion in my actions to save people, but not anymore. It’s my will, my decision.”

Their eyes met.

Luca Bellino’s eyes were shaking violently, unlike her usual self.

“If you truly want me to overcome this dreadful trial, let me go. I don’t have time to waste like this.”

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Whoosh━

He returned to his original world.

A lot had happened to Kang San, but the people in reality didn’t seem to notice at all.

“I will accept the meeting.”

“Understood.”

He made his decision.

In the end.

Eric Roberts was an unavoidable fate.

Of course, as Luca Bellino said, he might meet him and go berserk.

But Kang San didn’t want to turn a blind eye to the variable of losing control of himself by avoiding it.

It was like a time bomb.

If all his efforts from now on would crumble the moment he met Eric Roberts, he wanted to confirm that fact himself and move on. And he definitely needed the US President’s help. Even though the situation in Europe was improving, he couldn’t solve humanity’s problems with just the Kang San Religion’s buffs.

Kang San stepped onto the teleport magic circle.

He headed to the United States.

The White House.

He entered the sanctuary of the United States, called the White House.

“The President is waiting for you.”

The person in charge of guiding him was extremely courteous.

They were the ones who invited Kang San, and they knew how valuable he was.

His heart pounded.

There was no hesitation in his decision, but humans always looked back on their choices.

‘Did I really make the right decision?’

He didn’t know.

Nothing was certain.

Come to think of it, life was always a series of choices.

Kang San made choices every time, and failed every time.

There was a time when people pointed fingers at Kang San, calling him unlucky, and tried not to approach him for fear that his misfortune might be contagious. It was quite funny when he thought about it. His past life was both a misfortune and a fortune. He had lived an unfortunate life because of his past life, but because of his past life, he was able to reach his current position, where people praised him.

It wasn’t that he wanted to live up to expectations.

As always.

He was just struggling.

He was just living his life to the fullest.

In order not to regret his choices even if he failed, he had to see and judge everything for himself.

“Mr. Kang San has arrived.”

Creak.

The door opened.

The President’s office, which he had once seen through shared vision.

The moment it came into view.

“Mr. Kang San! I’ve been truly wanting to meet you!”

President Eric Roberts greeted Kang San with a bright face.

✦✦✦✦✦✦

The current situation.

Kang San had imagined it countless times.

What kind of person Eric Roberts was, and how he would act.

Most of them were worst-case scenarios.

Because of the prejudice that the other party was Peng Mujeong’s afterlife, he expected things to quickly escalate to extremes.

But.

“Actually, I’ve been watching Mr. Kang San’s actions since the Kitakyushu incident. That incident back then. It wasn’t an easy choice, was it? Even if many people are in danger, even if you have the ability to save them. It’s a remarkable thing for a foreigner to save the people of another country. It’s the same this time. Seeing Mr. Kang San helping the European Union, I truly thought that you are a hero of humanity.”

It was completely different from his expectations.

A friendly face and a warm tone of voice.

And in his attitude of praising Kang San, sincerity oozed out.

Kang San responded coldly.

“Please get to the point.”

“Haha, was I being too dramatic? To put it bluntly, the United States needs your help, Mr. Kang San.”

Despite Kang San’s reaction.

Eric Roberts didn’t mind.

He clearly recognized that he was in a position to ask for help.

“As you know, the current situation in the United States is not good. In the vast land of the United States, there are over a thousand large and small Links. No other country is in a similar situation to the United States, and therefore, even with the US military power, we are unable to handle it. At first, we tried to solve it with our own strength, but I just received a report that San Diego has fallen. There were three S-rank Hunters guarding the place, and they all died.”

It was three in words.

But the forces, excluding S-rank, were more than that.

President Eric Roberts tried his best to save everyone, and sending three S-rank Hunters to San Diego, even though an S-rank Link had occurred, was a bold decision. Therefore, he believed that the problem could be solved. If it was a place beyond their reach, it would be understandable, but he judged the situation in San Diego optimistically.

And.

He faced the worst-case scenario, annihilation.

A demon named Baal, who appeared in San Diego, killed all three S-rank Hunters, causing a state of emergency.

A monster of S-rank or higher.

The United States was in chaos.

Eric Roberts formed a special force and sent troops to San Diego to defeat Baal, but the problem was that the imbalance of power arose in an already difficult situation. Problems erupted everywhere. As signals of despair that couldn’t be handled rang out across the country, he had no choice but to make a decision.

“As a person before the President of the United States, I ask you. Please help us. The United States needs your help, Mr. Kang San.”

He abandoned his pride.

He bowed his head and pleaded with a heartfelt voice.

This situation.

Kang San felt confused.

Although a person’s true intentions cannot be judged by outward appearances or voices, at least President Eric Roberts, who was in front of Kang San, didn’t seem to be lying. Moreover, Kang San had the experience of sharing vision. In his voice and emotions, which told him to protect the United States at all costs, the same sincerity as now could be seen.

‘Did Luca Bellino lie?’

No.

There was a contradiction in this premise from the beginning.

The fact that he shared emotions with Eric Roberts.

It wasn’t something he accepted by chance, but because he shared vision with the person closest to the destruction of the world.

If he believed the emotions of that time.

He had to accept the premise as well.

President Eric Roberts.

Not Troy Baker of the Revolution, not the Sun Priest, and not himself.

This person in front of him was the culprit who was pushing the world Kang San lived in into the abyss of destruction.

He didn’t believe it.

Just as he didn’t fully accept Luca Bellino’s words.

He needed to confirm Eric Roberts as well.

“I have a question before that.”

“Ask me anything. I will answer truthfully.”

Why?

A question popped into Kang San’s head.

“President Eric Roberts. No, are you unrelated to Peng Mujeong?”

It was a straightforward question.

He wanted to see the other person’s reaction.

Whether he was related or not.

He would react in some way.

But.

“…”

Eric Roberts’ face was stained with more bewilderment than expected.

That he was definitely not unrelated.

He proved it with his expression.

After much contemplation, he, who couldn’t readily answer, finally spoke.

“This moment has finally come.”

He wiped his face.

Then he got up from his seat.

He walked to his desk, opened the safe, took out a thick notebook, and placed it in front of him.

Thud.

“If I want to receive your help, Mr. Kang San, I should be honest as well. From now on, I will show you something I haven’t revealed to anyone.”

Slide.

He handed over the notebook.

“I will show you my secret.”