Ubermensch – Chapter 144

Chapter 144

Seo Yeonhee asked with a calm expression.

“Why did you summon me here?”

“There was a slight misunderstanding. I thought you were creations of my friend… but he said you weren’t.”

The Red Girl, holding a broken greatsword, spoke quietly.

“I only intervened slightly in their civilization. I did not create them. These are self-sustaining humans. I was merely concerned that they would face destruction too quickly, so I lent them a bit of wisdom.”

“…So he said.”

The Destroyer let out a scornful laugh.

An expression that Mason would never make.

“Therefore, you have the right to a trial.”

“What kind of trial?”

“Have you ever killed anyone?”

Seo Yeonhee quietly nodded.

“Many times.”

“Has your civilization ever committed slaughter for reasons other than survival?”

“Many times.”

“Then you… have no right to live.”

The Destroyer’s trial was simple yet unjust.

It was truly a judgment filled with the malice of a god driven mad.

“Then why don’t you kill me?”

“Because I have a question.”

The Destroyer asked with an intrigued expression.

“Who was the one who controlled the Soldier variant? Who possesses control skills comparable to mine?”

“That’s…”

At that moment, Seo Yeonhee spun around and launched an attack. A perfect surprise attack, drawing her Blood Sword and unleashing a sword wave simultaneously.

Slash!

The Destroyer’s head was cleanly severed.

‘Did I get him?’

However, seeing the Red Girl’s bitter expression, she realized.

‘I failed?’

She had clearly cut his neck. But did it not work?

Crash!

Seo Yeonhee unleashed the Heavenly Demon Divine Palm, shattering the Destroyer’s body along with the throne, which was still spewing blood.

“Foolish.”

The Destroyer’s voice came from behind her.

Clank!

Her entire body was seized by an unknown force. Unable to move a finger or a toe, her body was gradually transforming into a metallic statue.

“Did you think you could kill me by cutting my flesh? In this space filled with nanomachines?”

The Destroyer walked back and sat on the throne, which had already been reconstructed.

“This is why I can’t communicate with those from primitive civilizations.”

As he glanced at his severed head, it evaporated and disappeared.

“If you don’t intend to talk, then forget it. Whoever the pilot was, they would have been on that planet anyway…”

Rumble!

The ground beneath her feet trembled slightly, and she saw the planet beyond the window bursting apart.

“…And they’re dead now.”

Seo Yeonhee realized that a world had just been destroyed.

She realized that almost all sensation in her body had vanished, and all she could do was utter a single sentence.

“Do you want to know who the pilot was?”

As the representative of a world, the leader of a civilization, the master of a sect, and the lover of one man, Seo Yeonhee calmly said,

“One day, you will find out. At the moment he defeats you…”

Simultaneously, Seo Yeonhee’s form transformed into a metallic statue. A beautiful metallic statue with a resolute gaze.

The Destroyer chuckled and said,

“Even your last words lack originality…”

He snapped his fingers.

“Laughing God, move this specimen to Seo Yeonhee’s exhibition hall.”

The metallic statue of Heavenly Demon Seo Yeonhee was teleported.

And there… stood thousands upon thousands of metallic statues with different attire and expressions.

Metallic statues of people who were once called Seo Yeonhee when they were alive.

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Thump.

The place where Mason collapsed was a floor with a familiar texture.

It wasn’t the feel of hard ground or soil, but the feel of crushing flesh.

It was on top of Nodens’ body.

“…”

Mason reached out towards the empty air.

As if he could reach out and grasp Seo Yeonhee’s hand beyond dimensions.

But his hand only swiped through the air.

Mason’s hand trembled, then clenched into a fist.

“Why…”

Mason sobbed.

He sobbed, pounding the ground with his fist.

“Why did you save me? Why only me?”

Nodens looked down at Mason.

“You are a valuable agent. It would be a shame to let you die meaninglessly.”

“Then… why couldn’t you save Seo Yeonhee too?”

“A part of me was inside your body. She didn’t have that.”

Nodens said in a calm voice.

“As I said, I have my limits. Bringing her here was impossible.”

“Then you should have just left me too!”

Exploding with rage, Mason grabbed Nodens by the collar. Nodens’ thin body was lifted by the Barbarian’s arm.

Seeing this, the Nightgaunts tried to rush at Mason, but Nodens, held in Mason’s grasp, waved a hand to stop them.

“Leave him be. Oztalon needs time to sort out his emotions.”

Mason glared at Nodens, his teeth clenched. His eyes were bloodshot, and his tendons were bulging.

He looked as if he would break Nodens’ neck at any moment.

“Seo Yeonhee… Seo Yeonhee didn’t deserve to die like that!”

“Then why didn’t you have her escape through the dimensional gate?”

“She was too noble for that!”

“Then wouldn’t it be better for your mental health to respect her wishes?”

Mason was speechless. It was a rational statement. A reasonable statement, but… instead of cooling down the emotions boiling inside him, it only added fuel to the fire.

“You only knew her for a day and a half, but it seems you formed a deeper relationship than I thought.”

Nodens said with an indifferent expression.

“It’s hard for me to understand, but… in any case, I respect your internal conflict.”

“Internal conflict?”

He felt as if he had been insulted. The death of Seo Yeonhee and her world, the helplessness and sense of loss from failing to save it, could it all be expressed with just that one word?

Mason glared at Nodens in fury.

“Can all this tragedy, loss, and pain be summarized with the word ‘conflict’?”

“I thought it was an accurate expression.”

At that moment, something exploded within Mason.

Crack!

Nodens’ thin neck broke so easily. So easily that Mason himself was surprised.

Thud!

Nodens, who fell to the ground, was already a corpse with a broken neck.

“…!”

Mason looked down at Nodens’ corpse with a bewildered expression.

“Nodens…?”

At that moment, someone walked out from behind Mason.

It was Nodens.

As Nodens looked at his own corpse, it was sucked into the ground.

“Control your emotions, Oztalon. You shouldn’t make a habit of hurting others when your emotions run high.”

“…”

“If you need to sort things out, I can lend you a few avatars. Would you like to vent your anger?”

For a moment, he had forgotten.

Nodens was a giant lifeform the size of a galaxy, and what he faced was only a part of it, a mere terminal.

Even if he crushed Nodens’ avatar a hundred times, it would only be a scratch on a single hair compared to his main body.

Mason felt a sense of relief and helplessness at the same time.

‘I’m just a mortal caught in a fight between gods.’

Just as destroying one of the Destroyer’s Soldiers wouldn’t even scratch his army, he couldn’t inflict any harm on Nodens.

Helplessness took hold of Mason.

As if to comfort Mason, Nodens placed a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s my fault. I apologize. I didn’t anticipate that you would become so invested in those who were perishing. From now on, I’ll assign missions taking your mental health into consideration, so please forgive me.”

Nodens was apologizing.

He was a good god. But… Nodens’ goodness bordered on madness.

He didn’t understand the emotions of mortals, and in that respect, he was no different from the Destroyer who stood at his opposite.

What was the point of getting angry at someone who couldn’t understand mortals because he was too vast?

It was no different from harboring hatred towards the sea and roaring at the mountains.

Mason, feeling drained, slumped down where he stood.

“Just… leave me alone. Leave me be.”

Nodens nodded.

“Call me when you’ve sorted out your feelings.”

Nodens was sucked back into the earth.

Sobbing, Mason looked up at the sky.

“Seo Yeonhee…”

He would never forget the sky he saw with her.

No other sky, no other sunset, could compare to the brilliance of that moment he shared with her.

“I’m sorry…”

Mason sobbed.

He lamented the fact that he had appeared as a savior but couldn’t do anything for her. He felt miserable that all he could offer were tears, and so Mason whimpered.

“I’m sorry…”

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How much time had passed?

Ten minutes? An hour? Or a day?

Mason, who had been sitting blankly, exhausted from sobbing, came to his senses thanks to someone’s call.

“Oztalon.”

Oztalon. The Guardian Deity who protects those who yearn.

It was Mason’s new name.

Mason unconsciously lifted his head and spotted a familiar face.

“Mr. President…”

“I came after hearing the news of your return.”

The President said with a calm expression.

“I was worried it might be a wasted trip, but it seems I was right to come.”

“…”

The President extended a hand to Mason.

“Get up. There’s something I want to show you.”

“What is it?”

“Something you must see.”

Mason got up from his spot, not because he was responding to the President’s words, but because there was no reason to refuse.

He was powerless and frustrated.

Even if a gentle breeze, not the President, had pushed him, he would have drifted along.

In any case, Mason followed behind the President.

“Look.”

Climbing a small hill, the President looked down at the area below.

“At the things you’ve forgotten.”

And at that moment, Mason’s eyes widened.

“…People.”

People. There were people.

They were lined up in front of the divine statue, receiving construction materials and food through prayer. Houses were being built under the guidance of strong men, and mothers were feeding their children.

It was crowded and chaotic, and there was nothing refined about it.

However, there were people.

Slowly but surely. Gradually but steadily. Their world was being rebuilt.

“You couldn’t save half the world. That may be true. But if that fact torments you, come and face it whenever you wish.”

Mason felt his vision blurring.

“Face the half of our world that you saved.”

It was a sight that filled his chest, not with regret or sadness, but with overwhelming emotion.

People. There were people.

People who had escaped the Destroyer’s grasp.

People who, despite losing everything, were starting anew.

Seo Yeonhee wasn’t among them.

But Mason had definitely saved people.

If the fact that he couldn’t save Seo Yeonhee had torn his heart to shreds, their existence was like soil and rainwater, filling the cracks in his broken heart.

“If you’re going to hate someone, hate the Destroyer instead of your own powerlessness.”

The President clenched his fist.

He nudged Mason’s chest with that fist and said,

“At least, that’s what we intend to do.”

That fist was heavy.

Damn heavy, making Mason stagger.

That was right.

The Destroyer wasn’t a natural phenomenon or karmic retribution.

He was a person.

It wasn’t that Mason had failed to protect the 21st century, Seo Yeonhee.

It was the Destroyer who had killed the 21st century, Seo Yeonhee.

Mason clenched his fist.

“Mr. President, I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

“There’s a martial art I want to learn.”

Mason closed his eyes and placed a hand over his heart.

Although his wound had long since healed, the imprint of Seo Yeonhee’s palm still remained on his chest.

Mason placed his own palm over it.

“A martial art that would let me land a blow on the Destroyer!”