Chapter 60

“It might sound a little strange to you, but I’ve always wanted to become a woman . ”

The lich looked to be in a very good mood . And due to that he started uttering nonsense, and the lich’s nonsense sounded strange, just as he said . Not a little, a lot .

Bound by chains, Sungmin’s back was against a wall . The chains that bound his limbs were impossible to break no matter how much internal cultivation be brought out .

“To be exact, it’s not a woman… I wanted a body that could have a ‘child’ . Oh, of course, men can make children as well . But strictly speaking, that isn’t giving birth, but helping so that a child can be born . ”

Sungmin didn’t know what the difference was between the two, but he was not in a state where he could ask . Even if he wanted to speak, his lips would not move . This was that kind of magic .

“I’ve tried all sorts of magic, but the sex I was born with couldn’t be changed . The only beings that can change sexes are dragons, who are born genderless, and can use polymorph magic, and humans cannot use polymorph . Do you know why? It’s because of the law of cause and effect . ”

The law of cause and effect . Sungmin had heard those words several times, but had no grasp of what it meant . Amidst Sungmin’s forced silence, the lich kept moving .

“In the end, I lost hope at the limitations of magic . That’s why I became a lich . A curse that forces me to gain eternal life in compensation for my soul and body . But well, I was fine with it . There is no end to the path of magic, and I’ve walked that path for quite a long time, but I still couldn’t see the end of it . Treading on a path I do not know… it is a fearful yet such a joyous thing . Being passionate is good . It’s very joyful . ”

The lich laughed creepily . Sungmin did not know what happened to Xeon and the other S-rank mercenaries . They were thrown into another room, and the lich no longer cared about them . Only Sungmin came to this room with the lich .

“I’ve walked the path of magic for a long time, and my wishes as a human never came true . I lost my body after all . Even if I complete the magic to become a woman, I won’t be able to use it . Hahaha! What a contradiction . But it isn’t exactly like that . ”

After laughing for a long while, the lich looked at Sungmin . The blue eyefire beyond the pitch black darkness showed no signs of any emotions . Despite that, Sungmin could feel the madness behind his voice .

“I cannot give birth, but I do have a way to create a child . ”

Sungmin kept trying to move . His arms, his legs, and his lips . However, none of them listened to him . The magic binding was too strong . The lich was easily able to confront the SS-rank Xeon as well as Bern . He didn’t know of the lich’s name, but the overwhelming might that the lich showed was beyond any imagination .

“Chimerology is a very charming research topic . ”

The madness-infused voice contained an inexplicable warmth and kindness . Of course, that was just what Sungmin felt, and it was very clear that those emotions weren’t directed towards him .

“Creating another life with existing life… this satisfies the things I’ve desired since I was human . Even though it may not be giving birth from my body . It’s not much different . A life I created is a child I gave birth to . ”

The lich’s movement stopped . The magic formations that covered the ground looked very ominous even to Sungmin, who knew very little about them .

“The law of cause and effect cannot be disobeyed . A normal human will always be at fate’s will . Going against that flow means coming into contact with a fragment of transcendence . ”

The lich muttered that and turned around . Bound to the wall, Sungmin glared at the lich’s face . Kim Jonghyun’s warning circled around his head . He was right . Sungmin shouldn’t have come to this dungeon .

“Today’s a good day . And also… a very lucky one . The one I saw in the past, who had the same twisted karma as you, was a freak that I couldn’t do anything about… . ”

Sungmin’s body trembled violently at the lich’s words . Sungmin tried to move his lips in attempt to voice something out, but his lips did not move at all . Even voice transmission was blocked, and so his question only circled around his mouth .

“With your soul as the sacrifice, my dearest wishes will become close to completion . ”

Saying that, the lich raised both of his hands . The magic formation engraved on the ground emitted ominous light . The incantation that the lich was doing sounded as though it was not of this world, that is, Eria . Just listening to it made Sungmin feel dizzy and his vision blurred .

He wanted to scream out loud, but his sealed lips did not move at all .

The long incantation finished . The magic formation no longer emitted any light . Instead, a freezing cold air engulfed the room . His breath froze white . The cold air seeped into his bones and his body trembled like a leaf .

“That” was in a form that was invisible to the naked eyes . It looked as though darkness had clumped together, yet it also looked like white fog . When he thought that, “that” became a man, and then a woman . Depending on what Sungmin thought, it endlessly changed form, and Sungmin’s mind shook after seeing those endless changes .

Fear .

Sungmin felt fear . He wasn’t unfamiliar to fear . He had felt it several times . However, the fear he was feeling now was fundamentally different from the fear he had felt before . A mysterious something that he knew nothing about – looking at that inexplicable thing was eroding his mind with crazy fear .

“I offer this sacrifice . ”

Both of his hands raised, the lich slowly kneeled down . The lich, that showed extraordinary might, was not kneeling down and worshipping .

The being’s gaze headed to Sungmin . When the two gazes met, Sungmin felt as though his head had exploded . The pain he felt made him wish that his head had exploded instead .

“…What?”

A moment later, the lich let out a voice of surprise .

“W, wait . What do you mean by that? Something… no, that can’t be . That can’t be true, right? Jus why…?”

His head ached . His breath became rough . Each and every one of his cells froze in fear, and his heart beat slowly . Death . He felt… death looming over him . Just from that gaze, Sungmin imagined death .

“That’s… no way… . . ”

The lich muttered as though everything was in vain . The gaze of the being that was looking at Sungmin, was no more . Sungmin gasped a deep breath . Thump, thump – the heart that was beating slowly until it stopped started beating again . Sungmin’s body trembled .

“No… no . I shall offer another offering . Yes… so… . ”

The black mage struggled . He hurriedly rummaged around his sleeves and took out a large jewel . When the black mage put the jewel on the altar, the being’s gaze looked down at the jewel . The darkness, the fog, swallowed up the jewel .

Then, the being blurred out and disappeared . The magic formation drawn on the ground completely disappeared . The lich looked up at the air in vain, and collapsed down on his knees .

“The offering… was refused?”

The lich muttered in a powerless voice . After staring at empty space for a while, the lich suddenly stood up, he turned around to glare at Sungmin and his shoulders trembled .

“You… just what are you?”

That was what Sungmin wanted to ask instead . He didn’t understand what was happening .

“Even if your karma was twisted, you should have a value as an offering… no… . your value as an offering should rise due to your twisted karma . But why are you not accepted as an offering?”

The lich muttered in a very confused voice . He staggered towards Sungmin . The lich’s palm faced Sungmin . Sungmin, who was bound to the wall, slowly levitated towards the lich .

“Show me everything!”

The lich shouted . Blue eyefire glistened in the darkness . An invisible form of magic assaulted Sungmin’s mind . It was a magic that forcefully extracted memories . Although it was efficient, the side effect was that the target would literally become an idiot .

Perhaps it would feel like this if ants crawled on top of the brain . Sungmin’s body trembled violently . His eyes turned white . This was a sign of his memories being forcefully read, his mind being dominated, and his psyche collapsing .

That was how it was supposed to be .

“Kaaaaaak!”

The lich suddenly screamed . He trembled as though being struck by lightning before staggering backwards and falling down . Sungmin’s eyes still looked blank . The lich’s trembling hands tried to grab his non-existent head . This was a ‘head’ache that he had felt for the first time after becoming a lich .

“Ah… Uuuuuuh! Khhh!”

Collapsed onto the floor, the lich screamed . The lich’s psyche was shaken, and the magic that bound Sungmin’s body disappeared . Falling onto the ground, Sungmin’s body collapsed onto the floor powerlessly . After groaning for a long while, the lich swayed his hands and distanced himself from Sungmin . Half-crazy, the lich didn’t even think about what to do with Sungmin . He just wanted to run . The lich did not try to understand the emotions and impulse that he was feeling . He just fled, just as he had felt . The lich’s body disappeared from the chamber .

Not long after, the light in Sungmin’s eyes returned . The painful headache had disappeared . Sungmin staggered as he tried to stand up .

“…Wh… what the?”

Sungmin didn’t understand what had happened . The magic that bound his body was gone . The lich was nowhere to be seen . … Where did he go? Sungmin hurriedly looked around . The lich was not in this chamber . He combed through his memories . The lich extended his hand towards him… and then… . he couldn’t remember what happened afterwards . Perhaps he had felt a strong headache and fainted .

What happened while I fainted? – thought Sungmin . He was alone in the room . No, that wasn’t the important thing right now . Although he couldn’t exert much strength into his body, he took a deep breath and put his hands against the wall to support himself . In a corner of a room was the spear he received from selgerus . Sungmin took his spear and headed towards the closed door .

He didn’t know where the black mage was, but what was important right now was to escape this place .

***

T/N: That was rather anticlimactic… .

Next chapter teaser: Lich’s old enemy, and Xeon’s fate…?