Bloodline of a God (2)
wzealand was a world governed by certain gods.
Under their rule, laws were established, society was ford, and technology developed.
Though they placed the humans of that world beneath their feet, the gods were exceptionally benevolent toward them.
Since the gods appeared, humans were born with holy magic power.
Those who accepted the gods' blessings called it holy magic.
People gradually grew stronger by utilizing that holy magic, and as ti passed, those known as "heroes" or "great mages" began to erge.
The gods were delighted with the humans who embraced their wisdom.
'Though only when it was limited to humans, that is.'
Yet, there was sothing the gods wished to create through these people.
It was a being reborn as their equal.
Nothing in the world could injure the gods.
But in their world of beings like themselves, there were only eight.
The gods, therefore, were terribly bored.
Just in ti, there was holy magic power capable of maximizing human potential.
They wanted to use that to raise a human of such potential that they would beco a god like them.
'Of course, it didn't co so easily.'
The gods grew tired of waiting.
Even after countless ages passed, not a single such being was born.
Nurous heroes were born and fell over the years, but it changed nothing.
― What in the world is wrong?
― Where else could we find beings as devout and capable as humans?
― There's no way our judgnt was flawed.
Though the gods believed their insight was correct, the results never improved.
Thus, they decided to take matters into their own hands.
Normally, when a second generation is born, they inherit the power of the parents.
What they sought, therefore, was a surrogate mother to bear the child.
However, not just anyone could serve as the surrogate.
Ordinary won would die, unable to withstand the power of the gods.
'So a suitable candidate was needed.'
A being who could retain the divine power and still maintain her body—a so-called vessel of the gods.
The gods dispatched their angels to scour for won who could serve as vessels.
Every ti such a vessel was found, a festival was held in the human empire.
Thanks to the regularly held festivities and ceremonies, the search was quite easy.
'And the won chosen were ecstatic, thinking they'd been selected.'
The chosen won rejoiced and were escorted into the realm of the gods.
At first, they were welcod warmly and with good cheer.
But the mont the ritual to conceive a divine child began... the atmosphere turned.
As the ceremonies proceeded, the chosen won began to die, one after another.
'Even a divine vessel couldn't guarantee success.'
Of course, since there were goddesses among the gods, they gathered suitable n as vessels too.
They were also brought in graciously at first, but in the end t the sa result.
Naturally, since ordinary humans could not set foot in the realm of the gods, they never knew any of this.
But after countless repeated experints, not all the results were bad.
'The only child born successfully in all that ti... was .'
Jade.
A demigod who inherited the blood of the gods who protected wzealand.
The gods raised their glasses in celebration at his birth.
Jade inherited not only the blood of the gods but also their authority.
Though the woman who bore him barely survived and eventually collapsed, only the birth of the successful child mattered.
'Those days were truly peaceful.'
He could eat whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and play as much as he pleased.
Although his studies were tough, playing with toys was enough to lt the stress away.
Thanks to the authority he inherited, he took no harm from anything.
Thanks to that, whenever he descended to the human empire, he enjoyed absolute power.
'Those days were heaven.'
It was a golden era in Jade's life.
At least, until the Demon King appeared.
****
"Hey. How've you been?"
Hearing a voice from behind, Jade flinched.
He sensed an inexplicable chill from a boy who should be nothing more than an ordinary student.
"You are..."
Jade turned around and checked the boy's face.
Sothing about him seed familiar—it was a face he recalled seeing in a photo.
'Ma Seongjin, that student?'
Yes, the very sa boy they targeted in order to drive Sura to despair.
Even the na tag on the school uniform matched exactly.
Jade wondered why this guy was here.
This place was the headquarters of The World, a global organization.
It was not a place where a re student should stand so casually.
That's why anxiety kept flashing through Jade's mind.
"I'm asking, how have you been?"
At Seongjin's question, Jade shook.
He didn't know exactly what was going on, but one thing was certain.
That his reaction—trembling before a re kid—was certainly no coincidence.
"Have we ever t before?"
"We haven't t here, but you know what you were about to do to , right?"
"...."
Unable to refute those words, Jade bit his lip.
There were many things he'd done just because the boy was Sura's friend.
"Not only did you threaten my life, but you threatened my family and school, too. Don't you think I'd be mad?"
It was undeniably true.
It would be more surprising if the victim didn't want revenge.
Still, there were too many suspicious points for Jade to let it go.
"Why are you here?"
"Why else? I ca to see your face after a long ti."
"A long ti?"
–Didn't he just say we never t before?
"Oh, I just ant we've never t here. Here, I an."
"Here?"
"On Earth."
If they didn't et on Earth, does that an they t in another world?
The mont Jade reached that conclusion, his body froze.
"You... who are you, really...?"
"Who am I? Haaa~ I don't know how many tis I've had to hear that question already."
Seongjin sighed with weariness.
He could understand the reaction, but it was boring after hearing it so many tis.
"Maybe it'll make sense if I just show you this?"
"Huh?"
Without another word, Seongjin revealed his horns and wings.
The mont he saw this, Jade's face went rigid and his eyes trembled.
While the form only appeared to be that of a typical demonkin Mutamit,
the magic power radiating from Seongjin was anything but ordinary.
"You're...?"
Sothing about that aura was both familiar and chilling.
He had felt it once before.
It was when a being who was practically his father, a god, was slain by the Demon King.
No matter how much he tried, he could never forget that fear.
Naturally, the sense of magic he felt then never left his body.
And the bizarre magic he felt from Ma Seongjin now... was eerily the sa.
"I told you earlier, didn't I? I asked how you've been."
"D-D-Deeemon Kiiiiiing!! Hiiiiiik!!"
Jade suddenly had a seizure and collapsed under his chair.
As if he had encountered an unapproachable monster, he scread and staggered backwards.
He desperately wanted to flee, but his legs were shaking too much to move.
After scrabbling backward with his hands, Jade found himself cornered.
"Uaaaagh!!"
"Why scream and make such a fuss just because you know who I am? I'm not so Kune-Kune, you know?"
"H-h-h...stay away...!"
In a certain island country, there's an urban legend that seeing a white figure in rural villages will shatter your mind.
Jade had exactly that kind of look now, and Seongjin gave a bitter laugh.
It was amusing, but also incredibly dumbfounding.
It made sense for Jade to be terrified of him, but he hardly had the right to cry tears now.
"Co on, calm down and let's talk. It's not like a ghost popped up in front of your eyes."
"Don't be ridiculous! You're... scarier than any ghost!"
He wasn't wrong, but that wasn't the main issue.
"I was always curious about who led the Sura guild, but now that I know it's you, a few things make sense."
How did Sura guild beco China's strongest guild?
Just how strong was the Guildmaster, to be considered such a monster?
Those were the questions people commonly asked, and Seongjin had wondered the sa himself at least once.
"If I recall, your specialty was charm, right? The power you inherited from your father."
"...."
Jade was born between his father, an eight-foot-tall guardian deity, and his mother, an imperial resident.
His mother, a re human, had nothing to pass on, but what he inherited from his father was exceedingly useful.
"With that charming ability, it must've been easy to grow your followers, if slowly. And that led to the birth of the present Sura guild, right?"
Of course, it wouldn't have been accomplished using charm alone.
Charm could only plant the seeds of goodwill, and sothing was needed to nurture those seeds.
Ji Ryong-seong and Jin Rain, who were top executives, idolized the Guildmaster with fanatical devotion.
The reason was kindness—it was likely that, once combined with charm, the seeds of goodwill grew instantly.
"Of course, as your subordinates increased, so did threats to your life."
The Sura guild originated from the Heaven and Earth Society, a criminal organization.
A place where people only grew in ambition and t through cri, their hierarchy maintained through desire and violence.
Unless you were immortal, joining such an organization was a death sentence.
"But for you, with humans, you were essentially immortal—because you inherited divine authority."
Humans could never harm gods.
No weapon or tool could inflict wounds.
Not even attacks packed with magic power could inflict physical damage on the gods.
Jade had inherited this authority unchanged.
Any assassination attempt by guild mbers would have been a joke.
"After establishing the Sura guild, you sought out another vessel for the gods, didn't you?"
That vessel was none other than Kang Ah-rin, Sura.
He'd heard that by awakening the power of a certain Demon God, a suitable vessel could be possessed.
The title Sura, given to Kang Ah-rin, referred to the na of that Demon God, "Asura".
"So by summoning that Demon God or whatever, what exactly did you plan to do?"
"That's..."
"Were you perhaps preparing a counterasure out of fear that the Demon King would return?"
At those words, Jade's chest tightened.
He saw the face of the Demon King, grinning down at him.
It was practically the sa as being caught, and Jade nodded slowly.
"You're unexpectedly honest. I thought you'd struggle, claiming you didn't know anything."
"..."
"But what a sha. Turns out that the student nad Ma Seongjin is the Demon King."
Of course, Jade never saw that coming.
He never guessed that Ma Seongjin, Kang Ah-rin's childhood friend, was the Demon King.
"You haven't changed at all. Sacrificing residents for your own benefit—your mindset is no different than before."
After all, countless mothers were sacrificed for Jade's birth.
And Jade himself was no different on the inside.
"But if your father saw what you've beco, he'd be really angry."
"What?"
At Seongjin's words, Jade's eyes widened.
For the first ti, he mustered the courage to glare at the Demon King, hatred in his voice.
"You're the one who killed my father!"
"..."
"You—I will—!"
The grief of a child who lost a parent is bound to be great.
Seongjin understood that all too well.
But...
"Did you really love your father that much?"
"Of course I did!"
"Then why did you abandon him and run?"
With those words, Jade was caught off guard.
The flicker of resentnt he'd shown a mont earlier vanished as if it had never been.
Seongjin still rembered that day vividly.
When the Demon King's army invaded the gods' realm, Jade shoved his father toward the Demon King's forces and fled.
"T-that ti, that was..."
The Holy Church, which rivaled the Sura guild, was trying to resurrect the gods.
But after abandoning the gods and running away, Jade would naturally oppose their resurrection.
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seed... but what really made Seongjin angry wasn't that.
"Then again, with a personality like yours... I guess killing your own mother ca easy, too."
—And he did it without hesitation.
With Seongjin's sudden fury, even Vern, who'd been watching, tensed up.
His anger held a strangely personal touch.
As if he'd witnessed the whole event with his own eyes.
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