You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

I touched my head.

Since I had created that Soul Core as part of my research into immortality, I thought that the True Light Church was also conducting research for immortality...

‘I got a bit ahead of myself, didn’t I?’

As a result, I’m being treated as a cult follower, below the so-called cult leader.

Of course, the title "Destroyer of Worlds" is one that was earned for having the potential to cause harm far beyond that of a mere cult leader, but...

Still, if I were to argue, there was a bit of an injustice in this.

“Making a Soul Core just to harness the power of the hunters’ souls within it sounds more malicious to me.”

It’s not theoretically impossible.

But I’ve never experimented on others, since my immortality was my own goal.

“To complete the Soul Core, the pain would have to be severe enough to cause death.”

That would make sense. While mana can naturally accumulate to some degree, transferring a soul into a Soul Core is a different matter.

The most efficient way to separate the soul from the body is through physical pain.

I had experimented on myself, inflicting pain to achieve it. But as Lee Ah-rin said, it sounds like the True Light Church is creating Soul Cores using hunters.

‘Ah, so that’s why they purposely put hunters in the "Water Balloon State."’

When I think about it, there are quite a few parts of the True Light Church’s actions that make sense now.

From what Lee Ah-rin said, it seems the True Light Church deliberately pressures high-potential hunters further.

Looking at Lee Ah-rin and Choi Mi-yeon, I can see that they are naturally talented hunters with unique skills.

The "Water Balloon State" occurs when a hunter uses their abilities beyond the limit of their body, causing physical collapse, and it seemed intentional to push immature hunters to their limits.

At the age of twenty, it's inevitable to be reckless, and having the potential of a high-ranked hunter would make it easy for any religious group to push them too far.

Of course, I too used excessive magic on an unfinished body... but in my case, my soul had already reached a high level from my previous life, and the work I did was within the range I could handle.

Had an ordinary hunter tried such a thing, their body would have failed to endure.

But if this was being promoted on a guild-wide scale for beginner hunters?

It wouldn't be surprising if large numbers of hunters in the "Water Balloon State" were being produced.

And those hunters, with their bodies incapable of containing the soul properly, would create an environment where it’s easier to form Soul Cores if they were given Quartz.

The body itself would leak the power of the soul, like a vessel with a broken lid.

Then, once they die, the Soul Core they possess could be easily collected.

It’s a clever plan.

But even so, there’s still a problem.

“No matter how good Quartz is at storing mana, its durability is low. It’d last at most a year... ah.”

Oh.

As I spoke, I realized something.

Could it be that the reason Imanbok, the cult leader, takes special leave every year on January 1st is...?

I glanced at Lee Ah-rin, and she nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes. Imanbok uses the holiday to collect new Soul Cores. And he shows off new miracles at the New Year’s event."

"Wow."

I couldn’t help but let out a gasp. This is so evil, even the devil would be shocked.

To think that my own research into immortality from my previous life was being exploited like this in another world. Even though I was once the Demon King, I never went as far as ruining the future of bright young talents and deliberately pushing them to their deaths just to extend my own life by a year.

Is Imanbok really ‘Humanity’s Enemy’?

I looked down at the bald statue in the central garden with a feeling of unease.

I suddenly felt like smashing that bald head—could it be because of the resentment from my past life?

‘I really could go and kill him.’

If a hunter in Korea had been recognized with an A-class potential, they would have had a bright future ahead.

"So, the fact that Imanbok is meeting with you this time means...?”

“Yes, he would’ve dragged me to his lab to kill me and recover my Soul Core.”

That makes sense.

Carrying the Soul Core just by itself wouldn't be enough to create one. Magical processing is also necessary, and most importantly, it requires giving pain close to death in order for the soul to separate from the body.

Or the person has to actually die.

“Then why on earth are you still here, Lee Ah-rin? Why not have asked Yoo Han-ul for help right away with this information...?”

“Such help is meaningless. What can Yoo Han-ul do?”

It’s hard to find anyone with as much influence among the hunters of Korea as Yoo Han-ul, yet it seems that wasn’t enough for Lee Ah-rin.

“Do you know the saying ‘money buys freedom, poverty leads to guilt’? Imanbok always visits the hospital frequently, citing old age as an excuse, even though he’s in prison. He stays in a VIP room for half of the year. Even if I report this to the media, they won’t publish it.”

“……”

“If Yoo Han-ul were to speak, the media might pay more attention. He could gather the victims and file a lawsuit. But hunters like me, who are useless, have been expelled from the True Light Church and have no means of livelihood, will suffer from poverty. Once public attention wanes, we will lose the case. Even if we win, receiving compensation will be another story.”

Lee Ah-rin recited this as if it were an automated process, as if she had repeated this thought thousands or tens of thousands of times.

“And even if we take revenge through social legal means, in the end, Imanbok will live a comfortable life and die peacefully.”

This was undeniable.

The law in human society rarely favors the weak, and especially in Korean society, ‘innocence’ has long been nothing more than a commodity that can be bought with capital.

"So, I have no choice but to take revenge on my own."

Click.

Lee Ah-rin loaded the last round into her gun.

I stared at her, watching the burning hatred and animosity in her eyes.

‘The flow of mana is completely out of control.’

Lee Ah-rin probably didn’t notice it, but to me, the swirling vortex of mana around her was very clear.@@novelbin@@

And that vortex of mana was being sucked into the Soul Core that Lee Ah-rin possessed.

Since her body was approaching its limits, the rate at which her Soul Core absorbed mana was incredibly fast. Because of that, Lee Ah-rin’s Soul Core was reaching its final stages.

The color of the Soul Core was crystal clear in my observational sight.

It was murky, but the intense hue of her soul was burning within the Quartz.

I had spent many long years researching what makes up a human soul.

Thus, I’ve carried one lingering question for a long time.

What makes up a human soul?

Magic is a miracle that reverses the natural order, created solely by human will. I had always wondered what the source of the power, which could even defy the absolute laws of this world, was. Now, I feel I might have the answer about what makes up the soul of Lee Ah-rin.

Hatred toward someone.

That is what defines Lee Ah-rin as a human.

“…Not bad.”

I was impressed.

Even though her body was at its limits, she was managing to hold on with nothing but hatred for the sake of revenge.

“Excuse me?”

I had planned to just extract some information and slip away, but now I’ve changed my mind.

I smiled, lifting the corners of my mouth.

“Alright. I’ll help you take revenge on Imanbok.”