You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

The unique, inaudible voice of the whale echoed across the entire desert.

It was the very voice of the desert's ruler.

"Grrr...!"

The sand flew up as the whale leapt into the air, making Leo, who was irritated by the sand, growl in displeasure.

- Feeling annoyed! Sand on my feet!

"Oh dear."

Though there are leopards in the desert, that did not apply to Leo. His feet sank deeply into the sand with no way to escape.

I picked up Leo and watched as Choi Mi-yeon, leading the desert whale, charged toward the oasis. I spoke to her.

"You're awake?"

"...I think I can barely call myself alive. Cough!"

Lee Ah-rin, who had been laid down with extra clothes beneath her, coughed.

It was a cough mixed with blood.

Lee Ah-rin looked around for a while before asking me.

"How... am I still alive?"

"You just barely missed a fatal spot."

Maybe it was a stroke of luck that she survived a little longer, but to me, it felt more like misfortune.

No, come to think of it, it might have been my existence that was the misfortune, as I was the one who provided first aid.

Lee Ah-rin forced a bitter smile.

"I had no choice. To destroy my own Soul Core, that was the only way..."

That’s probably true.

Once Lee Ah-rin decided not to kill Choi Mi-yeon, that had to be the only option left for her.

"But what is this..."

Lee Ah-rin slowly lifted her head to look at the scene before her.

The desert whale, the ruler of the desert, was destroying everything in its path.

The massive whale, struggling, was wrecking the small oasis with every movement of its enormous body.

"Doesn’t it feel satisfying?"

Crash!

The trees snapped, and water splashed. Birds that had been hiding in the oasis were startled and flew up all at once.

"Imanbok is over there."

I had thought that the whale would just swallow Imanbok in one go, but watching the whale still rampaging, it seemed like Mi-yeon had no intention of killing Imanbok right away.

She must have a deep grudge.

"What? Really?"

Lee Ah-rin, who was about to rise with excitement, suddenly froze.

"What’s that?! Why is he over there?"

Lee Ah-rin was understandably shocked.

The one riding on the back of the desert whale that was wreaking havoc on the oasis was none other than Choi Mi-yeon.

"Did she tame the monster? How could Mi-yeon... Even if she’s got Animal Affinity, she didn’t have the strength to tame an A-rank monster!"

"That’s right. She couldn’t do it with just her own strength."

It was true.

No matter how strong Choi Mi-yeon’s Animal Affinity skill was, she hadn’t even learned how to properly control her power yet, so taming an A-rank monster was impossible.

But there was me.

A unique skill was just a force that spilled out uncontrollably if it wasn’t controlled, wasn’t it?

So, all I had to do was subtly guide Mi-yeon’s overflowing power, which was leaking from her broken body, toward the desert whale.

I didn’t even need to exhaust my own mana.

‘It was luck, but still.’

The desert whale, being a monster, was relatively docile. It was an intelligent creature, capable of empathizing with the sadness of other beings, so it was only natural that the whale was affected by Mi-yeon’s emotions.

That was likely why, despite the A-rank monster, the dungeon was rated as B-rank.

What was more remarkable, though, was Mi-yeon herself.

‘In any case, this was possible because of Mi-yeon’s high potential.’

If Leo had even rubbed against Mi-yeon’s feet, then maybe if she had really delved into monster-taming psychic magic, she could have become a true master of it.

Of course, now it was all irrelevant.

Lee Ah-rin gritted her teeth.

"If Mi-yeon is doing this, with her body breaking down..."

"She wanted this."

Mi-yeon wanted revenge on this cult, which had swallowed up her family and her life, and on that old man Imanbok.

So, when the right opportunity presented itself, I just helped her make that choice.

"Just like you did."

And, thinking back, Lee Ah-rin’s words were somewhat amusing.

She had decided to sacrifice her life for revenge but was now feeling bad about Mi-yeon’s life.

Lee Ah-rin laughed bitterly after hearing what I said.

"Jeong Da-on... you really are like a demon."

"I hear that a lot."

Crash! Crash! Boom!

Meanwhile, as I was having a small conversation with Lee Ah-rin, the desert whale, still under Mi-yeon’s control, was rampaging through the area.

At this rate, Imanbok would probably be shredded to pieces.

Lee Ah-rin stayed silent for a while, then exhaled and said this.

"For a last view of life, this is pretty brutal."

It seemed like she could feel her death.

And that was the truth.

No matter how much first aid I performed, Lee Ah-rin had already exhausted too much of her power during her attack on Imanbok. Furthermore, by stabbing herself, she had caused an irreversible crack in her body.

In return, she had caused this Dungeon Break.

Even I couldn’t fix this injury.

Lee Ah-rin’s body was soon going to meet death.

Perhaps because of that, I asked her a question without thinking.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What’s there to ask a dying person?"

"Why didn’t you kill Mi-yeon?"

I was curious.

Was it because of the sense of camaraderie, as she was in the same situation as Mi-yeon, or because of the guilt from killing Mi-yeon’s father?

Lee Ah-rin met my curious gaze with a proud look.

"…I thought I had to be a better person than Imanbok. If I sacrifice Mi-yeon for my own desires, what’s the difference between him and me?"

"...Hah."

That’s the way it was.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

Imanbok, someone like him, had never once had such thoughts in his life. I’d bet my soul on it.

Perhaps it was the sense of camaraderie or guilt.

‘Self-censorship like that is what keeps the weak from ever becoming strong.’

Such self-censorship prevents the weak from ever becoming strong.

Nobility and purity are completely useless in living life.

Once born into life, the law of this world is to devour one another.

The strong always seek to prey on the weak, so why do those who have lived their lives as weaklings seek to cling to useless morals?

The life I lost can never be compensated, and if I hadn’t been there, they might not have even seen the completion of their revenge.

People like that... really.

• The system warns the user, Jeong Da-on:

• The quest "Do Good Deeds and Be Blessed" is progressing.

"…………"

Ah, right.

What meaning is there in facing this long-standing disillusionment now?

At least, I hadn’t had to see Mi-yeon and Lee Ah-rin embrace each other and die together, so I could take comfort in avoiding the melodrama.

No matter how much I was a former Demon King, not everything in this world goes the way I want it.

I sighed and stood up. There was no need to hear any more.

Lee Ah-rin, seeing me get up, hesitated and asked.

"…Can I ask you something too?"

"What is it?"

"Jeong Da-on... no, what exactly are you?"

Her eyes, looking up at me, were full of suspicion.

Lee Ah-rin had plenty of reasons to doubt me.

From the knowledge I had, which no freshly awakened hunter could possibly know, to the immense power I wielded.

"Are you really... a demon?"

"Yes, I am."

And, there was no reason to hide it from someone who was about to die.

Lee Ah-rin’s eyes widened in shock.

"I wish you were an angel or a hero instead."

I briefly imagined Han-ul taking my place and destroying the True Light Church.

Being born a hero, he would surely be filled with righteous anger upon learning the truth about the church.

He would destroy the lab, save the experiment victims, and expose the reality of the True Light Church, bringing Imanbok to a strict trial.

At first, he’d be bombarded by the media, and the prosecutor would begin a thorough investigation.

Of course, whether that would succeed was uncertain.

The trial might drag on without any real conclusion, and once the media lost interest, it might fade away, just like it always had.

However, in that scenario, Lee Ah-rin and Mi-yeon wouldn’t have died.

That might have been a more fitting happy ending.

"But still, I keep one promise."@@novelbin@@

I looked directly at Lee Ah-rin as I said it.

"I will make sure Imanbok meets the worst death."

"…Ha, ha ha! Ha ha ha ha!"

Strangely, even though nothing was funny, Lee Ah-rin laughed for a long time after hearing my answer.

"A demon, a demon!"

"Is that such a funny story?"

Is she thinking of me as a delusional person right now?

"Ha ha ha... no, I’m sorry."

Lee Ah-rin wiped the tears that had formed from her laughter.

"If someone had helped me at the end of this pitiful life… I would have thought it was an angel or a god. But I never imagined a demon would come."

"That’s unfortunate."

"But whatever you are... thank you."

Lee Ah-rin seemed to be searching for something with her hand.

Perhaps her vision was now blurred, and she couldn’t see clearly.

It seemed like her hand was reaching for me, but instead of meeting her hand, I stared at her.

"The fact that I was still alive, even a little, was lucky. I’m happy I could die after seeing that I succeeded in my revenge."

People often say the end of revenge is empty.

But at this moment, Lee Ah-rin’s eyes, now devoid of strength, still reflected joy.

"If it had been an angel, I wouldn’t have seen this scene. Do you think Spring is watching this too?"

Lee Ah-rin’s hand, unable to find its target, eventually dropped helplessly to the ground.

"Thank you."

With those words, Lee Ah-rin’s breathing slowed, and her life faded away.

It was a complete death.

• The system reminds the user, Jeong Da-on, of the quest "Do Good Deeds and Be Blessed."

• Your actions have been thanked by the user, 'Lee Ah-rin.'

• The majority of people have evaluated your actions as 'human actions.'

• Your stats slightly increase.

• Jeong Da-on (Normal)

• Potential Ability Evaluation: S-rank

• Health: LV. 19 (Max: None)

• Strength: LV. 15 (Max: None)

• Mana: LV. 29 (Max: None)

• Overall Level: LV. 20 → 21

• Suitable Dungeon for Challenges: C~D-rank Dungeons

This is an action that has caused an increase in stats.

The collective intelligence is difficult to understand.

In any case, the stat increase was always welcome.

Considering what I was about to do in this dungeon, it was even more welcome.

I bent down and picked up the split Soul Core that Lee Ah-rin had been holding until her last breath.

Leo stretched his paws and squirmed.

"Myaaak!"

• Want to eat?

It meant that Leo wanted to absorb the residual potential magic in the Soul Core.

Since Leo’s stats were currently nerfed, it would be good for him to eat the Soul Core that still held the lingering soul.

"No, if you eat that, you’ll get a stomach ache."

I held the Soul Core up to the desert sun.

Between the blackened hatred, there was a single thread of compassion.

That single light melted the color of hatred.

Lee Ah-rin’s motive was revenge, but it was compassion that decided her death.

Then, what was the core that made up Lee Ah-rin’s soul?

It was an unknown matter.

• You have obtained an unidentified item.

• Following Jeong Da-on’s knowledge, the item is named 'Soul Core.'

• The 'Soul Core' is judged to be a threat to the survival of humanity.

• The 'Soul Core' is designated as a key keyword to find 'Humanity’s Enemy.'

• The search for the 'Humanity’s Enemy' begins through the Soul Core’s material.

• Searching...

Finally, the system started doing its job.

I turned my back after seeing Lee Ah-rin’s body buried in the sand.

Like the system, I too had a job to do.

Before Mi-yeon tore Imanbok to shreds.