Chapter 13: Nightmare and the Assassin
Sayru was on his knees, screaming—but the sound of his voice was drowned out by the heavy rainfall.
Around him lay countless corpses, most of them torn to shreds.
The stench of blood was suffocating, and the rain made the ground seem like it was sinking into a sea of red.
Sayru's body was covered in deep wounds, but the most severe was his severed arm, which wouldn't stop bleeding.
He wept with every fiber of his being… No, he cried so hard that even his tears turned to blood.
When he finally stopped, he crawled toward a relatively intact corpse before him and whispered,
"I swear… I swear to the heavens, with all the hatred in my heart, that I will avenge you."
His words were filled with rage. He let out a loud scream, then embraced the corpse tightly.
And then…
'… Sai…'
'Sayr…'
"SAYRU!!"
Sayru jolted awake—it had all been a dream.
---
"Sayru, what's happening to you?"
Mimin's eyes were filled with pain as she looked at him.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It was just a nightmare,"
Sayru said, clearly confused by her expression—though he hadn't realized the truth yet.
"You… you're crying… Your eyes!!"
One of Sayru's eyes was shedding tears… the other was weeping blood.
Then it hit him.
He had just recovered a portion of the memories he had lost due to the side effects of his divine body.
"It seems I've recalled some memories from that war…
Tch, why this part of all things!?"
He wiped his eyes and stood up from his bed.
"I thought you were recovering your spiritual energy—you've been asleep for ten days. That's why I didn't wake you.
But then you suddenly started screaming as if trapped in a nightmare… I had no choice but to wake you.
But… what was it exactly that you remembered?"
Sayru stayed silent for a moment.
Then finally answered:
"It was about her… during the War of the Races. You know who I'm talking about."
Mimin was stunned.
The War of the Races… it wasn't just any war. It was a massive, literal race war that would engulf the world five years from now, sparked by the humans themselves.
But even more shocking was who Sayru referred to.
Someone with a very unique connection to him.
"…
I see.
Then what are you planning to do about this war?
You know you must be at least a 5-star Martial Artist by then… and yet, you've restarted your cultivation from the beginning."
Sayru looked down at the floor, sweat beading on his brow.
"Before that… who is this?"
Lying on the ground was an unconscious man dressed in gray robes, with a dagger tossed nearby.
Clearly, he was an assassin.
"When you were asleep—four days ago—this guy tried to kill you.
So I struck him with a spiritual attack.
He won't wake up for at least a month."
Sayru picked up the dagger and examined it.
"Poisoned…
So they've finally made their move. Damn those Trader Guild scum."
He gathered a bit of mana in his palm and chanted:
–Spiritual Tracking–
A thin golden thread emerged from the assassin's body, extending through the window toward a nearby house next to the Trader Guild.
"Hmm… So they're there."
He chanted again:
–Primal Fire–
A strange, luminous, silvery-gray flame ignited in Sayru's palm.
He launched it directly at the assassin.
The flames engulfed the man.
He woke up mid-burn, screaming in agony.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!
A-ARGHH—P-PLEASE… S-STOP!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
As the man burned alive, Sayru stood there… smiling.
Mimin remained silent, unable to say a word.
She could only think to herself:
"Why… What changed you so much, Sayru?"
She couldn't find an answer.
Of course she couldn't—she had been nearly dormant for that period.
And 10,000 years… was enough to change anyone. Let alone 100,000.
---
Moments later…
"Good. Nothing left of him.
Would've been annoying if something remained."
Mimin screamed,
"Sayru!"
He turned and saw her—tears in her eyes, pity etched across her face.
"Why are you looking at me like that, huh?"
She approached him slowly.
"You could've used spiritual fire… or a law of flame…
Why did you use primal fire—the one that multiplies pain over a thousand times, enough to awaken him from a spiritual coma?
You… What happened to you while I was gone?"
Sayru remained silent.
Mimin grew angry, trying to shout—
"Answer me…!"
But before he could, a voice called from outside:
"Master!!"
It was the voice of the special-bodied girl.
Sayru glanced out the window.
"What's that filth doing here?"
Mimin wiped her tears and replied,
"Oh… She's been waiting here the entire ten days.
Seems she somehow managed to track you."
Sayru examined the mark of her body—
"No wonder… she awakened a sacred body.
Looks like I really do need to kill her."
Mimin panicked.
"A sacred body? No—wait! Didn't you promise you wouldn't kill her?"
Sayru burst into laughter at Mimin's reaction.
"Hahaha… I'm joking."
Then he paused, seeing Mimin's astonished expression.
"Wait—something on my face? Or… have you fallen for me?"
"Shut up! Grrr…"
Mimin huffed.
"But haven't you noticed? You're smiling… laughing… getting angry…"
Sayru suddenly realized—
The one thing that had always shackled him his entire life…
was now gone.