Chapter 42
The Saint of Healing was working to stabilize the host’s mental state.
He spent time laughing and playing with the princess, completely
exposed—without any protective gear, as if he felt no fear of being cursed.
Through the countless magic circles embedded in the secluded palace, the
Chosen of the Evil God was able to witness every moment of it.
Why was he going this far?
Before long, the answer became clear.
For sixteen years, the Evil God’s Fragment had been weakened by its exposure
to holy magic every Tuesday.
The connection between the fragment and its host’s soul had been severely
damaged.
In this state, rather than fully consuming its current host, the fragment was
more likely to detach and seek out a new, stronger host.
The Saint was luring it in—drawing the Evil God’s Fragment into his own soul.
Even a Saint would be destroyed by allowing the fragment into their soul—there
was no possible way to survive it.
And yet, he was tempting it as if he had a way to deal with it.
…What the hell kind of man was he?
When this was reported, the Evil God’s cult panicked and ordered the immediate
awakening of the fragment—even though it was not yet complete.
The Chosen agreed.
They had paid a tremendous price to obtain the fragment, and forcing an early
awakening was better than letting it fall into the Saint’s hands and be
destroyed.
The Chosen waited until the Saint had left the secluded palace.
And the moment he was gone—
They acted.
It was before dawn.
Not many people needed to be dealt with.
A single mage on night duty, a priest, and two knights of the Imperial Guard.
The Chosen killed them all with ease before approaching the secluded palace.
The palace was heavily fortified with countless defensive mechanisms in case
the Evil God’s Fragment ever lost control.
If the curse exceeded a certain level, hundreds of anti-demonic miracles would
automatically trigger.
Multiple layers of defensive magic circles and divine barriers ensured that
the curse could never escape beyond the palace walls.
All of it had to be disabled.
The Chosen began breaking the seals.
The cost?
A massive consumption of resentment energy—the very power that maintained the
Miracle of Concealment protecting them.
Originally, the Collector would have been responsible for gathering more
resentment energy to sustain them.
But she was dead.
There was no other option.
Once everything was in place, the Chosen entered the palace.
There—
They saw Iomene, sleeping soundly on her bed.
A face filled with peaceful happiness, as if she had never known suffering.
The Chosen reached out—placing a hand over her head.
Deep within her soul, the Evil God’s Fragment stirred.
Sixteen years of holy magic exposure had weakened its bond to the host.
Under normal conditions, the fragment should have been firmly anchored to her
soul—
But instead, its connection was pathetically fragile.
Even if it awakened, it wouldn’t be able to fully exert its power.
These people—
These filthy, wretched bastards.
How could they decide to torture their own daughter for sixteen years?
Even the Evil God’s cult hadn’t expected this level of cruelty.
They had assumed that the Emperor—despite his ruthless exterior—was ultimately
a man weak to family.
They had believed that, rather than ordering his daughter’s torture, he would
simply exile her to a remote village.
If she had been exiled, the cult could have easily accessed her—
They could have nurtured the fragment’s growth and fully awakened it at the
perfect moment.
The plan had been to trigger the awakening in the heart of the Imperial
Capital , simultaneously consuming both Iomene and her twin sister,
Almeine—since their souls were linked.
If that had happened—
The Empire would have been paralyzed.
One day, Princess Almeine—completely fine—would suddenly become the source of
the greatest curse in history.
The Empire wouldn’t even know how to react.
But the Emperor had made his cruelest decision yet—
He had chosen to torture his own daughter.
And now—this was the result.
On top of that—
The Saint of Healing had appeared, forcing them to awaken the fragment two
years earlier than planned.
A complete disaster.
Even if the Evil God’s Fragment awakened, it would be horribly unstable.
But what choice did they have?
There was no other way.
“…Awaken.”
At the Chosen’s command—
The Evil God’s Fragment began to rise.
A massive curse erupted, bursting from Iomene’s wings.
The fragment was so unstable that it could shatter from even the slightest
impact.
But its raw power—
Was unmatched.
A soul-wrenching scream.
A sickening, spine-chilling sensation clawing through existence itself.
And with it—
The first wave of an unstoppable curse was unleashed into the world.
The beginning of destruction.
***
The closer I got to the Imperial Palace, the worse the situation became.
“Urghhh!! Aaaagh!!”
“Help me!! Please, someone, help me!!”
Countless people were writhing on the ground, convulsing in agony—the curse
had already reached them.
“Hurry!! Hurry up!! Get the cursed victims out of here and start treating
them!!”
The priests of the Grace Order who had followed me immediately began tending
to the wounded, but I had no time to stop.
I sprinted toward the Imperial Palace without hesitation.
The moment it came into view, I cast Time Stop.
If I had activated it the moment I first sensed the curse from the Mage Tower
Temple, I wouldn’t have even made it this far—my mental energy would have run
dry, and I would have collapsed before reaching Iomene.
This was the best I could do.
Please.
Please let her soul still be intact.
Please—let Iomene still be alive.
Even though I knew the chances were nonexistent, I still prayed as I partially
released and reactivated Time Stop, using it sparingly to rush toward the
secluded palace.
And then—
I saw her.
Iomene hovered in the sky, her form piercing through the palace roof as she
ascended high above.
Her massive wings had eyes growing all over them, glaring down at the world
below.
That alone wasn’t the worst part.
What crushed me—
Was her face.
A smile.
A twisted, horrifyingly blissful smile—the kind only those who mock the world,
who carry deep hatred for all living things, could ever wear.
Iomene was gone.
Her body remained, but her soul had been completely devoured by the Evil God’s
Fragment.
Why?
Why did it have to come to this?
I didn’t even know who had done this, but—
She had suffered her entire life, never once allowed to be happy—and now, just
when she had finally started to heal—
Why this?!
Rage.
A fury so overwhelming it felt like my mind was unraveling.
Just like at the factory, I used Time Stop to create a foothold in the air—and
began running upward.
As I neared Iomene, my mental energy began running dangerously low.
Damn it.
The efficiency of this technique was absolute garbage.
What do I do?
I was still three meters away from her.
If I released Time Stop now, I would fall.
Think, think—!
Then—I came up with a solution.
I released Time Stop from the entire world—
Except for just beneath my feet.
By doing this, I minimized the mental energy drain while maintaining my
position in the air.
The moment Time Stop lifted, a nightmarish sensation crashed down upon me.
It felt like my soul was being clawed apart—
No.
It felt even worse—so sickeningly grotesque that I nearly threw up on the
spot.
How do I even describe this?
It was as if my very soul was screaming at me.
Warning me—If even a speck of that black mist touches you, you will be
destroyed.
My soul was shaking violently in terror.
But—
I wasn’t afraid.
For the first time, I felt a divide between my mind and soul.
My soul feared destruction.
But my mind saw it differently.
Soul destruction?
That’s a one-way ticket to Korea.
I wasn’t afraid.
I had no fear of returning to a safe, peaceful world.
I straightened my posture.
And then—
I stared down the Evil God’s Fragment, which had now taken on Iomene’s form.
It glared back at me, its massive wings releasing an overwhelming flood of
curses into the air.
DIE!
DESTROY!
ANNIHILATE!
The Evil God’s Fragment giggled like a child, spitting out crude, twisted
words in its eerie voice.
I hoped for a miracle.
But there was none.
Iomene was gone.
Before I knew it, tears rolled down my face.
I unfastened my belt and gripped it tightly in my hand.
Stepping onto the frozen air beneath my feet, I walked toward the Evil God’s
Fragment.
It mocked me.
You’ll die too!!
You’re going to die!
I’ll eat you too!
Eat! Eat!
The curses began to converge on me.
But I didn’t care.
Let it destroy my soul.
It could shatter me completely.
I didn’t care.
As long as I got to hit it just once.
I didn’t care if I died—
As long as I could land just one hit.
The distance between us closed.
For the first time, the Evil God’s Fragment hesitated.
Why?
Aren’t you afraid?
The black mist around me thickened, wrapping me tightly in its grip.
My soul was trembling so violently it felt like it was having a seizure.
It was screaming at me—
Like some panicked idiot shrieking, “This is going to kill us, you moron!!”
But I ignored it.
Blood dripped from my nose—
The strain of overusing Time Stop was catching up to me.
But I gripped my belt even tighter.
This was checkmate for the Evil God’s Fragment.
If I failed—I’d just get sent back to Korea.
If I succeeded—I’d get to make this bastard suffer.
I wasn’t afraid at all.
Yeah.
I don’t care.
Destroy me.
I’m not scared.
You can shatter my soul—but in return, let me land one hit.
Just one.
Weird! Weird!
Stronger! More! More!!
The Evil God’s Fragment was visibly panicking now.
The black aura thickened, drawing every last curse from the countless people
it had infected.
The curses swarmed toward me.
But nothing happened.
This fucking piece of shit.
I’m about to make you feel the worst pain imaginable.
The gap between us shrank—less than a meter now.
For the first time, fear appeared on the fragment’s face.
STAY AWAY!!
It flapped its wings, trying to flee—
But too late.
I froze its foot mid-air with Time Stop.
It couldn’t move.
Locked in place, suspended in the air—
I lunged forward and grabbed it.
Then, I activated my skill.
Skill: Sensory Amplification x3000 Activated!
The last time, I couldn’t use my skills on the Evil God’s Fragment.
But this time?
It worked.
Because it wasn’t just a parasite anymore.
This time—it had taken over a real body.
Iomene’s body.
And now—its pain was real, too.
I whispered, my voice cold.
“For sixteen years, Iomene suffered through this pain—bit by bit, in
installments.
But you? You’re going to feel all of it at once. In full.”
N-No!! No!!!
“Yes. You are.”
I swung my belt.
SLAP!
A sharp crack rang through the air—
Iomene’s cheek puffed up, and several teeth flew out.
And then—
G-GUUHHKKK!! AAAAAAAAGGHHH!!
The Evil God’s Fragment screamed.
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