Chapter 299

Words : 2232 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 299 Inside a small prayer room created by the power of Grace, Karl, bathed entirely in white, was kneeling in prayer with his eyes gently closed. He expressed gratitude for the countless blessings bestowed upon humanity, which included himself, and for the fact that blessings continued to rain down across the world even now. When will I ever be able to repay all of this grace...? Despite reaching the pinnacle and leading the largest congregation in the religious world, Karl thought it was still impossible to repay all of the blessings of God. He considered himself as a feeble creation, incapable of reciprocating the countless blessings that God had showered upon His creations. Karl’s prayers deepened, a growing sense of helplessness bringing tears to his eyes. Boom!!! “?!” A thunderous explosion broke through his thoughts all of a sudden, causing him to turn his head, scattering his tears sideways. “...” Opening his eyes, the interior of the prayer room, slightly disordered from the impact, came into Karl’s view. Seems it went well this time... How could anyone have caused an explosion that pierced through the power of Grace and sent shockwaves into the room? Simultaneously awed and confused, Karl turned toward the wall where the blast originated. Naturally, a section of it had disintegrated, revealing the outside. Creak—CRASH! A massive gray tower stood outside, standing at least ten meters tall. From just its outward appearance, it was impossible to guess its purpose, but having heard about it before, Karl knew exactly what it was. Gray smoke billowed from vents scattered across the tower’s surface, revealing the identity of the enormous structure as a forge constructed by Se-Hoon personally within the Sanctuary. It’s grown even bigger. The last time Karl saw it, the tower was about five meters tall, but now it had nearly doubled in height. Even considering how talented he is, how is this even possible? Karl’s expression turned complicated. Creating anything within the Sanctuary required the use of the power of Grace. To outsiders, creating the objects likely seemed like the work of a miracle, seeing as how they appeared just by wishing for them, but the usage was actually far more complex. How does he perfectly understand such a complicated device from start to finish... To create something with the power of Grace, one had to first possess flawless knowledge of the object—its components, how it operated, and the exact state of its materials—and even the slightest error would render it useless. Rumble! Yet Se-Hoon’s gray forge was operating flawlessly, able to even refine additional materials for crafting. Could a student who hadn’t even been in Babel for a year really accomplish such a feat? What a truly enigmatic man... Karl’s mind brimmed with questions, but one thing was clear: he could use Se-Hoon’s talent to repay God’s blessings. So, regardless of what secrets Se-Hoon held, Karl decided they weren’t his concern. With that thought, he stood up. Rustle- Stepping outside, Karl moved toward Se-Hoon’s workshop, leaving behind the prayer room which vanished smoothly. Clang! Clang! The sound of loud hammering echoed from one side. Approaching the forge, Karl spotted Se-Hoon working with the furnace open at the base of the massive structure. He was standing before an anvil, striking a circular metal plate to shape it. His movements were sharp and deliberate, his gaze unwavering. It’s been one whole month, yet he looks completely fine... Karl couldn’t help but marvel at the sight. In the Sanctuary, one didn’t need food or sleep, but the mental strain from hunger and fatigue remained. Furthermore, the overwhelming presence of God in the Sanctuary quickly exhausted anyone who stayed within it. Even seasoned archbishops, who had their beliefs hardened by countless trials, couldn’t endure more than a month. Yet not only was Se-Hoon enduring all of that, he was even forging tirelessly. “...” Watching him, Karl’s thoughts drifted to the past. He thought of a man who had once prayed alongside him for hundreds of days in the Sanctuary, a disciple who understood him better than anyone else—or so Karl had believed. Unfortunately, that person no longer existed in the world. Why... What could have driven him to reject God and walk away? Sunk into bittersweet memories, Karl was reminiscing quietly when Se-Hoon finally noticed him and set down his hammer. “Oh, you’re out already? It’s only been two weeks...” Se-Hoon looked puzzled, seemingly wondering why Karl, who had told him he was going to pray for the entire month, was out so soon. Shaking off thoughts of the past, Karl smiled gently and responded, “I heard the explosion from the prayer room, so I stepped out to check.” “It reached all the way there? Then I guess that setup was right after all...” Se-Hoon muttered to himself, glancing at the forge. “How’s the work coming along?” “Huh? Oh, the work...” Se-Hoon scratched his head awkwardly, glancing at the forge again. “I guess you could say it’s not going all too well.” Though Se-Hoon was growing accustomed to using the power of Grace in the Sanctuary, he still couldn’t accurately produce the objects that characterized Li Kenxie’s power. Frustrated, Se-Hoon furrowed his brow. I’ve managed to figure out the other Perfect Ones’ powers, but his... Just moments ago, the idea that those who conquered a Tower of Heroes were given the opportunity to introduce new concepts to the world was merely a hypothesis, but after reviewing his pre-regression memories and countless hours of research, Se-Hoon became convinced it was true. Taking the power of Grace as an example, it made it seem like the existence of Karl was essential for the creation of divine mana, but that wasn’t the case. Even after Karl was killed by the Apostate back then, people were still able to use divine mana. If divine mana solely relied on the power of Grace, it should have disappeared with Karl’s death. Yet it persisted until the world’s end, proving that the power of Grace and divine mana were separate entities. That part had been clear. The problem was Li Kenxie's power. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t seem to come up with a concept tied to that old man... Ludwig’s power was associated with the Whitespace, Wurgen with the Netherworld, and the Seeker with the Akashic. At least those three’s powers had clear conceptual associations, and even the Visionary’s power of Perception seemed to be linked to the concept of opportunities. Only Li Kenxie’s power didn’t seem to have any concepts to be tied with—not even before Se-Hoon’s regression. It’s not like there’s a separate realm tied to fire, and there weren't any new powers that emerged among blacksmiths... What kind of concept was the Sacred Craftsman’s power based on? Se-Hoon couldn’t seem to come up with an answer to the question, but he also couldn’t dismiss his hypothesis, considering every other Perfect Ones fit the pattern correctly. Unable to think of something, he suspected Li Kenxie had deliberately hidden his concept from the world. And given how he had secluded himself in the mountains until the end of the world, it wasn’t a stretch to think so. I thought analyzing Sacred Flames would solve the mystery, but it’s proving harder than expected. Was his hypothesis wrong all along? Were the patterns he found among the other Perfect Ones just coincidences? Lost, Se-Hoon was mulling over whether to just discard his month-long research when Karl calmly asked him, “Why not share your research progress with me?” “With you...?” “While my skills may not match yours, I've crafted a few Holy Artifacts in the past myself. Taking in a fresh perspective can sometimes lead to breakthroughs, you know.” “That’s... true.” Indeed, as a fellow Perfect One, Karl might be able to unravel his problem with Li Kenxie more easily than Se-Hoon could. Convinced, Se-Hoon quickly outlined the situation to Karl, being careful about how much to disclose. “A dispute over how to raise the girl, huh...? It seems both of you guys care deeply for her.” Karl let out a small laugh. “If he truly cared about her, he wouldn’t have separated her from her parents,” Se-Hoon said with a frown. It wasn’t just a brief separation of a year or two; before the regression, Li Fei had been kept away for nineteen years, only meeting her parents after she became an adult. Because of that, Se-Hoon couldn't view Li Kenxie favorably, especially since Li Fei had never received an explanation for such a cruel fate. “That’s true. But given what happened, it’s understandable why he’s being so cautious.” “...Given what happened?” “Oh, I take it you haven’t heard about his daughter-in-law.” Se-Hoon’s expression hardened. If it’s his daughter-in-law... didn’t she die of an illness? From what Se-Hoon had been told, she was frail and had passed away after giving birth to Li Fei. But why was that being brought up now? Seeing Se-Hoon’s questioning gaze, Karl delved into his memory and began explaining. “Li Kenxie’s daughter-in-law suffered from a rare condition called spontaneous combustion syndrome.” “Combustion syndrome...” “It occurs when a person’s synesthetic mindscape collapses, causing their mana to spiral out of control. It’s something that occasionally affects heroes that suffer severe injury from battles. What makes it classified as a rare disease, however, is the pain involved.” “Pain?” Did they suffer unbearable pain as if their whole body was on fire? “It makes them numb from burns.” “...Really?” “Yes. Depending on the individual, some even become addicted to the sense of comfort the flames provide. That’s why it’s considered an extremely dangerous condition.” When one was afflicted with the rare condition, flames would spontaneously engulf their entire body, but the afflicted would feel no pain—only a strange comfort. Even without witnessing it firsthand, Se-Hoon could immediately grasp how perilous such a condition was. Is it even fair to call this a disease? From Karl’s description, it sounded more like a curse than an illness. Pondering over the unsettling nature of the disease, Se-Hoon frowned. “There’s no real cure for it. The best treatment we have right now is suppressing the affected one’s mana completely. And Li Kenxie’s daughter-in-law lived under such restrictions for some time, but... complications arose during her childbirth.” “Complications?” Shaking his head, Karl replied, “I don’t know the specifics. Li Kenxie once sought my help, but I wasn’t able to provide it.” “...” Hearing the deep regret in Karl’s tone, Se-Hoon narrowed his eyes. If the refusal hadn’t come from the patient herself, then the reason could only be one thing. God’s will. Even though Karl seemed like a decent person, every time Se-Hoon heard stories like that one, he thought Karl felt more like a cultist than a leader of the largest religious group in the world. Suppressing the urge to sigh, Se-Hoon decided to ask a different question. “When did this rare condition first appear?” “Hmm. I've heard that it was around even before the Cold War against the Demon Force, but I can’t say for sure.” “...” Se-Hoon’s gaze sharpened. With the introduction of mana to humanity, a host of illnesses came with it as well. Spontaneous combustion syndrome could very well be one of them, but something about its symptoms bothered him deeply. If it’s a disease caused by the collapse of one’s synesthetic mindscape... how could the affected ones all have such consistent symptoms? It wasn’t surprising that fire mana could spiral out of control and set the body ablaze. But the uniformity of one symptom—the absence of pain from burns—was strange. Even if the afflicted just so happened to share similar synesthetic mindscapes, it didn’t explain such consistency in symptoms since synesthetic mindscape-related diseases tended to have ones that varied depending on the person themselves. Wait... what if it’s not a disease but a trait? If the flames that engulfed them were, in fact, tied to the “concept” that was linked to Li Kenxie’s power, that would explain why so many experienced the same symptom. “...” Se-Hoon’s expression darkened. He recalled the Sacred Flames that had briefly engulfed him in the cafeteria and the fleeting sense of comfort it brought. And with that memory... that certain thought became more solidified. “This is going to be a headache...” What Li Kenxie bestowed upon humanity... was no different from a curse. *** Deep within Li Kenxie's workshop, located in Huangshan, the forge deep continued to burn fiercely, but not a single sign of human presence could be found nearby. “...” A man was observing the lifeless scene when, from behind him, a woman with a cigarette between her lips walked over—Ryu Meirin. “One of your underlings said to show you this.” “...” Taking the device Meirin handed him, the man’s gaze settled on the image displayed on the screen. It was a photo of Se-Hoon, his entire body engulfed in flames as clear as glass. And upon seeing it, the man, Caden Miller—leader of Offering and Li Kenxie’s first disciple—smiled. “We’ve found him.” At last, they had found the material that would allow them to kill the Sacred Craftsman.

Chapter 299

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