Chapter 315

Words : 2031 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 315 The Seraphim Guild had integrated the Seeker’s technology into their weapon—a revelation that would astonish anyone. Besides, Se-Hoon, that is, as he guessed it to some extent. “Are you certain?” asked Se-Hoon mentally, calm. “Even though I’m dead now, I’m not so clueless that I can’t recognize my own tech. They may have tweaked it slightly, but the core tech definitely comes from the HW Project.” Hearing the confidence in her voice, Se-Hoon’s interest was piqued. “And what kind of project is this, HW Project?” “The HW Project, or the Homunculus Weapon Project, involved technology that creates specialized mana circuits corresponding to the synesthetic mindscape and internal organs of humans by analyzing the properties of their mana...” “And in short?” “...It’s about turning weapons into artificial lifeforms. Satisfied?” The boldness to forge weapons that functioned like living beings using mana circuits made Se-Hoon pause to think. “I guess it was for supplementing manpower?” “At first, yes. You would be surprised by how many people were dying every day back then.” Before the advent of divine mana, there was a time when countless heroes died due to being unable to receive proper treatment. So, to address the unceasing losses, countless countermeasures were explored, the HW Project being one of them. “Instead of spending tons of resources training a few high-ranking heroes, it was easier to mass-produce something akin to them, like homunculus weapons. That’s why the project took that direction... though it was ultimately abandoned.” Recalling her past failure, the Seeker continued speaking in Se-Hoon’s mind with irritation. “The created artificial lifeforms lacked any growth potential.” While homunculus weapons could replicate a hero’s combat abilities, they couldn’t emulate their capacity for growth. Unlike a normal human being that would eventually recognize the flaw in their strategies and adapt, the homunculus weapons stuck to their programming, incapable of change. Essentially, they were like a person who always threw rock when playing rock-paper-scissors. “How do you expect to use something that can’t adapt and address its weaknesses? But more importantly, giving them growth potential was far too challenging, so I just scrapped the whole thing.” Hearing that the project had been discarded even before the Seeker’s death, Se-Hoon examined the weapon created by the Seraphim Guild again. “Then how is this different?” If it used the HW Project’s core technology, it should exude an artificial, lifelike quality. Yet, no matter how closely he observed, it didn’t seem that way. Taking a moment to examine it as well, the Seeker answered, “My guess is that it relies on a pure synesthetic mindscape.” “A pure synesthetic mindscape?” “You know how even simple thoughts can branch in countless directions when you dig deeper? Why you have to defeat an enemy, how to do it, and what will happen afterward—those layers of thought are the essence of synesthetic mindscapes.” Even when focusing on one thing, the subconscious generated numerous related thoughts; that core dynamic was important for the directionality of the development of one’s synesthetic mindscape. “I tried to replicate all of that, but this weapon doesn’t bother to. It’s built to hold just one thought and amplify it to the maximum.” “...” “But if you make it this way, its performance should be lackluster, and it wouldn’t work as an artificial lifeform either.... What were they trying to achieve here?” Hearing the Seeker’s perplexed muttering, Se-Hoon immediately grasped what the Seraphim Guild and Succession were aiming to accomplish with the weapon. “What happens if someone absorbs this synesthetic mindscape?” “Huh? What are you talking about...” The Seeker trailed off, having suddenly noticed Eun-Ha staring intently from across the room. She then immediately tapped into the power of Omniscience to analyze Eun-Ha’s abilities and rapidly reached a conclusion. “...A Perfect One.” Every time Eun-Ha consumed a weapon, her extraneous thoughts were gradually stripped away. And in the end, she would have lost even the ability to distinguish between virtue and evil, prioritizing only one singular synesthetic mindscape above all else. In short, Succession had been steering Eun-Ha toward becoming a Perfect One through her diet. I now understand how they’re going about doing it... but why go to such lengths? Succession, along with the rest of Watchers, worked with the Demon Force. Why would they try to bring about a Perfect One instead of a Harbinger of Destruction? Trying to figure it out, Se-Hoon mulled over the memories from before the regression, and one possibility surfaced. “Aria Myers...” A hero who had once risen to the status of Perfect One before ultimately falling and becoming a Harbinger of Destruction. Until now, Se-Hoon had assumed Aria’s transformation was a personal issue. But perhaps the Watchers had been meddling then, too. He thought back to the Sword of Destruction project Succession had announced at the conference. At that moment, however, his musings were interrupted by the Seeker’s laughter. “Ahahahaha! Oh man, this is... hahaha!” Her relentless laughter echoed in Se-Hoon’s mind, causing him to narrow his eyes. “What’s so funny?” “I don’t know who came up with this, but it’s kind of adorable. Haha, yeah, well if I had similar materials, I might’ve tried something like this too. Makes sense.” The Seeker’s chuckling was reminiscent of an adult watching a child’s clumsy imitation of an adult—which struck Se-Hoon as odd. “Does this method not work?” “Of course not. Isn’t that obvious?” As if Se-Hoon had asked the most absurd question, the Seeker continued. “You can unify someone’s synesthetic mindscape by tampering with their mind, sure. I’ve also done it before.” “...” “Ah, but I didn’t do it recklessly like those guys. I had their full consent for the record.” The Seeker tacked on a meaningless excuse. “Anyway, some people I worked on were able to reach S-rank, but not a single one managed to become a Perfect One. In other words, this simplistic method just doesn’t work for Perfect Ones.” “...Then what would it take?” What else was needed beyond unifying someone’s imagery? But to that, the Seeker just nonchalantly replied, “How should I know? If I did, I would’ve been churning out Perfect Ones by now.” “...Point taken.” Hearing how curt Se-Hoon’s response was, the Seeker hesitated briefly before asking in a trembling voice, “Wait... Were you about to say that I’m useless?” “No.” “How did I... sniff... end up with this kind of treatment... sniff...” Brushing off the Seeker’s feigned sobbing, which despite being designed to guilt-trip the listener, didn’t work on him, Se-Hoon thought, Well, whatever the case, Succession seems to have miscalculated. In hindsight, Eun-Ha had severed ties with the Seraphim Guild without incident before the regression as well, so a similar conclusion might have been reached back then. Still, I should look into this further later. The changes brought about by Se-Hoon’s regression could mean Succession was developing previously unknown technologies. Putting his thoughts in order, Se-Hoon turned to face Eun-Ha, who was quietly awaiting him. “Dean, based on my assessment, this weapon...” Se-Hoon explained the insights gleaned from his conversation with the Seeker, and Eun-Ha’s eyes turned cold. She had long suspected she was the subject of inhumane experiments, but the side effects exceeded even her worst fears. “Does this mean my sense of taste was dulled as well...?” “I think it’s likely that it has been influenced,” Se-Hoon said. Considering nourishment beyond just the weapons could also interfere with the erosion of one’s synesthetic mindscape, it stood to reason that Succession would have nudged things in that direction. Perhaps her dulled emotions are part of it too... Recently, Eun-Ha had been revealing faint glimpses of her emotions, despite being someone who rarely displayed expressions or emotional shifts. But Se-Hoon still remembered how she had been someone so devoid of humanity that others found her unsettling before he regressed. “...” Realizing the possibility herself, Eun-Ha’s expression hardened further, and the ends of her hair began shimmering with a crimson glow. Rumble- Anger surged forth from the depths of her subdued emotions. Her pupils burned a vivid red, and fiery energy gathered near her chest, teetering on the edge of overheating. Smack! But before the rage could consume her, Se-Hoon tossed aside the sword, gripped Eun-Ha’s shoulders, and slammed his forehead against hers. Thwack! “?!” Stunned by the unexpected headbutt, Eun-Ha glanced at Se-Hoon and saw that blood was trickling down his forehead. “Lee Se-Hoon, are you—” “Oof... that hurt a bit.” Se-Hoon groaned, his head swimming from the impact. Although he’d struck with some finesse, it still felt like he’d slammed into solid steel. His vision blurred and blood dripped down his face, but he smiled faintly at Eun-Ha, who was staring at him with genuine concern. And upon realizing that her emotions had stabilized when he met her gaze, Se-Hoon put on a serious expression. “Do you want a simple revenge where you destroy everything in sight immediately? Or a thorough vengeance where you dismantle them piece by piece until nothing remains?” “...What?” She had expected words urging her to calm down, not this. She blinked in confusion. “I recommend the latter. But for some people, the former is more satisfying. Just pick whichever you prefer. I’ll give it my all to support your choice,” Se-Hoon calmly declared. “I...” Eun-Ha’s lips parted as she considered his words. Her immediate instinct was to choose the first option—erase the Seraphim Guild and their backers, Watchers, from existence. But when she tried to say it, hesitation crept in. Why...? Was she afraid of failure? Worried that acting rashly might allow them to slip away? The thoughts swirling in her mind didn’t feel like her usual emotions, leaving her lost. And as she tried to wrestle with the unknown, her eyes drifted to Se-Hoon. “...” Recklessly headbutting her, which left his forehead bleeding, was an utterly foolish act, but seeing him, Eun-Ha realized what had been holding her back. “I’ll choose the latter.” “Really?” Se-Hoon asked, surprised. Truthfully, he had expected her to pick the first option. Eun-Ha nodded. Then, with a steady voice, she explained. “The first option risks letting them escape, and cleaning up afterward would be difficult.” “Well... that’s true...” “And.” Eun-Ha pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed at the blood running down Se-Hoon’s forehead. “I don’t want to take a path that hurts you, Lee Se-Hoon.” Se-Hoon’s injury had happened because she’d nearly lost control. She recognized that, which was why Eun-Ha chose the second option without hesitation. In the past, she had lived alone, understood by no one. But now, Se-Hoon was by her side. Her decision wasn’t just for herself anymore—it was for both of them. “...” Se-Hoon felt a twinge of awkwardness as Eun-Ha cleaned his wound with a softness he’d never experienced from her before. It was disarming, and for a moment, he struggled to think clearly. “Oh, wow. This is sweet. So sweet,” said the Seeker suddenly in his mind, interrupting the moment. “Thank you for your input.” “Wait! Don’t—!” Without hesitation, Se-Hoon silenced the Seeker before she could ramble further, and refocused on Eun-Ha. This is a serious butterfly effect. He sighed. It was the only explanation he could muster for such a surprising turn of events. “Ahem, my wound’s fine now, so you can stop, Dean.” “Understood.” Stepping back, Eun-Ha neatly folded her handkerchief and slipped it back into her pocket. Seeing that, Se-Hoon, eager to change the subject, quickly said, “You’ve chosen the second option, so I’ll start preparing for it. But it might take some time.” “Do you have something specific in mind?” “Yes. For starters, I need to wrap up this week’s tournament...” Se-Hoon’s lips curled into a sly grin, thinking of what lay ahead. “And I’m planning to rope in that stubborn old man while I’m at it.”

Chapter 315

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