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Side Story Chapter 12 - Traces (2)

“Hm.” The Heavenly Demon felt something was off, wondering how Yeon-woo could possibly go missing. The Heavenly Demon had fought against the Black King for eons over the wheel, but that had occurred when the Black King’s main ego was Yvlke. It didn’t apply to the present, with Yeon-woo having taken over that spot, absorbing all the egos to become the complete Black King.

The Heavenly Demon wondered if someone or something was hurting the current Black King. ‘Impossible.’ Incidents took place when the strings of laws of causality through space became twisted. But since the Black King himself was the laws of causality, there was no way something could surpass him.

‘Or is there someone else?’

The otherworld gods who followed the Black King, for example. Although most of them acknowledged Yeon-woo was their father, there were some who weren't completely bound to him, like the Resident of the Border. However, considering how loyal the Resident of the Border was to the Black King, it was impossible for him to be the cause of this situation.

‘If not that…’ The Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes. ‘It might be a beast that’s still roaming outside the wheel.’

Still, that left some questions unanswered. Beasts were also ultimately unable to transcend the limits of the wheel. They were beings who failed to become emperors and were eventually flung out. How could such creatures touch the Black King? None of the Heavenly Demon’s guesses seemed plausible.

“I also tried to come up with ideas, but nothing came to mind.” Cha Jeong-woo scratched the back of his head as if he understood what the Heavenly Demon was thinking.

The Heavenly Demon nodded. He had chosen Jeong-woo to be the Changgong Library’s librarian and the balance of the wheel. There was no way he wouldn’t be able to think of something Jeong-woo did.

“Let’s search a bit first.” The Heavenly Demon looked up.

[The Changgong Library reacts to the authority and clearance of the special-class librarian.]

The library was already a part of the Heavenly Demon. All of its knowledge was in his palm.

“Bring me everything related to the keyword ‘Cha Yeon-woo.’”

[Deriving search results.]

Chwa chwa chwa! Light flashed all around them and countless books floated in the air. They spun in the air toward the Heavenly Demon. At a single glance, there seemed to be about a thousand of them.

There was a lot of time between when Yeon-woo was born to when he became the Black King. On top of that, when taking into consideration the amount of data on the Black King, the books being summoned were nothing.

The Heavenly Demon removed a majority of the books with specific filters, and about a hundred books were left. “In chronological order.” The books mixed and spun, then stood in a single line in front of the Heavenly Demon.

Jeong-woo and Nocturne looked on with interest. Because of how high the levels of their souls were, it was amazing to them how freely the Heavenly Demon was able to control the records of the Changgong Library.

Only Shanon, who didn’t understand how incredible it was, was indifferent.『There was something Master said about you, Heavenly Demon. I now see why he said that.』

The Heavenly Demon stopped extending his hand toward the first book and turned back at Shanon with curiosity. Finding Yeon-woo was important, but he was interested in what Yeon-woo had said about him. Nocturne and Cha Jeong-woo also looked at Shanon with curiosity, wondering what did one of the most powerful beings say about another powerful existence. “What did he say?”

『That you like showing off.』

“…What?”

It was like time stopped.

“…”

“…”

Nocturne and Jeong-woo were at a loss for words. It seemed best just to stay quiet. At the same time, the Heavenly Demon furrowed his eyebrows.

『And he said you’re an attention seeker. I can see why he said that.』Shanon crossed his arms and nodded in understanding. He felt it was unnecessary to pull out a bunch of books and make them stand in a line.

“Ha. Hahaha. He really said that?” The Heavenly Demon chuckled like a third-rate villain and glowered. “I’ll show you how an attention-seeker does things to garner more attention!”

Flutter! The Heavenly Demon roughly turned the pages, and the pages moved with vigor. The Heavenly Demon’s eyes were blazing.

Jeong-woo watched the Heavenly Demon flabbergasted and spoke to Shanon in his mind.『…Hyung really said that?』

『Of course not. I just said that because I felt like the Heavenly Demon work harder to find Master if I said that.』

『Ha, hahaha. Of course.』Jeong-woo was inwardly in awe of Shanon. Finding Yeon-woo was important, but he was still surprised how Shanon mustered the courage to touch the Heavenly Demon’s pride. Jeong-woo could never. Shanon really had guts.

Just then, Shanon spoke up with a laugh.『But I didn’t make things up.』

『…What did he say exactly?』

『He said the Heavenly Demon likes attention so much that he acts deranged and frenzied if he receive any.』

『…』

『I figured I shouldn’t say that much.』

『…Good job.』Jeong-woo nodded at Shanon’s response. He felt it’d be best to keep this to himself to the grave.

Just then, one of the flapping pages suddenly stopped rigidly.

“This is…?” Jeong-woo ran over urgently.

“You said you couldn’t find any information, right? So I’m going to go over time in order from when your brother rewound the wheel. This page has that recorded.”

Jeong-woo swallowed. Information related to the Heavenly Demon and the Black King were related to the secrets of the creation of the universe, so he couldn’t see it even though he was a first-class librarian. His heart beat faster at the fact that he was able to see this right now, but at the same time, he felt a thrill because it was as if he was reading his brother’s hidden diary.

Flutter. The Heavenly Demon began to flip the pages.

* * *

[The ‘Large Wheel’ is rewound.]

Chrrrk. Like the rewind button on a VCR had been pressed, the world began to flow backwards. Only Yeon-woo and Phante remained normal.

“Hehe. I’m already itching for a fight. I can’t endure it any longer…” Although there was an almost impossible miracle occurring in front of him, Phante didn’t seem to care. He was busy warming himself up in preparation for his reunion with his father.

Pfft. Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh. Quite a long time had passed and many things had changed, but in some ways, he found that Phante’s innocence was the same.

[The rate of change of darkness is in progress. 58%…]

‘It doesn’t seem to be affecting my transcendence.’ Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes. ‘Rather, it’s sped it up.’

It had been 57% just a few moments ago, and while the wheel was being rewound, it increased by a percent. This was an incredible speed compared to how slow it had been changing recently.

‘The closer I am to the world’s activation… The closer I am to omniscience and omnipotence, the more it’s affected… Is that it?’

While Yeon-woo made his conjectures, the Earth became stained with darkness. Chwa chwa chwa. Above the exposed otherworld, pieces of the toppled Tower were assembled. People who had been escaping the falling Tower were sucked back in, and R'lyeh who had tried to come out of Earth sank slowly back down into it.

‘I’m essentially building the Ruyi Bang to press down on my own stomach.’

No one had probably ever inflicted pain on themselves on a scale like this.

Just then, Phante spoke up. “But what time period are we returning to?”

“It’ll have to be when Seseungnim was intact…so I’m thinking about a few months before the incident happened.”

“Ugh! Can I go and punch in that damned bastard’s face before going to the village?” Phante was speaking about Faceless, the main culprit behind the people who endangered the Martial King. If Phante could eliminate Faceless and steal Gungnir, Asgard wouldn’t interfere like before. Nocturne was also a problem, but they probably didn’t have to worry about him. They could just return to a time before Faceless met and persuaded him.

“No.”

“Why!”

“Leave an arm for me. You’re gonna have him to yourself?”

“Hehehe. True. I wasn’t thinking things through.” Phante started laughing.

[The rewinding is complete!]

Slam! Phante dashed forward without looking back. He didn’t seem to care what floor they were on or what was around them. Yeon-woo inwardly clicked his tongue. It seemed there was another side of Phante that time wasn’t able to change.

[The visit of an unidentified player has been discerned![

[His identity is being read.]

[He is extremely similar to the player ‘Phante.’ However, there is a great difference with the stored data and the decision is delayed.]

…

[It has been confirmed that player ‘Phante’ is currently residing in the Tower’s Outer District.]

[It has been ruled this player is another player.]

[Attempting to export trespassing player.]

The system discovered Phante and activated its defense system. This was due to the fact that there was already a being called ‘Phante’ in this world line. However, this Phante and that Phante were clearly different. Their resolve and abilities were just the beginning.

‘I can’t believe that idiot was considered to be a chief who continued the golden age of the One-horned tribe after succeeding his father’s position…’

Phante would probably get mad if he knew Yeon-woo was concerned about the safety of the tribe as soon as he heard that. Yeon-woo tapped the air in front of him to ensure Phante wasn’t kicked out.

[You are connected to the system.]

…

[Your identity as High Guardian has been confirmed.]

[Will you register a new player?]

Yeon-woo successfully registered his Phante as a new player. He also gave him the ability to freely move between all floors except for the hundredth floor in case of future problems.

[The Bureau searches for the cause of the sudden change.]

[The gods of the ninety-eighth floor sense your presence.]

[The demons of the ninety-eighth floor perceive your existence and become wary.]

‘They finally caught on.’ Yeon-woo wondered how he appeared to the beings of the heavenly world. Putting the thought aside, he began to search for the location of Faceless, when…

‘Yup.’ Yeon-woo raised a corner of his mouth. ‘He’s here.’

[Allforone descends!]

Krrrrrng! White lightning fell in front of Yeon-woo and Allforone appeared. The light surrounding him shone more brilliantly than ever. Shock. Disbelief. Wariness… All kinds of emotions were whirling.

『So much darkness. Just who…』Allforone barely refrained from shouting as he asked.『Just who…are you…?』