Kang Sihyun knew the true nature of the monsters that had suddenly invaded the world. It was an ancient remnant he had fought against relentlessly, both as Sihyun and Adam.
It seemed that divine power could only be used when the seals confining the Irregulars weakened and they were unleashed upon the world. Otherwise, there was no explaining why the seals that had never moved before suddenly broke.
Was it Adam's fate to be redeemed?
Such power was disruptive to the world's balance. But if an existence like the remnants of Gulra, which disrupted the balance, appeared first, then it could be used to counter them. The world seemed to adjust its scales in this manner, carrying destiny and balance on its back.
"Arrrgh!"
The monster's assault spared neither the slums nor the nobles' mansions. Screams were heard everywhere, and cries echoed like a reverberation. The scene was akin to hell, but Sihyun was not perturbed by the familiar situation. He had seen too many people crying, despairing, and drenched in sorrow.
Their despair was not an emotion that could be comforted away. Thus, what Sihyun had to do was not to console the crying people, but to eliminate the monsters that caused their tears.
Fortunately, he was abundant in divine power.
It seemed unlikely he would exhaust his divine power and collapse from depletion.
Sihyun skillfully dispatched the monsters using his awakened divine power. It was nothing new, but a problem arose from the fact that Gren's body was not quite suited for using divine power.
Gren's body, which had been beaten from a young age, was weaker than Kang Sihyun's. The divine power stored within was vast, yet drawing it forth felt like forcibly piercing through an unopened channel, bringing unbearable pain with each battle. Every time he used divine power, his veins seemed to burst, making it difficult to control the surging power.
"Cough!"
Blood gushed over his tongue. His body, unable to endure the haphazardly used divine power, signaled its limit. Sihyun vomited blood every ten monsters he killed. It was excruciating, but necessary as about thirty monsters had attacked the baron's mansion alone. There was no time to rest in pain.
Ultimately, Sihyun killed all thirty monsters, vomiting blood. Though he tried to save as many as he could, six had died, and over twenty were severely injured or maimed, mostly knights.
"It will heal quickly."
Sihyun healed their wounds. As long as they were not dead, there was no wound he could not heal, allowing everyone to walk, talk, and express emotions cleanly. The only one who could not was Sihyun, struggling with the aftermath of the battle.
"Ah, damn..."
The pain that engulfed Sihyun's body was worse than anything he had experienced in Kang Sihyun's body. Pain hammered him from head to toe, and it felt like blood was flowing backward inside him. After treating the last patient, Sihyun collapsed to the floor in agony. People were bewildered. They had saved them, but they were unsure how to treat Sihyun, who had been treated almost like a slave.
Sihyun knew this and sighed before losing consciousness.
Damn the caste system.
Indeed, this world was uncomfortable to live in.
Ah, I missed Day.
***
"Are you conscious?"
When he opened his eyes, it wasn't in the narrow attic room Gren usually slept in but on a soft bed. Sihyun turned his head toward a familiar voice. There was the baron, Gren's former master.
"You saved the servants, I hear."
Sihyun stared blankly at the man speaking. It wasn't that he intended to ignore him; he simply had no strength even to twitch a finger, and trying to speak made his lips refuse to move.
He was drained to the last drop of energy. He thought, 'Is this how a vampire feels when it can't feed?' Just then, one of the servants gave Sihyun water. Noticing his abnormal condition, the servant half-lifted him to drink.
His throat moistened, and he felt slightly revived.
Wow, Gren. You're lucky.
Since entering this body, it was the first time he had been treated so preciously, and he internally chuckled at the thought. The baron looked at Sihyun again, presumably grateful. He had sacrificed his own body to save people and protect the mansion. It was only right to be thanked if there was such a thing as propriety.
But the emotion Sihyun read in the man's eyes was unexpected.
"Where did that special power you used come from?"
He was suspicious of him. Not only that, but his eyes also revealed greed and unpleasant feelings.
To sum it up, it's like this.
A servant of unknown origin kills monsters with a mysterious power, and it's suspicious, but he's
greedy for that power and wants to torture him to find out its source.
Just trash, isn't it?
I learned where Renard's damn personality came from. That spoiled young master was thoroughly like his father.
Sihyun frowned and did not respond. Even if he could have spoken, he would have maintained the same attitude. The baron furrowed his brow and then stood up from his seat.
"Your condition doesn't look good. We'll talk later."
He clicked his tongue and left the room. Sihyun was left with the servants, sighing silently in bed.
"Uh..."
As he lay there, a young servant girl who had given him water earlier spoke up.
"…Thank you for saving me."
The girl whispered in a tiny voice. When their eyes met, she shyly smiled, looking innocently charming. Sihyun slightly curled the corners of his mouth.
Yes, there are people like her. That's why he saved them.
Sihyun was glad not everyone in the mansion was trash and nodded slightly in thanks.
His eyes closed again. He did not resist the oncoming drowsiness.
"Master won't come today either. Ah, don't worry. Gren will surely visit once you're better!"
His body, which he thought would recover in two days, took much longer. Sihyun couldn't get out of bed for five days, neither short nor long, and the young girl who had thanked him became his caregiver and conversational partner.
She told him various things, even without his asking, like how the empire had responded after the monsters invaded, and what the baron was doing.
It seemed the baron had no plans to visit until Sihyun recovered, likely due to his nature of not wanting to waste time. If he was so frugal with his time, it was unclear why he had beaten Gren when he was young. That was nothing but a waste of time.
As he pondered, the door burst open, and Renard entered. He asked various questions to the lying Sihyun and cursed before leaving when he received no response. Because of his attitude, even after Sihyun was physically able to speak, he pretended to be more ill for another week. Watching Renard grumble as he left each time was quite satisfying.
In the meantime, much had changed in the empire.
First, the national religion of the Solar God was blamed for the crisis and criticized. According to the anti-Solar God faction, the country was being punished by an angry god for believing in a false religion. Sihyun couldn't help but snort at that ridiculous interpretation.
Thus, the national religion changed from the Solar God to the Moon God. It had been spreading quietly underwater before, but it seemed to have revived properly using this crisis.
The Moon God, really.
It was laughable. Sihyun's father was closer to the sun, so the new religion the empire chose to believe in was complete nonsense.
However, Sihyun didn't speak of this fact. After all, speaking up wouldn't make anyone take it seriously.
"And the Third Prince, who had been missing, returned! Right after arriving, he killed many monsters, and the nobles are following him!"
The young girl knew quite a bit about the imperial power struggle. Despite all sorts of conversations happening among the servants, it was surprising how much a child knew.
Sihyun listened to the young girl while closing his eyes. By tomorrow, all his energy should have fully recovered. Then he would have to think about how to properly thank the baron and how to save this world.
At least people would be grateful to him.
Sihyun thought so as he fell asleep.
The world he lived in turned out to be more selfish and illogical than he thought, which he realized the next day when he awoke.
"Execute the evil sorcerer who summoned the monsters!"
"Execute him!"
"Execute him!"
It was like a scene from a witch hunt in a book. People surrounded Sihyun with torches, and his body was tied to a wooden post. All this had happened while he briefly slept.
Sihyun didn't need to ask to understand what had happened.
"The evil sorcerer has summoned monsters and contaminated the religion! Execute him to clear the Solar God's name!"
An old man explained the situation in a booming voice.
So, the Solar God, unjustly blamed for the release of the Irregulars, was using him as a sacrifice to clear its name. The reason things had turned out this way was clear, so Sihyun turned his head. Far away, he saw a man standing next to a priest with an expressionless face.
The baron.
That crazy bastard had declared him a sorcerer and incited the priests. Or maybe the priests needed a sacrifice and had seduced him instead.
Either way, it was an unjust situation.
It wasn't like saving someone from drowning only to be asked for a bundle in return. It was more like saving
someone from drowning only to be killed because they blamed you for the drowning.
"Ha."
A sense of futility and powerlessness enveloped him. He wondered if defending himself had been a mistake, as there were three bodies under the wooden post. All were people Sihyun had saved during the monster attack, including the young girl who had cared for him.
What a shitty world.
Sihyun had no reservations about cursing internally. He was already sick of life, and this was a rather spectacular way to light up his end.
People are so foolish and selfish, pursuing false salvation that suits them while ignoring the real salvation right in front of them.
More than disappointment, a sense of betrayal consumed him, and instead of anger, a sense of emptiness filled his mind. For that reason, Sihyun did not resist. What would change if he subdued them with his power? Just like he had failed to persuade Eve, ultimately, one's nature does not change.
The original sin of pride and greed begins like this.
By rejecting divine providence and dying.
"Execute him! Execute him!"
The zealots were unmistakable. Amidst the echoing chants, the old man threw his torch onto the wood. Whoosh! Perhaps because it was doused in oil, the flames caught quickly. Sihyun smirked as he watched the flames rise toward him.
"No!"
A scream came from somewhere. Whoosh! The flames intensified. Just before the ferocious flames consumed him, the last thing Sihyun saw was a man clutching documents stamped with the royal seal, rushing toward him.
That face was familiar. It wasn't a face he couldn't recognize just because it had grown a bit.
Day.
The platinum-eyed man was rushing toward him frantically. In his fluttering documents, Sihyun remembered the name of the Third Prince who had been missing and then returned.
Dayrta Luan Eppert.
"…!"
Surprised, Sihyun's eyes widened as he looked at Day. Their despairing gazes met. Now that he saw it, his face was quite noble, causing Sihyun to almost move his lips in shock.
Crazy.
Day was royalty.
With that realization, the flames finally engulfed Sihyun.
Ah, this kind of ending isn't good.
Sihyun clicked his tongue internally. He thought he had no lingering attachment to Gren's life, but he hadn't expected to still have a thread left at the end. However, regrets aside, the flames had already completely covered him by then.
Thus, Sihyun died.
Framed as a sorcerer, becoming a stepping stone for the ascension of the Solar God.
Only after his death did he realize.
It was the first life of Adam reincarnated.
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