Everyone shut their eyes tightly at the blinding light. The undead curse, which had built and built over dozens of years, had been converted into the highest level of light by Dark Shadow; a light so powerful that it couldn't be classified as either intermediate or high rank.
[Keuk!]
[Gyaahk!]
It didn't matter how much you trained your body if you were to face it. Only Lee Shin Woo, who had reached peak darkness mastery, could deal with it somewhat. Fortunately, it didn't target his party.
With the help of the Proof of Death, he'd changed the cannon's trajectory; it possessed enough light to topple a country, and that very light went towards the capital in a gentle curve.
He'd converted all of the accumulated energy into light, and he would return it to its creator... It was a plausible ending.
[The Heaven Defying Flag Bearer (+5) has been destroyed. Your Bone Reinforcement is not at a high enough level yet to absorb it. Repairing it is possible.]
"Of course it'd be destroyed."
While he vacantly watched the arc of light, he heard the sound of the hundred meter tall bone cannon begin to break apart and simultaneously received that message.
Lee Shin Woo had expected this to happen and merely smiled bitterly. He hadn't let out a tester or anything; he'd discharged all of cannon's accumulated energy at once. It would be stranger if it hadn't broken after releasing all that energy.
Once the cannon was finished releasing all its energy, it broke into pieces and fell to the ground. Lee Shin Woo picked up the pieces of the Heaven Defying Flag Bearer and placed them into his inventory. When he'd reached level 8, his inventory had expanded, so he was able to store all of the pieces.
"Shin Woo, you always go above and beyond my imagination when solving problems. It's thrilling. Though I don't miss it."
"You don't need to miss it."
Kratia, who had just watched from start to finish, came over to him with a vacant expression and said.
Lee Shin Woo pushed her aside, as she looked kind of out of it. While doing so, Kratia spoke unexpectedly.
"I think I gleaned something from that. There's something beyond what I was seeking."
"Oh, really?"
"It was an element. If an element is brought to its maximum potential, it then evolves into more of a concept than an amalgamation of mana, right?"
"R-Right... You really pieced that together from just watching that beam?"
"Thanks, Shin Woo. You gave me some hints and a clear view of it right in front of me."
As expected, geniuses were different. Lee Shin Woo had barely come to that realization after acquiring an innate element, yet Kratia, who was a human without Bone Reinforcement, was able to figure something out from watching his Dark Shadow first hand. He was astonished by her findings.
"...Given time and a budget, I should be able to do it too."
"There's plenty of time in the future."
"I'm not talking about the time I have left."
Because the shot was so powerful, the light remained in the air, as if it were a mirage. Kratia pointed to the mirage, no, the capital it was aimed at and said.
"Your battle's already begun. We don't have much time left here."
"Ah, so that's what you were talking about."
He couldn't help but nod. If the Emperor just sat back and did nothing after getting attacked by that barrage of light, then he wouldn't be an Emperor; he'd be an idiot.
The final battle was approaching. Even though Kratia was a genius, she wouldn't be able to obtain an innate element in that short period of time. There was an absolute limit to one's level.
"If only you could use Bone Reinforcement on me too..."
"I'll use it on you later if I can. For now, let's clean up and talk about how we're going to take down that pissed off Emperor... Huh?"
In any case, they'd taken care of the foremost problem, so Lee Shin Woo had planned on taking care of Arema Steelworker himself. But he was shocked when he turned around. Even Wild Card couldn't predict this situation.
[K-Keoheok...!]
[K-Kuhaaaah...!]
Chi Paul's sharp nails were penetrating through Arema's face and stomach. Lee Shin Woo could tell that its nails were piercing through Arema's core.
He wasn't the only one. The other Chi Pauls were inflicting severe wounds to the other golems as well. Dana was helping them, sure, but how did they manage this in such a short period of time? Lee Shin Woo briefly felt it to be strange, but he understood when he saw the Chi Pauls crying bloody tears.
[Kahaaahk!]
[My eyes... My eyes hurt.]
[It'll get better. Lord Paul Zero is watching us. So, concentrate on your revenge!]
The light that had just recently flooded the city. Dana, as well as Arema Steelworker and his golems were unable to endure the light. However, the Chi Pauls were able to endure purely through their desire for revenge and used this opportunity to strike.
'An ability, which borders on an authority, that allows them to ignore everything else in the pursuit of their revenge... It's like the Joker karma. There was meaning behind their class after all.'
Lee Shin Woo felt like he'd understood just how frightening the 'Avenger' class was.
He remembered how badly they wanted to take revenge on Arema and thought, 'perhaps this was the most desirable outcome' while also thinking of fatalism, something that didn't suit him at all.
[It's... It's not over yet.]
[We can't let you go so easily.]
This would be the start of their true revenge. The Chi Pauls used their flames to melt the golems bit by bit, cut them apart, and eat them. They ate the clumps of iron with such voracity that they would soon finish their entire bodies.
[W-What are you... What are you doing!? Stop... Stop...!]
[Keuk. Kuhaah...!]
Arema Steelworker cried out. Although his core had been pierced, he endured, perhaps because his core contained his human soul. But in the face of these level 8 enemies, there was nothing he could do; he merely screamed and was forced to just spectate as his golem body was devoured.
"They won't get heavy metal poisoning?"
"That's really not a problem at this point, you think?"
Lee Shin Woo tilted his head and muttered. Jin then sighed and retorted. Kratia tried her best to look away, while Dana said 'M-My eyes!', unexpectedly letting out a cute voice while turning round and round in the air.
"...Heot!"
And Prince awoke at the best time. Did she even know how many times she'd avoided death while she lay unconscious? She looked around, and soon pointed at Lee Shin Woo and yelled.
"My junior! Give me back my junior!"
"You really are a pain... Mm, you think it's time?"
"It'll probably be ok. ...Probably."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
Prince gritted her teeth and yelled, seeing how familiarly the Heaven Defying General and Kratia were conversing. Lee Shin Woo took off his helmet and instantaneously changed his undead face into his human one. Prince shut her mouth.
"...Huh?"
"Well, this is how it is, Senior. I'll explain it soon, so please be patient."
"Huh? ...Huh?"
Prince couldn't understand what was going on and tilted her head. Kratia thought she might struggle like Seira did, so she grabbed onto her.
Fortunately, she didn't struggle. She was shocked, unable to accept what was going on, and after trying to process everything... she lost consciousness and fell to the floor once more.
"Kratia, did you hit her too hard?"
"I admit, I was trying to hurt her. ...But I think she fainted for a different reason this time."
"You admit it!?"
"With her personality, it makes sense... Ugh, she's definitely the type you don't want as your friend."
"Jin, how dare you talk behind her back while she's unconscious..."
"Since she knows you're undead now, introduce me properly when she wakes up."
The heroes conversed warmly, washing away a tiny bit of their exhaustion. Then, Chi Paul screamed in joy at fulfilling its revenge.
[Kuooooooooh!]
"...I guess I got to go."
"Are you going to do to them what you did to me?"
"It won't be as extreme as what I did to you. Then, I'll get going."
The blinding light had subsided somewhat, so Dana approached him and asked. Lee Shin Woo just grinned and replied, and then went towards the Chi Pauls, who had completely devoured all of the golems without leaving a single speck of them.
They looked quite menacing, such that they couldn't show themselves to outsiders, but once they saw Lee Shin Woo, they politely prostrated themselves and didn't forget to show their respect.
[Thank you... Thank you so much!]
[I will devote my entire being to you Lord Paul Zero, for giving me a new life and an opportunity to fulfill my revenge!]
[If you still have a use for us hideous, leftover monsters, then please use us whenever you see fit!]
"How could you call yourselves monsters? You guys are family to me."
Lee Shin Woo acted and Jin retched from behind him, but like always, he ignored her.
He raised both his hands and covered the Chi Pauls with his darkness, which contained the power of Wild Card. He wasn't creating an Immortal or anything; he was just trying to make them grow into a different, more favorable direction.
"Your revenge has been fulfilled. You've already indulged in it, so now digest it and make it your own. Then, not me, but all of you need to decide where you go next."
[Our revenge isn't finished yet. We cannot rest until the Undead Emperor, as well as the Magic Emperor, who sent Arema down here, are killed. Please command us until then!]
"Alright. Then, follow me."
[Yes, sir!]
The darkness completely covered the Chimeras, and their bodies, which had become monstrous, melted away within the darkness. Lee Shin Woo spoke as if it were incredibly easy, but it actually wasn't so.
In the process of obtaining their revenge, the Chimeras' forms had become twisted, and Lee Shin Woo was trying to change their appearance to match their karma; he was doing something ridiculous again!
"This'll hurt. Bear with it."
[This doesn't even tickle...!]
They had eaten both human and metallic bodies, and were unable to properly digest them, so Lee Shin Woo just extracted their souls. He then infused his mana into their bodies, which were a complete mess from mixing everything together, and transformed them into their most natural shape. After that, he returned their souls to their bodies and then tweaked them to suit them.
Because he'd acquired so much knowledge pertaining to golems, and had managed to create a few species, it wasn't very difficult for him. If God were to hear about this, she'd be shocked!
"...Alright, I'm finished. That was simple."
"Hoooo..."
Ultimately, their bodies looked no different from a human's. But they were golems on the inside, so they were definitely not human.
Perhaps he'd succeeded in creating the perfect 'Android' that everyone dreamed of. Though there was one part of them that wasn't robotic: their soul!
[Lv8 Android Zero Avenger Chi Paul]
[You have combined the info of countless golems and managed to create an android, a being which cannot be distinguished from a regular human. All stats have increased by 20.]
In the end, it turned out exactly as he'd expected. While the other Chimera Avenger remained at level 7 (or leveled up from level 6), Chi Paul, who'd devoured Arema Steelworker, had reached level 8!
"Ah."
Chi Paul, which had originally been made up of several souls and bodies, had finally become a singular being.
Its consciousness, which felt as though it were obscured by a thick mist, had cleared up completely without a single cloud in sight. It felt as though it had woken up from a dream and had returned to reality. Chi Paul just vacantly stared at its creator. The naked handsome man was instantly garbed in armor that resembled Lee Shin Woo's.
But contrary to Lee Shin Woo's armor, Chi Paul's armor was a dazzling mix of red and gold. Perhaps it was a symbol of its strength.
"Father."
"Huh?"
"Father!"
"Huh!?"
Chi Paul called him father and kneeled before him, and the other Chi Pauls followed suit. Lee Shin Woo had suddenly become the father of all these grown men, so he was startled and took a step back. However, the Chi Pauls were relentless.
"Thank you, Father!"
"Father!"
"I'm your son, Father!"
"Uh..."
How the hell did it turn out like this? These disgusting guys looked at him with such bright eyes, so Lee Shin Woo wondered whether he should forbid them from calling him 'father' for the time being or not. But he ultimately decided against it. He was weak to his allies!
"Yeah. I'm your father."
On that day, he'd gained so much, and lost something trivial.
The undead curse, as well as the fate of the Underground Empire, had taken one step forward towards their mutual end.