Level 0 Master

* * *

Eustasia drew a line with her sword.

“I told you to rest, but you still hold a sword.”

Sungjin’s appearance stopped her sword for a while. “This is me resting.”

“Ha, is it?”

“I feel better when I am distracted and moving my body.” She raised her chin, as if to ask if he were “complaining.”

“That’s just like you.”

“Hmm. You’re not stopping me.”

“Well, everyone has a different way of resting.” Sungjin just laughed.

“Hmph. It’s inconvenient to take a rest. I will make you win your final game.”

“Okay. It’s your trait to not give up.” Sungjin nodded slowly.

“Hmph. Whatever.” Eustasia turned her head slightly. I really almost gave up once.

When abandoned by her father, the king, she had given up hope. But Sungjin saved her. He woke her up and allowed her to dream.

So I won’t give up this time.

I will definitely make Sungjin win.

* * *

Rachel prayed.

“What are you praying for?”

“Oh, Oppa.” At Sungjin’s question, she got up in the middle of her prayer. “Hehe. I wished for you to win. ”

“Thanks.”

They smiled face to face.

“If you can’t win… that other person… will he burn our world?”

“Yes, but that won’t happen, so don’t worry.”

“Why is he…”

“It’s his desire to be stronger.” Knowing what it was, Sungjin spoke bitterly.

“Is that so? Why would he want strength by harassing others? It’s better to just live together and be peaceful.”

The wish “don’t bother anyone” was pure because she herself had suffered so much from the desires of others.

“Yes, that would be nice, however… he won’t listen to you. His desire comes first and foremost.”

“Even if the others are sick?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Rachel was sullen. She knew that there were such people in the world. She had been through a lot herself. Still, she wanted others to change their minds.

“Your heart is wonderful. Just… there are those who don’t listen to it. ”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll be hard, but let’s win. Otherwise, everyone in this world will suffer.”

“Yes, brother. I will do my best. ”

“Okay.”

* * *

Zakiya approached Sungjin.

Her dizzying body shook following her shaking step.

“If you’re going to take a break, how about a more exciting entertainment?”

“No, thank you.”

“Even though you try to have everything, you have a strong temperance. It’s really different from Your Majesty on the other side. ”

Zakiya grinned.

If the Sungjin who had chosen the “dark” didn’t control his own desires, the Sungjin she knew inside and out thoroughly did. They were the same but so different.

“Yet that’s still too bad.”

“Why?”

“If not for this hot body, what else would I reward Your Majesty with?”

“You don’t have to worry about rewarding me.”

“But I am greatly blessed by Your Majesty. How can I repay the grace that has forgiven this body of sins that has been tainted with all kinds of lies?”

At Zakiya’s words, Sungjin smiled softly. “You made a false approach… … You still care about that?”

“How do you not care?”

“It’s okay. I saved you because I saw one truth in your lies.”

“You said one truth?”

Sungjin looked straight at Zakiya.

Facing him, Zakiya placed her hands on her chest as she felt her heart rate become faster. The strong hard-willed eye had all of her.

Ah, those eyes. Those eyes that melt everything just by facing me…

Those eyes that had forgiven her misguided past.

“Love and sadness for your brother. Wasn’t that true?”

At the end of Sungjin’s words, Zakiya once again recalled her past. The moment she was saved.

“Hoho. Yes. Your Majesty has indeed recognized it.”

“That’s what really moved me.”

“Not my beauty?”

“Why, are you disappointed?”

“Hoho. That’s just like you.” Zakiya shook her head.

Sungjin was Sungjin.

Even if the appearance is the same, he is completely different from the Sungjin of darkness.

“So let’s shake off the past and have confidence.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

* * *

Sooryun played the pipa with elegant technique. The tone was beautiful, sad, and warm.

“Is it a song for those trapped in that world?” Sungjin appeared and asked, so Sooryun stopped training for a while.

“Yes, it is for those who have finally found rest in the long curse of eternity but have not yet been liberated.”

“It’s beautiful,” Sungjin nodded slightly, and sat down and listened to her pipa.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“No. It really was beautiful.”

The live music of a true artist was vivid, unable to be replicated in a recording. Such was Sooryun’s music.

“I’m still lacking.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I wouldn’t have been able to save the world myself if brother hadn’t come along, and now…” Sooryun’s complexion paled. “I can’t handle my enemy alone, so I’m burdening my brother.”

“You don’t have to apologize. The biggest responsibility for the defeat rests with me, the leader. ”

“But I did nothing for their rest and salvation.”

“Oh no, no. I told you to rest, but you were thinking about it.” Sungjin gave a gentle smile. “They are all in me now.” The souls of the world were all asleep but not yet liberated. It was a task to be completed after he became an Arc Master. “And your music would have been heard by them.”

“Are you sure? Could they be listening to my performance without a physical body?”

“Playing with the heart can be heard by the soul.”

“Playing with the heart… … . ”

“Let me hear your music. I think the souls that sleep in me are happy. And most of all… … . ” Sungjin laughed. “I want to hear more.”

Sooryun blushed slightly. “I see. Next time I’ll play better. To move the soul.”

“I’ll be expecting that.”

* * *

Sungjin had a leisurely rest in his palace. Sometimes he visited the other women’s dwellings in order to chat and play together, but that was all. Whoever saw him could see he wasn’t ready for the final fight.

Pandora approached Sungjin, who was sitting in a chair and looking at the sky with ease.

“My grandfather was curious. What is the final answer for victory in the sacred realm?”

Sungjin turned to her. “And did you know that the enemy would be myself?”

“Yes.”

“You’re spoiled for not telling me.”

“He thought it was a process that you have to go through.”

“Ha, that’s not wrong either.”

“And on behalf of my grandfather, I now have to watch you, whether it is you of light or of darkness that will become the victor.”

No other man in Valhalla was a match for Sungjin. Both Valhallas had made Sungjin their final winners.

The candidates for the right answer were narrowed down to “two.” The “two” were one and completely different. One side wanted to get strength by destroying the world. The other side was… … .

“You’re weaker than him, because you couldn’t go that far.” That was the result of Pandora’s analysis.

Even with equal potential, the gap between one who did anything to become stronger and one who didn’t was noticeable.

“You think so?”

“Didn’t you already lose twice?”

“Yes, I did lose twice, but that was due to a difference in information and in the preparation period. I don’t think I’ll lose the last game.”

“How can you say you have a chance?”

“Why? You think I can’t win?”

“No. Your opponent is yourself. He is equal in every way.”

“So?”

“Your opponent consumed the world and strengthened himself. You gave up being strong in return to keep what you pursue. That difference made an absolute difference.”

Sungjin’s six wings. His opponent’s twelve wings. Sungjin’s team members were still unprepared despite their awakenings and, on the contrary, the demon kings of hell had gained experience since ancient times.

The strength of each individual and power lay in that aspect.

“My analysis has already determined the results.”

“Do you think that’s the answer your grandfather was looking for?”

“In my analysis, yes. If you don’t think so, please say so.”

Sungjin smiled at Pandora. “If there is strength in not hesitating to destroy the world…”

His eyes shone sharply. It was a sharp and intense glare that made everything that had happened previously seem like a lie. Even the emotionless Pandora couldn’t breathe because of its intensity.

“… there is also strength in protecting the world. I’m becoming stronger to do so. And I will be even stronger this time.”

For the world… for his precious ones… To protect everything… he couldn’t lose. He couldn’t lose because he was his opponent. He couldn’t lose because the enemy was his own “truth.”

Obviously, the enemy could have been his form. If he had chosen a different path in a moment of conflict, he could have reached such a power contemplating himself at a crossroad. The darkness inside him was his greatest enemy, so he could never lose. He had to win, otherwise the current Sungjin was a lie.

Pandora, who was overwhelmed by his intensity, barely recovered. “Did you say that protecting the world is strength?”

“Yes.”

“Your words don’t make sense.”

“Why?”

“When a lot of resources are used, it makes sense that the expected value for the output increases. Protecting the world is a strength achieved by the effort alone, while using resources would give an entirely different result.”

“So, you think I’ll lose?”

“Yes.”

Sungjin stood up and tapped Pandora’s head lightly. “You can’t confirm a theory without testing it out first.”

“That fact is true, but…”

“Wait and watch. I’ll show you what true strength is.”

“Are you saying that you can really win?”

“Yes.”

Pandora watched Sungjin and scanned him from head to toe. “I don’t understand how that would be possible.”

“I’ll overcome your possibility.”

“… May I look forward to it?”

“Of course.”

Pandora watched Sungjin once more.

What is this man talking about?

The man who defeated her grandfather. And the man who wished to overcome himself. The man who wanted to challenge himself again even after two devastating defeats.

Was he bluffing, or was it the truth?

I don’t understand.

But she knew the answer.

She wanted to see this man’s final scene, whether it was an ascendance into godship or grand destruction.

I don’t understand what he has prepared for the last month.

To the word, Sungjin and his teammates had done nothing but take a break. They hadn’t done any special training. But was that some sort of preparation for victory?

“You seem to be doubting me. But that’s good. It’s a scholar’s attitude to confirm what he hasn’t seen.”

Sungjin passed by her naturally.

Pandora’s eyes followed his movements.

“I’ll show you now. If you want to see the ending, follow me.”

“… Yes.”

She automatically followed Sungjin. She wanted to see how this man was going to prove himself, not because she wanted to keep her promise to her grandfather, but because she wanted to see for herself.

This endless curiosity… What is this emotion called?

She looked it up.

And the results were.

[A step before love].