The World’s Greatest is Dead

The World’s Greatest is Dead – Chapter 118

*Drip.*

*Drip.*

Water droplets fell to the floor.

There were quite a lot of them.

The problem was that it all trickled down from the tip of my chin.

‘It’s disgustingly hot.’

How much time had passed? I didn’t keep track, but it certainly wasn’t a short duration.

‘… I’m dying of thirst.’

I had sweat so much that my throat was parched.

And yet, despite my relentless thirst, I remained in my spot without moving.

I couldn’t move.

How could one move while watching that?

*Sssssss-!*

In front of me, Tang Yelan was tying her hair back tightly as she repeated her actions amidst the heat.

If not for the beads of sweat, one couldn’t tell she was expending any energy at all. No signs of disturbance or fatigue were visible.

How focused she was.

‘Amazing.’

This was the first time I’d seen the process of forging or repairing a sword up close.

She filled the furnace with charcoal and stoked the fire.

Then, she put something else inside.

She kept repeating actions I couldn’t comprehend.

I glanced at the pile next to the furnace.

A stack of black minerals. It seemed to be black iron.

‘The Tang family must surely be wealthy.’

That precious black iron was piled up there.

Though not in huge quantities, that amount was enough to buy several houses in Henan.

‘But to give away something like that so casually.’

Even though I had asked, I didn’t expect them to use black iron for repairs.

No matter what materials Poison King permitted, it still felt peculiar.

‘I do have a contingency plan for this.’

I had already prepared a plan in case the Poison King reneged on his promise.

If he tried to backtrack, I’d use it. Otherwise…

‘I’ll figure out how to gain something else from him.’

I intended to use it to gain an advantage.

‘What else can I take from him?’

Given I’d already gained quite a bit in Sichuan, there didn’t seem to be much left. Still…

‘You can never have too many benefits.’

Unless it was something ghostly, it was only right to take what you could while you could.

As I was thinking and planning…

*Ssssss.*

The sound of something cooking reached my ears.

When I looked ahead, Tang Yelan was pouring something over a hard surface.

‘Is that melted black iron?’

It seemed so.

She poured the molten black iron into a mold.

Her actions were so delicate; not a single movement wavered.

‘So, she repairs using that.’

Tang Yelan examined the sword she had placed beside her.

The handle and the blade were already separated.

What exactly was she looking at so closely? As I tilted my head in curiosity…

『She’s probably looking at the blade’s strength and thickness.』

Poison Sovereign approached and explained to me.

『It’s impossible to attach or repair a broken blade. She’ll eventually have to make a new one. To do that, she’ll need to study the original blade.』

“To make it exactly the same?”

『Not exactly.』

“Then what?”

『Nothing is identical. For repairs, the goal is to make it as similar as possible.』

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

『Not quite. If you understood the difference, you’d have become a smith.』

Poison Sovereign chuckled.

“Hmm.”

I shifted my gaze back to Tang Yelan and then spoke to Poison Sovereign.

“Elder.”

『What is it?』

It seemed Tang Yelan was too focused to hear me, so I asked.

“Is Young lady Tang your attachment?”

『……..』

Poison Sovereign fell silent at my question.

“Your lingering attachment to this world… Is it possibly that woman?”

『…. Hehe….』

A chuckle instead of an answer, but it was enough.

“When I first met you, I thought that the new sword might be your attachment, but that’s not it.”

『And what made you think that?』

“Because you never approached it.”

『….』

If the sword was his attachment, he would have stayed near it instead of Tang Yelan.

But he didn’t.

“You only stayed by Young lady Tang’s side. As if you had no interest in the sword.”

It felt wrong to say he had no attachment to it.

Rather…

‘Secondary.’

It seemed fair to say that Tang Yelan was a higher priority than the sword.

So I thought.

‘Poison Sovereign’s attachment is not the sword, but… Tang Yelan.’

Maybe it was Tang Yelan.

『Let me ask, did anything change because of that?』

“No. Not particularly…”

Whether it was the Heavenly Demon Sword or Tang Yelan, it didn’t matter. What mattered was the reason she needed to repair that sword.

“Ultimately, I’m just curious why Young lady Tang needs to repair that sword.”

No matter what attachments one had, the method to resolve them didn’t make sense.

“What do you want?”

I looked up at the Poison Sovereign.

『… You’re already certain.』

The Poison Sovereign spoke while looking into my eyes.

『You’re certain that this is to resolve my lingering attachment.』

“Of course.”

How could I not know?

“Ghosts, by their very nature, act to resolve their lingering attachments. That’s their essence.”

『… Oh?』

“What ghosts instinctively seek to achieve is putting their spirits to rest.”

Their actions driven by attachments were ultimately steps towards putting spirits to rest.

“Whatever actions they take, they are directly tied to their attachments. It would be the same for this.”

『…』

“That’s why I’m curious. If the restoration of the divine sword is your attachment, I would just let it go.”

You aren’t like that.

“I’m curious why you entrusted this task to your granddaughter.”

『You acted like you’d just do what you were told, so why are you suddenly curious?』

That was a valid point too. I had intended to just cleanly do the job without getting involved.

But, “Just in case.”

『Hmm?』

“Just in case, your lingering attachment harms Young lady Tang. I had that thought suddenly.”

『Huh? What if it does?』

“If that’s the case…”

I tilted my head.

“I’d have to exorcise you. You’re an annoying evil spirit after all.”

『…』

The Poison Sovereign narrowed his eyes.

I wondered if he would burst out in anger at my harsh words. I kept observing, intrigued.

『Hahaha…』

What came out of his mouth was none other than laughter.

『You made it clear you didn’t want to get involved. So, why? Are you worried about that child?』

“It’s not exactly a worry. But now it feels a bit unsettling.”

We became acquaintances.

I knew her name and we talked.

So, it’s a problem.

‘That’s why I tried not to get involved.’

Even a small involvement made me care.

The cursed remnants of my past life still lingered. How many evil spirits had I eradicated, how many of my own karma had been tainted in the process?

In this life, I wanted to avoid any entanglement with evil spirits.

‘Still,’

It was better than feeling unsettled.

While reminiscing, I looked at the Poison Sovereign.

『…harmful influence, huh.』

The old man looked at his granddaughter with a contemplative gaze.

*Bang!*

At that moment, Tang Yelan was striking the hot metal she had taken out of the forge with a hammer.

Watching her, the Poison Sovereign’s eyes gradually softened.

『I’m not certain. But…』

*Bang!*

『… I hope it doesn’t come to that.』

“…”

I took him in, staring quietly before letting out a sigh.

“Hoo…”

I exhaled and scratched the back of my head.

“… So, is your lingering attachment dependent on Young lady Tang’s success or failure?”

『Why do you ask?』

“If that’s the case, I’m thinking of meddling a bit.”

『… What?』

The Poison Sovereign looked at me with widened eyes.

To relieve the anticipation, I quickly added more words.

“Just to clarify, I won’t be lending my body to you like I did with that annoying old man.”

Besides Yu Chun-gil, could another ghost enter my body at all? I’d never tried and didn’t want to.

What I could do for the Poison Sovereign was different.

“I’m just trying to meddle a bit. Will you accept?”

『…』

The Poison Sovereign’s face showed signs of contemplation.

But the answer had already been decided.

* * *

I came out of the Iron Workshop and returned to my quarters.

To my disbelief, it was already evening.

It wasn’t quite late at night, but the sun was starting to set.

I thought a lot of time had passed, but I didn’t expect the day to be over.

Seeing that, I ruffled my hair.

“Ugh.”

I wasn’t upset about wasting time.

It was meddling in something that annoyed me.

“… I didn’t want to.”

In this life, at least in this life, I didn’t want to do anything foolish, even if it meant my death.

But I couldn’t help it and intervened.

“I should’ve just stayed put.”

Whether Tang Yelan did well or not.

I should’ve just watched and confirmed the result without intervening.

Poison Sovereign’s request was merely to urge Tang Yelan to repair the sword.

He never asked for help in ensuring her success.

“Dammit…”

I had intervened unnecessarily.

A curse slipped out.

‘Why did I do it?’

I could have stayed quietly, but I didn’t.

When I recalled the reason, it wasn’t a big deal.

‘She looked so desperate.’

Her focused demeanor, the way she spoke to the Iron Workshop master.

Her desperate effort to achieve something was moving.

Even though she sweated profusely, not showing a trace of fatigue was commendable.

That reason, and probably the biggest reason here was.

“… It’s Poison Sovereign, that old man.”

It was Poison Sovereign.

“Why did he have to look at her like that?”

It was the look in his eyes when he watched Tang Yelan focusing.

‘Those eyes were like…’

The way my grandmother looked at me before she died in my past life.

Recalling that.

That made me do it.

‘How foolish of me.’

I clicked my tongue and bit my lip.

“Sigh.”

I didn’t care anymore.

I had done what I could do.

Though I wanted to watch till the end, who knew when it’d actually end.

‘Staying longer would just be a hindrance.’

For now, it seemed right to step back for a while.

Besides, I had other things to do.

Originally, no, even just this morning, I really didn’t want to do it.

“… Now I’m unnecessarily motivated.”

Seeing Tang Yelan moving so doggedly made me feel like I should work hard at something too.

Whatever that might be.

“Phew.”

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

My body slowly loosened up.

And when I opened my eyes again, I was in a pure white world.

“…”

An instant feeling of discomfort arose.

The foresight of what awaited increased it.

I saw a sword stuck in the ground as I turned my head.

“Okay.”

I approached and pulled it out.

“… Let’s see how this goes.”

As soon as the sword was pulled out, a boulder and a man appeared before me.

My heart skipped a beat.

Seeing the guy’s intense gaze caused it.

Fear crept in.

Tension tightened my back and every part of me.

Gripping the sword tightly, I asked,

“… Let’s just say, how many this time-”

I couldn’t finish my sentence.

“-lives this time?”

I died while uttering it.

“Damn it.”

Swearing emerged.

I hadn’t even realized when I died.

When I became aware, the perspective had changed.

I saw the boulder and the man again.

“… How short-tempered.”

Last time, at least we could talk.

This time, a horrible adolescence must have made even that impossible.

“Sigh.”

I let out a breath and knew for sure.

“This night is going to be long.”

The time it’d take for this nightmare to break would be much longer than before.

Thinking of that, I lifted the sword towards the man and said, “Come on.”

As always.

Unintentionally enduring and memorizing things was my forte.

Thus, in the white night, I faced countless deaths.

* * *

*Chirp-! Chirp-!*

I heard birds chirping.

Opening my eyes to that sound.

“…”

I lay still, staring at the ceiling.

“Ah-”

I uttered and then rubbed my throat.

It felt awkward to speak.

“Ah ah.”

I spoke a couple more times.

“Ha.”

Unable to hold back a laugh, I said.

“I won, dammit.”

I had won.