Possessing Nothing

Chapter 273 – Abel (1)

Translated by : Betterdays

Proofread by : Hogu

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Lee Sungmin woke up and opened his eyes, noticing he was in a room that he didn’t normally use . It was close to noon. After washing up, he was still having to deal with Heoju’s misery of losing his gourd and went to visit his master.

[That gourd is the treasure that this old man cherished the most! How could you let him take it away from you with your eyes wide open?!!]

“You said it has endless amounts of liquor. It’s not like that liquor will be going anywhere, will it?”

[The problem is that someone else might keep it and never return it! Get it back now!]

‘It’s not like I’ll drink it even if I keep it on me.’

[You fucking bastard. If you hadn’t let that bottle get taken away by that old bastard, do you think you would have been waking up alone today?]

“What the hell does that mean?”

[The alcohol in that bottle is something that even this old man used to get drunk on despite my high tolerance! If you and that girl had continued drinking last night, you would have been able to get what a drunk man and woman deserve…….]

“I’ll put you in the horse stables if you speak any more bullshit.’

[It’s been a long time since I heard that threat.]

Heoju grinned as Lee Sungmin retorted. But as Heoju really didn’t want to get shoved into a pile of horse shit, he calmly shut up.

Sima Ryunju was in the Lord’s quarters. After knocking on the door for permission, Lee Sungmin went in.

Sima Ryunju was wearing a mask different from the one he had been wearing last night, and Heoju’s gourd was placed neatly on his desk.

“That’s a nice gourd you have there.”

Sima Ryunju spoke.

“There was no end to the amount of liquor I could drink. The taste of that alcohol was better than anything this old man had ever drunk. If this was a fairy forest, not the headquarter, I would have gotten very drunk.”

“The owner of the bottle is begging me to get it back.”

“Owner? Ah, the monster possessed by you. Was this that monster’s possession?”

“That’s right.”

“This old man is not so ignorant as to take what belongs to others. I’ll give it back.”

Sima Ryunju said so and returned the bottle to Lee Sungmin by levitating it in the air towards him.

Heoju let out a sigh of relief as the gourd entered Lee Sungmin’s hands.

The monster, which was called a terrible nightmare hundreds of years ago, was being pacified like a baby from a single gourd of liquor.

“What do you think of the Silent Flare?”

“… What do you really want to say?”

“She’s dangerous.”

Sima Ryunju murmured.

“No one is more annoying than a person who won’t break in their conviction ,but pursues a conviction that is dangerous as hers.”

“Like a stick that won’t break easily?”

“Sometimes it’s better to be flexible though. However, she is stubborn as a stick. Either break it or don’t.”

“…… There’s no guarantee that she’ll really turn out like that, will she?”

“If you’re blind to a belief that won’t come true, you’ll be eaten by yourself and become a monster. Or despair in the face of reality before that.”

Sima Ryunju laughed.

“That’s great. There are guests waiting to meet you.”

“What?”

“A few days ago, the Guild Master of the Wizard Guild came to see you. On the surface, they said it was to talk about the Red Tower Master, but that wasn’t the whole reason.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Red Tower Master has been here for an extended period of time already. To be precise, it means the Wizard Guild has decided to not support the Murim Alliance and join hands with the Sama Order.”

“What’s the relationship between the Murim Alliance and the Wizard Guild right now?”

“The Wizard Guild is remaining neutral. It’s no different from the mercenary guild at this point. Previously, the Wizard Guild was connected to the Previous Lord of Sama Order, but it was only back then. In the first place, the Guild Master of the Wizard Guild came here not because of the Red Tower Master. It was to meet you and this old man.”

Sima Ryunju took Lee Sungmin down to the conference room. Inside the spacious room were two wizards waiting for them.

Among them, there was a face that Lee Sungmin knew. Lee Sungmin’s eyes widened as he saw Lloyd.

“Mr. Lloyd?”

“Long time no see.”

When Lloyd saw Lee Sungmin, Lloyd looked incredibly pleased. It was true that Lee Sungmin was caught in an awkward situation, not expecting to see Lloyd, but he didn’t stay flustered too long.

Furthermore, it was only because of the Oath he had Lloyd fulfill.

“There’s no need to be so uncomfortable.”

It was Abel who spoke up. Lee Sungmin gave Abel a look.

Lee Sungmin had never met the Master of the Wizard Guild, but he couldn’t help but find Abel’s face oddly familiar. Lee Sungmin blinked repeatedly, staring at Abel’s face. Abel then plopped into a chair, taking off the hood of his robe.

“Envirus, no, Cain. Haven’t you met my stupid brother?”

“…… Ah!”

Although the overall atmosphere and eyes were different, the face resembled Envirus.

Abel giggled at Lee Sungmin, who was speechless.

“I know what happened between you and my brother. The fact that my brother wouldn’t fulfill his promise with you. His body collapsed and left for the spirit world with his stupid judgment.”

“What?”

It was Lloyd who was now surprised by Abel’s words. Although he came all the way here with Abel, he had never heard anything about his teacher, Envirus.

But Abel ignored Lloyd’s comments. His attention was solely on Lee Sungmin. Lee Sungmin was actually the sole reason why Abel came all the way here.

“The one who came back.”

Abel opened his mouth with an odd choice of words.

“In a time or world different from the present. You, the one who came back. Am I correct?

“You can see that?”

Especially talented Dark Wizards like Kim Jonghyun, had a special eye for examining souls due to the nature of their magic. Lee Sungmin knew that if one was a very talented Dark Wizard, they would be able to see just how twisted Lee Sungmin’s soul was from messing with the laws of causality.

But contrary to Lee Sungmin’s guess, Abel shook his head already expecting Lee Sungmin to assume that.

“No, I’m not a Dark Wizard. It’s just that, just because Dark Wizards might be able to peer into souls, doesn’t mean they’re the only type of Wizards who can.”

Abel muttered like that and put his hand in his sleeves. What he took out was an odd-looking book with a pristine-white cover.

The moment the people in the room saw it, Lloyd’s face turned white. He jumped up from his seat and his jaw dropped.

“Th-the … Weiss…….”

“Why do you keep acting so surprised Lloyd, you should be used to me by now?”

“Why would the Weiss……why- sir. Why do you have the Weiss with you?”

“Because I’m the Master of the Wizard Guild.”

“The Weiss belongs to the Guild itself, not you! Do the council of elders know this?”

“They have abandoned their desire for such things like magical knowledge. Those old farts know nothing other than how to keep themselves lasting longer in bed with prostitutes. The only thing they care for is their money, political agenda and magical spells for prolonging themselves longer in bed.”

Abel retorted in a venomous tone of voice. Lloyd couldn’t argue with the words at all and pouted. Abel giggled at Lloyd, who was acting childish.

“Well, actually, not all elders focus on lasting longer in bed. Do you know what’s the most popular topic among the elders these days? It’s a sex chimera that makes you feel extreme pleasure. Do you understand what that means? It’s a slime in the figure of a woman, and they put their old dicks inside of it.”

(T/N : wtf… yes I re-read this over and over praying it was a joke but it’s exactly how Abel said it…)

“Stop……stop!”

“They can’t have everything obviously, that’s why I get to have this with me.”

Abel looked at Lee Sungmin, ignoring Lloyd, who was tearing his hair out with agony.

Lee Sungmin’s expression was not so good when he suddenly heard the rather…. promiscuous stories about the Wizard Guild Elders.

“It’s a book of arcane magic called the Weiss. Do you know what it is?”

“…… I think it’s one of the books the Wizard Guild has. The twin book of the Grimoire, which was stolen away with Kim Jonghyun.”

“You seem to know the basics. Do you know why I took this out?”

“I don’t know.”

“To talk about the end.”

Abel said so and handed The Weiss over to Lee Sungmin by hand.

Lloyd, who was attempting to shut his ears off from hearing any more, turned bug-eyed as he watched the Weiss get handed over to Lee Sungmin.

The Weiss, like the Grimoire, was kept by the Wizard Guild, but so far, only a minute amount of research had been done on its contents.

“Did you interpret Weiss already?”

“Some of the contents, yes. The Weiss is a nasty and vile book of spells. I’m sure it’s the exact same for the Grimoire. It can’t be used by any normal sort of means.”

“Then how……?”

“What The Weiss demands as fuel for its spells is the user’s life expectancy as collateral.”

Abel replied with a slightly unperturbed expression. Lloyd’s face turned pale-white at the words. He hesitated and asked, backing away.

“You can’t be… serious…. Guild Master. You brought me here… to use me as a sacrifice for the Weiss……?”

“Sit down and stop spouting bullshit little kid. Why would I ask for your life when you’re already someone that has been doing all the magic for me on this trip?”

“Then……?”

“I’m using my lifespan as the collateral, so don’t be afraid.”

Abel said so and stopped turning the pages of the Weiss.

The mana in the atmosphere writhed and fluctuated in the air.

Lee Sungmin stared at Abel with wary eyes, not knowing what he was trying to do.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to make a decision. So that the Apostle of the End can no longer interfere with what’s about to happen.”

Abel began his spell after saying his ominous sentence. The Weiss was basked in a bright, white light.

Standing next to Lee Sungmjn, Sima Ryunju murmured as he watched the shining Weiss and Abel, continue the spell.

“Up until this point, I have never thought of Wizards as something to be wary of. But today that prejudice has been broken. I have been quite narrow-minded….”

Sima Ryunju murmured as he had never seen anything like the events unfolding in front of him. It was fair to say that for Lee Sungmin, he had never encountered such a fantastical spell.

Although Envirus was also at the apex of the field with regards to magic, Abel’s present magical power was much greater than Envirus.

“What a large amount of life expectancy.…isn’t it too dangerous……?”

“No problem. I already know what my lifespan is. This won’t possibly kill me.”

At the end of the incantation, Abel replied. Even though he said he was casting a spell from the great Weiss, nothing seemed to happen as Abel just plopped back in his chair looking a little tired.

“It’ll last long enough to talk about what we need to discuss today.”

“…… The Apostle of the End? Did I hear you correctly?”

“You’ve felt it many times, I’m sure of it. Or you’ve seen people who want to tell you something important about this topic, but suddenly are forced to stop because of their presence that threatens to kill them if they say anything.”

Lee Sungmin had this occur to him many times, and his curiosity as well as frustration grew every time this ‘apostle’ intervened.

“This spell prevents the Apostle from intervening in our conversation, even if it is an incomplete spell. Which means I can tell you what I know in regard to the end.”

“You know everything?”

“I didn’t say that, did I? That would be presumptuous.”

Abel muttered like that and looked at Sima Ryunju.

“Do you know why I called your master here?”

“You seem to think the power of my master is helpful for this?”

“That’s true. Lord Sima Ryunju, is one of the most powerful men in this world.”

“I guess that’s not all there is to what you know about me.”

Sima Ryunju spoke up.

“I know you have a relationship with the Queen of Fairies.”

Abel replied.

“The end is near.”

(T/N : The author goes in between apocalypse and end; tell me what you guys want me to use in the future but I’m sticking to end right now.)

Abel’s eyes turned to Lee Sungmin as he continued.

“Sima, I hope your relationship with the Queen of Fairies is related to stopping the end from happening.”

“Is that the fate of this world?”

Lee Sungmin asked.

“At least I think it’s a possible fate, as long as we are talking about its relationship related to you.”

Abel continued with a slight frown on his face.

“You died in a past life, and in some way you came back to the past. The future you ‘remember’ and the real future of this world are quite different. What do you think is the reason for that?”

“……me.”

“Yes, it’s you. Nothing would have changed if you lived the same way you did in your previous life. It would’ve gone the way you remembered it. But you didn’t behave like that. The world you remember has changed because you’ve changed. That also means the ending has changed as well.”

Lee Sungmin was already aware of his actions creating a butterfly effect. This world had already changed a lot and differed from the future that Lee Sungmin remembered.

This was because Lee Sungmin, who returned to the past, lived a completely different life from his meaningless mercenary days. Such a small change spread far and wide, creating a great distortion and altered the flow of fate.

“You are an anomaly, a variable, or a singularity that changed the set fate this world had. From the moment you returned to the past, the fate of this world became tangled with your sole existence.”

“…… What does that have to do with the end of this world though?”

“You are an observer of sorts.”

Abel continued to speak again.

“From the time you returned to the past. You’ve become an observer of the fate of this world. The tide of fate has changed because you, the observer, have acted differently based on your knowledge of the past. After you’ve passed the time of your death in your past life, the world you’ve changed has moved on to a world you have no idea about.”

Abel murmured and grinned.

“Yeah, it’s related to your time of death in your previous life. Now that it is completely different and unknown, it’s something you and the rest of this world have no idea about.”

Abel’s laughter as he finished his thoughts.

“That is when the so-called End, had started.”

Chapter 273 -Fin