I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-244

Ch-244. **Erasure (消滅)**

—

I feel good.

A sense of liberation I’m feeling for the first time.

It is the dissolution known as *“freedom.”*

*The Eternal Monarch’s Starlight.*

The moment I emerged from the prison, the Night Wraith greeted me as if it had been waiting, guiding me forward.

Following it, I soon arrived before *the Eternal Monarch’s Starlight.*

…The moment I saw it, I understood.

This starlight was not merely a tool that raised attack power or vitality.

It was memory—soul.

And thanks to it, everything became clear.

Why the Hybrid of God’s Skin arranged this entire stage.

*“It longs for a complete being.”*

It wants a being perfected through completion to become the master of this island.

To absorb every starlight and memory and become one, whole existence.

For memory itself is talent.

It may seem strange to say talent is memory, but—

*“It’s the same principle as when I wielded Wilhelm’s memories as my sword.”*

The strength of the body, the purity of the mind, the depth of the soul—

Above all of these, the highest form of talent is memory.

The memories of the successful, the memories of the absolute who stood at the pinnacle, the memories of those who fulfilled their dreams… merely possessing such memories is enough to achieve what one desires in the shortest possible time.

Thus, memory is the ultimate weapon.

Just like now.

*The Evil God of the Heavenly Demon Blade. The First Heavenly Demon’s memories.*

I had clearly read the memories stored in the Heavenly Demon Blade.

I witnessed the life of the Evil God—the First Heavenly Demon.

A being who abandoned humanity yet possessed no rival across all ages.

His movements, his thoughts—his every facet.

I saw, experienced, and felt it.

But an ordinary human could never withstand such sensations.

The First Heavenly Demon’s inner world was more than enough to drive a person insane.

*“This is… good.”*

Of course, that applies only to ordinary humans.

If there exists someone who is not ordinary—someone blank and able to accept everything—then naturally both the process and the result are different.

*“He desired a flawless being, did he not?”*

The Monk of Eternity.

He told me to discard it.

That name that no longer surfaced.

He told me to complete myself.

To abandon every lingering attachment, to pursue only completion.

What else could that mean?

*“A monarch does not waver because of emotion.”*

Do not waver.

Discard every emotion.

To cling to such things is to impose limits upon oneself.

*“Wilhelm’s swordsmanship carries emotion. But the First Heavenly Demon’s swordsmanship carries none.”*

Thus, the more complete form is the First Heavenly Demon’s sword.

Heavenly Demon Arts itself.

He surpasses Wilhelm.

And so, I changed everything.

My posture, my attitude—even each breath.

I accepted the First Heavenly Demon entirely.

I dominated the memory, becoming a flawless existence.

*“Oh?”*

Upon discarding every unnecessary thing, my body felt strangely light.

So this is what it feels like.

To become complete.

I nodded and smiled faintly.

“…I feel good. Very good.”

—

—

 

**Brrrrr!**

The Heavenly Demon Blade trembled.

No—perhaps it was his own body trembling.

*What?*

He had sworn to tear the man apart, yet the Heavenly Demon’s frown deepened at the sudden shift.

The Terrible Omen.

His aura had changed entirely, as if he were a different being altogether.

And the aura he released was even more ominous—more dreadful—than his name suggested.

Somehow, it was horribly familiar…

A tyrannical inner power.

“Are you… mimicking me?”

Absurd.

That was unmistakably *his* aura.

The aura possessed by every Heavenly Demon through history—an overwhelming presence only the Heavenly Demon could exude—how could a mere “Omen” imitate it?

**Kruuum!**

The Heavenly Demon clenched his teeth, raising his inner strength.

**KWA-RRRNG! CRA-CRACK!**

Dozens of meters around him sank like a crater.

Simply releasing inner strength warped the terrain.

His might now far surpassed what it had been.

There was no reason to delay.

He would crush him instantly.

**Swoosh!**

The moment his foot touched the ground, the Heavenly Demon’s figure appeared before the Omen.

A thunderous strike of his sword.

He intended to sever the neck faster than thought itself.

**CLANG!**

But it was deflected.

*He stopped my blade?*

He had been certain it was impossible.

Not only that.

From the sword’s edge came a violent recoil.

That too should have been impossible.

*He’s… countering my inner strength head-on?*

A direct clash of inner power.

How could this be?

One could imitate movements, but inner strength could not be imitated.

Even if he had learned Heavenly Demon Arts, he should never approach his mastery.

And yet—

When their swords locked, the Heavenly Demon stared into the Omen’s eyes.

Eyes utterly calm, unmoving—

But deep inside, a profound, unfathomable *interest.*

*Fine. Let’s see how much you can take.*

He raised his inner power further.

Even if the man truly were Ruin, he could not match *this* inner strength.

Even the Heavenly Demon Blade, which had cowered earlier, now amplified him again.

If it came down to pure inner force, he could never lose.

**KWA-ROOOOOM!**

As vast energies collided, a massive circular crater spread outward.

**CRRRACK! CRAAAAAACK!**

The entire island shook; everything nearby shattered in an instant.

*GUAAAAAAAAH—*

A howl—like something dying.

The expanding circle of destruction grew past dozens, then hundreds of meters.

A tyrannical, absolute sight.

No one could call this a mere clash of inner strength.

*…!*

The Heavenly Demon finally began to panic.

For every time he increased his inner strength, the Omen increased his by the same amount.

Impossible.

The inner power he felt from the Omen was identical in nature to his own.

He was continuously circulating inner strength amplified by Heavenly Demon Arts.

That was the nature of Heavenly Demon Arts—to endlessly expand and inflate one’s power.

He had crushed countless foes with brute force.

*His mastery is similar to mine?*

Impossible.

Even if he learned the Heavenly Demon Arts, it could only have been for a few days.

Even if—by miracle—the Heavenly Demon Blade taught him, it had only been *days.*

Could he surpass a lifetime of mastery in mere days?

He was a once-in-a-thousand-years prodigy.

A body optimized for martial mastery.

A lifetime of effort atop innate talent.

No equal under heaven.

So did this man possess a once-in-ten-thousand-years talent?

*Even a once-in-ten-thousand talent shouldn’t be able to do this…!*

It was impossible.

And yet—

It was happening.

Right before him.

**Grit… Grrrk…**

His teeth ground together.

He pushed his inner strength to the brink of collapse.

His mastery near Great Completion, the realm of Nature—it was all useless—

Before this monster.

*He originally possessed more inner strength than I do… otherwise—!*

Despite himself, the Heavenly Demon stepped back.

He instinctively realized continuing the clash would get him devoured.

This was an opponent unlike any he had ever met.

Someone whose inner power *surpassed his own.*

*…Swordsmanship will be different.*

He discarded the plan to crush him outright.

He would slowly corner him.

With swordsmanship—skills this creature could never match.

He calmed his breath, adjusted his stance.

Then stepped forward again—

His blade moved slowly.

Yet within it lay thousands, tens of thousands of subtle secrets.

A sword at the level of demon transcendence—seemingly simple, yet impossible to block.

**SWAAASH!**

*…What?*

What was happening?

The more he swung—

When he thought he cut, *he* was cut.

When he thought he blocked, *he* was pierced.

Even though they used the same Heavenly Demon Arts—

He could not stop the Omen’s blade.

He couldn’t even *respond.*

He was—

…being thoroughly toyed with.

*—Kill him! He is stealing me! He is stealing ME!*

The Heavenly Demon Blade raged.

He had never heard its voice so clearly before.

But the Heavenly Demon could not focus on it.

His every movement was read—completely.

“You… what *are* you…?”

Drip. Drip.

Blood spilled endlessly.

The muscles torn beneath his shredded flesh were ripped apart entirely.

The Heavenly Demon looked at his opponent.

The Omen’s eyes—

Bottomless, emotionless eyes devoid of humanity.

He understood immediately.

Those were the eyes of one who had abandoned humanity.

Who discarded everything unnecessary and became a completed monster.

He could not accept it—yet if such a being existed—

A being who could command ten thousand demons and shake the heavens—

A true devil of the skies.

“Heavenly… Demon…”

…*That* was the Heavenly Demon.

The very ideal he himself sought to reach.

The one standing at the ultimate peak.

All this time, *he* was the one pretending to be the Heavenly Demon.

At some point, *he* became the fake, and the Omen the real.

It had been taken from him—

Completely.

His existence. His meaning. His legacy.

And this was only the beginning.

*A monster that devours everything…!*

Starting with him, this creature would devour everything on the island.

Surpassing all, completing itself.

Only then did he become certain.

At first it had been unclear, but now—

The Terrible Omen—

*He is Ruin.*

—

—

**Swoosh.**

**Thunk.**

The Heavenly Demon’s head flew through the air.

His body collapsed, signals severed entirely.

Isabella, who witnessed the entire event from start to finish, understood.

*“Different.”*

He was different.

The Randolph who lost his most precious thing was now someone wholly different.

This—this must be Randolph’s true identity.

The real Randolph not controlled by Park Hyun-myung.

Just like her—a pitiful human who had been controlled.

Her king, her star—the one she must follow absolutely.

With the shackles removed, Randolph surpassed every limit.

He was the true peak—the apex of all creation.

*“What I must do… why I was brought here.”*

Isabella looked at the unstable orb in her hands.

Park Hyun-myung.

This was his soul.

The shameless human from another world who controlled her and Randolph.

She had known the name after transcending, but never held the actual existence.

And this—this was her task.

To erase this soul.

To completely remove the stain and shackle upon Randolph.

Park Hyun-myung was her enemy as well.

This was the perfect opportunity.

Only a Night Wraith could accomplish this.

*But then why…*

Why could she not bring herself to erase it?

Probably because she glimpsed the memories attached to the soul.

The memories of a human who loved Pangaenia more than anyone.

Who worked earnestly, wholeheartedly, desperately for the salvation of this world.

Even though he failed countless times and caused many deaths…

Could such actions truly be dismissed as mere “play”?

He was said to be a monster destroying lives by controlling bodies like puppets—

Yet Park Hyun-myung’s memories were far too pure.

Pure, sincere, wholehearted—he only ever tried to save Pangaenia.

*“What I must do…”*

Isabella recalled her task again.

“Lord Randolph.”

A Night Wraith must never speak.

Speaking to a participant was unthinkable.

Being discovered meant certain annihilation.

But she didn’t care.

She looked directly at Randolph—

Slowly reached out, touching his face—

And spoke, clearly and deliberately:

“I am Isabella.”

…This would be her last time anyway.

—

 

 

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