Trait Hoarder – Chapter 224

Wraith King — Part 3

This was actually good.

Seeing the Saintess only confirmed my suspicions.

I was right.

I quickly suppressed my excitement.

“Yes, it’s been a while. You must be incredibly busy. If you’ve come all the way to Brazil—a country with barely any of your followers—then something serious must be going on.”

I mocked her with a smirk.

The Saintess simply smiled.

“I know, right? Never thought I’d end up in Brazil of all places. And it’s all thanks to the man standing before me. If things had gone according to plan, I could’ve handled everything comfortably in Seoul.”

Then, without a single trace of hostility, she casually linked her arm around mine.

“Shall we take a walk?”

Level 7 versus Level 8.

Should I just end this here?

But my equipped traits screamed a warning.

[Eyes of Insight] [Sixth Sense] [Comprehension]

[Brilliance] [Cold Rationality] [Focus]

I couldn’t win.

This wasn’t the same as when I was low-level and took down superhumans a tier above me.

If level 7 was still within human limits, level 8 was something beyond human.

I had already felt this during my spar with the Legion Commander.

Level 8 was a whole different beast.

One more thing.

For some reason, I had a strong feeling that the Saintess wasn’t going to kill me.

I hadn’t grown into what she wanted just yet.

I was her Plan B.

If Plan A had failed, then killing me now would be her failure, too.

“Fine.”

I grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her along.

She let herself be dragged, her smile widening.

“You’re rougher than I expected. I like rough men. Makes it more fun to tame them.”

That sent a chill down my spine.

We strolled past the grand temple in silence.

I kept my mouth shut, but eventually, she couldn’t hold back any longer.

“No questions? You must be dying to ask something. I was even thinking of rewarding you with a few answers since you’ve been doing so well.”

“I have nothing to ask.”

Like hell I was going to ask her for information.

I’d figure it out myself.

I would never give her the satisfaction.

The Saintess suddenly stopped walking and tightened her grip, forcing me to a halt.

No Giant’s Strength, no Vajra Body—

She was simply stronger than me.

Her clear eyes, as serene as a polished crystal mirror, locked onto mine.

She looked like a lazy, well-fed tiger.

Yet beneath that tranquil gaze, raw violence surged.

“I do have a question, though.”

She leaned in slightly.

“I heard something from one of our followers in Greece.”

Greece?

Wait, could it be—

“You’re an outsider, aren’t you?”

Her eyes gleamed with an unsettling light.

“I didn’t expect this at all. I truly believed that our Savior, our Great Soul, was someone from this world. I adjusted the rituals, I divined the auspicious dates, I even calculated the cycle of reincarnation for this very purpose. Especially for one very special soul I knew.”

She chuckled.

“But an outsider? Really? That was a surprise. Life is fascinating, isn’t it? Fate’s distortions, space-time’s anomalies… they make a joke of even the most meticulous plans.”

‘Is that really such a shock?’

I was about to snap at her—

But then, I froze.

There was something in her words I couldn’t ignore.

She had adjusted the ritual?

She had performed the summoning?

I locked eyes with her and asked directly,

“Wait. You conducted the ritual?”

“Oh? You didn’t know?”

She tilted her head, deliberately flashing a saccharine smile.

God, she was insufferable.

“I was the one who summoned the Savior. At first, I wasn’t sure if it had worked. But after watching you all this time, I’m convinced. Ahaha, an outsider! A foreign soul! I thought the ritual had failed, but it turns out it was a resounding success! No—more than that. A transcendent success! Even the Old Father was pleased. That’s why He allowed us to alter our future plans.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s the truth.”

“I asked Gaia about it. She said you weren’t the one who summoned me. And even if you had, you wouldn’t be standing here alive. Cut the crap.”

I was certain.

I even dropped to informal speech at the end to drive the point home, but the Saintess just giggled.

Then, tilting her head slightly, she asked,

“Well, isn’t that strange? It should be impossible. A ritual of that magnitude… I shouldn’t be standing here, should I? I agree.”

What was this?

This weird roundabout way of speaking?

“In that case, let’s start with a simple question.”

She lifted a single, slender white finger.

“What do you think I sacrificed?”

Sacrificed?

What did she—

I scrutinized her.

I focused, analyzed, and thought.

My [Comprehension] trait surged as my [Eyes of Insight] and [Sixth Sense] amplified its power.

One conclusion flashed into my mind.

“…Yourself?”

It was the only possible answer.

The Old Father’s Cult was ruthlessly selfish.

They considered sacrificing their own kin for rituals to be completely normal.

If the Saintess had performed a grand-scale summoning ritual—one so powerful that even Gaia had been wary of it—then the sacrifice had to be herself.

Which meant only one possibility.

She had sacrificed herself, yet she was still alive and well.

There was only one way that could be true.

“…Your future.”

A cold sensation spread across the back of my head.

Yeah.

That would do it.

She had burned her own future—her own life force.

She had drawn upon the resources of her future self.

The Saintess had reached level 8 in her twenties.

If she had continued, she could have reached level 9.

She could have become an Archangel, or even a Demi-God.

If the Old Father’s resurrection succeeded, she might have become one of His divine avatars.

But instead—

She had given all that up.

If she had traded away that, she could have powered a soul-summoning ritual of this scale.

Even deceiving the watchful eyes of other deities.

“As expected of our Savior.”

The Saintess placed a reverent hand over her heart.

“I sacrificed everything. My life, my body, my soul—everything.”

“Are you insane? That means you can’t even reincarnate!”

“Hahaha.”

The Saintess let out a bright, clear laugh.

“What’s the point of reincarnation when the world is dying? Why cling to this rotten flesh, doomed to decay? Why be worn down through endless cycles of rebirth until I become nothing but cosmic dust? Far better to use it where it has value—at the precise moment I choose.”

She unlinked her arm from mine.

Then, standing before me, she clasped her hands together and bowed reverently.

It was a respectful posture—dignified, not servile.

Looking me in the eye, she spoke.

“So please, Savior. Stop wandering. Life is an ocean of suffering. This Earth is just another name for Hell. Surrender your body and soul to the Old Father. Only then will you be freed from this sea of pain, from this world of torment.”

For a moment—just a moment—I almost wavered.

If not for how utterly nonsensical her logic was, if not for how obviously cult-like her speech sounded… I might have fallen for it.

The Saintess truly believed in what she was saying.

She was putting her very soul into persuading me.

And she had already proven it—by pushing herself into a life with an expiration date.

I remained silent for a long while.

Then, a thought surfaced.

With a low voice, I asked,

“…Why go this far? The Old Father can never be fully resurrected. Not unless you sacrifice an entire metropolis like Seoul. Even with the Wraith King, São Paulo won’t be enough.”

“You’ve figured out that much too?”

The Saintess smiled, her expression unreadable.

“As expected of our Savior. I assume you must have observed our world from beyond?”

She was looking at me like she already knew my answer.

“That would explain a lot. I was wondering why you kept hunting down our secret bases so effectively. The Golden Ruler’s Staff? I had never even heard of it until recently. But do you know when I was truly surprised? It was when you took the one chosen by the Old Father… and made him your disciple.”

Her voice carried a curious mix of amusement and intrigue.

“I wonder, Savior—what did our world look like from yours?”

She turned away.

Darkness was settling over the city.

The sky’s creeping twilight mixed with the strange energy rising from the ground, forming an ominous black veil.

“All plans must change according to circumstances. The resurrection plan is no different. Of course, if the Old Father could return in perfect form, that would be ideal… But honestly? Our revised grand plan might be even better.”

Her voice dipped slightly.

“In a small world, a small god is more fitting.”

A thought struck me like lightning.

“An Elder God?”

“Ding-ding-ding! Correct!”

The Saintess clapped her hands together, deliberately slow.

“If you would only accept your role, everything could proceed smoothly. The Old Father would descend as an Elder God, reincarnating through generations to safeguard this world. The prophesied calamities? All erased. With the power of Riftbreaking, granted through the transcendent success of the grand ritual, the Old Father would bring absolute order.”

She leaned in so close that I could feel her breath.

“So what do you say? Won’t you join me—body and soul—to save this world, my great and holy Savior?”

My answer was obvious.

“Go fuck yourself.”

I flipped her off.

Salvation?

Self-sacrifice for the sake of the world?

What a load of bullshit.

I had no family in this world. No lifelong friends.

Sure, I had disciples now. Subordinates. Wealth.

But should I sacrifice myself for that?

Not just my life, but my soul?

Not a damn chance.

I could fight to the death to protect what’s mine, but I would never throw myself away for some higher cause.

The Saintess made no effort to hide her disappointment.

“This is truly disheartening, Savior. You would abandon the greater good for your own comfort?”

“Oh, please. A world doomed by catastrophe, or a world turned into a livestock farm for a transcendent being—both sound like Hell to me.”

“Humans are happiest when they belong to a god. To live well-fed, in safety, and then offer their bodies and souls upon death—that is the greatest pleasure of all.”

“What the actual fuck are you talking about?”

I had been trying to keep my language civil, considering my position in society—

But this was too much.

The sheer insanity of her words made it impossible to hold back.

The Saintess took two steps back, as if she had expected this.

“I thought as much. A shame. If only you had reincarnated into this world and lived as one of us. If only you had been born without your past memories… then perhaps, we could have understood each other.”

…Wait.

What did she just say?

But I had no time to ask.

Expressionless, the Saintess offered me a farewell.

“Until we meet again, stay well. And do try to survive. I have faith in you, Savior—after all, a Great Soul like yours was meant to reincarnate, over and over, to fulfill your destiny.”

Whoosh!

A powerful gust of wind erupted.

I switched my traits and braced myself, but something—something—momentarily obscured my vision.

And then, like a ghost, her final words whispered through my ears.

“May the blessings of the Old Father be upon you, Savior.”

She hadn’t mentioned the other gods this time.

It might have been nothing.

But for some reason, it bothered me.

“Phew.”

Every time I saw her, she managed to mess with my head.

I took a deep breath and faced forward.

Sorting through the information I had just gained could wait.

Right now—

I needed to act.

That creeping darkness from earlier?

It was still spreading.

And the black energy rising from the ground?

It was far from normal.

A thick, vile energy clung to the air, suffocating and damp like rotting sludge.

Death mana.

The Wraith King was gaining momentum.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

“Emergency! Emergency!”

“All forces, assemble!”

“Protect Lord Poca!”

“Summon everyone back!”

“But High Priest, what about the citizens of São Paulo…?”

“Leave them! The request for reinforcements has already been sent! Lord Chak or Lord Tepeu will arrive to exterminate it!”

At this stage, the Wraith King would never reach level 8.

If given enough time—if it turned the entire population of São Paulo into wraith soldiers—then maybe.

But long before that happened, one of those sluggish Elder Gods would arrive and obliterate it.

And I couldn’t allow that.

The Wraith King was my prey.

“Hah.”

I checked my equipment.

Black Tiger Sword hung securely at my waist.

Mjolnir and the King Jeongjo Gun were stored inside my armory.

And my golf bag—I had carried it with me even while meeting the Bishop, even while talking with the Saintess.

I was in perfect condition for battle.

“S-Sword Star!”

My temporary assistant finally came running.

“I-I’m so sorry! I suddenly fell asleep!”

“It’s fine. I had a visitor.”

“Ah… B-But there’s something you should know! Social media is in absolute chaos right now!”

She handed me her tablet.

Total pandemonium.

A slum district in São Paulo—

Under siege by zombies.

And not the slow, shambling kind from old horror movies.

These were enhanced zombies.

They sprinted like Olympic athletes, leaping onto victims with terrifying speed.

“We’re going there.”

“Pardon?”

“The Mama Quilla Cult and the Poca Cult won’t move.”

“B-But, Sword Star…”

Both the chauffeur and my assistant wore terrified expressions.

Of course they were scared.

No matter how desensitized people were in this world, no matter how much gore they had seen—

Watching a live broadcast of people being eaten alive would shake anyone.

“That’s fine. I’ll go alone. You two can head home.”

Enough of this.

Since when did I sit around waiting for orders like some noble?

I didn’t even wait for their response.

I moved.

Flash!

I teleported into the air.

Thunderbolt—activated.

Crack! Crackle!

A streak of lightning tore through the sky.

I chained Aerial Raid into Geumo Leap, then, the moment my cooldown reset, used Flash and Thunderbolt again.

Way faster than taking a limousine.

I soared across the rooftops like a bird.

The streets below were already gridlocked, making my choice even better.

I didn’t even need a map.

I simply followed the strongest concentration of mana—the heart of the darkness.

“Kyahhh!”

“Guhk!”

“Please! Help me!”

“M-Mom! MOM!”

Civilians reached out toward me, pleading for help.

But I couldn’t stop.

A massive army of undead had been unleashed.

In São Paulo—where I had no allies, no backup, no superhumans under my command—

Even I was just one man.

‘No choice.’

I had to stay cold.

I had to stay rational.

The fastest way to save people was to kill the Wraith King.

So I ran.

Ignoring the dying.

Turning away from the carnage overflowing in the streets.

Drinking my potions.

Coating Black Tiger Sword and Mjolnir in catalysts.

And at last—

I reached my destination.

The Wraith King had descended.

At São Paulo’s largest landfill.

[You. It’s you.]

The Wraith King rose, bones rattling within its skeletal armor.

[The human the Dark Jaguar spoke of.]

Great. I was a celebrity among gods now.

Its hollow eyes gleamed with insatiable greed.

[This is perfect.]

Boom.

The Wraith King lifted its massive bone greatsword.

Thick, oozing death mana spilled from its blade.

[If I mold your flesh and devour your soul, my power shall be fully restored. Offer your neck willingly, and I may spare your soul from eternal torment.]

Jesus Christ.

First the Saintess, now this asshole.

Did I look that easy to kill?

I activated Sacred Knight.

A radiant light flared around me like a crown, tearing through the darkness the Wraith King had spread.

For the first time, its undead gaze sharpened.

It really looked at me.

And I smirked.

“Try me.”

–TL Notes–
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