00941 If You Change, One. 
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It took me quite a while to fully grasp what Eldora was saying.

No, I mean—she came to me the moment I woke up and asked what I did to the sword. What exactly was she expecting me to do?

…That thought lasted only a moment.

The more I thought about it, the more my chest tightened. Strictly speaking, I hadn’t exactly treated Excalibur with the utmost respect.

At worst, I’d pressured it with words, toyed with it with my hands, licked it teasingly with my tongue, and sometimes even used it like a toothpick…?

(Why isn’t she saying anything more?)

“Uh, I—I don’t really know.”

In the end, I denied it. It felt awkward to be completely honest in this situation. Besides, Han So-young was right there beside me.

Eldora kept glaring at me suspiciously.

(Don’t know, huh?)

“Yeah. Excalibur never really acknowledged me as its master in the first place. So what could I possibly know?”

I blurted out something vague, hoping to brush it off.

But then, unexpectedly, Eldora’s expression softened just a little.

(You… weren’t recognized as its master?)

I didn’t know why she suddenly acted like that, but I cautiously nodded.

That was the last thing Eldora said. She just stared back and forth between me and Excalibur for a while, then curled her lips into a smirk and slowly sheathed the sword.

(Well… there’s no way Excalibur would recognize a guy like you as its master. Got it.)

There was even a strange hint of satisfaction in her voice.

Then she shot me another sharp look and continued.

(So, the problem lies with me, huh? Fine. I’ll leave it at that for today.)

Eldora sounded like she wanted to kill me on the spot but was holding back. Then she turned and strode away.

I just stood there, staring blankly at her retreating figure.

How to put it… a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me. Was I imagining it, or did Eldora’s demeanor just now remind me of Gong Chan-ho, back when he was drowning in inferiority complex?

“Haaah.”

A deep sigh came from in front of me. Now that I thought about it, she wasn’t alone.

When I turned to face them, my eyes involuntarily narrowed.

“I get it. Even if you act like you’re fine, she’s probably pretty confused right now.”

Squatting down, speaking in a friendly tone, was none other than Thanatos. He caught my gaze, smiled slyly, and leisurely stood up.

“You woke up earlier than I expected. Well, I guess that’s thanks to me.”

“What?”

“Heh. When will I get a thank you, I wonder?”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about. I have no reason to thank you.”

My voice sounded cold even to my own ears.

But Thanatos didn’t seem to care at all. Instead, he chuckled sweetly and jabbed his index finger right into the center of my chest. Slowly, he twirled it as he spoke.

“Hey. What’s this? Pretending you don’t know? Or do you really not know?”

“…?”

“Look. Who do you think is the one breathing life into your broken body? Who’s reviving your fading soul? Who’s holding onto the roots of your existence, trying not to let you slip back into nothingness?”

“Wha… ugh!”

Suddenly, a sharp jab hit my solar plexus, and I let out a weak groan. As I instinctively looked down, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Around the spot where his finger had pierced, a dark, smoky aura shimmered like a heat haze across my entire chest. When his finger slipped away, a small, jet-black crescent-shaped mark gleamed faintly.

“Hm? Who could this be~?”

A whispery voice sent a shiver down my spine. Listening closely, it sounded like the very one who revived me was claiming credit.

Come to think of it, even when I activated Flame Control before, both times it was Gehenna who saved my life. Thanatos, being on the same level as Gehenna, could certainly pull off something like this.

Still, a question lingered.

“How…? You must have lost half your power.”

“Oh? Are you underestimating me? That hurts my pride. I’m the god who governs death, you know.”

Thanatos pouted, took a step back, and placed his hands on his hips. Then he slowly opened his eyes.

Suddenly serious, a chilling coldness swept over me. Now that I think about it, something about him seemed different from before…

“Well, it’s not entirely wrong. Actually, you’re right. In that shattered state, it was impossible to revive you.”

Thanatos nodded to himself, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

“Now here’s the question: how was I able to bring you back?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Oh. Was that too random a question? Okay, again. Like I said, at that time, I didn’t have the power to revive you. So to save you, I had to regain my strength—at least to the point I was whole before being shattered. You follow me so far?”

“And then?”

“Good, good. I’ll take that as you understanding, even if you’re a bit cocky. So then~ how do you think I regained my power?”

“Well, you must have broken the sealing array inside you…”

Without thinking, I answered exactly what Hwa-jeong had told me.

That was when a flash of the battle on the Eastern Continent crossed my mind.

“With equal power… destruction…”

My breath caught.

At the same time, my whole body felt frozen.

There it was.

The way Thanatos regained his power.

No way…

“Heh~ Looks like you haven’t heard yet, huh?”

Thanatos teased, stretching out and flashing that mischievous grin again.

“Then I’ll tell you.”

He lowered his voice and began.

*

Thanatos placed his hand gently over Kim Soo-hyun’s heart and closed his eyes.

Inside Kim Soo-hyun, two energies were fading simultaneously.

One was his very life force, ebbing away like a receding tide. The other was the original energy of Hwa-jeong, amplified by Flame Control.

Though both dissipated at similar speeds, the intensity and volume of the latter were so great that it still flowed within his body.

“It’s not control… but rather, it’s housed in the heart? So it’s a form of borrowing power?”

The next moment, Thanatos stretched out both hands and lifted the collapsed Kim Soo-hyun.

“Hey, you listening? Hwa-jeong?”

At that instant, the eyes of the closed Kim Soo-hyun snapped open. His gaze, now a clear crimson, quietly fixed on Thanatos.

The only difference was that instead of the usual beast-like glare, his eyes were sharp yet faintly refined, like a woman quietly smirking.

Everyone nearby was startled and took a step back, but only Thanatos smiled broadly and continued.

“Just as I expected. You were lending your power willingly. Wow~ The proud, ever-burning Hwa-jeong, what’s gotten into you?”

“……”

“No, why are you acting like this here? Because of the angels? Or could it be… you’ve fallen for him?”

“……”

“No? You’re just having fun like me, right? Hmm?”

“……”

Thanatos kept talking, but Kim Soo-hyun remained silent, only glaring coldly. Thanatos’s smile faded a little.

“Well… it’s none of my business anyway. Whether you’re playing games or whatever.”

He sneered, and suddenly his form began to fade.

Within moments, he became translucent, but unlike before, no red seal appeared.

The core of Thanatos’s seal.

The Heavenly God’s Four Laws’ domain: the Sea Realm Forbidden Array.

The last time he managed to manifest it was only because Satan was inside. In truth, Thanatos couldn’t even touch the edge of that array. Originally, the plan was to wait for Kim Soo-hyun to strike, then reveal the array for a split second to destroy it—but Ansol’s interference ruined that.

But now it didn’t matter. The being before me possessed the knowledge and power to destroy that array completely.

Thanatos smiled faintly.

“Either this existence disappears entirely, or your energy dissipates first… no time to waste, so decide quickly.”

He leaned in close and whispered softly.

“Will you save him, or not?”

*

“…So Hwa-jeong succeeded in breaking my sealing array. Having regained enough power, I granted you life. That’s the deal.”

Thanatos shrugged and finished his explanation.

But I couldn’t even think of a response. My mouth wouldn’t move. It felt like my mind had gone completely blank.

What Thanatos was saying meant that Hwa-jeong had acted on her own judgment, regardless of my will. And it was right after I activated Flame Control, so her power was at its peak.

No, that can’t be. I wanted to believe otherwise, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a way to argue. After all, I’d seen Hwa-jeong assist me during battles and spontaneously ignite flames whenever I got angry.

In other words, Hwa-jeong could choose not to lend me her power—but the reverse was also true. This wasn’t because I had perfect control over her, but because she resided in my heart, lending me power in that way.

Who could have imagined it would come to this?

Suddenly, a fierce heat surged up inside me.

All I can think is that this is insane. Honestly, I just want to unleash every curse I know. Even if there was no other way to save me, what the hell was the point of breaking the seal on Thanatos?

Of course, I know Hwa-jeong can read my thoughts.

She might think I’m upset, but for the first time since this cycle began, I regretted having Hwa-jeong by my side. No—more precisely, I regretted the choice she made.

“Heh heh. That look on your face is great. So fresh. You’re really upset, huh?”

“You…”

“Aw, don’t glare at me like that. After all, I’m the one who saved your life, aren’t I?”

“Ugh…”

I grit my teeth and glared harder, but Thanatos just laughed and backed off.

“Well, we’ve talked enough. There are plenty of others dying to see you, so I’ll take my leave here.”

“W-wait.”

“Anyway, if things go well, you might make it back in one piece. Until then, just stay as good as dead.”

“Wait!”

That last line stuck with me, so I hurriedly grabbed Thanatos. Honestly, I wasn’t so much curious about how I survived as I was about why he saved me in the first place.

“Why did you save me? What’s your purpose?”

“Huh?”

Fortunately, Thanatos stopped and turned to face me, casually shrugging his shoulders.

“Well… I was asked to. Someone insisted you had to be saved, so I did it.”

“Someone? Asked you?”

“If I’m being honest, I wasn’t exactly eager to save you. Because you’re scary.”

“What did you say?”

“Seriously. Sure, you’ve gotten way stronger than before, but just because the seal’s broken doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Maybe getting tired of my questions, Thanatos clicked his tongue and started spinning one arm around.

“Think about it. When a being like me descends into this world, most of my power is restricted—that’s just the way it is. But putting that aside, half of my power was cut off because three of the six fragments we split last time were destroyed by you guys.”

“One of the remaining three was embedded in Eldora, so that’s one less. And you have one too, so that’s another gone. In the end, I’m left with only one fragment.”

“So, under the laws governing the whole plane, the power I can actually wield is just one-sixth of the original vessel.”

“But even that’s just a vessel for now. Whether it’s a sacrifice or nourishment, if you don’t fill it up, it doesn’t matter how big the vessel gets—it’s useless.”

After his long explanation, Thanatos suddenly burst out laughing.

“Now, do you want to know why I’m telling you all this?”

“……”

“Simple. Hwa-jeong must have thought the same way. Even if I go on a rampage like before, if you activate that ability again, you can easily take me down. I’m guessing that’s why she calculated all this and decided to break the seal. She’s as cunning as ever, huh?”

“……”

Thanatos ended with a sly, mocking tone.

“Anyway, that’s all I have to say.”

He turned toward the exit and waved his hand dismissively, clearly annoyed.

“Think it over yourself from here. Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

With that cryptic remark, he vanished beyond the doorway without another word.

—————————= Author’s Note =—————————

Yes, I’ll continue writing according to the vision I’ve planned.

That said, I’m open to adjusting the tone and weight of certain parts based on readers’ feedback. 🙂