Chapter 619 – The Sole Universe Where My Child Does Not Perish

“Peep!”

The battleground abruptly fell into a hushed silence, akin to a sudden shower dousing the flames of conflict. The cause was none other than Shiba, who had unexpectedly sprung forth.

– Thud, thud, thud!

She climbed precariously over the shattered rocks, propelling herself forward in a heartbeat.

A baffling sight indeed – how could a five-year-old child, devoid of any combat capability, traverse this intimidating distance? A verdant mist wafted from Shiba’s form, the color as refreshing as the speed was astonishing.

“Shiba-chan!!”

The duo who had escorted Si-heon’s daughter were taken aback by Shiba’s spontaneous action, exerting all their might to pursue her.

Alba, having recognized the situation belatedly, attempted to intervene but the moment had already passed.

‘No.’

The King of Trees had long since succumbed to insanity, his rampage unchecked and uncontrollable. Presently, should Shiba dash forward, the repercussions were uncertain and potentially catastrophic.

Within the span of a few fleeting seconds, Alba endeavored to make the fastest judgement and extend her hand.

─Rumble.

Cornus’s magical power exploded forth, severing Alba’s consciousness abruptly.

A wave of throbbing pain swept over her, rendering her vision blurry for a moment.

Alba, swiftly regaining her sight, composed herself and looked up, only to be confronted by Cornus’s formidable force, which she had been striving to contain.

“Ugh!”

The surge of power propelling her toward Lee Si-heon was of an unimaginable magnitude. The growing lake. It was near impossible to restrain Cornus now that she was unshackled.

A challenging circumstance even for Alba, with her limitless intellect. Blood trickled from her nose, previously staunching the tide with sheer willpower.

“You must release…! If Si-heon… if Si-heon perishes like this…”

As Cornus, bereft of rationality, screamed and exerted her power, Alba’s limbs gave way, collapsing to the ground as though burdened by leaden weights.

The magic, defying the established order, and a being deviating from the norm. With the magical power struggle between the two showing no signs of cessation, Alba managed to extract a coherent thought from her clouded consciousness.

‘You there. Shiba-‘

Shiba is en route.
Before she could articulate the remainder of her words, Cornus’s magic suppressed her.

Several knights tried to intervene and shield Shiba along the way. Yet, Shiba, exploiting every available gap, hurled herself forward to capture her father within her sight.

“Woosh!”

Her father was there.

Without a second thought, she was solely driven by the desire to behold him.

“Hold on. Ugh! Ishiba!!”
“Shiba-chaaang!”

The cries of Soo-yeon and Saku, gritting their teeth in desperation, echoed across the battlefield. Shiba’s form, having reached faster than the combined efforts of the two, eventually halted.

“…Father?”

30 meters.

A distance that seemed far if it was far and close if it was close.

Even before they could register Soo-yeon and Saku approaching from behind, the two fathers reacted to the sight of Shiba.

Lee Si-heon, his body rent asunder, hurled himself forward.
The King of Trees extended his hand, unleashing a spray of ‘branches.’

An event so swift it was nigh impossible to perceive. A fresh vitality seeped from Shiba’s form.
Her dazed face lifted to behold the wearied image of her father.

Father.
Our beloved father.
Always adoring and proud of Shiba.

But for the tender and youthful child, comprehending the situation took some time.

A splendid father garbed in black.
A man she hadn’t seen for a long time was enveloping Shiba’s form.

– Thud.

A drop of discoloured blood fell upon Shiba’s cheek.
Startled at the sight of the blood clinging to her nose, Shiba inquired.

Shiba’s father was exhausted.

“Papa…? Beep…. Blood.”

Dilated pupils. With one eye shut, he gave a faint smile with the other.
A man dusted with battle debris gently stroked Shiba’s forehead.

– Thump, thump.

The ‘branches’ that had entirely pierced his body were skewered through both his shoulders.
The ‘branches’ lodged in his abdomen and lower back were also tearing through his internal organs.

Perhaps because he was before his child, the fatigue-induced trembling in Lee Si-heon’s legs had ceased.
Presenting himself as sturdy as possible, concealing his pain.

“Shiba.”
“…Beep.”

The air was filled with the sound of sobbing. A white curtain unfurled on the tear-drenched battlefield.

“Hush.”

A single word while he caressed Shiba’s head. His cracked lips thinned into a line.
Saku and Soo-yeon, running towards them, were struck silent at the sight of Lee Si-heon.

The demon, having lost his original form, stared blankly at his hand, as if he couldn’t comprehend his own actions.

– Fwoosh!!!

Sansuyu, freed from Alba’s grip, launched an attack against the demon.
As the bright yellow magic from her hand exploded before the demon. He chose to retreat without resistance rather than decapitating Sansuyu.

The demon, his face dumbstruck, ducked his head in concealment.
Alba spread a white fog, ensuring nobody could witness the father-daughter reunion.

“…Papa… Waaaah…”

The soft voice of Shiba echoed in their ears.
Si-heon, his breaths coming in ragged gasps, held Shiba close, refusing to let go.

His little girl that he had tried not to see all this while.
Even as his vision blurred, Shiba’s features remained crystal clear to him.
Lee Si-heon gently patted Shiba’s back.

“Shiba, hush. It has to stop.”
“Papa… Hic… Waaaah!”
“It’s not blood, it’s the makeup your dad painted.”

Could such words possibly deceive her?
Shiba knew everything. She didn’t know the entire story, but she had a vague understanding.

“Papa… Uh… Daddy…”

Shiba weeps, relentlessly rubbing her tear-streaked cheeks against the blood-drenched black dragon robe. It would not be unusual for her to shudder at the terrible scent of blood pervading the air, yet she strives even more to bury her face in her father’s bosom.

Three years.

Three long years have passed since we parted ways.

The heavy mask of shame that her father had worn on his face was now stripped away, and the young Shiba, regressed to her innocent childhood, had forgotten her wounds.

**Throb, throb!**

The ‘member’ pulsated, gripping Lee Si-heon’s lungs. Each convulsion of the ‘member’ set Si-heon’s body trembling, akin to a millet field swaying in the wind.

“…”
“Father… Ah?”

A deep shadow crosses Si-heon’s face as he bows his head. Desperately, Shiba calls for her father, shaking her body.

Only after a considerable silence does he respond-

“I am sorry for making you wait so long.”

With just a single utterance, he forcefully pushes his daughter away. Shiba, tossed aside, falls backward. Rolling and tumbling on the ground, the toppled Shiba gazes urgently at her father.

Her father, too vast and dependable for Shiba to gaze upon. The ‘member’ that had pierced his chest was extracted from Lee Si-heon’s body, and dark blood spewed out like a geyser.

His pupils dulled to a gray hue. Lee Si-heon’s body, with fists clenched, wavers before falling still.

**Groan!**

Unconscious, he somehow manages to channel his magic. The power surging from his lifeless body envelops him. Lee Si-heon, like a puppet devoid of consciousness and driven by a single purpose, turns his head. Perhaps because his thoughts had come to a halt, he ends up exposing his blood-soaked back.

“…Shiba.”

Shiba’s pupils quiver even more. With gritted teeth, she suppresses the tears threatening to burst forth. Just as she attempts to rise with her shaky legs…

**Flash!**

Countless women appear, as if embracing Shiba and Lee Si-heon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Blanche’s short arms encircle Lee Si-heon’s waist. Upon her pristine white witch’s attire, crimson petals begin to spread.

“Mon cher… stop. You are gravely injured.”

Everyone was taken aback upon seeing his near-death state, from Tae-yang and Aori, the world-tree spirits, Hong-Yeon to the stars, and all the other women.

While they could have screamed in consternation, they collectively chose to implore Lee Si-heon to stop.

**Growl!**

Hovering above the women, a colossal wolf envelops them as if safeguarding Lee Si-heon. The red-wood wolf, Gu-seul, having undergone ‘liberation’, expends all her strength to confront the demon.

“…Siheon?”

Star queried. There was no reply.

“Shh…”

Star, who staved off the tears threatening to burst forth, took the lead, dual palms outstretched. Sansuyu, having already lost all reason, was poised, ready to slice the devil down at any moment.

“…”
“…”

Saku and Soo-yeon, inexplicably mixed among them, looked on towards the sight of Lee Si-heon’s perforated back. Why was he alive, when he should have been vanquished? The reason wasn’t crucial at this moment.

He was attempting to achieve what the World Tree couldn’t. As a result, countless lives were saved.

To Soo-yeon, the national tree of Korea, like a silver wish, Saku was also harboring similar emotions.

─Thump.

Lee Si-heon’s firm arm stirred. Blanche was being dragged along by his attempt to forge ahead.

“Sir, wait a moment! If we don’t treat you now, you will surely perish…!”
“You…you need to stop for now–”

Alba and the healer seized his arm, pouring out their magic and power with all their might.

The potion drenched his body. Lee Si-heon, his head bowed and soaked in blood, exhaled a faint, labored breath. His clouded eyes, devoid of life, were glaring at the King of Trees.

“…”
“…”

The king was no different.

Women materialized in an instant, assuming positions to guard him. The demon, bereft of soul, scratched at his chest with both hands.

His vacant gaze was sharply piercing.

“Why…”

The king muttered to himself, observing Shiba and the women who clung to his father’s legs.

Why are they so intact?
I’ve tried so hard, yet why can’t I be like them…

“…”

A ‘branch’ sprung from the king’s body. As his body showed signs of movement, Star and Sansuyu raised their weapons.

“Ugh, stop. Stop!”

The contorted demon gnawed at his face, emitting a suffocating noise.

I loathe everything. Everything.
Their deaths were etched one by one in front of the demon’s eyes.

Sansuyu, who became a drug addict and met her end through experimentation.
The traces of bloody handprints in the lab lingered in sight. Until her end, she would repeat his name.

Hanbyeol, who unsheathed her sword with a forced smile, declaring she would try to hold off the punitive force alone.
I remember the harrowing sight of her returning with limbs severed.

Aori and Tae-yang, who met their ends at the hands of Mugung.
Even my deceased daughter.

“Ugh, stoppppppp!!”

The devil’s maw gaped open, droplets of saliva spraying out, a harbinger of the imminent confrontation. Cornus was the first to unsheathe her sword, poised to leap into the fray.

Shiba, encased in a protective cocoon formed by the women, erupted in a furious outcry.

“Mear!!!!!!!!!!”

A soft, yet resounding voice, calling for the world to recede. The demonic visage, previously aflame with anger, gradually paled.

“Uncle, Mear… why torment Shiba’s father so?”

The women, taken aback, attempted to cradle Shiba, only to be met with fierce resistance. Shiba, consumed by rage, wept as she lashed out at the devil.

“Begone… Mear. Out of my sight!”

Her voice, frail yet brimming with disgust, echoed through the air. Spoken by a child, the very image the devil cherished the most.

 
“…….”

Shiba was weeping, her love for her ailing father overwhelming. Clinging firmly onto her own garment, she once again clasped her father’s legs, her sorrow rendered almost palpable.

Her voice, a tumultuous blend of emotions, ensnared the devil. A cold sweat trickled down his pallid countenance. His dilated pupils blurred, and his mouth gradually closed.

Blind love. It was what I had sought all along.

The young Shiba, despite her age, still retained fragments of her adult memories. She bore a complex expression while looking at ‘Uncle’.

A voice filled with revulsion yet tinged with lingering tenderness. Despite this, her refusal to forgive resonated, reducing the devil’s heart to shards.

─Thump.

In that moment, Lee Si-heon advanced. With a body teetering precariously on the brink of death, his eyes still held a menacing glimmer of life. He raised his aching arm and unleashed a surge of magic.

‘….’

Just as the devil, his resolve shattered, was about to lower his arm and collapse, he stifled a sob.

‘…where did it all go wrong?’

He had tasted the bitterness of every failure. He had reiterated, time and again, that shattering multiple dimensions was the only way to save Shiba. His fate was to suffer endlessly. He was certain, even as he watched countless iterations of himself perish in a myriad of ways.

 
‘I’ve heard it said…’

The World Tree of Purity. She was said to possess the power to twist fate by observing events across different dimensions.

If Purity, having verified the dimensions thus far, had assisted Lee Si-heon of this world in reaching this point.

Without Purity’s aid, they were doomed to meet death from the very beginning.

‘…was this the purpose?’

The devil understood. He seemed to comprehend why Purity from the other world had apologized to him. They must have been limited to observing a dimension smaller than this world.

In the face of such a multitude of possibilities.

This is the only cosmos where my offspring doesn’t perish, the sole realm that holds completeness.

‘If we are to start from the inception. My daughter is—’

Evading death was an impossibility.

“Ah.”

It was the moment the hollow monarch drew a futile breath.

【 Sigh? 】

The ‘eggplant’ overtook his form. It infiltrated his physique, initiating the process of consuming the king.
The demon offered no resistance. He crumpled his brow in what appeared to be sorrow and violently dislodged his necklace.

A necklace of colored paper upon which was inscribed ‘Daddy, be strong.’
This trinket, which had never left his neck his entire existence, was now mired and crumpled in the sludge.