351

Episode 351: How is it to live in my body? (1)

"Now you've come to your senses."

Jiselle laughed, putting her fist away. Now that Edwin had fully come to his senses, it was time to talk things out.

Indeed, Edwin's face was different than before. The magic had disappeared as if washed away, and his eyes had returned to their original color.

"What the hell are you! You devil! Hurry up and let me go!"

Edwin trembled and had a look of fear on his face. It felt like the comfortable environment he had been in had suddenly turned into hell.

I have never been sick since I became one with the demon. I was able to stay in chains for a year without any problems.

But to make someone feel this much pain after being punched a few times, the other person was clearly a devil.

Jiselle clicked her tongue and approached Edwin.

"Are you going to continue living with him? Or should I stay for a few more days?"

Then Edwin shook his head violently with eyes filled with fear.

No matter how much I screamed, no one came. I couldn't continue living like this.

Rather than feeling this pain, I thought it would be better to listen to my father and study hard.

Jiselle smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

"Hey, are you listening? How about getting out of this body now? Or should I do it for a few more days?"

Then Edwin's eyes darkened again. It seemed clear that the two were sharing control of their bodies.

Of course, either way, they were equally scared. The evil spirit spoke with trembling eyes.

"Grrrr… … I, I can't go out."

"why?"

"If I leave this body, I'll die. I'm living off the life force of this body. Well, if I can't enter another body anyway, I'll just disappear over time."

"Oh, if I come out I'll die?"

"That, that's right. Just stay in this body. Then, from now on, I'll live quietly. The owner of the body, too, has lost a lot of his anger."

The evil spirit meekly explained his situation and offered a compromise. It was an appeal to recognition.

Jiselle nodded.

"Hmm, I see."

"also?"

"There is something like that. Then let me make a suggestion."

"proposal?"

"Yes. You can't continue living in that body. So instead, I'll provide you with a place to stay."

"What kind of body?"

Jiselle looked into the evil spirit's eyes with a smirk.

"How about coming into my body and living there?"

The evil spirit stopped, and Arel, who was watching from the side, was also startled.

I couldn't understand why she would allow such an evil spirit into her body. If Jiselle's mind were to be consumed by an evil spirit, Yeongji would be finished.

Arel tried to stop her, but Giselle waved her hand and continued speaking.

"I'll make room for you in my body. You need mana and vitality to live anyway, right? I'll provide you with mana as well."

"How about that… … ."

The evil spirit looked at Giselle with surprised eyes.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said. He had no choice but to live off of someone else's body in order to obtain mana.

Everyone has a little bit of mana. It accumulates in the body in small amounts as we breathe, eat, and drink our way through life since birth.

Most people cannot handle mana, and even if they can, it is not accumulated in a meaningful way in everyday life.

However, as the successor to the Count's family, Edwin had also mastered the Mana cultivation method. Although it was crude, it was still more comfortable than the bodies of the commoners who had been living off of him up until now.

By combining his own abilities with Edwin's mana, he was able to emit magical energy.

'That guy seems much stronger than Edwin. If only I could take over his body... ... .'

Maybe this is a new opportunity.

It is not easy to enter someone's body. Only those with extremely weak mental power and exhaustion can enter.

However, if the owner of the body does not reject it and gives it to you, you can enter easily.

The problem is getting in, but once you're in, it's not hard to touch and control those emotions and memories.

"Do you know what kind of tricks you're using, and you're telling me that I'll just follow you?"

"Trust me and try it. If anything seems a little strange, you can just transfer it back to Edwin's body right away."

"… … ."

The evil spirit thought about it for a long time. It was uneasy, but if it succeeded, it would be able to obtain a truly proper body.

'Are you really trying to save this guy? Do you think you can destroy him if I move on?'

I don't know what he was thinking, but it was a gamble worth taking. Once he accepts it, he won't be able to control himself.

Because the stronger the opponent, the stronger the ability he could display.

"Okay… … . I'll transfer to your body… … ."

Magic energy began to writhe and leak out from Edwin's body. The energy was about to penetrate Giselle's body.

A strong will was directly transmitted to Giselle's mind.

- Will you accept me?

"I will accept it."

Jiselle did not stop the spirits from penetrating her. She opened her heart as well as her body to the evil spirits without rejecting them.

The evil spirit slowly infiltrated Giselle. He was very cautious, fearing that Giselle might do something.

If I did anything else, I would have to run away to Edwin's body right away.

But there was no resistance. When it was more than halfway in, the evil spirit carried off Giselle in one breath as if swallowing her.

Paaaaah!

All the energy was sucked into Giselle. In an instant, Giselle's eyes turned black and magical energy began to pour out of his body.

Arel, who had been watching from the side, took a step back for a moment.

"This, this… … ."

It was on a whole other level than the energy that Edwin gave off. In an instant, the surroundings were taken over, making it difficult to even breathe.

Arel held on, using the meager amount of mana he had saved up so far. Edwin also began to gasp for breath, unable to breathe properly.

An evil laughter erupted from Giselle's head.

― Huh! Hahahaha! That's amazing! What an amazing body! What an amazing energy! This body is on a whole other level than that of ordinary people!

The evil spirits have always lived only by moving between the minds of the people at the bottom. They have never had a body like this.

That is understandable, because the human mind does not tolerate being controlled by someone.

No matter how sad or desperate the other person was, it was not easy to control their mind. It was only possible if they were truly weak or in a desperate situation where they were ready to take their own life.

But how common is such a person? Usually, it was only the lowest class of commoners. Knights would never dare to think of it. Even someone as young as Edwin would have been good prey.

But to have such an amazing body! Although I have never been a parasite on a knight's body, just looking at the amount of mana, I am certain that this body will be superior to that of an average knight.

― Hehehe. Now I will evolve this body to the next level. If this body is combined with my abilities, it will become even more powerful.

The fact that Edwin's shabby body was able to remain intact despite the magic energy it emitted was purely thanks to his own abilities.

He could amplify the abilities of the body he took over several times over. That was why Edwin was able to produce such tremendous power with such a poor mana.

― Now, show me the memories of your life and the emotions you felt at that time. That is the source of my power. I will amplify it and make it my power. Even if you have forgotten, I will bring it back to you.

The power of the evil spirit is to transform emotions into power. And the target is not only the current emotion.

Everyone experiences intense emotions in their lives. Whether it's anger, fear, sadness, joy, unhappiness, or happiness, we all feel something.

Even if a person becomes older and more enlightened and becomes more peaceful, the fact that he or she once felt certain emotions does not disappear. As time passes by, the emotions of that time are simply forgotten and laughed off.

The evil spirit revisits those past emotions and turns them into power.

Of course, that doesn't mean it's completely changed. A vessel that can accept that power is needed.

This is because even the most trivial and small things can cause people to feel extremely intense emotions depending on their personality.

Edwin's heart was overflowing with despair, but he was not a vessel capable of containing all of its power.

Therefore, he could not display any abilities beyond emitting magic and protecting his body.

Ironically, the deeper and more broad-minded a person is, the more he or she can endure the hardships of life and accept more, the stronger his or her ability becomes.

― You must have had one or two painful memories in your life. You must have had happy memories as well. Now, show me all of them. Your past.

The evil spirit happily entered Giselle's deep world. It went beyond consciousness and into the unconscious, and began to steal his memories.

And according to those memories, the world's environment began to change.

― Let's take a look at what a fun life I've had… … . Huh?

Gooooooo… … .

The evil spirit looked around in confusion.

It's red.

A man was standing on a very dry and red earth.

A man covered in wounds from his face all over his body. His hair was blond, but some spots were turning white.

He just stared at the sky with empty eyes.

Although only the back of the head can be seen, this is the spiritual world. The evil spirit was able to see everything in an instant.

- who...?

The evil spirit muttered in confusion. This is the deep world. There can be no one else but him.

The moment I entered this body, I realized that the owner of the body had put on a beard and disguised himself. I also immediately learned his true appearance and name.

However, the person standing alone in that desolate place and looking up at the sky resembled the owner of the body, but his current appearance was different.

It's almost as if... ... if the owner of this body gets hurt and gets older, he or she might end up looking like that.

- What, what is this… … .

While the evil spirit was confused, the world began to turn red. And then again, the environment distorted and changed.

At first, it was the childhood that the owner of the body had sent.

- Now I remember correctly. What a pitiful guy he was.

The only emotions he harbored as a child were feelings of inferiority and childish anger.

He was no different from Edwin. No, a little worse. He was just a loser, a brat who was consumed with self-esteem and defeatism.

The evil spirit muttered, absorbing those emotions happily.

- Hmm, but your little brother died. It must have been a big shock. Did he leave home?

The memories that followed were of him training hard and living as a mercenary.

After experiencing numerous threats to his life and gaining various experiences, his emotions began to change again.

Although there were some hardships and frustrations, most of them were good emotions such as anticipation, positivity, hope, and longing for a changed self.

- You've had some hardships, but you've become a better person.

Edwin also changed after being hit a few times. It seems that people must go through hardships to gain enlightenment.

This time, the evil spirit absorbed those emotions into his own power.

The environment changed and distorted again. The evil spirit that had glimpsed the memories of the body's owner frowned.

- this....

There were many people's necks hanging in front of the pole. The owners of the bodies were kneeling in front of it and crying.

As the soldiers approach, the body's owner staggers and runs away.

The feeling that comes again.

Regret, despair, depression, sadness, fear.

and....

anger.

― My family and friends are all dead. It's an intense feeling. It's this feeling that makes me stronger.

The demon once again absorbed those emotions. The more intense the emotions, the more fulfilling it felt.

The environment changes again. The world begins to distort.

Anger, regret, anger, regret, anger, regret… … .

The same feeling continues endlessly. No other feeling has come before that feeling.

There are strong feelings of depression and sadness here and there. Sometimes there are small moments of joy, but they are quickly overtaken by the anger that comes.

What the evil spirit saw was him endlessly pushing himself to his limits.

Create a pseudonym, hide your identity, and fight and fight again. It doesn't matter if you're a monster or a person.

He set a firm and clear goal and moved only toward that goal. He fought without sleeping.

[I must become stronger. I will definitely get revenge.]

That was the only goal he had left in life.

- Huh? Huh?

Something was off. The demon was spying on his world and he was starting to feel a strong sense of unease.

The body owner's face and body were engraved with countless scars. His hair also began to turn white here and there.

It was understandable. There was no way that your body and mind would be okay when you were pushing yourself to the limit with these emotions.

That may be true, but it doesn't make sense.

- Are you… … old now?

The evil spirit became confused.

In my memory, I have already surpassed my current physical age. After experiencing numerous near-death experiences and gaining enlightenment, I began to change as a person.

He was killing people and cultivating, killing people and cultivating, killing people and cultivating again, and moving towards his goal step by step.

Then suddenly the world distorted, time jumped, and changed again. The evil spirit tried to control the memories that were changing at will, but was unable to hold on and was swept away.

- What, what is this world?

At some point, he became stronger than anyone else. I could understand that. After fighting and training like that, it would be strange if he was weak.

But the world had changed. It was a world he didn't know. Unknown monsters and demons were rampant, and everyone was crying in despair.

The evil spirit had never seen or heard of such a world before.

What you are seeing now is a memory from the past. It makes absolutely no sense that you are older than your current body owner, or that the world has changed.

Even while the evil spirit was confused, he continued to move endlessly. The evil spirit had never seen anyone fight so much in his life.

He only trained himself through endless practice and developed his skills. He defeated monsters and demons, and also increased his power. Many people followed him and praised him.

At one point he was given a glorious title. The people of the world were in awe of him and worshipped him.

[Continent 7 Powers, King of Mercenaries]

This happened when he was much older than he is now.

The evil spirit felt certain that there was something wrong with this body's memory.