CHAPTER 163
163 — Throwing a Tantrum**

The whale was far away. He hadn't measured it exactly, but it was at least a couple of mountains away. The reason it was visible from such a distance was because of its immense size and the fact that it was flying through the sky.

'It's that far away, yet the rain is reaching all the way here?'

The range of its ability was excessively wide. The straight-line distance between here and where it was was considerable, and usually, an ability like this would spread out in a circle centered on the caster. Considering that, the area where it was raining must have surpassed the scale of a city.

"Never a quiet day."

The land of endlessly burning flames, the swamp ruled by Silbaern, the snow-capped mountains where the sun never set, dominated by Belkarim's power, or Larna's insect army, which, though docile now, once led its minions to devour everything in the world.

There was simply never a quiet day. No matter how much the Seeds guided him, it was enough to make him sigh that incidents erupted everywhere he went.

"There are Lords, and... well, it's a place with all sorts of divine spirits."

At Jinwoo's sigh, Terham spoke in a resigned tone. He, too, was once a Lord and a being who commanded a corner of the Spirit Realm. He knew well how dangerous this Spirit Realm was, and what kind of bizarre and monstrous beings roamed it.

"If we leave it like this, this entire area will be devastated. What will you do? Fortunately, it seems to be just passing by..."

Terham asked for a decision. To fight or not to fight.

The Lord of Rain, Neldym, showed no sign of having noticed them. The distance was so great that even Jinwoo had only noticed him with his naked eye.

So, they could let him pass. They could avoid unnecessary conflict and safely withdraw. Terham was still presenting a peaceful solution to Jinwoo.

However.

"That thing has a Seed."

Neldym had a Seed. As such, even if they avoided him now, he was a foe they would have to clash with eventually. Rather, now, when the presence of other Lords couldn't be felt, might be the chance to settle things with him one-on-one.

"What does Neldym think of the Seed he possesses? If he considers it a nuisance like you or Belkarim, it could be resolved easily."

"Well... as far as I know, he's not the type to seem troubled by anything."

Jinwoo looked up at the sky. Dark, heavy clouds covered the surroundings, pouring down rain filled with poison.

"Not a good environment for a flower to grow."

Jinwoo drew his sword and headed down from the tower. Terham followed behind him, while Larna, for some reason, stayed put. It seemed she didn't want to follow.

"I don't like this rain."

"You don't like it?"

"Can't eat it. Many of my subordinates died."

Hearing her story, it seemed Neldym's poison was something even Larna couldn't digest. To be unable to digest it despite being synchronized with the Seed that held the power of gluttony. It was proof that the power of the poison had reached a spiritual level. Though, being the power of a divine spirit, that was to be expected.

Did her saying many of her subordinates died mean she had fought Neldym before?

"Then wait here. Keep an eye on Garta so he doesn't escape."

"Okay."

Leaving Larna behind, Jinwoo jumped down from the tower with Terham. The pouring rain soaked his forehead and began to trickle down below his eyelids.

He pushed through the poison-laced rain.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded. The rainwater seeping into his eyes contained a poison that even Larna feared, and it tried to penetrate the capillaries and optic nerves of his eyeballs.

Fortunately, he could still block it for now. Jinwoo's mana pushed out the foreign substance, expelling the poison that tried to seep in from his body.

Because the sun was obscured, Cain's Seed did not move properly. If it had been active, it could have repelled the rainwater itself, but for now, all it did was protect Jinwoo's heart.

'Still, protecting just the heart blocks 80% of it.'

The most frightening aspect of poison is that it seeps into the blood and spreads throughout the body via the blood vessels. But Jinwoo's heart was perfectly protected by the aura from the Golden Apple and Cain's Seed.

Unless someone were to inject poison directly into his heart, the amount scattered in the rainwater couldn't penetrate the heart enveloped in golden light.

'The sky is dark.'

Covered by dark clouds, the entire sky was dark. Thanks to that, Cain's Seed was quiet, but conversely, Jerakson's Seed stirred. It seemed angry that some other guy was dominating the sky instead of him.

'Could it be...?'

Just in case, Jinwoo checked the Seed. Unlike the other Seeds, this one had Jerakson's entire soul sealed within it, so it required careful management.

—Kuhahaha! Is my reign not shining brilliantly? As expected, only the sky I rule will find true peace.

Fortunately, there were no problems. Jerakson still believed the world inside the Seed was the real world and was playing king in there.

—Bring me wine and meat! Kuhahaha!

...He was doing so well it was surprising. Inside the Seed, Jerakson was the king who ruled the world and enslaved all races. Everyone bowed at his feet, and the occasional rebellion was suppressed with a single snort from him.

'He looks happy.'

To be that happy, could you call it a happy ending of sorts? In any case, there was no problem with Jerakson. The reason the Seed was running wild was simply because it was rebelling against the sky dominated by Neldym.

"Terham. Did Neldym ever fight with Jerakson?"

"Jerakson? You mean that mad dragon?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder. I've never heard of it. If those two had fought, the rumors would surely have spread far and wide."

Contrary to his expectations, it seemed Jerakson and Neldym had no connection. He had thought that Neldym's existence, which dominated the surrounding area just by being there, would have been an obstacle to Jerakson, who sought to rule the sky.

Did their territories just happen not to overlap? Or was there a reason they didn't fight?

"Wait. It seems he's noticed us!"

In the meantime, Terham stopped Jinwoo and stood in front of him. The state of the air had changed completely.

Unlike moments ago, when it was just poison-laced rain falling, the air suddenly tightened like a blade. The sharpened point was aimed solely at one place: where Jinwoo and Terham were.

Sure enough, the whale slowly turned. The end of its gaze was directed at the two of them, and especially at Jinwoo.

[Who are you?]

The voice did not travel through the air. It was a voice similar to telepathy, echoing directly in his mind.

Like that of an old man, it was slightly cracked yet carried considerable weight, giving off a rather intellectual and intelligent feeling. As Terham had said, it seemed he wasn't an opponent who couldn't be reasoned with.

[Hmm... not one of my kind, it seems. A human?]

"I am Kang Jinwoo. From Earth. Have you heard of it?"

[Earth, Earth... In my several thousand years of life, I believe I have heard of it a few times.]

Didn't that pretty much mean he didn't know?

[Ah, that's right. Was it one of the worlds that dragon head, Jerakson, was obsessed with? Foolish fellow. To be so interested in the outside world when it's hard enough to properly control one's own territory here in the Spirit Realm. Tsk tsk.]

The topic suddenly shifted to Jerakson. It seemed the fact that he was targeting Earth was quite famous. After grumbling for a while, he answered as if he had forgotten.

[My apologies. My name is Neldym. I am the one who soaks the world by making it rain.]

"Soak? This?"

Jinwoo said, looking around. The expression "soak" wasn't entirely wrong. But the scene unfolding around them was more horrific than that.

The once-green trees were twisted and shriveled or had corroded and crumbled away, and the once-clean water was heavily polluted, emitting a toxic vapor. The poison had seeped relentlessly into the nutrient-rich soil, scattering death everywhere.

[It cannot be helped. This is the only way to avoid being consumed by the Erosion.]

"......What do you mean?"

[It means that a weak nature that cannot even withstand the energy of medicine is unnecessary.]

Medicine. Neldym referred to the rain he was bringing down as medicine for the land. But to Jinwoo, it was poison itself. Without even looking at the contaminated land, he could tell it was poison just by being hit by the falling rainwater.

"This poison is medicine?"

[Originally, all poison is also medicine, and all medicine is also poison. To prepare for the powerful phenomenon that is Erosion, a stronger medicine was simply needed.]

It was absurd, but he understood what he was saying. The point was that Neldym wasn't spreading poison to contaminate the land.

He was spreading medicine to prevent the land of the Spirit Realm from being consumed by Erosion. Medicine that could resist Erosion. But such a powerful medicine was bound to be just as potent, so the ordinary creatures of nature simply could not accept it.

He understood that Neldym’s intent was not malicious. But that didn’t mean he was right.
"So you contaminate the land with a potent poison first, just to prevent it from being contaminated by the Erosion..."
[Is that not rational?]
"Huh? How?"
When Jinwoo asked back in disbelief, Neldym answered proudly.
[Land tainted by Erosion never returns. It is no different from annihilated land, not even worth calling dead. In contrast, the land I contaminate with my poison will one day recover. In the meantime, it won't fall to the Erosion. Is this not the best possible measure against it?]
It was a so-called "fight fire with fire" strategy. It wasn't that he couldn't understand it. It wasn't that he couldn't understand, but...
‘A method I could never use.’
Jinwoo gave a bitter smile. Earth, even now, was struggling with the problem of the black lands. To bring a drastic measure like this as a solution? He would be condemned as a demon bent on destroying the world, not a savior who would save it.
In any case, he understood that Neldym held no malice. He also understood that, despite their different approaches, Neldym had his own rational way of thinking. In that case, he should be reasoned with.
"Neldym. If your goal is to stop the Erosion by spreading this poison, then you don't need the Seed, do you?"
[The Seed? You mean this.]
From Neldym's core, his Seed revealed its presence. Amidst the dark storm clouds and the pouring rain, it shone like a lighthouse beam.
"Hand it over to me. I'll carve out just the Seed for you, no side effects."
[You will?]
Neldym scrutinized Jinwoo with a gaze full of curiosity. From the tip of his hair to the ends of his toes, calmly. His piercing eyes tried to see through Jinwoo, inside and out.
But it was no use. Even Neldym's eyes couldn't fully grasp Jinwoo's inner self. It was only natural; within Jinwoo, five Seeds had already gathered, creating their own complex current. It was impossible for anyone other than Jinwoo to navigate a path more bewildering than a labyrinth.
However, he could discern one thing. A single presence, reacting to Neldym's own Seed, raged as if in fury.
[Jerakson!]
Jerakson's Seed refused to be quieted. Jinwoo clicked his tongue and tried to calm it, but it threw a tantrum like a disobedient child, wanting to sweep away the storm clouds in the sky.
Seeing this, Neldym could only come to one conclusion.
[Impossible!]
It seemed a fight was inevitable after all.