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  The King of North America fell by my bde; our battle was intense, and I could notice how powerful he was and how mutapped potential he possessed. But at this stage, he cked finesse and teique, or perhaps the very teiques of his family simply worked around brute force.

  However, what use does brute force have if you ’t use refined, meticulous teiques to let out the best of such a power? It was the very same reason why the Primal King ended up losing to the bination of my Doppelgangers, despite being so immensely strong.

  I felt slightly threatened wheually started learning and figuring out his own Martial Arts reted to Prehistoriimals. It was too w for me, so I had to cut it down immediately.

  But uhe Primal King, the King of North America is much more intelligent; he used some sort of teique, but it was simply ckluster in parison to mine.

  However, all these thoughts had little point right now; the fall of a king was something everyone saw, and my disciples stepped out of the pagoda to see the battle, including my family.

  There were flying drones I noticed, filming the entire fight and broadcasting it on TV.

  I desded from the skies slowly, and as I saw the man fall to the ground, his knights and magis mao grab him in time before he was to get crushed.

  They surrounded him, screaming in horror and disbelief at his current situation.

  There was a rge hole that I had pierced through his chest; his heart must have barely survived, but one of his lungs was crushed, and he was most likely going to die very soon.

  Yet his immeality and stamina made his tough body still survive such a terrible agonizih, groaning in pain while stantly coughing blood, his wound painting the stoh him red.

  “My King!”

  “Y-Your majesty…”

  “No, please don’t die!”

  “Q-Quickly, feed him the elixirs!”

  “Use healing magic, hurry!”

  The magis jured healing spells, and the knights brought all their potions and elixirs, p them over his wounds. Yet I khat his fate was already sealed; the damage my teiques dealt always left Dao Marks with wounds.

  These wounds ied with Dao Marks ot easily recover unless you use another healing teique from my world that could ter those Dao Marks.

  Magic, Potions, and Elixirs did not work, and the knights and magis despaired as the Ki coughing blood.

  “M-My wife, my daughter,” he muttered as I slowly walked towards him. “Tell them that... That- ugh… Cough, t-that… I’m sorry…”

  As I approached him, his servants and knights quickly panicked, pointing their ons and magic at me. Yet I could tell from their faces that they were all terrified. They khey couldn’t win against me after seeing what I did to their king, but they tried to act brave and die with honor.

  “S-Stand right there!”

  “N-Not a siep, you monster!”

  “You want to finish the job, don’t you?!”

  As they roared back at me, I felt a slight hesitation to step forward. Not because I was afraid, but because I felt bad for them.

  “Your king came to my property, attacked me, and tried to kill me. I defended myself,” I expined. “And I am a moo you for doing something anybody would do? I know you’re his loyal servants, but did you expect me to sit down and be sughtered by him?”

  “T-That’s…”

  “But the King did this to…”

  “To save our Kingdom…”

  They were not really well in their heads either, perhaps still too shocked about how quickly the battle eheir king was now on the floor, dying. And I…

  Why did I feel so awkwardly hesitant to finish him off?

  I have dohis many times before in Murim, with tless foes that have fought me and then fell against my might.

  Yet this might be the first time I hesitate so much to kill one.

  Why?

  Is it because my family is watg behind me?

  Or is it because I am being broadcast?

  No, it’s none of those things.

  Or is it?

  Perhaps not, because I am being broadcast.

  But my family and my disciples.

  Hesitating is not a good thiher; if I hesitate, I could die.

  But at this point in my life, I have grown so much stronger.

  This king was reckless and tried to attack me without even talking, uncivilized even.

  Yet he wasn’t doing it out of hatred and pride; there was something within him.

  The desire to protect his family and his people...

  While holding the bde covered in the blood of a king in my hands, I could hear the hearts of his servants beating faster and faster, afraid of death.

  Yet giving it all to him.

  They were not under any brainwashing spell; they simply had great loyalty.

  And unlike all those tyrants I’ve killed in Murim, they were genuinely sad over his death and not shakeheir leader’s death only because they would not have any prote anymore.

  They were willing to put their lives on the line just so he could live a few more seds, evehey fully knew he was going to die now.

  “Do you love your King sincerely?” I asked. “Did he brainwash you into making you love him? Was he abusive towards you?”

  The knights and the magis looked at one another; none nodded.

  “Our King… He took us from our inal world and promised us a new, fertile nd where we could prosper.”

  “Our families are living in this world now... We ’t back down.”

  “He has always cared for his people and his family.”

  They were not lying.

  “I see.”

  I pced the sword over the dirt as I gnced in sile the king’s st breaths.

  FLASH!

  And in that moment, a blue-colored magic circle was jured, and two people appeared out of nowhere, running towards the King, both in tears.

  One of them was a beautiful elf woman with long blonde hair and emerald eyes, wearing a green and golden dress, and also wearing a small with red jewels.

  The other was a half-elf girl with long bck hair and emerald eyes.

  “D-Dear?! No… No, no, no! PLEASE DON’T DIE!”

  The elf woman kneeled in front of the King, hugging him as she started g.

  “Daddy! Nooo! Daddy!”

  And the child started g as well, hugging her father even as he was covered in blood.

  “E-Elphiette…”

  The King tried to say a few words to her.

  “You said you wouldn’t die... You say we would rebuild my home... That you would alrotect me!” The woma g, her tears falling over the king’s wounds.

  “I… I’m… sorry…” He muttered, coughing blood. “I was driven by my own greed.”

  “Why is nothing w? Why are you not healing?!” She kept g.

  “Daddy, don’t die!” his daughter kept screaming.

  I see how it is.

  He had a family too.

  “I wao… make… make a world where you could be… happy…” the king gasped. “Hahh… Ugh… Five me… I…. I was weak at the end… fa- father… was right…”

  “No, don’t say that! You’re the only person… the only person I love…” The woma g. “I… Please don’t leave us…”

  I noticed sparkles of golden and green light ing from the woman’s tears, which fell over the man’s wounds. Their magical power was intense, so powerful that it slightly began to override the Dao Marks, but it wasn’t enough.

  “My tears… They’re not w...”

  “It’s... this is... the end... Leave, please, find a safe pce before she… she- ugh…!”

  The King couldn’t hold baymore, vomiting more blood.

  I stood in front of them in silence, leaving behind my sword.

  The sky was cloudy out of nowhere, and it started raining all of a sudden.

  Amidst the rain, they saw my silhouette; perhaps to them, I was like the Grim Reaper.

  “Aah!” the woman cried, stepping ba horror. “N-No…! G-Get away! Don’t kill him, please! D-Don’t hurt my daughter!”

  “Y-You…” His daughter gred at me furiously as she cried, her eyes glowing red.

  Her aura erupted as she uhed her magic bde.

  “I WILL AVENGE PAPA!”

  She rushed towards me with her sword in her hands, fully knowing I could kill her with a single swipe of my hands.

  CLASH!

  Her sword hit me once, yet I received no damage. My clothes weren’t even torn apart.

  “RAAAH!”

  Her aura bzed with crimson and bck fmes as her power kept rising.

  CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

  Her attacks didn’t hurt yet.

  Why am I doing this?

  One part of myself is tellio kill everyone and that they don’t deserve my pity for daring to attack me.

  And another part of myself tells me...

  I should do what I think is right.

  “Die! Die! Die!”

  The girl kept attag me; her attacks became more intense, but there was no damage.

  This is my fault for f a child to aveheir parents.

  To leave them without family.

  I’ve dohis before, yes.

  Many times…

  I always thought I killed bad people; they were bad.

  But even the most vilinous person could have a family behind them.

  And sometimes, they are doing everything for them.

  Where you truly draw the liween what’s corred incorrect?

  Maybe this is where it is drawn.

  When a poor child is trying to kill me because I killed their parent...

  “Cecil! No! Stop, don’t attack her!”

  Her mother ran towards her, trying t her away.

  Yet my hands moved towards the girl’s head.

  She robably no older than sixteen.

  “NO!”

  The elven woman cried, juring tless branches of wood that rushed toward me like deadly spears.

  Yet my hand reached her daughter’s head much faster than her spell.

  CLASH!

  Her attack hit me, though; they were strong, but not enough to hurt me either.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “H-huh?”

  The girl, Cecil, looked up at me with eyes full of tears.

  “Your father will not die; don’t worry.”

  I walked past her, moving towards the king.

  He was already dead, yet I could still sense his life ford his soul attached to his body.

  The king was resilient.

  “I took your life, and now I will give it back to you,” I said, waving my hand.

  All the Dao Marks within his wounds disappeared, and the magic tears of his wife acted immediately, pletely healing the rge hole in his chest and everything else.

  A spark of goldericity came from my hands as I reanimated his body, making his heart start beating again.

  “Hahhh…!”

  He woke up with a loud gasp, coughing up blood stuside his lungs.

  “D-Dear?!”

  “Father!”

  His daughter and his wife ran towards him, hugging him. The King, with his shattered armor, didn’t know what had just happened, looking around in fusion but ultimately accepting their hug.

  Then he looked back at me.

  “Why...” he wondered. “You… You could have just left me dead.”

  “And upset your wife and your daughter?” I sighed. “I am softer than you imagine... I could never hurt a child.”

  “Hah, you’ve beaten me pletely. You humiliated me in front of my people, and even after all of that, you showed me mercy,” he sighed. “I am no longer worthy of carrying my anymore.”

  He took off his and threw it at me.

  “Take it… You’re the queen of this territory now.”

  I admired the for a moment and even thought about wearing it.

  But it wasn’t for me, not at all.

  “I am a guardian, not a queen.” I smiled. “Take it back.”

  I gave it to him, and as he took the , his eyes filled with disbelief.

  “W-Why? Didn’t you want this?” he wondered.

  “Why would I want that?” I ughed. “I only wao have a civil versation. You were the one who jumped on me and attacked me. Although I dislike how you’re doing some things, it doesn’t mean I want to overthrow you, or even kill you. Even if you’re not from this world, you saved a lot of people—millions. If it weren’t for you, maybe my mother and my sister wouldn’t have been alive when I came back.”

  “That’s...” he muttered, feeling awkward. “This is not how I expected things to go.”

  “Of course you didn’t, you big dummy! I told you that she was strong; I told you that there was no need for a fight; she wao talk!” His wife started reprimanding him.

  “Elphiette,” he muttered. “I’m sorry…”

  “I am doh being Miss Nice here; you died!” she cried. “You big idiot! Think more carefully before you jump on others like a savage. You told me you weren’t like your siblings; you told me you weren’t like your father! Yet you proved yourself wrong. Do you know what could have even happeo us if you had died?! To your people, to your daughter..."

  “I…!” The king got slightly annoyed but then sighed again. “I’m very sorry.”

  He apologized and hugged his family; he knew he had to move away from his pride, which had only brought his death.

  “You’re starting to learn,” I nodded. “Would you care to talk things out now, without violence?”

  “…I don’t have another choiymore.”

  “Of course you don’t.”

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  Pach