Reincarnator

'…Who the hell are you, really?'

Kiriel thought back to that memory of the past as she stared at the hammer being swung in front of her.

……………………………….

—swoooosh!—

'Haa…Haaa..'

Kiriel remained calm despite having been forcibly sucked into the memory, and focused on looking around at her surroundings.

There must be a reason why the memory reader had taken her back against her will.

Kiriel looked around and sighed when she realized that she'd seen this place before.

'Mmm… It's not unfamiliar, but… why am I here…?'

Kiriel muttered, looking around the room at the top of the Obelisk.

This was a place she had visited in order to find traces of Hansoo during the period of time she'd roamed around the entire 4th Zone after him.

Though most things that could retain memories would melt away from a huge explosion, she could still see the glory of its past.

She wasn't really curious or shocked at the giant Obelisk that was working at full capacity.

She was rather curious as to why her Psychometry had brought her here.

Then—

"Hmm… Good."

A voice was heard from the corner of the room, and her neck spun around towards its direction.

And then frowned.

The giant hammer was in the middle of the room.

—crackle—

She didn't know what had been done to the hammer, but lightning was crackling around it, and everything else in the room near the hammer had been burnt black.

And the man who was smiling at the hammer…

The voice had to have come from that man.

'Who…?'

A slightly feeble-looking body.

He looked way too weak in comparison to Tiamet, but his researcher-like looks attracted her curiosity even more.

Since this person might be related to the creator of the hammer.

The man, who had been looking at the hammer in the luxurious room at the top of the Obelisk, looked towards the empty space and said:

"Welcome, my precious guest,"

'…What? Seriously?'

"Don't be shocked. I'm really talking to you."

Kiriel freaked out at the man who was staring directly at where her consciousness was.

'No way!'

A memory was something she read.

Normally, the memory didn't react to her presence.

—clank—

An ominous feeling ran through her, and she tried to cancel her trait and escape, but it was useless.

It was as if she was being held down.

"Don't be shocked. I mean you no harm. I just tried it out for fun."

"…Who are you?"

The man then seemed to realize something, and exclaimed:

"I've forgotten to introduce myself!"

The man pointed towards the hammer on the ground.

"I am called Nepallem, greetings."

"…"

Kiriel, who'd been listening to his words in a daze, asked:

"Did you bring me here?"

Nepallem chuckled as he replied:

"I didn't call you, you just got sucked in while trying to read the Mjölnir's memories."

"…Mjölnir?"

Nepallem nodded.

"Yes. That hammer over there."

—chiiiiik—

Nepallem pointed towards the hammer currently emitting smoke in the middle of the room.

A hammer that did not look like something simple.

'…So that's what it looks like when it's fused.'

Kiriel looked at the hammer—it was letting off sparks and burning the contents of the room. She recalled what Hansoo had wanted her to find out, so she asked Nepallem:

"Did you make that?"

This current situation as a whole made no sense, but she wasn't the type to argue about something that was already happening.

The most important thing was gathering intel.

The man seemed quite friendly, which meant she had nothing to fear for now.

'I need to ask as much as I can.'

But Nepallem shook his head with a smile.

"No. I did not make it."

"Then…"

"I brought it."

"…?"

'Brought it? From where?'

Nepallem looked at Kiriel, who was tilting her head in confusion, and then shook his finger.

"Telling you everything would be a bit too much. Anyway, I brought it to help a few people below, but… it seems to be too strong in this form."

Nepallem thought of Tiamet, who would be proceeding to perform his revenge, and smiled as he touched the Mjölnir with his finger.

Then—

—pachchchchciiik!—

The lines on Mjölnir's surface radiated a golden light, and the hammer gradually grew weaker. Kiriel's brows rose up at this sight.

'It turned into three pieces.'

It still looked like a hammer, but it was different.

Since the flow of mana inside it had turned into three separate circuits of their own.

At this rate, those individual pieces wouldn't be able to use even half of half of half of half of the original's power.[a]

Nepallem looked kindly at Kiriel, and explained with a smile.

"This should fit this world's level a bit more."

Was it necessary to break the Mjölnir down to Tiamet's level?

But since he had restructured the hammer to be disassembled, Tiamet would put it to good use.

He could either wield the hammer to destroy the world.

Or use them separately in places he needed to.

It didn't matter anyway.

Since both outcomes would be fun.

Nepallem, who had been smiling at the hammer, spoke to Kiriel.

"Apparently, it's been fused again. Though there are still some restrictions but… Congratulations."

Nepallem congratulated Kiriel, and shook her hand.

"Goodbye, then. Be careful when wielding it. Since it's not a simple object. Remember who the owner is."

—swoooooosh!—

'Huh… uhh?'

Kirie's consciousness suddenly started to return to reality at a tremendous speed.

…………………………………

"That really happened?"

"Yes, I wanted to read more of the memory, but… I can't anymore."

After hearing Kiriel's account, Hansoo looked at the hammer.

'…Brought it?'

—rumble—

—crackle—

Even after completely destroying the Ark-Roa, the hammer in his hands was still searching for things to smash apart.

Like its owner.

Hansoo frowned at the destructive energy running through the hand holding onto the hammer's handle.

'I now understand why it's hard to handle.'

This hammer was always desiring to destroy.

No matter if the opponent was an enemy or its owner.

The moment it smashed apart the Ark-Roa, the energy heading towards the Ark-Roa flew towards Hansoo.

It ripped his muscles, burnt up his nerves, and broke his bones.

—crack!—

—kuduk!—

The destructive energy flowed through Hansoo's arm and into his body to rip apart his insides.

His body was going through an infinite loop; the Mjölnir was destroying him internally, and the Immortal Soul and Dragon Essence Blade regenerated any damage inflicted.

He understood why Tiamet had broken this apart.

Since Tiamet wouldn't have been able to hold onto this with his past level of strength.

And Kiriel carefully asked Hansoo:

" … Are you going to keep holding onto it?"

Though she was also at the 2 star level, due to her lack of regenerative and close combat skills, it was very taxing for her to hold it, even for a brief moment.

She'd end up a mess with just a single day of slowly being gnawed away by it.

It would be okay in a fight, but for one to always carry it around…

"Can't you carry it around in some container? Like a pouch…"

But Hansoo shook his head.

"No."

This thing had a huge amount of pride.

When he'd released it, he felt the reaction of the hammer being much more powerful after holding onto it again.

It would not accept those that denied this energy as its owner.

And another thing…

'This is going to be helpful for training.'

—pajijijik—

Hansoo mumbled as he felt the lightning energy burning up his insides.

Skill masteries improved the more one used it.

'I guess the next seed on the list is the Immortal Soul.'

Between the Nine Dragons Spear and the Immortal Soul, he'd wondered which seed he would use to get to the 3 star level, but then decided on the latter.

He then shouted towards the two fighting in the distance.

—boom!—

"Hurry and finish! We should greet each other since we've been separated for so long!"

"Damn it! You bastard! Help us or something!"

Karhal gritted his teeth and roared out loud.

His expression was full of glee, though.

—roooaaar!—

The Ark-Roa's clone, the hunting dog, still remained and it was trying its best to resist being killed off by Karhal and Ekidu.

It was indeed trying its best, but it was not an opponent for the two after its original body had been destroyed.

—booom!—

Surrounded by her White River Demonic Art, Ekidu smashed the chest of the dog, and shouted at Hansoo.

"Just rest for a bit! We'll be right over!"

'… It really has been a while. For her to use such words.'

Hansoo then put the hammer down, and sat on it.

—pachichichiciii!—

The Mjölnir retaliated as if to say that it wasn't a chair, but Hansoo ignored it and relaxed.

He was indeed tired.

'Ugh… it hasn't even been a week since I woke up.'

But Hansoo chuckled.

Two years was a long time to rest.

And there was a long way for him to go.

At that moment—

—kiriririring—

—a healing aura entered Hansoo's body.

"Mmm…"

'Right, what shall I do with this child…?'

One thing was clear: he didn't dislike this girl either.

As Hansoo smirked at Kiriel, who was healing him with a happy smile—

—booom!—

"Ha! Hahaha! This bastard! It's finally dead!"

At Karhal's shout, the black dog fell down with a hole in its heart.

—ssss—

The black dog trembled for a moment in rage as it looked around, but then collapsed.

It then turned into black powder, dispersing into the air.

sssss….

At that moment—

"…What is this?"

Ekidu, who had been standing in front of the black powder, asked out loud, causing Hansoo, Kiriel, and everyone else to look at where the Ark-Roa's corpse had fallen.

Then they saw it.

A human-head-sized box amidst the black powder.

Along with a small letter.

Hansoo focused with his eyes, and looked at the word on the letter.

[GIFT].

'So it only treats it as dead when the clone gets killed as well, huh?… But why didn't it appear itself?'

Confused, Hansoo looked at the box that seemed to have been left behind by the fairy.

[a]Yes it's one eighth, but this is what the raws say xD

Learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube or use the online solver to calculate the steps needed.