My Students Regret It After I Retired - Chapter 103



102 – Unable to Become the Protagonist

Because Leos knew better than anyone else the effect of Enas’s ability, and the conditions for its activation, Leos’s heart was churning unlike before.

The change in his gaze as he looked at his former disciple who had followed him into a death trap, was surely because of this reason.

Nevertheless, sending Enas back now was out of the question. From the moment he arrived at the Heavenly Host’s headquarters, Leos had been continuously sensing a bizarre aura.

As they entered through the main gate, over ten members of the Heavenly Host greeted Leos, as if they had been waiting.

“Welcome. The Heavenly Lord has been waiting for quite some time.”

Someone who appeared to be one of the Heavenly Assembly members greeted Leos with a bright smile, and guided him onward.

“What is this?”

Contrary to Leos’s expectation that a fight would break out immediately, the Heavenly Assembly side wore very relaxed expressions, as if welcoming a guest.

“What do you mean ‘what is this’? The Heavenly Lord ordered that you be treated with utmost respect, and so I am fulfilling my duty.”

“After pulling off all that bullshit, now you’re being respectful?”

“Ha ha.”

Carioson, a Heavenly Assembly executive, slightly distorted his polite expression with a chuckle, before speaking quietly.

“Leos, if we had intended to kill you from the start, we would’ve come for you at any time. Before you amassed your forces, before you gained power, before you were prepared – the Lord had many opportunities to kill you. Your survival thus far is entirely thanks to the Lord’s consideration. How do you think it would’ve ended if the Lord had come for you right after you awakened your ability and obtained the Blood Oath Sword?”

Leos glared silently, and Carioson added.

“You would’ve died a horrible death. Do not forget that your ability to walk and speak is entirely due to the Lord’s generous allowances. You should not act rashly.”

“You have a damn irritating way of speaking.”

Leos’s provocation caused Carioson to pause momentarily, but he ignored it and began walking forward again.

“Leos, know that the only way you and your companion will live is by appealing to the Heavenly Lord’s mercy.”

Leos decided to move along as they guided him. He was curious about what the Heavenly Lord’s motive and intentions were behind all this.

‘If they were going to lay a trap, they would’ve launched a concentrated attack the moment I crossed the threshold.’

If he was going to create a variable, it would be best when the enemy was off-guard. First, he would meet the Heavenly Lord and if possible, aim for her neck. That was Leos’s number one priority.

“We’ve arrived.”

As Carioson said this, dozens of Heavenly Assembly members, who had been hidden in the darkness, simultaneously bowed their heads to the ground, chanting as if in worship.

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“We greet the Great Heavenly Lord.”

The Heavenly Sovereign, ruling over people like a god. Her beauty, so breathtaking it was almost divine, couldn’t mask the killing intent radiating from her, stinging the very skin.

“It’s been a while, Leos. You killed my right-hand man, slaughtered the forces I planted within the Empire, and even took down the puppet Emperor I was using. You’ve been quite busy. Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Killing them brought me no pleasure. What I desire is *your* head.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Heavenly Sovereign erupted in a chilling laugh. Those around her visibly tensed, pressing their faces even deeper into the ground. They feared that even a stray glance could be their death warrant.

“How amusing, truly amusing. You are such an unpredictable human. Among all of humankind, you are the strongest besides myself. But surely you understand, everyone here possesses abilities, and combined, they are still weaker than I. Do you truly believe that just two people can stand against all of us? Why didn’t you bring your companions?”

“Two is enough.”

“Nonsense. A man who’s lived through so much life-and-death combat, you aren’t that naive. You must have feared they’d take your comrades hostage. So you chose to bring only those with abilities, and that would be her, wouldn’t it? It’s comical, fighting for your life alongside a former disciple who once couldn’t believe in you.”

Seeing how the Heavenly Sovereign seemed to see through everything, Leos knew he couldn’t let her speak any further. He raised the Five Swords into the sky.

“I propose we fight, just the two of us. No cowardly tactics, no involving our comrades. A death match, just you and I.”

“Me? Why would I?”

The Heavenly Sovereign leaned back in her massive chair, cocking her head as she spoke to Leos.

“If you were in my position, would you give up this vast army to engage in a one-on-one fight? There’s no gain, only risk.”

“If someone threatened me, and demanded a one-on-one fight, I would gladly do so. It’d eliminate the chance of my companions getting killed.”

The Heavenly Sovereign stared at Leos for a long moment, then asked without laughing,

“You’re always truthful. With your immense power, with the fate that set you apart from others from birth, why do you always fight for others? Common humans, without abilities, are nothing more than unchosen insects. Just as humans trample life over their own discomfort, we can kill humans just as easily, we’re the chosen ones.”

The Heavenly Sovereign frowned, adding,

“I don’t understand it. Your actions have always been completely, utterly incomprehensible to me. It disgusts me, the way you stubbornly reject your destiny, lost in your idealistic fantasies and repulsive hypocrisy. But I’m also envious. Because in the end, fate chose *you.*”

“What are you talking about?”

“I am but a character in a written story. And you, aren’t you the humans who created me? Even with the same potential, the fundamental difference between you and I will never change. I admit it. You are the protagonist of this novel.”

“…”

Leo asked, his expression serious, a shift from before.

“How do you know such things?”

“You think you’re the only one who’s transmigrated? Countless transmigrators have come to this world, and my eyes have the power to recognize them. Each time beings from other dimensions arrived, I killed them, or tortured them. Only after torturing thousands did I come to know everything. This thing called ‘Earth,’ the place called ‘Korea,’ even that this place I’m trapped in is a ‘novel’—the disgusting truth that I’m nothing more than a character.”

The Celestial Lord murmured, moving his hand.

“I tried to break free, but I couldn’t escape this world no matter what. I, who thought I controlled fate, who could see the future, was nothing more than a puppet, manipulated by someone else. My life was denied, my purpose erased.”

The Celestial Lord looked at Leo, a truly bitter expression on his face.

“I envy you. An endless, radiant light emanates from you. You’re different from all the other transmigrators. They said that the protagonist is the one who overcomes all hardships and ultimately wins. And that the protagonist is always surrounded by companions.”

“A murderer who’s killed countless people, speaking such pointless drivel.”

“Aren’t you the same? Among all those here, excluding me, none have killed as many as you. The number you’ve killed surpasses the thousands. You are the true murderer.”

The Celestial Lord said this, then stared blankly at Leo.

Inside the Celestial Lord’s mind, the system’s voice began to sound.

[The protagonist encounters the Celestial Lord.]

“Ah…”

The Celestial Lord gripped his head, tearing at his hair. A voice like someone narrating. The reason the Celestial Lord was so obsessed with Leo was because of this voice that was now resonating.

A voice as if a god were whispering to him, one that echoed whenever he looked at Leo.

At first, the Celestial Lord didn’t understand what the voice meant. But it wasn’t long before he figured it out.

The system’s voice, it was the telling of Leo’s story that was being written.

[Leo prepares to fight the Celestial Lord. Risking his life, to protect his companions, he resolves to fight the Celestial Lord to the death.]

“I know. That b*stard is the protagonist. So shut your mouth.”

The reason that drove the Heavenly Sovereign to such despair—the tale of this world, was being written around Leos.

“HahahahaHAHAHAHAHA!”

The Heavenly Sovereign laughed like a madwoman, then glanced around before speaking to Leos.

“Leos, you said it, didn’t you? That you wanted a one-on-one fight?”

Leos raised the Five Swords into the sky, preparing for battle.

*Chwaarrrrrk!*

From the arm the Heavenly Sovereign extended, bizarre red threads shot out in all directions. Terrible, flesh-tearing sounds echoed all around, and in the blink of an eye, the heads of dozens of Heavenly Sovereign members fell to the ground.

She spoke, smiling with a face covered in blood.

“The Heavenly Sovereign accepts the one-on-one combat offered by Leos, killing all her subordinates before facing him. Soon, the system will say this.”