Zhang Yong and Tatsumi suddenly appeared in the meeting room of the hideout, where Najenda and the rest of the team were waiting anxiously.
"Zhang Yong! Tatsumi!" Akame shouted, the first to notice their arrival.
But what they saw made the blood freeze in their veins.
Zhang Yong was standing firmly, but the right half of his body was burned, with bones visible in some places, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
As for Tatsumi, he was unconscious, but his injuries were minor compared to Zhang Yong's.
"What happened?!" Bulat shook Zhang Yong's shoulder, but the latter fell to his knees, smiling bloodily.
"I'll explain later," Zhang Yong said, barely able to stay conscious.
Najenda was the only one who remained calm. "Akame, take Zhang Yong to the treatment room. Bulat, bring all the painkiller medicine."
Zhang Yong was quickly taken to the treatment room, and after some time, due to the loss of much of his life energy, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
The next day, Zhang Yong opened his eyes. He felt the heaviness of his body, but the pain that had been burning in every cell had subsided significantly.
'Thirty years... the price for escaping from Budo.' Zhang Yong clenched his fist. 'But if I hadn't done it, the price would have been both our lives.'
He raised his hand before his eyes, noticing that his skin had returned to normal due to rest, but he felt that something was wrong. 'General Budo.'
Immediately, he used Heavenly Demon Recollection on his mind to stare at all the information he already knew.
'This is strange. According to my memory, it is said that he never leaves the training ground. Also strange is that he came after killing the Danger Beasts. His appearance shouldn't have happened, but I didn't change anything to cause a butterfly effect. Unless I am not the only variable. That is possible. I'm afraid I will have to interfere with the story.' Zhang Yong looked sharply and deeply at what was in front of him.
[The host has successfully completed the mission and risen to level 12]
Zhang Yong smiled at the notification before noticing someone beside him. He looked toward them and immediately recognized her. It was Akame, sleeping on a chair with her head stretched out on the bed.
Zhang Yong then looked at his wounds. He had a sling for his arm.
'It's been a while since I was injured like this, but the Phoenix Robe alone cannot completely heal it, especially since the Death Qi in my body is almost exhausted. I will have to train in the Wood Path skill.' Zhang Yong looked at his arm and sighed.
Truly, his past lives loved to torment themselves. If he hadn't used the Phoenix Robe and the Turtle Shell Armor to reduce the damage, he would have lost all his ability to fight.
Suddenly, Akame began to wake up.
Akame opened her eyes slowly, then flinched suddenly when she realized she had fallen asleep while guarding Zhang Yong.
Then her gaze met Zhang Yong's, who was watching her quietly.
"You're awake" she whispered in a low voice, as if afraid someone might hear her. "How do you feel?"
Zhang Yong smiled coldly. "Alive. You won't get rid of me that easily."
Akame laughed lightly at Zhang Yong's joke before calming down a little. "I'm glad you're okay. I don't want to lose an important comrade."
'An important comrade, huh?' Zhang Yong looked at her and didn't say a word at first. 'Unfortunately, you will lose everyone. Everyone is destined to die.'
"I won't die that easily," Zhang Yong replied, trying to sit up with Akame's help. "What about Tatsumi?"
"He's fine, just a little exhausted." Akame finished, but her eyes held a heavy question. "Tatsumi told us what happened... but he didn't understand much."
"Of course, after all, we faced a Teigu user," Zhang Yong said, clenching his hand. "It was General Budo."
Akame's eyes widened at that. "Did he manage to catch up to you?"
"I don't think so, otherwise we would have attacked already," Zhang Yong said, rubbing his chin. "But his appearance means something is happening."
Suddenly, the door was knocked on violently.
"Akame , Is he awake?" Bulat's voice was sharp and hasty.
Akame opened the door to find Bulat standing with Mine and Lubbock behind him. Their expressions were mixed with worry and curiosity.
"Come in," Zhang Yong said from the bed.
Bulat, Mine, and Lubbock entered the room, their faces reflecting curiosity and concern.
"Hah, you seem almost fine. In one piece, at least," Lubbock said, rubbing the back of his head.
Zhang Yong nodded quietly. "It seems General Budo didn't use his full power. Otherwise, I would be dead."
"So... you faced General Budo alone?" Bulat asked seriously, his narrowed eyes studying Zhang Yong.
Zhang Yong nodded slowly. "I had no choice. If I hadn't made a move to detonate all the energy I had, we both would have died."
"Detonated?" Lubbock whispered, his eyes widening. "What exactly did you do? Your body was half burned."
Mine, who had been silent until now, frowned in anger. "You idiot! Instead of telling us what was happening, you went off alone and jumped to your death."
"Are you suggesting I should throw everyone to their deaths?" Zhang Yong said, trying to get out of bed, but Akame stopped him with her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't move. Your wounds haven't fully healed yet," she said in a quiet but firm voice.
"There's no need for that. I can move freely." Zhang Yong stood up, removed the arm sling, and shivered slightly.
"Can't you heal your injuries like you did before?" Lubbock looked at him and suggested.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any energy left. My body is fused with the Death Eater. The most suitable place for me to heal would be a graveyard."
After Zhang Yong explained his idea, expressions of discomfort appeared on the faces of those present.
"A graveyard?" Mine said, crossing her arms. "Are you joking? Even if you have strange abilities, how would you heal yourself in a place of the dead?"
Zhang Yong did not reply directly. Instead, he turned his palm upward, where a small vortex of black Death Qi began to appear. "My body feeds on Death scent . The more death around me, the faster I can heal."
Lubbock whistled in amazement. "That's... kind of disgusting."
"But it's the truth," Zhang Yong said coldly. "Therefore, I will go to the graveyard in the city's slums. Don't worry, I won't arouse suspicion."
Bulat rubbed his chin, thinking. "You have to be careful. This morning, Leone brought news. They've posted your picture on wanted documents."
Zhang Yong seemed completely unbothered.
"A picture on wanted documents?" Zhang Yong raised an eyebrow curiously. "Is that all? I expected more."
"That simply means you won't be able to show up in the capital at daytime" Mine said with a huff.
"I wasn't planning on going to the capital anyway." Then he started walking. "I'm going to get some fresh air."
Zhang Yong left the hideout under the cover of darkness, heading towards the slum graveyard on the outskirts of the capital.
The air was heavy with the smell of dampness and musty earth, and ancient willow trees bent their branches like sad ghosts.
After finding a suitable place in the heart of the graveyard, he stood there and used the Absorption Palm.
A black vortex of Death Qi began to flow from the ground around him, wrapping around his injured body like a hungry snake.
"Good, now for the next step." Zhang Yong smiled secretly and walked towards one of the nearby trees.
Wood Path - Sacred Wood Art.
He placed his hand on one of the trees, and it seemed to dry out completely, turning from green to gray.
The Sacred Wood Art, once activated, absorbs vitality from wood sources and uses it for healing. One hundred years or more of wood vitality heals minor injuries. Five hundred years or more heals internal injuries and fractures. One thousand years or more can heal even severed limbs.
This single tree that he absorbed barely provided ten years of vitality.
'I didn't intend to use it. I was planning to raise the level of my other skills during this period, but it seems there are some changes in the story's path.' Zhang Yong sighed. Currently, he had to make some changes and began making side plans.
He walked through the graveyard and began absorbing life from tree after tree.
In less than an hour, the surrounding trees had turned into dead trees.
"No one will notice. It's a graveyard, after all." He smiled to himself and walked quietly.
As Zhang Yong walked through the narrow alleys of the slums, he noticed a group of men bullying a thin young man wearing torn clothes.
The harsh laugh of the leader, who was beating the young man with his fist while growling, "Where's the money you owe, you scum?!"
This kind of injustice existed in all kinds of worlds. It wasn't anything special, but Zhang Yong smiled. He wasn't planning anything close by, but now, he could do 'that'.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Yong put on a mask from his storage and appeared behind the men like a ghost.
"What if... you all disappeared today?" His voice was quiet, but it struck like thunder in their ears.
Tai Yin Si Xiang - Phoenix Flame Blaze.
A vortex of black flames consumed the men in a second, turning their bodies to ash without even a scream.
The young man fell to his knees, his eyes wide with shock.
"Wh-Who are you?!"
"You ask for this venerable one's name?" Zhang Yong approached him, his shadow covering the young man's eyes from the moonlight. "I am a God in this world. Everything has changed since a thousand years ago, and it seems I need a supporter. Do you want the power to change your fate?"
Dream Path - Nightmare Light.
Suddenly, the young man found himself floating above a bottomless abyss, where ghostly hands clung to him and the sounds of torment tore at his ears.
"This is what awaits the world," Zhang Yong whispered in his ear, his voice piercing the terror. "But if you gather those who trust you and teach them this, you might have a chance to survive."
Zhang Yong's finger touched the young man's forehead, and the image of the Great Cycle of Spiritual Energy, followed by the Hellish Heaven skill, flowed into his mind.
"You will find me when you are ready... but if you betray my trust, this nightmare of yours will be paradise compared to what I will do to you. I am the Asura God. I have returned to the world."
Before the young man could respond, Zhang Yong disappeared like smoke, leaving him alone in the alley, with the memories of the techniques etched into his mind like fire.
Zhang Yong returned to the hideout, and this time his wounds had healed.
'Good, it worked almost perfectly. I don't think Tang San would be angry if I borrowed the title of Asura God in this world, would he? Of course he won't.' Zhang Yong thought foolishly as he walked.
Then he entered the hideout, where Sheele was with Mine, both sitting at the table drinking tea.
Mine, who was holding her teacup tightly, raised her pink eyes towards Zhang Yong coldly. "Ah, the arrogant scoundrel has returned. Are you done playing in the graveyard?"
Sheele, adjusting her glasses quietly back into place, with a sincere smile. "I heard you woke up not long ago, but it seems you've fully recovered... Congratulations."
Zhang Yong smiled as he approached them with slow steps. "What can I do? My body is designed to recover quickly, unlike a certain cat who claims to have a piercing eye and all she knows is hissing."
The teacup in Mine's hand trembled with anger, droplets of hot liquid splashing onto the table. Her eyes flashed with a spark of rage. "Are you trying to provoke me again? If you weren't injured before, I would have torn you apart right now!"
As for Sheele, she couldn't suppress her laughter and whispered, "Wow, it only took him three seconds to anger Mine."
Zhang Yong scratched the back of his head and sighed. "Alright, actually, I just came here to say... I'm sorry, Mine."
A heavy silence filled the room after Zhang Yong's words. Even Sheele, who had been laughing moments before, suddenly stopped and looked at him in astonishment.
Mine, who was on the verge of exploding with anger, froze in place. Her pink eyes widened slightly, and her delicate lips parted a little. "Wh-What?" It seemed Zhang Yong had caught her off guard.
"I said I'm sorry," Zhang Yong repeated quietly, this time sitting at the table opposite them. "I was reckless on the previous mission, and I put everyone in a difficult position. You were right to be angry. It was also my mistake to act arrogantly."
"Why suddenly... this apology?" Her voice was still sharp, but it carried something of bewilderment.
Zhang Yong tilted his head slightly. "Well, one hardly comes close to death every day. A person can realize life and death through perception. What's wrong with apologizing if I was wrong?"
Time froze for a moment. Mine, who was always quick to anger and full of pride, found herself unable to respond. Her pink eyes stared at Zhang Yong as if she were seeing him for the first time.
"You're... really a freak" she finally whispered, her voice less harsh than usual.
Zhang Yong nodded his head. "I know that to some extent. Anyway, let's start a new page. I'm going to rest then." Then he turned and left the way to his room.
'This was necessary. In the future, when the plot changes, it may require giving orders to some of them. In that case, if I continue with useless hostility, it might be the cause of my downfall. Whatever happens, this world must end peacefully.' Zhang Yong said, having decided his resolve in his heart.