System vs Rebirth

Noel gritted his teeth.

As if responding to Noel's feeling, Ardagan spoke directly in his mind.

[It's not a hard decision, isn't it? If you don't go back, there simply won't be any successor of the Ardagan family. It will be the same as me not having another potential master who is qualified to wield me. Meanwhile, if you go back, I can still serve you… for hundreds of years. It's the same as having a few generations of masters.]

"It's not easy!" Noel clenched his hands into fists. "You've been helping me from the beginning."

Noel closed his eyes, recalling all the memories they had together.

At the beginning, it was Ardagan who gave him the power to take down his opponent and rise through the ranks. He was able to keep up with Anna.

When he was in confusion, it was Ardagan who gave him missions to relieve his doubt.

At a time, Ardagan was like an elder who guided him through all his mistakes. On another occasion, Ardagan was like his best friend, accompanying him and supporting him through hard times.

For Noel, Ardagan was like a family.

Yet, after everything that Ardagan had done, he repaid him by sacrificing him for the sake of his own selfishness in wanting to revive.

Noel couldn't simply make a decision. His heart was torn.

Noel personally couldn't forgive the person who would do such a thing to him. He imagined Tristan, whom he raised as his disciple, suddenly betraying him in this manner. He didn't know if he could even forgive him.

So there was no way he could do the same thing as what he didn't want others to do to him. He wasn't a hypocrite.

[As expected, even though you are a genius in all sorts of areas, you can be such a fool at a time like this.]

"Wha—" Noel's body shook, not expecting Ardagan, who never insulted him, to actually call him a fool.

[Haven't you realized it? How long have we spent in this place? How much time could a man go without a beating heart?]

"!!!" Noel trembled. Now that he thought about it, he was supposed to be dead and had no chance to resurrect. The Spirit God told him he would become a half-spirit, half-human, but he still had that human side. Even if he could resurrect the body with the former, the human side had to be revived as well.

And to do that, he needed his heart beating.

"You…" Noel fully understood what he actually meant.

[I've made my decision. And now, it's time for you to make a decision. It's not about sacrifice. It's about what you're planning to do from now on.]

That was right. To make his heart beat, the Spirit God had actually refined a portion of Ardagan and integrated it with Noel's heart before the conversation began, allowing the spiritual energy to replenish his Spirit Heart while giving Anna the opportunity to wake up his human's heart.

In other words, the moment he reached here, Ardagan had already made the decision to integrate himself with Noel.

The only thing that was left was Noel's decision. Would he choose to reject this and perish together with Ardagan? Or would he agree and fully integrate with Ardagan?

Noel bit his lips and said with a low voice, "I apologize for my rudeness, Spirit God. However, I'd like to request one thing."

The Spirit God's expression turned serious. "What is it?"

Noel declared his intention out loud. "I'd like you to be the witness of my oath. I, Noel Ardagan, solemnly swear that Ardagan will be my brother. I will definitely realize my goal so as to not disappoint his expectations of me.

"And I, too, will spare no efforts to fulfill his wishes. I will make the Ardagan family prosper and eliminate the demons from the world.

"Please become the witness of this oath. May you give me divine punishment if I ever stray from my path."

Noel's oath was pretty simple. The first part contained how Noel would treat Ardagan from now on. He was his savior. Noel was extremely protective of his family, so he would definitely do anything to protect Ardagan.

The second part was his and Ardagan's goals. It was his desire to fulfill those goals.

The third part was his obligation, similar to what his ancestors had done in this world.

These three parts were mixed into one single oath, giving it a simple look yet having an exceptional binding effect.

The Spirit God smiled. "And that's why Ardagan chose you. Fine with me. I shall be the witness to your oath. Please take care of Ardagan for me."

"Yes." Noel furiously nodded.

"Before I begin, I'm going to tell you a few things." The Spirit God paused for a moment. "You will be able to use Ardagan the way you've been wielding him since the beginning. Nothing will change, including the system. However, because of this integration, the True Spirit Body will undergo a change, considering you are now a half spirit.

"Even if Heisk's True Spirit Body won't be affected, there will be something different for Ardagan. And even I don't know what shape it will take.

"At the same time, due to this intense process, Ardagan might fall into a slumber for a period of time. In other words, you can't use his power. Take this into account when you come up with a plan.

"And you say that you wish to eliminate the demons, right?"

"Y-yes." Noel nodded, thinking that the Spirit God supported this decision because demons and spirits had been clashing for a long time.

"In that case, I'll give you three tips. Firstly, go to the beast kingdom and do whatever you need to gain the Diva's cooperation."

"Diva…" Noel didn't know who he was talking about, but considering the Spirit God oversaw everything, this Diva should be someone special.

"Secondly, go to the Zaecuria Kingdom and head ten degrees to the south from where the sun is rising. Believe me and sail no matter how rough the journey is. Whatever you find on that journey will definitely help you in the fight against a demon king."

"!!!" Noel was already aware that this world was a big place. There might be land across the sea.

The Spirit God was simply confirming that theory and even went all the way to give the direction.

That land might have resources or survivors. Either way, it would be best to check it first.

"Last but not least, it will be hard for your wife to follow you with that body. So I'll give her something as well." The Spirit God touched Noel's forehead with his index finger.

In an instant, Noel felt an influx of information in his brain. It was the same as when Ardagan gave him something.

However, he noticed that the information suddenly disappeared from his mind.

"Huh?" Noel was confused, thinking that something must have gone wrong. Yet the Spirit God didn't give any reaction.

"It's time for you to go." The Spirit God snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a beautiful pink flame flared up from underneath Noel's feet.

"This is…" Noel panicked. The pink flame didn't look menacing, but it gave off an aura that actually made his flame shiver as though it recognized the pink flame's superiority.

The pink flame instantly engulfed Noel's entire body. The spiritual energy was also pouring inside, becoming the fire's fuel.

Noel's eyelids suddenly became heavy as though he hadn't slept for a few weeks.

"There's no need to resist." The Spirit God's voice became soothing.

Noel's body was still shivering for a moment, but when he closed his eyes, his body also stopped moving.

The spiritual energy gradually lifted him up into the air as Noel's body vanished from the world.

The Spirit God watched Noel disappear with a smile.

"He is unique, isn't he?" A female's voice suddenly echoed from behind the Spirit God.

The Spirit God glanced back with a smile on his face. "Milinda…"

Yeah, the one behind him was actually Noel's ancestor, the first host of Ardagan, Milinda.

"Even Ardagan is charmed by him. He is going to be one hell of a monster… one that will make those demons shiver just from hearing his name… like you." Milinda harrumphed.

"Who knows? But… yeah, I've blessed him with good fortune. I'm looking forward to what he can achieve in the future." The Spirit God closed his eyes while walking away.