I Gave Up Being Stronger

The Empress of Hell spoke, “It does seem like we have met before.”

Cha Jin-Hyeok responded with a sly smile. ‘It’s working!’

The Empress of Hell possessed exceptional abilities in manipulating the mind, but this time, those abilities had backfired on her. Jin-Hyeok’s knowledge of the Empress of Hell stemmed from his memories of his life before his regression. In this life, information about the Empress of Hell would gradually become available in a few years.

“Most of your memories about me are blurry. However, one thing is clear. From my perspective, you were hostile toward me,” the Empress of Hell remarked, narrowing her eyes. “But now, you seem rather friendly. Why is that?”

“Maybe that was the case before. We did not part on good terms. But, time has passed. Holding a grudge against you now would not look so good,” Jin-Hyeok replied. To him, the Empress of Hell was an archenemy. Several of his comrades had died at her hands, and he himself had nearly met his end too.

‘But, now that I recall it, we did strike her first.’ He didn’t know the Empress of Hell was this easy to talk to. Reflecting on their past encounters, he realized they had attacked her in a fight to the death. Arguably, the fault lay more with Jin-Hyeok and his team. ‘And my comrades are all alive in this life.’

Jin-Hyeok concluded there was no need to harbor any grudge against the Empress of Hell. Her eyelids fluttered before she asked, “Were you, by any chance, my former lover?”

Her eyes turned blue, radiating a deadly aura.

‘Wow, that’s electrifying.’ It had been a long time since he had felt such a murderous gaze. ‘If she is reacting this violently, she must have terrible memories of her ex-lovers…’

“...”

“And I probably warned you that if you cross my path again, I will kill you.”

A cold chill emanated from the tips of her fingers, and frost began to spread throughout the boss's room. Jin-Hyeok sensed anger.

‘If she attacks, I’m dead.’

An immense amount of mana filled the air, making it feel as though winter had descended upon this place. A vision of a winter with sharp fangs, ready to swallow him whole, appeared before him.

‘This is exciting!’

He relished the progression of events.

Introduction, development, crisis, resolution.

Every story needed twists and turns. Currently, Jin-Hyeok was at the crisis stage.

***

In her childhood, Gahi had cursed her body, wishing she had been born a man. As with many families located in the Hell Server, her family’s secret techniques were developed and evolved over a long time for men. Inevitably, being born with a female body placed Gahi at a significant disadvantage. Even her family opposed her training.

“You want to learn the family’s secret techniques? Have you forgotten you are a woman?”

“Women can’t become strong, and there is no need for them to be.”

“We will find you a good marriage prospect, so focus on being a good wife.”

These were the common responses. Rather than her family being exceptionally conservative, these were the norms in Hell.

“I can become strong too,” Gahi protested.

Her family’s secret techniques were divided into two main types: one that targeted and exploited the weaknesses of the mind and another that manipulated Tainted Flames, known as the flames of Hell.

“I told you. You can’t! How can a woman handle the sacred Tainted Flames?”

Despite the high-ranking officials’ opposition, Gahi secretly learned to wield Tainted Flames. Her progress was remarkable, despite her having to learn through observing others, as she had no formal teacher.

“Sir, Gahi has quite the talent for handling the Tainted Flames.”

“But she is just a girl. What has the world come to?”

Her father, who was also the head of the family, disapproved of her training to become stronger. Rumors about Gahi had spread throughout Hell, with comments like, ‘How will she ever marry being so fierce?’

“Since she is so determined, I want you to teach her.”

Gahi’s parents eventually conceded. Her persistent determination earned her the chance to learn the family’s ultimate techniques.

“Sir… Perhaps we were wrong. Gahi’s progress is beyond our imagination.”

Gahi was a genius. People said if she had been born in the First Hell, where martial arts suited for women were available, she could have changed the course of history. However, Gahi faced a new trial.

“Sir, the Tainted Flame… It is not responding to Gahi’s summon anymore. It seems to be rejecting her.”

“I knew this would happen. Tell her to stop training and go learn to be a good bride.”

Eventually, an arranged marriage was decided for her, but she fled three days before the wedding. Cutting ties with her family, she traveled across the continent, intensifying her training.

‘Tainted Flame is blossoming again!’

Perhaps it was a side effect of learning an unsuitable martial art, but what Gahi manifested was not Tainted Flame but Luminous Frost, clear and transparent ice crystals formed according to her will. Her powers had completely transformed into ice-type abilities.

She returned to her home but found out that her family’s estate had long been reduced to ashes.

‘How could this happen?’

She never wished for her family to be unjustly treated to the point of annihilation. Upon investigating, she learned the full story.

“Ah, you never heard of the story? I think it was about ten years ago. A girl who was about to get married fled just three days before her wedding ceremony. The angered family of the groom wiped out her family in retaliation. It is a well-known incident. What a pity! One daughter’s mistake brought disaster upon the entire family.”

And so, Gahi single-handedly sought out the opposing family and killed them all. That was the beginning of Empress of Hell Gahi. Over time, she united and ruled over the Fourth Hell. Even then, she always felt something was off.

‘If only I had a slight chance, I could break through that wall in front of me.’

No matter how much she meditated or explored her microcosm, she could not find a way to break through the massive wall.

‘It’s like I buttoned up the shirt wrong at the start.’

The beginning of learning a martial art was always crucial. She had learned the martial arts of men with a woman’s body. Though many fortunate events led her to her current state, the initial misalignment had hindered her growth.

‘I must become stronger.’

She aspired to rule over all five Hells as the Great Ruler. Many families of Hell, coveting her ambition, approached her. They proposed strategic marriages or attempted to seduce her with beauty.

“We can make you stronger.”

“Our family’s secret techniques can help you become stronger.”

However, she realized that desperate people were easy targets for deception. Most men and families who approached her under the guise of marriage only coveted the Empress of Hell’s power. Hell had been dominated by men for thousands of years, and many still underestimated her.

“Do you wanna make a bet on who can seduce Gahi first?”

“Fine, I will seduce her and extract her secret techniques.”

“She is lucky to have gotten this far, but she is still just a woman.”

Some even claimed sleeping with them could break the wall inside her microcosm. Whether through contractual relationships or marriage, she tried everything that came her way. As many approached Gahi, seeking strength, she grew increasingly disgusted.

“Apparently, if you talk smoothly, you can sleep with the Empress of Hell. It was ecstatic!”

When such rumors began to circulate, Gahi killed all men who approached her with offers of contractual relationships or marriage.

Then, one hundred years passed.

***

Jin-Hyeok was quite familiar with the saga of the Empress of Hell. In a few years, Gahi’s story would spread throughout the universe, thanks to the universe-level ranker Marshmallow. Marshmallow would create a five-part series based on the Empress of Hell’s story, which would become a blockbuster hit across the universe. So, Jin-Hyeok knew this content was guaranteed to be successful.

‘Sorry, Marshmallow,’ he thought, deciding to write content related to the Empress of Hell first.

“I am well aware of your tragedy, Empress of Hell. You still wish you were a man,” he said.

“...”

Sharp ice spears formed around Jin-Hyeok. Initially glowing blue, these ice spears soon became so clear and transparent that they were almost invisible.

‘That’s scary.’

Jin-Hyeok was loving it. Since he was livestreaming in the first-person perspective, the chilling effect of the Luminous Frost Spears had definitely been effectively conveyed to the viewers.

“I entrust my mind to you completely. Take a good look, and see what kind of miracle I can gift you.”

Jin-Hyeok decided to not resist. He resolved to naturally accept the Empress of Hell, thinking she would then be able to clearly see into his pure microcosm.

“I have heard those sweet-nothings countless times before. I won’t be fooled by such flattery anymore,” she stated, though she was already peering into his mind.

‘His mind is cloudy,’ Gahi thought. Although Chul-Soo looked fine on the outside, it was foggy inside his mind. It was impossible to discern his inner workings. The universe within Chul-Soo’s mind was in disarray, lacking any order; everything was a complete mess. ‘It’s like looking into an endless abyss.’

She felt a sense of crisis, worrying she could get contaminated by Chul-Soo’s mind if she was not careful.

‘He said he would not resist me. And he is actually not resisting!’ This meant what she was seeing was not some kind of mental barrier. His inner universe was just naturally this cloudy. ‘What a microcosm… This is something you would only see in a madman.’

It was a mystery how he seemed perfectly fine on the outside. After much confusion, she managed to read only his most recent memories.

“From now on, call me Mole Woman, moly.”

The ice spears surrounding Jin-Hyeok instantly melted away, and she said, “God Finger. Lead me to that person.”

She walked forward on her own. Her steps were much quicker than when she first appeared.

‘It doesn’t matter if he is playing tricks on me.’

If that was the case, she could simply kill him.

Jin-Hyeok smirked and stepped out of the boss room with the Empress of Hell. Then, an unexpected notification arrived.

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