System vs Rebirth

"As for how to remove the curse…" The lion turned to Old Ru.

Old Ru nodded his head as he took a step forward. "110 years ago, I was researching history to learn more about us from the very beginning.

"After learning about curses, I was so frustrated that I chose to bury myself inside the library, searching for a way to break the curses.

"It was at that time that I learned of a certain existence." Old Ru's eyes shifted to the lion. "It was the one who carried the bloodline of the ancestor who created this kingdom: the overseer of the kingdom, whose bloodline was different than the others.

"Normally, a beast-person would follow the traits of their parents, whether it was a dominant one or a mix. However, that person somehow was only able to conceive a child of a single race.

"Whether you were a cat-person or carrying other bloodlines, it didn't really matter. Through history, the child would end up being the one carrying the lion bloodline.

"Later, I found out that the person was the one who supervised the entire kingdom. He was known as the Overseer."

"!!!" Noel and Anna squinted their eyes. They remembered what Andreas talked about. It seemed the rumor about the Overseer was true.

"Thanks to a certain someone, my research could progress even further, learning about the curses of our bodies. I could even receive help from the Overseer in order to use this scabbard for my research as well.

"Sadly, no matter how hard I tried searching, I couldn't find a way to break the curses. My friend and I were simply stuck for more than fifty years.

"Eventually, my friend gave up the research and chose to form a family. His son ended up following me to help with my research.

"However, the progress remained stagnant. Even I thought about giving up eventually until that happened…" Old Ru paused for a moment.

The people were curious about what happened and who this person was talking about.

"25 years ago. The scabbard suddenly flared up, burning three people. I used all my power to save my best friend's son, but to no avail. It resulted…" Old Ru opened his shirt, showing his body, which was almost completely covered in burn marks.

"!!!" Andreas widened his eyes in shock. He had been living with Old Ru for a long time, but he had never seen this scar. "Grandfather…"

"My best friend also tried to help his daughter-in-law, but he was already too old and his strength had grown weaker. As a result, his son pushed me away so that I didn't die with them.

And my old friend took the third person out of his daughter-in-law's belly and directed that fire to himself so that his grandson could live on." Old Ru's eyes glazed as tears formed in the corner of his eyes, reminiscing about the sad past he wanted to forget.

Meanwhile, Andreas couldn't help but notice who the person in this story was. "Grandfather… That person…"

With a sad smile on his face, Old Ru confirmed, "Yes. The person I worked with in the past was a great man who was once the strongest among the elders and regarded as the Celestial Wolf, your grandfather."

Andreas gasped. He always thought that the deaths of his parents were due to the attack. That was what Old Ru had always told him. He never thought that the death of his family was caused by that scabbard.

But before Andreas could react, Old Ru had to continue in order to solve the misunderstanding.

"I hated this scabbard and ended up leaving my research. I took the child away and lived in seclusion.

"But how ironic… this scabbard that took the lives of my best friend and his family ended up becoming the answer to my own research."

Andreas trembled.

Old Ru confirmed, "Yes. Due to that fire, we were able to remove the curse and receive the blessing of the spirit. That was how both of us managed to have spirits. I didn't know how or why because I never continued my research.

"And because we were different, I decided not to come back. I abandoned my post until a certain young man came to my house."

"!!!" Noel's body shook as he realized that the young man was him. At the same time, he noticed the meaning of that year. He would be 24 years old this year. If he included the nine months he was in his mother's womb, although it was a bit of a stretch, the timing matched. "Wait a minute. 25 years ago…"

Old Ru nodded. "Yes. If the theory about the three parts was correct and those parts were still connected, the incident that occurred 25 years ago must be connected to the demon king's revival."

Anna and Noel took a cold breath. Everything started to be connected. Why would Ardagan suddenly choose a host? Why would he bless him right away?

It must be because Ardagan's core must have received a tremendous amount of power, which caused Ardagan to wake up and the scabbard to flare up. It was a sign. 25 years ago, the demon king was revived.

Andreas gritted his teeth. His hatred for the demon king had soared through the roof.

Old Ru closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I'm sorry for hiding this secret from you this whole time, Andreas. I've failed as a grandfather."

On the other hand, if this story were true, the way to remove that curse would be none other than Ardagan, specifically his fire. However, he didn't think his fire could do this. At the very least, not yet.

And it might also be the reason why Noel was accepted by Old Ru even in their previous lives. No, Noel was too late in their previous lives. That was why Old Ru gave that shell to Noel. He wanted Noel to get a second chance.

Noel chose to use that shell for Anna. She didn't know the exact reason yet, but the reason for everything that took place in their previous lives started coming to light.

Of course, Anna knew that Noel also didn't have the capability yet. But it might change if he reached the spirit king stage.

To do that, he had to defeat the demon king. And obtaining the support of the beast kingdom was necessary in order to defeat the demon king. In order to gain that support, Noel had to become a spirit king. In other words, they had to focus their resources on him.

Anna patted his shoulder. Even though she didn't say anything, he already knew what she wanted to tell him.

'I win. You now have no choice but to absorb the ancient demon crystal.'