Reborn As A Ghost: Time To Build My Undead Army!-Chapter 1684: The Hero’s Kindness
-----
"This is Murim, you goody-two-shoes! In here, there's no such thing as surrendering or making peace—we all battle for supremacy! This is a dog-eat-dog world!"
"Ungh...!"
Jonathan coughed blood, realizing he had been poisoned. Some of his veins were turning purple.
His senses began to fail him. He felt dizzy.
"Maybe I can't use my needles on you, but my Poison Fog should be more than enough for the likes of you! You're a terrible match against me."
"Is that so?"
Jonathan closed his eyes, placed a hand over his chest, and released a blinding light.
"{Paladin's First Aid}"
FLASH!
Among the simplest spells a Paladin could learn—one Jonathan had mastered since youth, elevating it to a Level 10 Skill.
It was one of the reasons he was so durable: the power to heal himself from most status ailments.
"What?! Sorcery?!"
He didn't purge all the poison, some remained, infused with Ki.
But he had reduced its effects by over seventy percent.
"Haaa, much better. Shall we continue?"
"Tch!"
The Poison Needle Assassin attacked, descending like a black cloud of shadows. His needles reached Jonathan—
Only for Jonathan's blue eyes to glow.
In a flash, he spun and caught the needles with his sword, then pushed with all his strength, sending the assassin flying.
CRAAASH!
"Gaaah?!"
The assassin hit the ground, rolled, and stood again, glaring at Jonathan in disbelief.
Jonathan didn't move. He rested his hands over his sword's handle.
"Come on, what's wrong? Tired? Let's take a break then."
"Are you mocking me?!"
The assassin charged again, needles flying from every angle.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They exploded, spreading noxious poison everywhere—
The fog began drifting down into the town below.
People screamed.
"Oh no!"
Jonathan rushed down, ignoring the assassin entirely.
"What?!"
He chased after him, watching as Jonathan used his light to suppress the poison and cast Paladin's First Aid to heal as many people as he could. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Please hang in there!"
"...?!"
The Poison Needle Assassin stood frozen, eyebrows twitching in disbelief.
"He's... helping people? Why? There's no point to kindness... Hah, what a fool!"
He rushed forward, stabbing more civilians with his needles, poisoning them further with blue and purple toxins.
"Uugh!"
"Aaaarrggh!"
The people screamed, their bodies growing larger and more muscular.
Their eyes turned white, their mouths drooled uncontrollably.
"What are you doing to these poor people?! They have nothing to do with this battle!"
"You care about lowly mortals?! Let's see how much you care when they try to kill you now!"
The assassin sent the mutated townsfolk toward Jonathan.
They roared and drooled, striking him with their massive arms and pushing him down.
"Ugh! Please, everyone—calm down!"
"Hahaha! You can't harm them?! Just how stupid and naïve can you be?!"
"Stupid... Naïve... I'm getting tired of being called that!"
Jonathan overpowered the poisoned mortals, pushing them to the ground.
"I am not stupid."
He activated Paladin's First Aid again, healing them as they groaned in pain.
The poison was cleansed.
Slowly, they returned to normal.
"Nor am I naïve."
The assassin stepped back as Jonathan approached, his eyes glowing with righteous fury.
"I simply believe that life has value beyond strength... I have something you lot lack."
"And what is that, you fool?!"
"Kindness."
RUMBLE!
Jonathan didn't hold back.
He reached the assassin and struck him with the flat of his sword.
CLAAASH!
"Ungh?!"
Crack!
The assassin's shoulder broke.
He collapsed, groaning in agony, trying to stand.
"Kindness in this world doesn't exist...! It's all a battle for strength, for resources, for survival! Nobody can afford kindness—not in Murim, not in the damn tower!"
He vanished into an explosion of poison.
Jonathan was engulfed once more by the purple fog.
Giant serpents made of poison hissed at him, jaws wide, striking from every angle.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Jonathan parried their blows with his massive sword.
Light erupted, burning through the poison.
He reached the assassin, hiding behind the fog.
"Enough is enough!"
"Wha...?!"
BAAAM!
A powerful punch shattered the assassin's nose, sending him crashing to the ground.
His eyes widened.
He had never fought someone this resilient.
His poison always worked—eventually.
But Jonathan could cancel it outright.
"Tell me... what happened in your childhood that made you the way you are?"
Jonathan walked toward him, blue eyes filled with compassion.
"Y-You...! Why does it matter?! Why are you even asking that?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
The assassin stood, grabbing his needles.
His hands trembled.
"Kindness is something we're born with. Selfishness is learned."
"...What?"
"No child in this world—or any world—is born evil."
"..."
"Maybe the church I protected lied to me.
Maybe the people I trusted weren't as good as I thought.
Maybe my whole life was a lie.
Maybe I committed a sin so terrible I still hate myself for it."
"Huh?"
"But even then... I like to believe there's something good in most people."
"Hahah... You could just kill me and be done with it... why go this far? What's the point?"
"The point is doing what's right."
"That's subjective. Nobody knows what's truly right or wrong. This world is nothing but—"
"The world is what we make it.
A kind world is made by kind people.
A ruthless world... is made by ruthless people.
The world has no fixed nature.
It becomes what we choose to make it."
"..."
The assassin's eyes widened.
He hated to admit it...
But Jonathan's words struck his heart.
"You have a beautiful world, son.
Why not fight to protect it, instead of suppressing others and making innocents suffer?"
"I..."
"Why did you join the Murim Alliance?"
"..."
He didn't respond.
Confused.
Annoyed.
Jonathan's words were getting into his head.
"I joined the Paladin Order to protect my people.
To show what true justice means.
Protect the weak.
Suppress evil.
Give those who were never given a chance... a second one."
The assassin's hands trembled.
His whole life, he had served the Poison Sect.
Killed without hesitation.
All for the Tang Family.
And yet—
This was the first time he ever wondered:
"Why am I doing this?
To protect my own life?
Only that?
Then what's the difference between me and a dog?"
"We are the ones who can make a change.
And it's never too late.
My friends might be rougher around the edges than me...
But we all believe the same thing.
Maria is the one I love.
She's ruthless—but just.
She loves kind people.
And she'll always protect innocents if she can."
"Just why?"
-----
