Chapter 1221. The Demon King of Sunset’s Castle, the Final Story (14)

‘Did I die?’

The only thing I was able to see in this place was the sunset glow. However, I could clearly remember Woo Hyo-Yeol and Kim Hyun-Sung’s final exchange of moves. Based on the situation, I probably died upon getting swept away by the sunset glow.

Wait, no...

‘If that were the case, there’s no reason for him to suggest that we talk.’

There was a high chance that Lee Ki-Young had created this place for us. I couldn’t rule out the possibility that I probably died, but there was no need to ruin this conversation by thinking about the worst-case scenario.

I had no idea what made him change his mind that he wanted us to talk, but a conversation with him would benefit me more than harm me.

I couldn't see the outcome of the fight, but I could guess the outcome without watching it. Woo Hyo-Yeol was already at his limits, and he didn’t have a lot of ways to block the Sword of Sunset. He had done his best with the skills he had, but it was highly likely that in the end, it wasn’t enough.

‘It’s still fine.’

At least he had another chance.

That was probably how their fight ended.

In the end, the post-battle cleanup and the compensation were on my shoulders, not on the idiotic muscleheads. I had to start negotiating, as there were still things that needed to be taken care of, which meant that this story wasn't over yet.

“What is it? I mean... what do you want to talk about?” I asked.

I couldn't hear that voice anymore.

‘What the hell... am I supposed to do?’

I could walk around. I couldn’t tell if he wanted me to look for him or if there were necessary prerequisites for me to meet before I could talk to him.

[

Ah

, sorry, sorry. I had a lot of things to take care of.]

A tiny figure wriggled into existence in midair.

The figure that manifested with a wave of sunset looked like a boy who was still in elementary school. The boy was undoubtedly the child version of Lee Ki-Young. He was wearing the same uniform that he had been wearing every day since he appeared on the continent.

The difference was that he was wearing shorts and massive earrings.

When I saw the earrings, I realized something.

“...”

‘Shit, he wasn’t Jin Cheong.’

The Boy Adorned With Earrings of Truth was this jerk, not Jin Cheong.

Obviously, the thought that I was probably under his complete control this entire time popped up in my mind. He probably made it seem like he was Jin Cheong from the start. I tried my best to piece things together and take a guess, but everything I considered important had turned out to be wrong.

‘Including the assumption that Lee Ki-Young is inside me...’

And the possibility that this body was real...

[No, you’re right. Simply put, about eighty percent is here, and roughly twenty percent is over there. Feel free to speak comfortably because it’ll be easier for me as well.]

“Sure, let’s do that,” I agreed.

The mini Lee Ki-Young wanted to stay in the sky, as he sat in the air while levitating. Then, he moved and spun around as if this environment's gravity was useless on him, and I just couldn't get used to that sight.

‘He’s so distracting.’

[Sorry. My mental age must’ve gotten younger when I moved here, so I'm having a hard time controlling myself. I think I’m being distracting as well. I’m not usually one to play tricks, but I feel like doing that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I also feel the same way as you, but I do need time to adapt.]

“...”

[Talking about everything from the start and explaining some things is probably the best choice here, but we don’t have... time for that. Actually, excluding a few things, your assumptions are all correct. The dummy, getting into a contract... and what else was there...

hmm—ah

, Dummy Hye-Jin. Yeah, yeah, you’re right.]

“That’s a relief,” I commented.

[I’m sure you're most curious about the details of the contract. The Dummy World...

Oof—

hold on, all this spinning is making me sick.]

‘Then stop spinning around, damn it.’

[But spinning around like this with this body seems to bring a bit of stability in me. Strange, right? I thought I was pretty mature when I was younger... I’m sure you remember as well, as I planted the memories I had when I was on Earth inside you.]

“...”

[Personally, I think it’s kind of like psychological compensation. You know, it’s like wanting to experience what you couldn’t experience back then. That’s why it can’t be helped—

Ah!

What was I talking about?]

“The contract details,” I answered.

[

Ah

, the terms of the contract are exactly what you thought. The Dummy World was in a bad situation. Actually, I knew this was going to happen.

Pfft! Heh... pwahaha.

I’m sure you already knew that, though...]

I couldn't help but wonder why younger people were annoying than older people.

I really wanted to grab his hair and punch his face. That was all I could think of at the moment.

[It’s pretty obvious. Programs are programs, after all. If you don’t update them, they’ll eventually become useless. We need an update as well, so what do you think things are like over there? You guys already knew it was the end for that place... and well... it was the perfect timing because I thought agreeing to the contract was the better option. Actually, it was more like Kasugano thought that way, not me...]

I couldn’t help but feel relieved by the fact that his young age meant that I was in an advantageous position.

‘I think he can somewhat read my mind...’

The fact that he was still rambling on about pointless things was good news for me. He was rambling on and on, and he was no different from a kid who was waiting to say the answer after giving a quiz.

It was a pretty convincing story. He transferred his body over here, and while creating his spiritual body...

‘Was there a lack of funds?’

On top of that, assuming that a portion of that twenty percent was inside this body of mine, then it was only natural for him to appear in that form.

“What did Kasugano Yuno see?” I asked.

[It really wasn’t much, but from your point of view, you'll find it a bit unfair. So... Ji-Hye noona and Kasugano seemed like they didn’t like the idea of me spending a lot of time here. To be exact, they didn’t like to see me getting too involved with the people of Rohen. Do you understand what I’m saying?]

“Somewhat,” I answered.

I honestly thought it was a ridiculous explanation, but...

[According to Yuno, I caught a disease. I don’t really know what it is because she didn’t tell me the details, but it’s probably some kind of mental illness. She also said that the continent was in danger. Maybe she thought I’d get attached to the people of Rohen by getting too involved with them or something.]

I had an idea as to what had happened.

[Apparently, Yuno saw a future where I was trying to combine our continent and Rohen. It’s not even possible, so she should really stop the lies. In the end, there was apparently a

boom!

The two dimensions ended up colliding.]

[She said I was creating a living hell. It’s a ridiculous story, but what can I do? Ji-Hye noona and Kasugano were being so stubborn... and they don’t like sharing things... so I just let them be. Actually, I thought that using you would be quite efficient.]

“I’m sure you decided to do that only because you can make things progress faster, and you won't get tied down by a stupid contract...” I said.

[That’s right. It wouldn't be risky, and I was free to do whatever I wanted. That was the advantage.

Pfftt!

Like you said, the contracts made with the GENIUSES of Rohen won't bind me.

[How they're going to backstab me won't really matter. To be honest, having one person manage things and obtain as much profit as possible using that person is more advantageous than getting into a ridiculous contract...]

‘You probably won’t acknowledge it though...’

It was possible that Lee Ki-Young had grown fond of Rohen. However, I wasn't sure if that was the right description. If he were to start thinking that Rohen belonged to him, then he'd start obsessing over it.

There was also a clear difference between controlling something and not controlling it.

Of course, combining the continent and Rohen was impossible, but this madman could try to get involved in that experiment. He probably thought that it was possible despite what he said earlier.

‘It’s not completely out of the question.’

Of course, it was

really

risky, but I believed that it was worth rolling the dice for.

[It’s honestly bothersome. Why should I look out for them?

Pfftt.

You know as well that this place is completely rotten.]

“...”

[Those GENIUSES or whatever must be annihilated. Avoiding the crisis of today just means that they'll be back at square one. Jupiter... and Flora seemed to be in their right minds, though. There was hope for the others, so Benigoa is busy scolding them.]

“That’s...”

[Let’s think about efficiency and what’s truly important for Rohen in the long run as well as what will help Rohen. I’m saying that we should look from the admin and transcendent beings’ point of view, not through a human being's perspective.

[If you’re really interested in Rohen, this is a pretty important issue. The system here needs to be revamped.]

‘Shit.’

[The flames of revolution need to be ignited here at least once. I think the GENIUS System itself is the problem. Whenever mortals tie themselves to a god, they'd end up limiting their potential... Have you ever thought about why Chanelia Hermes was scouted for this place?

[I think this place was built in a way that will allow people to create a transcendent being on their own. It was built so that Hyun-Sung, Ha-Yan, Hee-Ra noona, and people like me can be created. It’s basically just a chicken coop. Humans have unlimited potential... and yet...]

'Am I wrong all this while?’

[Anyway, they have no choice but to bring in outside personnel... so of course those GENIUS bastards will never grow attached to anything. Management, my ass. They’re too busy trying to look out for themselves.

[Don’t you think so? What’s worse is that there’s no one willing to stand up to them. We just... need to do the bare minimum. The system will paint the big picture, anyway.

Pffft.

]

‘It could be even more dangerous...’

I thought that perhaps the younger version of Lee Ki-Young could be more dangerous than the adult version of him. If I had to give an example, it was like I was staring at the personification of pure evil.

‘Actually, can I even call that thing evil?’

He wasn’t wrong.

Rather than spending a lot of resources to clean up Rohen’s mess, wiping it clean and then revamping it was undeniably a better choice.

I wasn’t sure if the system was capable of making mistakes, but the program embedded in Rohen had clearly failed.

There had to be a limit on how many errors a system could make. Instead of pouring resources and obsessing over its mistakes, it was better to just treat it as if it had never existed in the first place.

Of course, that was assuming that we wouldn't take anything else into account.

The younger version of Lee Ki-Young seemed to fundamentally lack empathy.

The adult version of Lee Ki-Young wasn’t really the type to care about other people’s problems either, but the little demon before me seemed like he only knew to seek profit, practical benefits, and the right solutions.

‘Is he acting like that... even though he knows how many poor bastards are going to die?’

[Of course, sacrifices are going to be made... but there’s nothing we can do about that. Small sacrifices are commonly made for the greater good. To be blunt, they have nothing to do with us. We have to be resolute and cull them to achieve something bigger.]

“...”

[In addition, I don’t even think that this is my personal opinion. To be exact, I think the system is helping me. You think it’s a coincidence that I’m here? Of course not. Obviously, Hyun-Sung did complain a bit. Personally, I also thought that multitasking was necessary, and I happened to land in Rohen at the perfect time.]

“...”

[But you know, I think the system’s voice summoned me here.]

‘Shit...’

[I think everything is connected... including Chanelia Hermes getting involved with Kim Hyun-Sung and

accidentally

arriving on our continent. Actually, I'd say it goes all the way back to when Jupiter turned Woo Hyo-Yeol into a regressor. I think all of it was the will of the system. It did a magic trick.]

‘...’

[Personally, I like to think that the system was behind that incident. I'm talking about when Hyun-Sung became drunk and caused a scene. Anyway, the point is that it's trying to wipe Rohen clean...]

"So the fact that I'm standing on the opposite side from you is the system’s will,” I said.

[No. You’re a program, not a human being.]

“I was born a program, but I’m here as a human, you idiot. Also, even if you’re right, it puts me in a bad mood, and I just can't hold it in anymore. The will of the system? When did you become such a weakling to believe in things like that? Getting younger must've made you crazy as well,” I said.

[You don’t have to provoke me. I didn’t come here to fight.]

“You...”

[I’m not happy about it either... but... you don’t need to oppose just for the sake of opposing it. The important thing is practicality. It’ll be beneficial for me... Come to think of it, I have nothing to say... Yeah, you have a point. And that’s why I’m expecting a lot from you...]

“What?” I asked.

Mini Lee Ki-Young's lips and eyes curved into half moons.

[Where... do you want to go back?]

“

Uh...

”

[Do you want to stay here? Or do you want to return to the Dummy World?]

“...”

[I can grant you... what you want... I think I can also give you the “and they lived happily ever after!” ending...

pfft

!]

“...”

[What do you want me to do?]