Chapter 1478. Continental War (58)

Of course, I had to make the first move.

“Kim Hyun-Sung of Lindel... What does that mean... Mr. Hyun-Sung?” I asked.

“...”

“Mr. Ki-Young?”

It was a choice I made because I couldn’t predict exactly what decision Kim Hyun-Sung would make. Of course, when it came to the masked scum from the first life, there was an unspoken agreement that it didn’t matter what happened.

This was the established understanding, but there was a big difference between vagueness and actually confirming it.

Who could say for sure what this bastard would do upon confirming the truth? He could suddenly go crazy and stab me in the gut again. The suffocating air and atmosphere from back then, the sudden comment about the moldy pigsty of a room, and that foreign sensation twisting through my insides were still lodged in my head.

If the

Regressor Instruction Manual

were properly connected, I'd be able to figure out what he was thinking, but since I couldn’t read his thoughts now, I had no choice but to tap every stone before crossing the river.

Actually, if Kim Hyun-Sung were alone, I'd choose to observe the situation more carefully, but the rat bastard sticking close to him was around. I had no idea what sweet talk he had used to sway him, so everything had to be handled carefully.

If he were an enemy, showing myself like this would be the stupidest thing I could do... but since his target was Kim Hyun-Sung...

‘He wouldn’t act irrationally.’

The chances of him suddenly attacking me were slim. No, even if there was such a risk, I had no choice but to reveal myself here.

Even if I ended up being attacked, I had to prevent the misfortune of Kim Hyun-Sung and Dr. Michele witnessing that scene together.

I stared at him.

‘What are you going to do? What... are you going to do? Honestly, it might be better if you just hit me.’

“...”

“...”

‘Want to try it here?’

Sure enough, he took a few steps backward upon spotting me. I felt like he knew that he couldn’t easily ruin something he had invested so much effort into. It almost looked like he was allowing Kim Hyun-Sung to talk to me, which twisted my gut, but for now, I had no choice but to continue the conversation with Hyun-Sung as he intended.

He had already secured the high ground, so he had to have judged that there was no need to come down. That was the kind of move he had decided to make.

‘At least I made the first move.’

“...”

As always, the one who made the first move had the advantage. Kim Hyun-Sung already looked half out of his mind. All that was left was to grab and shake him.

“...”

‘You’re at fault too. You’ve sinned too. Right? It’s not just my fault, right?’

“...”

‘This is a fight I absolutely cannot lose.’

Unlike Kim Hyun-Sung, Lee Ki-Young didn’t even know about the first life.

“W-what do you mean by purge?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

‘You didn’t massacre innocent people or anything, right?’

“A-and right now...” he stuttered.

‘You didn’t just push them all aside, right? You didn’t just shove them away without any guilt and take the title of count, right?’

“That’s...”

‘It wasn’t me, right? I’m not the masked scum who created this hellscape... right? This is a lie, right?’

If anything, it would be right for me to be confused and receive comfort from him. What could be more bewildering than yelling at Lee Ki-Young, saying that he was a scum in the first life, even though he remembered nothing about it?

Moreover, the bastard had never told me that he himself had agreed to the purge incident in the first life. I had no idea if he was being subtly cunning or if it was simply a memory he wanted to forget, but I was sure that the root cause was that he was afraid of me feeling disappointed in him.

Kim Hyun-Sung always cared about his image. He'd sometimes lose control and rush ahead, but fundamentally, didn’t he have the tendency to want to remain a good person?

There were lines he wouldn’t cross, but to survive the hell of the first life, Kim Hyun-Sung had inevitably become cruel. No, rather than cruel, it was more accurate to say cold and detached.

‘Other than that time when he stabbed me, I'd never really seen that side of him.’

He was flustered because the part of himself that he wanted to hide from me had just been exposed.

“Mr. Hyun-Sung?”

“...”

‘He’s gone completely mute.’

“Please say something,” I begged.

“...”

“Mr. Hyun-Sung... anything is fine. Just... say something. What on earth are you hiding from me...?” I asked.

“I... I...”

“A-and... why am I...”

I had no choice but to conclude that striking first had been the right call. I could see Kim Hyun-Sung’s eyes trembling. His face looked pale, and he couldn’t even bring himself to meet my eyes. He looked like someone who had just realized that the fault lay with him.

‘This works. Damn, this works.’

Of course, if his desire for revenge against First Ki-Young were just a bit stronger, it wouldn’t matter whether the fault lay with him or with the masked scum, but now, I realized that his feelings for Lee Ki-Young mattered more than revenge.

At the same time, I realized that Dr. Michele hadn't tried to drive a wedge between us. I had no idea whether he had attempted anything or not, and his objective still eluded me, but for now, Kim Hyun-Sung still cared about Lee Ki-Young.

‘Yeah. That’s how it should be. That’s how it’s supposed to be.’

I also realized that Kim Hyun-Sung was here because of Lee Ki-Young. The reason he wanted to confirm the truth, and the reason he was exploring the first life could be different, but ultimately, they were choices made for himself and for Lee Ki-Young.

Of course, those choices were wrong, but I realized that this annoying Hyun-Sung still had room to improve.

“...”

“...”

Perhaps it was because of the pressure, but Kim Hyun-Sung looked like he was about to cry. His eyes said that he wanted to escape this place right now. Cold sweat ran down his face. Of course, he wouldn’t want this to be exposed. How could he possibly admit that he had agreed to purge innocent people, that he had cast a vote in favor of killing countless people who hadn't done anything wrong?

'He can't admit that to the softhearted Lee Ki-Young.’

He couldn’t even say that I was the masked scum.

At this moment, I was the strong one, and he was the weak one.

“What have you been hiding all this time?” I asked.

“I...”

“T-then what else have you been hiding besides that? Even now... are you still hiding something?” I asked.

‘Just how many things are you hiding?’

“Why won’t you tell me anything? Please... say something. I also...” I trailed off.

‘Say something, damn it. You have a mouth, so talk. Why are there so many secrets? I went out of my way to tell you I was fine with you being a regressor, didn’t I? Then why are you still hiding things?’

“I can accept everything,” I said.

‘I can accept the purge incident, too. I can accept it all. I can take everything in. No matter what you've done, I’ll accept it.’

Dr. Michele standing next to him wasn’t saying anything either. I felt like he knew not to interfere.

Meanwhile, the guild members watching from afar were probably staring at the situation with extreme nervousness. Setting Kim Hyun-Sung aside, I was together with an unidentified man, after all. Alps couldn’t even take her hand off her sword. She stared at Michele while keeping her distance, looking like she had forgotten how to breathe.

“Actually... putting that aside, just who exactly is the person next to you...” I asked.

‘Who the hell is he? Why are you walking around with him? Why are there things happening in your life that are unknown to me?’

Kim Hyun-Sung finally started talking, saying, “Even if I explain... you probably wouldn’t understand. So... he’s..."

‘This guy’s completely lost it.’

It had to be already distressing enough to realize that the purge incident was the start of everything, but he ended up running into Lee Ki-Young on top of that. He even had to explain why Dr. Michele suddenly looked young. Anyone would lose their mind from the stress if they were in his shoes. Of course, I didn’t expect him to confess everything.

“So...”

“...”

“...”

“T-there’s nothing I can say to you right now... Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.

“Pardon?”

“I’m sorry...” he said.

‘Ah, damn it.’

“About what you just saw... about Dr. Michele... and about why I’m here... I have nothing I can say. A-and... I... I mean...” he stuttered.

“Thinking about all the time we’ve spent together and everything we’ve gone through, I think I have the right to know too. I still don’t really understand what’s what or what exactly happened, but I think I deserve to know.

"Mr. Hyun-Sung... I know it’s probably hard for you to talk about it... but right now, we need to talk. If that person really is Dr. Michele, then there's even more reason for us to talk. Why is he with you? Why does he look so young? And why can I feel this strange energy from him?

"I don’t even know whether I’m supposed to treat him as an enemy or not. I’m confused,” I explained.

“Y-you don’t need to treat him as an enemy...” he said.

“I have the right to know. I deserve to know everything,” I said.

‘Stay as rational as possible. Last time I got worked up, everything went to hell. Stay calm. Don’t get angry. Not today, Ki-Young.’

“...”

‘Don’t push him too hard. Don’t corner him.’

“Actually, let’s go back first. Let’s head back and...”

‘I have to coax him. That’s what Hyun-Sung needs right now.’

“It’d be better if we take it slow and talk things through,” I suggested.

“No, I-I’m not going back. I-I mean... there’s something I have to confirm... Something I have to do...” he replied, declining my offer.

‘Yeah, I didn’t expect this to be settled in one go.’

“I don’t know what you’re trying to confirm or what you think you have to do, but talk to me. You know I can’t make sense of any of this right now, don’t you?” I asked.

“The thing I have to do...” he mumbled.

Of course, I stepped closer to Kim Hyun-Sung, who still seemed completely out of it. I had no idea what he thought he needed to confirm or accomplish, but it didn’t look like he was brainwashed.

Still, one thing was certain—I had to bring him back with me. The rat bastard watching us as if he were a part of the background bothered me, and Hyun-Sung looked far too shaken. Sure enough, he was hesitating.

When I grabbed his hand tightly, he suddenly came to his senses and looked at me.

‘It’s okay.’

My eyes and my grip told him that everything was fine. I could feel him pulling himself out of his panic. His trembling, unfocused pupils slowly steadied, and his breathing returned to normal.

‘Good. Very good.’

If there was a problem...

‘Ah... damn...’

Kim Hyun-Sung's face slowly twisted.

‘Ah...’

An emotion I couldn’t identify began to appear in his eyes as he looked at me. It wasn’t hard to understand why he looked at me like that. Apparently, he disliked my current condition. There was blood smeared across me, and all I had on was a single cloak thrown over myself.

I had cleaned up as best as I could, but to anyone looking, I still probably seemed like I had just rolled around a battlefield. If anything, Kim Hyun-Sung looked cleaner than me. Luckily, I didn’t seem to be injured, but it was more than enough for him to start imagining all sorts of things.

“If anything, Mr. Ki-Young... why did you hide this from me?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Hide...? I don’t know what you mean...” I said.

“Why are you even here? Actually... since when have you been here? Were you here from the very beginning?” he asked.

“That’s not what’s important right now—”

“Then what the hell is important?” he interrupted me.

“...”

“...”

‘Is he talking down on me now? Why is he expressionless? Why is he so cold?’

“Look at the state you’re in... damn it... Did you plan all this from the start? I-I’m fine, but what about you? Why on earth are you wandering around somewhere this dangerous? Do you even know where you are right now?” he questioned.

“No...” I answered.

“You shouldn’t be here... dammit... You’re not supposed to be here... damn... it...

haa... haa... haa...

” he said.

“I know where this place—”

“Know what?! Damn it! This place... this place... damn it. It’s nothing like where we were. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up a test subject, living like an animal, or sold off as a slave to be forced into things you can’t even imagine...

"They actually happen here all the time! People die here constantly... so what the hell were you thinking coming here?! Damn it! You... you... you! Every single day... you’re just running around! You don’t say anything... And I don’t know why you’re so confident! Damn it! You don’t even have anything! What are you thinking?!” he shouted.

“T-that hurts...” I said.

“What...?”

“My shoulder... it hurts... You’re squeezing too hard...” I told him.

Startled, he let go of me, but it wasn’t just red. The bruise had taken on a deep blue hue that looked almost black as if it had been there for quite a while now.