Chapter 1491. Extinction (1)

‘Damn it...’

“

Haa... hoo... haa... haa...

”

‘Damn it, man...’

“

Haa... haa... hooo... haa... haa...

”

The first thought that came to mind when I saw my bloody hands and Michele’s managed body was...

‘I made a mistake.’

I had made a mistake. It felt like I had lost my sanity, so I couldn’t clearly grasp what had happened, but I remembered bringing a stone down on his face. Judging by the circumstances, the moment I saw his face, I had to have rushed at him, smashed his head, climbed on top of him as he fell, and smacked him wildly with a stone.

Obviously, it was a foolish choice. Losing my sanity was one thing, but charging at him without gathering more information was another. I didn’t even check whether he could fight and simply charged at him in a blind rage.

The result did not look bad, but the fact that I couldn’t extract anything from him weighed on my mind. I lacked information, so I ought to have gathered whatever I could from him.

Why he came to the first life’s continent with Kim Hyun-Sung, what he had heard from Kim Hyun-Sung, why he clung to Kim Hyun-Sung, and whether he knew anything about the current situation.

Even if the quality of the information he possessed was absurdly low, I ought to have talked to him and squeezed out whatever I could. Of course, he deserved to die, but the part that bothered me was that I lost my sanity to the extent that I couldn’t think of anything else but killing him.

It seemed like he was trying to say something. I even entertained a faint hope that he could still be alive, but he was a bloody pulp, so I didn't think he was still alive. One question that arose was that Michele didn’t resist at all during the entire process.

“...”

“...”

I couldn't really remember it, so I couldn't be certain that he hadn't resisted my attacks, but if he had tried to resist me, he would have been more than capable of doing so. I had grown a bit, but I was still Young Ki-Young, and he was a well-built adult man.

I had no idea if I had some kind of rage buff, but I wasn't Hee-Ra noona, so my physical stats wouldn’t really go up while I was enraged.

I could say with certainty that if he had really tried to resist, I would have been the one reduced to a bloody pulp.

‘He didn’t seem ordinary...’

The fact that he was walking around this place meant he wasn’t ordinary. Usually, if one were unordinary in my eyes, they'd be strong, so it was hard for me to understand how I managed to beat him down like this with nothing but a stone.

Unless some innate combat talent hidden within me had suddenly awakened, the chances of actually beating him to death were infinitely slim.

‘What the hell is going on?’

When I dropped the stone to cool my head, I heard a voice behind me.

“Have you calmed down a bit now?”

I turned my head and was shocked. “

Huh?

You’re...”

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young.”

I could see Dr. Michele standing there, looking at me as if nothing had happened. For a brief moment, anger surged back up to the top of my head, but I barely managed to suppress it. Had I not just taken time to reflect on that mistake only minutes ago?

There couldn’t be anything more foolish than grabbing another stone and charging at him again like some crazed killer. More importantly, I had to figure out why and how he had appeared in front of me.

“

Uh...

”

“...”

“...”

“You’re...”

“You’re probably correct in what you are thinking,” Dr. Michele said.

He hadn’t resurrected like some Holy Sword Hero. Michele, reduced to a bloody pulp, was still sprawled beneath me. It wasn’t an illusion spell either. My instincts were telling me that all of this was real. The Michele beneath me and the Michele before me both existed.

My thoughts were in disarray, but my decision was quick.

‘More than one... can exist at the same point in time.’

Most likely, the dead Michele before me was from the future. The hypothesis that had been forming in my mind ever since my future self mentioned having met Hee-Ra noona was now all but confirmed. It was possible for my past self and future self to coexist at the same point in time.

No, in theory, it was possible for an infinite number of selves to coexist.

The me of today, the me of tomorrow, the me of the day after tomorrow, the me a week later, the me a month later, and the me a year later, could exist simultaneously at one point in time.

I couldn't yet determine whether this could be done intentionally or not, but if one kept on traveling through the hexagram, there would likely be at least one overlapping point in time. It'd be easier to understand if one considered Lee Chang-Ryeol, who had stayed here for four years, as an example of it.

If the present Lee Chang-Ryeol were to continue riding the hexagram and travel between dimensions, he could one day arrive at some point within those four years.

By the same logic, if I were to ride the hexagram and get pulled into a portal leading further into the past, I could return to some point during the debutante ball. I could find myself at the moment in time when my past self and the young ladies were gathered together.

Since the hexagram would randomly select a point in time to send one on a dimensional journey, the probability of finding oneself in an overlapping period of time was astronomically low, but...

‘This place is different.’

This world bathed in the light of sunset had exponentially increased the probability that my future self and my present self could encounter each other. This world had to have existed for an incredibly long time. The Michele I was looking at right now had probably been waiting here for quite a long time.

To meet me, or perhaps to witness his future self and me facing each other.

“How long did you wait?” I asked.

“Not that long,” he answered.

If what he said and my hypothesis were both true, then...

“...”

“...”

‘At some point in time, Kim Hyun-Sung might still be alive.’

No, he was definitely alive. He

had

to be alive. If the Kim Hyun-Sung I had encountered was from the future, then the past and present Kim Hyun-Sung were drifting somewhere at some point in time.

‘I can fix this.’

I could correct this mistake. This situation was completely different from what had happened with Jung Ha-Yan. Back then, I couldn’t fix a single thing, but that was a predetermined narrative of the continent. It was something that would reach its destined outcome no matter what.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyun-Sung wasn't a resident of the first life. Of course, there were still things that bothered me. For instance, the question of why Kim Hyun-Sung had turned into sand remains unresolved.

First of all, I needed to say something to the Michele standing before me. Naturally, I sized him up. I distinctly remembered his hair being dirty blond, but now, it was completely golden.

‘I should’ve killed him the moment I saw him.’

I reminded myself that I wasn't compatible with those with blond hair, especially blond men. That kind of unnatural blond in particular provoked a sense of rejection in me. It wasn't just his hair color; his presence had changed as well. I still couldn't read him with Mind’s Eye, but even without it, I felt like I could tell what kind of being he was.

Just as I had expected...

“...”

“...”

“You... came from above,” I said.

“...”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. My rank is Level Four, and my position is Dimensional Administrator. My name is Mikael,” Mikael said, introducing himself.

“...”

“...”

“A pleasure to meet me for the first time?” I questioned.

“It’s true that Doctor Michele has met Mr. Lee Ki-Young before, but this is my first time meeting you,” he said.

“So you were hiding inside that bastard back then,” I commented.

“It would be more accurate to say that I had yet to awaken,” he clarified.

It did not sound absurd. In fact, it would be harder to accept that a doctor who had fallen out of the tutorial and had been living in seclusion, a man with no particular abilities, suddenly grew younger and wandered this place alongside Kim Hyun-Sung.

Of course, I had no intention of taking this bastard’s words at face value. I couldn't say that he had no ulterior motive. The mere fact that he had come here by illegal means meant that I couldn't trust him completely.

Our continent had been pursuing complete independence from those above, so he had only a few ways to come here. He probably had no choice but to find a human whose wavelength matched his own, plant a seed within him, and wait patiently for it to sprout.

There likely was no one more suitable than Dr. Michele. The Michele I had observed was indeed the kind of person one could call upright. He was more than sufficient to serve as a vessel for a god.

The fact that he became young again was definitely a phenomenon that occurred during the fusion between Dr. Michele and Mikael, and it was highly probable that even Kim Hyun-Sung hadn't realized that he was Mikael rather than Dr. Michele.

Even if our side had stamped an entry permit, manifesting in his true form would be impossible. I couldn't sense any divinity from him as well. In other words, he was merely wearing a shell.

“You may misunderstand, so let me clarify. He still exists within me. The reason I’m able to move at all is only through mutual consent with him...” he said.

“Who said I give a damn about that? Do I look like I’m in a position to worry about who has control over that body? I don’t care how many hours a day you’re contracted to use it, how limited your control is, or whether that bastard Michele remembers what you do or not.

"None of that interests me. What I want to know is why you’re here and why you're on our continent,” I replied.

“...”

“...”

“To be precise, I’m here to assist with this situation...” he answered.

“Who said we needed your help, you son of a bitch? When did I ever say I needed help from you people? Did anyone here beg you to save us?” I questioned.

“I knew you would say that,” he commented.

“...”

“Of course, I’m aware that you, Miss Benigoa, and the many beings who govern this continent don’t welcome us. However, from the standpoint of managing dimensions, we couldn’t simply stand by and ignore this issue.

"To you, this place may merely be your home, but from the perspective of a bigger picture, the destruction of one dimension carries a high probability of causing turmoil across all dimensions,” he said.

“...”

“The matter of dimensional independence in particular is unprecedented. We’re paying close attention to the consequences this anomaly may bring. In extreme terms, even Rohen can be affected...” he continued.

“What the hell does it matter if that place collapses or not? This is

my

land. Deciding how it’s managed is my responsibility. Whether I blow it up right now or not has nothing to do with you,” I said.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“...”

“Fine, let us say for the sake of argument that you understand my situation... Then why did you not come to me first?” I asked.

“First, because I hadn’t awakened yet. Secondly, I knew you wouldn’t welcome me,” he answered.

That much was true. If I had known in advance that he was a transcendent being from outside, I wouldn’t have left him alone.

“So what? You lured in some naive bastard who only knows how to swing a sword?” I asked.

“...”

“For the sake of dimensional stability or whatever bullshit you call it, you tempted some innocent idiot and tried to stop this? So this is the result that you want? You bastard, how am I supposed to trust you?” I questioned.

“To be honest, I had absolutely no intention of deceiving or insulting you, and the extinction of the Sunset Swordsman wasn’t a result we desired,” he said.

“...”

“Lastly, the third and decisive reason we couldn’t inform the God of Sacrifice and Revival was that the Sunset Swordsman didn’t wish for it. More precisely, it was due to a contract with the Sunset Swordsman, Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung...” He revealed.

“...”

“I don’t know whether you’re already aware of this, Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” he trailed off before continuing, “but Altanus doesn’t exist in this place."