Chapter 1493. Extinction (3)

Of course, it didn’t take very long for me to regain control of my emotions. I couldn’t even understand why I had become so emotional in the first place. The situation wasn't even that complicated. It was simple. As usual, Kim Hyun-Sung had done something foolish. A fool had done something as expected of a fool.

Yes, Kim Hyun-Sung had technically resolved the problem.

He had perfectly fulfilled the result that the continent had been yearning for. It was such a perfect ending that one could even think that he had always belonged there. When it came to whether I could accept this ending or not, I could only shake my head.

How could I possibly accept this ending?

How could I ever accept that a new era was going to begin with Kim Hyun-Sung’s disappearance? How could I ever accept that this was the end of our story? From the system’s point of view, it was a beautiful and convincing ending, but I’d never want that.

I didn’t expect it, but...

‘You find it hard to accept, too, don’t you?’

It seemed that Michele—no, Mikael couldn’t accept this ending either. From the perspective of a dimensional administrator, it made even more sense. After all, Kim Hyun-Sung had resolved this unprecedented crisis.

To put it in an extreme way, his mission had effectively ended the moment Kim Hyun-Sung became the sunset. The fact that he had come all the way here to find me meant that he also wished to change this ending.

“O God of Sacrifice and Revival...” he muttered, bowing for a long time. When I glanced at him discreetly, I saw him hesitating. I had already sized him up earlier, but...

‘You're a decent bastard, aren't you?’

I noticed that he felt a human sense of compassion toward Kim Hyun-Sung and me.

Whether he had also lost something precious, or he had simply come to empathize with Kim Hyun-Sung while drifting through the world within the hexagram, I didn’t know, but perhaps...

‘Judging from the circumstances...’

The former seemed more likely. He didn’t appear to be a mere desk administrator. It seemed like he was working on the front lines, and he seemed to take considerable risks in practice as well.

The fact that he had borrowed a human body to infiltrate a group that wasn’t friendly toward him said as much. He was different from the useless administrators who had been idling in Rohen.

It wouldn't be strange to assume that he had lost a few comrades before. If not, perhaps he simply wanted to correct his own mistake. After all, he was wearing Michele’s guise.

‘There’s no way Kim Hyun-Sung would’ve agreed to the plan of replacing Altanus.’

I wondered if he, in his own way, had also been running himself ragged alongside Kim Hyun-Sung in search of a better ending. Even the contract he made with Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t seem particularly unfair.

There was a high chance that Kim Hyun-Sung held the upper hand. In exchange for a collaboration, perhaps the only condition was that he couldn't tell Lee Ki-Young any details.

The fact that he came scurrying over the moment the contract ended with Kim Hyun-Sung’s disappearance made that clear enough. He, too, had never expected Kim Hyun-Sung to make such an extreme choice all of a sudden.

Of course, I neither cared nor needed to know what circumstances he carried, but if there was a high chance that Mikael remained here not by divine will but by his own volition, there was also a high chance he could be of help in some way.

Of course, I hadn't forgiven him, and I also had no intentions of letting things slide. Frankly, in a situation like this, I ought to take his hand, regardless of his identity. At least our goal was the same. The problem was that our first meeting hadn’t been particularly beautiful. For now, for now...

‘I’ll cry a little more.’

I had been far too prickly until now. I had even shown a psychopathic side by smashing someone’s face with a stone, but there was still room for improvement. Right...

‘Ki-Young is just a small, harmless hedgehog.’

It didn’t sound so bad as a part of my lore. It was just that he had too many quills. He had so many that even he could hardly bear them. To protect the precious things in his hands, he had always kept himself sharp, bristling with spines, but inside he was unbearably small and fragile.

The slightest touch would make him collapse at once. It would be accurate to say that he had already collapsed.

Tears poured endlessly down his face, and he looked so desperate while trembling as if he could faint at any moment. My throat was hoarse, and my voice would barely come out. I also had no leeway to properly assess the situation.

‘Pitiful, right? I look pitiful right now, don’t I?’

It felt as though I'd end up passing out at this rate. Clutching what had once been Kim Hyun-Sung in my hands and wailing was an essential part of the act as well.

I forcibly gathered together what was scattering away, and I allowed my tears to fall in heavy drops. Anyone who saw me would think I was far from normal. I looked like a hedgehog that had lost all its quills.

‘You’re not going to leave me like this, are you?’

“...”

“...”

‘You’re going to at least comfort me, right? You must feel some responsibility, too. You said this wasn’t the outcome you wanted. You didn’t come all the way here just to make excuses. You didn’t come just to say, "Ah, I am terribly sorry about what happened."'

Sure enough, Mikael said, “There might be a way to turn it back.

I saw him carefully continuing his words. “There’s... definitely a way to reverse it.”

‘Yeah, maybe there is.’

The fact that he brought it up first was extremely encouraging. However, nodding here would be the worst move to make. I had already realized that Kim Hyun-Sung was drifting somewhere in the past, but for now, I needed to whine a little more.

I had to maintain the stance that I couldn’t view this situation rationally.

“Don’t joke... don’t joke about that... Why didn’t he come to me first... Why...

heuk

... Why didn’t he come to me first...

heuk

...” I muttered.

“It’s not over yet,” he said.

“DON’T JOKE ABOUT IT!!!” I shouted.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” he said.

“You bastard!!! You did this! This is all your fault!

Heuk... heeeeuk... ngh...

” I cried.

“Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung from a point further in the past than this still exists within the continent inside the hexagram,” he said.

“W-what?”

“To make things clear, Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung, who has yet to reach this point in time, most certainly exists in the past. There’s still a chance to turn it back,” Mikael said, clarifying things.

“...”

“...”

“

Ah...

”

‘Now I get it.’

“I-I see... How did I not realize it?” I questioned.

“I know,” he said.

“We can change the future,” I said.

“You’re right.”

With a desperate face and ragged breaths, I looked like I would do anything if it meant getting Kim Hyun-Sung back.

“What do we have to do... to change this?” I asked.

“That's...” Mikael paused.

‘You can just take his place instead, right?’

“I apologize, but the Sunset Swordsman and I have conducted investigations to find another answer, but we have yet to find a definitive solution. However...” he trailed off.

“However?”

“Saving Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung is possible. Rather than thinking about what comes after, our priority should be to first locate and secure the Sunset Swordsman...” he added.

‘No, what comes after matters, too.’

Of course, as he said, securing Kim Hyun-Sung was the most important thing. Finding the solution would come next, but without a plausible plan, we wouldn't be able to persuade Kim Hyun-Sung. The first plan was obvious.

‘This bastard Mikael will take his place.’

It meant Mikael would replace Altanus, but when I saw how he was suffering from many different penalties, I couldn’t help but wonder whether he was truly capable of taking Altanus’ place.

Still, there was

something

inside him, so he would probably be an excellent material.

‘Rohen.’

The second plan involved Rohen. It was a continent where most of the gods had already disappeared, so it'd be quite difficult to find someone to replace him there, but there were plenty of promising individuals on Rohen.

If one wasn’t enough, then we'd take two. If two weren’t enough, then we'd take three. If even three weren’t enough, we'd use the entire continent. I could already think of many things capable of replacing Kim Hyun-Sung, but for now, those two plans were the best.

Of course, it'd be difficult to secure the ending that would satisfy the continent’s desired perfect ending. After all, this was the story of Kim Hyun-Sung and Lee Ki-Young. Of course, there was nothing wrong with trying just anything.

“Right... f-first Hyun-Sung... heuk...” I sobbed.

“...”

“

Heuk... heuk...

” I sobbed.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young,” Mikael mumbled.

“...”

“I don’t know if I have the right to say this...” he trailed off.

‘Yeah, you have no right, you jerk.’

“You need to stay calm,” he continued.

‘Yeah, I’m calmer than ever. Just waiting for the day I can stick a knife into the back of your head.’

“You...” I muttered.

“I know it’s difficult for you to trust me right now, but it’s not a lie that I came here to help you. There’s definitely an answer. You deserve a somewhat better ending,” he said, reassuring me.

“...”

“...”

“I know this is hard, but can you trust me?” he asked.

“...”

“...”

I slightly raised my head, and I saw the blond bastard reaching out with his hand toward me. He looked bitter, seemingly realizing the sin he had committed, and it was a sight to behold. I wanted to charge at him and smash a rock into his glabella, but there was no way I could do that.

For now, nodding at him here was the correct answer.

“If by any chance...” I said.

“...”

“If anything at all happens to Kim Hyun-Sung, I’ll never forgive you,” I warned him.

‘Hedgehog Ki-Young!’

“I’m not saying this lightly, Mikael. Not just you, but all of you bastards who are even slightly connected to this situation, I’ll kill every single one of you. No, I won’t just kill you. I’ll kill you in the most painful way possible... to the point that you’ll think hell will be a better choice. Remember my words,” I said.

“...”

“Remember my words, Mikael,” I added.

As soon as I reached out and grabbed his hand, the surroundings changed, and it felt as if we were moving through a hexagram gate.

It was a bewildering experience, but considering that he was a dimensional administrator and that no hexagrams were located around where Kim Hyun-Sung had disappeared, it wasn’t such a foreign ability in my eyes.

I was sure he had to pay a price for it, but he had the ability to move along this timeline.

“Mikael, you—”

“It’s impossible for me to move to the exact time I want, but it will be far better than using a gate. We don’t have much time, so I’ll move as quickly and efficiently as possible. Is there anything you know about this timeline? Do you know any place where the Sunset Swordsman might visit?” he asked.

I looked around and muttered, “Uh...”

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“...”

“Yes?”

“My memories...” I mumbled.

“...”

“The things Hyun-Sung told me in Heren... I can’t remember them...” I told him.