Chapter 500: The Cliché: Growing Soon After Collapsing (3)

‘Wow. Thank you, Hee-young.’

No other words were necessary; even saying that had caused me to feel tearful.

She herself was already crying, with a passion so fierce it made me doubt that this truly was the Sun Hee-young I knew. She might have had a strange side, but I had always known her to behave with great self-discipline. Because of this, I found myself unsure of how to respond to such an emotional outburst.

‘The personality from the first round is still out there. Still, I’m not disappointed, so you can stop crying. If you keep going like that, Hee-ra will explode.’

And rightly so. Rationally speaking, Cha Hee-ra was absolutely right - if they had deployed troops who were driven by emotion, it would only have led to annihilation. And even though they were pulling back, for now, the best and most reasonable option - and the one I wanted - was to plan for the future.

And so, I pressed the button and called Cha Hee-ra. Neither of us here were able to judge the mistakes that had been made.

Cha Hee-ra had that rare kind of personality that put emotion before reason. That she chose the rational option this time made me think that she was also getting desperate.

Of course, overcoming the guilt inside her is another matter.

“Despicable bitches! Despicable bitch! Ptooey!”

I was dragged out of my thoughts by the sound of Sun Hee-young swearing, fear gripping me as I turned to see her trapped by the guild members of the Red Mercenary, struggling against them hard enough to cause a spectacle.

”‘It’s the worst, the worst!” She cried.

The hall we were in only calmed down once Cha Hee-ra herself came out, easily recognizable with her red hair, but still looking very emaciated. She approached Sun Hee-young with a gloomy expression that I had never seen on her face before.

‘Why do they all look like this…?’ I wondered to myself. Not a single person in that hall looked okay.

The second she saw Cha Hee-ra’s face, Sun Hee-young raised her hand and slapped her across the cheek, hard enough to turn Cha Hee-ra’s head with the force of it. Silence rang out around them.

If Cha Hee-ra raised her fist now, I thought, Sun Hee-young will die on the spot. Indeed, I wondered if Cha Hee-ra would explode in anger, like a beast that had just been smacked, but she surprised me by simply taking the blow and facing Sun Hee-young calmly. Seeing that, I began to feel that perhaps Cha Hee-ra wouldn’t do any harm at all.

Still, it was strange and surprising that she hadn’t exploded.

It was then that Cha Hee-ra spoke, her voice giving the impression of someone who hadn’t slept in days. Admittedly, I couldn’t hear very well because the spirit was at a distance, looking up, but I could understand enough.

“Are you satisfied now?” she asked.

Sun Hee-young said nothing in response.

“I asked if you are satisfied now.”

This time there was a groan, but nothing more.

“What will you do if the troops turn back right now?”

Sun Hee-young finally found her voice but could muster nothing beyond, “You, you…”

“It’s suicidal just to go back to those wizards, who are too low to chant even basic spells, and your Guild Master, who has become an idiot. I don’t mean to die so ridiculously, and I have no intention of giving up on my honey in that way. If you want to take your anger out on somebody, go do it somewhere else. Otherwise, go it alone and die, or shut up and follow your orders.”

“Do you think that makes sen-“

Cha Hee-ra interrupted her, asking, “Turning the troops right now, do you think he’ll like that? I don’t like making coldly rational decisions, but that’s what we need more than anything in the current situation. To put it plainly, our best chance is to reorganize the troops rather than just sending them out right now. Can you understand that?”

Furious, Sun Hee-young stammered out, “W-W-Who doesn’t know that? You think I’m doing this because I don’t know that?” She sniffed, incredulous. “You think I don’t know that?!” Once again, she raised her hand and slapped Cha Hee-ra’s cheek.

And, once again, Cha Hee-ra simply stood and took it.

Materializing from somewhere, Hwang Jeong-yeon stepped in to try to hold Sun Hee-young back as much as possible, but she proved to be weak in comparison, and couldn’t do much to stop her.

Instead, it was Sun Hee-young’s tiredness that caused her to stop, and it was her palms that were covered in blood, rather than Cha Hee-ra’s cheeks.

“If you’re done,” Cha Hee-ra told her, “go back and recover your body. That would be more helpful to you than making a fuss like this.”

Turning to the newcomer, she added. “And you are?”

“I’m Hwang Jeong-yeon of the Blue Guild. There is a message from Dialugia, saying that the attack on the 17 bases seems to have been completed… and she said that we should get there as fast as possible. I-I came here to tell you that, but I am also very sorry about-“ She gestured towards Sun Hee-young.

“I understand,” the redhead replied, “and there is nothing to be sorry for.”

“No, I mean, I am sorry for the controversy…”

“I understand,” Cha Hee-ra repeated.

Sun Hee-young, sighing in agitation, interrupted them. “You… if anything happens to Lee Kiyoung, I’ll kill you. I’m really going to kill you.”

“Hee-young!” Hwang Jeong-yeon snapped. “Now, stop now. I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry. She’s not normally like this.”

“Do whatever you want,” Sun Hee-young continued, ignoring the admonishment. “I don’t want to live long anyway if this is going to happen. You heard it, right? Don’t disturb the march, get out of here right now and I won’t punish you.”

“L-Let’s get out of here, Hee-young. Don’t do this.”

Sun Hee-young would not be stopped, though, continuing to spit out threats. “I really meant it when I said I’m going to kill you. I’ll kill you at all costs. I’ll tear you up and murder you. Remember my words clearly and pray that Lee Kiyoung is alive. You’d better pray!”

Silence greeted her, but it was only after Kim Changryul came that they had enough strength to pull Sun Hee-young out of the hall.

In the aftermath, I thought about turning the spirit back to the Blue side, but I found I couldn’t turn the screen when I saw Cha Hee-ra staring at the ground, surrounded by members of the Red Mercenary. I don’t know if she was laughing or crying, but for some reason, I felt sad at the sight of her shoulders shaking intermittently.

The Mercenary members who had been surrounding her to prevent the fuss from leaking out were now increasingly blocking her from going outside. There was no way they could allow the weak figure of their commander to be seen right now. Indeed, they were even turning their own backs, almost as if they themselves could not bear to see it either.

“Will you exact punishment for what just happened?” Someone asked.

“What would be the benefit of disciplining a priest at the saint level?” Cha Hee-ra replied. “She’s one of those who will be most needed in battle afterward. Just make sure that the rumors don’t get out. The atmosphere will be blurred as it is, anyway.”

“Yes, sir.”

There was silence for a moment, and then, “He will be fine.”

“Thank you.”

Cha Hee-ra, who had stopped for a moment, started to walk away. Her face was still full of anxiety and worries, and I thought about how difficult this must be for her, having to deal with the current situation on her own, shouldering the burden. Her mind must have been full of imaginings and questions, wondering whether her choice was really the right one or not.

To be honest, I was surprised that she hadn’t collapsed yet. It would have been nice if she’d at least had someone to ease her burden but, considering the state of everyone around her, perhaps it was better that she did not.

This was what I felt when I looked around the guild.

Jung Hayan, always self-harming, fainting, screaming.

Elena, who had become the pitiful heroine, was not doing her job properly because of the constant tears filling her eyes.

I didn’t know where Yuno Kasugano was, or what she was doing.

Only Park Deokgu and Cha Hee-ra were taking care of their mental health, and even that felt a bit unstable.

What had me most worried, though, was Kim Hyunsung.

‘I really have to see him too,’ I muttered to myself. I wanted to run and check on him right now, but it was difficult to get near to him.

I recalled the conversation between Hwang Jeong-yeon and Kim Ye-ri, in which it seemed that he was still out of it, but it was a natural instinct to want to check what condition humanity’s last hope is in.

‘If he stays how he is now, there is no real dream or hope.’

The plan had been, if anything, too successful.

I had thought there would be some aftereffects, but I couldn’t have imagined things would collapse this much. The troops were on the verge of dying, and the atmosphere was a chaotic mess.

I didn’t even have to look far for the effects, I could see it by looking at the incident that had just taken place. It had only bubbled to the surface that one time but, looking at it with the benefit of hindsight, a lot of things were starting to bother me.

There were already some showing signs of aftereffects…

‘Would it be better to see him even if it’s a little unreasonable?’ I wondered.

It was at this point that I missed Anemone’s Eyes, that Jung Hayan could use, since I now - regrettably - had to speak to a colleague in the control room.

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“About the 17 bases.”

“Ah… Yes. External advisor.”

“Are there any spirits there? With a few more stealthy guys…?”

“Of course there are.”

“Good. Thank you.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t realize you would focus on the work right away.” Laughter followed the statement.

“That’s because it’s not the end yet, you bastard,” I snarled. “It’s important that, from now on…”

Perhaps due to Dialugia’s performance, it was only a few hours later that the main unit entered the 17 bases. The magic hologram sent by the spirits who were waiting in advance was now reflected in the field of view.

Meanwhile, the army of the Republic, which had occupied the 17 bases in advance, now joined Cha Hee-ra and discussed various stories. New issues had arisen, including the war in its entirety, but the most important thing now was the lovely regressor’s state.

‘The last hope of mankind!’

The platform of revolution.

‘The key character in the main story.’

A perfect actor, missing nothing.

‘The protagonist of this game, and the finalist who will be responsible for ending this scenario.’

I was looking for Kim Hyunsung in 17 bases, looking in but I eventually found him in a small room. The moment I saw the face of the guy coming in, supported by Cho Hyejin, I had no choice but to swallow hard.

‘What is that…?’ I wondered.

“Then, Guild Master, I… I’ll be going,” said Cho Hyejin.

‘Why is his face like that?’

His expression looked as if it had no soul was no different from the first time I saw it. I recalled that the nature of the tentacles of Limur had had a strong impact on his brain. That was what had caused his soulless appearance.

‘T-T-The last hope of mankind…’

The last hope was currently staring into space with unfocused eyes, not seeing a single spirit in that small room.

As I watched, a continuous murmuring voice invaded my ears, and I realized that perhaps I had gone too far.

“Now… I’m done,” Hyunsung said.

‘What’s done, you bastard? What’s going on with you, Hyunsung? Really…’

“Now… I’m tired…”

‘D… Don’t get tired, you bastard. This will all be over if you’re tired.’

He looked way worse than I had expected.

‘Don’t get tired… fuck…’

Kim Hyunsung looked like he had chosen to give up and let go of everything.