Chapter 648: Doom Hyunsung (4)

My whole body was wrapped in light. I felt different from when I was turned into the Alchemist of Light.

It felt as if my entire body was filled with divine energy. Instead of half-sacred, it was entirely sacred.

I thought I had to show the face of a saint sacrificing himself to save the continent, but it wasn’t unreasonable for me to smile.

In the meantime, Kim Hyunsung was trying to stop the big light from covering me. By that time, others would’ve realized that his resistance was useless.

I thought it wasn’t Benignore, but rather the top people that chose it.

Although I became stronger, I still didn’t have enough power to resist a predetermined fate. In the end, there was nothing else I could do but wield a sword.

The current situation couldn’t be prevented with his ten wings, which were like symbols of depravity. I tried to cut them off with my weapon, but how could I hide the stream of light that kept falling?

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh.”

Of course, changes slowly began to occur in my body as well.

‘I’m getting wings, too?’

As soon as the thought was over, the wings of light began to stretch out.

‘I’ll get ten, right? I want ten, too.’

I thought it would hurt, but the pure white wings seemed to be filled with divinity. At that moment, I saw Kim Hyunsung’s hand suddenly penetrating the light.

‘What, sh*t, how did you get in?’

“Oh, fuck!”

It was very noticeable that he was trying to pull me down somehow, but before if I went out, I wanted to finish my evolution first.

Fortunately, the light storm blew him away, but he was still struggling to reach out somehow.

“Take my hand!”

He even tried to use black mana.

‘No, just let me evolve.’

He had such a desperate face.

‘Oh, this guy.’

His determination moved me. It was as if Park Deokgu was trying to protect me, but it wasn’t a good situation.

It was nice to look at it, realizing it was impossible, but it was very embarrassing to watch him trying to stop the pouring light.

‘Does he really think he can stop this from happening?’

In a way, it was spectacular to see the light pouring from the sky being blocked by dark mana. It seemed that it was too much to go into the light and save me. It didn’t take long before the pitch-black waves began to hit the storm of light.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

There was a tremendous explosion, but I remained within the divine brilliance.

‘Hyunsung… Sh*t, come on. Don’t do that. Don’t interrupt others’ evolution.’

I thought that they were probably very flustered from the top as well.

When they had to deliver light somehow, Kim Hyunsung was late, so he probably thought that Lee Kiyoung shouldn’t be bothered anymore.

However, when a sudden interrupter tried to block the falling light…

‘Would you be flustered?’

One could bet that Benignore, the icon of failure, was afraid of failing again.

[Lee Kiyoung, Lee Kiyoung!! (0/1)]

Sure enough, there was already a cry of sympathy.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Kim Hyunsung was still doing his best to prevent the heavy burden that came down to me.

I didn’t know how the hell that happened. Sh*t.

‘No, Hyunsung. You have to take responsibility for this. It’s not like that. I didn’t even stamp the contract, so it doesn’t matter if I just eat and run. They gave this to me because they were nervous. Why are you overreacting? I understand how you feel, but…’

[Lee Kiyoung! Stop him, Lee Kiyoung! (0/1)]

‘I want to stop him too. Sh*t. Just turn it up, for now.’

[Oh, okay. (0/1)]

She seemed to have accepted my advice, considering they provided a stronger light, but Kim Hyunsung also tried to fight back against the light with a louder sound.

To be honest, I couldn’t help but think that I had to do something. That was because I felt that accepting the power right away wasn’t a problem.

As time went by, Kim Hyunsung’s eyes seemed to be filled with even deeper rage.

Just as he gave himself undesired responsibilities, he seemed to have added those responsibilities to me as well.

Perhaps we were feeling the same way.

“You bastard… Stop, you little bastard! Stop! Stop!”

He was screaming his heart out.

“Don’t do it, you dirty little bastards! Stop… Please stop.”

‘Our Hyunsung is cursing.’

“Stop… stop! Stop!”

His body had been turned into rags already.

[Believer Lee Kiyoung, how can I do this? Something bad won’t happen, right? (0/1)]

Benignore was worried, and Kim Hyunsung seemed even more desperate.

He was spouting all kinds of curse words, and his eyes were filled with venom that seemed to display that he could no longer remember his own identity.

[Should we stop? Would it be better to stop… (0/1)]

I also thought it would be better to stop. I was worried that Kim Hyunsung would sincerely antagonize Benignore.

It wasn’t unreasonable to think that the option of abandoning the continent and running away could evolve into a complete Doom Hyunsung who would destroy the continent. The room for persuasion had already disappeared. He simply wanted to abandon the continent.

After Doom Hyunsung finished the continental business, he would most likely rush to Benignore’s nest with the demons.

“Oh, fuck! Stop! Stop!”

For the time being, I had no choice but to say something. The priority was to calm the upset Kim Hyunsung down.

I had to convince him that what was happening wasn’t a bad event, but rather that it was beneficial for me. Hence, I continued our conversation in a calm tone.

‘Whoa…’

I sighed loudly and immediately spoke. To be honest, I didn’t know if it would work. Normally, Hyunsung would listen to me, but I couldn’t guarantee it’d work in his present state.

“It’s alright.”

“…”

“…”

‘What, can’t you hear me?’

“Didn’t I say it was okay?”

“…”

‘Hyunsung, are you ignoring me? It’s not like that, is it?’

“It’s nothing. It’s not as heavy as Hyunsung thinks it is, and it’s not like I’m going through a hard time. It’s rather pleasant. It’s a happy thing for me.”

‘Please… please listen.’

“I’m happy that there’s something I can do for the rest of my remaining years.”

“…”

“I enjoy being able to work for the people I value. Of course, I know it’s going to be hard. And I know what you’re thinking. I know very well why you worry about me.”

“…”

‘Oh, he’s not responding.’

However, I was sure that he was listening. He was still keeping his eyes on me.

‘I can’t just keep going like this.’

I had to bring up a more sensitive subject. For example, the decisive reason why Kim Hyunsung turned his back on the continent.

It would be more convincing than the setting that my head suddenly was healed.

I was sure he’d react as it’s a sensitive topic. For the time being, creating a conversational situation was the way to go.

“I’m sorry I hid it.”

“…”

“But I really didn’t want to make you worry… I thought it was nothing.”

“…”

“Even if I lose my memory…”

“…”

“Even if I really forget everything… I know you’ll all be with me.”

“…”

“That’s very important to me… You know that, right? Our days won’t be any different. It’ll be the same as usual. After everything is over, Lindel’s daily life will definitely remain the same.”

“…”

“I’m going to play chess with Hyejin and drink wine with her. Elena can go to see the world tree and spend time with the elves. I’ll spend time with Ye-ri playing simple cards as well… Maybe I can look into the Goddess’s Mirror with Ahn Ki-mo.”

“…”

“Jeong-yeon and Sora will be able to study alchemy properly. Yes, I’m worried about what would happen if I forget everything, but I’ll learn as quickly as my body remembers. I’m sure… Maybe after a year or two… No, maybe after about three years, we can go up to the same level as we are now. There won’t be any problems with the finances of the Blue Guild. The infrastructure will stay the same… Haha.”

“…”

“You will spend time volunteering with Hee-young. There are still many places I haven’t been to yet. Of course, Dialugia would have to spend time with Luria or Max.”

“…”

“Ahyoung, Chang-ryul, and I will talk when we have lessons… As much as there will be many new and fun experiences for me, you’d be able to laugh that much. Yes, you’ll be happy. Maybe I’ll even see all the videos taken about me doing stupid stuff.”

“…”

“It will be a lot of fun to spend time with Heera, who will visit me sometimes. I won’t see your face often right after work because you’ll be dragged around every day after the war is over. And it’s going to be too much from the beginning, but… Learn about politics from Oscar again… You can talk about theology with Pope Basel as well, and Team Leader Kim Mi-young will have a lot to learn about overall guild management from Jihye. You just have to keep living your life…”

“Don’t… don’t… do it.”

“If I stay with Hayan, maybe I can get married. I don’t know why, but I can’t imagine it. Deokgu will give a speech, of course. I’m sure he’ll be happy to say he knew that would happen.”

“Don’t say that… Don’t. Ugh, don’t say that. Fuck, just stop it.”

“It will be similar to Hyunsung. Sometimes you’ll be able to go out to eat, go out to ride the griffon, laugh about nothing, and have fun as usual.”

“Please… Please don’t say that. Please…”

“I want to keep this routine. I don’t think I’m altruistic at all. I want to keep this routine for my own satisfaction. Yes, of course, it’ll be hard. I’m sick, I’m falling apart, I’m having a painful time, and you’re blaming Benignore, but I’m making this choice on my own… I might regret it over and over again. There might be some grumbling about why you didn’t stop me.”

“…”

“But I’ll end up smiling. We’ll all sit at a big table, talk about the memories we had before, and laugh off the pain we had in the past. It’s been like that until now. I’ve been through this.”

“…”

“Nothing changes, never.”

“No, a lot of things… A lot will change. It will never be the same, and they’ll all suffer. Kiyoung will suffer, and you won’t remember them. Me, too… I’m going to be in so much pain. I’m scared. Ugh, I’m scared. Damn it.”

“The other options will also be painful. It would be painful to abandon the continent because you will regret today’s decision after seeing the continent suffering from guilt and falling. You will live with those who needed help in your heart until you die.”

‘Honestly, I don’t know about me, but you will. I know you haven’t completely thrown it away yet.’

“If you’re taking me by force… If we survive like that, I will resent myself.”

‘And let’s be honest. I’ll blame you for the rest of my life, even if you just did what you thought was right. Are you confident you’ll be able to endure that? Can you really break our relationship apart?’

“I think Hyunsung will be no different. I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing as me.”

“…”

“Of course, I’m not without fear at all. I’m scared of fighting. To be honest, I’m scared of this situation right now and what’s happening to me… I’m afraid of the changes that happen every day. How can I not be scared? I’m a human being, too.”

“Then…”

“But I’m more scared to lose my daily life, to lose the future we’re drawing without doing anything… That’s a lot more frightful. It’s so scary that I can’t compare it to losing my memory. Maybe… everyone is working together with that mindset.”

“…”

“I will be standing my ground to protect my daily life and my future.”

“I’m sure you won’t stand it. I’m sure you’ll regret it. You won’t get through it.”

“No, I’ll be able to bear it.”

“I’m sure you’ll be in pain.”

“I will never suffer.”

“It’ll be so painful that you’ll want to die…”

“I’ll withstand it anyway.”

“You’ll forget everything.”

“If you have someone to be with, that’s fine.”

“Why? How can you think of it that way? How can you accept it so easily instead of letting it go without a hitch? Damn it…”

‘What do you mean? Of course, I can’t. We have Tactic Kim Hyunsung, after all.’

But I couldn’t say it so openly. In that case, it was better to blow up the lines of memories. Of course, the setting dictated that I couldn’t remember much.

“That’s because…”

“…”

“I’m sure you’ll carry my burden with me.”

“…”

“…”

‘Honestly, I don’t know if this will work.’

However, I was sure he realized something. Realizations such as ‘I should listen to him’ or ‘I shouldn’t do this.’

Wasn’t our bond supposed to be mutual? Kim Hyunsung surely remembered that I carried his burden.

‘It’s going to work.’

I was sure Kim Hyunsung would carry my burden with me.

‘Please… Please…”

He wouldn’t let me go.

‘Right? I’m right, right? We don’t have to lose our friendship, do we?’

I didn’t know if the timing was good, but the brilliant light from the sky stopped.

I was a little nervous.

Kim Hyunsung’s dark mana was nowhere to be found, and I couldn’t predict what attitude he would take. He was looking at me with a blank face as he was slowly reflected through the scattered light.

‘It’s not bad. It won’t be bad.’

I slowly stretched out my hands, spreading out four pairs of wings with fear…

“Murm, muhm…”

Kim Hyunsung started running towards me in a hurry.

‘It worked. Sh*t, it really worked.’

All that was left for me to do was wrap it up properly.