Chapter 785: The Last (18)

Cho Hyejin exhaled slowly, calming herself down. The way she held the spear tightly in her hand, almost as if she was trying to shatter it, stood out.

It didn’t mean that it would disappear just by letting it off her hand, and I feel it’s not like her to keep holding the spear in her hand.

As a warrior chosen by a god, I was pleased with the appropriate actions, but I couldn’t show it. My head hurt just by thinking of explaining the current situation… my head hurt.

I wondered if we could have a businesslike relationship and take care of things, but I considered it necessary to explain what was happening in detail as it was a work that required close cooperation.

-Sigh…

I could see her exhaling again. There was a faint smile on her face. She would have liked that she heard the same voice as usual, rather than the fact that she was chosen as the warrior by Lee Kiyoung after the spear suddenly descended from the sky.

-Vice Guild Master… This… What’s going on?

“What do you mean? As what happened now, Hyejin has been chosen as my representative. I used the tremendous power of light to send the sacred spear, and you accepted it.”

-I’m not asking that. Was this the reason you came to me?

“No. Not necessarily…”

‘I’m saying that it’s not you.’

-Are you doing well? What’s your exact situation right now? Did you really become a god? Can you come back? What the hell was that cringing voice tone when you were inside the statue, and what are you doing currently?

‘Why is she talking so fast?’

“I don’t know why you have so many questions, but let’s take it slow, like really slow. I’m not going anywhere. First, bring a chessboard. The one in my room… bring the one Hyunsung gifted me. No. You don’t even have to. We don’t have to look at the statue anyway…”

-How can you think about chess in this situation? Sniff…

‘No, why is she crying again?’

There seemed to be a misunderstanding. Seeing that Hyejin said she wouldn’t play chess now, it seemed that she thought I was going to ask her for a match.

‘Ah, it’s not that.’

It was just that I was bored, and I wanted the conversation going forward to run a little smoother.

If we talked while playing a game, it would create a nice and calm atmosphere. Remembering the old days after a long time and drenching in our memories would be nice.

-The key to the Vice Guild Master’s room is managed by the Guild Master. I think it’s better to go to my room. No, first, this…

“Don’t worry about it. Keep it a secret for now. It’ll be revealed soon, but I don’t think we should make things as big as announcing it officially… You don’t want to announce it to the entire continent, do you?”

-It doesn’t really matter, but it’s better to do that. Anyway, you suddenly dropped something like this at this time…

“A warrior had to appear. I also needed a representative… Oh, move quickly. I’ll slowly tell you what you’re curious about.”

Cho Hyejin bit her lips and walked. She looked a little dissatisfied. Well, I could understand. She would be annoyed since she wanted answers to so many things, and I didn’t tell her anything.

-For your information, I won’t be able to keep hiding it. Tomorrow morning, other people will already be asking about the phenomenon that happened inside the temple. They will also ask about the spear I have in my hand.

“Do you think I don’t know that? Just tell them that I have chosen you and have become my representative, and they will understand. Oh! First, we should agree on what you will say. Don’t explain the details, just that you received a gift. I think you just need to explain that much.”

-I don’t know if they’ll be satisfied with just that, but…

“I’ll leave that to your discretion. Anyway, I miss this.”

Cho Hyejin nodded as if agreeing with me. She probably missed this too.

I remembered that the little table that we often sat on almost always had a chessboard on it.

We used to have a glass of wine and talked about many things or played games in silence.

There was nothing on the table now, but when Cho Hyejin took out the chessboard from the drawer, it honestly felt like I was back.

-A glass of wine… Ah. I’m sorry.

“Yes. I can’t drink it now. I’ll just receive the sentiment in gratitude. Oh, but still put two glasses on it. I think that would be nice for old times’ sake.

-Yes… It would be nice to do that.

Originally, it was my job to set the glass and choose the wine… I couldn’t move from here, so I had to leave everything to her.

-What… should I drink…

Seeing a lot of empty bottles piled up in the corner, she had probably been drinking a lot.

She brought back a bottle, and she filled the glass delightfully.

I knew why Cho Hyejin was making that expression. She probably felt like she had regained her lost routine. I couldn’t even find a trace of the crying expression that she wore up until now. She seemed to be remarkably excited.

-The Vice Guild Master can’t drink it, but… can you at least move your pieces?

“What a stupid question. Of course, you must move my pieces as well. Don’t move it somewhere else on purpose. I’m telling you that even if you’re losing, don’t do anything shameful and dirty. Accept your defeat humbly. Do you understand?”

-I won’t do that.

“Then let’s start. First, I will move the pawn. Let’s see how much your skills have deteriorated.”

-Now I can play comfortably with you.

‘Look at her.’

Cho Hyejin seemed to be focusing on the game. She might feel uncomfortable moving my pieces as well, but she was focused enough to keep her eyes on the board.

When she raised the glass and realized that there was no one else to clink her glass with, she laughed awkwardly.

“Just bring it over this side.”

She bumped her glass against mine after setting it opposite to her.

-You seem to have improved a bit. Do you play it there sometimes?

“Not a chance. It’s talent, you know. Talent. This game is supposed to turn into a realm of talent after a certain point.”

-You haven’t changed.

“Hahaha.”

-So…

“Yes?”

-I think it’s time to tell me now… What happened?

“I don’t know… I don’t know where to start…”

-How did you die? No, are you really dead?

“I can’t say for sure. It seems right to say that I am physically dead. Human Lee Kiyoung certainly has died. Oh, haven’t you heard why I died?”

-I’ve heard, but…

“As Hyunsung said, he indeed stabbed me. Oh! You don’t need to be shocked. At the time, Hyunsung was affected by mental magic. He didn’t even stab me on purpose. Honestly, it was a situation that I even wanted. Did I tell you? That means that the continent could win the war at my expense. I knew I was going to get stabbed by him. That was one of the conditions to win. Don’t ask how I knew. It’ll take us a lot of time to finish the story. Anyway, I knew I was going to die.”

-That’s…

“The saint’s self-sacrifice for the continent had always been pre-destined. Because of my sacrifice, the continent was able to win. I just followed the planned guidelines. One problem is…”

-…

“I didn’t know I was going to be in this kind of situation.”

-I don’t know what you mean by that.

“I didn’t know I would rise to the heavens. In fact, there is a reason for making judgments that might have made me seem stupid. I believed that I wouldn’t die.”

-…

“The only basis for that faith was that what I had planned wouldn’t go wrong. I was almost certain. I would never die. It was before I lost my memory, but I thought I wouldn’t do any harm to myself.”

-I’m still not sure what you mean.

“I’m not sure, but it seemed like I had a contract with a demon. It’s a bet on whether Hyunsung will stab me or not.”

-What?

“I thought that if Hyunsung stabbed me, it would help Lucifer deal with the outer beings.”

-What does that…

“After that, I realized that something was weird. I realized it as I was dying. The sunset hero stood up without Lucifer’s help and succeeded in driving away the outer god. After that, I couldn’t tell what I was supposed to do. One thing is certain. I didn’t want her intervention in the first place. To completely liberate the continent from the grip of the devil, to separate completely from external intervention… I belatedly realized that those were my purpose.”

“Yeah?”

“That’s why I have limited communication with the continent. Hyunsung, whose characteristics continue to be maintained, and Hyejin, who just became my representative today, are my only communication channels. It isn’t possible to stabilize connections under the current situation, and it is very burdensome to show up on a statue and send an oracle.”

I could see Cho Hyejin quietly looking at the spear. She seemed speechless. She seemed confused about what to say first.

I didn’t know if she even understood everything I said. Honestly, I also couldn’t fathom the situations I listed.

‘She seems to understand, though.’

-Are you avoiding the possibility of contacting the demon named Lucifer?

“Something like that.’

-The contents of the contract may be that the Guild Master stabs the Vice Guild Master. If the reward weren’t the power to deal with foreign beings, but your resurrection… inevitably, there would’ve been situations where you would get help from Lucifer.

“Yes. You’re right. What I’m thinking is a slightly different possibility, but that reason is also included.”

-If you get Lucifer’s help, do you mean that the demon will intervene in the continent?

“Yes. That’s also right.”

-You were looking for a way to come back on your own.

“Yes.”

-That… That way is…

“I’m still looking for it. What is clear is that I can come back there. I believe in my past self. It’s on me that I have encountered an unexpected situation, but I believe that the error is part of my calculations. It’s a fixed story for me to come back, and I won’t get any help from Lucifer in the process. I wonder if this situation was also what I intended before I lost my memory.”

-Is that true?

“Yes, there was an arrangement. I prepared a space for me to gain time. I accepted this as finding a way to go back and getting ready to screw with Lucifer. Oh, of course, I can’t do it alone. I also need help from down there.”

-So you sent me the spear?

“Yes. Of course, there are other reasons as well. There is something we need to stop. In fact, I didn’t know that things would go awry as soon as the big war was over, but someone is planning to destroy the continent completely.”

-What?

“Actually, you also know her.”

-…

“It’s Lee Jihye.”

-What are you…

“Have you heard of regression? It seemed like she thought it was possible to return everything to the beginning. I can’t see her even when I seek from above… Anyway, that’s it. Let’s try to stop them together.”

-What… What do you mean… you mean… Jihye? I mean… why would Jihye suddenly…

She looked like she couldn’t believe it. That was understandable.

‘Ah…’

She seemed to be very disconcerted. Still looking confused, she probably couldn’t accept that Lee Jihye would act that way, even in her dreams.

-That’s nonsense… nonsense…

“If we don’t stop her, everything will really collapse. That’s how serious the situation is.”

-There is no way Jihye would think that. Didn’t you just misunderstand something? She’s not the one to do that.

I had to say something to convince her. That woman was good at making a good impression, after all.

“I am not totally sure, but…”

-…

“Perhaps a demon was involved here as well.”

I wasn’t even lying at this point.