Chapter 847: The Last (80)

He definitely didn’t look like me, but…

‘It was a good ending.’

Perhaps the reason he’d thrown himself into a fight he was unlikely to win was that he wanted to produce such a result. He had personally judged that there was no chance of winning, so he’d thrown himself into a dim possibility.

Had it all been to get her respect?

It was probably the best option he’d thought of since he had no more cards left.

It wasn’t a bad choice. It had to have been a gamble, but he’d probably had his own convictions.

He might have already figured out what kind of person she was, what kind of thoughts she was living with, and what kind of disposition she had.

They hadn’t talked to each other much, but he could have easily noticed.

Cha Hee-ra didn’t bother to hide her nature. She always revealed what kind of person she was.

He’d said he wasn’t a warrior, but he wanted to be treated as one, and his wish had been granted.

I didn’t know if he had really been able to get what he wanted, but Heera would probably respect his death and choices.

-Definitely…

“What?”

-I think I know what it means to say that person was created based on the Vice Guild Master.

“Based on what?”

-I can’t describe it in one word, but… his sacrifice… I think there may have been other motives behind it.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“…”

-But he didn’t choose anything. Instead of sacrificing someone else, he ended up dying himself. Maybe he was having a hard time. He’d rather have ended it…

“I never give up.”

-Maybe he thought it would be better to tie the knot on his own terms.

“That kind of thought…”

-This isn’t like you. It reminds me of how you were in the war with the outer gods.

“It’s a little different from that, but… I’ll admit that there are some similarities…”

I could see him slowly fading away.

The scene where a group of small stars dispersed was quite enjoyable, but not to the point where I could feel complex emotions like Cho Hyejin.

Cha Hee-ra silently stared at it and paid tribute to the warrior’s death. She then congratulated herself for getting her pride back, clenching her fists.

Her smile caught my eyes.

Why wouldn’t she be worried? Cha Hee-ra had believed she could do it, but she wouldn’t have been able to ignore the small trauma buried deep within. In her own way, she had once again crossed the wall, and she’d managed to achieve what she wanted.

She raised her body once more, patted the Red Mercenary on the back nonchalantly, and began to walk.

“So… what clues…?”

-I’ll send Alps to check.

“Go for it. There might be some left. Since the event has been successfully cleared, we should expect to unfold a lot of things.”

-Maybe there’s a hint, something that Jihye left for the Vice Guild Master, or… at least there might be something we can use to control what will happen next…

“Anyway, Hyejin, please finish that.”

-Okay.

“I want to leave the post-processing to Heera, but I think it would be better to leave it to you.”

-And you…

“I’ll have to look at Hyunsung.”

-Is the Guild Master okay?

Well… I don’t know.

He wouldn’t be okay.

‘If he’s okay, he’s not human.’

It was impossible for him to feel okay.

It was difficult for even Cha Hee-ra to face her own trauma. How would Kim Hyunsung, who was weak at heart, be okay if he had suffered the biggest trauma?

His mental state was on the verge of breaking like a cookie, and his whole body couldn’t move properly.

Perhaps he hadn’t met him yet. He had to be scared.

‘Hee-ra…’

She had given him the right gift. She knew very well what gave Kim Hyunsung the most pain.

However, maybe that bastard would push through it.

I was worried that he knew about the third round, but… I thought he’d get over it. He just needed something to trigger it. Yes. He just needed something.

When I turned my gaze, I saw him looking at my personification, which was covered in scars.

It was as expected, but it wasn’t satisfying to see.

‘Isn’t that a little too much?’

It seemed a bit exaggerated. Blood was constantly oozing from both arms as if they were being scraped with a saw blade, and his legs were wobbly.

It looked like he had been torn apart, to the extent that I couldn’t understand how he was moving.

His neck was severely bruised. The handprints on it were clear.

One side of his face was swollen, and above all, the scar on his abdomen was so terrible that I couldn’t even look at it properly.

As if in pain, tears were constantly flowing from his eyes, and as he moved, he covered the pure white, snowy mountains with blood. The lovely regressor, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, was as good-looking as before, but he also seemed pale.

He was trying to look away, seemingly about to vomit at any moment. He was also quietly looking at him with hesitating gestures, as if he wanted to say something, but he quietly lowered his head, unable to utter any words.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad sign that he looked like that because I still didn’t know the exact conditions for clearing this event.

I didn’t know how it would turn out, so it was better than taking a hostile look right away.

—Hyunsung.

-…

—Hyunsung.

-…

—Hyunsung?

-…

‘This bastard even talks.’

It was natural, but he couldn’t speak properly. Being able to talk at all was a miracle.

-Yes…

—It seems that a lot of things have happened.

-Yes…

—It seems like a lot has happened since we first met. We’ve talked and reminisced every time, and we’ve made a lot of memories. For me to become close to someone I was even a little awkward with…

-…

—I do not resent you.

‘What? Fuck. What are you aiming for?’

It was a bit disconcerting because it wasn’t what I’d expected.

I thought he would say something like, ‘Do you dare kill me? I will resent you and curse you, but it is more peaceful than I thought.’

There was no feeling of hostility or anger for Kim Hyunsung on the expression of a slightly better-made event NPC.

Rather, he was warm and had the face of a saint who seemed to understand everything.

—It was what I wanted and hoped. I was always looking at what was happening here, constantly looking for the conditions under which we could be happy together, but I always found what happened at this place. I know it’s absurd, but it was necessary to beat them. Somebody’s sacrifice was necessary to protect the continent, and I thought I had to become that person.

-…

—I’m sorry… for leaving you with an indelible wound.

-I’m… rather… I… I’m sorry…

‘What the hell? Why are you doing this? Why is it like this, Jihye? Can it go like this? Can this proceed in such a warm atmosphere?’

No, of course, Kim Hyunsung seemed to be in severe pain.

To put it a little more bluntly, he looked like he was on the verge of collapse.

I’d thought he would be able to face some of the previous events with a few additional small events.

Still, I’d given him a sword, sometimes talked to him, given him courage, and done everything I could possibly do on my part.

It was too early to say that he had completely recovered psychologically, but at least I had succeeded in preventing suicide attempts. It wasn’t wrong to say that excellent psychological treatment had been applied.

Even so, I’d never expected that the things I had built up so quickly would collapse.

His breathing was unstable.

Tears were already welling up in his eyes. I didn’t know what he was looking at, but he was staring at his arm. It was like he was checking to see if my blood was on him. He was looking around anxiously.

It was hard for me to breathe because of the influence of the Regressor Instruction Manual.

He gripped the sword I had given to help him find peace of mind, but he immediately let go of it because of the coldness that enveloped it.

He touched his face, seemingly coming to his senses.

-I… I’m sorry. I… I… I’m so sorry. I… did something I shouldn’t have… I… I… sniff… I… what…? What have I done…? I… I…

—…

- Blaaaaargh…

—…

- Kiyoung… Kiyoung…

—…

The way he rushed in looked too shameful.

I didn’t know if that bastard was the real hero of the continent. What was he going to do if that was the enemy?

Of course, I didn’t feel like that, but how could you get closer if it was like a bomb?

In the meantime, he tried to heal his wounds.

Did he have any awareness of being a dungeon event NPC? Was he really distinguishing this from reality right now?

Had someone put hallucinatory magic or unconscious awareness magic here?

-Stay still. Sniff… sniff… The wound… will open.

—…

- Don’t move anymore. If you keep moving… it’s dangerous. I’m saying it’s dangerous.

“That’s not me.”

-Is your… Is your neck okay? Sniff… Sniff…

—Yeah. It’s fine, Hyunsung. I don’t feel any pain. I am a fragment of his memory. A small fragment of his memory that met his end here…

“Perhaps it’s a lie. It’s such crappy acting.”

—I have a small request for you, Hyunsung.

-Yeah? Yes…

—Can you listen?

-Yes… Yes…

—Can you grant my wish?

‘At best, kill yourself, or please die. Those kinds of lines… are already…’

—Do it again.

-What?

He grabbed Kim Hyunsung’s sleeve and looked up at him.

—Kill me once more.

He smiled, looking at Kim Hyunsung with a strange expression that even I had never made before.

“Ah… fuck…”

—Kill… kill me again.

[The main event of the mythic-grade dungeon, the Continent Where the Son of Light was Sacrificed, has begun.]