Chapter 871: The End of the Scenario (4)

‘Why is he so serious?’

Of course, there was never a time when Kim Hyunsung wasn’t serious, but he seemed to be more determined than usual, which made me worry.

‘Well, it’s good to be serious. The people will be more absorbed.’

Looking at the huge villain in front of him, I felt like we had definitely reached the end of the scenario.

From his perspective, he probably thought that he couldn’t ruin things this time around.

He was probably paying more attention than usual because this was an opportunity that the Blue Guild members had created together.

It might feel like we had invested nothing, but the Blue Guild wasn’t invincible.

Unlike Jung Hayan, who could continuously recharge her magic power, the resources that other guild members could use were limited.

There was a limit to Elena and Sun Hee-young’s divine power. The same went for Hwang Jeong-yeon’s magic power and the frontline’s physical capacity.

Unsurprisingly, those who had become exhausted stood out. There were wounds all over their bodies that hadn’t yet been healed by divine power, and the condition of their equipment was troubling.

I had to applaud their efforts for bringing Kim Hyunsung here while battling a high-level monster.

‘Their mission doesn’t end here.’

The party’s purpose was to remove as many obstacles as possible and assist Kim Hyunsung the best they could to fight in a safe environment.

His battle wasn’t the only aspect of this war that was difficult.

The guild members spread the magic square and immediately prepared for the next fight. Even highly experienced adventurers wouldn’t want to continue a mission while surrounded by the enemy camp.

The Blue Guild was no exception. Cho Hyejin’s specialty would be sealed off, and it was difficult to protect all of the rearguards with her small hands.

Sun Hee-young and Hwang Jeong-yeon, who were wearing melee equipment, would also need to take action to protect them.

“Hyung. Let’s go.”

“Good luck, Guild Master.”

“Cheer up, Oppa.”

“I’ll see you later, Guild Master.”

“Woof!”

Everyone saw Kim Hyunsung off in their own way. Even Whitey.

He nodded slightly and spread his wings once more.

Song Sookyung threw out more provocations, but he wasn’t agitated. Since his purpose was now clear, nothing else came to his mind.

As soon as Kim Hyunsung jumped out, the party members started fighting.

Not just the Blue Guild. No one had withdrawn from the battle that would determine the fate of the continent. Loud noises and screams echoed across the place.

The voices calling for the Son of Light were tense, as were the soldiers repeatedly muttering the God of Sunset’s name. The priests looked at the Sunset Swordsman, who was emitting a bright light.

Perhaps they were gaining courage.

The sight was giving them the strength to fight and the hope that they could win.

Kim Hyunsung was more like a god than a human, but he was more human than anyone else.

The expression and behavior he was showing now had the power to make anyone look at and even follow him.

Understandably, Song Sookyung was obsessed with Kim Hyunsung. Of course, his goal was a little different, but Kim Hyunsung...

‘You are a real hero.’

Kim Hyunsung was perfect and the most amazing hero. Fuck.

Bang!!!

The Sunset Swordsman collided with the Song Villain, who had swallowed the soul of the Son of Light.

It was as if the sunset spread wherever Kim Hyunsung passed. The way the reddish brilliance continued to fill the space was so beautiful that it made me speechless.

‘This scene isn’t bad.’

Huge tentacles flew in, but Kim Hyunsung didn’t care.

They all lost their power as soon as they got hit by Jung Hayan’s magic.

-Kiyoung.

Huh?

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

-Thank you.

What? Suddenly...

-Really... I’ve received so much from you that I don’t know what to say.

‘I’m glad you know. I’ve invested so much in you that I’m still trying to break even. Regardless, I’m proud of you. Anyway, are you telling me this through the Regressor Instruction Manual for me to hear? I shouldn’t be hearing this now. I hope you understand that I can’t reply.’

Kim Hyunsung swung his sword. Dozens of light rays were fired and lodged deep in the red demon’s body.

-I have received so many things from you in so many ways that it is impossible to enumerate them one by one. Compared to the time I first came to the continent, it seems a lot has changed. You also mentioned it before, but at that time, I...

Right. I had.

-Back then, I don’t think I had the time to think about why I returned. All I could do was worry about what would happen in the future or resent my situation... There was nothing else I could do. As you know, I was a bit stupid and couldn’t think deeply about various things.

‘No, you’re not stupid. It’s not good to blame yourself excessively.’

-You’re the one who made me realize that there are many things I can do here. You made me realize that we could have fun too. Changing my perspective made me a lot happier. Before, expeditions or dungeon explorations always felt annoying. But now, even trivial things like useless meetings and training have become fun. I’ve even gained a hobby. There are things I want to collect, and there are many things I want to do.

‘Right. Right. I’ve heard all of that before.’

-Fishing at Mirror Lake and going in and out of the auction house, I think, were good sources of happiness for me.

‘It wasn’t to get me a gift, but to vent your stress, right?’

-Riding a griffon and looking at the sky, eating and drinking coffee in a nice place, reading a newspaper, or sharing people’s interests. It’s not much, but texting and spending time with guild members became fun.

Right.

-I have a lot of people around me now. They’re the ones I can call family, not comrades in arms. They became more important to me than I thought they would.

‘I’m getting embarrassed. I actually did a lot of things, huh. You’re exaggerating a bit, but... They’re actually true. I guess I really am great, considering I even melted our regressor’s frozen heart.’

-But all of this wasn’t because of me. It may not have been as much as you, but I think I had quite a lot of fun.

He continued the story a little calmer, but Kim Hyunsung still looked tense.

He soared through the air with his wings wide open.

Various attacks were fired against Kim Hyunsung, but he easily twisted his body to avoid them or swung his sword to destroy them.

Climbing even higher, he again readied his weapon as he moved toward the demon.

-It’s all thanks to Kiyoung. Yeah... It’s all thanks to you.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Damn it, stop talking nonsense!”

Oh, right. The Song Villain was connected to him too.

He might’ve been able to receive his thoughts exactly as I did. Song Sookyung had probably been spying on Kim Hyunsung’s desperate letter to me, which was why he was so agitated.

I kept hearing Kim Hyunsung’s voice. To be honest, I found witnessing all the trivial stories being unraveled interesting.

A bond united us, after all. That made this more fun.

-As much as I am grateful, I am also very sorry. I should’ve been a little stronger and a little smarter. This isn’t the first time I’ve had this thought. It seems that I didn’t think of you as much as you thought of me. I may have gotten used to being on the receiving end.

He was telling me all kinds of things.

-I’m sorry. There are limited ways to pay you back for what I received. If you hadn’t had a hobby of collecting bags, I probably would’ve found doing so a lot harder.

No, fuck, I didn’t have that kind of hobby.

-It’s all thanks to you. You changed me and taught me to make sacrifices. I learned how to communicate with others and how to understand them. Of course, I couldn’t do what I learned properly, but I was able to feel and think about many things because of you. Still, I feel resentful. Why do you have to suffer like this, why does it have to be you, why do you allow yourself to be tormented so much for the continent? I don’t understand your motives at all, but I think I finally understand why you love this place and its people.

Tentacles tried to grab him, but he disposed of them swiftly. He then continued to move, seemingly getting faster.

He twisted his body in the air, scattering even more light.

A lot of people were watching him, watching the God of Sunset, with blank expressions.

The demon’s loud voice fell on deaf ears for a moment. Soon enough, even he started watching Kim Hyunsung in silence.

-You should enjoy all of this. It’s not me but you who deserves these things. So... so... I’ve thought of a way to return everything I received.

Right. That was a very good attitude. I liked that.

-I’m scared.

‘Of what?’

– I’m afraid of things I hadn’t even thought of before.

‘What are you afraid of? You have to make it more understandable for me.’

-There were times when I thought that I would rather have things end, but now I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do everything I want to do.

‘What’s wrong? You can live your life as you please soon enough. Once this is over, our suffering will be too. At that moment, our happiness will begin.’

-I’m just an ordinary person, unlike you. However, I know how valuable it is to sacrifice myself for something. I can’t make that sacrifice for the continent, but I can make it for you, who’s given me more than I deserve. It is probably similar to how you look at this place and its people. It’s less sublime, but you’re more valuable to me than anything else.

‘Okay. Sacrifice is a good word. Dedicate your life to it.’

Booooooooooom!!!!

With a loud sound, he collided against the red demon.

“...”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!!!”

Typical cheers echoed from a distance.

It was as if the world were shining brightly.

In the blink of an eye, Kim Hyunsung’s face appeared right in front of me.

He stabbed our enemy’s chest with his sword. After letting go of his weapon, he reached out to me.

‘Good.’

He removed the tentacles that were constantly clinging to him and trying to drag him down.

“...”

“I... I just...”

“...”

It had been so long since his face had been covered in tears.

He quietly nodded and spoke slowly.

“Thank you so much.”

‘Okay.’

“I’m so sorry I was such a quiet guy.”

‘Oh, stop saying you’re sorry.’

“You tried to protect me until the end... Thank... Thank...”

‘What are you talking about now?’

Kim Hyunsung smiled.

“Goodbye.”

He grabbed the pendant hanging from his neck.

‘Huh?’

With a melancholic tone of voice, he spoke once more.

“Goodbye...”

‘Huh...?’

“I hope... I hope we can meet again someday...”