Chapter 983: Altanus (20)

It was a precious secret that I had been keeping to myself this whole time.

I wondered if this was how Kim Hyun-Sung felt right before confessing to me.

My hands and feet were shaking a bit, and it was hard to maintain a composed face.

It was difficult to tell someone this precious secret. There was this anxiety about whether she would believe me or not. I was also worried that she'd think I was crazy, so I was finding it hard to stay calm.

‘I can just imitate Hyun-Sung and act like a sad little puppy.’

Three seconds later, I could then have an anxiety attack.

I looked calm, but anyone could tell that I was nervous.

I also needed to act like I was worried about being abandoned.

However, the look in my eyes was the most important.

Showing the pain I felt over the years of my life in my eyes was incredibly important here. My method acting had gotten to such a terrifying level after years of experience that I had goosebumps all over me.

Benigoa even looked nervous while listening to my nonsense.

I had the ability to make my nonsense not sound like nonsense.

‘Yeah, I'm a regressor.’

The setting was like this—A priest working aboveground coincidentally met Benigoa, and the two developed deep feelings toward her. In the end, I decided to stay underground for her sake, and our fate was going to be either tragic or happy ever after.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to stop Saint Altanus' downfall. I wouldn't be able to protect her from her tragic end, and I would end up dying as well. Through an unknown power, however, I became a regressor, going back in time a few days before receiving an invitation.

I suffered through the same hardships again through the fate that was bestowed upon me, and after attending the social gathering once more, I started making a plan. Yeah, a plan to save Benigoa—no, Altanus.

“What are you—”

“I understand it’s hard to believe. I know it sounds ridiculous, especially coming from a person you just met. I’m not asking you to believe me. I’m not asking you to… believe and follow me. It’s just…” I trailed off.

“What do you mean?” Benigoa asked.

“I just… want you to know that I came here in order to protect you, Miss Benigoa. Just… Just hear me out for now,” I begged.

“That… can’t be… A regressor? That’s nonsense…” Benigoa mumbled.

Obviously, she was confused at first and was denying reality. I didn’t expect her to believe me right away, but I thought her reaction wasn’t that bad. At least she didn’t look at me as if I were a lunatic. Instead of just laughing at me, she was actually shocked.

“You called me Benigoa because…”

“I didn’t want you to be called Altanus. You wanted me to call you Benigoa whenever we were alone,” I told her.

“The library!” Benigoa shouted.

“Our meeting in the library wasn’t intentional. I tried to avoid you, but…” I trailed off.

We ended up meeting, as that was what destiny had in store for me.

I couldn't avoid destiny even if I wanted to avoid it.

I called her Benigoa because I couldn’t hide my feelings for her.

Benigoa and I were tied together by an invisible soul string.

“I can’t believe you, Father. I’m sorry, but that’s ridiculous…” Benigoa said.

“Like I said earlier, I’m not telling you this because I want you to believe me, Miss Benigoa. What I want to tell you is…” I paused.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

“...”

“Saint Altanus will lose her power,” I revealed.

“...”

I’m lucky.

“I don’t know why, but Saint Altanus’ power will gradually disappear,” I said.

Her expression became stiff.

“No one knows it right now, but everyone will eventually know the fact that she is gradually losing her power,” I said.

She was losing her power, even now, and she was aware of it.

“The continent will start collapsing,” I continued.

“...”

“Lady Lucifer… Lady Lucifer will abandon the continent,” I added.

“That’s not true! She wouldn’t abandon us…” Benigoa argued.

“She won’t answer you,” I told her.

“...”

“Have you heard it before?” I asked.

“...”

“Have you ever heard… her voice?” I asked.

“N-Nonsense! You expect me to believe that?!” Benigoa shouted.

“Tell me if you ever felt her,” I said.

I was sure she had never heard Lucifer's voice before, as Lucifer had already decided to abandon the continent. Right now, I was sure Lucifer was thinking about running away after squeezing as much profit as she could from the continent.

“The continent will collapse, and the unthinkable will happen. Saint Altanus… Saint Altanus will choose to sacrifice herself. She’ll lock herself up in the iron maiden, and she'd become the continent's foundation to protect it, I explained.

I felt like I’d been crying a lot these days, so I wasn’t sure if I could even cry some more, but this was the time to cry.

“That can’t be…” Benigoa mumbled.

“...”

“It’s a lie…” Benigoa said.

“The Templars will become thirsty for your blood. The surface world and this underground temple will be in chaos. That’s all I know,” I told her.

“Lies…” Benigoa said.

'Yeah, I’m lying. A big… I mean, a white lie.'

“Father…” Benigoa said.

“In order to take you out from the iron maiden…” I trailed off.

I could still remember how I struggled and did my best to no avail.

The world had pressured her to sacrifice herself, and if Benigoa didn't step into the iron maiden, the continent would be destroyed. In exchange for suffering inside the iron maiden, she'd obtain a massive amount of her holy power, and she'd use it to protect the continent.

By then, I was sure no one in the Underground Temple wanted her to come out from the iron maiden, and the ones who made it worse were the Templars.

Lee Ki-Young, who had attempted to take her out, met a tragic end.

“So that’s… how you died,” Benigoa said.

“...”

“If… what you say is true…” Benigoa paused.

'I think I almost got her…'

“What exactly were we?” Benigoa asked.

“We were… lovers,” I answered.

'You think I'll risk my life for an acquaintance?'

“How… d-d-did we become… l-lovers?” she asked.

I proceeded to tell her our story, and of course, I made sure my story would sound reasonable. It was painful for me, but I spoke as if I were enjoying it. It was painful to recall our memories, but I was overjoyed to share with her the time we spent together.

Of course, I exaggerated some parts of it.

‘Like how she always wanted to come outside.’

“That’s… what you always said,” I told her.

‘That you wanted to be normal...’

“You always wanted to live a normal life…” I continued.

‘And you didn’t want to be a saint...’

Benigoa's thoughts were pretty obvious. All I did was exaggerate. I told her stories unknown to her, and I told her things that she wanted to hear. I told her every little detail, such as how we often ate together, stayed up late together, and prayed together.

‘Damn it, I’m wasting too much time.’

I was becoming anxious by the minute, but Benigoa seemed to be enjoying my stories, regardless of whether they were true or not. I knew why, as these were the stories she wanted to hear. I was sure it was entertaining for her.

“I knew it. You have a knack for making people feel frustrated,” Benigoa commented.

“...”

“I’m sure I did that because of how frustrated I felt. You should have been aggressive,” Benigoa said.

“...”

“I was wondering why you were so aggressive when we first met… You did that because you regretted your previous life.

Ah!

This doesn’t mean I believe you yet. I’m saying this on the assumption that you're telling me the truth,” Benigoa said.

She probably felt like she had returned from being Altanus to Benigoa.

“

Haha.

That’s right,” I laughed.

I received another quest completion message.

'Ten hours…'

We spent two hours just talking and laughing with each other.

‘Damn it…’

“So…” Benigoa said.

“Yes?”

“So if… what you’re saying is the truth, what do I need to do?” Benigoa asked.

“...” “You don’t need to do anything,” I replied.

“What?”

“Like I said, you don’t need to do anything. You just need to enjoy your life,” I clarified.

“H-How can you say that?” Benigoa stuttered.

“That’s the reason I came here,” I told her.

“What exactly are you planning on doing?

Ah

… I’m asking under the assumption that what you’re telling me is the truth,” Benigoa reminded.

“I won’t let you sacrifice yourself,” I said.

“...”

'I’m going to sacrifice myself in your place because that’s my job. I can’t let anyone else do it. This is a win-win situation for you because you'll get to live, and you won't have to do anything, too.'

I spread my wings slightly to show that I could support the continent in her place.

Obviously, Benigoa’s eyes widened.

“

Huh?

”

My holy wings and my status as a regressor weren’t related in any way.

I simply spread my wings, but anyone could easily misunderstand that my regressor status and my holy wings were related.

‘Would a guy with such holy wings really lie?'

'You think a person who’s emitting such a holy light while crying holy tears would lie?'

I patted her head.

I had no idea whether it was because of my habit of patting her head or not, but even I thought that I was acting in a surprisingly natural way.

Altanus didn’t pose awkwardly like Benigoa; her pose just now felt really out of place.

She had done this a few times in my past life, and she reacted naturally as well as if it were a long-time habit of hers.

“...”

“So it was true…” Benigoa mumbled.

I nodded and kissed her forehead.

She was surprised, but she didn’t avoid it as if she was possessed by something.

“

Ah…

”

I remained quiet and enjoyed it.

“It’s a shame that our meeting was short… but it looks like we won’t have much time to spend together,” I told her.

“...”

“Actually…” I paused.

“...”

“There's something I want to tell you if we ever meet again,” I said.

“...” “I love you,” I confessed.

'Smile sadly here…'

“I-I…” Benigoa stuttered.

“I love you,” I repeated.

“I…”

Benigoa was at a loss for words, and all she could do was blink her big eyes.

She was pretty naive, and she seemed to have gotten immersed in my story because she started crying.

“This time… I’ll protect you, Miss Benigoa,” I told her.

I had to say some cliched lines.

And that was when I heard another loud explosion…

“I’ll be back,” I said.

I had ten hours left.

“Shiit… I only have ten hours left...”

Kabooooom!

“Only ten hours left...”

Actually, it could be shorter than that.

Since I had chosen a clear route…

‘I might end up getting forgotten.’

I felt like the others were already starting to forget me. It was probably just me, but I felt like one of my eyes reflected on the window was… losing its light.