Chapter 993: The End of the Social Gathering (4)

‘Why is he here?’

It all happened in a flash. It was so sudden that I fell into a daze.

I thought I was seeing things, so I rubbed my eyes and looked at him again, but nothing changed. Kim-whatever was looking at me while crying. He was probably heartbroken by how pitiful I looked. I told myself that I had to say something, but this drunkard had appeared so suddenly that I had no idea how to react to it.

‘If I say… who are you…’

If I were to say that, the atmosphere would turn for the worse.

It was a card I could use someday, but this wasn’t the right time to use that card.

‘This wasn’t part of the plan.’

Kim Hyun-Sung’s intrusion was the most unlikely variable out of all the variables I had in mind.

‘Was there another invitation?’

I was convinced that there was another invitation, but how did he even find it? Wait… what made us lose connection? How did he get his memories back? How did he come here?

The future had already changed, so it was possible that a rift had appeared in the system, as the future wasn't set in stone yet. Despite that, it was an undeniable fact that the future had already changed. Otherwise, my eye wouldn’t have changed.

‘Did he use the invitation that Spirit Gelk had in hand?’

I didn't exist in the changed future, so it was highly likely that the invitation I had used was in the bag that Spirit Gelk was carrying.

I had to enter the iron maiden first before the raid on Gelk would happen, so there were things I had yet to figure out.

When one thing became suspicious, everything would become suspicious. I was also worried about the fact that the future had changed quicker than I thought. It changed before I could enter the iron maiden. The difference was only a few hours, but…

‘It doesn’t make sense that Kim Hyun-Sung managed to find me so quickly.’

I couldn’t come up with a decent theory about that, as I didn’t know exactly what had happened in the future, but I could make a reasonable assumption.

‘If he forgot me intentionally…’

There was a chance that the expedition group had decided to forget me intentionally. I was not sure how they went about that, but they had to have decided to change the future on their end.

With that in mind, I made several assumptions about what had happened.

First of all, the expedition group had to have been really confused when they realized that their memories of the Saint of Light were gradually disappearing. This was just my first assumption, but I was sure that most of them tried not to forget about me.

Kim Hyun-Sung or Jung Ha-Yan had probably brought disaster to the expedition group, and it was possible that the future started changing at that point in time. It also matched the timeline when Commander Jin sent that Morse code.

My second assumption was that they decided to accept the changes in the future upon thinking of a method that was still unknown to me. Unfortunately, their acceptance happened earlier than I had planned.

I was sure I could ask this Kim whatever-guy, but the Hero of Shadows knew the answer as well. The expedition group working with the Blue Guild had probably rejected the idea of accepting the changed future, so I was sure the idea to do this came from Commander Jin.

He was probably trying his best not to forget about me. In the end, however, he decided to accept the changes first instead of waiting for it to come.

Why would he do that?

It was all for the sake of using Gelk’s invitation to come here at the right time.

If they attempted to use the invitation once I had already become Altanus, then this Kim whatever-guy wouldn’t have arrived here in time, but that wasn’t the only reason behind Commander Jin's decision.

He probably thought it was impossible to avoid the future that had already changed, but it was a different story when it came to a future that could still be changed. He probably believed that he could avoid getting affected by the changes.

‘It happened inside the dungeon first, so only the members who were part of the expedition group at the time could have accepted the changes before anyone else could do so.’

The future inside the dungeon had changed, but the future outside the dungeon had remained the same. The reason the Hero of Shadows encouraged those members to accept the changes was that he wanted to rely on the people outside the dungeon.

I would often forget this fact, but…

‘But Ji-Hye noona is controlling a succubus.’

It was a reasonable way of making the Blue Guild remember me.

My third assumption was that Lee Ji-Hye probably entered Kim Hyun-Sung’s dream to wake him up and make him use the invitation that Spirit Gelk was carrying with him.

‘They must be out of their minds.’

There was no guarantee that they'd succeed. It was probably their first time experiencing a phenomenon where the present was changing because of the future, and they also didn't have enough time and manpower to do some research on it.

They could use the Dummy World, but there was no guarantee that Dummy World would show the same results as reality.

Even the tiniest variable during the process could result in them getting lost in other dimensions; they could easily find themselves trapped in a completely unfamiliar dimension, and they'd be forced to wander in that dimension for eternity.

‘Those crazy bastards.’

I was talking about Jin Cheong, as he was definitely the one who made that suggestion, but the people who had accepted his suggestion were crazy as well.

Jung Ha-Yan could have been torn apart by the work that she had to do; all because of Jin Cheong's assumption.

“Kim Hyun-Sung, you…” I paused.

“I-I… want to become a regressor,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“...”

“I want to become a regressor. I don’t want a future where I’m not the regressor,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“...”

“I have to become the regressor,” Kim Hyun-Sung demanded.

‘Really? Then you can add being a regressor to your plan.’

“Everyone is waiting. They’re waiting for you to come back, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

I finally knew how I was getting messages from the future.

It wasn’t from the future. He was sending messages to me upon getting invited here.

“Mr. Ki-Young… you don’t need to do this anymore,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

‘I agree.’

If it weren't for the future I had seen through Kasugano Yuno, I honestly wouldn’t have come here.

‘If I go back now, will everything be ready?’

Was there any guarantee that I wouldn't encounter that future again? The Blue Guild’s obsession to get me back was praiseworthy… but could they

avoid

that future? Was I ready? Had I prepared everything that I needed as the Priest of Prophecy?

I was honestly worried, and the reason I came up with Plan B was to get rid of this anxiety. I had to control every single detail, and this was the only way that I could do that. If I weren't a crazy control freak, I wouldn’t have come here.

I tried to move, but I couldn’t move at all.

“Belial?”

[...]

“What are you doing?”

[I’ve got my hands full.]

“What the hell are you talking about?”

[I really need to take care of this.]

“You…”

And that was when I saw something strange…

‘What the… What is this? What is this?’

I was the only one feeling cozy and comfortable. Everything around me had distorted, and I could hear creaking noises everywhere.

Kim Hyun-Sung’s mana had pervaded everything nearby, and even the pitch-black virtual visual effects were being suppressed.

I could see that Belial was getting ready to leave, and it was probably because he believed that he wouldn't be able to handle what was going to happen next. It made sense, as he wasn't here in his complete form, after all.

Meanwhile, Bahamut's eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at me.

He could feel himself getting suppressed as well.

'He’ll grow stronger in the future.'

Bahamut was just a four-star character, so wouldn’t be able to beat the seven-star Kim Hyun-Sung. I could already feel that he was instinctively afraid of Kim Hyun-Sung.

“W-Who are you…” Bahamut stammered. His reaction made the 4D battle that happened just now look like it was nothing. He was covered in sweat, and his fear was no different from his fear of knowing that the demon’s seed was inside of him.

He was truly afraid of Kim Hyun-Sung.

A hostile air pervaded the hall, and the pressure was mounting. Bahamut was afraid that his head would detach from his shoulders if he moved even just a bit. He was always a predator, but he was suddenly the prey, so he had no idea what to do.

The Sunset Demon. Kim Hyun-Sung probably looked like that in Bahamut’s eyes.

“What the… hell are you…” Bahamut asked.

“...”

“I-I asked what you are!” Bahamut shouted.

“...”

“L-Let go… of the Priest of Prophecy… Sunset… Demon…” Bahamut mumbled.

“Mr. Ki-Young…” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Y-You… monster…” Bahamut mumbled.

I had to say something.

“Don’t kill him,” I said.

'Don’t kill Bahamut. He's the hero of this era, and he's the shield that the continent needs until it's stable.'

[I’ll be heading out now.]

‘Wait, Belial. If you do that…”

[You violated the contract first.

He's...

not part of the contract. Anyway… I had fun.]

“You…”

[As my parting gift, I’ll leave that ominous black smoke here. However, it’s going to disappear soon.]

“The future… The future will change. If you kill him…” I paused.

“...”

“Let go of him!” Bahamut shouted.

In the end, Bahamut got up. However, he was blasted away with a

boom

, and he slammed into a wall.

‘Shit, how did he do that?’

I couldn’t do anything.

“Let’s go back,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

Kim Hyun-Sung went from being the “I’m sorry” robot to the “let’s go back” robot.

“What.. the hell… are you?! You monster!” Bahamut yelled as he got up with dirt all over him.

[I wonder how this will end.]

The Monarch of Lies and Instigation became an onlooker.

“He’s not an enemy, Templar… Bahamut," Altanus said, stepping forward.

“...?” I glanced at her, as her words were just absurd.

I looked up at Kim Hyun-Sung, and he seemed relieved upon seeing Altanus.

‘The two of you…’

“...”

‘The two of you… met. You met Altanus… before coming here.’

I realized that I lost my right to make a decision the moment Kim Hyun-Sung arrived here.

“I want to thank you for the things you've done… and are trying to do by coming to this shabby place,” Altanus said.

The atmosphere changed instantly.

“I’d like to thank you, Father. You… have… no idea how touched I was. I can’t explain it, but…” Altanus trailed off. Her determined voice sounded loud and clear as she continued, “However, the Underground Temple is where I must be… I must be responsible for it, and I must protect this place.

"The destruction of the continent is something

I

must endure; it is not for an outsider to endure. It’s also my job to sacrifice myself for the continent,” Altanus continued.

“Benigoa?” I said.

Our eyes met. It was brief, but I felt something indescribable.

“...”

“...”

“This brief social gathering has ended, so…” Altanus trailed off.

“...”

“

Haa… Hmm.

”

“...”

“Be careful on your way back…” Altanus said. She placed her hands on her stomach and bowed. I wanted to stretch my hand out toward her, but her appearance resembled the noble and holy goddess whom I had in mind, so… all I could do was stare at her.

“Let’s meet again, Father. In the far future,” Altanus said.

I closed my eyes.