ch 262
Became a Swordsmanship Instructor at the Academy
Chapter 262
I had no choice but to ask Kainakan to help when sister Luciel returns.
It seemed like the three of them wouldn't be able to hold out for long, so I tried to go back, but for some reason, even when I tore the leaves, I couldn't move to the original world.
When I fell into despair, Kainakan approached.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't go back."
"That can't be right."
Kainakan gave me a new leaf again, but still nothing happened.
"You said black fog, right? That must be the Demon King's spatial barrier magic, and it seems like it's not working because of that."
"Then what do we do? Isn't there any way? A way to go to the original world, even if it's somewhere else."
"The Demon Realm Tree's leaves return you to the place you came from, so if the Demon King lifts the barrier..."
"Then sister Se-jin will die!"
"..."
"If Master returns, I could somehow manage it, but as for me..."
It feels like the world is collapsing.
"I need to hurry back and help. Isn't there a way to contact sister Luciel?"
"..."
Kainakan didn't answer and disappeared.
I don't know if it's because there's no way or if he went to try to make contact, but I hope it's the latter.
But Kainakan didn't return for a long time.
Day and night changed three times...
72 hours. I know that time flows 30 times slower here, but it's been over 2 hours outside as well.
Without sleeping a wink, I kept tearing leaves.
Since nothing happens even when I keep tearing leaves, it seems like they're still holding on...
Just when I was about to go crazy from worrying about sister Se-jin, Kainakan returned.
I resented Kainakan for disappearing without answering, but I couldn't blame him at all.
That's because Kainakan was completely battered.
His whole body was covered in blood, and his front and back paws were gone.
Blood was still flowing from his chest.
Did he go to the real world alone by any chance?
But I heard that Kainakan can't leave this place.
"Wha... what were you doing to end up like this...! I'll heal you right away."
I approached to heal him, but Kainakan backed away and strongly refused.
"There's no need for that."
"No need? What do you mean?"
Kainakan came to me, breathing heavily.
"Master created me, and Master's magic dwells within me. So if I get seriously injured, wouldn't Master notice...?"
Did he self-harm?
"Why did you do such a foolish thing..."
"Calling me foolish is too much."
"Stop talking, your wound is opening up. I'll heal you right away."
"No. I said I don't need treatment. Seong Eunseo, kill me."
"...Huh? Kill you, what do you mean by that!"
"Why are you shouting?"
"Then did you expect me not to shout? Suddenly telling me to kill you."
"Didn't I tell you earlier? That Master's magic dwells within me."
"You said self-harming like this was useless."
"It's probably because I didn't die."
"No, still..."
"I'm fine. If Se-jin dies, Shin-hyeok will be very sad, won't he? Then Master will also be heartbroken. Even if that weren't the case, I owe Se-jin a debt."
A debt?
"I've eaten a lot of jerky from her. You also gave me quite a bit, but Se-jin brought me tons almost every time she came."
Come to think of it, I remember sister being quite close with Kainakan.
No, but still...
"If it's for Master, something like life isn't precious. I'm really fine, so hurry up and kill me. In my current state, you should be able to end my life easily enough."
"...Isn't there another way? Right, there's the Demon Realm Tree. If I attack the Demon Realm Tree..."
"With your level, you can't even scratch the Demon Realm Tree."
"I should at least try."
I unleashed all sorts of attacks on the Demon Realm Tree, but as Kainakan said, not even a scratch appeared.
"Stop it."
Before I knew it, Kainakan had approached my side.
"No... not yet..."
"The life Master gave me, using it for Master is natural."
Kainakan smiled and closed his eyes.
After contemplating for a while, I finally picked up my sword again.
"I'm really sorry."
For me, sister Se-jin is more important than Kainakan.
I cut down Kainakan.
***
Around the time Eunseo was crying and making a grave after cutting down Kainakan, Luciel finally returned.
I explained the situation to Luciel and immediately went to save Se-jin, but Do-hyun, Ji-sung, and Se-jin were already...
It wasn't just the three of them.
All the S-rank hunters from various countries around the world who were surrounding New York at the time had also died.
The Demon King completely devastated from New York to the western United States and down to South America.
Although Eunseo and Luciel defeated the Demon King, they suffered great injuries and entered the Demon Realm Tree to recover.
...I made the wrong judgment.
If the original story was twisted and even a being called the Demon God appeared, I should not have ruled out the possibility that the Demon King had become stronger...
The Primordial Heavenly Honored One said that if it were me, I could easily handle the Demon King, but there aren't just one or two walls between the kids and me...
I was so focused on the Demon God that I overlooked the Demon King.
"Brother?"
"I'm sorry."
"No, brother was also doing that to fight another Demon King... But still, just a little..."
Eunseo, who was sobbing, clearly shows bewilderment in her expression as she looks at me.
That's because even after hearing such news, I haven't shed a single tear.
I don't feel good either.
No, beyond simply not feeling good, it feels like the world is collapsing.
I should be sad, angry, and crying, but while I understand it in my head, my heart, my emotions aren't stirring.
"Brother?"
"Wait. Can't I just... be alone for a little while?"
Along with the feeling of the sky turning yellow like when the portal was cleared, a headache rushes in.
"Brother!"
With Eunseo's worried face grabbing onto me as my last sight, my vision went dark.
***
"Are you coming to your senses?"
At the familiar voice, I opened my eyes to see the Primordial Heavenly Honored One in child form looking at me.
"Just as your master couldn't abandon Food, you too couldn't abandon Emotion."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just because you can't express emotions doesn't mean wounds don't accumulate in your heart."
"What?"
"That's why you collapsed."
Right. I had collapsed.
Looking around, everything is pitch black.
Like the universe I went to face the Demon God last time.
"This is your mental world."
My mental world? Wait, could it be that all the situations until now were the Primordial Heavenly Honored One showing me the future...?
But the Primordial Heavenly Honored One immediately shakes his head with a bitter expression.
"Unfortunately, what you experienced was reality."
"...Did I do something wrong? After the Primordial Heavenly Honored One's warning, I really did my best. But..."
I'm so frustrated that I can't even speak properly.
I really worked hard.
To save everyone, to save as many people as possible.
But the result was the worst.
If I had lived normally without affecting the original story, this kind of future wouldn't have existed.
Right, then the Demon God wouldn't have appeared either.
Master, Se-jin, Luciel too, in this way...
"Well? I don't particularly think you did anything wrong. I have no intention of making evaluations or anything."
"Then why did you come back? What, is the Demon God appearing again?"
"Isn't your master handling the Demon God?"
"Master... Do you know what happened to Master?"
"Even for me, peering into dimensional rifts isn't an easy task. If I carelessly look into it, I might accidentally bring the apocalypse to this world and make your master's efforts go to waste."
"..."
The surrounding darkness grows even thicker.
"Don't be too tormented. Still, you haven't lost everything yet, have you?"
Whether it's because this is a mental world, or because I still have emotions remaining as the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said earlier, anger surges up.
As the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said, it's true that Eunseo is safe.
If something had happened to Eunseo too... no, I don't even want to imagine that.
"Are you calling that consolation right now? Just because one finger remains doesn't make the pain of losing nine fingers disappear."
"From your perspective, you might accept it that way. But it's not just one finger remaining, is it?"
"..."
"You should be able to heal Luciel."
So that's why he said it wasn't one but more?
How absurd.
Of course, I'm relieved that the Primordial Heavenly Honored One mentioned it, but I was already planning to heal Luciel by any means necessary.
Not just Master, Se-jin, and Luciel, but among the hunters who were sacrificed in the outskirts of New York, many were my students.
Jinsu, who remained mischievous even as he aged and was about to become a father, and Eunsu, who joked about calling me brother-in-law.
Even my father-in-law, who had coolly given permission for the relationship despite our rocky start and had become my strongest supporter...
And countless other people I had connections with. Now I can never meet them all again.
"Hmm, not only Luciel, but didn't you decide to trust your master?"
"Are you telling me to take comfort in that?"
Emotions surge.
"I said I support you, and that position hasn't changed yet. Not everything is over yet."
Not everything is over.
He said nothing like the Demon God would appear again, so what method exists?
"You already know too. Though I wonder if that would be a path to happiness for you. I will continue to support you."
***
Seoul National Cemetery.
Cold autumn rain is drumming on thousands of tombstones.
Since I'm not holding an umbrella, I'm also getting soaked by the rain.
I could avoid it with just a little internal energy... no, I could even make the rain stop entirely, but I don't want to.
It's well past midnight, but there's no eerie atmosphere.
I can see familiar names on the tombstones I pass by intermittently.
I arrived at the very center of the special area, a spot that would get great sunlight during the day and have wonderful wind.
[Kim Se-jin's Grave]
To see Se-jin, I came here first after regaining consciousness.
I know it's a formal grave made by the government in consultation with my mother-in-law since nothing remained, but I absolutely couldn't not come.
"Brother! Are you okay?"
I collapsed right there.
Seeing the writing on the tombstone, I felt all the strength drain from my body in an instant.
The raindrops suddenly become thicker.
Eunseo takes out an umbrella from subspace and holds it up.
"I'm fine."
"Still, sister wouldn't like brother getting rained on either. Or should I just make the rain..."
"Eunseo, right now our Se-jin and all the hunters here are getting rained on too."
"Brother..."
"I'm not made of sugar. I won't melt from getting a little rain."
Countless chrysanthemums are placed in front of the grave.
It seems many people came, not just my mother-in-law.
"Sorry. I'm too late, aren't I?"
Of course, no answer comes back.
Even though this isn't a mental world, my eyes start to sting.
As the Primordial Heavenly Honored One said, I really couldn't abandon emotion.
Eventually, tears burst forth.
If I cry, Eunseo will cry again too.
I didn't want to show this side of myself, so I said I'd go alone, but she insisted on coming together.
Besides, she was extremely anxious about being separated from me, so I had no choice.
Sure enough, Eunseo also grabbed the tombstone and started crying, saying she was sorry for being the only one who survived.
Se-jin would really dislike seeing this, but it can't be helped.
I want to stop, but my body won't listen.
Crying like that for a while, I sent Se-jin off.