Uh, Self-Destruct?
Uh, Self-Destruct?
"......"
"......"
Silence hung in the air.
Not the pleasant kind of quiet, but an awkward, uncomfortable stillness.
A moment ago, I'd blinked without realizing it—eyes that can't even see.
I'd been opening and closing them a fair bit lately, but shutting them was still more comfortable—even so, I'd done it.
That was how shocking Lee Ji-yeon's current appearance was.
Brown hair tangled into a mess like a bird's nest.
Dark shadows drooping beneath her eyes like she'd turned into a panda, and skin so pallid it looked ready to keel over and die.
If you asked ten out of ten people, they'd all say she looked about to collapse...
Across from me, Lee Ji-yeon was watching my every move as if she'd committed some grave sin against me, though I had no clue why.
Her behavior was utterly baffling.
We'd only met once before, back in China—a brief encounter in that urgent situation. What could she possibly have done wrong?
I racked my memory, but nothing remotely contentious had happened between us.
We'd both acted calmly and rationally for the circumstances.
"Your... body..."
Lee Ji-yeon's tightly shut lips finally parted.
The words stumbled for a moment as if she found it hard to speak, then barely pushed through.
"Your body, are you... no, I'm sorry. That's not what I..."
The thread broke off.
She muttered something to herself, then startled and flailed both arms.
[I'm perfectly fine]
[Ah]
[Come to think of it, your injuries have all healed?]
[I'm glad you're safe... is what I meant to say]
I'd thought it was a decent topic, but Lee Ji-yeon's expression instantly clouded over.
Just moments ago, she'd been a gray sky thick with clouds; now she was a full-blown thunderstorm.
'Huh.'
Had I said something wrong?
The thought crossed my mind, and at the same time, Lee Ji-yeon's mouth opened, then halted.
"...I'm truly sorry."
[Pardon?]
Out of nowhere?
When I reacted as if asking what she meant, Lee Ji-yeon lifted her eyes from the floor, where she'd kept them fixed as if avoiding my gaze.
Deep green irises quietly took me in, then trembled faintly like an earthquake.
...Took me in?
'Ah.'
I wiggled a leg. The stumpy limb didn't reach the floor.
Now that I thought about it, the last time Lee Ji-yeon saw me, I'd looked quite different.
Back then, my hair had been that strange black-and-white mix, like an animal mid-molt. Now it was pure white.
On top of that, my body had suddenly regressed in age.
I wasn't exactly in a normal state either.
"Back then, back then... I left you behind and ran away on my own. I turned my back to save myself, because I was terrified..."
Lee Ji-yeon's speech grew rambling. There was no coherence, her voice trembling pitifully.
She seemed consumed by guilt over fleeing and leaving me behind in China.
"I shouldn't have run... even if we died, we should've died together... but I... because of me, you..."
Was her current haggard state the result of all that mental anguish? At a loss, she kept offering nothing but self-reproach and apologies.
Watching her, the original novel's details surfaced in my mind.
Lee Ji-yeon.
Firstborn daughter among the two sons and one daughter of Lee Ji-ah, 11th head of the Taesan Family.
Chosen successor of the Taesan Family and the Manifestor of Taesan.
The future head of the Taesan Family, which mass-produces the raw materials for artificial elixirs, no less.
Since childhood, she'd gorged on elixirs without shortage and received high-quality early education through the knowledge accumulated over the family's history.
Her own talent was outstanding, her skills improving by leaps and bounds, and she'd entered Siyoram proudly as Top Seat.
Even now, she maintained a steep growth curve as a future Divine Star.
A background that lacked for nothing.
Line up every human being on the planet and she'd still be a diamond spoon, perched at the very top.
"Sorry... I'm so sorry... because of me..."
In stark contrast to that background, Lee Ji-yeon was a character defined by an unhealthy mental state and an inferiority complex.
In the original, whenever you built ties with Lee Ji-yeon, the Affection readouts always displayed mental states like ｢Strong Outside, Soft Inside｣, ｢Self-Deprecation｣, ｢Inferiority Complex｣, ｢Jealousy｣.
Considering that one of the traits of a Manifestor of Taesan was emotional equilibrium—the middle path—she was a highly unusual case.
In a way, it seemed absurd, but looking at Lee Ji-yeon's environment, it wasn't incomprehensible.
Nor was it an insurmountable flaw.
If she could somehow resolve that shriveled self-esteem, Lee Ji-yeon would become a truly reliable and devoted comrade.
It had been like that in the original's 1st Iteration too.
The 1st Iteration, which chased down every side story, built many ties with Lee Ji-yeon and recorded very high Affection with her.
Thanks to that, Lee Ji-yeon had stayed by the 1st Iteration's side until the very end, one of the comrades who protected him until he died.
[It's all right]
[I mean it, it's all right...]
But I didn't have the skill to resolve Lee Ji-yeon's inferiority complex...
She was so steeped in guilt that the whole area seemed to grow dreary around her.
Good thing we were in a private room on the café's upper floor—if this had happened on the open first floor, unsavory rumors would've spread...
[I wish you wouldn't torment yourself so much]
[I still don't regret the choice I made back then]
[Thanks to you, a lot of people survived, didn't they?]
[I was also someone who received your help]
As coherently as I could, I tried to comfort Lee Ji-yeon.
It might be a rude thought, but her condition looked deeply alarming...
[In the end, I survived too, and you're safe as well...]
[And don't worry about this current state]
[I'll be back to normal before long]
Had my efforts gotten through? The light gradually returned to Lee Ji-yeon's eyes, which had looked like dead fish eyes moments ago.
'...Exhausting...'
I swallowed a sigh of relief internally.
For someone with no gift for words like me, it had been a tremendous ordeal...
.
.
.
A little while later.
Lee Ji-yeon, having barely pulled herself together, was slurping her coffee alone.
The faint flush on her face suggested she'd realized the disgrace she'd just displayed.
I cracked open the necklace I'd been keeping pressed shut.
[...So]
[Are you all right, Senior?]
'Uh...'
The Confession Necklace clicked.
Only after the flat voice had faded did I realize the question was a strange one.
I was asking if she was all right, but even a cursory glance told you Lee Ji-yeon was absolutely not all right...
"Ah... thank you for, for worrying about me. But I'm fine. My injuries healed long ago... I've just been losing a little sleep, that's all..."
Ahaha... Lee Ji-yeon forced an awkward smile, lifting the corners of her mouth.
"Your detection ability is really remarkable. Normally, it's not that precise..."
The smile meant to reassure and the complexion that said the exact opposite combined to accentuate her haggard appearance even more.
Oblivious to it, Lee Ji-yeon sucked coffee through her straw.
'If she can't sleep, why is she drinking coffee...?'
I suppressed the wry expression that threatened to creep onto my face.
On the table directly in front of her sat a multitude of plastic cups, all sucked dry.
The body of a superhuman. And a Manifestor of Taesan at that—the effects might vary—but even accounting for it, saying she was guzzling coffee felt accurate.
This was absolutely not the amount consumed by someone who supposedly couldn't sleep...
But given the atmosphere, I swallowed that question and sucked on my own straw.
Cold liquid filled my mouth.
It wasn't coffee. It was orange juice. I wanted to ask why mine wasn't coffee, but I swallowed that too.
Instead, I brought up the matter at hand.
[Did you happen to see the application email?]
[I sent it earlier...]
"Ah! Yes, yes, I confirmed it. That's part of why I asked to meet..."
Lee Ji-yeon let her sentence trail off.
I tilted my head at that odd reaction.
[Do you already have someone else in mind?]
"No, I was also thinking of you, Junior Lee Ha-yul."
At those words, my expression brightened for a moment. I'd been worried she might refuse, but it turned out she'd been planning to submit a request for me too.
"It's just that I'm a bit worried..."
[Hm? Worried about what?]
"Well... honestly, I feel like there's nothing I can teach you..."
Lee Ji-yeon rolled her eyes around, then surreptitiously sucked on her coffee.
"From what I saw in China back then... honestly, you seemed far more exceptional than me..."
'Hmm...'
I made an odd expression at her words.
More exceptional than her, huh...
There were plenty of domains to consider, but honestly, in the domain of combat, I didn't think I'd lose.
That wasn't arrogance—even judging it calmly, it was true.
When my fundamentals had been hopelessly lacking, it hadn't stood out, but now that my fundamentals had reached a certain level, the sheer variety of my arsenal was starting to shine.
The Unique Abilities All-Rounder and Mana Affinity.
Through them, the Mana Manipulation Art, Body Reinforcement Technique, Aura Art, Combat Arts, magic, Spirit Arts, and so on that I'd entered and was honing...
The technique-category Expansion Abilities copied through Myriad Transformations that branched out from there, and the various special and Attribute-type Unique Abilities copied through Homogenization...
The Authority of Observation and the Authority of Space...
The endurance stat correction from the Proof of Protection attached to my left arm, and the Authority of Protection.
The application of the Sky Wing Feather, whose performance had become tremendous...
I simply had too many tools. It was easy to exploit elemental matchups, and I had plenty of ways to neutralize an opponent's attacks.
Even in the fight against the Twin-headed Poison Dragon, I would've died on the spot if I hadn't frantically pulled out a poison-resistance Unique Ability.
Teaching each other isn't restricted to martial force alone, but in this Siyoram, where most aim to become heroes, what's mainly taught in the end is martial force.
Lee Ji-yeon, who had glimpsed my battle with the Twin-headed Poison Dragon, had reason enough to think that way.
[I appreciate the compliment, but please don't say that]
[There's an overflowing amount I can learn from you, Senior]
"...Is that so? Could you give an example, perhaps...?"
[There's so much it'd be hard to list them all]
[Still, if I had to pick just one... I could experience your Unique Ability firsthand]
"Taesan... I see..."
I'd managed to squeeze out an answer somehow.
Lee Ji-yeon nodded as if she understood, but at the part about wanting to experience Taesan, she suddenly flinched.
'?'
She seemed to think about something for a moment, then asked while gauging my reaction.
"Taesan... you've experienced it before, haven't you? What was it like?"
[Yes]
[It was a tremendous Unique Ability]
[Thanks to your help back then, I was able to preserve my stamina safely]
It wasn't empty flattery.
Back then, I'd been fleeing the Twin-headed Poison Dragon while preparing for spirit manifestation, and Lee Ji-yeon had bought me that time.
If Lee Ji-yeon hadn't been there... the preparation process would've been far more complicated.
[Thank you]
"No, what thanks... if anything, I should be thanking you a thousand, ten thousand times..."
[I received plenty of help too]
[Did you see it?]
[The crater where the Twin-headed Poison Dragon died]
"Yes... I went there, in person..."
[It succeeded thanks to your quick judgment, Senior]
[If anyone had been nearby, self-destructing would've been imposs—]
"Wh-What did you say? Self-destruct... self-destruct...!?"
Lee Ji-yeon's eyes, which had been listening intently, flew wide open.
'Uh.'
At that reaction, thick with horror, my mind went blank for a moment.
Now that I thought about it, the word choice had been a little hasty.
Self-destruct. It wasn't that I lacked that sort of feeling... no, I'd had that sort of mindset, but I'd never actually wanted to die...
My creaking brain scrambled to salvage the situation.
[...No? Self-destruct? What do you mean by that...]
"S-Self-destruct..."
Salvage failed.
Lee Ji-yeon's mouth fell open. The exclamation that escaped from between her lips was thick with despair and guilt.
The light that had barely returned to her eyes went black again.
'Fuck.'
[Fuck]
The Confession Necklace clicked.