Chapter 110
Chapter 110
In Cheollihyang Village - 8
****
When the lava-like breath ended, the existence known as Choi Do-han had completely disappeared, and all that remained was the molten stone wall.
The protagonist, who should’ve had a glorious ending, was left with a wretched conclusion.
It was a hollow end.
And it was a truly fitting end.
If there was no room for rehabilitation or reform, then for the sake of the people around me who would be harmed, executing him was probably the right decision.
The unexplainable feeling of discomfort was something I just had to bear on my own, and I had no choice but to believe that this decision was for the best.
Heok, heok—
Perhaps because he had been on the higher end of the villain scale, Choi Do-han’s physical durability was quite high, and Roque was panting.
It had been the most powerful and longest-lasting breath he had ever unleashed.
Pat, pat!
“You did well, Roque.”
After patting Roque’s neck a few times, I approached Renia.
The story with Choi Do-han was now completely tied up.
And now, it was time to solve the homework Choi Do-han had left behind.
The end of one path is the start of another.
I had to explain the secret story I had kept bottled up.
What this world was, what kind of person I was, and how this story would end.
I had to reveal everything and hope for understanding and forgiveness.
Just hiding something from someone who had treated me with nothing but truth was reason enough to ask for forgiveness.
First,
Clank!
After dismantling the mana suppression devices with my strength, I helped Renia up.
Then, I lightly took one of Renia’s hands.
“Um… Renia.”
However,
“Shh.”
Renia blocked my lips with her index finger.
I quickly rolled my eyes, but I didn’t feel any particular presence.
There was only Roque, looking at us with a pleased(?) expression.
“Why, why?”
I asked, with my lips pressed against Renia’s index finger.
Renia gave a gentle smile.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“…Huh?”
“I trust you. I'm sure you had a good reason. So you don’t have to explain it to me.”
“But….”
“Sometimes there are truths that are better left unknown, right?”
Renia smiled brightly.
In that radiant smile, my worries and anxieties were washed away in an instant.
“Renia….”
“It doesn’t matter to me what this place is, or who resides within the person named Han Tae-jin.”
It was the same for me.
Even if someone else resided in Renia’s body, not a single blemish would appear on my current feelings.
If someone else resided there, then I would be loving that someone.
Her appearance didn’t matter.
Was this what they call a meeting of the hearts?
At the crossroads of our gazes, emotions were exchanged instead of words.
I warmly caressed Renia’s cheek.
“Thank you.”
I offered a short and simple greeting.
Just two words.
But in those two words, everything was contained.
Past emotions, present emotions, and even the emotions of the future to come.
Renia caressed the back of my hand that was stroking her cheek.
“Can you answer just one thing for me instead?”
“Anything.”
“I don’t care if this is a virtual world or a world created by someone. In any case, it’s the world I live in, and to me, this is reality.”
Renia paused for a breath.
With a subtle fear in her eyes, she slowly traced every contour of my face.
Her expression, a mix of expectation and worry, couldn’t guarantee which would take precedence.
A not-so-long standoff.
Then, with difficulty, Renia finally opened her mouth.
“So… what does this place mean to you?”
And in that question, I was able to realize.
That I was the only one who could distinguish Renia’s world between the boundary of virtual and reality.
She asked because, for the possessor Han Tae-jin, the meaning this world held would be the same as his own meaning.
Even if she believed it to be reality, she must have asked worriedly because it could become virtual depending on my answer.
Contrary to her concerns, the question did not demand a single moment of hesitation.
“In any case, it’s the world I live in, and to me, this is reality.”
Therefore,
I returned Renia’s words to her exactly.
“Ah.”
Renia lightly rose up on her heels and then lowered them.
The tension in her brow climbed vigorously, and the corners of her mouth rose, creating dimples.
“I’ll never leave. I promised to wait for you here, didn’t I?”
“Hehe…. Then that’s all that matters.”
Renia smiled bashfully and opened her arms wide.
“Why?”
“Hug me.”
Renia, asking for a hug like a coddled baby.
She was so cute I couldn’t possibly not hug her.
Wrap!
I hugged her tightly.
Renia’s scent, which I hadn’t felt in a long time, melted my lungs more sweetly than ever.
Renia warmly caressed my back and said softly.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
It was a greeting that seemed to decorate the ending.
“…Isn’t it too early to be saying our farewells? We haven’t even defeated God R'hell ye-”
“No.”
“Huh…?”
Renia patted my back and nestled her head against my chest.
She too seemed to quite enjoy the warmth she hadn’t felt from me in a long time.
Thankfully.
“Hiding a secret for someone’s sake, it’s a troublesome and difficult thing, isn’t it? You went through a lot, handling it alone.”
“Ah….”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
I thought she just meant I had a hard time fighting Choi Do-han, but to think she meant the trouble of someone who hid a secret.
Following that, the ‘troublesome’ and ‘difficult’ things I had done to hide the secret flashed before my eyes like a panorama.
The ache that came from having to remain silent about what I knew, from having to pretend I didn’t know.
The times I had to take risks to secretly farm hidden pieces.
And, because I knew the story of the world, I had to contemplate dozens of times for a single choice, and I had to constantly worry about the story changing with that choice.
I still didn’t know if those choices were the right ones.
They were probably things I would have to carry until the day I fulfilled my mission.
Feeling Renia share those burdens and warmly embrace the shoulders that had carried them, I felt an unexplainable surge of emotion and hugged Renia even tighter.
“You’ve been through a lot, too.”
And I returned the greeting.
If I had been alone, I would not have made it this far.
It was Renia who helped me concentrate fully on my growth, it was Renia who saved me when I was about to be attacked by Choi Do-han, and it was Renia who saved me when I was flailing in the overheat state in group project dungeon.
Na-yeon, Hye-seo, and Ercia were also walking the path of hardship with me for my sake, and for salvation, but without Renia, I wouldn't even have found that path.
The connection that began with her as a summon was like the beginning of this salvation, so Renia was an indispensable existence to me, and indispensable to the mission and salvation.
You’ve been through a lot.
The person who should hear that greeting was not me, but Renia.
“Eugg. T-Tae-jin. I can’t breathe.”
Renia tapped my back as if tapping out.
Ah, I guess I put too much strength into it.
When I released the hug, Renia was breathing with a flushed face.
I suddenly felt like teasing her and was about to press my lips against hers, but….
《Kwaaang—!!》
The two lips couldn’t meet because of a huge roar coming from a far distance.
Roque’s head, which had been staring at us indifferently, turned towards where the roar came from.
“…!”
It was the direction of Cheollihyang Village.
It was hidden by a cliff and wasn’t visible, and the roar wasn’t clearly audible because of the distance, but,
Renia and I could feel it instinctively.
That the roar was unusual.
“Roque!”
I hurriedly climbed onto Roque’s back, and together with Renia, we had to head straight for Cheollihyang Village.
Desperately hoping that everyone was safe.
Whoosh—!!!
Roque’s powerful wing beats blew away even the traces of Choi Do-han that had been stuck to the stone wall.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Keuaak-!”
“Save me-!!”
Kwaang!
A flurry of explosions and a flurry of screams.
The residents of Cheollihyang Village, who had lived peacefully despite their shabby and poor lifestyle, had no time to mourn their collapsing homes and were forced to flee in sheer terror.
Kwadangtang—!
“Kyaaak-!”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the super-giant monster Chimera that had appeared through the portal.
Just as a single aircraft carrier is accompanied by dozens of escort ships, small and medium-sized monsters poured out.
Residents crushed by a collapsed house.
Residents trying to rescue their family.
Residents fleeing in panic.
Residents wailing while hugging their dead child.
The village, where a scene from hell unfolded, was filled only with blood, debris, and screams.
“Yu-ra-! Help the residents with Han-na-ssi!”
“Ah, o-okay!”
In the middle of that space full of despair were Baek Mi-hwa and Yu-ra.
Na-yeon, Hye-seo, and Su-ah had headed to the village entrance to stop the Chimera, while Han-na, Yu-ra, and Baek Mi-hwa were working to evacuate the residents.
With their current strength, it was impossible to defeat the Chimera anyway.
Therefore, they had made a plan to split into teams to hold off the Chimera for a while and evacuate the residents in the meantime.
Did they say fear is offset by a greater fear?
Because the fear brought by Choi Do-han had been devoured by the Chimera, Han-na was also hastily helping the residents with tear stains still on her face.
It was the same for Yu-ra.
Yu-ra, who was quickly evacuating the residents using the devices she had developed, grabbed a collapsed roof.
She was wearing a monocle that a medieval nobleman might use, a device that used mana to detect human signals.
“Keuuu-!”
Even if she had a talent for machines, Yu-ra was also an awakened being.
Ddeudeudeuk—
“Pleeease…!”
Yu-ra gritted her teeth and squeezed out every last bit of her strength.
Under the roof were two signals detected by the [Human Signal Detection Glasses], also known as the Detection Glass.
A small signal and a large signal.
In other words, a baby and an adult were crushed underneath.
Yu-ra put her all into it, the veins on her neck bulging.
But the roof had become like a lock as the pillars got entangled when it collapsed, so it wouldn’t lift easily.
“I won’t give uup-!”
Crimson mana rose from Yu-ra’s entire body.
Creaaaak—!
The roof slowly lifted.
From within, a scream that was more like a groan leaked out.
“Save… me…!”
“Just a moment-! Please wait…!!”
Just a little more and she could lift it.
Because she believed her brother would coolly save Renia, Yu-ra wanted to save even one more resident in crisis.
And she planned to proudly boast about it to her brother.
But…
“H-hey-!!!”
The urgent call from behind her shattered that resolve.
“…Ah.”
From the side of the collapsed house, a medium-sized monster had appeared.
Krrreuk—
It was Kelkaton, a monster that was a quadruped with a long tail that had a poisonous stinger, and a ferocious mouth drooling saliva with fangs that protruded below its jaw.
“N-noo…!”
Yu-ra’s face filled with despair, but she couldn’t let go of the roof.
If she let go now, the roof would crush the baby and the parent even more.
<w:pgmar w:bottom="1440" w:top="1440" w:left="1440" w:right="1440" w:header="720" w:footer="720"><w:pgnumtype w:start="1"><w:r w:rsiddel="00000000" w:rsidr="00000000" w:rsidrpr="00000000"><w:rpr><w:sz w:val="28"><w:szcs w:val="28"><w:rtl w:val="0"><w:t xml:space="preserve">Soon, Kelkaton’s poisonous stinger tail, dripping with a damp green liquid, flew towards Yu-ra.