Chapter 203: Residents of a Ruined World (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: Residents of a Ruined World (1)
Something had changed.
The murky, sludge-like substance that had appeared out of nowhere first tried to swallow its own main body. However, it was repelled as if hitting a barrier, so it changed targets and went after the Philosopher’s Stone.
It reached into the deepest depths of the stone, which had already exhausted all its power to undo the seal.
Under normal circumstances, it was something so minute and faint that it shouldn’t have exerted any influence at all.
It was something that should have weathered away and vanished along with the Philosopher’s Stone the moment it lost its power. Yet, the Evil God used his Authority to forcibly revive and amplify it.
It was a lingering regret.
The regret of a man who had dedicated his entire life but failed to obtain what he desired.
It was the distorted wish of a man who had driven his own world down the path of destruction and yet failed to achieve his goal, ultimately collapsing. It was also the curse that bound him like a chain.
The amplified, revived sludge finally woke as a jumbled Wraith.
Due to hazy memories, nothing came to mind clearly—not who he was, nor why he was here.
It was certain that he had kept striving because he wanted to see something, but because his memories had weathered over time, it was unclear who that target was or why he had wanted to see them so badly.
The Authority dug into that void.
It pierced the Wraith’s gaps, twisting and perverting his desires.
Yes, the one you want to see is the black-haired boy. The boy with eyes as red as blood.
The cause was resentment toward him.
Resentment and jealousy toward the one who had chosen something other than himself were the reasons for his existence.
The Wraith, firmly believing another’s emotions to be his own, occupied the masterless, empty shell and slowly opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar platinum energy surged, but thanks to the murky water moving as if to assist him, movement was not difficult.
“…Uh-oh. Did we just screw up?”
Park A-ram, who had witnessed the entire process, broke into a cold sweat and drew up her mana.
This was because the platinum gaze fixed upon her was not particularly friendly.
* * *
“…And then?”
“First, before the opponent could fully move, I flipped all the defensive magic and barriers I’d set up at the house in reverse. Then I overloaded the last remaining teleportation magic circle to escape. Fortunately, I managed to fly back to the Academy, but I made a bit of a mistake and it exploded on arrival.”
Leilan, having heard the full explanation, suppressed the urge to clutch her head.
“How long do you think that makeshift measure will hold?”
“Optimistically, maybe a day…?”
“…And if we aren’t being optimistic?”
“If we’re unlucky, it could burst out right this second.”
Oh, so if they were unlucky, a Calamity could drop right into the middle of the city this very moment.
“If it was something that dangerous, you should have told me sooner. If I’d known… no. Never mind. What’s the use of complaining about what’s already happened?”
Park A-ram had an aggrieved expression, but honestly, Leilan felt nothing but the urge to give her a good smack.
Baek Seol, who had been watching the whole exchange, provided the answer on their behalf.
“For now, let’s immediately issue a perimeter alert around the building and complete the encirclement.”
It was a perfectly textbook and rational response.
* * *
The Hero Association might be incompetent, but the heroes belonging to it were not.
As proof, they evacuated the citizens at a very high speed and completed the encirclement of the building.
However, just because they were competent didn’t mean they could resolve the situation without any sacrifices.
Competence and incompetence are always relative.
They were undoubtedly outstanding superhumans, but most of them were B-rank heroes.
The reality was that even an A-rank hero, who would be considered exceptionally talented among them, could lose their life when facing a Calamity.
Yet, none of those present sought to flee.
Some out of pride as heroes, others suppressing their fear by thinking of the things that would vanish if they failed to protect them—they all held their ground to face the disaster.
How much time had passed?
The barrier shattered, and it began to reveal itself from within the building.
As it floated up, it was shrouded in a platinum light that brought the sun to mind.
Just by its mere appearance, C-rank heroes began to faint one by one.
Making no effort to hide or restrain its massive mana, the Calamity—scattering mana as if it were simply overflowing—slowly scanned the hostile heroes with its gaze.
Just by being caught in that gaze, those among the B-ranks with little combat experience fell to their knees.
The most they could do was swallow the despair rising in their throats to avoid breaking their allies’ morale.
However, there are things conveyed through attitude even without words. Most of those present were already accepting it as fact.
There was no way they could win.
That was undoubtedly a Calamity, the kind of monster where a chance of victory only appeared if several of the world’s few S-ranks banded together to attack.
The lower A-rank heroes forcibly bolstered their flagging spirits to ignite their fighting will, resolving to block the Calamity as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the only S-rank hero present and the high-tier A-rank heroes were, surprisingly, calmly looking for a chance at victory.
They weren’t being arrogant or insane.
Having surpassed a certain level of mastery, they could clearly feel it.
That thing certainly possessed power close to a Calamity, but they couldn’t sense a will capable of controlling it perfectly.
To put it another way, it was like a beast wildly swinging a legendary sword.
If they struck now, before the beast could grow accustomed to the blade, and with this much force assembled…
It was a situation worth trying to suppress.
“He’s not here.”
However, problems are called problems because they always arise from unexpected situations.
After scanning them all, the Calamity turned its head as if uninterested and muttered.
“Black hair.”
Then, the incomplete Calamity turned away without lingering regret. It nodded as if listening to someone’s story and reached out its hand.
“You’re saying he’ll come if I wait?”
As the Calamity poured out massive amounts of mana, the surrounding landscape began to flip.
Facing a Calamity is only possible if the Calamity actually intends to fight. The Calamity was now moving in a direction the heroes, who had naturally expected a battle, had not anticipated at all.
A forced alteration caused by massive mana.
“Stop it!”
“Pardon?”
“Catch that thing, quickly…!”
Chairperson Leilan was the first to grasp the situation and launched an attack, but it was already too late. The surrounding space, having swallowed the mana, began to warp.
“…Crazy.”
The middle of the city had suddenly been caught in a Dungeonization.
* * *
“I’m sorry.”
After our little Spirit fell asleep and I laid her down in her room, I came out and immediately bowed my head to offer an apology.
Considering those who were waiting as if they had a bone to pick with me this time, a blind apology might not be the answer, but even so, I felt like I couldn’t stand it if I didn’t apologize first.
While some were stunned by this apology, others, conversely, frowned.
Specifically, Lilac and Ga-eul looked stunned, while Ha-ni and the Professor were frowning, though none of them could bring themselves to say anything to me yet.
Were they planning to hear me out first?
“Um, how should I put it… I just felt like I had to stop it. Like, ‘Ah, it has to be me. Everyone’s going to die otherwise.’ It was like a premonition, you know?”
My tongue, which usually worked just fine, was stuttering unnaturally today.
I needed to explain what I wanted to say concisely, but instead, words that sounded like excuses kept flowing out.
Was apologizing always this difficult?
In truth, I had always only prayed for forgiveness in my heart; I didn’t have much experience actually apologizing in person.
It’s a stupid thought, but I believed an apology was something done to maintain a relationship with someone, in addition to being an act of atonement.
Would an idiot who believed it was natural to push people away, draw lines, and give up out of fear of human relationships ever think of apologizing to someone?
And I know now that this was also one of the causes of the regrets I’ve carried until now.
That’s why I spoke the apology first.
“I think I thought that if I just stepped up and solved it, it would be fine. That for everyone’s sake, it was okay if just I got hurt. I think that’s what I thought.”
But trying to say it out loud made it feel so disjointed.
No, that’s not all of it? Ah, um, what is this? This feeling.
Is it… itchy? I’ve never felt like this before.
“Not just this time, but usually… I should have thought about how other people would feel seeing that. I just selfishly thought it was fine because it was my business.”
And by the time I said that much, I could realize the identity of this strange unpleasantness tickling my chest.
Embarrassment.
I was seriously, incredibly embarrassed.
Since I was someone whose habit of wearing a mask and deceiving others had become ingrained, I never imagined that apologizing with my bare face would be this embarrassing.
I wished someone would say something, but since everyone was just listening, I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore.
I’m not talking nonsense, am I?
— You’re doing well for someone like you, so don’t worry.
— The Will of the Saint cheers for you.
Hearing the encouragement from Sun Wukong and the other artifacts cleared my head a little.
“…So, from now on, I won’t just satisfy myself. I’ll try to explain in advance as much as possible and ask for help.”
These are things that normal people usually overcome and move past during their childhood.
To me, these were words spoken with immense courage, but to those listening, they might just laugh it off, wondering what the big deal was.
Embarrassing as it was, I had to say it.
If I didn’t say it here, I couldn’t move forward.
I would eventually end up back where I started.
Since I promised to move forward, I had to speak until the end.
“I might not be able to change right away, but I’ll work hard to cherish myself in the future.”
…Is this too disjointed? Was it too sudden? What if I ruined the mood?
Should I jump out the window right now?
No, I’m a superhuman, so I probably won’t die from a window. The rooftop. The rooftop would be better.
— The Will of the Saint strengthens your mental fortitude.
…You’re making it so I can’t even escape reality?
No, anyway, why is no one answering? Did I only think it and not say it out loud?
When I cautiously lifted my bowed head, I could see that their expressions, which had been somewhat varied, were all painted with shock.
No, what? Why? Why are you reacting like that? You should either curse me out saying you can’t forgive me, or say it’s okay. What kind of reaction is this?
“So-hyun, you…”
Representing everyone, Ga-eul spoke while trembling.
“You actually knew how to apologize…?”
And right then, I decided to hurl myself off the building.
I felt like if I spread my wings and soared freely out the window, this embarrassment would cool down a bit.
Even though I didn’t have wings…!
“Let go!!!!!”
However, my attempt to jump was unfortunately thwarted by Professor Cathy, who grabbed me first.
“Please let me go…!”
“So-hyun, it’s okay! The kids were just a bit surprised and teasing you! Apologizing isn’t something to be ashamed of!”
“That’s right, So-hyun. Honestly, I was angry because I thought you didn’t know what you did wrong, but I was just surprised because you reflected so accurately!”
The Professor and Ha-ni held onto me and comforted me, but when I briefly lifted my head to look at their expressions, they were looking at me with lukewarm gazes, like they were looking at a cat soaked in rain.
Stop it! Don’t do that! I’m already embarrassed enough!
“Please just let me go…!”
After struggling for a long time, I was finally released on the condition that I give up on jumping.
“Hehe, So-hyun, you’re kind of a loser for the first time in a while. Apologizing for something like this.”
What’s with you, Ga-eul? Did you come to deliver the finishing blow? Do you really feel like doing that after seeing me already tattered?
Do you have no human heart…?
“But I’ll forgive you.”
Huh?
“Because you promised to consult with us from now on and not do things alone. It means you won’t overdo it. Then that’s enough.”
“Just this once, okay? If you overdo it alone again, you’re a really bad guy.”
Starting with Ga-eul and Ha-ni saying that, one by one, they began to tell me it was okay.
This isn’t good.
Do you guys know? Just how much value your forgiveness holds for me.
Of course, I know this isn’t a forgiveness given with full knowledge of my original sin, but if you knew how much I wanted to be forgiven by you, you would never forgive me so lightly.
At times like this, tears should come out, but strangely, no tears fell.
* * *
Cathy had actually intended to scold him properly this time.
Of course, she had planned to comfort and soothe him afterward, but she had intended to at least not let it slide.
She had to teach him properly just how much his actions hurt other people.
Otherwise, it was certain that he would become unable to distinguish between devotion and sacrifice.
But for some reason, he realized his own mistake and apologized first.
It was a rough apology where it was hard to tell exactly what he wanted to say, but rather, because of that, it felt sincere—an apology that clearly showed the traces of his agonizing.
…If he already knows what he did wrong, what would scolding him change?
Let’s stop. She was already busy enough trying to help him move forward and tending to his wounds; there was no need to scold him further.
Above all, if he knows what he did wrong, it’s more appropriate to be grateful.
In the end, the fact that they were saved by him doesn’t change.
Just as she was about to step forward to praise him.
Cathy suddenly felt her smartphone vibrating in her pocket and had to stiffen her expression.
Two texts had arrived with a slight interval between them.
One was news that an entity that might be a Calamity-class villain was about to appear, and the other was news that a massive dungeon had appeared centered around Park A-ram’s residence.
What on earth was this about?
“…Professor?”
Ah, while I was worrying about this, I was unconsciously stroking his head.
Well, what happened has happened, but shouldn’t I still give him the praise he deserves?