Chapter 82: What I Lost, What You Lost (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 82: What I Lost, What You Lost (5)
How should I put it?
The sight of a corpse floating into the air, glowing with light and gradually returning to a pristine state as if time were being wound back, was an utterly surreal scene—in both a good and a bad way.
Wrapped in a cluster of light, he healed every wound and slowly opened his eyes. His posture as he looked down at the crowd from the air, combined with his characteristic gaze, exuded a remarkably overbearing and unique atmosphere.
If not for the first words out of his mouth, everyone might have doubted whether he was truly Kang So-hyun.
“What, is this your first time seeing someone die and come back to life?”
It was a scene that could look divine if viewed as divine, or terrifying if viewed as terrifying.
Because the sight could be interpreted in so many ways, the reactions of those watching were dramatically divided.
First, Cathy was simply grateful for the miracle before her eyes.
“Thank you. Thank you so much…”
Her sins hadn’t vanished, but something she thought could never be undone had been restored. There was no reason not to rejoice. Normally, she might have been more suspicious or at least kept her guard up, but her condition was too poor for that.
Having exhausted her physical and mental strength resisting the artifact, the phenomenon before her was nothing short of a wondrous miracle.
“This is impossible.”
Next, Cheon Yu-hak appeared surprised yet strangely calm.
It wasn’t because he possessed a colder personality than others; rather, he had actually witnessed something similar once before in the past.
Yes, that day.
The day he first went berserk and caused a massive incident.
Back then, Kang So-hyun had stood in his way while radiating an aura similar to this, even if it was slightly different.
Meanwhile, Lilac was simply frustrated.
Frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t protect his friend.
Of course, in the end, So-hyun had survived. Lilac didn’t know what method he had used or what artifact’s effect it was. Since So-hyun was a friend with many secrets, he must have prepared something.
But there was no way that kind of power came without a price.
A “Super-Recovery” that transcended death and healed even the slightest wound—logically, it must have required a massive sacrifice.
If only I were a little stronger.
His own talent felt more pathetic than he thought. He was frustrated that he had let his friend get hurt again, and frustrated that he couldn’t even overcome the villain standing before him.
What if he were strong enough to suppress a villain in a single blow and stop a professor?
Of course, he knew. He knew there was no human capable of such a thing and that it was a meaningless hypothetical. In reality, Lilac hadn’t failed to win by an overwhelming margin; he had already been cornering the villain.
Nevertheless.
The genius began to crave power.
The boy, who had solved everything smoothly just with what he possessed, continued to realize his inadequacies and sought to reach higher.
Finally, excluding the masked villain who showed no reaction, the one who had brainwashed Cathy was staring at Kang So-hyun with a face drenched in terror.
As the original Leader of the Twelve, she knew of exactly one person who could perform a feat similar to this.
The being who had distributed the artifacts to them and provided full support for their goals.
The being who had single-handedly beaten down the organization’s executives, claiming she would make them listen for once.
The ‘Helper.’
The atmosphere surrounding this boy was remarkably similar to the woman who told them to call her that.
As proof, that light—that evidence of overflowing life force—was absolutely not within the realm of what a normal human could possess. It was a sense of intimidation that only a being from a higher dimension, like her, could radiate.
Of course, the energy was soon reined in and could no longer be seen, but the Leader knew well. The Helper also usually appeared to be just an ordinary woman, so she was certain.
This was power that had burst out by mistake and was being hastily hidden.
There was no chance of victory.
She had to flee immediately.
Her intuition screamed the warning, but the problem was what would happen after she fled.
What then?
Even if a miracle occurred and she managed to escape, she didn’t think the Helper would just leave her alone for running away.
The boy before her was terrifying, but he wasn’t as terrifying as her.
Therefore, she took a stance.
* * *
“Good, good.”
I think I’ve got the gist of it.
I felt a bit dizzy because notifications and various pieces of information were overlapping all at once, but considering I had just come back from the dead, I was in very good shape.
First, I glared at the person facing off against Lilac.
That person was likely that foolish woman who served as the Leader of the Twelve. The perverted elf was merely the mastermind and wasn’t the representative of the Twelve.
Well, in the original work, this woman dies before the perverted elf, but anyway, for now, the original Twelve is her organization.
A woman with an arrogant and foolish temperament, filled with more greed than her natural talents could support. She was a character who ranked in my top five most hated characters even in the original story.
However, the moment my gaze landed on her, she began to tremble like a child who had seen something terrifying.
…What’s up with her?
Normally, she gets incredibly conceited and happy when a man looks at her. Is it a different person?
“Ugh…!”
The moment she couldn’t withstand my gaze and pulled an artifact from her robes to use it, Professor Cathy clutched her head in agony.
I guess it doesn’t really matter if it’s her or not.
Ah, whatever. You’re dead, you crazy bitch.
A startled Lilac rushed forward to snatch the artifact from her, but she brandished it again, stopping him in his tracks.
“Don’t move! If you move, I’ll increase the artifact’s output even more!”
She seemed to have judged that re-controlling the professor was impossible since she had overcome the brainwashing, but she appeared to believe that the cause of the professor’s ongoing pain was that artifact.
That’s not it, though.
“Ugh…!”
But Lilac, who had no way of knowing that, naturally stopped.
He’s just that kind of guy.
In reality, if you think about it coldly, whether he flees or continues the fight, the probability of a villain leaving a hostage safe is almost zero. He knows this in his head, but because he can’t even consider the option of abandoning a hostage, he remained a frustrating character to the readers.
Well, taking care of those elements is my job.
“You there! Don’t resist either! Drop the spear!”
Surprisingly, Cheon Yu-hak looked at me for a moment and then calmly set his spear on the ground. I felt a strange sense of trust in his gaze.
“Ha, haha. Yes. Good. You know your precious professor’s life is in my hands, right?”
Hmm, based on her behavior, she definitely seems like the Leader of the Twelve, but why is she so scared? There aren’t many incidents at this point in time that should make that bratty woman this frightened.
I was a bit curious about why she had changed like that—since in the original, she was insufferably arrogant until she was betrayed by Latis—but that’s something I can look into slowly.
“You! You over there, disarm yourself immediately!”
I intentionally ignored her and approached the professor.
She was enduring pain as the price for resisting the artifact… or rather, that black thing that was reinforcing the artifact.
How was she holding it in?
It wasn’t the kind of pain a resident of this world should be able to withstand. I couldn’t recall exactly what it was, but because a general idea of its nature had surfaced in my mind, I could be certain of that.
“Hey! Can’t you hear me? I said put down your weapon!”
Now, even though I didn’t know exactly what the object was, the method to deal with it was already in my head. The only problem was how much I should trust this information of uncertain origin, but since I was already putting it into action, it wasn’t really a matter of belief anymore.
“St-stop! Don’t come any closer!”
Seeing her look up at me while crying with eyes that were half-stained black gave me another sense of déjà vu.
Back then, I couldn’t do this for her.
Because I thought that was the right thing to do.
It’s laughable how I can’t remember the memories, yet I can feel the emotions. When on earth did “back then” happen for me to feel this way?
“Can’t you hear me!?”
This time, Lilac blocked the woman who was finally trying to pounce on me.
His eyes held both fear and trust simultaneously. He probably believed I would somehow handle it, while at the same time imagining the risks if I failed.
I gently took hold of her head.
I could feel the black thing beyond her gaze recognizing me.
[Contact with OO. Confirming your authority. Confirming eligibility to accept OO.]
It moved.
She momentarily tried to suppress the shifting energy, but I stroked her hair, telling her it was okay.
There’s no need to resist.
Because these things won’t hurt you anymore.
As she relaxed her body as if relieved, the black thing surged and transferred to me through my hand as I stroked her hair. It was as if it had found a better host.
The moment it invaded through my arm, I felt a brief flash of pain, but it wasn’t unbearable.
Everyone watching was shocked for different reasons.
“So-hyun…!”
It’s not what you think, man.
I’m not sacrificing myself.
It might be different for the residents of this world, but strictly speaking, I can’t be considered a complete resident of this world. Above all, this thing itself won’t try to harm me.
— …?
The Black Shadow, which was coiled directly in my body, momentarily showed a sign of displeasure, but it soon closed its eyes as if realizing the new tenant had no intention of quarreling with it.
The black thing rummaged through my body to its heart’s content before settling in a corner of my heart, seemingly satisfied.
Once all the blackness was drawn out, her eyes, which had been stained black, returned to their original emerald color. She stared at me for a long time.
What kind of emotion was surfacing there?
“It’s okay now.”
I spoke the words I had once used to reassure her and gently stroked her hair again. Professor Cathy watched me for a long while before slowly losing her balance and collapsing into my arms.
“Uh…”
And the foolish woman, who had been stopped by Lilac and was staring blankly at the scene, looked back and forth between me and Lilac with a face full of terror.
She was a woman who was already being pushed back by Lilac, even if he hadn’t overwhelmed her yet. Now that she had lost her last insurance policy, she must be terrified.
But you’re right to be scared. You’re dead now, lady.
[Sigh.]
At that moment, the masked woman facing Cheon Yu-hak let out a sigh and looked at the Leader.
[I have checked. They say you are still useful, so I am to retrieve you. I will save you, so please stay still and do not interfere.]
That voice spread through the area with remarkable clarity from behind the mask.
Part of it was because someone who had been silent the whole time had finally spoken, and part of it was simply because the voice from behind the mask was a clear, beautiful soprano. However, the biggest reason was her attitude, which could easily sound arrogant.
That foolish woman had completely lost her will to fight, so how could she be so confident in what was essentially a three-on-one situation?
Well, even excluding me, who had just entered the ranks of superhumans, there weren’t many characters in the original work who could handle Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak at the same time.
Then again, if the identity I suspected was correct, she couldn’t really be considered a character of this novel.
The masked woman took a stance.
She really intended to go through with it.
Cheon Yu-hak was the first to respond.
His cautious thrust, meant to test the opponent’s skill, was caught with perfect ease. Cheon Yu-hak widened his eyes and increased the distance, as if trying to see through whatever trick the opponent was using.
As if she didn’t even find it regrettable, the opponent let go of his spear and then shattered the light of the Holy Sword flying from behind with a swing of her fist.
[Are you finished?]
Her tone sounded polite on the surface, but it contained only a terrible apathy and emptiness.
“You’ve got a funny concept going there.”
Now, technically it was my turn.
To be honest, I had gained a few things, but I hadn’t exactly received a massive power-up. If I used this new thing settled in my heart, I could put on a bit of a surprise show, but I still needed time to get used to it. Considering my remaining means, there was synchronization with Sun Wukong, but that was truly a last resort.
[…A concept?]
She didn’t seem angry.
However, she appeared to truly not understand what I was talking about.
Stop playing dumb.
I was about halfway certain of who was behind that mask.
[As far as I remember, I believe this is our first time meeting in person…?]
Right, keep denying it for now.
I have no intention of forgiving you with just a simple punishment.
If it were just me, I wouldn’t be able to overwhelm her without using synchronization. But I didn’t necessarily have to be the one to do it.
In times like this, returning to the basics was also a way.
Reinforcement.
“Hey, Lilac.”
“Uh…?”
There was no need to struggle with Innate True Qi like the first time I used it on him. A brilliant light, obtained at the cost of a massive amount of life force, flashed atop my hand.
So, show me something cool for once.
Protagonist.
The most upright Holy Sword was imbued with a brilliant light and an omnipotent supernatural power.