All Because of Me
Everything I had ever done led to the worst possible outcome. If I had simply stayed still, nothing like an apocalypse would have ever happened. It was all because of me. Every last bit of it. If I had just stayed put, nothing would have happened at all!
"Ghh...!"
Why? Why did something like this have to happen to me? Was I incapable of ever improving? Was there truly nothing I could do except struggle to survive while making the world even worse? It was horrific. Cruel. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Was this a curse? Or some kind of malicious prank by a terrible existence? Was all of this happening just so someone could watch me thrash in endless agony across infinite time?
I felt as though I had become something utterly monstrous.
"Aaaaargh!"
Overwhelmed by despair and devastation, I thrashed and screamed without even realizing I was still in the middle of the street.
"What's wrong with that guy?!"
"He's a total psychopath!"
"Shit! Someone film this and upload it!"
"This is perfect for Shorts!"
"A crazy bastard just appeared in Seoul!"
"Puhahaha! No way, look at that lunatic!"
"Mom! That man's a madman!"
"I told you not to say things like that!"
The mocking voices of passersby reached my ears.
...Yeah. Throw your stones at me. It was all my fault. Go ahead and laugh. Every single citizen here died because of me. Their ridicule was justified. All this despair and suffering had originated from me.
"Agh, aah! Ghh! Haaaaah!"
Agony pierced my heart. I screamed louder, tearing at my hair with greater force.
"Haaaaah, this is bullshit. Puh-huh."
"Man, this is hilarious."
"Is he schizophrenic?"
"Poor guy."
What was I supposed to do in this swamp of despair?
"This is the police!"
Eventually, the situation was resolved when the police arrived. I claimed I had suffered a breakdown from the pain of a breakup. Right. A breakup. A farewell to the version of myself I had believed was normal—the me who thought that if I just tried hard enough, I could create a better ending.
"Aah... Farewell."
I left the police station. My phone was ringing nonstop.
People who knew me were reaching out. -Aaaagh! Uwaaaargh! Ghhhh!
When I tapped the link, a short video played. It showed me clearly, clutching my head and having a meltdown. A man consumed by extreme sorrow and despair lay collapsed in the middle of the street, thrashing and crying without any regard for the people watching.
The reactions were truly explosive. The video was setting the internet on fire. My sorrow had become their entertainment. Countless people laughed while watching my tears.
That night, I fell asleep trembling in sorrow and despair while watching YouTubers react to my video with laughter.
Aah... Yes. If this is divine punishment, God, I will accept it without complaint. So please... forgive my sins...
I opened my eyes in a motel room. Even at a time like this, I had no place to call home. After all, I was being hunted by a vampire. I absolutely could not afford to be bitten by Secrem again. That would only turn me into some kind of vampire angel and destroy the world. Choosing death was pointless. Eventually, I would end up back at the subway anyway. So I had to run. Just keep running, endlessly.
Where was the end of this nightmare?
"Haha..."
A laugh escaped me. It really was all my problem.
"..."
I fiddled with my powered-off phone. Did Secrem use the internet? If she did, had she seen my video? If she had, how would she react? Would she laugh loudly like everyone else and try to track down my location?
"That would be dangerous."
It would be dangerous. Even though it was my own situation, it felt like I was talking about someone else's story. That was how hollow I felt. I had lost all will and direction, reduced to a completely empty man. Spandal and Jaaldi didn't know the current me, but how would they react if they saw this video? I was genuinely curious.
"Ah."
Suddenly, I thought of Jin-seop. Yesterday's overwhelming despair had made me completely forget about him. I had originally planned to go rescue him right away, but... was that even necessary anymore?
The Fake Bureau's Department Head Lee Do-hyeong was still alive and well. Because of that, the Descendant of the Singing Star had been eliminated early, still in its seed stage before it could even ignite. In that case, maybe Jin-seop wouldn't get caught up in anything either.
"...Should I check?"
I knew the name of his high school, so if I went there, I could confirm it. But... would it even mean anything if I did? It would be great if Jin-seop was fine, but what if he wasn't? What if he had already been captured by the Fake Bureau? How would I even save him? And even if I somehow managed to rescue him using every method available, who knew what new worst-case scenario that would create?
There was also the option of regressing right now and handling things properly from the start, but... what if the regression point was strange? That would waste 2,000 points.
I felt a terrible sense of powerlessness. Just a short while ago, I had been filled with shining determination. I had even moved boldly in pursuit of something better. Now, all of that felt like an illusion.
"My heart and soul have taken a serious wound."
In that case... the only thing that could save me was...
"Religion, after all."
Should I heal my soul with the power of religion? Right now, I just wanted something to cling to.
"Alright."
I had something to do. First, I would go collect the black stone. After that, meeting Saladin would be fine too. Saladin was both a religious authority and my soul brother. Maybe he could heal my damaged soul.
"Let me convert to Islam."
It was an unusual move, but right now, it was the only option I had. I stood up.
The first place I headed was the hospital where Teacher Kim Seong-han had once worked. If I wanted to deliver the ring to his wife, I had to start there. Secretary Kim arrived shortly after, and together we headed to the mansion. When we arrived, the lady of the house came out to greet me.
"Here it is."
"A-Ah! Aaaah!"
She burst into tears upon receiving the ring. The sequence of events was similar to before. Then, as a token of gratitude, she handed me an ornate box. When I opened it, as expected, the black stone was inside.
You have obtained the item 'Fragment of the Black Stone'.
So it counted as an item this time too. In the previous playthrough, I had destroyed it while killing Gehanak. But this time, I was able to obtain it. That was fortunate. If it had been something that could only be acquired once across all playthroughs, that would have been a real disaster.
"This is the black stone."
"You recognize it."
"Yes. I'm not sure if I deserve to receive something this precious."
"Please take it. Especially if you understand its value."
Either way, with this, I could build a good relationship with Saladin. He was an authority in the religious world. I would ask for his help in healing my soul.
"Ah."
I suddenly remembered the grimoire. I had originally planned to ask the lady about it as well. Since it was related to Teacher Kim Seong-han, she might know something. Right. I should ask.
"Would it be all right if I asked one more thing?"
"Of course."
"Just a moment."
I opened my bag and reached inside. If I suddenly pulled a book out of thin air like magic, people would think I was insane, so I planned to pretend to search for it inside the bag before taking out the grimoire. The moment I retrieved the grimoire from my inventory—
—Flash!
It was as if an enormous bolt of lightning had struck. The world was engulfed in a blinding flash.
"Huh?"
And then the scenery changed.
"What...?"
Before I knew it, I was standing in some strange plain instead of the lady's house. What on earth had happened...? I clutched my dizzy head with one hand and looked around.
"Ah."
I could see Islamic warriors. An overwhelming army filling the entire plain. Knights clad in Islamic armor were lined up on horseback. I knew who they were. Mamluk cavalry who had sworn eternal loyalty to Islam. On either side of them stood holy warriors holding shamshirs. But that was not all. Countless spirits in white Islamic traditional attire with combat vests, turbans, AK-47s, and RPGs stood in formation. How many were there? Hundreds of millions? Billions? No—hundreds of millions? The warriors of the Islamic world filling the plain had surrounded me at the center and were staring at me.
—Ya Allahu! Rahmatuka! Kalbahru! Wa iradatuka tassilu ila kulli makanin kalih!
The Islamic hymn echoed across the field. Beyond the warriors, I could see countless Islamic devotees prostrating in one direction. It was an unreal space. But the most unreal thing in this space was neither the hundreds of millions of Islamic warriors nor the devotees. It was what lay beyond them. No—perhaps "beyond" was not the right word. Beyond the Islamic world. An unimaginably enormous deity made of pitch-black stone towered there.
That god... could it be...
"Foul sorcerer."
Before I realized it, Saladin had appeared in front of me.
"So you have finally revealed yourself."
He was looking at me as though I were a demon.
Wait. Sorcerer? I glanced down at the Hospital Director's Grimoire in my hand.
"It is useless. No matter what wicked deed you intended, the moment you revealed that power in my domain, it was over. You were automatically transported across dimensions."
—Shing.
Saladin drew his shamshir from its scabbard. The holy sword of Islam...!
"This is Mecca. There is no escape."
Saladin approached with his sword drawn...
"Sorcerer. You die here."
"W-Wait!"
—Krrrrrrk!
With a thunderous roar, blue light burst from Saladin's eyes. The radiance spread in all directions like lightning, as though it would sweep across the entire world.
"Allahu Akbar!"
The next moment—
—Shhhk!
The holy sword of Islam cleaved through both me and the grimoire.
You have been decapitated by a holy sword and died.
Death Count: 20(-1) → 21(-1)
...
Restarting.