Chapter 105
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 105
The present we see is not the present, but the past from 0.1 seconds ago.
That is because it takes 0.1 seconds for the image formed on the retina to travel through the optic nerve to the sensory cortex of the brain.
Therefore, the human brain predicts the future to compensate for this biological buffering.
The thing inside my head was no different, and it seemed to have judged that I was dead, split in half.
For an instant, the illusion of my vision splitting in two swept over me along with a hollow sense of collapse.
I, too, thought I was going to die like this.
────!
But in that sliver of a sliver of a moment.
The instinctive will to live moved the Cheonjam Thread.
Almost simultaneously with its contraction, I slipped past the sword strike—
"You dodged that?"
Han Soo-hyeok's dumbfounded voice followed from behind.
But it was too soon to feel relieved.
I had avoided a gruesome death, but the situation was still bleak and utterly wretched.
RUMBLE—
The moment I righted my stance, dark-red sword strikes came rushing in one after another.
"X—. Seriously."
This time I raised my hand without delay.
[[Auxiliary Authority 1] Absorption activates.]
['Greed' warns that this Demonic Energy exceeds the permissible limit.]
I know.
I had experienced taking it once before, so I wasn't stupid enough to stand bare-bodied in front of an oncoming dump truck twice.
[Trait, Adversary of Demons, activates.]
[The power of the sword strike decreases slightly.]
[Activating trait, Manifestation.]
I absorbed Han Soo-hyeok's sword strike while simultaneously activating Manifestation.
Amid the searing pain as if my right hand were burning away, I visualized whatever came to mind and somehow drew out the Seven-Branched Sword.
[Manifesting the Seven-Branched Sword.]
[Manifestation Accuracy: 20%]
The moment it was in my left hand, I shoved it into Han Soo-hyeok's sword strike, which was locked in confrontation with Greed.
CRACKLE— CRACKLE—
Sparks strong enough to make my whole face sting flew.
When the sword strike of a Demonkin on the level of a Yosal Corps commander clashed head-on with the Seven-Branched Sword, which carried the nature of demon-subjugation, the surrounding space shook as if it might crumble.
SLASH—
But in the end, I cut through it.
With the power of Greed and the Seven-Branched Sword, I split the long crescent in two, and the severed sword strikes deflected to the left and right.
They shot backward as if ricocheting, then exploded.
BOOM—
A terrifying blast and tremor shook the entire mansion.
[Absorbs a certain amount of Demonic Energy.]
[Seal Release Rate: 34%]
But was this the limit of my current abilities?
The faint sense of accomplishment evaporated the moment a brutish hand shot out of the darkness and seized my throat.
"......Why are you here?"
Han Soo-hyeok had closed in before I knew it and grabbed me by the neck.
I was on the taller side myself, but when a man over 190 centimeters hoisted me up high, I ended up dangling.
My face was probably flushed as if about to burst.
My breath caught with a jolt, and I was dizzy enough that my head spun.
"I'm asking you, you little shit. Why are you here?"
But that was my problem, and Han Soo-hyeok let out a rough breath, as if he intended to snap my neck the moment things went wrong.
I gripped Han Soo-hyeok's hand with both of mine and somehow forced my mouth open.
"L... g..."
Let go.
"What, you punk?"
"L... let... go..."
You have to let go if you want me to talk, you son of a bitch.......
"You. Can't you speak properly?"
Han Soo-hyeok, apparently frustrated, wrenched my neck even harder.
Ghk, this brute, seriously.......
I'd rather have died from the sword strike. If I suffocated to death like this, I felt like I'd die with a grudge and wander the living world.
I had to shake off that hand somehow.
['Greed' advises you to use the second authority.]
Contrary to Greed's advice, I stacked my left hand over my right.
[Enhancing the right hand's strength threefold for 5 seconds.]
[Required SP: 5]
I didn't want to waste this hard-won chance at conversation on a half-baked attack, so I had tried it as best I could.
The moment I accepted, a strength I had never experienced before surged from my right hand.
CRACK.
I shoved Han Soo-hyeok's hand away roughly, but only a little, then shouted.
"You have to let go if you want me to talk, you X—ing bastard."
"Ahh."
Only then did Han Soo-hyeok let out a short exclamation and release the strength in his hand.
I flopped face-down and went ghk, ghk—, rapidly catching the breath I had been unable to take.
"Did you just call me an X—ing bastard?"
"I was about to die and you expect me to be polite? Want me to add 'sir' after 'X—ing bastard'?"
"Huh."
Han Soo-hyeok scratched the bridge of his nose in disbelief, then hardened his expression again.
"Now answer. This is the third time I'm asking why you're here."
I thought for a moment about how to answer.
Whether to speak honestly, or to come up with some other excuse.
But no matter how much I thought about it, there was only one answer.
So I opened my mouth.
"Booster......."
"What?"
"I came all the way here because of Booster."
I answered while rubbing my still-tingling neck.
Since Han Soo-hyeok also seemed to be in an antagonistic relationship with those bastards, I had decided to come clean.
"Booster? Booster my ass."
But his reaction was quite unexpected.
Han Soo-hyeok twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk, then pulled a pure-white gem from his pocket.
It was only the size of a thumbnail, but with a soft light lingering around it, it looked special to anyone.
"That's......."
"Booster is just the dregs left over from diluting the byproduct. This is the real thing. Well, this is also just one of several fragments."
......Booster is nothing more than a byproduct?
The substance that raised an Awakener's grade by an entire level?
While I was startled by the unexpected information.
Han Soo-hyeok put the gem away and continued.
"It's not something you need to know, so go back while I'm letting you live. I saw a bit of blood today, so I'm tired."
As if to end the conversation there, he reached toward the Sword of Goujian of Yue lying on the floor.
So I opened my mouth again.
"Is that it? Not yet......."
"Do you think you have the right to ask me questions?"
Han Soo-hyeok growled as if in warning.
"Nothing in this world is free, kid. I don't know why you want to know, but if you want more information, be stronger than me. If not, then when I tell you to go, just shut up and go. If you don't want to die."
Every word was so right that I couldn't bring myself to speak.
"Anyway, kids these days throw a fit even when you spare their lives. Don't know how to be grateful. If you won't leave, I will."
Han Soo-hyeok grumbled and slung the Sword of Goujian of Yue over his shoulder.
He trudged toward the entrance.
The last piece of evidence. The only hope of continuing the investigation was walking away.
.......
I clenched my fist in frustration, then suddenly felt an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu.
Myeongdong Cathedral.
When I first met Han Soo-hyeok, I remembered feeling this same helplessness and giving up.
.
.
But Reina had asked you then.
Was there really no way, was I certain there was no way.
So I had clung on desperately.
In the end, I found an answer and shattered Han Soo-hyeok's barrier.
"So......."
I'll cling on this time too.
Since I can't turn those footsteps back with force.......
I'll search for another way, and search again.
If it won't work as Park Ha-yul, then as Lee Do-hyeon, I retrace the narrative and setting of the character named Han Soo-hyeok.
As the person who visually recreated this world, I go back over his deficiencies and his purpose in life.
And then, at the moment I finally reached an answer.
"Han Soo-hyeok......."
First, I called him to a stop.
Since I spat out casual speech, the reaction was immediate.
"What, you punk?"
Han Soo-hyeok stopped in his tracks and turned his head at an angle.
His brow was deeply furrowed, as if the patience he had been holding onto had snapped with a crack.
So I quickly spoke.
"......Mr. Han Soo-hyeok. I meant Mr. Han Soo-hyeok."
But a thoroughly angered lion does not calm down easily.
The laziness of lying sprawled on the savanna scratching its belly was gone; he bared his teeth, exuding the menace of a predator.
"Do you think I'm funny?"
As the formless Demonic Energy he emitted pressed in on my whole body, I got to the point before it was too late.
"Let's make a deal. I have something you need. You....... You're looking after quite a lot of children, aren't you?"
* * *
Han Soo-hyeok had left the mansion and was walking along the coastline of Nice, where the waves rolled in.
The cool sea breeze tangled his long hair and tickled his face, but Han Soo-hyeok's thoughts could not easily escape the conversation from moments before.
"Good grief."
Even thinking about it again, he had been a reckless, irresponsible, fearless brat.
To dare make a proposal in that situation.
"You....... You're looking after quite a lot of children, aren't you?"
When that secret no one else knew popped out of the brat's mouth, Han Soo-hyeok had genuinely drawn his sword.
Oath target or whatever, he had thought that killing him and silencing him was the only answer.
"......."
It was a connection that had grown out of a past mistake.
Starting with the ten orphans he had no choice but to take in, he had ended up accepting more children with nowhere to go, and before he knew it, the number had exceeded fifty.
He had sworn he would live alone his whole life and die alone, but while he could block enemies, he could not block fate.
He didn't know how the brat had found out, but he had made an offer so tempting that his sword had wavered for a moment.
"Think of the children. As a Demonkin, there's a limit to how much you can care for them with a hastily fabricated identity, isn't there? I'll lend you my status. So......."
All you have to do is tell me what you know about the gem.
He would place the sturdy umbrella of one of the Ten Great Families over the children, so all Han Soo-hyeok had to do was share as much as he knew.
"Crazy bastard."
He certainly was a crazy bastard.
Like a crazy bastard, he also knew how to use his head quite well, and his nerve wasn't small either.
So that must be why he had received the choice of the forgotten legacy.
From Han Soo-hyeok's standpoint, it was an offer with no downside.
So, for now, he refused.
"I refuse. I hate bastards who are all talk."
Instead, he left room for a future meeting.
That was.......
Ring-ring— Ring-ring—
Just then, a phone call came in and cut off Han Soo-hyeok's musings.
[Caller: Old Hag]
Han Soo-hyeok scowled deeply, then reluctantly pressed the call button.
—Heh heh. If the job is done, you should report in first. What are you doing that.......
"Ahh, it's noisy, and it ended well, so I didn't call."
—Then when do you plan to go retrieve the next fragment?
"Ah, that......."
Han Soo-hyeok scratched his head awkwardly, then confessed honestly.
"I don't have to go myself. I sent a substitute."
—A substitute? You're telling me you handed it off to someone else?
The phone suddenly rang as if it would burst, and Han Soo-hyeok grumbled.
"Whoa, shit. You scared me. Did this old hag boil a train whistle and eat it?"
—Hey, you bastard. You're not unaware of what kind of object that is.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Was this what it would feel like if the old hag rapped?
She was so worked up and shouting at the top of her lungs that his ears were ringing.
Han Soo-hyeok pulled the phone away from his ear, took out a cigarette, and lit it.
And a brief rest.......
Hoo—
Well, it wasn't that he couldn't understand.
The gem's true identity was a fragment of another legacy owned by the main order.
The factions opposed to the old hag were making a spectacle of themselves with so-called experiments, but it was a treasure that had to be recovered no matter what.
Once the old hag's...... no, Libra's voice quieted down a bit, Han Soo-hyeok continued.
"Don't worry, it's not an outsider. I gave the job to that guy."
—That guy?
"Yeah. That Park something-or-other. I don't know why, but he was chasing the fragment."
—No, what in the.......
Libra couldn't speak for a while, then finally managed one word.
—How did it come to that?
"Huh?"
—There must be a reason you made that choice.
"Ah, well......."
Han Soo-hyeok scratched his cheek and stalled.
He had refused for now, but there was a certain contract held in reserve until their next meeting.
He couldn't say that it was bait he had thrown out to test whether the brat was sincere or not.
Vrooom—
Just then, a yellow car was approaching from the distance.
"Ah. A taxi's coming. I'm in a hurry, so let's talk later."
—Hey, you bastard.......
Click—
Han Soo-hyeok ended the call and ran over in a fluster to stop the taxi.
SCREEECH—
If they had collided, the taxi would have gone flying, but the taxi driver, who had no way of knowing that, opened the window and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"What are you saying? Just get in. Okay?"
But when a single lion pounded on the hood—bang, bang—the driver quietly opened the door.