Chapter 41. His Time (2)
Chapter 41. His Time (2)
3
I wasn't the only one wrapped in light.
[Searching for the Demon King's presence on Floor 12... Not found.]
[Confirmed the Demon King's retreat.]
Fwoooosh!
[Historical Revision (歷史改變).]
White light spread in all directions. It was like a faintly shimmering mist. The glow spread across the vast plain in an instant, and soon covered even the capital of the Aegim Empire.
Beads of light.
Beads of light that could only be described that way drifted like countless dandelion seeds.
"What is this...?"
The Witch looked around in confusion.
"Kim Gong-ja, what in the world is going on?"
"Uh, no. This is my first time experiencing something like this too..."
I was just as bewildered.
Watching the world become enveloped in the glow, I asked inwardly.
'Sword Emperor, do you happen to know what's going on right now?'
-No, this is my first time seeing this too. What is this? It's scary.
'......'
Except when it comes to learning swordsmanship, this guy really is no help at all.
I don't know how an ignorant gorilla like this managed to clear up to Floor 99.
-Hm? Hey, Kim Zombie. You just badmouthed me in your head, didn't you? Right?
'Oh, no. I was just thinking that Sword Emperor is so great that a lowly wretch like me wouldn't dare presume to guess your inner thoughts.'
-That's weird, no. Your face is the face of someone who secretly insulted me...
The guardian spirit frowned and grumbled.
Even while we chatted, the beads of light drifted endlessly.
"Oh?"
That was when I felt a noticeable change.
I pointed at the empire's grand walls with my finger.
"Black Dragon Master, take a look over there."
"Hm?"
"The castle walls. The number of flags has dropped drastically."
Military banners planted on the walls, fluttering in the wind.
The flags made of red and gold were rapidly disappearing. The flags that had numbered in the hundreds at a glance had already dwindled to dozens. They were even decreasing in real time right now.
"...You're right. You're correct."
The Witch narrowed her brow.
"Hold onto me for a moment. I need to check something."
"Yes, I agree."
"Teleport!"
The Witch grabbed my hand and used her skill. The next moment, we were no longer in the middle of a desolate field but standing atop the empire's watchtower. The splendid cityscape came into view all at once.
"Good heavens..."
The Witch groaned quietly.
"Everything is changing."
It truly was.
The world was changing.
The slums—no, the refugee camps—had vanished. Refugees who had fled from all corners of the continent after their homes were destroyed by the Demon King. The shantytown where such people had huddled together was enveloped in pure white light... and then it was gone.
As if there had never been any refugee camp to begin with.
"......"
The clothing of the passersby in the market streets had changed too. Worn rags had become proper cloth garments.
Even the fruit on the market stalls had changed. Rotten apples were slowly beginning to gleam with fresh luster.
I murmured without thinking.
"Historical Revision..."
"What?"
"History has been changed."
The number of guards patrolling the walls had also noticeably decreased.
It wasn't just the numbers that had changed—their expressions were different too.
The soldiers' faces were no longer stained with despair born from fear of the Demon King. The tedium of duty. The weariness of patrol. Their faces had shifted into the expressions of people living ordinary daily lives.
"Originally, the Aegim Empire was invaded by the Demon King. It had to be. Whether they won the fight or were defeated and destroyed... either way, they faced the Demon King's army. But..."
I swallowed.
"In this world, the Demon King's invasion itself has become [something that never happened]."
Without anyone knowing.
While no one was aware, the Demon King's invasion had been erased.
Yes.
I had erased it.
"...History has been overturned."
The result unfolded before my eyes.
[Revising Floor 11 stage.]
[Revising Floor 12 stage.]
White light wrapped around the city.
The light touched the face of a child who had been wandering as a beggar.
Beads of light clung to the hem of a man who had been walking aimlessly, worrying about tomorrow's meal.
Shaaaa...
The beads of light drifted like dandelion seeds.
To the city's market streets, to the intersections, to a shop with crumbling pillars, to the home where someone would return after finishing work.
The fingertips of light gently caressed the world,
[Revision complete.]
And soon faded away.
It vanished somewhere.
"......"
I closed my mouth.
The Witch fell silent as well.
In the frozen world, no sound could be heard, so even though only the two of us had gone quiet, it felt as if the world itself was holding its breath.
But.
"...Come, come! Cheap! So cheap!"
The silence was broken before long.
"Apples fresh from Eilbrandt! Fresh apples! Good sir, even elves can't pass up seasonal fruit! Come take a look at these fresh apples!"
Sound.
"The bathhouse water has been terrible lately. You can see the filth with your own eyes. Honestly, if the bureaucrats can't even manage the water properly, what are we supposed to trust..."
Sound could be heard.
Because I had accepted the quest, the time that had been frozen until now began to flow.
"Honestly, they say the princes are causing all sorts of trouble! Every night, His Majesty's wailing can be heard from the palace walls, or so they say. It's only a rumor, but in my opinion..."
"How about a drink among ourselves tonight?"
"Spare a coin, please. Just one coin! The Goddess loves you all."
"Eilbrandt apples that even elves smack their lips over! Cheap!"
The world breathed again.
"You there!"
Among those sounds, there was also a breath directed at us.
"Who goes there!"
The Witch and I turned our heads. The direction the voice had come from. A general stood on the wall, sword in hand.
The general scowled fiercely.
"How insolent! What wretches dare trample upon the empire's watchtower! Come down at once!"
Somehow, that face was familiar.
I murmured.
"Sarbast Aegim..."
The general NPC's eyes widened.
It was the look of someone seeing a person like me for the first time in his life.
"Ha! What a hideous rogue. How do you know my name?"
I pressed my lips shut.
'...I see.'
A general who originally belonged on Floor 11, not Floor 12.
The imperial who greeted hunters kindly before anyone else.
The NPC whose skill I had copied by deliberately getting myself killed.
"You wretches! Did you not hear me tell you to come down!"
That man was shouting as if addressing complete strangers.
Not just Floor 12—even the history of Floor 11 had been changed.
Thump.
'Ah.'
Suddenly, my heart struck against my chest.
An emotion I couldn't identify wrapped around my heart, my chest, and then my entire body in succession. Words wouldn't come out properly, as if my throat had been blocked. Why? The world had regained its breath, but conversely, it felt as if my voice had been stolen by something.
"......"
My lips twitched as I looked down at the general.
Memories that had already become an old story.
Recalling the words the general NPC had said to me.
-To take a hero's life... I cannot do it!
-Thank you on behalf of the empire.
-I was skeptical. I wondered whether those called heroes would truly fight hard for us when this isn't even their own world. But it was nothing more than needless worry. I offer my thanks once again.
The general's smile surfaced last.
-Please, take good care of our empire.
"......"
Ah, yes.
So this is what it was.
"Heh."
I didn't know why, but laughter spilled from my lips.
"Ahahaha, uha! Haa, ahahahaha!"
I laughed, clutching my stomach.
The general looked up with wide eyes. The soldiers' gazes focused on me. The Witch looked at me as if I were strange. The guardian spirit stared at me like I was a madman.
But I didn't care.
There was, of course, sadness that the imperials had forgotten me.
But an emotion far greater than that had seized my entire body.
"Ahh."
I took a deep breath.
And opened my mouth a little wider.
"...I protected it!"
A lion's roar burst from my mouth.
The general's shoulders flinched and hunched.
"I protected it!"
The soldiers standing on the wall hesitated.
"I protected your empire!"
Still, I didn't stop.
I carried the lion's roar on red aura so that it resounded far and wide.
"I! Kept my promise!"
The people of the empire turned their heads.
From the market streets, from the intersections, from the shopping district, from someone's home.
My voice rang against the city walls, echoed off the palace walls, and must have struck the walls of the throne room as well. I laughed. I laughed loudly. My laughter echoed and echoed again, ringing through the Tower.
"Without a single shred of shame!"
I stood tall on the watchtower and pointed at the sky.
"Without a single ounce of regret!"
Hundreds of days.
Until my palm turned black with marker ink,
With the single-minded resolve that I didn't want to see even one victim,
Crossing hundreds of days to finally defeat the Demon King of Fall Rain—
"I'm proud!"
I was happy.
"I did it!"
It was the first time in my life.
The first time I had ever felt this emotion.
I had lived like trash.
Envying others, mocking people, passing my days doing nothing but drinking. I had exhausted myself. I had frozen my heart under the name of cold rationality. I had thrown away my life. I had thrown away myself.
But not today.
[Stage clear.]
At least today, I could hold my head high.
[Today, the Floor 12 stage has been cleared.]
I could hold my head high before people.
Before the Witch and the Sword Saint too.
Before the world as well.
Most of all, I could hold my head high before myself.
[Announcing to everyone once more.]
I.
I could be proud of myself.
[Today, the Floor 12 stage has been cleared.]
I could be that kind of person.
[Measuring clear participants...]
[Measurement complete.]
I was so happy my heart felt like it would burst.
[Announcing the 3 clearers.]
Light was engraved into the empire's sky.
+
[Clear Contribution Rankings]
1st. Death King (死王)
2nd. Black Witch (黑色魔女)
3rd. Sword Saint (劍星)
+
Text that the NPCs probably couldn't see.
The general had frozen stiff at my lion's roar.
"Wh-what in the world are you talking about..."
"Sarbast Aegim!"
The general flinched.
I looked down at him from the watchtower.
"Take good care of the empire!"
"......"
"Sorry, but this is as far as the hero's role goes! I caught the Demon King for you, so that should be enough! Your empire probably has rot in places you can't see, and all sorts of problems, I'm sure! It's obvious, but!"
I grinned widely.
"From now on, you figure it out yourselves!"
"......"
"Fighting for our existence! Aja, aja! Fighting!"
The general opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish.
"Wh-what have you been saying since earlier... I can't make heads or tails of it..."
-Uhahahaha!
The guardian spirit clutched his stomach and rolled around in midair.
-Uheek! Uheeheehee! Keuhuk! Y-you lunatic! You nutjob! You zombie bastard! I thought for a second you might actually act like an adult and wallow in some remorse, but wow, this psycho just straight-up brags about himself! I'm curious about your thought process, hey! Kim Zombie! I'll admit it! You're a genuine research subject!
'Ah.'
I swept back my bangs.
'What can I do? Today's me is just too lovable.'
-Y-you lunatic...! Kim Nutjob! Uheok, fine! I like that you're not being a pathetic little shit for once! Uheeheeheek!
As if laughing that hard still wasn't enough, the guardian spirit rolled around in midair.
I turned to the Witch.
"Come on, Black Dragon Master! What are you doing? Let's hurry to Floor 13!"
"......"
The Witch sighed with an inscrutable expression.
"Right... There aren't many normal people among high-ranking hunters to begin with. It's fine. I understand. Still, I'll just be grateful you're better than the Heretic Questioner."
"Pardon?"
"Teleport."
The Witch grabbed my hand and activated her skill. The next moment, we were back in the wilderness. Without any warning, she grabbed the Sword Saint's forearm.
The Black Dragon Master looked into my face.
"The entry ticket is always given to the 1st place first."
She said.
"You speak the transmission on behalf of all of us, Death King."
It was the first time I had been called by that alias.
Today was a day full of first-time experiences.
"Yes."
I smiled.
"...Transmit."
And so.
My stage moves on to the next.