Chapter 247
Chapter 247
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: For You
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gunshots rang out.
Amid the brightly glowing stained glass, muzzles spat fire,
-and with a loud clang!
a gear fell.
The church shook as if struck by an earthquake.
Small gears began to drop, and in their wake, larger ones started falling too.
The red light vanished, and the world returned to normal.
Eileen stood frozen, gun in hand.
"W-What..."
She stammered as she looked at me.
"What did I just see?"
"Huh?"
"Th-The world went all black. And there was this red light..."
"You shot at that light?"
"Yeah. Or...?"
"Yeah or no is a yes or no?"
"I did shoot, but it wasn't me shooting."
Eileen shook her head, her face full of confusion.
"I saw your line of sight."
"What does that mean?"
"Well..."
Eileen closed her eyes and let out a hum.
-Thud!
A massive gear crashed down, and at the same moment, a voice echoed in my head.
[Threat eliminated.]
As if on cue, Eileen and I rolled across the floor to dodge the falling gear.
"How do we get out!"
"Just a second!"
How do we get out?
In the footage I'd seen earlier, the church had expelled people into the village—
"Danger!"
Eileen shouted and tackled me.
Her small frame knocked me down, and we rolled across the floor, kicking up dust.
Once we stopped, we both looked up at the ceiling.
An enormous gear was plummeting right toward us,
and Eileen gripped my arm tight.
"We can't dodge...!"
She cried out desperately, and I hurriedly covered her, activating Critical.
[Critical: 2->1]
The world slowed, and the massive gear was already right in front of us.
I drew my gun.
Beside me, someone else drew their pistol from its holster as if entranced.
It was Eileen.
She stared blankly at a spot slightly off from my line of sight.
I shifted my gaze to where she was looking.
Red light was emanating from the ceiling.
Actually, it was shining from two spots on the ceiling.
I pulled the trigger, and Eileen pulled hers, hitting the red light on the opposite side.
The two bullets pierced the church ceiling,
-and with a rumble!
Too late.
Before I could even withdraw my hand, the massive gear crashed down on my head,
"Hngh!"
I opened my eyes in a small house.
"H-Huh? Huh?"
Eileen muttered in a dazed voice.
We were inside the dark house.
We knew this house.
"...This is the village."
Eileen whispered in disbelief.
"We really got expelled?"
"It might actually be a good thing."
I recalled the church with its gears turning.
No clue how to escape from there, so if this worked out, it worked out.
I looked out the window.
Deep darkness blanketed everything.
"...What we did earlier."
"Huh?"
"Shooting the gun."
"Oh, yeah."
Eileen nodded at my words.
"You don't remember exactly how?"
"Not exactly, but it was like I could see what you were seeing."
"And then?"
"Well... yeah, so I shot, and it felt like the bullet was getting sucked in? Something like that."
Critical.
Eileen had just used Critical alongside me.
This was a first for me too.
I closed my eyes, lost in thought at her words.
All the combined skills so far had been fusions of my abilities and someone else's.
Method Acting, Coordinate Rip.
Yoo Daon was a bit of an odd case. No idea how regeneration tied into time axis fixation.
On the other hand, I thought about Eileen's situation.
She was powerless.
Meaning she had no unique abilities.
If that was the case, then since her abilities couldn't mix with mine, only my ability remained, and we shared it.
So that's how Eileen could use Critical with me?
...
Is that right? Then if I raise the understanding of other normals, I'd build a Critical army? For real?
I'll test it later. Find some like-minded people somewhere...
With that thought settled, I looked at Eileen.
"Eileen—"
-Bang!
Before I could finish, Eileen pulled out her rifle, aimed it at the door, and fired.
The door flew open with a deafening boom, and Eileen looked back at me.
"It was locked."
"Ah, got it. Then—"
Before I could finish, a tearing sound ripped through the air.
I looked up at the sky.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Eileen and I started running.
The sky was filled with static.
*
We ran through the dark village streets.
Recalling the scene from before, the people expelled from the church into the village were swept away by the river not long after.
If we stayed here, we'd get swept away and drown too.
As I ran, Eileen kept glancing back.
...
She looked back over and over, then soon looked again.
"What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
She replied in a voice full of hesitation,
-and then...
A pouring sound reached us.
Eileen gasped.
"This way!"
I shouted and grabbed her, pulling her along.
Soon, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
The angel that Yoo Daon and I had barely held off flashed in my mind.
If that thing showed up, I had no confidence we could stop it.
I desperately retraced my memories as we dashed through the streets, but human legs couldn't outrun the rising water.
Hiding in a house to avoid the water? We'd be slaughtered by the angel before the flood even passed.
The only way to outrun it at full speed... was one.
But that was too much of a gamble. Especially cruel to Eileen.
As I wrestled desperately with the dilemma, Eileen grabbed my hand.
"Wait."
"Yeah?"
"...At this rate, we're dead."
"...Yeah."
She was right.
At this rate, we were dead.
Run or fight, either way.
"Want to hear my plan?"
"Bit nervous, but sure."
"Let's ride the river."
...
She'd said exactly what I'd been thinking.
"Ride the current straight to the exit."
"...You know what happens if we get swept up."
Lose memories? Intelligence? Not sure exactly, but something would be taken for sure.
-Shwoosh!
At that moment, the manual unfolded.
[Office Manual]
[KLQ - Necessary Sacrifices]
1. To survive, sacrifices may be necessary.
2. If you're fine and someone else has to sacrifice, weigh their usefulness.
3. And no one is more precious than you.
4. Remember. You are the most precious—
I closed the manual and looked at Eileen. She gave a wry smile.
"Right. But you're okay, aren't you?"
"...Not sure."
"Yeah, whatever."
She smiled softly.
"I'll do my best."
"Huh?"
"I have too many memories I can't afford to forget."
-Shwoosh!
The water surged toward us, and before I could look back, Eileen grabbed my hand.
"I won't forget the brief happiness of my childhood."
"Eileen—"
"I won't forget our team members' names and sacrifices as they faded away."
"Wait!"
The roar of the approaching river grew louder.
"And I won't forget you."
Eileen held my hand.
And just like that, we were violently swept into the river.
Our bodies tumbled in the current, and a headache like my skull splitting hit me.
"Agh...!"
In the agony where I couldn't even breathe, someone grabbed both my hands.
It was Eileen.
Her eyes were hazy but filled with resolve as she looked at me.
She mouthed something fervently.
Names of people.
Kim Deokpil, Lee Eunju, Kang Seonghwan, and countless others.
And.
'Kim Jaeheon.'
Her lips repeated my name, and I gripped her hands tightly in return.
My memories didn't fade.
That's why I wanted to remember her even more.
To remember the her who wouldn't forget me, even stronger.
At that moment, a sheet of paper slipped from my pocket.
It was a business card.
The blank one the Bureau Chief had given me when we met.
Soon, something struck my head, and my memories stopped there.
I only felt the warmth in my hands.
*
-Thud!
"Cough! U-Ugh... blegh...!"
In the throbbing headache, someone pounded my chest. I opened my eyes and vomited water.
"You're awake?"
I turned at the familiar voice.
The branch chief gazed at me, her brown hair swaying.
"The Bureau Chief rescued you himself."
"I-Is... that... so."
"Do you remember well? They said you rode the River of Forgetfulness. Do you know who I am?"
"...Yes, Branch Chief. What about the others?"
"They all contacted here, so I came. They're on their way now."
"Good—"
Suddenly, Eileen's face came to mind.
"What about Eileen?"
"Eileen?"
The branch chief shifted aside slightly, revealing Eileen lying there with her eyes closed.
"Eileen!"
I scrambled toward her on my knees.
Did she hear me? She let out a groan and opened her eyes.
Then she looked at me and smiled.
"...Do you... remember me?"
Eileen blinked as she looked at me.
After what felt like an eternity, she spoke.
"I told you I remember. Kim Jaeheon."
...
All tension left me.
She remembers.
"Oh my. Maintaining memories even in the River of Forgetfulness. Impressive!"
The branch chief laughed as she looked at us.
"...Who are you?"
"...Oh dear."
Eileen eyed the branch chief warily, and the branch chief froze.
*
"She's resting well now."
A few days later, the branch chief visited me.
"She's undergoing memory rehab. She remembers her childhood, the sacrifices... and finally, you, Kim Jaeheon. Nothing else."
...
In conclusion, Eileen survived.
The others were fine too.
Just that she'd lost a ton of memories—that was the issue.
"Honestly, among the people she remembers, the only living one left is you, Kim Jaeheon."
...
Yeah. She'd vowed to carry the responsibility for the dead.
"...When she recovers, take good care of her. Might take a while, or she might bounce back quick. I'll send word for a visit once she's more stable."
"...Thank you."
"...Surviving was a miracle."
The branch chief patted my shoulder soothingly.
"Don't feel responsible."
"...Yes."
And with that, the church incident was over.
*
A few more days passed.
I still couldn't see Eileen.
The good news was her condition improving daily.
At this rate, we'd meet soon, they'd said.
But that god...
That was what nagged at me.
Even when I asked the branch chief, she just said, "Don't worry about it now."
During such a peaceful day.
"S-Say something."
Song Arin was looking at me.
She sat with her legs crossed, staring.
I noticed the choker around her neck that wasn't there before. A translucent window appeared.
[Name: Necklace of Truth]
[Age: X]
[Talent: Speak the Truth]
[Talent: Speak the Truth]
[Background: The person who was always dishonest put it on themselves and vowed. Today, I will convey my true feelings.]
[Weakness: Remove the necklace.]
Should I take it off?
"Don't reach for it!"
"Ah, okay."