Chapter 31
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Mindset (4)
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“Today too… nice to… @#’s personal skill…. Haha!”
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice echoed from far away. It was the voice of the host from a variety show I often watched.
‘…TV noise?’
As my mind cleared and sounds started registering, my sense of touch returned.
I felt a cold, smooth floor against my face.
‘Where am I?’
Struggling to open my eyes, a small light grew like emerging from a tunnel, flooding my retinas with visual information.
My vision was blurry, like opening my eyes underwater, but since the objects were familiar, identifying them wasn’t too hard.
‘Curtains…. Sofa…. Kids watching TV? Ugh.’
With hearing, touch, and sight returning in sequence, dizziness hit me like someone had grabbed my head and shaken it violently.
“Uh, are you coming to…? Yes. Slowly… wait….”
A boy who looked about ten years old, watching me, opened his mouth.
His words cut in and out, but I got the meaning, so I clutched my head and slowly sat up.
And once I fully regained my senses.
I realized where this was.
It was the place I’d dreamed of for building a happy family, the interior from the photo I’d pinned up on the wall of my single-room apartment and stared at countless times.
Spotless marble floors. A living room as spacious as several of my studio apartments combined. The Han River visible beyond the large windows.
The Seoul Tower residence.
It was the very home I’d dreamed of.
‘Why am I here?’
I was definitely slaughtering the Sting and its swarm before blacking out.
That location should have been the ‘gap’ inside the Songpa Police Station, so waking up here made no sense.
Moreover, it was cozy and immaculate, just like before the world ended, and neither So-hee nor Uncle Dong-gil were anywhere nearby.
‘What the hell….’
“Whoa!”
“…!!”
Lost in thought, the boy suddenly appeared right in front of me, startling me.
I recoiled without a sound, and seeing that, the boy rolled on the floor clutching his stomach.
“Hahaha! Look at your face. Hehehe. Ow, my stomach hurts.”
The boy laughed for a good while, wiped his tears, and stood up.
Then he scurried around the living room—behind the curtains, under the sofa, out the window—before speaking.
“Sleep well? You’re really unique, though. Most mental worlds are just plain white or pitch black. You must’ve loved this place a lot? You actually like worldly stuff?”
I racked my brain watching the boy.
The Seoul Tower, which I’d confirmed was half-destroyed by the earthquake, looking pristine like this.
A kid who looked at most ten surviving unscathed in this city.
No matter how I thought about it, the situation didn’t add up.
Naturally, honorifics slipped from my mouth as if it were the most obvious thing.
“Who… are you?”
“Me? Hmm, curious?”
The boy didn’t meet my eyes, continuing to poke around the living room and rooms.
Weirdly, even when he went into another room, his voice came through crystal clear.
“The Messiah of Christianity, the Mahdi of Islam, Maitreya of Buddhism, Kalki of Hinduism. Simply put, the savior who comes at the end times. That’s me.”
“Savior? How can I believe that? It could even be… the opposite.”
“Demon? Hmm, you think I’m evil…. This one’s full of doubts.”
“Honestly, isn’t it? The world’s a total mess, and yet—”
No signs at all.
As my quiet mutter ended, someone suddenly appeared behind me and smacked the back of my head.
Thwack!
The pain was intense enough that if Arktine had swung, tentacles would’ve popped out.
“Grrrrr….”
“Tsk, such a wimp.”
The boy glanced at my agony and continued.
“That’s because you humans got me ‘fired.’”
“Ugh…. What?”
“You humans’ behavior up till now was so outrageous it pissed off even the One with boundless compassion. So He personally erased my mission. Got it?”
The rambling boy stopped wandering, approached, and sat cross-legged in front of me.
“Suspecting me won’t help anyway. Demon, angel, whatever—I won’t let you leave without my permission.”
Hearing that, I jumped up and bolted to the front door.
Click.
It wouldn’t open.
“Urgh!”
I yanked with all my might, but the door and knob stayed solid.
‘With my strength level, it should….’
I dashed back to the living room and swung my fist full force at the massive window taking up one wall.
Thud.
Compared to the whoosh of air, the impact was ridiculously light.
Only then did I admit I was trapped here.
“…”
“If you know it’s pointless, sit. Let’s talk.”
I slowly sat facing him, cross-legged in the middle of the living room. He closed his eyes briefly and spoke.
“First, admit I’m the savior.”
“…?”
“Admit it. I came down in person, and instead of thanks, you mistake me for something evil. I won’t continue if you don’t—I’ll get offended.”
“…If you’re as you say, a god, then fooling around like this—”
Thwack!
“Gah!”
He’d been sitting right there, yet something slammed my head hard from behind. I writhed on the floor in unbearable pain before sitting back up, straight.
Not cross-legged, but on my knees.
His words had made it clear: god or whatever, my life was in his hands.
“I’m sorry. Savior.”
At my words, the boy cracked open one eye and spoke.
“…For real?”
“Yes. Deserved the hit for doubting you irreverently.”
“Ahem, I see. Right, so I… Wait, where was I?”
“You said up to getting fired.”
“Ah! Yeah! Fired, so I couldn’t save the despairing humans. Your karma, though.”
He snapped his fingers and continued.
“But who am I? Your savior, right? So I hustled. Begged this one, that one…. Nah, you don’t need that detail. Anyway, I begged and begged and barely got it: a chance for you to survive this apocalypse.”
‘A chance?’
The boyish face talking casually about the world’s end and salvation felt bizarre, but I kept listening.
“That’s one reason I came to you directly. I’m finding promising humans and giving them this chance. Found a few already…. Alright, sit straight.”
“Do I have to take this chance?”
“Hah? Listen to this guy. Don’t want it? Won’t gratefully accept….”
“I’m not qualified to be the savior’s agent, nor do I want to.”
Right. I wasn’t cut out to be the savior’s proxy saving humans in the apocalypse.
My own safety came first. And if I saved anyone, it’d be those in my circle, not strangers. I had zero noble mission to sacrifice for unseen others.
‘No, noble? Wrong word.’
Just moments ago…. There were options to save others.
But among them, I chose the one leading to their deaths—purely my greed.
No variables for me or mine. The greed to protect them unconditionally.
That made me cruel. Ruthless enough to sacrifice others for my circle.
‘….’
Did he read my mind? He gazed down solemnly and spoke more gravely.
Of course, the kid’s face ruined the effect.
“You’re not some cosmic being embracing all, nor a transcendent like me. Just human. Paradoxical, chaotic, flawed. That’s you. Some strive to improve in that state, some don’t. From what I’ve seen, you’re the former. Don’t doubt my judgment.”
“Still….”
“If you hate it that much, how about this: take it, and it boosts not just your safety but your circle’s survival odds. Still refuse?”
“…”
“Yeah, now you’re thinking.”
Pleased with my silence, he stood and headed to the kitchen.
He filled a cup from the kettle with something.
Pour—
He brought steaming mugs, handing me one. Bitter yet fresh green tea scent tickled my nose.
“Drink. Think it over slowly.”
“…”
* * *
Silence lasted until the hot tea cooled.
When I still hadn’t decided, he spoke again.
“Your careful pondering pleases me. Don’t overthink. I said I’ve found ‘some’ already. Will find more. More means higher chances. You alone save humanity? You overrate yourself.”
Right, he was correct. If others get the chance, no need for me to be the savior.
I’d just take his gift gratefully.
‘Salvation? Someone else will handle it.’
I decided and answered.
“Thank you. I’ll take it.”
“Good choice. Now sit properly.”
I straightened up, and he stood, placing a small hand on my crown.
Hummm—
The air vibrated, and light filled the area.
I looked around.
Suddenly, we stood on a vast plain.
A cool breeze tickled my ear hair then scattered.
‘….’
I looked up at him.
A pure white, crown-shaped halo blazed above his head.
It looked silly on the boy before, but now it made him holier.
[Your savior has come to you.]
Not from his mouth to my ear, but mind to mind, his will reached me.
[You shall be my dagger and my shield, thus my agent. No more lost in doubt or self-questioning. Your will is mine. Fulfill it, achieve it. Thus shall you protect your circle.]
His hand glowed warmly, and a blade-like beam pierced from the clouds, bathing us.
[Remember you are humanity’s touchstone. Always hold this mindset. Fail, and I may revoke your mission—remember this well.]
Bwoooo—
A trumpet blast echoed from sky to vast earth.
Opening my eyes, he placed his crown on my head.
In that instant, my vision went pure white, and my mind faded.