99. Striking Resemblance
The tremor I felt in Elenoir's mana—why did it feel so damn familiar?
I longed for death, but Elenoir yearned for life. She never let go of a single desire I'd cast aside. Her eyes always gazed up at distant stars, and her lips always spoke of dreams. Race, gender, personality, habits, sense of self—we were opposites in every way. So why had Elenoir, of all people, come to resemble a walking corpse like me so closely? What was the reason?
Non-player character. NPC. What was there to overthink? Elenoir had been dead from the start. I'd only just realized it now.
"My people died long ago. There wasn't a single day they were alive. So what does it matter if I die now?"
Elenoir pressed herself tightly against me, her voice breaking into sobs as she continued. "That serpent is surely part of the trial you're facing—the final enemy of the quest, right? So if we subjugate it, doesn't that end everything?"
I never knew she could make that face, say those words, cry like this.
"Our lives are nothing but empty cans. They'll end alongside that thing. Is it so strange to wish to abandon it all and just survive?" Elenoir shouted.
A dull ache bloomed somewhere in my chest. It was a pain I knew, but without a name, I couldn't call it out. All I could do was endure it, clutching at my chest.
"I... I know. No matter how hard you try to deny it, I can see your heart. You love me."
"Not in the same way I love you, but you've grieved that we're not truly alive. There must have been some form of love."
"Abandon the quest. Choose me. Then we can be together until the very end. It's your decision."
Elenoir shoved the choice back at me—the one I'd wrestled with endlessly and painfully turned away from before. A chance to pick up the desires I'd discarded, maybe the last one I'd ever get. A chance to find my own happiness. Was there ever a temptation that struck so sweetly?
And it made sense. I'd avoided it diligently, but I definitely—
"You plan to die once you leave the Tower, don't you?"
Her following words hit me like a hammer to the skull. Elenoir knew me far better than I'd thought.
"You've always wanted death, but your goal of meeting your mother kept you from it. Isn't it obvious?"
"You'll leave the Tower, meet your mother, and then die."
"But even as you thought that, didn't you wish for happiness? There were desires you couldn't let go of, weren't there? They're surely right here with you now."
Elenoir's hand pressed against my chest. Right on the spot where that nameless ache kept surging.
"Pull out the stake tormenting you. Be happy with me. In a world just for us two."
In the end, Elenoir buried her face in my arms. I slowly raised my hand. If I just wrapped it around her shoulders like this, that would be it. The final, irreversible choice. If I chose Elenoir, could I really be happy?
Life with Elenoir would surely be joyful. Just that brief time together on Floor 7 had created this much hesitation. Even painful things—we could overcome them together. No matter how exhausted, together we'd surely laugh.
But that meant abandoning Mom. It would hurt like hell. There's no way trash like Seo Jin-hyeok could ever forgive himself.
But still, wouldn't it be the same even outside the Tower? How the fuck could I ever forgive myself?
"I..."
After endless agonizing, trash-ass pathetic Seo Jin-hyeok—
reached out to embrace Elenoir's shoulders.
* * *
My outstretched hand froze just before fully wrapping around her shoulders. A little further—just one centimeter. But this worthless fucker couldn't choose even at the very last second.
That's me. Pathetic shut-in jobless dogshit unemployed trash Seo Jin-hyeok.
After agonizing, I chose fear of the outcome over any real choice. I left it to Elenoir.
If she moved toward me herself, if she took that one more step, I'd accept it then. At the absolute last moment, I dumped the choice on her.
And Elenoir answered.
"I see. So that's how it is."
Looking at my hesitating hand, Elenoir gave a bitterly smiling expression and took one step back.
"That final hesitation is your choice, then. A hundred and twenty years ago, even that much would have satisfied me."
She took two steps back as she spoke. Leaving my hesitating self behind, Elenoir chose to give up.
Of course she did. No one would want to live with a spineless, pathetic loser like me. It's natural. Wise, even.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm no different from you. Living another century, it seems I've come to resemble you."
"No, I'm the fuck-up. What part of me did you resemble?"
"Wasn't I weak for forcing such a hard decision on you? Making you choose between your mother and me—that was too much."
Tears streamed from Elenoir's eyes, three steps back now. She spoke as if it were nothing, but her face was honest.
"I have duties too. Obligations I inherited when I took this crown. Even if we're soulless cans... I must protect my people."
"Thanks to your hesitation, I've come to my senses. I was selfish toward my people—and toward you."
"I tried to bind you to this Tower just because I'm trapped here. I knew I shouldn't, but I said it anyway."
Elenoir roughly wiped her tears with her sleeve. Yeah, we really did resemble each other—sharing the same wounds.
The vow we'd both made: no matter how painful or hard, we wouldn't stop. Elenoir's mana, etched with the exact same oath as queen, churned in the same form as mine.
"You... must go meet your mother."
After the same agonizing thoughts, we made the same decision—
to part ways.
* * *
[Time until World Boss Raid Resumes]
It was a huge relief that my Mana Reinforcement relied on the pendant's item boost. Mana sways with the heart, so it was natural I couldn't pull it off in this state.
Elenoir, having wiped away her tears, returned to being the dark elf queen. She'd pour everything into subjugating the serpent dragon now. I had to match that resolve.
No more hesitating because of my feelings. I'd fight with full power.
About six minutes until the serpent dragon reactivated. Weapon placements and other preparations were all complete.
-Bwooooo!
With the trumpet signaling the operation's start, the positioned magic cannon units and mages sprang into action.
"Fire!"
After layers of buffs, magic projectiles and ballistae fired at the serpent dragon with five minutes left until reactivation. Raids don't have to wait for the countdown to end. You could preemptively strike bosses guarded by mobs to start on your terms.
And with firepower like this, you could slam in a heavy opening blow. The community had advised hitting with max output exactly five minutes out.
-Boom!
Kaboom! Krrrng!
The volley barraged the serpent dragon's body mercilessly. The awakening serpent screamed in rage.
Firepower secured, as expected. The power and effect exceeded imagination. Now it was my turn to move.
I confirmed the item in my inventory was ready and stepped onto the magic circle.
"Good luck."
I nodded to the mage handling the transfer, and with the spell's activation, I was hurled into the sky.
I wasn't the only one teleported airborne. Mercedes and the high elf elite knights. The kingdom's elite troops and top brass like the legion commanders. The dark elf scout aces and Elenoir herself.
We were the special forces hitting the serpent dragon's vitals directly. But I didn't think we'd land easily on its thrashing body. The plan had to work.
-Kiri-ring!
Then, from the ground, massive chains erupted amid a torrent of mana. Our side's pre-prepared spell.
Dark elf shadow magic focused more on support like binding than direct combat. Pushed to its limits in that niche, it performed amazingly. The community had verified this too. Challengers had run tests to find the shadow spell with the best binding judgment, and I'd spread it so mages could reinterpret it into a massive ritual.
Normally not doable short-term, but we brute-forced shortages with insane material dumps like magic stones. From my inventory, naturally.
A one-shot binding spell fueled by massive resources. I worried if it'd hold a world boss, but it worked fine.
Now just land.
-Grraaaaaah!!
The chained serpent dragon roared. The mana in its cry pulverized the terrain. But the elites here shrugged off such attacks—true powerhouses among powerhouses.
-Ting! Ping!
We deflected the black mana bullets shooting from its body in our own ways and landed on it.
Elenoir had forsaken her own happiness, declaring she'd protect her people even as a hollow shell. I knew best how agonizing that choice was—I'd made the same one.
So I'd support it with everything I had. Spineless, pathetic fuck that I am, but that's why I excel at this one thing.
"Our goal is a perfect clear."
Never stopping. Crushing obstacles in my path. Ripping enemies apart in dire straits.
I swore to part with you and climb the Tower, so this much, at least, I'll do perfectly.
-Krrrum!
I activated Mana Reinforcement and plunged my sword into the serpent dragon's thick scales.