Another Choice (1)
The cola can crumpled in my hand with a sharp crack.
The fizzy sweetness that I hadn’t tasted in months danced across my tongue. Who would have thought it’d be this hard to find a can of cola on American soil? What a damn apocalypse.
Well, I guess snagging one intact can in a ruined world really is a miracle.
With a self-mocking thought, I scanned my surroundings.
The strongest hunters humanity had to offer were gathered here, and not one of them could hide the tension etched across their faces.
Of course they couldn’t.
We were the last stand. That was what people called us.
If every hunter here died today, humanity’s resistance would end right here, right now.
The final battle was almost upon us.
Rumble—
Cursed storm clouds rolled in and swallowed the sun. The sky darkened, and an unnatural silence fell over everything.
Then a thick, murderous aura blanketed the world. Every cell in my body stood on edge.
Shit. This is awful.
Even when I’d felt my master’s killing intent as a kid, it hadn’t been this bad.
“Th-there it is! The Dragon of Doom!”
As if on cue with someone’s shout, the creature tore the black clouds in half and revealed itself.
A being that would bring about the end of the world. That was why some people had named it the Dragon of Doom.
Over time, the title became what everyone called it.
A black form hundreds of meters long. Rock-hard scales covered its entire body.
One massive flap of its wings sent the rubble of destroyed cities flying away like dust.
“Attack!”
Someone screamed the order.
Those capable of long-range attacks activated their skills. Rays of multicolored light shot toward the Dragon of Doom.
But everything was swallowed by the dragon’s breath. A black torrent swept across the battlefield.
The barrier held for a single moment before shattering like glass.
An S-class tanker dropped to his knees. Then he vanished without a trace. America’s strongest mage coughed up blood from mana backlash and collapsed. He was erased too.
It was such a surreal sight it almost felt fake.
Last stand? Wasn’t that title a little too grandiose?
After all, one breath had nearly wiped us all out.
Everyone behind the barrier seemed to be dead—except for me. I’d barely survived by deploying Body Protecting Qi the moment the breath hit.
If not for the blood surging up my throat, I might have still been struggling to accept reality.
The only reason I’d endured at all was because the barrier had weakened the breath first. If I’d taken the full force, even I would have been helpless.
I let out a deep sigh.
So this is as far as we go.
Maybe because I’d already expected it, I didn’t even feel despair anymore. The only thing left was a heavy sense of regret.
If only I’d realized my potential sooner. If only I’d grown up in a better environment instead of Taeseong.
Could I have stopped it then?
After spitting out its breath, the Dragon of Doom took a moment to recover and locked its gaze onto me.
The moment our eyes met—its ferocious, predatory stare—overwhelming killing intent crushed down on my body.
My legs trembled. I wanted to run away right then and there.
But I clenched my teeth and gripped my sword tighter. Run? And do what? The world was already doomed.
The only choice left was to die fighting gloriously here.
After that, the remaining humans would be hunted down by the dragon and its minions.
That was when it happened.
“Ah…”
A faint groan from behind made me realize there was another survivor.
The Saintess is still alive?
She wasn’t in good shape.
The woman sitting on the ground had her priestess robes torn in several places, and the white mask she always wore was gone, revealing her bare face.
It was the first time I’d ever seen it.
An East Asian? She looked so familiar I almost thought I’d seen her before—a classic Korean beauty.
Damn, she was ridiculously pretty. No wonder she’d kept that mask on all this time.
She was the woman the top American guild had treated like a precious treasure, thanks to her large-scale healing and buff magic.
I’d run into her a few times while staying in the States. I’d wanted to get close to the best healer and buffer around, but every time she saw me she radiated hostility, so I could never even strike up a proper conversation.
“Mister Shin Yuseong.”
Yet here she was, calling my name. In Korean, no less.
I hadn’t heard Korean in years after listening to nothing but English. Was the Saintess actually Korean?
Even someone as arrogant as her must have needed someone to talk to in the end.
Just like me.
“Your name is…”
“You don’t need to know that.”
Her cold tone made me shut my mouth.
It’s the end of the world. Would it kill her to at least tell me her name? The thought crossed my mind, but her eyes were far too icy.
“Ha…”
She sighed again and lowered her head.
What the hell did she want from me?
I shook my head and looked up at the sky.
The Dragon of Doom was preparing another breath. Simple, but it was the creature’s strongest technique.
How many humans had already been wiped out by that attack? Hmm, easily over a hundred million.
Most of the world’s densely populated cities had been destroyed by it… maybe even…
I was lost in pointless calculations when she spoke again.
“I have no choice. I never wanted to use this skill on you, but I hesitated too long. Now there are no other options left.”
“…?”
“Still… I have to stop the world from ending. I don’t even know exactly what this skill does. But I hope you live up to your reputation as the Thunder Emperor. I don’t know about your personality, but at least your skills are the real deal, right?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but what the hell is wrong with my personality?!”
I snapped.
A rumor I’d once heard flashed through my mind—that the Saintess absolutely despised the Taeseong Guild.
But had she hated me separately from them?
Maybe because I was directly involved, I’d never actually heard those rumors myself.
We’d had no real connection, so I couldn’t understand why she loathed me so much.
That was when it happened.
“Huh?”
A soothing sensation spread through my body. The Saintess had healed my internal injuries.
Is she a tsundere or something?
I thought about trying to talk to her again, but there was no time.
“———”
The Saintess closed her eyes and began chanting. Her loose priestess robes flapped wildly, revealing curves that had always been hidden before.
My gaze was stolen for a moment, but the feeling quickly vanished.
A pure white light enveloped my body.
This wasn’t a normal healing or buff skill. I’d never seen an effect like this before.
Then what the hell was it?
I didn’t feel any wariness.
She wouldn’t do anything harmful. And even if she did, what did it matter? This was the end anyway.
Whatever it was, I’d accept it. I’d take the skill the Saintess had prepared.
Luckily, the Dragon of Doom waited for us. Maybe it saw us as nothing more than bugs it could crush with one hand.
The chant was shorter than I expected.
Finally, the skill was granted to me.
Self-Sacrifice Skill 'Miracle'
What…? A self-sacrifice skill?
“Wait! Hey, if it’s a self-sacrifice skill, doesn’t that mean you’ll—huh…?”
The Saintess didn’t move. She kept her hands clasped together, eyes tightly shut with an unreadable expression.
One of the two remaining survivors had died. By her own choice. After granting me the self-sacrifice skill called Miracle.
“…”
I stared down at her in silence.
My feelings were complicated.
I’d originally held quite a grudge against the Saintess.
I was considered one of humanity’s strongest hunters, yet she had always hated me.
She refused to even speak to me, and the eyes visible through the holes in her mask were always cold.
I’d thought of her as a rude woman.
I even wondered if she was racist for treating a struggling foreigner trying to survive in America so harshly.
But I decided to forgive all of it.
After all, she had given her life to cast this skill on me.
It seemed less about me and more about the remaining humanity, but still. A favor was a favor.
Shin Yuseong, a man of his word.
I will gladly carry out your will.
“Yeah, you gave up your life for this. I would’ve died a dog’s death anyway without you, so I’ll do my best.”
I muttered and turned my gaze to the sky. The Dragon of Doom somehow looked like it was laughing at me.
Grinding my teeth, I steeled my resolve.
I had no idea what this Miracle did. The Saintess herself didn’t know, so how could I? I didn’t even feel any physical changes.
There was no way to reach the Dragon of Doom while it soared through the sky without support.
But.
Whoosh!
I awakened my Innate Qi. A forbidden technique that would inevitably lead to death.
My internal energy surged, filling me with a sense of omnipotence—like I could do anything.
For example, techniques I had never been able to use before?
Anyway, I have no lingering attachments to this ruined world. I’ll burn my life here and leave the rest to those who remain.
The sword crafted by the greatest artisan pointed toward the sky.
My target was the Dragon of Doom, looking down at me like I was a toy.
Unity of Sword and Body.
The sensation of becoming one with the sword was always exhilarating.
Sword Flight.
I launched myself into the air. Sword and I became one, soaring upward. The tip of the blade aimed straight for the dragon’s vital point.
Crackle!
Lightning covered the sword, radiating blue energy. If I could drive it into a vital spot, I might be able to inflict a fatal wound.
It seemed the dragon finally sensed the threat. The breath it had prepared came rushing toward me.
Come on, Miracle! I don’t know what you are, but show me! If an S-class Saintess sacrificed her life for this skill, you’d better do your damn job!
And then.
I was struck directly by the black breath. My sword energy lost its light, and my Body Protecting Qi shattered. The breath engulfed my body without any resistance.
You call this a miracle?! It’s nothing! What a total scam!
That was the last thought I had… along with unbearable agony.
***
“Mister Shin Yuseong, what do you think of my proposal?”
“…?”
My eyes snapped open.
A familiar pattern decorated the walls. A man sat across from me with his fingers interlaced.
He leaned back in his chair, looking completely relaxed.
What the hell?
I ignored him for a moment and examined my surroundings. Then I checked my condition.
The excruciating pain that had torn through my entire body was gone.
***
It didn’t take long to figure out the situation.
I knew the perfect word to describe this.
Regression.
Hey, Saintess. I take back what I said about it being a scam. I didn’t know the effect of Miracle was regression.
To think something like this was possible…
I had been given a chance to repay my debt to the Dragon of Doom.
“Mister Shin Yuseong? Are you not listening to me?”
Only then did I take a proper look at the man in front of me.
It was faint because it had been so long ago, but I remembered him.
The Taeseong Recruitment Officer.
It seemed I had regressed to the day I applied to join the Taeseong Guild.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
After regressing like this, only an idiot would join Taeseong again.
Luckily, it looked like the contract hadn’t been signed yet.
“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a second… Where were we again?”
“Well…”
The man sighed at having to repeat himself and continued.
“I said all you need to do is give us one testimony. The truth, of course.”
Ah, I remembered now.
In my previous life, I had desperately wanted to join Taeseong and had eagerly accepted the task they offered.
I had given the testimony exactly as they wanted for something I could barely even remember now.
But not this time.
I wasn’t going to join Taeseong anyway, so I had no desire to do something like that. Even though I hadn’t heard the full story, it probably wasn’t anything good.
That was just how the witch operated.
Turning them down cleanly would be the rational choice. It was definitely rational, but…
Who was the testimony about again? It was definitely some woman… Should I listen first and then refuse?
They might get angry if I listened and then said no, but… I could just play dumb.
“Oh, right. What kind of testimony do I need to give?”
Did he take my attitude as agreement?
“I’m glad we understand each other.”
With a satisfied smile, he pulled out a document from beside him and slid it toward me.
The first thing that caught my eye was a photo of a woman.
“All you have to do is say you saw this person at this location, Mister Shin Yuseong. It was a long time ago, so your memory might be fuzzy, but you were definitely there at the time. It’s not difficult, is it? Just testify truthfully, and you will become a member of our Taeseong Guild.”
“…”
I was at a loss for words.
Now I understood why the Saintess had hated me so much.