Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: A Toaster and a Recurring Tragedy
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Clatter. Thud.
For a while, the debris of the horribly collapsed building shifted and stirred.
A large slab of a cement wall tilted, and a hand encased in a mechanical device shot out.
CRASH! Crumble—.
An unidentifiable figure fell onto the toppled cement wall with a clank like a tin can.
“Ha, fuck… What a hell of a welcome back.”
As he let out a sigh mixed with disbelief and anger, the mechanical shell encasing his entire body clanked open and peeled away.
The figure revealed was a shirtless Juyeol. He had briefly lost consciousness, and it took him a moment to get his bearings.
Ever since returning to Hero Headquarters, he hadn't been able to sleep soundly.
It was only natural, with the real culprit who had burned his sibling to death still alive and out there somewhere, completely off his radar.
Today was no different. He had woken from a light sleep and was drinking water in the kitchen when an ominous, heavy roar rapidly approached.
The moment he predicted a massive explosion was imminent, before he could even duck, something hard covered his entire body.
The metal contraption, which strangely reeked of bread, had protected Juyeol completely from the blast, but its joints wouldn't bend, making it difficult to escape the rubble.
It took him a long while just to figure out which way was up.
Juyeol, still lying down, turned only his head. The machine that had enveloped him trembled before suddenly shifting into a familiar shape.
“…A toaster?”
Suddenly, a smiling emoticon appeared on the toaster.
[Greetings! I am Ttiyong!]
WHAM!
Startled, Juyeol snatched the toaster and hurled it away. He reflexively reached for his pistol, but his holster was gone.
The toaster, now embedded in the debris, shuddered, then rolled over and transformed into a mechanical hamster, spreading its arms in a grand ‘ta-da’ gesture.
[The mechanic made me sturdy!]
“Crazy. What the hell did she do to a toaster?”
Juyeol stared in disbelief at the ‘former toaster’.
That was definitely the toaster he had broken by throwing it, the one Eun Haon had fixed.
He'd asked her to repair it, and she'd created this bizarre thing. Just this morning, he had made toast in it.
Juyeol brushed off his pants and stood up, swallowing a curse.
Ever since they had parted ways, he had tried his best not to think about Haon.
But there was no better way to bring something to mind than to tell yourself not to think about it.
The way she looked, smiling brightly as she entered the safe house with a full paper bag.
The way she sat at the table, swinging her feet back and forth while waiting for him to cook.
The way she slept curled up on the sofa.
And her lips, panting in the rain…
The way she snuggled into his arms in the same bed…
*'Stop! Stop thinking about it!'*
Juyeol ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
When his mind filled with images of Haon, the thought always ended with the charred corpse of his sibling.
The matter of his sibling alone was enough to make his head feel like it would explode.
*'Why did she do something I never asked for…'*
With a conflicted expression, Juyeol glanced at the mechanical hamster before searching through the ruins of the safe house.
He grabbed what looked like a damaged gun and a knife, then set off. His communication band and phone were surely destroyed, so he had to get to the place where he'd hidden his emergency phone.
*'The only one who would pull a stunt like this has to be Nova. He seemed to have a lot of complaints about me after Eun Haon lost her memory.'*
As Juyeol walked away irritably, the mechanical hamster began to trail behind him.
“What? Go back to your owner. She's not coming here anymore.”
[Ttiyong's owner is you!]
Juyeol grimaced, a chill running down his spine.
“…What's with that way of talking? And that name?”
[Because toast pops out with a *ttiyong*, I'm Ttiyong!]
“Unbelievable…”
Juyeol let out a dry laugh at Haon's naming sense and pressed a hand to his forehead.
*'She comes up with the weirdest names. Is the bird she keeps with her named Blue just because it's blue?'*
He grumbled internally, then froze. He remembered the story Haon had told him about ‘Parang’.
“Hah…”
Unable to contain his surging irritation, he kicked the mechanical hamster with a loud *CLANG*.
“Get lost.”
The mechanical hamster flew a good distance, then rolled back over and placed its short arms on its hips.
[I am sturdy! It's my job to protect my owner, so I have to be sturdy!]
Juyeol looked like he was about to go insane, tearing at his hair before finally deciding to give up.
He had no interest in standing around the Old District shirtless. Contacting headquarters was the priority.
Every time he took a step, the mechanical hamster scurried after him.
* * *
Thump. Thump.
Through the worn-thin soles of her sneakers, she could feel the ground trembling.
Whoosh—.
Haon lifted her head, the murky wind whipping against her.
This was the Gimpo Bridge, with red smoke billowing up from it.
The site of an unforgettable incident, where the bridge had collapsed just one month after the war began.
Thump. Thump.
‘…’
The nightmare was repeating itself before her very eyes.
“Aaaah! Help me!”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Countless people, struck with terror, were crossing the bridge.
Behind them, Mana Engineering devices that shot out mana like blades pursued them like a swarm of rats.
Haon, as if following a script, took out her phone and shouted.
“Hurry, run! Get across quickly!”
And just as she had in the dream countless times before, she unfurled a mana shield. While the panicked people crossed, Haon blocked the attacks flying in from outside the bridge.
The bridge was too long to protect in its entirety.
“Run faster! Don't look back!”
At the very moment she was urging them on until her voice grew hoarse.
The mouse-like Mana Engineering devices suddenly let out a *kiiing* sound and moved with incredible speed.
They scurried beneath the people's feet.
Haon tried to move the shield under their feet while simultaneously changing the bridge's material to something sturdier.
*'…It didn't work this time, either.'*
But contrary to her intentions, her dream-self always focused only on blocking the mana attacks. Even though she knew what was coming.
KABOOM! BANG! RUMBLE—.
The Mana Engineering devices exploded all at once. As she knew, their blade-like mana attacks had been a trap.
Thunderous cracks echoed from all directions. It was a deafening roar.
Half the bridge collapsed in an instant. Along with countless people.
Haon stood still, on the verge of tears, then rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
*'It's okay. Just two more repeats, and I'll wake up.'*
* * *
After waking up, Haon lay still until the fogginess in her mind cleared.
It had been a week since she'd discovered the combination of sleeping pills ‘Eun Haon’ used to take and had Solmae procure them for her.
Although it had side effects—her body felt heavy as waterlogged cotton and her mind was groggy right after waking—it kept her from waking up easily from the nightmares.
As the drowsiness slowly faded, Haon had the same thought as yesterday.
*'Maybe I'll succeed next time.'*
She rubbed her slightly damp eyes with the back of her hand and sat up.
Even amidst the recurring nightmare, Haon's eyes were always clear.
As she had gradually adapted to the nightly nightmare, she began to think of and try various ways to save the people in her dream.
Because her body moved according to the predetermined dream, she hadn't been able to save anyone yet, but Haon didn't give up.
As long as there were people to help right in front of her and she had the power to help them, it was the only natural thing for Haon to do.
After all, that was the kind of world she had come from.
“Blue. Any trace of the terrorists or unusual phenomena?”
[Nothing detected! There are no new messages from Nova, either.]
Haon had joined forces with Nova to find Halo and the remaining terrorists.
She couldn't just stand by while dangerous terrorists from her own dimension were on the loose.
“How did the experiment go while I was sleeping?”
Of course, the dimension gate was also important.
[Energy extraction is complete, and the turbine temperature has returned to normal.]
“How many more Awakening Spheres do we need?”
[We currently need ten Awakening Spheres!]
“The experiment could go wrong midway, so let's aim to get twelve more.”
Ten days had passed since she learned that the spoils from Sector 1 of the Old District were large diamonds.
During that time, Haon had been searching for someone to become the boss of Sector 1 in her stead, but she hadn't found anyone suitable.
After much deliberation, she had asked Solmae and even Nova.
She had expected Solmae to refuse, but she hadn't thought Nova would refuse as well.
*'Well, he didn't exactly refuse…'*
When she asked if he would become the boss of Sector 1 and sell the diamonds to her, Nova had simply smiled without giving an answer.
She didn't know what that was supposed to mean.
Nova had mentioned he often clashed with Heroes because his search for Halo crossed their paths, so she thought he would accept, if only to avoid the hassle.
She also considered choosing one of the other sector bosses, but they were all hell-bent on extorting more protection money from the residents of Sector 1, so she gave up on that idea.
It felt too much like she would be personally choosing someone to put a leash on the people of Sector 1.
*'Cue can't hold out for much longer. He must be reaching his limit, so it's time for me to make a move.'*
As she headed down to the cafe, Haon suddenly recalled a method she had only considered in passing.