Chapter 80: Terraforming

* Mreh... Mreh...

"...We're incredibly grateful to him. The 'Revolution Manifesto' found in Gerard's room outlined a planned assault on the central command post. If he hadn't killed him, those hundred gathered combatants wouldn't have just quietly escaped..."

Mreh...

"The damage would have been incalculable. So many people would have died. Your lover is no different from a hero who prevented that."

Chris didn't need a hero. She needed Park Chanyoung by her side right now, not some dead hero.

"...There's a monster in this world called the Baekwonhu. Unless it encroaches on our territory, we're advised to avoid direct confrontation—it's an extremely dangerous one. At minimum, it takes ten combatants to take it down reliably..."

"Baekwonhu..."

"We tracked the traitors who were pursuing the escaped trainee Park Chanyoung. And at the end of that trail... was a single Baekwonhu, rampaging after losing an eye."

"...N-No... no way!"

"..."

An object was placed in front of Chris. The Handler pulled it out from under the desk.

It was... a leather armor shredded to pieces.

"...Do you recognize it?"

"The l-leather armor... issued to trainees..."

The leather armor was soaked in blood, a gruesome sight. As if proclaiming the final fate of its owner...

This blood came from a quarter of the Baekwonhu's facial skin exploding outward, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but Chris had no way of knowing that. There was no modern tech here to identify the blood's source.

"...No body was found. But... trainee Park Chanyoung had no weapon on him either. His sword was lying on the ground after he stabbed Gerard."

"..."

"Regrettably... even a combatant can't escape a Baekwonhu. It's insanely fast. It can use mana... That's why it missed the one-eyed prey that got away. ...Your lover probably..."

"..."

"Sigh..."

Chris didn't want to understand what this meant. She hated it. She hated everything: the Baekwonhu monster, the traitors who betrayed the Shelter, the leather armor in front of her, the Handler spouting incomprehensible nonsense, all of it.

"You said... no body was found, right?"

"...Yes."

"Then he could still be alive, couldn't he?! Search... search the area ple—!"

"...We've already done everything we could. And... the Baekwonhu... well... it's carnivorous."

"..."

What did that mean? That Chanyoung was eaten by the monster? No way. The Handler was misunderstanding. Chanyoung was strong. He'd never lost first place in training camp, he had the composure to look after whimpering me even right after hellish drills, the team he led always ran ahead of the others, he was fast enough that the combatants couldn't catch him, he definitely told me he'd come back soon, said we'd see each other again, he was so popular no one disliked him, I felt a bit uneasy when girls stared but secretly proud, and, and—

Clunk.

"...Take some time to think it over. I'll wait outside the door."

"..."

"...This room is well soundproofed."

Soundproofed meant she could sob her heart out without anyone outside hearing, right? She couldn't understand the Handler. She wouldn't cry. No body of Chanyoung was found. He definitely wasn't dead yet.

She thought. Thought and thought. Reasons why Chanyoung was still alive, fabricating possibilities. She found one.

The reason no trace was found for three days... 'It's... it's...'

Right! He must have injured his leg a bit and couldn't move! Hiding somewhere... waiting for the search party to find him. Chanyoung was the suspicious type, so surely...

...Then why was the leather armor torn like this? Whose blood was this?

'It's... uh... th-that...'

Thud, thud.

Creeeak...

Thump.

Her thoughts couldn't continue. The sound of the Handler closing the door and leaving interrupted her.

Chris felt relief at her thoughts being cut off. If she kept fabricating scenarios where Chanyoung was alive... she'd eventually hit an irrefutable wall.

Now Chris was alone. In a cramped room lit dimly by a crudely made bulb.

"..."

She turned her head toward the desk. Her eyes fell on the blood-soaked, torn leather armor.

Unconsciously, Chris reached out and touched the thing that could barely be called armor anymore.

'Ah... Chanyoung needs to wear this again...'

It was fine. The blood that clearly wasn't Chanyoung's could be washed off, and the tears could be meticulously sewn up with the embroidery set she'd gotten as compensation. Once the leather armor was good as new, she could hand it back to Chanyoung when the search party found him... He'd stroke her head gently and praise her, just like always.

Plip.

"...?"

Something fell on her pants. Looking down, she saw a small, round stain on the fabric.

She touched the stain. With fingers stained by the crumbly, dried blood from the armor.

The stain was wet.

Plip.

Ah, another one. She quickly touched it...

It was warm.

Plip. Plop.

The stains multiplied. Now even she had to acknowledge it.

They were tears. Falling from her own face.

"Hic... Sniff..."

She couldn't deny it anymore. Chris wasn't that stupid.

She already knew. Chanyoung was dead. To save even a few more strangers in the Shelter.

She couldn't stop the betrayal, so he minimized the damage.

"Sniff... Hic... Why... Whyyy... Whyyy..."

She pressed both hands to her chest. It hurt so much she couldn't bear not to.

"Why... Why... Hic... Whyyy...!!! Why!!"

Her vision blurred white. The tears wouldn't stop.

Her breathing grew ragged, and she resented Chanyoung for leaving her side.

"Whyyy!!..."

Why, why did you sacrifice yourself? Out of all those people, why you... Was saving dozens, hundreds of lives more important than our future together? I don't think so. You're more precious than hundreds of strangers. Selfish, I know, but you're far more important than faces I don't know. Why did you leave me behind? I know I couldn't help. But at least I wanted to be there for your final moments. I didn't know that goodbye was the last... Come back... Come b—

"Hic... Hic... You said... you'd come back...!"

Was that what you meant by seeing each other again later? That if there's heaven after I die, we'd meet there?

...I know... You never meant to leave me behind. You surely tried to come back to me. Chanyoung never lied to me. Your death was an accident, right? Just bad luck running into a powerful monster. But... still... why...

"Was that it...? What Chanyoung wanted... was to save people...? You hated seeing them die...?"

Such a kind person. And at the same time, heartlessly cruel.

A rotten person who steps up anyway, knowing his life is at risk, knowing his lover waits.

...Then I'll live the rest of my life for them too. If that's what you wished for—if you gave your life for it—the woman who loves you will do the last thing she can for you, the final act of love for the man she'll never see again. My last consideration.

—You said I had a talent for acting. I'll do anything. Act like a madwoman, act like a heartless instructor with no blood or tears. I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make it look that way. So that fewer souls follow you to wherever you went first, abandoning me... If that's what you wanted...

I'll become an instructor. Stronger than anyone, working hard, never dying, saving even one more life.

Chanyoung said we'd meet someday, right? If people who were supposed to die... survive because of me... If that number surpasses ten, a hundred. When I finally come to you in heaven, give me the praise you couldn't finish. Stroking my hair. Smiling gently. Hugging me tight...

—

Tap tap tap!!

Clunk!

"Handler!!"

"Huh...? You're out quicker than I thought. ...Your face is a mess. You could've stayed longer."

"More importantly! How do I become an instructor?!"

"Instructor? You mean a combat trainee instructor? Why all of a sudden?"

"How... Hic... how do I do it... Please tell me... I beg you..."

"...Hate to say it, but it'll be really tough for you... You still haven't fully shaken off suspicions of being a traitor. And that label will follow you forever... Instructors need trust more than skill. Especially after this incident..."

"Not impossible, just extremely hard, right?"

"..."

"Then it doesn't matter."

Hard or not, she'd do it. Somehow, she'd become an instructor. She'd fulfill the dream her lover died before achieving, even if she had to do it in his place.

"...I can't stop you, I guess..."

"...Handler. I'll challenge for it too. Instructor."

"Trainee Brack? You were hiding there? No, more than that, why you?"

"I made a promise... Related to Ms. Bennett and her lover."

"It'll be tough..."

"I'll bear it."

"Sigh..."

"...Alright! Let's do it. I'm rooting for you. Come back inside first. I'll explain the instructor qualifications properly."

"Th-Thank you!"

"Thank you for your help."

*

Just before losing consciousness after infusing mana into the red orb, I felt several mysteries resolve.

The reason Chris hated Victor so viciously seven ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠years from now. It stemmed from her misunderstanding that I died to Victor.

Victor the Baekwonhu was obsessively persistent too. It roamed for seven years searching for me, the prey that escaped after settling in District 11.

With my thoughts reaching that point, another mystery cleared. The document in her room in the future: 'District 11 Administration Issued / Eastern Training Camp Casualties List', and why Chris drank while staring at it.

'Casualties are casualties, but it reminded her of Victor in District 11, so she drank.'

Victor prowling for me wouldn't leave District 11 combatants alone. Frequent attacks, enough to earn it a named monster title.

'Kukuku... Lost one eye and went mad with hate, charging mindlessly the moment it caught my scent.'

My scent—the one who cost it an eye, the one it hunted for seven years—nearby? It was no wonder it sprinted a full day's distance in a frenzy.

That explained why, unlike the original, Victor attacked us a day earlier. Just the difference between tracking escaped prey and pursuing revenge.

But my thoughts didn't last. Consciousness faded completely soon after.

Ding!

The alert woke me in a forest. After reading the system message, I thought the red orb hadn't worked properly, but the completely changed surroundings said otherwise.

It had been midday with the sun at its peak moments ago; now it was evening, just before sunset.

"Status window."

Ding!

The status buffs didn't list the Yekyung Orb effect.

Anyway, another minor system bug discovered. The Yekyung Orb's 'Return to Original Timeline' should have been censored like '■■■ ■■', but it wasn't.

That confirmed it.

"'Return to Original Timeline' effect was 'overwritten'... Meaning the Monghwan Orb effect is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠also 'Return to Original Timeline'."

4 hours and 21 minutes left until returning seven years ahead... I could've just stood here waiting, but I decided to look around.

I was curious about the red orb's effect too. And I had a hunch where it might lead.