〈Chapter 478〉 Part 1, Chapter 20, Section 10
Seongju’s proposal was simple.
In exchange for handing over Yuinah, he would leave Earth forever.
And Seongju’s offer was quite tempting.
“Really…this is too sweet.”
Giving up just one thing to gain all happiness.
By cutting that one thing, I would be able to enjoy a happy future with Chang-yeom.
If only Yuinah would disappear, and if we could bury the memory of ‘there once was a girl named Yuinah’ until the day Chang-yeom and I lay in bed together, we would be happy.
“……”
Yuna stood silently behind me without any movement as I made my decision. My stomach began to twist, but I had to make a choice.
“…Do you really intend never to return to Earth if you get Yuna?”
“Of course. I’ll find another planet. As for the Core remaining on Earth…that’s your problem. It’s an object filled with divine power, so you can use it however you like.”
“But I refuse!”
There was no point in even considering it. There was no need to drag out this pointless conversation any longer.
“This proposal isn’t worth dealing with!”
I stood in front of Yuna, pulling out the Round Table from my coat. The gun wasn’t loaded, but the bluff clearly conveyed my firm rejection to Seongju.
“Unfortunately. Then it seems we have no choice but to fight…why did you refuse?”
“I’ll ask the opposite. Give up Yuna. In return, I’ll hand over the lives of all humanity.”
“P…Lady Chang-yeom?”
My words surprised Yuna more than Seongju.
To me, it felt like Chang-yeom would fit better in Yuna’s place, but to convince Seongju, Yuna was the better option. Seongju quickly understood what I meant using his brilliant mind.
“…Ah, so this is ‘putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.’ I understand now.”
Seongju immediately grasped the unrealistic nature of his own proposal through my extreme metaphor. If there’s something more important than all the money in the world or the entire human race, there should naturally be at least one such thing for everyone.
For me, it’s Chang-yeom; for Seongju, it’s the otherworldly spirit residing within Yuinah. Seongju nodded repeatedly.
“Hmph. Indeed. If that’s the case, I understand. But isn’t Yuna not that kind of existence to you?”
“Nope. You’re right.”
Though Seongju hit a painful point, I remained confident. Even if not to the extent of Chang-yeom, Yuna holds immense meaning to me.
“Thanks to Yuna, I found my synchronization partner with Hydra.”
Beyond the original Yuna, she has been the one ensuring that my connection with Chang-yeom remains stable in both reality and memories. I pulled Yuna towards me, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“I guess Yuna is really pleasing to me.”
“…Hooh.”
Seongju’s expression changed momentarily. It seemed confused yet amused, mocking me.
“Is my rival becoming my daughter-in-law? Or son-in-law? Either way, it’s ambiguous. Gender doesn’t matter much. I didn’t expect Lady Chang-yeom to fall in love with one of my creations.”
“Love is love.”
Even if it’s not romantic love between lovers, I have no intention of abandoning Yuna.
It also seemed Yuna had no desire to give herself to Seongju. She gripped her staff tightly, burning with determination. While Seongju muttered to himself, I quietly asked Yuna.
“Was your earlier statement referring to this situation?”
“Yes. Sorry, it sounded like I was testing you.”
As expected, being a divine body allowed Yuna to read the future.
“If I had agreed to the deal, what were you planning to do?”
“……If that’s fate…”
Yuna was so kind it made people anxious. That’s why I couldn’t let this poor artificial goddess lose her self-awareness, have her body subjugated by Seongju, and go insane.
“Seongju—-!!”
And it wasn’t just me; the other gods felt the same way.
“Brahmasutra—!!”
Kwaaahhh!!
Lightning flashed around the purple mist Seongju had scattered. Golden arrows resembling star dust flew snake-like towards Seongju’s robed face.
“Hmph.”
Seongju caught the starlight arrow with his bare hands.
After the initial explosion, the Brahmasutra, enveloped by Seongju’s magic power, crumpled and disappeared. He had dismantled Karna’s synchronized arrow with his bare hands.
Seongju was strong. Clearly stronger than the SS Rank level of the original story. The difference between the original and the current Seongju lies in his body.
“…The body of a god.”
Underneath the robe, Seongju possessed a human form, the body of a god. Contrary to my past efforts to prevent Hwanryong from entering the remains of a god, somehow Seongju managed to inhabit the body of a god.
“Yes, this body is also a god.”
Seongju twisted his neck left and right, laughing savagely.
“The strength of someone who reached SSS Rank through human power alone. And the strength of someone who wounded me. …His tooth marks, saliva, DNA remain on my neck. Though I couldn’t perfectly replicate him, about 0.1% is missing, but it seems the same applies to you all. You aren’t complete gods either.”
Did he acquire the keen insight of a god by entering the replica body, or was it something else? Seongju smirked as he scanned the spirits surrounding him.
“Spirits trapped between human and divine thought patterns, spirits assimilated into humanity and turned into beasts, spirits hiding within my creations to escape my grasp, spirits surviving mercifully on the brink of annihilation, spirits already mentally and physically exhausted, and…cowards. You’re all the same. Chang-yeom, it seems you tried to forcibly rip my anchor away from these people, but alas, they haven’t reached perfection.”
“……Damn.”
Curses involuntarily slipped out. At the same time, I couldn’t properly counter Seongju’s words. Seongju shook his head at me while spreading his arms wide.
“Do you wish to return to your original rank?! Do you dare to stand in the same position as the one I love unconditionally?! Then you should have realized! True ‘love’! What good does imitating love out of necessity do?”
Faced with Seongju’s accusations, I could only remain silent.
Most of us synced out of necessity rather than truly cherishing and loving each other, leading to natural synchronization. Even in rare cases where such situations existed, reaching the perfect stage—100—still required more time.
Synchronization achieved merely by finding common ground. Seongju sneered at the rigid spirits.
“Hahaha! Everyone looks bewildered! That’s right, though you claim to possess true love, it’s obvious who it’s directed towards. Pretending otherwise is futile!”
“……”
Everyone looked at me with uneasy eyes.
They were surprised that Seongju wasn’t the ‘form’ I mentioned earlier, startled by the fierce magic and aura emanating from his body. And I became perplexed recalling Seongju’s words from their gazes.
‘Shit, I was running around like crazy claiming I lost my memory.’
…Now I could cut ties, but the karmic debts accumulated from my past actions filled with regrets cannot be undone. Ironically, the relationships I’ve built with the spirits and women here have become disadvantages in my battle against Seongju.
‘But it’s not like I can’t win.’
The original ratio of 12:1 when the Round Table fought Seongju. Now it’s just reversed.
From the moment Seongju leapt off the falling Boatman, I instinctively knew the original plan had gone awry. But I mustn’t panic. If I start panicking, not only will I ruin things, but I’ll also give Seongju the upper hand.
“…Everyone, don’t be confused. We can win.”
“You might win. But I won’t lose either.”
Just as I tried to calm the spirits, Seongju directly faced me, lifting his head. His eyes already gleamed with purple magic power.
“Oh shi–”
“Adios, amigo!!”
Seongju fired a purple laser beam from his eyes while leaping high into the sky. Completely unexpected, I had no way to respond to this sudden attack.
Sssshh—
As my consciousness faded, my vision turned black.
* * *
“Master, what are you doing?”
“Eh?”
In the haze of regaining consciousness, I snapped back to awareness. Surrounded by the familiar office scenery and the rich aroma of coffee, I almost drifted back to sleep from the soothing voice of the woman waking me.
“At this hour, where’s the person who was nagging about going out…Hem hem. Hey. Mister? Brother? Master?”
“Who…are you?”
In front of me stood a woman resembling a high school delinquent. Dressed entirely in black from head to toe, she waved her hand at my question.
“Who else? Nuri.”
“Kim Nori?”
“Yeah. Just kidding?”
Judging by her brusque tone and casual language, it was definitely Nuri. But thinking of her as Nuri felt strange. Nuri wasn’t the tall figure with a C-cup bust standing before me now; she was small enough to wear children’s clothes…
“…Are you gonna die on me?”
“No.”
“Khem. Then hurry up and come out. Since our engagement, you’ve been wandering around like a zombie. I’ll have the car waiting outside.”
Nuri trotted down. The rich coffee fragrance lingered in the office air, and my head felt foggy as I picked up the cup on my desk.
“…What’s going on?”
On my left ring finger sat a ring adorned with a blue flame pattern.
* * *
“Get in, Master.”
“Eh…Raon?”
“Yes. It’s Raon. Looks like what Nuri said earlier was true. You seem off today.”
Dressed in a suit, Raon calmly opened the car door. The passenger seat behind was empty, and Nuri was already seated in the front.
“Get in.”
“…Were your hair always long?”
“It was. More precisely, I grew it out. There’s no more need to fight.”
Raon touched her hair that reached her shoulder blades shyly. In my memory, Raon always kept her hair short. She insisted on keeping it short citing “it could be a weakness if grabbed during combat,” but now seeing her with long hair was quite unfamiliar.
“Hem hem, Master. Does my long hair suit me?”
“……You were pretty with short hair too, but you look even prettier now. It exudes femininity.”
“That means you thought I lacked femininity before?”
“……Your tone too. Somehow, yeah?”
Raon puffed her cheeks then giggled.
“Guess that’s true. Should I go back to how I was before?”
“No, I like you this way.”
Though she possessed S Rank potential in Wind Attribute, Raon was undeniably beautiful. Back then, her insistence on short hair and military-style speech emphasized a boyish charm rather than femininity.
‘The original model was handsome, so she’s attractive no matter what.’
She still prefers pants, but the fitted suit pants she wears now are almost skinny. I shifted my gaze from scanning her body to the car and quickly took my seat.
“…Hmm.”
Raon proudly took the driver’s seat knowing I had checked her out. Watching from inside, Nuri shot me an exasperated look.
“Big sister. Isn’t something off today?”
“That’s true. He’s acting like he’ll poke his eye out next. Nuri, let me know in advance. Master’s being perverted today.”
“……Should I wear sunglasses?”
“What’s the point when everything’s sensed by magic anyway? Still, it feels nostalgic after so long. Master, are you aroused?”
“…Shit.”
At Nuri’s blatant sexual innuendo, I lost for words. Thankfully, I wasn’t aroused. Instead, heat rose to my neck, leaving me unsure of what to say.
“Nuri, don’t push it. Aren’t you making Master uncomfortable?”
“While you’re at it, why stare at someone else’s body like that? Oh, is this what they call visual molestation? Eek, Master’s trying to rape me! Welcome!”
“What welcome is this….”
With Nuri’s overt comments, I sighed helplessly. Simultaneously, determined to strike back at her antics, I gathered my courage and retaliated.
“And anyway, it’s taken.”
“Ugh, annoying. Didn’t expect you to counter like that. Sister Raon, what do we do? Shall we crash into him?”
“Not a bad idea, but didn’t you lose instantly this morning? Give up.”
“Tch.”
“……That’s a relief.”
Ten years reduced. If Nuri had won, she probably would’ve abducted me to some pocket dimension and done unspeakable things.
“Come on, I wouldn’t go that far no matter what.”
“Really?”
“Of course not? But since we’ve shared this connection, Raon sister is okay.”
“Your words are appreciated. If I win, I’ll spend time with Nuri too.”
The two exchanged a high-five, their partnership clear. What they’d do together was obvious, and as I chatted casually with them, I reclined in the seat.
While chatting, the car arrived at its destination.
“Han River pier?”
The car entered the familiar Han River bank, and Raon made a phone call.
“Heavenly path. Please open it.”
[Understood~]
“Was that voice just now-”
Woooom!!
Before I could say anything, the car soared into the sky.
And the place we arrived at was a massive floating island in the sky.
…What?
