This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 652

“Whoo… let’s take a short break.”

I slowly nodded at my senior’s words.

There was no other choice.

The look on her face, which seemed to say she was sorry, was completely devoid of color, pale to the point of being frightening.

Maybe that’s why she was slightly staggering as well.

I helped her sit down beside me.

Of course, before I let her sit, I didn’t forget to take off the dress shirt I was wearing and lay it underneath.

It wasn’t made of any special material, and you could get it for just a few thousand won, so laying it down wouldn’t really have any significant effect. But still, I didn’t want her to sit on that unidentified mass of flesh.

Right now, she was sitting like a statue without any movement, but I had seen her squirm like she was alive several times before, so naturally, I couldn’t help but feel wary.

So, I led her to a spot that seemed relatively safe, and as she sat down, she gave me a look that said she felt guilty.

“…I’m sorry, we must be in a hurry.”

“It’s fine.”

I slowly shook my head at her words.

Of course, I meant it sincerely.

I felt my insides boiling with anxiety, but that was separate from the fact that I had been watching her.

I knew just how hard she had worked to get us to this point.

All the way here, she hadn’t taken a single break.

I had done my best to help her as well.

Yet the reason everything had turned out like this was simple.

The flaws of my abilities, which I hadn’t noticed until now, had finally revealed themselves today.

I could recover the Talent Organ that had been consumed while repeatedly using my abilities, but it was impossible to recover the mental energy that had also been drained.

What more can I say?

Heroes don’t use their talents without paying a price.

It’s not just the Talent Organ that takes a toll, mental energy is also significant.

Thinking back, it made sense that if someone has been granted the title of hero, they must be certified by an organization as credible as the Association, proving that their talents have sufficient offensive power to deal with Another Ones and Villains.

But what would happen if they used it indiscriminately without any discernment?

If the targets were villains or Another Ones, it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but ordinary people who had nothing to do with them could get hurt.

That’s why heroes always had to be particularly careful when using their talents.

Even those heroes who were infinitely closer to the pinnacle, like Chae-rim, were no exception to this.

Of course, I had heard that at her level, it became second nature to be mindful, but that didn’t mean that she completely ignored it.

If even Chae-rim had to be cautious, how much more so my senior, who hadn’t reached that level yet?

While impossible to tell, I was standing right behind her, and each time she used her powers, I could only imagine how much it weighed on her mind. The mental energy she consumed must have been several times that of usual.

Yet, she kept using her talents to clear a path…

Perhaps it was because my perspective had changed.

The fact that my senior had made it this far without taking a break felt incredibly admirable.

She probably forced herself to endure, thinking she wouldn’t be a burden to me.

And so, after enduring and enduring, this was what happened.

Maybe it was because of the realization that struck me.

I felt sorry for my senior.

Just like you would for someone who was nauseous, I took her pale hand, which had no trace of color, and cautiously began to massage it.

Of course, I knew full well.

Doing this wouldn’t significantly change the condition of my senior, who had long reached her limit.

I knew that, but still… I couldn’t stop my hands.

After all, it was all I could do, and I wanted to do something, anything for her.

Even if it wouldn’t really have any effect.

So, I was just moving my hands diligently while keeping my mouth firmly shut so as not to disturb her rest.

In that moment, just as I expected it wouldn’t be effective, perhaps it was quite the opposite.

For my senior, the warmth transmitted through our hands might have been enough comfort.

Her face, which had looked slightly twisted when she sat down, transformed to one of comfort, as if to say, “When did that happen?”

I could clearly see that change, but I didn’t ask if she felt better.

From my perspective, I didn’t intend to ask such a question, but from her side, my words could be interpreted as, “If you feel better, let’s set off again.”

So, I had to act that way.

But just as I was holding back, my senior took action first.

“…I think this is enough rest; shall we set off again?”

As she said this, I pressed her shoulder down, making her sit back down.

There was no choice.

My senior had said she was feeling alright after sitting down for a bit, but I could see right through it.

It wasn’t true.

If she was feeling okay, she should at least show some color on her face when saying that.

How was I supposed to believe her words when she looked like she was in pain?

“Just sit a bit longer and rest.”

Though I felt my insides boiling with anxiety, I tried to calm down, repeatedly telling myself it couldn’t be helped.

Yes, the truth was, it couldn’t be helped.

If I allowed my senior to act as she wished from here, the time to reunite with Yoonseo might shorten, but if we encountered Another Ones on the way, we could get caught off guard.

So far, things hadn’t been particularly dangerous despite the ruckus, but there was no guarantee that it would stay that way.

Right now, she might be preoccupied with Yoonseo’s situation and hadn’t even had the time to focus on us, but what if there was a change on that side?

They would definitely reach out toward us as well.

I could be sure of just one thing: the obsession that the ‘Queen’, who was practically the ruler of this Heogye, had shown toward me was downright abnormal.

As evidence, that monster even created a girl who resembled me perfectly and sent her into the real world to abduct me from her Heogye.

So, just because nothing was happening right now didn’t mean I could let my guard down.

I shouldn’t let that happen.

So… what I was doing now was the right thing.

They say “The more hurried you are, the more you should go back,” and this waiting would eventually lead me to Yoonseo.

So, let’s just endure and wait.

Until the “opportunity” arrives.

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【Yoonseo’s Perspective】

Did they finally catch onto our intentions by watching the direction we were moving?

Another Ones began to sprout wherever we went.

Yes, they literally sprouted.

It was like scattering cabbage seeds in a field and fast-forwarding time; it looked like that.

No, it felt a little different from that.

When you face such a scene before your eyes, one would normally feel the grandeur or nobility of nature, but I didn’t feel that at all in the scene I was witnessing.

Instead of majesty or greatness… it was purely a feeling of unease.

If anyone saw those things, which had existed as humanity’s arch enemies for decades, growing like plants in a field, it would be impossible not to have such feelings.

In the scenery that felt as repetitive as ‘as expected’, I wondered if it was only me who had those thoughts.

I glanced sideways, rolling my eyes, and saw that both the person on my left and the person on my right were grimacing.

“The end is nowhere in sight.”

“Seriously… I wonder if they never get tired.”

In such conversations, if I had to name one good thing, it was that despite their grim faces, I couldn’t sense any particular discomfort in their voices.

That’s how it should be.

It’s a story only worth worrying about when it gets to a certain level; but right now, we were just dealing with things that wouldn’t even amount to a handful.

At that moment, while I was clearing away those reappearing things.

“Dang…!”

An ill omen of a sound echoed in my ears.