This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 664

If I had known it would make my heart race this much, I would have at least taken something like calming pills beforehand.

Would anything have changed if I had?

Honestly, I couldn’t be certain.

The fluttering in my chest felt like it was beyond any remedy.

In an attempt to avoid collapsing in a disgraceful manner, my hand, previously gripping nearby debris, began to tremble uncontrollably.

It felt like blood wasn’t circulating properly,

I tried clenching and unclenching my hand repeatedly to shake off that sensation that had taken over my fingertips, but it was useless.

No matter how many times I tried to open and close my hand, instead of regaining color, it only grew paler.

Had something happened to my body?

Is that why I keep feeling like this?

All these uncertainties swirled in my mind, yet my left arm, tainted in a purplish hue, seemed to exist completely apart from that situation.

Unlike everywhere else, where an increasingly heavy and damp sensation crept in as time passed, it felt as if vitality was gradually reviving in that arm.

I didn’t like that fact at all.

The return of energy felt grotesque, like coming home after a long time away.

That’s why I unconsciously began scratching the back of my left hand until it made a sound.

Whether it bled or not—actually, I would have preferred it bled—was the reasoning behind my actions.

“Guh…?!”

However, I ended up seeing blood from somewhere else.

It started from the sensation of something sharp piercing my skin, emanating from my right hand, which had been in contact with my left.

A wound at the tip of my right index finger dripped down the surface of my left hand, a crimson liquid precariously clinging to it.

Against my will, the dark red fluid tracing its way down my purplish skin had to have been the moment it met those strange mouths that had burst forth from various spots on my hand.

Those unidentified mouths had never shown any meaningful movement until now; I had simply thought they looked that way.

One of those mouths, filled with sharp, shark-like teeth, began to display an eerie sort of motion.

Was it savoring the liquid that had flowed into it?

Thinking back, I had never once bothered to manage them, yet they still maintained their white and sharp appearance since the moment they had formed, clattering against each other and creating bizarre noises all around.

And perhaps that noise stirred something else that had been sleeping?

Prior to that sound echoing, everything had remained quiet, but suddenly there was a commotion as if they had never been still at all.

The sight of those sharp, jagged teeth clashing together in a chorus was something I could no longer bear.

“Dogun, you…?”

“Stay away!”

The senior, looking concerned nearby, must have heard the sound of teeth coming from my left arm because she wore an expression of bewilderment and hesitantly approached me, prompting me to reflexively yell for her to stop.

“It’s fine… please, don’t come closer.”

Even though it was already too late to hide this monstrous state, I still didn’t want to show it.

This horrific sight… I didn’t want her to see it.

Of course… I knew.

I knew that the thing I was worrying about likely wouldn’t actually happen,

I was aware of that much, yet… despite that, I couldn’t help but act this way.

Perhaps because I couldn’t turn away from even the slightest possibility that could exist,

If, hypothetically, she were to come closer and show a horrified expression at the sight of my left arm…

Would I truly be able to act like it didn’t bother me at all in front of her?

Would I be able to steadfastly pursue my goal, just like I had up to now, without crumbling in the face of reality?

I couldn’t be sure.

I wasn’t a god,

So… I chose.

I turned away instead of facing it.

I took off my shirt and wrapped it around my left arm.

The sound of something sharp scraping against the fabric, a noise that should have been muffled by the usual surrounding sounds, penetrated my ears like a whisper from the devil, yet I chose to ignore that too.

Wrapping my body in deceit—

“…Let’s go again.”

I forced a smile towards the senior, who was watching me with concern, while biting down on my lip.

“It feels like there really isn’t much time left.”

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【Baeksulhwa’s Perspective】

Why…

Why on earth…

Is he doing this to such an extent?

Dogun’s condition was clearly not normal.

Just looking at the continuous stream of cold sweat pouring down, I couldn’t help but worry he might be getting dehydrated.

If a normal person were experiencing this?

They would have collapsed long ago.

The sheer volume of sweat coursing through Dogun’s body was tremendous.

It felt almost as if… it wasn’t sweat at all, but something else.

Did it feel like his life force was seeping away?

Was that merely my imagination?

That notion lingered in my chest, fueled by anxiety.

The problem was that this wasn’t all there was.

As soon as we entered Heogye, his left arm—a previously dormant presence—began to ache, which only added to my unease.

And sure enough… proving the saying that “what you least expect will happen” holds true, trouble began to arise.

The disembodied ‘mouths’ that moved as if they were separate living entities.

It felt like their existence was somehow tied to the droplets of sweat sliding down Dogun’s body even now; was that just my imagination?

Thinking back, there were so many aspects of Dogun’s ability that defied common sense.

It wasn’t just the fact that he casually restored the Talent Organ, which was deemed irrecoverable… but especially the way he exhibited limitless, extraordinary skills beyond reason.

There’s always a limit to any resource, yet I couldn’t find any signs of such limits in Dogun.

Should I say I’ve never seen him exhausted from excessive use of his powers?

Such a thing was illogical when thought about rationally.

After all, one of the truths revealed through years of research states that powerful abilities carry corresponding limitations.

Of course, if we were to speak in terms of common sense, the very fact that Dogun, a male, gained such powers should be nonsensical.

Not to mention,

The circumstances surrounding how he obtained his powers were equally baffling.

Honestly, there was no other explanation; if that peculiar creature resembling a fly was the cause behind his body’s transformation, then…

When a multitude of victims experienced Monsterization, at least one of them should have acquired abilities similar to Dogun’s.

Yet, none of them ever did, and thus the mystery only deepened.

Could it be an issue tied to the mutated areas?

Or perhaps some other variable intervened during the transformation…?

Waves of endless questions connected one after another,

And amidst all that, one thing I could be certain of was that this situation could not continue as it was.

Look at him.

Doesn’t it seem like he’s paying the price for his rampant use of abilities?

For now, he may be managing to hold on, but if this state persists?

Eventually, he would collapse.

Or rather, collapsing wouldn’t be the worst-case scenario.

In the direst situation, he might even be in danger of losing his life.

Even in this current condition, if the backlash from forcing himself to endure strikes all at once, I couldn’t see how Dogun’s body could withstand it, having already reached its limits.

“If this situation is to continue, it would be better…”

Even if it means I would later hear a voice filled with resentment…

Isn’t it better to stop it here?

Such hesitation rooted itself within my heart momentarily.

Kooom—!

It was as if the world was collapsing, shaking the Heogye.

Feeling a body beginning to tremble more than my own, I reached out towards Dogun in desperation—

“Dogun…!”

From the gaping crack, a chilling white aura surged forth.

As if intending to upend the very world itself.