#139
Ughk… Even with his face turning bright red from being choked, Jung Yi-dam continued to laugh until the end. Instead, it was Ki Baek-woo who made an animal-like groan.
“So you’re the center of the system. Fine, I understand. If I kill you, it all ends. A being who knows everything, who can freely access others’ minds… I get it now. If I kill you, the system ends with you. There’s something inside you. Yes. I’ll kill you. You said it yourself. You’re truly worthless garbage. Die right here. Disappear from here. Never show your face to hyung again.”
I’ll atone for my sins on my own. You disappear right now. And never appear again. Never again…
Just as Jung Yi-dam’s eyelids fluttered drowsily like those of a drunk person about to close, droplets of blood began to spread across his skin where swollen blood vessels were visible. When Ki Baek-woo hesitated, the blood started gushing out.
Cough! A harsh cough erupted as Ki Baek-woo’s windpipe constricted. Dark blood splattered everywhere with his ragged breath. Blood filled his nose and esophagus. Breathing became difficult. Ki Baek-woo’s vision spun. It felt like he was dying.
‘Why suddenly… No, I have to kill Jung Yi-dam… That’s the only way I can save hyung…’
Save him from here… But his hands around Jung Yi-dam’s neck wouldn’t tighten. At that moment, as Ki Baek-woo gasped desperately trying to hold on, he heard a mocking voice in his ear.
“I told you that you can’t kill me.”
“You… ugh.”
“Can’t even kill one person like me, yet arrogantly talking about killing someone…”
Jung Yi-dam smiled coldly, his face somehow already clean. He still held Ki Baek-woo’s hands that were touching his neck and infused them with light just as before. As the warm energy coursed through Ki Baek-woo’s body, the unstoppable flow of blood and his wavering consciousness immediately stabilized. Jung Yi-dam spoke coldly.
“I told you. Only Han-sol can save us.”
“What is this…?”
“You tried to kill me.”
You can’t kill me. And I can’t kill you either. Because right now, it’s before the story ends, and the absolute rule is that main characters can’t die until we see the ending.
Jung Yi-dam recited mechanically, as if bored to death. He stood up. Ki Baek-woo was helplessly pushed onto the cold tile floor. Jung Yi-dam’s foot nudged him dismissively, like trash.
“The reason you keep waking up no matter how many times you die is the same. The only problem is… a bug has appeared in a strange place. Actually, your body doesn’t need to become a rag. Originally, when reset, your body condition should fully recover… but it seems the bug that started because of Han-sol has affected that aspect too. It’s annoying. I have to be troubled because of you.”
“Ha.”
Ki Baek-woo wiped the blood off with his patient gown sleeve and tiredly rubbed his face. “Then what should I do… I’m going to save hyung. I’ll kill everything that makes him suffer…” As he muttered this, Jung Yi-dam looked down at him and spoke emotionlessly.
“If you try to end me, you end too. Only Han-sol isn’t entangled with me while still being connected. The only one who can completely kill me at the perfect timing is Lee Han-sol in this world. So it has to be him.”
Everything depends on Lee Han-sol. Whether he gives me peace and saves everyone from this puppet-like existence, or whether we all roll in the mud forever. It’s all Lee Han-sol’s choice. It’s quite unfortunate that he managed to overcome the system because of his abundant love. Because there’s nothing you can do, Ki Baek-woo.
Jung Yi-dam glanced at Ki Baek-woo, who sat lost in thought. Then, without farewell or lingering attachment, he turned and left the hospital room. As if all they could do anyway was wait.
***
“Hey, Lee Han-sol! What are you doing not dodging!”
Kim Jin-oh’s irritated shout echoed through the dungeon. Lee Han-sol, who had been standing in a daze, snapped back to reality at the sound and ducked, rolling to the side. BOOM! The foot of destruction descended exactly where he had been standing just moments ago. It was a close call. Immediately, sharply honed wind pierced through the monster’s body, followed by a lightning strike. The destruction collapsed with a terrible shriek.
“Han-sol…!”
The voice full of concern belonged to Ham Yun-ah. With sparks still flying around her body from the aftermath of creating lightning, Ham Yun-ah was hurriedly running toward Lee Han-sol.
“Han-sol, are you okay?”
Ham Yun-ah asked, extending her hand toward Lee Han-sol who was still sprawled on the dungeon floor. But she quickly pulled her hand back when static electricity suddenly sparked between them. Instead, she scanned him thoroughly with her round, wide eyes. Apart from being dirty from rolling on the ground, Lee Han-sol didn’t seem to have any particular issues.
“Thankfully, you don’t seem to be hurt. You scared me.”
Ham Yun-ah let out a deep sigh of relief and sat down next to Lee Han-sol, who was lying on the dungeon floor as if it were his own bedroom. Whether she did that or not, Lee Han-sol ignored her, sharply turning his head away.
“Han-sol, is something wrong? Why can’t you focus? That was really dangerous just now. If you get hurt, you’re the only one who suffers.”
“Exactly. Lee Han-sol, are you crazy? Are you determined to get fucked up? If you’re going to be like this, why did you even volunteer to come?”
If you really want to die, don’t make a scene here, just tell me separately. I’ll send you off with one punch using my one-punch-three-popcorn skill. I won’t charge you for the punch considering our relationship.
Kim Jin-oh, who had suddenly joined them, rambled on while glaring at the silent Lee Han-sol.
“Is it a trend in the hunter world these days to try and get yourself killed during raids… Over there, Ki Baek-woo is going crazy, and ow! Ham Yun-ah, have you gone crazy too? Why are you hitting me! Your hands are so damn spicy…!”
“Shut up, Kim Jin-oh. If you’re ugly, you don’t get to speak. Stop being annoying and go somewhere else. Don’t babble without reading the room.”
“You wanna die? In what way am I ugly? Are you crazy? Stop looking at Lee Han-sol’s face and mine back and forth.”
Ham Yun-ah and Kim Jin-oh were making a noisy fuss with their pointless bickering. Lee Han-sol, who hadn’t been paying attention to anything they were doing, finally began to get up. He looked around. The situation seemed to have settled down somewhat, and team members who had been scattered in formation were now slowly gathering.
“Is… everyone still uninjured? Let’s check one by one.”
“It seems relatively calm over here, so should we take a short break? Things are a bit disorderly anyway.”
“We probably should rest since there’s someone who can’t concentrate.”
The hunters muttered in somewhat disgruntled tones. They were openly side-eyeing Lee Han-sol. Their gazes were full of disapproval. They were clearly annoyed by Lee Han-sol’s repeated mistakes. Whether they glared at him or not, Lee Han-sol completely ignored them. He wasn’t pretending to be fine—he truly didn’t care. After all, he was used to receiving piercing glances like these on a daily basis.
When there was no response from him, people eventually settled down around the area and began to rest without saying much. They split into groups of two or three and snickered among themselves.
‘This is annoying…’
Watching them gather and chat made Lee Han-sol irritable. A feeling of resentment rose within him.
They’re probably just gathering like that, pretending to be friendly, and talking behind my back. It’s so stupid. They act like they have the friendship of the century, but when an opportunity arises, they’ll be desperate to tear each other apart. Because humans are inherently untrustworthy animals without any sincerity.
‘Hypocrites. I want to kill them all, it’s so fucking annoying.’
Lee Han-sol’s recent state was truly bad. It was at its worst, to the point where he couldn’t control the socially maladjusted thoughts that surged unpredictably.
Annoying. I don’t know. This is bullshit. I hate everything.
He had always been like that to some extent, but lately, he’d been living with those words constantly on his lips. All day long, every minute and second without exception, he felt irritated. If he could, he would overturn the entire planet. He just wanted everyone to die together. What’s the big deal about dying? It’s nothing. So just let everyone die.
Lee Han-sol paid no attention to Ham Yun-ah and Kim Jin-oh bickering beside him and made no effort to dust off his combat uniform that had been dirtied from rolling to avoid the destruction. He just kept muttering the same words.
‘What’s the big deal about dying?’
He knew because he had already died several times. Dying, getting hurt, feeling pain—those things were actually nothing. Everyone acts like those things are a huge deal, but Lee Han-sol didn’t find them funny at all. Because they truly were meaningless, trivial matters.
‘So there’s no need to think about Ki Baek-woo because of that stuff. What does it matter if he dies or not? Let him do whatever he wants.’
Lee Han-sol glared into empty space with an increasingly stubborn attitude. He only snapped out of his thoughts and returned to reality when he felt a lukewarm sensation on the back of his hand. Ham Yun-ah’s hand was covering his, patting it gently.
“Han-sol, it hurts. Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Picking at your hand.”
“I’m not picking at my hand.”
“You’ve been doing it constantly. Look, you’re even bleeding.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
