chapter 110
110 – In Chunnihyang Village – 8
#
When the lava-like breath came to an end, the existence of Choi Do-han had completely disappeared, leaving only a molten stone wall.
The main character who was supposed to have a brilliant ending came to an end with a miserable end.
It was a meaningless ending.
And it was a really fitting ending.
If there was no room for rehabilitation or edification, it would have been the right decision to punish those around me who would be harmed because of me.
It is something I have to endure by myself, and I have no choice but to believe that this decision was for the best.
-hehehe, hehehe.
Perhaps he belongs to the high-ranking villain axis, Choi Do-han’s body durability is quite high, making Droke gasp for breath.
It’s the most powerful breath I’ve ever emitted, and it lasted a long time.
-Pat, pat.
“It was hard. Droke.”
After stroking Droke’s neck a few times, he approached Lesha.
The story with Choi Do-han has now come to a complete conclusion.
And now, it was time to solve the homework Choi Do-han left behind.
If there is an end, there is a beginning.
I had to explain the story that was like a secret that I had kept.
What kind of place is this world, what kind of person am I, and how this story will end.
I had to reveal everything and hope for understanding and forgiveness.
Because the mere fact of hiding something from someone who treats me truthfully without lies was sufficient justification to ask for forgiveness.
First of all.
-Slap!
After dismantling the magic suppression devices by force, he helped Lesha up.
Then he lightly held Lesha’s hand.
“I… “Lesha.”
But.
“Shh.”
Lesha covered my lips with her index finger.
She quickly rolled her eyes, but didn’t feel anything special.
There is only Drok looking at us happily(?).
“Why, why?”
With her lips pressed against Lesha’s index finger, she asked.
Lesha smiles warmly.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“… Uh?”
“I trust you. There must have been an understandable reason. So you don’t have to explain it to me.”
“But….”
“Sometimes there are truths that you don’t need to know, right?”
Lesha smiled.
With that bright smile, her worries and anxiety are instantly washed away.
“Lesha….”
“What kind of place this is, or who resides within the person Taejin Han, those things are not important to me.”
It was the same for me too.
Even if someone else were to reside in Lesha’s body, there wouldn’t be any blemishes on her current emotions.
If someone is there, I love that person.
It didn’t matter what it looked like.
Is this what it means to be wholehearted?
At the intersection of our gazes, emotions exchange instead of words.
I stroked Lesha’s cheek warmly.
“Thank you.”
And then he gave a short and crude greeting.
Just three letters.
But everything was contained in those three letters.
All the emotions of the past, the emotions of the present, and the emotions of the future.
Lesha stroked the back of my hand as it caressed my cheek.
“Can you give me just one answer instead?”
“Anything.”
“I don’t care if this is a virtual world or a world created by someone. After all, this is the world I live in, and this is reality to me.”
Lesha stopped breathing once.
A gaze filled with slight fear scans my face step by step.
Looking at the mixture of expectation and worry, he couldn’t be certain which one would win.
Not a long standoff.
Then, Lesha opened her mouth with difficulty.
“That… “What does this place mean to you?”
And I was able to realize that question.
That I am the only one who can differentiate the world of Lesha between virtual and real boundaries.
I asked because the meaning of this world to Han Tae-jin, the possessor, would be the same as his own.
Even though I believe it to be real, I must have asked with concern because depending on my answer, it could become virtual.
To put my worries to shame, it was a question with no reason to worry.
“Anyway, this is the world I live in, and this is my reality.”
That’s why.
I returned Lesha’s words exactly as they were said.
“Ah.”
Lesha gently lifted and lowered her heel.
The rigid eyebrows rise vigorously, and the corners of her mouth rise and make her dimples.
“Never leave. Didn’t you promise to wait for you here?”
“Hey…. “Then that’s it.”
Lesha smiled brightly and spread her arms wide.
“Why?”
“Hug me.”
Lesha asks for a hug like a spoiled baby. She was so cute that she couldn’t help but hug her.
-Wow!
I hugged him with all my might.
Lesha’s body odor, which she feels after a long time, melts her lungs sweeter than ever.
Lesha warmly stroked my back and said quietly.
“You’ve worked hard so far.”
It was a greeting that seemed to decorate the ending.
“… Isn’t it too early to say hello? “We haven’t even defeated God Rachel yet.”
“No.”
“Yes… ?”
Lesha pats my back and rubs her head in my arms.
She also seemed to be very happy with the warmth I felt for the first time in a long time.
Luckily.
“Hideing a secret for someone is cumbersome and difficult. “I had a hard time handling it alone.”
“Ah….”
At that moment, I was at a loss for words.
I thought it just meant the hard work of fighting Choi Do-han, but it turned out that it meant the hard work of the person who hid the secret.
Afterwards, as Lesha said, the ‘cumbersome’ and ‘difficult’ things that had been done to hide the secret passed by like a flash of light.
The thirst for knowing but having to keep quiet and pretending not to know.
Sometimes I had to take risks while secretly farming hidden pieces.
And, knowing the story of the world, I had to think dozens of times about each choice and constantly worry about the story changing with that choice.
I still didn’t know if those choices were the right ones.
These are probably things that we must carry with us until the day we fulfill our mission.
She shared those burdens and carried them on her shoulders. As Lesha warmly hugged her shoulder, she felt some kind of emotion and hugged Lesha even harder.
“You really had a hard time.”
And returned the greeting.
If I were alone, I wouldn’t have made it this far.
The person who helped me focus entirely on growth is Lesha, and she is the one who saved me from almost being attacked by Choi Do-han, and she is the one who saved me from struggling when I fell into an overhead situation in the group task dungeon. Because it was Lesha.
Nayeon, Hyeseo, and Ercia are going through hardships together for me and for salvation, but if it weren’t for Lesha, she wouldn’t have even found the path.
Because her relationship, which started as her summon, was like the beginning of salvation, Lesha was an indispensable person to me, and to my mission and salvation.
It was a lot of hard work.
The person who will hear that greeting is not me, but Lesha.
“Off. Tae, Taejin. “I’m suffocating.”
Lesha taps my back as if tapping a tab.
Oh, maybe I used too much force.
Lesha exhaled with her red face as she released her hug.
Suddenly, she felt like teasing her, so she tried to kiss her lips.
《Kwaangㅡ!!》
The two lips were unable to touch due to the huge roar coming from far away.
Drok’s head, which had been looking at us intently, turned towards the place where the roar was heard.
“… !”
It was in the direction of Cheonrihyang Village.
It was not visible because it was blocked by the cliff, but the roar was not clearly heard due to the distance.
Lesha and I could feel it instinctively.
The roaring noise is not unusual.
“Droke!”
I quickly got on Drok’s back and had to head straight to Cheonrihyang Village with Lesha.
I sincerely hope that everyone is safe.
-Whoop!
Drok’s powerful wings blow away even Choi Do-han’s traces on the stone wall.
#
“aaah!”
“Help me-!!”
-Quang!
Rampant drinking and rampant screaming.
The residents of Cheonrihyang Village, who lived peacefully even though they were shabby and had nothing, had to run away from fear without even having a chance to feel the sadness of their home being destroyed.
-Kwadangtang!
“aaah!”
Unfortunately, it was not only the super-giant monster Chimera that came back through the portal.
Like dozens of frigates attached to an aircraft carrier, small and medium-sized monsters poured out.
Residents trapped in a collapsed house.
Residents trying to rescue their families.
Residents running away.
A resident hugging a dead child and wailing.
The village where Hell was spread out was filled with only blood, debris, and screams.
“Yura-! “Please help the residents with Hannah!”
“Ah, huh!”
In the middle of that space full of despair, there were Baek Mi-hwa and Yura.
Na-yeon, Hye-seo, and Su-a headed to the entrance of the village to stop the chimera, while Hanna, Yu-ra, and Baek Mi-hwa were working hard to evacuate the residents.
It was impossible to defeat the chimera with the current power anyway.
So, we came up with a plan to split into teams to stop the Chimera for a while and evacuate the residents in the meantime.
Has it been said that fear is offset by greater fear?
Because the fear presented by Choi Do-han was eaten by her chimera, Hanna was also rushing to help the residents with her tear stains still on her face.
It’s the same for Yura.
While evacuating the residents quickly using the devices she developed, Yura caught the collapsed roof.
He was wearing a monocle that might have been used by aristocrats in the Middle Ages, and it was a device that captured human body signals using mana.
“Off!”
Even though he had a talent for machinery, Yura was also an Awakener.
ㅡFinally….
“Jebaal… !”
Yura clenches her teeth and squeezes even the strength she used to suck.
Under the roof, there were two signals detected by [Human signal detection glasses], Also known as detection glasses.
Small signals and big signals.
In other words, a baby and an adult are on the floor.
Yura exerts all her strength, erecting a blood vessel around her neck.
However, as the roof is laid down, the pillars become entangled and become like locks, so it is difficult to lift them.
“I won’t give up!”
Crimson mana rises from Yura’s body.
– Finally… !
The roof slowly lifts.
A scream resembling a moan escaped from within.
“Please save me… please… !”
“Wait a minute-! Wait… !!”
Just pay a little more.
Believing that her brother would successfully save Raina, Yura wanted to save at least one more resident in danger.
And, she will boast nicely to her brother.
But.
“Hey, hey-!!!”
The urgent call coming from behind my back destroys my resolve.
“… Ah.”
This was because a medium-sized monster appeared next to the collapsed house.
-Crrr….
It was Kelkaton, a drooling monster that walked on four legs, had a long tail with a poisonous sting, and a vicious snout with fangs sticking out from under its chin.
“Ah, no way…” !”
Yura had a look of despair on her face, but she couldn’t let go of the roof.
If we let go now, the roof will crush the baby and her parents even more.
Soon, Kelkaton’s stinging tail, dripping wet green liquid, flew towards Yura.