급 자살헌터

1.

Blood from the mirror covered its surroundings.

At first, it was only a drop or two. Then, the drops of blood continued to fall, turning
into an endless faucet.

However, clang… clang… The moment a faraway grandfather clock rang, the drops of
blood changed. Blood gushed uncontrollably from the gap in the mirror.

Clang…

Twelve o’clock. A dozen strikes of the bell.

A single drop swelled into a single column.

One column split into six.

The corridor was covered in blood.

It was a sea of red blood.

The grandfather clock rang its last.

We were standing on a carpet of blood.

“Milady.”

I instinctively wrapped myself around the shoulders of the Lady of the Silver Lily.
The pool of blood swarmed all the way up to our ankles. The slimey, moist texture
felt foreboding.
“This is…”

“It’s my nightmare.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily whispered in my embrace.

“Keep your guard up, butler. This place is no different from another world. Other
people cannot know or see what happens here.”

Suddenly, the sea of blood began to bubble.

Thousands of bubbles rose up, and thousands of bubbles popped.

But among them, there were a few that stayed intact instead of disappearing as the
other bubbles did.

[The silver-plated heart is manifesting.]

They were demons shaped like lips. No, they were just lips. There was no face or
body, only the red lips and red tongue.

The thing grinned.

-His Highness.

-Loathe him.

The blood bubble lips continuously rose up and burst. The words they muttered
were rarely connected. The words were incoherent. Like a chorus in terrible
disharmony.

-The kind crown prince.

-Before he was the crown prince, the prince picked a flower for me.

-You wiped my tears with your sleeves. You were still a nice person.

-The heart was soft. That’s why.

-But…

Stab!

The Lady of the Silver Lily pierced the blood bubble lips with her rapier. The demon
popped. However, twice or thrice as many tongues arose from the sea of blood in its
place.

The demons’ cackles were red.

-Love him.

I also swung my sword.

-What’s the point of loving someone who was born distinguished?

The demons’ fighting power was trifling. They didn’t even fight back. They only
accepted the strikes.

But.

-Though he’s an unattractive person.

-True love is embracing and guiding a foolish man.

They were unnerving.

It wasn’t a physical attack but a mental one.

-I love you. Your Highness.

-I also know how to love.

-I am a loving noblewoman.

I bit my lips. It was unpleasant. I attacked faster to slice through the bubbles.

-Are you going to kill me?

-It’s no use. The tragedy becomes sweeter the more you trample over it.
-Lady of the Golden Silk. She’s flirting with His Highness?

-Disgusting.

The sea of blood surged with laughter.

-She’s so naive, dreaming of romance. His Highness doesn’t love the Lady of the Golden
Silk. She’s just a way to escape from his imperial duties.

-Poor prince.

-Pitiful prince.

Damn.

I had seen a phenomenon like this before.

‘The Devil King of Fall Rain!’

Before I reaped her and gave her the name Preta, the Constellation was like this. The
Devil King shed blood from the sky and freely used an army of monsters.

This was the strength of a Constellation.

Those demons were the familiars of the Lady of the Silver Lily.

[The presence of the silver-plated heart becomes more prominent.]

Something other than lips came from the sea of blood.

They were hands.

Like a bride and groom at a wedding, two hands were intertwined.

-Raviel. Your family and the imperial family have set up an engagement between us.

-An engagement, is it?

-Yes. But I don’t want a political marriage.

The demons’ hands clasped together.

Blood dripped endlessly from the hands of blood.

It came to my attention that the demons were reenacting [what happened in the
past] like a play.

-We can ignore the engagement uncaringly decided by the adults. Regardless of them, I
will love you. I came here today to formally propose to you.

-Prince.

-Raviel. When we grow older, will you marry me?

Dozens of lips surrounded the hands.

In unison, they answered.

-Yes.

-I’ll love you surely.

-I’ll love you too, my prince.

That son of a bitch.

He said something like that and still wasn’t taking responsibility?

-His Highness most likely forgot.

-It was a promise made as children.

-It can’t be helped.

-People have poor memories.

The blood bubble lips cackled.

-It can’t be helped!

I couldn’t stand it anymore.

I was engulfed in rage.

Splash! I took a step forward, focusing aura on my front foot.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Eighth form.

Sword of Incineration.

As the waves of blood spread, so did my aura.

The sea of blood that covered the corridor burned.

-Ooh.

Behind me, Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.

-Now, you can take on these mobs with a single blow. You’ve grown a lot, crow-tit.

Normally, I’d have played along to Bae Hu-ryeong’s taunts. But right now, I wasn’t in
the mood. I cleared the corridor. The demons were swallowed in the inferno. The
demons did not even scream as they disappeared. Rather, the way they laughed till
the end pissed me off.

“Shit.”

I burned the demons with a blow, but I was still seething inside.

Anger toward the crown prince. Contempt.

The fact that an honorable person like the Lady of the Silver Lily was hurt because of
such a man, that she had made an irreversible wish. These things made me mad.

“Since when…?!”

I took a breath to temper my voice. No matter how angry I was, I didn’t want to raise
my voice to the Lady of the Silver Lily.
“…When did you become a Constellation? These things are the familiars of a
Constellation. You made them.”

That was why they did not resist; they recognized us as allies.

The Lady of the Silver Lily nodded. She knew.

“It happened the moment I stabbed my heart.”

Unnoticed, the blood began to return to the mirror. Writhing. Slinking. The columns
of blood crawled back through the crack in the mirror.

Regressing. The Lady of the Silver Lily watched calmly as the drops of blood inched
away like leeches.

“It seems there is no original Constellation in this world. I don’t know if there was
one and they were killed or if they never existed from the start.”

Lefanta Aegim probably killed the Constellation. But this wasn’t the time to talk
about that. I carefully listened to the lady’s words.

“As time passes, the demons become more powerful. Their numbers grow, and their
sizes increase. It becomes hard to control them as I do now. And on the tenth day—”

On the tenth day.

There, the Lady of the Silver Lily paused. She shook her head once and rephrased.

“…At any rate, as the ten days began to loop, I became [this world’s representative].
Though it’s not what I wished, the world’s time revolves around me.”

-Hmm.

Bae Hu-ryeong clasped his chin.

-It’s not a typical ascension. In Murim terms, it isn’t a righteous path but an evil path.
Though the sword in the mirror is only a fragment, it was once a part of the [Guardian
Goddess].

Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged and muttered.

-If you embed it in your heart, you’ll ascend to a Constellation even if you don’t want
to… Combined with the repeated regression, it isn’t something a human body can
handle. Though, she isn’t a complete Constellation but a knockoff. Anyway, it was the
result of many coincidences.

‘Can someone become a Constellation even if they don’t want to?’

-Yup. Zombie, were you born human because you wanted to be?

Seriously, even if you try to talk to him, he’s like this.

-The important part is the conditions. Not will. There are many people who suffer
because they are human, but those who suffer because they became Constellations are
also surprisingly common. It’s easy for one’s life to become miserable. Understand,
Young Master of the Demonic Sect?

I exhaled.

My anger toward the prince fermented in my heart. That anger left a bitter taste in
my mouth.

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me.

“How unusual. Aren’t you disappointed?”

“Excuse me?”

“Your words are correct. Whatever the circumstances, those demons are my
familiars. They aren’t making up the verses. The things they said were all things I
whispered in my dreams, even if it was unconsciously.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily tilted her head.

“I pledged a love that would never change. In order to keep that love pure, I have to
remove the dust and flaws that settle in my love everyday.”

Disappointment.

Frustration.
The feeling of wanting to receive as much as one gives.

“This is the result.”

An oil stain on a heart.

The very epitome of a curse.

“Isn’t it ugly?” muttered the Lady of the Silver Lily. “I have shown you what love is.
But I didn’t only show you. I tried to harvest your love, too. I brought you here to
awaken you from this fantasy.”

“Disappointed?”

Without my knowledge, a breath spilled from my lips. It wasn’t a sigh. It was a breath
barely containing anger.

“It’s ugly? I don’t know much, but milady, I will never be disappointed in you about
something like this.”

“…Like this?”

“You told me a secret. You took your heart and revealed it to me as it is. A person
who is really detestable, milady, is someone who never shows their heart to others.
Pretending to be laid-back. Pretending to be composed. Knowing only how to hurt
people.”

That bastard Flame Emperor.

“Rather, I’m worse. If Your Ladyship knew what kind of thoughts I have, you would
abhor me.”

“That makes me curious.”

“If you brought me here to make me give up, you were wrong, milady. I didn’t fall in
love with you because your heart isn’t ugly.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily paused very briefly. Love. It was because of this word. My
face became hot when I said it out loud, but I didn’t think to hesitate.
“It’s only been one day since you came to love me. My teaching is brilliant.”

“Does it matter that it’s only been a day? Would it have been better if I loved you for a
year? A thousand days? Do you want me to return after that?”

“……”

“I can see what kind of people you despise. And what you despise is the same as
what I hate. I can see what scars you wear and how you are hurt. I love the way you
live. Because, you and I, we live the same life.”

Will she hear me? Would she understand what I mean?

That wasn’t something I could know.

I had never said something like this to anyone else. I wasn’t used to it. But I wanted
to keep the person in front of me. And I wanted the Lady of the Silver Lily to keep me.
I wanted us to share one life and have each other.

“I love you as much as I love myself. I wish you could love me as much as I love you.”

These were my true feelings.

And the only method I knew was to exclaim it with all my heart.

“I will definitely make you love me. I won’t tell you to abandon the crown prince.
Even if I don’t ask you to, you will abandon him one day.”

“My heart is…”

“Yes. But it doesn’t matter if your heart is held hostage by the world. If that’s the
problem, I’ll free you. But if you still love the crown prince, then I’ll become an even
better person than he is and stay by your side.”

“……”

“Did the crown prince give you unforgettable memories when you were children?
That doesn’t matter, either.”

I whispered in the Lady of the Silver Lily’s ear.

“The two of us are regressors. The only two in the world.”

I knew that my face was red. But I said what I had to say.

“There will be a lot of times that only you and I can enjoy. During those times, I’ll give
you such breathtaking memories that they will make your memory of the prince fade
away. I’ll try my best.”

“Hmm.”

The tips of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s eyes rose up.

“Can you repeat these last ten days indefinitely? You’ll become tired of it.”

“That’s no issue. This isn’t the first time I’ve repeated the same days over and over
again.”

“What if I tell you to get out of my sight because I become tired of you?”

“I’ll disappear, but—”

I moved my hand. I moved it, and I grabbed the Lady of the Silver Lily’s fingertips.
She had let go of her lantern while fighting the demons. It was something that took
courage. A lot of it. Fortunately, I had enough.

“To start with, that’s not going to happen.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you haven’t grown tired of the crown prince… and I am a better person
than he is. If I make you uncomfortable, please tell me now. I’ll disappear.”

Silence.

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at my face.

“…You’re insufferable.”

The lady’s lips parted.

“I should be bothered, but right now, I don’t feel that way. I don’t think I’ll be easily
bothered, either.”

It was then.

“…ler…!”

From far down the corridor, there was a voice. It sounded urgent. The Lady of the
Silver Lily’s servants must have been asleep, yet the residence suddenly was
disturbed.

“…where…! But…!”

Soon, we heard footsteps. The servants had woken up. Lights turned on everywhere,
and shortly after, the gray-haired servant ran to where the two of us stood.

“I apologize, milady.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily let go of my hand.

“Why are you making a commotion at this late hour?”

“I’m sorry, but I must inform you…”

At that moment, the faraway voice that had been making a fuss could be heard more
clearly than before.

“Butler! Where are you, butler?!”

My expression hardened.

It was a very familiar voice.

The gray-haired servant bowed in our direction.

“The Lady of the Golden Silk is on a rampage.”

2.

The sand on the moon made it look a little red.

Its dust made the sky red, just as a person made their surroundings red when they
spilled blood. These unrelated facts made me uncomfortable.

‘It looks like the moon is bleeding.’

I walked forward, and that uneasy thought dragged behind me like a shadow.

In the distance, the servants were buzzing about.

“Miss, you can’t act like this here!”

“This is the residence of the daughter of the Duke of Ivansia!”

“No matter how much His Highness favors you, at this time…”

The Lady of the Silver Lily, who walked with me, muttered.

“The gatecrasher is none other than she.”

Her tone clearly revealed her contempt for the Heretic Questioner—no, the Lady of
the Golden Silk.

“Seeing that she’s here at this hour, she hasn’t come for tea. Butler, was this visit
planned?”

“It was not.”

I was also disconcerted. Wasn’t it past midnight already? The Heretic Questioner had
no reason to meet the Lady of the Silver Lily at this time.

He and I had talked two days ago.

[For now, I’ll work as the Lady of the Silver Lily’s personal butler], I had said. [It’s to
get information about her and about how to beat this stage.]

「Hmm.」

The Heretic Questioner briefly made a peculiar expression.

Still, he smiled widely like usual.

「Okay! It’s for the mission, so it can’t be helped.」

「I will be fine. Have a safe trip, Death King!」

Like that, we had agreed on it.

At least, I thought we did.

“Bring forth my butler!”

The voice became closer as we walked.

“Butler! I know you’re here!”

The garden of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s quarters.

Even the dark sky of the night could not cover the springtime in the flower garden.
The mature white magnolias’ heads drooped, overwhelmed by the weight of the
season. The moon was red, and the moonlight reflected off the magnolia petals were
ruddy. Thus, the white magnolias of the garden looked like pink magnolias in full
bloom.

“Ah!”
A magnolia petal fell.

“As I thought, you were here, butler!”

The Heretic Questioner pushed aside the guard at the gate. The guards were
hesitating as they could not recklessly hurt the daughter of a baron.

The Heretic Questioner took the moment to hoist up her skirt and stride into the
garden. Squish. The pink magnolia petal that had fallen earlier was trampled under
the Heretic Questioner’s shoe.

“I was worried when you didn’t come back.”

“……”

“Really. Making your master worry and search for you personally… Doesn’t that
disqualify you as a servant?”

I had a bad feeling as soon as I saw the Heretic Questioner.

The hair.

The Heretic Questioner’s moonlit blond hair was longer than it was the previous day.

“Milady…”

“You are my one and only butler and childhood friend. You mean more to me than
any ordinary servant. Is it too undignified for me to ask that you recognize this fact?”

It wasn’t just his hair. Face. Appearance. Even though traces of the Heretic
Questioner remained, his appearance was somehow unfamiliar.

‘Did he change his appearance with the sacred techniques?’

Why?

“In any case, you shouldn’t be at a place like this. I feel like even the flower garden is
poisonous. Now! Butler, come here and let’s go back together.”

“Impertinent woman.”
When the Heretic Questioner tried to approach me, the Lady of the Silver Lily stood
in her way.

“This sort of disturbance at nighttime is a felony that should be punished with a

lashing. Where do you think you are to raise your voice like so? Get down on your
knees and admit your errors, immediately.”

“Oh? Are you going cane me?”

The Heretic Questioner grinned.

“If you’re going to hit me, please hit me firmly and with strength. Your Ladyship, I
wonder what will happen if I show the scars you leave on my calves to His Highness
the Prince. The memories shared by the prince and I will increase again.”

“D-disgusting…!”

The ducal servants shuddered. The crown prince’s official fiancee was the Lady of
the Silver Lily. Yet, this upstart spoke of showing her calves to the lady’s fiance and
making memories right in front of her. The servants’ faces turned red, and they
glared at the Heretic Questioner.

The Lady of the Silver Lily quietly whispered, “Really?”

Flinch. The servants froze when they heard her voice.

My chest chilled in an instant, as well.

“Then, I shall do so.”

That was just how cold the Lady of the Silver Lily’s voice was.

“Your desire to make beautiful memories during your school days is lovely. Indeed, if
it’s you, you can even lionize a memory of rolling in a dung field. If you want to make
some wonderful memories, I, as a noble of the empire, will assist you.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily lifted her left hand.

“Bring me a cane.”
The servants trembled.

“Y-young Mistress…”

“Haven’t I ordered you to not call me that here?”

“If the crown prince finds out about this…”

“Did you think I’d send you off kindly after the mess you’ve created in the residence
of the duke’s people? If I send you off quietly, will our family name not become
sullied? Law is more important than anything, and the crown prince is the one who
must uphold it.”

The servants swallowed their breaths. They didn’t look convinced. ‘But,’ the servants
protested silently, ‘is the crown prince the type of person who would do that?’

Nobody could voice their protests.

“My left hand is still empty.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s voice flowed.

“Bring a cane. I will not repeat myself.”

Her servants’ shoes busily moved on the road where the pink magnolias fell to
retrieve a cane from the building.

They bowed their heads as if they were afraid of showing their faces in the
moonlight. Only two people, the Lady of the Silver Lily and the Heretic Questioner,
kept their heads high.

“Milady.”

Eventually, I had no choice but to get closer to the Heretic Questioner.

“What’s wrong? Why did you come here at a time like this?”

“I came to get back what is mine. You’re making me state the obvious.”

The Heretic Questioner beamed at me.

“I had been waiting since the morning, but you didn’t come back, butler. At first, I
thought that there must have been something important, but then I heard that you
were with the Lady of the Silver Lily.”

The Heretic Questioner pressed his hands to his cheeks.

“I realized it right away. The lady must have taken hold of your weakness and
blackmailed you. That’s her specialty. Poor butler. You were involved because of His
Highness and me…”

“……”

I didn’t understand.

What was he talking about?

“Don’t worry.”

The Heretic Questioner’s smile was bright, as always.

“I won’t let her take anything from me, whether it’s the prince’s favor or your
allegiance. A cane? She can hit me as much as she wants. I came for you, butler. She’s
the one who will be hurt more the more she whips me.”

“No… Sorry. Just a moment. Please excuse me.”

I stepped a little closer to the Heretic Questioner so that the others around us did not
hear our words. Fortunately, nobody stopped me.

“Milady.”

“Yes.”

I gulped and whispered,

“Heretic Questioner.”

There was silence.

“What?”
My heart was pounding.

My lips were dry. My tongue couldn’t move. Was it always so difficult to articulate
words one by one to weave a sentence? Slowly, I opened my mouth.

“When spring comes.”

“Pardon?”

My heart.

“Heretic Questioner…”

“What are you talking about, butler?”

“If you’re playing around like last time, I really will get mad. I mean it. I’m asking
seriously right now. Please answer me properly. How high is your immersion rate?”

The Heretic Questioner blinked.

“Hmm? Butler, are you playing around? Were you thinking of old times? Or was your
head messed up from being with Her Ladyship for a day? Oh, butler. With gentle
tolerance, I understand.”

“When spring comes…”

“It has.”

The Heretic Questioner laughed.

“Spring has already come, butler.”

No,

“Isn’t it a beautiful season?”

It was the Lady of the Golden Silk who laughed.

“I-I brought what you wanted…”

The servants who had scattered to the building returned. Heads bowed, they offered
the cane to the Lady of the SIlver Lily.

It was thin.

I guessed that they must have been struggling to find the most slender cane in the
mansion. Was that their way of caring for their master?

“Find another one.”

However, the Lady of the Silver Lily was heartless. The servants flinched and turned
back.

“Find another one.”

This order was repeated four times. Each time, the cane became thicker. The servant
bit his lip and held out the fourth cane. The Lady of the Silver Lily held it in her left
hand.

“Lady of the Golden Silk.”

“You can call me by my name, Your Ladyship.”

“Sylvia Evanail.”

“Yes, Miss Raviel Ivansia?”

The sun and the moon faced each other.

“You have invaded the personal territory of a ducal family member and caused a
disturbance. You have spoken no words of apology. There is a strict hierarchy in the
empire that you impudently, horribly ignored. In the name bestowed upon me by His
Majesty the Emperor, I will punish you for your crime.”

“Crime? I know my own crime best.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk smiled sweetly.

“It is my crime to dare to be born to a baron family from the countryside and to be
loved by the crown prince.”
That—that wasn’t something one should have said in front of the prince’s fiancee.

“I apologize for being loved.”

The baron’s daughter gently held the hems of her skirt. She sank on top of the
magnolia-filled garden and bowed her head to the lily standing before her.

Her mannerism was flawless.

“I am sorry for receiving more love than Miss Raviel Ivansia.”

“……”

“Is this apology enough?”

The wind blew.

“By the way, Miss Raviel Ivansia. I’m curious. Is this really my crime? Love is only
meaningful when it is received. It is shared between the one who loves and the one
who receives it, so is it solely my responsibility? Perhaps…”

No words followed that ‘perhaps.’ Instead, she laughed. A petal hanging onto a black
branch fell.

The Lady of the Silver Lily quietly raised her left hand.

“You dreadful thing.”

The cane tore through the night air.

“—–.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk did not scream. She didn’t even groan. Her back was
straight, and a smile was carved onto her face like some sculpture. She did not shake.

He, no, she was convinced of her victory.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

So, to me, it seemed that the one bleeding was the moon.
[Currently, your immersion rate is 40%.]

On that night, the moon was a little red with sand.

When the sky was covered with the dust on the moon, when humans bled on the
ground, it turned red. Cough. The thick air caused the Lady of the Silver Lily to cough.
Her cough sounded coarse.

No one spoke.

Only the whistle of the cane and the sound of coughing filled the garden in the night.

“Sylvia!”

A torch light swayed.

“Sylvia! Are you there, Sylvia?”

The sound of footsteps broke the silence. Beyond the gate, the crown prince was
running, holding a torch. The guards scrambled to him. With an uproar like this,
there was no way the prince wouldn’t find out.

“Syl…”

The prince stopped in front of the gate.

“……”

Looking into the garden, he fell silent for a moment.

“Raviel…!!”

His tone was different from when he called out to the Lady of the Golden Silk.

“Step aside!”

The prince pushed the ducal guards away. There were none among them who would
block the path of the nation’s foundation. The prince ran straight to the side of the
Lady of the Golden Silk’s side.
“How, no matter how much she… How…!”

“I’m fine, Your Highness.”

“I’m not fine! Like a fool…!”

The prince looked over the Lady of the Golden Silk.

Then, he turned his head to stare at the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“You spiteful woman!”

Words become scars.

“How could you treat Sylvia so cruelly?!”

Those who inflict the pain do not know it because they cannot see the scars.

“It is the law of the empire, Your Highness.”

“Is the law more important than the people?”

“It’s more important than an individual.”

“That’s why I say that you’re spiteful! You’re like a witch!”

The world was probably divided into those who knew and those who did not. The
prince fell into the latter group.

The Lady of the Silver Lily coughed and sighed.

“Are you going to punish me?”

“……”

The prince’s face grimaced. Just grimaced. He could not answer the Lady of the Silver
Lily’s question. He shook his head as if she didn’t deserve an answer, but he was just
avoiding it.

The prince didn’t have the guts to take responsibility for the Lady of the Silver Lily
nor the skills to deal with her.

“Let’s leave, Sylvia! You shouldn’t be in this sort of place.”

“Ah.”

The prince hugged the Lady of the Golden Silk.

In the prince’s embrace, the Lady of the Golden Silk looked at me.

“Butler.”

Heretic Questioner.

“Butler, come with us.”

“……”

I didn’t answer.

As I looked at that person, I murmured in my thoughts as though I was praying.

‘Character window.’

Swish.

Letters bloomed before my eyes.

Name: Sylvia Evanail

Favorability: 90

Favorite Genre: [Romance]

Disliked Genre: [Politics]

Favorite Characters: [One Who Loves Me], [Crown Prince], [Butler], [Teacher],
[Upperclassmen], [Underclassmen], [Classmate]
Hated Character: [Raviel Ivansia]

Favorite Plot: [The Victory of the Strong], [True Love]

Dislike Plot: [The Defeat of the Weak], [Backstabbing]

Psychological state: ‘Raviel Ivansia. I won’t give you anything.’

The Heretic Questioner’s title was not there.

The word [Fairy Tale] under the favorite genre or [Human] under the favorite
character category was no longer there.

“Butler?”

The Heretic Questioner was swallowed by the role of the Lady of the Golden Silk.

“You’re coming with me, right?”

With that, I could predict the end of this run.

“I…”

I tried my best not to stutter.

“I’m going to stay with the Lady of the Silver Lily for now.”

Silence.

“…I can’t understand your reasoning.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk lifted her eyes. Was it because her emotions froze with
coldness? The crown prince, hearing the cold voice of the one he loved, stopped
walking.

“I’m asking you to come with me now, butler. It isn’t my wish to show off my wounds,
but I have taken pains to free you from Her Ladyship.”

“Yes. I know.”

“But you still refuse to go?”

There was a bitter taste in my mouth.

I didn’t know if this conflicted feeling came from losing the Heretic Questioner or if it
was the butler rebelling against refusing his original master. But… the blue eyes. It
was painful to look at those eyes that only reflected the Lady of the Golden Silk.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 42%.]

So I lowered my head and avoided her gaze.

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I still have work to do.”

“That’s a vague excuse. Well, isn’t it simply that you were bewitched by her?”

I silently remained still.

“Ha,” scoffed the Lady of the Golden Silk. It wasn’t directed toward me but rather the
Lady of the Silver Lily.

“I understand, Your Ladyship. I don’t know what sort of grand plan you’ve plotted
this time, but you cannot shake the bond between me and my butler. Please take
good care of him.”

“You’re free to believe whatever you want. Get out of my sight.”

“Yes. I’ll leave now.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk, wrapped in the prince’s arms, reached out her hand.
Then, she stroked his cheek and whispered—or pretended to whisper while being
loud enough so everyone could hear.

“Will you leave with me, Your Highness?”

“Ah. Ahhh.”

The crown prince’s face turned red.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 43%.]

The two went back along with the guards.

Like that, the commotion that happened after midnight ended.

3.

The garden quieted in an instant.

“Milady…”

The servants worried over their master with sad expressions. It was the duke’s
daughter who had chased away the uninvited guests, but the atmosphere left her as
the one being excluded.

“It’s late,” said the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“You’ve all worked hard. You may go inside now.”

“Milady, what will you do…?”

“I will look at the flowers here for a moment before heading back. I would like to be
alone. All of you, leave me.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily gazed up at the night sky in her nightgown. Like a person
born in the night, not by the day, her body was melted into the dark. Unable to
disobey their master, her servants returned to their quarters.

“Milady.”

Only I remained and approached her side.

-Zombie. That person is weak now! Doesn’t the atmosphere around her look
miserable? She may be putting on a poker face, but actually, she’s been weakened.
That’s great news, dude! Crises are opportunities! The goalkeeper’s finally
disappeared. It’s hard to date someone better than you, so you have to strike now.

‘Shut up.’

That ghost never changed. He still couldn’t read the mood.

“You go back and rest too, butler.”

“I’ll be fine even if I stay up a night or two. Rather, aren’t you very tired?”

“Though I would like to deny it… Yes. I am a bit tired.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily sighed.

“It is already the 14th time. For 140 days, I have tried to set the crown prince
straight. Even if I accept it as fate that my love won’t be returned, the crown prince
will one day ascend to the throne as emperor. If I can set him on the right path, the
empire’s safety will not be jeopardized… But it’s hard.”

“You’re not alone anymore.”

You aren’t the only regressor in the world. That was what I meant.

“You have me. People can survive so long as one person around them recognizes and
sees them.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Surprisingly, that’s how it is.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily turned her gaze from the night sky.

She looked right at me.

“You’re mistaking one thing.”

Mistake?

“I repeat the last ten days. When you die, you return to the previous day. It may look
like the same regression at first glance, that the two of us will share time together,
but that is not the case in reality.”

I did not stop her from speaking. The conversation we were having now would
probably be live-broadcasted and seen by the people of the Tower.

But that was all right.

I had already decided on the next regression.

“Butler. One of us will regress [first].”

The Lady of the Silver Lily leaned in.

“If I regress first, you will forget about your current life. On the other hand, if you
regress first, I will forget what happened. One of our regressions will swallow the
other’s.”

Scritch, scratch.

The lady drew parallel lines on the ground with her cane.

“We are parallel lines that can never meet.”

My heart throbbed painfully.

“I will be able to understand you. You will be able to understand me, too. But
understanding is the most we can do. It is impossible for the two of us to live
synchronously. You cannot take responsibility for me, nor can I for you.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s voice was composed.

“Your confession about wanting to share the same time as me was intense and
beautiful. However, it cannot happen. Perhaps that is why it is even more beautiful.”

“What if it could happen?”

I looked straight into her eyes.

“If? There is no such thing.”

“I keep my word. No matter what. I didn’t propose to stay with you just because I
wanted to win your heart. I’m not the type to attract people by inflating false words
like balloons.”

“……”

“If I can help you escape the ten perpetual days, if I can help, what will you do?”

A bird cried in the night.

“…You are arrogant. I am satisfied with living my life.”

“I suppose you are. I feel the same way. Still, I want to help you. Is it arrogant to want
to help the one you love? Then, I’ll become an arrogant person.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily closed her lips. She, too, was trying to help the prince in
her own way. Whether or not she admitted it, the two of us were alike.

“What do you want from me?”

“When the world ends this time, please stay with me.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

I realized it when I saw the Heretic Questioner become 100% immersed. The secret
to defeating this stage. It was a weird and tricky solution, but… it was probably
possible.

So long as I kept my head straight.

“And, if it’s possible, I would be grateful if you could make me fall deeper in love with
you. It would be wonderful if I fell so deeply, foolishly in love with you that I could
never escape.”

“Is that what you’re requesting from me now?”

“It’s all right. I’m easy. My heart beats wildly even if Your Ladyship just holds my
hand.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me like she was dumbfounded.

“How shameless… Fine. I told you that I would teach you about love, so I shall make
good on my promise.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily grabbed my hand. It felt soft. Her hands were bare. The
touch of her hand was wrapped around my right hand. Last night, my heart pounded
from the memory of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s perfume.
“Is this enough?”

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 44%.]

My face flushed.

“Yes. I-It’s enough.”

“Good heavens. I’m not saying this in a seductive way, but aren’t you a little too pure-
hearted? It’s amazing you’ve survived in this harsh world.”

“I died. A lot.”

“……”

“If I show you my weakness, does your heart also jump a little? I saw it in a magazine
before. Sometimes, you have to pretend to be weak to be effective.”

“Ha.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily snickered. Although her eyes weren’t laughing, a laugh
was a laugh. She must have been greatly depressed by the fruitless work she put into
the prince. If she felt even a little better, I was glad.

“Are you picking a fight? Despite having known love for just a day?”

“I learned it when I saw you fight with the Lady of the Golden Silk earlier. Your
Ladyship is wise, but if someone provokes her, she won’t let it slide. Is that because
of pride? You answer provocations even if you stand to lose something. So, I also
wanted to provoke you.”

“…You’re pretty quick-witted.”

“Should I provoke you a bit more?”

“Try it. If you can.”

The two of us were standing close to each other.

We became closer.

Our shadows began to overlap.

Neither of us had any intention of backing down.

“Milady speaks of herself as a master of love. But are you really? Isn’t receiving love
just as important as giving it? Loving the prince and drawing out the prince’s love
are both important. But Your Ladyship has failed at the latter.”

“Hmm.”

“In that sense, perhaps the Lady of the Golden Silk is better at love than Your
Ladyship. In any case, she’s the one being loved by the crown prince, no? In terms of
being better at love, surprisingly, the Lady of the Golden Silk is more advanced.”

“Oh?”

“Your Ladyship knows how to love. But you don’t know how to be loved. At least, it’s
clear that you don’t know more than the Lady of the Golden Silk. So…”

At that moment.

“So?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily held my chin.

“……”

“Keep talking. Your voice is not unpleasant to hear.”

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 45%.]

“…So, it was natural that the Lady of the Golden Silk stole the prince from you. You
should have understood the prince’s tastes and interests in greater detail.”

“Your teeth are very white.”

“…Um. But, you didn’t. You were careless. So, Your Ladyship is partly at fault for why
the Lady of the Golden Silk has become so uncontrollable.”

“Your tongue is red. Very cute.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily pulled my chin closer to her.

She was looking at my mouth.

“Why did you stop talking again? If you close your lips, I can’t see your tongue. It’s
amusing to see. Keep talking.”

“……,……”

“Do you surrender?”

“Yes…”

“[It would be wonderful if I fell so deeply, foolishly in love with you that I could never
escape.]”

That was what I had said a little while ago.

“You truly are a person who only picks scary words to say. You. I don’t know what
sort of brilliant plan you came up with to be that confident, but you’re really
fearless.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily pulled my chin forward a little more.

It was like gravity had lost its hold on me and I was drawn only to her gestures.

“Well, I have repeated this 14 times, so it would be nice to experience a slight

deviation.”

“You mean…?”

“It is my rule to treat a bitch accordingly. Looking at the events of tonight, it seems
that His Highness has acted increasingly bitchily to me. I can’t let that stand.”

My heart pounded.
Could it be?

“Are you finally going to give up on the crown prince?”

“No. My heart has become a constellation in the night sky. How could I budge it?”

“I just,” whispered the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“I just also want to be a bit of an excessive bitch.”

An excessive bitch.

The Flame Emperor’s ugly face came into mind. I automatically thought of Yoo Sooha
when I heard the words bitch or bastard. But it wasn’t easy to be like that bastard.
What was the Lady of the Silver Lily talking about?

“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.”

Her pointer finger brushed against my lower lip.

“I’ll have an affair with you starting from today.”

“……”

Um.

“Do you… love me?”

“No.”

“Do you have any desire to date me, even a little?”

“No.”

“But…”

“But you are the treasured servant of the Lady of the Golden Silk. To use her words,
you are her one and only butler and childhood friend. I wonder what kind of
expression the Lady of the Golden Silk will make when she hears that you are seeing
me. Won’t His Highness be embarrassed, too?”
In other words.

“You mean you’re going to pretend to date me to screw them over…?”

“Why not?”

I could feel her breath.

“Do you hate it?”

I couldn’t answer. Thump. I couldn’t think of anything to say. My heart was pounding
loudly, and my head was spinning. I mean, it was the person I loved. My first love.
Thump. To use it this way. An affair was a little… There had to be something more
romantic.

“Sit down.”

I carefully sat in the garden. The moon was covered by clouds, and the ground was
dark. It was like I was kneeling in a bottomless swamp.

The eye-level difference between me and the Lady of the Silver Lily was flipped.

“I’ll let you decide.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked down at me.

“If you don’t want to accept my offer, close your eyes. I will quietly disappear before
you open them. But if you wish to accept and pretend to be my lover, if you want to
play out this drama until this life ends—”

The red moon in the sky was hidden.

Eyes that were redder than that were in front of me.

“—say my name.”

Name.

I.
“Raviel…”

Huh?

“Raviel Ivansia.”

Why was my mouth open?

“Good. Do you remember the first lesson I taught you about love?”

“Love starts like a bitch…”

“Well done.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s hands cupped my cheeks.

Then.

“I’ll be your first bitch of a lover.”

The moon swallowed the light.

“……”

The scent of lilies.

Soft and sweet.

A near-deadly fragrance.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 50%.]

I was suffocating.

She was so beautiful.

-You’re both wackjobs, so you suit each other. Yeah, how could you ever go out with a
normal person? Birds of a feather flock together; that’s an unchanging truth.
From far away, I heard Bae Hu-ryeong’s voice.

-Congratulations on your first day, crow-tit.

The magnolia petals fluttered and fell from the trees.

-Even if it’s an affair.

1.

The dawn was white.

I woke up and washed my face. I slowly put on the black butler’s uniform I was now
accustomed to and stood in front of the mirror.

Reflected in it was still [me].

“Mm.”

The Black Dragon guildmaster once said that I gave off a slightly [cunning
impression] when I smiled.

The man in the mirror slowly opened his lips.

“Raviel.”

Thump.

“Raviel Ivansia.”

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 62%.]

I simply whispered the name of my beloved lover. Yet, my heart jumped, I couldn’t
breathe, and the face of the man in the mirror blushed. Even I could read my
expression with ease.

“…I really love her.”

It was amazing.

Surprised by my own feelings, I did what I had to do next.

“Status window.”

Letters crawled in front of my eyes.

Name: Death King

Rank: D-Class

Skill (6/6)

1. I Want To Become Just Like You (S+)

2. Returner’s Clockwork Watch (EX)

3. Sword Constellation (A+)

4. Goblin High Society (F)

5. Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation (SSS)

6. Infernal Heavens Demonic Art (A+)

※ The Goddess of Beauty’s blessing is in effect.

※ The Goddess of Vitality’s blessing is in effect.

Here, the path my life had taken, the path I’d survived, was depicted.

My envy. My secret. My connection. My sense of humor. My will. Even my happiness.

Thus could the life of the human [Kim Gongja] be plainly expressed.

“……”

I took in a deep breath.

‘Character window.’

Then, words I had never seen before were inscribed before my eyes.

Name: Kim Gongja

Favorability: 90

Favorite Genres: [Martial Arts], [Romance], [Detective], [Adventure]

Disliked Genres: N/A

Favorite Characters: [Master/Teacher], [Virtuous Hero], [Victim], [Hard Worker],

[Child], [Good Person], [One Who Reflects On Oneself], [One Who Is Generous To
Others], [One Who Acknowledges Me]

Hated Characters: [Psychopaths]

Favorite Plots: [Justice Prevails], [Friendship], [Love]

Hated Plots: [Self-hatred], [Giving Up], [Fleeing], [Forgetting], [Mistrusting],

[Monopolizing]

Psychological State: ‘I want to know how I am reflected.’

Gulp.

I swallowed my spit.

“Okay.”
I was still Kim Gongja. I hadn’t been swallowed up by my role like the Heretic
Questioner. My strategy would go forth smoothly.

It had to.

“Mr. Sword Emperor.”

-Yeah?

The ghost who wasn’t reflected in the mirror replied.

“If I become buried in the role of the butler, I have a request for you.”

-What is it?

“When my immersion rate is about to reach 100%, there’s a high possibility I won’t
be able to hear your voice. I’ll have my skills, but I’ll probably forget everything about
how to use them. No matter what happens, the immersion rate needs to be stopped
before it becomes 100%.”

I touched the hilt of my dagger, hidden around my waist.

“99%. That’s the Maginot Line.1 The immersion can never go above 99%. Do you
understand? If you have the slightest inkling that I will exceed 99% immersion,
please stop me at any cost.”

-Huh.

Bae Hu-ryeong smirked.

-You worry too much. You think a guy with a strong pride and ego like you will get all
the way to 99%?

“Yes. I will.”

I put the finishing touches on my outfit.

The mirror captured the image of a perfect butler.

“Because I’m going to push myself there on purpose.”

-What?

Bae Hu-ryeong was startled.

-Why? Do you want to flunk this stage and be trapped in this world?

“I can’t tell you why now. No, no one can know but me. I’m going to defeat this stage
by digging into the loopholes in the Tower’s system.”

The Tower was still watching over us.

If it figured out my strategy, the Tower would quickly close the loophole. I couldn’t
let that happen.

When the Tower has a systematic error, a gap that it hasn’t thought of, an
opportunity was made. I had to hurry up and clear [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy].

“Please help me if I am in danger.”

“I believe in you. Since the strongest person of all time said he would become my
master.”

I realized then that the Black Dragon guildmaster was right.

The man reflected in the mirror was smiling cunningly like a rascal.

“Then, I shall go help my lover.”

2.

Though the Lady of the Silver Lily and I were together now, we unfortunately could
not have fun on a date outside. She was sick in bed.

The Lady of the Silver Lily had always been infirm. She was also weak in the sunlight.
Looking at the memories of the [butler], the Lady of the Silver Lily was absent at the
academy more often than not.

She had been working all night the past few days, so she couldn’t help but collapse.

“Don’t worry. It’s been like this since the first time around.”
Leaning on the bed, the Lady of the Silver Lily spoke.

“More precisely, I was born this way. I couldn’t play outside, so I almost always
stayed in the house. It became worse after my heart disappeared after stabbing it
with the sword in the mirror.”

“……”

“This is why the emperor gave an epithet to the Lady of the Golden Silk as well. Even
if I become the empress, I will die soon. It will be difficult for me to give birth to an
heir. I am not suitable as an empress…”

Cough. The Lady of the Silver Lily coughed.

It sounded coarser than it was the previous day.

“Here’s some hot tea. Please drink it.”

I passed her the tea I had prepared in advance. The Lady of the Silver Lily said,
“Thank you,” and took a sip. She raised her eyebrows in mild surprise.

“…You put in a lot of honey. It’s exactly as I like it. How did you know?”

I smiled.

“Milady told me before.”

When the Lady of the Silver Lily was teaching me lessons on love, she had said that in
her sixth run, an apostle tried to capture her with a strategy guide. It was written in
that guide.

1. The Lady of the Silver Lily is weak in the sunlight.

2. The Lady of the Silver Lily has dull taste buds, so she likes exciting food.

I just kept that knowledge in mind and acted on it.

“Hmm. Then, isn’t it like you are also using the strategy guide?”

“I can’t say that it’s a strategy guide since you yourself told me about it first. I would
appreciate it if you could see it as me using a reference book.”

“I can see now that you’ve a nasty side to you, too.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily tilted her cup.

The sound of her sipping tea quietly resonated in the bedroom.

“So, what is this tactic you’ve come up with? This cozy time we’re sharing now is just
a momentary pleasure. Between the two of us, one will forget the time we spent with
the other. There is no solution.”

“I bet Your Ladyship has never trusted your life to anyone else before.”

“Hmm?”

“Please trust me.”

“……”

“Even if it’s a fake relationship, the person you’ve decided to date is by no means an
incompetent man.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily stared at my face.

“There are times in life when you need help from other people. Right now, Your
Ladyship needs help.”

When I saved the Aegim Empire, I also received the help of the Sword Saint and
Black Dragon guildmaster. When overcoming the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon,
I had help from the Alchemist, the Venomous Snake, and the Medicine King. And
while I would never say it out loud, I always owed much to Bae Hu-ryeong.

I never thought I was alone.

Unlike my lover in front of me.

“You’ve been in charge of too many things alone up till now. [The empire must
remain strong even after your death], [the prince needs to be set straight], [the
demon of blood must be dealt with]. Isn’t this all you’ve been doing for 140 days?”

“Are you saying that I’m burnt out?”

“Yes.”

“……”

“Please rest a little.”

I placed the spring flowers I had picked at dawn in a vase and put it beside her bed.

“I don’t like it when the person I love tries to take everything upon herself. No, I hate
it. I would want her to step up when I’m tired, and when she’s tired, I’ll bear her
troubles.”

“We’re only in a fake relationship.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m serious.”

“…Don’t you feel insulted?”

“Aha. Your Ladyship doesn’t know me yet.”

How could a person be so lovely? I smiled a little.

“I’m a positive guy. Do you think I’ll be depressed or get an inferiority complex just
because we’re in a fake relationship? Far from it; I think of it as an opportunity.
Anyway, you will come to love me.”

“My goodness. Where is this confidence coming from?”

“It’s because you’ll spend time with just me. Until you tell me that you’re [tired of
me], I won’t give up no matter what.”

“……”

No matter what happened.

“I will become your support.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily did not respond. Instead, she quietly drank her tea.

As the days passed, my lover became more gaunt.

The [demons] that appeared every night at midnight grew stronger and stronger
over time.

At first, the demons only took the forms of [tongues], [lips] at best. But the next day
and the following day, they changed. They grew [arms] and [legs].

-Cackle.

I realized it only when they had limbs: The demons resembled the Lady of the Silver
Lily. They looked like the result of if the lady was simplified and reduced.

-Are you going to kill us?

-Are you going to kill me?

I wordlessly slaughtered the demons every night. The Lady of the Silver Lily said that
she would help, but I refused her firmly. She needed time alone and calm rest now
more than anything.

The paperwork that needed her approval? I stopped it all.

Anyway, there were only a few days left before the end of this world. If the empire
would collapse just because a duke’s daughter did not watch over it for a few days, it
deserved to perish.

Rest.

A holiday alone.

This was the first gift I gave to the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“…It’s the first time I’ve experienced days like this.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily murmured as if she was troubled.

“Is it really all right to stay still?”

Currently, we were sitting in the shade of a cherry tree and looking leisurely at the
lake. I had carried the Lady of the Silver Lily here in my arms.

That was it.

There were no complex documents, no demons made of blood, and no students

whispering and treating the lady like a spectacle.

“It’s all right.”

“But…”

“It’s really all right, milady.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily closed her lips. She seemed unable to cope with her
newfound peace.

“I’ll make it all right.”

“I don’t want to rely on you.”

“Did I say that I would help you forever? When I need help, you can help me, too. We
can help each other, right? Live and help each other.”

“……”

Quietly, the day passed.

It was the ‘tenth day’ that the Lady of the Silver Lily spoke of.

“Are you thirsty? I put some honey in the milk tea for today. I thought it might please
you.”

“When the sunlight becomes weaker, let’s ride a boat together. I’ll row.”

For that whole day, the Lady of the Silver Lily did nothing.

In the morning, I woke her up and washed her face. I brought her a light meal. Later
in the morning, I read her a collection of poems she liked. In the afternoon, I packed
a snack and walked with her to the lake at the academy.

Whish—

The whistle of spring caused the magnolia and cherry blossoms to shed. The Lady of
the Silver Lily softly raised her head to see the white colors scattering in the sky.
Cherry blossoms fell on the surface of the lake and were buried by the ripples.

“……”

For one hour, she said nothing.

She remained silent even when I carried her to the boat. Quietly, she observed the
flowing waves of petals. Splash. Splash. The lake meekly gave way to my rowing.

“The spring is white,” whispered the Lady of the Silver Lily. “In the empire, we call
this period [white spring]. There are times when the cherry blossoms bloom before
the magnolias fall. One of my favorite classical poets said [As white blooms in white,
so does spring blossom fully in spring. The white hue that winter could not finish
sowing takes its final breath].”

The speed at which she spoke matched the speed of the cherry petals flying in the
sky.

“It’s a beautiful season.”

“Yes.”

The sun went down.

“I don’t know how long it has been since I’ve seen this spring.”

A gentle springtide passed.

“……”

“……”

We were drunk on the season. A pleasant daze. The formless spring air filled our
heads.

[The presence of the silver-plated heart becomes more prominent.]

So, when the time came for this world to perish, we were not panicked at all. No, we
didn’t even say anything special.

[The silver-plated heart is manifesting.]

The red sunset became redder.

On the other side of the academy, I could dimly hear the students screaming. The
blood from the mirror had likely drenched the academy. Then, it flowed to the edge
of the lake, dying the water red.

“Butler.”

“Yes.”

“It feels comfortable to be with you.”

Our boat floated in the middle of the lake.

The red blood that was encroaching from the lakeshore had yet to consume our
sanctuary.

“Can I really trust you?”

I let go of the oars in my hands.

“Your Ladyship had said that we are like parallel lines, and the person who dies first
will always regress first. That’s why the two of us can’t be together forever.”

“Mm.”

“From now on.”

I held the Lady of the Silver Lily’s hand.

“My aura will wrap around your body. And it won’t just be your body; it’ll also be in
your mind. And I will do the same to my body and mind at the same time.”

Then.

“I will blow up our heads at the exact same instant.”

“……”

The Lady of the Silver Lily stopped breathing for a moment.

As her breaths quietened, her eyes grew wider.

“That’s…”

“It’s true that the person who dies first will regress first. It’s also true that the person
who can’t regress won’t remember the other person. Then, there is only one way we
can be together. We have to die at the same time.”

I held her hand a little tighter.

“Raviel Ivansia.”

The person I love.

“Please die with me.”

After a while.

She nodded.

And so, we did just that.

1. The Maginot Line was a line of fortifications along the eastern border of France
around the WWII era. Unfortunately, the line did not end up providing much defense.
The imagery is often used to describe something that gives a false sense of security,
but in this context, I believe it refers to a line that, if crossed, would mean
devastation.↩
3.

I took care of my death just as others took care of their everyday lives.

I always had the option to die more easily. Wrap my brain with aura. Pop it. In an
instant, I could end my life painlessly. It was easy, simple, and convenient.

That was why I didn’t kill myself that way.

‘Because it’s easy, simple, and convenient.’

Ease. Simplicity. Convenience. Humans become careless when they get used to these
three things. No matter how sharp and knife-like one’s mind is, it will eventually
become rusty.

‘In the end, the Flame Emperor died at my hands because of his carelessness.’

I sought after more painful deaths. I insisted on using my dagger to keep my sense
and judgment sharp. That was what I had done.

However, it would be different today.

“It’s all right. It’ll end in no time.”

I slowly sent my aura to the Lady of the Silver Lily through her hand. Was it because
it was an unfamiliar feeling? The Lady of the Silver Lily’s eyebrows twitched as she
received my crimson aura.

“…It’s warm.”

“Yes.”
“It feels like hot water is riding my veins. If this is like your body heat, butler, you
must run at a slightly warmer temperature than I.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked into my eyes.

“I’m anxious.”

“……”

“I’ve never felt anxious about the regression before. I thought that it would be fine so
long as I did not lose myself. But… Today, I don’t want to lose you. If I regress first
and you don’t remember me…”

Would it make me a bitch if the Lady of the Silver Lily’s words made me happy? If I
felt happy because she felt anxious for me?

Yeah. That probably made me a bastard.

“Don’t worry.”

But I was a bastard just for her.

“I’ll be with you.”

While we shared our body heat, the world around us fell apart.

Rumble—

The ground cracked open with a bang, and blood sputtered out from the fractures.

Demons from the underworld, the Lady of the Silver Lily’s once-familiars, ran wildly
outside of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s control. They were as numerous as the water
drops that made up the sea, and each drop was as large as a mountain.

“Huh?”

From far away, people screamed.

“Demons! Demons are here!”

“What bad luck.”

They screamed.

The promised ten days. The love of Lady of the Silver Lily secured by a wish, that
eternal love that could not be held back by a semi-Constellation, was overflowing.

But even in this situation, the Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me calmly, her heart
encased in silver.

“I will not tolerate any mistakes.”

“Yes.”

“If I die before you even by one-tenth of a second, if you die a millisecond faster than
I do, I will never, ever forgive you. Engrave the words I just spoke into your heart. I’m
only giving you one chance.”

“Yes.”

“Take it.”

[The silver-plated heart is looking at you.]

“Take responsibility for making me believe again.”

“……”

I held her hand a little more tightly.

“I will.”

While the demons rampaged the ground, the glowing sunset sky shattered like a
mirror.

A deluge of blood poured down.

The ground was gradually inundated with red. The echoing screams subsided in the
sound of bubbles like they had drowned.

It wasn’t just the Lady of the Silver Lily’s flood that caused this world to end.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox that Harvests Ruins’ has manifested.]

There were also the other Constellations’ apostles whom she had once mentioned.

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ has manifested.]

[The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’ has manifested.]

Through the rifts of the torn sky, beings from the different worlds descended.

The semi-Constellation of this world, the Lady of the Silver Lily. Aiming at the cracks
of the fallen barrier, they didn’t even bother to keep up appearances and launched a
full-blown invasion.

“Anyhow, they’re a bunch with no sense for romance.”

Their appearances were as varied as the Constellations who sent them.

“It seems so.”

Thus, they were easy to remember.

“I should teach them a lesson.”

“What sort of lesson?”

“That they shouldn’t interfere with other people’s relationships.”

“I like that.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily laughed.

“But it’s fine if you don’t do it now.”

It was just as she said. We didn’t have time right now anyway.
“Milady.”

The broken firmament of the sunset. Blood pouring without end.

Demons creeping up from the ground and invaders descending from the sky. The
person before me had managed to endure all of these scenes of the end by herself.

Until today.

“Butler,” said the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“Kill me.”

The world had been dyed red, and only the lady, I, the boat, and the water three
meters around us remained untouched. From the ruddy lake, countless tongues and
lips erupted to laugh at us.

In this place.

I allowed myself a comfortable death for the first time.

The aura that coated our bodies burned.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Ninth form.

Sword of Suicide.

Without a single error. Without a moment’s distortion.

[You have died.]

We died.

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

4.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the shade of a white tree.

It was evening.

The sky was turning yellow.

It wasn’t strange that I opened my eyes here. From the day I decided to be the Lady
of the Silver Lily’s exclusive butler, I went for walks with her in the evening.

I hurriedly tried to get up when—

“—You’re awake?”

Whisper.

I heard a voice right next to me.

“You finally came to your senses.”

I looked around.

“You’re a disgrace of a butler.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily stood with her back against the bright sunset. She held a
parasol in her hand, casting a shadow below her feet. Whoosh— As the wind blew
through her silver hair, I accidentally stopped breathing.

‘Did I succeed?’

My heart was pounding.

‘Or did I fail?’

I didn’t know yet.

I didn’t know, so I just looked at the Lady of the Silver Lily.

Her fingers, loosely gripping the parasol handle. Her gesture as she pushed back the
hair that the wind had scattered. Her lips, closed tight as usual. Each of her motions
made me tremble.

“Butler. You told me a slight lie.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily opened her mouth.

“You promised that we would go back to the same time. But didn’t I come back nine
days before you?”

Ah.

“Even if it’s a fake relationship, you left your lover alone for nine days. It’s quite the
disgraceful act.”

I succeeded.

“I waited alone for you for nine days. I alone felt anxious while I was waiting. You
swore to be beside me but couldn’t keep your word. Isn’t this negligent and
slacking?”

I succeeded.

“If you want to make up for your wrongdoing this time, you’ll have to face some
punishment.”

I succeeded.

“Hmm. I’m thirsty. Butler, give me the tea that you brought…”

The Lady of the Silver Lily couldn’t finish her sentence.

Because I stood up and hugged her.

I wanted to embrace her so much that I could not stop myself.

“……”

The wind blew. The parasol the Lady of the Silver Lily had been holding fell and
rolled on the grass.

Though I was already hugging her, it wasn’t enough. A little more. More. I wanted to
hold her even more. I knew that my feeling was because I wanted to hold dear her
heart, not her body.
“I’m sorry.”

I made her wait for so long alone.

“It’s nothing.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily held my back.

“It’s all right now. I can’t say that I wasn’t amused by watching the version of you that
hadn’t spent the final days with me.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Yes, it’s a lie. It wasn’t very fun. But it’s all right. I’m very patient.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily caressed my neck.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 71%.]

I wanted to love her like crazy.

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes.”

“I hate lies. It’s all right to joke, but don’t tell me any lies. I won’t lie to you, either. I
won’t lie to you with words, gestures, nor glances.”

“Are you crying?”

“……”

“If you don’t want to talk, you have the right to stay silent. I won’t press you. I won’t
push you. We can wait slowly until the other person wants to talk.”

“Yes.”

Thank goodness.

Thank goodness that I had fallen in love with her.

Thank goodness that I became someone who could love her.

“I have a request, Your Ladyship.”

“What would that be?”

May I kiss you?

I held myself back.

Thank goodness, again, that she couldn’t see my face.

“I’m really sorry, but could you wait a little longer for me?”

“How rude. How much longer do you mean for me to wait?”

“Eight days.”

“Why?”

“Seven days.”

“Hmm?”

“Six days.”

“……”

“I’ll reduce it day by day.”

“……”

“Until we can be together on that first day.”

Silence.

“…Impudent man,” the Lady of the Silver Lily whispered in my ears. “In the end, you
mean you’ll kill me nine more times.”

“It didn’t hurt, did it?”

“It didn’t hurt. Like you said, it was over in an instant. But you’ve already taken my
life once, and that you’ll take even more makes your nature seem horrible.”

“May I kiss you?”

“……”

“……”

Oops. I couldn’t hold back.

The Lady of the Silver Lily moved her head and met my eyes.

Red.

The color that I would love most from now was there.

“I will exercise my right to remain silent.”

So I kissed her.

We held each other in our arms.

From breath to breath, lips to lips, I cast my aura and offered the temperature of my
heart. I was also thankful that my aura was red. The sounds of our breathing mixed
together.

Then.
[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

The next time I opened my eyes, the Lady of the Silver Lily was by my side. We didn’t
talk. Maybe we had already talked a lot. The Lady of the Silver Lily held my hand, and
I kissed her.

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

To get a little bit closer to her.

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

To meet the Lady of the Silver Lily, who said that we would forever be parallel lines, I
tilted my head. I kissed her. Before our timelines could overlap, our lips met.

In the cold corridor of her residence.

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

In a dark basement.

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

Under the white magnolia petals.

“Milady.”

I panted.

“Before you came here, did you brush your teeth?”

“It seems like a good time to use my right to remain silent.”

“That’s underhanded. Only you would get away with it.”

“In this world, there are two cases in which you will be forgiven for acting
underhanded. One is at war, and the other is in love. Furthermore—”

When I died, I regressed 24 hours, but the Lady of the Silver Lily returned to the first
day in the ballroom.

She counted the gaps in time.

“You made me wait nine days, eight, seven… In total, thirty nine days. My proper
underhandedness makes it possible for you to relieve your conscience. Be grateful.”

“Then, 39 days of kissing…”

“You’re being annoying, so shut up.”

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the private room of the Lady of the Golden
Silk.

“Death King!”

The Heretic Questioner, who had not yet become the Lady of the Golden Silk, smiled.
My timeline was maintained, but the Heretic Questioner’s was not. So, while my
immersion rate remained the same, the Heretic Questioner’s immersion decreased
the closer I approached the first day.

“The Lady of the Silver Lily came to visit! Aha. I wonder what it’s about to come so
late at night. I heard that she stays in a separate accommodation, not the
dormitories. Seeing she came here at this time, something is…”

“Where is she now?”

“Ah. She’s waiting in the garden in front of the dorms.”

I opened the door and ran. Behind me, the Heretic Questioner called, “Death King?”
but I had no time to respond. There was someone who had waited for me.

A little faster.

Even just a little, hurry.

The Lady of the Silver Lily stood under the magnolias.

A white lotus bloomed in the night sky.

The snow-capped lotus flower was like a heart that had lost its red color.

“……”

Some people in the dormitories were probably peeking into the garden from the
windows. But the two of us stepped closer, embraced each other, and met lips.

I whispered, “Did you know?”

“I don’t know. Go ahead. Show off.”

“My name is Gongja, and I call you Your Ladyship, or ‘gong-nyeo.’ Side by side, we
become Gongnyeo and Gongja. Of course, the words may sound different in Your
Ladyship’s language, but…”[1]

“Are you saying that we’re a match made in heaven?”

“I think so.”

“You’re getting conceited because of a coincidence.”

“I love you.”

Lips touched.

Breaths mixed.

Time overlapped.
[You have died.]

Finally.

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

When I opened my eyes, I was in a fancy ballroom.

The chandelier drooped from the ceiling and hung like a weeping willow.

Underneath, dozens of ladies and gentlemen were dancing in pairs.

This was the place we first met.

The place where the Heretic Questioner was slapped.

The first stage our timelines intersected.

Day One.

“……”

“……”

In the middle of the ballroom, we faced each other.

I moved my feet.

The Lady of the Silver Lily also stepped forward.

In the place where dozens of shadows fluttered, under the white chandelier, we
kissed, unable to say who had moved first.

We needed no words.

Around us, voices of astonishment sounded. We ignored them. The band who had
been playing music in the ballroom stopped. The ladies and gentlemen stopped
dancing and stared at us. Still, we ignored them.

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s eyes. Her voice. I was simply immersed in the contours
of her existence.

“We,”

My forehead touched the forehead of the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“Is it still Day One?”

The corners of Lady of the Silver Lily’s mouth curved upward.

“It’s the first day. It’ll always be the first day.”

“Forever?”

“As long as we both wish it to be.”

We kissed again.

We indulged in the moment like it was forever.

Only the sounds of our two breaths quietly spread in the spacious ballroom.

“Huh…?”

A long time later, the Heretic Questioner spoke up from behind us.

“Uh. Did I miss something?”

Nobody could answer.

[1] Gongnyeo (공녀) refers to the daughter of a duke or feudal lord. Some people
translate it as “princess,” and there are other meanings too. Gongja (공자), in
addition to meaning “Confucius,” can refer to the son of a duke/noble.
5.

I’m happy to be with you.

It would be an exaggeration to say I lived this life just to meet you, but it isn’t a lie to
say I’ll live for you. What a relief. I could say that without a single lie.

“Are you crying again?”

I could be that sort of person.

“Let’s make a promise.”

I could be a person who cares for someone.

“Say it. I want to hear you.”

“When the other person is obviously crying, don’t ask if they’re crying. Truthfully,
Your Ladyship, you’re just asking that to tease me, aren’t you?”

“Mm. There’s something about you that keeps surprising me. You’re unexpectedly
clever, but you obviously can’t keep your wits around me. There aren’t many people
who are so fun to tease…”

“Please make the promise.”

“I don’t want to.”

Ah. I liked it when Her Ladyship told me no.

I really like her…

I love her…

-Aaaagh! Argh! Ack! My eyes! Ack! Keuaagh! My eeeyyyeees!

Bae Hu-ryeong rolled around agitatedly.

-Save me! Save this soul! Why must I suffer this misfortune instead of ascending to the
heavens after I croaked?! Why do I have to see your mug blush in real-time?! You bitch,
my eyes! Spare my life, you fucking embarrassing zombie!!

‘Ah, Sword Emperor. I pity you for not knowing the awesomeness of love.’

-Shudduuuppp!

‘Raviel Ivansia, master of my heart… ’

-S, stop it. Just stop it…!

Hmm.

Strangely, Bae Hu-ryeong’s voice sounded more distant than usual. His blaring
foghorn of a voice felt a little quieter.

‘Is he having a delayed reaction?’

It wasn’t only Bae Hu-ryeong who started to react.

The ballroom had frozen when the Lady of the Silver Lily and I kissed. That frigid air
finally began to thaw.

“L-lady of the Silver Lily. Right now, w-what are you…?”

Oh. How fascinating.

Who knew that ramen noodles could talk?

Or, looking at it again, it looked like garbage.

“I apologize for causing a commotion.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily softly leaned her head against my shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have done something like this in public, Your Highness.”

“Uh…”

“On a small scale, I’ve ruined Sormwyn’s ball, and on a larger scale, I’ve tarnished the
honor of the nation’s foundation. My crimes are great.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily spoke in a whisper. She didn’t need to speak louder; her
cool voice had a force that grabbed people’s attention. Everyone in the ballroom
stared blankly at the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“Please discipline me, for my crimes are great. I am resigned to accept my

punishment.”

“P-punishment?”

“Do you find it difficult to determine my punishment? Of course you do. Then I shall
decide the punishment in Your Highness’s stead. Starting today, I shan’t dare to
attend the academy and attract further negative attention. I shall quietly reflect on
my wrongs. And—”

The Lady of the Silver Lily took out a small envelope from her bosom. The crown
prince was still out of it and meekly accepted the envelope.

“This is…?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily slowly opened her mouth.

“This is a request for my withdrawal from the academy.”

“……”

Another blizzard struck the ballroom as the air was about to thaw. The ladies and
gentlemen, especially the blond trash, looked shocked.

“I shall remain on probation until my withdrawal is finalized. I will not receive

personal visits. Your Highness, please approve of this punishment.”

“R-Ravi…?”

“I am much obliged by your permission, Your Highness.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily, still leaning against my shoulder, bowed her head to the
prince. A closer look made it seem more like a nod than a bow.

‘But she must still feel something for the prince because of the sword in the mirror…
’

Was this okay? I thought about it for a moment.

But actually, didn’t the Lady of the Silver Lily catch the prince’s spies by the neck
with this move? So it was all right. This much was nothing. And above all, it didn’t
matter since Raviel seemed happy.

The Lady of the Silver Lily grabbed my hand and pulled.

“Let’s go.”

“Ah. Yes.”

After making the ballroom fall into shock and fear… we left.

We just left.

No matter how or why, no one could stop us.

Maybe they could have stopped me or the Lady of the Silver Lily individually, but it
wasn’t possible when we were together. If we wanted to leave, we left. If they still
stood in our way? Fuck ’em. How could they stop the regressor couple?

“Death King! Death King!”

Only the Heretic Questioner tried to catch us. He followed us out of the ballroom.

“What about clearing this stage? And what did that smooch just now mean? I don’t
get it at all!”
The Heretic Questioner was in the faction that called kisses “smooches.” That was
surprising. I knew there were people in the world who used that word, but I didn’t
expect the Heretic Questioner to be one of them… [1]

“Heretic Questioner.”

“Yes, Death King! Ah. Just so you know, my heart area keeps thumping when I see you
with that lady, Death King. Hmm, what could this mean…?”

“It’s a heart attack. You should be careful.”

“I see. So it’s a heart attack.”

“Yes. Also, I’ll be working on this stage separately. You can go on vacation, Heretic
Questioner. I’ll call for you if I need you.”

“Ah. All right.”

The Heretic Questioner laughed innocently.

“Understood! I’ll freely act as I wish!”

The endless sunshine of his was disturbing.

“…Heretic Questioner.”

“Yes!”

“You can’t kill people.”

“Ah. Roger that!”

“You can’t torture them, either.”

“All right.”

“Nor can you kidnap or imprison people to dig for information.”

“Death King.”
The Heretic Questioner looked at me like he was troubled.

“Then there’s nothing I can do?”

“I’ll handle it, so just stay in the corner of your room and read a fairy tale.”

“Mm. Okay. I understand…”

The Heretic Questioner became pouty. He looked just like a sad Welsh corgi with
drooping ears. I sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

“You’ll get something to do later. Just lie low until then.”

The Heretic Questioner looked up at my face. He tilted his head three times then
opened his mouth.

“Death King. I just heard that my immersion rate has gone up. What’s that?”

“It’s a heart attack.”

Just lie low. Please.

6.

“The whole empire will become rowdy starting tomorrow,” the Lady of the Silver Lily
said calmly as we stormed out of the academy.

“Will it?”

“It’s because I’m well-known.”

We were riding in a carriage that belonged to the Lady of the Silver Lily. Her
Ladyship had said, ‘Since I decided to live recklessly for a change, I want to leave the
academy,’ and I, of course, had no reason to object.

“To start with, around 200 letters from the social circles in the capital will come
pouring out. Twenty will come from the social circles in my hometown, and ten of
those will be from my father. Lastly, His Majesty the Emperor may also send an
emissary. Gongja, suggest some solutions.”
“Um…”

I was about to speak when I paused. Wait a moment. Did Her Ladyship call me
[Gongja] instead of [butler]? This was the first time she called me by my name.

“What’s wrong?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked up.

“Your face is red. Gongja, have you caught a cold?”

“……”

“The nights are cold in the spring. Gongja. Even if your body temperature runs high,
you must be cautious. So, won’t you quickly answer my question, Gongja?”

Uh.

I had to counter, even if it’s just a little.

“W-when did you write your request for withdrawal? You wrote it in secret when I
wasn’t around, even though we’re going to repeat this day. Wow. That’s a little cute.”

“Cute, Gongja? Did you think I’d be flustered if you called me cute? Gongja, were you
trying to counterattack? Now, that’s cute. Did you want me to call you cute, Gongja?”

“……”

“I’ll take that as your surrender.”

Today as well, milady won.

This was my future now. On the other hand, wasn’t I the winner if my future involved
being beaten by Her Ladyship? That thought ended me.

“It’s small,” the Lady of the Silver Lily said suddenly. She was staring through the
window at Sormwyn Academy, which was becoming smaller and smaller.

“Sormwyn Academy was established to strengthen the empire’s power. Children of

nobility and influential families from across the empire are somewhat forced into
one location. By sharing the same education, language, and schedule, we become the
citizens of [one empire].”

“How complicated.”

“I’ve been there for too long,” murmured the Lady of the Silver Lily. “Past that small
gate lurks jealousy, vanity, arrogance, exclusivity, love, lust—everything, barely
hidden under the name of tradition and order. In the end, the empire that we have to
govern is not inside there. It’s outside. Does His Highness even know that fact…”

“Raviel.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily paused.

“You can worry about the empire later. You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“……”

“For now, please think of me and me alone. I’ll blow your mind.”

The carriage rattled.

“Gongja.”

“Yes.”

“If you break my heart, I’ll kill you.”

My neck felt cold.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Tell me what you understand.”

“Never. No matter what happens. I won’t scar your spirit. If I ever hurt you because
of genuine ignorance, I’ll apologize.”

“You need to understand it a little better.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily stood up and sat beside me.

Squeeze.

She placed her palm on the back of my hand. My heart jumped, but the back of my
neck was still cold. The one I fell in love with had fire in her eyes and ice in her voice.

“If you ever betray me, Gongja.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll make you strangle me with your own hands. Don’t use aura or anything like it.
Only use your own hands to kill. Kill me again and again until this world where you
and I have met is erased. It doesn’t matter if it takes hundreds or thousands of days. I
will sentence you to my death.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily held my hand gently. She put my hand on her neck. White
skin. Coldness. In the center of her neck, I could feel her icy vocal folds.

“And live forever remembering that I will never forgive you.”

“If it’s you, you can live forever. If that’s what you want.”

I gulped.

“Yes.”

“Know that the moment you betray me, you will be banished to an eternal hell.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily whispered, “Do you understand?”

I opened my mouth.

“I understand, Raviel.”

“If you have any secrets to tell me, confess them now.”

“I have a skill called the Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.”

I confessed without any hesitation.

“Someone who dies by my hand can be summoned by me after their death. The
summoned person may not have the powers they did in life, but if I want them to,
they’ll inherit their former appearance and memories.”

“I see. So you will be able to summon me, too.”

“You’ve died with me nine times, so I can summon nine different Raviels.”

“I forbid it.”

“All right.”

I never intended to summon the Lady of the Silver Lily in the first place. No matter
what the circumstances were. But her voice and words cut off the possibility for
good.

Love was a sacred promise and a contract.

We were writing our own laws, rules for just us two.

“I’ll add one more thing to your punishment should you betray me. Dispose of that
skill.”

“I will.”

Then, I chose my next words. She was the one I loved. She was the one who would
love me. She was the person I had to treasure and treat cautiously the most in the
world.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

“If you promise me something else, I’ll forgive you.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t kill yourself without my permission.”

“……”

“Don’t die even when it’s an easy escape. You are my lover. You can’t be someone who
throws away his life carelessly. Even if you don’t think you can escape death, struggle
until the end.”

I was silent.

I was engraving the promise I made with her in my heart.

“I won’t.”

“Tell me what you want from me.”

“When I ask you to trust me, please believe in me.”

“I will always trust you.”

The carriage rattled. Using that slight vibration as an excuse, the Lady of the Silver
Lily and I drew closer. Our lips met.

From that day on.

We became each other’s love.

[1]: There are several ways to say “kiss” in Korean. Gongja uses 키스 which is just a
transliterated “kiss” whereas the Heretic Questioner uses “뽀뽀,” which is
onomatopoetic and cutesy.
“But, Your Ladyship.”

“What is it?”

“Why don’t we go on vacation, just for ten days?” I suggested. “Nobody works as hard
as you. Officially and privately, you’ve done your best. So let’s set aside all the serious
things for the next ten days and then use our regression skills all in a row…”

“You want to play around like commoners?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily said composedly,

“No matter what sort of mess we make, nobody else will remember if we regress a
day, so we have nothing to lose.”

“As expected of you, you understand me even if I don’t spell things out.”

“Wouldn’t we be playing on an unfair field?”

“Yes, we will.”

“Mm. A very bad man has become my lover…”

“Ten days. Agreed?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily took out her fan and held it.
“I feel like it’ll be a waste if it’s ten days. Make it fifteen.”

“Nice.”

We enjoyed ourselves like we were venting our steam from our past lives.

Sormwyn Academy was located by the capital. There were plenty of entertaining
things to do just a carriage ride away. And my love was the greatest heir of the
greatest noble family in the empire.

“Where would you like to sit?”

To put it simply, she had overwhelming power and money.

She was the top lady in this world.

The Lady of the Silver Lily bluntly said to the polite theater staff, “I shall hire a
theater company for a day.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said I would buy the company for today. Don’t you understand? Do I have to repeat
myself a third time for it to go into your ears? Does this troupe practice its skills by
repeating everything three times?”

“N-no! I’m sorry! I will immediately notify our troupe leader right away!”

For plays and operas, renting a theater company for a day was the standard.

“Gongja. There’s something I’ve always wanted to try.”

“What is it?”

“Hiring six theater groups at the same time.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily was speaking calmly, but I knew. She was having fun, like a
mischievous imp playing a trick.
“Then, I’ll get them all to put on their shows simultaneously on a large stage. Three
plays would be tragedies, two comedies, and the remaining one should be an opera.”

“Um. It sounds like it’ll be a total mess.”

“Exactly. I want to see that mess.”

“Then, let’s see it.”

We called for the six most expensive troupes in the capital. No leader of a theater
group would refuse to answer to the daughter of the Duke of Ivansia.

What? This rash action would decrease the Ivansia duchy’s reputation and honor?
That was fine. We were a regressor couple. If we played around one day and
returned one day, that was that. What could they do to us?

“Aah. Such tremendous chaos. I wanted to see this…”

My lover held her fan as if she was deeply satisfied while I—

“Pffft, hahahaha!”

—I rolled on the floor laughing, holding my stomach.

Clowns acted out a comedy next to an actor seriously reciting tragic lines. When six
plays were stacked on top of each other, even the most solemn lines in the world
became a joke. The actors were sweating all throughout the show.

“Let’s clean out the gambling houses in the capital!”

“An excellent idea. I agree.”

The two of us went to an exclusive casino for nobles. It was a place where people hid
their identities by wearing masks like at a masquerade. But my beloved? No noble
wouldn’t recognize her silver hair that flowed like moonlight.

“Call it.”

“C, call.”
When the Lady of the Silver Lily said to call, her opponent cowered and called.

“Die.”

“I, I fold.”

When the Lady of the Silver Lily said to die, her opponent meekly put down their
cards.

“Raise the stakes.”

“R, raising…”

“Higher.”

“R, raise again…”

When she asked to go higher, the numbers went higher.

“Go all in. All of you.”

“All… in…”

A miracle comparable to the parting of the Red Sea descended upon the luxurious
casino. My mind was set on founding [The Silver Lily Religion] in honor of my lover,
and the first passage would depict this scene.

Oh, it was beautiful how the villainous lady destroyed others for her amusement.

“Th-this is barbarous!”

When approximately sixteen nobles tearfully paid us with diamond rings and
necklaces, the owner of the gambling house came running to us. He was a middle-
aged man with a Kaiser beard.

“Even as the duke’s daughter, you can’t do this in this store…”

“Oho. Are you aware of who I am? How odd. I thought this establishment valued and
enforced silence to hide customers’ identities completely, even if they were to be
found out. I must have heard wrong.”
“I, I don’t know you! Of course I don’t know, but…”

“You dare not recognize who I am? Do you want your head chopped off?”

“……”

The owner of the gambling house opened and closed his mouth. This man was also a
noble, but his lineage was very different. He had been neutralized and sunk less than
a minute after he had come running.

“Uh-huh. Look at this gentleman. The lady asked you a question, so why aren’t you
answering?!”

For reference, I was sticking close to the Lady of the Silver Lily like I was her minion
and pitching a fit. It was so warm by my lover’s side.

“Do you think it’s funny to ignore milady’s question? Do you intend to scorn her
family by keeping your trap shut?!”

“N-not at all. I would never. I-it’s just that this is a small business, so please be a little
more considerate…”

“Good grief. Your Ladyship, this can’t stand. This man’s arrogance pierces the sky. I
must strike down his neck for his disrespect!”

“Hieek?!”

The Lady of the Silver Lily carelessly fanned herself.

“It’s all right. Though Baron Ruibe secretly built a drug lab in the basement to sell
illegal goods in the capital, it doesn’t mean we need to chop his head off.”

Flinch.

Mister Kaiser-beard’s shoulders shook. His expression showed doubt whether he

had heard right. Soon, his face turned blue, and the man acted genuinely appalled,
hiding his previous shock.

“I-I don’t know what you are saying…”

“Sit down.”

“……”

“If you sit and play ten rounds with me, I will let you go for the night.”

In the end, we emptied out the wallet of the owner of the casino. Then, we scattered
the mountain of gold and jewels in the streets.

These days were like dreams.

Hopeful days during which beautiful dreams became real.

We did what we wanted and frolicked as we wished. We passed time in the most
extravagant room of the most upscale inn in the capital. Hugging the Lady of the
Silver Lily, I jumped into the ginormous bed.

“Mm.”

On the first day.

The tips of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s eyes rose up.

“Mhm.”

The second day.

The corners of Lady of the Silver Lily’s mouth tilted upward.

“…Haha.”

On the third day, the Lady of the Silver Lily smiled. It wasn’t a smirk or a scoff but a
smile that sprung from joy. My lover’s smile was as pure as a child learning to laugh
for the first time.

“Gongja.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily buried her face in my chest.

“Are you happy?”

“Because you’re in this world, I can live a little more.”

I became happy.

The minimum number for human beings to be happy was two people.

“I’ll write a diary starting from today.”

“Is it to show it to me?”

“One of my colleagues is good at playing instruments. I’ll learn music from that
person.”

“You’re doing this to serenade me.”

“No matter what happens, I will keep living.”

One day, we bribed and bullied some guards into emptying the most crowded street
in the capital for an hour. We rented the place.

One day, we entered the palace and laid out everything that one shouldn’t say in
front of the emperor. The Lady of the Silver Lily said, “Take care of your son, Your
Majesty. There’s no other boor like him.” When she said that, the emperor slipped
from his throne. “Your Majesty?!” The officials around him panicked.

One day passed. And another.

We traveled around during our vacation.

‘It’s just like a honeymoon.’

I didn’t speak those words out loud. Merely thinking about it made my face flush.
However, I believed that the Lady of the Silver Lily was thinking the same.

On the final day.

“……”

“……”
On our last day, we didn’t go anywhere.

We just sat side by side at the fountain in the city square from day to night.

Holding hands, we watched the shadows of countless people coming in and out of
the square. In the alley between the fruit shop and the bar, a newspaper boy scurried
about.

“We did some really bad things.”

After half a day, the lady opened her mouth.

“Yes, we’re vicious bitches.”

I held her hand firmly.

This trip was not because I loved her but to love her more. Now, after repeating this
day fifteen times, I fell deeper in love with her. And I wanted to love her more.

“Only the two of us know, though.”

“We’re accomplices.”

A quiet laugh.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 81%.]

The evidence of joy.

“Raviel. Do you recall what I said to you in the carriage?”

“I remember everything you’ve said to me.”

“I asked you to trust me when I ask for your trust.”

“Of course.”

“Please remember that promise.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me.

“It seems that you’re doing something suspicious. Gongja, it’ll be better for your
heart if you speak honestly.”

“From now on, I’m going to increase my immersion rate to 99%.”

“……”

While exploring this day, the Lady of the Silver Lily and I talked a lot. Really a lot. The
Lady of the Silver Lily heard it all from me: what kind of world I came from, what an
[Apocalypse] was, and what an [immersion rate] was.

“I need to almost completely become the butler. Someone who was born and has
lived in this world.”

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you why.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily put her hand on her chin.

“…So your strategy will only succeed if nobody else knows about it.”

“Yes.”

“The reason you’re saying this now is because you need to ask for a favor.”

“That’s right.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily sighed. I felt like I had been hit.

“…From the start, you made me promise to [trust] you for this moment. Really,
despite your looks, you’re a shrewd man. I should be more vigilant when you talk. All
right. What do you need me to do?”

It was time to carry out the plan.

2.
First, we returned to [Day One], the starting point of this stage. To the moment when
the ball opened.

The two of us hurried out of the ballroom and to the Lady of the Silver Lily’s
quarters.

“First, please tie my hands and feet tightly to the chair.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily made a peculiar expression.

“Gongja, I think it’s too early for us to enter that world…”

“I don’t know what Your Ladyship is thinking, and I don’t think I should know. But
I’m satisfied with my life now, so don’t worry.”

“I promised to believe in you, so I must…”

The Lady of the Silver Lily bound my body to the chair.

I tested it by trying to move my limbs, but I didn’t budge at all.

With this, it would be safe.

-Hey, Kim ■bie. What are you doing now? This big bro is getting a little nervous.

[Shiny is concerned about the war■or’s behavior.]

My immersion rate was already over 80%.

I thought that the original owner of the body, the ‘butler,’ must have cared for not just
the Lady of the Golden Silk but also the Lady of the Silver Lily. Either way, he could
never fulfill his love. The butler must have been silently closing off his heart.

The crown prince was two-timing with the Lady of the Silver Lily and the Lady of the
Golden Silk. The Lady of the Golden Silk had hold of both the crown prince and the
butler. The butler had feelings for both the Lady of the Silver Lily and the Lady of the
Golden Silk. And now, the Lady of the Silver Lily was cheating on the crown prince
with me.

‘It’s a fucked-up romance.’

But.

‘Thank you.’

Now, I was just eternally grateful to the butler, who had kept a flame for the Lady of
the Silver Lily.

Thanks to that, I could set up such a plan.

I was determined.

“Please bring me a mirror.”

“All right.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily ordered her servants to put a large mirror in front of me. I
saw my reflection, unable to move at all in the chair.

“Character window.”

The letters slid onto the surface of the mirror.

Name: Kim Gongja

Favorability: 90

Favorite Genres: [Martial Arts], [Romance], [Detective], [Adventure]

Disliked Genres: N/A

Favorite Characters: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [Virtuous Hero], [Victim], [Hard

Worker], [Child], [Good Person], [One Who Reflects On Oneself], [One Who Is
Generous To Others], [One Who Acknowledges Me]

The analysis continued below.

Almost everything about me was there.

With the character window in front of me, I looked up at the Lady of the Silver Lily.

“Raviel.”

“I’m listening.”

“Please kiss me wildly. To make me love you more.”

“Did you want to be kissed while being tied up? You should have told me your
preferences earlier. I could have read up on it.”

“At some point, I will no longer be [me].”

“……”

When the immersion rate exceeds 90% and approaches 100%.

When I saw the Heretic Question become completely immersed in the character of
the Lady of the Golden Silk. When I witnessed her growing [hair] despite his
transformation technique. That was when I realized it.

That was the way.

That was the trick to beating this stage the way I wanted to.

“At that time, please kill me, milady.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily froze.

The Lady of the Silver Lily briefly hesitated.

“What?”

“Milady. Think about it. Since it’s Your Ladyship, you’ll think the same thing I’ve
thought of. You’re also a regressor.”

“……”

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s brows pinched, and she touched her chin. She appeared
to be in thought. Shortly after, the Lady of the Silver Lily raised her brows in
realization.

“Indeed.”

As expected, she noticed it.

“Yes.”

“But, Gongja. This is dangerous. It’s no different from gambling.”

“From that perspective, we’ve already won. This is the Tower’s mistake, and we have
an advantage by pointing out the oversight.”

“…There is one more problem.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me.

“I won’t remember you.”

“It’ll be all right. I’ll definitely resolve the issue somehow. However, when I can’t get
out of this world with my own power, please help me say [Transfer]. That’s all I’m
asking for, Raviel.”

I opened my mouth.

“Please trust me.”

There was silence.

The Lady of the Silver Lily didn’t speak for a while.

“All right.”

She approached me.

“I’ve become your first bitch of a lover, and you’ll be my last. Anything that can be
taken away will be.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily grabbed my chin.

“Really, I ended up with a bad man as my lover.”

With that, she kissed me.

“……”

I softly accepted her exhalation.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 83%.]

The last run.

As soon as I saw the Heretic Questioner be engulfed by the Lady of the Golden Silk, I
had a strange feeling.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 85%.]

Why was his ‘transformation’ maintained?

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 85%.]

Wasn’t it strange?

The Heretic Questioner could freely change his appearance with his sacred
techniques. He could grow out his hair. However, the skill belonged to the ‘Heretic
Questioner,’ not the ‘Lady of the Golden Silk.’

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 85%.]

Nevertheless, the transformation had somewhat remained.

There was only one conclusion.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 87%.]

Even if we became immersed, our skills would not disappear.

The Lady of the Golden Silk still had the skills of the Heretic Questioner.

He merely forgot how to use them and thus did not.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 88%.]

And that would also be the case for me.

“……!”
As my immersion approached 90%, I became dizzy.

A surge of memories entered.

The memories of the original owner of this body cascaded like a flood. Before, I could
only peek into the memories of or share the emotions of the original owner. But it
was different now.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 89%.]

My memories were disappearing.

Even the voice of the director gathering us to recite the national anthem in the
orphanage. Even how I didn’t want to go to the bathroom in the winter because it
was too cold. Even the laughter of the older kids who occasionally played with us.

-Hey! Kim ■ja! Really, what the heck are ■u doing n■?

[■■iny asks the ■rior to st■!]

Even the voices of Bae Hu-ryeong and the Holy Sword.

“How are you?”

Only the voice of the Lady of the Silver Lily was clear.

“I’m… for now, it’s okay… More.”

“You’re asking me for more kisses. My lover is truly spoiled.”

I couldn’t breathe.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 90%.]

I was dizzy.
In the midst of this dizziness, I forced my eyes open to see the reflections of the two
of us in the mirror.

Name: Kim Gongja

Favorability: 91

Preferred ■re: [Martial Arts], [Romance], De■ctive], [Adventure]

Dis■ Genres: N/■

Favorite Characters: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [Vir■■ Hero], [Victim], [■ ■ker],

[Child], [Good Person], [One Who ■■ On Oneself], [One Who ■ Gen■ous To Others],
[■ Who Acknowledges Me]

My self.

My existence was being overwritten.

“Are you still all right?”

“Raviel.”

I was scared.

“I love you. I love you, Raviel…”

“I know.”

“Even if I’m born again, I’ll still love you. So, so that I can never forget you, don’t let
me forget you even if I die…”

“I know.”

Our lips met.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 91%.]

My memories were vanishing.

N■: Kim Gongja

Fav■: 9■

Favorite ■■: [Martial Arts], [Romance], [■■], [■ture]

■■ ■■: N/■

Favorite ■■■: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [■■■ Hero], [Victim], [■ ■ker], [■■d],

[Good Person], [■ Who ■■■ On ■■] , [■ Who Is Generous ■ ■■], [■ ■ ■■■ Me]

My existence was weakening.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 92%.]

A cheap dagger.

‘There isn’t even a sheath, but whatever.’

My origins.

‘Because this is all I can buy with the money I have.’

My limits.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 93%.]

A tiny room.

Worn-out walls.

Newspapers and photographs.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 94%.]

A handsome man in a ponytail…

Holding a spear wrapped in fire,

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 95%.]

Internet.

An alley.

‘But Hyung-ssi, you’ve seen my face,’

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 96%.]

Me, burning.

A mansion, burning.

‘Kind sir.’

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 97%.]

A day when a lot of red rain fell.

An acacia garden, ‘I!’

‘I didn’t know!’ someone shouted while trembling.

In the acacia garden.

■■: ■ Gongja

■■■: 9■

■■ ■■: [Martial Arts], [Romance], [■■], [■■]

■■ ■■: N/■

■■■■■: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [■■■■■], [Vic■], [■■■], [■■d], [Good ■], [■■■■■]
■■■■■], [■■■■ ■■■■■], [■ ■■■■ Me]

Snow.

A snowfield.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 98%.]

A red peony.

One petal.

■■: ■■

■■■: ■■

■■ ■■: [Martial ■], [■■ce], [■■], [■■]

■■: ■■

■■ ■■■: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [■■■ ■■], [■■■], [■■■], [■■d], [■■], [■■■■]
■■■■■■], [■■■■ ■■■■■],

[■■ ■■■■■]

That was why.

‘I’m going to teach this kid how to be happy!’ Someone told me—

So, I.

[The immersion toward the character is deepened.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 99%.]

I.

Who am I?

■■: ■■■

■■■: ■■

■■ ■■: [■■], [■■■], [■■], [■■]

■■ ■■■: [■cher], [Lo■], [■■■ ■■], [■■■], [■■■], [■■■■], [■■], [■] ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■],
[■■■■ ■■■■ ■],

[■■ ■■■■■]

“……”
Something…

-■■■ ■■■■! ■, ■, ■■■!

[■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■.]

Something was being noisy.

My head buzzed like it was full of bees.

My eyesight was hazy… A mirror? Why was there a mirror?

Where was I?

“How are you?”

“……”

I looked blankly toward the voice.

Even with my blurry vision, I knew the person in front of me had a commanding
presence.

I knew who this person was.

“Gongja.”

Raviel Ivansia.

The daughter of the Duke of Ivansia.

“I asked if you’re all right.”

The love rival of my master, the Lady of the Golden Silk.

“What is this…?”

When I tried to move, I realized that I was tied up. My arms, legs, and, of course, my
whole body were bound tightly with a rope. As soon as I realized that I had been
captured, my hazy mind sharpened.
“Good heavens. Heiress Ivansia, did you abduct me?”

“……”

“This is too much. No matter how much power the Ivansia Duchy holds under this
sky, this is excessive. Do you hate the Lady of the Golden Silk so much as to threaten
a servant like me?”

The silver-haired lady quietly looked down at me.

Strangely, my heart ached when I saw her face.

“I see.”

A sorrowful expression.

“It’s happened.”

All of the poison in the empire touched her fingertips, and all evil schemes came
from her heart. Though these rumors were somewhat malicious, they held some
truth.

That lady, the Lady of the Silver Lily, was clearly making a sad face in front of me.

“I thought I no longer had a heart to be hurt by. But this definitely hurts. You said
that your path was one that testified to the pain of life. If so, rejoice. Your sword
unmistakably has broken my heart.”

“What are you saying…”

I couldn’t understand.

I couldn’t understand what the Lady of the Silver Lily was saying, and I couldn’t
understand my own feelings. Why did my heart feel sick? Did she drug me? I was
familiar with various poisons due to attending to the Lady of the Golden Silk.

But this symptom… I’d never heard of it.

“Gongja.”
My heart was throbbing.

For some reason.

“…Who are you calling for?”

“My lover. The man who offered me his heart and the one I will offer mine to.”

She was probably referring to the crown prince.

However, the red eyes of the Lady of the Silver Lily were looking straight at me.

It only added to my confusion.

“H-heiress.”

Strange.

I was just calling her by her position, but I felt a cold sweat.

『Gongja.』

What was it? Something seemed extremely wrong. I felt guilty.

I felt inordinately sorry.

『If you break my heart, I’ll kill you.』

I couldn’t breathe.

Mysterious voices were echoing in my head. I felt like I would go crazy. Was I
hallucinating? Did this drug cause hallucinations? Was that why sweat flowed from
my neck and my heart pounded angrily in my chest?

“Gongja.”

I couldn’t answer.

Ominously, the Lady of the Silver Lily pulled out a rapier. I had to say something to
somehow stop her.
“Have a safe trip.”

I couldn’t say a single word.

“I’ll be—”

[The silver-plated heart is looking at you.]

“—waiting for you.”

She pierced my heart.

“——!!”

I screamed. Blood poured out. My lungs clogged up. I quickly drew my last breath.
And when I was about to vomit blood, the Lady of the Silver Lily blocked my lips.

With her lips.

“……,……”

Everything looked far away.

Killing me meant that the lady before me would finally unfold her plot against the
Lady of the Golden Silk. I, as her shield, could not die. Therefore, this was a critical
and urgent situation.

But my final thought was not about the Lady of the Golden Silk. Nor was it about
anything else.

Just the red eyes right in front of my face staring back.

[The silver-plated heart loves you.]

I wanted to wipe away the tears that flowed there.

[You have died.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

[…………]

Quietly.

[An error has occurred.]

There was a voice.

[The owner of the skill is different from the user of the skill.]

[It is being decided whether the skill should return to ’24 hours from the owner’s
point of view’ or ’24 hours from the user’s point of view.’]

[Judgment failed.]

The sight before me was darkening.

[The Tower confirms that the requisites to activate the skill have not been met.]

[The Tower understands that the owner of the skill intended for the current
situation to occur.]

[This matter is beyond the Tower’s jurisdiction.]

It was becoming more distant.

[The Tower is checking the Death King’s permissions.]

[Accepted. Death King currently holds the qualifications to be a temporary apostle.]

[Assigning status as a temporary apostle to Hamustra.]

[The Tower raises the Death King’s problem as a formal agenda item.]

Then.

[The Tower requests a majority vote among the Six Pillars of Manseng (10,000
Lives).]

A wave of white light washed over me.

.

This was the first time I had ever been in such a place.

It was pitch black, and I felt like I was floating without limbs or a body.

[Confirming attendees.]

A voice murmured in the endless darkness.

[The Sixth Pillar. ‘The Wand Of Ages’ is present.]

[The Fifth Pillar. ‘The Lady Who Walks In The Mirage’ is present.]

[The Fourth Pillar. ‘The Moon Contemplating Blindness’ is present.]

[The Third Pillar. ‘The One Who Wrote The Beginning’ is present.]

[The Second Pillar. ‘The God Who Dances In The Void’ is present.]

[Attendance of the Six Pillars of Manseng Confirmed.]

[The Tower will share the problem of the temporary apostle, ‘Death King.’]

[Sharing complete.]

-Tchuba-ta, Mura waloyo Bushi-to!

I heard a very indignant voice.

-Sato, mai-mau.

-Nail!

The voices were coming from all around, like a myriad of whispering snakes. I
figured this was Hell and shrugged my shoulders.

[The request has been accepted.]

[Translating from the language of Zrakua.]

The next moment.

“—That fucker is really playing with us!”

Voices roared.

“Call Hamustra right now! That Corner Librarian bastard, why did he send that kind
of thing as an apostle?”

“I checked, and there was no problem with the procedure. More than that, that child
won’t be able to understand anything we’re saying. The immersion rate, was it?
Reverting it should help us communicate.”

“Miya! Undo it!”

[The request has been accepted.]

[Resetting Death King’s immersion.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 0%.]

“Haa!”

I could finally breathe.

My spinning head returned to normal, too.

The words that I’d spoken when I became the butler, the gaze of the Lady of the
Silver Lily when she looked at me—all of my memories returned in an instant.
Also, I was certain.

“You. You purposefully used your regression skill after synchronizing with the
character, right?”

I had succeeded.

“You’re trying to return to 24 hours ago in the character’s timeline rather than your
own!”

In my mind, I smiled.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

The day when the Lady of the Silver Lily stabbed the mirror with the sword.

One day before her eternal ten-day cycle began.

“Please send me back.”

I would return to that very day.

“Shameless oaf…!”

Beyond the darkness.

Someone I did not know was grinding their teeth.

Unlike earlier, everything they said was being [translated].

“Calm down, infant. The fragments of the Padak’s days are showing.”

However, their voices were still muddied. It was like hearing a song filled with noise;
one moment, the voice seemed far away, and the next, it was right by my ear.

“Anger and jealousy won’t get us anywhere.”

“I’ll kill him!”

“That’s Death King, right? It’s been a while since we had to convene twice for a single
person. How long has it been since the Constellation Killer?”

“Moreover, the connection between the two of them is growing stronger. Is this by
chance?”

It was then.

“…How troublesome.”

The voices instantly stopped chattering. The surroundings fell into a hush. Only one
unaffected voice swept through the space where idle talk and conversation had
occupied.
“If the immersion was 100% complete, he could be sent to the day before from the
butler’s perspective. If the immersion was less than 90%, we could just send him
back from Death King’s timeline. But of all things, it had to be 99%.”

I had heard this voice before.

“It’s iffy. Which one should I side with?”

The Master of the Tower.

I gulped.

“I think… I need to regress from the butler’s perspective.”

“Convince me.”

“First, please look at the numbers. Since the immersion rate is 99%, that means the
butler has 99% control and I only have 1%. The butler has an overwhelming
proportion of the self, so it would be right to lean toward the butler.”

“True. However, the [Returner’s Clockwork Watch] is a skill that you’ve won. Death
King, it is a skill that you own. Only the owners of the skill can use it.”

The gaze hidden in the darkness scanned my expression.

“Isn’t it right for you to be the one to regress?”

“……”

“Don’t be nervous. I’m asking because I’m curious.”

The voice had kindly told me not to be nervous. However, I could not respond to that
consideration. Every word, every measure of the voice, made me feel like a long
snake was crawling up the back of my neck.

“…That way of thinking is overly biased.”

“Hmm?”
“Please consider the butler’s standpoint. The butler and I have been fighting all
throughout the stage for control of the body. I was consumed by the butler, but that
means the butler has consumed me.”

In other words.

“The butler defeated me fair and square, and in return, he stole my skills. The
[Returner’s Clockwork Watch] is now the butler’s skill.”

“Oho.”

The snake voice wobbled strangely.

A moment later, I realized that it was due to laughter.

“There’s some truth to that. Indeed. It’s like how you, Death King, copied and
acquired the Flame Emperor’s skill.”

“……”

“I had wondered who would win if two regressors confronted each other. Who would
have thought you went back to the point before he had a skill? Even my lowly self
was impressed by the innovation. No, all of us were amazed.”

Lowly self.

The absolute being of the Tower referred to themself as lowly. They spoke politely, as
if to respect everyone.

I felt an even greater sense of foreboding at that.

“It was astounding. You could have chosen to simply run away from the Flame
Emperor’s eyes. But you didn’t. Why was that?”

Those who had been silent opened their mouths at the Tower Master’s questions.

“Of course, it was for revenge. That son of a bitch won’t forget being wronged even
when he dies. That’s why he chased the guy who burned him all the way to the end.
And he died, what, 4050 times? Asshole.”
[The Moon Contemplating Blindness curses you.]

“It was for justice. The Flame Emperor killed many people and would have killed
many more. He must have thought that he couldn’t let that man go. Death King
moved because he thought, ‘Things shouldn’t be this way.’ Surely, he is a righteous
human.”

[The Lady Who Walks In The Mirage supports you.]

The snake voice nodded.

“Yes. That must be so. He sometimes stabbed his neck for revenge, at other times for
justice. However, both vengeance and righteousness are common traits. There was
only one aspect that my lowly self admired.”

Someone replied to the Master of the Tower’s words.

“That was the only way to beat the Flame Emperor perfectly.”

[The One Who Wrote The Beginning quietly declares the words.]

“Yes.”

The Master of the Tower laughed.

“Death King. Your heart is tender and heated, but your mind is cunning. You’re
always searching for the way to win completely. So I am looking forward to this. Did
you come up with a way to persuade us thoroughly?”

Now was the time for battle.

I could not retreat from here.

“I have.”

“Please speak.”

“I… We did nothing wrong.”

The coiling serpent’s voice seemed to turn to me. I continued to speak.

“This error was entirely the mistake of the Tower. The problem is that it is difficult to
judge whether the regression should be in the [butler’s point of view] or [my point of
view]. If the Tower was perfect, this error never would have happened.”

“Yes, I admit that. So what?”

“We are the victims of an error, so please compensate us.”

“……”

I tried to speak confidently.

“And we were responsible for finding the error. If it weren’t for us, would you ever
have known that the error existed? Please give us a reward.”

There was silence.

A little while later—

“How rude.”

[The God Who Dances In The Void is glowering at you.]

“Look at how this pleb is talking to us. Do you want your existence to be ripped to
pieces?”

[The Moon Contemplating Blindness is about to kill you.]

The voices were boiling.

“Stop.”

But when the serpent voice opened its lips, everyone was silent again.

“It’s interesting.”

“……”

“The thing that’s interesting about it, yes, is that you really believe that my lowly self
will properly [compensate] and [reward] you. Why? Why must I do that? I can easily
ignore you.”

“Because…”

I said clearly.

“Because you always wish us luck.”

The Tower.

Every time a stage was cleared, we Hunters heard a voice.

『Those who climb the tower… 』

『May luck be with you all.』

It wasn’t much.

However, without a doubt, it was ‘rooting’ for us.

“Though you are the absolute being, you never mock us. You don’t scorn us. You don’t
try to push us in any direction. Hunters who want to stay on the first floor can stay
there forever. To the Hunters who climb higher, you wish us luck and tell us to be
careful.”

A haven for those who wanted to rest.

Well wishes for the challengers.

“And that’s not all.”

The children of the Hellfire Residence.

The Devil King showering red rain.

A peony that was perpetually alone in a snowfield.

A heart that endlessly repeats ten days.

“The people you’ve given the floors of the Tower to are all sad and lonely. You
gathered those whose lives end in tragedy and built a Tower for them.”

I thought.

“You’re kind.”

The Tower Master before me was an absolute being who was good.

“You never interfere when we fight and kill among ourselves. You respect our
freedom. However, if something was the Tower’s error, you would definitely
compensate for any damages.”

Because it was the Tower’s fault, not ours.

“Thank you for building the Tower.”

“I’ve always wanted to tell you that. There wasn’t a good opportunity before. I’ve
always wanted to thank you… Without the Tower, I would have lived like trash in the
outside world anyway. Ah. I mean, even after entering the Tower, I lived like trash…”

I had lived wrongly.

I lived wrongly, but I was able to reclaim my life.

“If it weren’t for you… I wouldn’t have been able to regress over 4000 days on my
own. Never. Everyone said it was for vengeance or justice, but… I could barely
endure it because I knew someone was watching over me. That’s all there is to it.”

I bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

I bent my back.

“With all my heart, thank you.”

There was a long silence.

“Yes.”
Someone whispered.

“I definitely like you.”

[The Lady Who Walks In The Mirage indicates her goodwill toward you.]

“Me too. I don’t even remember the last time a human came to show gratitude. Have
there even been any? This might be the first time.”

[The Wand of Ages indicates goodwill toward you.]

“…I don’t know why, but kids these days are hostile to beings like us. Maybe it’s
because the world itself is so ugly. They need someone to take the blame.”

[The God Who Dances In The Void shows goodwill toward you.]

“Ha. They just don’t want to admit there are beings above them.”

[The Moon Contemplating Blindness looks at you unhappily.]

Then, I heard laughter.

“Maybe so.”

It was the laughter of the Master of the Tower.

“There certainly is a cute side to you.”

“……”

“I am just a mirror. Death King, if you believe me to be good, it’s because you yourself
are good.”

The snake voice smiled.

“Tell me what you want as your compensation.”

“Please send me back 24 hours from the butler’s perspective.”

“And your reward?”

“The Lady of the Silver Lily…”

My heart pounded with tension.

“Please retain my lover’s memories.”

“I see.”

The snake voice snickered.

“You do know you can ask for a marvelous skill as a reward? You’ve done well by
discovering an error with the Tower. I can reward you generously. Shall I strengthen
the [Returner’s Clockwork Watch]?”

Temptation.

“I could make it so that you can turn back time as you please, not just a day. Or how
about the [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]? I can let your spirits have not just the
memories but also the skills from their lives.”

“I don’t need those.”

I got down on my knees.

“Please.”

Respectfully, I lowered my forehead toward the direction of the voice.

“I want to live with the one I love.”

“……”

Then.

A hand caressed my lowered head.

Very slowly.

“Death King.”
[The meeting is ending.]

“May luck be with you.”

[May luck be with you.]

[Re-adjusting the immersion rate.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 99%.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

Blink.

“……”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the scent of spring flowers
blowing in from the window.

My head was blank.

It seemed like I had a very long dream.

“Ah.”

Nearby, I heard a voice, both familiar and unfamiliar.

“You’re finally awake, butler. Your nap was a little long.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk.

My master.

“…Milady?”

“Yes. Your one and only lady.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk chuckled. Was my reaction amusing? She was staring at
me with half-open eyes.

The Lady of the Golden Silk now looked to everyone like a proper young lady who
had adjusted to the capital. There was no trace of the lady who was famous as a
tomboy in her hometown. I felt a little regretful of that fact. Of course, she was the
same on the inside. It was just her appearance that had become more sophisticated.

…What was it?

“I came back from dinner with His Highness, but I noticed that you were sleeping
soundly in the chair. It’s a little disappointing that you left your master alone to go
sleep, but I’ll let you go since your sleeping face is so cute.”

“Milady…”

“Oh? You look like you’re about to cry. Did you have a nightmare?”

A nightmare? Was that it? Was it just a nightmare?

An unexplainable frustration filled my heart. I felt like I forgot something, something
extremely important. The more I tried to remember it, the further my thoughts
seemed to wander, as if I could never grasp it.

“The crown prince…”

To shake off that feeling, I deliberately changed the subject.

“Did you enjoy your dinner with His Highness?”

“Yes, very much. Listen to this, butler. His Highness gave me a blue coral ring today!”

The Lady of the Golden Silk smiled wide. ‘Blue coral’ was the name of the gem. It
wasn’t worth much, but it was often used for proposals in the southern regions of the
empire.

“Also, it happened in the student cafeteria, right in front of all the other ladies and
gentlemen! The prince is dumb, but he’s a dummy who knows how to make someone
happy. I wonder what kind of face the Ivansia heiress will make when she hears the
news!

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.

“The Ivansia heiress…”

“Ah. Butler, are you curious, too?”

“……”

What was it?

Really, what?

The shaking of my heart vibrated in my throat.

“Raviel…”

The Lady of the Golden Silk stared at me in shock.

“Butler? You shouldn’t be calling her by her name… Even if it’s just the two of us
here, it’s too rude. Be more polite. It’s about manners. Sometimes, you’re more
ignorant of the capital’s etiquette than I am.”

At that moment.

-■■■, ■■ ■ ■■■. ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■!

My head was buzzing.

[■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■.]

I grabbed my forehead in pain.

“Milady… D-do you hear that?”

“What?”

The Lady of the Golden Silk tilted her head.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m not sure, either. It’s like someone is shouting…”

“Um, butler. I thought you were joking at first, but now, I’m getting nervous. Are you
sick? Does your head feel hot? Shall we go to the infirmary?”

“…That’s all right. I apologize. I keep saying strange things.”

I got up from the chair.

“I seem to have a slight headache. It doesn’t feel like a cold… I’ll just go out to get
some fresh air. Is that all right, milady?”

“Ah. Yes, go ahead.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk looked at me with worried eyes.

“Do you want me to accompany you?”

“No, milady. I’m really all—”

-■ Gong■ ■ dog■■!! ■■ ■■! ■ ■■ ■!!

“—right. I’ll get better if I walk a little.”

“I understand. Then, be careful. Don’t come back too late.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I left the lady’s room and the dormitory.

In the night, the magnolia bloomed white like the moon.

However, the discomfort in my heart did not stop even when I entered the garden.

『Back when I was not yet a regressor.』

I walked.

『His Majesty the Prince became infatuated with the Lady of the Golden Silk.』

I walked without thinking.

Like I was in a dream, like I was sleepwalking.

『I was resentful, and I made a wish to my family sword.』

『Please let my love last forever.』

『Then, my life became eternal.』

Ridiculously, at the end of my path, there was the large building in which Heiress
Ivansia resided. I passed by it before, but I had never voluntarily come here before.

The place had no relation to me.

『My heart has become immovable since that day.』

There shouldn’t have been.

“……”
Why did I come to a place like this?

‘I should go back.’

To the place where my master was waiting.

‘I’m going back.’

Thinking that, I moved my feet.

‘I have to go back.’

But for some reason, my feet didn’t turn back. I kept thinking I had to go back, but
my feet stepped forward. My hand pushed on the iron bar at the gate.

Creaaaak—

The door opened easily.

The duchy’s guards were not present.

“……”

It was really a strange thing.

Maybe I was still trapped in a dream.

That would explain everything.

It would explain how my legs, by themselves, took me through the gate and across
the garden.

How the cherry trees and magnolias made my heart ache for no reason.

How I so naturally went deeper into Heiress Ivansia’s mansion, despite never having
been invited.

“You’ve arrived.”

Why the duke’s daughter was standing at the end of a corridor.

『I’ll be waiting for you.』

Even her small smile as she looked at me.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Everything.
1.

The Lady of the Silver Lily stood in the corridor in the dead of night.

Behind her was a large mirror.

A mirror big enough to reflect her whole body.

Smooth and clean.

The mirror where moonlight reflected only the lady’s poised back. The mirror
reflected just a ray of moonlight and silver hair, so the Lady of the Silver Lily looked
like an island alone in a dark sea.

“You’re speechless.”

“……”

“And you look troubled. Your expression is clear. Even at night, I can read it. Just by
looking at your face, I can see that it’s the [first one].”

The first one?

My heart had been quaking with anxiety from earlier. It was still doing so now. Why
was the Lady of the Silver Lily speaking so kindly to me?

A heartless and rational sword toward everyone. She was the moon of the Ivansia
family.

A reason to be kind to me, the butler of the Lady of the Golden Silk… didn’t exist.
There shouldn’t have been any.

“…I was being silent because I did not know what to say. Please forgive me if I was
rude. Heiress Ivansia, this… Is this a dream? Are you appearing in my dream?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily reacted by looking at me with a strange expression. The
smile on her lips somehow felt like a scar.

“That’s an interesting question. Indeed, your dream has consumed my life. I now
know that love is just giving one’s life to support another’s dream.”

What did that mean?

“I become your dream, and you become my life. This exchange of dreams and lives is
what we call love.”

What could she possibly mean?

I didn’t understand what she was saying. There were many other things I did not
know, too.

The Lady of the Silver Lily explained one of the things I did not know with her scar-
like smile.

“However, you probably didn’t ask that question in a romantic way. I shall answer
you seriously. Don’t worry because you don’t see any servants. I told them to go
back.”

“Why…?”

“And I shall warn you. Never call me [Heiress] with your mouth again.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily smiled.

“I will tear out your heart and kill you.”

“……”
I didn’t understand.

Just now, the Lady of the Silver Lily showed killing intent toward me. She wasn’t
joking when she said she would kill me. It wasn’t a bluff, either. If I called her
‘Heiress’ one more time, her rapier would surely stab my heart.

That’s what would happen, but…

‘Why?’

Why was her threat not cold but rather warm and tender?

Was it possible for a death threat to be so heartwarming?

“Come here.”

Her voice beckoned me. I couldn’t refuse her. As I approached the Lady of the Silver
Lily, she pointed to the full-body mirror. “What do you see?”

“…I can see the lady standing next to me.”

“And?”

“The dark corridor… The moonlight is barely present. I see almost nothing beside
you and me. It’s all buried in the darkness.”

“And?” asked Lady of the Silver Lily.

It was bizarre. She wanted another answer, as if there was something else I should
have seen in the mirror. But what was it?

“What else do you see?”

“……”

“Don’t hide it. Say it.”

I tried to look harder into the mirror. I furrowed my brows and crinkled my
forehead. Still, everything looked much the same.
‘As expected, there’s only darkness. Extraordinary red eyes and… ’

It was then. Prick! My head ached.

Words I couldn’t understand flashed before my eyes.

■■■

■■■: ■■

■■ [■■], [■■■], [■■], [■■]

■■ ■■

■■ ■■■: [■cher], [Lo■], [■■■ ■■], [■■■], [■■■], [■■■■], [■■], [■] ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■],
[■■■■ ■■■■ ■],

[■■ ■■■■■]

“Oof, whuuh…?!”

I retched.

-Kim ■ja ■■ pl■ ■ ■■ ■t!

[■■■■ war■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■!]

I reflexively wrapped my hands around my neck. My neck hurt for a moment, but I
didn’t know why.

I couldn’t do anything about stuff I didn’t know, so I thought about something else.

‘I’m glad my stomach wasn’t full.’

I hadn’t vomited. Throwing up in front of the Duke of Ivansia’s daughter would be

terrible. I desperately pressed down my nausea.
The Lady of the Silver Lily was calm.

“I asked what you could see.”

She was a very cold person.

There was a bitter taste on the tip of my tongue.

“Words… I see strange letters. And voices… Weird voices are… I don’t really know.”

“Voices.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily smiled very slightly at that word. This smile looked more
like a smile than the one a little while ago.

“You’re being loved.”

“What are you saying…”

“Tell me about the words.”

She moved on so quickly, without any explanations, that I just stared blankly at her.
Suddenly, her smile turned arid, and she calmly repeated herself without pushing
me.

“Did you not say you see strange letters? Tell me about them.”

“…They’re hard to see. I don’t see complete words… just a few letters… Fragments…?”

“Read me at least one fragment.”

“Cher… Lo… Other than that, absolutely nothing.”

“Hmm.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily put her hand on her chin.

For some reason, her brows were furrowed.

“I see. [Cher] is part of [Teacher], and [Lo] is from [Lover]. What’s left at the end is
very much like you. But your master comes before your lover? It’s understandable,
but I don’t like it.”

“Lady, there are too many things I don’t understand. You said this isn’t a dream, but if
it isn’t, what do you want from me?”

“I want you.”

“I apologize. I don’t understand that either—”

“What dream did you have?”

The Lady of the Silver Lily simply cut off my words.

‘No matter how much power the Ivansia duchy holds—’

‘I am the one and only butler of the Lady of the Golden Silk—’

‘His Highness the Crown Prince favors the young lady, but this treatment is—’

Countless thoughts were tangled in my head.

But none of them rang in my heart. Like music without rhythm, they soon faltered.

“I don’t remember much. But in my dream…”

What came out of my mouth, in the end, was an obedient answer to the lady’s
question.

“In your dream.”

“…You looked at me and cried.”

That was right.

“I was in a chair… I think I was tied to it. With something like a rope. I don’t know
why I was tied, but only you were there in the ornate room, looking down at me.”

Just before waking up.

I had definitely seen that sight.

“My heart hurt. My chest… It was pierced by your blade. But I don’t think that was
all. In my dream, I…”

“You?”

“…I felt extremely guilty, like I had wronged you.”

“Yes.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily smiled again.

My insides churned, and I felt like just looking at the smile would make me cry.

“At least you know to be sorry.”

“……”

“Do you know why you dreamed something like that?”

“No. I don’t know. Not at all…”

“It’s because that is my [trauma].”

Trauma.

“I haven’t told you yet, but my mother committed suicide.”

What?

I paled in shock.

“I was too young to understand why she committed suicide. The duke’s wife. The
moon of Ivansia. A woman with such power and wealth ended her life herself. I
didn’t know why, but I do clearly remember the words my mother whispered to me
on her last night, how she was cremated quickly like a coverup.”

This.
This was something I shouldn’t know. I shouldn’t even listen. I couldn’t believe the
Ivansia duchy was hiding such a secret. It was a terrible secret that could be used to
start a political war.

“However.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily looked at me.

“Even that memory did not become my trauma.”

“……”

“The crown prince gave a blue coral ring to the Lady of the Golden Silk today.”

One step.

The Lady of the Silver Lily came closer to me.

“In a past life, that made me despair. Or perhaps I was angry. You can say that I was
jealous or envious. All these filled my heart. Cursing the world, I took a sword and
stabbed the heart reflected in the mirror.”

However, there was no sound of footsteps.

Only then did I realize she was barefoot.

“But even that is no longer my trauma.”

Press.

The lady’s foot stepped on my shoe.

The light and insignificant weight tied down one of my feet. If I wanted to retreat, I
could have, and if I wanted to shake her off, it would have been simple. Nonetheless,
the weight on my foot kept me there.

“Ten days, repeating eternally.”

Her hand drew nearer.

“My world, stained in blood and perishing. The demons mocking me, imitating my
tongue and lips. Everything that once scarred my heart is no longer my trauma.”

A light grip.

“They stopped being my trauma.”

My neck.

“From now on, you are the only one who can hurt my heart.”

Both of her hands loosely held my neck.

“Even if someone with the most wicked tongue cursed me for two days, it wouldn’t
measure to the sighs you send me in ignorance.”

From her little finger to her forefinger. From the thinnest to the thickest finger, I felt
every single bit of the pressure she put on me.

“Even if someone with the most spite and hatred toward me were to beat me and
whip me, the pain wouldn’t compare to your scoffs. Even though many people in this
world can kill my body, you are the only one who can hurt and kill my soul.”

I was suffocating.

“So my trauma has already been locked on one thing.”

The grip on my neck tightened.

“L-lady…”

“You idiot. I clearly warned you.”

『If you break my heart, I’ll kill you.』

“You. You scarred me.”

Warm skin.

Red eyes smiled.

“I haven’t broken a promise since I was four years old. Die.”

“……,……”

“Die, and love me again.”

I.

I couldn’t resist for some reason.

[You have died.]

Then.

[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]

[The severity of the penalty is moderate.]

[The penalty is the Hungry Ghost Road.]

The dream within a dream spread.

I don’t want to kill you.

That was what Raviel Ivansia thought when she looked at the man in front of her. She
didn’t want to lose him. It was laughable how greedily she wanted to monopolize
him.

-Milady. Think about it. Since it’s Your Ladyship, you’ll think the same thing I’ve
thought of. You’re also a regressor.

This man was dangerous.

Raviel quickly discerned what he was trying to do. He was going to completely
immerse himself in the role of the butler. Then, by regressing one day from the
butler’s perspective, he would return to a time before she gave her heart to the
mirror.

He would flip the game board itself.

‘It’s a brilliant idea.’

It was a strategy that targeted the loophole in the Tower.

‘He looks gentle, but these tricks come from that head.’

It was good that the man she came to love was not stupid. Indeed, it was very
pleasant. Nevertheless, Raviel Ivansia objected.

-But, Gongja. This is dangerous.

The reason was clear.

-I won’t remember you.

She, Raviel Ivansia, would not remember Kim Gongja.

Even if he regressed and stopped her from stabbing the mirror heart, thus
preventing the tragedy of the eternal ten days, it meant nothing if she couldn’t
remember him.

-I don’t want to kill you.

-I want to live with you.

My days with you.

The first holiday I was allowed, resting for 15 days.

All of these memories made up who I am now. Once they were gone, I would no
longer be Raviel Ivansia.

Does the man in front of me know that? That I wouldn’t be grateful at all if I escaped
the labyrinthine ten days like this?
-It’ll be all right.

He seemed to know.

-I’ll definitely resolve the issue somehow.

Seeing how detestably he spoke, he probably knew.

-Please trust me.

-……

Raviel Ivansia was silent.

She was briefly paralyzed by the cruelty of his words. Trust him? Without any
explanation, trust him? Tardily, too late, she regretted her promise from a few days
ago. But this was too serious for Raviel Ivansia to be trapped by paralysis and regret.

‘I’ll trust you.’

She would trust the man she loved. She would trust in that man’s ability. He was the
man whom she chose. He was hers. He would definitely succeed, [no matter what], to
persuade the Tower to regress to the previous day.

The real problem would come after that.

‘How can I reverse the immersion rate if it’s over 90%?’

If he succeeded in returning to the previous day, then he would be unable to

remember who he was. Even if he remembered anything, it would only be a vague
feeling. It would be impossible for him to remember the days that he spent with her
in any detail.

‘…… ’

No.

‘Wait a moment.’

There was a way.

Raviel groaned when she thought of it, and then she groaned again. The rumor that
all of the poison in the empire came from her heart flashed in her mind. It didn’t for
long. She couldn’t waste time like that.

Raviel Ivansia realized that she would have to follow through on her plan.

‘I must—’

Thus, Raviel Ivansia reflected in her heart what she would have to do and how.

‘—I must kill this man.’

Trauma.

The man had confessed almost everything about himself to her. He informed her that
a side effect of his ability was viewing the memory of the person who killed him.

‘If I embed this moment into my trauma.’

When she killed him, he would see [this moment].

It wasn’t the past or anything, but it was this exact moment while she was thinking.

-……

If so. If she could pull it off.

-I can tell him what I want to say, give him what memories I want to pass on, let him
know everything again.

-He can remember through me.

-All right.

Raviel was convinced that she could do it.

-I’ve become your first bitch of a lover, and you’ll be my last.

Gongja.
-Really, I ended up with a bad man as my lover.

Are you listening?

I am happy because of you. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to let go of the time
I’ve spent with you like this.

You said this before. That you would ‘write a diary starting today.’ You said that you
would show me all of your days. Those words, were they lies?

You said, ‘I will learn music.’ I wanted to spend a quiet evening listening to you play.
Was that wish really a lie?

I want to see your days. I want to say goodnight to you. Your days will surely make
me smile, and evenings with you will be happy. I want my smile and your happiness
to overlap.

I don’t want to kill you.

I don’t want to lose you.

-How are you?

-I’m… for now, it’s okay… More.

-You’re asking me for more kisses. My lover is truly spoiled.

Look at me.

Look at you beside me.

You’re a dumb person. You’re also naive. I wondered how you survived in the world
with such innocence, but I soon learned that you had died thousands of times.

You had many reasons to abandon your innocence. There were few reasons to keep
your naivety. To you, who did not throw away your innocence despite the many
reasons and kept it when you didn’t need to, I simply say:

I love your innocence.

-Are you still all right?

-Raviel…

Are you afraid because you’re losing yourself? Is it scary?

-I love you. I love you, Raviel…

-I know.

It’s all right.

-Even if I’m born again, I’ll still love you…

I’m here.

Just as I believe in you, you should believe in me.

Rely on me.

-So… so that I can never forget you, don’t let me forget you even if I die…

-I know.

You alone cannot protect yourself.

I alone cannot protect this world.

But if it’s the two of us, you and I, we can do anything.

I’m also afraid. Killing you is terrifying.

Staying beside you, even though I know I’ll be hurt, is hellishly frightening.

But my fears will not stand in my way of being with you.

Look.

-… Good heavens.
Finally, you, who has become your role of the butler, speak to me.

-Heiress Ivansia.

Crush.

My heart was in pain. It hurt.

It felt lonely when you called me not [Milady] but [Heiress] instead.

-Did you abduct me?

A face with no trust. The way you look at me so suspiciously hurts. It’s torture when
you react like you’ve never seen me before.

-This is too much. No matter how much power the Ivansia Duchy holds under this sky,
this is excessive. Do you hate the Lady of the Golden Silk so much as to threaten a
servant like me?

Listen.

This is the scar you left on me.

-Gongja.

Don’t forget.

-… Who are you calling for?

Never. Don’t forget, even if you die.

-My lover.

The man who offered me his heart.

-The man to whom I will offer mine.

You, in this place.

You live in my heart.

-Have a safe trip.

-……

-I’ll be waiting for you.

Are you listening?

Can you hear it?

Gongja.

I love you.
1.

“I love you.”

It wasn’t proper for a noblewoman to say those words so openly, but Raviel felt it
with all her heart. She loved the crown prince, noodle-hair and all.

Noodle hair? Why had she thought of that?

The blond locks on the prince’s head did share a peculiar resemblance to last night’s
dinner.

Raviel shook her head and continued tightening the bonds around the crown prince.
He, in return, mumbled something behind his gag. It may have been a scream. Raviel
didn’t particularly care. Rather, it was almost cute.

“I love you so much, Your Highness, and it pains me to see you ruin yourself like this.
I should never have helped you to ditch the palace tutors when we were children. I
see now that it is up to me to correct my wrongs.”

She cleared her throat, and a gray-haired servant held up a board with words written
on it.

[Lesson 1. Only a scumbag cheats on his fiancee.]

The board was nicely decorated at the borders with lilies. The lily leaves were
choking a man’s neck.

The crown prince stopped mumbling as his eyes glazed over in fear.

“Don’t be an idiot. I’m not going to kill you.”

When Raviel sniffed disdainfully, she noted that the man had peed himself.

She sighed.

“Get him a change of pants,” she told the gray-haired servant. “Now I’ll have to start
all over again.”

The gray-haired servant gracefully bowed and left the room.

In the meantime, Raviel set up the camera. She had been told that the camera was
cutting-edge technology that could be used to preserve memories.

Blackmail was a good memory, was it not?

It only took two days after Raviel’s loving remedial lessons for the crown prince to
act foolishly again.

Maybe she should have bashed in that noodle-like noggin of his to make spaghetti.
Flavor was always important in a good dish, and red would suit him so well…

Raviel had been absent from school that day due to her illness. However, she was
more than capable of arranging transport to the dormitories where the Lady of the
Golden Silk resided.

She did have to catch up on her work, but she could spare half an hour for this.

When she stepped out of the carriage, it was nighttime. Most students were already
in their beds, except the few strolling in the warm spring air.

Magnolias drifted in front of her, white and pure.

Crunch. She crushed them underfoot. This made their perfume even more fragrant.

Raviel made herself at home in the parlor of the residence hall. She waited for her
guest to come out.

Five minutes later, the Lady of the Golden Silk and her gloomy-looking butler came
bustling in.
The Lady of the Golden Silk’s makeup looked like it had been hastily done. Raviel
covered her grin by opening her fan.

“What did you call me for?” asked the Lady of the Golden Silk.

Her tone of speaking was still too brash for a country chit. Her butler placed a gentle
hand on her elbow, not that she was heeding his silent warning.

“I didn’t call you for anything,” said Raviel, amused. “I was just sitting, and you just
arrived.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk opened her mouth like a goldfish before closing it again.

“Who else would you have come for?”

Who else indeed?

“Maybe I came to meet your butler,” Raviel joked.

She watched as the Lady of the Golden Silk turned furious eyes upon her servant and
her butler stuttered denials, flushing.

Flushing?

Perhaps she could make use of that. She shelved the thought for later.

“I was kidding. April Fools, and all that,” Raviel said. “Anyway, I have a gift for you.”

She held out an envelope for the Lady of the Golden Silk to take. The butler grabbed
it, and their gloved hands brushed against each other.

The butler suspiciously reddened again. He turned around and handed the envelope
to his lady.

“Check it,” said the Lady of the Golden Silk.

No doubt that she suspected her of putting something nasty.

The butler obediently opened the envelope. His eyes turned wide and round.
“U-uh… Um… This is…?”

“A moment of the crown prince when he was vulnerable,” said Raviel. “I thought you
might enjoy it, since you are ever so close to him.”

Swiik. The Lady of the Golden Silk’s hand swiped away the photograph so quickly
that Raviel nearly missed it.

“Th-th-that’s…”

Raviel had taken some liberties with the prince as he was in his remedial lessons.
The results were unsuitable to be in any record, print or photograph.

“……”

The barony’s lady’s face turned red, then green. Perhaps she should have been called
the Lady of the Copper Silk.

Mission complete, Raviel left the dormitory without another word to the idiot duo.

She was satisfied with her work for today. What was left of her heart was still
breaking after the prince had gone on another date with the Lady of the Golden Silk,
but at least she could drag him down with her.

If he was dumped… If his heart broke, and she was there to help him… Would his
eyes turn kind again? Would he smile at her like he used to do, once upon a time?

She didn’t need him to love her back, necessarily.

Even friendship—no, a lack of enmity—would be enough.

The magnolia petals that fell from the branches looked lonely and lost.

But this moment was not her trauma.

2.

Why did time pass by so slowly?

Raviel had been waiting for Gongja to regress for six days since the last time. There
was a version of him running around, and she was rather fond of him, but he wasn’t
the same as her lover.

Raviel’s work was done nearly on autopilot now. She had done this time loop for so
long that she didn’t need to focus as she signed papers, arranged for the prince’s
assassins to be taken out, and made sure that the economy didn’t implode because of
a poorly received tariff.

Gongja 3 (her nickname for the current version of the butler) squirmed on her lap.

“Can I move now, milady? I really don’t think this is appropriate…”

“Nonsense. You’re my exclusive butler, are you not? This is what butlers do in this
world.”

Gongja 3’s eyes showed that he knew she was bullshitting him, but he wasn’t certain
enough to call her out on it.

Raviel ruffled Gongja 3’s hair. It was nearly imperceptible, but he leaned into her
touch. Maybe quiet days like this weren’t so bad, though she still eagerly awaited
Gongja Prime.

“I’m going to miss you when you’re gone.”

Gongja 3 stiffened on her lap. Slowly, his head turned toward her.

“Do you… intend to kill me?”

What was it with her love interests thinking that she would kill them?

“No, butler. Don’t take things so seriously. I won’t ever kill you.”

This statement didn’t hurt her until much afterward, when she was staring into her
beloved’s dead face, a sword in her hands. Thus, it did not become her trauma.

3.

“Gongja, please… Say syke…”

Tears flowed from Raviel’s eyes as she held the body of her dead lover.
“You liar.”

She continued in that position. She felt the last of his body heat escape from her
arms. Raviel closed his eyes, wishing him a quick regression.

She did not draw her blade from his chest. She wasn’t sure that she ever wanted to
hold that particular rapier ever again.

It was a long time later, what felt like an eternity to her, when she stood up.

Raviel must have been dizzy from crying so much. Her vision blurred, and she
walked right into a wall.

“Motherfu—”

Painful and humiliating as it might have been, this moment was not her trauma,
either.

4.

“Raviel Ivansia,” said the Lady of the Golden Silk. “I love you.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily’s mortal enemy winked, bounced her ample bosoms, and
blew a kiss at Raviel.

Raviel woke up screaming, but this did not become her trauma.

5.

“Ganja, please… Say syke…”

Unfortunately, Raviel’s hemp plant did not respond. Tears flowed from Raviel’s eyes
as she held the pot of her beloved, unquestionably dead pot.

Had she overwatered it? Was she not a good enough farmer?

This was the problem with education these days. They focused too much on
economics, history, politics, court manners, literacy, swordsmanship, and the
running of an estate rather than on the important things in life.
Like cultivation.

This plant was one of the few medicines that could help her chronic pain, and now,
she would have to find alternatives.

This moment became very close to being Raviel’s trauma.

[TN] Manwoojeol is April Fools’ Day in Korean. Happy April Fools’, and two chapters
will be released tomorrow as a treat/apology!

[TN2] If you write SSS-Class Suicide Hunter fanfiction in the Disqus comments
below, the top writer (judged by upvotes) will receive five advanced chapters (112–
116) or 100 woopcoins, provided that the writer is on Discord. I’ll check back in 24
hours to message the winner ^^
2.

Then, Raviel Ivansia tightened her grip. To kill a man. To feel everlasting pain.

-Euk, ghk, eup…!

The man’s body twisted. Raviel Ivansia’s sword penetrated further, deeper in his
heart. He let out a painful scream. The scream tore through the space only the two of
them occupied.

‘I don’t want to kill you.’

Raviel Ivansia bit her lips.

‘I don’t want to lose you.’

But despite her wishes, Raviel Ivansia stabbed the man with increasing strength. She
vividly felt everything in her hands. With a touch, his chest caved in. His flesh was
lacerated. His heart was pierced, and he kept coughing up blood.

All of these things became Raviel Ivansia’s scars.

‘More.’

She had to feel it more strongly. She had to engrave this moment as her trauma from
now on. So that one day, who knows when, the man she loved could see this sight.

So when the man was about to cough up more blood, Raviel Ivansia stole his lips.

-……!
A bloody breath flowed from his heart to her mouth. It was red and sticky. This was
her man’s warmth. This was her man’s blood. This was her man’s heart.

Raviel Ivansia shut his mouth so that not a single drop would leak.

-……

The man was dying.

Raviel Ivansia did not blink. She didn’t want to miss the moment of her beloved’s
death, the moment when his complexion turned pale, his movements stopped, and
his breath faded—each and every moment was agony for her.

She didn’t want to lose him.

She wanted to let herself scream at the world.

She didn’t want to lose this man.

What if this moment didn’t become her trauma? What if, because of that, all her
plans failed? Then she would forget him, and he would lose her. There would be
nothing left.

Raviel Ivansia was afraid.

‘More.’

For her, fear in itself was a disgrace. It was an insult. But Raviel Ivansia constantly
repeated this terrifying scene, unleashing her dire imagination. She deliberately
deepened the wound.

She imagined him failing to convince the Tower.

She saw herself forgetting him and living the way she used to before.

She pictured the two of them passing each other in the hallway, unaware.

Wounds piled on top of more wounds.

-……

Then, Raviel Ivansia saw. His death.

-……

Raviel Ivansia understood it. This period was like leftover time. It would be a very
brief moment before her man returned. He would probably regress after a few
seconds. Caught up in his timeline, she would also regress the same way soon.

Just a few seconds. Only a few seconds.

But those few seconds felt like an eternity to Raviel Ivansia.

She slowly parted her lips.

-Gongja?

There was no answer.

-Gongja.

Ah.

At that exact moment, Raviel Ivansia knew. That was right. This last scene, the
absence of an answer.

His unfocused gaze. His lips that stopped as if he had forgotten how to speak. This
moment was now a trauma that Raviel Ivansia could never wash away.

Everything was clear.

She had never felt a scar worse than this.

-……

Raviel Ivansia hugged him. She embraced his body, using the few seconds she had
left to hold him.

Believing in him.
[Trauma reenactment complete.]

Like I believed in you, you’ll believe in me, Gongja.

[Confirming that the subject’s psyche is maintained.]

So, we can wait for each other.

[The penalty is ending.]

We had to.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 98%.]

It was strangely difficult to open my eyes.

“Butler?”

The Lady of the Golden Silk, who was sitting across me, was startled. It was weird.
Her always-shining face looked blurry to me today.

“Did something happen? Why are you like this so suddenly?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re crying. Right now.”

Only then did I realize I was crying. I was shocked. Just a moment ago, the Lady of
the Golden Silk and I were chatting together.

I only blinked my eyes.

In that moment, tears had begun to flow.

“Ah…?”

Even worse, the tears weren’t stopping.

“B-butler? I’m a little scared. I’m not afraid of much, but I’m a little scared now. Why
did you suddenly start crying while we were talking? D-did I do something strange
again?”

“No… That’s… I don’t know why either.”

“Are you crying for no reason? Are you going insane? Geez, you’re really dripping all
over… W-what should I do? It’s the first time you’ve cried like this since I beat you up
when you were five years old…”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you, milady? Please forget about it.”

“But, butler. Even if I forget about you being beaten up when you were five, I still beat
you when you were six, seven, fourteen, and occasionally, even now. If you ask me to
forget all that, I’ll have amnesia. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that your life is
a series of being beaten up by me.”

Amnesia.

“……”

“Ack, I thought you were stopping now, but why are you crying again?! I’m sorry! I’m
sorry I keep hitting you! I won’t hit you anymore. Even when I hit you, I won’t insult
your pride. That’s enough, right?!”

“I think I had a nightmare, milady…”

“What? A nightmare? Did I get caught by a monster and die?”

“No. A woman was crying a lot while looking at me… I wanted to wipe away her
tears, but I was sad that I couldn’t.”

“I see.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk made a look of deep understanding.

“That woman was me.”

“It was absolutely not you, milady… Milady could never make such a melancholy and
noble expression. Your mood is naturally different…”

“Ah. Should I just hit you?”

The Lady of the Golden Silk looked at me with narrowed eyes. Normally, I would
have to bow and say sorry, and the lady would reply, “I’m generous, so I understand,”
with an expression as if it couldn’t be helped.

Instead, I got up from the chair.

“Butler?”

“I need to go somewhere for a moment.”

“Huh? But it’s night. I was going to tell you that I was going to meet the crown prince
for dinner tomorrow. I was excited and wanted to show off. You’re obligated to listen
to me brag, butler.”

I bowed.

“I apologize, milady. But there’s a place I have to go.”

“……”

The Lady of the Golden Silk squinted at me. She put her hand on the chair and stared,
bemused.

“All right. You have a brain, and if you have a brain, you can think for yourself. But
don’t come back with bare hands! Stop by the kitchen and steal me a muffin.”

“Tomorrow, His Highness will gift you a blue coral ring.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk blinked.

“What?”

“I’m heading out now.”

I walked out.

Behind me, the lady yelled, “Butler! Is that for real?!” However, I ignored her shouts.

“Wait a moment. Even if you’re going out, answer me first! Butler, you jerk!”

The lady had become tamer after coming to Sormwyn Academy, but her spirit was
still that of the boss of the alley kids. She was the one who beat up the other kids in
our hometown.

‘My master.’

I hurried.

It should have been the first time I went down this path, but my feet seemed to know
the way.

‘It’s like I’ve walked down this path before.’

The gate of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s residence was open. There were no guards. It
should have been weird, but I only thought, ‘I thought it would be like that.’ My feet
did not hesitate to cross the garden.

The hallway.

“You’ve arrived.”

A speck of moonlight.

“…Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes. Today is the [second].”

Questions and answers that lacked context. A conversation that I couldn’t

understand stirred the night air. With the full-length mirror at her back, the Lady of
the Silver Lily was smiling.

“Look in the mirror.”

“……”
“What do you see?”

■■■

■■■: ■■

■■: [Martial ■], [Ro■ce], [■■], [■■]

■■ ■■

■■ ■■■: [Master/Teacher], [Lover], [■■■ ■■], [■■■], [■■■], [■■d], [■■],

[■■■■■■■■■■], [■■■■ ■■■■■], [■■ ■■■■■]

“…I can see the words ‘Master/Teacher’ and ‘Lover.’ The letter ‘d’ as well. I can see
fragments of small words, but I don’t understand what they mean.”

“Call me.”

“Heir…”

I was about to call her Heiress Ivansia, but I shut my mouth.

Even though that was the title I should have used to show Raviel Ivansia the most
respect.

『Never call me [Heiress] with your mouth again.』

『I will tear out your heart and kill you.』

I remembered a conversation I never had. It was like a peek into a dream from a
previous life.

I was confused. I felt that I shouldn’t call her Heiress no matter what.

“…Milady.”
“You’ve gotten much better.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily came closer to me. Her red eyes stared at me. But she was
only looking. The lady’s lips were tightly closed.

『What dream did you have?』

Nevertheless, I felt like the Lady of the Silver Lily was speaking to me. Her closed lips
seemed like they were moving. It was too intense and too clear to be a hallucination.

“Your Ladyship… You were crying.”

『And?』

“You kept calling for someone. A man was tied up in front of you… It must have been
him whom you called. But I don’t remember the man’s name.”

『Then?』

“Your Ladyship suffered as you stabbed the man with a sword.”

Weird.

Why did I keep talking to someone who didn’t respond? Why was the Lady of the
Silver Lily quietly listening to me?

It was really weird.

The weirdest part was that my heart didn’t find this situation to be awkward.

“That is admirable.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily stroked my head. ‘That is admirable.’ The words echoed
deep into my heart. ‘That is admirable.’ A long, long time ago… I think I heard these
words before I was even born into this world.

I felt like I smelled a blue scent.

“Look.”
The Lady of the Silver Lily pulled something out from her bosom.

It was a card.

“…What is that?”

“It’s proof that you worked hard for me. You can feel proud.”

Tightly packed words were engraved on the golden card.

[A Regressor’s Love]

Rank: EX

Effect: For a regressor, love is like poison. No matter how much you struggle, you
can’t share your time with the one you love. Thus, a certain regressor begged, ‘Please
retain my lover’s memories.’ That wish reached the Tower and came true.

You share a timeline with your beloved. When your lover regresses a day, you too go
back a day. When you regress a day, your lover regresses a day. This is the covenant
of the ring. This is the marriage of time.

May luck be with you both.

※However, the skill only works when you and your beloved love each other.

“……”

I don’t know why, but I was speechless.

“Please keep my lover’s time.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily smiled a little.

“It’s troublesome to be proposed to like this. I love your voice. Do you understand? If
you don’t say it yourself, I won’t listen. So, you have to come back to me quickly.”
My heart pounded.

“I’m going to kill you. I’ll kill you over and over until you come back. If you can come
back by seeing my scars, I’ll show you them as many times as necessary.”

“Milady…”

“So look at my wounds and suffer. Look at the scar you left on me. Look at it again
and again. There are traces of you there.”

The Lady of the Silver Lily reached out her hands and grabbed my neck.

“You are the only person in this world who can kill me.”

Gently.

“You should know that I’m the only person who can kill you.”

And I saw.

[You have died.]

[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]

I saw… then saw again.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 97%.]

I saw the Lady of the Silver Lily shedding tears.

I saw her killing a man, again and again.

Every day I went back, I lived in her dreams.

[You have died.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 96%.]

We loved each other in a past life.

[You have died.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 95%.]

We will love each other in this life as well.

Possibly even in the next.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 94%.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 93%.]

[Currently, your immersion rate is 92%.]

That I hurt you. That you cried in a place I haven’t seen, in a time when I couldn’t be
with you. Your silent tears.

If I don’t forget them.

If I don’t forget them, if I remember them—

[Currently, your immersion rate is 91%.]

We can love each other forever.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 90%.]

Then.

Then.

Then.

Then I’ll return to you.

Opening a door. Crossing the garden. Running down the hallway.

You were born as the daughter of the Duke of Ivansia. You had a sad mother and lived
a sad life. Your husband was decided before you were born, and after you were born,
you dedicated your life to that person.
You are a white flower.

You are called the Moon of Ivansia, you were called the heiress, and I called you Your
Ladyship.

“You’ve arrived.”

“……”

You are standing in the hallway. In this hallway, in the dark night, you are like a lone
island in the sea. An infinite sea surrounded you. I heard the crashing waves.

You are not Heiress Ivansia, not the Lady of the Duchy, nor Your Ladyship.

“Raviel.”

The white flower smiles.

“I was waiting, Gongja.”

I.

I love you.
3.

I ran and hugged her.

“Raviel.”

A million words were suspended in my mouth.

I could say [I’m sorry].

I’m sorry I left you a permanent scar.

I’m really sorry.

I could also say [thank you].

Thank you for trusting me, thank you for waiting for me, and most of all, thank you
for loving me.

For loving someone like me.

But what I wanted to say was not an apology, nor was it words of thanks. This wasn’t
the first time I apologized to her, and this wasn’t the first time I would be grateful to
her.

In this moment, the night we reunited, I didn’t want to apologize or thank her.

‘Something I’ve never said before.’

I wanted to present her words that I could only say to her once. I wanted to give her
an utterance I would only say one time in my whole life. My first. My last. I wanted to
dedicate my time to Raviel Ivansia.

So. Therefore. That was why.

I took Raviel’s hand.

“Let’s get married.”

A marriage proposal.

“……”

Raviel slowly nodded.

“I am called many names. I received the epithet of the Silver Lily from the emperor.
The empire calls me by my title, Heiress Ivansia. But my name, Raviel, will eternally
belong only to you.”

We kissed.

Deeply.

4.

The two of us woke up at dawn.

The windows were a pale blue.

Hearing the sound of breathing, I turned my head to see Raviel wordlessly looking at
me.

“……”

“……”

I also looked at Raviel without a word. Then, I moved my hand to hold hers. I felt her
cool fingers. She was beautiful. Sharing our breaths, fingers intertwined, we touched
foreheads.
“Raviel, you’re a genius.”

It was dawn. During that time called dawn, all meetings were secret trysts and all
whispers became sweet nothings. Thus, those who shared their dawns were those
who loved each other.

I whispered,

“You’re amazing. You utilized the trauma I had to see to convey my memories…
Really, you’re amazing. I would never have thought of such a method.”

“It’s because you respect the pain of others.”

Raviel’s hand brushed against my earlobe.

“You’re also incredible. How did you persuade the Tower? The Tower is like an
inviolable administrator to Constellations. I know that you have a silver tongue, but I
didn’t realize you could cajole the Tower itself.”

“Well, I don’t actually remember much. It’s like a vague dream. Memories probably
disappear after meeting with the Tower’s authorities.”

“Nonetheless, you succeeded. My lover is quite capable.”

“And my beloved is a genius.”

“I won’t deny that.”

We pressed our foreheads together.

We could admire each other without vanity or showing off.

This fact made me happy again.

“When should we get married?”

“Are we in a hurry?”

“Saying it like that makes it sound dishonorable.”

Raviel laughed lightly. I felt dizzy. Lightning shot up my spine to my head. No music
could ever compare to the beauty of Raviel’s soft laugh.

“The first step would be to break my engagement with the crown prince.”

“Ah.”

That was certainly true.

Raviel nodded.

“His Highness and I are bound by our engagement, which makes it difficult to marry
you legally right now.”

“Hm. I don’t really care about legality. I’ll be satisfied with a small ceremony with us
two.”

“No. It matters to me.”

Raviel stroked my cheek.

“This is the world I live in. I am loyal to this empire. My world and my nation needs
to recognize my marriage. Even if you are a commoner here, you are my lover, and
every citizen of the empire must accept you.”

“All right. But can we expect everyone to react well…?”

“It’s fine, Gongja,” Raviel said composedly. “Citizens who do not recognize you will
die by my hands.”

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling in love again. I wanted to fall in love
with her again and again.

“I understand. Let’s have our wedding in your world, Raviel. But I also have a
condition.”

“Speak it.”

“Breaking the engagement with the prince is necessary, but you shouldn’t be the one
to initiate it. I won’t be able to forgive anyone who speaks poorly of you when they
know nothing.”

If anyone tried to point fingers at my beloved, I would break that finger. If anyone
gossiped about her, I would cut off their tongue. If anyone besmirched her, I would
kill them.

I wasn’t kidding.

I’d give them a taste of hell.

“It should be obvious to everyone that it was the prince who is at fault and you
simply had to break the engagement.”

“Oho. Are you telling me to insult the nation’s foundation now? Me, the heir of the
Ivansia duchy, who works in the shadows for the sake of the empire?”

“Yes.”

“That’ll be easy.”

We took a moment to kiss each other.

Life became a bit brighter.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Of course. Who do you think I am? I have a record of each time the crown prince
met with the Lady of the Golden Silk piled up in a drawer in my library. There are
hundreds of pages in storage. I have prepared both alibis and witnesses. If I drag him
to court, I’ll win.”

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling for her again. I wanted to fall in love
with her again and again.

“Of course, we don’t actually have to go to court. The imperial family would not want
to advertise this. I just need to ask the emperor for a meeting with the evidence in
tow.”

“When will you go to the palace?”

“As soon as possible.”

Raviel quietly pushed back my bangs.

“Gongja. When you marry me, you’ll be marrying into the Ivansia ducal family. The
imperial family will directly give you a title as my consort. And I will become your
lord.”[1]

My heart throbbed.

“Officially, I will call you ‘Wife.’ You will call me ‘Husband.’ Is that acceptable?”

“It’s a hierarchical society, and you’re from the Ivansia family. I’m only an outsider.
Don’t worry. It’s just following the laws of the empire. I don’t mind it at all…”

“I’m glad you think it’s all right. I thought you would say that. So, test it out and call
me ‘Husband.’ “

I paused.

“What’s wrong? Are you embarrassed?”

“……”

“You’re embarrassed. I knew it. I’ll try it out first.”

Her eyes smiled.

“Wife.”

My heart.

“……”

I gulped. Spit stuck to the back of my throat. I slowly tried to open my mouth, but it
was glued shut. My upper lip slid across my lower lip fruitlessly before barely
making a sound.

“…H… usband.”
Raviel blinked.

A silence settled upon us.

My lover’s red eyes stared straight at me. How do I describe it? Her face looked like
that of someone who saw a hedgehog’s paws. In other words, I had no idea what her
expression meant.

“Gongja.”

“Yes.”

“Say it once more.”

“…Husband?”

“Again.”

Hmm.

“Husband…?”

Raviel’s eyelashes fluttered. Her shoulders shrank a bit.

‘What the heck is this reaction?’

I didn’t know it at first since Raviel kept a straight face, but I soon realized it. No way.
Maybe? Could it be? No, this wasn’t possible, even if it was the end of the world, but…

“Raviel. Are you embarrassed right now?”

“Mm…”

Raviel mumbled.

“It’s insanely adorable. My man is…”

Her embarrassment infected me in an instant. This was crazy.

My face turned red, and my lips were dry. Still, my head worked just fine. At this
time, it would be best to counterattack by saying [Raviel is the cutest person in the
world]. I could return all the damage I’d received from Raviel so far. But I couldn’t do
that. I felt so flustered I thought I would die.

Instead, I compromised.

“Husband.”

Rather than a one-sided attack, both sides could flirt. We could force a draw with no
winners or losers. Did she understand my strategy? Raviel also opened her mouth.

“…Wife.”

“Husband.”

“Wife.”

“Husband!”

“Wife…”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“My husband…”

“My wife.”

Like that, an infinite cycle.

Before we knew it, the dawn had already become morning.

-Fuck. You son of a…

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered, facing away from me. He had been trying to protect our
privacy.

-You shitty couple. You dorks give me goosebumps. Matching idiot couple. Fuuuck, what
about me? Do you know how fervently I called you when you got immersed in the
butler, huh? As soon as you become conscious, you don’t even thank me and just dally
with your lover, huh? Are you taking me lightly? You really want me to pass on? Huh?

[Shiny comforts the Sword Emperor.]

-Aah. You’re the only one I have left, Shiny!

The ghost and the sword came to build a mysterious friendship.

‘I’m sorry, and thank you both.’

But for now, I wanted to shower love on my beloved a little more.

5.

In the throes of love, I remembered the goal of this stage.

[To prevent the destruction of this world.]

Also, the main cause of the end of the world was my husband’s artifact, the Holy
Sword’s fragment, and the spiraling of her wish.

‘In other words, if I recover the fragment, the world won’t be destroyed by the
demons.’

But that wasn’t the only reason the world would end.

– The apostle of ‘The Ox That Harvest Ruins.’

– The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains.’

– The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness.’

On the last day, beings from different worlds descended from the rifts littering the
torn sky.

I clearly remembered the invasion of the apostles sent by other Constellations.

‘They’ll definitely come.’

I knew because there hadn’t been a message about the stage being cleared.

‘My husband ascended to a semi-Constellation from stabbing a fragment of the Holy

Sword in her heart.’

A Constellation was said to be the representative of a world. They were barriers that
protected the world.

In other words, this world only had half a shield.

But my husband currently had no sword in her heart. Therefore, she had not yet
ascended.

Rephrasing that statement, there was no Constellation protecting the world at the
moment.

“Let’s plan the wedding for a month from now,” I said. “It’ll be exactly ten days after I
first possessed the butler.”

One month later from this moment.

“I see. You’re matching the timing.”

We set the date for our wedding for the day this world originally would have ended.
It was to reject the last moments of the world and remake it into our new beginning.

It was an audacious choice.

“If so, it’ll be quite a bit of work for me. But should everything go well, we can have
our wedding next month.”

“What sort of things need to be done?”

“First, I need to break the engagement with the crown prince. Next, I must succeed
my father’s position.”

Raviel said it as if it were only natural.

“It will be difficult to marry you with my current status. The legal procedures are
bothersome, and society will squawk about having a commoner betrothed to a
noble. It’ll be annoying. I’d rather become the duchess and take you as my consort.
When I become the family head, I can arrange things as I please.”

“Uh…”

I was speechless.

“Raviel. I still have quite a few of the butler’s memories. It’s… Isn’t it quite difficult
for the heiress to succeed as the family head? Especially for the Ivansias. It’s the
noble and great Ivansia family. Succeeding the duchy just because you want to is…”

“You’re right. It would be difficult if I were not me,” Raviel said calmly. “However, I am
Raviel Ivansia.”

What do I do? She was too cool. I was falling for her again. I wanted to fall in love
with her again and again.

“The duchy’s vassals have already pledged allegiance to me. I also have military
power. If my father wants to hold on to his power until the end, his only choice is to
go running to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Thud.

Raviel dumped a stack of papers onto the table.

“I have plenty of evidence that proves the crown prince’s infidelity. The emperor is
as competent as the special operatives he commands. He will defend the dignity of
the imperial family rather than stay loyal to my father, who has no real power.”

“You phrase it like you have respect for the emperor, but Raviel… isn’t that the same
thing as blackmailing him…?”

“Wife.”

Raviel looked at me seriously. I twitched when she called me her wife. We were
calling each other [husband] and [wife] in order to get used to the new titles, even
when we were alone.

“Yes, my husband?”
“You have a job in the Tower, not in this world. I understand if you do not frequently
return to my world and this empire. You should understand that I cannot relinquish
my noble title.”

Hearing it like this made me feel like a spouse who worked abroad…

“But there will be occasions when you need to be with me. For example, at the events
for the end of the year and New Year’s. Furthermore, the events held by the Duke or
Duchess and his or her consort are always political affairs. You will be the Moon of
Ivansia, and you will be honored as the noblest consort of the empire, barring the
empress. You’ll need some level of political prowess.”

Mm. So…

“Loyalty to the emperor and blackmail of the imperial family can coexist, then. It isn’t
as if the empire is harmed when my husband becomes the Ivansia family head.
Rather, I am fortunate to have such a capable noblewoman as my husband.”

“My wife knows to read between the lines. He’s capable, smart, and cool.”

“Of course. I’m Raviel’s man.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

We took a moment to kiss each other.

Life became a bit brighter.

-Fuuuuuuccck…

For some reason, the ghost’s face became more and more sunken.

-Who was it? Who taught this idiot to love? Who put this guy up to the madness and
sickness of love… Why is he in love? If this guy wasn’t in love, I would still be happy…

[Shiny regretfully points to the Sword Emperor.]

-I should beat myself up for this. Me…

Then, we began to work busily.

For the greatest happy endings—no.

For the greatest wedding.

[1] The words that they call each other are 부인 (夫人) for Gongja and 부군 (婦君)
for Raviel. 부인 is “wife” and 부군 is “husband” when it uses the hanja 夫君, but the
raws specified the hanja is 婦君, which means “female ruler.” Anyway, just know that
Raviel wears the pants in this relationship.

[TN] 4/3/2021 After reader feedback, we’ve decided to go with Gongja = wife and
Raviel = husband, as God the author intended.
[TN] 4/3/2021 After reader feedback, we’ve decided to go with Gongja = wife and
Raviel = husband, as God the author intended.

1.

Romance Fantasy Trope 999

『You don’t need something like tropes for love.』

2.

In life, you occasionally receive gifts by chance.

“Lady of the Golden Silk. I need to tell you something important.”

“Gee, it’s been a while since you called me [Lady of the Golden Silk] instead of
[milady], butler. Each time, it’s for something unfortunate. Let me deduce what
happened this time.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk slowly raised her teacup.

It was truly an elegant motion.

“Do I have a secret half-sister?”

“You do not.”

“Really? Then, was my mother secretly an illegitimate child of the former emperor,
thereby meaning that my blood is intertwined with the imperial family’s? Thus, the
love between the crown prince and I can never come to fruition?”
“That isn’t it.”

“Or do I have both a hidden half-sister and a hidden bloodline, meaning that I have a
lot of potential to be the protagonist of a story?”

“No.”

“Then what is it, you bastard?”

“I’m getting married soon.”

“Oho. Marriage. So it was marriage. Marriage—”

Pffft!

The Lady of the Golden Silk sprayed the tea she had been drinking. Mostly on my
face.

There was no trace of elegance to be found.

“Marriage?!”

“Yes.”

“Marriaaggeee?!”

“That’s correct.”

“If that’s a joke, it’s a really bad one, butler! Do you want me to hit you again?!”

“It isn’t a joke.”

I wiped my face with a handkerchief.

“There’s no way I would joke about this to milady, is there? I really am getting
married. You can’t stop me. I’ve already set a date for next month.”

“W-who’s your partner?”

“That would be the esteemed Lady of the Silver Lily.”

“Oh, come on. You’re definitely fibbing.”

The Lady of the Golden Silk sighed. Phew.

Her face looked relieved. Her expression showed that she didn’t think Raviel would
marry me even if the world was ending. Oh, well. That was a normal reaction.

“Do you think I’m lying?”

“Yeah. It’s a poorly spun lie at that. Please come up with a more plausible tale if you
want to trick me. I’m giving you a failing mark in creativity.”

“If it’s for real, will you allow me to marry her?”

“Ahaha. Sure, sure. I’ll let you marry or whatever, butler. Rather, if it’s real, it would be
very advantageous for me to have my servant marry into the noblest family in the
empire. Wouldn’t the value of my family soar at once?”

“Please stamp this.”

“Hmm?”

I held out some papers I had prepared in advance.

“What is this, butler?”

“This document states that you, my original master, will allow the marriage between
myself and Lady Raviel Ivansia. I’ll step out of your shadow and become a consort in
the Ivansia family.”

“Pfft!”

The Lady of the Golden Silk held her stomach and laughed.

“C-consort of the Ivansias… Pffft! What’s that supposed to be, a joke? A prank? Are
you saying that my butler will be called [Duke Consort of Ivansia]? It’s hilarious just
to imagine. Me becoming the empress is more likely than that.”
The Lady of the Golden Silk’s grin changed into a different sort of style.

“Well, that is what will happen this time.”

Hm.

I remembered the summary I had read before entering this Apocalypse.

‘It’s her second try.’

Since the Heretic Questioner hadn’t possessed her yet, I could guess at the Lady of
the Golden Silk’s true nature and thought about many things regarding her.

For now, I buried all these thoughts and said, “Will you please stamp it?”

The Lady of the Golden Silk grabbed her stomach again and laughed.

“Oh, gladly. This will become a piece of your dark history, butler. As your generous
master, I can’t look away from this amazing farce.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll call over my fiancee tomorrow.”

“Yes, yes. Heiress Ivansia. The second brightest moon in the empire. Dream on.”

The next day, I stood with Raviel before the Lady of the Golden Silk.

“I brought her over, milady.”

“……”

The Lady of the Golden Silk’s jaw dropped.

“We already know each other, but I shall greet you again,” Raviel said, holding a fan.

“I am Raviel Ivansia, daughter and successor to the Duke of Ivansia. I received the
epithet of the Silver Lily from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Huh? Ah. Yes, of course we know each other. Your Ladyship…?”

“It is a joyous occasion for me to marry your butler. The butler is bound to you.
Getting married would be difficult without your permission, but you have easily
granted it. Truly, thank you.”

“All right…?”

“This is a wedding invitation.”

Raviel curtly handed her a letter. The border was decorated with a thread of silver,
and in the center of the envelope was the red wax seal of the duchy. The Lady of the
Golden Silk accepted the letter with a dull face.

“Rejoice. You are the first person to receive an invitation. I hope you know what an
honor it is. Well, it is but a small gift to you as you have cared for him until now.”

“B-butler…? This is a joke, right…?”

“How impudent. As of today, this man is my fiance, not your butler. You don’t possibly
believe that the Ivansia family is inferior to your barony? From now on, treat my
fiance politely.”

“D-d-d-uke… consort…?”

The Lady of the Golden Silk stared at me like the world had flipped over. Her gaze
was desperately asking me to deny the title she just spoke.

I bowed politely.

“It was an honor to serve you, milady.”

“……”

“But from now on, please call me Duke Consort. Respectfully.”

“……”

“Then, shall we go, Raviel?”

“Hmph. I told you to call me ‘Husband’ in front of others.”

“Ahh, pardon me. Husband. My mouth isn’t used to calling you that yet…”
“My wife is so silly. But I like everything about you, including that part.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

We left, side by side.

A while after, we heard a faint scream behind us.

“What is thiiiisss—?!”

A spring with falling magnolias.

Our marriage was drawing near.

3.

My lover, Raviel Ivansia, was a person who followed through on her words.

If Raviel said our wedding would take place within a month, it really would.

“I’ve detained my father in our villa,” Raviel said, casually and calmly.

“There is a group of people in my family who still follow my father, but their numbers
are few. We can ignore them. I negotiated with the emperor for my succession to be
recognized, and I’ve already become the Duchess of Ivansia. Now, I shall be called the
Silver Lily Duchess, not the Lady of the Silver Lily.”

“Uhh…”

My father-in-law was incarcerated overnight.

‘Is this all right?’

While I was feeling uneasy for an in-law I had never met, Raviel looked at me.

“You are now the fiance of the Duchess of Ivansia. You are the host of the second
highest-ranking family.”
“……”

“Other than the emperor, the empress, and the prince, there is no one you must bow
your head to. At least, not in this empire. All citizens of the empire, regardless of
status, must bow to you. In the absence of the imperial family, you will be treated
with the highest regard.”

Raviel was serious.

It was only after I heard her words that I felt that [something huge] was happening.

Until now, I thought of our wedding only in terms of my love for Raviel. Our love was
sweet. It was romantic. But for Raviel, marriage was more than just romance.

The immense truth of the matter dawning on me, I opened my mouth.

“But I’m only a commoner…”

“Of course, the socialite biddies will gossip. Gongja. Your past is like the train of an
uncomfortable dress, and it will follow you wherever you go. But I’ve taken what
measures we could.”

Measure.

“What did you plan?”

“You will become the adopted son of the grand chamberlain of the imperial palace.”

Raviel handed me a sheet of paper.

“The grand chamberlain has served the imperial family for a long time. He was
awarded a noble rank; his personal record is clean; and his honor is regarded highly.
Most importantly, he has no children. Becoming the son of this old chamberlain will
raise your status immediately.”

Oh, my god.

No, really. Oh, my god.

“I-is that allowed?”

“It is. If I want it to be.”

Even now, Raviel was working through a mountain of files. Swipe! Raviel’s quill
never stopped moving. It was hard for me to guess the contents of those documents
and the political repercussions they would have.

“I omitted all the annoying steps. Just sign that paper. Then, you’ll be recognized as
the son of the grand chamberlain.”

“……”

It was like this.

The reality of marriage.

The father-in-law I had never seen was confined in a villa. I also became the adopted
son of someone I never met. Many things were happening that I didn’t know about.

I realized belatedly as I signed the adoption papers how momentous it was to

become [the wife of the Duchess of Ivansia].

It was clearly demonstrated by the scenes that I faced a few days later.

“Greetings to the second brightest moon in the empire.”

Even if I was just passing by the academy, the noble ladies and gentlemen recognized
me and yielded to me. They were utterly courteous. The rumors had spread to the
academy at some point.

“I pay my respects to the lord of the house of Ivansia.”

“Ah. All right…”

“Congratulations on your betrothal. May there be eternal glory to the Ivansias.”

“T-thank you.”

The students stopped talking whenever I walked by. They stopped whatever they
were doing and remained silent and polite until I left. The academy’s guards,
including the knights, saluted respectfully when they saw me.
There were no exceptions.

Even the academy teachers bowed as if it were natural.

“……”

Even when I reached rank 3 in the Tower, even when I became a popular celebrity
and was surrounded by crowds… I’d never felt the same way.

‘This is the thing called status.’

I wasn’t a star. I wasn’t an entertainer. These people weren’t surrounding me or using

their smartphones to take a picture of my face.

They merely kneeled.

‘…Amazing.’

They probably only acted like this in front of me. I would bet that as soon as I left,
they would spread all sorts of dirty rumors about my origin and about Raviel and the
prince’s unconventional breakup.

However, nobody dared to gossip in front of me.

“Eek!”

Shatter!

One day, an academy servant broke a jug of water while moving it. I was just passing
by. I wanted to ask, [Are you OK?], but at that moment, six servants prostrated
themselves at once.

“W-we apologize!”

“We deserve to die!”

“Please. We have gravely erred in our foolishness, so please forgive…!”

I was speechless.
I hadn’t become dumbfounded for some other reason.

No, it was that they seemed to be asking me for forgiveness like it was expected. The
fact that I had the [right to forgive them] paralyzed me.

In other words, I could decide to punish them and not forgive them.

“……”

It was crazy.

This was definitely crazy.

-What’s the problem? It’s obvious things would turn out like this.

Bae Hu-ryeong said while swimming in the air.

-It’s your Tower, which cares about status and class in name only, that’s weird. Didn’t
you know? If you go up to the 50th floor, you’ll find that most towers are defined by
hierarchical societies.

I think Bae Hu-ryeong mentioned we would compete with towers from other worlds
after the 50th floor.

Bae Hu-ryeong picked his ear with his pinky and blew away the earwax.

-Your husband’s family, Ivansy or whatever, is second only to the imperial family in this
world. That means that you’re pretty much a queen, Zombie.

A queen.

-Congratulations on becoming Cinderella, bro.

The shoulders of the servants lying prostrate in the hallway were trembling.

Suddenly, what Raviel said came to my mind.

『Every citizen of the empire must accept you.』

『My world and my nation need to recognize my marriage.』

This was exactly what she was talking about.

In just a few days, I had risen to the top of the pyramid.

I had reached the pinnacle of power.

‘This is… Raviel’s world.’

If so.

‘How should I act?’

Not just as [Kim Gongja]…

Not as the Hunter [Death King]…

But as the [spouse] of the noblest family in this land.

“……”

I bent over.

Then, I picked up a fragment of the broken jug.

I quietly placed a fragment in the palm of the servant who had erred.

“Make this into a necklace and wear it on your body.”

I opened my mouth.

“The necklace is the accessory closest to one’s heart. Keep your mistake close to
heart. Reflect and repent for it.”

“……”

“Don’t wait for me to forgive you. When you yourself think and feel that it is enough,
you may forgive yourself. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes…!”
I turned and walked away.

That evening, Raviel said to me, “My wife responded thoughtfully.”

I cut some meat with a knife and fork. I was learning table manners over dinner.
Raviel moved her hands deliberately and slowly on the other side of the table so that
I could watch and learn.

“Um. Well. Did I do well?”

“You were excellent. If you forgave the servant too easily, people would have said, [He
isn’t strict because of his humble background. How can he manage the duchy with
that attitude?] If you punished them too sternly, the rumor that [He’s getting full of
himself when he climbed ranks overnight] would have spread.”

Either way would have struck out.

“People would have cursed you whether you forgave the servants or punished them,
wife. In this case, the event itself is not important; the presentation is. You wisely
wrapped up the situation by creating a moving story.”

Raviel smiled.

“What happened today has already been disseminated throughout the empire’s
social circles. Those with a pure curiosity will admire your heart, and those with
thick heads will admire your sagacity. I thought you were an amateur at politics.
What magic did my beloved use?”

“…I just thought of you, Raviel.”

My knife split the egg yolk.

The color of a young chick deflated.

“I knew you were working hard in spots that I can’t see.”

“Mm.”

“I thought of how much you think of me, and naturally, I thought about you, too.”
I had thought from Raviel’s perspective.

『How should I act to best help my husband?』

“If I forgave the servants, I would have been seen as a soft-hearted duke consort. If I
punished them, I would be seen as a strict one. However, I thought that being
perceived as a [wise consort] would be the most helpful for you.”

“Why is that?”

“People won’t think that my husband is generous just because her wife acts kindly.
Similarly, my strictness doesn’t affect your image.”

The candle on the table went out.

“However, if I am wise, Raviel must also be wise. Choosing a [sensible spouse] is wise
in itself.”

“……”

Raviel covered her lips with a white napkin.

“You thought of me.”

“Yes.”

“Gongja. You’ve already helped me. The people of the world won’t know this, but
you’ve saved this world from destruction. You’ll continue to save it in the future. Isn’t
it all right for you to do what you wish, even a little?”

“No.”

I shook my head firmly.

“I’ll be with you all my life, Raviel. For the rest of our lives. I don’t want to obsess over
[what I’ve done for Raviel]. I don’t even want to think about it. I want to give you
more things, things that are more precious than anything I’ve done for you before.”

“……”
“I want it so that meeting me would be the greatest fortune in your life. I hope that
being beside me will be your greatest happiness. I want to mean the most to you,
Raviel.”

“…It’s not a matter of fortune or happiness.”

Raviel stood up from the table.

She slowly approached me and bent down.

“You are my one miracle.”

Our lips met.

***

Of course, not everyone succumbed to the Ivansia name.

“I am! Against! This marriage!”

The Lady of the Golden Silk came to me every day to complain. Since the prince was
called away by the emperor, the Lady of the Golden Silk only had me to lament to
since she couldn’t speak directly against Raviel.

“But haven’t you already stamped the document?”

“It’s invalid. Invalid! I stamped it because I thought it was a joke!”

“Regardless of what you thought, the papers are legally valid.”

“Ugh… Aaargh!”

The Lady of the Golden Silk chewed on her fingernails.

“It’s strange. Very strange. Nothing like this happened last time… Did I cause a
butterfly effect? No, this is too much for that… Aah, Lord Ox that Harvests Ruins,
what is this…?”

The Ox that Harvests Ruins.

I tilted my head as if I was hearing that keyword for the first time.

“What does that mean?”

“…It’s nothing!”

The Lady on the Golden Silk clamped her mouth shut.

“Whatever. This is probably one of the Lady of the Silver Lily’s schemes!”

“She isn’t the Lady of the Silver Lily. She is to be the duchess soon. Be respectful.”

“Oof. Butler, I really hate you! I’ll never forgive you!”

The Lady of the Golden Silk glared at me and left the room. Slam! The door shut
violently, making the hinges creak. She was showing that she would not let this
marriage pass by idly. The Lady of the Golden Silk would probably be the biggest
obstacle regarding the wedding.

However, I wasn’t worried at all.

There were only ten days left before the wedding.

“Death King!”

Someone wearing the costume of the Lady of the Golden Silk burst through the door.

“I think I’ve turned into the heroine of this Apocalypse!”

Sitting in a chair, I smiled.

“Heretic Questioner.”

“Yes! Death King!”

“In ten days, the Constellations of the other worlds will attack.”

I said to my colleague, who had turned from the greatest obstacle to the greatest
assistant.
“Please prepare for a holy war, SSS-class zealot.”
4.

The Heretic Questioner.

An epithet holder. A so-called first-generation Hunter active since the early days of
the Tower. Among every nationality, regions where no nation had established
themselves, and regions where nations had collapsed when humans came rushing in,
this blond psychopath stabilized the Tower by hunting down radicals.

“I see Constellations as the deities of their worlds!”

The specialist who managed all religions on the planet with the authority ‘Ten
Thousand Temple’ smiled widely.

“Simply put, the deities are the laws of their worlds! For example, there is a law that
exists on our world, Earth, which is the law of physics! Though, the laws of physics
are basically installed everywhere, like Windows operating systems, so they’re
nothing special. That’s why there isn’t anything special about our world!”

Um.

“But we have nuclear weapons and guns, you know?”

“As I said, the laws of physics are the foundation of everything, no matter where you
go! That means that those two tools can come from any world where the technology
is advanced enough!”

The Heretic Questioner continued that it would, however, be difficult to develop

technology based just on physics if magic and miracles were common. That didn’t
mean that other worlds couldn’t invent nuclear technology and guns anyway.

‘I guess there was also an Apocalypse destroyed by a nuclear war. The Saga of the
Iron Knights in Space, which is now our 23rd floor, was science fiction… ’
Could it be…? Was Earth the weakest among the worlds?

I knew that magic and skills didn’t become common until after the Tower rose, but I
felt weird hearing that our home Earth, the blue marble, was weak. Was this
nationalism? No, should I say it was globalism?

“But, like you said, it is true that guns and nuclear weapons are very powerful! If we
were to rain them down, we could defeat quite a few apostles!”

“I see.”

Raviel tapped her mouth with the tip of her fan.

“Since the laws of physics are the underlying bases of most worlds, physical attacks
can be used almost anywhere.”

“That’s right! It is natural that those who aren’t bound by physics cannot attack
physically. And if they have physical bodies, then physical attacks will, of course,
work on them! But the question of efficacy remains: Will they be affected by the full
force of the attacks, or will the attacks be reduced?”

The floating Sword Emperor let out a small exclamation.

-Huh. That guy’s smart.

‘Sword Emperor, does this sound right to you?’

-Yeah. That’s why the Constellation Killer could break Shiny with his aura and why I
wasn’t pushed about when I only trained with a blade. That kid who controls the Black
Dragon Guild could also make pancakes of Preta with her beam. Physical power is a
very powerful ‘law.’

[Shiny sullenly nods.]

-It can be said that a Constellation’s class depends on how much they follow the laws of
physics.

I wanted to ask what that meant, but the Heretic Questioner began to explain it right
away.

“The part that I just said about reduced physical damage is unexpectedly important!
This is because one can follow the laws of physics but not be completely bound! And
if that’s possible—”

“—Because all Constellations have their own laws, their apostles have to oppose the
laws of physics with those laws.”

“Ooh! As expected, you have a brilliant understanding of it! You are indeed Death
King’s partner!”

“That’s obvious.”

My husband spoke such lovely words. I was certain that Raviel was shining this small
tactical meeting with just that.

-Zombie, won’t you focus? You’re deciding this world’s fate right now.

[Shiny jumps up and strikes the back of the warrior’s neck.]

Good grief.

They’re so pitiable, not knowing a love like mine.

-Hey, quit your BS, Zombie.

[Shiny looks at the warrior with eyes like rotten fish.]

‘Shiny, you don’t even have eyes.’

[Shiny says to look at the jewels on the sheath.]

When I followed her words and looked at the decorated sheath, the colors of the
jewels were somewhat hazy.

Hm.
‘I got it. I’ll watch myself.’

-And concentrate.

‘Yep.’

1. All Constellations have their own laws.

2. Their apostles also obey those laws.

“What are some examples of laws?”

“Hmm! For example, there is a constellation named Barbit.”

A ‘god of love,’ the Heretic Questioner added.

“This Constellation [translates everything in the world to romance]. In a world ruled

by Barbit, power and wealth are meaningless! A person’s strength is determined by
how much romance power they have.”

“Romance power? What’s that?”

“Mm! You have to see it.”

The Heretic Questioner combined his hands to make a sign.

“Sacred Technique, Psyche.”[1]

Poof!

Light emanated from the Heretic Questioner’s hands. It wasn’t just white but also
reddish… and a little pink? Anyway, a thick perfume-like mist shrouded us.

“Aha. This is temporary, but I’ve set up a sanctuary for the God Barbit! Try doing
something, Death King!”

“Um…”

I looked around awkwardly. It was late at night. The Heretic Questioner, Raviel, and I
were in Raviel’s quarters to strategize for the coming invasion in 10 days.
“…Nothing’s changed except for the pink mist, though?”

“Excuse me for a moment!”

It was then. The Heretic Questioner hooked his foot around my ankle to trip me.
“Huh?” I said, my body tilting. “Um,” I said as I grabbed Raviel’s arm. “Aah?” The two
of us fell to the floor.

“Hmm.”

Raviel stared down at me. She was on top of me, making it look like I was being
attacked by her. It had all happened in an instant.

“Gongja. Showing this kind of affection in front of someone else is embarrassing.”

“Uh. Uh…”

I was mortified.

“N-no! No! It’s not like that, Raviel! I was just falling…!”

“Ahaha.”

The Heretic Questioner laughed.

“It’s a pose you often see in romance works!”

“Heretic Questioner, this is…?”

“In Barbit’s sanctuary, every action leads to romance! You don’t simply fall; you draw
in people around you. Mhm. For example, if Death King wore a dress shirt and drank
some water, there is a 95% chance that the water will spill and show off his muscles!
Everyone nearby would inevitably be flustered by the sight!”

Oh, lord. What was that? Wasn’t that cosmic horror, not romance?

“In short, a sanctuary reinterprets the world and brainwashes people. It’s the same
for the Great Library we were in earlier! The Librarian interprets the world as [a
collection of stories], and we are compelled to be [characters].”
Poof.

When the Heretic Questioner made another sign, the circle of pink on the floor
disappeared. Flushed, I got out from under Raviel.

The Heretic Questioner smiled widely and said, “Defeating the Constellations’
apostles with their laws and the laws we can use. This is both a Holy War and a Star
War!”

A Holy War and a Star War. In Korean, both would be written as “Sungjun.”[2]

“Hm. So how should we deal with the Holy War that will take place in ten days?”

“We need to know exactly which Constellations are involved! You can infer this from
what I’ve said so far, but our tactics will depend on the Constellations’ laws!”

“Certainly, knowing information about the enemy before the war is extremely
important,” Raviel said, her fan at her mouth.

The Heretic Questioner nodded.

“Yes! So I ask you, which Constellations’ apostles are coming in ten days?”

Hm.

“Can you tell the laws from the names of the Constellations?”

“If you know their true names, it is 100% possible! I can look with my skill, [Ten
Thousand Temple]!”

At that, I recalled some information about the young man… No, he was possessing
the body of the Lady of the Golden Silk, so young woman… in front of me.

‘It was around when I was fighting Preta on the 13th floor.’

When I was fulfilling the prophecy, the Black Dragon Guildmaster said that not only
was the Heretic Questioner skillful, but he was also knowledgeable of other worlds’
religions.

Good.
“A description… Can you infer a Constellation’s true name from their epithet?”

“If the Constellation is famous, yes!”

If that was so…

“They are [The Ox that Harvests Ruins], [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains], and
[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness].”

“Hm.”

The Heretic Questioner rubbed his chin.

“[The Ox that Harvests Ruins] is Mutia. That Constellation’s main areas of control are
[Destruction] and [Re-creation]. It’s simple but powerful.”

Destruction and re-creation.

“How does it fight?”

“I guess… Its physical force can be used strongly at will! It can crush an area,
dismantle a being’s structure, and maybe recombine the structure afterward to
create a golem. It’s very rare, but there are times when it can also use the power of
time! Time is also a part of the laws of physics!”

The Second Reincarnation Female Lead characteristic of the Lady of the Golden Silk
was definitely because of Mutia’s power, then.

An apostle of a Constellation beyond this world had already been present here.

‘Is that why the Corner Librarian designated this world as an Apocalypse?’

In the Librarian’s perspective, could we intervene because there were outside

Constellations already interfering in this story?

Or was it just because there was no Constellation in this world, as Raviel said?

‘The former seems to match the Corner Librarian’s tendencies more so than the
latter.’
While I was thinking about that, the Heretic Questioner continued.

“[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] is the epithet of Mahos. Its main areas of
control are [Dueling] and [War]. This is another simple but powerful force!”

Dueling and war.

“Does that mean they cannot deny a challenge to a duel or something like that?”

“Yes! Or spread a mania so that they are not afraid of death or dispense wisdom
about tactics and strategies! Ah. On the other hand, it can also forcefully make a
peace zone by ‘banning war itself’! That is a very rare case, though!”

“The one who controls war also controls peace… That sounds somewhat odd.”

Raviel smiled slightly at my mutter.

“There’s nothing strange about it. Peace is nothing more than a name for [the state in
which war has desisted]. Therefore, one who can effect war can, of course, effect
peace.”

“Exactly!”

The Heretic Questioner smiled widely.

“I don’t know the true name of [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness]! It must be
a Constellation who hasn’t become famous yet!”

It was unknown.

‘If the Constellation isn’t famous, does it mean that it is weak, or is that an
advantage?’

As I was locked in anguish, Shiny vibrated.

[Shiny wants to ask if he knows about the ‘Guardian Goddess.’]

‘Shiny… You were the one who told me to focus on the meeting… ’

[Shiny is advising on a very important issue! ]

‘Why are you like this… ’

[Shiny declares she isn’t being selfish at all and that this is to determine how
accurate the Heretic Questioner’s information is!]

Hm.

“I… It’s a little off-topic, but do you know about the [Guardian Goddess]?”

“Oho.”

The Heretic Questioner grinned.

“The [Guardian Goddess] is Hwiya’s descriptor! As her name suggests, her areas of
control are mainly [Protection] and [Immortality]! She is a very powerful deity, but
my Ten Thousand Temple skill says she lost her strength because of a certain event.”

[Shiny sparkles, saying that this person is genuine and can be trusted!]

“Gongja. Why is your sword suddenly doing that? It’s hurting my eyes.”

“Just a moment. I’ll wrap it up…”

[Shiny screams for the warrior to stop.]

Anyway, while I received confirmation that the Heretic Questioner’s information was
correct, Raviel tapped her chin with her fan.

“It’ll be difficult… Each enemy is of a different type. Are there a total of three
enemies?”

“It’ll be even more difficult since each apostle might borrow different levels of
power!”

“Even so, we can see the broad strokes. Thank you for sharing your information.”

“Aha, saving this world will help our Tower! It’s efficient to help you!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! And my other skill, [Sacred Technique], can borrow the powers of any god I
know the true name of! Combined with everyone’s strengths, we will find a way!”

Our strength.

Raviel and I looked at each other. Then, we opened our mouths at the same time.

“It’s love.”

“That will be love.”

There would be plenty of people who are better at fighting than us, and there would
be people who are smarter than we are, but we were confident in one thing. Our love
was greater than anyone else’s.

“…Huh?”

The Heretic Questioner tilted his head.

“It’s weird, Death King. When I see the two of you being lovey-dovey, the area around
my heart feels tingly and numb. I never felt something like this before, so what could
it be?”

“It’s a heart attack.”

“I also heard a message that my immersion rate got higher! How should I interpret
this?”

“No… For now, please be careful with the immersion rate.”

If the Lady of the Golden Silk swallowed the Heretic Questioner before the war, we
would be hamstrung.

Regarding what we said earlier, Raviel and I were on the same page. She said,

“The ‘love’ we mentioned has a meaning other than the general definition.”

“What is that?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t share. Let’s say it’s a secret weapon.”
“Umm, but I can’t take it into account when we’re plotting…”

“That’s all right. Let’s discuss basic tactics and steps instead. As I am powerful in this
world, I can arrange for security forces to be anywhere in the wedding hall. For
example, I can borrow the emperor’s special operatives…”

“Oho. How skilled are those operatives…”

Like that, Raviel and the Heretic Questioner sat across each other and continued to
talk.

‘This will work.’

The sight of the once-love rivals—though one of their personalities had obviously
been swapped—talking determinedly to fight together filled me with optimism.

‘This will definitely work!’

Bae Hu-ryeong entered my vision like a bucket of cold water.

-Gongja. Don’t be an idiot. Being invaded by three apostles is no easy thing.

‘How bad will it be?’

-Think of it as about 1.5 times the strength of Preta on the 12th floor.

What a novel unit of measurement.

‘Preta was a Constellation. The invaders now are apostles. Wouldn’t apostles be
weaker than a Constellation?’

-She was the lowest-level Constellation. In terms of your Tower ranks, she was like a D-
rank Constellation.

’12th-floor Preta was?’

-Yes, 12th-floor Preta was.

Bae Hu-ryeong continued to pick his ears.

-Well, I’m not worried since it’s you. No, I should say that I am not worried since it’s
‘you two.’

Bae Hu-ryeong glanced at Raviel.

Since he spent a long time beside me, he must have guessed what the ‘secret weapon’
Raviel mentioned was.

It was the same for me too. Thus, I didn’t think that this invasion couldn’t be
overcome.

But.

-But Zombie, don’t you want to clear this stage with zero casualties?

‘Yes, that’s right.’

-You’ll have to think hard, then. Your hubby and that smartie-pants can take care of
tactics, but you should develop your personal fighting ability.

Bae Hu-ryeong looked down at me with his arms crossed.

-Hmm. Thinking about it, you’re also D-rank, right? You don’t intend to be that rank
forever, do you?

Of course I didn’t.

5.

Ten days flew by like an arrow.

“It’s finally your wedding day!”

In the empire, weddings were held in the evenings.

A marriage was the combination of the sun and the moon of the family. The evening,
when the two celestial bodies met in the sky, was becoming of a marriage. The
clearer and redder the sunset, the better it was for a wedding, and today was such a
day.
“You look so splendid today, Duke Consort!”

I felt another strange feeling, surrounded by some servants.

Up to five servants stuck to me like beetles to lead me around. They kept saying,
“How can you be so beautiful?” “Her Excellency is so lucky!” and other silly things.
My mind was overstimulated.

“Well, thank you all very much. You don’t have to fuss like this…”

“No, it’s no trouble!” the servants replied firmly.

“At least for today, the Duke Consort should be the most amazing groom in the
nation! Frugality and humbleness are virtues, but you cannot act like that now!
Today, the only virtue is beauty!”

Oh, I’ve felt this once before…

It was the same as when the Black Dragon Guildmaster and the other guild masters
went wild about me getting a photoshoot…

Of course, there were also differences from that time.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Duke Consort.”

An old gentleman with a cool beard greeted me in the dressing room. I was confused
because I didn’t know who he was. Seeing my bafflement, the old gentleman smiled
wryly.

“I am your foster father. I have a small position in running the imperial household. I
heard a lot about you from the new Duchess of Ivansia.”

“Ah…”

Oh, god. I was wondering who he was, and he was my father whom I was meeting for
the first time!

“N-nice to meet you. Um. That’s, it’s…”

“You can call me Father. Don’t worry. I know that you won’t be able to see me as your
father in your heart. I won’t disturb the duchy by making use of my connection to
you.”

The old man bowed his back very politely.

“I am going to retire after this wedding. Your husband was very considerate of me.
Hoho. I won’t need to worry about my days in retirement.”

“……”

A sigh slipped out from my mouth. How hard did Raviel work for today?

I spoke a word that I had never said in my life.

“…Father.”

“Yes, the moon of Ivansia?”

“I don’t know politics, and I have no connections to high society, so I don’t know
about the conditions in society. So I want to ask: What do the people of the empire
say about this marriage?”

“Simply put, it has been highly unconventional,” the man said gently.

“The marriage of someone from the Ivansia ducal family is equivalent to a royal
marriage. Naturally, it is challenging to prepare for such an event on short notice.
Moreover, Her Excellency broke the engagement with His Highness the Prince and
succeeded as her family head…”

At that moment, the old gentleman closed his mouth. It was because the outside of
the dressing room became very noisy. We could hear the murmurs of the guests.

“…Anyway, it would have been impossible if the Silver Lily Duchess had not
persuaded His Majesty the Emperor.”

The old man stroked his beard and beamed brightly.

“Duke Consort. Your husband is truly a capable person. Her loyalty to His Majesty is
an irreplaceable boon for the empire. Though I may only act as your father for
today… If I may say something.”
That very moment, the gentleman’s eyes narrowed.

Simultaneously, a strong spirit emanated from the body of the old man that was
almost comparable to the Sword Saint.

“Considering your husband also requested my presence in my ‘other position’ and

the security arrangements of the wedding hall, it seems that today’s marriage will
not go very smoothly.”

The grand chamberlain of the imperial family.

The moment the commander of His Majesty’s special operatives said so, the
commotion outside the dressing room turned into screams.

-Zombie. Get ready.

I looked out the window.

-They’re here.

Bae Hu-ryeong was right.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox that Harvests Ruins’ has manifested.]

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ has manifested.]

[The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’ has manifested.]

Two celestial bodies, the sun and the moon, mixed in the red sky.

As the glow of the setting sun gave way, the enemies we had been awaiting appeared.

[1]: The word used is 정신, aka “mind”, but the hanja behind it means Passion God.
Considering that Psyche is the wife to Cupid/Eros, this seemed appropriate.

[2]: This isn’t a reference to the Star Wars franchise, which is “스타워즈” in Korean
(a transliteration of the English title). It’s more like a war between planets or
heavenly bodies in this sense.
6.

The wedding hall was thrown into chaos.

“Kyaaah!”

“Good Lord, w-what is…”

In the sunsetting horizon, there was a fissure.

The red sky shattered like a glass window. Blood dripped through the cracks. I
reinforced my eyesight with aura and looked up at the sky.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox that Harvests Ruins’ has manifested.]

There was a girl with a huge hammer.

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ has manifested.]

There was also a general on a pegasus that was flapping its wings.

[The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’ has manifested.]

Young children danced strangely, holding hands.

“W-what…”

The wedding guests looked at everything in shock. The cracking red sky alone was
an unbelievable sight, and with the unidentified beings coming out of the cracks,
they couldn’t pull themselves together.
Except for three people.

“They’ve arrived.”

Raviel, the Heretic Questioner, and I were ready to fight back. Among us, Raviel was
the one who had the power to command others.

“Special ops, assemble and protect the guests! Imperial Spirit Troop, gather the
civilians! My vassals, evacuate the guests!”

My bride and duchess of the empire, Raviel, yelled at the bewildered guests—
specifically, her vassals. People’s shoulders flinched.

She was rallying the troops.

Strangely, when Raviel called them out, they magically came out of their daze. There
was no better person than the head of the second noblest family in the empire to use
that “magic.”

“Blue Lion Knights, form your ranks!”

“Your Excellency, just what are those—”

“Save your questions. Stay alert and observe the enemies. You are the protectors and
leaders of the empire. If you’re going to act up in front of me, relinquish your titles!
Understood?”

“U-understood!”

Raviel organized the hall in an instant. Even the soldiers and nobles who were not
under her command obeyed her orders.

They felt something, instinctively. They didn’t understand why the sunset in the sky
was shattered nor why some unknown apostles appeared, but they knew if they
followed Raviel Ivansia’s voice, they could get through this situation.

“Can you figure out their abilities?”

Raviel asked the Heretic Questioner after rattling off a series of instructions.

“Yes! Just a moment!”

The Heretic Questioner made some hand signs. A white light flared from his hands.
The light stretched out into the sky like a beam, and in an instant, it passed over the
apostles from the other worlds.

“Mm. Analysis complete! First of all, that lady with the giant hammer over there—”

However, the Heretic Questioner couldn’t finish his words. Did she interpret the
beam as a challenge? The apostle wielding the hammer jumped from the sky.

Her blonde hair fluttered as she slammed the ground with the huge iron hammer.

Booooom!

The ground was literally upturned. Screams echoed.

The wind pressure of the strike alone caused a tornado to form. The red and white
flowers that had been imported from the southern part of the empire for the
wedding were whisked messily into the air. Amid the hundreds of flowers, blooming
and scattered, the apostle’s eyes burned red.

-Raviel Ivansia!

Her eyes and voice were somewhat familiar.

-I won’t give you a thing!

Shockingly, the apostle looked exactly like the Lady of the Golden Silk.

“L-lady of the Golden Silk…?”

“Why does she look like that?”

The guests chittered suspiciously. The Lady of the Golden Silk was a celebrity, too,
even if she wasn’t as famous as my husband. It was natural that many people
recognized her face. Some of them astoundedly looked back and forth between the
apostle and the Heretic Questioner.
“Hmm.”

The Heretic Questioner quietly muttered, “This isn’t good.”

“That’s probably the noumenon of the Lady of the Golden Silk.”[1]

“Noumenon?”

“Put simply, it’s like the devil is grasping onto her soul. Instead of borrowing the
power of the Constellation, she’s giving it the entirety of her abilities, appearance,
and memories! Aha. That lady probably had a wish she really wanted to fulfill, no
matter the cost. Interesting…”

The recipient of the Heretic Questioner’s interest was swinging her hammer.

Whooosh!

People were blown away by the wind pressure of the hammer. However, the knights
who had learned martial arts endured with clenched teeth. They were still confused,
but they had realized one thing. The woman who resembled the Lady of the Golden
Silk was not their ally.

“S-stop her!”

“Protect the guests!”

“Obey the duchess’s commands!”

The emergence of a clear ‘enemy’ rallied our forces. The strongest warriors of the
empire, whom Raviel had invited as guests and security for this day, rushed forth
with their swords raised. Their movements were refined. It was an advanced pincer
attack.

The Golden Silk scoffed.

-Whatever. You all follow Raviel Ivansia’s directions, anyway.

Dozens of warriors attacked at once.

-I’ll destroy everything before I give anything up to her.

Dozens of blades carrying Auras rained down simultaneously, but twang…! The
blades bounced off the Golden Silk’s skin.

“What…?!”

Dumbfounded cries scattered the place. The Golden Silk was not injured a bit. Some
warriors pressed on, unfazed. They swung their swords again, but it was no use.
Every sword was blocked by the clothes the Golden Silk was wearing. Auras could
only singe the Golden Silk’s clothes.

-Ox that Harvests Ruins!

The Golden Silk struck with the hammer.

-Give me your blessing!

Squish! Crushed under the hammer, one fighter burst like a watermelon. Blood
splattered. Before the blood could even fall to the ground, the Golden Silk swung her
hammer again.

“W-wait—!”

Another head was smashed by the hammer. Plop! Blood spouted, again and again.
The slaughter continued relentlessly. In the midst of their colleagues’ deaths,
warriors desperately tried to attack the Golden Silk’s blind spots, but not a single
knife pierced her skin.

“Everyone, be careful!”

the Heretic Questioner shouted.

“She bears one of Mutia’s blessings, [The Invulnerable Body]! She cannot be
wounded. Aha. Technically, the effect [reduces 99.9% of physical harm to the
holder]!”

A body that cannot be wounded.

“You won’t be able to damage her significantly unless your strike can tear down a
mountain’s peak! Good luck!”
-Raviel Ivansiaaaa!!

The fighters were bewildered. Among them was the old gentleman who would be my
adoptive father for today only, the imperial grand chamberlain and commander of
the special operatives.

The old man, who held the position of the strongest in the empire, spoke as if it were
absurd.

“Tear down a mountain peak? Who could do such a ridiculous thing?”

“You’re right. It’s really too much. But if we can’t do it, we’ll all die!”

The Heretic Questioner laughed prettily. If someone were to capture that smile in a
picture, one might forget that people were being demolished by a hammer at the
same time. That crazy psychopath.

“That one alone is a monster,” Raviel sighed, “but the other ones are also coming
down.”

My husband was right. That apostle, who may have been the spirit or body of the
Golden Silk, was just one of the enemies we had to fight. Maybe she was even the
easiest enemy we had to deal with.

-Unfortunate ones.

A ruddy sunset.

The general on the pegasus descended slowly with his back to the sky.

-You can blame that pitiful girl. Blame the one who lived in the first life of that girl, and
blame that young man. They are the reason you will be trampled under our hooves. You
all should be sad.

The general looked at the Golden Silk, the Heretic Questioner, and, lastly, me. I
couldn’t see his face because he was wearing a thick helmet.

-Soldiers of the Warhorse.

The general raised his flag high. A red glow permeated from the flag.
-Awaken.

That moment, translucent specters were summoned by the general. Dozens,

hundreds, thousands. Maybe tens of thousands of ghosts.

-Guoooh…

-Guuh, uuuuhhh…

Everyone was speechless.

Even when the Golden Silk swung her hammer and people were torn apart like
paper, the wedding guests were still rattled. The fighters resisted. They attacked.
However, the ten-thousand strong army that appeared in the bright red sky were on
a different level.

“R-run away…” someone muttered hoarsely.

“Run!”

Others echoed those words.

-Charge.

But with just one word, the general stopped their murmurs and shouts.

-Guoooh!

-Kigik, kigeeek!

Countless ghosts surged forth. They were wearing ancient armor like soldiers of old,
but the tips of their spears were not worn. Puk! The back of a guest who had been
trying to escape was pierced.

“S-spare me!”

“Aaaaah!”

A massacre.
The guests collapsed, bleeding. Their spilled blood painted the white flowers red.
What was supposed to be the most glamorous wedding hall in the empire turned
into the most gruesome hell.

“…Heretic Questioner.”

I opened my mouth. My voice was extremely cold.

“What is that apostle’s power?”

“I just finished the analysis. Hmm. One of Mahos’s blessings, [The Sanctuary
Battlefield], is active.”

The Heretic Questioner made more hand seals and spoke. Just as the character
window was visible only to me, it seemed the Heretic Questioner was looking at
words that only he could see.

“[The Sanctuary Battlefield] is an area-of-effect blessing. It influences the whole

field. The effect is amazing. It [affixes the summoned being’s ability to its prime]!
Each of those ghosts is an elite among elite soldier. They are the souls of the warriors
who followed Mahos!”

“…We don’t have enough.”

Raviel put down her fan.

“The difference in our numbers is too great. Mutia’s apostle has the ability to never
lose in a 1-on-1 battle, and Mahos’s apostle has an advantage in a melee. This is a
dilemma.”

-Lu.

Then.

-Lu, lu lu, la. La.

The third and last apostle began to move.

-La.
-Lu lu, la. La la. Lu.

-Lu lu lu. La la. La. La.

The apostles who looked like children were singing. The song fell from the sky and
reverberated to the ground. The children danced in a circle dance like they were
doing a traditional folk dance, and the faster they danced, the stronger the song
became.

-La.

-Lu, la. La La.

Flop.

The guests who were being chased by the ghosts suddenly collapsed. It wasn’t just
one or two of them, either. Flop, flop. Like a marionette with cut strings, people lost
their consciousnesses and dropped on the spot.

“Oh.”

The Heretic Questioner quickly made some hand signs. A light spilled from his hand
and covered Raviel and me.

“Aha, this is really not good! Mm. It’s a psychological attack. Those who are exposed
to the song are forcibly pushed into [their happiest memory]. You can’t resist it
unless you’re mentally strong enough!”

“……”

The apostle who had a hammer and was immune to physical attacks.

The apostle of the Warhorse who specialized in fighting with an army.

The apostle of happiness who breached people’s minds.

“…Really. Each one is terrible.”

“Yes! We could deal with an apostle who specializes in 1-on-1 battles. We could also
deal with an army. If mental attacks are the problem, we can have a small elite group
that is mentally strong. But we need to face all three attacks at once, aha. It’s very
difficult!”

The Heretic Questioner smiled brilliantly.

“Death King.”

“Yes.”

“Can I count on you to win?”

The wedding hall had already withered with the sunset.

In the sky, songs continued to be sung. On the ground, the dead slaughtered the
living.

And lastly—

Rip!

The head of the special ops commander, who resisted until the end, was crushed.

The Golden Silk, the apostle with the hammer, stared at us ferociously as she
stomped on the old man’s head.

-Raviel Ivansia!

“……”

Raviel was wearing a black dress. At first glance, it looked more like a mourning
dress than a wedding dress. However, this was etiquette in the empire.

The person who would become the master of the family after marriage would wear
black. The one who wouldn’t wore white. So, Raviel wore a black dress, and I wore a
white tuxedo.

“Gongja.”

Raviel turned to look at me.

“I should have told you earlier.”

“Yes?”

“That tuxedo suits you very well.”

“……”

I smiled. The apostles of the Constellations continued to invade this world. All of our
guests had been annihilated. Nevertheless, at this moment, Raviel praised my
wedding outfit. It meant that she would not accept this ending as ‘the’ end.

That was right.

We would never give up on our wedding.

“Raviel, you’re the most beautiful being in the universe.”

I took my bride’s hand. I could feel her soft lace gloves.

Boom!

I heard a heavy footstep. The Golden Silk was probably running here. Soon, a
hammer would crush us. Feeling the very core of the world shaking, I said,

“We made a promise that I would never kill myself without your permission. That
even if I had to die, I would only accept it if I had done my best.”

“That’s right.”

“Please give me permission to die now.”

Raviel smiled.

“Granted.”

One word. One word from my beloved made me invincible.

-Raviel Ivansiaaaa!
The moment the Golden Silk swung her hammer, I wrapped myself around Raviel.

So that I would die earlier than her, even if it was only by a millisecond.

Raviel recognized my intent and quietly allowed me to hold her. We grasped our
hands together tightly. Soon, a giant hammer hit me.

[You have died.]

Death that was the same as always.

[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]

The same sight as always.

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

But.

It wasn’t the same regression as always.

“Gongja.”

When I opened my eyes, Raviel was there, holding my hand. We realized as soon as
our eyes met that we didn’t have to explain what had happened. That we were
sharing the same time.

And just like the moment before our deaths, we were still holding hands.

She and I were no longer solitary, lonely regressors.

“Let’s make a plan.”

Because we were two, we were invincible.

[1]: The word used for noumenon is 본체. It can also mean the main part of a body.

[TN]: For more info on the waifu drama, scroll up in the #sss-class Discord channel
and search for “I’ll chat for a bit”! I went into quite a bit of detail explaining the
Korean words and context and speculated why the author made this decision. If you
do discuss this drama in the comments, please do so respectfully.
1.

-Oh, God.

-Help me.

A girl prayed, and her wish came true.

And.

-Oh, God.

-Help us.

The boy who had stood by the girl as her childhood friend and butler prayed, and his
wish also came true.

2.

“First, we have to rearrange the layout of the wedding hall,” Raviel murmured
quietly. “Now that we know where the apostles will appear, we can focus on the
special operatives and the warriors there.”

I realized this while preparing for the wedding, but the bride and groom held
enormous power. We could seat our wedding guests wherever we want.

If we wanted to, we could have nobles who hated each other sit at the same table. Of
course, it would ruin our reputation and people would curse us, but did that matter?
Our first priority was defeating the other worlds’ apostles.

‘It would have been much easier if I could have stolen their blessings… ’
Unfortunately, my skill [I Want To Become Just Like You] couldn’t copy the blessing
used by the Golden Silk.

-Zombie, I told you. The Tower is ridiculously objective in some weird aspects.

Bae Hu-ryeong looked excited, pleased that I couldn’t get a free lunch.

-You’re already receiving several [blessings], right? It was the same when you fought
Preta. Even now, you’ve got blessings from the Goddess of Beauty and the Goddess of
Vitality or whatnot.

‘Yes. The blessings are treated distinctly from my skills.’

-Yup. Those, to be precise, are buff effects that the Constellation casts on you with their
skill. How else would this work? If you want the blessing, go and get killed by the
Constellations who are buffing the apostles.

‘I get it already.’

I grumbled. The mechanism sounded like it was from a computer game, but what
was before me was reality, not a game.

And the Heretic Questioner made that reality clear.

“If there’s an apostle who can use psychological attacks, the number of guests needs
to be reduced by a lot! Especially if the apostle’s blessing is to recreate [one’s happy
memories]!”

The candle flames flared and lit up the face of the Heretic Questioner.

It was the middle of the night.

The three of us were brainstorming together in a dressing room. On the table were
the layout of the wedding hall and the guest list. Raviel’s dressing room had been
transformed into our secret war council chamber.

“The most fatal poison in the world doesn’t cause pain. It makes people happy! There
aren’t many people who can escape the poison of happiness showered by [The
Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness]!”
“…The problem is this.”

Raviel tapped the guest list with a long finger.

“The fewer guests we have, the more difficult it will be to deal with [The Warhorse of
the Eternal Plains]. This apostle can summon 10,000 soldiers. If you increase the
guest list, we’ll suffer from psychological attacks, but if we reduce the list, we’ll be
crushed by the gap in numbers.”

“Hmm. That’s true. It’s complicated…”

The two were locked in troubled thoughts. The candles burned.

“Please leave it to me.”

I opened my mouth.

The two of them looked at me.

“Do you have a good idea, Death King?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. Then, I explained my strategy. As I continued to speak, Raviel and the

Heretic Questioner’s complexions gradually changed.

“…Indeed.”

Raviel looked at me in wonder.

“My wife is well-connected. If we act as you say, there won’t be any problems.”

Just as I didn’t need to exaggerate my admiration for her, Raviel did not hold back in
praising me. I felt a little embarrassed.

“But, there is a condition.”

“What is it?”
“Please allow me to wear black as well, Raviel.”

“……”

Raviel closed her lips.

In the empire, only the future head of the family could wear a black outfit on their
wedding day. It wasn’t a color I could wear as the duke consort. However, I had to
wear black.

“It’s not because I want to be the master of the duchy. Just…”

“No. You don’t need to make excuses. I know from a previous life that you aren’t
someone who lusts for power.”

Raviel shook her head.

“I only hesitated because of the customs of the empire. But I won’t ignore my wife’s
wishes because of some traditions. I’ll prepare your clothes.”

“Thank you.”

The three of us made eye contact and nodded. It was just a coincidence, but the
moment we moved our heads, the candle on the table flickered.

We’d finished all of our preparations.

3.

The evening approached.

The empire’s top nobles began to enter the wedding hall.

The wedding was announced and prepared in a month. It was happening extremely
quickly, but no aristocrat had the guts to refuse an invitation to an Ivansia’s wedding.
No matter how much they cursed Raviel internally, they had to smile on the outside.

Authority was a powerful gangster.

“…The layout of the hall is strange.”

Even the cowed nobles had to tilt their heads when they entered the wedding hall.
They could understand why the ceremony was being held outdoors and not inside a
church. It would be difficult for a union between a noble and a commoner to be
blessed.

However.

“Why are the fighters grouped in one spot?”

The grand chamberlain, my adoptive father, entered the groom’s dressing room.

“Furthermore, this arrangement… Excuse me, but it looks like you’re expecting a
battle. People who can fight are in the front, and ordinary nobles are in the back.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied naturally, surrounded and dressed by the
attendants. The old gentleman’s smile was swept away.

“It seems that you’ve cast the dregs who will be bothersome in battle in the rear and
placed the useful ones up front. Please excuse my disrespect.”

“My husband must have a reason for everything.”

“You’re also wearing a sword on your waist.”

“Yes. I always enjoyed practicing and training in the martial arts. Should the person
who will become the moon of Ivansia seem weak? And there might be a riot at the
wedding. I have to be prepared.”

“Indeed. You need to be prepared for the unexpected…”

The old gentleman smiled bitterly.

“I understand. Then, I shall tell my colleagues to be prepared for an unknown

situation, [just in case]. Ah, right. This is probably why Her Excellency chose me as
her wife’s adoptive father…”

The old man bid me farewell and left the dressing room. He was probably going to go
tell his followers in the special operatives to prepare for battle.

This, too, was our desired response.

‘The more people who can stay calm when something unexpected happens, the
better.’

Raviel was already mobilizing people behind the scenes.

[The riffraff who are dissatisfied with this union will launch a terrorist attack.]

Fake rumors like those were being disseminated. No one would believe it, but
aristocrats were very mental beings. Just planting the idea of being alert would have
a strong effect.

“Kyaaah!”

The effects were shown sooner than I expected.

‘They’ve come.’

I dismissed the attendants and hurried out of the dressing room.

Simultaneously, voices that probably only the Heretic Questioner and I could hear in
the world reverberated.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox that Harvests Ruins’ has manifested.]

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ has manifested.]

[The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’ has manifested.]

The same sunset I saw the previous day materialized. The sky cracked like a window,
and three apostles appeared through the rift.

“My God…”

“Good Lord, what is…”

The guests staggered to their feet. Like last time, they were shocked, but a closer
look revealed that their postures had changed. The warriors instinctively huddled
and grabbed the hilts of their swords, and the nobles who did not know how to fight
glanced around, looking for a path of escape.
And.

“Heretic Questioner!”

Above all, my own behavior had changed.

“Yes, Death King!” replied the Heretic Questioner, who had been waiting in front of
the dressing room. “From now on, I will ride on Death King’s back!”

“Okay!”

“Sacred Technique, Divine Transmission!”

The moment I first realized the Heretic Questioner was a psycho was when the Devil
King of Fall Rain and the Guardian Goddess divided us with a test. The Heretic
Questioner used sacred techniques then.

Its effect is teleportation.

-Huh?

Our destination was the red expanse of the sky.

-Wh-what?

The apostle with the hammer. We were right behind the Lady of the Golden Silk.

The Golden Silk looked at me in bewilderment. Clank! The Holy Sword I wielded and
her hammer clashed. The gravity of the tall sky was crushing down on me. I cried,
feeling my body plummeting down.

“One more time!”

“Ahaha! Yes! Sacred Technique, Divine Transmission!”

the Heretic Questioner shouted back like he was enjoying himself. The next moment,
we once again appeared behind the Golden Silk’s back. I struck my sword against her
open back.

-Ugh!
The Golden Silk managed to stop my attack again. However, two unexpected
ambushes were deadly. Her stance faltered.

Whooosh!

She had originally intended to simply descend from the sky, but with her broken
stance, she began to fall.

-I don’t know what kind of trick you’re pulling, but it’s no use!

The Golden Silk shouted. The wind pressure from the fall messed up her golden hair.

-My body is invincible! Nothing can hurt me now! I am invincible! The Ox that Harvests
Ruins gave me a body that can never be scarred!

“Did you give up your soul because you didn’t want to get hurt?!”

-What do you care?!

The Golden Silk yelled angrily.

-Everyone only sees Raviel Ivansia! That annoying bitch! She was just born into a good
family, and then she acts tough like she understands all the sorrows of the world! I’ll kill
her! I’ll steal everything that bitch has!

A filthy and disgusting desire.

But I didn’t laugh at the Golden Silk. No matter how much one dressed it up, it was
plain desire that guided human beings. I knew because I had been the same.

But.

“I know many people in the world who are worse off than you, lady of the barony!”

Thus, I had words that I could shout back.

I gripped the hilt of the Holy Sword more tightly.

“A person knows the pain he’s suffered! So when another screams in pain, he can
imagine how lonely it feels and sympathize! It doesn’t matter who you are! I feel for
everyone who screams in pain!”

-Ha, don’t bullshit me! Who would live that kind of life?!

The Golden Silk mocked me. The wind grew stronger. Falling through the sky, she
stared me down.

-You can’t hurt me anyway! My body is unyielding, unbreakable, and immortal!

That was right.

If she was someone who could change with just words, she would have already
changed. Words were powerless. You needed force to help someone who was
screaming. That was why the doctrine of shadows held their swords.

“Shiny!”

[Shiny responds to the warrior’s call.]

“Change from the Idol Sword to the Compassion Sword!”

As soon as I gave the order.

[Yes, warrior.]

Black energy flowed from the Holy Sword. Gulp! The holy blade was soon
contaminated with blackness that was like dirty water.

My opponent’s abilities were powerful but simple.

『She bears one of Mutia’s blessings, [The Invulnerable Body]!』

『She cannot be wounded.』

But I had a way to break her.

『My ability is pain.』

The sword that I got in Master’s world.

『The one who is cut by me feels pain.』

『But I do not leave a scar on their body nor kill them.』

『Suffering without injury is my ability.』

The second ability of the Guardian Goddess.

It was compassion.

“Sylvia Evanail!”

I cried out the real name of the Golden Silk and swung the sword.

“I will kill you!”

-Ha.

The Golden Silk scoffed. She seemed to have no intention to avoid my blow. Her face
was daring me to stab her somewhere. She had confidence in the blessing she had
received. This absolute confidence was holding her up.

-If you want to kill me, try…

The Golden Silk couldn’t finish her sentence.

Instead, she began to scream.

-Aaaaaaaah!!

The tip of my sword pierced through her heart. It left no scars. The blade simply
went through the Golden Silk’s chest as if there was nothing there. There was no
blood.

-Kkgh, ha, eck?!

But there was pain.

-Aaaack! Aaaah!!
A bloody scream tore the red sky. Falling like a shooting star, the Golden Silk cried in
pain. Her voice spread past the wind and into the sunset.

“Heretic Questioner!”

We were falling from the sky. The ground was rapidly approaching. I stabbed the
Golden SIlk’s heart one more time.

And just before we fell to the ground—

“Now!”

“Sacred Technique, Divine Transmission!”

The Heretic Questioner yelled like he had been waiting. He repeated the sacred
technique several times. Pop! Pop! With each teleportation, the speed of our fall
gradually decreased. Finally, we landed safely on the ground. We escaped from
crashing.

However, the Golden Silk could not escape.

Booooom!

The ground shook as if a small meteorite had crashed. Dust rose up. Unlike last time,
the Golden Silk’s descent became a plunge. Nobody had been hurt by her hammer.

-Hick, hiik, kuk… This, ah…?

There was only an apostle who convulsed in pain from a pierced heart.

I fixed my grip on the sword.

“Does it hurt?”

Then, I slowly walked to the Golden Silk.

“I guess it must.”

Hearing my footsteps, the Golden Silk flinched. Sobbing and groaning, the Golden
Silk shakingly stood up.
-H-help!

The Golden Silk didn’t hear me. She only begged for rescue. Toward the evening sky.
Toward the puppets of the other Constellations.

-We had an agreement! I-it was a contract! Mutia won’t forgive you if you just watch!
Your Constellation will be unhappy, too!

-Hm.

The general on the pegasus opened his mouth.

-That’s strange. A Constellation… no, it’s not. Is it a fragment of a Constellation? I can’t

guess where you found such an artifact, but—

The general slowly raised his flag.

-It doesn’t change that you are a disturbance I must subdue. Soldiers of the Warhorse.
Awaken.

Then, the summons made themselves known.

-Guoooh!

Hundreds and thousands of ghosts appeared. In the light of the red sunset, the
ghosts looked like murderers covered in blood. Shocked screams erupted throughout
the wedding venue.

The other’s ability was prodigious.

『The Sanctuary Battlefield is an area-of-effect blessing. It influences the whole field.

』

『The effect is amazing. It [affixes the summoned being’s ability to its prime].』

『Each of those ghosts is an elite among elite soldier. They are the souls of the
warriors who followed Mahos!』

But I had a way to defeat it.

“Gongja,” said Raviel, coming up behind me. When I looked back, Raviel was holding
something in her hands.

“Wear this.”

It was a black cape.

Raviel put the cape around me like a scarf. Soon, my white tuxedo was hidden under
the black cape. And on the black expanse, the Ivansia coat of arms was embroidered
with silver thread.

Meanwhile, the ghostly army drew nearer and nearer.

“D-Duchess Ivansia!”

The wedding guests who doubled as warriors looked at Raviel in confusion.

Compared to last time, they were better equipped and protected, but the march of
the ghosts was horrifying.

“What should we do? Give us an order…”

“Shut up for now.”

“……”

Raviel responded to them briefly and finished equipping me with the cape. Her
attitude showed that she wasn’t worried about the ghostly legion.

“Hmm.”

She looked at my outfit and nodded.

“The cape also suits you well.”

“Thank you for granting my request. Still, I have to do this.”

“I understand. Finish it the way you want.”

“I will.”
I smiled and turned around.

A huge number of ghosts were running at us.

『The Sanctuary Battlefield is an area-of-effect blessing.』

『It affixes the summoned being’s abilities to its prime.』

『It influences the whole field.』

I slowly lifted the black sword.

Then, I spoke.

“Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.”

The shadow under my feet spread like twilight.

[Your skill is being activated.]

Evening.

The sky was red from the sunset, and the horizon was darkened by shadows.

-What…!

The general who spearheaded the charge on his pegasus stopped. The ghosts
following him also stopped. The attack that had so confidently tried to overwhelm us
was blocked by a shadow that buried the ground.

“My lord.”

One of the shadows opened her mouth.

“Did you call me?”

Preta knelt on one knee.

Her appearance was different from usual. She wasn’t in the delicate form of Estelle. A
dark red substance endlessly oozed from Preta’s body. This form was that of the
[Devil King of Fall Rain], whom I had once fought.

『It affixes the summoned being’s abilities to its prime.』

It wasn’t just Preta.

Behind her stood warriors in dark robes. Each had a different face, origin, and life,
but they were united under the color black.

“We greet the Infernal Heavens’ Young Master!”

They were those who proved my life.

In the black cloak, I said, “Please fight for me.”

The cult members who followed the doctrine of shadows bowed at once.

“We accept Young Master’s orders!”

The moment had come to start the war.

4.

Shadows coated the ground.

Each shadow wore a fluttering black robe. The shadows weren’t surprised at all by
the army of phantoms that stood a distance away. After all, they had lived in a world
overrun by Jiangshi and experienced death.

It was impossible for them to fear ghosts.

“You look very fine today, Young Master,” the Flame Ghost Demon said in a carefree
tone. He was the first-ranked of the Demonic Sect’s Four Demon Lords, a cultist who
competed against the Shaolin temple’s chief monk in the Great Battle of Good and
Evil.

“You’ve even put powder on your face. Just like a groom-to-be.”

I nodded. “That’s right. I’m getting married.”

“…What?”

A thousand cult members turned their heads in unison. They were martial artists
who had regained the abilities of their prime. Everyone must have been listening to
me by augmenting their hearing with their internal energy.

So that they could all hear me, I enunciated my words. “I am getting married today.”

Silence fell.

The cult members looked at each other. Then they looked back at me. They were
trying to poke and see if I was serious or just joking. I responded to their query with
a simple nod.
“Y-Young Master is—” the Flame Ghost Demon opened his mouth. “Young Master is
going to wed!”

The Demonic Cultists freaked.

“Our young master is tying the knot!”

“The greatest follower of the Demonic path is getting married!”

“It’s not just an engagement! It’s an actual marriage!”

The cult members forgot about the ghost legion in front of them and began to
rampage. They howled and roared. It was like they urgently had to announce my
marriage to the world.

“Who is your partner?!”

“She’s over there.” I politely indicated toward Raviel with both hands. “The one over
there with silver hair will be my husband.”

Raviel was calming the imperial citizens who had fallen into confusion.

As always, her profile was cool and dashing.

The jaws of the cult members who followed my hand gesture and turned their heads
fell to the ground.

“She’s beautiful…”

“L-lovely indeed.”

“Our young master has good tastes.”

“Young Master! What level of internal energy has Madam achieved?”

Someone asked about her skill in martial arts, thinking she might not be strong.
“Mm. My husband doesn’t know martial arts.”

The cult members’ eyes opened wide. Whispers of discontent quickly spread through
the hall. The cultists’ eyes rebelled, unable to accept this marriage.

“But, she’s the person who will accompany you in the Demonic path…”

“Isn’t it kind of, you know, if she doesn’t know any martial arts?”

“Mm. Authority always comes from physical strength…”

“The Blood Guard cannot accept this union!”

I added, “I forgot to tell you. My partner is second only to the emperor in this land.”

Then, the cultists quieted.

“That’s a different story, then…”

“It’s not like people have to learn martial arts. Right?”

“Yup, authority comes from political strength…”

“Congratulations on your wedding! Young Master!”

These people were very innocent in many ways.

However, not all of those present were part of the Demonic Cult. Preta, who was once
called the Devil King of Fall Rain and feared by the world, had been dumbfounded as
soon as I shared that I was getting married.

“M-milord is getting married?”

“Yea. It turned out like that.”

“It doesn’t make sense. A nutjob like milord… Ah, no, I apologize. Does a human who
wants to marry such a unique person as milord actually exist?”

Preta, you…
You keep saying milord this, milord that, when on the inside you think of me as a
nutjob…

I sighed as another scar was added to my heart.

“She really exists, yes. We can talk in more detail at the reception. For now, focus on
the battle.”

“Uh, ah. Yes. I understand, milord. What kind of enemy is it…?”

“They’re apostles from other worlds who have come to conquer this one.” Then, I
added, “They’re also trying to wreck my wedding.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the cultists’ mood changed.

“Oho.”

The Blood Demon, head of the Blood Guard, touched the hilt of his sword.

“Hmm…”

The head of the Memorial Squadron, the Flame Ghost Demon, smirked.

“They dare interrupt the wedding of the Demonic Sect’s young master.”

Demon Lord Wolyeong, leader of the Shadow Corpse Squadron, brushed back his
hair.

“Ha. They’re mad.”

The Sword Demon, leader of the Assassination Squad, twisted his neck up and down,
left and right.

“……”

Lastly, Preta pulled out her sword without a word. It was a magical sword that
emitted dark red rays, the same sword that had killed me hundreds of times.

“I see. I understand now. I thought that milord underwent another awakening that
helped us gain the strength we had in our lives… But that’s not it. It’s a
Constellation’s blessing. Those men are the pawns of a Constellation.”

“That’s right.”

“May I ask what Constellations these children are mooching off of?”

“Mahos. Also known as the Warhorse of the Eternal Plains.”

The tip of Preta’s mouth twisted.

“They’re idiots who only know how to fight.”

Her derision was reminiscent of the arrogance she had before she fell to me.

The enemy numbered 10,000. We were only one thousand. However, the cult
members chatted and readied their blades, and Preta slowly raised her sword. Our
side had the advantage; nobody thought otherwise.

None of us.

“My lord, please give us our orders. What do you want me to do?”

I gave the order.

“Wipe them out.”

Preta raised her demonic sword high.

“As you wish.”

First guard.

A ray that was even redder than blood split the already red sky.

-Guoooh!

Power and dignity filled Preta’s strike, for she would allow nothing else. The ghosts
who were caught in the red ray screamed and ceased to exist.

Even the general who led the ghost legion was nearly beaten.
-What, this is… No, it doesn’t make sense. A Constellation…? He’s not a Constellation
himself, but he had one as a subordinate…

While the general looked at me in astonishment—

“Beat ’em up!”

—the Demonic sect members burst into a wild roar.

“They’re small fry! You don’t even have to say our sect’s chant!”

“You fucking plebs think you can interfere with a marriage of the Demonic Sect?!”

“The necks we snap today are our wedding gifts for the Young Master! Understand?
Anyone who kills less than five will die by my hands today!”

“Kuhaha! The Assassination Squad will get at least ten each!”

“This is why unlearned idiots are…”

Some raged, some howled, and some clicked their tongues. The legion of ghosts was
still far away, but the distance meant nothing. A thousand shadows utilized the
Lightness Skill to stride forward at once.

-Huuh?! Stop them!

The general shouted, flustered.

The ghost legion definitely comprised elite soldiers. The ghosts lifted their shields
and formed ranks at once, not having a single gap between them. With their spears
raised up, they looked like a giant porcupine. But.

“Fools.” Preta, the specter of Fall Rain, laughed at them. “The cannon fodder made
themselves into targets.”

A red ray ripped through the sky again. Ba-ba-bang! The tightly packed ghost legion
was easily swept away. A gaping hole was poked in their formation. Other ghosts
hurriedly tried to fill the gap.

“Kahaha!”
However, the cult members, with their honed fighting instincts, would never neglect
an opening.

“Tear them apart!”

The cultists rushed in like beasts. The army of shadows and the army of ghosts
clashed. Chwak! Chwaaak! The cultists spread their chi and slaughtered the ghosts.

Unlike the Battle of Good and Evil, they didn’t bother shouting their rallying cry of
“Baraya.” No one mentioned why, but I could guess the reason. This wasn’t a duel. It
wasn’t a great war.

It was simply a hunt.

The cultists saw the ghost legion as mere beasts and slayed them.

-Kigeeek!

The ghost legion couldn’t refute their arrogant view. The legion’s ranks were
destroyed by the cultists’ swords. Their shields and their spears fell apart. The
cultists stabbed their swords through the cracks of the broken shields and grabbed
the other end of the spears to pierce the ghosts.

It was a massacre.

-Units, regroup!

The general raised his flag and yelled urgently.

-Warriors, do not panic! There is no hurry! Heed your unit leaders’ commands…

“Oi.”

Plop.

Someone nimbly jumped on top of the general’s flag.

“Hiya.”

Sword Demon. He was the first-ranked man among the Four Demon Lords and the
one with the foulest mouth. The Sword Demon’s face was covered in the shade, his
back against the evening sunset.

“Bruh, you’re messing with our young master’s wedding?”

-You—

“Fucking bitch. Just drop dead.”

Weapons flashed. One blow. Two. Three. Three strikes intertwined like a spider web.
The first blow cut the general’s right arm, the second cut his chest, and the third
shredded the flag.

-C-cough…

The apostle of the military god spat out blood. That only lasted a moment. The
Sword Demon made a final strike to the throat from which the general vomited
blood. The man’s scream was cut short as his head flew off.

“Oof.”

The Sword Demon jumped up the flagpole. He caught the general’s head as it soared
through the air.

“Aigo, I can’t drop this precious thing. Kaha. You see that, brats? I’m the Sword
Demon, head of the Assasination Squad! Our squad takes the cake when it comes to
the wedding gifts for our young master!”

“Damn it.”

“Why did that blockhead…”

All over the battlefield, there were quiet exclaims of “fuck.” Did the Four Demon
Lords feel some weird competitive spirit? The other cultists looked sour, saying that
the Sword Demon stole a good prize.

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ has died.]

Srrk—
The general’s head, which the Sword Demon had taken, turned into light and
disappeared. And that wasn’t all. His beheaded body and the ghosts that followed the
general disappeared like dust in an instant. The whole legion disappeared.

“Huh? Huuuh?”

The Sword Demon was bewildered. He looked at his right hand, which had suddenly
become empty. After a moment, he looked blankly at me.

“Uh… Uuh… It’s the thought that counts, right? Young Master?”

I smirked.

“It’s all right. I’ll cut you a break.”

It was then.

-Lu. La.

The apostles of [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness], who still remained, began
to sing. Lu. La. The children held hands and danced circles in the air. With every step
in the sunset, more melody filled the sky.

“Hmm.”

“Uh.”

The cultists frowned. Some tried to hurriedly fight the song with their chi, but they
failed. When the apostle of [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] died, the area-wide
effect also ended.

“Ah…”

Preta also moaned dejectedly. The black substance that covered her body soon
drained away. Preta clicked her tongue and looked at the Sword Demon.

“That stupid… He’s on our side, but he’s no help. I’m sorry, milord. If I was in my
prime, I could fight against a psychological attack like… this weak, um… fight it… it…”

Preta’s voice became slower as she went on because she had fallen asleep. Preta’s
body swayed.

It wasn’t just her. The cultists who ran madly through the battlefield a little while ago
collapsed one by one. The wedding guests under Raviel’s command were the same.
Humans were helpless to the lullaby sung by the apostles of dreams.

“Please wait, Death King.”

The Heretic Questioner made some hand signs.

“I’ll create a field of immunity!”

“No need.”

I caught the Heretic Questioner’s hands to stop him. The Heretic Questioner tilted his
head.

“Death King? If we stay like this, even we’ll fall to the apostles’ song.”

“Maybe so. But if I’m right, Raviel, you, and I will be fine. Though, I don’t know about
the others.”

“Hmm.”

The Heretic Questioner smiled and dropped his hands.

“Got it. If Death King says so, you must have a reason.”

The sunset reached its apex.

-Lu. La, la.

-La, lulu. Lu.

The sunset glowed red and shined on the children. Their shadows extended to the
horizon. The shadows on the ground came closer and farther, smaller and larger,
again and again.

『It’s a psychological attack.』

『Those who are exposed to the song are forcibly pushed into their happiest
memory.』

The wedding hall became quiet.

The cultists sat on the ground, sleeping as they leaned on each other’s shoulders.
Some wedding guests were even lying down and sleeping. Was everyone trapped in
their own happiness?

“Hmm.”

However, three people could still speak.

“You were right.”

The Heretic Questioner stroked his chin like he found it all interesting. He looked
back and forth at Raviel and me.

“The three of us are fine, just like Death King said. I do feel a little drowsy, but my
body’s condition is normal. Aha. What kind of magic did you use this time, Death
King?”

There were others apart from the Heretic Questioner who were curious about the
situation. The apostles of dreams slowly stopped their dance. The children tilted
their heads and looked down at me.

-You’re a weird human.

-He won’t fall asleep. Don’t you dream?

-You don’t have any happy memories?

I shook my head.

“No.”

I slowly looked around the wedding hall.

“It’s not like that.”

There, Preta was breathing quietly as she slept. Cultists dozed off, leaning back-to-
back. A life that I took and lives that were evidence of my master.

I had many reasons to be unhappy.

Countless reasons.

I had been burned to death, killed myself thousands of times, and witnessed my
colleagues killing each other out of suspicion. There were even times when I had to
die a dozen deaths just to take one step forward. A corpse had ripped out my throat,
and I had to let go of someone who called me beautiful.

Nobody would blame me if I said my life was a tragedy.

“I’m the happiest right now.”

But the person I loved was here.

One reason to be happy was more precious to me than hundreds of reasons to be

sad.

“I don’t know if you know, but today is my wedding day. I don’t know about any other
day, but for today, it’ll be hard to find someone happier than I am. You just chose the
wrong date to invade this world.”

I shrugged.

“As for the Heretic Questioner… Well, either he’s never felt happiness or he’s simply
happy every day.”

“Ah. Indeed! That must be it. I’m definitely happy all the time! You’ve seen right
through me, Death King.”

The Heretic Questioner laughed and whispered,

“Sacred Technique. Divine Transmission.”

The next moment, we were transported to the apostles’ back.

Unlike the other apostles, the apostles of [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness]
had no skill in fighting. The apostles in the form of children did not fight back when
they saw us. They just stared up at my face.

-You’re a weird human.

Mind set, I swung my sword.

[The apostle of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’ has died.]

Then, we returned to the ground with the sacred technique.

We had subjugated all of the foreign beings who had invaded this world.

“……”

Actually, not yet.

I fixed my grip on the Holy Sword and looked back. An apostle with a large hammer
stood in the distance. As her eyes met mine, she cowered back.

-Sob, aah… Ah…

I slowly opened my mouth.

“This is your last chance to fight me. It’s your last chance to counter me and your last
chance to resist. I will kill you and reap your soul.”

-R-reap…?

“You don’t need to understand now. You’ll know soon enough.”

I pointed my sword at the apostle of the hammer.

I called her true name.

“Come at me, Sylvia Evanail.”

The Golden Silk’s shoulders trembled.

-L-Lord Ox that Harvests Ruins…

The Golden Silk prayed desperately.

-A new… Please give me a new blessing!

Human beings are limited when they are cornered. A person’s mind and thinking
rapidly become constricted. So, humans can escape, or they can cling to someone.
The Golden Silk was no different.

-I-in return… That’s right. In return, I will dedicate my being to you! No, I will wreck
this world, just as you desire! Ruins! Wreckage! Destruction! Mutia loves these things,
right?! I’m good at it! Things like that!

Tap. I took a step forward.

-Hiik.

The Golden Silk became more frantic when she heard my footsteps. She backpedaled.
As she jumped back, she looked up at the bright red sky as if salvation would come
for her even now.

-I-I’m good at it! Lord Mutia! If it’s just smashing things, I’m really…!

But there was no response.

-This is—

Prayer quickly soured to resentment.

-This is a breach of our contract!!

I stepped closer.

-You gave me the power to forge a new destiny! But why?! Why is there some weird,
crazy bitch in my body?! Give it back! Give me back my body!

“Ah. You’re wrong,” the Heretic Questioner said happily.

“If you’re talking about me, I’m sorry, but I’m physically male! So, your words are
wrong! You need to say I’m a [crazy bastard], not a [crazy bitch], to be precise. Well,
to speak more properly, you should say I am a [crazy person]! Healthy words are the
root of a healthy mind, Miss Evanail!”

-Asshole!

The Lady of the Golden Silk, no, Sylvia Evanail yelled.

-This is wrong! Yeah, it’s wrong! It’s a breach of contract… I was going to be an
empress. I was going to rise to a better position than Raviel Ivansia. That’s what was
supposed to happen! That’s my fate. The fate that I made! So… So, you’re breaking the
contract… I—

One more step.

-Ugh!

Only then did Sylvia Evanail turn her eyes from the sky. I was too close for her to
keep ignoring me.

-You monster!

Sylvia Evanail swung her hammer. Clank! The hammer and the Holy Sword clashed.
Sylvia Evanail smashed down the hammer without hesitation; I easily stepped away
and countered. As we continued to fight, Sylvia Evanail became increasingly
impatient.

An impatient mind was easy to break.

-Ah—
I had been aiming for the opening created by Sylvia Evanail’s large swing. I cut
through her wrist.

-Aaaaaaaah!!

Of course, there were no wounds. No bloodstains, not even a speck. There was no red
color that testified to her pain, but Sylvia Evanail screamed like she was being torn
apart.

She lost her grip on the hammer. Thump! The hammer fell to the ground with a
heavy thud.

-Ah, ouch… Ahhh…

I met Sylvia Evanail’s eyes. The dust from the hammer’s impact rose up to our knees.

“Choose.”

-Ch-choose…?

“You’ve already lost your place in this world. Even if you run away like this, you’re no
longer the [Lady of the Golden Silk]. You’re nothing more than a Constellation’s
apostle.”

-……

“I’ll give you an opportunity.”

Sylvia Evanail held her wrist and glared at me.

“If you want to remain as a servant of the Constellation, do whatever you want. Run
away. I’ll let you go. But if you have any lingering attachments to this world, if you
want to stay here and do something else, give up your Constellation’s blessing.”

-Why would I…

“And die by my sword.”

I pointed my sword at her.

“You must have seen the battle just now. I can summon those who die by my hand
with all their memories from life. Sylvia Evanail. If you surrender, I will summon you
in this world so you can once again live as the [Lady of the Golden Silk].”

-……

“Of course, your life won’t be the same as before. Any acts against my lover, Raviel
Ivansia, are forbidden. But that’s all. The rest, you can do as you wish. You can choose
to marry the prince and live as you please.”

-Why…?

“Because you need to live again.”

The sky was now mixing purple into the red. In the empire, weddings lasted from the
moment the sky turned orange to the moment the sun disappeared. I guessed that
we had less than 30 minutes left.

-How… can I trust you? W-what if you treat me like a slave after summoning me? I
won’t be able to rebel or resist.

“Think about it.”

I looked at Sylvia Evanail.

“Why were the bodies of ‘you’ and ‘your butler’ chosen to be possessed?”

-Huh?

“You gave everything to a Constellation to make your wish come true. Your memory,
your body—everything was given to your Constellation. That’s why there was a gap
in this world where your place should have been.”

Anybody could have taken her place.

That was probably how the [Corner Librarian] had the Heretic Questioner and me
possess these bodies.

“It’s understandable why your spot was left empty.”

However.

“Have you ever thought about why your butler’s space was, too?”

-……

Sylvia Evanail raised her eyes sharply.

“I don’t know the details, but I became the butler once. I was completely immersed in
his life. What I realized then was that this man was purely and ardently devoted to
you, Sylvia Evanail.”

With that, I could infer what had happened.

“I guarantee that you would never have been happy, even if you were the empress.”

-What…?

“You said so earlier. You don’t want to be the empress because you love the prince
but because you want to be better than Raviel. Do you think your life would go
smoothly if you became the empress that way?”

I shook my head.

“You’re quite capable but not as much as Raviel. Your family doesn’t have the power
and dignity of the Ivansias. You don’t have Raviel’s ability to lead and command a
crowd. After you become empress, people will never stop comparing you to Raviel
and putting you down.”

-……

“For the rest of your life.”

Let’s say this.

Say that there was a butler.

The butler watched his master suffer for her entire life.

“The butler I know is a man who is willing to give up everything to save you.”
The butler would have thought:

[The Lady of the Golden Silk would have been happy if only she hadn’t been the
empress.]

“This is what I believe.”

-My butler… My butler regressed?

“No.”

The butler wasn’t a regressor.

“You made a wish for yourself. But that wasn’t what the butler did. He made a wish
for your sake. He didn’t want to redo his life. He only wanted you to go back.”

-What do you mean…?

“You. Do you remember your butler’s name?”

-Huh?

Sylvia Evanail frowned.

-Of course. My butler’s name is…

However.

-… Huh?

Sylvia Evanail couldn’t say his name. Her eyebrows furrowed even more. After a
while, her frown dropped a bit. Sylvia Evanail’s gaze drifted into the air, flustered.

-W-wait. This can’t be. Ah?… Uh? Uhh…?

I calmly watched Sylvia Evanail.

That was right.

In this world, the butler had never been called by name.

Not even Sylvia Evanail called him by his name. He was her one and only butler and
childhood friend, but she only called him ‘butler.’ There was no need to call him that
when they were alone in her quarters.

『Butler.』

Raviel Ivansia also never called the butler by name. All the information in the empire
was within her grasp, so she couldn’t be unaware of someone so close to the Lady of
the Golden Silk.

『Butler.』

The one whom I possessed.

The barony’s servant had his name erased from this world.

Because he really dedicated everything to a Constellation.

I also didn’t know his name, despite becoming completely immersed in his role.

I couldn’t remember or recall it at all.

-……

Sylvia Evanail’s expression crumbled.

-Then, what…?

Just like a sturdy tower crumbling from the top.

-Are you… saying that the butler is gone?

“Yes.”

Most likely.

This world had regressed three times.

First, Sylvia Evanail wished to a Constellation to return to her past.

The Constellation who granted her wish was [The Ox that Harvests Ruins].

The Constellation who governed destruction and re-creation granted Sylvia Evanail
another life.

Sylvia Evanail beat Raviel in becoming the empress.

Then, the ‘butler’ made a wish to another Constellation.

The Constellation who granted his wish… I’m not sure who it was.

The butler devoted all of himself to the Golden Silk, and as a result, the world
returned to its former state, to the time before the Lady of the Golden Silk married
the crown prince. To the past when nothing had been decided yet.

Finally, Raviel caused a regression.

The Constellation who granted her wish was a fragment of the [Guardian Goddess].

Because of this regression, the world was trapped in ten days, looping forever.

And it finally caught up to now.

“We can’t learn the butler’s name. Ever.”

-……

“What was the butler thinking as he served you his whole life? What was he thinking
when he prayed for you to return, sacrificing his everything? We can never know.
Because he’s gone.”

But.

“The butler would have wanted you to live a different life.”

And that was why.

“I want to grant the butler’s wish.”

-……
“Sylvia Evanail. In a time you don’t know, someone whose name you don’t know
sacrificed himself for you. He loved you more than anyone and wanted to stay with
you more than anyone, but he gave up everything.”

That was the way in which a nameless butler loved her.

“Live again.”

It wasn’t too late yet.

“Live again like he wanted you to.”

Sylvia Evanail said nothing.

Her hands trembled. She opened her mouth and closed it again, not saying a word.
Her vocal cords were shaking. There, a life was twitching. A cursed life. How cruel
was it that nonetheless, someone still wanted her to live?

-……

Sylvia Evanail slowly lowered her head. She no longer had the strength to face
forward.

Slowly, light began to escape from her whole body.

She was renouncing the Constellation’s blessing.

“All right.”

I lifted my sword high.

I cleared off the Sword of Compassion and called forth the Sword of Idols again.

The scorching red sunset.

The shadow of my sword on the ground was long.

The shadow sword swung.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox that Harvests Ruins’ has died.]

The sun went down.

All of the other worlds’ apostles had been subjugated.

The beings that threatened this world disappeared.

[Stage cleared.]

A voice rang out, announcing the news.

It was likely that in this place, only the Heretic Questioner and I could hear it.

[Today.]

[The 25th floor Stage has been cleared.]

It was the voice of the Tower.

[Announcing to everyone again.]

[Today, the 25th floor Stage has been cleared.]

[Calculating challengers.]

[Calculation complete.]

[The three challengers are being announced.]

People started to open their eyes. Preta. The Demonic Cult members. The wedding
guests. One by one, the people who had been caught in a dream by the apostles’ song
woke up.

“Ahhh…”

“What the hell…?”

Words floated above them all.

+
[Level of Contribution Rank]

Rank 1. Death King

Rank 2. Heretic Questioner

Rank 3. N/A

“……”

I looked at the text silently.

Two people had entered this stage.

The [Corner Librarian] had only sent in the Heretic Questioner and me.

However, the Tower stated that there had been three challengers.

‘N/A.’

The name of the third challenger, who shouldn’t have existed, did not appear.

I stared up into the sky for a while.

“Mm.”

Raviel came to my side and held my hand. Our shoulders leaned against each other.
Then, Raviel slowly looked around at our guests.

“My wife will be the Duke Consort of Ivansia.”

The guests who just woke up from their dreams blankly looked at Raviel and me.

“Is there anyone who is against this marriage?”

No one could open their mouths.

Some may have been unhappy with it. Surely, there were people who wanted to
object. But that possibility was left in the past.

The existence of alien worlds itself was awe-inspiring, and the guests had witnessed
me defeating these alien beings.

The guests silently submitted to Raviel’s words.

“Good.”

The person who had aimed for that and set today as our wedding day.

Raviel, my bride, nodded deeply.

“I pronounce my marriage to this man complete.”

5.

Stage cleared.

It meant that this world, [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy], had officially become a
part of our Tower.

Hunters could now come and go from this world.

However, they of course could not enter freely. They needed to be judged by the
great guilds. For example, a regular Hunter needed a permit to enter the Aegim
empire.

What I mean is—

Pop!

Shortly after the stage clearing was announced, a white light flashed. Pop! Pop! Light
burst from all over the wedding hall. It was the sight of Hunters being transported to
the floor.

“Death King! No, Kim Gongja! You!”

As the lights faded, I saw some familiar faces.

“How could you get married without consulting us?!”

Some people could travel between floors without a permit. For example, the heads of
the great guilds. One of them, the Rank 2 Hunter Black Dragon Master, was flushed
red.
“I’m against this wedding!!”

“……”

“Death King is a Hunter representing our Tower! Obviously, the wedding should be
held on the first floor of our Tower, the city of Babylon, not here! We have to
broadcast it all over the world! It’s invalid! This wedding totally doesn’t count!”

The Black Dragon Master wasn’t the only one with something to say.

“Ahem. Hm. Death King.”

The Rank 1 Hunter. The Sword Saint cleared his throat.

“First of all, congratulations on clearing the stage. Truthfully… It was an extremely

fast-paced romance. No, I know it’s rude to talk about this here, but as an old man,
I’d like to say one thing—”

“Don’t.”

“Mm.”

The Sword Saint closed his mouth. These days, he seemed to be recovering from his
boomer mindset.

“There was an uproar while you were challenging this stage. Why in the world did
you two fall in love? Despite everything, Death King, I stood firmly on your side. Only
those who have experienced love at first sight can understand. You needn’t worry. I
understand. Trust me, I’ll placate the Black Dragon Master.”

Then, for some reason, the Crusader gruffly put her nose in the air. Her glance
seemed to imply, ‘I understand everything about your love.’ I didn’t know what she
meant.

I turned to Raviel.

“Hmm.”

Raviel was expressionless. At first glance, that is. I could understand her seemingly
expressionless look because I loved her.
Raviel was… watching the Black Dragon Master and company with great interest.
Her red eyes were overflowing with curiosity.

“Gongja. My love.”

“Yes, my love…?”

“There seems to be a lot of people you need to introduce to me.”

Yeah…

It was a little late, but it was time for her to meet my family.

6.

I did think about having her meet everyone before the marriage, but the culture here
was different. In the empire, it was common for families to be formally introduced to
each other after their union.

“Isn’t it natural?”

Raviel tilted her head.

“Many family members live far away from the main residence. The wedding
ceremony is what invites and gathers them together. On the night after the wedding
ceremony, the families of the bride and groom finally greet each other.”

“Oh… That’s certainly true.”

I was immediately convinced.

Well, yeah. Marriage was also a union between families. Hunters like us, who fled
from the outside world, can’t really talk about family, but… The empire was different.
There was a greater importance on the family than on the individual.

And this wedding ceremony didn’t just symbolize a union of families.

A marriage of nations. No, it was a marriage of worlds.

Representing the empire was Raviel. Representing the Tower was me. Since it was
our marriage.

“Hoho…”

The grand chamberlain, my adoptive father, maintained his wry smile.

“I never imagined such an occasion… I’ve already sent so many messenger birds to
the emperor today. I don’t know what to tell him now.”

“Yes. This was unexpected for us as well,”

said the Black Dragon Master. She was extremely calm, as if she hadn’t been agitated
a few moments ago. The powerful people of the empire and the Tower sat side by
side at a table, guarded against each other but both taken aback.

“But rather than a misfortune, it was a stroke of luck. Lord Chamberlain, it is

fortunate that our first meeting with you is during a wedding.”

Then, they leaped over the wariness and embarrassment and continued to talk.

“You’re saying that your people come from another world, correct? It’s a strange
affair that is difficult enough to explain to His Majesty, let alone his subjects.”

“Yes, you’re right. I understand well your empire’s situation.”

The Black Dragon Master nodded. She seemed familiar with acting in a diplomatic
capacity. She knew well how to walk the line between competency and politeness.

“However, Lord Chamberlain must have seen the invasion of beings from other
worlds. If a person denies the truth, then one day the truth will deny the person. I am
concerned about that future.”

“Mm. You speak truly.”

“Thank you. Lord Chamberlain, what we must do from now is to reach a common
understanding. For five years, ten, twenty, or perhaps even more…”

Both sides spoke calmly.

Raviel had control over the empire’s people, and I had the complete trust of the
Tower’s top rankers. Our marriage was of great fortune for both sides.

It’s normally difficult to physically gather people of power from opposite sides, but
the wedding between Raviel and me took care of that arduous task from the get-go.
Our negotiations couldn’t have had a better start than this.

“……”

I was sitting in the seats of honor with Raviel. Reaching under the table, I held
Raviel’s hand. Tightly. Raviel naturally intertwined her fingers with mine.

“……”

That one gesture made me relax. The night was long. The stars were bright. The
candlelight on the table flickered, and between the candles, people spoke.

Suddenly, everything was beautiful.

“Raviel.”

“Speak.”

A quiet whisper.

“There are a few others I want to introduce to you.”

“Other than those here?”

“Yes.”

“Then we should go see them.”

Raviel stood up from her seat.

The empire’s people immediately stopped talking.

“The night is still long. Continue speaking with the others. I’m briefly leaving to meet
my wife’s people.”
“……”

No one could stop Raviel from leaving. As expected of the Duchess of Ivansia. If going
when one wanted was proof of one’s power, then my husband had unparalleled
power here.

I took Raviel to where the Demonic Cult members were sitting.

“Oh. Young Master! You’re a newlywed now!”

The Sword Demon raised his glass and laughed gleefully. All of the cult members
were drunk from the alcohol served at the wedding. When they saw me, they tried to
stand up to greet us, but I waved my hand. The cultists then bowed in their seated
positions.

“Congratulations!”

“Many blessings to you, Young Master!”

“The alcohol here tastes unique and delicious!”

“Long live the Demonic Cult!”

“Phew! You two really look good together!”

The wedding hall became noisy at once. It couldn’t be helped with a thousand
Demonic Cult members causing a ruckus. I smiled wryly.

“Sword Demon. Come here.”

“Yes?”

The Sword Demon blinked, still holding a wine glass. He looked dopey, like he didn’t
expect to be called out by me. The drunk cultists around him howled in laughter.

“Look at that! I knew he’d get scolded by the young master one day!”

“He forgets to speak politely whenever the young master calls. Fool.”

“Kick his ass, Young Master!”

“Uh… Uuuhhh…”

The Sword Demon put down his glass and hesitantly approached us. His brashness
from when he beheaded the general of the ghost legion had completely disappeared.
He shrank in on himself like a child who had done something wrong.

“S-sorry. Young Master. I never had much learning, so I don’t know how to speak
politely very well. But in my mind, I still look up to Young Master…”

The Sword Demon who laid out many excuses.

I put my hand on his shoulder.

“Raviel.”

Then, I said to my bride,

“This is the Sword Demon.”

“……”

“He’s a subordinate of my master. My master was the head of a group called the
Demonic Sect. She selected four outstanding people from among the cult and called
them the Four Demon Lords. The Sword Demon is one of them.”

“Oho.”

Raviel glanced at the Sword Demon. The Sword Demon squirmed.

“A simple man. Your speech is rough, and your attitude is poor. My wife’s master
must not have judged a person for their speech or attitude. Since she found you from
a rough and poor place, you must be someone precious and noble.”

“……”

“I am Raviel Ivansia. I am a duchess of the empire and the spouse of the one you call
Young Master. I hope we’ll get along well.”

“Y-yes. Let’s… get along.”

I turned my head.

“Demon Lord Wolyeong.”

“……”

“Come here.”

Someone stood up from the center of the group. He bowed his head politely.

“Yes, Young Master.”

A strange silence settled over the night air. The small talk that had been happening
while they drank had died down. I called each of the Four Demon Lords, one by one,
and each time, the demon lord was very polite.

Then, I called the next person I wanted to introduce.

“Preta.”

“…Yes, milord.”

“Come here.”

“Yes.”

Preta, who had been mixed among the cultists, stood up. Perhaps she had been
waiting for my summons as she had tidied her outfit.

“This child’s name is… Preta,”

I said.

“Preta was originally born as a nameless monster. She was a doppelganger. She could
imitate whatever she ate. Preta ate beasts such as frogs and snakes at first, but
accidentally, she came to eat humans. Then…”

Preta quietly kept her head down. Sometimes, her shoulders would shake a little.
The strange silence persisted.
In introducing their lives, I also introduced mine.

One person told another about his life. Softly. Under the night sky. It was a sacred act
in itself.

“And… Ah. Right.”

I unfastened the Holy Sword from my waist holster.

“This is Shiny.”

“Shiny?”

“Yes. She had a more lofty name at first. She was tricked by a bad man and was
sealed into a sword. Her real name, the [Guardian Goddess], seemed like a waste, so I
just nicknamed her Shiny. Since, you know, she’s shiny… Very shiny…”

“I see.”

Raviel laughed a little.

“My wife’s naming sense is rather severe. Merciless. If it were me, I would at least
have called her Hui.”[1]

[Shiny swears allegiance to the warrior’s partner! ]

Shiny was quick to change loyalties.

“Mm.”

And.

“You can’t see him here… but I have a friend.”

Bae Hu-ryeong.

“Raviel, you may never see him. You can’t meet him either… My friend’s
circumstances are a bit peculiar. He can’t show himself to others.”

My partner.
“His way of speaking is totally vulgar, yeah. It’s about 30 times worse than the Sword
Demon. But he’s really strong. Incredibly strong… He was the first to teach me the
sword, and he taught me to use aura as well.”

“Oho. He’s an important person.”

-……

Bae Hu-ryeong was silent.

He was wearing a shabby martial arts uniform. His arms were folded.

Instead of running his mouth as usual, Bae Hu-ryeong silently looked at Raviel and
me.

“…Without this friend, I don’t think I could have endured my time alone.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I must express my gratitude to that friend.”

Raviel bowed her head.

To the empty space in which she could see nothing.

“Meeting Gongja made me happy. If this friend hadn’t helped Gongja, my happiness
would never have come to be. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Gongja so he
could be here now.”

Bae Hu-ryeong slowly opened his mouth.

-Yeah. Please take care of this crazy kid.

I spoke for him.

“If that friend heard Raviel’s words, he would have said to take care of me because
I’m nuts.”
“You have a wonderful friend.”

I took a deep breath.

“Raviel.”

This.

“This is my everything.”

Everything I love.

Everyone who opened and entered the door to my heart.

My family.

“……”

Raviel held my hand firmly.

“My love.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s dance.”

There was an intense passion in Raviel’s eyes. I hesitated. However, when Raviel
looked at me like this, wanting to do something with me, I couldn’t say no.

“I’ve never danced properly before.”

“There must be something of the butler’s memories remaining. Please refer to them.”

“What if I accidentally step on your foot? I’ll kill myself.”

Instead of answering, Raviel moved. She bent down and took off her black shoes. A
moment later, she stepped barefoot onto the grass and dirt of the lawn.

White feet.
She only took off her shoes, but she seemed as light as the wind.

“Come here.”

“……”

I hesitantly took off my white shoes and socks. Raviel immediately took my hand and
led me away.

One step. Two steps.

Raviel stepped on the petals that fell on the lawn on her tiptoes. The white petals of
the magnolias and cherry blossoms became whiter with every step.

“……”

Nobody made a sound. No music flowed. There wasn’t even a chandelier like the one
that decorated the ballroom, only moonlight that fell like frost in the flower garden.

A ball for just the two of us.

“…See?”

I smiled as I followed Raviel’s steps.

“I’m a mess. I already stepped on your foot three times. Dancing really isn’t my thing.
Are you going to kill me with shame?”

“It’s fine. I just need to step on your feet that many times.”

As soon as she said so, Raviel stepped on my foot. Her weight smoothly came onto
mine. Raviel laughed playfully.

“Look. We’re even.”

Here was a smile that she only showed to me in this world. My red jewel. My heart.
My music.

The chandelier of the moon cast our shadows on the ground.

Our dance wasn’t about stepping on each other’s feet. It was about not letting go of
our hands until the end, even if we did step on the other’s foot. No matter what
misfortune happened, we laughed a little and looked at each other’s faces.

I belonged to Raviel alone.

Raviel was mine alone.

That was right. We danced. Every spot the moonlight reached was Raviel’s and my
ballroom. So long as there were two of us, any world could be our stage.

On this day, we became married.

Our next story would begin on a stage a little higher than the last.

[1]: Hui still means shining, but it has nicer connotations (bright, glorious).
1.

It had been two weeks since I introduced my family to Raviel. A lot had happened
since then. We met with the emperor and made several secret treaties between the
empire and the Tower. However, putting aside this turbulent history—

I first did what I had to do.

Because I still had an epilogue to complete.

“Shiny.”

[Shiny replies, Yes, warrior.]

In Raviel’s and my bedroom, a sword rested on the large bed.

“Eat up.”

The thing that had once torn away my lover’s heart.

The sword that locked up this world in an eternal 10-day cycle.

The Prayer Sword.

My Holy Sword spat out white light toward that wicked thing.

[The Guardian Goddess absorbs a piece of herself.]

White light touched the Prayer Sword. Shake! Immediately, a red aura arose from the
Prayer Sword. The bloody red mist shot out from the blade like it was trying to fight
back the white light that threatened to devour it.
[The Prayer Sword is horrified.]

[The Idol Sword tries to persuade her sister.]

The white light and red fog tussled. However, the mist was a little thicker. As the red
was about to overpower the white, another color spilled out of the Holy Sword.

[The Compassion Sword also tries to persuade her sister.]

Black wastewater. The second fragment of the Holy Sword that I collected joined the
fight.

The tables turned. The white light swallowed the mist, as did the black water. The
red mist was overtaken in an instant.

[The Prayer Sword is shocked by the betrayal of her sisters.]

[The Prayer Sword says that she cannot serve a master other than Lefanta Aegim.]

I opened my mouth.

“Do you know why Lefanta Aegim is killing Constellations?”

The red mist paused.

The mist did not have eyes, but I felt like we were facing off as I stared at the mist.
There was a cool tension between us.

“At first, I didn’t get it at all. I only understood after my experiences in this world.
Those who are called Constellations try to invade and take over other worlds and
rule those places depending on their personal preferences with no consideration to
the natives’ opinions.”

His method was different, but it was the same for the [Corner Librarian].

The Librarian didn’t wish to rule the world but to observe the characters.

He designated the people who were living their lives as [characters]. He was a
voyeur to their stories. And, same as the other Constellations, the Librarian watched
over the worlds to suit his taste.

In a word—

“It’s public harm.”

It was violence.

“Lefanta Aegim was once an emperor. He must have thought deeply. ‘Rather than
coveting the Constellations’ powers, I would rather kill them.’ I think that was his
plan. This world probably had a Constellation too, but Lefanta Aegim killed them.”

[……]

“But your original wielder made a mistake.”

I drew the tip of the sword.

“When a Constellation dies in a world, another is born. Look at it! On the continent
where the ‘Guardian Goddess’ was sealed, the ‘Devil King of Fall Rain’ appeared. In
this world, the ‘Silver-Plated Heart’ arose. Frankly, your master isn’t solving
problems. He’s causing bigger ones!”

[Lefanta Aegim is…]

“If I’m wrong, tell me no.”

The sword wrapped in the scarlet mist was silent.

“Maybe I don’t have as much experience as your master. Sure. Your master may have
suffered a great deal, known a lot more than me, and, after much thought and effort,
taken on the work of being the Constellation Killer. But I can tell you something for
certain.”

I spoke sincerely.

“If you’ve done something wrong, you need to take responsibility for it until the end.”

[……]
“There’s a world that was put into an eternal winter because your master deigned to
kill a Constellation. The people of that world were dishonored as they became
moving corpses… Even if Lefanta Aegim acted with noble intentions, that can’t be
forgiven. Take responsibility.”

Then.

The red mist accumulated in one place. After a while, the mist took on a human
shape.

A child whose whole body was stained with blood.

[My name is Prayer.]

The sword in the form of a red child opened her mouth.

[My original role is to listen to people’s prayers.]

[Lefanta Aegim had made a wish. ‘I will kill all the Constellations so that nobody will
ever be manipulated by them again.’ His prayer is noble. It is significant. It is
immense. So I entrusted my existence to Lefanta Aegim.]

[What prayer do you have, human?]

I looked down at the child.

“To not run away from anything.”

Then, I continued, “I won’t turn away from what happens before me. I won’t make
excuses. I’ll take responsibility for what I say and do. I won’t look over things that are
wrong and claim that’s just how the world works. As long as I live and my sword can
cut.”

[Ah…]

The red child looked up into the air.

[The road to hell is always paved with good intentions.]

[All I can do is bless your good intentions and join you in hell.]
It was a deep lament.

[My ability is to test.]

[Those whose hearts are pierced by me will be tested on their wishes. Were their
wishes sincere? Would they sacrifice everything for their wish?]

[My cursed ability is to make others give up their wishes.]

The child became a red mist again and dissipated.

[Our new master.]

[May you prosper in hell for eternity.]

Srrk—

The mist was sucked into the Holy Sword.

[The existence of the Guardian Goddess has become more pronounced.]

Finally, I exhaled the breath I was holding.

“Hoo.”

With this, I was pretty much done with what I had to do before moving to the next
stage. The empire and the Tower still had much to discuss, but… That was in the
realm of politics. My wife was more active in this area than I was.[1]

“Is it over?”

When I came out of the bedroom, Raviel was waiting at the door. One of her maids
was accompanying her.

“Yes, Raviel. It’s all done. No Constellations or fragments can bother this world
anymore, at least not for a while.”

“Three apostles allied to attack us, but they failed miserably. Don’t worry. Not even
fools will invade here after seeing your work.”
“……”

The maid standing next to Raviel made an unpleasant expression. It was natural. The
maid who was accompanying Raviel was none other than the Lady of the Golden Silk,
one of the invaders.

“…It sounds like you’re saying this for me to hear, Your Excellency. Am I mistaken?”
muttered the Lady of the Golden Silk. To the others, she was the [young lady who
was possessed by a cunning devil and attacked this world with a hammer]. She was
made out to be a victim, not a perpetrator.

However, the rumor that she had been possessed by a devil tarnished her honor, so
she ended up serving Raviel to cleanse her name for the time being. It must have
been painful for the Lady of the Golden Silk, who wanted to marry the prince, to act
this way.

Well, the Lady of the Golden Silk also seemed to be seriously contemplating marriage
now.

“Your ears are sharp. I did speak for you to hear. Continue regretting your
foolishness. Once you’ve repented enough, I will use my connections with the church
to restore your reputation. Until then, keep your mouth shut and work for us.”

“Ugh…”

The Lady of the Golden Silk, wearing a maid uniform, bit her lip. I felt sorry, but she
could never rebel against us. She would immediately disappear if I stopped using the
[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation].

“……”

This was the ending I reached.

Looking at the scene, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I’m going to the next stage now, Raviel.”

“Mm. I guess you must.”

Raviel’s eyes met mine.

“I would like to follow you to visit another world, but the empire needs me. Just as I
have my work, you have your own. Do as you will, Gongja, and come back to me. If
you feel tired and want to be comforted, come back anytime. I’ll be here.”

“Yes. But…”

After thinking a bit, I spoke.

“Uh, the 20th floor of the Tower is my land. I want to build a house for the two of us
there. That is, if you want it, Raviel.”

“Oho? Indeed. Will that become our family home in the future? In a new home,
instead of being the Duchess of Ivansia, I can just be your companion.”

Raviel smiled.

She read my mind like it was natural.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Raviel took out a handkerchief from her bosom. A silver thread was embroidered
over the white cloth. She opened my hand and softly put the handkerchief in it.

This was…

“This is the handkerchief I usually carry with me. My perfume has been placed on it
semi-permanently using the power of magic.”

“Perfume?”

“It’s that one.”

Raviel stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear.

“The lily scent I used when you first fell for me.”

“……”

“Whenever you try to calm yourself, you touch the hilt of your dagger. It’s a horrid
habit. Stop it. Instead, whenever you’re upset, smell the scent on my handkerchief.”
Aaah.

“Gongja. Staying as you are shouldn’t be an unhappy thing. It isn’t painful. I wish it
wasn’t. Your love and memories of me. I want happiness to help you stay yourself.
Will you grant my wish?”

“…Yes.”

I swallowed the swelling, choking feeling in my heart.

“Yes. I promise I will, Raviel.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

My lips met with Raviel’s. I hoped this moment would last forever. But soon, our
shadows parted ways.

“—Transmit,” I said.

Light covered my sight.

2.

When I next blinked, I was already in the Grand Library.

I saw the Hunters who had been waiting for me, having returned to the library in
advance.

“Come here, Death King.”

Their representative, the Black Dragon Master, opened her mouth. I could tell that
her mood was off as soon as I saw her. Her words may have been friendly, but there
was a crease in her eyebrows.

“Um. Is something wrong?”

“It would be nice if I could tell you nothing was wrong, but…”
The Black Dragon Master sighed.

“Yeah. Something happened. It’s quite serious, too.”

Then again, something was weird here. Only top rankers were around, including the
Black Dragon Master. Normally, other Hunters like the Alchemist would be around.

“Wait a moment. Where are the other Hunters?”

“They were shooed away because there’s something we need to talk about between
us. What we say now is of a secretive nature. Well, our conversation will also be
broadcast live to the Tower, but…”

The Black Dragon Master’s voice grew quieter and quieter. Ominously.

“Just what in the world is going on?”

“Aha.”

The person who answered was not the Black Dragon Master but the Heretic
Questioner. He had taken off the dress he wore on the last stage and was wearing his
normal priest garbs.

“To sum it up quickly, it’s like this. Death King! You’ve been too successful!”

“What?”

“Think about it. In [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon], you showed off your
humble and noble side toward your master! Your appreciation of the martial arts
and devotion to your sect members made countless Hunters’ hearts thump. After
[The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was cleared, thousands of martial artists
from the outside world entered the Tower every day for a while!”

The Crusader took over and said, “Someone spread the live broadcast in the Tower to
the outside world. Well, we actually allowed it to happen. Death King, your success is
fantastic for advertising. There was no reason to refuse.”

“But even so.” The Count held her fan. “We may have been just a tad bit too
easygoing.”
“Too easygoing…?” I asked.

“Your character. No, the impact of your status as an [icon].”

What the heck? I looked at my colleagues, unable to understand their logic. Everyone
looked so serious. The Heretic Questioner, who was always smiling even in serious
situations, responded:

“113,654 people.”

“What?”

“That’s the number of people who entered our Tower yesterday alone!”

“……”

I couldn’t understand the Heretic Questioner’s words.

After a while, I realized that he said ‘yesterday alone.’

“Yesterday, in just one day?”

“Yes! About that many people enter the Tower when there is war outside or a
country is destroyed. But no wars have occurred recently except for small-scale, local
battles! Ahaha. No country fell, either! Even though it was [peaceful], the amount of
entries to the Tower increased!”

“This is a flyer from the outside world.”

The Count handed me a flyer.

My face was painted like a presidential election poster.

Below it, the following sentences were written.

The King of Death shall be our king!

Head over to Utopia!

+

I slowly opened my mouth.

“The King of Death can’t be…?”

“Of course, it’s your title. It’s referring to Death King. This sort of flyer is being
distributed in countless areas. Just so you don’t misunderstand, we’re definitely not
behind this. People from the outside world are making these on their own.”

“……”

I didn’t know how to react.

“I don’t know if you’ve guessed it from the flyer, but…”

The Crusader smiled wryly.

“These days, flyers are rarely used for advertisement. You understand, Death King?
You only use flyers when you want to reach people who don’t use the internet.”

“…What do you mean?”

“People who live in areas without good internet access. Poor people in poor
countries. Areas of conflict. War zones. A myriad of poor people and refugees are
entering the tower. They’re flocking to the Tower of Babel, abandoning their
[countries] and [citizenship], leaving behind their [lives] in the outside world.”

Like we had done, the Crusader said.

“Hmm.”

The Venomous Snake crossed his arms.

“Those people. They’re wearing black hats and shirts as they enter the Tower. Saying
that they want to enter the Demonic Sect… To be more precise, they just saw you and
came in.”

“It’s not just the poor and the refugees,” said the Black Dragon Master.
“People with great assets came in as well. Scientists, sociologists, and professors who
come along, saying [I will help create a new society in the Tower].”

“Kim Gongja.”

The masters of the great guilds looked at me.

“You didn’t just conquer the stages. Not from the outside world’s perspective. People
everywhere want a hero. The courage to face challenges. Respect for humans. A
commitment to love. As it goes, nothing excites people more than a virtuous hero
who puts his life at stake.”

The Black Dragon Master pulled out her smartphone and showed me her screen.

“You have become our banner.”

On the screen was the hologram that always floated at the center square in Babylon.

Rank 1. Sword Saint

Rank 2. Death King

Rank 3. Black Dragon Master

Rank 4. Heretic Questioner

Rank 5. Count

Rank 6. Venomous Snake

Rank 7. Babel’s Linguist

Rank 8. Kwangyeok Messenger

Rank 9. Crusader

+
Second place in the Hunter rankings.

That was the new position the Tower put me at.

My heart was beating like crazy.

“Death King.”

The Black Dragon Master took back her phone and looked straight at me. She was
serious. More than ever before.

“Are you ready to become our king?”

[1]: Adding to the saga of the waifu drama, the term used here is 아내, which is what
you use to refer to your own wife. 부인 (what Raviel and others in her empire call
Gongja) is more formal/sophisticated.

[TN]: For more info on the waifu drama, scroll up in the #sss-class Discord channel
and search for “I’ll chat for a bit”! I went into quite a bit of detail, and I thought it was
interesting, at least.
King.

“Uh…”

The tip of my lips rose up. People instinctively smile when they encounter something
unexpected.

I looked around. Black Dragon Master, Heretic Questioner, Venomous Snake,

Crusader, and Count. I met their eyes, one after the other.

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Of course,” said the Black Dragon Master.

I wanted her to continue and say, “Of course I’m joking.” But the words that came
from her lips were the complete opposite of my expectations.

“Of course, we can’t make a new monarchy right now. Death King, you may not know
this, but we’ve devoted our heart and soul into the Tower’s current system… We
struggled through many failures and setbacks for this.”

“We’re each trying to work the ideals of anarchy in our own ways. Aha. The ‘guilds’ in
the Tower are actually a kind of combination…”

“That’s enough. Talking about that won’t help Death King.”

The Crusader cut off the Heretic Questioner.

“The king is a mere symbol. However, symbols have real power. Kim Gongja. You
already have real power. A hundred thousand people entered the Tower in one day
after seeing your name and believing in your character.”
“……”

“Not even the Black Dragon Master has accomplished this before. You’re the first.
There’s no precedent for any Hunter having this kind of power!”

It was only then when I realized the Crusader was more worked up than usual.

The Crusader was always calm and poised. The only time she raised her voice was
during the [12th Floor Incident], which nobody remembered now. She had only
acted like this when everyone was suspicious of each other and trying to kill each
other.

But the Crusader was excited now.

It wasn’t just her.

Other than the Heretic Questioner, all of the great guild leaders were strangely
heated. They were struggling to keep their excitement in check, but I could see their
bare emotions in their gazes.

“We wouldn’t have been able to handle this population boom before. Food had been
scarce. But the way we are now, we have enough land and trade routes… It will be
difficult, but we can meet the demand for food.”

“Above all, we have [experience],” said the Count.

“I’m not bragging, but all of the guildmasters here have experienced turmoil. The
Crusader is a nomad from a ruined nation. The Black Dragon Master is an orphan
from a country ravaged by a civil war, and the Heretic Questioner and the Venomous
Snake have been living with mafia and gangs since they were young. I was born in
the poorest village in the world. Everyone here is an ‘expert of troubled times.’ ”

“That’s right,” affirmed the Black Dragon Master. “In this world, only we can deal
with this crisis. No country, no nation in the outside world can do it. But [we] can!
We’ve overcome things worse than this!”

“……”

I gulped. I could clearly feel the guildmasters’ excitement.

They had abandoned the old world and fled to the new world. And though they
reached the peak of this new world, the guildmasters hadn’t given up on their desire
to build a new society.

“Death King. We can do it.”

A dream.

“Let’s do what no country in the outside world could do. Somewhere that’s a bit
better. Let’s make a world where the people who were kicked away by the outside
world can breathe and live a little!”

An ideal.

“We know well what a fallen society is like. So, we can make one that won’t fall.”

The Crusader, who fled from a country in South America.

“We know what divides people and causes wars. So, we can prevent civil wars.”

The Black Dragon Master, who survived bloody conflicts in the Black Sea.

“We know what violence is. So we can make use of violence.”

The Heretic Questioner, raised by the mafia in eastern Europe.

The Venomous Snake, who grew up in the Triads in central China.

“We know what it means to be poor, so we can overcome poverty.”

The Count, who was born in a trashy town in India.

“Let’s show them, Death King,” said the Black Dragon Master.

“Let’s show the people that we can create a slightly better world!”

Then, I realized.
It was me who had changed the guildmasters.

This never happened in the previous world. In the world where the Flame Emperor
was ranked first… The Tower was just a tower.

A refuge for the hopeless.

A paradise for criminals and death row prisoners.

I had never seen the Black Dragon Master’s sparkling eyes as she talked about a
[new world]. Not in a magazine picture. Not in any video interviews.

The Black Dragon always had cold eyes.

But she changed because of me.

“……”

My heart pounded.

“Please.”

The world that Master dreamed of.

“Please tell me what I have to do.”

I could change the world.

“…Sure. Yeah. I thought you would ask that.”

The Black Dragon Master smiled gently. Her gaze portrayed her faith in me.

“Continue acting as you are. That’s the most important thing. Getting used to politics
is something we can teach you step by step.”

“Ahaha. If you look at it sideways, it’s like we’re monopolizing the real power while
Death King plays a figurehead!”

“…Well, I won’t deny that. But I also want to hand over this position to someone else
as soon as I can. Do you know how many violent crimes happen each day?”
“Oh, there are frequent crimes under the name of religion! In the last ten days, 21
terror attacks have been prevented before they occurred!”

“Let’s stop talking about this. It’ll just make us miserable…”

Hm.

The most important thing is for me to stay as myself.

‘If so.’

I looked around.

“Library director-nim! Librarian! Where are you?”

My voice echoed through the huge library. Then, a small shadow peeped his head
from behind a bookshelf the size of a house. It had been a while since I saw the
Constellation [The Corner Librarian].

“Jeez, what are you doing back there? Get over here.”

“B-but… I mean…”

The Librarian’s lips trembled.

“How can an insignificant creature like I dare to show myself before the esteemed
Death King? Your eyes will be dirtied. Please treat me like I don’t exist, as if I’m a
speck of dust floating in the library…”

“Ah, don’t act so crazy. Just come here.”

“Uh. Um. Uhh…”

The Librarian floated helplessly. His long sleeves were fluttering like the ears of a sad
Maltese puppy.

“Speak, please…”

“Please take out a book for our next stage.”

“Which Apocalypse do you want?”

“A fairy tale.”

“……”

The Librarian shut his mouth tightly. Unconcerned, I said, “Among the Apocalypses
offered to us, there’s only one fairy tale. Please hand it over.”

“…Hmm. Indeed, there’s a strange connection.”

The Librarian’s expression changed. His eyes were half open, trembling with
appreciation as they often did when he saw me.

“All right. Here is the Apocalypse you talked about.”

One of the books floating around the Librarian flew to him. When the Librarian
opened the cover, information about the Apocalypse showed up.

[Me and Our Scapegoat]

Genre: Fairy Tale

Difficulty level: A-Class

Player Limit: 2 or more

※The Serialization is currently suspended.

Introduction: This world’s humanity had succeeded in creating a Utopia. But a

special power source was required to maintain the Utopia. The power source needed
were the screams of suffering from an innocent child who has committed no crimes.
Though it was a pity, for the perfect happiness of 17 million people, 1 innocent
should bear with it, right? Thanks to meticulously developed torture techniques and
life-saving treatments, about five years’ worth of screams were able to be extracted
from each child. Such efficiency!

Reason for Discontinuation: 118,000 years had passed since the creation of Utopia.
Eventually, all of the innocent children were used up. The Utopia, which lost its
power source, came to an end.

‘Right.’

This was the Apocalypse.

I had been keeping it in mind since I first saw it.

“Everyone, I’d like to choose this Apocalypse for our next stage.”

“Huh?”

The guildmasters looked around.

The Black Dragon Master tilted her head.

“A fairy tale? Sorry, Death King, but that fairy tale world won’t give us resources or
more territory. The difficulty is also A-class… Do we have to challenge it?”

“Yes, we do.”

I looked into the Black Dragon Master’s eyes.

“Up until now, we’ve been picking the Apocalypses based on how useful the worlds
will be to the Tower. The martial arts archives in [The Chronicles of the Heavenly
Demon] will strengthen the Tower’s fighting power. Exchanges with the science
fiction world will greatly improve our scientific power.”

The Apocalypses we’ve challenged so far were as follows:

21st floor: The Great Library of All Things

22nd floor: Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon (Genre: Martial Arts, Fusion)

23rd floor: Saga of the Iron Knights in Space (Genre: Sci-Fi)

24th Floor: Dawn Mountain Cabin Journal (Genre: Mystery, History)

25th floor: The Tale of Sormwyn Academy (Genre: Romance)

26th Floor: Festival City Apocalypse (Genre: Sports)

27th floor: Bakery Street Epic (Genre: Cooking, Business Management)

I stayed in the empire for half a month after completing [The Tale of Sormwyn
Academy]. During that time, the other Hunters cleared the 26th and 27th floors. All
Hunters with titles were working hard to clear the stages.

Now, the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors were left.

‘But.’

I had my own plans. If things happened as I wanted… This 28th floor would basically
be our last Apocalypse.

After ruminating on that plan, I opened my mouth.

“It isn’t necessarily just technology and resources that are useful. Heretic Inquisitor,
you said that the Tower’s population is growing by nearly 100,000 people a day.”

“Yes.”

“What we need now is a focal point. It’s unity.”

The Heretic Questioner blinked.

“I agree, but isn’t that why we’re supporting you? You’re the focal point of the Tower.
We’ll provide you with a suitable position soon! We can make you a great position
like [Guild Alliance Leader] or [Counsel Leader]!”

I shook my head.

Guild Alliance Leader.

Some people might be charmed by the title. On the outside, it would look like I had
the most authority in the Tower.

“Such tricks won’t do.”

“Oh? Why do you say it’s a trick?”

“Everyone here, not just me, needs to garner the people’s support. I’m not really the
one who controls the Tower right now. It’s all of you. Only when you all gain the
people’s support will the Tower unite as one.”

“……”

The library became quiet.

Then, the Heretic Questioner smiled.

“You have a point. But did you know? Death King, we have original sin. We’ve done
tremendous things to stop the chaos in the Tower. And we continue to do them. It’s a
shame, but we have absolutely no moral legitimacy!”

“…The Heretic Questioner is right,” muttered the Black Dragon Master. “We’ve done
too much to act as symbols.”

“It’s all right if you act well from now on. Please, act well.”

“……”

“We’re a team. I can’t solve religious issues like the Heretic Questioner. I can’t deal
with gang troubles like the Venomous Snake, either. I can’t match you in politics,
economics, or security. I’m not being humble. It’s the truth.”

However.

“I’ll never betray you. You can trust me.”

I was confident I could bring these talented people together.

“If there is a problem between you, I will mediate. If you need to talk, I’ll create a
place for conversation. Trust me. Let’s become one team.”
“……”

The guildmasters were silent.

I held up the fairy tale, [Me and Our Scapegoat].

“As you said, this Apocalypse doesn’t have a great resource within it. There isn’t any
fertile land, either. But there is an [unacceptable sacrifice] in here. Everyone. We
cannot tolerate this sort of sacrifice. Let’s show the world what kind of people we are
by targeting this world.”

That was right.

This was a declaration of intent.

A declaration that would show how we would manage the Tower.

We would not turn a blind eye to someone being sacrificed. We would face them. And
if the difficulties couldn’t be resolved, we would break through, head-on.

We would show the world that we were such people.

“That’s how we can gain trust and ask the inhabitants of the Tower to believe in us.”

“I see. A trust in the administration.”

“Yes.”

I looked at the guildmasters one by one.

“Fortunately, this Apocalypse allows two or more players. Black Dragon Master.
Heretic Questioner. Count. Venomous Snake. Crusader…”

The most brilliant, all-star group in this Tower.

My colleagues.

“Please fight by my side.”

All of us would participate in this Apocalypse.

[TN]: “Me and Our Scapegoat” is a reference to the short story, “The Ones Who Walk
Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. You don’t need to know the story to read the
next few chapters (actually, the story has very little relation to the novel other than
the setup), but I think it’s cool how well-read the author is.
After hearing my request, my colleagues didn’t say anything for a long time. Maybe
they were looking back at the lives they led. Their days that were stained with
purges.

“…You’re asking us to take the harder path, really.”

After a long period of silence, the Black Dragon Master opened her mouth.

Her voice was nearly lamentful.

“People can become skillful with practice. If they try, they can become a moral
person too. They can become powerful by working hard. But it’s nearly impossible
for someone to be competent, moral, and powerful. It’s simply too hard… It’s truly a
difficult path.”

“Someone told me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

I held out my hand to the guildmasters.

“If so, the road to heaven must be paved with countless sins.”

There would be countless people who become jealous of us. There would also be
many who make trouble for fun. People who want power would fight, and those who
come to agitate the Tower’s inhabitants would appear.

Such people existed.

Many of them.

Evil is both common and strong.

“But that isn’t a reason for us to give up. Let’s show a slightly better world to the
people who have forsaken the outside world to come here.”

I pushed out my hand again. It wasn’t so that we could shake hands.

It was a pose for multiple people to join their hands at once.

Like a sports team cheering together before a game, I quietly extended my right hand
toward the guildmasters.

“……”

“Aha.”

While the Black Dragon Master hesitated, the Heretic Questioner reached out his
hand first. Touch. The Heretic Questioner’s palm joined the back of my hand.

“I don’t mind! It’s appealing if the ones in charge have moral legitimacy. And Death
King is the only one who can gild us with morality. It’ll be a waste to miss this
opportunity!”

“Ahem.”

The Venomous Snake put his hand on top.

“I’m now the successor to the Righteous Sect. The old man is always nagging me to
think about the sect’s mindset or whatever when he sees me. Well, I guess I’ll
participate out of respect for my master who’s staying behind.”

“Mm.”

The Crusader laid her hand on top.

“I’ve been using my skill since before this conversation began.”

Lie detection.

“Nobody here has let false words escape their mouths. And more than that, Kim
Gongja. I know that you ran through [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] and
[The Tale of Sormwyn Academy] with an upright heart.”

“……”

“I believe in your truthful attitude, I believe in your true love, and above all else, in
your character. All revolutions fail. But I will at least devote my life and soul to make
our revolution be remembered as the most spectacular failure.”

“Mhm.”

The Count extended her hand.

“I can’t keep up with the romantics’ tale. But whatever. I’m just following the crowd. I
don’t want my precious stocks to fall. Let’s do our best, everyone.”

“……”

Lastly.

The Black Dragon Master hesitatingly put her hand on top.

“…I can’t promise you much. I can’t guarantee our success. I can’t throw away the
tools I’ve used so far. But… All right.”

Black eyes swept over us.

“If we fail. If someone among us must die… I will be the first to do so. I’ll promise you
that.”

“Then I’ll also make you a promise.”

I smiled.

“I won’t let anybody here die. No matter where. No matter when.”

“You’re making an absurd promise, you…”

The Black Dragon Master smiled bitterly. However, she did not take back her hand.
The six of us.

Our hands were gathered.

“Mm. Very well!”

The Librarian smiled as he swam through the air.

“Death King. Black Dragon Master. Heretic Questioner. Count. Venomous Snake.
Crusader. I designate these six as characters of [Me and Our Scapegoat]! When you
open your eyes, you’ll be in a world that met its discontinuation at its height. Be
careful. It’s very different from the Apocalypses you’ve encountered so far!”

The Librarian opened the book. Poof! Light flowed from the pages of the Apocalypse
and onto our overlapping hands.

“The difficulty of this Apocalypse is A-Class!”

The light wrapped around us.

“Unlike last time, I can’t bestow many blessings upon you. The Constellation of this
Apocalypse is alive. Alive and reigning over the world. You will enter as a sort of
invading army in this Apocalypse. Naturally, the Constellation will be hostile.”

The Librarian laughed lightly.

“Death King, the Constellation will treat you, especially, as a foe!”

‘A foe!’

Before I could understand what the Librarian meant, our vision was completely
covered with light. Actually, I didn’t have to try to understand what the Librarian’s
words meant.

As the world turned white, before we even opened our eyes to greet the new
world—

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness detects invaders.]

A cutting voice flickered through our brains.

The voice continued like a tidal wave or an urgent siren, ringing one after the other.

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness issues you a warning.]

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness intends to eradicate the invaders.]

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness declares war on you!]

Me and Our Scapegoat.

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness abhors you.]

This fairy tale was ruled by the Constellation who invaded Raviel’s world.

3.

In a story with a hero and a demon king, the demon king is always careless.

The demon king never reveals his full power at the start. He sends off the weaklings
to fight the hero. The hero, who is weak at the start of the story, grows by defeating
increasingly strong opponents.

Until the hero finally confronts the demon king.

-I’ve been waiting.

The Constellation of this fairy tale was different.

-How dare you oppose my master!

This Constellation bared its venomous teeth to us from the beginning.

The first in our party to detect the crisis was my Holy Sword.

[Shiny detects the presence of her sister sword!]

The hilt of the sword shivered at my waist as if to announce the crisis. Though our
visions weren’t clear yet, Shiny hastily shouted.

[Shiny confirms that the properties of ‘The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness’

matches the properties of the ‘Sacrifice Sword’!]

[The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness is the fourth sister sword left by Lefanta
Aegim, ‘Sacrifice’!]

As soon as Shiny’s warning finished, my eyesight returned.

A blue sky.

Our party was falling through the sky. We had been floating shortly after being put
into this world, so we hadn’t realized it. However, our bodies were quickly dragged
down by gravity.

Whoooosh!

The wind brushing our foreheads. Blood rushing to our heads. We were plummeting
down.

“Mm!”

At that moment, the Heretic Questioner grabbed my forearm. The wind was pushing
our party apart, but he had caught me in a moment. The Heretic Questioner
squeezed my waist tightly with his legs. Then, he made a hand sign.

“Death King, hold my right foot! Don’t ever let go! Sacred Technique, Transmission!”

I clung onto the Heretic Questioner’s right foot as he had instructed. The next
moment, the Heretic Questioner had moved to the Black Dragon Master’s side.

“Black Dragon Master!”

“Yes! Hold out your leg!”

The Black Dragon Master grabbed the Heretic Questioner’s left foot like it was
obvious.

“Aha.” The Heretic Questioner’s laughter mixed into the wind. I thought that the
sound of his laughter made the gravity that threatened to crush us feel lighter.

“Sacred Technique, Transmission!”

The Heretic Questioner, in turn, brought in the Count, the Crusader, and the
Venomous Snake. We clung onto the Heretic Questioner like baby pigs to a mama pig.
In this situation, the Venomous Snake seemed very upset and yelled,

“Hey! Why am I the last one?!”

“It’s because you’re the most useless one here! Chen Mu-mun master! Our power
won’t be affected even if you’re gone!”

“You shitty priest!”

With five people clinging to him, the Heretic Questioner couldn’t make his hand
signs. He had no space. He had no time. Even now, the ground was getting closer and
closer.

“Good job, kid!”

However, the Black Dragon Master shouted as if she had only been waiting for all of
us to be gathered.

“Everyone, say you consent to my skill! Quick! Hurry!”

“Yes!” “I agree!” “Got it!” “I agree.” “Fuck, sure!”

“Teleport!”

Six people moved together. An instantaneous teleportation. Unlike the Heretic

Questioner, who had to form hand signs, the Black Dragon Master’s skill could be
activated with just contact.

It was the skill she had used to oppose the [Devil King of Fall Rain].

Thus, we safely landed on the ground.

-I won’t let you go!

But the ground was not safe at all.

-Sing, my apostles!
Ten thousand. Maybe a hundred thousand. Maybe millions.

In the horizon stood those in the shape of ‘children.’ Each of them was the same as
the Apostle who invaded Raviel’s world. Possibly millions of children surrounded us
in layers.

-La.

And they sang.

-La. La.

-Lu. Lala.

-La.

A million a capella tunes, all at once. A hundred thousand low notes, a hundred
thousand high notes, and a hundred thousand whistles overlapped. The children
danced in a circle like they were happy. With each step, the ground reverberated.

Boom. Thud. Boom.

-La.

This was the A-Class difficulty Apocalypse.

A world that saw us as the enemy, was not careless, and tried to destroy us with all
its might from the very beginning.

“Keugh!”

The party hurriedly pulled up their auras. However, it wasn’t enough. We were facing
an all-out attack less than a minute after being transmitted to this Apocalypse. A
wave of happy dreams, difficult to handle with just one’s aura, violently struck us.

“Count!” shouted the Heretic Questioner. “Give me money!”

“Damn it, my bank account is going to break…!”

“Yes! It’ll be better than breaking your head!”

“A 15 percent interest! Compounding!”

“I won’t take it unless it’s free!”

“What? That’s ridicul—”

“Nisha!” the Crusader yelled.

At first, I didn’t know what ‘Nisha’ was referring to. I realized it when I saw the
Crusader’s gaze, directed at the Count. Nisha was the Count’s real name.

“Shut up and take out your wallet! I’ll kill you!”

“Ugh. Damn it! Withdraw, boundless!”

The Count took out a pouch. The pouch had a snail pattern on it. She undid the gold
ribbon to open the pouch and flipped it upside down. Clink, clink! Countless gold
coins spilled onto the floor.

“Change owner! Heretic Questioner!”

“Ahaha, thank you!”

The Heretic Questioner quickly made a hand sign.

“Sacred Technique, Devotion!”

A light burst from his hands. The white light encased the pile of gold coins, which
became dust and disappeared. In its stead, the aura around us became unbelievably
strengthened.

“Sacred Transfer: Aura reinforcement and mental attack immunity! Reinforcement

targets: Count, Heretic Questioner, Death King, Black Dragon Master, Crusader,
Venomous Snake. Reinforcement time: Uncertain. Gold will grab our hands.
Technique complete!”

“Heeeeooooaaaah! Hiagh! My money!”

The Count screamed. Gold coins continued to pour out of her pouch, and as soon as
they did, they became light and evaporated without a trace. She seemed so shocked
that cat ears popped out of her head.

“My money! Nya! My lifeblood! My money, which is more precious than blood!”

“Aha. Should I donate my blood?”

“I don’t need it! If I go bankrupt, the Tower will also go bankrupt! You got it?! If you
don’t want to eat dog food for breakfast tomorrow, go and attack already!”

Falling from the sky. A million songs. We succeeded in escaping the incessant crises.

Only now could we look at the main culprit who attacked our party.

-Tsk. Do you have enough skill to devour Idol, Compassion, and Prayer? Attempting to
hide the senses and attack…!

The Constellation floated in the air.

Like the Prayer Sword, it was red all over. However, it was slightly darker than the
Prayer Sword. The little child covered in dark red blood trembled in the air.

-But it’s no use! Leader of the traitors! My loyalty to Lefanta Aegim shall never break. I
will kill you and ensure you don’t get in my master’s path!

Sure enough.

I grabbed the hilt of the Holy Sword and pulled it out.

‘Raviel became a Constellation by stabbing her heart with a fragment of [The

Guardian Goddess].’

This meant that even a fragment had the ability to make a Constellation.

If so, then it would be possible for the fragment itself to become [a new
Constellation].

The Sacrifice Sword evolved from being a fragment of [The Guardian Goddess] to
[The Evangelist of Eternal Happiness].

-Apostles! Eliminate them!

And the Sacrifice Sword was still loyal to Lefanta Aegim.

Unlike her sisters who had been helplessly absorbed by me, the Sacrifice Sword had
been amassing her power. She had ambushed me as if she had been expecting me to
come. That was what had happened thus far.

“……”

I glared straight ahead, gripping the Holy Sword.

Literally hundreds of thousands of troops thronged on all sides.

Instead of yelling, the apostles sang, and instead of stabbing us, they danced.
However, their songs were more threatening than any shout, their dance deadlier
than any spear or blade.

Our forces were six people.

The enemy was innumerable.

“Count-nim.”

“What is it?!”

“You still have a lot left in your wallet, right?”

This was the best moment for me to act.

“What?”

“Please shoot this stage up big time.”

As the Count blinked, I quietly chanted.

“Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.”

1.

My favorite skill. The exact ability of the Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation is this:

[Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]

Rank: SSS

Effects: You can summon those whom you’ve killed yourself. The dead cannot use
their abilities from when they were alive. However, the dead can keep their
memories and appearances from their lives if you so desire. If not, they will just be
summoned as monsters.

※However, you can only summon them once a week.

There was an important segment here.

The part that said [The dead can keep their memories and appearances from their
life if I so desire].

In other words, if I didn’t want them to, the dead would be summoned as monsters
without their memories and former appearances.

Just like now.

-Guoooh!
My shadows fanned out. White bones sprouted from the shadows that were laid out
like linoleum floors. Five thousand skeletons. It had been a while, but I wasn’t
pleased to see them. Weren’t they proof of my deaths?

‘But I need these guys now.’

The apostles of [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness] swarmed, singing a song.

-La. Lula, lu.

-Lala.

The tune they were singing was a song that buried listeners in their happy
memories. It was an attack difficult for even warriors with mental training to resist.
The members of the Demonic Sect had also fallen quickly at the wedding hall.

However.

-Guooooh!

The skeletons howled, unaffected as usual.

The charge was composed of only five thousand skeletons. They fiercely ran at the
millions of enemies. It wasn’t because the skeletons were particularly brave or
resistant against mental attacks.

-Aha. I see.

Bae Hu-ryeong spoke from my side.

-The mental attack doesn’t work because they have no ‘memories.’

That was right.

The songs of the apostles of The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness were certainly
powerful. However, this power only affected people with memories. To the
summoned beings with no memories at all, the songs were no different than
ordinary songs.
-La…

-Kigigik! Kiek!

And ordinary songs caused no damage.

The skeletons slaughtered the apostles. With daggers, teeth, and skeleton hands,
they were stabbed, bitten, and scratched. Each time, the apostles were swept away.
In terms of physical strength, the apostles were totally incomparable.

-Euk.

The Constellation who watched the battle from above bit her lips. Songs were
roaring from all sides, but every word the Constellation spoke pierced my ears. The
sound was probably transmitted directly to my head.

-This useless rebellion…! You’ll be overpowered by numbers anyway!

I admitted it easily.

“You’re right. That certainly will happen.”

Even if the apostles had no physical attacking power, the numbers were what they
were. There was a fearsome force in sheer quantity. That was why [The Evangelist of
Everlasting Happiness] ambushed us with such confidence.

“But you’ve already taught us how to fight you.”

-What?

She must have read my lips since the Constellation reacted.

“The numbers are a secondary issue. Every army has its weakness. The moment I
learned that you don’t know pain and only spread happiness—”

The skeletons were being overwhelmed by the crowd. However, they had not been
defeated yet. They would last for a short time, one or two minutes at the least. And
that short time was just the moment we needed.

“—the way to destroy you was revealed.”

I held the Holy Sword tightly.

“Black Dragon Master.”

“Speak loudly! I can’t hear you well because of the song!”

“All right. Please launch the mirrors.”

I amplified the volume of my voice with aura. The Black Dragon Master stepped up
beside me. She heard my request and had already put up six mirrors around us.

“Done. But what do you want me to do with the mirrors?”

“Do you remember when you and I fought [The Devil King of Fall Rain]? When the
Devil King shot the beams, you weakened their strength by reflecting them on
mirrors several times. At the same time, you strengthened our attacks. We’ll fight the
same way.”

The Black Dragon Master understood my aim.

“You want to shoot your aura like a beam? That’s fine, but do you have confidence
that you can generate a lot like [The Devil King of Fall Rain] did? If it’s not strong
enough, it won’t matter if the attack is reflected in my mirror.”

“Don’t worry about the strength. Please just spread it as widely as you can.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but… All right. Let’s try it.”

The mirrors soared into the air. North, south, east, west. When light shone on a
mirror, it was immediately reflected onto the other mirrors, covering the field.

‘This will be enough.’

I nodded. Then, I poured my aura on the hilt of the sword. Whoosh! Aura, red like
blood, blazed as it climbed up the blade.

‘Though I can’t push ahead with sheer force like Preta or split the world with
enlightenment like Master.’

If these apostles were my enemies.

If these guys were my allies.

I could fully use an unparalleled skill.

『If I swing my sword only out of hunger, what will happen?』

Because this was the martial arts I inherited from her.

『You will be able to cut a man who has never starved in one blow.』

『Therefore, you can fight half of the Righteous Sect members with one maneuver.』

The apostles who ‘know only happiness’ could never rival me.

I swung my sword at the mirror lifted by the Black Dragon Master.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

First form.

Sword of Starvation.

The enemy forces ruptured.

The hunger of the infernal heavens spewed through the red aura. The demonic art
bounced off of the mirrors. Once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, six. With each
bounce, the red aura sectioned the field in halves.

Chwaaaak!

My attack was very weak compared to the Devil King’s. Compared to Master’s, it was
unbelievably laughable. However, nonetheless, the apostles of happiness perished
even if the red aura barely grazed past them.

-What…?!

Flinch. The Constellation looked down at the battlefield in astonishment.

Of course she was dumbfounded. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of apostles

had literally evaporated with a single blow. The plain had been infested with apostles
mere moments ago, but the places where the red aura scratched were barren.

“Black Dragon Master! Get ready for the next wave!”

Of course, I had no intention of being satisfied with one attack.

“Please keep rotating the mirrors!”

“What in the world… I see. That Constellation’s pawns and your martial arts are
complete opposites!”

Despite her surprise, the Black Dragon Master skillfully adjusted the positions of the
mirrors. She realized that my attack would destroy the enemies with just a touch,
regardless of my output.

Therefore, it was important to spread the attack out as much as possible.

“Don’t mind me and keep attacking! Death King! I’ll take care of the mirrors!”

The mirrors flashed about in the air. The Black Dragon Master was someone who
took immediate action after determining what was important.

Chwaaaak!

I believed in the Black Dragon Master’s words and struck again. I was just using a
familiar art to me, but tens of thousands of enemy troops were wiped out. Ranks two
and three. The Black Dragon Master and my combo attack one-sidedly ravaged the
Constellation’s forces.

“Ahaha! Amazing! It’s really amazing!”

The Heretic Questioner was performing a sacred technique to shield us from the
enemy’s mental attacks.

“F-finish it as soon as you can! Two of my emergency funds have already been
depleted!”

The Count poured out her astronomical assets to back up the Heretic Questioner.

“Venomous Snake! The enemies have a gap there! Deal with it!”
The Crusader oversaw the whole battlefield and gave orders in real time.

“Okay! Damn, the Demonic Sect is stealing all the glory!”

The enemies that couldn’t be stopped by the skeletons were taken care of by the
Venomous Snake.

‘We can do it.’

Just six people.

‘If we work together, we’re invincible!’

However, the six of us overpowered the military of a whole world.

‘Look.’

The inhabitants of the Tower would be gathered in the square now, watching our
military force. Those present would broadcast or record this scene to show the
outside world.

The sight of just six people defeating a million apostles.

‘Look!’

Go wild.

Witness that nothing is impossible in the Tower.

Watch carefully: The world doesn’t pressure us; we pressure it.

And have hope.

-You—

The Constellation’s face wrinkled.

-You vicious outsiders! What right do you have to invade the utopia I created?! There is
no misfortune in this world! No unhappy memories exist!
The Constellation swung her hand. A scene like a hologram floated in the sky,
reflecting the images of the apostles who lived in this world.

-Lala.

-Lu.

The apostles did not live in houses. They didn’t have to build a city. For them, there
was no such thing as hunger. They didn’t need to dig up resources from the ground to
continue living. The apostles sang happily anytime, anywhere, in the form of
children.

-Kyaaaah!

However.

In the heart of this world was an innocent child, stabbed by a sword.

-Aaaagh! Euh, aah! Aaaack!

How the innocent child’s scream became power, I didn’t know. The sword in the
child’s chest was probably forging the rules of this world.

-The world I’ve constructed is far more stable than your worthless dump!

The Constellation shouted over the child’s screams.

-Don’t you dare show your hypocrisy to me, invaders! I followed Lefanta Aegim to
countless worlds. The screams never stopped in any of them. Hundreds of thousands!
Millions! Tens of millions! Hundreds of millions!

The sword named ‘Sacrifice’ lamented.

-Meanwhile, only one in my world. Only one! With one scapegoat, my apostles live a life
without knowing pain. I have committed one sin, but you turn away from hundreds of
millions of sins. What justification do you trash have to destroy my world?!!

I understood.

The Constellation must have set this up after repeated thoughts and agonizing. And,
she must have done so with good intentions.

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, this was the hell that [The
Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness] chose.

‘This world is just an extreme example.’

The challenges that I, that we face while running the Tower would be no different.
When food is scarce. When resources run out. As the people responsible for the
Tower, we will have to sacrifice someone.

-Ha!

The Constellation laughed at my silence.

-You still have enough of a conscience not to say your drivel. If you can’t answer, leave! I
will never recognize you as a new master!

“No. I have a response.”

I took a step forward.

-A response? Ha. What kind of response can someone like you give?

It would be easy to recite the argument that sacrifice is still wrong.

However, an argument was not meant to be said. It must be lived through with one’s
body. Only when one can take responsibility for what one says, when one can
actualize the argument, is it valid.

I did not forget this point.

“I will kill you all.”

-What?

“I will kill you all and make you into ghosts.”

-……
The Constellation did not seem to understand me.

-What are you talking about now…

“All who die by my sword are collected as ghosts. If I want, I can summon them with
all the memories they had in life. I’ll be killing all of you, then summoning you to live
in this world again.”

I raised the Holy Sword.

“You want to live happily ever after. I’ll let you. A life in which you don’t suffer, don’t
remember suffering, and just sing like you do now. I’ll make it real.”

-……

“The ghosts don’t even need to eat to live. I will give you the world that you want.”

It was simple.

I would kill millions of apostles.

After killing them, I could summon them back to this world.

I would bring back their memories from when they were alive.

Nothing would change.

“I’m not talking to you alone.”

The inhabitants of the Tower who were watching our party at this moment.

To the innumerable people watching, I made a proclamation.

“There are evil people who cannot be reformed. There are sinners who cannot
change their minds. There are some souls who want to live again but cannot. From
now on, I will execute them with my own hands.”

-Execute…?

“I’ll kill them and bring them back with my skill. They will be banished to my
shadow, and I will shoulder them forever.”

Suddenly.

The song that had echoed on the horizon stopped.

The song had shaken the sky and the ground, so when it stopped, the world became
eerily silent.

The Constellation looked at me with incredulous eyes.

-Lies… All the wicked and all the souls. A mere mortal cannot…

“Evangelist. The utopia that you boasted about creating here? I can do the same. But
in my world, I don’t even need a single innocent child’s scream.”

-……

Before entering this Apocalypse, the Black Dragon Master had asked me.

Am I ready to become a king?

“It’s simple.”

That was right.

If all worlds were hell, I just needed to become a slightly larger hell.

“My hell is more right than your hell.”

This was the royal road that I chose.[1]

[1]: “Royal road” is “왕도,” or “wang-do.” Think of this as the principle that Gongja
will follow as a ruler, kinda like Naruto’s “nindo” or “Ninja Way.”
-……

The Constellation was silent. [The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness], whose entire
body was covered in blood, quietly bit her lips. Her eyes were shaking, not with the
ripples of the surface but with the shifting of deep ocean currents. The Constellation
remained silent for a long time.

“…Death King.”

Following suit, the apostles had also stopped moving. The battlefield that had been
raging nonstop from the beginning halted for a few moments. During this time, the
Crusader approached me.

“You say you’ll execute the wicked and the sinners. What do you mean by that?”

From behind her, our other colleagues were also directing their gazes at me.
Speculating. Dumbstruck. Or shocked. Eyes filled with different emotions stared at
me.

“I’m being serious.”

I accepted their gazes calmly.

“I know that you all have purged people while managing the Tower. This practice
must continue in the dark even now.”

“……”

“I can’t tell you that your methods so far have been wrong or that you have to fix
them. I don’t have the confidence nor skills to run the Tower better than you do.
However, if you absolutely need to kill someone in the future, just bring them to me.”

“Oh?”
The Heretic Questioner tilted his head. He tilted his head once to the left and once to
the right. After the two bobs, he smiled brightly with understanding.

“I see! No, why didn’t we think of this until now? It’s a really good idea, Death King!”

The Black Dragon Master wrinkled her brows.

“What are you talking about?”

“Think about it. Death King’s skill doesn’t just summon someone. It can give them
their memories from life! Therefore, we can use Death King as a [moving prison]!”

The sound of the Heretic Questioner’s distinctive laughter echoed throughout the
silent plain.

“No need for food! No resources consumed! Say that Death King reaps a serial killer.
If Death King orders him to [never commit murder again], the killer is forever
prohibited from killing!”

“……”

The Black Dragon Master’s eyes slowly grew bigger. As did those of the Count and
the Crusader. Despite their shock, they quickly calculated the advantages outlined by
the Heretic Questioner.

“Using Death King’s skills as a prison will…”

“Yes! Ahaha. The criminals will be fairly terrified. And isn’t the cadence of it just
beautiful? Death King. As a king who literally jails and rules over those who must die,
there’s no better epithet for him!”

“As the owner of Sangryun, I want to offer you my opinion.”

The Count pulled out her fan and tapped on her lower lip.

“It’s not bad. As you may know, the Tower has a significantly higher crime rate than
the outside world. Our prisons are chronically overcrowded, and the cost of
maintenance is high.”
“That’s right. As the master of the Ten Thousand Temple, I also agree!”

The Heretic Questioner grinned. An impromptu meeting of the greatest guilds’

leaders was being held.

“The purpose of a prison is to [contain criminals] and [prevent further offenses].

However, no matter how excellent a corrections program is, it’s hard to stop all
recidivism. A human mind is as complex as it is beautiful. But the four kings can
completely prevent recidivism!”

“……”

The Crusader hesitated.

“I… don’t know. I admit that it’s efficient. But I’m still doubtful. Isn’t it too much of a
burden for a single person to carry?”

“Death King already lodges two thousand people from the martial arts world, the
Righteous Sect, and the Demonict Sect! He probably has people we don’t know of
inside, too! If he already has two thousand people, any number above that means
nothing.”

“…No. I’ll withhold my judgment.”

Meanwhile, the Black Dragon Master was staring at my face. Several emotions were
swirling in her black eyes.

“Will you really be all right?”

I felt that she felt sorry. The Black Dragon Master was feeling some sense of
responsibility. The responsibility for bringing me into their world.

“It’s all right,” I said with conviction.

I was grateful. She was taking responsibility even though I jumped into this world of
my own volition. The Black Dragon Master was a kind and honorable person.
Someday, I would hear her real name.
I turned my head to look up at the Constellation.

“What will you do?”

-……

“If you want to keep fighting us, I won’t stop you. But the outcome is decided. I’ll
absorb this utopia you’re so proud of.”

The Constellation, which had been silent for a long time, opened her mouth.

-… I am not only a fragment of [The Guardian Goddess] but also [The Evangelist of
Everlasting Happiness] with a million apostles. If you take me, all of my apostles will
follow. I must ask, is there any guarantee that you will not use my apostles as your
personal army and use them for wickedness?

“I won’t use them,” I bluntly asserted.

“Even when you invaded Raviel’s world, I summoned only the members of the
Demonic Sect. As I killed the Righteous Sect, I could have summoned them too, but I
did not. It would be against their morals. Those people can never obey the orders of
the Demonic Sect’s young master.”

-……

“Whether it be one million or ten million, I’ll let your apostles live happily in this
world as they have been doing until now.”

The Constellation slowly lowered her head.

When overpowered by force and logic, a person finally speaks the words bound in
their heart.

The Constellation shaped like a child quietly murmured.

-Ahh, Master Lefanta Aegim…

The Constellation’s body began to dissipate.

-To meet you once again…

Blood fell from the sky. The blood hit the ground, pooled together, and eventually
coagulated to the form of a sword. The sword had no mouth, so the Constellation
could not finish her last words.

[The Sacrifice Sword awaits for you to dispose of her and speaks.]

However, the Tower passed on what the sword wanted to say.

[My name is Sacrifice.]

[You can translate someone’s agony to another’s happiness.]

[The nobler and purer the sufferer is, the greater the resulting happiness.]

I walked toward the sword planted in the ground.

Then, I raised my Holy Sword and struck the blood-stained sword.

[The Guardian Goddess absorbs a piece of herself.]

The sword split apart.

[The existence of the Guardian Goddess has become more pronounced.]

Simultaneously, the apostles surrounding us melted down. A million children who

had been covering the whole horizon crumbled apart. The children’s eyes were
smiling even as they were destroyed.

Shaaa—

As the apostles collapsed, red water flowed and the horizon quickly turned bright
red.

[Stage cleared.]

[Today, the 28th floor Stage has been cleared.]

A shallow sea of blood.

The Black Dragon Master looked down vacantly at the blood that rose up to her
calves.

“…Really, all you need to clear a stage is information. You can easily break something
if you know its weaknesses. I was preparing to run when we fell right in the middle
of the enemy. But this quickly…”

“Huh? What? What just happened?”

The Venomous Snake, who had been dealing with the apostles beside my skeletons,
was baffled. He was the only one among us who did not listen to what I was saying
and solely did what he had to.

“Why are these guys suddenly turning into red paint? Huh?”

The Crusader sighed.

“It’s nice to see that you never change, Venomous Snake…”

“…What’s this now? You… Did you fall in love with me?”

“Ahaha. That’d be fun, but sadly, no. The vice leader of the Civil Militia has been
dating someone for a long time!”

The Venomous Snake’s single eye widened.

“What? Really? Who?”

“It’s hard to say. You should find out for yourself!”

No one informed the Venomous Snake of anything else. Looking at the atmosphere, it
seemed everyone else knew and that it was an open secret. I was curious and wanted
to open the character window, but I stopped myself because it would be too great a
violation of privacy.

“Hey, hey. You finished in magnificent time!”

The Count came up to me and patted me on my back.

“I was resigned to pouring money down the bottomless pit for at least a day! As
expected of Death King. Do you remember who the first person to notice you was
when you were just a rookie?”

The Count was pleased that we had safely gotten out of the ambush. I didn’t want to
rain on her parade, but I didn’t intend to rest like this. From the beginning, this stage
was just a stepping stone.

“I apologize, Count. We’re not done yet.”

“Hmm? What do you mean? There was an announcement that the 28th floor was
cleared.”

“Yes. We’re done with the 28th floor.”

I nodded.

“But I plan to break all the way through to the 30th floor today.”

With those words, the Black Dragon Master, who was looking blankly at the sea of
blood, the Venomous Snake, who had been doggedly asking the Crusader about who
she was dating, and the Heretic Questioner, who appeared to have been thinking
about the future, all turned to me in unison.

“Today? Within the day?”

The Black Dragon Master was surprised. Her tone wasn’t doubting whether that was
possible. The Black Dragon Master no longer doubted my ability. Rather, she was
worried about my condition.

“Death King, no, Kim Gongja. You’ve been working too hard recently. You haven’t
taken a day off after you entered [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy]!”

‘Ah.’

That would seem to be the case from the Black Dragon Master’s perspective.

Raviel and I mucked about and played around as much as we wanted on our
honeymoon, but that was an inside joke between Raviel and me. From other people’s
perspectives, I’ve actually been dashing nonstop.

“Even if it’s for a short while, take a break. Humans are animals that can be worn
down by stress. If you don’t plan out your working hours and rest time, you’ll end up
collapsing. I’m serious. You may not know it since you’re still young, but…”

I smiled.

It was actually lovely how she worried sincerely for others.

“You’re right. I have been overdoing it a bit.”

“Right? So, take a break from clearing stages for a while…”

“That’s why I’ll finish everything today and take a break.”

The Black Dragon Master rubbed her forehead.

“You’re not listening at all! Get some rest! Please!”

“Black Dragon Master. The population of the Tower is increasing by 100,000 each
day. Even if 99 percent of them are good people, it means one out of a hundred is a
criminal. That means there are 1,000 more criminals in the Tower every day.”

“……”

“If 10 criminals gather, it’s a gang. If 100 criminals gather, it’s a mafia. When 1,000
people gather, it’s a criminal syndicate. Even now, one criminal army gathers each
day, and we can’t continue attacking Apocalypses forever.”

I spoke calmly.

“Even if it’s by one day, we have to finish this quickly and return to running the
Tower. This is for us, for the current inhabitants, and for the newcomers.”

“If you say that…”

The Black Dragon Master bit her lips.

“If you put it that way, how can I argue…”

“Don’t worry.”
I smiled and held out my fist to the Black Dragon Master.

“When I rest, I’ll rest really well. Nobody else can rest as well as I do, probably. You’ll
be surprised if you come across me while I rest with Raviel.”

“I don’t want to see newlyweds acting lovey-dovey, you know…?”

“If you’re really bothered about it, please help me prepare a ring later. I need to give
Raviel a ring, but I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

“Haa…”

The Black Dragon Master sighed deeply, still clutching her forehead.

“Fine… You need to give her the prettiest ring in the world. Really. How did I end up
working with a child like this…”

“I’m forever grateful to you.”

“Drop it. In terms of being grateful… No, let’s not talk about this. It’s embarrassing
when other people can see. I realized this when you started dating in Sormwyn, but
do you really have no shame…?”

Even as she complained, the Black Dragon Master acquiesced to my proposal.

She and other leaders of the Tower knew the truth. It would be dangerous if they
didn’t return to the front lines of administration. They weren’t just Hunters who
cleared floors; they were also the managers who governed the Tower.

They had to finish their days in the library.

“Transmit.”

Pop!

After some time, we each returned to the library, where Hunters were gathered.
They had just watched the livestream of us six overpowering a million apostles. Was
that why they only looked at us quietly, from a distance?

There was an overwhelming gap.

The authority of the top rankers was thus placed on a solid foundation.

‘Okay. Good.’

This was the atmosphere I wanted. We proved our rankings not through power but
skill. We also proved that we were a united team. For a while, at least, they wouldn’t
scheme anything troublesome.

“Hmm.”

There was another being who was watching us.

The owner of the Great Library, the Corner Librarian, stared at us with his chin on
his hand.

“Welcome back. Congratulations. I thought that the stage would be more difficult, but
your synergy surpassed my expectations. I didn’t think you could conquer a world
with a reigning Constellation so quickly.”

Unlike his congratulatory words, the Librarian’s face was impassive.

‘Of course it is.’

[The Corner Librarian] was an intense lover of stories.

He loved seeing characters’ hardships, trials and unexpected obstacles, and their
unexpected solutions. Overwhelming victory or defeat didn’t suit the Librarian’s
taste.

I knew just how to lure the Librarian.

‘Character window.’

Characters appeared before my eyes.

Name: Corner Librarian

Favorability: 98
Favorite Genres: [Fusion], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure], [Horror], [History],
[War], [Sports], [SF], [Myth], [Fairy Tales]…

Disliked Genres: N/A

Favorite Characters: [Character], [Constellation Killer], [Death King]

Hated Characters: N/A

Favorite Plot: [Story]

Hated Plot: [Serial Discontinuation]

Psychological State: ‘Indeed, the Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness was a terrible

match for the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. She wasn’t lucky. Tsk, tsk. Foolish thing.
She would have been able to fight a bit more if she predicted the disadvantage and
asked for reinforcements from other Constellations.’

I nodded.

‘It’s there.’

My name was added to the Librarian’s list of favorite characters.

Next to the [Constellation Killer], which had been there before, [Death King] was
added.

As the Librarian himself admitted, the [Constellation Killer] was the character he
loved the most. The fact that my name was there beside his meant that I was almost
as beloved.

“Librarian.”

“Yes. What will you choose for the next Apocalypse?”

The Librarian fluttered his sleeves and smiled.

“If you want, I can recommend something personally. The fairy tale ended so quickly,
so how about a myth this time? It’s long and dangerous, but that’s how unspeakably
great the rewards are. Or…””

“The character you love most is Lefanta Aegim.”

I cut off the Librarian’s words.

“How do I compare to him?”

“Hmm? That’s, of course… It’s almost shameful to rank you two. The Constellation
Killer and you are complete opposites in nature!”

The Librarian stroked his chin.

“Um, what should I say? If the Constellation Killer is like a man who bears all the
misfortunes of the world… Death King, you’re like chocolate ice cream! It’s black on
the outside, so you think it’ll taste bitter, but it’s really sweet when you try it!”

Setting aside whether that analogy was appropriate…

“I’ve chosen our next apocalypse.”

“Which is it?”

“The Epic of Lefanta Aegim.”

“……”

The Librarian faltered.

“You showed it to me when we went to the snowy mountain by ourselves after [The
Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] were cleared.”

At that time, floating before the corpse of a giant dragon, the Librarian had said that
it was his dream to be killed by Lefanta Aegim. With that, he showed the old leather-
bound book that he had read dozens or hundreds of times like it was something
precious.

[The Epic of Lefanta Aegim].

Even now, the book was probably hidden by the Librarian’s chest.

“Death King…?”

The Librarian raised the corner of his mouth.

“Yes.”

“I know that you see the Constellation Killer as a rival, but [The Epic of Lefanta
Aegim] isn’t an Apocalypse…? I can only send you to Apocalypses, worlds that have
come to an unfortunate state of suspension.”

The tip of his lips was trembling.

“[The Epic of Lefanta Aegim] is still continuing. I can never intervene in it. I cannot
accept your request—”

“But.”

I stared directly at the Librarian.

“Don’t you want to see it?”

“……”

“Didn’t you say so? To you, the Constellation Killer is the greatest character. And I
come close to him.”

The master of the Great Library of All Things.

The Constellation who loved books more than anyone.

That was why I threw him an ‘irresistible temptation’ for a bibliomaniac.

“A scene where your favorite characters are together. Don’t you want to see it?”

The genre of the next stage I chose was a crossover.

2.

A cruel fate awaited those who were bewitched by stories.

I wasn’t talking about people who simply enjoyed them. I was talking about those
who were bewitched. Crazed. They fell deeply again and again, and eventually, they
gave up half of their lives to stories.

For them, reality was nothing but a world that could not be a story. There were no
dramatic plot twists. No shocking endings. People were just people who could not be
reborn as [characters].

Reality was a disappointment.

Humans were contemptible.

And above all else, they worshipped stories.

Disappointment, contempt, and worship made up the true identity of ‘those who
were bewitched by stories.’ That was why they became fanatical when a story
unfolded in real life and cheered when real people were reborn as characters.

They hadn’t actually lost the heat in their hearts.

They were just waiting for the right moment.

“……”

The final boss of all readers was standing before me now.

“L-Lefanta Aegim and… your crossover?”

This individual loved stories so much that he built a library himself.

“For certain, that’s… an attractive offer.”

The library he built was so large and magnificent that it covered a whole world and
was called the Great Library of All Things, for it contained the thoughts of all
creation.

“However, I can only offer you Apocalypses. It is an inviolable rule for me. All stories
have the right to end autonomously, so rashly intervening is…”

His lips were quivering now.

‘He’s wavering.’

I was certain. In the end, the Librarian would be persuaded. No practical logic could
convince the Librarian.

But the words [Don’t you want to see it?], referring to the story, could tempt the
Librarian down to hell.

“Ah. You can just drop it if you don’t want to see it.”

It was an irresistible offer.

“I was just making an indulgent suggestion. I could make a scene where your two
favorite characters interact. But if you don’t want it, I won’t force you.”

“……”

“But you actually want to see it, don’t you?”

The Librarian’s complexion changed visibly. His emotions were transparent.

Suffering. Agonizing. Craving for a decadent dessert, a crossover that would never
transpire organically.

“I…”
Eventually, the Librarian opened his mouth.

“I signed a contract with the Tower.”

The breath coming from his lips was hot.

“Not all Constellations make contracts with the Tower. Only the Constellation who
sign contracts can enter. We’re tenants, basically. In exchange for renting a floor of
the Tower, I have a restriction.”

“What is the restriction?”

“To provide humans only Apocalypses…”

The Librarian flailed his hand.

Each time his hand sliced the air, the books that orbited around him fell to the floor.

“An Apocalypse can mean many things, but The Epic of Lefanta Aegim is not one of
them.”

These books had the same function as being the Librarian’s guards. When Hunters
attacked him the other day, the Librarian used the power of the books to subdue
them.

“A contract is a contract… I cannot violate it as I please. The Tower, the Master of the
Tower, will be furious. I do not want to anger the Tower Master. Mm. Traditionally,
aren’t tenants at the mercy of their landlords…?”

In other words.

The Librarian was stripping himself of his weapons.

“J-just for reference…”

Dozens of books were dropped. Neutralizing all the powers he held, the Librarian
looked at me.

“I actually don’t have much power on my own…”

“……”

“It’s not just me. Many Constellations are like that. We have special powers, but
surprisingly, we’re not that good at fighting. Without a book, I become but a simple,
fragile reader. Well. So… You get it, don’t you, Gongja…?”

I did. I understood completely.

“Yes. You can’t break the contract.”

I strode toward the Librarian. The distance narrowed. The librarian was primly
holding his sleeves together. With a tense expression, he looked up at me.

“Unless it’s an unavoidable situation.”

I grabbed the Librarian by his neck and lifted him up.

It was easy. [The Corner Librarian] didn’t weigh much.

Though his clothes were long and thick, there was no resistance when I lifted him up.

“Oh…!”

The Librarian exhaled.

“Please be gentle when you take [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim].”

“Ah…”

The trembling of the Librarian’s lips increased. Intimidation and coercion. Though he
was the master of a world and a Constellation, the Librarian did not fight back at all.

“How rude… I have shown you endless kindness until now. I trusted you. To think
you would betray me like this…! Aaah. I’m hurt. This is why so many stories warn
against trusting a human…”

This guy was terrible at acting.

I smirked and squeezed his throat a little harder. The Librarian whined.
“Give it to me.”

“……”

“If you don’t, I’ll kill you. Pervert.”

The Librarian’s face, looking up at me, began to become shadowed. We were acting.
But the Librarian felt the sincerity in my voice.

It was natural.

If we wanted to trick the Tower, the intimidation had to be somewhat realistic.

“P-pervert? Gongja, don’t you think you’re being too harsh…?”

“What else do you call someone who collects a person’s hair and nails? Furthermore,
you said that your lifelong dream is to die by Lefanta Aegim’s hand. Your wish… Is it
normal to want to be killed by the character you love the most?”

The Librarian shut up.

“Ah, speaking of. If I think about it, I’m also a character you love.”

The edges of my lips curved up.

“How about it? You don’t need to wait. I can make your wish come true now.”

“Now…?”

“Do you want to die here by my hand?”

The Librarian flinched, and his shoulders curled in. He spasmed as if he were struck
by lightning. Envy and desire oozed from his upturned eyes. Little by little, very
slowly, the Librarian pulled something from his bosom with a trembling hand.

[The Epic of Lefanta Aegim].

It was an old, worn book that had been read hundreds of times and stained by his
hands. It was the most cherished book that the Librarian had in his infinite
collection, the one that he carried on him.
“I will give it to you…”

The Librarian presented me the treasure he valued over his own life.

“Well done.”

I didn’t let go of his neck as I grabbed [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim] with one hand.
“Ah,” said the Librarian, parting his lips. His face was a mess now. Ecstasy and self-
loathing were blurred together.

[The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]

Genre: You cannot view this at your current level.

Difficulty Level: You cannot view this at your current level.

Player Limit: You cannot view this at your current level.

※The Serialization is ongoing.

Introduction: You cannot view this at your current level.

“Oho.”

Was it impossible to read anything about a book not authorized by the Librarian?
This was new information.

I looked down at the Librarian with interest.

“I can’t see it, though? It’s unreadable.”

“W-well, you can only see the Apocalypses because I allow it… Normally, all the
books here are forbidden texts. Humans cannot just read them…”

“Then explain it with your mouth. Firsthand.”

“……”

The Librarian could not refuse. It was the character he said he loved most. The
Librarian started sharing Lefanta Aegim’s history on his own accord.

“Lefanta Aegim is… The Constellation Killer is from the same region as you.”

“What?”

“He was born in the same world, same area, and as the same race as you. Not just
that, but you have the same family name.”

Then, the Librarian said something completely expected. He lowered his gaze and
murmured, “The surname Aegim was something the Constellation Killer made
himself. It’s a simple compound word. Though, he used the language from England
instead of the one from where you were born.”

England? Was it English?

Since it’s ‘Ae’ and ‘gim’—

“…Does it mean ‘I’ and ‘Kim’?”[1]

“Correct.”

Oh, my god.

“Didn’t I tell you? Once is a coincidence. Twice is a connection. But the third time is
an inevitability. The fates of you and the Constellation Killer have intersected at
various points, so it can be said that the relationship between you two is inevitable.”

My eyes widened at the unexpected background of the Constellation Killer.

‘He’s from Korea?’

The only person I’ve met so far from there was the thug with the disgustingly cool
ponytail. But the Constellation Killer came from the same place.

‘Does this mean I’m the only sane person from Korea?’
I was starting to doubt the integrity of other people from Korea when the Librarian
spoke again.

“The Constellation Killer was summoned to another world as a child,” said the
Librarian.

“At the time, the Constellation Killer was just a high school student. Of course, he was
extremely confused when he was summoned. However, he awakened an ability in the
summoned world and persevered through the perilous world.”

“…Wait. Just a moment.”

I was seized by a strange feeling of familiarity. Didn’t I know this plot?

“A high school student being summoned to another world. That’s totally…”

“Correct.”

The Librarian nodded slightly.

“The genre of [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim] is [High School Student Messes Around in
an Isekai]. For short, just [Isekai Student]. Though the Constellation Killer is too old
to be called a high school student now…”[2]

My jaw dropped. Isekai?

‘That term was as extinct as a dinosaur when I heard it as a child.’

Could it be?

Was the Constellation Killer, Lefanta Aegim, an old fossil?

“Of course, it would be unfair to say that he simply messed around. The Constellation
Killer suffered countless hardships before he became the first emperor of the Aegim
Empire…”

Whenever the Librarian recited the story of Lefanta Aegim, his voice turned into a
glowing light that entered [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim].

The light permeated the book, soaking into it, and settled into readable words in the
epic.

-A long time ago.

-There were people who lived on top of the corpse of the ancient Dragon Emperor.

“The Constellation Killer… set foot on the 20th floor that you now own.”

-They wished for a hero.

-Because there were no heroes among them.

“That’s where he began his journey that would pierce through the world.”

-They prayed to God.

-God granted their wish.

“It was a journey to found a country…”

Then, the Librarian looked down at the book, which began to emit a white light like
the other Apocalypses, as if he were afraid.

“And now, the Constellation Killer is on the 50th floor.”

The 50th floor.

The Constellation Killer was at the place Bae Hu-ryeong had talked about.

“Here… there’s a problem. You have not yet reached the 50th floor yet. You haven’t
gotten out of the [beginners’ area] yet. And the 50th floor is higher up; it’s a special
place… It is strictly, seriously forbidden to send beginners to the 50th floor.”

His words surprised those who had been listening with bated breaths.

“Everything below the 50th floor is the beginners’ area?”

“But we’ve worked so hard to get here…”

I wasn’t surprised.
I knew for a while that the floors before the 10th floor were a tutorial. I also heard
from Bae Hu-ryeong that we would be competing with Hunters from other worlds
starting on the 50th floor.

‘In other words, it means that not having to compete with Hunters from other worlds
until the 50th floor is a measure to protect beginners.’

Thinking that, I asked, “When you say forbidden, do you mean you cannot send me to
the 50th floor under any circumstances?”

The Librarian’s face crumpled again.

“That’s… No. The one who sends you… If the floor administrator pays the price, it’s
possible.”

“Then, it doesn’t matter. Aren’t you going to pay the price?”

“A-at least…”

The Librarian was close to tears.

“At least limit the people to just one, Kim Gongja, please…”

“…All right.”

Even if the Librarian didn’t make such a desperate plea, I had intended to face
Lefanta Aegim alone.

“Send me to the 50th floor.”

The Librarian closed his eyes tight.

“…Don’t regret it.”

“I’m going so that I won’t regret it.”

The Librarian gave up after hearing my resolute reply. His jittering hand smoothed
over the cover of [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]. Then, he whispered in a frail voice.

“Death King. I designate you as a character of [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]…”

At that moment.

[Warning!]

[Abnormal access has been detected.]

[A penalty will be given to ‘The Corner Librarian.’]

A vicious voice slammed into the inside of my head. The Librarian flinched. I
probably wasn’t the only one hearing the voice. However, the Librarian didn’t stop
talking, even as he shuddered.

“I exercise my power.”

[Repeating the warning.]

[A penalty will be given to ‘The Corner Librarian.’]

The Librarian exhaled.

“I don’t care. Go, Death King… And show me the image of you with the Constellation
Killer.”

Fwooosh!

White light blinded me.

[Abnormal access has been detected.]

As my vision continued to turn white, the warnings continued to ring.

[Warning!]

[The blessing given to you by the Goddess of Beauty is suspended.]

[You can no longer observe others’ favorability rating!]

[The blessing given to you by the Goddess of Vitality is suspended.]

[You can no longer observe others’ psychological states!]

Then.

[A resident of the ‘Tower’ that has not been given a name enters the 50th floor.]

On a stage where nobody from my world has gone before.

I took my first steps on the ’50th floor’ of the Tower.

[1]: This might be a little confusing, but basically, Lefanta Aegim’s original last name
is “Kim” (김). ㄱ is a consonant that is sort of a mix of the “k” and “g” sounds. The
“Ae” of Aegim is pronounced “Aye,” or the English first person pronoun “I.” In other
words, Aegim means “I, Kim.”

[2]: The term “isekai” is used here since that’s what most readers would be familiar
with, even though it’s Japanese. The “Isekai Student” genre is referring to a subset of
the isekai genre that deals with high school students. If you’re curious, the name of
this genre in Korean is 이고깽 (igokkeng).
1.

Kim ■ remembered the day he first fell into another world.

-Congratulations.

-You have been chosen as the warrior who will save this world.

A dazzlingly beautiful woman smiled at him. Bewildered, Kim ■ looked at the angel
before him.

Though he had seen many celebrities on the news and in videos, he was only [a
normal high school student]. It was the first time he ever met someone beautiful
enough to brighten up her surroundings with a slight smile. He could only stutter in
her presence.

-E-excuse me? Angel-nim? Where is this?

-You don’t need to rush. Warrior-nim, I am [The Guardian Goddess]. This is the name of
the Constellation who will protect you and guide your future days. You may not know a
lot right now, but you will learn many things.

So she was a goddess, not an angel.

Kim ■ felt dazed.

-I was definitely on the school rooftop just now…?

-You were being bullied at school.

The goddess serenely put her hands together.

-Young humans are sometimes like beasts in that they practice pure evil in complete
ignorance. Unfortunately, warrior-nim became their prey, and you fell because you
could not endure it.

-Fell…

-Yes. To be specific, you fell to your death.

Kim ■ only remembered after hearing the goddess’s words.

The school rooftop.

The iron door to the rooftop was tightly locked. He felt like he was being challenged
when he saw that the doorknob was secured with chains. So, Kim ■ opened the
window of the 5th floor classroom and got out. He climbed a pipe onto the roof.

It was a crazy thing to do.

However, Kim ■ felt alive for the first time since his birth when he clung to the pipe
and crawled up.

‘It’s funny.’

It was the first time in his life that he climbed out a window and scaled a pipe—the
first time he had climbed onto the school rooftop. He never felt anything like this
when he was struggling to survive.

He felt alive because he was facing death.

-……

The sky he saw from the rooftop was red.

Kim ■ felt thankful that the sky turned red once a day.

For the first time, he thanked the heavens.

The red sky was a little friendlier than the blue sky. He wanted to break his body
against the kind color.

‘If I fall… ’

Kim ■ looked down at the ground. The schoolyard basked in the sunset like the
Sahara.

‘I heard that after I fall—as soon as I jump—I’ll regret jumping.’

Kim ■ took off his indoor shoes and placed them down neatly on the floor. The soles
of his shoes were blackened with permanent marker. He had not scribbled it on
himself.

‘Will I regret it, too?’

The schoolyard became loud. Maybe someone saw him. The students who had been
kicking around soccer balls before their nighttime study gathered together, pointing
to the rooftop from below. There were several familiar faces among them.

Kim ■ quietly moved his thumb. Press. He sent a text message that he had written in
advance on his mobile. Thirty-seven students would receive his last testament.

The one who murdered me was you.

Don’t forget.

You killed me.

Shortly after, a notification popped up, showing that the text had been sent.

It was done.

It was refreshing.

Kim ■ threw his phone. The cell phone fell in an instant to the schoolyard. It was
broken. The students below became frightened by the sight of the broken phone. One
person’s face paled, someone whom he had sent the text to.

‘I hope your life is ruined, too. Permanently.’

Kim ■ plunged into the red, sandy desert.

He thought that falling was just like failing to fly.

-I am the Guardian Goddess.

Then, he ended up here.

-I have many powers. Idol, compassion, prayer, sacrifice, and salvation.

Kim ■ remembered the day he first fell into another world.

-If you borrow my strength, warrior-nim, you can do anything and become anything.

A dazzlingly beautiful woman smiled at him.

-What do you wish to become, warrior-nim?

2.

[You have entered the 50th floor through an unusual route.]

When I opened my eyes, a voice entered my head.

[The blessing from ‘The Corner Librarian’ will be removed.]

[Beginner protectionary measures will be suspended.]

[Beginner benefits will be temporarily revoked.]

I smiled wryly.

‘Just hearing the warning makes me tremble.’

I looked around.
The first things I noticed were the spires that rose up into the sky.

Five towers twisted and stood in the distance, like a giant’s fingers reaching into the
air. It was weird that they weren’t collapsing right now.

-Wow. It’s been a damn long time since I’ve been here. Probably over 150 years?

Fortunately, I had someone with me to be my guide. The Sword Emperor. He had

once climbed up to the 99th floor of the Tower, so of course he had been on the 50th
floor before.

-But not a single thing has changed.

Rather than looking fond, Bae Hu-ryeong looked around at the 50th floor like he was
already sick of it.

“What are those spires?”

-They’re Magic Towers. Some guys have been stuck here for over a thousand years.
Instead of climbing the Tower, they just settle down and live on the 50th floor…

A thousand years.

-Anyway, don’t go near them for now. If you can, don’t even look at them.

“Why?”

-Because they’ll automatically detect your gaze if you look at them for more than 23
seconds. The number 23 in the world they lived in has the same meaning as 18 in your
world, Zombie. ‘You fucker, what are you looking at?’ is what that alarm system means.
Keh, can’t you just tell what their personalities are like?[1]

I quickly looked away from the towers. What the heck? The alarm triggers just
because you look at it for a certain time?

-Oh, right. They used to have six towers, y’know? But I knocked one of them down.
They’ll probably freak if they learn I’ve come back as a ghost. They’ll mobilize everyone
and chase you to hell, so make sure to keep quiet.

“…Now that I look at you, you’re not a guide but a troll. Dammit. I should have known
it would be like this.”

It was then.

[Your body is starting to erode from the void poison.]

[Currently, your erosion is Lv.1.]

I was startled.

“What’s void poison? It’s saying that my body’s eroding right now?”

-Oh, yeah. That exists. Man, now it feels like I’m back in the Tower.

Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.

-It’s just an omnipresent poison that flows all over the 50th floor. Who was it, again?
Anyway, there was a bastard who acted as the manager of the 50th floor, and he used
to fool around with the Hunters he liked. Then, the Midnight War of Liberation or
something broke out and he got offed.

“So?”

-While he was dying, he cursed the world since he couldn’t die peacefully, and that
curse remained as poison.

I blinked.

“Uh, that’s totally…”

-Yup. You remember the zombie virus that spread when the Constellation of the Murim
world died? Think of this as a stronger version.

“What?”

I was dumbfounded.

“People live here, even though it’s all over the atmosphere? And for a thousand
years? Are they nuts?”
-Yeah, they’re nuts. But the guys who get up here have some basic abilities, whether it’s
aura, magic, skills, or even a Constellation’s blessing. What are you doing, Zombie?
Hurry up and use your aura as protection.

I did as Bae Hu-ryeong instructed and drew on my aura. After enveloping my whole
body with the red aura, I especially made sure to strengthen my lungs. I sighed for a
moment, turning my head to look at Bae Hu-ryeong.

“What happens if you don’t protect yourself? What then?”

-Uh…

Bae Hu-ryeong uncharacteristically hesitated. His eyebrows furrowed, and his face
seemed to reflect that he was considering what to say.

-You get a very… peculiar appearance and state of mind…

“Kieeeeek!”

-Oh, lucky. There’s one now.

I turned around.

A toad-like monster was curled up.

“Kioeeek!”

However, the problem was that I didn’t know any toads with approximately 36 legs
or shark teeth.

Also, the monster looked to weigh about two tons.

“What the heck is that?!”

-Who knows? He was probably a person much like you. A human who ate, shat, and
talked shit like you do. Well, maybe 20 years ago.

While Bae Huo-ryeong was leisurely speaking, boing! A two-ton monster toad leaped
forward. Anybody could tell that it was rushing toward me. I was taken aback, but I
focused my aura on my feet and jumped far away.
Ba-ba-bang!

The ground shook. The boom was a little too brisk to say that it was the toad’s fault.
The ground had caved in, forming what looked like a small crater.

“Ah, fuck.”

I pulled out the Holy Sword and used the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art. Chwak! The
blade wrapped in red aura sliced through the monster toad’s waist.

Did I kill it?

-Ah.

Bae Hu-ryeong said suddenly.

-Sorry, Kim Zombie. I didn’t warn you earlier, but… From the 50th floor, it’s literally a
world of demons. There will be a lot of times you’ll get screwed if you act according to
your old common sense.

“What are you trying to say?”

That moment, something sprang out from the sliced cross-sections of the monster
toad. It was a leg that looked like a tentacle. Instantly, dozens of tentacles fell out,
bringing the toad back to its feet.

“Kieeeek!”

“Kiyoook!”

This time, there was not one but two.

-Yeah. Stuff like that.

“What the hell?”

-If you’re scared, keep staring at the Magic Towers. If you stare for more than 23
seconds, they’ll talk to you. ‘Who the fuck’s looking at us?’ and such. Then, if you ask
them to save you, wizards on brooms will come to the rescue. What do you think?
Aren’t they nice?
I wasn’t just imagining it; Bae Hu-ryeong had been grinning for a while. And if Bae
Hu-ryeong was grinning, there was a very high probability that he was messing with
me.

In other words.

“…What’s the cost of being saved?”

-Heh, you’ve got some brains. How did you know? They’ll make you sign a soul-draining
contract that takes 12 years of your life as collateral. Zombie, you have SSS-class skills,
so you’ll get a lot of love from them. How envious!

Frick…

“Y-you over there! Hurry and run away!”

I heard a voice calling urgently behind my back.

“This way! Run over here! Quickly!”

When I turned around, three old men in shabby cloaks were beckoning. Their clothes
were caked with filth like they were homeless, but their eyes revealed profound
wisdom. The voice was also so desperate that I almost went to them without
thinking.

-Heh.

However, I couldn’t do that because of Bae Hu-ryeong’s mug staring at me, which
made my mind pause. My feet stopped on instinct.

Instead of running to the old men, I sent my aura at them.

“This way!”

“Run this way!”

“Quickly!”

As soon as my attack approached them, something terrifying happened. Jump!

Something surged from the ground where the old men were standing.
It was a hedgehog-like… ‘something.’

“Y-you over there!

Hurry and run away!”

“This way!”

But instead of spines on its back, there were three old men.

“This is insane…”

In short, they weren’t actually old men at all. The monster’s back was just a lure to
draw people in and eat them.

-Hey, hey. As expected of Kim Zombie. You’re naive, but you know how to use your head.
What kind of place is this? Thinking rationally, would there be old people helping you
for no reason? Hmm?

“Kieeeeek!”

“Run this way!”

“Kiyooook!”

“Quickly!”

A monster toad and a monster hedgehog ran at me simultaneously. Dozens of

tentacles wriggled on the toad’s skin, and three old men sang a chorus on the
hedgehog’s back.

This sight was totally going to sully my mind.

“Is everything like this here?!”

-There are a few ‘exceptions,’ but it’s mostly like this. Welcome to the Demon World,
where cosmic horrors dance, crow-tit. Now do you see how normal and sensible a
Hunter I am?

“This isn’t the time…!”

I wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or not, but—

“—Duck your head, stranger.”

The [exception] that Bae Hu-ryeong mentioned suddenly appeared.

“I will cut.”

A voice that used aura to directly enter your head. It was the telepathy skill, Sound
Transmission. I quickly ducked my head as the voice decreed. At that moment, the
sound of wind being cut and a horrifying attack passed over my head.

Chwaaaak!

Two monster toads were bisected at once.

Remembering the sight of the toad’s regeneration, I panickedly yelled.

“No, if you cut it, it splits and regenerates…!”

I stopped talking. The monster toads did not move and stayed cut.

In other words, they were dead.

‘What? Does it only regenerate once before it dies normally?’

-Mm, no~ It regenerates many times~

‘Then, why did they die?’

-That happened because…

Someone else explained it before Bae Hu-ryeong could.

“To kill [one that dies in half],”

The Sound Transmission user was speaking.

“As its name suggests, it must be split to exact [halves].”

Bewildered, I glanced at the corpses.

As he said, the monster toads were split in exact halves down the center of their
bodies. Somehow, that caused them to die permanently.

“Next.”

The Sound Transmission user immediately pointed his sword at the monster
hedgehog.

He swung.

Kwaang…!

Explosions sounded each time.

Despite the fearsome aura, the monster hedgehog took the hits like they were
insignificant.

‘It’s like the Lady of the Golden Silk when she had the blessing… ’

The monster hedgehog rushed forth like it was taking no damage, but the Sound
Transmission user continued to strike blow after blow.

“This way,”

Boom…!

The cries of the old man on the left were buried by the explosive slash.

“Run,”

Boom…!

The cries of the old man on the right were buried by an explosive slash.

“Come here,”

Boom…!
The cries of the old man in the center were buried in the blast of the cut.

“A lamenter’s noumenon is in its lament.”

The moment the sound of the old men’s cries were buried in the explosions, the
hedgehog fell apart like sand.

“So you must kill it by burying its sound.”

Two types of monsters were neutralized in the blink of an eye.

Extensive knowledge of the prey and the overwhelming power to utilize that
knowledge.

‘A Hunter… ’

I blankly looked at the Hunter, the Sound Transmission user.

Bae Hu-ryeong grumbled.

-Man, that bastard. He’s not even that old.

The silver-haired youth I saw in Shiny’s trauma.

“Lefanta Aegim…”

The Constellation Killer.

Lefanta Aegim tilted his head as he put away his sword.

“Do you know me?”

Bright blue eyes like newborn stars turned toward me.

[1]: 18 sounds like a curse word in Korean.

I was speechless for a moment when I saw Lefanta Aegim’s eyes.

‘Why does he have eyes like that?’

I’ve met all sorts of people so far. I met someone who swung a sword bleaker than a
snowfield. I met someone who had a heart colder than a white lily. However, it was
the first time I met someone with eyes like the man before me.

A blank white sheet of paper.

No emotions—no memories at all were reflected in his pupils. There were no

fragments or even traces of emotion.

“Uh…”

[Shiny feels moved from meeting again after so long!]

Sensing my hesitation over how to answer, the Holy Sword reacted.

[However, Shiny still doesn’t understand why her former owner betrayed her. She
wonders if she should be angry before getting excited!]

“…You have quite a unique sword.”

Lefanta Aegim looked down at my sword belt. The Holy Sword rattled, fiercely
conveying her thoughts. Lefanta Aegim’s impassive gaze had a hint of curiosity
within it.

“Is it a magic sword? Or perhaps an ego sword… You should hide the fact you have
unique items as much as you can here, stranger. There are many hyenas who seek to
take the skills and equipment of newbies who enter the 50th floor.”
‘Huh?’

I was suspicious.

It was weird. Lefanta Aegim was talking like it was the first time he had seen [The
Guardian Goddess]. If the young man in front of me really was the Constellation
Killer, there was no way he wouldn’t remember who this Holy Sword was.

“Excuse me. Do you not recognize this sword?”

I took off the Holy Sword from my belt and showed it to Lefanta Aegim. When I
pulled it out from its scabbard a little, a bright light glowed from the blade.

“Mm.”

Nonetheless.

Lefanta Aegim faced the light of the Holy Sword, the manifestation of the
Constellation that was once like his arms and legs, and… frowned, like he knew
nothing.

“I don’t know it.”

His statue-like face tilted to the side.

“It seems like the item has some sort of relation to me. But I don’t remember… No, it
would be insensible for it to expect me to recall any connections I once had.”

“What?”

Then, Lefanta Aegim told me something I did not expect.

“I have amnesia. Stranger, I cannot remember anything that happened more than a
week ago.”

The man’s expression was composed.

3.
“It’s dangerous to keep talking in this wasteland. Follow me. I know an alehouse
that’s comparatively safer.”

Saying that, Lefanta Aegim guided me there. Since it was my first time on the 50th
floor, I obediently followed his lead.

“Oi…”

“Look there. It’s the Constellation Killer.”

We passed some Hunters on the way to the alehouse. They were probably the
greatest Hunters of their worlds. But even they took a step back and shuddered
when they saw the Constellation Killer.

“What kind of shit is that maniac going to do now…?”

“Will the spiders from the Magic Towers behave today?”

“Shh. I don’t want to get involved with him…”

It wasn’t just Hunters who were whispering.

[‘The Lone Seeker of Truth’ is interested in this existence they have never seen
before.]

[‘The Eye Living in the Labyrinth’ shows wariness toward the Constellation Killer’s
companion.]

[‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ recognizes you.]

[‘The Lotus Reflected on the Water’ observes you.]

Numerous Constellations.

I hadn’t met many Constellations so far. No Constellation contacted me unless they

were the ruler of a floor. But it seemed to be different on the 50th floor.
Constellations I had never heard of revealed their presences.

“…Annoying.”
Lefanta Aegim also seemed to sense the Constellations’ messages.

He muttered, “Get lost, all of you. If a Constellation stays and keeps bothering me, I’ll
hunt and kill your apostle starting today. You can keep loafing if you want war. This is
your last warning.”

As Lefanta Aegim finished talking, the messages from the Constellations abruptly
stopped. The constricting air around us became a bit lighter.

“It’s noisier than usual. Haa…”

Lefanta Aegim briefly sighed and looked at me.

“Some of them seem interested in you. Stranger, did you do something to the
Constellations?”

“Yeah. I killed an apostle of [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains] before.”

“…Mahos’s apostle?”

Lefanta Aegim’s tone changed. He took out an old notebook, read something, then
crooked his eyebrows in apparent surprise.

“You’re better than you look. All of the apostles of Mahos are, without exception,
outstanding in battle. They also have troublesome blessings. He must have been a
difficult opponent… How did you kill him?”

“I have something to say about that.”

We entered the alehouse.

The ‘comparatively safer’ alehouse Lefanta Aegim spoke of was an outdoor

establishment. Frankly put, there were no walls. There were just some tables and a
bar placed outside. It was open on all sides, but funnily enough, a door stood by
itself.

“…This is the safe alehouse?”

“Your vision isn’t blocked by walls.”

Lefanta Aegim candidly explained the merits of the tavern.

“Whenever you are ambushed, you can run. There is no risk of being surrounded and
trapped inside the building. It does make it easier to be shot, though. Bartender, give
me my usual.”

“Oi. You know that the place became open-air after you blew the building away…?”

The bald bartender cursed under his breath. Lefanta Aegim sat at a table, blase.

“Sorry. I don’t recall.”

“Hey, youngster. I don’t know what’s up, but don’t get involved with that madman.
Over 600 huntsmen around here are trying to kill him. Keep your distance unless
you have a death wish.”

Lefanta Aegim took out his notebook again.

“To be precise, there are 1127. However, only three Hunters can actually threaten
me. One of them disappeared 154 years ago, and there’s been no word since.
Technically, the stranger is safer with me than without.”

“You nutcase…”

The bald bartender looked fed up.

In any case, it seemed that the Constellation Killer was famous on the 50th floor for
being a nutjob.

“So, what did you want to say to me?”

“…Knowing you have amnesia, it’s a bit difficult to say now.”

I slowly told him about what had happened.

The Aegim Empire that he founded nearly perished. The cause of that perishing
would have been because he sealed [The Guardian Goddess], allowing [The Devil
King of Fall Rain] a chance to sprout.

Because of his actions, [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was destroyed and
[The Tale of Sormwyn Academy] had also been put at risk…

I told him everything.

“……”

Lefanta Aegim carefully listened to my voice while drinking a mysterious red drink.
His expression remained the same the whole time. Occasionally, he would take out
his notebook and check something.

“…I see.”

Lefanta Aegim nodded.

“I hear your story. And verifying it against my diary, I think most of it is true.”

“A diary?”

“It stores my memories.”

Lefanta Aegim showed me his notebook.

Inside was a lot of cramped handwriting.

“It may look like a normal notebook, but it’s a holy relic of a Constellation called [The
Great Puppy]. It has infinite pages and a convenient search function. I write down
what I do every day. Thanks to that, I do not lose my life despite my amnesia.”

“……”

“As you said,” he bluntly stated, “it’s been written that I built a nation called the
Aegim Empire in the past.”

He spoke like it was someone else’s story.

“There, I sealed the Constellation [Guardian Goddess], who had accompanied me my

whole life. [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] you referenced is similar to the
world recorded on page 236. [The Yellow Dragon of Dynasty Lake] was killed there.
The world of [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy] is similar to the one written on page
3215.”
“……”

“The heirloom that was a fragment of a goddess… You said the Sacrifice Sword was
passed down? True, I did sleep with a woman in that world. Raviel Ivansia, the
woman you met, is most likely a distant descendant from her and me. You said she
had the same silver hair as me… I’m certain. How curious.”

Something…

“You may have learned of my past with a skill like [Exposing the Dark Past] or
[Historian].”

Something was off.

“But I don’t have a past to read. There is no possibility that you’ve stolen and read
this relic. It’s written in a code that only I know. Therefore, stranger, I will accept
your testimonies as the truth.”

I came to hold this man accountable for his sins.

His petty principles caused innocent people to be hurt. I would boldly point to the
countless people he had sacrificed.

But what was this?

“So.”

How can I hold him accountable for something he doesn’t even remember?

“What kind of reward do you want?”

Anger soared in my heart.

“What reward?”

“A reward for pointing out my mistakes.”

“…Are you aware of what you did wrong?”

“Of course,” said the Constellation Killer. “My mistakes come down to two things.
First, I did not think of the possibility that new Constellations would be born if a
Constellation disappeared in a world. Second, I neglected the fact that a dead
Constellation could place a curse on the world.”

I…

“Is that all?”

“I did not intend for other Constellations to invade a world after the death of a
Constellation. But no matter how many worlds a Constellation rules over, it all ends
when I kill it. Reducing the number of Constellations is not a mistake. Therefore, my
errors include only the two mentioned earlier.”

After he finished talking, the Constellation Killer took out a pen and wrote something
in his notebook.

“I recorded them. I will not make the same mistakes in the future. Tell me what you
want as an expression of my gratitude for this advice.”

Advice.

Gratitude, he said.

“The common folk who lived in the land of rivers and lakes turned into Jiangshi and
died.”

Twitch.

The Holy Sword, which had been listening to my conversation in its scabbard,
trembled once.

The fury from my heart was echoed in my voice.

“One of them was an old man who, even as he was dying, made his grave on a boat
because he didn’t want to trouble others. There was a young child who took care of
her peers as they all struggled to survive.”

“……”

“Each and every one of them met a terrible death. Let me ask you, Constellation
Killer. What do you think of them?”

“Nothing,” said Lefanta Aegim. “As I said, it was my blunder for not taking care of the
aftermath of the Constellation’s death. But mistakes happen. As I said, the only thing
I can do is give a reward for pointing out those mistakes.”

“Ha.”

The red aura around my body became a little darker.

“Then, if I asked you to die here as my reward, would you?”

“That’s a reward I cannot give you.”

The silver-haired man shook his head.

“I have a duty to exterminate all Constellations. I mustn’t stop until I fulfill that duty.”

He sounded more like machine than man. Shiny’s form shuddered.

I.

“That’s quite the tremendous task. Why is it that you shoulder such an obligation?”

“I cannot give you an answer.”

“I expected as much. Why? Do you think I won’t understand that noble duty?”

“I cannot answer that, either.”

“Oh, of course.”

I stared coldly at the Constellation Killer.

“Then, can you at least answer this? Why are you using a Constellation’s relic when
you claim you have to destroy all Constellations? Your words don’t match your
actions.”

“That’s something I can answer. I intend to destroy it after all Constellations are
exterminated.”
“You learned from the case of the Devil King of Fall Rain that a Constellation can rise
in a world where the previous Constellation died. What will you do about that?”

“I have an idea for that.”

“What is it?”

“I cannot say.”

The Constellation Killer looked inside his diary.

“This tangent has gone on for too long. Let’s go back to the main topic.”

“This is the main topic for me.”

“Not for me. Tell me what you want as the reward.”

Reward.

“I cannot die as you asked me to before. Because my duty is not finished, I cannot
give you my death as a reward.”

He was probably reading the words on the first page of his diary.

“Nor can I quit. If I relinquish my duty, I will be nothing.”

The first page he wrote before he lost all of his memories.

“So tell me what else you want. I’ll give it to you.”

“……”

That was right.

Not many things in the world could be resolved with a conversation.

I reached for my dagger, but I stopped my hand mid-way. Instead, I took out the
handkerchief that I kept near my heart. I briefly buried my nose into the
handkerchief that carried Raviel’s blue scent.
Hm.

“…All right.”

My anger subsided.

I thought quickly. How could I hunt the Hunter in front of me, a Hunter whose
strength I couldn’t fathom?

My brain soon came up with an answer.

“Then, please listen to a single request.”

It was simple.

This wasn’t the first time I hunted a Hunter stronger than me.

“What is it?”

“While I am on the 50th floor, please keep me safe no matter what happens.”

I tucked away the handkerchief.

“I’m not just asking for you to protect my life. Please thoroughly protect my body and
mind from harm. Of course, tricking or forcing me out the 50th floor is forbidden.”

“…You’re requesting me to personally guard you?”

“Something like that.”

The Constellation Killer thought over it.

He grabbed a fountain pen and rhythmically tapped it on the table.

“I do not know what you’re thinking. From hearing your story so far, I can tell that
you are a very righteous person. Not only that, but you also have power and
ingenuity. The offer just now does not agree with your personality.”

“Aha. Are you saying you can’t grant my request?”

I sneered.

“You can’t die. You can’t abandon your duty. And now, you can’t even protect me on
the 50th floor? You’re quite something. Then, what kind of reward can you give me?”

“…I’m merely concerned about the traps that lurk in your request.”

“If there is a trap, so what? You seem confident in your ability. Overcome it with your
skills.”

“……”

Lefanta Aegim intently stared at his diary.

“All right.”

He moved his fountain pen. Scritch, scratch. His writing seeped into the diary.

“I will write your proposal on the first page. Until the end of my existence, your
proposal will be the logic that drives my thoughts and actions.”

Okay.

I caught him.

‘Sword Emperor.’

I looked back at Bae Hu-ryeong.

-Yeah?

‘You said that you knocked down a Magic Tower 150 years ago.’

The backdrop that stood out as soon as I fell in this place.

Pointing to the spires that stretched to the gray sky, Bae Hu-ryeong had spoken.

『They used to have six towers, y’know?』

『But I knocked one of them down.』

『They’ll probably freak if they learn I’ve come back as a ghost.』

Bae Hu-ryeong nodded.

-I did. There are a lot of things in life I think I’ve done very well, and that’s one of the
top six things I’ve done.

‘What did you say when you were destroying it? Do you remember?’

-Ooh. ‘Course! I remember every syllable.

Bae Hu-ryeong snickered.

-How are you, fucktards? You gotta air out the place sometime. People can’t live all
cooped up. C’mon, I’m in a good mood! I’ll remodel it for free today! Hehe.

Bae Hu-ryeong suddenly tilted his head as he recalled his past glory.

-But why? What are you gonna do?

I turned my gaze toward a spire.

Right on.

Impassively.

-Huh? Hey? Zombie?

Bae Hu-ryeong spoke from beside me.

-I told you not to look there, yeah? They’ll know if you look at it for over 23 seconds.
You’ll never be able to handle them at your level. Or… what? Are you going to ask them
to kill the Constellation Killer for you? Quit it. Not even they would jump a strong guy
like the Constellation Killer. Both sides will lose.

I kept looking at the lofty spires in the distance.

-Uhh? Huh? Hey, Kim Zombie! Look away right now!!

But it was already too late.

「Ah, ah. Mic test. Mic test. Who’s looking?」

Sound Transmission rang in my head.

As Bae Hu-ryeong said, the spire detected my presence.

「You look like a brat who hasn’t even taken off your newbie shirt. I’ll let you go
since this is your first offense. If you plan to stay in this neighborhood, don’t look
here. You might die.」

A voice soaked in boredom. The voice sounded like a public servant who obviously
didn’t want to work.

「Oh, you’re with the Constellation-crazed dude? Pfft. Your luck is bad. Should I help
you? If you accept now, I can send you an instant escape scroll for a 30-year
subordination contract.」

“How are you?”

I opened my mouth.

“Fucktards.”

「Oh? Bastard, you’ve got a lotta nerve. What the f… 」

“You gotta air out the place sometime. People can’t live all cooped up.”

「…… 」

“C’mon, I’m in a good mood! I’ll remodel it for free today. Hehe.”

Silence.

There was complete silence.

-Oh, my.

There was only Bae Hu-ryeong, mumbling blankly.

-You crazy bastard.

That moment.

Kiiiieeeeek!

An ear-splitting sound blared from the five spires at once. It was like five fingernails
were scratching the sky. Shatter! The bald bartender dropped a glass cup in surprise.
The Hunters walking on the street also covered their ears.

“Wh-what?!”

“What’s happening…”

And.

-Swoooord Emperrrrrooorrr!!

A deafening voice echoed in the gray sky.

-You’re back, Sword Emperor! I knew you’d come back someday! Even when the
Constellations announced your death, we had no doubt that you wouldn’t truly die, you
son of a bitch! Are you possessing that kid? A reincarnation? Whatever! It doesn’t
matter anyway!

Every Hunter looked up at the sky, disoriented.

-We’ll kill you! We’ll kill you dead! We’ll tear your soul to pieces, scatter it across the
universe, and shit on it! Kill him! Kill him!! Kill that guy right now! Chase him to hell
with the name and history of the Magic Tower at stake!

Hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of shadows soared from the spires.

Mounted on brooms, they lined the air.

“Now.”

I looked back at the Constellation Killer.

The silver-haired man looked at me with the same nonchalant face.

“You promised, right?”

“……”

“Please protect me.”

A meteor shower rained from the sky.

“…Indeed.”

The Constellation Killer nodded.

“I understand the logic behind your behavior. You see that it is impossible to defeat
me with your own power, so you bring in outside forces. I judged that a beginner
who had just arrived on the 50th floor could not mobilize others, but…”

Even as the Constellation Killer spoke, countless meteor showers split apart the gray
sky. Shaaa—! Like fireworks shot from afar, thousands of attacks stacked with
tremendous magic power rained down.

“I was mistaken.”

The meteor showers rushed toward us, growing faster and faster. However, the
Constellation Killer was indifferent. With a nonchalant glance, he scribbled
something in his diary with the fountain pen.

“In the future, I will keep strong outside intervention in mind even when dealing
with novices.”

“Frick! Run for it!”

“Are the spider bastards all on drugs?!”

The Hunters around us reacted faster than the Constellation Killer. Pop! Poof!
Everywhere, teleportation scrolls were being torn. It must have been a necessity for
the Hunters living on the 50th floor. The bald bartender did so too, but just before he
ran away, he screamed at us.

“Hey! Constellation Killer! You’ll be responsible for the remodeling fee again, so don’t
forget to write it down! You have to pay for the scroll, too!”
“All right.”

Snap.

“I’ve completed the entry.”

The Constellation Killer closed his notebook.

“As promised, I will protect you with all my might from now, stranger.”

Finally, the meteor shower was thundering down on our surroundings. Boom! Boom!
The meteorites destroyed the streets like indiscriminate bombs. As the storm of
destruction was about to hit the open-air tavern, a hand gripped my wrist tightly.

“Maximum vision and hearing. In exchange, I give up [1 hour] of my memories,” the

Constellation Killer muttered.

Then, he moved in a shocking stunt.

The Constellation Killer avoided the barrage of meteors that filled the sky with only
slight movements. One step. Two steps. Every time he pulled me and moved, a
meteor struck down close by.

-Oh?

An indignant voice echoed from the sky.

-Hey, Constellation-crazy bastard! Why are you getting in the way? Fuck off! Our Magic
Tower’s got a grudge against the guy you’re with! If you don’t want grievances with the
great wand, be good and disappear!

“First, let’s try to resolve this through conversation.”

The Constellation Killer waved his right hand. As he did, the dust cloud from the
meteor shower was cleared away at once. The Constellation Killer himself was fine,
of course, and so was I.

-Conversation, my ass! Beat it, nutso!

“I must protect this stranger here no matter what happens. Protecting means
ensuring that his body and mind remain whole. There is no room for compromise.”

The Constellation Killer took out his notebook with his left hand and read it.

“The Magic Tower is an extremely egoistic group. Being egoists, they can be
negotiated with by either using their interests or harming them. I am one who can
cause serious damage to you. So, negotiate.”

-That’s our sworn enemy and foe! We. Cannot. Live. Under. The. Same. Sky!

“All problems can be solved through rational dialogue.”

-Hey! Hey! Guys! Let me know if any of you know how much memory the Constellation
Killer has?

In the sky, tens of thousands of wizards were riding on brooms. One of them replied.

-This is the public relations chair of the constant surveillance group, reporting in!
Chief! The Constellation Killer currently has seven days of memories!

-Fuck, why does he have to have a full week?

There was the sound of teeth grinding.

-It doesn’t matter! Take them both out, including the Constellation maniac! As of now,
the Magic Tower is entering a full mobilization situation! From the first finger to the
fifth, all who belong to the Magic Tower must hunt the Sword Emperor and the
Constellation Killer! I’ll say it again, bastards! I’m calling for a full mobilization!

“…The negotiations have fallen through,” muttered the Constellation Killer.

He flipped through the diary he held in his left hand.

“Search, Magic Tower. Additional search, battle. Detailed search, destruction

method.”

The Constellation Killer scanned the diary. Then, he nodded. He took out a rubber
band—a yellow rubber band that could be bought inexpensively in the outside
world—and tied back his long, silver hair.

“……”

I watched the Constellation Killer slowly tie his hair right beside me. It probably only
took two seconds in terms of time. However, I could tell that the action was a ritual,
one of the few that he had left.

“From now on, we fight.”

-Kill them!!

Tens of thousands of wizards swarmed down from the sky.

-Ensigns, surround them!

Not all enemy troops charged forth.

-Songsters, chant from the rear!

-Yes!

The wizards got into battle formation in the gray sky. Their formation looked like a
huge ring. Hundreds of wizards formed five rings and began to sing in unison.

A melody with six layers resounded.

-Oh.

Bae Hu-ryeong said.

-I haven’t seen this in a while. That’s the Others’ Heavenly Song.

‘Others’ Heavenly Song?’

-There are five spires over there. Each has a Constellation sealed in the basement. Well,
I say sealed, but they’re really imprisoned. Anyway, the sealed Constellations’ power is
borrowed through the song, and the effect…
[Warning. The area you are in has been designated as the target of a spell.]

[Warning. The power of your aura is halved!]

[Warning. The power of your magic is halved!]

[Warning. The power of your mental defenses is halved!]

[Warning. Any penalty you incur will be doubled.]

Bae Hu-ryeong nodded.

-Mm. The effect is pretty damn strong.

‘The heck?’

-That’s called the spider web. That’s why they’re nicknamed “spiders.”

Indeed, they were a monstrous group who had ruled the 50th floor for over a
thousand years. They drastically reduced their opponents’ fighting power before the
battle even began. And Bae Hu-ryeong, who had torn up this spider web 150 years
ago… must have been a monster among monsters.

“—One strike. Strengthening.”

One human who could fight against that monster was in front of my eyes.

“In exchange, I give up my memories of the beauty of the sunset.”

At some point, the Constellation Killer had summoned a sword into his right hand.

First step.

The Constellation Killer lightly swung his sword like he was dancing.

The air split.

His move was more like a typhoon than the swing of a sword. A blue aura sliced the
gray sky into two. One of the six rings in the sky was caught by the typhoon.
-R-regroup! Regroup!

-Retreat!

Hundreds of wizards screamed and fell. There were also wizards who lost control of
their brooms and plunged to the ground. The wizards’ pointy hats fluttered like
black flower petals.

[The increased penalty effect has been revoked.]

However, the Constellation Killer did not stop.

A curt voice flowed from his lips.

“Strengthening one blow. In return, I give up my memories of the sound of the rain
falling from the sky.”

Once again, the sky was split asunder.

[The power of your halved aura has been recovered!]

-That madman! Nutjob! Constellation maniac!

-Break the thumb ring! Break the index finger ring! It’s hard to keep rank!

-Ch-chief! As expected, it’s too difficult to fight the Constellation Killer when he has a
full week’s memories!

-That damned Constellation-maniac bastard! All right, so shut up and attack! Charge!

The wizards shot fireballs. They spat out ice. The ground on which the Constellation
Killer and I stood sprouted tree roots and weeds instantaneously, grabbing hold of
our ankles. The air was crawling. The jungle grew denser. Fog spread and hindered
our vision. An unfathomable number of magic and wonders covered the two of us.

And.

“Strengthening one blow.”

The Constellation Killer merely held a diary in one hand and his sword in the other.
“In exchange, I give up my memories of children’s smiles.”

All of the magic and wonders were torn down.

[The power of your halved magic has been restored!]

[The power of your halved mental defense has been restored!]

[The area-of-effect designation has been canceled.]

The fireballs were snuffed out. The ice blocks shattered. The tree roots were sliced
through, the weeds rotted. A blue wind blew through the air, and the jungle
disappeared. After the fog cleared, the wizards groaned.

-Break the middle finger ring! Break the ring finger ring! The pinky finger ring, too!

-All the songs have been destroyed, Chief!

-That guy’s perfectly attacking the weaknesses of each ring?!

-Fuck…! Which bitch sold all our secrets…?!

I stared blankly at the battle taking place right before my eyes.

The magicians attacked relentlessly. However, there was no use. The Constellation
Killer fought by discarding his memories of the drink he just had, the streets he
walked on yesterday, and other trivial memories.

A single Hunter stood against tens of thousands of wizards.

-What do you think? Isn’t his battle strategy the complete opposite of yours?

Bae Hu-ryeong snickered.

-The Constellation Killer also uses a kind of demonic art. Zombie, the Infernal Heavens
Demonic Art that you used is based on your memories. The memory of hunger, the
memory of solitude… The Constellation Killer is the reverse. He discards his memories.

His demonic art was the direct opposite of mine.

-Take a good look. You’ll have to fight on this level one day.

The Constellation Killer’s fighting style was composed but gruesome.

“I give up my memory of taking a walk under the gentle sky.”

One by one, he discarded his memories. The Constellation Killer’s tone was light, and
his sword was simple. His fighting was calm, in that sense.

“I give up my memory of people’s screams when they are in pain.”

However, not a single memory he cast away was insignificant. The longer the fight
continued, the more memories opened like boxes, one after the other. They were
Pandora’s Boxes. A box with contents that evaporated after being opened.

-The Constellation Killer lives with a day to a week’s worth of memories.

Bae Hu-ryeong said.

-He rarely has memories for more than a week. It’s because that guy leaves to hunt a
Constellation after a week. A week’s memories are enough for him to hunt a
Constellation.

“……”

-Did he say he had amnesia? Technically, that’s wrong. That guy is fulfilling his duty at
the expanse of his memories.

That was…

To be more precise, he was burning his own life.

[Shiny cannot watch her previous owner’s fight.]

My holy sword trembled.

[Shiny remembers that her former master did not fight that way in the past. She does
not know when or why he became like this.]

Before I knew it, the Magic Tower’s army was utterly exhausted.
All of the circular rings had long been destroyed.

At first, they formed strict ranks, attacking and retreating from the Constellation
Killer… but they seemed to have reached their limit. Their formation crumbled.
Wizards attacked sporadically.

-Ch-chief. See, we can’t fight the Constellation Killer with one week’s worth of
memories…

-We said that he was a shitty strong character…

-If you force more magic here, the damage will not be little!

-The surveillance team has been making noise since earlier. Chief. The Constellations
have noticed the anomalies and are watching closely. There is a high probability that
they’ll attack us when we are weakened.

-Euk!

The one who seemed to be the wizards’ chief ground her teeth. She took off her
pointy hat and crumpled it in her left hand. With immense anger in her eyes, the
wizard stared at me.

-Sword Emperor… Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor!!

-Ah, man. My popularity hasn’t faded even after death.

Bae Hu-ryeong shrugged his shoulders.

-Look, Zombie. This is why it’s a problem when someone’s just too awesome.

-I know well that you have made an alliance with the Constellation Killer! Expect our
return! Our Magic Tower will do whatever it takes to hunt you down! This time, we end
with a simple battle of power, but next time, for sure…!

The wizards looked aghast.

-Woah… Chief, that’s typically the line a loser says while fleeing…

-Shh. Don’t bother the chief now. You’ll be turned into a frog and eaten.
-I’ll definitely kick your ass!!

When the wizards scattered and their ensigns retreated, the Constellation Killer
opened his mouth.

“Wait. Magic Tower Master.”

-What?!

“I still have 23 hours of memory. If I use 22 hours to reinforce my strike, I can

destroy one of your spires.”

-… Are you threatening us now?

“That’s right,” the Constellation Killer affirmed indifferently. “According to my

records, you are someone who cares much for your dignity. Being unable to get rid of
me after a total mobilization must be a painful loss. However, it is nothing compared
to losing your spire. Carefully consider my threat.”

-……

The Magic Tower Master’s face twisted like a goblin’s.

“For the next week, you are completely forbidden from attacking or scheming
against me or this man. Attacking and scheming includes all acts and incidents that
would cause us harm. Both indirect and direct methods are forbidden, and if a
subjective judgment is required, the person who decides will be decided by us.
Hence, your subjectivity is not allowed.”

-This shitty pair of swordsmen are…

“I’ll threaten you again. Accept this week-long ceasefire.”

The Constellation Killer grabbed his sword.

“If you don’t accept it, I’ll tear it down.”

The silence settled in the ruined wasteland.

-You… You two are on the Magic Tower’s hit list.

“Do you agree to the ceasefire?”

A tongue clicked. Simultaneously, a sheet of paper appeared before the Constellation

Killer’s eyes. It was a glittering gold contract. The Constellation Killer read the
contract with an artless eye and then pulled out his fountain pen and signed it.

“It’s been a satisfactory negotiation. Now, go back.”

-I’ll bury you along with the Sword Emperor, Constellation Killer.

“I will not forget to record your enmity.”

-Tsk!

The wizards turned their brooms. Like a swarm of locusts in the fall, they populated
the sky and slowly drove away.

Our surroundings became quiet.

Nobody was around except for the Constellation Killer and myself.

The Constellation Killer turned and looked at me.

“I have fulfilled my word to you, stranger.”

“……”

“However, by your observation, I am trapped. I won the battle, but as a result, my

week-long memory has been reduced to that of a day. I’m currently weak. This
weakening of my power would be your intended goal, of course.”

The Constellation Killer described his situation in a very matter-of-fact way.

It was like he was talking in third person.

-Gongja.

Bae Hu-ryeong’s voice became much lower.

-Don’t overlook it. That guy is trying to stall for as much time as he can by talking to
you. Don’t see him as a human. He’s nothing but a weapon who moves fully according
to what he has written.

‘Yes.’

I gripped the Holy Sword.

‘I know.’

Then, I stared at the Constellation Killer.

“You’re right. I will take you down.”

“Yet, I cannot attack you according to my promise. I can only defend or evade your
attacks… It’s a dangerous situation. It will be particularly dangerous if you are the
Sword Emperor or his reincarnation, as the Magic Tower Master said.”

“My name is Death King. I am the young master of the Demonic Sect and the spouse
of the Duchess of Ivansia.”

The Constellation Killer opened his diary and wrote down some words. He must
have written down my name. The Constellation Killer asked me a question while he
moved his fountain pen.

“What is the Demonic Sect?”

“It is a blade that responds to all screams.”

“What is a young master?”

“It is the first sword to be swung.”

“What is Death King?”

I pulled forth my red aura.

“It is the name of the person who will kill you.”

This time, I asked a question.

“Constellation Killer. Do you have any memories of hunger?”

“It is written in the diary. However, as far as the memories in my head, I have none. I
have no memory of hunger.”

I nodded.

“That will be your downfall.”

Then, I lunged forward.

-Warrior-nim, are you awake?

Kim ■ blinked.

A wasteland turned into ruins.

Kim ■ stood there blankly, holding a sword.

-This is…?

-You were fighting a difficult battle just a moment ago.

A voice was coming from the sword. The voice of a goddess. It was the cry of the
Constellation who had summoned him. Though he could recognize the goddess, Kim
■’s head felt weirdly numb.

How did he end up here?

It was like his memory was tainted with soot. No matter how he tried to dig it out
and remember, only black dust stuck to his fingers.

-Warrior-nim, you… You fell into the enemy’s trap.

The goddess was tearful.

-You were caught in an ambush you couldn’t handle, and you would have lost if you
continued as you were, so… warrior-nim used the power of the Salvation Sword for the
first time.

-Salvation…
-Yes. If you abandon something, you receive a proportionate amount of power. Warrior-
nim, you discarded [one syllable of your name].

Only then did Kim ■ realize what the soot was.

-I see. That’s right. That’s what had happened.

He threw away one syllable of his name for good.

What his original name was, he could no longer recall.

No matter what.

In return was the sight before him. With a single swing of his sword, the whole area
turned into ruins.

The group who attacked with evil schemes had been vaporized without a trace. Once
again, the hero survived insurmountable odds.

-… This is pretty good.

Kim ■ muttered.

-I didn’t like that name anyway. I can’t believe throwing away one syllable gave me this
much power.

Kim ■ was a bit surprised that his name was worth so much.

His name, as well as the life he lived before he entered this other world, had no value.

At least, not for him.

-Hwiya.

-Yes, warrior-nim…

-I think I can save this world a bit faster.

He would throw away his worthless time and attain this valuable scenery.

Kim ■ knew what he had to do.

-Before that, let’s make a new name for me.

Lefanta Aegim.

In the ancient language, Lefanta meant ‘man of the wilds.’

Kim ■ had never called himself that, but at some point, people began to revere him
with that name.

Kim ■ became a human from the wilderness.

2.

The land through which the wizards traipsed turned into a wasteland.

I became a gust of wind and traversed the ruined landscape.

The silver-haired man looked at me calmly.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

First form.

Sword of Starvation.

The sword bore the motion of a desperately starving child’s hand. Nails that
scratched the sky. With the most primal movement and the most primal cry, I cut the
head of the Constellation Killer.

“…To greatly heighten my senses, I discard an hour.”

The Constellation Killer gripped his sword. Clash! The blade and sword clashed. The
Constellation Killer blocked my attack and met my eyes, expressionless.

Blue eyes.
“An odd technique,” remarked the Constellation Killer.

He was holding his diary in his other hand.

“Does your martial art use aura as internal energy? Genuine martial artists are said
to obsess over cultivation of internal energy. Perhaps you learned this
swordsmanship not from the Righteous Sect but an evil sect, like the Demonic Sect
you spoke of…”

I swung my sword.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Second form.

Sword of Thirst.

A coarse wind blew through the wasteland. The fetid sand scattered and flew about.
Death by dehydration. Though the seas were abundant, a man died of thirst, unable
to drink a single sip. To him, the world was a desert. I called forth one man’s desert
and lashed out at the Constellation Killer.

“Strengthening defense. In exchange, I discard the taste of water.”

Facing the wind of the desert, the Constellation Killer blinked. Clash! Again, my
sword was blocked by his.

“Fighting like this is not good, Death King.”

A voice resembling the desert crackled.

“You are a righteous human being. Your sense of justice is built on a foundation of
righteousness, so you…”

“Baraya.”

I recited a prayer.

“Baraya.”
The only prayer I allowed.

The red aura wailed. My blood was crawling. My accumulated memories, the scenes
of death I collected, and the things that have happened on my path answered my
prayers.

“Agabaraya.”

When one could not drink despite being surrounded by seawater, there was death.
When one’s breath was suffocated by seawater, there was death. There were so many
ways for a person to die; the alley I caught a glimpse of, the ground that I stepped on,
were all places that had witnessed someone’s death.

Thus, the essence of the world is devilish.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Third form.

Sword of the Drowned.

“……”

The silver-haired man swung his sword.

“Strengthening blocks. I throw away the scent of the sea.”

“How much longer do you think you can discard things?!”

“As long as I live.”

I clenched my teeth.

‘I get it now.’

As I let loose an undulating barrage, I stared at the Constellation Killer who

intercepted each attack one by one. I scowled at the silver-haired man. And from that
appearance, I understood.

‘I could have become this man.’

A warrior who perfected the demonic arts to their limit.

A hundred fifty years ago, Bae Hu-ryeong had faced this warrior.

That was why, when he was fighting Master, he had yelled.

『I’m going to teach this kid how to be happy!』

What happened to someone who threw their self away.

Bae Hu-ryeong had fought Master because he knew it—he had seen it in person.

If I didn’t have Bae Hu-ryeong.

If I hadn’t met Raviel.

If I thought something like my memories could be sacrificed so easily.

Then, in the end, I would turn out like the man before me.

“Lefanta Aegim!”

I swung my sword.

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Fourth form.

Sword of Freezing.

The Constellation Killer swung his sword.

“I let go of the cold and warm winds.”

Our swords crossed.

“You speak of righteousness!”

“I do.”
Our eyes met.

“If I am righteous…”

“There’s no need to threaten my life…”

“You…”

“I…”

Our voices clashed.

“Say?!”

“Said.”

Our voices clashed against each other.

I shouted, my voice like a raging wave.

“Then what is your justice?!”

Lefanta Aegim’s voice reverberated like the rain and covered my cry.

“My justice. It is to destroy the Constellations.”

“Why must you?”

Lefanta Aegim had said he couldn’t answer.

But as Bae Hu-ryeong said, Lefanta Aegim was in a situation where he had no choice
but to talk. To create time he could discard, he opened his mouth.

“—Constellations are existences that deprive humans of their freedom of choice.”

He spoke of righteousness.

“Good is something based on human freedom. Therefore, the Constellations who

violate that freedom are evil.”
He spoke of good and evil.

“You said that you defeated the constellation called [The Evangelist of Everlasting
Happiness]. Then, you must know. The humans there were infected by the
Constellation without the right to choose, and they were forced into happiness.”

He spoke of rights.

“How about [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains]? The world becomes a mere
battlefield under that Constellation’s hooves. It becomes an arena. Everyday
conversations turn into pointed arguments. There is no room for freedom there.”

He spoke of freedom.

I swallowed whole that rain-like voice and yelled.

“Did you say that humans should be free?”

“Yes.”

“If so,” I swung my sword. “What are you?”

“I am—”

“You’re just a machine that moves based on what it says in your diary! Where’s the
freedom in that?”

“You have a point.”

The Constellation Killer swung his sword with his right hand, but he did not let go of
the diary in his left hand. His indifferent eyes glanced over the diary.

“My reply is this. If I can forsake the freedom of one person, myself, to save the
freedom of everyone else, I should. That was my decision, and I had made that
decision when my mind was free. Therefore…”

“Don’t make me laugh!”

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Fifth form.

Sword of Poison.

“What’s different between your actions and the actions of the Constellations you just
talked about?”

“……”

The Constellation Killer hesitated to reply. But it was brief. The Constellation Killer
quickly defended against my blow that contained the poisons of the world.

“I renounce the scent of all flowers.”

“Whether you smell flowers for a week, watch the sunset, drink, eat, feel the wind, or
whatever, it’s all useless! You just throw it away, again and again!”

“…The Constellations are a harmful influence on the world. They infect the minds of
humans with their images and thoughts. With that infection, humans become one.
There is no choice,”

The Constellation Killer recited his diary.

“So, to give humans at least the freedom of choice, the Constellations must…”

“What is…”

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Sixth form.

Sword of Illness.

“Different about…”

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Seventh form.

Sword of Blunt Impact.

“What you do?”

“…I throw away all of the dreams I’ve had this week. I throw away the pain of being
injured. I throw away the landscapes of the morning, day, evening, and night…”

“You just move according to your diary! Constellations would be better! At least
Constellations are conscious of their actions. Your life is dictated by words!”

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Eighth form.

Sword of Incineration.

“Your name is not [The Killer of the Sky’s Constellations]!”

The Constellation Killer.

“You are [The Constellation Who Kills the Sky]!”

The Killer Constellation.

“If killing Constellations is your sole mission and duty—kill yourself first! Sky-killing
Constellation!”

Infernal Heavens Demonic Art.

Ninth form.

Sword of Suicide.

My sword pierced the Constellation Killer. But it wasn’t his flesh sliced by my sword
tip. It was the diary. The old notebook that the Constellation Killer could not look
away from until the end.

My blade cleaved its heart.

“……”

Countless pages flew into the air.

His days scattered like petals.

“…One second, discard,” muttered the Constellation Killer.

He fought a fierce battle against the spiders of the Magic Tower, and he had a
consecutive match against me. The memories that he had accumulated during the
week were exhausted. Finally, the metaphorical gun had been taken out of the
Constellation Killer’s hands.

“One second—discard.”

Despite reaching this end, the Constellation Killer did not let up. He still had
something to throw away. No, he had a constant stream of things he could discard.

“One second, discard.”

Moment by moment.

He sacrificed his unstopping present.

While sacrificing his seconds, he swung his sword, called forth aura, and shielded
himself.

“One second, discard.”

All right.

“One second, discard.”

That was the way he screamed.

“One second, discard.”

The Infernal Heavens was a sword that responded to all screams.

“One second, discard.”

I came all the way here with the screams of the snowfield, the screams of the heart,
the child, and in the end, of course it was his scream, the one that caused the others.
“One second, discard.”

The Constellation Killer muttered and swung his sword. There was no tone in his
voice, so it was colorless. His eyes did not carry his feelings, so they were indifferent.
The colorless and indifferent man’s silver hair became disheveled as he continued to
block my attacks.

“One second…”

Then, my sword cut his shoulder.

“…discard.”

We did not stop.

“One second.”

Without stopping, we swung our swords. Blood spilled from his shoulder. Blood
burst from his calves. Each time my sword connected, red spilled onto the gray
wasteland.

“Dis…”

I buried my sword into the Constellation Killer’s chest. He was unable to stop my
advance. Thud! The Constellation Killer fell backwards. I pinned him down so he
couldn’t move an inch, raising my sword high.

“Lefanta Aegim.”

“One second…”

“I will reap your scream.”

And I pierced the Constellation Killer’s heart.

“——.”

Blood gurgled back from his mouth. His esophagus was blocked. He couldn’t speak.
The Constellation Killer looked up at me with eyes devoid of emotion. As he looked
up, he moved his lips, but his voice was blocked by his blood.
“…dis…”

But that was just how screams were.

“……”

Blood flowed from the chest that once contained the heartbeat to the mouth that
once contained his voice. The blood spread to our surroundings more and more in
concentric circles. The Constellation Killer’s hair, a silver halfway between white and
gray, was soaked in the pool of blood.

“……”

Slowly.

He closed his eyes.

[Your presence has become more pronounced.]

A small voice sounded.

[Death King’s level is growing.]

[Your skill slots are expanding.]

[Now, your Hunter rank is C Class.]

[May luck be with you.]

It didn’t stop there.

[Your presence has become more pronounced.]

[Death King’s level is growing.]

The Tower’s voice resounded.

It was like all my actions so far were coming to fruition at once.

[Your skill slots are expanding.]

[Now, your Hunter rank is B Class.]

[May luck be with you.]

Everywhere, it grew silent.

I quietly pulled the blade from the Constellation Killer’s heart. His corpse looked
docile. He lay in the pool of his own blood without expression, like someone who had
been destined to die from the beginning.

At that moment…

[‘Lone Seeker of Truth’ is shocked by the death of the Constellation Killer.]

[‘The Eye Living in the Labyrinth’ looks wary of you at this unbelievable event.]

[‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ expresses amazement at the Constellation

Killer’s death.]

The world was astonished.

3.

-What?

Of course, it wasn’t only the Constellations who reacted to the death of the
Constellation Killer.

-What? Wait, what… Did the Constellation Killer just die? Really?

A dull voice resounded in the gray sky. The chief of the wizards who had just warred
against the Constellation Killer, the so-called Magic Tower Master, was in shock.

That voice was only the beginning. People started to flock to the wasteland. One by
one, the Hunters who had fled the battle between the Constellation Killer and the
Magic Tower approached.

“No way. The Constellation Killer died?”

“Who is that guy?”

“I’ve never heard of the Sword Emperor.”

“Fuck, that crazy mofo bastard was reincarnated…”

Though they were shocked, they did not rush and pile on top of me. There was an
alertness in their eyes. They were wary of a newcomer who had suddenly hunted the
Constellation Killer.

‘It’s dangerous. I should disappear before I draw more attention.’

I caught my breath, which had become feverish during my fight with the
Constellation Killer.

‘If they discover that my fighting prowess is less than they think, I don’t know when
or how they’ll attack.’

I was only able to hunt the Constellation Killer through a trap. If we were both fully
prepared, I would have lost 100 percent no matter how many times we fought. The
other Hunters weren’t aware of this fact yet… It was really lucky that they weren’t.

‘I should hurry.’

I put the Constellation Killer’s body on my back and muttered, “Transmit.”

In my mind, I was already thinking of the Great Library’s majestic lobby. Soon, my
body would be transmitted there, carrying the Constellation Killer’s corpse. Then, I
would coax [The Corner Librarian] to follow my schemes.

“……?”

However, nothing happened.

“Transmit.”

I muttered again, but it was the same. I remained in the desolate field. The glutenous
blood from the Constellation Killer’s corpse soaked my back. Hundreds of Hunters
stared at me in confusion.

“……”

Suddenly, an ominous premonition swept over me.

‘The stage clear announcement hasn’t been made yet!’

The Constellation Killer was unmistakably dead. And yet, no voice declared to me
that [the stage has been cleared].

‘Why? Was something lacking?’

I desperately tried to think of what happened. Was it not enough to kill the
Constellation Killer? Was the Tower refusing to recognize the 50th floor as cleared
since the Constellation Killer wasn’t the master of the 50th floor?

“…Why’s he like that? He’s just standing still.”

“Hold on, my observation skill says that guy’s level is only B-Class.”

“B-Class?”

While I was urgently thinking, the Hunters began to murmur. The air of
astonishment ebbed away. Astonishment slowly turned into alertness, and alertness
soon became suspicion.

“Don’t joke.”

“Well, he must have a camouflage skill. The Constellation Killer is at least S-Class, so
there’s no way he’d die to a B-Class.”

“Hey! Somebody talk to him!”

“Are there any Hunters who were active when the Sword Emperor was alive?”

I broke out in a cold sweat.

‘This isn’t good.’

Uneasiness rippled through the air. It wasn’t just because I could see the Hunters
sniffing about. It wasn’t because each of those Hunters was a higher level than me
and thus dangerous.

The sense that I’d [missed something].

A Hunter’s intuition.

“……”

I instinctively looked to my side.

-……
Next to me, Bae Hu-ryeong was smirking.

-What’re you looking at?

‘Speak honestly. You know something, don’t you?’

-I don’t know what you mean. I already gave you all the advice I’ll give.

Saying so, Bae Hu-ryeong grinned. The corners of his mouth were filled with
mischief. Shit. Cursing in my mind, I recalled the advice he gave me.

『Gongja.』

『Don’t see him as a human. He’s nothing but a weapon that moves fully according to
what he has written.』

Not a human but a weapon. A fighting machine.

‘What would I do if I was Lefanta Aegim? He’s a man who calculates everything
obsessively. Wouldn’t he naturally have plans for if he died?’

My thinking became quicker.

‘Furthermore, Bae Hu-ryeong has met the Constellation Killer before.’

I saw Lefanta Aegim’s face for the first time in a trauma. Bae Hu-ryeong was with me
then, too. He had immediately recognized Lefanta Aegim’s identity.

『It feels like I’ve seen that bastard before?』

『Even at a glance, I can recognize that he’s definitely the Constellation Killer.』

『I was wondering what kind of world such a madman was born in, that brat. So he’s
from Aegim.』

I asked Bae Hu-ryeong what sort of relationship he had with the man. Bae Hu-ryeong
shrugged.

『What else could our relationship be? We had a proper fight.』

『He was strong, I’ll give him that, but he couldn’t dare match me.』

In other words…

‘Bae Hu-ryeong beat the Constellation Killer in battle.’

The Constellation Killer had been defeated by Bae Hu-ryeong before.

Then, wasn’t it too strange?

Feeling the Constellation Killer’s blood drip down my spine, I looked at Bae Hu-
ryeong.

‘You… ’

-Yeah.

‘There is no way a person like you would spare the Constellation Killer.’

The Sword Emperor.

He was a crazy nutjob, but he had a noble attitude when it came to swords and
martial arts.

Bae Hu-ryeong killed my master. He killed her in a fair match. Master was beautiful,
and she was as kind as she was beautiful. Bae Hu-ryeong recognized it, saying that
[this was the doctrine of the Demonic Cult], and cut her.

-Heh.

The Constellation Killer was depraved. He couldn’t even be compared to my master.

-Smart little brat.

After subduing the Constellation Killer… there was no way that Bae Hu-ryeong
wouldn’t have killed him.

-This is why I like you. You have to be smart to be a Hunter. There are three qualities a
Hunter needs. Intelligence, to plan a way to win. Courage, to execute the plan. Skill, to
succeed in the execution. You have to be smart, adaptive, and competent.
There was only one conclusion.

Bae Hu-ryeong must have killed the Constellation Killer in the past.

Only, that wasn’t the end.

-The Constellation Killer bastard is a Hunter, Gongja, just like you.

The sky split.

“Strengthening one blow.”

I.

“–I throw away the white flower I saw when I looked down on my way here.”

I was only able to avoid the blow because I was extremely tense and wary of my
surroundings. I had reinforced my vision and hearing, all five senses, with my aura as
much as I could. As I keenly observed the flow of air, I felt a blade that tore the flow
apart.

I hit the ground.

I discarded Lefanta Aegim’s corpse. I disregarded my posture. I fiercely rolled away,

my sole aim to get out of that spot. Running Wave. Any martial artist would laugh at
my technique, but I used it with not a single inkling of shame.

In exchange, I survived.

Kwaaaang!

The wasteland was completely uprooted. The ground broke. The sudden blow had
waylaid even the crowd who had gathered to look at me. Unlike me, not all of them
had been paying attention. Over twenty Hunters died due to this bit of carelessness.

It happened in an instant.

“On the way, I saw an old man planting something in a flower pot.”

Someone took a step. Thud. The man’s footsteps echoed in the dense wasteland of
screams and groans.

“The flowerpot was small. Petite. The man’s life had become old and lacking, and he
was planting his all into a single flowerpot. For a moment, I saw the flowerpot that
contained the old man’s life. Life, regardless of size, can be beautiful so long as it can
be contained somewhere.”

The walker was wearing a ratty hood.

“One strike. Strengthening.”

A voice flowed from beneath the hood.

“I forsake the memories of the old man and the pot.”

A gale blew.

[‘The Lone Seeker of Truth’ rejoices.]

[‘The Eye Living in the Labyrinth’ watches as new events unfold.]

[‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ abandons the plan to attack you.]

The number of deaths earlier—20—instantly doubled. Everyone but the Hunters

with prompt reactions was caught in the blow. There was a spirited man who ran
toward the man in the hood, but soon his limbs were blown away, demonstrating to
everyone the difference between courage and recklessness.

“I overheard people whispering in the alley.”

The man’s hood slipped because of the wind that he himself caused.

“I couldn’t understand them, so I shan’t say they were voices. But I cannot say it was
mere noise because I wanted to understand them. The allure of something you don’t
understand. I wondered if that was a sign of beauty. I thought the sound of the alley
was beautiful.”

Silver hair.

“While walking, I stepped on the ground. The feeling of touching the ground was new
to me. It was firm. It was nice. I thought that maybe the people of the world would
become nicer if they walked around on bare feet. Then, I felt pained because I
thought they would step on a glass shard. The people who walk barefoot in this
world are good people, but that is why they will always be in pain.”

Blue eyes.

“I deduce that the one who murdered me is in this group. Among them, the person
with the highest possibility of being the killer is… the one that was carrying my
corpse.”

An old notebook.

“It is the first time I’ve died in 153 years, 7 months, and 2 days. The Hunter who
killed me in the past, the Sword Emperor, was distinctly more skilled than I. Thus, I
added a rule on page 2. [If I am about to be killed by an opponent stronger than me, I
will escape]. This is the lesson I gained after dying three times in three battles
against the Sword Emperor.”

The silver-haired man scanned the old notebook with his blue eyes.

“From my judgment.”

Then, he looked at me.

“You avoided two of my blows. But if you were a fighter on the Sword Emperor’s
level, you would have counterattacked immediately after dodging. The Sword
Emperor said his level of martial arts was called the Dawn Circle Sword. Your skills
are not on that level.”

The Holy Sword by my waist trembled.

“It’s hard to understand why I was killed by a person on your level.”

The one who massacres Constellations.

“This means that you are smart enough to devise a method that I cannot guess. A
Hunter who is smarter than me is dangerous. If you gain more outstanding power
than you have now, you may grow into a Hunter comparable to the Sword Emperor.”
A human weapon.

A person who plans for his own death and has made an additional body. Whether it
was a [clone], a [puppet], or some Constellation’s technique, the Constellation Killer,
Lefanta Aegim, stood before me.

『Don’t see him as a human.』

『The Constellation Killer bastard is a Hunter, Gongja, just like you.』

Like me, who never really dies no matter how much I die.

The Constellation Killer was another person who had measures against death.

“I judge that you are a dangerous person whom I cannot leave alone. I will neutralize
you immediately.”

The Constellation Killer pulled a yellow rubber band from his chest pocket. Slowly,
he tied his silver hair.

“Our fight begins now.”

The world fractured.

-Come on, Gongja.

Bae Hu-ryeong laughed loudly.

The slightly frayed sleeves of a robe fluttered.

-This is the world after the 50th floor!

4.

I pulled forth my red aura with all my strength.

“Dammit! A doll? You’re really no different from a machine, are you?!”

“In my battles against the Sword Emperor, there were no witnesses except for one
Constellation.”
The Constellation Killer looked between me and his diary. It would be nice if looking
was all he did. He continued to rain down blows without pause. I did my best to
avoid his repeated attacks.

“It was because the Sword Emperor considered the duel to be sacred. The Sword
Emperor called it a martial arts contest. However, too many have witnessed this
death. It will be difficult to eliminate all witnesses.”

-This crazy bastard…

I heard a voice muttering absently in the faraway sky. It was the voice of the Magic
Tower Master. Regardless, the Constellation Killer continued to calculate how to act
next.

“Therefore, I will threaten them instead of killing them. Listen. Look. To those who
oppose me and to those who will oppose me in the future, I have artificially acquired
immortality. Even if you kill me, I will stand before you again.”

-……

“And I vow to kill the person who has killed me. If a group worked together to kill
me, I will destroy the whole group.”

Booooom!

I narrowly managed to avoid the Constellation Killer’s attack. The attack I dodged
did not cut me but [the Constellation Killer’s corpse]. The corpse was cut off at its
waist in one stroke. This was crazy. That guy, the Constellation Killer, shredded a
body that looked exactly like his own.

“My declaration is not just a threat. I will kill you here to prove it.”

His face was still expressionless.

It was like he placed no value on his own body.

“Strengthening one blow.”

The Constellation Killer dashed at me.

“I abandon all the beauty of the world.”

‘Ah.’

I had been under the illusion that time had stopped.

As a wave of air from his sword strike ripped through the earth, I looked the
Constellation Killer in the eyes. They were apathetic.

Pure madness.

His eyes were not afraid of any sacrifice or price he had to pay in order to act on his
convictions. Yes, Bae Hu-ryeong was right. This man was a person who lived as a
hunter just like I did.

‘It’s me.’

I lamented.

‘It’s me if I didn’t meet Raviel—‘

Staring at my imminent death, in that moment, I gave up on defending. I ignored it.

But I wasn’t just throwing away my life.

『Don’t kill yourself without my permission.』

『Don’t die even when there’s an easy escape.』

『Even if you don’t think you can escape death, struggle until the end.』

As I gave up on defense, I swung my sword. If I couldn’t block the blow anyway, even
if I was going to die, I could at least hit him properly. That was just who I was. That
was the promise I made with Raviel.

Chwaak!

My sword collided with the Constellation Killer’s strike.

My blade cut open the diary in the Constellation Killer’s left hand.
“……”

I saw the Constellation Killer’s silver eyebrows twitch.

“——.”

His blow had pierced me.

‘I admit it.’

I coughed. Blood poured back down my throat. My vision turned white. Even as my
body boiled, I glared at the Constellation Killer until the very end.

‘You are a monster. You’re stronger than me. You’re very cautious like me. However,
you’re not the only one who has another chance, Lefanta Aegim.’

[The Corner Librarian sighs.]

‘Kill me. I’ll die for you now. Kill me again and again. Let’s kill each other! Your hell
and my hell can compete. The last person standing will be me. You are wrong!’

[The Corner Librarian rejoices but also despairs.]

I will beat you.

[You have died.]

Just wait.

[Currently, your Hunter rank is B-Class.]

[As part of your penalty for leveling, the order of your skill activation will be
changed.]

I will definitely, to you—-.

[Warning.]

[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being materialized.]

[The data necessary for materialization will be extracted from your memories.]

The whiteness I saw turned red.

[The severity of the penalty is high.]

[The penalty is the animal road.][1]

My consciousness drifted away.

From a faraway world, like it was crossing nirvana, there was a melody.

Ding,

Dong,

Dang,

Dong.

……

Somehow, the tune sounded very familiar.

It was the sound of a bell I think I heard a long time ago.

‘Where did I hear this… Oh? Where… Where was it?’

I tried to open my eyes. My eyelids felt like they were being weighed down with iron.
My whole body was tingling with sleep paralysis. Only the unclear melody, the hazy
bells, could be heard.

Ding, dong, dang, dong…

At some point, I could hear another sound.

-This is the broadcasting department, notifying all students remaining on school

grounds…

School?
-Other than the students who will participate in nighttime self-study, everyone, please
go home now. Once again, the broadcasting department announces…

Go home.

-Recently, some students have remained on school grounds after dismissal time has
passed. To the students at school now, please return home if you have not applied for
nighttime self-study.

Ding, dong, dang, dong.

The bell rang again, and the voice stopped speaking.

“……”

What the hell was this?

I struggled to break free of the sleep paralysis. But struggling was no use, so I
concentrated my consciousness on one point as much as I could. I felt my body
fidget. As I was trying to move my fingers by concentrating a bit more, something hit
my head.

“Sunbae, wake up! We’ve been dismissed!”

Only then could I move, like I had been released from binding magic. I exhaled
violently. Gradually, I regained control of my body. Sensations returned. The first to
return was hearing, then sight.

“Aha—”

Drawn by the familiar laugh, I raised my head.

“It’s not good for you to sleep on your desk! It’s bad for your back, and more
importantly, you won’t sleep well. I understand that you’re studying hard since it’s
almost midterms, but please go home and sleep instead!”

The Heretic Questioner was smiling down at me.

However, something was different.

“…Heretic Questioner?”

The Heretic Questioner was wearing a school uniform.

“What? A heretic questioner?”

He tilted his head side to side.

“Who’s that?”

“…Maybe… Are you the Golden Silk? Were you possessed by the Heretic Questioner
again?”

“Possessed? Ah. Did you have a dream? Ahaha. Sunbae, you read a lot of books. You
must have had an interesting dream!”

“……”

I slowly looked around.

The two of us were at… a library. But even though it was a library, it was shabby
when compared to the Great Library of All Things. If the Great Library was a
magnificent chateau, this was a cramped kennel.

Looking out the window, I could see a wide schoolyard.

“……”

Like a normal school.

‘Sword Emperor.’

Feeling my mouth go dry, I muttered in my head.

‘There’s trouble, Sword Emperor. This. I think the penalties became totally weird as
my level went up. Before, I saw the trauma like I was peeping in a dream, but this…
Sword Emperor?’

There was no response.

I looked around again.

‘Hello?’

It was quiet.

‘Hey. Sword Emperor.’

It was silent.

“……”

Then, I realized.

“Now, sunbae. Let’s leave now. The student council president will probably be
waiting at the school gate today! You can’t make your girlfriend angry! I’ll organize
the books, so sunbae, you go first!”

I had entered a new stage.

The trauma was unfolding on a different level than before.

[1]: I’m not sure if any of the previous TLs explained it, so here it is just in case:

Gongja’s penalties seem to follow the six domains of the desire realm, which is
related to the concept of Samsara, rebirth.
5.

“Go, go! Cherish your relationship! It won’t do for the leading star of the romance
who went down in Shinseo Middle-High School’s history to make his girlfriend wait!”

The Heretic Questioner basically kicked me out of the library. My head was blank. I
didn’t know how to respond.

While I stood tongue-tied, the library door slammed shut.

“Uh…”

The school was silent.

The gray granite floor of the corridor was slippery. When the sunset reflected on it, it
was a shiny red. Nobody was walking in the hallway but me. Only calls of “Pass!
Pass!” and the sounds of students kicking around a soccer ball in the distant
schoolyard were present.

“Really, what’s going on…?”

I walked like I was sleepwalking.

『The student council president will probably be waiting at the school gate today!』

『You can’t make your girlfriend angry!』

I had never attended high school. However, I did go to middle school for about two
years. I was familiar with the facilities of a school.

‘First, I’ll head to the gate.’

The columns and walls of the hallway were pale, painted with a light green. It wasn’t
a pretty green either, just a bland color. Even the tacky, fake color seemed familiar.

‘Stairs. There should be a staircase nearby. Ah. Found it…?’

It was then. As I reached the stairs, I felt a presence. When I looked up because of the
presence—

The stairs that led to the rooftop.

A student was standing right in front of the iron door.

“……?”

He had a small frame. The student stared at the iron door that would not open. He
was probably looking at the chains and the lock on the doorknob. The student
seemed to notice my presence as well, and our eyes met.

It was a face I was seeing for the first time.

“……”

The student dropped his head, then silently walked down the stairs past me.

While he passed, I saw the child’s uniform collar. The white collar was stained with
dirt. It smelled familiar to me. It was the smell of poverty. Of course, I only caught a
glimpse.

The student disappeared down the hall.

[Behaving properly ♪]

[Living joyfully ♪]

[With a happy heart ♪]

A poster with a flashy motto hung in the stairs where the student had stood. The
words were pointless, saying nothing about anything. Rather than words, they were
a failure.

The poster was hideous.

As if desperately trying to hide its uselessness, the slogan’s font and color were cute.
It wasn’t until a long time later that I came to my senses.

“…Yeah. I should leave, too.”

I arrived at the school gate.

A black limousine was parked in front of the gate.

“……”

Wait a moment.

Let me explain what I just saw. I went down the ordinary stairs and crossed the
ordinary schoolyard to reach what should have been an ordinary school gate.

But what was this? There was a super high-end black limousine, one you’d only see
in movies, parked in front of the school gate.

“Mm. You’re a little late today.”

And the person dearest to my heart stood by the limousine.

“R-Raviel…?”

“It’s a lovely evening, Gongja,” my love said calmly.

“Now that I’ve seen your face, the sunset is even more beautiful. The sunset’s glow
must have become red to match the color of your cheeks.”

There were students on the field who hadn’t gone home yet. Students playing on the
basketball court, students taking short walks before going to self-study, and students
kicking around a ball on the soccer field. They all stopped whatever they were doing
to look our way.

“Look over there. That sunbae…”

“Oh, that’s the one dating the daughter of the chaebol family…”

“I’m friggin’ jealous…”

“The public confession at the festival…”

This was crazy.

“What’s wrong, Gongja? Your dopey expression is a part of your charm, but you look
seriously confused now. Have you decided to develop a new kind of appeal?”

“Raviel… Raviel, you’re from a chaebol family?”

My head felt woozy. What was this crazy trauma trying to show me? Was it giving me
the gift of Raviel wearing a school uniform? Should I take a picture? And preserve it
for the ages? Was there a way to bring photos taken inside a trauma back to reality?

“You’re saying something weird… Boyfriend. I was born into a chaebol family, and of
course, I continue to live as a member of a chaebol family.”

This was crazy.

Raviel called me her boyfriend.

She called me boyfriend!

What do I do? Should I film this? Record her voice? I should film it, right? Can the
science and technology of the modern era transfer a video recorded in a trauma to
reality? What were the scientists doing? Why were they neglecting their duties?

“R-Raviel. Sorry, but how old are you now?”

“…I’m a second-year student at Shinseo High.”

“And me?”

“Butler, book a psychiatrist right now. My boyfriend seems to be suffering from a

light case of amnesia. As for the answer to the question, you are, of course, in the
same grade as me, Boyfriend.”
“Ahh, to meet Raviel while we’re in high school… Being able to spend my youth with
Raviel. What is this? This is… Isn’t it too great of a blessing…? I’m the happiest man
in the world…”

“Butler, cancel the appointment. My boyfriend is acting as usual.”

We had a brief, romantic moment in front of the school gate. It was a happy time.
There were shrieks in the schoolyard, but I didn’t pay them any mind. Based on what
the Heretic Questioner said, we two were an official couple at school.

“Even if we are reborn in a different world, I will always love you, Raviel…”

“I have loved you from the past life and will love you in my next. For me, love’s name
will always be replaced by three syllables—Kim Gongja. But first, we need to live in
this present life. Get in the car. I’ll take you home.”

Home.

To me, home meant the orphanage. Was Raviel taking me to the orphanage, then?
No, this [trauma world] was clearly different from [the outside world] in reality. I
never went to high school. I hadn’t ever heard of a place called Shinseo High.

What would my home here be like?

“Something big happened at your house yesterday, didn’t it?”

Raviel said, getting inside the limo. The inside of the limousine was comfortably
spacious. However, the two of us purposefully snuggled up next to each other, sitting
side by side.

“Sorry? Something big?”

“Oho. Are you saying you don’t care about it? Well, my boyfriend has always hated
talking about him. Of course, I hate it too… Still, family is family. Tell your mother and
father not to worry because I took care of it. No, it’ll be better if I told them myself.”

“……”

I didn’t know what she was talking about. I thought that some incident had
happened and Raviel covered it up. But the words that had shaken me were the
words [mother] and [father].

‘My parents.’

When I was a child, I had called the orphanage director my father. I had also called an
older girl who had come to volunteer my mother. However, that was only because of
the ignorance and mischief of children.

The parents Raviel were talking about… probably weren’t like that.

‘In this world, I have a home and I have parents.’

It was somewhat disconcerting.

‘Raviel gave me an adoptive father for a day during the wedding, but… ’

I was happy then. However, it was a happiness that someone I loved gave me, and it
would disappear if I indulged in it.

But now, these were parents who had existed and would continue to exist as such.

‘I don’t even know what to feel… ’

The limousine stopped. Through the window, I saw a small, shabby, single-family
house. It was an old house in an old neighborhood.

“Oh.”

And in front of the house was a rough-looking man sweeping with a broom.

“You’re home?”

The long-haired man grinned.

“Kyaah. Your girlfriend gave you a ride in a limo, hmm? Our son’s got some good luck.
It’s all thanks to my looks that you inherited. You should respect your father, who
made it so you always look handsome!”

It was the Sword Emperor.

“……”

I was briefly woozy again.

“Have you been well, Father?”

“Oh. Please, don’t lower your head. Young lady, a precious person like you shouldn’t
bow your head to a guy like me. Anyway, was my son rude to you? This kid’s got a
good heart, but his disposition’s a bit cuckoo…”

“It’s all right. I treasure every part of Gongja.”

“Keh. How is it that everything you say is so sweet? Hey! Hey! Kim Gongja, you rascal!
Get on your knees and bow. If you ever mistreat this young lady, you’ll be disowned.
Got it? Straight away. I’ll erase you from our family tree!”

Raviel and Bae Hu-ryeong were speaking warmly to each other.

The sight of them conversing—it existed here.

I almost passed out.

“Mm.”

Raviel easily caught my body.

“Gongja is acting rather strange today, Father. He asked me about my age earlier.”

“That kid has always been weird. When he was five… Ah. Do you want to stay for
dinner? I cooked some amazing cockles today.”

“Yes. I won’t refuse.”

“You’re such a charming lady! Gongja, what are you doing? Why aren’t you kneeling
yet? Should I do it for you?”

We went inside.

“Welcome back, Gongja.”

Master was sitting on the sofa, reading a newspaper.

“How was school, my son?”

“……”

I swooned.

“Oho? You even brought your girlfriend home. Welcome, Miss Ban Siah.”

“Please call me Raviel, Mother. I prefer using my foreign name.”

“Is that so? Hmm, I see. The customs of children these days are complex.”

Mother.

Mother.

M.

O.

T.

H.

E.

R.

“Honey, you haven’t realized? Do you think Gongja has the guts to invite the lady to
our house? I invited her. I lured her with my shellfish side dish.”

“Ah, of course. Darling, you’re right. It was unbecoming of me to expect such a side to
our son. Since the doenjang soup is finished boiling, let’s…”

Honey.

Darling.
Hon. Ey.

Dar. Ling.

Honeeeeeyy?!

Darliiiiing?!

-We will continue to report about the popular singer, Yoo Sooha.

An announcer’s voice flowed out of the TV in the living room.

-In the incident that shocked many people yesterday, this image shows the singer Yoo
Sooha assaulting someone. But this morning, a report came, saying the picture had
been manipulated. Surprisingly, it was a confession from the one who released the
video.

I stared at the television screen in a stupor. On the screen, there was a photo ID of a
handsome man with a long ponytail.

-The informant said, ‘I reported him as a joke, but I didn’t think this would blow up. I
sincerely apologize to those who were shocked and hurt by my actions’…

Pictures of Preta and the Golden Silk also popped up on the screen. With that, the
photos of the Flame Emperor, Preta, and the Golden Silk were side by side.

-Estel and Sylvia, members of his group, have refrained from making official
statements.

There was a video of the singers dancing. The Golden Silk sang as Preta and the
Flame Emperor danced.

-However, like the concert in 10 days that was canceled, the group’s activities will likely
be postponed for some time.

This was crazy.

Wasn’t it crazy?

Did I go crazy?
I said, isn’t this fucking crazy?!

“Mm.”

Master nodded slightly and put down the newspaper. She looked at Raviel with
earnest eyes.

“We have a lot to talk about at dinner. Gongja, fetch your brother. It’s been a while, so
let’s all eat together. Is that all right with you, Miss Raviel?”

“Of course.”

Brother? Not only did I have a mother and father, but I also had an older brother?

“Brother… Where is he?”

“He’s in your room.”

Master turned her head toward a door. I felt some unshakable fear. My father was
Bae Hu-ryeong. Mother was Master. Then, who would act as my older brother?

Creaaak.

Carefully, slowly, I opened the door.

“Huh?”

A man lay in bed, munching on potato chips. He was reading a rented comic book in
one hand. Seeing me, the man casually waved with his potato chip-stained hand.

“Long time to see. Fuck, dude. Did you see the news, too? Huh? Your big bro got
fucked over yesterday. Ah, really. I kept being stalked, so I got annoyed and threw a
punch, but I got caught. My career as a singer almost ended.”

It was the Flame Emperor.

“……”

I blacked out.
“I’m glad the fucker lost his nerve this morning. Phew, I got scolded by Mom… Huh?
Hey? Are you okay? Your face is pale. Kim Gongja? Hey, kiddo. Did you lose your
mind? Why are you fucking swaying all of the sudden…”

“Die!”

I jumped on the bed.

“Die! Die! Die, you maniac!”

“Y-you bastard, are you nuts? Hey, calm down!”

“You think I’ll calm down when you just called Master ‘Mom,’ you fucker? Die! Die
and apologize to Master!”

“What sort of bullshit… No, wait, fuck? S-since when did you get this strong… Hick,
eup, kuugh!”

I strangled Yoo Sooha. From the bottom of my heart, let’s accept that Bae Hu-ryeong
was cast as my father. I will never accept it in reality, but let’s say that he is. But this
guy as my blood brother? This guy, this psychopath, as my brother?

“Dieee!!”

“M-Mom!”

Yoo Sooha coughed and screamed.

“Gongja is hitting me! Mom!”

I was gonna go mad.

1.

“I know it was bold of me, but I took the liberty of handling Brother-in-law’s
incident.”

After the squabble had been broken up, we gathered at the table. The Flame
Emperor had a shiner. I had a bump protruding from my head. Master hit me good
while scolding me…

“These incidents have to be snuffed out early on or buried the very moment they
happen. The latter is usually preferable, but the timing wasn’t good in this case.
There wasn’t any political drama happening, and Brother-in-law’s concert had been
scheduled for 10 days later.”

Raviel deftly picked up a cockle with her chopsticks and ate it. Swish, click. Raviel
was using chopsticks here.

This sight existed.

‘So pretty.’

Oh, I was grateful for the invention of chopsticks. The chopsticks were probably
grateful to be used by Raviel. Indubitably so. Though, the way she called the Flame
Emperor bastard [Brother-in-law] made my insides twist.

“…Boyfriend.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t look at me so heatedly.”

Raviel spoke like she was troubled.

“Turn away. Or lower your head. I’m speaking with your parents right now. I don’t
want to do something embarrassing in front of your mother and father.”

“All right…”

I obediently lowered my head and ate the food… What? This cockle dish. It’s really
fucking good! Bae Hu-ryeong had made this? Was Bae Hu-ryeong actually a good
chef? My worldview was being shaken…

“Ah, but please don’t say ‘brother-in-law.’ That guy doesn’t deserve to be called that
by you, Raviel. Please just call him a dog.”

“Hey, brat. You’ve become quite the punk while I was gone, huh?”

“Hmm.”

Master slowly took a sip of her drink.

“It’s a little embarrassing, really. Miss Raviel, I would understand if you had acted on
Gongja’s behalf, but as you know, Gongja and Sooha’s relationship is not good. Did
you need to help Sooha with your family’s power?”

“I didn’t,” Raviel said calmly. “I just wanted to show it to Mother and Father.”

“Show it? What do you mean?”

“You two probably underestimate the strength of our love. You may think that it’s
just a passing amusement for the daughter of a chaebol family, making nice
memories for our school days and gaining life experience. Whether with good
intentions or bad, that’s how you view us.”

Raviel’s voice trickled over the dining table.

“But I am serious. I will sincerely take you in as my new family. There are some in my
household who are against my choice of partner, but I will crush all resistance. I took
care of this incident to show you my skills and my resolve.”

“……”
“Please allow the two of us to marry. Mother, Father.”

Master smiled wryly.

“…I see that a very generous child has grown close to my son. I thank you. It is
strange to see my son be loved like this, but it means raising him was worth it.”

Master.

“Oh, wow. Then are we in-laws with a chaebol family? Kyaah, I don’t have to work as
a singer anymore. I’m done with it. Hey, Sister-in-law! There are some singers going
to China these days. Can you get our group to…”

“Sooha. If you cause another incident, we’ll erase you from the family tree. Our
relationship as parent and child will be severed.”

“Huh?”

“No. That will not suffice. Find the person you assaulted and bow your head. Get on
your knees until you are forgiven. I will not accept you as my kin until you apologize.”

“M-Mom?!”

I quietly looked down the table.

“……”

A home.

Parents.

Things I did not have.

Raviel went back after officially getting permission to marry me. We had set a date
for the wedding. Bae Hu-ryeong said, “Kuhaha! I’ll need to fit my son for a suit! It’s
happening a lot faster than I thought!” and laughed.

“……”
Master and Bae Hu-ryeong worked as writers. After Raviel went back, the house
became quiet and the sound of two people working softly spread through the quiet
living room.

Master wrote with a pencil. With a cup of coffee by her side, Master thought for long
periods of time and occasionally wrote a few words down on her manuscript. Her
side profile was tranquilly in thought.

Bae Hu-ryeong wrote with a typewriter. Tap, tap. The rhythm of the keys clicking
quietly filled the room. When he wrote, Bae Hu-ryeong frowned, his face resembling
an angry sea otter. Sometimes, he would go to the kitchen and make himself a
cocktail.

“……”

A quiet world.

‘Why?’

Even when it was the next morning and I was on my way to school, I couldn’t wrap
my head around it at all.

‘Why is this the Constellation Killer’s trauma?’

Students in uniforms passed by me on the way to school. They were all faces that I
had seen somewhere; somehow, I was familiar with them.

“Good morning, sunbae!”

Among them were students who bowed their heads politely as soon as they saw me.
Top buttons loose, too-tight pants, shortened skirts. Students who looked somewhat
delinquent bowed to me.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“…The Four Demon Lords?”

They were none other than the members of the Demonic Sect.

A middle school student who looked just like Demon Lord Wolyeong tilted his head.
“Four Demon Lords? Who’s that? We’re the Four Heavenly Kings of Shinseo Middle
School, Sunbae.”

“What the…”

Were the Four Demon Lords the strongest fighters at this world’s school? And was I
their leader? Then, that meant that the top delinquent of this school and the student
council president, who was from a chaebol family, were dating.

This was insane.

“Excuse me. You all… Why do you go around acting like thugs? You should stop. Study
instead. No, you don’t even have to study. Please just disband the gang or whatever.”

“We’re being good these days! Sunbae, didn’t you tell us to restrain ourselves while
you date the Queen? We’ve been doing that! Because of you, we can’t even play with
our errand boy anymore!”

“Not that, but… Nevermind. The Four Heavenly Kings, right? Did you call Raviel ‘the
Queen’? This is nuts.”

“P-please stop speaking so politely, sunbae! It’s scary!”

Things continued to drive me nuts when I entered the classroom.

“Attention! Bow to our teacher!”

The Black Dragon Master was our class president. Her clothes were neat. Her entire
air showed that she was a model student.

“All right. President, take the kids’ phones.”

“Yes!”

“Those of you who hide your phones. If I catch you, you die. Hmm? Get it?”

And the Venomous Snake was our homeroom teacher. With an appearance that
looked indistinguishable from a teacher or gangster, the Venomous Snake put on airs
behind the lectern. He was holding a switch in one hand.
‘I’m going to go mad.’

The Black Dragon Master went around the classroom holding a storage box. The
students voluntarily or reluctantly put in their cell phones. And these weren’t
smartphones but folding phones. If not, slide phones.

“……”

And the Black Dragon Master just walked by me when she came to my seat.

Quietly, without a word.

‘Huh?’

Looking around, I was the only student whom the Black Dragon Master passed over
silently. The Count (※She was a classmate!) and the Crusader (※Also a classmate!)
both obediently coughed up their phones.

“Uh. Hey… Class President?”

It was an unfamiliar way to address her. The Black Dragon Master heard my voice
and turned around. Her calm, subdued eyes stared back at me.

“…What is it?”

“You didn’t take my phone. Here.”

I stood up and put my cell phone in the box. I felt very uncomfortable using casual
language with the Black Dragon Master. I wasn’t the only one who was
uncomfortable. The Black Dragon Master looked at me with a surprised expression.

“…That’s right. Princess Pyeonggang could reform the foolish Ondal.”[1]

“Huh?”

“Mm, it’s nothing. Forget it.”

The Black Dragon Master shook her head lightly and walked to the front row.

At the lectern, the Venomous Snake was snickering.

“Heh. The day has come when Kim Gongja willingly gives up his cell phone.
Everyone, take a good look! You don’t need nagging or corporal punishment to fix
someone. With love, people change on their own. You all should find someone too
when you get to college.”

The Crusader raised her hand upright.

“Teacher, Kim Gongja says he will go to Seoul National University. He spoke to me

very earnestly.”

“Oh, how odd. He told me he was going to Oxford.”

The Count grinned.

“The student council president is going to study abroad. I heard that he would follow
her to the ends of the earth.”

“Well. That means that his safety school is Seoul National University and his reach
school is Oxford. As expected of Kim Gongja. His eyes are on a different level than
ours…”

The students giggled. The Crusader and the Count were likely the ones who
controlled the class atmosphere, and among them, the Count smirked.

“President, be careful. You’re going to lose out as the top student in class.”

“…No need to meddle,” the Black Dragon Master replied brusquely.

I felt peculiar because though they were wearing school uniforms, they were all faces
I recognized.

No.

Not everyone.

“……”

Back row. The window seat.

The student I came across by the stairs to the rooftop yesterday was sitting there.
That student was quietly writing something down in his notebook.

‘He’s in the same class as me.’

The wind blew from the window.

The curtains swayed.

The child’s body was small enough to be hidden behind the curtains. So, the
student’s image was repeatedly hidden by and visible between the curtains. The thin
curtain was like a partition that separated the child away from the rest of the
classroom.

“Ah. Hello, everyone…?”

Then, someone entered the classroom.

“First period is math… Right?”

“Yes, teacher.”

“T-then I’ll start the class…”

It was the Alchemist.

‘I’m not even surprised anymore.’

That was right. What more could surprise me when the Four Demon Lords became
the Four Heavenly Kings and the Flame Emperor became my brother?

Furthermore, Preta and the Golden Silk formed an idol group with the Flame
Emperor and sang together. The Alchemist being my math teacher? That was
nothing. Sure, why not…

The day seemed to pass in an instant.

“It’s Gongja-hyung!”

“Gongja-hyung! Let’s play together!”

When I left the cafeteria at lunchtime, a bunch of middle school children swarmed
me. The 10th floor. They were the children I had seen in the hide-and-seek game at
the Hellfire Residence.

“……”

“All you do is study these days! Come play with us!”

“Let’s play soccer!”

The children, who had been tortured to death when they had done no wrong, had
become middle school students and were smiling brightly.

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

“…All right. Let’s play together.”

On the campus where the junior high and high schools neighbored each other, I
played with the children.

An old security guard stood at the school gate. It was Namgung Un, the Murim Lord.

I take gym classes in the afternoon, so I saw the elementary school students as they
were dismissed from beyond the school gate. They were the apostles of [The
Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness]. The elementary school students walked in
twos and threes, holding hands as they passed under the ginkgo trees.

“……”

I didn’t know.

I really couldn’t tell why.

My last class was over, but I didn’t leave to go home. I sat on a bench on the school
grounds and blankly watched as the students left.

‘Everyone is alive.’

In this world, Bae Hu-ryeong wasn’t a ghost. He was alive. I couldn’t imagine what
kind of novel he was writing, but… he was alive and had a job as a writer.
Master was alive.

The children of the mansion were alive.

His personality was still trash, but the Flame Emperor was alive too. He lived as
someone who whined to his parents and was scolded by them. Preta. Even the
Golden Silk.

The students who had left campus just now had familiar faces among them. The
Hunters who had attacked the Librarian and were eaten by tentacle monsters as an
example. Even the Hunters whose names I did not know were alive, and they passed
by me on their way home.

‘This is Lefanta Aegim’s trauma?’

Wasn’t it a gentle, easygoing life?

Wasn’t it a happy construct?

What part of this world resembled hell?

“Here you are, Boyfriend.”

I turned my head.

Raviel was standing behind me with a smile.

“Raviel…”

“You look like you’re thinking. I was worried something happened because you
didn’t answer your phone. It’s not good to needlessly make your lover worry.”

“Ah.”

I hurriedly pulled out my phone and turned it on. I had forgotten to power it on
again when I got it back after school.

“I’m sorry. That’s… I’m just a little upset…”

“What has shaken my boyfriend’s heart? If possible, I want nothing in the world to
make your heart quiver but myself.”

I tilted my head back a little. Raviel lowered her head. With the back of the bench
between us, we shared a breath for a moment.

“Raviel.”

“Mm.”

“Do you know the name of my parents?”

Raviel blinked.

“Of course.”

“Can you tell me now?”

“Mother’s family name is So, and her given name is Baekhyang.”

And.

“Your father’s family name is ■, and his first name is ■■.”

“……”

A silent sound.

When Raviel said Bae Hu-ryeong’s name, her voice was smothered by white noise.

‘Ah.’

It was obvious.

After all, I didn’t know Bae Hu-ryeong’s real name.

If this was a dream… I couldn’t learn something I did not already know.

‘Of course.’

Today. During break time.

I took a look at the attendance book on the lectern in the classroom.

I wanted to check if the names of the Black Dragon Master or the Crusader were
written on there.

However.

Attendance number 1. Kim Gongja.

Attendance number 2. ■■■

Attendance number 3. ■■

Attendance number 4. ■■■

Attendance number 5. ■■■

Most of the names were not written on there.

I tried to learn the names, but I couldn’t.

It was like someone had scribbled it over in black ink.

“…Raviel. This may sound weird, but I feel anxious. Raviel, you’re the young lady of a
chaebol family. Logically, there’s no way that you would spend your school days with
someone like me at a school like this.”

“Your words are making me anxious as well. What are you talking about?”

“Maybe. Maybe, this is all…”

Brrrr.

My phone vibrated.

+
One Message.

Sender: ■■

An ominous feeling came over me.

“Sorry, Raviel. Just a moment.”

I opened my phone.

Soon, letters appeared on the screen.

Compared to a smartphone, the screen was cramped.

The one who murdered me was you.

Don’t forget.

You killed me.

My whole body stiffened.

The air seemed to freeze.

Then.

“Kyaaaah!”

A scream tore through the schoolyard.

[1] Princess Pyonggang. A folk tale about a princess who was married off to the
biggest idiot in the land.
[TN] A note about Korean bullying.

The Four Heavenly Kings is a term that generally refers to the top underlings of the
final boss or just a strong group of four. In this scenario, they’re bullies. The “errand
boy” mentioned is a specific type of bullying in which one child is singled out to do
errands, including buying bread or other goods with their own money. You may see
this in different media as “bread shuttle.”
2.

“Look over there! Over there…”

“Wh-what do we do? Should I call a teacher?”

Students gathered at the schoolyard and pointed to the rooftop.

“What’s that guy trying to do?”

“Dunno. It looks like he’s going to jump…”

A student was standing on the roof.

“What do we do?”

“Fuck! Somebody call a teacher!”

“Over there! There!”

The students who had been playing soccer. The students taking walks. Even the
students who were leaving school a little bit late. The kids who were scattered
around the campus gathered in bunches. The behavior was instinctive. They felt that
whatever was going to happen, it was something they could not handle on their own.

“This…!”

Some people decided to act quickly instead of pointlessly gathering around.

“This isn’t good. Gongja! Call 119. Tell them our school’s name and that a student is
trying to jump from the roof. Hurry! I’m going to the roof to try to stop him!”
Raviel did not send someone to call the teacher. Instead of looking for someone else
to take responsibility, she urgently reacted to the situation. Raviel hurried to the
school’s main building without waiting for my response.

“Ah…”

When I saw Raviel’s back, my frozen body began to move. That’s right. I didn’t know
what was happening, but there was no time to waffle. I hurriedly dialed the numbers
on my cell phone. One. One…

Thwack!

Something fell on the ground just before I could press nine. At first, I thought the
student had jumped. However, the thud was too quiet for it to be a human body. It
was the sound of the student on the roof throwing his cell phone.

“……”

I looked up at the roof while pressing the nine.

Our eyes met.

It was the face I had seen in the classroom. The boy who had sat in the last row by
the window, studying silently by himself. But it was only at this moment I felt I was
seeing the child’s face properly.

The child’s eyes were black.

The child’s cheeks were white.

“——.”

The child raised a corner of his mouth in a mocking smile.

Slowly, his lips moved. A silent sound. His words were buried by the distance, but I
could read them by looking at his lips. A word that I had to recognize, even if I didn’t
want to acknowledge it.
[Die.]

Then.

Small fingers like a rake let go of the fence on the rooftop. He let go, and—

The wind.

The person.

“■■■■■■■■!!”

The students screamed. The world became crowded with noise. “What the ■!”
Someone fitfully moaned. “Aa■aa■aah!” Someone convulsed, tearing off the sleeve of
someone else’s uniform.

“■cher! Tea■!” “Fu■,” “This is ■!”

In an instant.

The school was no longer a school. Everything rived into chaos. The schoolyard
became a desolate desert. The main building was nothing but a ghastly prison.

The classroom was a slaughterhouse for animals or a farm for rearing them. The
animals were always hungry. In the world of slaughterhouses and kennels, a person
only existed to become a corpse.

Red.

A person had died.

“……”

In a trance, I looked at the campus. The bricks were soaked red. The redness spread
further. Fearing that the redness would stain their feet, the students backed away.
Some pulled out their cell phones. Ka-click! An artificial noise chimed.

“Ah.”

The sound moved my body.

“Don’t do it.”

I went to the students.

“What are you doing now? Don’t take a picture! I told you to stop!”

The students flinched. But more and more students were gathering. Leaving the
soccer ball in the desert, the flowers on the walking paths, and turning their backs
on the road home, more and more people gathered.

“Stop it!”

When I blocked one side, they took out their cell phones on the other side.

“I’m telling you to stop! Fuck, don’t do it!”

An unnameable emotion rode up my throat. I felt like I would cry. Anger. Contempt.
Disgust. In the main building, on the first floor, the second floor, the third floor, the
fourth floor, and the fifth floor, the students stuck their heads out to gawk. Countless
faces. With countless eyes.

They looked.

“Stop! It!”

The sunset was red.

“Damn it.”

Why?

“Stop. Taking. Pictures!”

The hundred faces were expressionless. From the first floor, the Black Dragon Master
looked here. From the third floor window, the Heretic Questioner’s face was poking
out. The Crusader and the Count were watching from the ground. The children of the
Hellfire Residence surrounded me. The cultists stood on the schoolyard. Ka-click!
Click. They moved their fingers to take pictures.

+
The one who murdered me was you.

Don’t forget.

You killed me.

I looked up at the rooftop.

“……”

Raviel looked down at me.

“But, Gongja.”

Raviel’s voice flowed from the sky.

“Weren’t you the one who killed him?”

The world became a wasteland.

The sky turned completely red.

Like watercolor, the red dripped and soaked the earth.

The people turned red, and my vision, too, turned red.

“—As you are all aware, something scandalous has happened at our school.”

The principal was speaking in the auditorium. He was wearing the face of the Sword
Saint.

“But I believe in the students of Shinseo Middle and High School…”

Redness.

“He sent that sort of text. Wasn’t he really crazy?”

In the classroom, students gossiped with the faces of the Count and the Crusader.
“That’s right. In retrospect, he’d always been a little weird.”

Redness.

“Ignore the people who’re making a fuss about it. They’re just keyboard warriors
who would never make a peep to someone’s face. Hmph. Those guys should just have
their fingers cut off.”

At home, my father drank whiskey with Bae Hu-ryeong’s face and smile.

“Yeah, man. Sometimes you beat people up in life. So what? Why’d he just take it and
die because of something like that? Wasn’t he a total attention whore? Hey! Call the
Four Heavenly Kings! Let’s go play a game!”

My older brother put his arm around my shoulder with the cheerful voice of the
Flame Emperor.

Redness.

“Yes, your teacher is also devastated. I’m torn, but—”

The homeroom teacher spoke at the lectern. His face was the Venomous Snake’s.

“—this is a very important time for you students. Time will fly when you become
third-years. Actually, the winners and losers will be decided in your second year, this
year. Think carefully about what’s important to you and pull yourself together.”

The students opened their mouths. In unison, they replied.

“Yes, teacher.”

Only the class president kept her head bowed without a word.

The president wore the face of the Black Dragon Master.

A white flower was placed on the child’s desk. One days. Two. Three. Less than a
week later, the desk disappeared elsewhere. I didn’t know who had taken it away.

Not a single student asked who had cleared it out.

No new desk appeared in the window seat of the back row.

“……”

The wind blew.

The curtain blew.

Nobody was there in the place where the wind blew.

[The trauma will repeat.]

Then.

[The severity of the penalty is high.]

[The penalty is the animal road.]

Ding,

Dong,

Dang,

Dong.

A wretched melody rang.

There was a noise masked in the sound. The school bell rang with an electronic
sound that mimicked the natural sound. To conceal the fact that it was nothing but a
counterfeit, the melody became more energetic and lively.

-This is the broadcasting department, notifying all students remaining on school

grounds…

An imitation.

-Other than the students who will participate in nighttime self-study, please go home
now. Once again, the broadcasting department announces…
Something that had failed.

-Recently, some students have remained on school grounds after dismissal time has
passed. To the students at school now, please return home if you have not applied for
nighttime self-study.

Feeling my insides churn, I opened my eyes.

“Sunbae, wake up! We’ve been dismissed!”

“……”

“Oh? You’re already awake.”

The Heretic Questioner beamed.

“But it’s not good for you to sleep on your desk! It’s bad for your back, and more
importantly, you won’t sleep well. I understand that you’re studying…”

I did not wait for the Heretic Questioner to finish his words. I stood up and dashed
out of the library. Behind me, I heard the Heretic Questioner’s voice.

“Ah, sunbae! You shouldn’t run in the halls!”

Running down the halls, I ground my teeth.

‘I understand.’

I figured out the source of my confusion.

This was undoubtedly the trauma of the Constellation Killer, Lefanta Aegim.

It was just that my memories were laid over Lefanta Aegim’s nightmare like [skin].

The same situation.

The same cast.

However, their appearances were those of the people from my life, not the people
whom Lefanta Aegim would remember. That was why the Black Dragon Master, the
Crusader, and the Count became students. Master and Bae Hu-ryeong became my
parents.

As for me.

‘I’m the culprit.’

There was a bloody taste in my mouth.

‘I’m the perpetrator of this situation.’

I had experienced many traumas until now, but each time, I had been an [observer]. I
had always felt like a first-person observer. But because my rank grew, the penalty
increased.

Here, I was party to the trauma.

Not only me, but everyone I remembered.

Except for one person.

‘Damn it!’

I arrived at the stairs.

[Behaving properly ♪]

[Living joyfully ♪]

[With a happy heart ♪]

The motto at which I couldn’t even laugh hung on the stairs. Don’t kid with me.
Seriously, don’t joke. Cursing inwardly, I looked up the flight of stairs leading to the
rooftop.

There stood the only person I did not remember in this world.

‘The Constellation Killer.’

His frame was small. The student grabbed the iron door and shook it back and forth.
Clank. Clank! The chains were so robust that it seemed difficult to loosen them.

“Haa… A key…”

The student sighed and turned around. At that moment, our eyes met. The student
held his breath for a millisecond, then bowed his head politely.

He was greeting me with his head lowered.

‘Why didn’t I realize it earlier?’

I should have known that something was off when I learned that child was my
classmate. Wasn’t it obvious?

What kind of classmate would greet another classmate with a bow?

It was wrong.

“……”

The student eyed me carefully then quietly began to walk. When he tried to pass
beside me, I called out to him.

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

The student spoke respectfully like it was natural. He didn’t look me straight in the
eyes, but carefully upward from an angle.

My throat throbbed.

“…Please let me borrow your cell phone for a moment.”

“……”

“Please.”

The student obediently handed over his cell phone. He had been silent for a while,
but the silence was not refusing my request to see his phone. He had simply been
confused about my use of polite language.

I opened the cell phone, which had no password.

Messages from Unavailable: 47

I opened the texts, one by one.

I looked at them.

[I feel so bad for the underclassmen at our school 😭😭 They have to call you sunbae,
■■. Have you ever thought about how they feel? Doesn’t it hurt your conscience?]

[Hey, you ignoring me?]

[Wow! There’s a student who never washes his uniform?!]

[■■… How filthy. How can you be even dirtier than the math teacher? lolol]

[You were so happy you could die just cuz I said hi in the hallways yesterday, lolol. I
just lost at rock paper scissors, k? Don’t get the wrong idea 😭😭]

[■■ lives in a dump. The indoor shoes and the school uniforms are all recyclable. The
only trash that can’t be recycled is ■■.]

[You smell awful. Seriously, you reek.]

[See you after class.]

Snap.

I closed the phone.

I couldn’t read any more.

“……”
I closed my eyes and breathed. I breathed and narrowly managed to calm down. In
this trauma, I didn’t have my dagger or the handkerchief Raviel gifted me. It took me
a lot of effort to calm my emotions.

“Why…”

I looked at [the Constellation Killer’s past].

“Why do you bring your cell phone to school? You can just keep it at home.”

Then, the student replied.

“…You said that you’ll kill me if I don’t bring it.”

When I gulped, my spit felt cold.

My head became dizzy.

“Then, just throw it away completely. Why don’t you throw it away? It can’t be helped
if you say you lost it.”

“This.”

The student.

The one who would one day be called the Constellation Killer opened his lips.

“It’s the cell phone Gongja-nim gave me. The one you used to use…”

“……”

“Because my family doesn’t have money… You’re paying for the fees. So that if
Gongja-nim tells me to come out, I would come out right away. For that purpose. You
said that if I lose it, you’ll kill me…”

A building that became a blight.

Friendships that imitate friendship, love that imitates love, a meaningless thing that
feigns significance, this animal farm that pretends to be special—there was only
malice.
“Can I really throw it away?”

Only the malice was real.

 ■■

The director of the orphanage where I grew up was, no matter how you worded it, a
distant man.

The children of the orphanage complained about it.

-He’s too careless. All of our birthdays are on January 1st, y’know?

-It’s because he doesn’t want to deal with having more than one birthday party.

-Also, my name is so shoddy. Kim Mengja.[1]

-Hey, at least you guys’ names sound natural with our last name. I’m Kim Hanbija… He
should have just named me Han Bija.[2]

I thought the same way. I thought so even after I entered the Tower.

But I met a lot of people—the Sword Emperor, Master, Raviel, and many more, and I
have second thoughts.

-Director, why are you like this?

It was weird, but the man always seemed to be overly on guard against saying that he
loved us.

-Director, don’t you love us?

The conversation I had with the director on the day I received my second-hand
middle school uniform came to mind.

The director made a solemn face at my question and said he would tell me
tomorrow. He always delayed his responses to serious questions, telling us to wait a
day.

Then, he replied.

-You asked me yesterday why I don’t treasure you kids a little more.

-Yes…

As the day went on, I felt a little sorry for asking such a question. But, the director
didn’t care for my apologetic feelings and told me the answer he had prepared the
day before.

-Gongja. It’s easy for people to pretend. Pretending is the easiest thing in the world. You
can pretend to be smart, to be strong, to be friendly, or to know something well… You
too put on an act with your friends, don’t you? It’s the same for me, who named you
children after sages. All adults pretend.

The director rubbed his face with his hands.

-Everyone wears masks. You don’t need to get rid of the mask, but if you get too used to
it, at some point, you forget that you’re wearing the mask. It slips your mind. You
become drunk on the pretense.

The director stared at my face solemnly.

He was gauging my reaction, seeing if I was following along.

-Imagine this. If I get irritated in front of you children, what would you think?

-Uhh… You were stressed today…?

-Yes. That’s right.

The director wore a bitter smile.

-I’m sorry. I do get angry sometimes.

He got irritated about once a month.

-Anyway, what’s important is that I get annoyed by you kids sometimes, and you know
that fact well. Right? I am such a person. You know me.

The director continued.

-However, what if I were someone who always loved you? What if I always told you that
I love you, smile and say that you are the purpose of my life, and hug you and say that I
treasure you kids more than anything? What if I were that sort of person, but I still got
annoyed at you once a year or so?

The director shook his head.

-Then, you will think, [Why is the director angry with us?] You wouldn’t be able to
understand because you believe that I’m someone who loves you the most. [If the
director loves us the most, why does he get angry?]

-……

-You guys are still young. So in the end, you’ll arrive at the simplest answer. [Ah, I must
have done something wrong].

The director shuddered a little.

-Gongja, even if I only yell at you once a year, in ten years, it would be ten times. Say
that you only remember half of that, so five. The memories from these five times are
more than enough to affect a person’s character.

Then, the director was silent for a while.

-Don’t.

The director muttered.

-Remember me as someone who is irritable and gets stressed easily. Think of me as

someone who can’t be bothered to throw you all birthday parties. That’s the truth.
Don’t blame yourselves. You haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t get twisted because of
a guy like me.

-……
-You kids can grow up strong. Be as strong as you can.

In the director’s office, there was a printed sheet of paper on the wall. It was right
across from the director’s desk, so it melded with the background. It was something
that was always there, like wallpaper or floor patterns.

But that day, I looked at the paper.

For all people to live as humans,

Based on a belief in human dignity and social justice,

Join with individuals. families. groups. organizations. communities. and all of society.

I will always stand on the side of the marginalized and the suffering,

Defending their human rights and interests,

Rejecting injustice and corruption in society,

Putting public interests before personal ones.

By following the social worker’s code of ethics,

I commit to being a social worker with morality and accountability.

With my free will, I solemnly swear on my honor.

[3]

I looked at the director.

-……

The director looked stonily into the air like he was lost in thought.
Black eyes.

His eyes were burned into my memory.

2.

“I’m sorry, Raviel. I can’t go home with you today,” I said, standing at the school gate.

“Mm.”

Raviel looked at me. Her gaze slowly dropped to my hand.

There was another hand there as well.

“……”

It was the hand of Constellation Killer.

I had grabbed the Constellation Killer’s hand and dragged him all the way here. He
didn’t ask why I was holding his hand or where we were going.

He just meekly kept his head down.

“…My boyfriend sometimes acts in bizarre ways. The way you act is almost a mystery.
I think that side of you is amazing,” Raviel murmured. “Do as you wish. Follow your
heart. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Not now, but if I need help, I’ll tell you right away.”

“I believe in you. Always.”

Raviel kissed me on my forehead. Then, without hesitation, she turned around and
entered her limo. The limousine was driven by a butler who resembled the grand
chamberlain, and they soon disappeared down the road.

“Now.”

I looked back at the Constellation Killer.

“Let’s go.”
“…Where to?”

“To your house.”

“……”

The Constellation Killer hesitated for the first time. He seemed to shudder, but I was
adamant. First, I would visit the Constellation Killer’s parents and apologize.

‘Though, I don’t know where to start untangling this knot.’

Of course, the apology wouldn’t end the [trauma]. It couldn’t be resolved so easily. As
the difficulty increased, it seemed that the trauma became a stage I needed to clear.

‘For now, I’ll do what I can, one step at a time.’

Like I always did.

However, my attempts to resolve the trauma were thwarted from the start.

“…It’s here.”

I was speechless when I saw the [house] the Constellation Killer led me to.

It was a garbage dump.

At the foot of a mountain, there was an empty lot where the pine trees were scarce.
This clearing acted as a small dump for the city. Plastic bottles, dirty styrofoam, and
crumpled paper that the city’s people discarded were piled up messily.

In the middle, there was a shack.

[■■ lives in a dump. The indoor shoes and the school uniforms are all recyclable. The
only trash that can’t be recycled is ■■.]

My head throbbed.

I thought the text was just being spiteful.

Bastards.
“How about your parents? Are they working?”

The shack was not a haven but a shelter. The wall did not reach up the roof, so there
was a gap. The roof was covered with gray vinyl.

“My father collects and sells junk.”

Plastic trash surrounded the shack like a moat. The labels on the plastic surrounding
the shack were torn off, unlike the other trash around.

They were clean.

Perhaps that was why the shack looked like it was floating on a sandy beach made of
white plastic.

“How about your mother?”

“I don’t have one.”

“……”

All right.

“Are you ■■’s friend?”

We waited for two hours before the Constellation Killer’s father returned home. He
was a poor man. But he was a man who had been crushed more by life than by
poverty. I could see it as soon as I saw him.

A small room.

Sometimes when I looked in the mirror, I was like that.

“No. I’m not his friend.”

“Hm…?”

The old man furrowed his eyebrows. He looked too old to have a child in high school.

His face resembled the face of the old boatman whose trauma I saw in [The
Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon].

“I am the one who hit and bullied this boy.”

“Umm…?”

The old man blankly blinked his eyes.

“……”

I realized it one minute after I started talking to the old man.

‘I’m late.’

It was already too late.

The old man in front of him was already worn out. His heart was running on fumes.
He was different from me when I lived in the small room. That was the difference
between me from back then and this man.

I didn’t know where this difference came from.

“Here is the evidence. If you look at the cell phone, there are text messages. See
this…”

There was only one thing I was certain of.

This man didn’t have the power to take responsibility for the Constellation Killer.

“Hmm.”

I showed him everything I could show him right away. After seeing the hell that his
child had been enduring, the old man continued to blink his eyes indifferently.

“I see…”

All he did was look at me.

When I finished talking, the old man stopped his dull replies and assents. It felt like
the conversation had ended. The old man just waited to see if I had anything else to
say, but he did not seem to want me to say anything either.

He had nothing to say to me.

‘Um.’

I looked at how the Constellation Killer was doing. The Constellation Killer was not
looking at his father. His face did not seem shocked or offended by the conversation
just now. A blank expression. The Constellation Killer sat quietly on the floor.

Like he was just letting things play out naturally.

‘That’s right.’

It was like this.

“I’ve done many bad things.”

I stood up and bowed deeply to the old man.

“If you are all right with it, I would like to stay with your child for a while. I want to
invite him to my house. Is that acceptable?”

“Go ahead…”

It was obvious that the old man did not understand what I was saying. He was
powerless. But I explained it many times over, not for the old man’s but for the
Constellation Killer’s sake.

“He may be staying at my house for a bit longer. A week, maybe a month. It might be
even longer than that. Every weekend, on Saturday evening, I’ll visit you and tell you
how your child is doing. Sir, is that all right?”

“Fine. It’s all right.”

Good.

I turned and faced the Constellation Killer.

“Let’s go.”
“……”

“Pack what you need. As I told your father, you’ll be staying at my house for a while.”

The Constellation Killer looked up at me in bewilderment.

“What are you up to now?”

The Constellation Killer wasn’t speaking politely anymore.

“Are you trying to tidy up your past since you’re going to marry a rich girl? Are you
worried it’ll cause problems later? That’s smart.”

My heart thumped.

“Or is this a new game you cooked up? If you want to play, just tell me what you
want. Tell me what kind of game this is. Don’t beat around the bush. I’ll play along
like always. Do you want me to go to the schoolyard at night?”

The Constellation Killer’s voice was cold. There was no inflection. It was the voice of
a person who had decided to die the next day.

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you insane? You are. Kim Gongja.”

“Please just give me a day. I beg you. I’ll do whatever I can. Please endure it for one
more day.”

“……”

It was just one of the many days I had left to live, but for the person in front of me, it
was his final day.

I had no choice but to hope. I had to ask for it. There was nothing I could do other
than hope and ask.

“Do it yourself… Whatever you want.”

The Constellation Killer muttered like he was exhausted.

I grabbed the Constellation Killer’s wrist and headed [home]. Since I didn’t know the
way from here, we had to return to school and head over from there. We arrived at
the residential area only after the sun had set and the sky turned dark.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“I’ll come back soon. Within 20 minutes. Will you wait for me?”

“I told you, do what you want…”

I left the Constellation Killer on the street and entered my house first.

“Oh.”

Bae Hu-ryeong was out in the yard. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand like he was
observing the night sky by himself.

“Welcome back, son. You’re a little late today. Keh. You weren’t off playing because
you have a girlfriend now, were you? I’m telling you, you should start dating
seriously after you graduate from high school. It’s no good to step on the pedal and
rush a relationship.”

The Sword Emperor. My partner.

The person who taught me how to face forward.

In this world, my—

“Father.”

“…Yeah?”

Bae Hu-ryeong blinked.

“Huh, it’s sort of weird. Why is that? It feels a little weird that you’re calling me your
father. Or rather than being a little weird, it’s really awkward… Like I’m getting
goosebumps. How scary. Ah, is it because I’m drunk?”

“Father.”
I called him one more time.

“You couldn’t have raised me like this.”

“What?”

“The father I know is a great man. A scary man. He may seem like a psychopath who
only cares about himself, and to an extent, he is, but he would definitely take care of
something if he thinks it is wrong.”

Bae Hu-ryeong creased his brows.

“What are you talking about… son?”

“If you are my father, I would never grow up to be a bully. I may go down the wrong
path, but you would beat me up before I went too far. You’d bring me back to the
right path even if you have to kill me halfway to do it.”

That was the type of person he was.

“Even more, when I was tormenting a weak child… Even driving him to suicide.
That.”

『Ignore the people who’re making a fuss about it.』

『They’re just keyboard warriors who would never make a peep if in person.』

『Hmph. Those guys should just have their fingers cut off.』

“That is something you’d never say. You’re simply not a person who can say that.
You’re someone who sees someone in distress and swears that you will teach them
how to be happy.”

“……”

“I’m the kind of person you despise the most. You can’t kindly call someone like me
[son]. It’s impossible. This world is an impossible world.”

Silence fell upon the night sky.

In the yard where no sounds of bugs could be heard, I looked straight at Bae Hu-
ryeong.

I continued.

“You are not the Sword Emperor.”

“……”

“Get lost. Get out of my sight right now.”

That moment.

-■■■■■.

Bae Hu-ryeong’s body crumbled away.

The skin dripped away. Bones melted. The clothing material evaporated. When I
closed my eyes and opened them again, there was something of which I could not see
the shape. There was just a sinuous shadow, like a ghost.

-■■■■, ■■…

I couldn’t understand what it was saying. I couldn’t even recognize its face. However,
I knew that it was the naked face of [my father].

It was the naked face of this world.

“……”

I passed by Bae Hu-ryeong and entered the house.

“Welcome back, Gongja.”

Master was sitting on the living room sofa.

A face and form that I thought I would never see again.

“How was school, my son?”

Master was smiling gently.

[1]: Mengja is the Korean name of Mencius, another Chinese philosopher.

[2]: Hanbiza is Han Feizi.

[3]: The Korean social workers’ oath. I couldn’t find an official translation for it, so
here’s my take.
 ■■

“Mas…”

I could not finish saying both syllables of the word Master.

My heart was pounding.

There was a mixture of many emotions churning inside me at the moment. My heart
had become a rag, and if I twisted it, all of my dark feelings would seep out.

Master. My strange destiny. The peony who had become my teacher.

“Mother.”

“……”

Master looked at me. Her eyes, always orderly, were shaking. It was the first time I
had called Master my mother, and it was Master’s first time being called Mother by
me.

“…How strange.”

Master put down her pencil stub. Had she been working on her manuscript? Papers
with Master’s handwriting lined the living room table.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since you called me that.”

Sentences that could not be written. Words that couldn’t become sentences. Sheets
that could not become books, red manuscripts were scattered about.

“I feel like it’s been a very long while since you called me Mother. No. Rather than
being a long time… It’s like…”
“I love you, Mother.”

The tips of Master’s fingers paused.

“I wanted to see you again. Did you know? I now have someone I’ll love forever. It’s
actually possible to love someone truly and be completely loved by someone.
Holding Raviel’s hand… I wanted to introduce her to you first, Mother, more than
anyone else.”

“……”

“If it’s you, Mother, you would definitely become good friends with Raviel. As for
me… I’m surviving well. I’m living well. I am trying to live well. There are many days
when I recall your words, Mother.”

Master.

“I wanted to see you one more time.”

Master slowly rose. She came to me. Master’s long, thin fingers wiped my eyes.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“I’m currently having a nightmare.”

“Life is no different from a dream. But that doesn’t change anything. Is evil not evil if
we say it is uncaring? Are wounds healed when we make excuses, citing ignorance?
My son. Don’t be fooled by words. You should always look inside your heart. Don’t let
your heart be governed by hollow words and flimsy sentences.”

Master hugged my shoulder.

“Whether or not you call me mother, I remain myself in your heart. As do you. A
person isn’t a person because they know how to memorize a few words or say a few
lines. A person becomes a person by the weight of another whom they put in their
heart.”

I shrank into Master’s arms.

My mouth opened and closed several times.

“Mother wouldn’t… couldn’t have raised a child like Yoo Sooha.”

“Yes.”

“Someone who throws punches out of anger… You wouldn’t call such a person to the
dinner table. You would have kicked them out of the house. But before you kick them
out, you would have taught them better. Before teaching them better, you would have
already raised the child to be kind.”

“So I would.”

“That’s why.”

I opened my mouth.

“Mother… isn’t So Baek-hyang.”

Master smiled.

“Stay alive, Gongja. You have to live strongly.”

With a smile, she faded away.

“……”

Master’s face dripped down.

Her smile melted.

The hand that held my shoulder was erased.

It disappeared, leaving only a shadow.

-■, ■■■ ■■■.

The shadow had no face. Its outline was blurry. Squirming, the shadow left the room
like a giant earthworm.
Another layer of this world was peeled away.

That over there was the bare face of [my mother].

“—Ugh.”

I ran to the bathroom. I leaned over the toilet and lowered my head. Loss. Guilt. I
threw up these dark feelings.

My heart vomited.

“Huh?”

Behind my back.

I heard a voice from the bathroom door.

“Hey, did you eat something weird? Why are you vomiting as soon as you get home?
Brat, did you eat something crappy outside? Didn’t your older brother tell you to
watch what you eat, if nothing else?”

It was Yoo Sooha.

“Do you want me to pat your back a bit?”

“…Yoo Sooha.”

“Dude. Did you throw up your brain along with whatever you ate? Little brother.
Where’s your respect?”

I sat on the tile of the bathroom floor and looked up at Yoo Sooha. Yoo Sooha was
standing on wriggling squid legs.

“You shitty…”

“You didn’t vomit your brain—you dumped it out. Hey, sometimes in life, you hit
people, all right? Your big bro was also scared when the news broke yesterday. Mom
and Dad scolded me damn well. But we’re a family, so you should root for me. Yeah?
Don’t you think so?”
“You crazy bastard…”

I muttered while holding onto the toilet bowl.

“You’re, fuck, a really shitty person.”

“Huh?”

“If all you did was hit a stalker, you’d be an angel. You’re the type of bastard who’ll hit
the stalker behind their head and bury the body behind a mountain and set off a
wildfire.”

“What… Only a psycho would do that. Is that how you see your older brother?”

“You’re that very psychopath! Motherfucker!”

My head became dizzy.

“An idol? A singer? You think you can have that sort of career? You know nothing
about fanservice. You curse at every interviewer and cuss out their parents for
dessert. But you think you can be a singer? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Uh…”

“Besides, you get scolded by your mother and father? Are you the type of person
who’ll learn anything from being scolded? It’s a relief you don’t slap your own
parents. Fuck! Damn you… Yoo Sooha, you’ll never be the type of person who
comforts his vomiting younger sibling. You just can’t. I wish you could have been that
kind of guy.”

I stared at Yoo Sooha’s face.

“I didn’t kill you.”

“……”

“I didn’t kill you, asshole. I didn’t. Because you can’t be. So I can’t… For me to kill you,
I…”

I tried not to kill him.

“Really, you’ve done some fucking shit, you.”

Sometimes, I dreamed.

『O-over here, Hunter-nim! Please, save me!』

I shouted.

『Huh?』

Yoo Sooha looked back at me.

『I was ambushed by wolves.』

『Ah, shit. What the fuck? Mister, did you provoke the monsters here already? Damn.
Then today’s hunt is fucked.』

Yoo Sooha clicked his tongue.

『P-potion… 』

I begged him, but he—

『Ah, be careful next time. Fuck. It looks like I won’t even be able to make a day’s
wages.

Yoo Sooha gave me the potion.

Sometimes, I dreamed.

『I’ll give you a potion, but you have to pay the right price for your life.』

Yoo Sooha said.

『F-forty gold,』

I replied.

『Enough. Hand over everything you have right now.』

Saying that, Yoo Sooha took everything I had, and,

『Good. Be more careful next time, Mister.』

Yoo Sooha gave me the potion.

I dreamed that the Yoo Sooha of eleven years ago was still a greedy bastard, but he
didn’t kill someone who was injured and weak. I sometimes dreamed that I didn’t
have to kill my hero with my own hands, and I…

I…

“You shitty bastard…”

Yoo Sooha’s black hair fluttered.

“Fuck off. Your place is within my shadows. If you’re trying to set up a new home in
this hell with a new personality, cut it out.”

Then, the black hair fell away.

-■■, ■■ ■■■.

[My brother] became a ghost and made a gloomy sound.

That’s right. It was a specter.

They were souls that could not even become ghosts in this trauma, where they had
lost their existence. Those who had lost the forms extracted from my memories were
now mere shadows.

“……”

I washed my face in the sink.

Water dripped from my eyebrows.

“Okay.”

My mutter settled lowly in the house of specters.

“It’s all right. You can do this, Kim Gongja. You can do this.”

This was not my home. This was not my world.

It was just that a life I wanted to reap was trapped in this hell.

I exited the house and came back with the Constellation Killer.

“Ah…”

The Constellation Killer did not recognize the specters as such. In his eyes, the
specters seemed to be my father, mother, and brother.

No. Perhaps it was the other way around.

-■■■?

-■■ ■■■.

From the beginning, my father, mother, and brother may have looked like specters to
the Constellation Killer. For him, the humans of this world may have been no
different from specters. So, all of the sounds the humans made would have been
nothing more than noise to the Constellation Killer.

“Good eve…”

“Don’t greet them.”

I cut him off.

“You don’t have to be polite.”

I grabbed the Constellation Killer’s wrist and went into my room. The Constellation
Killer was dragged away by me, unable to finish his greeting.

-■, ■■■ ■■■.

My brother, who had been wearing Yoo Sooha’s face a short while ago, followed us.
He tried to follow us into the room. However, I pushed him away and blocked the
door.
“Don’t come in. I’m warning you.”

-■■■?

“I’m going to take care of this child for a while. I’ll do everything on my own, so you
don’t have to interfere. Don’t come in or talk to this child if he doesn’t allow you to.
I’m serious.”

I closed the door and locked it.

-■■. ■■■?

The specters mumbled outside the door. I ignored them and made a place for the
Constellation Killer to sleep. The Constellation Killer, still holding the bag on his back
that he left school with, stared at me.

“Can you say that to your family?”

“It depends on the family. For you, this is your bully’s family.”

“…Don’t speak politely. It feels wrong. Really, I don’t know what sort of big thing
you’re planning to put so much effort into this now.”

“It doesn’t matter if you think I’m plotting something. For now, sleep.”

“Where will you sleep?”

“Anywhere. Get some rest. You’ll feel a bit better after you rest.”

“……”

From that day on.

I erased the presences in this world, one by one.

-Who is this? What? Sooha’s younger brother…? Why are you calling me…?

I secretly used my brother’s phone to talk to Preta.

-Huh? Ah. I heard about you from Sooha. I think we’ve met once before. But what’s up?
Is Sooha trying to use you to apologize in his stead?

I used the same method to call the Golden Silk.

I broke down Preta and the Golden Silk with one call.

The idol group would occasionally show up on TV screens, but the faces of Preta and
the Golden Silk were not shown. Only shadows fluttered about like scribbles.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

Then, there was a reaction.

[The data to implement the trauma has been corrupted.]

[Extracting corrupted data from your memory… Failed.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

The gap that I created began to puncture the world.

[Extracting corrupted data from the original owner’s memory… Failed.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

I hastened my actions.

I destroyed the Four Demon Lords. The children from the Hellfire Residence
crumbled away. As soon as I saw them, I changed the characters in the trauma into
specters.

Each time, the world of the trauma collapsed, little by little.

“Mm? This is rare. Gongja, what are you doing in the teachers’ office?”

My homeroom teacher, the Venomous Snake, was included.

“G-Gongja? Why did you call me into an empty classroom? Eek. Teachers and
students should not date in general, but it’s also against the school rules…!”
Even the Alchemist, who was a math teacher.

“I heard you asked to have a face-to-face talk. You are a unique student in many
different ways, so we allowed it at the request of the student council president. What
do you have to say?”

Even the Sword Saint, the principal.

One at a time.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

After a fortnight.

Most of the students and teachers at the school had already been turned into
specters.

It wasn’t just the school that became weird.

-■■ ■■■■■.

On the TV, no matter what channel was on, there was a specter in the place of the
announcer. Even the people performing live were murmuring with a shadow’s voice
and face, so everything was incomprehensible.

I had also tried to leave town by taking the train as a test.

The scenery of the city continued for a while, but at some point, darkness spread
beyond the window. The train disappeared when it reached that zone.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

[Requesting material from Zrakua… Failed. Request rejected.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

The broken world.

A failed eyesore.

“…Gongja, I have to ask you something.”

One day, after class, the Crusader approached me.

She looked nervous, somehow.

“What is it?”

“I can’t say it in the classroom. No, it’s more like I don’t want to say it.”

The Crusader turned her head and glanced behind her.

-■■■! ■■ ■■■■.

The person sitting at the desk had already turned into a specter. It was the Count.
The Count had spoken with me two days ago and crumbled into a shadow. The
Crusader glanced at her friend’s appearance and lowered her voice.

“Let’s go to the hallway.”

We exited the classroom and went into the hallway.

“So, what is it?”

“…I don’t know if this sounds weird. No, it definitely sounds weird. But for some
reason, I felt like I should consult with you.”

In the middle of the hallway, where specters came and went.

The Crusader looked around, greatly unnerved.

“Something is strange.”

“……”

“If you asked me what it was, it’d be hard to say. But I’m certain. This isn’t normal.
Last weekend, I went out of town with my family. Or I was going to. I prepared a
lunch box in the morning. But when I blinked, it was evening.”
The Crusader’s shoulders shook a little.

“At first, I thought it was amnesia. But my family talked about how the outing was
very pleasant at the dinner table. I have no memory of the outing, and I can’t even
remember what I did…”

The Crusader lifted her head again, looking around. Except for a handful of students,
there were only wriggling black specters in the classroom, the hallway, and the
schoolyard.

“…Something is weird. It’s wrong. Maybe I’m the one who became weird. Sorry, Kim
Gongja. I’ll just make an appointment with a psychiatrist. Maybe I’ll be better with
some counseling.”

“The very last row in the classroom.”

I opened my mouth.

“The student sitting by the window. Do you remember him?”

“Hmm…?”

The Crusader’s brows furrowed.

“More or less since he’s a classmate. I think his name is ■■.”

“Did you know that he was receiving these texts?”

I took out the Constellation Killer’s cell phone and showed it to her.

“……”

“I’ll tell you now. They’re not faked.”

As she read the texts, the Crusader’s face turned white. She was shocked. But her
shock was brief, and soon, the Crusader yelled in a furious voice.

“What? Something like this… No, he isn’t the type to send a text like this. It’s
ridiculous! I can’t overlook this. It goes way beyond a joke!”
“Are you angry?”

“Of course! Some things can be forgiven because we’re kids, but some things cannot.
But wounds are wounds, whether it was caused by an adult or a child. Rather, kids
can be worse!”

“What are you going to do now?”

“We have evidence. We have to report it to the police right now! I know this kind of
problem well. If you file a complaint with the school, the evidence will be taken away
and they’ll tell you to resolve it among yourselves like friends. It won’t be enough if
just the two of us went to the police station, so gather as many people as you can and
let’s go…!”

“That’s right.”

The Crusader.

“This is who you are.”

Someone who tries to reduce the number of people who are suffering, even by a
little.

“If there was even one person like you in this classroom, it wouldn’t have turned out
this way.”

“…What?”

“Because there’s no way you would be a bystander to this sort of thing. There’s no
way you would let it go, and there’s no way you wouldn’t notice it. But because there
wasn’t a single person like you in that large classroom…”

I closed the phone.

“That’s why this is happening.”

“……”

“It’s all right. Please disappear. I’ll take care of the rest on my own.”
After I closed and opened my eyes.

-■■, ■■ ■ ■■■.

A faceless specter was swaying.

“……”

Slowly.

I stood in the hall and looked around.

-■■ ■■■?

-■■ ■. ■■ ■■■.

The students were talking as they walked past. Small talk, chatting. They laughed as
if it was fun, and even if it wasn’t, they still laughed. They were sharing the time of
their youth. When a teacher passed by, they bowed their heads and greeted him.

That was.

-■ ■■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■ ■■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■■? ■■ ■ ■■?

-■, ■■?

-■■! ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■!?

-■■… ■■ ■■■. ■■■■■ ■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■

-■■ ■■■■ ■ ■ ■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■! ■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■ ■ ■■! ■■ ■■■■■ ■■

-■■■ ■■■■■■ ■■. ■■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■. ■■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■.

-■ ■■ ■■ ■■. ■■ ■■.

-■■ ■■■ ■■.

Their voices were nothing but white noise.

The words failed to form sentences, and sentences failed to become text.

There was a bright motto on a poster at the stairwell.

[■■■ ■■■♪]

[■■■ ■■■♪]

[■■■ ■■■■♪]

That was.

The world of the Constellation Killer.

 ■■

3.

Little by little, the world shrank.

First was beyond city limits. Then the downtown area.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

From the outskirts of the city, erosive darkness encroached the streets. Writhing.
Slinking. The darkness was like a tentacle, alive and moving. I decided to call that
ominous, dark fog the Void.

“…I’m going to school a bit early today.”

Many things became unseeable. I could no longer see people’s faces. I couldn’t see
the church’s steeple. I couldn’t see the signs plastered on the walls of the shopping
mall like bark on a tree.

The world was marked by the Void.

“I have to go to the farm and feed the rabbits.”

However, there were things that I could finally see now.

“The farm?”

“Yeah. Behind the school… Well.”

The Constellation Killer sighed.

“There’s no way someone like you would know. Anyway, there’s a place where we
raise rabbits and chickens. I have to feed them.”

‘Was there such a place?’

Thinking back, the orphanage had an area to raise animals, too, although it soon
disappeared. In the past, did middle and high schools have animal farms?

“Why do you have to feed them? Shouldn’t there be someone else in charge?”

“…There used to be a club for animal care. But last year, a foreign woman broke into
the school at night and jumped off the roof with a newborn baby. Don’t you
remember? The baby fell into the farm. Since then, applications to the club
completely stopped.”

It was the first I was hearing about it. However, the Constellation Killer’s tone
implied he was talking about a very infamous incident. It seemed a bunch of things
had happened at this school.

“Why did a foreign lady come to a school in a whole different country with a kid…?”

“A teacher here apparently fathered the kid by accident while on a business trip
abroad.”

“……”

“It was a middle school teacher, not a high school one,” muttered the Constellation
Killer.

“Anyway, we don’t have an animal caretaking club anymore. The middle school class
presidents are supposed to take turns feeding the animals, but… There’s no way
middle schoolers are going to stick to it, you know? So the security guard, me, and
some middle school kid take care of feeding the animals between the three of us.”

That was…

A corner of the world that I never knew of.

The animal farm.

There, we imprisoned rabbits and chickens in cramped cages, making that small
space their whole world.

Was it not being properly managed? The smell of chicken and rabbit urine was
effusive. The feed, which had carelessly been poured in great quantities at once, was
repeatedly soaked by rain and dried again, making it reek.

“Ah, seriously. Someone just pretended to do the work and left again.”

The Constellation Killer frowned.

“If they were gonna do this, they should have just skipped out instead. It’s worse
than if they didn’t do it.”

“Should I help?”

“It’s fine. I have to take care of it anyway.”

The Constellation Killer rolled up his sleeves.

“Just stand there. Or go to class first.”

The Constellation Killer took out the rotten heap of fuzz. He threw away the straw in
a large sack. Then, he took out a broom and a rake from storage and cleaned up the
hutch.

He seemed well-versed with the task.

The Constellation Killer picked up a rubber hose and sprinkled water over the farm.

Shaaaa—

In a world where most things could not be seen, a world corroded by the Void, a high
school student sprayed water at 6:40 a.m. behind Shinseo Middle and High School. It
was tranquil. The water reflected the color of the dawn.

“……”
I was peeping between the cracks that had opened up in the world.

[How filthy.]

[How can you be even dirtier than the math teacher?]

[You smell really bad.]

The world.

It was shrinking.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

Starting with the things that were meaningless to the Constellation Killer, no, to ■■.
Step by step.

[The data cannot be recovered.]

The mountains surrounding the city were engulfed in the dark fog. The world was
cornered. As days passed, the Void gradually tightened around us.

The roads ended.

-■■, ■■ ■!

-■■■.

On the broken path, specters constantly disappeared and reappeared. They flickered.
In [the Constellation Killer’s world], it didn’t matter at all where people came from or
where they went.

Humans weren’t characters in this world.

Weeds coiled in the gaps of the blocks on the sidewalk.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

On one edge of the dump, there was a drooping ginkgo tree that had not been cut
down.
[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

In the evening, the red sun set.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

Finally, the Void completely surrounded the school.

“……”

Raviel was standing at the school gate.

Beyond the gate was pitch black darkness.

“Raviel.”

School had been dismissed.

As specters walked in front and were absorbed by the Void, Raviel stood, quiet and
still. She didn’t turn her head even when I called out to her.

“That’s right. I did feel that something was wrong.”

She only whispered.

“If you think about it, it’s weird that I asked to be called by my foreign name. Ban Si-
ah. That is the name I was given. But for some reason, I felt obsessively that I should
be called [Raviel].”

“……”

“I cannot even recall how I met you. No. Saying that I can’t think of it is misleading. I
received a confession from you at the school festival last year. Prior to that, I thought
favorably of you. It was easy for us to start dating.”

Raviel turned to look at me.

“But I wonder if that is the truth. Gongja, our love is not so simple. We would never
love so easily.”
“……”

“Kiss me. Right now.”

I carefully placed my hand on Raviel’s shoulder. With my left hand, I held her chin. I
lowered my head a bit and met her lips.

“Mm. As expected.”

Raviel smiled.

“It’s pounding.”

She touched my ear.

“There is no lie in my love. I wouldn’t love you so much just because you’re a bit
handsome and talk well. But to say that we’re a couple that will go down in the
history of Shinseo Middle and High School… Tell them to shut up. You and I are the
best couple in the entire universe.”

“…Yes.”

“If my love is not a lie, then my memory must be distorted. This, now, must be a
hallucination or a dream. Gongja, am I dreaming of you? Or are you dreaming of me?”

“I am dreaming of you, Raviel.”

“Oho. How fascinating.”

Raviel crooked her finger and stroked a chin.

Not her chin—mine.

“I will be the only partner you love.”

“Yes.”

“Even when you dream, even if it’s only a dream, it is only appropriate that I am
always in the position of the one you adore. I am the only one who deserves that
place.”
“It’s true.”

“I praise you, my lover. You love me very well.”

Raviel laughed.

“Now, close your eyes.”

“……”

“Don’t you dare open your eyes. Call out my name with your lips. Understood? You
cannot open your eyes. If you open your eyes by yourself, I will punish you.”

I closed my eyes.

“Raviel.”

“Yes.”

“Raviel… Ivansia. It is the name of the person I love.”

Then.

The sensation on my chin disappeared.

“……”

I opened my eyes.

Raviel was gone.

“……”

I didn’t see her figure falling into the shadows.

Until the last moment.

That was the Ivansias’ method.

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

There was no hint of Raviel’s breath here now.

The world became that much smaller.

-Ding, dong, dang, dong.

The speakers installed on campus cried out.

A broadcasting club member, who lost their shape without me ever knowing their
name, spoke.

-■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■.

This is the broadcasting department, notifying all students remaining on school

grounds…

-■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■.

Other than the students who will participate in nighttime self-study, please go home
now.

That moment.

The Void that lurked beyond the school gate gushed.

It was like a river in a flash flood.

“Mm.”

I stepped back. Tentacles of fog stretched out from the Void. The tentacles bound
themselves around the school gate in an instant. The plaque that marked [Shinseo
High School] was devoured, and soon, the entire school gate was buried in the
darkness.

‘It’s finally falling apart.’

The world of trauma began to collapse.

“—What are you doing there?”

Someone spoke from behind me. It was the Constellation Killer. The Constellation
Killer was wearing a worn-out bag, looking at me like I was absurd.

“Aren’t you going home? Well, if you don’t want to, don’t. It was getting
uncomfortable staying there without your parents’ permission. I get that you really
want to apologize to me, so let’s end this. Something like this only makes us both feel
weird.”

The Constellation Killer walked toward where the school gate had been. As he tried
to pass by me, I grabbed his wrist. Then, I quickly pulled him back.

“Ah, hey. Ouch! What? What is it?!”

The Constellation Killer avoided stepping into the Void by a hair’s breadth. Even now,
the black fog was gushing over the school gate, over the fence, and into the
schoolyard. If we were swallowed up by [that], everything would be over.

“Follow me for a bit.”

“Again? Where are you trying to go this time?”

“A place where you can live even a little bit longer. A place where you can breathe.”

“…What?”

“This place is already dangerous. Quickly, let’s go.”

I dragged the Constellation Killer across campus.

The Void encroached on the school like it was chasing us.

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. Kim Gongja, did you know you became
really weird a month ago? Why are you so scared? Just what are you working so hard
for? You’ve never been that kind of person.”

“I made a promise to live desperately, no matter what. My master swung her sword
even as the world was ending. My lover defended her nation even when the world
looped and repeated itself. There are people like them in the world. I work hard
because I want to be with such people.”

“Truly and sincerely, I have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about.”

“There was also a person who endlessly abandoned his self to commit to what he
believed was right.”

We entered the school building.

Still, the Void pushed inside like it didn’t know how to stop.

“……”

Specters wandered the halls. But among them, the [Class President] with the face of
the Black Dragon Master stood blankly in front of the women’s bathroom. I hadn’t
managed to break down the class president yet.

Because.

The class president was the only person who bowed her head when the
Constellation Killer committed suicide in the last trauma.

“…Weird. Why do I feel this strange guilt from entering the women’s bathroom?”

The Black Dragon Master seemed to be worrying about her gender identity all of a
sudden. It was a time of many troubles. I approached while holding the Constellation
Killer’s wrist and grabbed the wrist of the Black Dragon Master with my other hand.

“Huh?”

“You, too. Follow me. You can’t be here now.”

“What? Ah, wait. Huh? What? Kim Gongja? Ah, what are you…?!”

The Black Dragon Master protested in confusion when she suddenly noticed the
Constellation Killer. Her surprised expression hardened at once. The Black Dragon
Master frowned, lowered her head, and followed as I dragged her wrist.

[Warning!]
[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

[The data cannot be recovered.]

[The trauma cannot be sustained.]

The Void overtook the first floor of the school.

I dragged two people up the stairs. Quickly. Beyond the first floor, up to the second
floor, past the third floor, crossing the fourth floor, and leaping to the fifth floor.
Behind me, the Constellation Killer and the Black Dragon Master were gasping, but it
couldn’t be helped.

The Void was rising with terrifying speed.

[■■■ ■■■♪]

[■■■ ■■■♪]

[■■■ ■■■■♪]

The slogan on the stairs sank under the black. The black fog turned into dark fluid
and swallowed up the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth floors.

There was only one place left in this world.

“Huff, huff… Huff…”

“Uh. Ugh. I’m nauseous…”

I stood in front of the iron door to the roof. Four layers of chains were wrapped
around the iron door handle. It was a place that couldn’t be entered unless you were
a teacher, but I used aura on my fingers and simply broke the chains.

“Let’s go out.”

“Huh…?”

The Constellation Killer, still breathing heavily, looked dazedly at the iron door.
“It’s open…?”

“W-wait a moment. We can’t go up to the rooftop! It’s against the school rules!”

The Black Dragon Master shouted in a panic. If it weren’t for the Void I saw creeping
forth over her shoulder, I might have respected the school rules a bit more. I forced
the Constellation Killer and the Black Dragon Master to the rooftop. Then—

Thud.

I shut the iron door.

“……”

I quietly stared at the door. It was silent. Thankfully, the Void did not break out to the
rooftop. This peace would probably be allowed for only a short time, but for now, we
had escaped the overbearing Void.

“Good. We’ll be fine for a while.”

“What exactly is fine?!”

The Black Dragon Master was furious.

“Don’t you know how sensitive our school is about rooftop access?! There was that
whole uproar last year in the middle school! Oh, my God!”

“It’s all right.”

“Ah, when the teachers find out I’ve come up here… My god… You bastard! Take
responsibility for my college applications!”

The world was completely encased in the Void.

Looking down through the rooftop fence, I saw no schoolyard—only the pitch black
darkness. Same for the whole campus. The main building of the middle school was
no different.

Only three people remained in this trauma.

“Class President.”

“What?!”

“You knew what was happening in our class, didn’t you?”

“……”

The last three remaining.

The perpetrator.

The victim.

“…So?”

And finally, the bystander.

The class president with the face of the Black Dragon Master stared at me.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

1.

The Black Dragon Master stared at me.

“You went around calling him the 2nd-year loser of Shinseo High School or whatever,
Kim Gongja. Thanks to you, some weird stuff is happening in our class…”

The Black Dragon Master’s eyes held deep contempt.

But this contempt was short-lived. The Black Dragon Master frowned for a moment
before her face returned to its previously expressionless state. It was as though her
own feelings made her tired. Even a sigh would not look as expressionless as that
face.

“…Forget it. I don’t even want to talk to you about this. Just talking about it makes me
feel bad. Dammit! I would have gone to a different high school if I knew there’d be
bullying here.”

“You’re the class president. You’re responsible for what happens in the class.”

“So what? Are you trying to say it’s my fault?”

The Black Dragon Master’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

“How amazing. I heard that you’ve been hanging out with ■■ lately and meeting
other students one after the other. [Kim Gongja repented. Kim Gongja has changed.]
Even the teachers were complimenting you in the staff room. Good for you.”

There was a cold sneer on the Black Dragon Master’s face.

“It must be nice to have it easy like you. It’s fine to hurt someone as long as you
apologize afterwards, right? Forgive me because I apologized a lot, and then it’s over.
Everything I did wrong was a mistake. The hurt I inflicted was just a joke.”
“……”

“And even that should only happen once or twice. But can you say that your whole
life was a mistake or a joke? If you stop making jokes or mistakes, will you get ill? Do
you think the world is a dump that accepts your mistakes and that people as
trashcans to receive your jokes? Sick bastards. Scum…”

She dropped it. The Black Dragon Master closed her lips.

Once again, she stopped just before her emotions became too intense. The Black
Dragon Master looked down at her shoes like she was nervous. Since coming to the
rooftop, she hadn’t looked at the Constellation Killer even once.

“Class President.”

“…Don’t do this to me,” muttered the Black Dragon Master. “Don’t bring me to a place
like this with ■■. You’re trying to make me apologize or admit that I did something
wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re the one who did…”

“You don’t think so.”

“……”

When the Constellation Killer committed suicide in the last trauma, the school
desperately turned a blind eye. The class used all kinds of tricks and methods to
overlook the [incident].

『He sent that sort of text. Wasn’t he really crazy?』

『That’s right. In retrospect, he’s always been a little weird.』

The Constellation Killer was crazy. He was a weirdo.

We, on the other hand, were ‘normal.’

Perhaps we sent a text like that to the Constellation Killer as a mean joke. But it was
only a joke. It was just a brief deviation from the norm. Everyone made jokes and
slipped sometimes, so we were still normal.
Maybe we made fun of the Constellation Killer once. But that was a mistake. We
didn’t mean it. We didn’t do it on purpose—we were just swept up into the
atmosphere and laughed with the others. We did nothing wrong.

『Think carefully about what’s important to you and pull yourself together.』

『Yes, teacher.』

And so, the class pushed one of our classmates aside.

Even death or suicide hadn’t been able to awaken our guilt.

The one that murdered me was you.

Don’t forget.

You killed me.

Except for one person.

The Black Dragon Master was the only one who didn’t say, “Yes, teacher.” She said
nothing,

only bowed her head without a word.

“Seriously, don’t do this to me…”

One single bystander remained silent while numerous perpetrators stood proudly.

“I did my best. I tried to stop it when I was a first-year. Dammit.”

And there were hundreds of reasons why someone might remain silent.

“Because of you guys, I decided to do some investigating… Did you know? This
school is affiliated with Seryun University. There are 10 board members. And among
them, Kim Gongja, is your girlfriend’s parents. You didn’t know, I bet. You didn’t even
know that, but you just bullied ■■ like it was natural, right? Even the President of the
Seryun Presbyterian Church is on the board. That’s my family’s church! We attend
every weekend!”

The Black Dragon Master covered her forehead with her hand.

“Why did I have to learn all of this because of the shit that you guys did?! Just… don’t
do so much, please. I’m a second-year now, too… I sleep for four or five hours a day
because of studying. I’m busy. I entered the school as a scholarship student just like
■■… I don’t know how you guys can just laugh and enjoy your school life!”

Ill will was easy.

“I don’t know if you harass others without thinking, but!”

Goodwill was impossible.

“I was so desperate! This school has a fucking scholarship committee, and our oh-go-
great homeroom teacher is there as the second-year students’ head! You didn’t know
that, did you? I bet you don’t even need to know. I—damn—I mentioned ■■ to our
homeroom teacher and… Please. Stop it. I don’t want to know this! It’s all disgusting.
You, our homeroom teacher, the school, everything… I’m busy with my own life, so
take care of things yourselves!”

“Sorry.”

One reason was enough to commit an act of ill will.

But you needed hundreds of reasons for goodwill.

“Sorry? Ha. How sorry are you, really? No. Fuck. It’s too late. Don’t apologize to me.
Don’t you dare apologize, Kim Gongja. I don’t need an apology, and I don’t deserve an
apology. And you don’t deserve to apologize. You’re trash. Just die as trash. Live as
trash until the day you die. I’m begging you, never cross my path after we graduate.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I said don’t apologize, you trash bastard!”

The Black Dragon Master kicked my shin. Creak. My bones rattled slightly. Then, she
huffed and slapped me in the face.

Violence like curses continued.

I let the Black Dragon Master do what she wanted to my body and said, “This boy. He
tried to commit suicide.”

The Black Dragon Master’s hands stopped.

“He would have jumped a month ago. From this very spot.”

Silence descended upon the rooftop.

“……”

The Black Dragon Master turned her head.

It was only then that she looked at the Constellation Killer for the first time.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.

“Is this… true?”

She was stiff.

Like it was difficult for her to talk to the person in front of him.

“You tried to die…?”

She spoke carefully.

The Constellation Killer looked at the Black Dragon Master with a blank expression.

“That’s right.”

“……”

“I don’t know how Kim Gongja knew, but he’s right. I tried to die.”
“……”

“I had no idea that that was what you were thinking, Class President.”

The rooftop became silent once again.

Slowly.

The Black Dragon Master covered her face with both hands.

“I’m not sorry…”

A quiet sob leaked through her fingers.

“I don’t feel sorry for you. It’s just… When I was a first-year, I accidentally found out
about the school’s Board of Directors. I gave up because I thought nothing would
come of it even if I revealed everything. During our second year, I tried to talk to our
homeroom teacher, but I gave up in the end. I’m just that kind of person. Please
remember me as that kind of person.”

“……”

“But, don’t die. Don’t die… Why must you? You can’t die. You can’t die because of
trash. You can’t, ■■. You have to live. Yeah? If you live, you can get into a good
university, make money, and get out of this godforsaken city…”

“I thought about that too,” muttered the Constellation Killer. “But I thought that these
bastards would forget.”

“……”

“I thought that they would live well while pretending that nothing ever happened.
No, I don’t think they’d even remember. I hated that the most. I wanted to spite these
bastards. Since they’d forget it anyway…”

The Constellation Killer looked at the Black Dragon Master.

“I’m sorry, Class President.”

“……”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt someone like you.”

The Black Dragon Master fell to her knees. She held her breath, her face covered. She
clenched her teeth and tried to hold back any sounds. The force of her silence caused
the Black Dragon Master’s shoulder to shake.

The Constellation Killer opened his mouth.

“There was someone.”

He bent his knees.

“I didn’t think there’d be anyone.”

Lower.

Until he was the same height as the Black Dragon Master.

“I’m glad that I didn’t die a month ago.”

The Constellation Killer slowly wrapped his arms around the Black Dragon Master’s
shoulders. The Black Dragon Master flinched. The Constellation Killer leaned his
head a bit closer to the Black Dragon Master.

“I’m glad there was even a single person who was worth my forgiveness.”

“……”

“I’m so glad.”

The Black Dragon Master stopped holding her breath. She broke down. The Black
Dragon Master couldn’t hug the Constellation Killer. She just remained kneeling,
letting out the cries that tore out from her heart. The Constellation Killer hugged his
classmate as she did.

“I’m sorry…”

The Black Dragon Master’s body began to crumble away.

“I’m sorry, ■■. Sorry. Sorry. I’m so sorry.”

But it was just her skin that melted into shadows. She did not become a specter.

The Black Dragon Master, whose face melted off to reveal someone else, cried out,
“Don’t die. Please. I’m begging you… You have to live.”

It was the face of someone I knew.

And it was a voice I heard from somewhere.

“You can live. We can live. We can live better lives. You have to live, ■■. I’ll try a little
harder, and because I’ll try harder, together let’s…”

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

The iron door to the rooftop was being devoured by the Void.

Black fog slowly crept through the cracks on the iron door like tentacles. Soundlessly,
they grabbed the iron door.

Then, they swallowed it.

The void, which had devoured the fifth floor, climbed up the school wall and flowed
onto the fence of the roof.

“No one cares about you. No one, nobody, not one of them… You can’t die because of
those beasts. You have to live. You can’t let them ruin your life. Struggle and survive,
study, yeah? Enter university, and… Go to another city.”

I could see the person beneath the Black Dragon Master’s skin.

“Let’s live for all the unfortunate children…”

At that moment.

“Let’s make time for children who are less fortunate than us. We can do it. I know we
can. I’ll help you… I, I did a lot of research. I studied. It isn’t some dumb dream. If we
really try, we can—”

Something cut into my back.

“—first, go to the Department of Social Welfare. I need a license.”

An electric current surged in my head.

“To live here, to survive in the world, we have to be strong. ■■. You have to surround
yourself in armor so that other people won’t look down on you or bother you. Let’s
study together. I’ll help you… I can help you.”

Ahh.

“What university you go to, what qualifications you have… They might seem useless
right now, but you can do a lot more with it than without it. We can do what we want
to do. it’s power. We have to become strong first.”

Ah.

“Let’s help the children together. On my own… It would be difficult. Yeah. I might not
be able to bear it. I might scar the children. But with the two of us. Three. If four
people join in, we can do anything. We’ll be able to do anything.”

Director.

“Let’s work hard…”

The director of my orphanage.

“This world is not everything. It can’t be. ■■. We can make a world. Small… Let’s start
small. We can make a world with just the two of us. Please don’t die… Together. Let’s
live in a different world together…”

The young director’s face.

『Don’t.』

『You haven’t done anything wrong.』

His voice overlapped with the director’s long tired voice.

Now that I thought about it, the director had always been too wary about showing
that he loved us.
『Don’t get twisted because of a guy like me.』

He always seemed afraid.

“……”

The Constellation Killer stroked the young director’s head.

“I don’t think we can make much money.”

“We won’t make much…”

“It seems like it’ll be hard.”

“It’ll be really hard…”

“However, I think it would be better than now.”

The Constellation Killer smiled.

“I haven’t been studying since the second semester of our first year. It’ll be a bit
tough.”

“It’s all right. It’s not too late. Right now, it’s not too late for anything.”

“Yeah. Class President. In this world…”

[The degree of the trauma’s implementation is decreasing.]

“Let’s survive together.”

[The data cannot be recovered.]

The rooftop collapsed.

The school melted.

And the bell announcing the dismissal rang.

[Trauma implementation has ended.]

The possibilities and what-ifs were swallowed by the black Void. Even the
Constellation Killer’s smile. Even the director’s childhood, which I never knew about.
Even the two classmates, one crying and one smiling.

The past.

The time of the failed past. The regret. The remorse.

[Confirming that the subject’s psyche is maintained.]

It all disappeared.

[The penalty is ending.]

The world was immersed in noise.

■.

■,

■,

■.

I opened my eyes.
2.

When I opened my eyes, all I saw was a dark abyss.

I looked around in every direction, but I could only see darkness.

It was the underworld I returned to every time I died.

[Your death has satisfied the skill condition.]

[The Constellation Killer’s skills are being randomly copied.]

I stared blankly, shocked.

Naturally, I knew that the Constellation Killer’s story took place in the past. However,
that the past also contained the director’s childhood… That, I never expected.

‘The Constellation Killer and my orphanage director were classmates.’

They attended the same school. They were in the same class. They lived in the same
time. For one of them, time had stopped forever. For the other, the hour hand had
stopped for the rest of his life.

One clock was broken.

The other clock was damaged.

‘Why…?’

Anger weighed on my heart.

‘Why is it always the good men who end up damaged and broken? Why should the
person who was hurt die while the one who hurt them is fine? Why did the world
become a hell only for the one who feels guilty?’

My anger settled, but I couldn’t be at ease. My emotions subsided. But my subdued

emotions did not disappear. They were merely piling on top of each other.

The surface of my mind rose a little bit.

A surface that would overflow and become a torrent someday.

-Cough.

A voice flowed into my heated mind.

It was Bae Hu-ryeong.

-The best feeling in the world is always catching a zombie bastard off guard. I’ve seen a
lot of things since becoming a ghost, but there’s still nothing better than seeing a
defeated Kim Zombie. Kukuku!

“……”

-What do you think? Isn’t the 50th floor tough? The Constellation Killer isn’t an easy
prey, huh? Right, so do you still think it was a good idea to weasel your way up to the
50th floor? All of this is karma for what you did, bastard!

Bae Hu-ryeong had a sly smile on his face.

It was almost as if [I’d only fought the Constellation Killer a short while ago].

I could guess it from Bae Hu-ryeong’s tone.

‘…He didn’t enter the trauma with me this time.’

Until now, we’d experienced the journey through the trauma together. Starting with
the [Hellfire Residence], Preta, Master, Raviel. Bae Hu-ryeong sometimes complained
about the trauma and sometimes remained silent. Nevertheless, he had always been
with me.

This time was different.

For a month, I had been experiencing the trauma on my own.

“I had a nightmare.”

-Huh?

Bae Hu-ryeong blinked.

-A nightmare? What nightmare?

“It was a trauma. This trauma was a bit strange. Sword Emperor, you weren’t with
me, and the Constellation Killer’s mind wasn’t fully recreated. Like there was an
error there…”

I told him about what I experienced in the trauma. I recreated it. Of course, I didn’t
tell him that he had been my father. If I brought it up, his hair would probably turn
white.

-Hmm.

Bae Hu-ryeong was lost in thought for a while after hearing my story.

-That’s strange, isn’t it? It doesn’t make sense that I wasn’t there with you. In the first
place, I’m only called a ghost for convenience. In truth, I am a [skill].

Bae Hu-ryeong was right.

[Sword Constellation]

Rank: A+

Effect: A ghost from another world. He cleared the 99th floor in another world but
failed the 100th floor and died. The resentment remained, causing him to become a
ghost. He cannot interfere with the physical world, but it is possible to tamper with
the owner’s mind.

Seek advice from his rich experience and amazing skills!

※However, no one can see the ghost except for the owner.

※This skill was copied from Hunter Marcus Calenbury.

In the end, Bae Hu-ryeong’s true identity was a skill.

He had memories of his past life, but he was restrained to a skill card.

-In other words, I am someone who lives off of you. Should I say a mental tenant?
Unless you forcibly remove my skill card, there is no reason why I shouldn’t enter a
trauma with you.

However, Bae Hu-ryeong had not been able to participate in this trauma.

“…I guess. What’s going on? Something’s strange.”

–Yeah.

The two of us pondered side by side in the dark space. Time passed slowly, but we
still were unable to think of an answer. Eventually, Bae Hu-ryeong got tired of all the
thinking and exclaimed.

-Ah, enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore! In any case, if you just
remember the strange feeling, you will get an answer someday. Hurry up and pick one
of that Constellation Killer guy’s skills! It’s been a long time since we had a magic skill!
That Golden Silk or something only had a Constellation’s blessings, so her skills were
trash.

Perhaps in response to Bae Hu-ryeong’s words, cards began appearing from the
darkness.

[The skill cards are being created.]

[Please select a skill card.]

In total, 10 cards appeared before me. It was a procession of silver and gold that flew
through the air like they had wings.

-Now, let’s peruse the Constellation Killer’s collection! What the hell? This bastard’s
totally cheating, keeping all these dope skills. That’s why Hunters who focus on skills
are annoying. Huh? Look at this one.

Bae Hu-ryeong seemed excited as he read the backs of the cards.

Among them, two skills caught my attention.

[Puppeteer’s Parade]

Rank: S

Effect: In some world, there lived an old puppeteer. The puppeteer was afraid of
receiving love, but he wasn’t strong enough to endure eternal solitude.

‘Let’s make another me.’ So, the puppeteer designed it. ‘Let the other me be loved.
Let it live with people, among people. And if it gets hurt—I’ll throw it away,’
whispered the puppeteer. ‘Erase it forever.’

Countless puppets lived.

Countless puppets were discarded.

This skill is a black art for the weak. The ability to choose or throw away memories.
You can make 13 puppets that have the exact same appearance and abilities as you.
When one puppet dies, another one awakens. Broken dolls can be repaired.

It is your imitation of immortality. A fabricated eternity.

※However, memories are not shared between puppets.

There was the Constellation Killer’s secret.

‘There are a total of 13 puppets.’

So what happened to the Constellation Killer’s true body? Was the true body also
included in the puppets? Or did the Constellation Killer have a separate body that
was asleep somewhere else?

Then I heard another secret.

[Salvation of a Torn Goddess]

Rank: A+

Effect: There was once a goddess who was devoted to a certain warrior. Although the
goddess was torn apart by the warrior, she still wished to stand beside him. The
goddess fell and was sealed in this skill card.

The goddess replaces memories with abilities. You can strengthen your abilities and
might by giving your memories to the goddess. The more important the memory is
to you, the stronger the buff you receive.

※However, the strengthening effect does not last long.

That goddess was probably the [Guardian Goddess].

And the warrior must be the Constellation Killer.

There was little doubt.

The [Guardian Goddess] was divided into five parts—idol, compassion, prayer,
sacrifice, and salvation. With this, I reaped four parts of the Goddess. The last part,
salvation, was in the form of one of the Constellation Killer’s skills.

-Hmph.

Bae Hu-ryeong snorted.

-All these skills are creepy because we don’t truly know who the Constellation Killer is.
It’s foreboding. They’re all good abilities, but it’s unnerving. I don’t know why the
constellations would be so interested in a broken human…

I nodded.

“I’ve decided what to choose.”

-Mm. The cons far outweigh the pros, though?

Bae Hu-ryeong objected.

-Just pass this time. You don’t need [Puppet Parade] or [Salvation of a Torn Goddess]
now. I hate to admit it, but your skill list is pretty complete. Except for your Goblin High
Society…

“Goblin High Society is a skill that will soar one day.”

-It’s your head that will soar. No, it has already flown beautifully once. In any case, if
you take a stupid skill now, you’ll damage your synergy.

“Yes. I know that. But there is something I can use.”

I had to defeat the Constellation Killer.

But victory didn’t mean I had to get rid of him.

‘I can do much better.’

I would make the Constellation Killer admit that his method was wrong.

It wasn’t about simply overwhelming him with brute force. Rather, I would make [my
method] defeat the [Constellation Killer’s method].

That is what victory was.

‘The Constellation Killer.’

I reached out for a card.

‘Lefanta Aegim.’

Thinking about the Hunter who had multiple titles.

Thinking about the man whose first name I still don’t know.

[Selection complete.]

[The skill is being copied.]

[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]

■■.

Let’s end our old nightmare.

3.

When I regressed a day, I hadn’t even cleared the [Fairytale] World yet.

I spent a month in the Constellation Killer’s trauma world.

But not even a single day had passed in the tower.

Eventually, I cleared the [Fairytale] World again. I knew that [The Evangelist of
Everlasting Happiness] was planning a surprise attack in advance, so I cleared it
much more easily than before. However, the willpower and stamina that I used were
the same.

‘Next time, I’m going to take a day off before I climb the Tower… ’

Once again, I realized the importance of save points.

“Count-nim.”

“Hm?”

Immediately after clearing the [Fairytale] World and returning to the Great Library, I
spoke to the Count.
“I have a small favor to ask you.”

“Ooh, what is it? Treasure of our Tower, prize of our Sangryun. Tell me anything! I’ll
help you.”

The Count greeted me more enthusiastically than usual. The shape of her mouth was
curved like the letter ‘w’. Was it because the price to clear the stage was much lower
than she thought it would be?

For a moment, I couldn’t help but remember the Count I’d encountered in the
trauma.

『He sent that sort of text.』

『Wasn’t he really crazy?』

I froze.

“What’s wrong?”

The Sangryun guildmaster in front of me tilted her head to the side.

“You’re pale all of a sudden.”

“…No. It’s nothing. I just blanked out for a moment.”

I quickly shook my head, trying to rid my mind of the thoughts.

The classmate in the trauma simply had the Count’s appearance; in the end, it was
fake. I couldn’t compare the fake to the person in front of me. It was incredibly
disrespectful to the Count.

“Did you put too much energy into the Apocalypse just now? Be careful. You need to
be careful while you’re young so you don’t go nuts when you’re old. Anyway, what’s
the favor?”

“I would like to send a letter to the outside world,” I said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not a letter, but there is someone I need to contact as soon as
possible. Count, you have the ability to interact with the outside world. Please help
me send the letter.”

“Oho? Of course. It’s easy.”

The Count held her fan.

“If it doesn’t have to be a letter, you can use more convenient methods. Which
country are you sending the letter to? It’d be a bit hard to send letters to countries
with governments that have collapsed.”

“That’s fine. I’d like to send it to the country where I was born.”

“Death King’s birth country… Ahh. Then it’s fine. There is an ambassador in that
country, so we can get in touch with them right away. Let’s see. Where is that
woman?”

The Count looked around. It wasn’t just us in the Great Library, but every Hunter
with an epithet. The Count pointed to one of them with her fan.

“Communications Officer! Madame CO! Come over here for a bit.”

“…What is it now?”

A middle-aged female Hunter approached us.

The seventh-rank Hunter. It was the Wide-Range Communications Officer.

The Wide-Range Communications Officer wore a sari, a traditional Indian dress,

around her shoulders, and she frowned the entire way as she walked over to us.
Perhaps she didn’t get along with the Count.

“Let me introduce you. This is my friend, the Communications Officer, and she comes
from the same homeland as I do. Ahaha, but the difference between our origins is
like heaven and earth.”

“If you just called me over here to talk nonsense, then I’ll be on my way.”

“Woah, woah. Calm down, Madame Brahmin. I’m going to set up a sanctuary to talk
with the outside world, so please connect us for a while. It’s a country with an
ambassador, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.”
“Why should I…?”

“It’s not mine, but the Death King’s request.”

The Wide-Range Communications Officer turned to look at me.

I put my hands together and politely bowed my head.

“Please.”

“……”

The Wide-Range Communications Officer also brought her hands together and
bowed. She looked back and forth between me and the Count before sighing heavily
as if she’d given up.

“…If it was some crude man’s request, I would’ve declined it immediately. But Death
King, I also watched from afar as you devoted yourself to the Tower. Your
commitment should be rewarded. I’ll help you.”

“Yeah. As expected, you get along well with noble people. Like calls to like.”

“If you run your mouth one more time, I’m leaving.”

“Oh my, don’t be like that. You should be more generous. But fine, fine. Hey, I get it.
Let’s just do this!”

The Count smiled before taking something out of her pocket. It was a small pouch.
The Count then took a handful of glittering, purple powder before sprinkling it in a
circle on the library floor.

“The Great Mother Vina. Vina. A wish is a prayer, please let it not be torn by screams.
Let us be by your side as you stay by our side. Make this space your sanctuary.”

Whoosh!

Purple light came out of the purple powder. The area of purple light was similar in
size to a public phone booth.

Then, the Wide-Range Communications Officer turned to me.

“Give me your smartphone.”

“Ah. Yes.”

I handed my phone to the Communications Officer, who tapped the phone three
times with a bent finger. Tap, tap, tap. It looked as though she’d drawn a triangle with
her fingertips.

“Go through. Connect. When noise reaches someone, it becomes a sound, and when
there is a person here and a person there, connections sing and the world makes a
choir.”

The smartphone was then wrapped in blue light.

The Communications Officer nodded slightly.

“Take it.”

I took my phone back.

The Count beamed.

“Enter the sanctuary, Death King.”

The Communications Officer grimaced.

“If you make a call, it will be received. If you send mail, they will reply.”

“Call charges are measured separately, but I can pay that much for you!”

“However, following the agreement with the outside world, all communications must
be monitored to ensure they remain within the scope of international law. That
shouldn’t be a problem, though. It doesn’t matter if it’s a crime as long as you don’t
mention it directly.”

“Well, if you want to send a secret message, tell me separately. There are ways to
bypass the laws.”

The two of them spoke casually, but this was a collaboration between the Hunters
ranked 5th and 7th. Only a handful of people could ever enjoy such a privilege.
“Yes. Thank you.”

Holding my smartphone, I entered the sanctuary.

“……”

Then, I pressed it, [the first phone number I memorized in my life]. It was a number I
hadn’t dialed in years. But human memory was strange, for no matter how much
time had passed, it was not a number I could ever forget.

Ring… Ring…

The phone’s connecting sound rang for a while.

If the other person changed their number, then this would be pointless. But he said
that he would never change his number so that we could call at any time.

He didn’t lie.

-Hello?

I couldn’t speak.

-Hello? Who is this?

“……”

The voice was a little older than the cries I heard on the rooftop of the trauma. It was
a little more tired. But the essence hadn’t changed, and I regretted that it took me so
long to hear this voice that hadn’t changed.

I should have called sooner.

Regardless of whether I abandoned the outside world and entered the Tower, I
shouldn’t have abandoned the people.

“…Director. It’s me, Gongja. Kim Gongja.”

Silence fell for a moment over the call.

-Right. It’s been a long time.

The director.

The oldest voice in my memory reverberated.

-I thought you might call one day. I saw that you’ve been well.

“I’m sorry for taking so long to contact you. I should have…”

-You’re busy with life and work. I know what it’s like to be that age.

I heard a small cough over the phone, and the director cleared his throat.

-Sometimes, strangers come and ask if you are from our orphanage. At first, I thought
you had done something terrible. But the others from your generation showed me a
video and cleared up the misunderstanding. By the way, you call yourself Death King?
You have an interesting naming sense.

“I didn’t choose the title myself. The Tower…”

-Of course. It’s been a while since I last heard your voice. I’m relieved.

“……”

-Gongja?

-What’s wrong?

I grasped the phone.

It pressed down the emotions that climbed up my throat.

“There’s something I have to ask you, Director.”

-Say it. No, wait a minute. How serious is it? Tell me that first.
“It’s very serious. Probably more serious than anything I’ve ever asked you about…”

-Then give me two minutes—no, three minutes. I’m lying on the sofa right now. I’ll get
up, get some coffee, and listen to you properly. Don’t hang up. Wait just three minutes.

“Okay.”

Now that I thought about it, his life must have been so difficult.

I could only imagine the kind of malice he had to suffer in order to become such a
good man. If we gathered all the good people in this world, we would be able to see
all the malice of the world as well.

“How is the orphanage these days? Are you healthy?”

-Seeing that you’re changing the subject like this, it really must be serious. I’m fine.
There are more teachers now. I’m basically director in name only, and I don’t have to
do much. The sponsorships have increased… Ah, and the food is more delicious.

“That’s good to hear.”

-Mm. I’m in my office now. Tell me what you wanted to say.

I took a deep breath.

“Director. When you were younger… did you graduate from Shinseo Middle and High
School?”

-……

The other end of the line became eerily silent.

It was tense. I heard a liquid splashing. The director had taken a sip of his coffee. and
gulped down the black water.

-Yes. I graduated from Shinseo High. Even now, it’s a pretty prestigious place.

“By any chance…”

I wished it wasn’t.

“Were you the class president in your second year?

Maybe it had just been an illusion created by the trauma. Everything I saw could
have been fake. The director could just be a good person who enjoyed a normal,
happy school life.

I hoped.

Silence befell once again.

-You’re right.

Then, the director’s voice sounded.

-I was the class president. It’s already been decades since then.

“……”

-……

Both the director and I fell silent. My heart throbbed as I thought of the things I had
to say. The atmosphere felt heavy. Maybe the director felt it too, as he kept his mouth
closed, waiting for me.

“Director.”

-Speak.

“When you were class president. By any chance… On the roof of the school…”

-……

“Was there anyone like that?”

The sound of breathing stopped.

-Yes.
The director said.

-There was.

My nightmare proved to be reality.

-I never talked about it properly before, but… Yes. There was.

The hallways I walked, the chains on the door to the school roof that ■■ looked down
at, the desolate wasteland of a schoolyard, the shack in the middle of the dump, all of
them, without exception, were true.

Only.

『Don’t die. Please. I’m begging you.』

『Together. Let’s live in a different world together.』

Only the ending was a lie.

『Yeah. Class President. In this world, let’s survive together.』

The things that should have been false were true.

The one thing that needed the most to be true was false.

That was the story of ■■ and the director.

“Director…”

I could barely speak.

“Do you remember that person’s name?”

No one in this world knew his name. He was a man from the wilderness. The people
of the empire named him Lefanta to honor him. He was the killer of Constellations.
Thus, the people of the Tower called him the Constellation Killer.

He was a man who had been abandoned by the outside world. No one tried to
remember him. So now, there was only one person in the world who could say his
name.

-Kim Yul.[1]

Someone called out a name for the sake of one person.

-That child’s name is Kim Yul, Gongja.

“……”

I closed my eyes.

I remembered the conversation I had with the Crusader in the school hallway.

『The very last row in the classroom. The student sitting by the window. Do you
remember him?』

『More or less, since he’s a classmate. I think his name is… 』

The noise was removed.

『Kim Yul.』

There was someone with that name.

『I don’t feel sorry for you, Kim Yul.』

He was small enough to be covered by the curtains whenever the wind blew through
the classroom window.

He was a child who quietly took out a notebook and looked through it before class
began.

He was a child who yanked the chain on the iron door even though he knew it
wouldn’t open.

『I’m sorry, Kim Yul. I’m sorry.』

Decades ago.
Before I was born.

『I’m so sorry.』

Such a child had existed in this world.

-Gongja?

And there was someone who had lived those decades.

-Are you crying…? No. Nevermind. Anyway, where did you hear about Kim Yul? I didn’t
think anyone remembered.

Someone who was smart enough to enter such a prestigious school with a
scholarship. Who was so zealous that he remained at the top of his class even in such
a prestigious place. Who studied for four or five hours every day when he could have
been sleeping. To be someone who could create the future he wanted.

What kind of dream did he have when he entered high school?

What kind of future did he envision?

-I don’t know how you found out about him, really.

However, this person saw.

He saw humans. Beasts.

Death.

『No one cares about you. No one, nobody, not one of them… 』

At that time, one person’s time stopped.

And for the other person, the freedom of choice that everyone deserved disappeared.

The director devoted the rest of his life to prove something.

[At that time, there was a child named Kim Yul.]

“Director, he’s here.”

-What are you talking about?

“Kim Yul. Director’s classmate. That child.”

-I still don’t understand what you’re saying…

“He lived in a garbage dump at the foot of the mountain. That Kim Yul.”

-……

“The very last row in the classroom. The seat by the window. He sat there.”

-……

I continued.

“The collar of his school uniform was always dirty. The guy who was dating the
student council president was a bastard who bullied him. His older brother was a
singer. Because he was being harassed by the class through text messages, Kim Yul
was forced to hand over the phone that wasn’t even his.”

-……

“Did you know that there was a small farm behind the school? They reared rabbits
and chickens. It was supposed to be taken care of by the farming club, but no one
wanted to do it after a foreigner jumped with her newborn. That’s why Kim Yul
started taking care of it.”

-How…

The director’s voice shook.

-Gongja, how do you…

“Director, you tried to stop it. You’ve been trying to stop it since the first year. But
after your investigations, you stopped because the main culprit’s parents were on
the school board, didn’t you? The president of the church you attended was also a
member, right? Seryun Presbyterian Church. You told your homeroom teacher, but
you couldn’t do anything more because of your scholarship.”

-How…

“He’s here, Director.”

I held the phone and dropped my head.

“He’s here.”

-……

There was a long silence.

-Four days.

Then, the director spoke again.

-No. Give me a week.

The student, whose time was stopped decades ago, spoke in a voice that sounded
older and wearier.

-I’ll come there.

4.

A week passed in an instant.

During that week, the director liquidated all of his assets. Anyone could enter the
Tower, But you could not bring anything from the outside world. In other words, the
director had given up everything he had achieved, earned, and collected in his life.

“I was thinking of retiring anyway.”

It had been a long time since I saw the director, but he looked much older than I
remembered.

“I found someone to be my replacement. There were still some things in the region
that needed to be done, but… What can the government officials do now that I’ve
come to the Tower? They’ll have to figure it out themselves.”

“Welcome, Director.”

“I’m not the director anymore, but call me whatever you like.”

The director smiled bitterly.

Naturally, as someone who had only just entered the tower, the director didn’t have a
title. People without epithets had not yet been allowed to enter the Great Library, but
I talked to the Corner Librarian and succeeded in making an exception for the
director.

“Coming here, I can see how successful you’ve become. Everywhere I go, I only hear
about you, Gongja. After entering the Tower, dozens of people gathered at the
entrance to guide me.”

“Well, I have a bit of influence in the Tower. I’m currently No. 2 in the rankings,
Director.”

“You were always last when it came to studying…”

The director looked at me with new eyes.

『Princess Pyeonggang could reform the foolish Ondal.』

His gaze reminded me of what I saw in the trauma.

While I was overwhelmed with emotion, the director was greeted by the rest of my
colleagues.

“Aha. So you are the one who raised Death King! I am called the Heretic Questioner.
Please take care of me!”

“I am the Black Dragon Master. I will forever be indebted to Death King. The Death
King is also the vice head of our guilds. If you have any troubles while in the Tower,
feel free to let me know.”

“I’m the Crusader, and I’m in charge of the security in Babylon on the first floor.
Teacher, I heard that you ran an orphanage outside. It’s hard to talk about since
we’re meeting for the first time, but the Tower is always in need of professionals. I’ll
make a formal visit to you later.”

“Yes. Everyone, thank you for your hospitality.”

The director responded to the Hunters like he was used to it.

Once the welcoming procession passed and the two of us were alone, the director
spoke.

“I’m used to things like this since one of your peers became the youngest member of
the National Assembly. At that time, dozens of people came over every week to greet
me.”

“Huh?! Who?!”

“Kim Hanbija. Do you remember him? He’s now a representative. You probably didn’t
realize it because he changed his name.”

I was shocked.

This news wasn’t something I’d heard before my 4,000-day regression.

I had stopped paying attention to my homeland.

“Seriously… No way. He’s just an idiot… What did he change his name to?”

“Kim Hanbi.”

“Then he just cut off the last syllable? He is an idiot, isn’t he?”

“I can say this now that you’re an adult, Gongja, but you were also an idiot. A great
king of fools.”

“Ack. Wasn’t I a little smart?”

“I never knew that people could be so bad at math until I raised you kids. Death King,
you’re lucky that the Tower rankings are not determined by test scores.”

Bae Hu-ryeong giggled from behind.

-I’m going to hear a lot of Gongja’s dark history today! Good, good! Say more!

The director and I continued talking pleasantly.

I spoke to the Librarian in advance so that our conversation would not be overheard.
He granted my request, and not just that, but he got the bookmark maids to serve us
tea and refreshments.

“I saw it in the videos, but this really is a strange world. Here…”

The director looked at a bookmark maid suspiciously.

“So.”

Finally, after sweeping through the entire library, the director’s eyes once again
settled on my face.

“Where is that child?”

I told the director everything. About my abilities. About the trauma. And about the
person named [Lefanta Aegim] and the [Constellation Killer].

“……”

The director listened to everything I said with a blank expression on his face. But
expressionless didn’t mean emotionless. For more than an hour, the director sat still
without taking even a single sip of the tea.

“It’s all so hard to believe. Any of it.”

“Yes.”

“However, it would otherwise be impossible for you… to know about Kim Yul.”

Since childhood, I’d always found the Director’s expressions to be hard to read.

But that had changed after the trauma.

The director was afraid.

“Kim Yul wasn’t even in our yearbook. There were no photos or traces of him. No
matter where I looked, I could not find anything, and no one seemed to care… Think
about it, Gongja. Could you pretend that the seat was empty the whole time?”

“……”

“How could they smile so brightly for the photos? They… He… For a very long time, I
couldn’t understand how they could smile. Right. I’m sure they’re living well even
now.”

The director looked down at his teacup with an indifferent expression.

He quietly took a sip of his tea, which had already cooled a long time ago, and looked
me in the eyes.

“It’s fine.”

“……”

“That child. No, the trace of that child. Please show him to me.”

I nodded.

“Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.”

The shadows spread.

They squirmed

as though they were alive, and flowed like water before gradually rising to the shape
of a human. The waves turned into silver hair, and the puddles formed neat clothes.

“…Hm.”

Lefanta Aegim.

The Constellation Killer looked around.

“This is an unexpected situation.”

The silver-haired man spoke in a blunt tone.

“Was I abducted? Did you kidnap a puppet and forcefully awaken it? My power… I
can’t use it. I suppose that either the puppet’s system was tampered with or very
powerful mental magic was used.”

The man who lost his black hair. His name. His memory. [Kim Yul] had already
forgotten his origins, so the man before us was a completely different person from
[Kim Yul]. He was Lefanta Aegim. The Constellation Killer.

Therefore, no one could call him [Kim Yul].

“…Kim Yul-ssi.”

Except for the one person who had witnessed his beginning.

The Constellation Killer turned to look at the director.

The director slowly kneeled on the library floor.

“I am one of the people who killed Kim Yul.”

“……”

“I wanted to tell you this for a very long time. Sincerely…”

The director put his forehead to the ground.

“I’m sorry.”

The Constellation Killer’s expression hardened.

1.

The protagonists living inside stories sparkled like constellations.

I had no interest in the constellations that shone in the night sky. My stars were the
characters. Their stories were my resplendent constellations. Ah. There were
countless stars in space and infinite stories in the universe.

-I want to see the stories a little more.

Thoughtlessly, I touched the light of the stars.

-Just a bit more.

That was all.

2.

Silence settled in the library.

The Great Library of All Things. A place where each book contained a world.
Countless people lived in countless worlds, and each of them had a story. Here, two
characters from one of the books, [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim], were present.

“……”

The Constellation Killer quietly looked down at the director.

“Did you say you are one of the people who killed me?”

“Yes. Kim Yul-ssi.”

“What a strange thing to say.”

The Constellation Killer’s voice was dull.

“My death was recorded 153 years, 7 months, and 9 days ago. The name of the one
who killed me at that time is the Sword Emperor.”

The Constellation Killer pulled out an old notebook. That diary was the last stop that
[Kim Yul] ever reached, a vow that he would only leave behind the traces of his past
but never remember his past himself.

“The features of the Sword Emperor as recorded in the diary are different from
yours.”

Just like how my skeletons would never let go of their daggers after being swallowed
by the Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation, the Constellation Killer only had one old
notebook.

“Are you the next generation of the Sword Emperor?”

“……”

“From my understanding, the Sword Emperor is not the type to apologize to anyone.
He is not the type to seek an apology, either.”

The director must have realized.

“I judge that you are not the next generation of the Sword Emperor and you are not
someone who has killed me. You have no reason to apologize to me.”

That he was already late.

“Therefore, I do not accept your apology.”

“……”

“Firstly, my name is Lefanta Aegim. My epithet is the Constellation Killer. You looked
at me and called me Kim Yul. However, nowhere in the diary is it recorded that I was
ever called Kim Yul. Have you mistaken me for someone else?”

“Kim Yul-ssi.”

The director’s voice was shaking.

“Kim Yul is the name you had before you were called Lefanta Aegim. It is a name
from long ago, before you obtained the diary. The world that you used to live in
was…”

“It is no use.”

Someone came to my side and muttered. It was the Librarian. He whispered to me so

quietly that the Constellation Killer and the director could not hear it.

“It’s a touching scene. I can admit that. On one side, the victim sealed in time. On the
other, the bystander frozen by time. Ahh. The scene is as beautiful as a painting…”

I looked at the Librarian.

[The Corner Librarian rejoices but also despairs.]

He was wearing a peculiar expression. He seemed sad yet also happy. While his eyes
woefully looked down, his breath was flush.

“However, Death King, Too many things happened too late. The Constellation Killer
can never be saved.”

“……”

“It doesn’t matter if he accepts an apology now. The Constellation Killer remembers
nothing. His appearance and mindset are completely different from those of Kim Yul.
How can he receive an apology for something he does not remember? How can he
forgive someone for something he cannot recall?”

“You,” I said quietly. “You know that I’m a regressor, right?”

The Librarian smiled.

“Of course.”
“How? Do you regress whenever I do?”

“No, that is not how it works. In particular, your [Returner’s Clockwork Watch] skill
is so special that even a Constellation cannot easily approach its dignity. But I, like
other Constellations, have a clever power.”

The Librarian flicked his finger. Snap! Then, a book flew at us.

[The Tale of the Ascending City]

The book was the one that the Constellation had shown us when we first set foot in
the Great Library.

“Remember this? It’s the book of your world. We cannot call it an Apocalypse
because it has not perished.”

The Librarian’s eyes perked up.

“Now, guess. Whom do you think I would designate as the protagonist of [The Tale of
the Ascending City]?”

“……”

It was obvious.

“Me.”

“Right. That’s correct!”

“Is everything related to me recorded in that book? Do you know what skills I have,
when and how I regress, and all?”

“Ahh.”

The Librarian smirked and flipped open a page of [The Tale of the Ascending City].
“The kiss of time that you shared with Raviel Ivansia… The love and intimacy were
truly sweet! You resolved the situation in a completely unexpected way. It became
one of my favorite scenes.”

“……”

“Of course, the ‘trauma’ you experienced this time is also in this book. That is why I
allowed that person to enter the library though he does not have an epithet.”

The Librarian was referring to the director. Even now, the director was desperately
trying to explain to the Constellation Killer who he was and what had happened.
However, the Constellation Killer’s expressionless face did not change.

“You’ve worked hard, Death King,” said the Librarian.

“You made an attempt. You tried, and you did your best. But it’s already too late for
the Constellation Killer. It is a rule that the best ending is difficult to reach, no matter
how hard the characters try. This is the normal ending that is allowed for the
Constellation Killer.”

The Librarian was sad, but… He seemed even more happy.

“Except for the bad ending, it is an acceptable ending for the Constellation Killer to
reach. Though, sadly, the Constellation Killer won’t know it himself. Your efforts, the
orphanage director’s regrets—everything is futile. Ahh. The Constellation Killer will
remain as a weapon that slaughters Constellations. Forever…”

“No matter what move I make?”

“Yes. No matter what you do.”

The Librarian slowly began to put [The Tale of the Ascending City] in his breast
pocket. At that moment, I reached out and grabbed his wrist. The Librarian flinched.

“If you’re that confident…”

I looked straight down at the Librarian.

“The two of us. Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet…?”

“I can connect Kim Yul’s timeline with the Constellation Killer’s. Just as Kim Yul
became the Constellation Killer, I will make the Constellation Killer become Kim Yul.
Then, he’ll be able to receive the apology from the director.”

“Don’t be thoughtless. Did I not tell you? It’s simply impossible…”

“That’s why.”

I gripped the Librarian’s wrist tighter.

“Let’s make a bet.”

“……”

“You said he’s one of your favorite characters. The Constellation Killer. I’ll bring back
his memories by any means possible. You should help, too. Well, you don’t have to do
too much to help. Just as much help as you gave to send me to [The Epic of Lefanta
Aegim].”

“Hmm.”

The Constellation’s eyes narrowed.

“What if you fail even after I help? What will I gain?”

“You can do whatever you want with me for ten years.”

The Librarian faltered.

“You said you wanted to pluck my eyebrows and keep the hair? You can. I think you
wanted to cut my nails. Do that, too. I’ll let you do everything you want, so you can
play around to your heart’s content for ten years.”

The Librarian’s eyes shook.

“Anything, you say?”

“Yes.”
“Y-you’re saying something very scary. Death King, I have been very polite before you
so far. If I do whatever I want, I would do something magnificent and grand. Just look
at the bookmark maids…”

“The bet. Will you, or won’t you?”

The Librarian’s lips quivered slightly. For a moment, his eyes were stained with
greed. Like the Constellation Killer, I was another character he loved. The Librarian
looked at me like a snake would its prey.

“I must adhere to the principle of non-intervention.”

The Librarian gulped.

“But it’s a different story if the character asks first. That’s why I granted the butler’s
wish in [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy].”

“……”

“All right. Death King, I will assist you. However, if you fail to connect the
Constellation Killer with Kim Yul… I will take your ten years and enjoy it well.”

Okay.

Still holding the Librarian’s wrist, I walked toward the Constellation Killer and the
director.

Click. Click. Footsteps echoed in the area of the library where everyone else had left.

-Hey. Hey! Zombie. Are you crazy? Why are you making this bet?!

Bae Hu-ryeong was making a fuss.

-Are you betting ’cause you’re 100% sure you’ll win? Huh? You think that social recluse
will support you because you’re his fave or whatever, but that guy’s also a
Constellation. A Constellation. Not only that, but he’s a high-class perv! You don’t know
what’ll happen if you entrust your soul to that bastard!

‘It’s all right. I’m completely confident I’ll win.’

For a long time, I’d been thinking about why the Tower existed.

It wasn’t that something needed a reason to exist, but to me, at least, the Tower
seemed to have been built for a definite reason. Because of the Tower—thanks to the
Tower—those who had turned their backs to the outside world were able to start
their lives again.

To live life once more.

Some may call it rebirth, and others may call it reincarnation.

“Constellation Killer.”

For some, it meant reunion.

“Director.”

And thus, the halted times resumed.

“Film a teen movie with me.”

The Constellation Killer and the director stared at me.

The first to open his mouth was the Constellation Killer.

“What does that mean?”

“Constellation Killer. You cannot accept the director’s apology because you lost your
memory. You don’t even think you need it. But if you could accept it, you’d want to.”

“Mm.”

The Constellation Killer opened his diary and nodded.

“That is true. We have only talked for a short while, but the person kneeling before
me is very kind. He is principled. I judge that it is not principles with which he was
born but ones he acquired by suffering through life. If it is possible, I would like to
accept his apology.”

“Director.”
I looked at the director. He was still kneeling on the floor of the library.

“If you could apologize to Kim Yul-ssi…”

“Even my life.”

The director responded immediately, not waiting for me to finish my words.

“I would gladly give up my soul for it.”

“…Yes. Thank you.”

I grabbed the director’s hand and pulled him up. His hand was old and stout. I
remembered then that it had been a long time since I last held the director’s hands. I
remembered building a tower of sand on the playground with the director a very
long time ago.

‘Director, this story became possible thanks to you.’

Because he did not forget, I was able to be raised in an orphanage.

‘If even the director forgot Kim Yul, like everyone else did, this moment would never
have occurred.’

The life of Kim Yul wove the life of the director. The director’s life created my life.

Now, my life had reaped the life of the Constellation Killer, and the three of us
managed to find a place here.

The three of us were connected.

‘I’ll never… allow this to all be in vain.’

It may be a little late, but the time had come to give back to the one who had raised
me.

“Librarian.”

I grabbed the director’s hand tightly and turned to face the Constellation. The
Librarian smiled like he was sure he would win the bet.
“Speak, Death King! My beloved Hunter.”

“Me, the Constellation Killer, and the director. I’ll challenge the next stage with these
two.”

“Oho!”

The Librarian’s eyes twinkled like he was intrigued.

“That’s quite commendable. You intend to build relationships between you three
again, even if it’s a bit late? Oho. Well, that’s one possible ending. It’s kind of an open
ending! With something like, ‘Our story begins now… ’”

“No.”

I reached out my free hand and took a book from him.

“It’s not like that.”

[The Tale of the Ascending City].

A book in which I was the main character.

“I choose this book for the next stage.”

“Hmm…?”

The Librarian tilted his head back and forth, confused.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand. [The Tale of the Ascending City] is happening in real-
time already. There is no point in making it into a stage and challenging it.”

“You said it before. I was chosen as the protagonist of this book. So, everything I’ve
gone through has been recorded.”

“Yes, but…?”

“Send the three of us to one of the events I’ve gone through.”

“What event do you mean?”

“The trauma.”

“……”

Suddenly.

The smile dropped from the Librarian’s face.

I looked calmly at the Constellation in front of me.

“You just said it.”

『Of course, the ‘trauma’ you experienced this time is also in this book.』

“That trauma ended in tragedy. The world was destroyed. It may have only been an
illusion, but it was swallowed up by the Void, and all of the stories of every character
came to an end. Librarian, by your classifications, that trauma is indisputably an
[Apocalypse].”

“Ah…”

The Librarian opened his mouth.

He looked up at me with eyes filled with astonishment.

“Death King, you can’t possibly…”

“Send the three of us to the Shinseo Middle and High School Apocalypse. Of course,
the Constellation Killer is Kim Yul, and the director is the class president. I am the
bully.”

If he can’t accept an apology, if he can’t forgive because of his lost memory…

“And allow [immersion].”

…it’ll be enough to bring back those memories.

Like how the Heretic Questioner was immersed in the Lady of the Golden Silk and
became her character.
Like I was immersed in the butler and gained more and more of the butler’s
memories.

If the Constellation Killer becomes immersed as Kim Yul… then Kim Yul’s memories
will be grafted to the Constellation Killer.

The Constellation Killer will be able to remember his days as Kim Yul.

“Librarian. No, Hamustra.”

That was right. We were a little late.

But nothing was over yet.

“Open the book.”

The Librarian stopped breathing.

It was silent.

“Wh-what…”

There was nobody around. This place was near the forbidden books that the
Librarian had pointed out. Only three people, excluding the Librarian, were here, and
no eyes were watching us. So, the Librarian’s stammering sounded even louder.

“What a cruel thing to do.”

The Librarian covered his mouth with his sleeve.

“Death King. Do you recognize what you’re saying? The Constellation Killer died in
that school’s world. No, these words aren’t enough. That world made the
Constellation Killer die. It forsook him! But you want him to enter that world again to
regain [Kim Yul]’s memories. That’s so…”

The reason the Librarian couldn’t finish his words was not because he was
grumbling. It was because I had let go of the director’s hand to hold the Librarian’s
wrist. His sleeve slid down, revealing his bare face.

“Such a…”

The Librarian was grinning.

“Cruel thing to do…?”

“That’s right. It is cruel.”

I bluntly stared at the Librarian. He already seemed to be imagining the stage I

proposed as his cheeks burned red.
“But you’re biased. Do you know what’s really cruel? The people who lived in [The
Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon]. The common people. The humans who turned
into corpses, not knowing why, because a Constellation died at the hands of the
Constellation Killer. What they suffered through is true cruelty.”

“Ahem. Mm. Hmm. Well, that is a fair point…”

The Librarian’s eyes were half-closed.

“So, in the end, you plan to return all of the Constellation Killer’s memories?”

“If I can do such a thing, of course I will.”

“Will you make him apologize to the numerous victims in [The Chronicles of the
Heavenly Demon]? Do you know how many Constellations the Constellation Killer
has slaughtered so far? Will you make him apologize to everyone who lived in that
world and everyone who died?”

“Yes. At least for the people of the world I’ve become responsible for.”

“Death King…”

The Librarian gasped.

“You speak so prettily of the road to hell…”

The Constellation spoke as if I was a devil tempting him to ruin.

“It’s only natural that I have favorites. Ahh. I know how the path ended for a human
who chose a path like yours. This knowledge is infinitely regrettable. That person…
No. It is against my agreement to reveal this information.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt this enjoyable conversation, but…”

I let go of the Librarian’s wrist and uttered softly, “Open the book.”

The Librarian giggled.

“Happily.”

The Librarian opened [The Tale of the Ascending City].

“The trauma you dreamed of is nothing more than a fantasy. It’s an artificial,
temporary world. Even if you fix the ending, it cannot be incorporated into the true
history. To put it bluntly, it is a side story. Honestly, I have never enjoyed such a
delicacy, so I am uncertain how the stage will be handled.”

Black smoke billowed out of the book.

Yes, black smoke.

Up till now, white light was exuded whenever an Apocalypse was opened. This time
was different. The ominous, writhing smoke was as black as the tentacles of the Void
that had swallowed the nightmare.

“Huh? Hmm?”

Seeing it, the librarian was a little surprised. He seemed to have noticed something.

“This is the shade of Zrakua’s Asin… Ah, of course. Of course! I thought that even a
golden contract would not have enough power to materialize a world through
trauma. Indeed! Someone very important must have intervened. To favor Death King
to this extent—many people will be overcome with jealousy…”

Someone favored me?

Who?

[The Corner Librarian is trying to negotiate.]

While I was questioning things, the Librarian was muttering like he was speaking
with someone.

“Mhm. If so, the viewers for this stage will… That will be difficult. That world has
already become the master’s domain. Huh, true. Then, please leave a record in the
Apocalypse after the challenge is over, at least.”

The black smoke writhed.

“Good! As expected, you are a gentleman who understands reason. Our lovable
clown…”

The Librarian smiled.

He stroked the black smoke like it was a cute pet.

“Death King. Constellation Killer. Death King’s fosterer. I designate these three people
as new characters in [The Tale of the Ascending City – Side Story]. When you guys
open your eyes, the world of the [Side Story] will not have come to its unfortunate
discontinuation yet. But beware. Especially you, Death King.”

The Librarian twined a black tentacle around his long finger.

“You have the attention of a higher-up.”

“…What do you mean?”

“The Tower remembers everything. While I gain a glimpse into your past by reading
this book, the Tower remembers you in the truest sense. Of course, the Tower
remembers that you used a [shortcut] to get up to the 50th floor.”

“Because you broke the strict rules of the Tower, you must receive a penalty. The
Tower asks you, do you really, truly trust your fosterer and the Constellation Killer?”

The black smoke on the Librarian’s fingers twitched.

“Do you believe that the one who raised you will not crumble with guilt? The
Constellation Killer may be vengeful, and he may not even forgive your fosterer. It is
possible that no one can apologize or forgive. Those two. Do you really—”

The Librarian glanced at the Constellation Killer and the director.

“—believe you can reach a different ending than in the past?”

“……”

It was a foreboding question.

However, it was also a question with an answer.

『I’m sorry, Class President.』

I had memories of Kim Yul and the class president.

『I wasn’t trying to hurt someone like you.』

The Kim Yul I saw was a very strong person.

He was someone who took care of the animals even in the hell that was his life.

“There was someone. I didn’t think there’d be anyone.”

Much more than the Constellation Killer, who had killed countless Constellations…

『I’m glad there was even a single person who was worth my forgiveness.』

…the Kim Yul who met the director was stronger, as a human being.

He was unbelievably strong.

The director, too. The director survived in a world without Kim Yul.

“Yes.”

The two of them lost hope only because they met each other too late.

I believed in the breath and voices the two shared on the roof that day.

That was the truth.

Not all fantasies are illusions.

I opened my mouth.

“I believe in these two.”

The Librarian smiled.

“The poor beasts.”

The smoke wrapped around his fingers melted away. Swoosh! In an instant, the black
fog spread, devouring the bodies of the Constellation Killer, the director, and myself.

“Prove it, if it’s possible.”

Just before my sight went dark, I saw the Librarian’s grinning face before me.

“Though, you won’t be the one to prove it.”

The world turned black.

[You will receive a severe penalty.]

[You are being deployed to the world one year before the other challengers.]

[You are immersed deeply in character from the start.]

I heard a voice.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 95%.]

The nightmare began.

3.

‘Penalty.’

As soon as I opened my eyes.

‘The immersion rate is at 95%.’

I started to move.

‘I don’t have time to hesitate. There’s no time. The immersion rate will rise to 100%
soon. I have to finish all of the preparations before then.’

It would be easy to begrudge the cruel penalty.

It would be easy to get angry, asking why I was the only one who entered a year
earlier.
But how would that change anything?

I couldn’t waste my precious time with resentment and fury.

‘In the end, it’s about forcibly grasping the past that the Constellation Killer
discarded. ‘

So I must also be ready to receive unwanted memories.

Even if they are the nauseating memories of the perpetrator of the bullying.

‘It isn’t enough to return Kim Yul’s past to the Constellation Killer. Kim Yul has to feel
that he [wants to live again]. The director will do whatever he can for it, but—”

I made a harsh judgment.

‘The director alone isn’t enough. Yeah, unlike the future, the director of this time is
just a normal high school student. The actions of a single high schooler are too
limited.’

Before I get completely engulfed in the perpetrator’s ego.

‘Revenge.’

I was doing what I could.

‘So that the director and Kim Yul can take revenge on this scummy beast.’

I moved.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 95%.]

Last time, when I saw the end of the trauma,

I belatedly felt regret.

I grieved.

I could have done even a bit better, but I hadn’t.

Maybe I was too disconcerted. Though I was possessing the bully, I didn’t take
advantage of what I could do in the position as the perpetrator, what I could do
because I was the perpetrator.

‘I can get evidence of the violence.’

That was [something only I can do].

Collecting proof.

“Everyone, stand up.”

In the classroom.

“Bow to our teacher!”

The director seemed to have been the class president in his first year, too. Does the
student who gets the responsibility keep it over the years? His face was not that of
the Black Dragon Master but the young face of my orphanage director.

‘There’s only one year left now.’

Unlike me, the director has not possessed his old self.

‘Neither has Kim Yul.’

Kim Yul too was in the same class in his first year. Just like the last nightmare, Kim
Yul was exiled to the back row’s window seat. That spot should have been the best
place to sit, but it became a sort of forbidden zone because it was easy to be bullied
there in secret.

Plop.

Plop.

When the teacher turned his back to the blackboard, students lumped the eraser
crumbs into a dense ball. They cut off the sharp mechanical pencil lead into bits and
put it on that eraser ball. It looked like a porcupine curling in on itself. Covertly, the
other students threw the sharp rounds at Kim Yul.
“Pft!”

“Keke…”

Each time Kim Yul was hit by the eraser rounds, he flinched a little. He tried to ignore
it, but the pointy mechanical lead made his neck turn red. Young beasts enjoyed
acting on their malice in various ways.

‘One year.’

I held myself back.

‘This is something that happened decades ago.’

Society had been worse back then than when I was young. Much worse.

‘If we want to prove that there was bullying, we need physical evidence. If it was just
a single incidence of bullying, the punishment won’t be much. We have to prove that
it was done maliciously and deliberately over a long time.’

That was the only way to screw these beasts over.

You had to be as vicious as they were.

“Hey, guys. Look here.”

“Huh?”

Ka-click!

I took pictures of their violence. Cell phone photos in this time were blurry. I bought
a digital camera to take photos and a camcorder to shoot videos.

“Uh. Sunbae-nim.”

One of my underclassmen from middle school was worried.

In the previous trauma, he had looked like Demon Lord Wolyeong of the Four Demon
Lords.
“Is it okay to take pictures of this?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just gonna show a few people and delete it. Hey, I’m bored,
so introduce yourself.”

“What? Uh, my name is…”

I recorded every single day without skipping.

There was no end to the wrongdoings that I and the people around me did. Smoking
was just a cute prank. I not only harassed Kim Yul but also other students often,
including a middle school student.

‘Fucker.’

Was this normal?

Did it happen in other schools too?

If so, if this happened in every elementary, middle, and high school, every school in
this land, why was nobody stopping it? Why was everyone silent?

How could they remain silent?

“……”

Kim Yul looked up at me from the ground, having been pushed. We were behind the
school. My gang and I attacked Kim Yul while he was taking care of the rabbits and
chickens. We made fun of him for taking care of the animals, calling him a bumpkin.

“I was wondering what you smelled like! So it was shit.”

“Why are you raising chickens? To eat their eggs? Should I buy you an egg?”

“……”

Kim Yul didn’t say a word.

He just stared at me while I recorded with my camcorder.

His black eyes shone in the small screen of the camcorder.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 95%.]

One day.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 96%.]

Another.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 97%.]

The hellish records piled up.

‘It’s dangerous now.’

It was when 11 months had passed that I felt my limit.

‘I don’t know when my immersion rate will surpass 99%.’

My mind had already turned into sludge.

At some point, I stopped feeling anger even when I filmed Kim Yul being bullied. I felt
no guilt.

Only a subtle sense of ridicule and impulsive pleasure.

‘My part ends here.’

I picked up a cardboard box.

103 tapes.

311 videos.

30,790 photos.

My and Kim Yul’s cell phones, filled with text messages: 2.

All the evidence was stamped with the exact date and location. It was a record of
time that nobody could deny. There were no loopholes for lies such as [I feel sorry
for my past mistakes] or [I didn’t mean it like that].

‘Director.’

I put the box down in front of the house where the director’s family lived. When he
was young, the director lived in a townhouse. I rang the doorbell and hid.

The director came out.

“…Huh?”

The director, who hadn’t been possessed yet, looked around and tilted his head.

“Hello? Who…”

The director looked at the box and stopped.

On top of the box was a sheet of paper I had printed something on.

I’m sending you all of the evidence.

Please decide how to use it.

If you decide to take action, please do so after 30 days.

“……”

The director had been a cautious person since he was young. Instead of taking the
box inside right away, he brought out a knife to unseal the box. Then, he slowly
checked the contents.

“……”

The director’s face hardened.

He looked around once more.

And, remaining vigilant to the end, he quietly and carefully took the box inside.

Thud.

The door closed.

‘Ahh.’

I finally felt relieved.

‘I endured it.’

I could finally breathe for the first time since I fell into this world.

‘It’s done. I did it. I held on, and now, it’s done. I did it.’

On the way home.

I looked up at the dark night sky.

‘I finished everything I could do. Could I have done something else? Was there a
slightly better way? Will the days ahead really be worth more than the violence I
could have prevented in the past 11 months?’

[Currently, your immersion rate is 98%.]

‘I don’t know.’

I lay in bed.

‘I don’t know, but I didn’t give up because I didn’t know. That’s right. This must be
the correct way. If anybody can change the end of this world, it’s Kim Yul. It’s the
director. I’ll leave everything to those two. It isn’t my role… ’

I.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 99%.]

I put my hands together.

‘The villain just has to disappear.’

Like I was praying.

‘The role given to me in this world is to just wait.’

I closed my eyes.

‘I’ll wait. Kim Yul. Director. Please.’

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

★.

Therefore.

Let us talk about my defeat.

The position of the protagonist.

It is the first time I, who had only played the hero’s role, became a villain who had to
be knocked down.

I had never tolerated a defeat thus far.

Any defeat would have been disastrous.

If I had been defeated, all of Harlem would have been burned to the ground.[1] My
defeat meant the fall of the empire. My defeat meant the end of the land of rivers and
lakes. And it meant… My defeat meant…

Now, for the first time, my defeat wouldn’t lead to devastation.

This is the story of my downfall.

It is a story that would only end when ‘I’ am defeated.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

My consciousness.

But ‘I’ am strong.

‘I’ am a manipulative and shrewd person.

I don’t know how you all will remember your school days. Were you happy? Did you
enjoy yourself? The classroom, which was small enough to be painted with the
excuse of the ignorance of childhood. Are the scenes that occurred there colored
with a beautiful sepia filter?

It isn’t for ‘me.’

‘I’ am a little more subtle than you guys. I am cunning. Maybe there was nobody like
me in your school. Or maybe, you simply don’t remember. But ‘I’ was definitely here.

A person who framed his classmate.

A person who has plotted and manipulated evidence to slander someone.

A person who intimidated classmates to keep them quiet.

If you share these memories, ‘you’ must be my colleague. ‘You,’ at least, will fathom
my existence, and if I’m lucky, you’ll even understand.

That’s right. While the other students were defenselessly playing in their childhood,
their so-called [school days], ‘we’ easily hunted those foolish minnows.

Our hunting was furtive.

That’s why people don’t remember.

Most people understand our skillfully hidden hunts the wrong way. Students are too
[immature]; they’re not smart enough for high-level hunting.

Not smart enough? Who? ‘Us’? What a ridiculous delusion.

They can’t even remember what happened under their very noses.

I’ll first confess to those people the secret method to hunting.

This is a story that happened before ‘I’ became possessed.

“There are two ways a student’s rank is decided at school. First, there are the
students who study well. But you have to work hard to get good grades. Students
hate working hard more than anything.”

On the other hand…

“It is easy to ignore or laugh at others.”

It took no effort.

“Since mocking someone is effortless, any student can join in. This is the crucial
difference between [study] and [ridicule]. What’s the difference? Just a matter of
how many students can easily participate.”

You had to study for 10 minutes to raise your score by 1 on an exam, but it took less
than 10 seconds to tease someone.

“It’s much more fun to be [better at making fun of others] than it is to be [better at
studying]. It’s much easier. Accordingly, it is much more powerful. Unlike studying,
anyone can handily jump into the game. That is why [ridicule] is standard at all
schools.”

Here are the mechanics of bullying.

“First, the victim has to be conspicuous.”

Are they noticeably richer than the other kids? Or noticeably poorer? Do they have a
face that anyone would say is weird? Does it smell strange when they pass by? Is
their speech severely incoherent? Are they overly sincere? All of that is good. The
particulars don’t matter.

Ridiculing is powerful because it’s easy.

The victim of the ridicule must be easy to make fun of.

“Kim Yul.”

There is a good reason why Kim Yul was selected as the prey of the hunt.

“He’s poor.”
Obviously so.

“He’s distinctively poor. There’s a bad smell when he walks around.”

One’s poverty could not be covered up with the monotone school uniforms. The
awful thing about poverty is that it shows. Everyone could tell that Kim Yul was poor.
Anyone who got close knew that he smelled bad.

He is easy for anyone to ridicule.

“Hey.”

So it is easy to begin.

“It might be a bit harsh to say this, but when you go near that guy…”

“Oh, yeah. He did smell a little. Poor guy…”

Level 1.

Go lightly at first.

‘You’ probably know, too, that you shouldn’t reveal your hand at the beginning. That
would be dumb.

“Did he enter on a financial aid?”

“I’ve known Kim Yul since middle school, and even then…”

Idle talk.

It’s enough to use the prey as a simple topic in conversation.

“Should I tell you guys a secret? Actually…”

Gradually increase the number of students who participate in the small talk.

“He lives there? Wow. That’s a literal dump.”

“I heard his dad is the trash collector.”

“Huh. Could that be the same guy who picks up the waste at our house?”

“Hey. No way…”

Like this, gradually brighten the spotlight on him.

The initiator, here, must be careful to never reveal his malice. Not yet! ‘You’ know it,
too. It isn’t time for that yet.

Look.

‘Isn’t Kim Yul kind of annoying?’

Instead of saying that, say:

“Oh, wow. It’s true. The trash collector for our house is Kim Yul’s dad!”

This is much smarter.

“What, really?”

Of course, it’s a lie.

“How did you find out?”

“I was also skeptical at first. But on Sunday, the man came to pick up the trash, so I
asked, [Are you Kim Yul’s father? I’m his school friend]. He acted a little
embarrassed, but then he asked me to take care of his son.”

“Dude…”

“Really?”

Lies are the bases of ‘our’ accomplishments.

Even as they doubted me, my classmates looked at me with twinkling eyes. Those
gazes, that interest, are the proof of your success. You’ve succeeded in drawing
people to the subject of [Kim Yul].

“Kim Yul! By any chance, does your dad—”

“Hey, hey. Why are you asking that? Shut up.”

“Why not? Did you lie?”

“No, but anyway. Sorry, Kim Yul. It’s nothing.”

“……”

Level 2.

The observation phase.

Malice snowballs well enough on its own from here.

“Pft.”

There isn’t anyone in the world who does not make mistakes. Students make plenty
of them. Now that the class is paying attention to Kim Yul’s every move, they view his
mistakes like they are looking through a magnifying glass.

“Haha…”

Then, they laugh.

He missed the volleyball in gym class and had to run a little farther.

He fell asleep in fourth period and didn’t wake up even during lunch.

He stuttered a little when the teacher asked him a question.

“Ha…”

It doesn’t matter how trivial the mistake was.

Easy and conspicuous.

Always remember the mechanics of [ridicule].

“You know, he always goes behind the school for lunch. That’s…”
“Is he feeding the chickens? Seriously?”

“Go to the window and look. I’m serious.”

Something that anyone can see easily.

Something that anyone can partake in easily.

“Kim Yul! Look up here!”

“What, he’s really looking here.”

“Is he trying to get the chickens for free once they’re grown?”

“Eww.”

Eventually, a game that anyone can join in.

‘You’ probably know, too, that most bullying ends here.

Up to this point, it can happen naturally. There doesn’t need to be a clear ringleader.
There doesn’t have to be any accomplices. You can get up to [Level 2] with just
sympathizers.

Level 2 bullying corresponds to the following:

Mild violence once every two weeks. Group assault once every three months. A
public beating once every six months. One small scar that cannot be removed on the
body. If it’s short, one semester. If it’s long, three years. Sometimes a few students
lead the violence, but there isn’t a long-term culprit…

But as ‘you’ probably know.

“Hey.”

‘We’ do not stop there.

“Let’s test it.”

We take one step further.

“What?”

“Look. I bought these shoes, so they’re brand new.”

If you have successfully brought others to this point, ‘you’ must certainly be good at
lying. Now, you had to perform a small magic trick for your classmates.

“I’ll draw some stars on the sole of the shoes with a marker. See? You guys saw it,
right?”

“Yeah. So what?”

“I’m going to throw it away with trash in front of my house.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Idiot. Kim Yul’s dad is the waste collector for my house.”

Of course, it’s a lie. The trash collector for your house is not Kim Yul’s father, actually.
But that doesn’t matter. You know what paths Kim Yul’s father usually took.

“Will that mister give Kim Yul a present if he sees new shoes being thrown out? Why
wouldn’t he? So, look. If Kim Yul’s father really is the trash man, then Kim Yul will
wear these shoes tomorrow.”

“Uh…”

“I guess?”

“I bet that Kim Yul will come to school wearing these shoes tomorrow.”

Now.

You’ve privately prepared a second pair of shoes.

“There we go. I’ll leave it here. You all saw, right? I won’t ever touch it.”

One pair, you threw out with the trash at your house in front of your friends.

“Okay.”
The other pair had already been placed on the route Kim Yul’s father walked the day
before.

Needless to say, both pairs have a ★ on the soles.

You want to show your friends some magic. So, you pretend to draw the ★ in front of
them. If you’re cautious enough, you can also establish a perfect alibi by hanging out
with your friends for the rest of the day.

“Hey, check the shoes!”

It is lunchtime on the following day. We are in the classroom.

“What if someone catches us?”

“Just look quickly!”

“We’re just sneaking a peak. It doesn’t matter…”

While Kim Yul is gone, having headed down to the cafeteria, we gather. Kim Yul’s
desk. There is a bag holding the shoes hung on the hook.

The students’ eyes sparkle. Giggling to show that [it’s only a joke], we lift up Kim
Yul’s shoe bag. Then, we take out shoes that are cleaner than normal.

“Wow.”

Naturally.

“I-it’s real!”

A ★ is drawn on the bottom of the shoes that Kim Yul brought.

“Oh, shit. Then, Kim Yul’s wearing what you threw out…”

“You didn’t plan this with Kim Yul, did you?”

“‘Course not. He’s been with us all day yesterday and today.”

“Then, it’s actually…”

The students look at you. Those eyes have just witnessed a fascinating magic trick. At
this point, you can choose from a number of lines. It depends on your personality
and preferences. ‘Didn’t I tell you I was right?’ is one of the options. Or, ‘That’s kind of
unpleasant.’ You can slowly reveal your ill will.

“Wow.”

But I recommend this line.

“So it’s true…”

Bury yourself in your surroundings.

“I mean, that old man could have lied that he’s Kim Yul’s dad.”

Feign ignorance.

“So I wasn’t 100% sure, either.”

Laugh like you don’t get it. Check the shoes again, acting like you’re seeing something
unbelievable. Then, refine your tone like you’ve realized some new truth.

“But wow. To think it was real…”

And take back one step.

“Ah, whatever. I don’t know. I’m calling off the bet. I don’t need it. You guys, just
pretend you don’t know. This is something between just us. Let’s call it quits.
Anyway, I don’t know.”

Inexperienced leaders always try to do everything themselves. As ‘you’ know, this is

stupid and impatient. You feel impatient because you know that the evidence and
magic you concocted is sloppy.

That’s why you have to perform the magic perfectly from the beginning.

“What’s happening?”

Just in time.
The other students return to the classroom one by one from lunch.

“Hey, Kim Yul is actually…”

“Huh? Tell me, tell me!”

Of course, you deliberately set lunchtime as the setting for your magic show. You
can’t waste your magic during a mere break.

At lunchtime, the class returns to the room in twos and threes. There is enough time.
It’s perfect for whispering about and spreading the ‘event’ that just happened.

“No way.”

They look at Kim Yul’s shoes.

“That’s crazy. It’s real?”

‘As if.’

You sit in the back row, pretending to be asleep.

You’re cautious.

You can never spread the story yourself. You can’t get ahead of yourself. You have the
virtue of a lion, which does not monopolize its hunt and shares its prey with its
pride.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Come over here.”

“What about Kim Yul’s shoes?”

Let others have the fun of spreading rumors. Plant the illusion that they ‘discovered’
the ‘truth’ themselves. Allow them to gorge themselves on the bloody chunk of meat.

“Ugh. Is he picking up other things and using them, too?”

Trust in humanity’s malice.

“Yeah. Keep it quiet, but Kim Yul’s dad is actually the trash collector. We went to the
same middle school. We once had to talk about our parents’ jobs…”

Trust in the power of ridicule.

“That’s pretty nasty…”

Trust in the magic of ★.

“Wow. Then, is everything he owns recycled?”

“It’s recycled, I tell you.”

“Pfft.”

★.

“I feel sorry for him, but he’s disgusting. Really.”

“Oh, gross. I can smell his feet. Weren’t these shoes supposed to be new?”

★.

“Hey, the recycling man is here. Hide it.”

★.

“Kim Yul. Did you come back from feeding the chickens?”

“Your shoes look pretty clean today!”

“Heh.”

★.

“……?”

After school.

You all form a pack and head down to the front gate to go after Kim Yul. Kim Yul tilts
his head because he doesn’t know the reason, but he doesn’t care.

The moment Kim Yul takes his shoes out from the bag and changes—

“Pfft!”

★ is complete.

“Pft, haha…”

“Hey, Kim Yul! That over there…”

“Those are the shoes Eunseo threw away at his house yesterday!”

“Look at the soles!”

The young beasts are immersed in the pleasure of exposing the ‘truth’ that Kim Yul
doesn’t know. He is a dirty child. It’s pointless even if he denies it. We have ‘evidence.’

“……”

The truth is that Kim Yul’s father found a new pair of shoes and gave them to his son.
The truth is, Kim Yul’s father picked up the shoes, carefully examined them to see
how new they were, and thought it was all right, so he gave them to his son. The
truth is, Kim Yul knew everything, but he silently received the gift from his father. His
father’s concern, his silent expression, and Kim Yul’s muted eyes are the truth.

But beasts didn’t have the imagination to think of that.

They didn’t even try.

“……”

Because ridicule is much easier.

With the proof you fabricated, the beasts easily feasted upon ★.

“Do you have that much free time?” Kim Yul said expressionlessly. “Is it fun?”

He is composed.
“If you’re bored, do your own thing. Stop bothering others.”

Then, he turns his back and leaves.

“Uh…”

“……”

The students remain silent for a moment.

If someone says anything, like ‘Hey, this isn’t funny. Let’s stop,” things may end.
‘We’re in high school. Why are we bullying people?’ You have to drive away that
atmosphere. As ‘you’ know, it takes courage to say something like that.

“What? Why’s he acting like that?”

“We were just joking…”

When nobody is saying what they should.

“Bastard.”

“Even though he’s walking around wearing trash.”

“I didn’t know he was that kind of guy…”

Level 3.

Violence against the scapegoat is allowed.

“Hey, someone buy indoor shoes and throw them away. Let’s see if he’ll wear those,
too.”

I don’t know how you all will remember your school days.

“He leaves his bookbag behind at lunch. Put this pencil case in there while he’s gone.”

“You’re a really bad guy.”

“Whatever.”
Were you happy? Did you enjoy yourself?

“Huh? Isn’t that the pencil case I threw out yesterday?”

“What? Kim Yul, were you recycling again?”

“Pft.”

The classroom, which was small enough to be painted with the excuse of the
ignorance of childhood. Are the scenes that occurred there covered with a beautiful
sepia filter?

“Ugh. The milk spoiled…”

“Hide it under his desk.”

“Quick! Class is gonna start!”

It isn’t for me.

“…Where is the strange smell coming from?”

“You smell it too?”

“Yeah. It kept stinking all through math class.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll look for it. Sniff, sniff.”

“I think it’s coming from the back row.”

I am a little more subtle than you guys.

I am cunning.

“Yul, why do you bother washing the rags? A rag’s a rag no matter how much you
wash it.”

“How sad. Maybe he sympathizes with the rag…”

Maybe there was nobody like me in your school.

Or maybe, you simply don’t remember.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

But I am definitely here.

“……”

In this city.

In this school.

I am sitting in this classroom, holding a mechanical pencil.

“Class Pres, what are you looking at?”

The class president looks at me with strange eyes.

“…Gongja.”

“Huh?”

“……”

The class president trembled. It was very slight. He seemed to be disgusted with
something, or maybe he was lamenting something. But his weird attitude soon lifted.

The class president cleared his throat and said, “No. It’s nothing. I just couldn’t
remember your name all of a sudden. What was it, again?”

“What? Class Pres, do you have dementia this young? I’m Hwang Eunseo.”

“Ah. That’s right,” the class president murmured, saying, “That’s the name.”

That kid usually didn’t interact with our group.

“I heard your girlfriend is running for student council.”

“Yeah. Why?”
“I think I will, too. Please tell her I look forward to working with her.”

“What? You wanna be the student council president? But all you ever do is study,
Class Pres.”

“I need recommendations to enter Seoul National University. They say it’s easy if you
become the student council president.”

Is that so? Seems like it.

It’s kind of funny how he wants to join the student council to go to Seoul National
University. Well, it’s the class president. He’s an honest guy. I decide to let it pass.

“Cool. Good luck, Class Pres. I’m voting for my girlfriend, but anyway, fight on.”

The class president nods his head with a blank face.

“All right. Thanks.”

I am strong.

I am a manipulative and shrewd person.

Therefore.

“—Even if you didn’t say it, I’m going to try my best.”

Let us talk about my defeat.

1.

One day.

“You’ve been making fewer videos recently,” said my girlfriend.

“Huh?”

“Videos of Kim Yul. You used to turn one in at least once a week, no matter how late
it was. Are you doing it late because you’re working on a masterpiece? There’s quite
a bunch of kids waiting for the next episode for our meeting. The reaction for the last
scene with cutting his nails was good.”

My girlfriend’s expression was flat. I listened to her words and frowned for a
moment.

‘Videos. Right. I used to film every time we bullied Kim Yul with a camcorder.’

But.

Why did I do that?

『I’ll wait. Kim Yul. Director.』

Why did I…?

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

……

Ah. That’s right. I remembered.

It was this.

‘I filmed it so the kids have something to see.’

The children of the local community leaders gathered at Shinseo Middle and High
School.[1] The school was prestigious. The children of these highbrow and
prestigious families had to behave properly, which meant there was a lot of stress on
them.

Some of the kids relieved stress by taking part in the bullying, but that was
dangerous. Most kids didn’t want to take that risk. It was for the latter that I
provided the [Kim Yul Videos].

It was pretty serious.

[Producer-nim, I want a concept where you cut his nails with scissors!] -J

[Please make him grow his hair and tie it with a yellow rubber band.] -7

[The last video only focused on hitting him a bunch. It wasn’t that good…] -11

This school had a student council suggestion box. It was a box that students used
when they wanted to send a note or letter directly to the student council, but I got
my girlfriend to use it for a slightly different purpose.

A [Kim Yul request box], so to speak.

Even the teachers didn’t touch the student council suggestion box. No one gave it a
second look. It didn’t matter if someone got caught putting a note in the box. Since
my girlfriend had been on the student council since her first year, she could check
the [request box] regularly.

It wasn’t some revolutionary idea, but…

‘I think I might be a little smart.’

It was a huge hit.

The precious sons and daughters of important houses were fascinated by the ability
to participate in the bullying at no risk. The request box even guaranteed anonymity.
They signed their requests with the initials of playing cards, such as A, K, Q, and J.

[Please slap his cheek and nothing else for 20 minutes.] -Q

Q was my girlfriend’s initial.

[His scruffy clothes are nice, but I want to see him wearing other clothes too!] -7

7 was the president of the broadcasting club.

[Producer-nim. I greatly enjoyed the last video. It was a brilliant idea to make Kim
Yul speak politely. From my point of view, Kim Yul is popular because of his strong
pride. So, unlike other patrons who enjoy physical humiliation, I am certain that a
mental approach would be ideal. Producer-nim, The body should always be a symbol
for the mental…] -2

This nutjob who wrote a long review each time was a kid who played in the middle
school band. He was insane. Since he was in the second grade of middle school, he
used the number 2.

Of course, even as a crazy middle school kid, his family owned a powerful regional
corporation. This meant he was a valuable patron.

Only such guests populated the so-called [Trump Card Group].

Secret fulfillment of their sadism. Vicarious satisfaction.

I maintained my current status by providing entertainment to my clients. Since I

started filming my works, more and more ‘friends’ began taking care of me before I
realized it. Yup, that was how I met my girlfriend.

There was no way I’d be able to date a rich girl otherwise, right?

It wasn’t as if my mom or dad won any awards since I was in middle school. I
couldn’t pretend to be a singer like my big bro with his pretty face.

For me to climb the pyramid, I had to provide a tribute to those of high rank.
“Sorry.”

I apologized for my tribute being late. I also questioned why I hadn’t been shooting
Kim Yul videos these days. There hadn’t been any reason to stop. But immediately, I
thought of a plausible reason. I was good at being quick-witted.

“You’re a candidate to be the student council president. I’m trying to hold back for
the election.”

“What? You were thinking of me?”

“I want to be careful. People might talk…”

“So our producer does have a cute side.”

Her eyes slanted upwards, and she stroked my head.

“I like smart puppies.”

She was clearly treating me like a dog, but I didn’t care. Rather, I played into it.

“Woof. Woof! Bark bark!”

“Pfft.”

Finally, my girlfriend laughed. I was the only person in this school who could make
my girlfriend smile. I bent my legs like a dog and jumped around.

“Did you know that you’re a really fun guy, Hwang Eunseo?”

A fun guy. That one word proved my worth.

A fun guy to be with. A guy who always made you laugh. A popular guy among the
popular kids who could control the mood.

After all, dating based on someone’s face like my older brother had its limits. Real
relationships depend on how well you can flap your lips…

『I was waiting, Gongja.』

……

I furrowed my brows.

What was that?

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

My mind went blank again for a moment.

Was I imagining it? I seemed to lose track of my thoughts more often recently.

“Anyway,” I said, swallowing my spit. “I’m going to take a break from filming for a
while. I can’t just push on and cause trouble. If any of our friends complain, please
tell them that I’m worried Kim Yul will stop coming to school if we keep bullying him,
so I’m adjusting the pace…”

It was then.

-The broadcasting club announces…

A voice came from the school’s speakers. It was a familiar voice, the voice of the
number 7 member of the Trump Card Group—the broadcasting club president. But
did his voice have less energy than usual? Somehow, it made me uneasy.

-Hwang Eunseo, from Grade 2, Class 5. Grade 2, Class 5 Hwang Eunseo, please come to
the broadcasting room immediately. Once again, Hwang Eunseo from Grade 2, Class 5,
please come to the broadcasting room immediately… That is all.

Then, the speaker turned off.

My girlfriend looked at me.

“Did something happen?”

I made a face showing I didn’t know either.

“I don’t think I did anything to be called to the broadcasting room…? Maybe the
teachers’ room.”
“Since it’s the broadcasting club’s president, he might just be calling you for personal
reasons. Like asking why there haven’t been new videos.”

My girlfriend muttered that the guy was a little crazy.

“Go. I’ll go home by myself.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

I thought over it a little, then pressed my lips to my girlfriend’s cheek.

I flirted with her quite well today. I also played up the lie that I cared for my
girlfriend. She would probably allow a kiss on the cheek. More than anything, I had
to prove to my girlfriend and the people around her that we were a couple.

My girlfriend huffed like she could see the calculations in my head.

“Cute.”

Hooray. The princess laughed again.

“I’m going. I’ll text you what it’s about later.”

That was why.

I was much smarter than the other students.

As I walked down the hallway, I calculated my score for today. Did I make any
mistakes with people? Did I say anything weirdly? Did I make everyone laugh a good
amount, and did I laugh a proper amount as well?

The results are…

‘Today has been a perfect day.’

Full points.

‘As expected of me.’

I was talented. My talents weren’t just bullying someone but also turning that
bullying into a game. The upper-crust kids who’d learned this fun would continue to
look for me even after college. They might even invite me to their league.

‘Though, it doesn’t matter if I don’t get invited.’

They would remember pulling some pranks with me in school. My girlfriend would
probably dump me once we entered college, but she would remember me as the ex
who amused her. Hwang Eunseo would remain as a memory of their youth that
would always make them smile. That alone was a huge boon.

Unlike the wishy-washy students, I had a roadmap for my life.

‘First, I’ll become a film director.’

I didn’t have to be very successful. The point was to make a few independent films,
build my career somewhat, and network. Then, it’d become what I was known for.
No one hated a troubled young director.

‘After that?’

I would connect rookie actors and actresses to the upper class.[2] I’d become a sort
of party designer, satisfying the rich young masters and ladies like I was doing now.
Since my older brother worked in entertainment, I could stretch there too.

‘Good.’

A golden life.

I was different from the nerds who just studied without purpose and thought about
their careers only after getting into college.

I was on a different level.

“I’m coming in.”

Scrape—

I opened the door to the broadcasting room.

But as soon as I entered, I paused.

“S-stop.”

“……”

Only the broadcasting club president was in the room. That wasn’t weird. The fact
that the room had soundproof walls and thick curtains? That wasn’t weird either.

“Hwa-Hwang Eunseo.”

But the broadcasting club president was holding a camcorder and filming me, and
that was unusual.

“Close the door.”

“……”

“Hurry. Close the door. If you don’t, th-there will be big trouble.”

The broadcasting club president was trembling like a cornered rat. I didn’t know
why he was like that, but nothing good can come from agitating someone in that
state. I quietly closed the door.

“Draw the curtains.”

I drew the curtains.

“N-now, look at me.”

I looked.

“Grade 2, Class 5, Hwang Eunseo. Y-you threatened me… You forced me to bully Kim
Yul from Grade 2, Class 5. Right? S-say that it’s right.”

“…Is this some kind of hidden camera show?”

“Shut up and say yes!”

The broadcasting club president was seriously trembling. An ominous premonition

came over me. Normally, I would have joked about how I could shut up while saying
yes, but I couldn’t because I was surprised.
“I don’t get it. Come on, let’s talk this over.”

“Y-you approached me first. I said I didn’t want to… You coaxed me, saying that
there’s something interesting and that I should see it at least once. Right? That’s
what happened. So it’s all your fault!”

This wasn’t normal.

“What are you talking about? You came to me after hearing rumors about the videos
at the meetings. You said to let you in the group since you could connect me to the
middle school kids, so why are you now…”

“No! That isn’t it!”

His face turned pale.

“It’s your wrongdoing. It’s your fault, Hwang Eunseo. You said we’d never be caught.
You promised anonymity. That you’d take responsibility. B-but why is there a video
with me in it?!”

“What? Seriously, what are you talking about…?”

“I only appeared once!”

Appearance.

Some guests at the meetings occasionally wanted to make a guest appearance in the
videos. They wanted to enjoy the act in real time instead of on tape. If I remembered
correctly, the broadcasting club president only did so once.

“Hold on. Are you doing this because you’re scared the video will be leaked? Don’t
worry about it. I throw away the video after everyone sees it…”

“Don’t lie!!”

The broadcasting club president’s face crumpled angrily.

“Asshole. You crazy bastard. I-I shouldn’t have believed a bastard like you. Say it now.
Say that you tricked me into it! Otherwise, I’ll tell everyone what you’ve done!”
“……”

“Say it! I have to record it and send it!”

He was nuts.

I felt that I shouldn’t stay here any longer.

“Sorry, but I won’t admit to something I didn’t even do. It goes against my conscience.
I definitely only showed you because you asked me. I threw away the video itself, but
I have all the notes you put in the suggestion box. I don’t know why you’re doing this,
but I’ll talk to you later when you cool down.”

I turned my back to him.

The broadcasting club president groaned.

“S-stand right there! Don’t go. Don’t go, Hwang Eunseo! I-if you go out, you’re done
for! Really! I’ll end your life by telling everyone! Don’t you understand?! Hey, Hwang
Eunseo! Bastard! You’re done for! Your life is over! Just watch, I’ll tell my parents, and
your life…!!”

Scrape.

The door closed, cutting off the broadcasting club president’s voice. Absorbed by the
soundproof wall and covered by the curtains, his shouts were incoherent vibrations.
Nobody was around in the second floor corridor.

“Fuck. What the hell?”

I cursed.

“He wouldn’t be shaking like that for no reason.”

Maybe the video really was leaked. There was no guarantee that none of my
customers made a copy to keep. Someone may have used it to blackmail the
broadcasting club president.

“Dammit.”
I heard that managing customers was more difficult than getting them. Those words
were right. I took out my cell phone and dialed the ‘customers’ one by one.

Ring—

The connecting sound was long. After a while, it ended because the other person
didn’t pick up.

“What?”

I stopped myself from yelling and called up the next customer. I wanted to ask if they
knew anything about the broadcasting club president making a fuss.

Ring—

That customer didn’t answer the phone either. Well, school just ended. They might
not have picked up because they were on their way home. I controlled myself and
called the next customer.

Ring—

Still.

The next customer didn’t answer my call either.

“……”

Next customer, too.

“……”

A total of 12 people other than my girlfriend.

None of the customers in the Trump Card Group answered my calls.

‘What is this?’

I was overcome by an ominous feeling.

It was like a hand was gripping my neck.

‘Just what is happening?’

I didn’t think as I called up a classmate who wasn’t one of the customers. If I was the
producer, this friend was my secretary. He was in charge of delivering and collecting
the videos to and from the customers for me.

Ring—

He didn’t answer my phone either.

“……”

I realized then.

Someone was trying to hunt me.

[1]: I forget if I left a note about this before, but the hanja for Shinseo is 神模, or God
+ Pattern/Model. It sorta gives off a holier-than-thou feeling.

[2]: There’s an implication that he’s going to pimp out the actors/actresses.
‘Who is it?’

I couldn’t understand.

‘Who is stirring things up on Kim Yul’s behalf?!’

Kim Yul had no close family. He pretty much had none at all. Kim Yul’s bullying
started before he made friends, so there was no one who would help him. I didn’t
choose Kim Yul as a scapegoat for nothing!

‘I need to talk to Kim Yul. He has to know something. Whatever it is.’

I rushed to the back of the school. Kim Yul would be taking care of the animals in the
school farm now. I knew every hour of Kim Yul’s schedule. As expected, I saw Kim
Yul’s back as he fed the chickens.

‘That’s right. This is where you should be.’

He was a guy who barely fed his self-esteem by feeding animals that were weaker
than him. That was how I understood Kim Yul’s obsession with the farm. In the end,
humans were also beasts, and weaker beasts served the strong.

[Your immersion rate is currently 100%.]

The school was the same as the farm. It was a slightly larger cage, and in this place, I
was a stronger beast than Kim Yul.

“Hey! Kim Yul!” I growled. “What did you do?!”

Kim Yul did not turn around. He didn’t even respond. He continued to pass out the
animal feed like he didn’t hear my voice.
‘Ha. Is he ignoring me now?’

Unbelievable. I walked over and grabbed Kim Yul’s shoulder roughly.

“Hey, asshole. When someone says your name, you have to…!”

When Kim Yul looked back at me, something fell out. They were earphones. He had
been wearing earphones. Classical music bellowed from the earphones that fell to
his shoulders.

“……”

Our eyes met.

I was stunned.

Tears welled up in Kim Yul’s black eyes.

“What…”

For a moment, I was speechless.

I don’t know why I was speechless, either. Was it because this was the first time I was
seeing Kim Yul cry? Maybe. Kim Yul had never shed any tears, no matter how much
he was bullied. That aspect of him excited the customers’ sadism further.

But it wasn’t just for that reason.

‘Who is it?’

It felt unfamiliar.

‘Who is this bastard?’

Kim Yul’s eyes seemed too unfamiliar. His gaze was distant, looking past me, not at
me. Kim Yul silently cried as I held his shoulder. Even his tears seemed to fall
somewhere other than the ground.
“You…”

“It’s beautiful.”

Kim Yul opened his mouth.

“What?”

“The song. The music I’m listening to. A deaf man composed this music.”

Da da da dum—[1]

Sound spilled from the earphones. It was a rhythm I’d heard a lot before. But I was
just wondering how this panhandler got the MP3.

“I am thinking of the humiliation and curses this deaf man must have suffered in his
life. Wouldn’t people have insulted him by calling him a cripple? Wouldn’t they have
jeered and laughed at him?”

“What are you yammering about, you…?”

“It’s sad. Scars are eternal. A person from hundreds of years ago had suffered,
bearing insults in his life. It must have been the same a thousand years ago. It will be
the same in a thousand years.”

Had this bastard gone crazy?

“Nothing in the world is beautiful in itself. Only those who are wounded see beauty.
Only those whose lives have been ruined feel grateful to see another’s life that has
not yet been ruined. Tears are shed by those who endure even to the point of ruin.”

Kim Yul’s gaze was affixed on the air.

“If there is someone who believes the whole world is beautiful, he must certainly
have had his whole world ruined. Only those who live in hell would praise the world.
I think that this deaf man’s cursed life resulted in his song.”

“Where did you pick up such retarded thoughts… Hey, you. What did you do?”

I grabbed Kim Yul by his collar. Squeeze! Kim Yul dropped the feed bag as I shook
him. Yellow feed spilled from the bag that fell to the ground.

“What did you do to my customers, you recycling son of a bitch?!”

“……”

Finally, Kim Yul looked at me.

“I did nothing, Death King.”

“Death… What?”

“I’m only looking at what I had discarded.”

Kim Yul arrogantly grabbed my wrist. Dumbfounded, I tried to shake off his grip.

I couldn’t even budge.

‘Huh?’

Then, Kim Yul simply pulled my hand off his collar.

This all happened in an instant.

Confused, I reached out my hand again, but whack! Kim Yul slapped away my wrist.
The path twisted. My hand veered off-course and whipped through the air without
my control. In the blink of an eye, my hand collided with nothing but air.

“…Huh?”

I stared blankly at Kim Yul.

“It’s a shame.”

Kim Yul nonchalantly picked up the feed bag.

“[Kim Yul] is angry. What Kim Yul wants is not physical violence but a revenge far
greater, to be exact. And [I]… I think I want to fulfill Kim Yul’s desire.”

“Y-you. What have you done? What the fuck are you doing?!”
“Kim Yul wants you to go through everything he has gone through. Revenge means
throwing your opponent into the depths of hell that you have fallen into. That is what
[Kim Yul] thinks.”

Kim Yul.

No.

“[I] agree with that opinion.”

A stranger was looking at me.

“Wait, Kim Yul’s killer. The day is ending, and the path is long. It’s so long. I will see
you again after that.”

Kim Yul leisurely walked away, still holding the feed bag.

“Hey! Hey! Stand right there! Don’t…!”

That was when my pants pocket buzzed. My cell phone received a text. One of my
customers must have seen the missed call and responded. Glancing toward Kim Yul, I
quickly checked my phone.

Never contact me again.

If you do, I’ll kill you.

I was floored. Confused, I called the customer who sent the text. But even after
multiple calls, there was no answer.

My body trembled.

‘What the hell… ’

The situation did not change the following day.

‘What is going on?’

Rather, it became worse.

“E-Eunseo.”

As I entered the classroom, one of my friends approached me hesitantly. He was

someone who had appeared in the [Kim Yul game] dozens of times. He was quite
popular with customers because he was good at hitting people. This friend secretly
enjoyed this, absorbed in his popularity.

“What?”

“Th-there’s a note I was asked to deliver to you.”

My friend seemed really terrified.

“That bad?”

“Here… S-sorry.”

He put the note on my desk and stepped back like he was fleeing. I furrowed my
brows and unfolded the note.

Some handwritten words were on the page.

[Hwang Eunseo lives in a dump. The indoor shoes and the school uniforms are all
recyclable. The only trash that can’t be recycled is Hwang Eunseo.]

“……”

The only reason I didn’t react right away was because it was too ridiculous.

“Ha.”

I faked a laugh and looked at my friend.

“What is this? A joke?”

Flinch. He cowered behind the other students.

I was already stressed all night because my customers were acting like shit, but with
this so-called friend acting like this too, I was seething with rage.

“Did Recycling put you up to this? Hey. Hey. Look at me. Fucking look at me. There
are things that you can’t do even as a friend. Yeah? Did Kim Yul make you give me
this note?”

The friend couldn’t say anything. He was still wearing the terrified expression on his
face. When I was about to confront him because of the absurdity, another classmate
of ours approached my desk.

“Hwang Eunseo…”

“What?”

“Sorry. Take this.”

The classmate threw down another note at my desk. Instinctively, I grabbed the note
and read it.

[I feel so bad for the underclassmen at our school. They have to call Hwang Eunseo
their sunbae. Have you ever thought about how they feel? Doesn’t it hurt your
conscience?]

My head went blank.

Taking advantage of that opportunity, three more classmates left notes on my desk.
Like the previous two, they had also been actively involved in the ‘Kim Yul game.’

[Hwang Eunseo is really filthy. How can you be even dirtier than the math teacher?]

What was this?

[Wow! There are students who don’t wash their uniforms!]

Why were they doing this to me?

[You smell really bad. Seriously, you reek.]

What happened yesterday?

Something happened, but I was the only one oblivious.

Something made all my customers turn their backs on me. Not only that, but my
friends were blackmailed into putting on this weird show.

‘Calm down.’

My heart was pounding like crazy.

‘Calm down. Let’s think about this calmly. Did Kim Yul do this? No. There’s no way.
He was a little weird yesterday, but it isn’t him. Then, who? Who did this?’

It was then.

“Hwang Eunseo!”

The homeroom teacher stuck his head into the classroom from the door. All of the
students turned to look at him. He looked around the classroom, saw me, then
beckoned.

“Come with me.”

“Me…?”

“What, is there another Hwang Eunseo in our class? You’re not in trouble, so hurry
and follow. Ah! Class President! Take the kids’ phones and bring them to me.”

Hesitantly, I followed the homeroom teacher out. My surroundings were eerily quiet
as I left.

The air felt loaded.

It was as if all of my classmates knew why I was called, like they had no doubts about
why the homeroom teacher would single me out. The only ones unaffected were the
nerds who had been studying their notes since the morning.

“Hwang Eunseo.”

The teachers’ office.

“Yes…?”

“Did you do something bad? You haven’t, right?” my homeroom teacher asked calmly.

He was speaking like it didn’t matter. In the office, students in their uniforms walked
around to pick up prints. Teachers were organizing the handouts before their first
class.

“What?”

“I’m asking if you did something bad. Does nothing come to mind?”

“No…”

My heart raced.

“I don’t think so?”

“Hmm.”

My homeroom teacher scratched his head.

“Hey, Hwang Eunseo. Don’t blab about this, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Listen to this.”

My homeroom teacher handed me an earbud. I took it. The earphones were

connected to the homeroom teacher’s computer. Click. When he clicked his mouth, I
heard recorded voices through the earphones.

-Hey, don’t start hitting yet! Just make him kneel!

-Huh? A lot of people contributed this time. We’ll use a lottery to decide the concept
from the five requests we received for today.

The back of my neck was cold.

-Ah, the person chosen today is the Queen. Congratulations, Queen. What are you all
doing? Clap for her, clap.

-Whoaa!

My voice.

And the voices of my friends who had just tossed me the notes.

-Let’s look at Queen’s request. Hey, she also gave us a budget. 100 thousand won. She
said this is for our meals and told us not to be hungry. And for our popular star, we’ll
mix jjajangmyeon and jjamppong and… [2]

Click.

The homeroom teacher stopped the recording.

“Did you hear the voices just now?”

“Yes.”

“I received this recording in my mail yesterday. The sound quality isn’t good, but it
kind of sounds like your and some other kids’ voices. So I just called you in to ask.
Hwang Eunseo, is this you?”

“It isn’t.”

I tried to look bewildered.

“Also, a queen? What kind of play is this?”

“Who knows? I listened to it from start to finish, and it’s really weird. Anyway, it
gives off a bad vibe. The mail said that it was something [for Hwang Eunseo from
Grade 2, Class 5 to hear], so I wondered if it was a joke between you kids…”

Shit. So this was it. This was how the other kids were threatened.

Fortunately, our homeroom teacher was a moron. He thought that this could be a
prank even after listening to the recording. Well, it was only because he was such an
idiot that he didn’t know what was happening in class. That was lucky for me.
‘Nothing can be done with just this recording. It’s just a blank shot.’

Maybe one of my ‘friends’ or a customer captured the voice recording and was
messing around with it. If that person had anything more conclusive than the
recording, there was no reason for them not to send it to the homeroom teacher…

‘The problem is that everyone is scared of the dud shot. Damn.’

The homeroom teacher looked up at me.

“You really didn’t plan this prank with your buddies?”

“No. Um, but can I really not talk to anyone about this?”

“No. Never say a word. Anyway, it’s fine since you say it’s nothing. Go back to class.”

“Yes.”

I quietly left the teacher.

‘Dammit, dammit, dammit!’

Scrape.

When I opened the door to the teachers’ office, I ran into someone on the other side.

“……”

It was the class president. The class president was holding a blue plastic collection
box, having collected the cell phones from our class.

“Oh. Sorry.”

The class president spoke with the same facial expression as usual, with his nerdy
face, and stepped a little out of my way. I’d normally have said thank you, but I had
no mind to do it now. I just briefly met his eyes and went out into the hallway.

‘I don’t know which bastard copied it, but I’ll make them pay today! Son of a bitch,
treating me lightly. This goes beyond a joke. How could you do something like this to
a classmate?!’
Scrape.

The sound of the door closing behind me quietly echoed in the hall.

[1]: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. These four chords are sometimes
interpreted as Fate knocking at the door.

[2]: Black bean noodles and spicy seafood noodles, respectively. Chinese-Korean
fusion foods that… probably wouldn’t be good to mix.
‘First, let’s placate my friends.’

A sneaky little bitch was trying to tear down everything I’d built.

‘You think I’ll let you?’

I had to skillfully pull together these wimps who got spooked by some threatening
emails. But it was fine. I could do it.

As soon as I returned to the classroom, I spoke to the kids in my group.

“Hey. I know why you guys are doing this, but stop it. Why do something so hurtful
between friends? Yeah? If you’ve got something to say, say it. If there’s something
you have to hear, listen. Isn’t that how friends should be? Yeah?”

But their reaction was underwhelming. They didn’t answer and only continued to
glance at my desk.

I went to the desk.

Dozens of crumpled notes were stuffed into the drawer.

“……”

Each and every one of those notes slandered and reviled me.

‘You were so happy you could die just cuz I said hi in the hallways yesterday.’

Anybody could tell that the contents were lies.

‘I just lost at rock paper scissors, k? Don’t get the wrong idea!’
Sentence after sentence contained nothing but malice and mockery.

While I was at the office, in that brief moment, the notes piled up like a mountain.

“Hey, bastards…”

“Heh.”

Someone laughed. I whipped around toward where the laughter came from, but I
couldn’t tell who did it. There were too many students in the classroom.

“Who is it? Who did this to my desk, huh?!”

“I-it wasn’t us,” one of my friends said cautiously.

“A little while ago, someone from another class came and put all the notes there at
once…”

“Another class?”

“Yeah. He wanted to tell you something—to not contact him again.”

“……”

It was one of my clients. One of my customers had left the notes. I was gonna go nuts.
This unknown [culprit] was not only messing with my customers but also my
classmates.

“Also, Eunseo…”

“And? What?”

“On your back…”

My back?

“What’s about my back?”

“Well, there’s… You know.”

I turned my body around. If I turned my head, I could see my back—not very well,
though. Laughter echoed throughout the classroom.

“Pfft…!”

“Ha.”

I bent my arms and patted my back. Crunch. I felt something.

Paper. Somebody had taped paper onto my back.

I hurriedly took off the paper to see what was written on it.

Official Trash of Shinseo High!!

The words were written in cute, round handwriting.

“……”

When was it? And who put it on? Was it already on me when the homeroom teacher
called? Or did someone secretly stick it on right after I entered the classroom?

But there was no time to figure this out.

“L-let’s start class…”

First period began. The math teacher, the biggest pushover at our school. My
classmates, who had been chattering all this time, sat down in unison like they had
decided to become model students.

‘Damn.’

Inwardly, I ground my teeth.

‘If I raise a fuss now, I’ll only make myself look ridiculous. Should I just ditch? No. I
can’t. That’d be bad. They’ll only gossip more if I leave. Fuck, fuck…!’

In the end, I had no choice but to sit quietly.

The people around me, snickering under their breaths. Kim Yul, looking
expressionlessly down at his notebook. The class president, who entered the
classroom late, excused himself to the math teacher and sat at his desk. Everyone
was living life normally.

‘Fuck.’

My insides churned.

It was natural that I’d be angry at the culprit. It was to be expected. But beyond that
person, I felt anger toward my friends and classmates suddenly boil as well.

‘Your hands are dirty, too!’

It was unfair.

‘Are they seriously backing out now? Even though they mocked and beat up Kim Yul
with me? It wasn’t like I ever forced them to bully Kim Yul. They did that on their
own.’

It was unfair.

‘Who here hasn’t made fun of Kim Yul? There were so many of them who begged me
to show them the videos. Why are they pretending otherwise now?’

It was too unfair.

Because I ‘tried.’ I worked hard to achieve what others didn’t. What, was it easy to
bully someone deliberately? Did they think they could make an outcast into a total
pariah?

‘Maggot—no, goddamn leeches.’

I put in the effort.

I created a platform using the student council suggestion box. I made connections to
the rich kids. While my peers studied like everyone else and lived as they were told
to, I was thinking about the [future]. I made plans!

On the other hand, what did these conniving leeches do?

‘They mooched off the platform I worked hard to create!’

It was the same. Because others laughed, they laughed too. Because others bullied,
they bullied too. These guys, these bastards, followed only one logic.

[Because others are doing it.]

‘Disgusting bastards.’

Like this, they’d feign ignorance. [Because others were doing it]. [I didn’t think much
about it]. [I didn’t mean it like that]. Making such excuses, they would forget how
they, too, enjoyed bullying Kim Yul.

‘Rather than pretending not to remember, they’ll really forget.’

Because their heads were no good. They were idiots. They wouldn’t even remember
what they said or did. What else could that be but a matter of intelligence? They
were just morons who blindly followed the crowd. And they still pretended to be
innocent, to be human…

‘It’s unfair.’

This was unfair.

‘Why would I, to these inferior bastards… Why only me?’

It was unfair!

If someone who was just like the hero of a story, who had acted upright since the
moment he was born, came after me, I’d understand.

But that wasn’t the case.

‘I bet none of them apologized to Kim Yul, even now.’

Nobody would have.

I was sure.

That was why it was unfair. It was way too unfair that these guys were just being
agitated by the [culprit] and targeting me without much thought.

I didn’t want to be stabbed by a knife like that! These second-rate assholes!

I was superior to them!

Buzz—

My phone vibrated in my pants pocket.

My girlfriend had texted.

Hwang Eunseo, what have you done?

From now on, stay away from me.

We’re done.

“……”

Time marched on without pause.

I had no time to respond. No method popped up in my mind. The [culprit] drove me

into a corner, sparing nothing. I contacted my girlfriend, but she didn’t answer. Even
when I went to find her during break time, she only stared at me coldly.

Just yesterday, she had smiled, saying how fun it was to be with me.

‘Why…? I’m a fun guy, remember…?’

Afterwards, I couldn’t even go to the bathroom properly during break time. I was
afraid. What if someone else came and put a note in my desk drawer while I was
gone?

‘Fuck.’

Even at lunchtime, I just lay on my desk and pretended to sleep. I wasn’t an idiot.
There was no way my classmates would eat lunch with me in this atmosphere.

It was better to pretend to sleep instead of going down to the cafeteria and eating
alone.

‘Still, wouldn’t one person at least offer to eat with me?’ I thought, my head slammed
against the desk.

‘Then, I’ll tell them straight away that I don’t feel well today. If I refuse like that, then
everyone will know. Hwang Eunseo didn’t get hurt from this. He’s fine. Or, maybe
they’ll say that I’m sulking and they need to comfort me. Yeah, I’ll let everyone know
like that.’

That was what would happen.

‘I cared so much for these guys all this time. I treated them to meals and let them
appear in videos. I even helped some of them make up when they were fighting.
And… And… ’

There was nothing.

Nobody invited me to the cafeteria.

“……”

The classroom, devoid of students, was quiet during lunchtime. The dismal silence at
12:45 p.m. No one was walking around in the halls. The wind blew through the
window, and white curtains fluttered.

“Bastards…” I muttered as I stood up.

“You can say something, can’t you? At least say something…”

Suddenly, I felt a deep sense of humiliation. Walking around unaware there was a
note on my back. Being mocked by these leech-like kids. Being dumped over text.
Everything was so humiliating.

“Hateful jerks. Inhumane bastards…”

I went through my classmates’ desk drawers, one by one.

I snooped.

Maybe there would be evidence pointing to the culprit. Maybe there would be
specific instructions hidden, like when to send me the notes, what to write in it, etc.

‘God, I hope there is. Please!’

It was then.

“…Hwang Eunseo, what are you doing now?”

I jerked back in surprise. My posture was sloppy because I was looking through the
desks. When I turned around, I saw four of my classmates standing at the back door
of the classroom.

“Uh.” I stuttered. “That’s, um. Just a moment.”

“A moment? A moment for what?”

“I just had to check for a moment…”

“You’re rummaging through someone else’s desk to check for something? Are you
crazy?”

No.

“Hey, Hwang Eunseo was searching our desks!”

“What?”

That wasn’t it.

“Why was he looking through other people’s desks…?”

“Have you done this before?”

Listen to me.

“Wow. Gross…”

It wasn’t like that.

Please, listen to me.

Someone’s controlling you right now. You didn’t know, right? You’re being used
without realizing. You need to know that. You guys, you guys have also done bad
things, so we’re on the same side!

The same team!

One team!

We’re one team!

If you guys attack me, something really bad will happen. Seriously. Who but me will
take care of you? I made the Kim Yul game just for you guys. I made you all happy. I
provided you guys with entertainment. Who did? Me!

So return the favor! Fuckers!

Don’t be dumb and get worked up. Just judge who’s on your side! This was a
conspiracy. It was slander. It was unfair. You crummy bastards! You may be stupid,
but can’t you tell who’s an ally and who’s the enemy?

Don’t you have any loyalty?!

We’ve played well together this far. You guys also had fun tormenting Kim Yul. You
used to laugh at Kim Yul and his old man, who lived in the dump and collected trash!
You’re all trash! Why are you trying to mutiny now?!

‘It’s unfair… ’

The news that I had been rummaging through desks at lunchtime quickly spread to
the others. Yeah, I did it. I looked through your desks. Was that such a big deal?
However, my classmates seemed to think [Hwang Eunseo looking through the desks]
was much more serious than [we bullied Kim Yul].

‘It’s so unfair… ’

Those guys had laughed with me, saying, [Producer, Producer!] every day, but they
betrayed me just because the culprit blackmailed them a little. How long had I been
breaking my back for the happiness of the class?

‘It’s so unfair, I could die… ’

Nothing changed after school.

At least this morning, my friends said they were sorry. They at least pretended to be
sorry. But after what happened at lunchtime, the way they looked at me changed.
They looked at me coldly, like I was someone they needed to kill.

‘Crazy bastards.’

What did I do wrong?

It was unfair.

I felt wronged.

……

“Hwang Eunseo.”

The classroom was empty after the students left.

“Sorry, but can I look for a moment?” asked the class president.

The class president was the only one who remained expressionless all day today.

“What is it…?”

“I was trying not to concern myself, but the homeroom teacher and our classmates
kept talking to me about it. As class president, I need to pretend I care a bit.”
“Ha…”

I couldn’t even snark back at him for meddling. The class president was the first
person to talk to me since lunchtime. Putting it nicely, the class president was a
model student; putting it less nicely, he was a voluntary outsider. Maybe that was
why he could ignore the surrounding atmosphere.

“What happened?”

“……”

Shortly, I saw a way out of this hellish situation.

‘That’s right. The class president.’

The class president had good grades. He was subtly adored by the teachers. Even my
classmates couldn’t bother the class president easily. Maybe he was born like that,
but the class president had a slightly arrogant air, so it wasn’t easy to talk to him.

I could turn this situation around bit by bit by winning over the class president.

“Yeah. Actually…”

Then, I talked about the unfair things that had happened to me.

Maybe I did look down on Kim Yul a little, very little. But maybe someone was
jealous I was dating a rich girl, so they were spreading ridiculous rumors about me.
It was unfair. It was unfair, but my classmates didn’t even listen to me.

Please help.

“……”

The class president quietly listened to my grumbling, which lasted about half an
hour. He didn’t interrupt me. He didn’t even ask questions. He just listened with the
same dull attitude, and I was grateful for that.

“I see. That’s what happened.”

The class president nodded.

“Eunseo, I understand you feel wronged. It’s a horrible situation. Sometimes, kids are
cold, saying it isn’t their responsibility.”

“You’re so right.”

“But I have no way to help. Maybe…”

The class president sank into thought. He seemed to think for a long time. Though I
wasn’t very close to him, I could feel that he was deeply concerned. Both of us kept
our mouths shut. A long time later, the class president lifted his head.

“Ah.”

He slapped the desk.

“Eunseo. How about this? From what I can tell, this problem can only be resolved if
you receive Kim Yul’s forgiveness.”

“From Kim Yul…?”

“Yes. Honestly, all the other kids are outsiders. If Kim Yul, the wronged party, forgives
you, then nobody can say anything.”

“……”

It was a solution that never occurred to me. But now that I heard it, it seemed right.
No matter what the other kids tried to do, if Kim Yul said, [I forgive Hwang Eunseo
now], they would have nothing to say.

“Uh… But…”

There was a problem.

“Will Kim Yul accept my apology? I don’t think he will…”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be troublesome, but let’s try talking to him.”

The class president smiled softly.

“I’ll help you, Hwang Eunseo.”

It was a very kind smile.
1.

“You’re going to help me?”

“Yeah. Well, don’t say it like I’m being nice…”

The class president smiled wryly.

‘Did this kid always have such diverse expressions?’

It felt a little unnerving. Thinking about it, we had been in the same class since first
year, but we never talked much.

“I’m running for student council this time, remember? So that I could get college
recommendations… But anyway, the student council president should act like it. I
should at least be able to handle a problem in my class. I don’t know how to resolve
this, but I’ll try asking Kim Yul. Do you know his number?”

“Yeah… Just a moment.”

While I was looking for his number, I realized something. The class president didn’t
know Kim Yul’s number, but all of my classmates who watched the video would
know that fact. Therefore:

‘Class Pres isn’t the culprit.’

Though, there was still a chance that this was all an act…

‘That can’t be. He’s such a square, and he had no way of getting hold of the recording.’

The class president was safe. I was sure of it.

While I was nodding my head, the class president exclaimed in surprise and said,
“Nevermind. It’s kind of rude to talk about this sort of thing over the phone. I’ll just
secretly talk to Kim Yul after school tomorrow. That should be fine, right?”

“Oh, right. Calling might be bad. Well, thanks for trying to help.”

“If you’re grateful, vote for me instead of your girlfriend, please.”

“…Sure.”

My girlfriend broke up with me today, anyway. The class president didn’t seem to
know about it, which was another reason he wasn’t on the suspect list.

‘That’s right.’

I had hope.

‘It’s not over yet. Nothing has ended! As long as at least one person supports me, I
can make a new plan using him. This atmosphere will only last a short time… After a
while, my friends will come back to me and everything will be back to normal.’

From that day, the class president really started to act. I didn’t know what exactly he
was doing, but he seemed to be taking advantage of the [model student] image he
had built up.

“All right. I’ve heard what Kim Yul had to say,” the class president said the next day.

It was during lunchtime. I didn’t go to the cafeteria today, either. My classmates

continued to scorn me, and I didn’t want to get caught up in the atmosphere. So the
two of us were speaking secretly in the empty classroom.

“Really? What did he say?”

“He wants you to apologize in front of your friends. He’ll never accept your apology if
it’s just you two. If you apologize sincerely about what you did and how bad it was in
front of your friends, he’ll forgive you.”

That crazy guy.

‘Apology? Forgiveness? Who is he kidding?’

He simply wanted to humiliate me. There was no difference between my classmates

and Kim Yul. They were acting up for a little taste of power.

“He said three times that he wouldn’t forgive you if he couldn’t feel ‘sincerity’ from
the apology. Mm. His face was expressionless, but I think he’s really angry at you.”

‘I’m gonna go nuts.’

Couldn’t I just give him a million won and call it done? He would accept it since he
was poor.

“What is sincerity? What do I have to do for him to feel it?”

“Who knows? I don’t really get it either… Anyway, the important part is apologizing
in front of the other kids. Why don’t you try writing out the apology beforehand?”

The class president sounded a bit irritated. He may finally have realized the situation
was more complicated than he expected.

Dammit. My school life and future were at stake here. My life depended on this. If he
was pretending to be good, he should take responsibility till the end!

“Yeah, I’ll write an apology. Haa…”

I sighed, making the most pitiful expression I could.

‘Hwang Eunseo, it’s time for the performance of your lifetime.’

“Really, why did I stupidly torment Kim Yul? I thoughtlessly joined in since all the
kids were doing it. Dammit. I shouldn’t have done that.”

C’mon, hurry up and pity me. Sympathize with me. I was a human being. I could feel
regret and repent my mistakes. But it wasn’t that big of a sin! So hurry up and feel
sorry for me!

“It’s natural Kim Yul is angry at me. I could have stopped the others, but… Now, I’m
sorry. If I could, I’d apologize in front of the whole school. Really.”
“……”

The class president stared at me with his eyes, deep as a well. His face was hard to
read, but there was no mistaking that he was listening to me.

“I have an idea.”

The class president suddenly got to his feet.

“Huh?”

“It just occurred to me how you can get Kim Yul’s forgiveness. Wait a moment. I need
to go to the teachers’ office.”

The class president sprinted out of the classroom. I was dumbfounded. What was
that guy doing? I absentmindedly chewed on the G●stly bread in the barren
classroom.[1] I had gnawed off about half of the bread when the class president
returned.

“All right! I received permission from the teacher.”

“For what?”

“The student council election speech. I asked if a non-candidate can go up to the

podium. Nothing in the rules says you can’t.”

The class president smiled confidently.

Maybe he dropped by the bathroom on the way back, but there was moisture around
his mouth.

“You said it. If you could, you would apologize in front of the whole school. I was
already pondering what to write in my speech to beat your girlfriend, so this is
great.”

“Uh…”

“Listen carefully.”

The class president sat down and took out a notebook. Swish, swish! An old-timey
cursive danced on the page.

“Hwang Eunseo, you’ll apologize to Kim Yul. Then, I’ll take over the microphone and
continue the speech, saying [The type of school I want to create as student council
president is one where you admit your mistakes and grant forgiveness]. Got it?”

I didn’t get it.

“We’ll decorate it as a story. The speech won’t just be a boring pledge of what I’ll
accomplish!”

“……”

“I don’t know what your girlfriend’s speech will say, but she’s uber-rich. I can
imagine it clearly. She’ll offer her own money to put perfume in the bathrooms, make
sure we don’t run out of tissues, stuff like that to coax the students. If I make simple
campaign promises, my odds are zero… Yes, let’s fight with a story.”

The class president wrote in his notebook.

A student council that solves problems!

A council that helps you speak!

We will become all students’ emergency mediators!

“Uhhh…”

The class president’s eyes were gleaming.

“What do you think?”

It was really sappy.

“This is the era of storytelling! Bathroom fragrances, tissues—all that is overused.

Students have heard those promises since elementary school. They’ll eat this up.
Let’s use a story!”

“Um.”

Well, student council elections were supposed to be cheesy. Candidates would slap
on whatever to their speeches, mediating or communication and whatnot. The class
president’s idea didn’t seem bad.

‘But holy shit, this bastard… ’

I looked at the class president with fresh eyes.

‘He has no interest in anything but his election, huh?’

Even though he was the class president, I was wondering why he was going so far to
help. This selfish bastard. He was thinking about how to use me to get elected from
the start.

The class president didn’t care about what was happening in class. He had no
interest in what happened to Kim Yul or why my life was falling apart. He only got
involved because he could use this for the race. And even his desire to be student
council president was so he could get into a good college!

‘That’s right.’

But as I looked at the class president, I now had no suspicions.

‘I can work with this kind of asshole.’

The class president and I were one of a kind. He looked toward the future. He was
concerned about his prospects. He intended to enter a good university and live a
good life. How many people went so far to become student council president just to
get a letter of recommendation to Seoul National University?

‘He’s just like me.’

The class president was much more trustworthy than someone who acted nice for
no reason. He was someone who would definitely succeed once we entered society.

“But there’s only a few days left before the election. Are you sure you don’t mind
changing your speech because of me?”

“It’s fine. Winning is all that matters.”

The class president smiled.

“Counting the time I used making posters and such, I’ve spent 20 hours on this
election. I gave up 20 hours of studying for this election, so I can’t lose.”

‘This bastard. Really, we think on the same lines.’

I trusted him even more now. I felt a sense of camaraderie with him.

“All right, Class Pres. I’ll help with what I can, for sure. In exchange, you have to help
me too. Tell our classmates that I want to make up with them. In the meantime, I’m
sorry, and I want to be friends again if we can.”

“Sure. Sounds good. We’ve got to scratch each other’s backs.”

We shook hands.

“I’ll be in your care.”

“The same to you!”

I helped with the class president’s election. I couldn’t help him out in the open, but I
looked over and coordinated his speech with my apology.

My classmates’ ostracization didn’t change, but the fact I had [something to do at

school] stabilized me a lot.

“Oh? It’s not half bad.”

The class president was satisfied when he read over my apology and speech. It was
after school. Only the two of us remained in the sunset-tinged Grade 2, Class 5 room.

“Now, if you just act it out well here, we’ll win.”

“Act?”
I tilted my head.

“What acting?”

“Huh? Hwang Eunseo, you aren’t actually sorry to Kim Yul at all.”

“……”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not accusing you. It’s not the mindset of apologizing that’s
important but the attitude, in my opinion. In the first place, I don’t even know what it
means to have a sorry mindset.”

The class president flipped through my written apology.

“You’re risking humiliation by apologizing in front of the whole school. What apology
can be more sincere than that? It doesn’t matter how many times you say you’re
sorry or feel bad. You have to prove it with actions. In that regard, you’re a thousand
times better than the other kids, Hwang Eunseo.”

Hm.

Hmm…

“I slyly asked Kim Yul yesterday whether anyone properly apologized to him. But
nobody’s done it, you know? You’re the only one who even asked how you can be
forgiven. Seriously, our classmates have no shame.”

“Class Pres… You…”

He really got me. I was a bit touched.

“Ah, of course, it’s good from my position. If you went around saying, [Vote for my
girlfriend! No matter what, vote for her!] then I’d have lost dozens of points. While I
feel bad that you’re being ostracized, truthfully, it’s advantageous for me.”

“Wow. You’re a piece of shit…”

“Yup. Thanks. Aren’t humans shitty to begin with?”

I laughed. He was right. I hadn’t laughed this much since my girlfriend broke up with
me.

‘This guy really knows how to talk.’

People were trash. They were beasts. If a human being looked tame, it was only
because they had degenerated into livestock. Only those who quickly realize this
survive.

[Currently, your immersion rate is 100%.]

Then, instead of being livestock, they could be a wolf. If they’re lucky, they could even
become a lion.

They could succeed.

Those who complained that relationships were difficult did so because they saw
people as people. It was simple if you saw them as beasts.

You have no friends? It’s because there’s nothing to gain from being beside you. If
you can’t do anything else, you should at least be able to relieve someone’s stress
while hanging out. You have many friends? It’s because there’s a lot to be gained
from being with you.

That was all.

True friendship only came from quid pro quo.

‘If I stick with this guy, I don’t think I’ll lose anything, at least.’

I smirked.

“Class Pres. You wanna be friends?”

The class president snorted.

“First, I need to be elected student council president. The speech is fine now, but
there’s room for improvement. I’m working hard to talk you up to our classmates,
you know? It’ll all be for naught if I don’t win.”

“Fine, fine! Okay. I’ll write you a great speech! It’ll make you cry and tear up when
you recite it! I, Hwang Eunseo, will give my all to make our class president into
Shinseo High’s president!”

“Yes, yes, I hear you. I’m counting on you, Eunseo.”

We snickered.

[1] G●stly bread is 고●스 빵, which is most likely 고오스 빵. It’s a snack based on
Gastly, the poison ghost Pokemon. This has nothing to do with the story, but it took
me a long time to find it and I didn’t want my research to be for naught.
‘Yeah. There’s no rule saying I have to roll over and die!’

Misfortunes can turn into blessings.

I thought this was the first time I felt true friendship since I entered high school.

‘They say that the person who reaches out to you in tough times is your true friend.’

Yup. Looking back, I had been too arrogant.

People could make mistakes as they lived. As for me, I trusted the other kids too
much! One of my friends stole the audio file of the recording, and I didn’t consider
how they could fuck me over.

‘It’s fine. I still have many days left in my life.’

I was only a second-year in high school. I would live another 60 years after this. I
would continue to make mistakes in the future, and each time, I would face a
frustrating crisis.

‘But there is always a chance to turn things around.’

So I didn’t have to be so discouraged. I shouldn’t give up on everything too soon. I

should believe in myself. I should believe in my friend! Unlike trash-like livestock, I
was strong! I was a strong person!

‘Life is made of experiences.’

And I should count this instance as a [good experience].

‘I’m actually lucky that this happened before I entered society. Right, let’s think like
that. It isn’t as if my business plan failed, either. I haven’t been caught by the police.
I’m just being bullied a little by the other kids. This will end once the election is over.’

It really was a good life experience.

‘I’ll also slip in an apology to my girlfriend. She won’t like it if I say it upfront, so I’ll
do it subtly so that only people close to us will understand.’

Mm. I could also say sorry to my customers for involving them in the problem.

‘The ones I really need to apologize to are the customers. Not Kim Yul. With Kim Yul,
things will end with an apology whether or not he accepts it, but the customers
could always become my clients again. I’ll apologize to them sincerely.’

On the day of the student council elections—

I finally finished my magnum opus.

Greetings, everyone.

I’m Hwang Eunseo from Grade 2, Class 5.

(Bow head.)

The reason I’ve come up to the podium today even though I’m not running in the
election is because I have something to confess to everyone.

Students of Shinseo High School!

I’ve made a grave mistake.

I, Hwang Eunseo, participated in the bullying of a classmate.

(Pause for 2 seconds.)

When I saw my classmate being bullied, I didn’t do anything to stop it. Instead, I
joined the other kids in bullying him. I hit him while saying that we were just goofing
around. I belittled him while claiming I was just joking.

(Sigh.)

Shinseo High students.

Until now, I didn’t realize it was wrong. I thought we were just goofing around and
joking between friends. But goofing around shouldn’t hurt people, and you shouldn’t
mock people with jokes.

The fact that I didn’t recognize it was wrong.

That I hurt him and laughed at him unknowingly.

These were my gravest mistakes.

One of the candidates who is running for student council president helped me
realize my mistakes. At first, I didn’t listen to him. I said I did nothing wrong, that it
wasn’t wrong to joke around. But for two weeks, this candidate stayed in the
classroom after school to talk with me.

‘You have to apologize.’

‘You can apologize.’

‘If you apologize sincerely, your friend will forgive you… ’

I’m grateful.

(Look toward Class Pres.)

Thanks to this candidate’s efforts and encouragement, I am able to confess my

mistakes to my classmates and all students in this spot today.

Of course, my apology today will not heal the wounds my friend endured.

(Scan the audience.)

And all this time, I’ve caused trouble for not just that friend but also for my other
friends and many people at school. I spoke without thinking. I think there are many
people who feel disappointed with me.

(Bow head to the audience.)

I did wrong.

(Say this while my head is still bowed.)

I’m sorry.

(Put aside the speech notes here.)

(To show sincerity, stop reading from the paper!)

(Memorize this line by line! This is important!!)

From now on, I will never ‘goof’ or ‘joke’ around lightly again.

I will always think and think again.

I will not base my thoughts upon just myself but upon my friends and others.

(Reinforce the story. Evoke a setting.)

The friend that I bullied comes to school early every morning to go to the farm in the
back. At the farm, he takes care of the chicks and rabbits that nobody else cares for.

He’s an earnest person. A truly kind person.

I feel deeply guilty for harassing such a sincere and kindhearted person.

(Promise to do something that shows my sincerity.)

After today, instead of this friend—no, with this friend…

I will go to school every morning at 6:30 to look after the animals. I will not skip a
single day from today until the day I graduate. I won’t take a break just because it’s a
weekend or a holiday.
(Why? Give them a good reason.)

This isn’t just an apology to my friend but also a reminder to reflect on my mistakes
every day.

(Lol.)

Apologizing once here won’t erase my sin. As it shouldn’t. Students of Shinseo High
School! If I miss a single day, please rebuke me.

I haven’t changed yet. But I want to change. I want to thank Candidate 2 for helping
to change me.

(It should be better to refer to his number than his name, I think??)

Students of Shinseo High School.

Candidate 2 made me come up here today. He convinced me. It took him two weeks
to do it, but he spent that time persuading one student.

(Emphasize the two.)

This isn’t mere verbal communication but true communication, true understanding.
Communication takes effort. Communication takes time. Communication is changing
the people around you.

(Never look down at the speech, and don’t falter.)

(Make eye contact with each and every person.)

Candidate 2 is a candidate who puts in the effort.

A candidate who will lend you time.

A candidate who changes those around him.

(Wrap it up.)

I don’t know how you all will remember your school days.
But for me, I want you to remember your school days as happily as possible. I wish
for you to remember them fondly. But for all of us to be happy and enjoy ourselves,
we can’t make anyone else suffer.

For an even slightly better school life.

For our school days to be even a little more enjoyable.

Please vote for Candidate 2.

(Step away from the microphone.)

(With my raw voice. Loudly.)

Kim Yul!

I’m sorry for all this time!

I’m really sorry!

I wish you the best in the future!

(Bow my head to apologize and end.)

(Exit.)

It was perfect.

“Mm. Good. It’s fine…” the class president commented.

Fine? Was this level just fine? His eyes must have been strained. Very strained. This
wasn’t fine. It was a masterpiece. Couldn’t he see how many psychological
techniques I put into this?!

But I’m a generous person, so I let this slide. Whew.

“There’s quite a lot of things that you have to memorize. Can you do it?”
“Of course. I memorized it all last night. I can do it with my eyes closed.”

“How reliable, Hwang Eunseo. I’ve made one good friend.”

The class president patted my shoulder. Bastard.

“Then let’s do the rehearsal check first…”

The class president was planning to present his campaign promises and visions in a
slideshow. That meant that the auditorium had to be darkened. Luckily, the
auditorium could turn dark after you pressed a button and waited for a while for the
curtains to fall.

During the rehearsal, my girlfriend met my eyes.

“…Hmph.”

She pretended not to know me, but I bowed my head deliberately. I was making this
pose to apologize to her. Then, her eyes rose up like she was surprised.

‘Just wait.’

In my mind, I smiled.

‘I’m making a comeback today.’

It was time for the election speeches.

All students gathered in the auditorium. The room was teeming with them. My
girlfriend seemed anxious. She paced around in the back of the auditorium.

The class president, on the other hand, was stoic. He sat upright in his chair like he
wasn’t nervous at all. Even I was a little nervous; his nerves had to be crazy strong.

“Hey. Aren’t you nervous?”

“No,” murmured the class president.

“Nervousness is for the unprepared. For today, I’ve… I’ve prepared so much. How
often did I dream of a stage and a day like this? I won’t let nerves ruin it.”
His voice was chilly.

“……”

For a moment, the back of my neck felt cold. That was how frosty the class
president’s voice was. We had hung out together after school for a few days, but this
was the first time the class president used this sort of tone.

‘What’s up with him? Even though he’s also acting different from usual.’

Weirdly, I felt like I’d been rebuked, so I just stood around awkwardly. That was
when someone approached us.

“Y-you there.”

It was a familiar face.

“It’s about time to start… Hand over the USB…”

The broadcasting club president who had tried to threaten me not long ago looked
jumpy. He cowered back when he met our eyes. Ha. Maybe he felt guilty for treating
me so poorly.

“Yeah. Here you go.”

The class president handed a USB to the broadcasting club president.

He received it with trembling hands.

“I-I just have to open the file in this, right…?”

“Yes. Just do it like we did in [rehearsal].”

“Like we did in rehearsal… Then…”

“Then, your part will be over.”

The class president looked straight up at the broadcasting club president.

“What? Is there anything else I need to take care of?”

“No! T-there isn’t! I was just asking. Sorry! Good luck!”

The broadcasting club president scrambled down the stage platform. Below the
platform, there was a mess of broadcasting equipment such as laptops and
projectors.

‘…… Huh?’

The broadcasting club president’s behavior was totally suspicious. He had always
been a weirdo, but he hadn’t stuttered like that.

“Now, a word from the principal.”

But there wasn’t time to investigate his weird behavior. The principal and the chair
of the election committee (the president of last year’s student council came out as
the representative) spoke one after the other. The auditorium, which had been noisy
because of all the students, soon became quiet.

“Then, Candidate 1, please come forward.”

My girlfriend gave her speech first.

As the class president predicted, she went all out on the promises. Her whole speech
was about costly pledges. But my girlfriend was rich enough to keep her word, and
most of the students knew it well.

‘It’s simple but powerful.’

She exited the stage to thunderous applause.

‘It’s fine. We’ll win as long as I can act well. No, actually, the class president doesn’t
need to win. It’s fine so long as I do well. The important thing is to apologize to Kim
Yul in front of the student body. Then, the kids will say [that’s enough] and… ’

I took a deep breath.

“Candidate 2, please come forward.”

“……”
I looked back.

The class president was watching.

He nodded at me.

‘Good.’

Let’s go.

‘I’ll act my heart out.’

I stepped up to the podium. With each step I took, I felt the weight of the gazes on my
body increase. Thump. Thump. I desperately quenched my racing heart.

Whirrr—

Thick curtains moved to block out the sunlight. The auditorium was shrouded in
darkness. As the broadcasting club president adjusted the projector, a bright light
illuminated the stage. Dust particles glistened in the air where the rays of light
passed.

Hundreds of eyes.

Hundreds of breathing sounds.

“Greetings, everyone.”

I.

Slowly opened my mouth.

“I’m Hwang Eunseo from Grade 2, Class 5.”

Then.

“The reason I’ve come up to the podium today even though I’m not running in the
election is because I have something to confess to everyone.”

I followed up with a masterful speech.

‘Oh.’

Once I set the mood, my nerves washed away. No. The tension was still there. But my
excitement for acting overcame my nervousness, allowing my tongue to move freely.

‘This will work.’

My voice became louder and quieter as I willed it.

‘This will work!’

My expression wasn’t stiff, either.

I could feel my facial muscles moving naturally.

‘Fuck! It’s working!’

Come to think of it, I produced countless videos. I acted as the director and producer
of the Kim Yul game. That was also indubitably art and a stage. I had become the
greatest actor at Shinseo Middle and High School.

“Shinseo High students! Until now, I didn’t know it was wrong…!”

Bullying was a sensational topic. Combined with my acting skills, even the third-year
students who were uninterested in the speeches were looking at me.

“I did wrong.”

All of the students were looking at me.

“I’m sorry.”

I could grasp the sounds of their breathing in my hands like they became a stream.

“I haven’t changed yet. But I want to change!”

Look. Look at me. Hwang Eunseo is not dead yet. I won’t die.

The sound recording was strangely leaked, but that was a mistake. I could easily
cover up a mistake like this. I was a magnificent person. If I look back, wouldn’t my
girlfriend also look at me in wonder?

“Please, please vote for Candidate 2.”

I took three steps back from the microphone and shouted.

“Kim Yul!”

I was confident in my victory.

“I’m sorry for all this time! I’m really sorry!”

I bowed my head to where the students of Grade 2, Class 5 were sitting.

“I wish you the best in the future!”

There was silence.

Then, a small sound that broke the silence in the auditorium.

Clap.

Applause came from the direction I bowed my head to.

Clap clap, clap, clap.

Kim Yul was standing up, clapping his hands. Yup. It was Kim Yul. The person to
whom I was supposed to apologize and by whom I was supposed to be forgiven was
giving me a standing ovation. Though Kim Yul’s expression was blank and his
applause was unenthusiastic, his standing ovation could mean only one thing.

Forgiveness!

Thanks to Kim Yul taking the lead, the other students also started to applaud.
Clapping was contagious. The students clapped their hands like they had seen a good
performance, like it was all right to stop what they had been doing. Even the teachers
were clapping.

‘Kugh…!’
Tears streamed down my face.

‘Thank you!’

It wasn’t that I was grateful for Kim Yul’s forgiveness. Who cared if Recycling forgave
me or not? It was me. I fell from grace, but I was proud to have crawled back up with
my own power.

‘Thank you, me! Thank you for not giving up! Well done!”

Clap clap clap clap—

‘Thank you all, too!’

Clap clap clap, clap, clap clap—

‘Thank you for getting swept away in the atmosphere! Thank you! Please continue to
be sheeple! Even after you graduate and enter society as an adult, please stay as
livestock forever!’

I was grateful to everything in this world.

-Uh.

A sound flowed out of the auditorium speakers.

-Sunbae-nim.

The applause did not let up. The sound coming from the speakers was initially
buried by the noise. However, the broadcasting club president adjusted the volume,
and the sound became louder.

“Is it okay to take pictures of this?”

I wiped away my tears. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the broadcasting club
president was playing a video. I turned around, and I saw a certain video being
projected on the dark walls of the auditorium.

-Don’t worry about it.

A familiar face appeared in the video.

-I’m just gonna show a few people and delete it.

It was me.

“……”

Huh?

-Hello, dear guests. Today is the return of the long-awaited Kim Yul TV. Ah, but I’ve
received many notes saying that Kim Yul TV is tacky. I agree!

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

In the video, I was holding my camcorder and recording my face. I was filming Kim
Yul. It was from before the [game] had begun in earnest. The kids were having fun,
messing around with Kim Yul.

-But I don’t have a good sense for naming things. Haha. Everyone! I would be grateful if
you could submit a name for the series directly with a note!

What?

-Now, let’s keep the introduction short. How will we play with Kim Yul today? Many
people made suggestions. Among those who put in an entry today, the one who won the
honor is… Tada!

All of the students gathered in the auditorium were buzzing.

-Queen!

The teachers stared at the video.

-Congratulations! Ah, let’s announce Queen’s request. Quickly moving. Quickly. A-ha.
Prepare two banana milk drinks. Put a centipede in one of them, and in the other…

I was turning white.

“Hwang Eunseo, you crazy bastard!” someone shouted.

It was my girlfriend’s voice.

My girlfriend, who had gone back to her seat after her speech, stood up and
screamed.

“You crazy bastard! Nutjob! You bitch—”

I couldn’t hear my girlfriend’s voice very well.

My head was simply blank.

Instinctively, I turned my head to look at the broadcasting club president.

“……”

He had his head bowed low and was holding a mouse connected to a laptop.

I turned away again.

This time, I looked at the class president.

“……”

The class president was smiling.

“……”

It was a very kind smile.

The class president’s smile was perfect.

The corners of his mouth curved just the right amount. His lips creased graciously,
and the tips of his eyes smoothly slid down. I wasn’t exaggerating. Then, his mouth
retracted and his eyes darted up, returning to the class president’s usual
expressionless face, and I felt like I was going nuts.

The class president stepped up onto the stage.

As I stood horrified, the class president grabbed the microphone.

“Students of Shinseo High School.”

His voice pierced the uproar of the auditorium.

“The video you are watching now shows Hwang Eunseo from Grade 2, Class 5
assaulting his classmate, Kim Yul, in a group. This has not been staged. It is the scene
of a real assault.”

The class president was not holding any paper to read off of. He was delivering a
speech that I had never heard, that he had never practiced in rehearsal.

“I was able to obtain material like this thanks to an anonymous informant. Yes. There
was more than one. The crimes committed by Hwang Eunseo of Grade 2, Class 5 have
been recorded in 103 tapes, 311 videos, and 30,790 photos.”

Crimes?

Videos?

Photos?
“Broadcasting club president. Turn over to the PowerPoint presentation.”

“Y-yes…”

The projector illuminated light onto the auditorium wall. Rows of pictures were
displayed. The images weren’t that sharp, but our school uniforms were recognizable
to everyone.

“We plan to report Hwang Eunseo of Grade 2, Class 5 officially after this presentation
ends today. Of course, the victim, Kim Yul of Grade 2, Class 5, will press charges
against Hwang Eunseo.”

Report? Charges?

“I want to ask. Did anyone among the teachers of Shinseo High School know of this
violence?… I see there is none. Yes, of course. Aside from the regular criminal
activities that took place for the past year, the teachers who are supposed to be
responsible for our school lives took no action at all. This is the reality of Shinseo
High School.”

The reactions of the teachers weren’t much different from my own. All of them
looked shell-shocked. A few of them frantically whispered to their colleagues, and
the division head rose from his seat.

“Wait a moment. Wait! You! Come down! What do you think you’re—!”

“I trust that all of our teachers will help with the police report. I am informing
everyone of the violence at our school.”

“No, if you do it like this…”

“Everyone, please be aware that my presentation is currently being recorded and

taped. The evidence has already been sent to media outlets this morning.”

“……”

The head of the grade stopped standing and looked at the principal. All of the staff
stared at the principal. The principal opened and closed his mouth stupidly while
looking at his phone, saying, ‘J-just a moment. Please wait just a moment.’ Maybe he
called someone, or maybe someone called him, but he was kowtowing to someone
with his head down.

The school staff seemed paralyzed by his behavior.

“I-it’s a lie!”

I yelled into the microphone I gripped in my hands.

“All the pictures are fabricated! They’re fake!”

But the speakers did not relay my voice. Belatedly, I realized that the broadcasting
club president must have disconnected my microphone.

“Please look at Hwang Eunseo as he stands here.”

Only the class president’s voice boomed loudly in the auditorium.

“Do you recall what Hwang Eunseo said in his apology just now? He said, [When I
saw my classmate being bullied, I didn’t do anything to stop it]. [Instead, I joined the
other kids in bullying him]. Do you remember?”

The students bristled.

“He excused himself by saying he only ‘joined in.’ That is, he claimed that he was not
the main culprit. Though he himself organized, filmed, and shared the videos of the
violence, Hwang Eunseo did not admit his fault up to the end. Then he pretended to
have truly repented and put on a show for you.”

Every student in the room was staring at me.

“Please look at Hwang Eunseo’s face. Remember his expression.”

That was right.

The class president was a bastard.

“Remember Hwang Eunseo’s logic. Remember his methods. The way he led the
violence, the way he tried to scurry away—observe every bit of it.”
This bastard was the one hunting me behind the scenes.

“……”

The class president lowered his microphone. With his right hand still wrapped
around the device, he turned to me. Then, he spoke in a voice only I could hear.

“Ah. This was tough.”

His voice was so calm that I felt like I was slipping from reality.

“Anyway, Hwang Eunseo, your life is over. You’ll probably be surprised to hear how
many kinds of crimes you committed. Even so, you probably won’t spend your whole
life in jail since you’re a minor, but oh, well. It’s fine. We can just end your social life.”

“Y-you…”

“It was hard for me to act like your friend, too.”

The class president sighed.

“Really. I’m too emotional as a youth. Just talking to you made me nauseous. It’s nice
that my back doesn’t hurt, but I viewed the world too simply… Well, that’s how I
ended up in college,” the class president complained.

“Did you know? It costs a lot of money to improve society. Every little thing you do
requires money. It costs money to plant a tree. It costs money to travel to a disaster
zone. Taking care of teachers costs money, too. Haa… If I knew this during my school
days, I would have…”

“Fucking bastard! What the hell are you saying?!”

Furious, I yelled. A beat after, I realized that my voice was too loud and that it had
spread through the auditorium. I paused. Unlike the class president’s quiet
murmurs, my outcry was uproarious.

“Yeah.”

The class president smiled.

“I was muttering nonsense precisely to make you yell like that. Brat. You fell for it
hook, line, and sinker.”

When I saw the guy smile, my head went blank again.

“You’re probably thinking of reaching out to your connections… Pfft.”

The class president covered his mouth with his left hand and laughed.

“Ah. Sorry. It’s just funny.”

This son of a bitch.

“Anyway, you probably believe that your connections will help you. They won’t. Your
ex-girlfriend? We negotiated to erase the videos that she was present in. All of your
‘clients’ struck a deal. Remember this. The children of well-to-do houses actually
have no interest in you. They only care about [avoiding association with the
incident].”

In this chaos, the broadcasting club president had continued to go through the
PowerPoint slides. The pictures connected. The student body’s rumblings turned
into a commotion, and throughout the auditorium, responses like ‘Fuck’ and ‘Is he
crazy?’ popped up.

“Though I feel sorry for Kim Yul-ssi… This is as far as your report goes. It can’t be
helped. Haven’t I always told you since you were young, Gongja?”

The class president wore a polite, friendly smile on his lips.

“A person must do what he can.”

That smile made my mind snap.

“You meet someone one day that makes you think, ah, the world would be dirtied if
you left this person be. These sorts of people exist, and instead of regretting it later,
you must get rid of them quickly. You have to wreck them when you can so that you
don’t have regrets.”

Roaring, I lunged at the class president. He didn’t resist. Instead, he smirked lightly.
“Well. I suppose this is why people say you need to raise your kid right so you’re
comfortable in your old…”

I swung my fist. I knocked him over and crushed him. There were screams behind
me, but I did not stop. Bastard. Motherfucker! Because of you! How dare you, you
bitch?! My life!

“Hey, Hwang Eunseo! Calm down! Teacher! We have to stop him!”

“Broadcasting Club President! Stop! Can’t you stop recording this now?!”

“E-even if you yell at me… I have to do this, so…”

My life!

[The clear requirements have been achieved.]

[Considering the uniqueness of this stage, requesting judgment.]

I lived doing the best I could… Even if I didn’t lead the best life, I really did my best!
Who here worked harder than me?! Was there a student who lived more earnestly
than me?!

[Judgment complete.]

[The Lord of Manseng accepts the clearing.]

No!

[However, ‘The Tale of the Ascending City – Side Story’ will not be included in the
true history.]

There wasn’t!

[Stage Cleared.]

I couldn’t accept this! I couldn’t! This was unfair! I was cheated. This was
unreasonable! It wasn’t right! Yeah, this was wrong! It was human rights abuse! My
human rights! All people have a right to a fair trial… I’m a person, too! This was
wrong!
[Today, the 29th floor Stage has been cleared.]

I was wronged.

Sympathize with me… Come on. Have pity.

[The Lord of Manseng announces instead of the Tower.]

I—

[Good work, everyone.]

—did nothing wrong.

[Though I am on everyone’s side, with this much, others would also turn a blind eye.
I am a little more generous to those who struggle.]

Nothing at all.

[May luck be with you all.]

That was my first defeat.

“……!”

I took in a rushed breath, and with a grunt, I raised my body upright instinctively. My
heart was throbbing. It wasn’t the first time I had become completely immersed in a
character, but the ache in my heart as I returned to my senses was hard to get used
to.

When I looked around, I saw we were in a corner of the Great Library.

“Mm…”

“Euk…”

The Constellation Killer and the director also rose up one by one. For a while, the
three of us caught our breaths. We had no energy to do anything else. Our brains had
been jumbled.

Over 10 minutes later, the director quietly mumbled, “Gongja…”

“Yes?”

“Come over here…”

The director weakly beckoned with a finger. Somehow, it felt ominous. The fierce
light in the director’s eyes was the same as it was when the kids in the orphanage got
into a fight. I obediently went to the director and sat on my knees.

“Um, I’m here…”

“A long time ago, in the Spring and Autumn period, there lived a man called Wu Zixu.”

I felt more and more on edge.

When the director scolded us as kids, he never told us off right away. He drew it out.
When we asked him a question, he made us wait for a day to think. When he got
angry, he unhurriedly told us a story. From what I remember, the tale of Wu Zixu was
an S-Class alarm.

“Yes…”

“I’ve told you this many times, so I know you remember this. He was someone who
dug up the corpse of the man who killed his family and whipped it until the bones
turned to dust. But think about it.”
“Yes…”

“Wu Zixu wanted to dig up the grave for his revenge, but what’s this? Someone
already bore into the ground to make it easier to exhume the corpse. They even
pulled out the coffin. Then, do you think Wu Zixu would be thankful or happy that
someone dug up the grave? Or do you think he would be mad that someone touched
the grave of someone he lay claim to?”

“Uh…”

“Half of the revenge has been stolen by someone else. Isn’t that right?”[1]

Confused, I stuttered, “T-teacher.”

“Yes. Speak.”

“You’re not mad that I went overboard? Or that I chose a method that was too self-
sacrificing? Uh. Are you not scolding me for not taking care of my body…?”

“Gongja. You’re an adult now. You have to take care of yourself. Why should I meddle?
Raising you was hard enough. Do I still have to worry about you?”

The director spoke dryly. Amazing. The director who said such a thing so frankly was
amazing, and my memory, which forgot for a moment that he was that sort of person,
was amazing.

“I raised you kids to be as strong as possible. Sympathy can feel like a nice gift, but if
a person receives nothing but sympathy, they will lose strength and wither. Gongja. I
don’t pity your life at all. Live as you want.”

-Sure enough…

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered next to me. He was nodding like he understood something.

-I was wondering where Zombie’s temper came from. He’s learned it properly since he
was young…

Suddenly, I wondered how the kids who grew up in the orphanage with me were
doing. Hanbija was a member of the National Assembly now, right? Are there videos
of him on the internet?
“Gongja.”

“Y-yes.”

“Even if you did not hand me the recordings and videos, I would have worked hard to
kick Hwang Eunseo’s… Sorry. No, I don’t need to be sorry. Right. I would have worked
hard to kick Hwang Eunseo’s ass. Why did you dig up the grave by yourself? Do you
want to be scolded?”

No. I can’t get scolded at this age! Let alone in front of Bae Hu-ryeong and Shiny!

“No, but I also had to do something… I entered the stage one year before you,
Director. I-in addition, my immersion was at 95%. Don’t you think a person would be
rushed and hasty in that position?”

“……”

He paused.

The director hesitated when he heard ‘one year’ and ‘95%.’ Whoo! As expected of the
director! Even I knew now that he was considerate toward others, though he
pretended not to be. I had become an adult!

“That’s right. Director. You told us that we should live as we wanted. When I fell into
the stage, I was doing as I wanted. I was following your teachings.”

-Sure enough…

Bae Hu-ryeong muttered. Again, his face looked like he had understood something.

-I was wondering where the brat’s tongue came from. He’s been training his fucking
shamelessness since he was young…

At that moment.

“Mm.”

The Constellation Killer stood up. Like someone who had cried during a nightmare,
traces of water remained by his eyes.
“Death King. As you wished, I have come to understand [Kim Yul]. I felt him. I will
remember him. I learned many things, but there is one thing I want to ask you.”

Without wiping his eyes, the Constellation Killer looked straight at me.

“What do you want me to do from now?”

“……”

I opened my mouth.

“Kim Yul is the victim. He was killed. As he died, he left his final words.”

The one that murdered me was you.

Don’t forget.

You killed me.

His grudge, assembled in three texts.

As he threw away his life, he passed on a scream so that the culprits, those beasts,
would not forget what they had done. To be haunted by the memories. Forever.

“But.”

I took out a handkerchief from my pocket and gripped it tightly.

“You forgot.”

The Constellation Killer tilted his head.

“What are you referring to?”

“The lives that were sacrificed when you killed the Constellations. The people of
many worlds.”
“I forgot.”

On the 50th floor, where I had taken a shortcut to get, the Constellation had said this.

『I have amnesia, Stranger.』

That he couldn’t remember what he had done.

『My mistakes come down to two things. First, I did not think of the possibility that
new Constellations would be born if a Constellation disappeared in a world. Second,
I neglected the fact that a dead Constellation could cast a curse on the world.』

『I will not make the same mistakes in the future.』

『Tell me what you want as an expression of my gratitude for this advice.』

I clenched the handkerchief again.

“It was something done without knowledge nor intent. It’s over if you forget it and
live on without remembering. But did [Kim Yul] think those beasts deserved to
forget him?”

“……”

“The ones who tore apart Kim Yul were the worst types of bastards, Constellation
Killer. But that doesn’t change the sin you’ve committed.”

What I wanted was…

“Don’t use the same excuse those animals did.”

…for you to change.

To return from being a puppet.

If it was possible to become human, to become human.

“Look at those who have wronged you. Then, look at those you have wronged. Please
face it squarely.”
“……”

“Please make a decision here. If you hate it, I will not use 100 Ghosts Reincarnation
to call you again. And one day, for certain, I will find and destroy all of your dolls. But
if…”

“If?”

The Constellation Killer looked at me.

The blue surface of his pupils was shaking.

“If I face it squarely, what will happen?”

Whether it was a trace of the person who had attended Shinseo High School, was a
part of Grade 2, Class 5, or if it was the Constellation Killer himself who felt these
emotions, I didn’t know.

Because I didn’t know, I asked.

“What would Kim Yul do?”

Then.

“What do you want to do?”

The Constellation Killer opened his mouth.

“I…”

[1] Localization note! In the raws, the director says that the first two characters of a
four-character idiom (look up Chengyu if curious) were taken out. The idiom in
question is 굴묘편시, or 振墓鞭屍 in Chinese, which means to exhume a body for
public flogging (lit. dig + grave + whip + corpse).
The Great Library of All Things.

The shadows of the bookshelves overlapped, creating a complex net.

“I don’t know.”

The Constellation Killer’s voice wandered inside that net.

“It’s difficult. I can’t fathom it. Did I kill so many? You say that such a great number of
people lost their lives because of me. It’s impossible to take responsibility for killing
one person, but for the people of countless worlds…”

The Constellation Killer pulled out a diary with fumbling hands.

Maybe it was a trace of Kim Yul that was left. The Constellation Killer kept a diary
even as he lost his memory.

“The Guardian Goddess, Old Man Hidden in the Deep, Follower of the Blind Eye.”

They were the Constellations he had killed.

The Constellation Killer quietly recited the names crossed out in red ink.

“The Large Snake Born inside Seven Sounds, The Stork that Serenades the Cosmos,
The Witch Who Dies at Morning Frost, The Lion that Dreams of Endless Destruction,
Poison Corpse Flower, The Moon that Swallows the Month’s End, The Yellow Dragon
of Dynasty Lake…”

The names continued. There was no sign of an end.

After calling hundreds of names one by one, the Constellation Killed slowly looked at
my face.

“…I don’t know. I have no way to know. But when I entered Kim Yul’s body, I felt his
frustration with the world, and when I spat out curses, I felt the same as Kim Yul. I
resonated with him. Kim Yul wanted revenge on those who had wronged him.”

The Constellation Killer was silent for a moment.

“Is that it?” he muttered.

“I, too, must receive the revenge of the worlds.”

Snap.

The Constellation Killer closed the diary.

“The end of my life would not be enough recompense. Eternal agony. Those worlds
would only wish for my eternal suffering. But mere suffering has no significance…
What kind of suffering must I endure to apologize to those who have already died?”

I nodded my head.

“Librarian.”

Like he was waiting for me to call, the Corner Librarian stuck his head out from
behind a bookshelf. His cheeks were flushed red.

“Welcome back! Unlike the previous Apocalypses, I, and everyone else, was unable to
view the story directly. I’ve just hurriedly read the newly registered side story of
[The Tale of the Ascending City]. Uh-huh, indeed, it’s…”

“That’s enough. Get over here.”

“Death King, you become harsher with me by the day…”

The Librarian feebly flew over.

“There. I’ve come. What would you like me to do? If you wish, I can—”
“Please hand over [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim].”

“Ahh… I know what I was saying, but did you know? The books I possess are all my
holy relics. Of the numerous beings in the world, only I can create them. It’s difficult
if you tell me to hand over such precious books like they’re pieces of fruit… But, of
course, I will give it to you.”

The Librarian handed me the book.

“Constellation Killer.”

“Yes.”

“Your story is written inside this book. How you fell into a new world, how you met
the Guardian Goddess, and even how you became Lefanta Aegim and the
Constellation Killer. Your whole life is recorded here.”

“……”

“You may have lost your memories, but they aren’t lost forever. You can get them
back again.”

The library became silent. The Constellation Killer wordlessly looked at [The Epic of
Lefanta Aegim]. The Librarian exhaled softly and stared at the two of us.

He had understood right away what I meant.

The Constellation Killer had not.

“When you say [again].”

“Yes. Like we had glimpsed into Kim Yul’s past.”

“…From the beginning?”

“From the beginning.”

“You are saying I should look through my life, my centuries of living, from the
beginning again.”
“What you’ve done, what you’ve thought, what worlds you trod upon, and how the
denizens of those worlds lived.”

“……”

“Remembering is the first step to everything. ‘Don’t forget.’ Kim Yul staked his life on
those words. You have to put down your life as well.”

Stillness.

“I understand.”

Stillness.

“I judge that your words are right.”

And silence.

“……”

The Constellation Killer accepted [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim] from me. To receive it,
the Constellation Killer had to put away his diary again. Instead of the diary stitching
together his disparate days, he held the record of his life from beginning to end in his
hands.

“Indeed,” said the Constellation Killer, holding the book. “Simply repeating your life
makes the world hellish. Does each person shoulder a type of hell?”

The Constellation Killer turned his head to where the director was sitting.

“Class President.”

The director didn’t respond immediately when he was called ‘Class President.’ He
couldn’t have. His silence contained a gap spanning decades.

“…Yes, Kim Yul-ssi.”

The Constellation Killer, too, didn’t respond immediately when he was called ‘Kim
Yul.’ He couldn’t have. His silence contained a gap spanning centuries.
The decades that one person endured and the centuries that one person threw away
settled in the quiet air of the library.

“Kim Yul thought that he wanted to forgive you, and I agree with him,” said the
Constellation Killer. “I want you to accept the forgiveness.”

The director closed his lips.

The director shut his eyes. But was that an accurate statement? Most likely not. The
director was not in control of his body. Rather than closing his lips, his lips were
closed, and rather than shutting his eyes, his eyes were shut.

“……,……”

A pained sound, almost like a gasp, broke through the director’s lips. ‘Thank you.’
The director could say that. ‘I’m sorry.’ That was likely what the director wanted to
say. But the director held back his words. What he couldn’t hold back escaped as a
groan.

“……I……”

The groan wasn’t made of words but broken fragments.

But somehow, I could understand the picture the fragments wanted to paint.

“If I, a little… more……”

If I lived a little better.

If I had a little more power.

If I was a little smarter when I was young.

“……”

That moment, I realized something.

A tremor caused my body to jolt like a thunderbolt. The director’s tightly closed
mouth, shut eyes, the backs of his hands that gripped the floor. His aged skin. The
trembling of his arms. Seeing his whole bent form, I realized something.
‘Ah.’

The director was screaming.

‘What I have to prove.’

In this world, there were people who were screaming.

‘What I want to prove.’

Beasts mixed with humans in this world, and among them were people screaming
alone, like islands, and somehow, the scream entered my ears and the sight entered
my eyes.

I just wanted to be proof of the screams.

‘There is a person here.’

My infernal heavens.

‘A person is living here.’

Anyone who learned the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art, any cultist who preached
the Doctrine of Shadows, for certain, without question, must have felt the emotions I
felt now.

That was anger. Sadness. Seeing the hungry, the thirsty, the nine sections of life and
nine types of death, they must have felt that [this cannot go unproven]—that
someone had to bear witness.

“……”

I wanted to prove it.

I wanted to let everyone know.

I wanted to infix that someone was there, had existed, and bore a scar that nothing in
the world could erase.

‘Don’t forget.’
I wanted to express the director’s form in my infernal heavens.

That wasn’t all.

The dance of the children inside a burning mansion as they smiled at me. Preta’s
voice crying to the skies as she held the bodies of a mother and babe in the middle of
a town. The figure of my master as she brandished her sword in the snowy field she
was named after. Raviel. Raviel—

‘I can’t let myself forget.’

The first form of the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art carried starvation within.

‘Now, I must embed my infernal heavens.’

First, the children’s dance.

Second, Preta’s scream.

Third, Master’s blade.

Fourth, Raviel’s sacrifice.

Fifth, the director’s silence.

‘I want to carry them.’

But could I do it? Me?

It was hard enough to carry starvation. Could I carry a person’s—no, many people’s
lives?

‘Even if I have to devote my life to it.’

I was determined.

Meaning arose in my life.

‘Let’s prove that a person lived here. Let’s prove that a person died here. I will be the
proof of how they lived and how they died. I will capture the cries of beasts and the
screams of people. If they smiled, I will capture the vibrations of their smile, too.’

However.

‘Not yet.’

I wasn’t done here yet. Many things. My level wasn’t suitable for recharting the forms
of the Infernal Heavens Demonic Art from the start—this was an endeavor that
required tremendous effort for a chance to accomplish.

‘…That’s right. Let’s not rush. For now, I should do what I can.’

I turned my head.

Like that, I looked at our voyeur.

“Librarian. No, Hamustra.”

The Librarian’s shoulder trembled. The Librarian, who had been watching the
Constellation Killer and the director while panting heavily, twitched.

“M-my real name? For shame! Please call me by my title.”

“Please make it so that the Constellation Killer can read [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]
whenever he wants. It doesn’t need to be about conquering a stage. Just allow him to
view the world as you do.”

“Ah. Ahem. Mm.”

The Librarian wheezed and fell into deep thought.

“To do that, I must share my authority… I would have to make him an apostle. Hmm.
Some Constellations do mass produce their Apostles without scruples, but I… Having
Apostles is a little awkward… Should I say, it isn’t my style…?”

There was no way that he, whose epithet was [Corner Librarian], could make a
subordinate or friend. He only ordered around weird servants like the bookmark
maids.

“You don’t want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to…”

“He may have been formed by the Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation, but the other
Constellation Killer is just a doll made with the [Puppeteer’s Parade] skill. Is there a
difference?”

“Ahem, mm. There isn’t a difference, but…”

“Please make a choice.”

“When you say choice…?”

“Until now, you’ve loved the story of the Constellation Killer. But, to use your manner
of speaking, the Constellation Killer’s path is now at a turning point. Two routes have
emerged.”

“A turning point.”

“Yes.”

I met the Librarian’s eyes.

“Route 1. In this route, the Constellation Killer has never met me. He has no memory
of having met me. He leaves to hunt Constellations whenever he has a week’s worth
of memories stacked up.”

The puppet route.

It was the route where the Constellation Killer followed the [Puppeteer’s Parade]
forever.

“Route 2.”

Then, there was this place where the Constellation Killer and I met.

“The Constellation Killer now knows Kim Yul. He remembers, and he will retrace the
life of Lefanta Aegim starting from Kim Yul’s days.”

It would be difficult.
“He will possess his body within the book and tread the same path he had walked for
hundreds of years.”

It would be painful.

“In that route, both I and the director will be present. He doesn’t have to absorb his
whole life at once. Slowly. Just what he can digest, one bite at a time. Resting on the
way is also acceptable.”

But that was the Constellation Killer’s life.

And one day, it would become Kim Yul’s life.

“Choose the Constellation Killer’s path that you desire.”

“……”

The Librarian looked at the Constellation Killer.

The Constellation’s silence did not last long.

“Constellation Killer. And Death King’s fosterer.”

Beaming, the Librarian opened his arms toward the Constellation Killer and the
director.

On this day, someone’s epilogue came to an end.

“How would you like to work as librarians?”

And someone’s prologue began.

2.

Now, let’s talk about someone’s prologue.

“Mm! It’s been a truly joyous and gratifying time.”

We were in the forbidden books section of the Great Library. The other Hunters had
gone back, and only the Librarian and I remained.

The Librarian seemed to want to say farewell to me separately. Below the bookcases,
where old hardcovers lined up like bricks, the Librarian looked incredibly small.

“Do you know, Death King?”

“About what?”

“The thing called happiness disappears quickly.”

The Librarian smiled.

“Happiness is something you savor in the moment. A moment so lovely that you can’t
help yourself. Alas, time is an endlessly flowing stream. Happiness floats away like a
maple leaf, again and again.”

The Librarian sluggishly waved his left arm.

Volumes of Apocalypses flew to him and gathered in one place.

Among them were Apocalypses that I had overcome and Apocalypses that other
Hunters had conquered.
+

22nd Floor: Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon (Genre: Martial Arts, Fusion)

23rd Floor: Saga of the Iron Knights in Space (Genre: SF)

24th Floor: Dawn Mountain Cabin Journal (Genre: Mystery, History)

25th Floor: The Tale of Sormwyn Academy (Genre: Romance, Fantasy)

26th Floor: Festival City Apocalypse (Genre: Sports)

27th Floor: Bakery Street Epic (Genre: Cooking, Business Management)

28th Floor: Me and Our Scapegoat (Genre: Fairytale)

29th Floor: The Tale of the Ascending City – Side Story (Genre: School)

“Ahh, how pretty… The [library catalog] isn’t bad. Though not flawless, it is much
better than the catalogs completed by the warriors of the other worlds. No, it’s
incomparably more admirable. So much so that I feel regretful I must gift them to
your world.”

The Librarian’s eyes twinkled like a little kid’s.

Everyone finds a personal treasure when they’re young. A fake jewel made of
translucent plastic or a rare white BB-gun pellet mixed in among a red and black
batch. A doll that was cheap but had pretty fingers.

We always need a secret treasure of our own. The Librarian was looking up at his
personal treasure.

“What did the Hunters of the other worlds do?”

“They did one of two things. They chose either an easy Apocalypse to challenge or an
Apocalypse that will be helpful to the Tower.”
“If you want to nitpick, we also did the latter.”

“Huhu.”

The Librarian covered his mouth with his sleeve.

“You’re much too humble. If merely clearing the stage was your goal, there was no
need for you to resolve the Heavenly Demon’s regrets. Do you know what would have
been the simplest strategy?”

“What is it?”

“Hiding in some secluded cavern.”

The Librarian tapped The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon.

As he did, the scene around us shifted. Whooosh! Light shrouded my vision. In the
blink of an eye, the library disappeared. Suddenly, we were floating above a snowy
mountain where gusts of snow whirled about.

-Hey. From what I see, we just need to wait until they die.

Hunters I had never seen were hiding in a cave. Attire completely different from our
world’s. I realized that they must have been Hunters from a different world.

-Nothing really hard about it. We just need to watch for the zombies wandering
around.

-Great! Let’s all hang in there and wait it out!

Looking down at them, the Librarian spoke.

“This is a record from the far past. These Hunters made an attempt at [The
Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] long ago. They were climbing the Tower of
another world. These fellows chose to hide and wait until the Heavenly Demon and
the Murim Lord died.”

“……”

“Ten days after the starting point, the Mjrim Lord dies. The Heavenly Demon goes
mad. While mad, she recklessly uses her innate true chi and dies. Tada! The stage is
clear!”

The Librarian playfully wiggled his fingers.

“Well, these fellows’ hiding spot was poor, so the zombies caught them off-guard and
slaughtered them. But their strategy itself was not wrong. [The Chronicles of the
Heavenly Demon] would clear itself if they just waited. They only had to prepare
measures against the cold, plan out provisions, and have the skills to avoid the
zombies and the Heavenly Demon. Isn’t the B-Class difficulty just right?”

“……”

“But Death King, you did not do that.”

The Librarian looked at me.

The long-ago snowstorm over the Constellation’s shoulders looked like a hologram.

“You always treated the characters as people. You gave your utmost effort. You felt
anger and you felt sorrow. You accepted the stories of the Apocalypses as your own.”

The Librarian moved his left hand, tapping [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy] this
time. Fwoosh! The snowscape neatly faded.

We were in Raviel’s basement.

Raviel was standing over an unknown man, who was chained and kneeling.

-Th-this is fraud! It’s a fraud!

The man was blood-stained as if he had been tortured.

-Based on the strategy guide, you love white flowers! Why isn’t my favorability rising
even though I bring you flowers everyday, make you your favorite foods, and speak
pleasantly?! This is a fraud! This sort of ending makes no sense!

-Tsk.

Raviel, with a weary expression, clicked her tongue.

-Pathetic man. Are all Constellations’ apostles like this?

-F-fall for me! You’re just a knock-off Constellation! Hurry up and fall for me!

-… Do the Constellations see my world as the universe’s trash can, by chance? Is that
why they keep tossing trash one by one at me? Ah, for goodness’s sake. Caring for the
subjects is hard enough, but my life only continues to grow more difficult.

Raviel nimbly poured poison over the man’s head. His scalp began to melt.

-Kyaaaak! Keeugh! Aaaagh!!

The man writhed at the application of the deadly poison. Raviel sighed deeply and
left the basement. Bang. The basement door closed, silencing the man’s screams.

“This, too, is one of the things that occurred in the past.”

The Librarian shrugged.

“It is hard for humans to treat others as humans. I praise you for doing such a
difficult task. We won’t be able to meet again, but… please remember that I will
always cheer for you.”

“We can’t meet again?”

“Right! I must now invite and greet the warriors of another world.”

The Librarian chuckled.

“I cannot always attend to you. There are infinite worlds and towers. There are
countless warriors climbing their towers, just like you all! I must greet them all
because the Lord of Manseng… Ah, I apologize. I can say no more.”

The Librarian held out his right hand.

“Good work.”

The Librarian smiled softly.

“The Great Library of All Things will disappear from the 21st floor now. A small rest
area will be placed there instead. Well, I shall take special care and give you a
paradisial rest area.”

“Okay.”

I shook the Librarian’s hand.

“Thank you.”

“Uhuhu. To think that there would come a day when I would shake hands with my
favorite character and take in another favorite character as a librari… an?”

There was a reason the Librarian hesitated at the end.

Squeeze.

The Librarian tried to release the handshake, but I did not let go.

“Death King?”

The Librarian tilted his head to the side.

“Are you sad to be parting with me? That makes me very happy, but your world has
finished the 21st to 30th floors. Ah, the 30th floor will also be made into a rest area.
There is a book called [Recuperation City Story]. It is equipped with recreational
facilities that are almost heavenly, and as part of my special service…”

Expressionlessly, I looked down at the Constellation.

“……”

The Librarian became quiet.

“Death King…?”

To use the Librarian’s manner of speech…

“Why are you doing this? Y-you’re scaring me…”

…Kim Yul and the director finished their long prologue and entered the main story
today.

“Librarian.”

But that wasn’t all.

“I have something to ask you before we part.”

“What is it…?”

“You.”

Since the time I beat The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon.

“You don’t have a purpose in life anymore, right?”

I had been waiting for this moment.

3.

『Why do you like the Constellation Killer?』

『Lefanta Aegim is a man who kills Constellations. I can understand why you would
hate him, but I don’t see why you would like him.』

On the day The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon was complete, we went down to a
certain snowy mountain. A dragon, blackened by death, was before our eyes, and the
Librarian and I had our first candid talk.

『Since you’re the one asking, I’ll give you an answer. For a long time, I have had a
dream.』

『A dream, you say?』

『Exactly.』

The Librarian’s eyes had shone innocently.

『It is to make an appearance in a novel that I enjoy!』

The Librarian said that ‘intervening’ in a novel was different from ‘appearing’ in one.
He confessed how he wanted to appear naturally in a story as a character on the
same level as the others.

『I refuse to intervene. That means there is only one way I can become a character in
a story.』

『I can’t go up to the characters of a novel; the characters must find me.』

The Librarian whispered like a boy with his first love.

『Lefanta Aegim. The Constellation Killer tirelessly murders Constellations and

moves between worlds. One day, he’ll come to visit my world, the greatest library of
all time. To kill me.』

That was precisely the reason the Librarian loved the Constellation Killer.

『I am waiting. For the day when the Constellation Killer visits the Great Library.』

The only way that he could become a character in a story.

『I look forward to seeing him stand before me one day, following his own story and
his own will. On that day, I will finally appear in the story of Lefanta Aegim!』

The Librarian had said—

『Isn’t dying at the hands of the protagonist the greatest epilogue?』

Then.

I opened my mouth and spoke.

“You don’t have one anymore. A reason to live.”

“……”

The Librarian’s face froze.

“…What are you talking about?”

“You said that becoming a character of a story one day is your dream. You didn’t want
to force yourself into the story but rather appear naturally, and the Constellation
Killer was the only one who could fulfill that dream. But…”

I smiled.

“You’re no longer waiting for the Constellation to come kill you, right?”

“……”

“Do you think the Constellation Killer who has met the director will do that?”

The Librarian gulped.

“No, what are you… I don’t know what you’re saying. Death King, the Constellation
Killer who has met the director is just the result of your Hundred Ghosts
Reincarnation. The Constellation Killer on the 50th floor is alive and well. Won’t that
person someday come to kill me…?”

“That is true.”

I gripped the Librarian’s right hand even more tightly.

“But that Constellation Killer is not the route that you chose. I asked you earlier.”

Route 1.

The 50th floor Constellation Killer who had not met me nor forgave the director.

Route 2.

The Constellation Killer who did meet me and forgave the director.

I asked him to choose one of the two to accept as the Constellation Killer’s story.

“You selected the second route.”

Then, the Librarian accepted the latter as the true history. The story of the
Constellation Killer possessing Kim Yul and receiving the director’s apology—all that
had been accepted as part of the Constellation Killer’s life.
In other words.

“Let’s say that the Constellation Killer of the 50th floor finds you one day. Will… Will
you really be happy when that moment comes?”

“The Constellation Killer who hasn’t met the director. Can you accept that man who
hasn’t felt fury, sadness, revenge, and forgiveness as the real Constellation Killer? Can
you accept an ending in which you are killed by that Constellation Killer?”

The Librarian likely didn’t think this far, but he had basically destroyed his own
dream.

“There’s no way that you could. Because you’re someone who worships stories more
than anything. You would never want to die at the hands of an [extra] you don’t
accept.”

“Just so you know, there is no use denying it.”

Because I could see clearly before my eyes just who the Constellation loved.

‘Character window.’

Name: Corner Librarian

Favorability: 99

Favorite Genres: [Fusion], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure], [Horror], [History],

[War], [Sports], [SF], [Myth], [Fairy Tales]…

Disliked Genres: N/A

Favorite Characters: [Character], [Death King], [Kim Yul]

Disliked Characters: N/A

Favorite Plot: [Story]

Hated Plot: [Serial Discontinuation]

+

The Constellation Killer’s name had been changed to Kim Yul.

The order had also changed. My name was originally behind the Constellation
Killer’s, but now, it came before. It meant that the Librarian had come to love my
story more as the Constellation Killer’s story ended.

“……”

Silence.

The Librarian’s face was blank.

He looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“Death King, you, what have you… Since when did you plan…?”

“That day. I planned this from the day I heard your dream on that snowy mountain.
Of course, I hadn’t worked out all the details back then.”

But I had already drawn the big picture at the time. A project to make him like me
more than the Constellation Killer. So I chased after the Constellation Killer
persistently, maybe even obsessively.

To hunt a Constellation.

“Hamustra.”

The Librarian startled at his true name.

“You have two paths left to you.”

“Two paths…?”

“You can live here, forever unable to see your dream come true. You say goodbye to
me. You throw away the hope that the Constellation Killer will grant your wish one
day, invite in and greet the Hunters that treat characters like trash, and spend your
days secluded in the library like you have always done.”
“Eugh…”

The Librarian trembled slightly. Naturally unable to break my grip, he squirmed. But
the physical strength of the Librarian was insignificant, and my right hand held on
firmly.

“If you don’t want that, give it to me.”

“What… What are you referring to…?”

“The book that contains your story.”

The prey I’ve hunted for so long.

“Give me the book in which your life is recorded.”

It wasn’t an Apocalypse that recorded the fall of another world nor contained a
different world at all. It was this place. It was the book that contained the [Corner
Librarian] who lived in [The Great Library of All Things].

“I will make it into the 30th floor of this Tower.”

“……”

“Then, you would naturally become a member of our Tower as well. Do you get it?
You would become a character in our story. Become our colleague.”

The Librarian’s mouth dropped open.

“Ascend the Tower with me, Hamustra.”

4.

-Ooh, awesome library.

In ancient times, there was a being called ‘The Pond of Accumulating Memories.’
Humans could not pronounce the name of this being properly. ‘The Pond of
Accumulating Memories’ was just an arbitrary, fictitious name.

The real pronunciation was ■■■■■. Just as humans do not care about what a cricket
may call them, ■■■■■ did not feel the need to use the humans’ designation. The
most simplified pronunciation of the being’s name would be close to something like
‘Hamustra’.

-The atmosphere is pleasant, and the collection is excellent, too.

Hamustra.

That was what the humans called ‘The Pond of Accumulating Memories.’

-I gladly acknowledge it, ■■■■■.

But the human before him was different.

-This is the best library that my humble self has visited.

This human could use Dragon Speech at will. That in itself was fascinating. The Pond
of Accumulating Memories was an existence with great curiosity to begin with.
There was a high chance that he would like and be interested in this little being.

Nobody had stepped foot in this library thus far except for this human, his first
visitor.
-Who are you?

The human before him was emitting a truly vulgar smell. It was weird. The Pond of
Accumulating Memories could smell a dragon, but the being before him was not a
dragon. It gave off a godlike aura, but the being was not a god, either.

The Pond of Accumulating Memories had never seen a being like the human in front
of him.

-How did you come here?

Naturally, there was a vigilance to his tone.

-I never allowed your entrance. This is my world. Reveal your purpose, stranger.

-I’m not a book thief. Please don’t be too wary.

The human snickered.

-I am a sort of traveling insurance agent. I am visiting every existence like you and to
persuade you.

-I asked about your purpose.

-I am building a house. No, should I call it a villa?[1] If I am the landlord, I am trying to

convince you to become my tenant.

The human snickered again.

-……

The Pond of Accumulating Memories was annoyed. He felt annoyed for the first time
in thousands of years, or maybe more than double that. He loved all characters in
books, not discriminating between the good and evil; he treated the luckless and the
fortunate equally; but real life was different.

The Pond of Accumulating Memories was a great being. The definition of greatness
was subjective, but in the Pond’s opinion, greatness was the ability to hit or kill those
that annoyed him.
-Pest. Go away.

The Pond decided to use his greatness today as well. He lightly exhibited his power.

In the library, the Pond’s strength was absolute. Tough guys who had reached
transcendence, and ordinary people, of course, could only be torn apart and turned
into dust. The Pond was confident. A long time ago, before he had become as great as
he was now, he had disintegrated many things.

-Ah. I’m sorry.

The human before him did not turn to dust.

The human was fine.

-I just ruined the mood. But can’t you speak with me just a little more? I worked hard to
make it all the way here. Phew. The roads were blocked, and they were in poor shape,
too…

The Pond was surprised that its greatness had no effect.

It was a huge shock.

It was such a huge shock that the Pond fled from reality. His attack just then didn’t
show his power? It was invalid. He was treating it like it hadn’t happened. The Pond
finished excusing himself and attacked the human again.

-Now that I brought it up, I have to ask. Is there no door in this library? Is this some
sort of grave? You should poke out some windows, at least. It’s stuffy and suffocating.

The human was still all right.

-Should I make some for you?

Even worse, the human blew a hole in the library. While smiling a little.

-Ah. The air’s finally flowing now.

The Pond’s mind went blank.

-What the fuck?

It was the first time he cursed in thousands and thousands of years.

The library wasn’t just a simple area for books. It was like the body and soul of the
Pond. The fact that the human could pierce a hole through the library walls meant
the human could easily cut up his underbelly. The Pond was capable enough to
connect the dots, and he was smart enough not to want to be slashed.

-I get it! I surrender. What do you want from me?!

-I want your everything…

-I’d rather die!

-Ah. Should I? Can I kill you?

-……

The Pond was quite clever. At least, he was intelligent enough to realize the human in
front of him was fucking insane.

-As expected, you don’t want to die, right? Of course not. Life is a precious thing. Now,
my humble self also wishes to help you. Please sign here to keep your precious life.

It was unfortunate for the Pond that the nut job had unimaginable power.

-What is this…?

-It’s a contract.

-Can I ask what sort of contract it is…?

-Yes, of course. I’m not a gangster.

Even if the human wasn’t technically a gangster, the human wasn’t very far from one.
But the Pond did not point it out. Again, the Pond was smart. He knew what he could
and could not say.
-I am building a tower.

Tower.

-I will bring in beings like you. I will also allow the beings you consider insignificant
creatures to enter.

The Pond cautiously read the contract. As he did, his expression changed.

At first, he thought that the human was a crazy ruffian here to steal from his library.
The ruffian part was right. So was the crazy part.

But the human was not a thief.

The contract was filled with enticing offers.

-You’re going to let me peek inside all worlds? Really?

-Not all worlds. Only the worlds I have a hand in.

-… These confidentiality clauses.

-You must absolutely keep them.

The Pond didn’t need long to decide.

However, his curiosity deepened.

-Why are you starting this business?

It was interesting.

-What is it for? What advantage does it bring you?

-Nobody chooses to be born.

The human smiled.

-Everyone should be able to live one more life. It may not be the life they want, but they
would live because they chose to live.
The Pond couldn’t understand the human’s smile.

-Someday, you too will live another life, Mr. Corner Librarian.

He couldn’t understand those words, either.

5.

“……”

The Librarian looked up at me blankly.

Did he not understand me? Or did it just not hit him yet? Either way, it was all right. I
did not rush the Librarian and waited for him.

“You want me to climb the Tower with you,” the Librarian murmured after a long
time had passed.

“I-I am no an ordinary Constellation. Unlike the spirit possessing you or the holy
sword tied to you, I am officially entrusted with this stage. Despite my looks, I am of
a high class… To belong to this particular Tower is… If I do…”

“If you do, what happens?”

“…I do not know. I don’t know at all. Nothing like this has ever happened in the
history of the Tower.”

The Librarian’s shoulders shook.

“There are instances of Constellations being enthralled and acting as some warriors’
attendants. Quite a lot of them. And like how you swallowed [The Devil King of Fall
Rain] with your [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation], warriors have collected
Constellations, too. But… But I have never heard of a Constellation becoming a
Hunter…”

“Then you can be recorded as the first.”

“……”

“Hamustra. Don’t live in this sort of place.”

I looked around.

It was a tomb of books.

The traces of past worlds were gathered here. That was all. In this place, time did not
flow. Only the breaths spilled by other people and stories of other worlds were
sealed here.

‘It’s familiar.’

Just a place where you longed for and envied the worlds of others.

‘This place. It’s familiar to me.’

The room that I rented before regressing came to mind.

In my room, I had put up many pictures and interviews of the Flame Emperor.

The scale was pathetic compared to the Great Library, but…

‘In essence, it’s the same.’

That was why I could say this.

“Step up to the ring. Now.”

You had to come out of here.

“People get weirder and weirder when they stay in this sort of place.”

“I-I’m weird…?”

“A person’s life is recorded in an Apocalypse. You may think that you know
everything about the person by reading it, but that’s not the case. Hamustra, do you
remember what was written about the destruction of [The Chronicles of the
Heavenly Demon]?”

The Apocalypse narrated my master’s death like this:

「The Heavenly Demon suddenly succumbed to the epidemic and died.」

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“……”

“It says nothing. Nothing at all.”

What expression Master wore at the end, the cultists’ voices as they mourned, how
hard the children by the riverside worked to dig out the soft mud—you could never
learn that from reading the book.

You couldn’t.

“H-however!” protested the Librarian. “I can see and observe them!”

“That’s true,” I accepted easily. “You can enter the worlds yourself to observe the
events. When Master passed on, you must have grieved as I did. Of that, I have no
doubt.”

“T-then there’s no problem…!”

“But you wouldn’t have been sadder than I was.”

“……”

“You, too, must have held your breath when Master died in The Chronicles of the
Heavenly Demon. You would have felt awe when the Sword Emperor struck. But the
thing you felt? It was only ‘appreciation.’”

Squeeze.

I held the Librarian’s hand a little tighter and pulled him in closer.

“I bet you also love Raviel. You like her. But you know, you’ll never love Raviel as
much as I love her.”

“……”

“You’ve only had a taste, sitting inside this library. You’ve never put your life on
stage—you only lived as the audience. If you enjoyed a performance, you clap. If not,
you yawn. That’s all.”
“I…”

“Come live with us.”

The Librarian twitched.

“I’m bound by a… strict contract. If I attach myself to a specific tower or violate the
rules, I’ll definitely be punished by the Tower. I would probably lose all the authority
of a Constellation… I would be useless like that. I would be of no use to you.”

“This isn’t that kind of story.”

“……”

“And you know it, too.”

“……”

“Hamustra.”

I looked straight at the person before me.

“Dying by the Constellation Killer’s hands one day was your dream. Throw away that
dream now. I’ll give you a new dream. This dream won’t always be happy, and there
will be many times when it feels like a nightmare instead. There will be many parts
you want to erase. But if you want. If it’s what you desire, I’ll stay in that dream.”

I spoke again.

“Live a life with me.”

“……”

“You would appear in my dream, and I would appear in yours, and you and I can be
‘we.’”

The Librarian’s lips were trembling. And his left hand, which was shaking even more
than his lips, reached into his pocket. He pulled out a book that was thinner than The
Epic of Lefanta Aegim.
+

■■■■■

I couldn’t read the title.

It was the language of a world that we could not comprehend.

The Librarian—no, Hamustra—handed me the book that contained his life.

“Death King…”

“Yes.”

“I will give you my final advice as a reader. I’m your biggest fan. There is no reader
who loves you as much as I, and there never will be. So please, remember this well.”

“I’ll listen.”

“If you overuse your flirting like this, someone may misunderstand. Please use that
sort of language with only Duchess Ivansia. Otherwise, Duchess Ivansia will stab
your heart and kill you, Death King…”

“I already died that way once, but I’ll heed your words.”

“Death King…”

“Yes.”

“Is living as a human enjoyable?”

The Librarian was frightened.

I smiled.

“It sucks.”

I grabbed hold of [■■■■■].

“It’s like hard taffy, but even taffy is delicious when you chew it. Your teeth may
break sometimes, but I’ll help you.”

“Damn…”

The Librarian looked close to tears.

“To think something like this will make up the final lines of my Apocalypse…”

He held the spine of the book while I held the cover.

“Life doesn’t work so smoothly. It’s like a piece of art. Cope with it.”

We opened the final Apocalypse.

His voice was scared and tearful, but his words were firm when he spoke.

“Death King. Corner Librarian. I designate these two as characters of [■■■■■]. The
difficulty of this Apocalypse is undecided. When you open your eyes, the highly
acclaimed ending of the story will…”

“When we open our eyes, we’ll probably just be here.”

“…As you say.”

The Librarian looked up at me.

That moment.

“I declare this stage cleared.”

Fwoooosh!

White light wrapped around us.

[1] There’s an untranslatable pun here. Villa is 별장, and the first syllable 별 can
refer to stars (as in Constellations)
The library became brighter in an instant.

The light was just like a white current of water. It moved like it was alive. [■■■■■].
The light-water torrentially poured from Hamustra’s Apocalypse. The waves of life
swept over our surroundings, spilling between the bookshelves.

The light flooded.

[Stage clear.]

The Apocalypse did not stop spewing light. Chwaak! Whooosh! The level of the light-
water quickly rose, submerging the building-high bookshelves of the Great Library.
Even the forbidden books, which had not seen light for a thousand years, were
brilliantly illuminated.

A white flood.

A pure white pond.

[Today.]

We stood in the center of the flood of light that drowned the world.

[The 30th floor stage has been cleared.]

The screams of Hunters faraway entered my ears.

“Kyaaaak!”

“W-what is this?!”
They must have been caught off-guard by the unexpected flood of light. But
thankfully, my reliable colleagues were in the library. There were many of them. For
every panicking Hunter, there was someone to console them.

Though I couldn’t see their faces behind the bookshelves, I could make out each of
their voices.

“Good grief! I’m dying! I thought my vision was going dark these days, but it’s
completely gone the other way! Eesh. Oh, my. You! Shouldn’t a youngun make some
medicine for an old man without being asked?”

Medicine King.

“Yes, b-but we have to distribute medicine to the people who need it first. I’m sorry,
but you don’t seem to need it much, Medicine King… What about getting fitted for
new glasses instead…?”

Alchemist.

“Ahh, this is just the stage being cleared. It’s merely light. You guys may not have
experienced this before, but I’ve seen it several times already. A mysterious thing…
you become accustomed to it the more often it occurs. Anyway, I’m saying that you
shouldn’t act rashly.”

“Ohhhh! Master!”

“We believe in you…!”

Venomous Snake and his peons.

“Huh? Oh? Did the 30th floor clear on its own? Aha. I’m happy that we saved some
time. Guild members of the Ten Thousand Temple, prepare to transmit! We need to
catch up on our work as soon as we return to Babylon!”

Heretic Questioner.

“How troubling. I have no experience working as a librarian.”

“I know the basics, Kim Yul-ssi. I’ll help you.”

“…Please.”

The Constellation Killer and the director.

That wasn’t all. The Black Dragon Master, the Count, and the Crusader’s voices were
there, too. People’s voices—some far, some quite close—passed through the
bookshelves filled with thick hardcover books.

Yes, the whispers of the people in the library all came to me. It was as if the surge of
light was drawing in the sounds.

By my side, the small Librarian was shaking.

[Announcing to everyone again.]

[Today, the 30th floor stage has been…]

Bzzzzz—

A static noise was mixed with the Tower’s voice.

The Librarian, who had already been trembling, flinched.

[Warning!]

[An abnormal challenge has been detected.]

[Giving a warning to ‘The Corner Librarian.’]

“Ugh.”

The Librarian grabbed my sleeve.

“I-it doesn’t matter. I’ve chosen ■■■■■ as the 30th stage. I stand by this as the
administrator of the 21st to 30th stages. As the Constellation governing ■■■■■, I
acknowledge the stage as being cleared…”

[Repeating the warning.]

[‘The Corner Librarian’ will receive an immense penalty if the stage clear is
announced.]

[Confirming whether to proceed with the stage clear nonetheless.]

My sleeves were scrunched with more force.

“……”

The Librarian’s shoulders were stooped in. Usually, he looked bigger than he was
because of the oversized clothes he wore. He didn’t look big now. He was small. The
space that the Librarian took up in this world was trifling.

Leaning against my chest, the Librarian looked up at me.

“…I don’t care.”

He was speaking to both the Tower and me.

“I,” said Hamustra, “I’m going to live in this Tower. Please… accept my resignation,
Lord of Manseng.”

For a moment, it was quiet. Then—

[Announcing to everyone again.]

The white noise cleared away from the Tower’s voice.

[Today, the 30th floor stage has been cleared.]

The announcement was received with an outburst of triumphant cheers. The library
was still flooded with light, but the Hunters heard the announcement. They were
elated by the thought they had finally succeeded.

But there was a voice that only Hamustra and I could hear.

[The Corner Librarian cannot maintain his authority.]

[Starting class modification.]

I had heard this phrase a long time ago.

They were the same words as when Preta lost her shell of being the Devil King of Fall
Rain.

[The Corner Librarian is being stripped of his title.]

At that time, Preta had screamed, ‘No!’ She had been dismayed at losing her status as
a Constellation. She had struggled to stop her descent.

Hamustra’s reaction now was different.

Without a word, he squeezed his eyes shut.

[Announcing once again.]

[The Corner Librarian is being stripped of his title.]

[The Corner Librarian is being stripped of his authority.]

The Apocalypse that Hamustra and I held in our hands slipped. Maybe I should say
that it ‘melted away’ instead. Drip. Drip. The cover of the book turned into mushy
slime and plopped down, and the papers became like melted wax as they dripped
down too.

[May luck be with you.]

Then, the Apocalypse turned into light and disappeared.

“……”

For a while, Hamustra didn’t say anything. He quietly breathed in and breathed out.
As his small torso rose and fell repeatedly, Hamustra, who had been trembling in
fear, slowly calmed down.

“Haha…”

Hamustra hopped in place.

“Look at this, Death King.”

His long sleeves flapped. The sleeves were so long that he couldn’t get them off the
floor. As Hamustra jumped in place, the sleeves rose up very slightly but receded
back down to the floor.

“I-I can’t fly.”

Hamustra looked at me and smiled.

“I can no longer fly in the air. But I loved watching the worlds from above, all day
long. It was my hobby. Or looking out at the horizon for weeks. My hobbies have
disappeared…”

“Yes.”

“Many things are gone now too.”

“Yes.”

“My dream came true. My dream to enter a story myself came true, and I’m happy. I
really am, but… I’m scared. I’m afraid. I love you and the others. I care for you all. I’m
scared that you and the others will not like me. I want to be loved by everyone…”

“Hamustra.”

I put my hand on Hamustra’s shoulder.

“Stop dreaming about impossible things.”

“……”

“Let’s take it step by step. Your hobbies are gone, but you can find new ones. How
about it? Is there anything you want to do to commemorate your fall as a
Constellation?”

“Actually, I have two wishes.”

“Tell me. If I can grant them, I will.”

“First, please stop speaking formally to me…”

That was a wish I could fulfill.

“Okay. Sure. What’s your other wish?”

“My second wish is a little expensive… It’s so extravagant that you are certain to
shudder like there is an earthquake, Death King…”

“What is it?”

Hamustra wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He sniffled. A long time later, when he
lowered his arm, Hamustra was smiling.

“I want to drink a white mocha frappucino venti quadro shot java chip half and half
chocolate drizzle…”

It really was an extravagant luxury.

But thankfully, that too was a wish I could grant.

6.

There was an afterword I want to share.

“I see. That was why my wife had died.”

Raviel was speaking while wearing a school uniform and drinking cider.[1]

There.

Anyone in the know would understand how miraculous of a collaboration the

previous statement was.

Look. [Wearing a school uniform], Raviel drank [cider].

Even the epic creation and destruction of the universe could not approach the
sublime quality of that sentence. I was feeling the same emotions as a church
member who witnessed with his own two eyes the creation of the…

“Gongja. You’re shaking.”

“I-I’m not.”

“Is that so?”

Raviel, whom I was holding in a princess hold, tilted her head. Just so you know, it
had been over three hours since I assumed this position. Using Aura was forbidden.
Skills, too. I had to hold out with pure brute strength and mental fortitude.

“No matter how I look at it, you’re shaking.”

The tip of Raviel’s mouth arched up.

“Ah. Could it be that I’m heavy?”

“You aren’t heavy. You’re as light as a feather, Raviel!”

“What kind of feather? A dinosaur feather? An archeopteryx feather?”

“You’re lighter than the feather of a newly hatched chick!”

“Thank goodness. I almost felt so bad that I was going to leave my beloved’s
embrace. But since you say there’s no problem, I will happily enjoy your wonderful
grasp.”

Raviel put the cider can against her lips. A drop of clear cider was daubed on her lips.
Oh, how I hated that drop of cider. I wished it would evaporate. Evaporate and return
to the embrace of Mother Nature…

To explain the situation, we were on the 29th floor, the world of [The Tale of the
Ascending City – Side Story].

As Hamustra warned, the side story did not change the history of the outside world.
It couldn’t be a part of true history. Only the city, with Shinseo Middle and High
School as the focus, was pulled out like a deserted island to become this stage.

The inhabitants of this world don’t notice anything strange, almost magically.

When Hunters like us entered the 29th floor, they were automatically enrolled as
middle or high school students. They could live as if they had always been a student
in this world. There was also a university, but that was all.
It was literally a university town.

To sum it up, the stage was completely useless except for the fact that you could go to
school, but…

“Public education is a wonderful thing.”

That, too, was surprisingly useful.

“It is a place where even those who are less wealthy can learn to their hearts’
content. Isn’t it a dreamlike system? Our empire also plans to send talented
individuals here for ‘study abroad.’ As expected, my love is more than qualified to be
called the Moon of the Ivansia Duchy.”

“Um. They probably won’t be able to learn much…?”

“That doesn’t matter. The purpose of education is to share common knowledge. A

nation is an abstract concept that can slip into a delusion with a single misstep, so
we must take action to ensure all members of the nation can share the same dream.”

“The same dream…”

“Mm. I’ve been pondering how to put the people of the Tower in harmony with the
empire’s citizens. The imperial citizens who are educated here can bridge the two
forces.”

Raviel sometimes talked about difficult topics. She was so cool.

Anyway, the reason I was holding Raviel for over three hours was this.

“Well, let’s continue talking politics later. Right now, I want to savor your
punishment.”

Right. I was currently being punished…

It was obvious why.

“I was really surprised, Gongja. Who wouldn’t be if you regressed 24 hours while
working in your office? I paused for a moment, but I figured out the situation soon
enough. Ah, of course. My wife must have died somewhere again.”
Raviel pulled out a golden card.

[A Regressor’s Love]

Rank: EX

Effect: For a regressor, love is like poison. No matter how much you struggle, you
can’t share your time with the one you love. Thus, a certain regressor begged. ‘Please
retain my lover’s memories.’ That wish reached the Tower and became true.

You share a timeline with your beloved. When your lover regresses a day, you go
back a day. When you regress a day, your lover regresses a day. This is the covenant
of the ring. This is the marriage of time.

May luck be with you both.

※However, the skill only works when you and your beloved love each other.

Right.

Because of [A Regressor’s Love], when I died, Raviel also regressed 24 hours. When I
was killed by the Constellation Killer, Raviel underwent the regression, too.

Of course Raviel knew that I died.

According to the Golden Silk, who was working as a servant for the Ivansia duchy,
Raviel muttered, ‘I don’t know where, but a bitch just touched my wife,’ as soon as
she regressed.

With a blank face. A blank expression.

The Golden Silk felt cosmic horror that day.

“I’m sorry…”

“No. You needn’t apologize,” Raviel said calmly. “From what you say, you’ve worked
more than hard enough. Didn’t you try desperately not to die? If you died regardless,
I couldn’t blame you.”

“R-right?”

“Ahh. I couldn’t blame you if you jumped ahead to the 50th floor when you just made
it to the 29th floor, picked a fight with the strongest person on the 50th floor, and
pulled an aggro move on the entire floor. My love, everything you did was perfectly
reasonable. Nothing about it was reckless at all. I understand.”

“I’m really sorry…”

“Are you truly sorry? Do you know what you did wrong?”

Raviel pinched my cheek. Streeetch. My cheek lengthened like fresh mochi.

I was moved.

‘Ahh, Raviel is pinching my cheek.’

My eyes beheld the sight of her in a school uniform. I held Raviel, in the uniform, in
my arms. Was this really a punishment? Wasn’t this a reward, instead? Maybe Raviel,
my goddess, was praising me under the guise of discipline…?

“This is no good. This man…”

Raviel lamented.

“Your eyes have gone bad. Though your slightly strange tastes are charming, this has
become serious.”

“I love you, Raviel.”

“I love you, Gongja.”

Ah. The scent of cider.

I liked it…

I was so happy…
-Fuck.

The uninvited guest clamored behind me.

-Do I have to see this shit every time these guys meet? Huh? Can’t be, right? This is kind
of bad, isn’t it? Love is said to be caused by hormones, but these two take that to the
next level. What did I do wrong in my past life to witness this hell?!

[Shiny thinks that you must have committed many sins.]

-F-fuck…

A hero ought to ignore the peanut gallery.

While listening to my story, Raviel toured around Shinseo Middle and High School. I
talked about who had killed me, what his past was, what he lost, and what he gained
back. Raviel examined the classrooms and the rooftop as I led her.

“Mm.”

Raviel nodded.

“Good job, Gongja. This was worth your time.”

She understood. While I endured pain in my arms and heaven in my mind for three
long hours, if I had to choose between my arms and my brain, I thought that it was
an overall win. A huge win.

“Now, I should see the mug of the man who killed you myself.”

“Raviel. I said this earlier, but that person is probably your ancestor…”

“That’s even more disgraceful. An ancestor should kindly leave the work to their
descendents, but he dared to touch the moon of the family? The current Ivansia
belongs to me. I must crush him according to the family rules.”

Sorry, Constellation Killer.

I’m sorry, Kim Yul.

You’re dead meat now.

“And.”

Raviel smiled. On the rooftop of Shinseo Middle and High School, the setting sun in
the sky shone a red light on Raviel’s lips.

“I want to greet the one who has raised you.”

“……”

“Will you take me to them, Gongja?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

Then, with Raviel still in my arms, I whispered.

“Transmit.”

Light enveloped us.

In the next moment, we were at the library on the 30th floor.

Though it had only been a few days, the library changed a bit. First of all, accessible
and restricted areas were strictly divided. The bookshelves in the accessible area
were decorated with ordinary books, and Hunters leisurely read at the tables.

It was a tranquil scene.

On the tables where the Hunters sat were coffee cups or glasses with drinks.

“Ah.”

Hamustra, who had been going around the tables, noticed and approached us right
away. Instead of his loose-fitting clothes, Hamustra was wearing a neat employee
uniform.

“Welcome, Death King. Oh? The Silver-Plated Heart has come, too. Such dignified
guests have all come together!”

A library cafe.

Hamustra had decided to work here for now. Though he didn’t feel confident enough
to go down to the city on the first floor, he had decided to slowly interact with the
Hunters and live as a human.

“Yeah. Is Kim Yul around? Raviel wanted to see Kim Yul’s face…”

“Mug, my wife.”

“…Raviel said she wanted to see Kim Yul’s mug.”

Hamustra beamed.

“It’s worth travelling so far to see Kim Yul’s face. I understand. He should be
organizing children’s books right now, but I’ll call him.”

There was still a lot to talk about.

Who had taken over to manage the Great Library after Hamustra’s downfall; how the
Medicine King came to foot the bill to set up the cafe like he had bet everything; why,
even now, the Medicine King was wearing a bartender outfit at the cafe counter and
making coffee; etc. etc.

The story was far from over, but…

There would be other opportunities to talk about them.

“Then, I’ll show you two to your seats!”

Like always, that story would continue on a stage a little higher than the last.

[1]: Cider, as many of you Koreaboos already know, is lemon-lime soda and also slang
for something great.