Chapter 378. Epilogue (2), Their Story [Part 2] [COMPLETE]
Psss- Pieces of rocks crumbled down on Chae Nayun’s head. Like waterdrops gently falling on the ground, they only tickled her cheeks. Naturally, she was shaken awake.
“…Uuuuu.”
Chae Nayun twisted her body side to side before opening her mouth with a groan.
“Uk… uueek!”
She felt sore all over. Her limbs and even her internal organs ached. Thankfully, none of her injuries were lethal or incapable of treatment.
“Augh. Kuhuk.”
Chae Nayun coughed as she held onto her side where a pang of pain flared up. Along with crumbs of rocks, blood shot out of her mouth.
“Fuu….”
She relaxed her exhausted body and looked around at the outcome of the event that just unfolded.
The expedition team had conquered most of the Tower. In other words, they were on the brink of conquering the Tower of Miracle. There should have been one final stage left.
However, while the team was in the middle of passing through the final hurdle, the floor had suddenly collapsed. Chae Nayun managed to push the others away to save them from the trap, but….
“Ssp.”
She herself had failed to avoid it.
Chae Nayun wiped off the blood around her mouth and fixed her posture. Then, she checked her smartwatch. She had received countless messages from her comrades.
[Are you okay, Miss?]
[We won the final battle, so please wait. We will come rescue you right away….]
Chae Nayun was about to respond but quit and put down her smartwatch.
“…Haa.”
Suddenly, she felt tired.
The Tower, rewards, life, everything.
In a way, she had lost her motivation.
She was eager and full of passion when she first entered the Tower of Miracle, and she thought she could forget about complicated matters like Kim Hajin, Chae Joochul, and Chae Jinyoon.
But now that things had come to this, she didn’t feel anything.
Although the team was just moments away from conquering the tower, she wasn’t happy and felt empty. She almost felt it would be better to just die like this.
Chae Nayun slouched her shoulders. Her body was cold. She rummaged through her pockets, but there was nothing to chew or smoke, and her body began to heal her injuries on its own.
With her body, she couldn’t even die easily.
“Tsk. …?”
Just as she clicked her tongue, she suddenly caught sight of something in the rubble.
It was a faint sparkle at first.
Something was sparkling within the mountain of rocks spread across the ground. It was enough to provoke a mild ‘curiosity’.
“What’s that…?”
Chae Nayun staggered up. Then, she slowly approached the light.
The silvery cluster of light became clearer as Chae Nayun drew near it. It was almost as if it was calling Chae Nayun.
Soon, she arrived at the source of light. She narrowed her eyes and looked inside the rubble.
“…What?”
The thing that was shining was a small rock. It was buried within some grey rocks.
Without much thought, Chae Nayun reached out and picked it up.
Then, strange characters popped up in front of her.
===
[Miracle Stone] [Pinnacle-grade Miracle]
▷One of the last rewards of the ‘Tower of Miracle’
—When used, the user will experience ‘Regression’, a pinnacle-grade miracle.
—The world before regressing and the world after regressing are separate worlds and will not affect each other in any way.
===
“…!”
Chae Nayun took a step back in shock. Her trembling hands let go of the stone, which then dropped to the floor.
Koong—
The stone made a strange reverberation, but the window in front of Chae Nayun did not disappear.
—When used, the user will experience ‘Regression’, a pinnacle-grade miracle.
Chae Nayun blankly stared at this sentence.
Then, she rubbed her eyes repeatedly. She thought it was only a matter of time before something so absurd disappeared.
—When used, the user will experience ‘Regression’, a pinnacle-grade miracle.
However, the message remained in the air. In fact, it let out an even brighter light and enticed Chae Nayun.
…Gulp.
Chae Nayun swallowed hard. However, she soon shook her head.
Even if this situation wasn’t a dream and was really a reward from the ‘Tower of Miracle’, the tale of Shin Myungchul and the Regression Stone was a well-known bedtime story by now.
As there was a side-effect to a miracle on the level of going back in time, it wasn’t something that could be done so easily.
But…
Her body didn’t follow her brain.
‘It would be problematic if this stone fell in someone else’s hands….’ Justifying herself, Chae Nayun held the [Miracle Stone]. The mystical power contained within the stone circulated on her palm and created a small gust of wind.
—When used, the user will experience ‘Regression’, a pinnacle-grade miracle.
Chae Nayun tightened her grip on the stone.
Doing so, she was naturally reminded of ‘a certain someone’. Perhaps the Miracle Stone was leading her thoughts in that direction.
In any case, she remembered her ‘relationship with Kim Hajin’, which was twisted from the very beginning.
Chae Nayun hated Kim Hajin, yet loved him at the same time. Both her love and hatred were eternally irreversible.
However, a miracle that could overturn this ‘irreversible’ problem had just appeared.
Chae Nayun stared at the Miracle Stone with a dazed look.
“….”
She pondered.
If she had a better ending, would she have the right to choose it?
If she did, would that really be the better ending? Or was she simply running away from reality?
“…Pft.”
Chae Nayun didn’t ponder for long. The answer was clear, so she only shook her head.
“After all you’ve been through?”
It was true that this item was hard to pass by. But it would also bring disaster elsewhere without a doubt.
And so, just as Chae Nayun was about to put the [Miracle Stone] away….
—As Baal has been annihilated, Baal will not exist in the world after the regression.
Chae Nayun froze.
She looked at the message that had been newly created. The bright light illuminating the message flowed into her eyes. This cluster of light became a message that whispered into her ears.
The message settled all of her worries.
The problem between Chae Nayun and Kim Hajin wasn’t Kim Hajin killing Chae Jinyoon. It wasn’t their meeting either.
It was all because of a devil known as ‘Baal’.
Without Baal, Chae Jinyoon wouldn’t have needed to die, and Chae Nayun and Kim Hajin would have had no reason to fight….
Wiiing—
It was then that the smartwatch she dropped vibrated.
“…Eu!”
Startled, Chae Nayun looked back and forth between the [Miracle Stone] and the smartwatch.
Not long afterward, she could feel the presence of her teammates close by.
With a Koong—, the sound of the Tower’s shell collapsing rang out. A Tower transforming into magic power and rising to the sky. This marked a successful Tower campaign.
Thus, Chae Nayun wasn’t left with much time to make her decision.
She looked at the Miracle Stone in her hands.
—Have a happy life.
Suddenly, Kim Hajin’s voice lingered in her ears.
Was it yesterday, or the day before? He had said these words with sincerity.
“….”
Chae Nayun stared at Kim Hajin, whose face was reflected on the surface of the [Miracle Stone]. She thought about the happiness this stone could bring her.
A bright voice and a bright face popped up inside her heart.
The Miracle Stone.
And Regression.
This was perhaps the only chance she had to reach a happy ending. But in another way, this could be seen as a way of escaping.
This item bringing about a dangerous temptation…
She looked at it for a long time.
**
The moment Chae Nayun discovered the ‘Miracle Stone’, Bell opened his eyes.
He could sense that the miracle assigned by Baal had been discovered.
“Looks like the Regression Stone has been found.”
Bell spoke to the existence fused within him. However, no answer returned no matter how long he waited.
Only after a long time did something undulate inside him and eke out a voice.
—I know.
It was Baal’s voice.
Bell smiled faintly.
Currently, Baal had been reduced to the soul of an ordinary human being. This was because his true self has been annihilated, with Bell having absorbed ‘a piece of Baal’s consciousness’.
In the first place, Baal was a soul that could not be extinguished easily. It was a bomb that could easily destroy a world if it exploded. As such, Bell voluntarily took on the role of keeping Baal’s soul, and to Baal, this was the greatest punishment.
“Do you think that child will go back in time?”
A smile spread across Bell’s face. He had asked out of pure curiosity. Baal was interested in the human known as Chae Nayun.
However, Baal returned a simple reply.
—That would depend on her feelings towards ‘that guy’.
It sounded as though he knew everything that was about to occur, yet he seemed to be looking forward to the future.
Bell smiled and asked.
“Mm… then wanna make a bet? I’ll bet 5 years that she won’t use it.”
—Then I will bet that she does.
This was a bet using their lifespan as chips. Although Baal had lost his body and his authorities, it was easy for him to make one person live for eternity.
As such, Baal wanted to curse Bell, who dared to use him, with the curse of ‘immortality’.
Of course, Bell did not want this, and after much debate, they began a bet using the base 100 years of a human's life as chips.
“Eii, there’s no way she’ll do it. Think about it. Shin Myungchul went back in time, making you come to Earth. Chae Nayun is a good kid. She won’t do it because of how eerie it is.”
—….
Hearing this, Baal fell silent.
Then soon, Bell felt a portion of the demonic energy in his chest disappear.
Bell’s face stiffened.
“Wait, that’s cheating. What did you do?”
—Nothing.
“Nothing, my ass…. Aha, you sent a message, didn’t you?”
A message crossing dimensions.
As Baal was the one who created the Regression Stone, it was no surprise that he could send a message to whoever possessed it.
“You did, didn’t you?!”
When Bell shouted, Baal smiled calmly. Baal had employed a dubious method, but Bell had seen him smile for the first time in a long while. Because of this, Bell couldn’t get angry and only furrowed his brows.
“Geez….”
—The bet still stands.
“Sure. I still bet on the same thing. 5 years that she won’t use it.”
—I’ll bet 10 years that she does.
“Did you forget? 5 years is the maximum.”
Bell smirked and leaned against the carriage wall.
It was then.
“Your Highness, please prepare for the coronation.”
His servant’s voice rang out from outside the carriage.
Bell replied “Yes” rather imposingly before looking at the mirror placed in the corner of the carriage.
The one reflected inside the mirror wasn’t Baal, but Bell.
Bell looked at the mirror and asked Baal.
“What is your plan from now?”
—…If possible, I want to kill the bastard who became the new god, but at my current state, that is a faraway dream.
“Can’t you tell your friends? Leraje and Vassago are still fighting on Earth.”
—Those two have already been corrupted by Earth. They will enjoy living as mortals to their hearts’ content before returning to the Transcendent Realm.
“Strange devils, aren’t they?”
—Strange? Most devils were angels at birth. Most of them interact with humans if they want to and play with humans if they want to.
Baal grumbled unhappily.
“Then why are you like this?”
—I was created to be defiant. Shouldn’t you know this too?
Baal was created from Kim Hajin’s setting. He was saying Kim Hajin had made him like this. In a way, it was a bit of a cruel fate.
“…Touché.”
Bell shrugged.
“King Terhun’s coronation will now begin—!”
Just as he was feeling a bit awkward, a loud shout rang out.
Sssk—
The carriage door opened from both sides. Beyond a brilliant red curtain, a ‘royal road’ made of highest-quality carpet spread out before him.
It was the pathway to his throne.
Hundreds of his servants were standing in a line to the side of the red road, and tens of thousands of citizens were looking up at him from underneath.
Bell slowly raised his head and looked up at the throne, which was placed close to the sun in a spot that could look down at all others.
“Arunheim’s glorious ruler, King Terhun—!”
A fierce shout resounded.
Bell stepped out of the carriage. With long-reaching steps, he walked up the stairs of the royal road step by step.
“O King—!”
“Your Majesty Terhun—!”
“Lord Savior who has overcome calamity and returned—!”
Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the coronation with loud screams piercing the sky.
As king, Bell kept their voices in mind.
So that he wouldn’t betray them, and so that he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
—Terhun… Is that a new name? It’s much better than Bell.
Baal muttered from inside his heart.
Bell fixed his gaze on the throne and murmured calmly.
“Look forward to it. A ‘mortal’ life is far more beautiful and fulfilling than you think.”
**
…Everything was destroyed in this world.
Standing on the black barren land, Jin Sahyuk looked around her surroundings.
There was no sign of life anywhere around her. Grass had become ash and scattered away, and the earth was barely breathing after being devoured by demonic energy. The trees were dyed in a reddish-brown hue, and the sky was stained purple.
“Tsk….”
Jin Sahyuk stared at this desolate landscape without a word.
Three months had already passed since she arrived in this place.
The home she knew was nowhere to be seen. Not even a tiny piece remained intact.
She recalled Earth as she stood in her broken home world.
Lying on the grass and looking up at the blue sky… hovering amidst the clouds, looking down at the ground…. Although she denied it at the time, thinking about it now, the landscape she enjoyed flashed before her eyes.
Kim Hajin. Or Kindspring.
The man who carried all of the mysteries of this world….
Jin Sahyuk closed her eyes and sighed.
Should I have seen him before I left?
Should I have asked him for advice?
“…Hu.”
Soon, Jin Sahyuk shook her head.
She was determined to live a lonely life.
A king must not show weakness and must live and die with her country.
If this world died, then she would happily die with this world.
“It’s a lot worse than I thought.”
Shimurin’s voice rang out. Jin Sahyuk raised her head slightly and looked at her. With a flick of her hand, Shimurin drove the demonic energy in the land away.
Jin Sahyuk spoke.
“You can go back if it is too hard. You’ve already been here for 3 months.”
“…Hm?”
Shimurin glanced at Jin Sahyuk as if she hadn’t expected to hear this. Then, she grinned and shook her head.
“It’s fine. The more difficult a problem is, the more stubborn I get.”
“…Don’t regret it later.”
Jin Sahyuk clutched her cape. It was the [Cape of Alexander the Great] she got from Kim Hajin.
“So, what’s your plan? Aren’t we in Plerion’s territory like you wanted?”
Shimurin asked.
“It’s simple.”
Akatrina had fully undergone Demon Realm Transformation, so it was obvious what Jin Sahyuk had to do.
Find people.
From what she saw on Earth, Demon Realm Transformation was only limited to the surface. If people survived, they should be living deep underground.
“I will find my citizens and go underground.”
Jin Sahyuk carried everything she brought from Earth and moved her legs.
But despite her confident declaration, her steps had no destination nor goal.
The intuition she always believed in was quiet today.
Could it be that even her intuition did not trust her?
Or was there no one left alive in this world?
“Haa… haa….”
Jin Sahyuk walked until her lungs were scalded by demonic energy. She didn’t use qi reinforcement or try to purify the demonic energy. As Shimurin’s magic was limited, Jin Sahyuk fell to her knees after six hours of walking.
Rustle— Rustle—
Then suddenly, something inside her cape rubbed against the cape. Jin Sahyuk purified the demonic energy within her through qi circulation as she put her hand inside her pocket.
However, she couldn’t grab onto anything.
Thinking that it might be the back pocket, she rummaged through that one too. But as expected, there was nothing there.
“…Hm?”
No, there was something.
It was a folded piece of paper.
Jin Sahyuk placed the paper on her palm.
‘What is this? Why is it here?’ Although she didn’t know at first, she remembered as soon as she saw the paper.
This was the [Infinite Communication Letter] she had used to communicate with Kim Hajin back when the two of them worked together.
With this, she was able to communicate with Kim Hajin.
“Ha.”
Jin Sahyuk smiled as she looked down at the letter. An unknown emotion welled up, but she soon fixed her resolve.
[Can you see this?]
She wrote four words with her magic power.
“Ah, why am I doing something so useless….”
She regretted it immediately afterwards, but she wasn’t given the time to blame herself.
——!
A screech rang out. The world shook once again. Jin Sahyuk and Shimurin turned to the direction of the sound.
A dinosaur-like monster was standing there.
Its huge legs boasted terrifying muscles, and its body was the size of a castle. It was bigger than any monster she had seen on Earth.
Jin Sahyuk put her bags down and roused her magic power.
“What a tough world.”
Shimurin muttered from next to her.
“But that’s what makes it more exciting.”
Jin Sahyuk answered as she stretched her body. The monster had already spotted them and was preparing to charge.
“Then let’s go.”
The moment Jin Sahyuk created hundreds of weapons with her magic power, tiny words began to appear on the Communication Letter.
Words continued writing themselves for a long time, but Jin Sahyuk didn’t have the time to look at it. This was because the monster was rushing towards them.
[I see it. Jin Sahyuk, right? What are you up to right….]
However, Jin Sahyuk could hear the soft sounds of words being scribbled on the paper. It was clear proof that the connection to Earth remained.
——!
The monster charged in while swinging its head.
However, Jin Sahyuk wasn’t afraid. All her worries and troubles had been resolved. As such, she could smile even in the face of this destructive monster running towards her while splitting the earth.
Jin Sahyuk felt like she could find her people here. That she could find traces of fire or footsteps left behind by them. And with them, she felt like she could rebuild Plerion.
This hope had all been re-kindled by the letter connected to Kim Hajin.
——!
The monster’s body and Jin Sahyuk’s magic power clashed.
Using ‘Reality Manipulation’, she temporarily expelled the surrounding demonic energy and turned the sky blue. And under the sky that had returned to its past color, Jin Sahyuk shouted while standing arrogantly.
“I’VE RETURNED—!”
Her voice was clearer and brighter than ever before.