novelThe Omen of Assembly (2)
| ← Ch.263 | Ch.265 → |
[Remake notice — Kim Chundong's diary]
「... The chirping of birds woke me up. Dry grass tickled my back. Leaves were swaying before my eyes. Clearly, I was not in my room.
Questions arose in my mind. Why am I here? Did someone kidnap me?
Whatever the case might be, it didn't really matter. I wasn't startled at all. I'd been drowning in indefinite numbness all my life. All these years, I had felt neither happy nor sad. For this reason, I quickly adjusted to this dramatic change without so much as a flinch.
Still, I figured I should at least find out where I was. I slowly got up and began walking through the forest. The more I walked, the stranger I felt. Above my head, two moons shined and countless stars twinkled.
After a while, I could hear people talking. I walked towards the sound. I pursued their voices.
I arrived at a strange village soon after. The villagers were all dressed in archaic fashion, and the buildings looked as if they had been built in the Middle Ages.
Nevertheless, I remained calm. Momentary confusion quickly subsided. The ice attributed magic power in my heart embodied unbreakable coldness.
I asked the villagers where I was. They replied that I was at 'the outskirts of Plerion, year 533'.
After that, I quickly grasped the situation. This was neither a dream, nor an abduction, nor a game. I had simply fallen into another world.
Who brought me here? How and why did they bring me here?
Such questions were meaningless to me. I lived only because I was born. I was alone from the beginning. So, the question of where I live was trivial to me.
I began my new life in 'Plerion'.
I began training in order to survive. Fortunately, Plerion was full of magic power. I practiced my sword skills and polished my magic power. After 10 years, I became a member of the Royal Knights.
My initial duty as a knight was to protect the royal concubine, who gave birth to a daughter named 'Prihi'. But the concubine never had the chance to meet Prihi in person. As the third princess, Prihi grew up in the royal palace, where her mother was prohibited from entering. The concubine was only allowed to watch her daughter from afar.
Three years went by. One day, a child came to visit me. The name of this child was Prihi. She wished to meet her mother. I found her tiny figure and sparkling eyes cute.
I secretly let her in. Prihi returned after 10 minutes of brief conversation with her mother. She gave me a big smile and expressed her gratitude.
The child, who was only three years old at the time, began to visit her mother once every week. Their faces grew brighter day after day.
Another year passed.
Without prior notice, I was transferred to the Royal Central Knights, away from the concubine. I heard that Prihi, who was unaware of my reassignment, had come to visit her mother as usual, only to be captured and punished by her father. Rumor had it that he whipped her until her tears dried up.
From then on, I spent my time away from the princess and the concubine.
As time went by, calamities began to appear across the entire continent. To make matters worse, the King fell ill.
Prihi, now five years old, came to see me. She told me her mother passed away, and that her brothers and sisters had murdered her. Prihi suppressed her tears and asked me for help.
'... Please become my servant. My mother died, and I am powerless.... '
It was then I realized for the first time that I could be someone's only hope. And I, too, sought hope in her.
Even then, the princess did not know my name. I introduced myself to her as Kim Spring. She asked me if my name was 'Kindspring' for clarification. I just nodded.
A lonely life without parents, friends, and love.
'... I swear by my name to serve Your Highness forever. '
Surely I wouldn't regret dedicating such a life to someone. 」
[Above is Kim Chundong's setting. ]
I chuckled to myself as I read Kim Chundong's diary. To sum it up, when I replaced Kim Chundong on Earth, the real Kim Chundong was transferred to a different world— to the 'past' of a different world.
"What's so funny?"
Jin Sahyuk frowned. She was completely serious right now. I began to prepare an answer in my head. But what exactly was I supposed to say in this kind of situation?
No matter how long I thought about it, there was no 'right' answer.
"... Kuhum."
I cleared my throat.
With a bitter expression, Jin Sahyuk asked.
"... Do you still hate me?"
"...."
I stared at Jin Sahyuk silently. Many emotions were flickering in her eyes.
'Should I just say no? Should I insist that I'm not Kindspring, that we only look alike... ?'
But my heart refused to lie. [Synchronization] trembled violently inside me.
"Be with me again."
Jin Sahyuk continued. It seemed she was confident that I was Kim Chundong.
"We'll figure everything out once we get back to our homeland. No matter how much time has passed, we have to go back to Plerion. Don't you know that?"
"...."
Her remark made me serious too.
Jin Sahyuk's only wish was to return to Akatrina and reconstruct Plerion.
But Akatrina's Demon Realm Transformation had long been completed. Even if she could go back in time, doing so would simply be an act of suicide.
"... The continent is already under the control of the devil. Reconstruction is impossible."
I flatly opposed, but Jin Sahyuk was adamant.
"If that's actually the case, then I might as well be dead. I am the King of Plerion. Life outside Plerion is meaningless to me. If I'm going to die either way, I'd rather die in my country."
Jin Sahyuk was determined.
To her, compromising was not an option. Her wish constituted the fundamental reason for her existence. But my answer was already set in stone.
"I decline."
"...."
Jin Sahyuk's shoulders trembled. She didn't do a very good job at hiding her anger, but her anger was directed towards herself, not me.
"It's late. Go to sleep."
I pointed at the door. Still, Jin Sahyuk looked at me without moving a muscle. Her lips trembled slightly as if she had something to say, but no words came out of her mouth.
Click.
Eventually I turned the light off and crawled into my bed. About half an hour passed before Jin Sahyuk's presence finally disappeared.
"Huu...."
Buried under a blanket, I thought of Kim Chundong.
But I couldn't come up with definitive answers to the questions in my head. The more I thought, the more lost I felt.
**
... A new day dawned. Jin Sahyuk couldn't get a wink of sleep. Thoughts, anguish, and misery haunted her. She was wide awake for most of the night, absorbed in thought.
She reached one conclusion.
'Of course he's not going to forgive me. After all, I still don't know how to say I'm sorry.... '
But there was one thing she couldn't understand.
'Why is Kim Hajin so fond of my past self, 'Prihi'? She betrayed Kindspring. '
"... Tsk."
Suddenly, Jin Sahyuk turned her gaze to the sun outside her window. The sun rose gracefully and shone down on the mountains and the streams below. The view of her hometown bathed in blue light was as beautiful as ever.
"What if...."
This was all too happy and too cozy to be an illusion. Couldn't she stay here forever? If she could somehow hinder others from collecting the crystal shards, she could stay here, in her kingdom, forever. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.
... But she knew she shouldn't.
This was not the real Akatrina. And it would be wrong for her as a king to settle for the fake over the real.
A king should not be complacent.
A king should protect her people and her land.
A king should not abandon her country.
A king should....
—No, that's not how you do it!
Suddenly, a cranky voice interrupted her train of thought. She got up slowly and looked outside her window, only to discover that dwarf called Alien or whatever repairing the castle wall.
—Here, watch this. This magic power will repair the wall-!
As soon as she shouted, cement began to cling and align itself perfectly to the wall. That Gift was clearly wasted on that dwarf.
—Hm? Miss Aileen, you're up early.
Jin Seyeon approached the dwarf. With a bright smile, she patted Aileen's head.
—Yup. Kim Hajin said he's gonna give me chocolates.
Kim Hajin.
His name alone was enough to ruin Jin Sahyuk's mood.
"That dwarf...."
'You can't address him so casually. He's not the kind of person you can get friendly with. He was my servant first. He only lived for me and not you.... '
But again, she was the one who abandoned her faithful servant.
Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth and shut the window. She drew the curtain and lay back on the bed in the darkened room.
Right now, she needed more time to contemplate and to make decisions.
**
[30F, Demon King's Castle]
Sparks of gold and black collided with each other and flew in every direction. Magic power and demonic energy swirled with each other, creating whirlpools. The whirlpools turned into a giant typhoon that violently tore apart the heaven and the earth. Sparks exploded, charring the soil.
And the result of the challenge lay at the eye of the storm.
Two men stood at the center of the storm, where the relentless clashes of magic power and demonic energy had subsided. Kim Suho's entire body was shining brightly. And his sword was lodged in the Demon King's chest. This was a fatal blow. It was now clear who the winner was.
Heavy silence filled the Demon King's castle.
Kim Suho froze, with his sword stuck in the Demon King's body. The Demon King did not move. He only looked down at Kim Suho. From afar, it seemed as if the two were hugging each other. A strange tinge of happiness flickered in the Demon King's eyes.
"Has it been... almost half a year?"
The King's voice reverberated, reeling.
"I had a... great time.... It was a lot of fun... watching you grow...."
The Demon King smiled happily. He reached out and touched Kim Suho's hair. The brown hair, which was now pretty long, swayed softly at his touch.
"I... will not... forget you... for you granted me death...."
The King's body started to turn into dust. From head to toe, his body slowly began to fade away. Kim Suho looked straight at the King with his unwavering eyes.
The King's last words were short.
"Thank you.... I'll gladly... accept this death...."
He said in one breath.
The King disappeared completely, and Kim Suho, now alone, looked at the empty throne across the room. Up until this point, the throne had always been occupied by the Demon King. Kim Suho was not used to the vacancy.
"... The final floor still remains."
The witch approached him. She stood behind Kim Suho and continued calmly.
"It is called the [Floor of Decision]."
A golden staircase ascended above the throne. The final path shined brightly. Kim Suho nodded at the sight of it.
"I understand."
"And, this."
Suddenly, the witch handed him a slip of paper. Though he grabbed it instinctively, Kim Suho soon frowned in confusion.
"This is... ?"
"You've been given the right to take one of the Tower's residents outside as your supporter."
[Summon Coupon]
"And just for your information, my level is 40."
The witch coyly appealed to him. Kim Suho gave a small smile and stood in front of the staircase leading to the 31st floor.
Different phrases were engraved on the faces of the golden steps.
[Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ]
Kim Suho climbed the stairs, reading each phrase one by one.
[A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ]
After reading that phrase, Kim Suho pretty much figured out who the last administrator was.
[Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. ]
A saint born of a virgin and the central figure of the world's largest religion, whose birth itself marked the start of a new calendar (Before Christ).
Jesus Christ.
"Ah...."
At the end of the stairs the Saint was smiling brightly.
Kim Suho diligently climbed up the stairs towards him.
**
[The Akatrina Continent]
Two months went by in Akatrina, during which we finished the construction of the castle wall and the communal shelter. The issue of food scarcity was also mostly taken care of.
"... So, you don't like studying?"
Currently, I was taking a walk in the garden with the young Jin Sahyuk. Flowers were beginning to bloom in the royal garden which was originally barren.
"That is not the case... my teacher is simply too tyrannical, even though I am the king."
Prihi grumbled sternly.
Of course, Jin Sahyuk was her teacher.
"But you have to study hard to become stronger."
The Prihi next to me was nothing but a projection of the materialized past. Therefore, this conversation was meaningless. But I still urged her.
"As you already know, we won't be staying here for long."
We already had three crystals in our possession. It wouldn't take us long to obtain the remaining two shards, since we had already figured out that they were in Schupert's territory.
"... Right. You cannot stay here."
Suddenly, Prihi stopped. She looked up at me with forlorn eyes.
"It's just that... you remind me of my old servant."
"... Servant?"
My conscience pricked me. She was clearly talking about Kim Chundong.
"Yes, but he's a lot older than you. I sent him to prison a while ago, so I don't even know if he's still alive or dead, but... he was my most valued servant."
Prihi continued solemnly. But I couldn't help but think that she looked cute even in a glum expression. I wanted to pinch her chubby cheeks badly.
"Although sending him away was my fault, I... ?"
But I couldn't.
Because someone suddenly blocked our way.
"... What is it, Jin Sahyuk?"
The King flinched at my words. She opened her eyes wide and backed away.
"W-Why are you here again? We already f-finished today's class."
Prihi was clearly afraid of Jin Sahyuk.
Jin Sahyuk, however, approached Prihi without hesitation.
"L-Look at this. I, I know how to condense magic power now. Isn't this good enough... ?"
The King, with a frightened expression, began to recite everything she learned earlier that day. Nevertheless, Jin Sahyuk approached the King and grabbed her wrist. Prihi trembled slightly and closed her eyes.
"If you have time for a chitchat, you should practice more."
Jin Sahyuk glared at me as she pulled Prihi towards herself.
"Wait, wait... I haven't eaten yet...."
Prihi pleaded, but Jin Sahyuk was adamant. She dragged the small king away by force.
"... Geez."
I watched them leave as I took out the [Mysterious Magnifying Glass]. It was to find out what kind of emotion Jin Sahyuk was feeling at the moment....
[Jealousy]
Jin Sahyuk was feeling jealous of her past self, and I, who she believed was her old servant Kindspring, was the reason for that.
"Hmm...."
I let out a heavy sigh.
"Priest Kim! Schupert is here! He has the castle surrounded!"
Suddenly, a knight came running and shouted.
| ← Ch. 263 | Ch. 265 → |