Chapter 141: Episode 28 – The Ultimate Sacrifice (1)
Translator: Rainbow Turtle
30 minutes later, all the 6th grade monsters were cleaned up. My party members and I were very active, particularly Gong Pildu. It was a rewarding moment for one of the 10 Evils.
“We can take a break now. What about four hours later?” Lee Jihye wondered while slipping her sword back into the sheath at her waist.
I looked around and the fighting in the area was also entering a lull. I didn’t know about other areas but at least we protected this one. Of course, not everyone was safe.
“Father! Please wake up! Father!”
“Somebody help!”
Many incarnations who didn’t have the know-how yet couldn’t resist the 6th grade monsters. There were those who suffered severe trauma from the heavy hound’s paws or had their internal organs burst. Most of them were new incarnations.
[* Current number of incarnations: 90,531 people.]
It was only the first wave and one-tenth of Seoul Dome had died. A little further away, Yoo Jonghyuk was watching the incarnations. I became a bit nervous as I watched Yoo Jonghyuk.
The dokkaebi stated that the sacrifice of the strongest incarnation would save all the incarnations in Seoul Dome.
“Hey, Yoo Jonghyuk.”
Yoo Jonghyuk turned to look at me. I didn’t know exactly what scenery held value for Yoo Jonghyuk.
As I said every time, reading Ways of Survival didn’t really tell me about this person. After all, I was only understanding the text, which had been processed and transmitted to me. Some things couldn’t be read because they were unreadable.
“Let me talk to you for a bit.”
***
We went to the rooftop of a high rise building. On the way, I used Character List on Yoo Jonghyuk for the first time in a while.
[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]
[There is too much information about this person. Character List is converted to Summary List.]
[Only randomly specified items will be displayed according to User’s convenience.]
+
[Character List Summary]
Name: Yoo Jonghyuk.
Constellation Support: ???
Private Attribute: Regressor (3rd turn) (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare), Supreme King (Hero)
Exclusive Skills: Sage’s Eyes Lv. 9, Hand to Hand Combat Lv. 10, Advanced Weapons Training Lv. 10, Advanced Mental Barrier Lv. 3, Hundred Steps Godly Fists Lv. 9, Red Phoenix Shunpo Lv. 8, Splitting the Sky Lv. 8...Omitted...
Stigma: Regression Lv. 3, Transmission Lv. 5.
+
This guy still didn’t know who his sponsor was. I already knew why it wasn’t visible.
Even in the original Ways of Survival, Yoo Jonghyuk’s sponsor wasn’t revealed in the end. I thought maybe it would show up in the epilogue but unfortunately, I couldn’t read the epilogue of Ways of Survival.
His sponsor was more resistant to the ‘probability’ than any constellations I knew. They had the power to turn back the wheels of time while deceiving other constellation. Until the end of Ways of Survival, the constellation didn’t provide anything other than ‘regression’ to Yoo Jonghyuk.
I didn’t know exactly who they were and what they wanted to gain from Yoo Jonghyuk.
“...Is there a way to kill Nirvana?”
This jerk, he was always so impatient. He had been given time to rest but he was still busy thinking. Regardless of his depressed state, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk.
“Before that, let’s take a moment to breath. The view is great.” I said while sitting on the roof railing.
Yoo Jonghyuk asked me, “What are you up to?”
“I’m just looking at the world. Isn’t it beautiful?” The city of Seoul was destroyed by the monsters. I quickly added, “It was originally a beautiful place.”
“I don’t like landscapes.”
“Why?”
“They are things that will disappear someday.”
I thought I had a bit more understanding of the third regression Yoo Jonghyuk after fighting against Shin Yoosung. I wanted to believe he was a person who could love this world without giving up or feeling despair.
I told him, “However, we need to protect these things.”
“Kim Dokja, you don’t know.”
This might be my misunderstanding. Yoo Jonghyuk could give up at any time because he was still in the midst of his regressions.
In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk’s purpose was to prevent the ‘destruction of this world.’ Paradoxically, he could give up on this world at any time. His essence was regression and this fact would never change.
“No, I know,” I replied.
“What?”
“The fact that you can regress at any time means that death is meaningless.”
I looked down at Lee Seolhwa caring for the injured. Lee Seolhwa was feeding her boiled soup to an unknown person. Despite her efforts, there was a high probability that the character would die. Even if they lied now, they would die tomorrow. If they miraculously survived tomorrow, they would die the day after tomorrow.
It was the same in the fourth regression and the fifth regression. There would always be ‘death’ in the world of Yoo Jonghyuk, even after passing the 100th regression.
“If there is no sense of death then the value of life also disappears.”
“What do you know...”
“Yoo Jonghyuk, wake up. Don’t think things will improve if you repeat them a few times.”
Yoo Jonghyuk remained silent like he was surprised by my hard words.
“There is a chance that you can do better in the fourth regression. However, there is also a chance that won’t happen. Have you already forgotten the Theatre Dungeon? If I hadn’t appeared at that time―”
“The next regression will obviously be better. There were many unexpected things in this round so the next round will certainly be better.”
“Why? Do you know a lot of the future?”
There was the vague belief that he could do better in the next round with more information. It was easy for him to give up on this regression if something went wrong.
This was the precursor symptom of ‘regression depression.’ Some of the contents of Ways of Survival passed through my head.
It was around the 48th regression. Yoo Jonghyuk had consulted with an incarnation of the constellation ‘Discoverer of the Subconscious’ on the ‘regression depression.’ At the time, he seemed to be speaking like I was now.
I continued speaking, “Yes. It might be as you say. If you repeat it 10 or 20 times then it will surely get better. You’ll be exposed to more scenarios and see more of the future. The real problem is when you someday save the world in this manner.”
“What does this mean?”
“At that time, do you really think you saved this world?”
“...”
“Do you think you will be able to keep the same mindset after repeating it 100 or 200 times?”
“I won’t regress that many times.”
I silently stared at Yoo Jonghyuk.
「 ...Don’t tell me? 」 Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes slowly widened.
I kept speaking, “Are you having nightmares these days?”
“...”
“You won’t be saved, even if you save the world. The moment you save the world, the worlds you have forsaken will come to you. Despite saving one world, all the other worlds you abandoned will drag you to hell.”
Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes shook. Perhaps it was something he was already dimly aware of.
“That’s why, survive this regression. Shin Yoosung was destroyed after wandering for countless years. You will be more than that. The more you repeat the turns, the more out of control you will become. Ask yourself. How different are you now from the beginning?”
“That...” Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression hardened. His eyes were shaking violently. The Yoo Jonghyuk from the beginning couldn’t have done this.
“Don’t imagine that you will get better if you throw away this round. Maybe this is the round where you will see the end of this world as a ‘human.’”
“...”
Yoo Jonghyuk closed his mouth. He wanted to say something but the words didn’t come out. There was an intense conflict on his face.
Yes, Yoo Jonghyuk. Feel conflicted. What would happen to me if he regressed?
[The mental state of the character ‘Yoo Jonghyuk’ is slightly restored.]
I could see a faint light of determination in Yoo Jonghyuk’s face. Every world was goddamn hard. It was the same for this world. Every time you restart, live with all your strength.
A cool wind blew and we looked down at the ruined city together.
“This scenario has a strong event propensity. The flow will return to the direction we know. The future you know will be available again. Don’t you still have many hidden pieces that only you know? If Seoul Dome is somehow liberated...”
At this moment, the door of the rooftop slammed open with a loud sound and people fell down. The first one who fell down was Gong Pildu and Lee Jihye and the children were on top of him.
“Waaah! Don’t push!”
“Ah, I wonder what they’re talking about. Ahjussi, why did you do that?”
“A man shouldn’t interfere with a person’s conversation.”
“A man is a rat...”
...I could roughly guess the situation.
[The constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire’s eyes are shining.]
“All of of you...” I spoke before Lee Jihye spoke more bullshit. “Don’t joke around today. I’m not in the mood.”
[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is sad.]
It didn’t matter if the constellation was sad or not. The important one right now was Yoo Jonghyuk.
Uriel wasn’t giving us coins now so I hoped she would go to Jung Heewon. Yoo Jonghyuk opened his mouth. “I have been making a plan for this scenario.”
“A plan? What is it?”
Yoo Jonghyuk turned towards me. “This scenario is one where the strongest incarnation must die. I have been thinking about it.”
I suddenly got goosebumps. Why was that bastard looking at me when he said this?
Lee Jihye spoke with slight excitement. “Oh, we were also talking about that. How did you decide? Who is the strongest incarnation?”
“Of course it is me.”
I looked at the confident Yoo Jonghyuk and realized that my worries were a misunderstanding. Well, he was a prideful person...
No, wait a minute. The fact that this scenario ended when the strongest incarnation died and he thought it was himself...
“Do you mean to die?” I asked him.
“I will be able to stop this scenario if I die.”
I was a bit moved by his noble mindset. Damn, his regression depression suddenly seemed a bit cool. However, I couldn’t let him actually die. “Aren’t you being too hasty? Is there any guarantee that you are the strongest? For example, me...”
The party members looked at me at the same time. Lee Jihye hit me on the shoulder and laughed exaggeratedly. “Hey, are you being serious?”
“Dokja hyung is kinda...” Lee Gilyoung looked at me with pity while Shin Yoosung was confused. Even Gong Pildu and Min Jiwon were the same.
“There is no need to ask.”
“...Isn’t the Supreme King still stronger?”
“Wait, didn’t Ahjussi say that he defeatedthe Salvation leader?”
Bullseye.
“Is the Salvation leader really that strong if Ahjussi could defeat him? I didn’t see it but he must’ve used a strange trick. No?”
In a sense, it was correct. My mood was somewhat strange as I added an excuse. “...I was just using myself as an example. The Salvation leader might be stronger than Yoo Jonghyuk. In fact, I had a pretty hard time before.”
Lee Jihye’s eyes widened with surprise. “Master, is this real?’
“...That guy doesn’t fit with me.” Yoo Jonghyuk’s words threw the party into confusion.
“Then... isn’t the Salvation leader the strongest?”
“Oh my god, there is a person stronger than Master?”
“However, what is the criteria for the ranking? Combat power? Or is it the person who wins in a fight...”
I replied to Min Jiwon’s question. “It is possible they are using overall combat power. In the first place, not everyone can fight each other. There could be a change after fighting.”
“That reminds me, what did the dokkaebi say? He is the strongest so he would know the most...”
We looked at Yoo Jonghyuk.
“Yoo Jonghyuk, is there something different from usual? Did the dokkaebi say anything to you?”
Yoo Jonghyuk formed a fist and slowly replied, “...Well, I haven’t heard anything.”
I looked around at the party members and said, “I don’t think we can confirm anything.”
“Then what should we do?”
“Let’s just think that this is a good thing. After all, none of us here want Yoo Jonghyuk to die. For now, let’s make a reasonable judgment that Nirvana is the strongest and get rid of him.”
“If it turns out that the Supreme King is the strongest...”
“We will think about it then.”
Min Jiwon told me, “The Salvation Church is in Gangbuk. It isn’t easy to approach because the borders are heavily guarded and there is a huge difference in force. Even if we all go...”
“We won’t go there. We’ll make him come to us.”
“How? Will he respond? It would just be a loss for him...”
“You are thinking with common sense.”
However, Nirvana wasn’t a person with common sense.