“…It’s here?”
Ahmuge was a meticulous tracker.
She was standing in front of an abandoned building in the second district.
“Enemy of the World, Sungchul Kim. I finally found you.”
Once Sungchul was fallen and the book called Unit 49 appeared, Ahmuge secretly left a mark on Sungchul’s body without anyone noticing before slipping away.
It was of great surprise to her that Unit 49 decided to take Sungchul to the nearby city of La Grange of all places.
Once the Barbarians surrounded the city and began the seige, Ahmuge began combing the city for the mark she had left, going from district to district and street to street. After pain staking effort, she finally arrived at this empty house in the upper districts.
He was difficult to find even with the mark on him.
The place was well hidden behind layers of highly sophisticated alarms and concealment barriers.
Just who could have made all this?
The Emperor? Or, perhaps the Wandering King?
Ahmuge’s imaginations ran wild as she infiltrated the house.
The security of the interier of the house was rather unremarkable in comparison.
Once she slipped past the miniature golem defending the hallway and an alarm magic, she finally arrived before the closed door that hid the mark.
She could hear someone groaning in pain from beyond the door.
It was unmistakably Sungchul.
From between the boundary of the mortal plane and the Transcendent World, Ahmuge phased through the door to enter the room. On the bed was the Enemy of the World, struggling for his breath.
The only one defending him was a single book. Ahmuge exercised caution and patience to observe this book.
There were two books.
There was one book with combat capabilities potent enough to neutralize any number of Barbarians at whim, and one book with no ability to fight that Sungchul always brought around with him.
This one looked to be the one without the capacity to fight.
Ahmuge double checked and triple checked before she was satisfied and finally drew her hands under her clothes.
She felt the rough handle of her dagger as she approached Sungchul.
Though this man had been feared throughout the years as the Enemy of the World, at least for the moment, he was nothing but an unconscious patient lying in bed.
‘With this, the world will be saved.’
But for some reason, she was filled with memories of how the ruling elites of this world were, of their terrible, irredeemable character.
After being reminded of their inability to give up on personal interest and watching them sacrifice others again and again for their own person gain, Ahmuge revised her thoughts slightly.
‘No. At the very least, we might be able to avoid the predestined extinction we face.’
This time, she would not hesitate or have regrets.
Even if the world was a living hell, it was preferrable to utter destruction and extinction.
The hand gripping the dagger flexed.
It was just as a terrifying gaze glistened from underneath the hood wore over the head.
“Oy! You there!”
The book that was shaking on top of Sungchul’s chest noticed Ahmuge and turned around.
Ahmuge jumped back in surprise.
‘Could it be a trap?!;
Ahmuge readied herself to disappear at any time as she observed the book.
This large worn-out book suddenly flew towards her and grasped her left hand that was on the dagger and pulled Ahmuge forward.
“I don’t know who you are but thank goodness you’re here! Help me! Now!”
Bertelgia did not know who Ahmuge was or why she had come here.
Bertelgia was pulling on Ahmuge’s arm with only the thought of wanting to save Sungchul in her mind. To the person who had an unwavering vow to kill and take revenge on him.
“W…Wait!”
Ahmuge was completely caught off guard and found herself dragged to Sungchul’s side by Bertelgia.
Right next to him, Ahmuge finally broke free of Bertelgia.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Ahmuge took out a scroll of noise cancelling magic and shouted sharply.
“There’s no time to explain! If we don’t do something, terrible things will happen!”
Bertelgia urgently repeated in a desperate voice.
“Terrible things?”
Ahmuge raised an eyebrow as she parroted what Bertelgia said.
Lying flat on Sungchul’s chest and listening to his heartbeat, Bertelgia responded in a dark tone.
“If we leave him as he is, he will transform into the Black Giant!”
“B… Black Giant?!”
Ahmuge staggered back. This reaction caused the hood to slip off her head.
It was then that Bertelgia could finally see the face of the uninvited guest.
‘Wait… this person…? From then?’
Bertelgia knew that she had not come here with good intentions.
For this woman was a long term enemy of Sungchul.
But still, there was no other way.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Sungchul was groaning, gripped with grave pain.
Things really were going to be over if they continued to sit around and do nothing.
Bertelgia suddenly opened up her pages and took out something.
It was an extremely old looking key.
“There’s no time! Quick, take this key!”
Bertelgia commanded Ahmuge.
Ahmuge found herself relenting and doing as Bertelgia said.
There was something extraordinary about the key.
Even the most briefest glance at the appraisal of the item proved such a hunch to be true.
‘W…What? This is a mythic tier item? This thing?’
Even before Ahmuge had a chance to read the details of the item, Bertelgia used the book covers to pull Ahmuge forward once more as she shouted.
“Quickly, open that poopy head’s Soul Storage!”
Bertelgia commanded.
Ahmuge didn’t understand why, but she found herself obeying Bertelgia once more, feeling like the voice sounded familiar somehow.
“How are you supposed to do that with this? No, to begin with, how can Soul Storage even be opened? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Ahmuge protested with arguments.
“You CAN open it! Just try twisting it in the air!”
Ahmuge stared at Bertelgia with a look of doubt before turning towards Sungchul and pushing the key forward.
‘I don’t know what you’re up to, but I guess I’ll just try it once at least.’
Ahmuge didn’t think too much and did as she was told.
Click.
Something touched the tip of the Key.
Ahmuge’s eyes grew wide with surprise.
‘Wha… What was that just now?’
Ahmuge felt a sense of awe as she turned the key.
She could distinctly feel something akin to a door opening up. And finally.
Clack.
Next to Sungchul, from thin air, an empty bottle fell to the ground.
It was just an ordinary empty bottle of alcohol, but Ahmuge couldn’t believe her eyes.
She had opened it. Someone else’s Soul Storage.
“Quick, put your hand in the Soul Storage and look for that.”
“That?”
“The Fog Guide!”
“Fog Guide?”
“It’s a ring. A ring that lets you enter the dream of others!”
“What do you want to do with such a thing?”
Ahmuge realized that she was allowing herself to be excessively manipulated by this living book and asked back with a tinge of anger in her voice.
“We have to wake up that dummy! Before he turns into the Black Giant!”
“…”
Ahmuge clenched her mouth before glaring down at Sungchul with hateful eyes.
‘If it’s now, I can kill him. I cut the dagger across his throat, or drive it through his heart like a stake, I can definitely kill him now. But what’s this?’
There was nothing stopping her from doing so.
Even if the Living Book was to try and stop her, it could easy be brushed aside.
Sungchul’s fate lay entirely in her hands.
How long had she awaited this moment?
She still remembered.
In the possible future that could have been, of the many terrible atrocities a being bearing the name Sungchul Kim had committed.
He had gone all across the continent, wielding his seven weapons of Calamities, personally killing all those who he came across. Ahmuge lost many comrades to this monster, including someone she was just beginning to fall in love with.
‘…My love. What should I do?’
Her lover was a no-name swordsman.
As the skies fell and half the continent turned into inhospitable land of skeletons and death, she met someone who had considered his own safety and well to be the most upmost importance. A man who was infinitely selfish and self serving.
Everyone hated him, Ahmuge included.
But through what should have been a very trivial matter, the two of them began to grow close and get to know one another, and Ahmuge learned a great deal from that man.
In his last moments, this selfish self serving man faced against Sungchul who launched a surprise attack into the survivor camp where the two of them were staying to protect Ahmuge, and sacrificed himself.
The Black Giant had a habit of not allowing those who put up a fight to die peacefully.
The unnamed swordsman was put under unspeakable torture for three days and nights and was killed in the most horrendous ways possible.
Ahmuge who was hidden nearby throughout this ordeal still vividly recalled the tortured screams of her lover.
By the time Ahmuge went to go recover his remains, it was so severely deteriorated that it was no longer even recognizable as a human body.
Crunch.
Her teeth ground together.
The flames of her rage, which had momentarily cooled off, flared up fiercely once more.
She pulled a dagger hidden within her clothes.
The glistening blade scattered sinister light in all directions.
“What are you doing! Are you planning on peeling an apple with such a dangerous thing or something?” (Note)
Bertelgia blocked the way towards Sungchul.
“Move.”
Ahmuge was an assassin.
‘I just need to kill him. It’ll be all over once he’s dead. The next world? Who gives a shit.’
She moved Bertelgia out of the way with one hand as she moved closer to Sungchul.
Sungchul’s pains must have subsided for now, as he returned to sleeping peacefully.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of a man he is. His existance itself is too dangerous, so he must die.”
Soojin Lee raised her dagger up high.
The method of execution she chose was the most reliable; to pierce his heart.
‘I’ll end it in one go.’
But Bertelgia resisted with everything she’s got.
Bertelgia flew and laid herself flat over his heart.
“Fine, do it then! If you want to kill him, kill us both!”
“Move.”
Ahmuge grabbed Bertelgia and threw her aside.
But Bertelgia righted herself in midair and flew back to obstruct Ahmuge.
“I said if you want to kill him, you’re going to have to kill me too. Why, hmm? You can’t do that?”
Ahmuge found Bertelgia to be difficult to ignore.
‘Why? It’s just a living book.’
All she had to do was cut down the book and kill Sungchul.
By all means, it should be so simple.
But Bertelgia’s voice kept on making Ahmuge hesitate.
It was then that Ahmuge discovered that Bertelgia’s voice sounded very similar to someone she knew very well.
She had only heard this voice once before, but Ahmuge had a faint recollection of her voice.
“Go and kick that dummy’s butt for me.”
It was the being that bid her farewell at the Well of Regression, moments before she threw herself down.
She who possessed radiant blonde hair and the bluest of eyes were called Goddess by the people.
As the world was reaching its death throes, she appeared like a miracle to guide and protect the remaining survivors with her overwhelming knowledge and magic.
The very same person who helped Ahmuge regress back in time.
Bertelgia’s voice was identical to the Goddess.
‘Could it be? It’s impossible. It can’t be. This book is the Goddess?’
Her resolve begun to shake once more.
Her shaken resolve manifested into behavior soon after.
The tip of her dagger was trembling.
Bertelgia found this brief moment of weakness to go and cover herself in the Hand of the Ascendent that was left sitting in the corner of the room.
The Hand of the Ascendent that had already once accepted her completely covered her once more.
“Hmph! I dare you try again! I’ll distract you until Unit 49 can return! In fact, come at me! He might wake up if you end up stabbing him somewhere inappropriate!”
Bertelgia confidentially shouted now that she was perfectly protected.
Meanwhile, Ahmuge was still internally torn and confused as to what to do.
That was when something fell from the void.
Clack.
The Soul Storage must have still been open all this time.
Ahmuge’s attention instantly and unconsciously snapped towards the sound.
Her eyes were opened wide in surprise.
‘Is that a case of side dishes?’
A completely ordinary object wholly unrelated to the end of the world slipped out of the Soul Storage.
Ahmuge was taken aback by unexpected, sheer pedestrian nature of what appeared that she approached Sungchul’s Soul Storage almost as if possessed and reached into it with her hands.
Clack.
She extracted a box.
Ahmuge opened it and squinted her eyes.
Inside was not weapons nor magical tools, but spices.
“What are you doing! You thief! Robber!”
Bertelgia shouted from the side, but Ahmuge ignored her and continued to take things out of the Soul Storage.
Clunk. Thud.
More and more items from the Soul Storage were taken out.
Faded clothes, a stuffed teddy bear, old letters.
Ahmuge picked up one of the letters and opened it up.
[Mister, thank you for the birthday present. I’ll cherish it. – Craiya]
It was written in a cute handwriting.
‘What is this?’
Ahmuge, no Soojin found that everything she extracted betrayed her expectations again and again.
She was certain beyond doubt that Sungchul Kim’s Soul Storage must be filled to the brim with nothing but terrifying weapons and tools of slaughter and torture.
But what she actually found were exactly the opposite; objects of daily life.
Yes, they were nothing but reminders that Sungchul, too, was another human being.
Ahmuge continued to drag things out of the Soul Storage feeling annoyed and frustrated.
Clank.
This time, something metallic fell.
‘Finally. A sinister tool.’
Ahmuge’s gaze went down.
But her expectations were once again betrayed and left her dissapointed.
What was laying at her feet was a needlessly adorable golden ducky.
“What are you looking for?”
Bertelgia asked without moving away from Sungchul.
“This isn’t it.”
Ahmuge muttered.
“This isn’t it!”
It was then that Sungchul who had been sleeping let out a shout and trembled.
“Oh no, it’s bad!”
Bertelgia listened to his heart beat for a moment before hopping back up.
“I don’t care what kind of grudge you have with him, it doesn’t matter!”
Bertelgia flew to Ahmuge and snatched away the key and flew to the Soul Storage to take something from within, bringing it to Ahmuge.
“Use this to go into his dream now!”
“Why should I?”
Once Ahmuge asked, Bertelgia moved slightly off to the side so that Ahmuge can see Sungchul.
Ahmuge’s eyes trembled.
‘That’s…?’
Black aura began to gather around the edge of Sungchul’s body.
Ahmuge pushed Bertelgia aside and tried to stab Sungchul in the chest with her dagger.
But it was useless.
The black aura effortlessly reflected Ahmuge’s dagger.
“There’s no other way! Hurry and put on that ring and put it on his body!”
Bertelgia flew into Ahmuge’s chest and shouted.
The darkness surrounding Sungchul grew dramatically darker.
The world was about to end.
Ahmuge closed her eyes shut.
‘Fuck it!’
Wearing Fog Guide and hugging Bertelgia, Ahmuge reached out with her hands towards her sworn nemesis.
The darkness surrounding them all rushed towards her.
A scream was buried in the darkness.
Soon, Ahmuge discovered that she was in a different place.
A void.
There was no other way to describe the desolate place surrounding this frail lady.
Note: This is a reference to korean culture where you peel an apple for someone in sick bed.
Thank you!
Now the wait continues.
thank you!