episode_0161

161.

With a hesitant step, Jin Soyeon slowly walked towards the building, her eyes fixed on the outside.

“Hyuk.”

Even as she took slow steps, her lips moved quietly.

“My psychic abilities are almost omnipotent. Overcoming even the weakness of not being able to directly interfere with others, I have become stronger than anyone else and achieved so much.”

Continuing to speak as if to herself, Jin Soyeon didn’t listen to Jin Hyuk’s response.

“It was a life full of nothing but failures.”

There was a hint of bitterness in her voice.

“The important thing is that I realized it only after losing everything and always regretted it.”

They were almost at the building’s entrance.

“Don’t I seem like a fool?”

Although her expression was almost emotionless, Jin Hyuk’s eyes showed a hint of sadness.

“And then suddenly.”

Jin Soyeon paused slightly.

“I was able to see the possibilities that were already lost and intervene.”

“You…”

“Although I couldn’t properly explain it to you due to the leakage of celestial secrets, I was still able to secretly modify and add my knowledge to you through your past life memories in the form of a game. I wanted to intervene more in your past self, but it wasn’t easy. So, I had to intervene about a month before the academy entrance ceremony.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“At first, I thought of trusting my past self and passing on the knowledge to you, but you know, don’t you? How foolish, pathetic, and incompetent I am.”

She looked Jin Hyuk straight in the eyes.

“It was only possible because it was you, Hyuk. Because I told you, we were able to reach this point without anyone getting hurt.”

She started walking again.

“Of course, I didn’t want to pass on my flaws or some of my shameful knowledge, but at the same time, I didn’t want to deceive you either.”

“Honestly, I was worried about what choices you would make, which direction you would take, and if you would think too negatively of me.”

Jin Soyeon raised the corners of her mouth slightly, showing a faint smile.

“In the end, you didn’t give up on me.”

“That’s…”

“Thank you, Hyuk.”

They had reached the building’s entrance.

“Thank you for not giving up on me. For not leaving me alone. For not letting me go astray.”

It seemed a bit awkward for her to smile after so long, but Jin Soyeon soon let out a genuine laugh.

“Thank you so much.”

She raised her sword slightly.

“This is the end.”

“Kiiiiii?! Kiiiiiiiiii!”

Perhaps sensing the imminent danger, the terrifying Gear Dancer, who had been preying on countless heroes, let out a fearful cry and took a step back for the first time.

It was then that she realized how dangerous the current Jin Soyeon was.

“I openly leaked celestial secrets and directly intervened like this, so I probably won’t be able to intervene in this world anymore.”

She looked a bit lonely.

“But I’ll be fine.”

Lowering her sword and then raising it to strike, she said, “Because I got to see you again before I die.”

“Soyeon…”

“So, Hyuk, take care.”

Jin Soyeon slowly began to gather her magic.

“And also, I’ll make a wish for you, Hyuk.”

A tremendous amount of magic was concentrated at the tip of her sword.

“So that you can have the happy ending you desire.”

Finally, Jin Soyeon…

“I’m moving forward, Hyuk. Until the end.”

As if striking with her sword, she swung it towards the Gear Dancer.

A flash.

As she swung her sword, a light flashed, and a dark energy surged towards the Gear Dancer, striking it.

The body of fear that slithered around was split in half as if to empty it.

But that’s not all.

Even the sky was split in half.

Far away, along with the crack floating in the sky, everything was shattered into pieces in a single stroke.

It was like a sword cutting this world in half.

Even Jin Soyeon, who had grown into the strongest hero in the game, couldn’t help but be amazed at the spectacular sight.

It was probably the power that had been honed and polished for a long time without stopping beyond the time frame of the original work.

It was truly the dignity befitting the strongest in the world.

“This time, you must be happy… Hyuk.”

Jin Soyeon collapsed as if all her strength had been exhausted, and Lee Jinhyuk quickly caught her. Checking her condition, she seemed to have returned to her original self, lost in a deep sleep.

“Thank you for all your hard work, Soyeon.”

Lee Jinhyuk quietly thanked the sleeping Jin Soyeon as he lifted her onto his back and walked towards where the people were.

Some of the heroes who had witnessed this scene with their own eyes were staring at Jin Soyeon in astonishment.

Until Lee Jinhyuk walked up, the people just flinched.

“Lee Jinhyuk? What just happened? How did you… defeat that monster in one go…?”

Yu Seolhyun, looking quite surprised, approached Lee Jinhyuk and spoke, but Lee Jinhyuk maintained silence and then handed Jin Soyeon over to Yu Seolhyun.

“Sorry, but there’s no time to explain. I have a favor to ask of Soyeon.”

“What? Wait a minute.”

“I have something to do.”

Lee Jinhyuk was the one holding the Time and Blood Sword that Jin Soyeon had just been clutching tightly.

“Seonari.”

“Huh, why?”

Although Seonari was slightly taken aback by Lee Jinhyuk’s sudden call, she soon nodded and approached him.

“And Yu Seolhyun.”

“You’re ignoring everything I say, huh… Why?”

Although Lee Jinhyuk’s attitude of just talking was a bit annoying, Yu Seolhyun didn’t argue unnecessarily given the situation.

“I’ll be tracking Yu Dahee, so I’ll ask you guys to take care of the people… and the monsters.”

“What? You’re going after Yu Dahee? Are you crazy?”

Yu Seolhyun was taken aback. What is this guy Lee Jinhyuk talking about? Chasing Yu Dahee in a situation like this. Is he out of his mind?

“This is the only chance. If Yu Dahee recovers, there will be no way to stop her.”

“But… those guys must have already run far away.”

“Yu Dahee and her group can’t move properly in their current condition. Moreover, they have to avoid the monsters, so they wouldn’t have been able to run far away as you think.”

“Even so, it’s impossible for you to do it alone.”

“Of course, I don’t plan to chase her alone.”

Lee Jinhyuk glanced back slightly.

“So, can you help me? Isiwoon, Kang Daehan?”

“…?”

Isiwoon and Kang Daehan, who were with the Black Shadow members of the SL Group, looked at Lee Jinhyuk and nodded.

“…Lee Jinhyuk, are you confident?”

“Yeah. If you can buy me just 10 minutes, I’ll definitely try to catch Yu Dahee.”

“…Alright then.”

Isiwoon nodded alone and stood up from his seat.

“I missed Yu Dahee because of me and Kang Daehan. I didn’t perform my role properly and was taken hostage.”

“Tsk. Well, that’s… sigh, really.”

Kang Daehan also scratched the back of his neck, unable to make any excuses.

“Alright, Jinhyuk. Let’s go together. Our SL Group members will help too. What do you think, Kang Daehan?”

“Well… alright. We’ve come this far, so we can’t afford to lose that girl. We have to repay the debt for what we did to Seoul in this state.”

Ishiwoon and Kang Daehan decided to cooperate willingly, perhaps due to the memories of being held hostage like fools.

“Wait, I’ll help too.”

“Roksan-nim?”

“I also have a responsibility for losing the spatial pocket.”

“It would be better for your church to focus on saving people.”

“Of course, we plan to divide the personnel. And now, the police, military, and heroes are coming to support from outside.”

Due to the countless monsters pouring out from the huge crack, the police, heroes, and military were struggling to subdue the monsters and save the citizens.

“Well, it’s good if you help me.”

“…Me too.”

“Ah.”

“…I’m here too, Lee Jinhyuk.”

Baek Yurin, holding a sword she picked up somewhere, was staring straight at Lee Jinhyuk.

“Baek Yurin? Are you okay?”

“For now… I decided to play the role of a bodyguard…”

It seems she also intends to help.

“Thank you, Baek Yurin.”

“…Not really. There’s nothing to thank me for.”

Lee Jinhyuk then glanced at Han Inchul, Baek Namil, and Hong Daye, who were busy defeating monsters and rescuing citizens with the other heroes.

It seemed difficult to ask them for help.

Well, let’s leave citizen protection to them.

“Lee Jinhyuk, we’ll assign a tracker to our side, so let’s go together.”

“Thank you.”

Yoo Seolhyun patted one of the Gaon Nuri clan members on the back and then looked at Lee Jinhyuk with a worried expression.

“…Do you really have a plan?”

“Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll catch them soon.”

“I trust you, Lee Jinhyuk. Don’t die.”

“Hah. What’s this, the great Yoo Seolhyun worrying about me.”

“…”

Yoo Seolhyun let out a bitter smile and then nodded her head.

“…Enough with the useless talk, let’s go now. What if we miss them?”

“Got it. I’ll be back soon. Take care of Soyeon.”

Lee Jinhyuk and his team quickly moved with the tracker.

Yoo Seolhyun watched their backs and muttered to herself with a slightly lonely voice.

“…Until the end, it’s Soyeon, Soyeon. Lee Jinhyuk, you’re really consistent.”

***

“Haa, haa, cough, cough… my body is in a terrible state… it’s hard to breathe…”

“Should we rest for a bit?”

“No, let’s go. They might catch up. Let’s hurry.”

“There’s no time for them to chase us because of the monsters.”

“Well, we can’t escape properly because of the monsters too.”

Yoo Dahee grimaced as she felt another sharp pain.

“Ugh. Really, even though I used all the healing potions, it still hurts so much.”

“Yoo Dahee.”

“Sigh. Anyway, I’ve learned a lot today. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“Good thinking, Yoo Dahee. You tend to act recklessly due to overestimating your own strength. If you had been a bit more cautious, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“Ugh, more nagging. I get it, Mom.”

“…”

“Ah, really. Am I being sulky just because I said a few words?”

“I’m not sulking.”

“You are, you are sulking.”

“I’m not sulking?”

Isabel responded a bit curtly, and Yoo Dahee just chuckled.

“Anyway, it’s true that I’ve learned a lot today. I’ll be more careful in the future. I’ve realized that there are clear limits when acting alone.”

“Is that so.”

Yoo Dahee had already grown into the strongest villain in South Korea.

If she, who had become such a person, operated cautiously in the shadows, would there be any humans who could catch her?

Yudahee will continue to grow in the future.

“I believe in you, Yudahee.”

Isabel reaffirmed.

Once they overcome the current crisis, Yudahee will become an unstoppable force that no one can stop.

I never doubted it.

Yes.

If only we can get through this crisis.

“…Huh?”

“Why are you suddenly like that, Isabel?”

“T-them, it’s them.”

“What?”

In a state of greatly diminished strength, her observational abilities were not very wide-ranging, so she didn’t notice until they were quite close.

At most, a few hundred meters away.

Several heroes, including Lee Jinhyuk, were running towards them.

What?

Why are they already coming towards us?

That powerful monster must have been causing havoc.

Surely they couldn’t have defeated the monster in such a short time.

Did they just leave the monster alone and come here?

These so-called heroes?

“Yudahee! We need to go quickly. It’s almost…!”

“Yudahee-ee-ee-ee-ee!”

A young man called out loudly to Yudahee, who furrowed her brow and turned her head towards the source of the voice.

Far away, she could see the face of a young man staring at her with a sinister look, his breath ragged.

“Lee Jinhyuk, making such a loud noise might attract the monsters.”

“I know, I know, but I still wanted to say it.”

Ignoring Lee Siwoon’s warning, Lee Jinhyuk shouted towards Yudahee.

“Hey, Yudahee, why are you standing there like a deer in headlights?”

He said with a sly smile.

“I’m sick of it. Let’s finish this, you damn woman.”