episode_0030

Yunyoung endured the merciless, gouging throbbing pain in his body and limbs head-on. The only reason he could maintain his consciousness amidst the agony that felt like it would sever his awareness was singular.

‘I can’t tolerate a damned bad ending. I’ll change the past. No matter what awaits me, I will never give up!’

Eventually, the piercing agony gradually subsided, and Yunyoung’s tightly furrowed face relaxed. His forehead was beaded with cold, clammy sweat, and he looked incredibly tired.

Yunyoung’s breathing gradually stabilized as he caught his breath, but it felt hot and sticky, as if radiating heat.

“Is it over…?”

[To endure this much, you’re quite a persistent man, despite your terrible face.]

The motorcycle admired.

“What? I can hear words in my mind?”

[Since we’re connected to some extent, we can converse like this in your mind. It seems you understand well even when I speak internally to check your condition.]

“Then I succeeded?”

[Yes. But it’s still incomplete.]

“What? Is something wrong?”

[Don’t be hasty. It’s not your fault. Only the final hurdle remains for a complete connection.]

“What is it?! Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me.”

“You’re a demanding one.”

Yunyoung lightly muttered a complaint as he recalled the motorcycle’s name.

The motorcycle said she was Yustia, the 12th-rank Archangel who rebelled against God.

“Yustia…”

Strangely, it wasn’t unfamiliar. Yunyoung, having once murmured her name, curled the corners of his lips into a smirk. Then, he put force into his voice and shouted her name once more.

“Yustia! I contract with you. From now on, I will entrust everything to you, so lend me your strength!”

[A bland sentence, completely devoid of any literary sensibility, but… your sincerity reached me. I’ll contract with you.]

At that moment, Yunyoung felt another presence strongly resonate within his mind.

Should he call it a mental contact impossible in reality? Within that mysterious sensation, a silhouette vaguely flickered.

The form gradually took on a distinct shape, and within his mind’s eye, a pair of blue eyes were fixed on Yunyoung.

“You are…?”

Yunyoung, who had unintentionally spoken to the girl who appeared in his mind, suddenly realized something.

“Could this be your true form, Yustia…?”

[Yes, right now I’m transformed into a motorcycle, but that is my original form. Did you fall for me?]

Yustia’s question about whether he had fallen for her was probably a light joke, but she was a beautiful girl with such extraordinary beauty that it wouldn’t have been strange even if she were serious.

If he had seen her on Earth, even Yunyoung would have been captivated by her beauty, but now was not the time.

For Yunyoung, whose top priority was to escape the pursuit and travel to the past, there was no leisure to appreciate Yustia’s splendid beauty.

“Cut out the nonsense.”

[You’re a shy man.]

“Shut up. Anyway, the contract is made, right?”

[Yes.]

“Then that guy will catch up soon, so do something.”

Yunyoung, who was on the motorcycle, turned his head back to check on the Archangel closely pursuing them and spoke.

[That’s a piece of cake.]

With an incredible engine roar, the motorcycle began to move even faster than before. It was incomparable.

The Archangel, which had appeared so large, suddenly became a distant dot before he knew it, and eventually disappeared from sight entirely. Yunyoung truly admired the tremendous power and speed. He had thought Yustia was insignificant, but now he saw her in a new light, recognizing her truly immense power.

“Yustia, what is your true identity?!”

[I told you. I am Yustia, the 12th-rank angel. An exiled rebel banished by God.]

“What does ’12th-rank angel’ mean?”

[Angels have ranks from 1st to 12th.]

“Does the rank increase as the number gets higher?”

[Yes.]

“A 12th-rank angel, you’re truly….”

Until now, Yunyoung, preoccupied with the fear of being caught by the angel and unable to spare a thought, found Yustia’s words striking him anew.

“If you were banished, are you a demon…?”

Yunyoung unintentionally recalled the story of the demon Lucifer. Lucifer was a loyal servant of God, but a mythical being who challenged God, was defeated, and banished from heaven.

And Lucifer was the epitome of demons, so Yustia’s words somehow felt similar to Lucifer’s tale. Challenging God and being banished──.

He worried that in trying to avoid one threat, he might have formed a troublesome relationship with a demon that potentially harbored greater danger. But such unease was completely washed away by Yustia’s single remark.

[Why are you getting so anxious now? Anyway, you’re just like me, being chased by angels.]

“…That’s true, I guess.”

If not for Yustia, he would have been caught by the angels. Whether Yustia was a demon or not, he had no choice. In a situation where he was being chased by them, if anyone extended a hand, he had to grasp it without hesitation.

[Now I’m going to make a spacetime leap, so hold on tight.]

At the motorcycle’s rapidly increasing speed, Yunyoung unintentionally let out a groan.

“Ugh…”

On the motorcycle’s dashboard, the speed was skyrocketing. The numbers constantly increased, eventually pointing to infinity.

[Breaking through spacetime like this!!!]

The motorcycle rumbled and clattered, its engine roaring with a trembling sound as if it were about to explode.

Racing at such an incredible speed that he couldn’t even recognize what was in front of him, it was difficult to even open his eyes against the headwind.

‘I’m coming now, so wait for me. Mira!’

In this extreme environment where it was difficult to even breathe, Yunyoung recalled his beloved lover.

The motorcycle and Yunyoung, racing through the tunnel like the speed of light, suddenly disappeared with a pop.

-1-

From a greatly distorted space, two people suddenly popped out. One was Yunyoung, and the other was a small-framed girl.

Yunyoung fell backward, facing the sky, and immediately after, the girl who flew in landed face-down on him, burying her face in his chest.

“Ugh… What happened?”

With dizziness, Yunyoung opened his eyes with difficulty. His head was throbbing, and he felt lightheaded.

As if having heard his murmuring, the girl who had fallen, burying herself in Yunyoung’s chest, also seemed to awaken, regaining her senses. She looked around with sparkling eyes.

“Oh, wow! Is this Earth?!!”

“Ugh…. Who are you?”

Yunyoung frowned at the girl who had climbed on top of him. The wide-eyed girl made a dumbfounded expression.

“Huh? You don’t recognize me?”

“That voice… surely not the motorcycle…?”

“Yes. That’s my ability to transform with magic. How about it? What’s your impression of seeing my real form? Isn’t it exactly the form that appeared in your mind?”

She was an incredibly beautiful girl. But right now, the priority was to get the person lying on him off.

“Alright, just get off first.”

“I’m light, you’re exaggerating too much.”

Yustia pouted her lips and stood up from Yunyoung. She lightly dusted herself off with her hands. Watching her, Yunyoung couldn’t believe that the beautiful girl before him was the motorcycle that had carried him.

‘A girl who turns into a motorcycle…’

Yunyoung pretended to be calm, as if nothing had happened, but the beauty of the girl he had glanced at was extraordinary.

Yustia was wearing a flamboyant, heavily decorated dress. She patted her clothes, placed a hand on her chest, and spoke.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Yustia, the exile who raised the blade of rebellion against God. I found you while I was banished in a dimensional rift.”

Then, Yustia’s eyes narrowed, and she cast a suspicious gaze at Yunyoung.

“But for a mere human, how did you usurp God’s power…?”

“It’s complicated if you say it all at once. Try speaking a bit slower. It’s hard to understand when you combine questions with a self-introduction.”

“You can’t even understand this much?”

She sighed as if disappointed. From Yunyoung’s perspective, it was a little irritating to have a girl younger than him act that way, but he endured without showing it.

“I challenged God, was defeated, and banished. As punishment, I was condemned to be forever trapped in a dimensional rift.”

“You can’t escape?”

“God isn’t a fool; do you think he wouldn’t have prepared such measures? He took most of my power, so I didn’t even have enough strength left to make a spacetime leap. Just when I thought I’d have to rot there forever, you happened to appear.”

Having said that, Yustia’s gaze became suspicious again, as it was before.

“Now, answer my question. How do you possess God’s power? No matter how I look at you, you’re just a normal human, aren’t you?”