Chapter 403

Chapter 403

Chapter 72 – Homeward (4)

I let out a languid sigh, my lips curling up into a smile.

“Indeed, it’s good to have a body.”

There were so many good things to enjoy.

Satisfaction was evident in my touch as I gently stroked Rashar’s back, who was sleeping on my chest.

Was it because I had been a mass of power, without a body, for over a year?

Now, having regained all my senses, this moment felt remarkably pleasant.

I found myself unconsciously humming a tune.

That was enough to wake Rashar, who had been in a light sleep.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’ll be quiet.”

I lightly patted Rashar’s back as if encouraging her to sleep more.

But instead of going back to sleep, she began to focus her eyes.

“How…?”

“Hmm?”

“What happened, or rather why now…?”

Her words came out in a mumble, as if she still hadn’t fully woken up, shaking her head to clear her sleepiness.

“What on earth happened? Why are you only here now? Do you know how long we all waited for you…?”

“Oh.”

Since we had already shared the joy of reunion, it seemed it was time for some explanation.

I adjusted my hold on Rashar and took a moment to gather my thoughts.

Where should I start explaining?

Perhaps it was best to deliver the most important information first.

“Well, to begin with…”

“To begin with?”

“I suppose I should start by saying that I died.”

“… What?”

Rashar blinked, her expression blank as if in shock.

She opened and closed her lips as if trying to find words.

But before she could speak, I continued with a light explanation.

“I tried several times, but it seemed endless to attempt breaking a part of the status.”

So, I decided to break it entirely.

I created a massive puppet, larger than anything I’d ever made before.

The problem was that splitting Omby also resulted in a similar fate for my body.

Though I had reached the Fifth Awakening, my body was still a physical human form.

Skin, fat, muscle, organs, blood, bones, and so on.

That form couldn’t withstand the puppet’s strength and was ultimately torn apart.

The body of human Kang Hyunwoo met its end alongside Omby’s final defeat.

After explaining, I bit Rashar’s still dazed lips slightly and continued speaking.

“There’s no need to be so surprised. It was merely the body that vanished, not me.”

I possessed a status fostered by devouring various gods.

“If you separate the two thoughts, it’s simpler.”

“Simple… thinking about death, there’s no way it could be easy…”

Unlike me, who was long accustomed to the status and causality, Rashar seemed unable to naturally separate the two.

That’s probably why she kept feeling my body, as if trying to confirm something.

Thinking it was an unexpected benefit, I refrained from stopping her and let it happen.

In the meantime, I continued speaking calmly, aiming for her understanding.

“This is a body I made.”

It wasn’t a physical form allowed to exist in the material world by causality, but a body reconstructed with divinity to support and maintain my existence.

Thanks to this, I couldn’t traverse the material world as freely as before.

Because it originated from outside the causality, there is a price to pay for existing within the material world.

Since entering the material world, I had been consistently paying that price.

Although I wasn’t expending a large amount by sealing most of the status, I was still paying it.

In essence, I was in the same predicament as any other entity with status.

Ultimately, everything was resolved well.

‘Although it could have been a little dangerous without the Damned System.’

I had been accustomed to a situation where I stored the status within my body.

I had never maintained a status and created a form without a body before.

Thus, at first, the Damned System had to forcibly hold me together.

In that familiar circular form.

“Haha….”

Recalling that time made me chuckle.

Initially, it was hard to accept myself as a circle.

After all those years as a human, nearly thirty, I naturally developed what could be called humanity.

It was difficult to think of a round lump without hands, feet, eyes, nose, or mouth as me.

But as time passed, I gradually got used to it.

During that process, I learned from the Damned System how to embody a human form again.

I devoted my efforts to practice without distraction.

There was no need for sleep or food.

Even so, it took over a year.

Without the Damned System’s help, the absence could have lasted much longer.

‘I guess there’s no need to share that detail.’

I swallowed the unnecessary information and said,

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

I pulled the hand of Rashar that was still lingering on my body.

From the palm to the wrist, arm, shoulder, neck, cheek, and lips.

Continuously kissing upward while my other hand played along her waistline.

Rashar’s body quivered with a jolt from the bold touch.

“If not, shall I tend to my own business now?”

There was no need to go into detail about what that business was.

Our closely intertwined skins explained everything.

“Wait a minute! Suddenly, why are you…!”

“I’d be disappointed if you deny it. You were the one who first groped me when I was quietly lying here.”

“What do you… do… do…!”

She seemed so flustered that she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

She even started squirming as if to escape my embrace.

“Wait! Come to think of it, I have something to tell you from Gilenios!”

It was as if she was desperately trying to escape the situation, speaking rapidly.

“He asked me to deliver a message when you arrive, to… ump!”

Of course, I had no intention of fully listening to it.

I wasn’t pleased to hear another man’s name on her lips while on the bed.

So I simply silenced her with my mouth instead of my hand.

‘I can’t give up this moment because of helping that guy.’

I had already seen what Gilenios was doing beyond causality.

I knew how much he was suffering related to it.

Yet I never felt any particular sympathy.

Gilenios’s peace and well-being were not priorities for me.

I wouldn’t consider giving up my time with Rashar to ease his troubles.

I had to go to Korea soon, so the time I could spend wasn’t long.

I couldn’t afford to waste this precious time on an unnecessary matter.

“Just think of me for now.”

Although I didn’t do it for any particular reward.

Considering my significant contribution to saving the world, I believed I had more than enough qualification to ask for time with someone I love.

I firmly embraced Rashar again.

* * *

They gathered, huddled together.

In the chilly wind, they gawked in the same direction.

It was the exam hall where the college entrance exam had taken place today.

Parents and siblings were eagerly waiting for their children and relatives to come out.

Among them was Seo Jaehyuk.

November brought increasingly cold winds.

Jaehyuk took out his smartphone from his coat pocket while waiting for Jinwoo and Yeonwoo to come out.

The numbers displayed on the screen read 5:50 pm.

The twins’ exams should have ended by now.

In just a little while, both would emerge outside.

‘I should suggest grading the exams later at night. First, I need to feed them.’

Jaehyuk entered the address of the restaurant he had reserved into the navigation app.

It was a place they often went to as a family, a restaurant that everyone liked for its delicious food.

The moment the route appeared on the navigation app, a student ran out from the exam hall.

Soon, other students would pour out en masse.

Jaehyuk moved his head, searching for the twins among the crowd.

“Oh, younwha Road?”

He didn’t immediately recognize the voice next to him because his mind was elsewhere.

“That place is good, I’ll take the seafood noodles.”

Seo Jaehyuk stiffened upon belatedly recognizing the familiar voice.

Shortly after, the attention from surrounding people increased as they began to glance in his direction.

“Huh…?”

“No way…”

“Isn’t that K?”

“Whoa…!”

“No kidding, he was missing, right?”

“Did he return?”

“Take pictures, just take them!”

“This will blow up on social media.”

“Wow, isn’t this a scoop? Should I report this to the news?”

“Let’s shoot a video and upload it!”

“Really, is that K…?”

“Oh, my, K!”

A murmur started spreading in all directions.

It looked almost contagious, like an epidemic spreading.

Smartphone cameras approached from all directions, and a crowd gathered, encircling Jaehyuk.

Confronted with an unusual situation, seo Jaehyuk’s stiff body finally reacted.

Creak, creak.

Turning his head with a clumsy movement, sure enough, there was his friend carelessly reciting food orders.

“… You!”

Internally, he wanted to say a string of words and curses, but outwardly, nothing came out.

There were so many things he wanted to say that they all got tangled up.

Because of this, Jaehyuk could only open and close his mouth without saying anything for quite some time.

Meanwhile, the crowd surrounding them grew larger.

It was because students began pouring out after finishing their exams in earnest.

Yet, Hyunwoo seemed indifferent to the people surrounding him with smartphones, not even sparing a glance at them.

Instead, he stared intently at the exam hall beyond them.

And shortly after.

“Oh, there they are.”

He raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction, seeing something in the crowd, and strode forward.

“Let me through, please.”

As he tried to push through, the crowd surrounding him miraculously parted as if imitating Moses’ miracle.

And beyond.

“Oppaaang!”

“Oraavang!”

The twins, sprinting towards him with all their might, became visible.

Following Hyunwoo reflexively, seo Jaehyuk chuckled dryly.

‘They said there was no reason to worry.’

The jerks who insisted they’d be okay because they believed he would return—

the twins were running towards him with faces about to burst into tears.

They must have been exhausted after a whole day of exams.

Where did they even muster that kind of energy from?

Witnessing the twin’s frantic sprint, Hyunwoo clicked his tongue briefly.

“Tsk, what if they fall over?”

His muttering carried a sense of disapproval.

But Jaehyuk snorted, casting a sideways glance at Hyunwoo’s profile.

Hyunwoo’s arms were already open wide to welcome the twins, with a bright smile on his face.

“It’s brother!”

“It’s Orabang!”

The twins, arriving at their destination, leaped into Hyunwoo’s arms.

They started bouncing with flushed faces.

Seo Jaehyuk smiled gently while watching the three of them embrace and fill the air with laughter.

“When did you get here?!”

“Are you hurt anywhere? It’s really over now, right?”

“We studied really hard waiting for you!”

“I did really well on my exam!”

“Me too! I probably did better than Kang Jinwoo!”

The twins chattered away as if they were children again, basking in the unexpected reunion.

Watching this scene, Jaehyuk felt strangely relieved.

Although he had plenty of words for his friend asking for food without a proper greeting after returning over a year later,

‘Does it even matter?’

As long as he came back safe to the family, wasn’t that enough?

Character Introductions:

– 라샤르 = Rashar (she)

– 강현우 = Kang Hyunwoo (he)

– 길레니오스 = Gilenios (na)

– 서재혁 = Seo Jaehyuk (he)

– 강진우 = Kang Jinwoo (he)

– 연화루 = Younwha Road (it)