Ch.106106. The Secret Irua Confessed

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Lu-a’s small face was quickly covered in tears. I slowly floated toward her and embraced her tiny body.

“Sob… N-no. I shouldn’t. If I tell you, Jeo will surely feel guilty…”

“I already do. When I realized my choice to kill you was wrong. Let me resolve it and atone.”

“I-I’m sorry… You must be… really angry…”

“I was furious. Lena was angry with me. You can’t imagine what happens when she’s truly angry.”

“Y-yes… I was… really loved, wasn’t I? I’m sorry, truly sorry…”

Lu-a buried her face against my chest, and her body went limp.

I still needed to lie a little more.

“So, what happened?”

Lu-a kept sniffling. She tried to speak but burst into tears again. It seemed all the emotions she’d been holding back exploded at once.

I waited patiently, gently stroking her head.

Finally, Lu-a slowly began to speak.

“…Jeo, you know the system window?”

“Yes.”

“The descriptions that appear?”

“They do.”

“Did you know there’s text written on the back too?”

“The back?”

I immediately checked Lu-a with the dragon’s eye.

――――

Dark Matter / Lee Lu-a

Occupation: Villain

Rank: T14

Abilities: Dark Matter Lv.36

Quantum Domain Lv.17

Affiliation: Villain Organization Vengeance

Evil Sentai Vengeance

Alignment: Chaotic-Good

Talents: Villain of Light (T15)

Savior of the World

???

Her deep love for Jung Ui-seok is her driving force.

She is filled with thoughts of death, burying her dangerous secret in her heart.

――――

I tried flipping the window or turning my head, but I couldn’t see any other information.

“Only I can see it… Yes. Of course, Jeo wouldn’t have known…”

“What’s written there?”

“My fate.”

Was it about her role in the scenario or background setting?

“That doesn’t matter. I’ve seen many fates change.”

“Yes. Because Jeo is special. Actually, after meeting you, everything written on my back became untrue.”

“Then why?”

“…This is something even you can’t change. Not Lena, not Senior Somi, not Boksil, not anyone. Only I can change it.”

“What does it say?”

Lu-a bit her lip, hesitated, then slowly explained.

“‘You were abandoned by your parents at age five and sold through illegal trafficking from your third orphanage into a facility.'”

“‘Though you endured painful times for years, at eighteen you’ll be given a chance to escape.'”

“‘After three years of wandering, you will become a great villain. But the process won’t be smooth.'”

“‘You’ll be lonely and solitary without companions. If you carry out your revenge, you’ll face the truth and stand at a crossroads.'”

“‘Strong powers come with strong side effects. Your dark matter will soon go berserk and devour your entire galaxy. All stars will disappear, leaving only darkness.'”

“‘If you die before the rampage, the unexpanded dark matter will be satisfied with consuming only you. There is no way on Earth to stop this power.'”

“‘6 days, 3 hours, and 2 minutes remain.'”

Lu-a finished speaking.

I understood what she must have been thinking, how she must have felt all this time.

I can now say with certainty about Lu-a’s growth rate and the strength of her abilities. She’s the strongest villain in this world, except for my Apocalypse.

Vengeance’s initial attack on the Dragon King Sentai would have been impossible without Lu-a.

It would be strange if there weren’t an Apocalypse-level demerit.

I can roughly guess the background setting of Scenario 4.

Lu-a going for revenge, discovering the truth, and siding with the monsters means Dr. Sun must be connected to the Synthetic Monster Asura.

And that mocking face Lu-a showed when she was being eliminated by heroes at the end.

It probably meant she had deceived her opponent and won.

In other words, an act.

Both in the original work and now, Lu-a intended to protect the world through her own death.

I think Lu-a would definitely act that way.

Because she’s a good kid.

And being a fearful child, she must have been scared to die by herself.

Nevertheless, she tore out her own heart in front of Eridanus to save me.

I can feel again how firm her resolve must have been.

The reason she didn’t commit suicide and caused this big incident is simple.

To make me hate her.

She probably arranged for the citizens trapped in the quantum domain to return after some time. To delay the moment I would realize the truth as much as possible.

That way I wouldn’t be able to resurrect Lu-a.

During the actual Eridanus battle, Lu-a tore out her heart, and Lena provided emergency treatment while I used Quantum to save her.

I even revived Somi, who had completely stopped breathing, despite her monster characteristics.

Lena even resurrected Yoo Cha-mi, who had been dead for quite some time.

Lu-a judged that she couldn’t die by simple suicide. We would arbitrarily save her, and then she would have to explain her reasons.

If her reasons were discovered, she definitely couldn’t die. Neither I, Lena, nor Somi would leave her alone.

So she had to die as an enemy.

Lu-a’s thinking probably flowed that way, leading to this terrorist attack.

Ultimately beneficial to Vengeance by eliminating the hero remnants, with no casualties.

Until the end, for my sake.

For the world’s sake.

“…Are you very angry?”

Lu-a asked with a miserable face.

More lies are needed.

I want to draw out Lu-a’s true feelings.

“I am angry. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because then you wouldn’t have let me die.”

“Of course not.”

“But that can’t happen. There’s no way to stop it. A galactic scale? You can’t stop something like this. Even if you put me on a spaceship, you can’t send me to another galaxy. Even your holy spear can’t stop it.”

“Probably not. But we should still try.”

“That’s just like you. Yes. That’s why I kept it secret.”

I nodded.

“Nothing to be done about it.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s in the past, and getting angry at you now won’t change anything. I know the truth now, that’s enough. Lu-a, when I go back, I’ll restore your honor. Everyone will know about your merit in saving the world and commemorate you. I’ll think of you occasionally too. Though we can’t meet again since the Switch is gone.”

“…Yes.”

“I finished the last scenario too. I fought with Lena, but we reconciled a while ago. I’m thinking of starting a family now. Both Somi and Lena agreed.”

“…Huh?”

“I mean things have become peaceful thanks to you. Everyone will remember you. Well, human memory tends to fade with time.”

“…Right.”

“So, farewell.”

“Wait… already?”

“I told you before. Being trapped in the past is no different from being addicted to Pestam. I need to move forward. I have reality. In my reality, you’re already dead. I came to confirm the truth and set things right.”

“B-but. You don’t have to be so hasty… I-I’m your lover… aren’t I?”

“Not to me.”

Lu-a burst into tears again. Her face crumbled and fell apart.

“Y-you don’t have to go that far. Does everything end just because I died?”

“It does.”

“I didn’t want to die either! I had no choice…! If I did nothing, everyone would die together!!”

“If you felt wronged, you should have lived.”

“That wasn’t possible!!”

“Do you want to live?”

Lu-a paused for a moment.

Soon she took a deep breath and cried out.

“I want to live! I want to live!! You showed me how enjoyable, how happy living can be, and now I have to die already? I hate it!! I want to go on more dates with you. I want to play games. I want to do naughty things too. I want to get married. I want to live much longer!!”

I rushed toward Lu-a. I embraced her and fell to the ground. I removed Armaggedon’s helmet and kissed her.

Lu-a looked straight at me with tear-filled eyes.

“Save me, Ui-seok…”

“I will.”

I stood up holding her and shouted.

“Sulphur, come out.”

From between the ruined buildings, a hero in a pure white suit walked out with a smirk.

“Voyeurism too? Bad habit.”

“Well, is that the attitude of someone about to ask a favor?”

Sulphur shrugged.

“Favor? Don’t misunderstand. I’m giving you an opportunity. Destroying a hero like you in this villain-dominated land is easier than eating cake.”

“Haha, your arrogance has dug all the way to hell, Gerogius.”

“Sulphur, I’ll give you a chance to prove your ability. In return, I’ll spare your life once when I could take it.”

“The math doesn’t add up. Why should I accept that offer?”

“Because otherwise, I’ll kill you now.”

Sulphur put his hand on his forehead and shook his head in disbelief.

“Well, fine. Dark Matter is a villain, but one I respect. It would be a waste for a hero who could save the world to die in a place like this. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll kill you, Gerogius, for the sake of the world?”

Sulphur walked steadily toward me.

Lu-a, still in my arms, looked up at me.

“Hey, Jeo. You don’t need to go this far. You should return to your own time…”

“Ah, that was a lie.”

“…Huh?”

“The Yellow Dragon’s Switch broke during training. This is reality.”

“…What? What are you saying? You deceived me? How did you know about the citizens trapped in the quantum domain or me being consumed by dark matter?”

“I predicted it.”

“No! I’m telling you something terrible will happen! The world will end!”

“Do I care?”

Lu-a went quiet, then finally slowly embraced me.

“How strange, Gerogius. Weren’t you the man who always preached about world peace?”

Sulphur smirked. I snapped at him.

“It’s just not more important than the woman I love. Don’t dare to judge me.”

“…The woman you love, huh. Alright, alright. Don’t glare at me so fiercely. So, what do I need to do?”

I commanded.

“Shoot a black hole at me.”