Ch.132The Black Wolf’s Past

1.

The quest given to Nahan was originally just one.

─『Main Quest』─

◆ Simply Survive.

: Prevent all bad endings and save the <Hero> and <Emperor>.

◆Number of bad endings prevented.

: So far… [12 / 15]

◆Reward

: Return to original world.

It was a task to save the <Emperor> and <Hero> while preventing fifteen bad endings.

If successful, the minimal reward would be returning to the original world.

But had he not carried it out, he would have died.

He was possessing the <Black Wolf>, leader of the <Black Wolves>, the strongest and worst criminal organization. He would have died if his identity was discovered by the members, or if he was captured by the <Light> or the <Emperor>.

Therefore, Nahan had been tearfully progressing through the quest just to survive.

While anxiously but somehow moving forward with the main quest, a second quest was given to him.

─『Main Scenario』─

◆ Those Who Could Not Be Saved.

: Save the <Characters> who would have perished in regret and despair.

◆Those who have been saved:

: So far… [7 / 10]

◆Reward

: One wish of your choosing.

Main Scenario – Those Who Could Not Be Saved.

In the midst of already struggling with fifteen bad endings and saving the <Emperor> and <Hero>, came an additional request to save 10 more characters.

The reward was to grant one wish of his choosing, and having grown attached to the members, Nahan decided to save them as well.

And so Nahan steadily achieved this.

Yuria’s life,

Luna and Mother’s tragedy,

Hanryang and Ilhong’s lingering attachments,

Ruby, Dalan, and Rose’s time,

Pedro and Lia’s emotions,

Casler and Ran’s journey.

Even while advancing on the path to save the world, he led every single one of them to salvation without exception.

And so only three beings remained.

Vice-leader Lactea,

Leader Black Wolf,

And—

“The last one. Who the hell is it?”

The powerful dark veil inherent to Black Wolf.

The moment “ordinary” Nahan asked that question under that immense pressure.

Black Wolf, who had been wearing a calm smile, stiffened his expression and asked,

“Is that important in the current situation?”

“I guess not—”

“Shh. Didn’t I tell you? If you wish, I’ll send you back to your original world right away.”

Seeing Black Wolf gathering his power again, Nahan instinctively realized.

‘He’s serious.’

There was no lie in his promise to send him back, and the display of power proved he had the ability to do so.

But that’s why he was curious.

‘Why make such an offer now?’

If it had been Nahan from the early days of possession, he would have accepted without hesitation.

Even though it was a world where he had lost the meaning of return, it would still be far better than this world where he faced death every day.

So back then, Nahan wouldn’t have thought about saving other characters or staying for the Black Wolves members.

“Why make such an offer now?”

To Nahan’s question, spoken with effort, Black Wolf answered expressionlessly.

“Because I thought it would be possible.”

“…What?”

“Because I thought… this time I could save everyone.”

After finishing his answer, Black Wolf summoned a small window and showed it to Nahan.

What appeared on the screen was the front of an altar.

The Elder Dragon emerging from a rift and the Abyss embracing Nahan.

“…?”

When Nahan’s gaze questioned what this meant, Black Wolf continued calmly.

“Whenever the Elder Dragon’s seal breaks, the world always faces destruction. This world will surely meet the same fate.”

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because every iteration has been the same.”

This is the memoir of one who learned the world’s secrets through the goddess Aria.

“…Are you saying you’re a regressor too?”

“Unlike Hallorand, only a half-baked one.”

“I think I need an explanation.”

“It’s simple. At the start of each iteration, Aria would find me, and when I broke through to Ex-rank, she would return all memories from every iteration.”

And so, whenever he gathered all the <Black Wolves> members, he would inherit memories from previous iterations, and through that, he came to realize.

“The greed of sentient beings has no end.”

Every iteration was the same.

Even as the Abyss took over the Elder’s body and brought destruction, the sentient beings fought among themselves for their own interests.

Wars for greater gain.

Political strife for power.

Conflicts for profit rather than life.

“Even as the world was being destroyed by the Abyss, sentient beings blinded by greed covered their eyes and fought each other. And as a result… the world met destruction in every iteration.”

Black Wolf, having reached Ex-rank, tried to prevent destruction in each iteration.

Since the saviors of reincarnation and regression had already proven futile, he sought out the savior of possession or the world’s renowned powers.

And he pleaded.

“Destruction is coming soon, so stop the conflicts and unite as one.”

He went to the Emperor and begged.

He approached the powerful and told them the truth, saying they needed to prepare.

Having been rejected from the start for lacking power, he created the Golden Dragon Knights, and there was even a time when he became the continent’s greatest knight order and convinced everyone.

And so, as everyone waited for the coming Abyss, certain of a future without destruction.

“I was betrayed.”

The imperial nobles, entranced by the eclipse, feared the emerging organization with immense power, and the kingdoms followed the empire’s lead.

“They hoped the Abyss and we would destroy each other. They pulled all sorts of tricks, and because of that, the world was destroyed once again.”

And so began the next iteration.

After endless greed and repeated destruction, Black Wolf made a big decision.

“Those trash who neglected their duty, thinking someone else would handle the great evil right in front of them. I killed them all, cutting off their limbs without mercy.”

Instead of brilliant golden armor, he wore pitch-black robes and carried a blood-stained sword.

“Threats instead of persuasion, force instead of dialogue, hostility before understanding.”

The sentient beings, crushed by fear, united far faster than in previous iterations.

They absolutely obeyed Black Wolf’s words and followed him to fight against the Abyss.

And the outcome of that iteration was—

“Destruction again.”

Despite suppressing them so thoroughly, they must have thought while watching Black Wolf’s duel with the Abyss.

“If we kill him now, we can have more for ourselves.”

So they stabbed Black Wolf hoping for mutual destruction, but the result was the world’s end.

To be honest, since it was an iteration where he acted like a dictator, Black Wolf reconsidered.

“Instill fear, but not excessively. Focus on appropriate peace and harmony.”

A middle path achieved by playing Black Wolf in the darkness and Golden Dragon in the light.

If Black Wolf was too much, he died as a dictator; if Golden Dragon was too much, he died from nobles’ schemes.

And so, destruction again.

After repeating many more iterations to find the subtle balance.

He found an iteration where he achieved the optimal balance and formed an army that couldn’t be more perfect, and with that, he confronted the Abyss.

“And yet the world was destroyed again.”

Despite successfully uniting everyone,

“Because the unified Abyss and Elder Dragon were too strong to oppose.”

Due to the inevitable loss of strength during the unification process, they couldn’t completely defeat them.

Only then did Black Wolf realize.

“Ah, this world has no solution.”

The Abyss seeking to destroy the world,

Sentient beings prioritizing their greed despite this,

Repeated destruction.

After finishing all his explanations, Black Wolf muttered with dead, blackened eyes.

“Looking at such despicable beings… I could understand the Abyss’s feelings. So when I died in the previous iteration, I closed my eyes thinking maybe I should just kill them all…”

As Nahan was about to speak in response to the deep hatred in those dead eyes, Black Wolf, regaining his composure first, placed a hand on Nahan’s shoulder.

“I lost my body to you.”

The savior of possession.

Three saviors selected by the Abyss’s unique trait <Wager>.

One was the Abyss itself, the second was Hallorand, and the third was a soul from another world.

“The possession condition is once per adult body.”

You cannot possess a human again after possessing them once, nor can you summon the same soul twice.

Thus, iterations repeated as many times as there were adults in the world, and thanks to Aria’s delays, it finally came to Black Wolf’s turn.

Which means,

“This chance is the last chance.”

Black Wolf, patting Nahan’s shoulder, smiled again.

“So in a world doomed to destruction anyway, don’t try too hard and just go back.”

After finishing his words, Black Wolf turned and walked toward the cemetery where he had been sitting.

“Now… I have no regrets. In a world that can’t be saved anyway, sending you back when you were unfairly brought here is enough.”

Only then did the return condition come to mind again.

It required the annihilation of Black Wolf’s soul as payment.

As Nahan’s brow furrowed slightly at the realization, Black Wolf let out a chuckle.

“No need to feel sorry, right? We’re the kidnappers, you’re the victim. So don’t worry and go back as is.”

A light tone.

After pondering briefly, Nahan asked Black Wolf, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the graves.

“Fine. Then keep your promise and let me out of here for a moment. I’ll take care of something and come right back.”

“…? Promise?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. You asked Lactea to tell me.”

Black Wolves.

“Even if I fail, please kill them all.”