Ch.139Side Story ■■■. In a World Where Only Two Remain

A Ruined Wasteland.

The floor and walls were shattered as if swept by bombing, leaving no space to step.

Moss grew on the yellowed carpet where faint sunlight streamed through the collapsed ceiling.

Only the rotting long pews, faded stained glass, and a faceless figure hanging on a cross gave some hint of what this place once was.

Nothing maintained its proper form. Everything was just dust on the verge of crumbling away.

With a rustling sound, a figure walked into the space.

The pure white hero suit had weathered with time, its brightness somewhat faded.

Traces of countless battles were etched and patched onto the armor, making it look like rags.

The once magnificent cape no longer fluttered, hanging limply instead.

The white hero skillfully navigated through the debris and stood before the cross.

Making the sign of the cross, she knelt on one knee, bowed her head, and lightly clasped her hands together.

“Mistaking bravado for strength.”

A woman’s soft voice emerged.

Though there was no one to hear, she began to continue her sentences.

“Holding back tears when I wanted to cry.”

“Not being honest with my feelings.”

“Deceiving my comrades.”

“Not acknowledging my weaknesses.”

“Not taking his hand at the beginning.”

“Giving up my will to live.”

“Apologizing when I shouldn’t have.”

“Not apologizing when I should have.”

“Not expressing gratitude.”

“Not recognizing the love I received.”

“Giving up at the end.”

“And yet.”

“And yet, feeling happy despite it all.”

Click.

The white hero removed her helmet. Long, golden hair that hadn’t been tended to in ages flowed down her cheeks and suit.

Kang Yerin raised her head.

The headless figure had no eyes to meet hers.

She curled her lips up in satisfaction.

The magical lines from the side effects of monsterization were no longer on her face. The artificial eye she had replaced for better performance had returned to her original one.

Her skin was cleaner and more radiant than ever in her youth, and her breath was full of vitality.

Clunk.

Hearing a sound behind her, Kang Yerin turned her head. The silhouette created by the backlight made him look like a demon.

“So you were here, Kang Yerin.”

Kang Yerin stood up and faced him.

“Yes. You found me.”

“Dinner is ready. Will you eat?”

Kang Yerin smiled, imagining his expression hidden in the shadows.

“How could I refuse? Thank you.”

The demon left without answering. Kang Yerin decided to leave the ruined cathedral and follow him.

As they exited the building, the intense sunlight stung her eyes.

It was understandable. The atmosphere of this planet had already changed considerably. The ratio of oxygen to nitrogen, the thickness of the ozone layer.

She took in the scenery.

Evidence of humanity’s once brilliant civilization still remained.

Now it was all ruins, the city of Seoul turned to garbage.

How frantically she had once run—no, flown—to protect this city.

But she no longer dwelled on such memories.

‘How long has it been?’

She didn’t know anymore.

For what felt like an eternity, her brain had lost function. Memories had dulled, and now even the sequence and progression of events weren’t clear.

She couldn’t tell if the world had ended due to the battles between heroes and villains, or if it was a natural extinction, or which timeline this was, or how many had come before.

‘Ji Se-hwa, Kang Yerin, Pak Hayoung, Shin Yukyong.’

When Kang Yerin felt herself slipping into dulled senses, she would recite the names of her important comrades. They were clearly her second set of comrades, not the first.

Of course, the first comrades were important too. Fortunately, they had the same names, so they weren’t difficult to remember.

Kang Yerin deactivated her transformation and followed the demon.

He was boiling something over a campfire he had made among the ruins. The savory smell made her feel good.

She approached and sat down next to the demon. As she enjoyed his body heat, he soon handed her a bowl of soup.

“Thank you.”

“As always, I can’t guarantee the taste. Even with my ability to preserve them, these canned goods are over ten thousand years old.”

“I love all the food you give me.”

Kang Yerin took a sip of the soup. Her body immediately warmed up.

“It’s delicious.”

“Is that so.”

The demon wiped the soup from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Kang Yerin smiled familiarly.

“Kang Yerin.”

“Yes.”

“Shall we stop the search now?”

“The system? But you need that to go back, don’t you? You said it was important.”

“It was my stubbornness.”

The demon said bitterly.

“I thought I wanted to see the end of the world I created, but it wasn’t easy once I saw it. Even though it was quite a good happy ending.”

“Was it… a happy ending?”

“Yes. Our descendants evolved to the next generation and went into space. They won’t have conflicts over abilities like we did.”

“What happened to your family?”

“They lived happily to old age.”

“Then why are you and I here?”

“For a simple reason. We can’t die of old age normally. You’re a special being among monsters, and I’m the lord of evil.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Kang Yerin nodded as if she just remembered what she was.

“Things get dull. Forgetting is the best skill humans have acquired.”

“Is that so?”

The demon turned to look at Kang Yerin.

“Do you remember my name? Kang Yerin.”

At that question, Kang Yerin smiled broadly.

“How could I forget, Gerogius.”

The demon, Gerogius, curled his lips in satisfaction.

“Then do you remember our relationship too?”

“Relationship…”

“We’ve been through a lot.”

“Yes. I’ve had many names too.”

“Yellow Cloaker, Sulphur, Big One, Archangel, Demon Hunter, 2nd Dark Matter, what else was there?”

“Gerogius’s fourth wife.”

“Haha, that was funny.”

“The wife that bloodless, tearless demon took after five hundred years. The whole world was in an uproar.”

“You’ve forgotten the end of the world, yet you remember things like that so well.”

“Because it’s about you and me.”

“You’ve always been like that.”

Gerogius looked pleased.

From his expression, Kang Yerin could clearly read what relationship between them he was asking about.

“Arch-enemy.”

“That’s right.”

Kang Yerin looked into Gerogius’s eyes.

These were eyes she had looked into countless times, millions of times, billions of times.

There was no way she couldn’t understand the emotions and intentions contained in them.

He was tired.

“Kang Yerin. We made a contract.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“Arch-enemies.”

“At the very end.”

“One of us.”

“Kills the other.”

The two understood this fact precisely.

Gerogius took Kang Yerin’s thin wrist.

Slowly, he brought her hand to his neck.

When Kang Yerin’s fingers touched his carotid artery, she suddenly realized how weak his pulse had become.

“Will you execute it?”

Gerogius asked.

With a gentle smile on her lips, Kang Yerin whispered a question back.

“Will you kiss me? Like before.”

Without hesitation, Gerogius pressed himself against Kang Yerin and gave her soft lips a gentle touch.

After tasting his tenderness for what felt like eternity, Kang Yerin quietly took his right hand and brought it to her own neck.

His somewhat dry tongue was never enough no matter how much she tasted and entwined with it, but Kang Yerin decided to let go.

With a sense of longing, she tapped his lower lip with the tip of her tongue.

But the two couldn’t move far apart after separating. They were each gripping the other’s neck.

The right hand gripping the carotid artery, the symbol of life.

The left hand on each other’s wrist.

Kang Yerin began to dig into Gerogius’s neck with her index finger.

“The contract didn’t specify that.”

“What?”

“That only one of us has to die at the end.”

“Indeed.”

Responding to Kang Yerin’s wish, Gerogius began to increase his grip with the same intensity.

“…Ha!”

Gradually, a crazed smile began to appear on Kang Yerin’s face. Her eye corners trembled and her breathing became staccato.

But her gaze pierced deep into Gerogius’s pupils, unwavering.

A thin line of blood flowed down Gerogius’s index finger, middle finger, and thick arm.

Whatever being he had become, his blood was still redder than any human’s, and his pulse was beating strongly.

“—Damn it.”

Pak!

Gerogius pushed Kang Yerin away lightly and averted his gaze.

Kang Yerin also released her grip on his neck. Instead, she covered his back with her small body like a blanket.

“I knew I would do this.”

“Did you?”

“You’re so slick.”

Instead of answering, Kang Yerin brought her lips to the hole in his neck to seal it.

The two remained frozen in that position for a long time.

The wind blew, the sun moved, and another countless day passed.

Stroking his head, Kang Yerin whispered a question.

“What do you regret the most?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why do you want to go back?”

“Perhaps because I miss it.”

“Who do you miss the most?”

“Everyone.”

“What kind of life will you live when you go back?”

“I don’t want to see the calculations go wrong, so I’ll probably repeat the same history. But.”

When I’m a hundred years old, that’s enough time to die.

He added.

“Will I be by your side then?”

Gerogius turned to Kang Yerin, smiled, and nodded.

Kang Yerin half-closed her eyes and looked into the distance.

Her eyes seemed to be recalling memories, or perhaps looking at someone only she could see.

“You know what?”

“I’m happiest right now.”

“Honestly, I wish this time could last forever. Selfish, I know.”

“Come to think of it, I’ve always been like this. I’ve loved you all my life, but I’ve never wished for your happiness alone.”

“That was the crucial difference between them and me. They could have given their lives for you, but not me.”

“The reason I love you is to be loved by you.”

Gerogius slowly looked up at Kang Yerin.

“That’s quite ordinary, isn’t it?”

“Ahah.”

Kang Yerin laughed dejectedly.

She quietly raised her right arm above her head.

“I wish this wouldn’t end. I want to stay here with you forever.”

The ground shook. With a massive vibration, cracks formed and the entire space began to collapse.

“I still find it hard to watch you die.”

Flash!

Yellow light enveloped Kang Yerin.

The planet, unable to withstand her power, began to collapse from within.

“Sorry I’m so ordinary.”

Aura mixed with crystallized power burst out randomly.

Its form clearly resembled a dragon.

“Will you love me again anyway?”

“Kang Yerin.”

Gerogius reached out toward her, but the strong repulsive force prevented him from getting closer.

He etched her face clearly in his mind one last time.

Neither hero nor monster, nor anything else.

Just an ordinary woman biting her lower lip, trying to hold back tears.

“Goodbye.”

The farewell doesn’t reach his ears.

The rewinding time, Gerogius’s separating consciousness, replaces the past moment with a new future.

In that moment, he could clearly witness one thing.

Her face, smiling brightly at him.

And the last sentence she wanted to convey.

“I love you, Ui-seok.”

Time rewinds again.

Just because something wasn’t observed or lacks evidence doesn’t mean one can dare say it doesn’t exist.

Her love was destined to be fulfilled.

Because time is infinite.

Surely there.

It had already happened.

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