Ch.152I’ll give it back to you.

# 1.

The final moment was approaching.

“Because of me… my brother is dying.”

Even in such a dire situation, Nahan was only worried about Hyesung, contemplating how to comfort him when two small windows appeared simultaneously before his eyes.

【Until Annihilation: …88%】

【Until Return: …100%】

Perhaps it was because the time until return was shorter than the time until annihilation?

【Character – <Black Wolf> returns to the <Present World>.】

Thanks to the ticket’s effect, Black Wolf’s soul, which had been wandering trapped in an unknown world, returned to the present world, finding its own body.

Simultaneously, his body began to recover.

【<Aria> intervenes.】

【The rank of <Sunlight(D)> is significantly lower than the causality of the <Return Ticket>.】

【Payment of Price – <Annihilation> is permanently halted, allowing <Iaso’s Ring(Ex+)> to exert its true power.】

Seeing the golden system window, Nahan unconsciously smiled and muttered.

“It’s… handling things well.”

With those words, he lost consciousness.

More precisely, it felt like his soul was being drawn somewhere deep within his body.

【Warning.】

【Error: Two souls coexist in one body.】

【Beginning error resolution.】

Dismissing the incomprehensible system window as he got up, he saw someone who had arrived earlier and was waiting, now standing up and dusting off their pants.

“It’s been a while, Nahan.”

Black Wolf.

He almost didn’t recognize him because of the faint smile on his face, but it was definitely Black Wolf.

Unlike the ruins from before, Black Wolf’s mental world was now filled with brilliant light.

Looking in the direction where the tombstones used to be, he asked Nahan:

“How do you feel?”

“Like we’re stuffed together in one sleeping bag, pressed against each other.”

“…That sounds rather unpleasant when you put it that way.”

“I feel the same, you bastard.”

Nahan and Black Wolf both chuckled, neither one first.

“Well, enough with the jokes.”

Black Wolf summoned an aura and showed the outside situation, asking again:

“How does it feel to have saved everyone?”

Before answering, Nahan quietly observed the outside situation that appeared before him.

-It worked…!! He’s starting to recover…!!

-……

Reina, with tears in her eyes, holding his hand, and Laktea awkwardly patting her.

-Ahhh…!! He’s alive…!! He’s alive!!

Asha, whose face had been cold, now showing a bright smile and shedding tears of joy.

-…I almost became a widow before even getting engaged.

-But I’m alive, aren’t I…!! …Wait, what do you mean by engagement, Hestia?

-[Yes!! That man is not acceptable, my child!!]

Hestia, Balkan, and Balak exchanging incomprehensible conversation.

“Whew, so noisy.”

Nahan manipulated the nearby screen to observe others as well.

-We did it, Senior Punisher!!

-Wasn’t it just him who did it?

-Oh come on!! Couldn’t you just nod along at times like this!? Read the room!!

-Ah, right.

Yuria smiling brightly and Bedro nodding along with her.

-Wow! It’s the Captain!

-…Luna, that human is the Light─mmph.

-Who cares! He smells nice! Don’t you agree, sis?

-…Yes.

Luna jumping around hugging Selena, with Hanryang flustering nearby.

-Dalan, what is love?

-…Experience it yourself.

Ruby muttering blankly as if relieved, and Dalan comforting her.

And,

-How disappointing. It was a perfect opportunity for the Captain to obtain a cold heart.

-…? Are you also Eclipse?

Casler calmly spouting nonsense and Marinka slightly furrowing her brow.

-…Bro.

Finally, when he confirmed Hyesung who had started crying by his side,

Nahan unconsciously asked:

“Did I do well?”

He had done his best.

To save all those who would have perished without salvation.

He had tried to save everyone, without missing a single person.

But because there were still those he had missed, those he hadn’t yet saved,

Nahan anxiously asked Black Wolf, who had watched everything:

“Was this really the best I could do?”

Black Wolf couldn’t answer immediately.

It was a concern he had also struggled with.

Through tens of billions of iterations, he had pursued the best outcome, but every iteration ended without achieving salvation.

When some were saved, others died; when he tried to save those others, different ones were sacrificed.

Like trying to quench thirst with seawater.

Knowing he would never be satisfied, he constantly blamed himself for the best outcome and tried new approaches to break free.

But because of that.

Because he had gone through countless iterations and experienced as many failures, he could answer:

“At least I think so.”

Himself, who couldn’t save the world despite tens of billions of chances.

Nahan, who maximized his single opportunity to save all souls and lives.

“One way or another, every choice you made was the best for me.”

When Black Wolf spoke with sincerity, Nahan pointed at Hyesung in the screen and murmured:

“Then I’m glad.”

Was it just his imagination that the sigh he let out seemed lighter than before?

Black Wolf, also caught up in the atmosphere, gave a faint smile.

“Yes, so now go back.”

“…Go back where?”

Was he referring to the original world?

Black Wolf, catching Nahan’s unease, shook his head and spoke as if it were obvious:

“To the world you saved, of course.”

Black Wolf had to pay the price of being eternally trapped in his own mental world as the goddess’s proxy.

A contract that would have been canceled had he succeeded in salvation before Nahan, the last vessel, arrived, but a price he had to pay for failing.

He had to spend eternity alone, which in some ways was a greater price than those who weren’t saved, but Nahan had saved even him.

“I’ll return to the goddess like this, so I want you to live on in my body.”

He had no lingering attachments, no regrets.

Rather, he felt distressed that this was all he could do for his savior.

So Black Wolf placed his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.

“Thank you, Nahan.”

【Congratulations!】

【You have saved one of the Unsaved – <Black Wolf>!】

【Remaining targets: 9/10.】

The salvation of Black Wolf, finally achieved.

“Without you, no one could have been happy.”

Feeling Black Wolf’s sincerity, Nahan smiled, turned to him, and asked:

“What was your dream?”

“…? Suddenly?”

“Just, since this is probably our last meeting.”

Several answers came to mind at the unexpected question.

‘Salvation of the world.’

‘Salvation of the members.’

‘Aria’s restoration.’

Behind the wishes mechanically engraved in his mind, fragments of hazy memories surfaced.

-The East, the mountains are magnificent─mmph.

-The clan’s castle floats above the clouds.

-The gorge near Mirabel… I’ve never seen such a spectacular view.

The world’s scenic wonders that occasionally came up during casual conversations with various people.

And so, the small wish he had unknowingly harbored during those times.

“Adventurer… I don’t remember well, but I think I might have dreamed of that.”

Nahan saw it.

The faintly glimmering fragments of lingering attachment in Black Wolf’s dark eyes, which he himself wasn’t even aware of.

That’s why he could make the choice, as if drawn to it.

【Will you accept Black Wolf’s gift?】

【Accept/Decline.】

Two choices that had been flickering before his eyes since the moment Black Wolf offered his body.

One of them.

So before making his choice, Nahan made a request to Black Wolf, who was organizing his thoughts.

“There’s still one left.”

“…Huh? What do you mean?”

“Hallorand. He’s been slithering toward the abyss for a while now.”

As Nahan said, something moved in the direction he was pointing.

-It ends like this…? So futilely…? After all I’ve been through…!! I have to die being treated like a criminal…!?

With terrible malice, he approached the abyss and swallowed something with a gulp.

“That trash!! Nahan, take my body right now──!!”

As the enraged Black Wolf reached out to hand over his body to Nahan as quickly as possible,

“Make your dream come true.”

“…What?”

“I’ve used your body well. Now I’ll return it.”

Nahan, who had reached out first, touched the decline button floating in the air.

【<Decline> has been selected.】

【Full authority over <Black Wolf>’s body returns to its original owner <Black Wolf>.】

【Shortly, the lost soul – <Nahan>’s soul will be guided to <Aria>.】

The mental world collapsed in an instant.

“No, why…!!!”

“Curious?”

“Of course!!!”

“Honestly, your thing is impressive, but what I originally had is bigger.”

“…What does that mean?”

Confused by the unexpected answer, Black Wolf reached out to Nahan, but,

“Next time we meet, call me brother.”

“Wait──!!”

In the end, he couldn’t reach him.

# 2.

【Warning.】

【The Savior of Return – <Hallorand(A+)> has consumed <Fragment of the Abyss> and <Dragon Elder’s Heart>.】

【The final battle begins.】

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“『I can’t… be the… only. one. who’s. wronged…?』”