Ch.212Chapter 212. The Girl’s Knight

In the abyss that devours all—life, the dead, everything.

No one could know what lies within.

Not even I, who entered of my own volition.

“Miss, are you regaining consciousness?”

I never expected a situation like this to unfold.

I thought I might be digested and die immediately upon entering.

I had also considered the possibility of facing a hell where countless hungry ghosts would rush toward me, just as when I confronted him in reality.

“Oh, you’re awake. What a relief. I was worried when you kept sleeping…”

But what appeared before me in this moment was a kindly old man.

Though his attire and appearance were plain, what showed on his face as he looked at me was clearly what one would call goodwill.

“Who are you…?”

“It’s awkward to ask this right after you’ve awakened, but… could you grant me a request?”

Before I could ask why he was standing before me, the old man opened a book and pointed to the characters at its center.

“I’d like you to read the words in this book.”

“Words, you say?”

“Yes. Perhaps you don’t know how to read?”

“Ah, no. I can read.”

I answered reflexively. Even as I carefully read the characters in the book, I couldn’t help but wonder about my current situation.

I was certain I had entered the stomach of that monster… so how did I end up in a situation where I’m teaching reading to a stranger?

“Oh, so that’s what those characters were.”

But unlike me, confused by the situation, the old man was expressing great joy at having learned to read.

Afterward, seeing me standing there blankly, he bowed his head and offered sincere thanks.

“Thank you, young one. Thanks to you, this illiterate old man can now read books a little better.”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing. It wasn’t anything special.”

“It may seem that way to you, but to me, it’s a debt I couldn’t repay even with a thousand gold.”

The gentle smile on his lips and the fondness in his eyes as he looked down at the worn book—

It meant that he treasured the book in his hands dearly and found meaning even in the humble time he had spent before.

“Though I’ll soon be buried in the ground, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with learning something before that time comes. Learning one thing after another means living a better life than yesterday… By repeating that process alone, couldn’t one say my end will be better than if I had simply repeated the same days?”

The old man firmly grasped my hand as he spoke.

The wrinkles and calluses I felt in that hand indirectly taught me about the years and hardships he had experienced throughout his life.

“…Thank you, young one, for allowing this insignificant old man to live a better life.”

At that moment, when the old man who had lived so steadfastly and wished to learn to read with such determination expressed his gratitude to me, I felt a lump in my throat.

I realized that even a fleeting, insignificant connection to me might hold great value to someone else.

-Whoosh!

But before I could fully appreciate this sentiment, a violent storm erupted.

Reflexively closing my eyes and tensing my body, I soon realized that the scene before me had changed.

In place of the grateful old man appeared people gathered in what seemed to be a village square in the countryside.

“The borders have been closed. No one can leave the village anymore.”

“Damn it, why did this have to happen to us…”

“I’m sure things will get better with time.”

People with serious expressions conversed in one place.

Most looked pale and weakened, but those who still had strength moved busily around the village, trying to care for the sick.

“This is no time for that. More people in the village are falling ill.”

“We need to preserve body heat. Bring firewood, whatever you can find! Tear down house pillars if necessary!”

They moved the collapsed villagers to the town hall and stuffed whatever kindling they could find in front of it.

In the process, nothing was spared—not firewood, household items, dwellings, or even valuables. Their situation was that urgent and serious.

“No, not that! Anything but that!”

But even in such an emergency, there was someone trying to protect his possessions.

An old man who no longer had the strength to hold a plow…

“What do you mean, ‘not that’? What’s one book worth when people are dying!”

“Children are sick!”

Despite the old man’s desperate cries, the villagers snatched away the book he cherished and threw it into the pile of firewood.

“Ah, aah…”

The book burned despite his resistance.

The old man sat down helplessly, staring at the book with emptiness, but no one in the village showed him any sympathy.

“How selfish can he be, making such a fuss over a mere book while people are dying?”

“I never liked that old man! While everyone’s suffering, he wastes time trying to learn letters he can’t even use!”

“If you lived your whole life as a farmer, you should die as one. Does he think reading a few books will make him something else now!?”

The villagers scolded the old man sitting before the bonfire, then turned away and left.

All that remained was a miserable old man who had lost the only joy in his life.

“…That’s not true.”

Despite his pitiful state, the old man spoke aloud.

“It’s not useless. Learning even one character a day… how meaningful that is…”

Even though no one understood his feelings, he wept bitterly as he watched his treasure burn in the bonfire.

Even as the characters he had struggled to understand turned to ashes, as new firewood was piled on top, and as those around him treated him like a madman.

“Why does heaven take away even the wish of this old man who simply rejoices in learning to read?”

He remained there, expressing his resentment toward the dying fire, until his last breath.

“Ah, aah. Learning…”

And then, after time passed, he was reborn.

Along with the people who had died of hunger and cold in the isolated rural village ravaged by disease.

“Not being able to… learn more… is lamentable.”

If it were merely hunger that drove him, he would be satisfied with tearing at the flesh of the living.

What can truly be called regret is an obsession that far transcends the instinct for survival.

Even if it began with something as trivial as learning to read at the end of one’s life.

The purity of such regret was stronger than hatred for a mother, stronger than the pursuit of a more advanced existence, stronger than a king’s ideal of worshipping the beauty of life.

“…Gorgon Zola.”

That is the foundation of a calamity that surpassed even the Lord of Corpses.

A desire so simple that it becomes more distinct—if there is power to support it, it can advance as an unwavering calamity.

Simply by receiving power granted by a transcendent being to an unfulfilled regret…

-Whoosh!

No sooner had I realized this than a violent torrent of power began to assault me.

My body felt like it was being torn apart by that power, and I felt as if my mind would be sucked away to the other side.

The reason this sensation didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar was simple.

It was what I had experienced when entering the afterlife, or when a region collapsed as memories ended.

-WHOOOOSH!!

But what was happening now was on a different scale from what I had experienced before.

It was like the shock of space collapsing, happening not once but repeatedly.

It was as if the created space collapsed only to be recreated again, endlessly repeating.

When I realized this phenomenon was engulfing me, I understood.

This space is the stomach of a predator that has devoured the memories of both the living and the dead.

Unlike the clearly structured afterworld, the remnants existing here are in a state of chaotic entanglement.

“Ugh, kuh…!”

I could endure Gorgon’s memories because they were distinct, but other memories were endlessly created and destroyed, becoming entangled with each other.

The torrent of power formed by this cannot be endured with a sane mind.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”

I’m dying.

No, if this continues, I’ll suffer a fate worse than death.

My very existence will crumble like dust, and I will be permanently erased from this world.

As that terrifying moment approached, I thought I could no longer escape.

“Get a hold of yourself!!”

A voice reached me just as I was about to give in to despair.

Hearing the familiar voice cutting through the torrent of power, I focused my attention on it, regaining my grip on my loosening sanity.

“Focus your consciousness!! If you lose your mind here, you’ll be absorbed into this place!!”

“A-Annabelle…”

“Never forget! You must never forget who you are!!!!”

My reason began to return in response to that shout.

Feeling it reactivate my physical senses as well, I gritted my teeth and shouted with all my might.

“I am…”

Even in this chaotic crucible that threatened to completely erase my existence.

Recalling the name that would never be forgotten.

“I am Hyoseong Woo…!!”

Repeating that one name endlessly, I continued to move forward, resisting the forces trying to tear me apart.

And then…

****

“Huff, huff…”

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a dark place.

Although it was so dark that I couldn’t see even an inch in front of me, paradoxically, this darkness brought a sense of peace as I felt nothing.

Yes, even in the predator’s stomach, safe zones exist.

Taking comfort in that one fact, I turned to look at Annabelle, who was carefully solidifying her form beside me.

“Annabelle, are you alright?”

“I felt like I was losing my mind… but ironically, your ability seems to have helped me stay sane.”

“That’s a relief. It seems we’re both safe.”

“Relief? You have the nerve to say that after getting us into this mess!?”

Annabelle immediately snapped at me, jabbing her finger into my forehead. Her sharply narrowed eyes showed that she was genuinely displeased with the current situation.

“Let me make this clear—I’m only helping you because I’m a being derived from your ability and have no choice. If I had control of the body, I wouldn’t have gone along with your foolish actions!”

“Ah, yes. You’re right. It’s all my fault. I was being foolish…”

I know it too. Saying it’s a relief we survived is merely looking at the result.

Entering the hidden world, exploring past memories, venturing into deeper darkness to explore the unknown—I, a mere human, know better than anyone how foolish these actions are.

“…Still, you’ll help me until the end, right?”

But this is the path I’ve chosen.

Having survived this far without losing myself, stubbornly adhering to my convictions is necessary for what lies ahead.

“Damn you.”

Perhaps she couldn’t deny my attitude?

Annabelle stopped scolding me and crossed her arms, directing her gaze toward a particular spot.

“…If you’ve come to your senses, get up now. Given our condition, that kid probably can’t hold out much longer.”

“Ah, right. We should go immediately.”

I stood up and looked in the direction Annabelle was facing.

Though darkness surrounded us everywhere, I could clearly sense something different. In this predator’s stomach filled with remnants of the dead, I could feel the energy of another being that could be called living, like myself.

“…She’ll be alright.”

Yes, she should be fine for now.

If this truly is a miraculously formed safe zone within the predator’s stomach, she would have preserved her sanity without being exposed to the torrent of power we passed through.

Surely that must be the case…

-Crackle, crackle.

As I moved forward with only this hope, I encountered a small light clearly illuminating the darkness.

A blue flame rising through the cracks of burning firewood…

-Crackle, crackle!

But because everything around was filled with darkness, even the small flame clearly illuminated the surroundings.

The first thing that caught my eye in that light was a crystal visible beyond the bonfire.

Inside it, I could faintly see a girl curled up asleep.

“…Garam.”

I recognized her immediately.

Although she was much smaller than when I last saw her… or rather, she looked younger.

Unlike her destiny as the Hero, she was small, weak, a crybaby, and timid…

From a time when she was too young and fragile to accept this world as it was.

-Crackle, crackle.

In front of the crystal where this child was confined, another shadow was barely visible.

A man crouching right in front of the blue bonfire.

His only attire consisted of a rag covering his lower body and a paper bag worn on his head.

“Taeyang.”

I recognized him immediately.

After all, I too had received his kindness and was someone who remembered him.

“Taeyang, is that you?”

“……”

But he doesn’t say a word.

He just sits there silently, staring at me.

The blue light in his eyes visible through the bag on his head showed that he had already fallen into something other than human.

“I’ve come to take Garam back.”

Yet if there is something that could be called reason…

“Please, step aside…”

-Whoosh!!

But what I received in response, even as I felt desperate, was the sight of him roughly pulling out a piece of wood from the bonfire.

And then he charged.

Without a word, mercilessly wielding the torch burning with intense heat.

-BOOM!!!

After regaining my balance from the powerful blast that pushed me back, I aimed my deployed weapon at him and caught my breath.

“You expected this, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

As Annabelle said, it’s not surprising.

The reason Garam came here was because of his lingering attachment.

It would be too convenient to assume that the specter derived from that attachment wouldn’t block my path.

“That one is merely a remnant. A remnant with only the will to protect that kid at the end of his life…”

“I know.”

The girl visible beyond the still-burning bonfire. And a man standing in front of her, holding only a torch.

It’s no illusion that he appears like a knight.

Like me, he appeared as a trial blocking my path because he had a clear will to protect that child.

“Then you know what you have to do, right?”

“…Yes.”

Indeed, what I must face now is a knight who saved the girl at the cost of his own life.

-Whoosh!!

One who never knew defeat until his final moment.

The specter of the Hero called the strongest in history.