Ch.234233. The Afterlife?

# 233. Afterlife?

He muttered those words while staring into the empty void where nothing existed.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, he smiled despite the current situation.

“Haha…”

“You… you bastard…!!”

Bael hurriedly pulled out the spear embedded in his heart.

Then he swung the spear toward him once more.

He stretched out his left hand toward the incoming spear.

Bael’s spear pierced through his left hand as if to make a point.

*Crack! Clatter!*

The two rings on his ring finger shattered and fell to the ground.

And from one of them—the ring shaped like a daisy—a faint smoke emerged and entered his body.

The smoke was clearly visible, its form distinct enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Yet no one there… saw that smoke.

Naturally, he collapsed without even seeing the face of the woman he loved.

“Such… lowly creature…!!”

Enraged, Bael shouted loudly and swung his spear wildly at the fallen man.

But those attacks ended up striking the blood-stained floor instead of him, thanks to someone who had suddenly appeared.

“Well… you certainly arrived at a troublesome time.”

The Emperor, finally returned, stood proudly before Bael.

Then he spoke to her, who wore an expression like someone who had lost her country.

“Ally, gather him quickly. I don’t have the luxury of time.”

Only then did she regain her senses and rushed over to tend to him.

Blood was still flowing profusely, so she did her best to heal his wounds.

“Please… please…!”

She poured her divine power and sprinkled holy water.

But his wounds showed no signs of healing.

She caressed his pierced chest while shedding tiny tears.

At that moment…

*Thud!*

The mysterious smoke that had flowed from the broken ring enveloped his body.

Then, the abyss within him emerged from various parts of his body and covered him.

She just stared blankly at the scene.

“What on earth is this…?”

***

I opened my eyes in a place I never expected to be.

‘Where is this…?’

It was an extremely familiar place, though the memories had become somewhat faded now.

I approached that place I hadn’t visited in a long time—the place where she was buried.

‘How long has it been? But… why am I here? Wasn’t I dead?’

As that question formed in my mind, I noticed a young man kneeling beside me with his head bowed low.

‘Who is this person?’

He was wearing the uniform of the Special Forces.

And… he felt incredibly familiar.

I stared at the young man blankly.

Then…

*Jolt!*

The young man suddenly stood up.

I froze momentarily when I saw his face.

The young man, with a face identical to mine, looked at me.

Then he smiled and spoke.

“That was pretty cool, what you did.”

“Huh…?”

“But are you going to give up now?”

“Of course not…”

I didn’t want to give up.

I wanted to get back up and give that bastard a taste of his own medicine.

Besides, I had acquired a decent skill.

But… I couldn’t.

“But I died, didn’t I?”

“That’s true.”

“Where is this? Hell? Heaven?”

Although I had died before, I didn’t know what the afterlife was like.

So I couldn’t tell if this was hell or heaven, or if they even existed at all.

Fortunately, this other me seemed to know the answer.

“It’s neither. This is just a virtual space I created to keep you from going to the afterlife.”

“You? Who are you to do something like that…?”

“It’s a miracle. This isn’t normally possible.”

Miracle…

That was a welcome word.

If it was a miracle, perhaps it could help me escape this grim situation.

“Miracle… so I can go back?”

“Fortunately, you can, once your body is fixed.”

“Who’s fixing it? Ally?”

“No? I am.”

He clearly said he was fixing me.

What exactly was he… to be able to do such things?

He kept smiling as if something was amusing him, even in this bleak situation.

I asked this unidentified person:

“But what exactly are you?”

He pointed at me.

“I am you. Strictly speaking, I’m a bit different, but it’s not wrong to explain it that way.”

“Does that make any sense?”

“That does make sense. What doesn’t make sense is that we’ve met.”

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

Saying nonsensical things like ‘I am you’… claiming he kept me from going to the afterlife…

So I decided not to try to understand.

“So, let’s say I can go back. Can I win?”

“Win what? Against that guy?”

I nodded.

He spoke lightly, as if stating an obvious fact.

“Isn’t it obvious? You might not know who you are, but you’re quite remarkable.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you! And me too!”

I still couldn’t understand.

So I asked directly.

“Why? What am I?”

“Who knows?! You’ll find out when you go back!”

“How unhelpful… Then send me back quickly, it’s urgent.”

“Don’t worry, you’re still alive. And it takes quite some time. Your heart was completely shattered, you know?”

He pointed to himself.

“It’s difficult even for me. Of course, if this were real, I could do it instantly!”

“Why are you so excited?”

“How could I not be?! Meeting myself?! I’ve been synchronized before, but this is the first time this has happened!!”

He was truly like a child.

An excited child… It didn’t fit the situation, but seeing him like that made me feel quite good.

“And you were really cool! Unlike before, this time you jumped right in and sacrificed yourself! And even landed a solid hit in the process!”

Gone was his earlier demeanor, replaced by pure innocence.

“I felt like I was watching a movie!! That’s so me, I thought the same thing.”

“What good does that do…? I lost.”

“You haven’t lost yet, not yet. You can do it.”

My original confidence had disappeared.

But hearing him talk like this made me feel a bit better.

I had also gained a good skill.

“Yeah… I guess I can do it. I hope so.”

“I’ll help you. We can do it. Like we always have.”

“I’m feeling a bit more energized…”

I didn’t know exactly who he was or where he came from, and there was no way to find out.

Perhaps that’s why his existence and the current situation felt suspicious and unsettling.

Still, his words gave me great comfort.

Of course, separately, I was curious about the situation over there.

“Do you know what’s happening over there right now?”

“I do, in great detail.”

“What’s it like?”

He slowly closed his eyes.

Then he stepped right up to my face.

“Huh…?”

“Stay still.”

His forehead moved closer to mine and eventually touched it.

Suddenly, the situation over there began playing in my mind like a video.

“…?”

Her, looking at me with confused eyes.

And the Emperor, who had arrived at some point, along with Lilith who was breathing heavily, both facing off against Bael.

“So he finally came.”

“I was wondering when he’d show up, but he arrived right after you died?”

“That’s unfortunate…”

Still, I couldn’t blame him.

Just coming required tremendous courage from him.

In fact, he couldn’t muster that courage back then.

Clearly, her presence had an overwhelming impact on him.

“If I had said such things back then, would he have returned?”

“Maybe?”

“That’s ambiguous…”

It was a meaningless hypothetical, but I was curious.

If he had, would she have survived…?

“She wouldn’t have died, right?”

Having these thoughts makes me resent the Emperor a bit.

But I had no right to feel that way.

After all, I couldn’t defeat Bael either, and now I’m lying here like this.

“They won’t last much longer.”

Although the Emperor had returned, he couldn’t stop Bael.

The spear’s existence was too overwhelming, and the Emperor was still injured.

“Can’t you do this any faster?”

“Wait, I’m going as fast as I can. And this is my first time doing this, so I’m not used to it…”

“Damn it…”

Resigned, I distanced myself from him.

As if by magic, my vision returned, and I looked at him still concentrating with his eyes closed.

Then I prayed. I didn’t know who would listen, but I prayed anyway.

“Please… don’t let it be too late.”

***

The Emperor and Lilith were pathetically tossed aside by Bael’s attack.

Unable to overcome the barrier of that immensely powerful weapon, they focused on maintaining their condition while buying time.

“Just stall for time. I have a good feeling about this.”

“Feeling? What nonsense is that?”

“You don’t need to know, Bael.”

Bael’s spear sliced through the air.

The perfect spear—not just in power but in speed and accuracy—targeted him.

He moved as much and as quickly as possible.

At the maximum speed he could muster.

“To think that someone who calls himself an emperor would run away! Have you abandoned your pride as well?”

“You abandoned your pride first.”

Bael couldn’t refute those words.

Instead, he only swung his spear more persistently.

“Tch… says the loser.”

“Someday you’ll end up like this too. Do you think you can stay that way forever?”

“I will be the strongest forever. Isn’t that natural for the greatest disciple?!”

Shouting thus, Bael mercilessly threw the spear he was holding.

The spear cut through the air and eventually pierced the back of the fleeing man.

The Emperor, just like him earlier, coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground.

“If you had quietly accepted defeat, this wouldn’t have happened.”