Chapter 237

Rea​d o​n ​KatR​ea​ding​Cafe

Yoo-seong had always been a strong person.

The hero chosen by the Four Seasons.

The hero who had finally struck down the king of devil gods, Bael and rendered him powerless.

The man who, even after losing all his comrades, had supported humanity for 150 years.

Even now, with his powers as a Chosen One sealed, he was undeniably the strongest among humanity, a figure capable of overwhelming even transcendent beings like the devil gods on his own.

But even Yoo-seong was, in the end, human. No matter how unmatched he was in strength, he wasn’t an unbreakable iron man. He, too, was human, and thus couldn’t always be strong.

At times, he wavered; at times, he grew weary and collapsed. I knew this. I had seen it all through Lucille’s memories.

Still, Yoo-seong had always overcome it.

The repeated cycles of regression.

The timelines worn down and broken by time.

When a corrupted Lucille became his enemy.

Yoo-seong had despaired, but he had always risen again.

He chose to face despair rather than be consumed by it.

There were times when he had ultimately broken, but that was only when Lucille, consumed by madness, had deliberately turned against him. It was because she had exploited his weaknesses.

In truth, there were far more timelines where Yoo-seong had subdued Lucille than ones where he had fallen.

Perhaps that was why I had been optimistic, thinking it would be okay.

I thought that even if Yoo-seong was hurt, he would endure it with composure.

Even if he struggled with the pain of losing Lucille, he would eventually overcome it.

“I’m sorry.”

That’s why I was left speechless by Yoo-seong’s trembling voice as he apologized.

“I promise. I won’t let something like this happen again.”

How should I respond?

If I were really Lucille, how would I have reacted?

If I followed Lucille’s memories… no, I’m supposed to confess that I’m not Lucille, so what am I supposed to do if I act like her?

But still, seeing Yoo-seong in so much pain, it feels wrong to tell him now that I’m not Lucille.

However, if I miss this chance, it’ll only become harder to tell him the truth. If I stay silent after hearing this, wouldn’t that be deliberately deceiving him?

Lucille, the difficulty level of your request is way too high.

How am I supposed to handle this?

Ugh, I wish I hadn’t been the one to have that final conversation with him…

…But shifting the blame isn’t right.

Lucille must have thought about it too.

In fact, she probably wanted to say goodbye to Yoo-seong directly.

The fact that she didn’t means she couldn’t.

I need to steel my heart. Don’t waver. Even if I feel pity and act like Lucille, it’s only a temporary measure.

In fact, it would be an insult to Yoo-seong. The one Yoo-seon holds dear is Lucille, not me. It’s wrong for me, who isn’t Lucille, to receive his affection as if I were her.

I sighed inwardly. I took a deep breath. I wrapped my arms tightly around Yoo-seong. The firm sensation enveloped my entire body.

I closed my eyes and stayed like that for a while. How much time had passed? I didn’t check the clock, so I wasn’t sure, but it felt like several minutes had gone by.

I placed my hands on Yoo-seong’s shoulders and gently pushed him away.

As our bodies separated, Yoo-seong’s face came into view.

His clear, cloudless eyes met mine.

Reflected in those eyes, I saw myself forcing a bitter smile.

“Yoo-seong, I have something to confess.”

“Something to confess?”

Did my actions seem strange?

Yoo-seong looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Seeing that look, the words wouldn’t come out.

But I forced myself to speak, squeezing out the words.

“I… no, I’m…”

I dropped the unconscious habit of mimicking Lucille’s speech.

“I’m not Lucille.”

I’m Lucia.

◈

At her request, Yoo-seong, who had stepped aside, went up to the hospital rooftop.

On the deserted rooftop, he gazed up at the drifting clouds.

In truth, he didn’t have time to relax. He was the commander, and the problems he needed to address were piled up like a mountain.

He had to deal with the aftermath of the Family’s actions, monitor the movements of the devil gods, and prepare for the sudden attacks of monsters beyond the barrier and the unpredictable rifts.

But today, he decided to be lazy.

It was the day she had awakened, and he wanted to stay by her side for just one day.

After all, Yoo-seong’s daily life involved frequent expeditions beyond the borders. His absence was routine. He had built a system to ensure things ran smoothly even without him.

The role of a vice-captain was to assist the captain. That kid would handle things well in his absence.

“…It’s clear.”

The sky was a cloudless blue.

Back in the old days, when he had set out on a journey with those guys.

He would often lie on the grass and admire the sky.

Every time he saw the endless expanse of blue, it felt like his chest was cleared of all burdens.

The sky hadn’t changed, but everything around him had.

Even under the same sky as before, he had changed.

In those days, there was nothing to fear.

The invasion of otherworldly beings. The sudden attacks of monsters. The increasingly frequent rifts in space-time.

There might have been a vague sense of unease, but he was always filled with confidence.

He believed that he, that they, could surely overcome it.

It might have been an arrogant thought, but his abilities backed it up.

He wasn’t alone, so there was no hesitation or fear.

The Chosen One, Yoo-seong, lived boldly as a hero.

His ideals shone brightly.

Like starlight illuminating the dark night sky.

But in the blink of an eye, time had passed. A hundred years had vanished as if compressed.

By the time he came to his senses, everything had changed. The hero, Yoo-seong had disappeared like a phantom, and in his place stood the God of War, Mars.

The innocent, naive, and optimistic hero was gone.

In his place was a cold, ruthless God of War who saw lives as numbers.

He no longer sought to save everyone.

He weighed the greater and lesser on a scale and saved those he could.

If necessary, he would sacrifice even his subordinates as pawns.

In return, he saved hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of lives.

At times, Yoo-seong would reminisce about the past.

The foolish boy from those days would confront him.

He would gaze at him as if reproaching him from a past long gone.

The boy would ask.

What had happened?

Why had he changed so much?

Why was there no one by his side?

Yoo-seong wondered the same.

What exactly had happened to me?

How had that boy from back then become like me?

How had the warrior who lived by his ideals turned into the God of War, resigned to reality?

If he retraced his memories, he could find the reason.

It was because Yoo-seong was weak.

Because he couldn’t protect anything.

He couldn’t protect Lucille.

He couldn’t stop her from sacrificing herself.

He couldn’t protect Iris.

Her soul had worn away, and she didn’t live long before leaving this world.

He couldn’t protect Michael.

The Godlike One had handed over his sword as a memento.

All his comrades had left. His ideals had vanished. What greeted him was the cold reality.

He was alone. He gripped his sword with empty hands. The world needed him.

He abandoned the title of hero. He abandoned the name Yoo-seong. As a hero, he couldn’t protect anything.

He became the God of War. To sever ties with his past, he called himself Mars.

The boy had become an adult. An adult who no longer dreamed.

Surely, it was the same person, but his way of thinking and values had changed drastically.

What remained was a sense of duty.

The obsession that he couldn’t let his comrades’ sacrifices be in vain.

The beginning must have been a sincere desire to save the world.

But at some point, he began to move solely out of a sense of responsibility.

“Lucille.”

He called her name with dry lips.

The blessed saintess who had been the first to leave his side.

But now, she was the girl who remained by his side.

It had been close. Even now, just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. If he had been even a little later, he wouldn’t have been able to save her.

If the child with the white cloud mask had taken her and fled, Yoo-seong would have had no way to chase them.

He had almost failed to protect her.

No, he had already failed.

He hadn’t been able to stop her body from being taken over by the devil god.

In the past, Yoo-seong wouldn’t have needed to protect her. The blessed saintess was strong. With her versatile blessings, she could perform miracles.

But the current her was no longer the blessed saintess. Most of her blessings had been consumed in creating supernaturals. She no longer had the same strength as before.

He hadn’t been able to protect her during the Great Calamity. He hadn’t been able to protect her this time either. Always, when it mattered most, he hadn’t been by her side.

He had promised. To protect her. As a hero, to protect the saintess.

But had he ever truly fulfilled that promise?

Yoo-seong closed his eyes. The blue light faded into darkness. He pressed his hand against his face. The sensation of his palm told him what expression he was making now.

“Up until now, it’s been nothing but mistakes.”

He had spoken boldly but failed to deliver.

He had repeated compromises instead of striving for the best.

“But not anymore.”

He knew. That determination alone wasn’t enough to achieve anything. His experience had taught him that.

But it was okay. What he lacked, he could borrow from others.

The new Chosen One. The monster of talent. Both were still inexperienced, but their potential was limitless.

Especially Eugene—he even surpassed Yoo-seong in potential. If he could just complete his growth, if he could take Yoo-seong’s place… then…

“I can focus solely on protecting you.”

I won’t let you suffer again.

I won’t let you get hurt.

You won’t have to fight with a weakened body.

I’ll shoulder even the burdens you carry.

Yoo-seong clenched his fist tightly. He pictured her in his mind. Unconsciously, a smile spread across his face.

It wasn’t just him who had wanted to meet her. She had wanted to meet him too. It was obvious, but hearing it directly made it feel more real. Just as she was special to him, he was special to her.

“No matter what happens, I’ll definitely protect you. My saintess.”

He vowed it again and again.

Yoo-seong opened his eyes.

The unchanging sky filled his vision.

He wanted to see her.

He wanted to see her innocent face, unchanging like this blue sky.

Time passed.

The blue light turned crimson.

When he faced her again, she smiled bitterly and said,

“Yoo-seong, I have something to confess.”

“I… no, I’m…”

“I’m not Lucille.”

A sense of foreboding made his heart race wildly.

An inexplicable sense of dissonance made his head throb.

It was a statement he couldn’t understand.

A statement he didn’t want to understand.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
There once was a Lucille.

Now there isn’t.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
What I want to know is where Amon is, they were all comrades too! Treat her better, smh!