Ch.78Chapter 78 – Unfortunate Past (1)

While Bi-wol and her disciples were talking, the scenery changed and the air shifted.

Once again, their vision darkened, and they saw two young people moving quickly as if time was being fast-forwarded.

Next, Bing-yeon’s disciples witnessed Yoo Seol-hwa waiting at a crosswalk.

“Today I’ll make rolled eggs for Do-hyeon, his favorite~”

Just before the tragedy began, those who sensed the strange energy couldn’t help but notice something was wrong.

“…Is that an Outer God?”

Surprisingly, Verdandi Astraia was the first to identify the anomaly. With her “Eyes that Know Truth,” she could distinguish fact from fiction.

In Verdandi’s vision, a child that hadn’t been there before suddenly emerged from the shadows, bubbling forth.

“I believe so. It appears to be an ordinary child, but I sense an aura similar to Shub-Niggurath’s Outer God energy.”

Azazel, who had contracted with an Outer God and knew them better than anyone, added credibility to Verdandi’s statement. Even to her, this was extremely suspicious.

Like an anglerfish luring its prey, it seemed to be using a child as bait to accomplish something sinister.

– That’s Yog-Sothoth. He’s hiding his true form to conceal his influence on this world.

Morgidian, connected to Azazel, identified the “something” that appeared as a child. The strange purple bubbles and spheres were characteristics unique to Yog-Sothoth.

Anyone who came into contact with him couldn’t escape death, putting the girl Yoo Seol-hwa in grave danger.

“Huh? Why is there a child…?”

Bubble, bubble.

Yoo Seol-hwa didn’t notice the child’s form rising like bubbles, and she muttered to herself, wondering if she was seeing things.

And then events unfolded as they had in the original history.

On that summer night hotter than any other, with cicadas chirping loudly, a child stood at the crosswalk.

In that moment when the traffic light changed from green to red—

Screeeeech—!!

The child ran and the car sped forward madly.

“I have to save them…!!”

And Yoo Seol-hwa rushed forward.

“……!!!!”

With a thud, a dull sound echoed, and everyone present was left speechless as they watched Yoo Seol-hwa fly several meters through the air.

Even those without knowledge of automobiles could immediately tell how serious the accident was.

A terrible smell of blood spread around them, along with the unpleasant odor of burning tires. And bright red blood streaked across the ground like paint splattered on a canvas.

“Ah, aaah…. uaaah…”

Yoo Seol-hwa couldn’t even scream properly due to the pain. She could only twitch slightly like an insect.

The situation was painful enough to make anyone wince.

“I’ll use healing magic right away!”

Verdandi rushed to Yoo Seol-hwa to use healing magic, but she found that their bodies passed through each other as if touching an illusion.

“What?! The healing isn’t working! What should we do?”

“Of course it doesn’t work. This is all an illusion. It’s like an unchangeable past.”

Verdandi asked for help, but Bi-wol shook her head, indicating it was impossible. With her exceptional spiritual sense, she could tell this past was beyond their ability to interfere.

Perhaps allowing them to speak with the young Han Do-hyeon was the maximum favor Shub-Niggurath could grant.

“…Besides, it seems there’s another Outer God here as well.”

Only after Yoo Seol-hwa was taken away in an ambulance did they see the child she had saved transform back into bubbles and disappear.

The bubbles, emanating an ominous aura visible to anyone, left behind a chilling laugh, as if mocking Yoo Seol-hwa’s injury.

“So it was Yog-Sothoth who tried to kill your past life’s lover? Something doesn’t add up…”

Azazel tapped her chin with her index finger, deeply pondering the cause and effect. What reason could two Outer Gods have for taking such interest in a mere human?

Normally, they managed the outer universe and didn’t care about humans who were less significant than specks of dust. When such beings showed affection for humans, it manifested in twisted ways.

– [It was because I enjoyed reading Han Do-hyeon’s novels in the future. Outer Gods can kill humans like ants as you’ve seen.]

At that moment, Shub-Niggurath’s voice echoed in their minds like an auditory hallucination. She wanted to reveal the truth to Bing-yeon’s disciples.

Her husband, Yog-Sothoth, had become jealous of the novelist his wife liked, so he traveled back in time to kill Yoo Seol-hwa.

– [In the original history, Han Do-hyeon properly concluded the novel featuring all of you. Now it’s impossible to recover that ending no matter what.]

Shub-Niggurath continued her story with a small sigh.

If only Yoo Seol-hwa hadn’t had the accident, the writer Han Do-hyeon would have continued writing regardless of view counts or money earned.

Because his strongest pillar of support, the one who loved his writing the most, would have remained alive.

“How could this happen… So you brought us into this world to see the ending of the story you enjoyed reading?”

Verdandi asked Shub-Niggurath with a slight tremor in her body. She knew they were characters in a novel, but she hadn’t known such circumstances were hidden behind it all.

– [Yes, I was an avid reader of this novel. One hiatus is forgivable, but three becomes a serious problem.]

Shub-Niggurath readily answered Verdandi.

As a fan of Han Do-hyeon, she had also enjoyed reading “I Need To Kill The Hero” where Verdandi was the protagonist.

Shub-Niggurath was smiling as she observed the current situation.

Bi-wol from “Diamond Fist King,” Verdandi from “I Need To Kill The Hero,” and Azazel from “I was Possessed In Idle Game” were all gathered in one place.

The final bosses of each novel were revealing themselves directly to a fan and sharing their thoughts.

As a novel enthusiast, could there be a more joyful experience?

– [Verdandi, Azazel. It’s only right that I show you stories related to yourselves as well. Even if they begin with gloomy tales…]

With a snap of her fingers, Shub-Niggurath prepared to send the disciples to another space-time.

– […Because all novels should end with a happy ending.]

* * *

The next place the disciples arrived was a space composed entirely of white.

In what would be called a hospital in modern terms, they could see Yoo Seol-hwa awakening with Han Do-hyeon by her side.

“Seol-hwa…! You’re awake…!”

“Do-hyeon…?”

Han Do-hyeon, who had been sleeping with his head down until just now, was shedding tears of joy seeing that Yoo Seol-hwa had awakened.

Dark circles had formed under his eyes, which were bloodshot, suggesting he hadn’t slept for days due to worry.

“You were unconscious for two days. I… I really thought I was going to die…”

Han Do-hyeon was expressing his concern for Yoo Seol-hwa through his outburst. He seemed to have been anxious about whether she might have died.

“…How could I die when you’re here? Silly.”

Yoo Seol-hwa smiled at Han Do-hyeon and tried to sit up. Her expression looked bright, unlike someone who had just been in an accident.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh? Why won’t my arm…?”

Yoo Seol-hwa’s face turned pale. She had tried to caress her lover with her right hand, but it wouldn’t move.

She grimaced as she tried with all her might to move her arm. Even Bing-yeon’s disciples felt pity watching her.

“…?”

The sight of her struggling to lift her limp right arm with her remaining arm was heartbreaking.

Based on what they had seen of the past, Han Do-hyeon and Yoo Seol-hwa were young people who dreamed of becoming writers.

And now, the hand that was like life itself to them had become immobile.

“D-doctor! Please come quickly!!”

Han Do-hyeon, noticing something wrong with Yoo Seol-hwa, urgently called for a doctor. His trembling voice revealed his emotional state.

“Do-hyeon, no. It can’t be. I’m just a little tired… Yes, I definitely don’t have paralysis or anything like that.”

Yoo Seol-hwa, who had noticed the truth about her condition before anyone else, kept making excuses to her boyfriend.

“…She’s lying. It seems our past life’s lover had such a painful history.”

Verdandi detected Yoo Seol-hwa’s lie and sighed deeply, showing sympathy for her.