Chapter 31: An indescribable secret

– Ding!

[You have obtained a new Fragment of Story.]

‘I really went through an extreme job today just to get this.’

The Fragment of Story shimmered with a silver light.

It felt distinctly different from the one he obtained from Laura.

‘Since the Underworld has vanished, I need to get out of here quickly too. Before people misunderstand even more.’

Just then, a voice rang out.

“Are you leaving?”

A man with glowing blue eyes stopped Sihyun.

Leon Hardison.

There was a hint of fear in his sharp, cold eyes.

‘Isn’t this guy dispatched from America? I felt it the first time I saw him, but he’s incredibly well-built.’

“Phantom… There’s something I want to ask before you leave.”

“Leon! No matter how much he doesn’t attack humans, it’s dangerous to get close to him!”

The guild members were worried about a potential sudden situation.

Even if Phantom’s behavior pattern had not harmed humans so far, he was still a supernatural entity.

And a catastrophe-grade one with incomprehensible power.

“Phantom’s power is on a completely different level of strength compared to any supernatural entity humanity has ever experienced.”

“Someday that power might turn against us…….”

“I know what his power is like. But precisely because of that, we must know. The reason Phantom saves humans.”

The man of pitch-black standing before him.

He stood aloof amidst the raging Underworld, without a single trace of disarray.

“Phantom, why are you a catastrophe-grade supernatural entity, yet you save us…… humans?”

Leon’s question.

It was also the question everyone present harbored.

A being with overwhelming power. And a supernatural entity, generally considered hostile to humans, yet why would it pity humanity?

“I saw you silently enduring attacks to protect people. I hope you don’t pretend it was a coincidence. Your appearance was clearly ‘to protect’ them.”

Phantom had blocked all attacks with his body for the sake of the immobile people.

“Your back was truly like Mount Tai. I never thought I’d be protected by someone, but… it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.”

Leon expressed his gratitude to Phantom with awkward sincerity.

However.

Sihyun was simply dumbfounded by his question.

‘What nonsense is this?’

Protect? Who was protecting whom?

‘I’m busy enough just trying to save my own neck, why would I protect you guys?’

– Ding!

[Ahem! Those people know how amazing Sihyun-nim is! I will gladly accept their praise!]

‘Why are you acting like you’re doing me a favor? Besides, this all happened because you put a ‘cannot move’ gimmick into the Iron Skin skill.’

[B-But! You have to be thorough with historical accuracy so you don’t get criticized!]

‘There’s no one to judge but me, so stop fussing over such useless things now.’

[U-Useless things…! Waaah… Sihyun-nim is a fool who doesn’t understand my feelings!]

‘Haa… Alright, alright. I get it, just don’t cry.’

[Sniff… Yes…]

Sihyun thought that if he had a disobedient younger sister, this is what it might feel like.

‘At first, I thought of it as just a cold, rigid status window or system like in games.’

He didn’t have anything to compare it to, so he couldn’t be sure, but the notification window he experienced was very emotional, sometimes even feeling more human than a person.

‘Being with it, it’s kind of cute too….’

[Hiccup…! R-Really……?]

‘Haha. Why are you so surprised by that?’

[It’s nothing… Hehe.]

‘Anyway, activate Shadow Movement. I can’t stand it anymore because of these guys sending me sticky gazes!’

If it were a girl, maybe, but getting those looks from guys who have the same parts as me makes me want to throw up.

I only read novels with lots of female characters, you know.

[Shadow Movement activated.]

– Whoosh!

“W-Wait! Phantom, hold on…!”

‘Ugh, they’re so persistent. They misunderstood on their own, why do they keep demanding explanations from me?’

The guild members continued to hold onto Sihyun, who was trying to leave in a hurry.

“I just wish you’d answer one thing. Can we… consider you, a supernatural entity, to be on humanity’s side…?”

‘I’m just an ordinary person, so technically, yes, I’m on humanity’s side.’

But what if he were to say, ‘I am on humanity’s side’ right here?

‘They’d definitely ask me, Phantom, for help every time a supernatural entity appears.’

Living in a harsh world without parents, Sihyun had learned one unchanging truth.

That was, if kindness continues, people start to think it’s a right.

‘If Phantom is recognized as someone who saves people, they’ll gradually start to rely on him.’

And eventually, it’s obvious they’ll take it for granted.

Therefore, it’s important to draw a clear line between the existence of Phantom and humanity.

‘Notification Window. You read my thoughts, didn’t you?’

[Hic! H-How did you know…?]

‘I’ll forgive you, so tell those people two things: don’t misunderstand me, and don’t look for me.’

[Yes! Leave it to me!]

From the deep darkness, a cool, cold gaze looked upon Leon and his party.

[It was merely to end the story.]

[Do not misunderstand.]

“W-What did you say…?”

His voice rang out, sharp as a cold blade.

[Saving you humans was merely a coincidence.]

[Therefore, forget me.]

– Whoosh.

A black aura slowly enveloped his form, and then Phantom completely vanished into the darkness.

Phantom’s last words.

Only those words remained in everyone’s ears.

[Do not misunderstand.]

[Forget me.]

Leon couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha… A misunderstanding?”

“Leon, did we really misunderstand him?”

“That can’t be. Didn’t everyone see him, with such immense power, not move an inch to protect the people behind him?”

In reality, he couldn’t move because of a strange gimmick the Notification Window created.

“Furthermore, he didn’t even make Ren pay the price; instead, he saved him from Eclipse’s clone. This is clear evidence of an altruistic heart.”

Sihyun had intended to beat up Ren, but it was just a coincidence that Eclipse’s clone happened to get caught in the crossfire.

“His silent presence by Ren and Tsuki’s side during their final moments… Perhaps Phantom is a savior-like being, just as Tsuki said.”

He had merely waited until the Fragment of Story appeared, even after annihilating Eclipse, because it hadn’t come out yet.

Many misunderstandings piled up, leading to an irreversible outcome, but what could he do?

This was Sihyun’s fate.

****

Whoosh—

Sihyun arrived at the top of Namsan Mountain to sort out the situation.

“Phew, I can finally speak freely now.”

Strangely, when he talked to himself, auto-play didn’t work well.

“If it did that even when I was talking to myself, I really wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”

Sihyun rotated his arms, checking his physical condition.

“I actually feel like my condition has improved?”

As the Notification Window confidently boasted, the Beginner’s Package’s performance was truly amazing.

– Ding!

[Right, right?? My Beginner’s Package is the best in the world!!]

“Yeah, yeah. Seriously, it would’ve been a huge problem without this.”

[Kuhuhuhu. A little more… please praise me a little more…!]

‘She sounds like a young girl starved for love, somehow.’

Wait… a girl?

Luna, who lives with him at home. And now even the Notification Window, which somehow sounds girlish.

‘It feels like I’m gradually meeting the conditions to become a lolicon…….’

[What’s wrong, Sihyun-nim??]

“Ah, nothing at all. Haha.”

Sihyun decided to clear his mind of useless thoughts and briefly summarize what had happened today.

The catastrophe-grade supernatural entity Ren had summoned.

And what Tsuki, the shrine maiden trapped there, had said when she saw him.

“Lucian, the savior…”

Even if it was just Tsuki, Eclipse had also called him Lucian.

‘Who the hell is that?’

The person being mistaken for someone else was hearing the name for the very first time.

Tsuki, the shrine maiden, and Eclipse, the supernatural entity, were characters from the novel.

So, it would be natural to assume that ‘Lucian’ was also one of the characters appearing there.

“I’ve binge-read the novel several times, but that name is completely new to me.”

However, Sihyun had one hunch.

It was a common mistake beginner authors make.

In crude terms, ‘a setting only the author knows’!

“I’ve experienced it many times. Authors think they’ve explained something in the novel, but readers have no way of knowing it – that kind of setting-play!”

Perhaps the character Lucian was someone the author thought of but couldn’t find the right timing to introduce.

Moreover, there was one more troubling point.

That was the Aura of Ruin.

At first, he just thought it was some chuunibyo-esque black aura.

“So, the black aura that enveloped me every night was the Aura of Ruin.”

Ruination (滅亡).

It’s an aura that the most powerful supernatural entities invariably possess, and because of it, most lesser entities simply dissipate just by being near them.

“Ah, so that’s why the small-scale supernatural entities ran away when I encountered them.”

To put such an enormous passive skill into a Beginner’s Package.

‘The Notification Window has every right to be proud.’

[Hehehe. If Sihyun-nim acknowledges me, I’m happyyyy.]

[And the reason the Aura of Ruin is strong is because Sihyun-nim spent a long time with a catastrophe-grade supernatural entity.]

“I’ve only been with Luna for a few months, and it’s already that strong? That’s amazing.”

Sihyun pulled out the hairpin he shared with Luna from his pocket.

“So, that’s why Luna’s power remained here?”

The ordinary hairpin bought at the amusement park had transformed into an item imbued with moonlight powerful enough to annihilate Eclipse.

Sihyun didn’t know what mechanism was at work anyway, so he simply decided to spontaneously worship Luna.

“When I get home, I’ll give Luna lots of head pats.”

[Are you going back now, Sihyun-nim?]

“It’s about time. Oh, before that, I have a question.”

[Anything I can tell you—]

“Who is Lucian?”

[…C-Comm-communications security…? I-I didn’t hear that…!]

The Notification Window hadn’t even been to the military, so how did it know about communications security?

It’s not like it’s a high school girl who’s completed her military service.

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me. Who the hell is Lucian? I’ll understand if it’s a setting you forgot to put in the novel, so don’t worry and just tell me.”

[I can’t tell youuuuu….]

“Is it that you can’t, or you won’t?”

[I never lie to Sihyun-nim. Regarding this question, I ‘can’t’…]

“Haa… It must be that restriction again.”

The words he heard when he first properly conversed with the Notification Window.

– [You’ll know when Sihyun-nim gets stronger.]

“I guess there’s no helping it. I’ll trust you, since you wouldn’t do it on purpose.”

[Y-You trust me…?]

“If I don’t trust you, then who can I trust in a world that’s become like this?”

[Huiiing… Don’t suddenly make me emotional… It’s bad for my heartttt…]

‘It’s a shame I can’t know who it is, but… it can’t be helped.’

Just as Sihyun was about to give up, the Notification Window flashed and displayed a message.

[…But Sihyun-nim. You obtained a new Fragment of Story, so perhaps you can learn something from there?]

“Ah! That’s right. I went through all that trouble to get it, but I completely forgot.”

Sihyun picked up the silver fragment Tsuki had left him after resolving the story.

[Would you like to check the new Fragment of Story?]

“I hope it contains memories that I can tell Luna a good story from.”

****

A short while later.

“Luna…….”

The beautiful girl with golden eyes, waiting for him to come home.

He had risked danger to obtain the fragment for that girl.

But Sihyun’s expression, after seeing the memory within that fragment, was not good.

“This isn’t it… I can’t tell Luna this kind of story…….”