episode_0062

Shihyuk opened his eyes.

It felt like I was wandering around aimlessly in a bottomless pit of darkness.

He writhed and shivered like an earthworm that had been curled up in the mud and then burst out, suffocating.

Where is this place?

How much time has passed?

The night sky was visible through a very cloudy, foggy sky.

In the midst of the deathly silence all around, only the tinnitus, like an electromagnetic wave, pierced my eardrums and shook my brain roughly.

It was dawn.

A cold wind blew into my half-clogged nostrils. Even though it was almost mid-May, the night air on the mountainside was chilly.

Shihyuk opened his mouth instead of his stuffy nose and took a deep breath.

Phew. The dawn air was slightly damp and heavy, and above all, cold. As the slight chill entered my lungs and left, I felt a little bit more conscious.

Even after regaining consciousness, my limbs were shaking.

Perhaps because of the blood I had shed, the temperature, which was slightly chilly, felt terribly cold. My spine felt like it was covered in frost between my vertebrae, and I trembled from the inside out.

The back of my neck felt stiff and weak, as if there was ice stuck to it.

I came to my senses, but I felt like I was half-way through something. There was something important going on, but I couldn’t quite remember it.

There was a hole between my collarbones, and emptiness hovered in that empty space.

What were you doing?

Why were you doing this?

… … .

Elder.

Shihyuk sat up abruptly.

As if peeling off a piece of gum on asphalt, the body that had become one with the floor and was dyed reddish-brown was forcibly torn off with a disgusted sound.

The wound that was finally healing split open again, and pink blood mixed with pus flowed out from under the membrane. The shirt that had dried and clammy from the blood loss became damp again.

I was so exhausted just from waking up.

Starting from my hip joints, to my knees, shoulders, neck, and waist, there wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t feel any pain.

My body was writhing in pain, begging to rest again, but my damn head was wide open and wouldn’t listen.

Shihyuk walked. No, he ran. He crossed the yard barefoot, kicking open the gate and running, forgetting to put on his shoes.

He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know how much time had passed. But he had to run.

Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe it wasn’t too late. It was a shallow and vain thought, but it was the only thing he could rely on.

First, let’s go down the mountain. Let’s find the old man. And-

Then he fell. His foot got twisted and he fell forward, hitting his head on a rock.

It’s okay. You won’t die. Your body is so strong. There’s no time to stay like this.

Even though the pain holding his body didn’t go away, he got up again.

The body that returned after wandering around the brink of death had already had a sour taste in its mouth, even though it had only run that far. Si-hyuk swallowed the pain, chewing it up.

The deep pain was like the sand and rocks that had entered my mouth when I fell mixed together and never went down the back of my throat.

Just a little more. Hurry up.

Please reach out.

A wounded wild animal runs down the mountainside.

No matter how hard I tried, it was extremely dangerous to climb up and run down the unpaved trail.

Moreover, his body was not in perfect condition and was broken here and there, so he could not possibly listen properly, so he ended up giving up.

Shihyuk, who had been staggering, fell down in a big way. Unable to withstand the acceleration, he was thrown off the hiking course and into the dark outside without mercy.

Sihyuk, who had been rolling for a while, was finally able to stop after hitting a rock that jutted out in the middle.

The gaping wound was scraped and bumped against bushes, branches, and rocks, and the pain was overwhelming, as if I was rolling naked on shards of glass.

“… … .”

Sihyuk, who had endured it with a silent scream, tried to stand up again, but his legs would not listen to him.

No matter how well you endure the pain, your body, already a rag, will reach its limit first.

Even if you have a body that is far superior to others, there is a limit. It was impossible for him to be a complete corpse after falling from the 5th floor of an apartment building with his whole body.

Move, you weakling. We have to go quickly.

Shihyuk hit her thigh hard, but that didn’t make it possible for something that couldn’t be done to become possible.

He, who had been sitting there, finally started to move forward with both hands.

In the darkness, I couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

Sihyuk started to crawl back up the trail, feeling his way and holding onto bushes and rocks.

Give up. You know it’s too much for this body. Just rest a little and when the sun rises, go home and focus on your treatment.

Was it Shihyuk’s inner thoughts that were whispering, or was it the darkness that was swallowing him up?

Be quiet. Shihyuk clenched his teeth and steeled himself.

He tried hard to pull himself up, but the bushes and rocks he was holding in his hands were pulled out without being able to support his weight. The mud that came out fell like rain on Si-hyuk’s face and chest.

Would it be of any help to a guy who has never fought monsters from another dimension? You only know how to make equipment. And what can you do with that body?

It was noisy. He was annoyed at his lower body being dragged around.

Since it doesn’t help at all, would it be possible to move a little faster if it were cut off and only the part above the belly button was left?

…you know that too.

Shut up.

You know it’s already too late.

… … .

The strength in my grip went out. My body was convulsing more than ever before.

My ribs shook as if I had been shocked with electricity, my intestines rumbled, and my breathing was constantly shaky as if I was riding a bicycle on a gravel road.

Mr. Sihyuk, I’m sorry.

Something inside me disappeared like a high tide and then came back like an ebb tide.

How can an old man jump into danger with a young man just to save his life?

Just like when pouring water into a cup, you keep tilting the water jug until it barely reaches the designated mark, the emotions that you can’t stand have built up to the limit.

I can’t do that.

I know what this is. Shihyuk knew what this feeling was.

It was the feeling I had when I watched my master die from the side and when I held the hammer with his name engraved on it.

My heart crashes to the ground like a thrown water balloon, and my scalp feels like it’s being pierced by a red-hot skewer.

But I appreciate your kind heart.

The pain of loss that he never wanted to feel again, that emotion made even a man made of iron tremble in fear.

Even Si-hyuk, who wouldn’t blink an eye even if you rubbed his flesh with his hands that were clutching salt, couldn’t endure the pain that spread.

I will bury it in my heart and never forget it until the day I die.

He covered his eyes with both trembling hands.

At this very moment, Si-hyuk screamed silently, looking as miserable as he could be in the world.

The sun was rising. Magpies, rarely seen these days, flew in. The birdsong was loud.

The mountain scenery that had been pitch black all around had shed its shadows and regained its intoxication. The world began to come alive again in the new morning and the new sunlight.

A man who looked like a corpse was walking through it.

The clothes he was wearing were all dyed reddish brown, and dirt, grass, and leaves were hanging here and there like decorations.

It was a revolution.

With his sullen eyes, messy hair, and limping steps as he walked down the street, he looked like a toy car with one wheel missing, looking nervous and uneasy.

It was a sight that reminded me of that time a year ago. He was covered in wounds and had the demeanor of a madman.

He headed home with that terribly expressionless face.

I opened the gate and entered the yard. The yard, which had not been maintained for over a week, was overgrown with weeds. There were also places covered in moss, as if it had rained several times while he was unconscious. The wide yard seemed to have rusted here and there, as if it reflected the owner’s feelings.

“… … .”

Shihyuk looked around. In the center of the yard, there was a makeshift clay stove and cauldron that he had made that day, and some firewood scattered around. In the corner, there were a few things that the sister had brought for camping that had not been cleaned up and were still there. Near the shoe cabinet, there was a cooler that the old man had brought and a few empty bottles lined up.

Yeah, that day. We decided to go camping.

Shihyuk approached the cauldron and ran his hand over its surface. There was a little moisture left on the shiny surface.

The thing he had made with [Magic Iron] was still shiny, not to mention melted, even after being exposed to rain. The ashes left behind were scattered, mixed with the dirt beneath it.

Everything was still where it was, but a lot had changed.

Shihyuk went straight into the house and headed to the basement. The basement, covered in blood, looked more like a murder scene or a slaughterhouse than a blacksmith shop.

Arriving at the place where he felt the most at ease, he sat down without tidying up his surroundings or himself. He curled up like a dying insect.

At that time, I recorded a happy time.

Okay, shall we take a picture? We don’t have a camera, but we can take one with our cell phones.

That sounds good.

My memories have grown. Come here, Eunha. Let’s take a picture.

Go now!

Okay, laugh!

kimchi!

Shihyuk sincerely hoped that days like these would continue forever.

But that can’t be the case anymore. The old man is no more. He’s gone far away.

I closed my eyes.

If it happened again, I wish everything would come back, Shihyuk thought, even though he knew it was futile and pointless.

Darkness was coming.