episode_0159

In a corner of a noisy classroom, a boy was sitting alone at his desk. Despite his handsome face, he had a stubborn and hot-blooded personality, so he had to spend most of the day alone.

“Hey, Hyuna.”

Then, the boy turned his head at the sound of a cheerful voice calling him.

A handsome man with a cheerful impression who is the complete opposite of a boy, my only friend.

Jin-ho was walking towards me with a mischievous smile on his face.

“You said you cried as soon as you woke up this morning? Did you have a nightmare?”

“What, what nonsense are you talking about… ”

The boy denied it immediately, but there was no way to hide his swollen eyes and bloodshot pupils.

The smile on Jin-ho’s lips deepened at that trembling reaction.

“I heard it all from your mother earlier. While squeezing out all the tears and snot, I cried… Ugh!”

“Hey, stop it!”

Jin-ho, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly grabbed the back of his head and staggered.

As expected, the boy’s only friend, the mischievous girl Ina, opened her cat-like eyes and glared at Jin-ho.

“You asked us to keep an eye on Hyun-i to see what happened. But what if you tease him like that!”

“Hey! Isn’t this how guys usually do it? Anyway, without even knowing… ”

“This is…!”

“… !”

Friends bickering right in front of your eyes.

It was such a familiar scene to the boy that he even felt bored.

“Hey guys… ”

“Huh?”

The boy who had been blankly staring at them opened his mouth hesitantly.

“But you guys… Aren’t you guys dating? Why are you fighting like that… ”

“… Who? Me? With him? ”

“Wow… ”

The reaction was immediate.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I was just trying to cheer you up earlier, you know? But that’s a bit much… ”

“Hyun-ah. Even for you, saying something like that seems a bit too much?”

The two who had been fighting while grabbing each other by the hair immediately distanced themselves and started vomiting.

“Oh, that’s right… Sorry. Why did I say that… ?”

The boy made a face that seemed to be questioning himself. There was no way that the two of them would end up like that, bickering whenever they made eye contact. Why on earth…

The boy looked down at his palm with his still bloodshot eyes. He slowly moved it around, shaking it.

A soft hand that doesn’t feel hard at all.

There was no trace of the heavy muscles like iron, the bulging veins, or the calluses that must have filled every joint.

“… ?”

The boy tilted his head in puzzlement. How could he have thought they were his?

“Rather than being like that with him, I’d rather bite my tongue… ”

“Hey! I have something to say!”

At the very moment he was lost in thought, his friends began arguing again.

“… ”

But soon, the boy shook his head, dispelling the questions that filled his mind.

It doesn’t really matter what happens between those two or what happens to my body.

What matters most is this very moment.

Such happy, and therefore precious days.

This is the scenery that I must never lose, that I miss so desperately.

“Guys, stop now. Class will be over soon… ”

The boy who had come to a conclusion joined his friends who were preparing to make a life-or-death decision.

One day, two days, three days, one month, one year.

That’s how time passes.

It has always been that way, and it will continue to be that way in the future.

***

Jin Ye-seo couldn’t take her eyes off what had happened in an instant. The strong man had frozen like a stone statue at the touch of that slender woman’s hand.

Through the glass of the gas mask he was wearing, pale, dull blue eyes were visible. They were staring blankly into space, unfocused and unfocused.

Just like the other believers gathered in the hall.

“That’s strange… You were a wizard… ?”

And the nun standing in front of her was looking into the emptiness with a puzzled expression.

“I couldn’t feel the flow of particles at all… ”

The nun, who had been tilting her head, brought her nose to him and sniffed.

“That feeling there…is it a sense of connection?…It’s definitely a male body…but it’s definitely not us… ”

But the doubts disappear in an instant, and in their place a faint smile remains as if nothing had happened.

“Well, if you check little by little, you’ll know… You said there are about 500 million of them in the world… Of course, there might be one or two different species…? Really… I’m curious… ”

It was about the time she brought her slender fingers to Lee Hyun’s chin.

The blade, clearly aimed at the neck, circles through the air.

She dodged the blow that Jin Ye-seo had thrown with all her might with such ease.

Jin Ye-seo stepped between him and the nun, aiming her sword at them. Then she looked back and forth and called out to Lee Hyeon.

“Hey, wake up! Hey! ”

“You’d better not touch him.”

But the answer came from somewhere other than behind her. Jin Ye-seo gritted her teeth and looked ahead.

The nun still had a gentle smile on her face, without any hint of hostility.

“I’ve injected power to the limit. If I’m not careful, my body will just collapse? Well, I’ll be trapped in a happy dream forever… ”

“You…what the hell are you.”

Jinyeseo stared at the woman. Beyond the torn marks on her clothes, pure white skin was revealed instead of blood. At her feet, the two hands that Lee Hyun had clearly cut off earlier were still lying around.

The hand holding the blade trembled. I had never heard of a being that could regenerate a lost body.

Even more so, a being that is alive and well despite being stabbed in the heart.

“Just… a faithful servant of God.”

“That’s funny.”

Jin Ye-seo deliberately snorted as if trying to encourage her and refuted the woman’s words.

“What kind of servant of God is a bitch who gives human heads as snacks to monsters?”

“He’s not a monster, he’s an angel.”

The woman continued speaking in a gentle voice.

“These are the purest and most untainted beings in the world. They are truly worthy of ascension. If these are not angels, then who else can be called angels?”

“… ”

It was a waste of time to have a conversation with a crazy woman. Jin Ye-seo thought so and looked around, trying to figure out the situation.

He couldn’t move the man. He was sure that the woman had done something to him by kissing him. If he ignored the woman’s words and tried to move him, something would happen, and then there would be no turning back.

“Eek… ”

The pig that had been squirming just a moment ago was now shivering like a mouse, as if nothing had happened. It was clear that even if he was a wizard, it wouldn’t be of much help.

Jin Ye-seo, who had reached a conclusion, opened her mouth.

“Hey.”

“Yes, yes?”

The chief of the security bureau nodded to her in surprise.

“The way out of here. I said I knew it clearly.”

“Yes? Yes, yes!”

“Then get out quickly.”

“Yes… ?”

“Didn’t you hear? Get out.”

When the pig asked back with a puzzled expression, Jin Ye-seo waved at him as if shooing away an annoying fly.

“I don’t think it’ll help, but go and get some support. Whether it’s the military or the cradle, right now.”

“But… But… Can I do that alone? ”

What annoyed me the most was that, contrary to what he said, his face was flushed.

“Oh. Go quickly. And… Just keep one thing in mind.”

“That, what…?”

Jin Ye-seo looked at the man with her sidelong eyes and muttered in a fierce voice.

“This is a level 1 danger situation. In the midst of this, you’re going to run away without doing anything? Then I will never leave you alone. I will somehow survive here, and then I will use all my powers to find you and tear you limb from limb.”

“Hee, eek… ”

“Don’t take my word for it. Get out of here.”

At Jinyeseo’s words, the man hurriedly disappeared behind the black curtain. Soon, the sound of people slamming their feet up the stone steps began to fade away.

Jin Ye-seo was still staring at the woman in front of her.

She thought that perhaps she would stop the escape, but the nun just stared at her without blinking.

The most bizarre thing was that it felt like a devil tearing apart its prey one by one.

“It’s a shame. It’s a city I’ve grown quite attached to. To think I have to leave a place like this… ”

After a brief pause, the woman opened her mouth again.

“Still, I think there will be some time to satisfy my curiosity.”

“… Curiosity?”

Instead of answering, the woman smiled meaningfully and raised her hand slightly.

Then, everyone who had been sitting motionless in the hall turned their heads in unison and looked at Jin Ye-seo.

“Wizard… ”

“They persecute us… and exploit us… !”

“You dirty pigs… !”

Voices full of hostility came from all sides. They curled their lips and bared their teeth, growling like wild beasts.

The changes are not limited to mere behavior. Their backs gradually split open, sprouting multiple protrusions and tentacles. Their arms mutate into long sickle-like shapes, and parts of their faces swell up greatly.

A form that is already difficult to call human.

The large hall was instantly filled with over a thousand monsters.

The woman petted one of them like a puppy and said with pity.

“It’s a shame. They were already adults who had defiled their bodies, so they had no choice but to change into such imperfect forms. Purity is so important… ”

“What is this… ”

A look of shock filled Jin Ye-seo’s face. A fear of an incomprehensible being was eating away at her.

She recalled the biocontamination incident at her sister’s house that the shabby old woman had told her about.

“That overflowing particle… It must be a promising young wizard. Maybe even one who can surpass the limits of the species.”

The woman who had taken a few steps back was still staring at her with a calm smile.

It wasn’t difficult to realize that it wasn’t an accident.

“I wonder how long you can last against them.”

-Krrrr…

-Kyaaak!

The cries of hungry beasts echoed from all directions. They were twitching as if they wanted to run away at any moment.

“Sigh… ”

In that scene, Jin Ye-seo took a deep breath and calmed her breathing.

“You made me suffer like this… ”

And he muttered quietly to himself.

“Go back and try to break your promise. I’ll really kill you… ”

And the moment the woman lowered her hand, the monsters rushed toward them all at once, as if an invisible chain had broken.

-Kyaak! Kyaak!

Suddenly, Jin Ye-seo, who had been standing still, makes eye contact with one of them.

The first day. It was an old man at the restaurant who gave them various information with a friendly smile.

‘Of course I have to kill him. But before that, I have to dig up some things.’

-Bang!

But then she heard someone’s voice. Then she swung her blade horizontally and cut him down. There was no hesitation in that movement.

The creature, once human, lay on the floor with its head completely cut off, its limbs and tentacles dangling.

-Kaaaak!

-Kyaaah!

“I confirm the occurrence of a level 1 dangerous situation. As a cadet of the Cradle who has been delegated the authority to make judgments on the spot according to the Security Act, I will give punishment to the rebels on behalf of the Supreme Council.”

She glared at the monsters rushing in like living waves. Then, as if steeling her resolve, she quietly muttered and tightened her grip on the blade.

“Disposition. Summary execution.”

***

“Did you hear that?”

“What are you talking about?”

On the way home.

The three of them were returning to their living quarters together as usual.

“The person who moves in behind Hyun’s house. They say he might be from a very wealthy family?”

“Where did you hear that strange sound again… ”

“Hey! When people talk, believe them!”

Jin-ho and Ina, who were walking ahead, were having an intense conversation as usual.

“You saw it too. The captain of the guard acting like he was serving his superior. I’ve never seen that pig do that before.”

“That’s true, but… ”

“Who on earth is coming? I really wonder. If they’re coming, I hope it’s a pretty girl around our age… Argh!”

Jin-ho, who was continuing to lament, suddenly got kicked in the shin by Ina and screamed.

“Every time he opens his mouth, he starts talking about women. Even the girls who come by will run away after hearing that.”

“Hey! Stop hitting me! You’re not a wizard, so what kind of girl is that vicious? That’s why you can’t even have a boyfriend at that age. Other people are already dating two or three guys at a time.”

“Watch what you say. It’s not that you can’t date, it’s that you don’t want to date?”

The two began a heated physical conversation as usual.

“… ”

However, the boy who would have stopped them already if it were normal didn’t respond for some reason. He just walked along with weak steps, his eyes empty.

“… Ah… ”

“… ”

“… How… Do you think… ”

“… ”

“Hey, Hyuna!”

“Huh, huh?”

The boy seemed to have barely come to his senses at the sound of a loud voice calling his name.

The two men who had stopped fighting were looking at him with puzzled expressions, waiting for an answer.

“What do you think?”

“What…?”

“The new person moving in behind your house. Aren’t you curious about who it is?”

“Ah… ”

Only then did the boy regain focus and shook his head.

“… I don’t know. I don’t care.”

“What? Hey. Are you going to do that in a boring way?”

Jin-ho looked as if he had lost all of his energy after hearing the boy’s words.

“Even if the person moving in is a really pretty girl?”

“What’s important about being pretty? What’s important is the heart. No matter how pretty a woman is, I don’t like women with bad personalities.”

“… I don’t think that’s what you should be saying… ”

Jin-ho looked truly puzzled at the boy’s answer. Ina, on the other hand, nodded her head as if satisfied.

“As expected, Hyun-i… She’s definitely different from everyone else. Huh?”

“Hey. Don’t you understand? I told you I don’t like women with bad personalities. Like someone… Ouch! Hyuna, help me… !”

“Today… I’m really… going to kill you!”

“… !”

The screams faded away like bubbles. The boy once again fell into his own world with empty eyes.

It is a precious daily life that cannot be exchanged for any treasure. He has already spent countless days in that happiness.

But the more he enjoys that feeling, the more the unfilled emptiness lingers in his heart.

It was as if someone had forgotten something he should never forget. The shadow of someone was looming beyond the fog, but the shape was nowhere to be seen.

“… ”

The boy, who had been pondering for a moment, soon shook his head. There could be no blemish on this perfect scenery. Whether it was a person or something else.

It’s just an illusion he feels because he hasn’t completely blended in with the scenery.

With that thought in mind, it was the moment I took a step forward.

-… Right.

“Huh… ?”

But the boy stopped walking when he suddenly heard a voice.

-I promised to hug you.

He looked around him, but the voice rang in his head even more clearly. It was a voice that came from within, not from without.

A heartbreaking and earnest appeal. The first meeting was the worst. But now, the mumbling of a girl who doesn’t want to live a single day without him.

“… Feel sorry for me?”

And the boy, remembering everything, blurted out someone’s name without realizing it.