episode_0220

“?”

What did I just hear? Did my ears deceive me for a moment, or had my brain truly gone awry from being too soaked in lust?

Could a request to rape someone really be called a ‘request’?

After dozens of such questions flashed through my mind in an instant.

“Hmm.”

I first tapped my temple.

*Tap tap.*

Of course, even after tapping my head, I felt nothing.

In any case, there didn’t seem to be a problem.

-Rape Haru for me.

‘I didn’t mishear it?’

I let out a breathless scoff and looked at Eileen. Was she just saying anything because she was being held captive?

But her expression was too calm for that. She didn’t seem uncomfortable with her body being bound, nor did she appear to feel any sense of crisis…

“Hmm…”

“…”

“Huuuuhm.”

I kept moving my head from side to side, and then, unable to bear the stifling feeling, I voiced my question directly.

“No, why on earth?”

My voice, naturally filled with absurdity, had been uttered in utter disbelief.

‘Rape Haru for me.’ What on earth did that even mean?

If I hadn’t misheard her, then Eileen was wishing for her superior to be taken by a man, wasn’t she?

Was it me or Eileen who misunderstood the meaning of rape…? It was a difficult question.

I rubbed my chin, frowning with genuine confusion. I didn’t know how I should react, yet Eileen remained unperturbed.

“Don’t overthink it. It’s simply meant to be understood literally.”

“…You’re asking me to sleep with your pontiff?”

“I didn’t use such a blunt expression, but… that’s not wrong. I want you to lay your hands on her.”

“…”

I was so dumbfounded that no words came out. My mouth hung open, but no sound emerged.

Somehow, I felt my tension dissipate like a deflated balloon.

“…I think a bit more explanation is needed.”

At my blunt remark, Eileen seemed to gather her thoughts for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes, you would naturally be flustered hearing something like this out of the blue.”

Someone I knew just blurting out such a thing, and yet? I cursed her with my eyes, but regardless, her voice remained calm.

“First, some background explanation is needed, Lee Hyunjin.”

“…Yes, well.”

“The ‘core’ I took a month ago.”

“Huh?”

“You remember it, don’t you?”

Eileen glanced back at the large gate behind her, which I could now vaguely make out as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and spoke.

With a hunch that Haru might be beyond that gate, I replied.

“If you’re talking about that somewhat large spherical object, yes.”

It was certainly a memory strong enough to be unforgettable. We had built a cooperative relationship, yet she suddenly betrayed me and ran off with the core.

I was even more dumbfounded because I hadn’t expected it, but I had almost no idea how she intended to use that core.

‘Lucretia said she planned to rebuild fallen Istanbul with that core.’

Unfortunately, Eileen took the core, but I could vaguely understand that the ‘core’ spat out by that bizarre monster could be used in such a way.

However, I didn’t think Eileen, Haru, or the Moonlight Church would have stolen that core out of goodwill.

They must have had a purpose in mind when they committed the act. I questioned her again with an extremely uncomfortable expression.

“So, what about that core? What were you ultimately trying to do with it?”

The answer came immediately.

“Dimensional leap.”

“…What?”

It was a single word, uttered casually. But I couldn’t utter another word beyond the two syllables I had reflexively mumbled.

Dimensional leap. Even if I didn’t know the precise meaning, intuitively, it would naturally mean traveling between dimensions…

‘…Dimensions, otherworld, monster core, and…’

Muttering a few keywords to myself, I finally recalled one fact.

‘…The authority over space.’

Haru. That was the reason I had to assess her as a monster comparable to Yang Chan-ho.

Against the power to manipulate space, even a seasoned mage would be powerless.

And hadn’t I heard her objective? To abandon the dying planet and escape.

In other words… to put it elegantly, to preserve humanity.

“Hmm.”

After turning the matter over in my head for a short time, one conclusion emerged. I looked down at Eileen and uttered a single phrase.

“Has the moon… changed?”

“…”

“It’s somehow different from the original ‘moon,’ isn’t it? What it is now.”

Eileen didn’t answer, but seeing no change in her expression at my words, I figured it was safe to assume affirmation.

With my feelings suddenly becoming complicated, I let out a groan and frowned.

Now that I think about it, I did hear something like that. That the moon, in this world, has an environment almost like an otherworld. And that’s why people like Kanzaki and Jinyong were needed.

Perhaps mass migration isn’t even possible through ordinary methods, such as modern space science technology.

If I set up the premise that way, I can roughly understand what Haru intends to do with the monster’s core. After all, isn’t it a power source that could even rebuild an entire city?

‘If used well, it might be possible to greatly increase the output of various magics. To a level truly close to grand magic…’

Is she trying to manipulate spatial magic like that to finally succeed in the moon migration plan?

I couldn’t hide my strong displeasure and made a sour face.

For my part, well. It’s hard to say definitively since I haven’t read the original novel of this world to the end, but… I did want to face that ‘ruin’ directly at least once.

I had a little hope that we, the people of this world, might be able to overcome ruin with our own strength.

Because there was a bit of that expectation.

“…But the pontiff doesn’t seem to have such intentions.”

“…”

“She is the most powerful mage I know, but because of that, she seems to want a more certain, calculated outcome.”

“So, in the end, she has no intention of taking unnecessary risks, does she?”

Eileen nodded silently, and I scratched the back of my head with a sigh.

Only now did I feel like I could somewhat guess what Eileen was trying to say.

Haru was trying to realize her original plan by creating magic or doing whatever with the ‘core’.

Eileen, while following her, was also exploring other methods…

And in the midst of that, I appeared, and she even learned about my unique characteristic.

I let out a ‘heh’ and a hollow laugh, sneering at Eileen.

“So you’re telling me to sleep with that loli and steal her insane spatial magic? Is that it?”

“Precisely.”

Eileen nodded and answered immediately, and I dry-washed my face with both hands.

“…Do you think if there was one more powerful individual like her, we could face ruin?”

Because I wasn’t confident. Even if I really did copy Haru’s magic, there’s no guarantee that it would bring victory against ruin, is there?

I asked with a darkened expression, and Eileen, for once, maintained a somewhat long silence.

But before long, her lips parted.

“I don’t know, but we have to try.”

“…”

“This is our world, after all.”

The red-eyed woman uttered a single phrase that instantly choked me up, leaving me speechless.

Somehow, I felt goosebumps spread all over my body, and I blinked blankly.

…It felt like I was only just beginning to understand this woman.

Eileen Lewis, a heinous serial killer of awakened beings…

But perhaps, beyond that incident, there might be another hidden story.

I remembered the attitude Gwon Hwang Baek Muyeom had towards her. And I also knew about Gwon Hwang Baek Muyeom’s good nature.

“…Huu. Alright.”

I finally ended my internal conflict and gave Eileen a definitive answer.

“Fine, let’s do it, rape.”

And then I turned my head to look at the large gate Eileen had just glanced at.

It was a place that exuded an eerily desolate atmosphere…

‘…Well, that’s one hell of a justification.’

To sleep with a woman to save the world, huh. What an absurd yet compelling cause for a man!

‘Right, this is all for the sake of the world. That’s what it is.’

I muttered that with a serious, resolute expression.

This was for the world.

…It was absolutely not because her looks, figure, or her mysterious hair color and twin-tailed hairstyle happened to suit my tastes.

Truly.

Oh, I’m serious, okay?