CH 228

[I].

Slowly looked around.

-Homerun! Homerun!!

-It’s a Homerun! Ahh, the ball went over the fence!

The Yoo Soo-ha Guild.

On the second floor terrace of a building in the heart of Babylon, the sound of a Korean baseball broadcast quietly flowed. Like the cries of crickets in the summer, the voices of the commentators were more like a distant sound in the background than a conversation between people.

“Ah.”

Yoo Soo-ha was sitting on a sofa.

He was scratching his head back and forth.

The part Yoo Soo-ha was scratching was where his head had been pierced a moment ago.

“Baseball is boring as hell.”

“…”

“Guys. I’m going out to grab a drink.”

Yawning, Yoo Soo-ha got up from the sofa.

“I don’t feel like drinking with anyone, so don’t follow me. I might stay out overnight, so don’t call me. I’ll fuck you up if you call, just remember that.”

“Don’t drink too much, Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

Tap tap, tap tap.

Beside me, Ja Soo-jung tapped away at her laptop keyboard.

The early summer winds blowing across Babylon Square swept through Ja Soo-jung’s hair.

“Unless Mr. Yoo Soo-ha wants this one to make a pilgrimage to Babylon in order to find you again.”

“Ok.”

Yoo Soo-ha didn’t even give us a glance.

Instead, he just turned his back and waved his hand.

Soon, Yoo Soo-ha disappeared down the stairs.

“…”

I couldn’t help but inquire.

“Manager Ja Soo-jung.”

“Yes. Mr. Kim Gong-ja.”

“Viscount Ja Soo-jung.”

“Yes. Advisor.”

“Tower Master.”

“Yes. Death King.”

Three names and three understandings were exchanged.

“Is this a possibility that you’re showing me?”

“That’s right.”

Passersby crowded the square below the terrace.

It was [the future], 11 years before my world’s present.

Or, my present was 11 years ago, [the past].

It was a world built under the assumption [If Ja Soo-jung existed].

“…than this world.”

I looked at Ja Soo-jung.

“The world I created is far more peaceful than this world!”

“…”

“What the heck is this?! It’s a complete mess! The Black Dragon Master, Anastasia, is still alone and lonely! The Heretic Questioner… Bambolina hasn’t changed either! He’s still in a broken state without even realizing he’s broken!”

However.

“[I] fixed the Guild Leaders’ relationship!”

In my world.

The Sword Saint had cast aside his arrogance and prejudice.

The Black Dragon Master considered the Crusader her friend again.

The Crusader had put off the distrust from the past purge.

The Heretic Questioner had acknowledged his shortcomings and lowered his head to me.

They could now talk to each other, they acknowledged each other.

“Nothing has changed in this world! The Guild Leaders are still locked into their seats of power, and the Tower is still a mess. They’re just being swayed by the outside world…”

“However.”

Ja Soo-jung shook her head.

Her purple eyes met mine directly.

“You killed Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

The wind blew.

“You didn’t change Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

Ring.

The wind chimes tied by the terrace window rang out.

“That,”

“Was it because Mr. Yoo Soo-ha was such a wicked man that he couldn’t be converted?”

The sound of the baseball game broadcast was carried by the wind.

“Mr. Yoo Soo-ha is a villain among villains and a psychopath among psychopaths, so I had no choice but to kill him. It wasn’t my fault or my incompetence that forced me to kill him.”

“…”

“But look, Mr. Kim Gong-ja.”

The early summer wind blew against the wind chimes and set the background.

“In this world, Mr. Yoo Soo-ha works with other people.”

The Flame Emperor.

When Ja Soo-jung died and I died, he carried out a [regression].

In exchange for killing himself, he returned 24 hours.

And just now, with the excuse of [going for a drink], he disappeared.

“The person responsible for the bombing. The traitor who infiltrated the Ten Thousand Temple. The assassins who stabbed the Black Dragon Master in the back, and above all the Saintess that attacked him. Mr. Yoo Soo-ha is currently moving to eliminate them.”

Ja Soo-jung turned to look at the square with an expressionless face.

“More evil than you, less positive than you, less responsible than you, less willing to change the world than you, and with less of an impact on the world than you. He’s a much worse person than Mr. Kim Gong-ja.”

The Square.

In the middle of the space crowded with passersby.

A certain Hunter’s black hair fluttered.

“And yet, he still became a person who would move for someone else.”

“Mr. Yoo Soo-ha, could have become such a person.”

Ahhh.

“When you killed Yoo Soo-ha. Or to use Mr. Kim Gong-ja’s terminology, when you [hunted] Yoo Soo-ha. That Yoo Soo-ha wasn’t the same as the Flame Emperor who killed Mr. Kim Gong-ja. He was nothing more than a young F Rank Hunter who might have become the Flame Emperor. In a way, he might have even become the Flame Emperor in this world.”

I shut my eyes tightly.

“…I.”

The sound of my teeth grinding could be heard.

“I, gave him a chance too.”

I didn’t want to kill that guy.

“I put on an act. I didn’t just kill him suddenly, I gave him a chance. I wondered if he’d feel pity for an injured person, and if he would offer to help instead of trying to hurt the injured person…”

“Such a [hard] test, like a god playing with a human.”

The Tower Master spoke calmly.

I,

“It was hard for me too! If he’d just quietly healed me, if he hadn’t tried to kill me…”

“Is it really that [special]?”

The Tower Master looked at me.

“Is [In a situation where there are no witnesses, a person who is in a tight spot kills an injured person and takes their property] really something that could only be done by an [unforgiveable and unredeemable]?”

“Anyone…”

“Is it a test that anyone could pass?”

Silence.

“Mr. Yoo Soo-ha disappeared without any news. The [Disappearance of a low ranked Hunter] is a [common occurrence]. Mr. Kim Gong-ja knows what that means, don’t you? Since you were a low ranked hunter, too?”

“…”

“What percentage of people would have been able to pass Mr. Kim Gong-ja’s test?”

The scent of early summer was potent.

The air was sticky and the air was humid. The air didn’t feel like the air someone would breathe in, instead, it felt like the breath that someone had breathed out. The oxygen entering my lungs was already heavy with the traces of summer.

“Right.”

And with it was also breath that was dyed purple.

“Mr. Yoo Soo-ha didn’t help you. He didn’t save you at the hunting ground and even attempted to hurt you. He tried to kill you.”

“However, what about Ms. Preta?”

Ja Soo-jung murmured.

“What about the Devil King of Fall Rain? Ms. Preta tried to kill you. She actually killed you. You were slain dozens, hundreds of times by Ms. Preta’s sword. The continent was once drenched in blood and destroyed by the Devil King of Fall Rain. And yet, Mr. Kim Gong-ja allowed the Devil King to live another life.”

I gave Preta a life.

“What about the Lady of Golden Silk? What about the Constellation Killer? What about the Heretic Questioner? What about the Black Dragon Master? What about the Sword Saint? There is not a single one among them that isn’t a [murderer], and not a single one of them has killed less humans than Mr. Yoo Soo-ha?”

“…”

“The Death King changed all of those people.”

However.

“Except for Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

Only that guy.

“Because, Death King. You are bound to never know.”

Only that bastard.

“When you were killed by the Devil King, you got a glimpse of the Devil King’s past. How the doppelganger had become the Saintess. How the Saintess became the Witch. How the Witch became the Devil Kind. You saw the reasons why she became evil.”

In a dark alley.

“When the Constellation Killer killed you, you got a glimpse of Kim Yul’s past. The rooftop in glow of the setting sun. The sunset on the playground. You saw the broken cell phone and the text message that would be forgotten.”

In the past, not very long ago.

I idolized the Number 1 ranked Hunter.

A Hunter I witnessed killing someone in an alley.

“You heard about the Sword Saint’s story. You heard the Black Dragon Master’s story. You knew about the people who killed you, and the people around you. You knew [why] they did it. That’s why you didn’t abandon them.”

That Hunter then killed me.

“The only one whose past is still unknown to you is Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

Dog like bastard.

“You will never be able to glimpse Mr. Yoo Soo-ha’s trauma.”

You didn’t have to kill me.

“And, you don’t want to see it.”

Why?

You could have explained.

You could have told me what happened.

“You don’t want to know.”

I admired you so much.

Why the hell did you do that to me, you bastard?

“Mr. Gong-ja.”

How could you treat me like that…

“You felt betrayed by Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

I closed my eyes and my vision went dark.

Ja Soo-jung’s voice drifted over quietly.

“That’s why you hate Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

Silence passed.

The broadcast of Korean baseball stopped.

The wind was cut off.

The wind chimes by the window stopped moving.

Time passed.

The light of the setting sun shined on the crowded square.

The light of the setting sun had no nationality, and the people in the light had no nationality.

“It’s not.”

I murmured.

“That’s not it.”

I shook my head. Several times.

“He would have become a monster. He was already a monster anyway.”

My voice leaked out as if I had a fever.

“Regardless of where he was born, where he grew up, or what he experienced, he would have become a monster. I had no choice but to kill him. I had to kill him. I couldn’t not kill him. It wasn’t for me. It wasn’t because of my mood. It wasn’t because I couldn’t tolerate him. It was for the Tower. For the world. I couldn’t let that guy exist. I,”

I.

“I… that bastard…”

I idolized him.

“You were weak.”

“At that time, Mr. Gong-ja was weak.”

My heart pounded.

“It would have been different if this one was there.”

My heart pounded loudly.

“Mr. Kim Gong-ja couldn’t forgive Mr. Yoo Soo-ha at all. You couldn’t tolerate him. Mr. Yoo Soo-ha must have a past and circumstances, but you were incapable of acknowledging it and you didn’t want to know. It’s simple. Mr. Kim Gong-ja was very weak back then.”

The Owner of the Tower spoke.

“You were weak, did that make you angry?”

“You felt inferior to and betrayed by Mr. Yoo Soo-ha. You were angry because of your own murder. Because of the feeling of helplessness that no one could change. Because of the anxiety that you would never be considered anything by others regardless of how you cherished and admired them. Because of that sense of absolute worthlessness.”

I didn’t know when I’d be abandoned.

“So you had to make yourself meaningful to others.”

Right.

“I am not powerless. I am different from Yoo Soo-ha. You had to be different. Neither the people you chased after nor your subordinates nor your comrades are as evil as Yoo Soo-ha. It couldn’t be.”

No.

“Rescuing the children from the burning mansion.”

No.

“Unlike Mr. Yoo Soo-ha, who chose to kill the Sword Saint, Mr. Gong-ja chose not to kill the Sword Saint. Instead of abandoning people, you chose to save them. You accepted the Heretic Questioner as a subordinate, and the Black Dragon Master as a friend.”

I—

“Mr. Kim Yul’s pain, Mr. Director’s regret, no, the Heavenly Demon’s devotion, and Duke Ivansia’s love. The things Mr. Kim Gong-ja did since your return was all because you didn’t want to be abandoned. Because you didn’t want to be weak again. To prove that you are different from Mr. Yoo Soo-ha, and that others are also different from Mr. Yoo Soo-ha—”

“No!!”

No.

That wasn’t right.

I glared at Ja Soo-jung.

“…”

Don’t you dare.

Don’t you dare say that.

“Why not?”

The Tower Master spread her arms.

The hem of her clothes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly.

I,

“Yoo Soo-ha, that guy isn’t the meaning of my life.”

I was weak.

I was weak.

I couldn’t be a psychopath, and no matter how successful I was, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to children burning in a mansion. There were definitely days when I told myself [I shouldn’t be like Yoo Soo-ha].

“I have already gotten over Yoo Soo-ha.”

But not any more.

“Yoo Soo-ha’s impact on my life is so insignificant that I can easily look at him and laugh!”

I met Bae Hu-ryeong.

I met Master.

I met Raviel.

I met the Director.

“In my life,”

Such beautiful people.

“Those who have meaning,”

Those whom I’ve chosen to keep by my side.

“Is up to me to decide!”

“I’m the one who will decide the people who are my reason for living, only me.”

I am only strong for them.

Not because of Yoo Soo-ha.

0

I no longer live with an inferiority complex towards Yoo Soo-ha, fear being betrayed by others, or feel anxious because of others.

I won’t let them be my reasons for living anymore.

I am stronger than I was before.

“…”

Ja Soo-jung looked at me.

“Are you saying that Mr. Yoo Soo-ha is no longer your reason?”

“Yes.”

I answered confidently.

“I don’t even think of that bastard once in a day. I’m over him.”

“But, you still hate Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

“Fuck.”

“He still has a lot of meaning in Mr. Kim Gong-ja’s life. Because you will never forgive him. No, it’s not just that you’ll never forgive him. You continue to think of him as the most vicious psychopath in the world so that you never forgive him.”

“Fine.”

I brought something up.

“Thank you for proving to me that even a bastard like Yoo Soo-ha can change.”

“…”

“Now I’m going to prove that bastard doesn’t mean anything to me.”

Dog like bastard.

“Viscount Ja Soo-jung.”

I stared at her.

“Are you trying to show off in front of me that you changed Yoo Soo-ha and you are the only one who can change him?”

“Yes.”

“I will hate Yoo Soo-ha forever, and that will never change, so that makes me weak. So you want me to admit that I am weaker than you and that you are the only one who can change all the misery in the world, right?”

“Yes.”

“You can stop.”

I got up.

“I won’t give contempt and hatred to that guy named Yoo Soo-ha anymore.”

With my back to the sunset, I looked down at Ja Soo-jung.

“That guy, in my life, no longer has any meaning.”

No.

I wouldn’t let him have it.

I had gotten sick of hating that bastard!

“I have become stronger.”

I took out a skill card.

The first skill I’d gotten.

My starting point.

+

[I Want To Become Just Like You]

Rank: S+

Effect: Activates automatically upon death. After being killed by an enemy, copy one of their skills and make it your own. Skills cannot be copied from targets who have killed you before. The copied skill is randomly selected.

※However, you die!!

+

“I… will change Yoo Soo-ha.”

I stared at the Lord of Manseng.

“I changed Preta, who destroyed a continent. I changed the old man Sword Saint, Black Dragon Master, and Heretic Questioner too. Yoo Soo-ha… do you think I can’t change that disgraceful son of a dog?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t need your IF world.”

My voice was hot as if I’d swallowed fire.

“Preta, old man Calenbury, Anastasia, Bambolina, Raviel. I changed them all. I made them the happiest. There’s no need for an IF scenario that assumes you existed. The reality with me in it is their best scenario.”

“…”

“You can’t make my Master as happy as I did.”

Your redemption was unneeded.

“You can’t make Raviel as happy as I do.”

There was no reason for you to tinker with our weaknesses.

Because I wasn’t weak anymore.

We don’t need your wealth.

“And you.”

I declared.

“You won’t be able to change that motherfucker, Yoo Soo-ha, like me.”

“…”

“Yoo Soo-ha, who drinks soju in this world, won’t even share it with you. I’m not going to just change that bastard, I’m going to make him happier, better. Because I’m more capable than you. Because I’m strong. .”

“Ahaha.”

After hearing my declaration of war.

Ja Soo-jung laughed. She laughed for a while.

She laughed a lot.

“Can you prove that? Anyone can build a heaven with words.”

“I can because I’m a bastard who has never been much of a talker.”

“Right. I see. Then, can I take this as you challenging me, Mr. Gong-ja?”

“It’s a duel.”

“This one always welcomes a duel.”

The God with the face of an 18 year old hummed happily.

“He who duels is a warrior. Warriors are the only humans capable of bearing their own lives. This one loves all humans, admires the beauty of blood, and takes pleasure in defeating all challengers. This one is strong.”

“I’m strong too.”

“This one is the strongest in existence.”

The expressionless girl was having fun.

“This one melted the heart of the Sun King, who had imprisoned himself for 60 years. This one devoted myself to the Apathetic Duke, who had been rotting for a thousand years. This one thawed the time of the Dragon Emperor, which had been frozen for 7,000 years. Not to mention, all of that was just the beginning.”

The Tower Master tilted her head to the side.

“This one built the Tower. So that the unhappy, the unfortunate, the weak, the evil, the murderers, the slaughterers, the cannibals, all of the weak and evil, would be able to live again. This one’s heart is infinite, and this one’s life is infinite, so this one can soothe the wounds of all the children in the world who have been torn. How dare Mr. Kim Gong-ja ask this one for a duel when even you could only finally breathe after entering the Tower this one built?”

“Then.”

I said.

“Try to make Raviel happier than me.”

Since your life proves your strength.

My life also proved my strength.

“Try to make my Master smile brighter than I can.”

The people who stood with me proved me.

“Try.”

“Ahaha.”

Ja Soo-jung laughed.

“Good.”

Her laughter grew in the glow of the setting sun.

“Very good.”

Those purple eyes twinkled.

The early summer air mixed with the purple scent.

“So? How?”

It had the scent of a poisonous flower.

“How what?”

The scent drifted to me.

“How the hell do you plan to change Mr. Yoo Soo-ha more than this one? Huh? Do you have the means? Do you have a method?”

The scent of purple stroked my cheek.

“This one has the manseng. This one, this one’s talent, the risk of this one’s life, and this one’s manseng ability. I built it. I completed it. Do you have a means— a method, Mr. Kim Gong-ja?”

The Kingdom’s courtesan whispered in my ear.

With the voice that had bewitched countless nobles, royals, and even Dragons.

Sweetly.

“You already killed Mr. Yoo Soo-ha.”

“…”

“Ah, do you intend to return to the past before you killed Yoo Soo-ha? You already went back 4,000 days. It wouldn’t be impossible to go back a few hundred more times. However, Mr. Kim Gong-ja’s relationships with the Black Dragon Master, Sword Saint, Heavenly Demon, Constellation Killer, and many others would be lost, wouldn’t they?

“…”

“You would give up your other relationships to change Yoo Soo-ha. Right. It really must be that [the human called Yoo Soo-ha means nothing Mr. Kim Gong-ja]. Isn’t that right? How meaningless must he be to still have more meaning than the last few hundred days?”

Dog like.

My head was hot.

The heat had risen from my heart.

Unable to hold back the heat, I spat out.

“Reward.”

“Huh?”

Ja Soo-jung tilted her head to the side.

“Did you say reward?”

“Give me my reward.”

I hadn’t pulled out the card for nothing.

“You still have to give me something.”

I flipped the card over.

The description of the card was written there.

+

Activates automatically upon death.

After being killed by an enemy, copy one of their skills and make it your own.

+

“The rules you made.”

The Tower you built.

“That means it was rightfully obtained.”

The dagger I kept from the Tower.

“Based on this, I demand to be rewarded.”

“Heh.”

Ja Soo-jung smiled brightly.

“Do you intend to take a skill from this one and be stronger than this one?”

“Yes.”

“By chance, are you trying to take [Manseng]? That’s too bad. That skill is only meaningful when combined with different skills. If you had [Gold Dragon’s Eye] and [Ice River Dragon’s Breath] you could maybe play a little trick, but… how about this?”

Ja Soo-jung hummed.

“Mr. Gong-ja can only take one more skill, right?”

Her happiness was growing.

“If you take one of this one’s skills, let alone becoming stronger, would you be able to change Yoo Soo-ha? To become a munchkin like this one, you would need a lot, a lot, a lot of preparation, Mr. Gong-ja.”

“Are you scared?”

I couldn’t let God alone feel pleasure.

“Aha?”

“You don’t want to give it to me. Because you’re scared. If you’re worried, just go ahead and admit defeat. Because of the penalty from my skill, I had to watch your whole life. Can I only get a penalty and no reward? This is something worth knowing about the Tower’s management.”

“That’s a cute provocation. Really.”

Ja Soo-jung smiled widely.

“And it’s a provocation I can’t ignore.”

Her fingers danced in the air.

“Fine. Death King. You can take anything.”

The Tower’s voice rang out.

[Skill condition satisfied.]

[The ‘Lord of Manseng’s’ skills are being randomly copied!]

Tak!

Ja Soo-jung snapped her fingers.

“Take a piece of the life this one walked and prove your words. Death King. Advisor. Mr. Kim Gong-ja.”

Flip.

Gold cards lined up in the air.

[The skill cards are being created!]

After the sun set, night fell on the terrace.

The dark night sky.

The Tower Master’s golds shined like north stars.

[Madness to Insanity]

[Three Musics King’s Road]

[The One Loved by Dice]

[King’s Tutor]

[Guardian of the Subrace]

[Gold Dragon’s Gaze]

[Earth Bone Dragon’s Skull]

[Ice Rive Dragon’s Breath]

[Manseng]

The stars shined one after the other.

They were all connected to form the constellation known as the Tower Master.

This was the Tower Master’s life, and the Tower itself.

“…”

I reached out for the stars in the night sky.

And.

I held a golden light in my hand.

(TL: Whenever I think I understand, I just get more confused. Anyways, I think a cliffhanger is well worth it after this monster of a chapter.)