Novel Full Chapter 1521. Extinction (31)
Chapter 1521. Extinction (31)
“How dare you try to replace Kim Hyun-Sung, you bastard...”
“...”
“...”
“Mr. Lee Ki-Young?” Mikael mumbled.
“A long journey? A long fight? Who the hell said they want to do that with you? Even if I completely forget Kim Hyun-Sung, the chance of you being part of my journey is zero, you disgusting bastard. You know damn well who caused all of this in the first place, so how can you even say that kind of bullshit?” I complained.
‘Come on, seriously.’
“Kim Hyun-Sung’s request? A sense of duty? Don’t make excuses. It’s so ridiculous I can’t even laugh. The continent and the dimensions need me? Don’t bring up stupid reasons. Is that really the only idea your empty head can come up with? Have you never actually thought about it? Or have you just never even tried to?”
“...”
“You know what you’re supposed to do."
“...”
“Unless you’re a complete idiot, you should know that the ideal ending is you dying in his place. That’s the path that truly benefits this continent, you stupid bastard."
“...”
“If you’re not an idiot, then you should say that it’s only right for you to take responsibility. You and that trashy psychiatrist pulled that crap together and Hyun-Sung got dragged into it, which led to the reality we’re in right now. What the hell goes on in that deficient brain of yours for you to think that you can stand beside me?”
“I-I—that’s not what I meant. I wasn’t saying I’d give up on Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung. I meant until we get him back, I would—”
“Exactly!” I interrupted him.
“...”
“Damn it! I’m asking why you should be by my side, Mr. Mikael. Huh? Does that make any sense at all? Or maybe..."
“Y-yes?”
“Did you think you and I were in similar situations? That we share the same pain and that we’re alike or something? Did you think we could comfort each other’s wounds or some nonsense like that? Or maybe because you’ve gone through it once, you felt sorry for me... Did you see your past self in me?
"No way... no way... that’s not it, right? If you actually had a brain, you wouldn't think like that."
“...”
“That can’t be it, right, Mr. Mikael? There’s no way I could be anything like a bastard like you...”
“You seem a bit agitated. For now the situation is urgent, so please follow what I say and we can talk later...” he suggested.
“Agitated? Agitated?! Do I look like I wouldn’t be agitated right now? Without knowing your place, you judged me and said you’d stand in place of Kim Hyun-Sung. You spouted that kind of bullshit!
"Damn it! Why wouldn’t I be pissed? You and I are fundamentally different. You’re fundamentally different from Kim Hyun-Sung, too! You’re far too weak and insignificant to replace him. Do you know why you can’t replace him? Even when the answer is spoon-fed to you, you still can’t grasp it and just make random guesses.”
“...”
“You’ve never made a sacrifice, that’s why. A bastard like you doesn’t have the courage to die in someone else’s place. That’s why, you idiot. That’s why you can’t even think of something that simple. You can’t even come up with the most obvious solution because, more than anything else, you value yourself too much.
"Do you really think you can replace Hyun-Sung?"
“I-I’m different. I understand why you might think that. But...” he trailed off.
“Then why are you still alive? Why is it that you still haven’t made any choice...?” I questioned.
“Pardon?”
“You said it yourself,” I said.
“...”
“I don’t know if it was a thousand-year war, a damn hundred-year war, or a ten-thousand-year war, and honestly I don’t care, but you said you lost countless comrades, allies, and family, and in the end, you were the only one who survived.
"You're carrying them in your memories and living on, aren't you? Let’s be honest, Mr. Mikael. Why do you think... you were the only one who survived?” I asked him.
“...”
“...”
“Why do you think you were the only one who survived? That is incredibly strange. A war that lasted that long, and yet... why you, of all people, were the only one left alive... It must have been a war that I can’t even begin to imagine, so how... is it that you alone ended up here, perfectly alive?
"I think I know... and don’t you think all the comrades who died meaninglessly in that war know what the reason is, too?”
“That’s not it... I...” he mumbled.
“What do you mean, 'that’s not it'? The answer’s obvious... Honestly, I had a feeling something like this might happen. Judging by your personality, it wasn't that surprising. And sure enough, you didn’t stray from expectations. You know what, rather than a hypocritical bastard like you, Michele, the one you devoured, was better,” I said.
“...”
“At least that psychiatrist had a shred of conviction, but I don’t see anything like that in you. You’re more unstable and incomplete than a human. A coward, a disgusting piece of trash. Someone who values himself above anyone else. How dare you think of standing beside the God of Sacrifice and Revival?
"No, more importantly, what the hell were you thinking when you swallowed Michele? You weren’t even planning to die yourself. Were you in a hurry? Or... did you really think you could take Kim Hyun-Sung’s place in our continent?” I questioned.
“That’s all a misunderstanding. I have never, not even once, thought of something like that,” he argued.
“Hey.”
“...”
“...”
“Do I look like an idiot to you?” I asked.
“...”
“Did you really think I was some clueless fool?” I asked again.
“...”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know how and under what circumstances you came into this continent? Did you really think I didn’t know who planted you into Michele? Did you think I would just overlook the existence of that woman who stuck herself beside Michele pretending to be an assistant?
"It’s too obvious. It’s painfully obvious, Mr. Mikael. It’s crystal clear who gave you the visa to enter this place,” I said.
“Mr. Lee Ki-Young..”
“So...”
“...”
“Where is Lucifer?” I asked.
“...”
“Why do you look so shocked? Anyone who isn’t an idiot knows that before Benigoa and Altanus, there was Lukifer, and that Lukifer is Lucifer. It’s not that difficult. It’s just a difference in pronunciation. And the brooch around her neck... wasn't it shaped like a hexagram? Isn’t that her symbol?” I asked.
“...”
“Sure, it might just be speculation on my end, but if you think about how Rafael, who had no qualifications whatsoever, was able to use the hexagram gate first because traces of that woman remained with him, then it’s plausible, isn't it? I’m not making some completely absurd guess here,” I added.
“...”
“I’m not spouting some strange delusion, Mr. Mikael. Do you know what makes me the angriest right now? I don’t know what that woman is doing in our continent, whether she’s actually helping the system out of goodwill or causing chaos of her own accord. Honestly, that’s not even what matters right now...”
“...”
“What pisses me off is that because of you, I ended up thinking about her again. Because of you, Lucifer will now know that I’ve become aware of her existence. That’s the part that annoys me. I should have remained ignorant of that woman or the identity and existence of that assistant hovering around you, you bastard!” I shouted.
“...”
“Of course, I’ll admit that part of it is that I lost my composure, but how could I not? You’re standing there with that calm face, acting like you have nothing to do with this situation. You've been pretending to be righteous, clean, and upright... yeah. Even so, I did have a sliver of expectation.
"Even knowing that you and those demon bastards aren’t all that different, I thought you,at least, had some sense of responsibility. No, more precisely, I thought you could change...” I told him.
“...”
“But in the end, this is the outcome,” I said.
“...”
“...”
“You haven’t changed at all, whether it was a thousand years ago or a hundred years ago. You still push responsibility onto others, prefer compromise over fighting, and still want to run and hide.
"Then again, it’s hard enough for humans to change, so how can I expect the same from your kind? If you really wanted change, or were capable of it, things wouldn’t have turned out like this across the dimensions, would they?” I asked.
“T-that’s not true,” he muttered.
“What part of it isn’t true? That you made a deal with Lucifer to come here? Or that you were afraid of dying and taking responsibility? How did you even come to know Lucifer? Could that also be connected to how you survived the thousand-year war? Did you end up compromising with that woman back then, too, just to stay alive?” I questioned.
“Lucifer has nothing to do with this matter. The abnormalities on the continent would’ve occurred even without her. All she had done was respond to the will of the system and activate the gate. If anything, it was an action for the sake of the continent in its second life. Of course, I understand that it’s not easy for you to believe it,” he explained.
“That’s a very trustworthy story. Don’t you think so?” I commented.
“And... I understand how I must appear in your eyes, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. It’s true that she gave me the invitation and that I entered Dr. Michele through her help, but I had no personal desires, no greed, nor any intention to harm this place.
"As I had mentioned before, I was trying to address the dimensional crisis...” he explained.
“Do you really think an excuse is necessary?” I questioned.
“...”
“Do you really think it becomes an excuse just because you say it is?”
“...”
“Do you know what you call people who barge into someone’s home and cause a mess without the owner’s permission? You call them burglars. Was Lucifer the owner of this house? Unless the owner changed without me knowing about it, you’re nothing more than a burglar who left your footprints in someone else’s home.
"If you had even the slightest sense of guilt and responsibility for what you’ve done, the first thing you should do is kneel and apologize rather than run around saying you’ll become the new owner of this place,” I explained.
“I...”
“There are so many reasons why you can’t replace Kim Hyun-Sung that I can’t even begin to list them all. For starters, you’re an unlucky blond, you lie as easily as you breathe, your face is irritating, and your insides are twisted and calculating.
"The funniest part is how someone like you is still convinced that he’s righteous. But as I said earlier, I think you already know the biggest difference between you two, right?” I questioned.
“...”
“If it were Kim Hyun-Sung in this situation, he wouldn’t run away like you,” I said.
“...”
“The outcome is already obvious. Kim Hyun-Sung is ready to die, but you'll go ahead and try to run. He'll accept it, but you'll try to avoid it. Even you know that you and Kim Hyun-Sung are different,” I said.
His gaze and arms were trembling.
“Do you want to turn it back?” I asked.
“What do you mean?” Mikael asked.
“Everything,” I said.
“W-what do you mean, Mr. Lee Ki-Young...” he asked.
“I’m asking if you want to undo your mistakes... No, all the mistakes you’ve made up to now, Mr. Mikael,” I clarified.
“...”
“Everything from the thousand-year war to what you’ve done here... all the mistakes in your life, do you want to set them right, become noble, and become clean?” I asked.
“...”
“What? Don’t you have the courage to do so? Are you going to keep repeating the same mistakes?” I questioned.
“I... I want to... change,” he muttered.
“If you’ve made up your mind, then you should act, Mr. Mikael,” I told him.
“...”
“Don’t you think the time has come for you to do what you couldn’t do until now? Don't you think it's time for you to correct your past mistakes?” I asked.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I sincerely ask you...” I paused.
“...”
“For the sake of the continent, Hyun-Sung, and yourself...” I trailed off before continuing, “For the sake of the God of Sacrifice and Revival... would you... die for us?"