282 – HGL 282

282

“…Hyung!”

Sa-young forced his unmoving legs to stand. He couldn’t let him go like this. He had to catch him. Don’t believe he’ll come back. Countless words tangled in his head. He trampled on the scattered books on the floor, chasing after the disappearing figure. His body swayed.

Lee Sa-young was certain. He knew Cha Eui-jae better than anyone.

Thump, his shoulder collided with the bookshelf. Books tumbled down. Sa-young continued forward, unconcerned. His damp eyes kept blurring his vision.

But what about the hero?

Many people knew the hero. There were countless stories of J. A hero who saved countless people and brought stability. A hero who fought countless Monsters and left records. A sacrificial hero who jumped into the West Sea Rift without hesitation. A hero who miraculously returned when everyone thought he was dead. A hero who jumped into the battlefield first and remained until the very end.

But people didn’t know Cha Eui-jae,

“Hyung!”

Lee Sa-young didn’t know the hero.

“J!”

To him, J was the only being who listened to his voice, held his hand, and saved him…

“Stop right there!”

To him, Cha Eui-jae was just a foolish and lovable person.

That was Lee Sa-young’s arrogance.

Lee Sa-young didn’t know the hero. He didn’t know the hero’s face, nor the story hidden behind the black mask.

Behind the mask, there was no easily reddened ear, no eyes that slyly avoided his gaze, no sharp eyes that became pointed when upset, no lips reddened from being chewed, no mumbling corners of the mouth, no dissatisfied expression, no nimble cheeks that quickly flushed, no face that smiled kindly.

“Just a moment, Hyung!”

A face from which no emotion could be read. An unfamiliar but familiar blank expression. Only the hero mechanically performing his duty existed.

Sa-young pushed past the people passing by and ran. He ignored all the screams. No matter how much he ran, similar bookshelves continued. He couldn’t catch up to Cha Eui-jae. As if trapped in an endless maze.

Where did the Cha Eui-jae who ran around in a mess go? Where did the Cha Eui-jae who smiled kindly at Ha-eun go? Where did the Cha Eui-jae who nonchalantly took care of his regulars go? Where did the Cha Eui-jae who shed tears in front of his comrades’ remains go? Where did the Cha Eui-jae who blushed and stiffened every time they kissed go?

Complex thoughts disappeared one by one. What remained until the end was endless questions. He was curious about Cha Eui-jae. He was curious about the hero. Sa-young gritted his teeth.

What are you thinking?

What are you so anxious about?

What are you so afraid of?

What on earth made you like that?

Lee Sa-young had to know.

He wanted to know everything. He wanted to dig into Eui-jae’s head, rummaging through his deepest roots. He wanted to intertwine like a beast licking wounds.

He wanted to be the only person who knew everything about him.

‘…Damn it!’

But he couldn’t know. He couldn’t know even if he searched through the memories of the unwelcome guest who had melted into one. The unwelcome guest’s memories were full of only a foolish face smiling and saying it was okay. Without a single word of hardship, foolishly.

The thoughts and emotions behind the blank expression must have been kept entirely inside. Like the story Lee Sa-young kept inside himself.

“Damn it…!”

Finally, the end of the bookshelf came into view. Sa-young escaped from the maze-like bookshelves. A wide hall was visible. Many people were busily going their way. But no matter how much he looked around, Cha Eui-jae was nowhere to be seen. Even if he grabbed passersby and asked, no one knew.

Lee Sa-young took a deep breath.

“…So you’re going to come out like that, huh.”

Purple eyes shone brightly.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

86 hours until Cha Eui-jae’s death.

Thwack—

A huge spear pierced through the Monster’s solar plexus. Splatter, white blood splattered on the black mask. It was a quiet death without even a scream. Silence fell.

Eui-jae slowly raised his head and looked around. He no longer felt the presence of Monsters nearby. It seemed he had taken care of them all. He withdrew the spear and lightly jumped off the mountain of corpses piled up like a mountain. Splat, a squelching sound. He must have stepped in a puddle of blood.

“……”

A cold wind brushed his hair. Eui-jae rubbed the mask with his sleeve. At the same time, he coughed, coughed, a dry cough burst out. The cough continued for a while. Eui-jae rubbed his scratchy throat. Thanks to his sensitive senses, he felt every change in his body. His body was changing. Slowly but surely.

‘If it’s 86 hours…’

A little over 3 days left. Eui-jae stared intently at the numbers. Anxiety that even the Poker Face trait couldn’t completely hide remained like a burr. The him in this world knew death. Cha Eui-jae now knew too. Why he didn’t avoid death.

Mutation mainly occurs in people who come into contact with Whitening, and is more likely to occur in civilians than Awakened.

And Cha Eui-jae sometimes… loses his ability and becomes a civilian.

“……”

Mutation didn’t miss that small gap. It must have been progressing little by little every time he lost his ability. It was just that it wasn’t noticeable because the period of losing his ability was relatively short. Eui-jae clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘He must have wanted to die before becoming a Monster.’

As sudden fear and terror deepened, buried memories were revived one by one. Eui-jae didn’t resist the rushing memories, and moved according to those memories. There was no point in resisting anyway.

After J became aware of his death, he went to Nam Woo-jin and Jung-bin and asked them to give him more work. They naturally opposed it, but they couldn’t suppress J’s opinion.

‘We’re short on manpower, so I can’t just lie down forever.’

‘But….’

‘It’s okay. I know my body best. I’ll do it moderately.’

Jung-bin allowed it after much deliberation. Perhaps it was a natural thing. The moment J was invested, countless forces could be saved. Nam Woo-jin grumbled until the end, but eventually allowed it.

From the moment he was allowed, J roamed outside. Dungeon, Rift, Whitening zones where entry was prohibited…. He didn’t discriminate against anywhere. He went wherever his strength was needed. He didn’t even sleep. If others saw it, they would have said he was crazy, but Eui-jae knew.

This was a struggle. A struggle not to die, while leaving his mark until the very end. Because he didn’t want to be forgotten.

A struggle of a person who wants to remain a hero until the very end.

Even while moving according to J’s memories, Eui-jae couldn’t erase the thoughts that suddenly came to mind.

‘If it’s the last moment…. Isn’t it better to be with the person you love?’

But he soon erased those thoughts. The moment Eui-jae stabbed himself, Lee Sa-young’s face came to mind. Lee Sa-young at that time was really….

Eui-jae rubbed his neck with a sullen face.

‘I can see why he wouldn’t want to show it.’

Understanding himself was quite a unique experience. He shook off the blood on the spear. There was still some time left until his death.

Fortunately, Eui-jae knew what kind of incident would occur on the day he died. The appearance he saw in Student Ga-eul’s Fragment. The day Student Ga-eul went to the place he lived. J made her run away and remained alone to block the Monsters. He probably met his death like that.

‘Besides….Eui-jae recalled the appearance he saw in the world ‘Lee Sa-young’ created. The J who was hugged in that guy’s arms was injured but still in human form.

‘He died in human form….’

That meant he died before mutating into a Monster. Goal achieved. After organizing all the stages of death that would soon come, Eui-jae stretched out his arms. The emotions that still remained awkward were annoying, but it was better than when he was so exhausted that he couldn’t even stand properly.

“Good….”

Anyway. Eui-jae checked the letters on the screen. The remaining time steadily decreased, but the Synchronization Rate still remained at 100%. If the body dies in a synchronized state, Cha Eui-jae’s Soul will also die.

‘How do I solve this?’

Eui-jae rubbed his chin. What could be a way to lower the Synchronization Rate? Should I separate my ego? But how do I separate my ego? It was when Eui-jae was sitting cross-legged on a jagged Fragment and racking his brain.

Vroom….

With a loud exhaust sound, something was approaching quickly from afar. Eui-jae raised his head. This place should be a restricted area, what is it? Even if he wanted to find out what it was, he couldn’t figure it out because he couldn’t see it. Eui-jae squinted and stared at the place where the sound was coming from. And.

“…Fucking hell.”

He discovered a purple flame rushing fiercely towards him.

Eui-jae hurriedly picked up the spear and stood up. His head was spinning quickly in embarrassment. No, isn’t that bastard unlicensed? Didn’t he always get rides in other people’s cars? What is he riding?

But there was no time to think more.

‘First….’

Eui-jae kicked off the ground.

‘I have to run away!!’