HRB 119

Eddie gritted his teeth and said. Perhaps sensing the surging resentment in his voice, Tarajiel made a troubled expression.

“Hmm, that’s true too. I received great help from you in various ways.”

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be in the mood for wordplay with Eddie.

When you think about it, his resurrection, and the fact that he had ended the ‘story’ he so desperately wished to conclude, were all possible thanks to Eddie. Of course, for Eddie, it was like cleaning his nose without lifting a finger.

No, that’s why I died. That’s why, in the end!

Eddie ground his teeth.

Seeing his furious face, Tarajiel wore a troubled expression.

“Then let’s do this.”

As he snapped his fingers, the place where the two stood transformed into a completely white space, devoid of anything, where everything had been destroyed, the story book of Part 2, and the shattered gears had completely vanished.

A place where only Demon King Tarajiel and Eddie existed.

A vast, empty space beyond the horizon, with nothing visible.

Tarajiel pointed a finger towards one side. The space tore open, creating a portal, like the one from before, connecting to another space.

This time, he pointed his finger at the space on the other side. The same thing happened. With a humming sound, the space tore open, and another portal appeared.

Two portals.

As Eddie looked on with a puzzled expression, Tarajiel smiled radiantly with his beautiful face.

“Choose, Eddie.”

He urged him to make a choice.

Judging by the situation, it seemed he was being asked to choose one of the two portals.

“What… what am I supposed to choose?”

But Eddie had no way of knowing what exactly he was supposed to choose.

However, Tarajiel didn’t seem inclined to explain with words.

“Go closer and see for yourself.”

At his words, Eddie, who had been sitting down the whole time, awkwardly got to his feet.

Regardless of how untrustworthy Tarajiel might be, at this moment, Tarajiel was the only one Eddie could rely on.

Even though he was essentially in a spirit state, his muscles, which had been tense, creaked all over as if surprised.

Eddie approached the first portal that had been created.

“……Huh?”

Something was visible beyond the portal, and as Eddie moved closer to get a better look, he saw an unexpected sight.

Beyond that portal, he saw an unconscious Eddie with a pale face. All the wounds on his body seemed to have been healed, but his pale complexion didn’t look healthy at all. Of course, he didn’t look like a corpse either.

He was alive. Eddie was alive.

Beside him, Ketron sat with a blank expression. He didn’t look particularly healthy either.

“Ket!”

Eddie exclaimed Ketron’s name in surprise and pressed himself close to the portal, as if about to enter immediately, but he couldn’t pass through the space, as if blocked by a wall.

Eddie spun around to look at Tarajiel, who was watching him with a smiling face. As if he had expected this.

No matter how he looked at it, the lying ‘Eddie’ didn’t seem dead. His complexion was pale, but he definitely felt like a living person. Even if he was unconscious and in critical condition.

“Are… are you not dead?”

Eddie asked in a trembling voice. 〈Hero’s Power Unrestrained Part 2〉 had rewritten the epilogue right before his eyes. A scene where Eddie lost his life. And he had even tried to erase Eddie’s soul.

Yet, Eddie was still alive?

Tarajiel let out an “Ah,” as if it were nothing, then smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“Because I tore up the story. Before the events unfolded as written in that story.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Thanks to that, he’s in a coma but alive. Of course, if you choose somewhere else from here, he’s become so weak that he’d die immediately. ……Did you see it all? Why don’t you look at the other side now.”

He said that, gesturing towards ‘somewhere else.’ The other portal he had created. But Eddie, without needing to test it further, shouted.

“I’ll go this way! I’m going back!”

“The choice.”

But Tarajiel smiled benevolently, as if trying to teach caution to the pathetic being making a hasty decision.

“It’s not too late to make it after you’ve seen the other side.”

The words themselves were standard. But Eddie felt a sense of urgency.

The Eddie in that portal looked like he could die at any moment. And Ketron, watching over him, also looked like he could die at any moment.

So, he had to go back right now.

He needed to open his eyes and reassure and comfort his Hero, his love. What did it matter which space the other one was?

But in this space, Eddie was not the one in power. Eddie bit his lip hard.

Right now, Eddie was in a position where he had to rely on Tarajiel’s mercy. Even though he had argued about repaying a favor, Eddie knew it was a more absurd situation for someone like Tarajiel to suddenly decide to repay a favor by keeping his word.

So, this was his small whim. Eddie couldn’t afford to miss this whim.

Eddie, with his trembling body, headed towards the other side. Even as he did, he firmly decided in his heart that if he had to choose, he would choose Ketron. Of course, he had to go back; even if heaven were on the other side, he would have to.

With Ketron, Gerold, Ebon, and his older brother in the afterlife, of course.

Of course…….

“……Ah.”

However, the moment he confirmed the reflection in the other portal, Eddie’s body froze.

It was a sight that could break even Eddie’s steadfast heart.

What appeared in that portal was a woman. A middle-aged, ordinary-looking woman, sitting on a familiar bed in a familiar room, to Eddie.

It was Lee Jeong-hoon’s mother.

She was seen weeping while stroking a photo of Lee Jeong-hoon. She was in Lee Jeong-hoon’s room, endlessly caressing the photo of Lee Jeong-hoon, which was usually placed upside down.

It was, undeniably, an extension of the scene Eddie had recently confirmed in his dreams. The state of the house, which had not returned to normal even after Lee Jeong-hoon’s funeral.

Did that mean that if he chose this place, Eddie would be sent back to his original world?

But, how?

Eddie immediately voiced his question to Tarajiel.

“Unlike Eddie, Lee Jeong-hoon is dead. How can he go back?”

“Lee Jeong-hoon, is that your original name?”

“……Yes.”

“I’m sorry, but as you said, Lee Jeong-hoon is already dead, so you cannot return in that body.”

“Then….”

“You will be reincarnated in that world.”

Reincarnation. It meant being born again. Not returning in Lee Jeong-hoon’s body.

Come to think of it, it would have already been cremated, so he couldn’t return. Even if it hadn’t been cremated, it would have rotted by now after that much time.

Looking at Eddie, who seemed somewhat disappointed, Tarajiel slowly began to explain.

“All souls wish to continue living bound to the world they were born in. In your case, you were forcibly brought here, and normally, you should have been reborn there.”

“…….”

“So, if you are reincarnated, well, I don’t know if your memories will be intact, but you will be able to return to the world you lived in. To your original world.”

That seemed to be the rule of the world.

However, the story had broken that rule and pulled Lee Jeong-hoon’s soul into this world. Therefore, by that soul returning, the disrupted rule of reincarnation would be reconnected.

But if he couldn’t return as Lee Jeong-hoon, then would returning to that world have any meaning?

“Even if I go back, I won’t be able to meet my family, will I?”

“Well, I don’t know about the memories. I’ve never been reincarnated. Did you think everything would be intact when you returned to a world that had already died?”

“…….”

“It’s time you realized that this world isn’t exactly a fair world. Besides, your death wasn’t due to the intervention of some absolute power. You were just unlucky.”

That was true.

Lee Jeong-hoon’s death was truly due to bad luck. Without any absolute intervention, he lost his life, and he should have been reincarnated in that world, albeit with his memories lost. Whether it was because Lee Jeong-hoon’s lifespan was short, or fate, or whatever.

But due to the greed of this world, he was dragged into this world and reborn as a new person with his memories preserved.

Therefore, if he chose the other world, he could be reincarnated as he should have been. If he was lucky, his memories might remain, and he could find his family after reincarnation.

Most importantly, his soul desired it.

It wanted to return to its original world.

It was the instinct of return that the soul possessed. A very strong and sticky temptation of the soul stirred Eddie’s heart. His pounding heart relentlessly urged Eddie to return to his original world.

Eddie swallowed involuntarily.

“Choose.”

To Eddie, who was in such a state, Tarajiel urged him to make a choice.

“Is it your family? Or…”

He left the choice entirely to Eddie and smiled leisurely.

“Is it your Hero?”

Placing Eddie on a game with the worst balance.