By Zephyria “Why are you doing this?”
Even with his mouth covered, Mackerel managed to grumble. Eui-jae raised a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet. The closer they got to their destination underground, the louder the sound became. Can’t this guy hear it? Eui-jae asked quietly.
“Can’t you hear it?”
“…Huh?”
“Listen carefully. Can’t you hear it?”
He seemed to lower his eyes and listen, then his face strangely hardened. He frowned slightly and stared at Eui-jae.
“This….”
“……”
Ding, the elevator stopped. The doors slowly opened. The first thing Eui-jae saw was Bae Won-woo, his face stiff, holding a Shield. He must have heard the elevator. The fact that he was here, with a weapon drawn…
‘Lee Sa-young must be here too.’
Mackerel, who was standing next to him, waved his hand as if to say hello. Surprise, then shock, appeared on Bae Won-woo’s face, which had been full of hostility. Bae Won-woo pointed at Eui-jae with a trembling hand.
“…J?”
“…Hello.”
“No, how did you get here… No, wait. You didn’t break in, did you?”
“Oh~ what do you take us for! We came in very peacefully. We even saved a life.”
“Mackerel, why are you here? Aren’t you busy?”
“I’ll go anywhere if my client wants me to~ Hiyah!”
While Mackerel quickly blocked Bae Won-woo and waved his arms, Eui-jae quickly passed by Bae Won-woo. Turning the corner, a space appeared, made up of tall white walls. Eui-jae stood in front of the firmly closed wall, no, the door. The ominous sound was coming from inside.
Thud, thud, thud….
Is there a special way to open it? Can I just break it down? It was the moment he put his hand on the cold door. Bae Won-woo, who had run over with Mackerel clinging to his waist, shouted.
“Oh, don’t open that! Something terrible will happen!”
Eui-jae looked at Mackerel with cold eyes. Mackerel was sprawled on the floor like a can, still clinging to Bae Won-woo’s waist. He rolled his eyes.
“Sorry, this was the best I could do.”
I didn’t expect anything anyway. Eui-jae knocked on the door with the back of his hand.
“What’s inside?”
“…Anyway, you can’t. I can’t even tell J-nim about this….”
“What do you think is faster, Bae Won-woo-ssi telling me or me breaking down the door?”
“Just tell him.”
A light voice interjected. Only then did Eui-jae confirm his presence. Hong Ye-seong was there without a trace of presence. No, to be exact, it wasn’t a familiar presence. It was an extremely faint energy, not of this world. Ping, ping, something was spinning rapidly. He couldn’t see it because his eyes were covered with a towel, but the Emotional Eye must be spinning.
“You’ll understand if you hear it. Well, maybe not?”
“You can’t just say it so vaguely….”
“Lee Sa-young is in here.”
“……”
Bae Won-woo subtly avoided his gaze. Silence was the answer. Eui-jae gritted his teeth. The gruesome sound of tearing skin and piercing flesh continued. Bang! When he slammed the door, that part caved in. It must be a pretty strong door.
“What are you doing in there right now?”
“There’s no other way, what can I do? Oh dear. First, calm down….”
“Why isn’t there another way!”
A composed answer followed his outburst.
“There isn’t, then.”
“……”
“Even if you’re the best, you can’t solve this. Only Lee Sa-young can do it.”
“What is it? Stop talking vaguely and tell me straight.”
“Lee Sa-young, who was the warden of the Destroyed world, is merging with his soul without much conflict. That means this guy is also taking over the warden’s authority and role to that extent.”
A strong smell of blood wafted from Hong Ye-seong, who was huddled in a chair. The collar and chest of his green tracksuit were all soaked in dark red, and there were piles of blood-stained handkerchiefs and towels around the chair. Nevertheless, his voice was steady.
“I just applied that a little. It’s like putting a lock on the door in a situation where a murderer might come at you with a knife at any moment.”
“Do you think that makes sense? Stop it right now.”
Hong Ye-seong’s lips curved smoothly upward.
“If we don’t do this, Doomsday will come without any preparation time, is that okay?”
“……”
“Look, it’s not like we’ve been doing it 24 hours a day, but we’ve already bought more than a week. But we haven’t even been able to have proper talks with those weirdos.”
Yeah, that’s why it’s been so quiet. No matter how much they tried to keep it a secret, it’s hard not to think about Doomsday in a world full of Doomsday believers. Since that day, Eui-jae had been tormented by the anxiety that Doomsday might come in a minute. Even though he knew that the more he thought about Doomsday, the faster it would accelerate, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Most people probably felt the same way.
But it hadn’t come because.
“……”
Because there was someone who was holding out alone.
Hong Ye-seong pressed his eyes hard with a towel and muttered.
“If you understand, leave this to me and go do something else. Go get Prometheus… Um, yeah. That would be good. I think it would be good to root out those bastards altogether. To think they’re doing something crazy like bringing about Doomsday, they deserve to die. The fewer variables, the better….”
A tone full of intelligence, it was him. Eui-jae strode forward and stood in front of him. ‘Hong Ye-seong’ sighed deeply, showing the top of his brown head instead of his face.
“I knew it. Hey, friend….”
“……”
“I told you, this is your last chance.”
“……”
“Do you think I like this? If I interfere like this, I have to shoulder that much burden too. But because of some weirdos, we suddenly entered the beginning of Doomsday. If you come now, you’ll all die without even trying anything. Are you just going to waste your last chance?”
“So you’re going to sacrifice Lee Sa-young to hold out? Until you find a way?”
“Why not? You did it too.”
“……”
“Why is it okay for you and not for Lee Sa-young?”
“That’s….”
Strangely, the words wouldn’t come out. He felt like his throat was blocked.
In fact, there were more than ten reasons why Lee Sa-young shouldn’t do that. The problem was that they were all personal reasons. Because Lee Sa-young has had a hard time so far, because Lee Sa-young doesn’t have to go through this, because he’s too young to go through this, because I don’t want Lee Sa-young to have a hard time. Because it’s enough for me to go through hard times. Things that are too trivial to bring up in the face of the world’s survival.
It was the moment to weigh the world and Lee Sa-young.
‘Hong Ye-seong’ shook his head.
“Geez…. No matter how many worlds you go through, that sacrificial attitude never changes. You failed twice trying to do it alone, and you’re going to do it again?”
“……”
Eui-jae didn’t answer. Instead, he slammed the door. The place that had already caved in was now even deeper. ‘Hong Ye-seong’ dropped the blood-soaked towel. The Emotional Eye, spinning around and around, stared at Eui-jae. A stream of blood flowed down his cheek, leaving a red mark.
“Friend. You haven’t convinced me at all. But you’re going to force your way in?”
“……”
Lee Sa-young, who was left alone in the Destroyed world, Lee Sa-young, who was locked up alone in a small cell. In fact, the time that Cha Eui-jae occupied in Lee Sa-young’s life would have been very short. Yet he only chased after Cha Eui-jae. So what can Cha Eui-jae do for him? Defeat Doomsday and give him a peaceful world? No.
What he really wants is….
“…Is this something Lee Sa-young chose?”
“That’s right. He volunteered.”
“…I.”
“……”
“I’m just….”
Thud, his fist, which was weaker than before, hit the door. Eui-jae put his forehead on the door and closed his eyes.
“…I’ll just be by your side.”
“……”
“That’s okay, isn’t it.”
At that moment, creak, creak, something heavy began to move. The door was slowly opening. As if allowing his approach.
“……”
The inside of the door was a dark abyss. Still, thud, thud, the sound of something being hammered down echoed. Eui-jae stepped into the darkness without hesitation. A sticky liquid soaked the soles of his shoes. A sweet smell covered the smell of blood.
Thud…. The door closed behind him. Complete darkness came. Eui-jae slowly moved his feet. Thud, the floor vibrated. Thud, scratch…. He heard the sound of something scraping away. Eventually, Eui-jae stopped. Something was writhing in the darkness. At the same time, there was the sound of heavy iron pillars rubbing against each other. Chains rattled. A purple glow shone in the darkness.
“…Are you here?”
A hoarse voice muttered. Eui-jae sat down next to the writhing thing. The sleeve of his clothes on the side he touched began to get wet and sticky. It muttered.
“…I’m a mess.”
“It’s okay, I can’t see.”
“…Why did you come?”
Eui-jae groped the sticky floor and found something like a hand and grabbed it. The hand he grabbed shrank like a mimosa. Eui-jae deliberately grabbed it harder.
“It’s nothing special.”
“……”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been by your side….”
“……”
“…in your most difficult moment.”
He thought he heard a low laugh. Creak, creak, the sound of chains dragging on the floor. It was getting closer. Eventually, a wet head touched his shoulder. Without hesitation, Eui-jae embraced the hair. He accepted the whole body writhing in pain.