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Side Stories Chapter 98 – What If Story (13)

I was deep in thought.

Why did this child in the tower’s fragment possess the exact tattoo as mine?

I couldn’t come up with any theories. The only thing I could come up with was the small price this world had to pay after I was transported here — Kim Chundong.

It was likely that the child was Chundong in the past.

The Tower of Memory’s hallucination tended to show the past in the present. This baby had the stigma’s tattoo on its body since it was Chundong when he was young.

However, I still couldn’t understand why this memory was being played right now in the present.

“…”

We walked without saying a word. Chae Nayun whispered while walking since she wasn’t used to staying quiet while I and Yoo Yeonha looked quite haggard for some reason.

“I wonder what happened… Have you entered this place before, Hajin?” Rachel carefully asked while stealing glances at Yoo Yeonha.

“I’m not sure,” I replied.

“Are you related in some way to Destruction?” she asked.

“I ran into him in the United States.”

I did run into Destruction in the United States now that I thought about it. I didn’t personally meet him, but the terrorist organization I thwarted was under Destruction’s command.

“Hey, put this one on,” Chae Nayun said as she threw me a gas mask.

The evil mana in the air was getting thick, so I guess we were getting closer to Destruction.

“Hmm… Does that mean you were born somewhere around here? You’re an orphan, right?” Yi Jiyoon asked.

Chae Nayun flinched and whacked Yi Jiyoon for being too straightforward, but I didn’t really mind it.

“Who knows?” I shrugged.

However, it was the hideous voice that replied instead.

— That is correct.

We stopped and looked around our surroundings.

It was Destruction. He was definitely hiding in the thick dense fog ahead. We could see his face covered by his hideous mask.

— This is where your past is.

I almost let out a sigh as I sensed that something quite troublesome was about to start.

— This is where your memories are at.

Yoo Yeonha grabbed the hem of my shirt and I pulled her shoulder closer to me.

Then, a sinister smile formed on Destruction’s face.

Seeuuuu…!

The fog grew thicker in the silence before it showed us a scene from the past. A part of the fog turned into humans while another part turned into sounds.

[Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter]

The safe refuge was built at the end of the long tunnel.

There were numerous people in the evacuation shelter called the Kwang-Oh Evacuation Shelter. All of them were civilians who gathered there for their own survival.

We flinched and looked around our surroundings.

— Are you alright?!

— Y-Yeah… but not yet…

Two people caught our eyes. One was a pregnant lady holding her husband’s hand. She already started giving birth and the people around them were helping her give birth.

— B-Breath! Breath!

Thud!

It was then that the evacuation shelter’s steel doors opened and everyone looked towards the door.

Two people were standing there. One was an adult male while the other was a small girl.

The people in the evacuation shelter continued looking at them.

— Have a good look, Byul.

The man said before he started the massacre. A person’s head went flying whenever he swung his hand.

The heroes that were guarding the evacuation shelter tried to stop him, but it was futile. They were either blown to smithereens or had their heads cut off in a single swoop.

“Blurgh…!” Yi Jiyoon puked at the sight of the carnage.

On the other hand, Chae Nayun rushed at the man and swung her sword. However, this was only an illusion.

Chae Nayun’s sword cut through the air and she failed to stop the massacre that occurred in the past.

“What the fuck is this…?” she muttered under her breath.

All of a sudden, the pregnant woman’s heart was pierced with mana and her husband lay motionlessly as he was forced to watch his wife’s demise and shed tears of blood.

— Can you do it?

The man asked the little girl.

The girl looked at the massacre with lifeless eyes. Then she slowly approached the pregnant woman.

— …

She looked down at the baby that was just born and extended her shadow to snuff out whatever life remained in the room. However, the baby was still alive.

The little girl stared at the baby for quite a while.

Then, the scenery changed to something else. They were now outdoors with a river flowing beside them.

The little girl was holding the baby wrapped in a blanket and a large man stood next to her.

— … Is this the child?

Yoo Yeonha flinched after hearing the familiar voice. She watched in horror as the man’s face became visible.𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝑒𝒷𝓃𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝑚

It was Yoo Jinwoong.

The girl nodded in response.

— I see…

Yoo Jinwoong looked at the baby and returned it to the little girl.

— … I’m sorry

Yoo Jinwoong bit his lips and said.

That was all Yoo Yeonha had to hear to understand what was going on.

— Disappear where nobody can see you. Don’t ever appear in front of me or Chae Joochul. That is the best I can do for you…

— …

A breeze blew and the little girl turned into a shadow before disappearing.

Then, the baby was abandoned at an orphanage where he grew up as an orphan.

“…”

The scenery disappeared and they were back at the tunnel where nobody said a single word.

I looked at Yoo Yeonha.

— Do you get it now?

Yoo Yeonha looked downcast. She was trembling and despair was written all over her face. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

I was flustered and had never seen her this shaken before.

— This is the past that you have been searching for. You roamed the world to find your past, didn’t you?

“…?”

I wondered what nonsense he was spouting. Don’t tell me Destruction thought that I was roaming the world in search of the past that had nothing to do with me…? He was absolutely wrong, but that didn’t stop Yoo Yeonha from trembling.

— The Tower of Memory recreates a portion of someone’s memories. I’m sure you realized by now that the tower only speaks the truth.

I didn’t know what to say, so I remained quiet.

Chae Nayun grabbed my shoulder and said, “Hey…”

She looked quite serious as well.

It was probably because the name Chae Joochul was mentioned in the memory.

On the other hand, Rachel and Yi Jiyoon had the same reaction as Chae Nayun.

“Hajin…”

“Did I understand things correctly just now…? So I was correct that you were born here…?”

I felt my head stop for a second.

Destruction was smiling triumphantly. However, I didn’t feel anything to be honest. I was sorry to Chundong, but… No, I didn’t even know who Chundong was in the first place.

Still, I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

However, it didn’t take me long after seeing Yoo Yeonha’s face. All I could think about right now was saving her.

“…”

I glared at Destruction and wanted nothing more than to crush that smug face smiling so triumphantly.

To do that, I had to lie.

“I already knew about it.”

I could hear gasps after what I said. Not only was Yoo Yeonha shocked, but everyone else was as well.

I combed my hair back with my hand and continued, “I knew about it. Everything.”

— … Utter nonsense.novelbuddy.c(o)m

The voice behind the hideous mask started to shake.

However, I replied after pulling Yoo Yeonha closer to me, “So it’s alright.”

Yoo Yeonha looked like she was about to cry any second now.

— Stop bullshitting!

Destruction exploded in anger. His entire body was radiating evil mana as his tentacles shot out from his back. His evil mana and heat were slowly starting to fill the tunnel.

“Let’s talk about the specifics later.”

“…”

Yoo Yeonha still looked lost, but dealing with Destruction was our priority right now.

“Everyone,” I looked at Chae Nayun and Rachel.

Thankfully, both of them were ready for battle.

“Yeah… We can talk about it later, Kim Hajin,” Chae Nayun replied as she gathered mana into her sword.

Rachel summoned her spirits.

Destruction continued to gather his mana until he slowly started to change form. He was no longer a human at this point and looked too hideous to even be called a djinn.

He was now nothing but a monster surrounded by tentacles.

I took out my Desert Eagle and aimed at him.

***

We got into formation immediately.

Rachel and Chae Nayun were up front while Yi Jiyoon and I were at the backlines. Yoo Yeonha was supposed to be at the center as an attacking supporter, but she was still not in the condition to fight.

“Haaap!”

Chae Nayun swung her sword and pushed Destruction back.

Destruction had grown to the size of a golem, so he easily blocked the giant sword with his hand and shot out tentacles from his back.

I changed my Desert Eagle into an assault rifle and focused on all of Destruction’s tentacles. My main role was to shoot down his tentacles while Chae Nayun and Rachel dealt with him.

Chae Nayun was the tanker and damage dealer while Rachel watched her back. Both of them were already powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe against Destruction.

“Get a grip! Yoo Yeonha!” I shouted at her while supporting the other two.

Yoo Yeonha gripped her whip while crying. She wrapped it around a tentacle before channeling her mana.

“You son of a bitch!” Chae Nayun cried out as her sword grew bigger.

Yi Jiyoon cast her buff on the sword that was now the size of a pillar.

Kwaaaaang!

The blue greatsword slashed Destruction.

He tried to block the sword with his hands, but Rachel swung Galatine and cut his wrists off.

“…!”

Destruction was no longer a human at this point. He let out a hideous cry befitting a monster and gathered mana into his mouth.

I was waiting for this moment. I changed the assault rifle into a rifle. It was a rifle that could only hold five bullets in its magazine, a lever-action rifle. This rifle was far stronger at close range compared to a sniper rifle, and it was designed to maximize the damage a bullet could deal.

I activated [Bullet Time].

[Setting Saved – Exorcist Bullet]

[You have consumed 100 SP to change the bullets’ settings.]

I added a setting to my bullets by adding [Exorcism] to it. On top of that, I infused stigma into the bullets.

Click! Clack!

I unleashed the five bullets that were strong enough to eliminate Destruction.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The bullets went straight for the monster’s mouth.

“…!”

The bullets struck the evil mana the monster was gathering, and the sound of shattering glass reverberated in the tunnel.

The shock was visible in the monster’s eyes as the shattered evil mana went wild.

Chae Nayun seized the opening to swing her greatsword and cut the monster’s body.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

A red light started coming out from where Chae Nayun cut.

“Oh SHIT!” Chae Nayun screamed.

Destruction self-destructed.

***

I opened my eyes. The sun was shining down on me, and a gentle breeze enveloped me.

I felt someone gently caressing my hair. I looked up and saw that it was Yoo Yeonha.

“…”

I didn’t say anything since it felt like a dream. On second thought, I hoped we didn’t die together after getting swept up when Destruction self-destructed…

However, Yoo Yeonha didn’t say anything as she smiled sadly.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer and asked, “What happened?”

“We obtained one fragment, but Destruction managed to escape…” she replied and took out a fragment from her pocket.

It was a golden shard.

“Then where are we?”

“We’re still stuck in the tower’s fragment. It’s such a hassle, right?”

“What about the others?”

“They already went to raid the other fragments. They wanted to give us some time alone.”

That was all Yoo Yeonha said. It seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she continued hesitating.

“Hey… about that…” she muttered as tears started forming in her eyes.

I could hear just how hard it was for her to squeeze her voice out.

“I have something to say…” she said.

I let out a sigh and scratched the back of my neck, “What is it?”

“Umm…”

The sound of the tree branches gently swaying gave us a sense of tranquility. Yoo Yeonha hurriedly avoided my eyes and looked at the tree branches.

“This is a secret…” she muttered.

I started racking my brain thinking of a way to deal with this situation. I lied at the spur of the moment, but now I had to clean up after the mess I caused…

“This is something I really wanted to tell you before it’s too late… for the last time,” she continued.

The final words, ‘for the last time,’ stabbed my heart like a dagger.

The sun was no longer shining down on us. A shadow in the shape of leaves covered Yoo Yeonha’s face.

She smiled sadly.

I had no idea how much she had contemplated and how difficult it must’ve been for her in that short period.

“I love you.”

I clenched my fists after hearing those words.

My heart was screaming at me right now, and I knew that I had to tell her the truth…

… Before it was too late.

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