Episode 531 – ……….??????????
What on earth has it been?
To have killed so many monsters like this.
To feel this much physical strain.
And to have squeezed all my magical power dry.
“Man, this is tough, f*ck…”
“I’m gonna die…”
This was probably the first time Ryu Kang-hyuk thought.
When his sister-in-law left, he had bravely said it would be fine.
But once he got started, things were much harder than expected.
The number of monsters was endless, and they weren’t just standing around either.
Having regression was a pain in the ass because he kept avoiding attacks.
Still, both Ryu Kang-hyuk and Cheonma were faring quite better than most.
「Body is not moving…」
“We can’t even use our memory magic anymore…”
“This is tougher than raising hatchlings…”
『Honey, are you not coming out?』
『……I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I won’t ask…』
Everyone was exhausted, of course, and all were lying on the ground, not even trying to move.
It was clear that the fights they had faced were extremely fierce.
“Ryu Kang-hyuk, are you still alive?”
“I feel like I’m gonna die if I go home…”
It was a relief that the monsters weren’t attacking frantically.
“Isn’t it impossible to go back?”
“You bastard, for real.”
Thanks to that, only Cheonma and Ryu Kang-hyuk were left standing on the ground.
“Why didn’t you do better usually?”
“You’d be dead if you got out.”
At that moment, something unusual happened inside the gate.
The space filled with the corpses of monsters began to shake like crazy.
This was a sign that a space that had lost its worth was about to disappear.
Sure, it felt a bit fast, but there was no time to complain now.
He had to get out through the gate quickly.
“Hey, f*ck! Everyone, hurry up and get out!”
“I’ll help you!”
Saying that, Cheonma began moving those who were struggling through the gate.
In reality, it was closer to just throwing them rather than helping.
But it seemed like the title ‘Cheonma’ wasn’t just a façade after all.
He seemed to have some level of control.
「Body is broken!」
“Ah, f*ck! My hand! I can’t even draw a line now!!!”
『……Ah, I think the egg… has cracked…』
The problem was that this was Cheonma’s idea of help.
“……It seems like everyone is getting hurt more because of Cheonma…”
“I had no problems at this level back in my day, but everyone is so weak… tsk…”
Naturally, Cheonma felt no guilt about it.
Anyway, as soon as everyone managed to get out through the gate.
The gate began to lose its light and started to crumble.
At that moment, an unbelievable spectacle unfolded before his eyes.
“……Hey, have you seen something like that before?”
“……This lord has never seen it either.”
How to express it was truly ambiguous, but if he had to put it in words.
Five brilliant lights completely sliced through the sky.
It was a phenomenon so magnificent and overwhelming that you couldn’t even compare it to mere auroras.
It looked as if a myth was being reenacted.
『So beautiful…』
“Looks like they did something?”
“Truly, it’s our Pfuer!”
And the moment those lights completely disappeared from the sky.
“Saintess!”
「Master!」
Kim Shinwoo and the sister-in-laws appeared unexpectedly from a short distance away.
Everyone looked in bad shape, and that brat Kim Shinwoo looked especially serious.
But in the end, it seemed everyone had returned safely, and Ryu Kang-hyuk felt relieved inside.
After all, even if they were injured like that, they would heal once they got to the hospital.
“Let’s all go.”
As a signal of that, they all moved toward Kim Shinwoo’s group.
Exhausted but lightened by a sense of accomplishment, it was finally time to return.
*
The sky was visible.
The blue sky that he hadn’t seen for too long.
The sky he hadn’t even thought he would see again.
It wasn’t a dream or an alternate world.
A half-destroyed gate was faintly visible beside him.
The pain he had once again felt vividly from his whole body.
And the sensations slowly starting to return.
He had finally escaped the realm of darkness filled with gods.
“We’re back!”
“That’s right.”
“I thought I was gonna die…”
Beside him, the heroine chattered on.
Of course, there were still unresolved questions.
Why didn’t the number of monsters increase in the middle of it all?
Moreover, did he really kill that bastard and get out of there?
Or did some other condition allow everyone to escape?
But above all, what was truly puzzling was something else.
How could they come to help me like this?
They didn’t have the ticket of regression.
After all, the numbers over their heads had stayed the same.
Even if you assumed some other kind of ticket had been given up.
Who the hell sent them here?
His body ached so much that it was hard to see clearly.
But seeing them faintly, it felt like he was lying on the ground.
Perhaps that accumulated pain had pushed his body to its limit.
In that state, he endured the rising pain and slowly opened his mouth.
“How did all of you get here…?”
“God Piece sent us!”
Elcia’s statement was something he never expected.
“God Piece…?”
“Yes. He told me to help you.”
To think God Piece, who he thought had completely disappeared, would pop up.
“Did you meet him directly?”
“I only heard his voice.”
“Is that so…?”
He was truly grateful.
Not only did he come to save everyone at a critical moment.
He also knew he was in danger and sent them to help.
Even giving up some of his power in the very last moment.
Even if it meant hastening his own demise.
He felt sorry and thankful for relying on help until the very end.
As he was mentally chewing on his gratitude toward Piece.
Hyeji seemed to reach out her hand towards him slowly.
Perhaps she intended to help the bloodied me back on my feet.
“Shinwoo.”
“Yeah, Hyeji… thanks…”
So I too wanted to grasp that hand to stand up.
“That was a girl, you bastard.”
“Ah, f*ck.”
Looking closer, it wasn’t to help him up; she was trying to grab him by the collar.
When Hyeji had previously asked if Piece was a woman, he had brushed it off without answering.
Yet, Hyeji hadn’t forgotten about that and was grilling him now.
Even if it was hard to see, she was probably glaring at him with fierce eyes.
“You’ve seen her, right? Describe how she looked.”
“…….I… I don’t know… I only heard her voice…”
Of course, he insisted on not knowing to the very end.
There was no point in provoking Hyeji’s nerves any further.
Given the state of his body, it would do him no good to challenge her right now.
So he decided to keep his mouth shut.
“Did she have a chest, too?”
“What, are those not required for a person?”
Except for this time, of course!
Honestly, saying there were no breasts wasn’t the same as being human.
He couldn’t hold back on that matter no matter what.
Even in a situation where he felt like he could die from pain.
“I swear I’ll kill you, you f*cking bastard!”
“But Hyeji… I really feel like I’m gonna die…”
“Oh, f*ck! I can’t even hit this bastard!”
Thanks to Hyeji’s support, he managed to rise from his spot.
He felt like he could collapse at any moment.
But at least during the last moment, wouldn’t it be fitting to stand like the protagonist?
He was moving slowly but still able to walk.
Just then, he spotted the figures of their group approaching them.
Seeing their slow pace, it seemed like everyone was equally worn out.
Had they dealt with all the monsters inside the gate to reach this state?
If so, the reason why the number of monsters hadn’t increased was probably thanks to them.
They must have taken care of all the monsters so none would come over anymore.
“Saintess, are you okay?”
“I’m fine! We took care of them!”
“No, f*ck. That was a foreshadowing!”
He heard Carressy’s strange words, but it didn’t matter.
After all, the fight had completely ended by now.
And the figures of the approaching group were ‘clear’ to him.
Even though his body was ‘frozen’ and not moving as if it weren’t his own.
Somehow, his body was ‘overflowing’ with mana and strength like crazy.
…..
…..?
…..????
?????????
Something was off.
Why was the vision that had never been clear suddenly so sharp?
Why did my body suddenly freeze without me knowing?
Yet, why was his smashed-up body overflowing with strength?
As if he had used up his last overload.
No.
Above all.
「M…Master…?」
『Shinwoo! What the hell is that!!!』
“Pfuer! Something feels wrong!”
“Saintess! Get out of the way!”
“Hey, Kim Shinwoo! You crazy bastard! What are you carrying with you!!!”
Why did the expressions of the group who looked at him rapidly turn pale?
Their gazes were not on his face but a little lower.
When he managed to lower his head to see his heart area.
He couldn’t help but turn pale like them.
– “Did you think it was over?”
“……What… the hell…”
There was the face of that bastard stuck to him.
