EST Ch 20

Despite their fear, they trembled and searched for Baek Sunwoo until one man finally shouted.

“There, there he is!”

Baek Sunwoo was standing on the stairs. He had used the concealment artifact to sneak up there and check on the condition of the collapsed Lee Donghun. Though covered in blood and unconscious, thankfully, he was still alive. Baek Sunwoo gave a small nod towards Hae Gijun across from him.

As signals passed between them, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Baek Sunwoo. Even the links chasing Hae Gijun hesitated and watched Baek Sunwoo’s movements.

Finally, as Baek Sunwoo stood tall and began to say, “All…” everyone panicked. The fatigue in his expression was completely gone, and his eyes were clear. Looking entirely normal, everyone attacked Baek Sunwoo with their weapons and abilities.

“Shut his mouth!”

“Attack him!”

Not only the links but also the monster summoned by Yeon Mijeong roared and flew towards him. At the moment when everyone’s attention was focused on Baek Sunwoo,

— Boom! 

A short thunderous sound came from the back. Though not very loud, it was unusual enough to make people turn their heads one by one. The noise had come from a place that should have been isolated from the current commotion. Confusion and astonishment appeared on the faces of those who saw it.

Hae Gijun was standing atop the capsule, thrusting the sharp end of his staff into it. He had taken advantage of the distraction caused by the attention on Baek Sunwoo to leap from the opposite corridor and land on top of the capsule.

“Machines that concentrate energy have a compressing function by nature.”

“And most have a compression device attached to the entrance, so if you find and break that device…”

“The stored energy will explode outward.”

A moment ago, Hae Gijun had learned from Baek Sunwoo how to break the capsule. Though surprised by Gijun’s attempt to break the capsule containing the students’ souls, Baek Sunwoo had shared all the information he knew. Using this information, Gijun identified the location of the compression device and struck it immediately.

Vroom… The capsule vibrated violently.

Releasing the compression meant releasing the energy, in other words, scattering the gathered souls. Yeon Mijeong, grasping the situation, asked in alarm.

“Gijun, what are you…”

Just a while ago, Hae Gijun had asked if there was a way to revive the students. He had frowned when told that breaking the capsule would cause the students’ souls to wander and disappear.

But now, he was trying to break the capsule.

“….”

Gijun silently alternated his gaze between Yeon Mijeong and the capsule.

There was something Yeon Mijeong didn’t know. She couldn’t predict that this reality was one of the times turned back using Baek Sunwoo’s soul as a sacrifice.

If Gijun escaped from here, it would become a complete reality, but at this moment, it was a state of disconnection from normal reality. A reality that could become reality, but not yet.

And this reality would rewind if Gijun failed to escape. In the twelfth loop, all the students who died in this loop would appear alive before his eyes again. Students who had been decapitated would move normally in the next loop. He didn’t know what would happen to Baek Sunwoo or if he would exist, but one thing was clear.

The boundary between life and death was unclear here.

A space so disconnected from reality that the dead could come back to life. In one loop, those who died would live in the next, and vice versa. A reality based on situational variables rather than fate.

A place where darkness and light were mixed, where the afterlife and this life were intertwined. A place where the difference could not be distinguished.

Hae Gijun wanted to distinguish it correctly.

— Vroom…

At the moment he had that will, blue mana swirled at the end of his staff. For a moment, Gijun felt his blood reverse flow, but he suppressed it and steeled his resolve. The mana boiling from his core surged violently through his body. It felt like a fierce wave sweeping over him.

In that turmoil, Hae Gijun stood firm and opened his eyes wide. The blue mana swirled around the staff, and as it enveloped it like a vortex,

It finally took the shape of a horn and pierced the exact spot.

— Shuaaak!

The end of the feeling of slicing through water finally led to the burst of compression. The capsule vibrated violently, causing the light yellow masses that had been lying below to float up. The disappearance of the force that tied them to the capsule meant the release of souls.

The capsule being emptied meant that the energy keeping the dimensional gate open was gone.

“Don’t let them escape!”

Yoon Mijung screamed sharply. The dragon pointed at Baek Sunwoo flew towards the capsule as commanded. Though it was a creature related to an Imugi, it had a presence close to that of a dragon, weighing down the mana in the air. The light yellow light that was about to float into the sky was suppressed by the dark force, unable to move further.

But even this had its limits. It was impossible to keep a monster summoned for long or forcibly hold onto souls without the help of machinery. The parts that had already emerged outside the capsule could not be put back in.

Though they managed to block it with only a 10% leakage, Yoon Mijung was shocked. They had deduced hours ago that removing the materials would mean they couldn’t keep the dimensional gate open. Hae Gijun might have figured it out.

However, Yoon Mijung did not expect Gijun to make this choice after realizing that the students’ souls were in the capsule and hearing that they would disappear if it broke.

“Does it mean it’s okay if all the kids die, if they disappear forever like this?”

“The person who killed them first talks a lot.”

“If they scatter like this, they won’t even have a chance to reincarnate!”

Yoon Mijung mentioned reincarnation to persuade Gijun. But as Gijun tried to strike the capsule entrance again without responding, Yoon Mijung urgently shouted, “Wait!”

As Gijun turned his gaze, she spoke with a weary face.

“Alright, it seems trying to persuade you with words is tiring for both of us. You’ll only come to your senses if you feel the power of those entities directly near the dimensional gate.”

Ominous crimson mana flickered around the dimensional gate. The intense force threatened to completely engulf the capsule. It was as if it was saying that any more foolish acts would not be tolerated.

Yoon Mijung was thinking of pushing Hae Gijun into the dimensional gate. The gate was wide open, so whether he got brainwashed by the otherworldly power or his sanity was completely shattered, she needed to make him someone easier to talk to.

Crimson energy slithered up the capsule, as if trying to pull his ankle down.

“Ah, the other world…”

By then, Gijun sighed softly. Thinking he had changed his mind, Yoon Mijung raised her head and saw the corner of his mouth lift in a smirk.

Gijun kicked the crimson mana at his feet.

“If I refuse, there’s no way they can come in here.”

He realized, after mulling over the prophecy he heard on the first day in the annex auditorium. The other world needed the presence of the prophecy to truly open the gate. At one point, Gijun considered finding and persuading or eliminating that presence himself.

And when the other world asked Gijun to hold hands a while ago, he realized that even though the training center area was temporarily designated as the other world’s domain, it was limited to this area and temporary. The other world needed Hae Gijun’s presence to completely control this world and country.

Shin-yang, Haetae. Guardians who protected the Joseon Dynasty and defended the country from fire. Though his presence had faded in modern times, he still guarded the palace gates in the form of a statue. The other world intended to completely invade this world through that single gate instead of many.

If they infiltrated secretly, the creatures of this land would live without knowing they had fallen into the hands of the other world. That was what the other world desired and what Link had planned.

That’s why they constantly tried to seduce Gijun by promising to restore his value…

“Stop causing trouble with the students’ lives and get out of here.”

Hae Gijun struck the capsule without hesitation. He had been briefly tempted by the power of the other world a few hours ago, hoping to use it to escape safely, but not anymore. Beyond the fact that the material was souls, Gijun had discovered another truth.

Unable to directly seize Gijun, the other world scattered black mana in front of him. Though it tried to block his sight, the tip of Gijun’s staff found its precise target once again.

His eyes were no longer hidden by the darkness.

— Crash!

Finally, the entrance shattered completely, causing the air to vibrate.

As the capsule was forcibly torn apart, a confrontation ensued between the souls pouring out and the monster trying to suppress them. The other world also tried to block it, moving mana chaotically. Crimson mana spread around like sea fog.

Orbs of light wandered in the red mist. Those souls, having lost their bodies, roamed without direction, unable to find their way to the afterlife or the present world, drifting in the void.

“Because the path you find will be the right one.”

Suddenly, Gijun recalled the words he had heard from Baek Sunwoo a little while ago. He also remembered the last glances from Ahn Youngah, Shim Dokyung, and Lee Donghun.

They all believed that Hae Gijun would find the way.

Even in the moment of deciding their own sacrifice, they acted without hesitation as if making such a choice was natural because they trusted Gijun. Not only them, but even from Nam Hyungwook, whom they spoke with just after leaving the training center, and the students who came to help Gijun in the underground corridor, he saw the same trust.

Hae Gijun only intended to save Baek Sunwoo. However, the act of protecting that one person ultimately became a path of righteousness that saved everyone, which Gijun decided to accept.

Finally, Hae Gijun’s eyes shone a brilliant blue.

A being that had prevented fire demons from ravaging the land for hundreds of years. His will, which had protected this land from calamities for centuries and wanted to distinguish between good and evil, and uphold the righteous path, surged into the space. The blue energy, cascading like waves, swept through the underground and rose like a tornado to embrace the lights in the sky.

Embracing those wandering in the dark night sky, guiding them to the rightful ‘path.’

— Paaaaah!

At last, the souls began to return to their rightful places.

The corrupt mana of the other world tried to suppress them, but it was impossible to hinder those who no longer wandered. In a world where the boundary between life and death was blurred, where the difference between the known and the unknown was faint, it was impossible to suppress those who knew the way.

After the clash of energies, a brilliant blue light shot straight up into the sky.

The layers of dark clouds stacked in the sky were suddenly pierced, causing the atmosphere to tremble greatly. The force that would not be subdued by anything evil was terrifying. The monster vanished as it was pierced, and the mana of the other world began to collapse downward.

In the underground, the energy spread around the capsule like a supernova, slamming everyone against the walls. Even Yoon Mijung, who had been holding out in front of the dimensional gate, was eventually thrown backward, colliding with the closing gate and collapsing.

Hae Gijun also could not escape the aftermath. He rolled off the capsule and hit the floor, but his gaze remained fixed on the sky.

Behind the scene of the pillar of light rising to the sky’s end…

A pale yellow mass of light spread out in a circle. Expanding wide as if it would cover the entire training center area, it eventually broke into small particles and slowly descended.

It looked as if a meteor shower was falling.

“…”

Hae Gijun blankly looked up at the utterly surreal scene. Lying spread-eagle on the ground, without the strength to get up, he could only capture the spectacle unfolding in the sky. Coughing up blood, his vision was spinning from overusing his abilities right after awakening. He had scraped the bottom of the barrel, using everything he had. Was he paying the price for running away from his abilities until now?

“Gijun…”

At that moment, Baek Sunwoo approached. His limping steps looked incredibly strained, but he did not stop. He finally knelt beside Hae Gijun and spoke tearfully.

“You can’t die like this…”

His trembling hand reached out to touch Gijun’s face desperately. Falling from a great height and coughing up blood made him look as if he was dying.

Gijun looked up at Baek Sunwoo in disbelief. Though he did not know his exact condition, he was sure his injuries were not as serious. Baek Sunwoo had been hurt more while luring the Link as Gijun had asked.

Being worried by someone who seemed to be in worse shape than himself was absurd. Yet, it was also amusing, so instead of arguing, he said something different.

“Our bet, I won, right?”

There was a faint hint of laughter in his whispered voice.

Baek Sunwoo froze. Their bet to show each other that they could survive this place. Baek Sunwoo looked down at Gijun, who claimed victory, in a daze. He forgot to breathe for a moment, staring blankly at Gijun.

Then a smile slowly spread across his face.

“Yes, you won.”

“…You should say you won too.”

Though Hae Gijun corrected him in an exasperated voice, Baek Sunwoo just smiled. Like someone overwhelmed with joy to see Hae Gijun alive in front of him, and unlike ‘that time,’ thrilled that Gijun was now talking to him.

Since entering the underground, Baek Sunwoo’s face had been pale and frightened, but now he finally looked alive. His gentle eyes curved in a smile that momentarily captivated Gijun.

There were so many things Hae Gijun wanted to say to Baek Sunwoo, and so many things he wanted to question him about… but the moment he saw Baek Sunwoo’s smile, he suddenly felt all his strength drain away. Whether to call it feeling empty or futile, he wasn’t sure.

Despite going through such hardship, all his feelings melted away with just one smile from Baek Sunwoo.

Seeing Baek Sunwoo alive in front of him made everything seem alright. Relief, satisfaction, liberation, or something beyond all of that. It was an unknown emotion, but a pleasant one that filled his chest to the brim. Gijun thought he might have gone mad from repeating regressions.

Blankly staring at Baek Sunwoo’s smile, Hae Gijun struggled to lift his hand.

Though he had no strength to even move a finger, he acted impulsively, and Baek Sunwoo immediately reacted. As Baek Sunwoo held his hand and asked what was wrong, Gijun frowned. The reaction seemed to say, “Don’t hold on,” and as Baek Sunwoo hesitated and withdrew his hand, Gijun’s hand touched his cheek.

With a soft touch of his fingertips, he drew closer and finally cradled Baek Sunwoo’s face.

“….”

For a moment, Baek Sunwoo looked at him in surprise, then smiled brightly, leaning his head into Gijun’s palm. It was a radiant smile, clear as sunlight breaking into pieces.

It somehow seemed to sparkle, making Gijun think his eyes were playing tricks on him, until he realized the truth a beat later.

The sun had risen.

As the morning of the third day dawned, sunlight poured down into the underground. The clear sky they faced after the downpour all night was unrealistically beautiful. Baek Sunwoo also looked up at the sky belatedly and sighed.

In his blurred vision, Gijun vaguely saw the shape of a helicopter. He also faintly heard someone shouting from a distance, as if they were the first to wake up. He chuckled.

The end of a long night.

They were finally together under the sunlight.