Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 37
Chapter 37
“Hang in there, Ji-An. Just a little longer.”
“Mom, Mom. I can’t… I can’t see. Where are you, Mom?”
“I’m here. I’m right next to you, Ji-An. Endure a little bit more. We’re almost there.”
Preeminent Fury flew as quickly as she could in search of a Phantom she knew with the best recovery ability.
She flew, and then flew some more. She traveled for days on end.
Worried for her child’s safety, she had to fly carefully.
“M-Mom.”
“Ji-An, we’re almost there. We’re almost there.”
She hurriedly shouted a reply to Ji-An, who had been groaning on her back. Finally, they arrived at her acquaintance’s location.
Preeminent Fury hurriedly jumped in front of him as soon as she arrived, with Ji-An in her arms.
“Fiend! Help! Ji-An! Ji-An is sick!”
Her acquaintance with the name Fiend didn’t even have time to be surprised. They quickly checked up on Ji-An.
“…She’s already dead. There’s nothing I can do.”
“What?”
Preeminent Fury also looked over at Ji-An.
As Fiend said, Ji-An had already stopped breathing.
Her knee weakened and she slumped down to the ground.
Just now, Ji-An had called out to her.
But…
But why?
She just had to hold on a little, just a teeny bit, longer.
[Mom, this is your gift.]
[Mom, it’s a ring this time. Did I make it well? Someday, I’m going to make a real ring for you, Mom.”
The sound of Ji-An’s voice lingered in her ears.
This child had always created things out of flowers and given them to her as gifts.
Those items were neatly stored in a drawer Preeminent Fury prepared, and she would never throw them away.
But what was the use of that?
She couldn’t even save her own child.
Again.
“Because humans are weak. They die very easily from infectious diseases.”
Fiend clicked their tongue, feeling sorry, while Preeminent Fury stood up with heavy feet.
“What will you do, Preeminent Fury?”
“…I have to go back. The other kids are waiting.”
As Preeminent Fury approached the entrance, Fiend followed behind and asked with an expression that displayed a lack of understanding.
“I’ve heard the rumors, but why are you so obsessed with the children? Is it because of the stillborn child you had a long time ago?”
“That’s one reason. But I have children who call me ‘Mom’. Those children are now my children.”
Preeminent Fury hugged Ji-An’s body close to hers and flew back home.
The children might be starving because of her absence.
Although it was unfortunate that she couldn’t save Ji-An, she couldn’t abandon the rest of the children.
“Let’s go back. Let’s go back to the others, Ji-An.”
We’ll do the thing humans call a ‘funeral’.
We’ll live on, bearing this child in my heart.
Sadness will be forgotten someday.
We’ll live, so that the memory of Ji-An can be remembered.
With those thoughts, Preeminent Fury returned home.
And the first thing that entered her sight was black and gray smoke.
As if something was burning. Preeminent Fury saw that and couldn’t help but let the uneasiness she felt spread. She sped up.
And the sight that greeted her was her own house up in flames.
Her hair stood on end.
Her body trembled as if struck by lightning.
“My children… my kids!”
Preeminent Fury laid Ji-An down and jumped into the blaze.
Her body could not be harmed by the fire.
She rushed in to search for her children, but there was something unusual.
All the entrances of her house had been completely barred.
There were marks left by nails, as if someone had purposely shut them.
Preeminent Fury moved faster.
Entering the children’s room, she couldn’t believe the scene before her eyes.
A pile of children.
All the children, regardless of Phantom or human, were covered in knife marks and piled up in the corner.
Seeing the children burned and charred one by one, Preeminent Fury let out a shrill cry.
She didn’t know what to do. With hands covering her face, she ran frantically to the children and took them out of the house.
She checked each and every one of them, but none of them were breathing.
“M-Mom.”
A tiny and scared voice.
Startled, Preeminent Fury ran toward the voice and into the forest.
There was Ye-Chan, caught by men showing terrible symptoms of infectious diseases.
Preeminent Fury was filled with so much anger she killed them all in an instant and hugged Ye-Chan in her arms.
“It’s okay, Ye-Chan. Mom’s here.”
“S-Sorry. S-Suddenly, people came into th-the house. Th-They said it was be…cause of disease and…and had to b-burn it.”
Ye-Chan wailed out.
In Preeminent Fury’s arms, he could barely talk, but he felt obligated to tell the truth.
Ye-Chan had already been stabbed.
The deep stab wound had already ruined his internal organs, and as a result, Ye-Chan was dying.
“M-Mom told me, to protect. But… Those p-people killed everyone and blocked all the d-doorways. Burning…everything. Everything, burned. Mom… Mom, the kids…”
When Preeminent Fury saw Ye-Chan flail his arms in the air as if he couldn’t even see anymore, she hugged him tight.
“M…om, I’m…sorry.”
With those as his final words, Ye-Chan’s weak breath finally ceased.
“Ah, ahhh…AHHH!”
She couldn’t stop the tears that bled from her eyes. Her emotions went haywire.
How could… How could this child’s last words be an apology?
How… Why should innocent children who only need to grow without worry have to suffer like this?
These children who were abandoned by the world, just why?
Preeminent Fury rose up.
She shuddered, knowing that the anger of those whose minds had been ruined by the infectious diseases was directed at the children. She trembled at how weak humans were.
Humans make the same mistakes over and over again.
Preeminent Fury felt unprecedented hatred toward those who burned the future she had built.
“I’ll erase them all. The humans… Everything.”
Embodying fury itself, she began to wipe out everything.
She was outraged at the world.
She loathed humans.
She, who had once spoken of an ideal future, was long gone.
The future crumbled.
As long as the present remained the same, such a future would forever be out of reach.
So she erased everything.
She used her power to manipulate tens of thousands of Phantoms to attack human countries.
Each time she remembered her children, Preeminent Fury wiped out the countries made by man, one by one.
Because she felt like the pain was unbearable if she didn’t do so.
When the world was approaching its end, a man stood in front of her.
A man she knew well, Ho Baek-San.
As a Phantom Hunter, he jumped forward to block Preeminent Fury, who had now become an incarnation of destruction more so than a Degenerate God.
“Preeminent Fury!”
Ho Baek-San shouted her name and confronted her every time.
He confronted her, again and again.
Each time Ho Baek-San confronted her, he collapsed and toppled over.
[Why? Why are you…]
Strangely, however, by the time Ho Baek-San fell, instead of recalling her children dying, Preeminent Fury recalled the memories of her children calling her ‘Mom’, and calling Ho Baek-San as ‘Santa’.
Perhaps that was why Preeminent Fury always left without being about to land the final blow on Ho Baek-San.
Even after that, Ho Baek-San persistently blocked her path.
Preeminent Fury asked Ho Baek-San each time why he blocked her.
Why was he stopping her? Why was he doing so even to the point his body broke and could no longer move?
However, Ho Baek-San never gave her an answer.
It was as if he was saying, ‘You already know the answer.’
And like that, a few decades went by
Then, one day Ho Baek-San suddenly stopped appearing.
After destroying a country, Preeminent Fury stood still and blankly stared up at the sky.
No matter how long she waited, Ho Baek-San didn’t appear.
Was he dead? No, he wouldn’t die that easily.
She thought his previous injuries must’ve just been quite deep.
She laughed quietly, thinking she had finally shaken off that stubborn guy. Tears began to flow down Preeminent Fury’s face.
Could it be that the one and only person who was able to stop her could no longer face her?
In the end, Ho Baek-San as well…
[Mom, when is Santa coming?]
[Santa? Why is that guy Santa?]
[He always leaves behind a gift.]
Gift.
She remembered the words of her children.
Could Ho Baek-San be the last gift left behind by the children?
A gift that would prevent her from making any more mistakes.
“Ho Baek-San.”
On that day, Preeminent Fury disappeared.
She had no doubt that Ho Baek-San would appear again to stop her.
Believing he could help her free herself from this chain.
She waited for Ho Baek-San to rise again.
* * *
“That’s it.”
Apsara finished speaking, and I looked up at the sky where Preeminent Fury had flown away.
Did she believe in Ho Baek-San until the end and refuse to become a Degenerate God?
I was sure after hearing about Preeminent Fury’s past.
Even if I killed her with my own hands, I wouldn’t be able to clear the Floor.
Her death was not meant for us.
Neither Preeminent Fury’s end nor Ho Baek-San’s were meant to be like this
“Cough.”
I coughed, and when I saw the hand that I used to cover my mouth, there was blood. Apsara was also coughing a bit.
“Tsk. It’s Preeminent Fury’s infectious disease. Still, it’s a disease that is only in effect on this Floor, so it’ll get better as soon as we leave. It’s not a problem.”
I heard that it was a disease that even affected Phantoms. I guess it managed to pierce through my aura.
“Apsara, I will try challenging the Floor again in a week.”
“You seem to be certain of something.”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
After exploring the perishing world, I realized what the end of this world was.
“I give up challenging Floor 27.”
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, accepts your renunciation.]
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, looks forward to your next challenge.]
I was back on Floor 24.5 the moment I gave up.
After Preeminent Fury turned into a Degenerate God, the others seemed to have thrown up white flags as well, since I saw people busily talking about the next challenge. I walked through the crowd.
A week.
During that week, I planned to wait calmly while training The Sword Path.
Now that I knew exactly how to attack this Floor, I couldn’t waste the remaining time.
“Ha Chun-Sung, I will come and wait here after a week.”
I heard Apsara’s voice from behind me. Like me, she had also given up on the Floor.
I glanced at her and nodded, telling her to do whatever she wanted.
I then walked away, leaving her behind as she went off to join her teammates.
* * *
A week later.
The air was chilly as it was still early in the morning. I walked out into the streets and headed for the stairs to the next Floor.
Four people there caught my eye.
Lord, Magician, Apsara, and Sword Queen.
When I arrived, the four looked at me. I spoke with a sigh.
“You guys are here early. Did you think I would secretly clear it and run away or something?”
“The doubt is still there.”
I clicked my tongue and approached the stairs, trying to ignore Apsara’s sarcastic remark.
“Ha Chun-Sung, what’s there for us to do?”
Sword Queen spoke next.
She looked like she was sincerely willing to help, and I snorted at that.
“As if you guys will be of any help.”
“…I see you’re still the same.”
Sword Queen looked dejected.
However, she smiled bitterly as if to accept that I was still the same person.
“Guys like him never change. That disgustingly big pride of his, really…”
Apsara trash-talked.
“In a different sense, we could say he’s an uptight person.”
Lord spoke up.
“Hoho, I already feel like we’re teammates who are in this together to clear the Floor.”
Magician spoke with a wide smile.
Leaving them behind, I climbed the stairs.
They weren’t needed.
To clear this Floor, even ‘I’ was unnecessary.
