Chapter 198
“What’s this…?”
I opened my eyes and looked around.
Just a mont ago, I had been in Muktaba…
On that rocky mountain where lava flowed, I’d been fighting Bedir, about to bring it all to an end.
At that final mont, Bedir suddenly released an enormous light from his body.
That light swallowed whole—
“Did I… die?”
For a brief mont, that thought crossed my mind.
Bedir, who said he’d take as his companion on the road.
And that massive light that devoured before his words even faded.
I didn’t know what that light was… but it didn’t feel like sothing good.
‘Anyway… where am I?’
I quickly looked around.
As I ntioned, I had just fought in the lands of Muktaba.
But now… this place was entirely different from Muktaba.
First off… I was at the summit of a mountain.
A vast adow stretched across the mountain’s peak.
And around that adow were patches of forest.
“…Heaven?”
I muttered unconsciously.
That’s how beautiful the scenery before was—almost heavenly.
So peaceful, so tranquil that my heart felt at ease.
“First of all, you’re right. This place is like heaven… or sothing close to it. A world after death, created by the spirits and the ssengers of God for my sake.”
A voice ca from nearby.
A very familiar voice.
To be exact—one that I could never forget, even if I wanted to.
“And second, you’re not dead yet. Well, not yet, at least. Depending on your choice, you could die—or live.”
I turned around.
A man was walking toward with a grin.
That sly expression, and… snow-white hair.
It was a face I’d seen before.
“Kaina Mainac… right?”
“Oh, you recognized right away?”
“I saw you once in the mory of Peregrie. You look quite different overall compared to what I saw there… but the face is the sa.”
“You saw in Peregrie’s mory? Which one was that?”
“The one where you were talking with Intezer right before heading to fight him.”
“Ah, that one. I rember.”
The white-haired man—Kaina—smiled faintly.
“Yeah, if it was back then… I must look very different now. At that ti, I hadn’t beco a duke yet—I was still a wanderer. My clothes, my hair… everything must’ve been wildly different.”
“Well, you know yourself pretty well.”
I gave him a once-over.
He looked more like a noble—or rather, a duke—than a wanderer.
“As I expected… it was you. You’re the one who brought into this world.”
“That’s right. I’m the one who brought you here. I told you this when you first arrived in this world—you seed just too perfect for the role.”
“Can you tell why? And how you even managed to bring here?”
“It’s a bit complicated, but I’ll try to explain it simply.”
Kaina waved his hand in the air.
Two wooden chairs appeared nearby.
“Want a drink? What do you like?”
“…Sothing simple—black tea.”
“Black tea it is.”
Before I could blink, a teacup filled with black tea appeared in my hand.
I took a sip—it tasted surprisingly good.
“Alright… where should I start?”
“Let’s start with the ga I played.”
“Ah, Valiant’s Legacy, right?”
“Yeah. That ga… it seed to be based on this world. Did you make it?”
“The idea ca from . I didn’t make it personally, though. The ga itself was created by other gods.”
“Other gods?”
“Yeah… that part’s tricky to explain.”
Kaina scratched his head, looking troubled.
After pausing for a mont, he spoke again.
“To put it simply, there are gods who govern your world, my world, and others. A few of those gods created a ga in your world, based on mine.”
“Why would they do that?”
“The gods of this world ran so calculations. They figured Bedir—the god—would cause catastrophic problems. So, in search of a way to stop his rampage, they ca up with that idea.”
Kaina gave a dry laugh, then continued his explanation.
“To stop Bedir for good, they decided to create humans in your world who could thoroughly understand ours through the ga. Then they’d choose the one who understood our world best and give them the task. That was basically the plan.”
“So the whole purpose of the ga was to create a human who would fully understand this world?”
“Yeah, pretty much. That was the reasoning of a god who valued knowledge above all—he figured only soone with deep understanding could truly stop Bedir.”
Kaina chuckled again, as if still baffled by the whole thing.
“Anyway, the gods made the plan and left the execution to .”
“To you?”
“Don’t ask why. I have no idea either. I was just resting peacefully in the world Peregrie created, and suddenly, I was assigned this task. Still, since it involved punishing the god who destroyed my family, I did my best to look into it.”
He paused briefly before continuing.
“First, I confird that my daughter, Naiad, had sohow managed to continue the family line—and that she’d given birth to a child, my grandchild. The problem ca when that grandchild grew up… he died in the wild.”
“…He died? But the body I transmigrated into was…”
“He died after eating sothing poisonous in the wild. That much, I could interfere with slightly to save the body. But once the soul had left… I couldn’t bring it back. So I decided to use that chance to bring a human from your world into my descendant’s body.”
It was a lot to take in at once—hard to process imdiately.
But I understood the gist, so I nodded slowly.
“And that human you decided to bring… was ?”
“You were too perfect for it. You played the ga passionately, understood this world better than most people who actually lived in it, and most importantly… your in-ga character. A defensive swordsman with the Water Rune once held by Bukar—a swordsmanship that wielded the power of water. You were practically a mber of my family already.”
“I never intended that… what an incredible coincidence.”
This ti, I laughed wryly.
“So basically, since I knew the ga inside out, and my character was practically from your family, you chose ?”
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
“…I have a lot to say about that, but what’s done is done. I’ll let it go.”
“Thanks.”
Kaina looked at with genuine gratitude—and a hint of guilt.
I sighed quietly, then another question ca to mind.
“Anyway, what about Bedir? Is everything settled?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Bedir was driven away. Just as you wanted, you dealt him a wound he’ll never forget. And as for him being expelled from your world… other gods will handle it. There are rules among gods, and Bedir broke them badly.”
“You don’t know what those rules are, do you?”
“Nope, I’m not a god, after all.”
Kaina replied with a faint smile and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You accomplished everything I asked for. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d really pull it off… Thank you—truly.”
“Co to think of it, what you asked was… to uncover the family’s secret and restore it, right?”
“Yeah. You’ve revealed the family’s secret. As for restoring the family… well, that was just a personal wish of mine. Don’t worry about it. You revealed the secret and stopped Bedir—that’s all I wanted.”
I nodded at his words, but another question soon followed.
“But about that family secret… wouldn’t it have been fine if you’d just told from the start? Wouldn’t that have made things easier?”
“Well… I considered that, but decided against it. If I’d told you everything, there were too many scenarios where things could’ve gone terribly wrong.”
“…I see. Well, if that’s what you think. It all worked out in the end anyway, so I won’t complain.”
“Thanks for understanding. Got any more questions?”
“Plenty. Way too many.”
Kaina Mainac.
There were so many things I wanted to ask the ancestor of the Mainac Family.
And the first question I asked among them was—
“You said I’m not dead yet, right?”
“Yeah, not yet. From here on, it’s your choice.”
“What do you an?”
“I’ll give you a chance. If you choose death here, I’ll send you back to your original world.”
“…Really?”
“Of course. You’ve done everything I asked of you. As promised, it’s my duty to send you back—with a little reward as well.”
Then Kaina smiled and continued.
“But if you want to stay in our world, I can send you back right now—into Gideon Kyrgram’s body. The choice is yours.”
“…If I go back to my original world, then Gideon Kyrgram would…”
“He’d die, just like that.”
“…Then there’d be many who would grieve, wouldn’t there?”
“Why even ask? I’d probably be crying myself.”
At Kaina’s words, I let out a small, dry laugh.
After a mont of silence, I asked,
“Can I… think about this a little before answering?”
“As much ti as you want. Anything else you want to ask?”
“Hmm… Oh right, earlier you said this place—this was the world Peregrie created, right?”
“You’ve heard that Peregrie was originally a spirit, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
“Peregrie wasn’t just any spirit. Among all spirits, he was the one who ca closest to godhood. It wouldn’t be wrong to call him a divine beast rather than a phantom beast.”
Kaina looked around at the vast green adow spread across the mountain peak.
Then he smiled aningfully.
“This world was sothing Peregrie made before clashing with Intezer—just in case we both died. It’s a kind of afterlife. A space only for Peregrie and … and those few souls we personally allow to enter.”
“…Then, Peregrie is here too?”
“Yeah, look—he’s coming.”
From the horizon of the endless adow, a massive falcon flew toward us.
It landed beside Kaina and .
“It’s been a long ti. Descendant of my friend, who once inherited my power. But if you’re here… does that an—”
“Hey, Peregrie. He’s not dead yet. Don’t go saying weird stuff.”
“I see. Anyway, Gideon Kyrgram, what do you think of this world I made? Back when I lived, my nest was here. It was… truly beautiful.”
“Peregrie, I’ve told you before—this place is too peaceful. It’s boring.”
“…Should I create a few monsters, then?”
“That might not be such a bad idea.”
Kaina chuckled softly, then turned to again.
“Peregrie hasn’t been here long. You know, right? He was sealed for quite a while.”
“Yeah. He wasn’t dead—just imprisoned.”
It seed Peregrie’s soul had co here when I inherited his power.
Seeing him now, the Ruler of Storms finally looked content and at rest.
“There are many others here too. Look over there.”
“Hm?”
“See all those people?”
I followed Kaina’s pointing finger—and saw a small village far in the distance.
There were people there…
‘A black-haired man, a green-haired woman, a red-haired man… and a blond man.’
All unfamiliar faces.
But instinctively, I understood.
They were the three dukes and the emperor who had lived in Kaina’s era.
And they weren’t alone.
There was a man who looked just like —no, exactly like Gideon, with the sa snow-white hair.
And beside him stood a white-haired elf.
“That’s Naiad and her son. In other words, the original owner of your body. But don’t get the wrong idea—the one who owns that body now is you, no matter what anyone says.”
“…Things sure are complicated.”
I chuckled lightly and kept my gaze on the village.
“The short one there—is that Nawiwo? And the one next to him… Jayward?”
“Oh? How did you know?”
“Just… a gut feeling. Hard to explain, but I could tell the mont I saw them.”
I silently looked around for a while.
The happy faces gathered in the small village, the massive falcon at my side,
And the white-haired man who quietly waited for to speak.
“Kaina.”
“Yeah, I’m listening.”
“If I live out my life as Gideon Kyrgram… growing old and dying naturally, could I still return to my original world afterward?”
“That’s entirely possible.”
“Ah, really? Honestly… I didn’t think it’d be.”
I truly hadn’t expected a yes.
It was more of a hopeful question, but Kaina reacted like it was no big deal.
“You’re the hero who saved our world from being destroyed by Bedir. Even the gods would grant you such a wish.”
“…Then it’s decided.”
“Heh. Good. Oh, and one more thing—before you return to your original world, visit this place once more. You should at least say goodbye before you go. Of course, even if you refuse, I’ll just drag you here myself.”
“…You really are as self-centered as ever. Just like when you brought here the first ti.”
“Hey, I’ve gotten better. Back in my wanderer days, I was much worse.”
Kaina let out a short laugh, then his eyes softened with sincerity.
“Thank you. Truly. For saving my family… and the empire I loved. Things wouldn’t have gone this well without you.”
“I’m just glad I could help.”
“You were more than just help. So… Gideon, you’re a mber of Kyrgram—and of the Mainac Family—no matter what anyone says. And after all your hardships, live out your remaining days in this world… peacefully and happily.”
With those words, Kaina placed his finger lightly on my forehead.
And the mont his finger touched my skin—
“Huh?”
My vision went dark in an instant.
Then suddenly, my eyelids grew unbearably heavy.
“…Ugh? Nngh…”
My body, so light just monts ago, felt crushingly heavy.
Pain coursed through every part of .
“Ughh…”
I groaned, struggling to open my eyes.
It wasn’t easy, but I forced my body to move bit by bit.
And when my eyes finally opened—
“Gideon, are you okay? Gideon!”
“…Noona? Lisa… Noona?”
The first thing I saw was a red-haired girl.
Around her stood Jason, Luke, and Sara.
“…Wait. What happened? Bedir—no, Lord Rage…”
“It’s all over, don’t worry.”
Jason gave a small laugh as he spoke.
“Lord Rage has been completely captured, and the rebellion in the capital has been fully suppressed. In other words… everything’s been settled.”
“…That’s a relief.”
“First thing you do when you wake up is ask that. You really are sothing. Anyway, focus on what’s in front of you.”
“What do you—”
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Because Lisa suddenly threw her arms around .
“Gideon! Do you have any idea… how worried I was!!”
Lisa, unlike her usual composed self, burst out crying, clinging tightly to .
I was a bit startled, but I smiled faintly and gently patted her head.
“I’m sorry, Noona. But really, don’t worry anymore. From now on, I’ll never make you go through that again.”
Yeah… I truly believed that this ti, there would be no more reason for her to worry.
User Comments
0 comments from readers