translation by mourningmoor
The blue light shattered into white fragments.
Wrapped in the same light as when I arrived, I stepped into the dimensional passage.
I don’t know if this path leads to Armania. If I’m lucky, I’ll reach it.
One thing is certain, though.
My physical body will disappear. I’ve experienced it once before, so I know what to expect.
In the end, I can’t continue living as Kang Ichan.
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Then, I looked at Bartholomeus, who I was still holding onto.
The resentment flared up briefly but quickly died down.
After all, it’s my fault Bartholomeus ended up like this.
Just then.
A round, blue portal of light appeared ahead.
It looked slightly different from last time.
“Is this the gate to Armania?”
If so, there’s no need to hesitate.
No, to be precise, as long as I can cleanly deal with Bartholomeus, it doesn’t matter where it leads.
Having made up my mind, I jumped straight into the portal.
* * *
Beep, beep, beep, beep.
The sound of machinery, unfamiliar yet not entirely strange.
I’ve had a similar experience before.
Probably the sound of hospital machines I heard when I first opened my eyes in that other world…?
“Huh?”
My eyes snapped open.
I saw a white fluorescent light attached to an unfamiliar ceiling.
“What’s going on?”
I turned my head to look around.
It seems like a hospital……
Come to think of it, there’s a thick IV needle stuck in the back of my hand. One, two, three IV bags connected to the needle…?
“Wait, a hospital? Not a healing center?”
It was definitely Armania…?
The blue portal led to the temple of Armania, or more precisely, to the sacred land of ‘Armain,’ the domain of the Earth Goddess Kinier.
There, I met Goddess Kinier.
I placed Bartholomeus at her feet and requested annihilation.
Her deep, night-like eyes examined both me and Bartholomeus.
《Both you and he carry a unique energy.》
Unique energy. She must be referring to the mana from that other world.
《Alright. You wish for both of you to be annihilated? Let’s hear your reasoning. What’s the reason?》
I explained everything that had happened in detail to Kinier.
The events that occurred while the goddess turned a blind eye to Armania’s suffering, the various incidents caused by the imbalance of power, and the conclusion I had reached.
《So, you decided to erase yourself and the Demon King from Armania? Such noble self-sacrifice.》
But for some reason, I wasn’t annihilated and ended up living as someone else in another world. I told her how I lived as a chosen one in a land not chosen by the gods, wielding special power.
I also expressed my regret to the people of that world and to the gods who granted me such power. On the other hand, I was grateful to the gods for allowing me to meet good people and form meaningful connections in such a place.
I reminisced about that world, a truly lovely place.
And Bartholomeus tried to trample it.
He attempted to merge two distinct worlds into one and dominate them.
I argued that allowing the chosen ones to commit atrocities against those who, not chosen by the gods, carve out their own destinies, goes against the will of the goddess.
《You’re right. That goes against my will as well. Then, can’t we just annihilate this man? You are a being I have specially chosen. Please return and govern Armania.》
I shook my head.
I had thought the imbalance was caused solely by excessive power. But it turns out, my very existence is the key to opening the dimensional gate.
I am still a dangerous being. Especially as someone who could endanger both worlds, I emphasized that my annihilation is more urgent than anyone else’s.
《Bartholomeus will be annihilated as is.》
Then, she effortlessly obliterated Bartholomeus.
The process was almost disappointingly simple.
《The Demon King, one of the causes of imbalance, has been left in another world, and now only you remain.》
The goddess’s eyes fixed on me.
Her gaze was profound. Her deep night-like eyes took on a blue dawn hue, then brightened with the light of daybreak.
It seemed a night had passed.
《So, what you truly desire is annihilation?》
“Yes.”
My answer was unwavering.
“Because I won’t be able to return to that world ever again.”
Having reached this conclusion after much deliberation, there was no need to hesitate anymore.
I had promised to try to return, but it was a promise I couldn’t keep. Kang Ichan’s body no longer existed in that world, and now I was little more than a soul.
Bartholomeus, who had just been annihilated, wasn’t in his old, ugly form either.
《You won’t regret it? Armania still needs you. You still have things to do.》
No, there’s nothing I have to do. There are only things I want to do.
But even those things aren’t meant for this world.
So, if I can’t return anyway, it’s better to forget everything and enter eternal rest.
《I see. I understand.》
Without me saying anything more, the goddess nodded.
《Do you have any other requests?》
“Please completely erase the dimensional gate. Even if a second or third key appears after I’m gone, make sure the gate can never be opened again.”
So that no one can invade that world.
They live more fiercely and diligently than anyone else, so no one should be allowed to disrupt them.
Please protect them.
《Understood. I’ll do that.》
The goddess smiled. Then, she kissed my forehead.
Her kiss was as cold as a tranquil sea and as hot as bubbling lava.
《Then, for now, rest a little. While I finish things up.》
“Rest?”
《Yes, sleep well. Jesquière.》
Was it because of her farewell? Sleep washed over me.
My heavy eyelids closed, and I fell asleep.
That’s all I remember.
But when I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital?
“Annihilation, and now a hospital?”
Just then, the hospital room door opened.
A woman with neatly tied blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in white, entered the room.
Seeing me sitting up, she started chattering.
‘Language Purification’
{Oh my goodness. You’re awake? I’ll let the doctor know right away. Doctor? Doctor!}
Then, she hurried out of the room.
Language Purification works?
Wait. Come to think of it, I have a body now?
I spread my hands and examined them.
These are my hands. Long, straight fingers. The mark of mana on my fingers.
“What’s going on?”
I raised both hands and touched my face.
“What is this?”
I jumped out of bed and ran straight to the bathroom.
The moment I flung open the bathroom door, the hospital room door opened.
“Ichan!”
“PD-nim?”
Isn’t that PD Pyo Cheonhee? What on earth is going on?
I clearly wished for annihilation, no, my body had already been annihilated, hadn’t it?
But before I could process it, medical staff flooded into the room.
Then, an endless series of tests began.
* * *
Just two months ago, I had undergone tests, and now I am undergoing another round of detailed examinations in Paris, France.
After being dragged around for two days for tests, I was finally released and could finally rest in my hospital room.
Staring blankly at the fluorescent light on the ceiling, I pieced together the facts that came to mind.
First, I peeked into PD Pyo’s memories and roughly figured out the following:
It’s already been a week since the incident.
I was reported missing after being kidnapped by a racist accomplice of the pop-up store terrorist.
The kids were forcibly sent back to Korea.
A joint search operation between the French and Korean governments was underway to find me.
I was found unconscious in a canal in the Netherlands, and the kidnapper turned himself in?
Well, well.
This must all be the scenario the Demon King concocted after I disappeared. Or maybe the goddess.
But still. Kidnapping, unconsciousness, and turning himself in? Who came up with this ridiculous story?
“Ichan.”
PD Pyo entered the room.
This guy, it’s only been a few days, but he looks like he’s aged.
He’s been following me around during the tests, and his broad forehead is dotted with sweat.
Wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, PD Pyo sat in the chair next to the bed and suddenly teared up.
“Why… are you like this?”
“I really thought you were dead. Just thinking about the past week makes me dizzy. Dizzy.”
So, I cautiously asked.
“What happened?”
Then, PD Pyo asked worriedly.
“You don’t remember again?”
It’s not that I don’t remember, it’s that I don’t know how the Demon King came up with this scenario.
“I only remember going outside the hospital after Gyuhyung hyung’s surgery.”
“So.”
Suddenly, PD Pyo wiped away his tears and started talking.
“They kidnapped you in front of the hospital. Those bastards.”
Apparently, I was kidnapped by racists when I went out to get some fresh air, saying I was feeling suffocated.
“How did you know I was kidnapped?”
There was a taxi driver who witnessed my kidnapping at the hospital entrance.
Kang Mina from Music Q also witnessed it when she came to the hospital.
“Reporter Kang Mina?”
“Yeah. She came straight to the hospital as soon as she arrived in Paris to check on you.”
Anyway, Reporter Kang chased after the kidnappers in a taxi but lost them after passing Charles de Gaulle Airport.
She immediately reported it to the police, but I had vanished without a trace. Three days later, a witness claimed to have seen me in southern Belgium.
So, they started collaborating with the Belgian police.
A sketch of the suspect was made, and the investigation expanded across Europe.
“They even put up ads offering rewards for tips, and Filament went all out with their network.”
Ha, they even dragged Filament into this?
Then, a tip came in that I had been spotted somewhere in the Netherlands, and they combed through southern Netherlands.
“ARCHE’s Yoo Noah came to Paris and was really invested in finding you. Anyway, it was Yoo Noah’s friend who contacted us saying they found you.”
Yoo Noah found me unconscious in a smelly canal in the Netherlands. I need to see that friend’s face.
“PD-nim. Yoo Noah… sunbaenim, did he go back to Korea?”
“No…”
Just then, someone knocked on the hospital room door.