Chapter 117
The Pain of Losing Someone Dear (3)
Arthur and the others sat outside the tent in heavy silence, waiting for Kim Dokja to come out.
It was not ordinary waiting, but one burdened with anxiety and tension, as though everyone sensed that what was happening inside was not simple.
Yoo Sangah approached hesitantly, her eyes searching for Kim Dokja.
The moment he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into her.
…
The two froze for a few seconds.
Kim Dokja spoke in a low, calm voice as he looked at her.
"Did you hear what happened inside?"
Yoo Sangah lowered her head slightly, looking flustered.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to—"
He interrupted her gently.
"There's no need to apologize, really."
Kim Dokja let out a deep sigh, then lifted his gaze toward the endless blue sky above them, as if searching for something far away.
"Do you want to know what happened?"
She hesitated for a moment, then answered softly,
"If you don't mind."
Arthur sat nearby without interfering. Kim Dokja noticed him from the corner of his eye, but continued speaking.
"My mother… killed my father."
A heavy silence fell.
"She went to prison because of it."
He paused briefly, then continued in a quiet but clear voice.
"It's shameful to say this, but my father…
had no purpose in our lives except to die."
His fist clenched unconsciously.
"Domestic violence, gambling, theft, beatings…
everything bad was there."
His voice began to tremble.
"My mother and I lived in daily fear of him.
And one day… my mother made her decision."
He swallowed hard.
"And carried it out."
Yoo Sangah's body froze, cold sweat forming as she listened to the painful story.
Then suddenly, Kim Dokja said,
"Do you know the book Underground Killer?"
He changed the subject…
Yoo Sangah relaxed slightly and gave a faint smile.
"Yes, I've heard of it. It was very successful."
Kim Dokja nodded.
"Yes.
It was written by a woman who suffered abuse in prison after killing her husband."
He raised his eyes to hers.
"It was praised by critics, and they said the Korean version of Notes from Underground had finally appeared."
He fell silent for a moment, then said,
"My mother… wrote that book."
Sadness was plain on his face.
"I still remember reporters waiting outside our front door,
chasing me everywhere."
He laughed bitterly.
"How students bullied me at school,
how they called me the murderer's son."
His voice dropped even lower.
"I can endure being the son of a murderer…
but to be sold as a story?
To be exploited?"
Kim Dokja's eyes were filled with pain.
Yoo Sangah felt worry creeping into her heart.
At that moment, Arthur sighed quietly, then stood.
"Do you hate your mother because of this?"
The air froze.
"What did you say?"
Kim Dokja's anger erupted, unable to believe Arthur's calm tone.
"You're just a brat who doesn't appreciate the blessing you have."
"What blessing are you talking about?!"
Arthur smiled sadly as he looked at him.
"At least…
your mother stayed with you until the bitter end."
He stepped closer.
"At least she protected you.
At least she stood beside you."
His voice rose.
"Do you think she wrote that book to sell your story?
To sell you as some damned tale?!"
He struck the air with his hand.
"You're a child who understands nothing."
Then he shouted,
"Open your mind, you idiot, and think!
Why did she do it?
Isn't it obvious?!"
Silence fell.
Kim Dokja sank into thought.
"And what do you understand?"
Arthur laughed bitterly.
"Me?
Ah right… what do I understand?"
He raised his gaze to the blue sky and smiled painfully, then lowered his eyes to Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, and the companions who had drawn closer after hearing the argument.
"At least…
your mother didn't run away."
His voice lowered.
"She was the one who did the dirty work."
He took a deep breath.
"But me…
my mother ran away because she couldn't bear it."
His fist tightened.
"And left me to bear everything."
A broken smile appeared on his face.
"I endured that drunken bastard."
Then he said in a weary voice,
"And yet…
I still don't hate her."
He raised his head.
"Even though she left me.
Even though she abandoned me and ran."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I will never hate her."
He opened them again.
"Because she… is my mother."
Arthur exhaled with difficulty.
{The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband looks at you in silence.}
{The Constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire is saddened and pained by your past.}
{The Constellation Miraculous Narrator looks at you quietly.}
Arthur sighed quietly, exhausted.
"How willing I am to sacrifice my life just to see her… and tell her what happened. To tell her I'm alright… but that will never happen."
Arthur looked at Kim Dokja with pain and sorrow.
"Go back to her before she disappears. And in that moment, you will understand the true meaning of regret, my foolish companion."
After a few seconds of quiet silence,
Arthur lightly slapped his own face, then stepped forward.
Kim Dokja and the others remained standing, unable to speak.
Kim Dokja alone…
was sunk in deep thought, shaken to his core.
...
On the other side—
A massive crystal fell from the sky and began floating in the air.
Kim Dokja approached and stood beside Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Why did you come?
There's a woman who loves you, and you may never see her again."
Yoo Joonghyuk answered coldly,
"It's not as if staying here is absolute safety."
Kim Dokja began placing the talismans obtained after defeating the disasters.
Yoo Joonghyuk placed his talisman.
Then the Wanderer Queen placed hers as well.
With that…
it was proven this world had been protected from the five disasters.
The crystal shone and opened a gate in midair.
Kim Dokja explained the rules to everyone:
They would cross in pairs,
and each pair would be sent to a different location in the abandoned world.
Yoo Joonghyuk and Arthur went first.
The others followed.
Arthur's body was wrapped in pure energy that began sinking gently into him.
He noticed Yoo Joonghyuk had already lost consciousness.
Arthur tried to stay awake…
but to no avail.
He fell asleep.
…
A beautiful natural wind brushed against his face.
He smelled fresh air,
and the scent of grass around him.
He opened his eyes.
He was in a new place, deep within a dense forest.
Towering green trees. Grass everywhere.
He inhaled deeply, eyes closed.
Ah… fresh air,
after all that dust and polluted atmosphere.
He opened his eyes again.
Where did Yoo Joonghyuk go?
He looked around…
and found no one.
He was alone.
{Main Scenario 6 has begun – Abandoned World}
Arthur saw the message before his eyes and sighed quietly, as if he had just stepped out of a beautiful cocoon… into a miserable and cruel reality.
He slowly stood, planted his feet firmly, and looked ahead.
What is this feeling?
It's as if a massive number of soldiers are approaching me… but why?
He moved forward cautiously, driven by suspicion pounding at his mind.
"But… why is their aura so small?
I don't mean weak… small."
His eyes widened.
Hundreds of soldiers charged toward him with blind resolve, without hesitation or thought of retreat.
Armored soldiers. Cavalry. Archers.
A full war… a real war.
"Damn… why are they so small?"
He focused.
They were the size of his fist… perhaps smaller.
{You have encountered the inhabitants of this world. Check the scenario now.}
Before he could process it or react—
a sharp scream rang out nearby.
He turned quickly.
He saw other soldiers being crushed under the feet of full-sized humans.
Normal humans walking among the tiny soldiers, stepping on them without the slightest care… as if crushing ants.
"It's a disaster!"
"Another disaster has come here!"
The tiny soldiers screamed, voices trembling with rage and terror as they pointed at the full-sized humans.
"What in the creator's name is happening?
Am I inside some absurd play?!"
Arthur stood frozen, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
The scene was distorted… illogical… unbearably cruel.
The tiny inhabitants began fleeing backward in chaos, driven by fear, while the incarnations slaughtered them while laughing, as if it were nothing more than cheap entertainment.
{Main Scenario 6: Abandoned World
Category: Main
Difficulty: S
Clear Conditions: Exterminate all dominant factions in Planetary System 9871
Planet Name: Peace Land
Time Limit: 40 Days
Compensation: 200,000 Coins + ?????
Failure: ------}
{You have become the Disaster of Peace Land.}
The scenario window appeared before Arthur's eyes as he took shelter behind a tree, watching the scene in suffocating disbelief.
"We… are the disasters of this world."
The words left his mouth in a sharp, disbelieving tone.
He…
who had faced disasters one after another.
Who had fought to protect worlds from destruction.
Now…
he had to become the disaster.
Arthur smiled bitterly, fury burning within him.
"Damn the Star Stream.
And damn those cursed dokkaebis.
And damn all the constellations."
His fist clenched.
"Why must I kill innocent people…
just so they can have some amusement?"
He struck his forehead in anguish, and in that moment felt something approaching him.
"Damn… how did I lower my guard this much?!"
His eyes snapped open, and his hand lunged for his sword to strike—
but his body froze.
Stopped completely.
Because the one approaching… was not an enemy.
It was one of this world's inhabitants.
"Please… spare us…
don't kill us… please…"
The wounded soldier begged, his voice trembling and faint, his eyes drowning in pleading sorrow.
Arthur slowly crouched and extended a finger toward the soldier.
With a single touch…
he felt the heavy breathing.
The crushing burden.
The accumulated fear.
As if the weight of the entire world rested upon the shoulders of this tiny soldier…
a soldier no bigger than a fist.
Three incarnations stopped killing.
On two of their faces was sickened ecstasy and shameless delight,
while the third looked calm… strangely sorrowful.
And in midair, a dokkaebi appeared, smiling as he watched the Japanese incarnations commit massacres against the inhabitants of this world.
Arthur sighed quietly.
Then he stood.
He looked at the scene before him…
at the blood…
at the screams…
at the tiny eyes filled with fear.
And said in a steady, heavy voice:
"It is time to perform my duty…
as the disaster of this world."
…
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