Chapter 175 – 27. White Night (13)
Introduction
To the unsuspecting reader
Dear readers of this story,
Let go of all passions.
And do not be offended by reading this story.
Even if there is nothing evil or ugly,
Perfection will be hard to find except when it comes to laughter, but when you see the great sadness that breaks and torments you,
That no other story could attract me
You will understand
It is better to write about laughter than tears.
Laughter is human nature.
So.
Give me a smile It’s Jihoo.
‘Cause I laughed at the end
Even when I found out I couldn’t get out of this fucking fake world, I never cried.
Smile at me
Come to me
‘Cause I’m the only one who can understand you
I’ll be waiting.
Always.
* * *
I had a nightmare one day.
It seems that Pirahyun appeared in a dream and said something.
After waking up, I couldn’t remember what it was.
After all, it was just a dream.
However, as she gets closer and closer to the Pira String, her voice slowly rings in her ears, and her long-forgotten memories from the depths of her brain slowly rise to the surface.
It was a very natural phenomenon.
[Remember.]
[Don’t forget on purpose.]
[Actually, you know. That I am special.]
Okay. I knew vaguely from a long time ago.
But up until now, I had been subconsciously rejecting the truth.
The fact that Pirahyun is a little, maybe very different from other beings in this world.
She was different from in her novel.
‘The day will come when I will have to say goodbye to that ability.’
Her prophecy ability, which was clearly mentioned in the original [Cloner of the Academy].
Absorption and Emission, another of her abilities.
And even an unknown mind-stealing ability.
To be honest, it’s a power that an ordinary human can’t possibly have.
If you’re not an ordinary human, then what the hell is that?
Could she really be a god?
No, everything is wrong.
I already know its identity.
She is…
“Im here.”
“…Oh yeah.”
What brought back my consciousness, which had been drifting away, was a word from a unit member.
I’m very sorry for looking at me with a worried face, probably thinking that my expression looked blank.
After leaving the Velocity Center, we were heading towards the enemy base.
The enemy side must have noticed that an intruder had appeared inside, and the encirclement was gradually being narrowed.
However, whenever that happened, we used Elise’s ability to easily escape the enemy’s encirclement.
Of course, I don’t think this meaningless chase will last long.
In the end, a fight that ends only when one side is captured. Rather than wasting physical strength or resources in a meaningless war of attrition, I think it’s best to carefully look for opportunities and aim for one shot.
So, in the end, the immediate goal is Pantagruel’s stronghold. A moderately sized military facility called ‘Omega Zero’ among the members of the unit.
It was already the third day since we had marched there.
Although the movement speed itself was slow as they marched while attacking the base of the demons step by step, there were no cases where they were surrounded in front and behind or were really surrounded and unable to move.
It’s all thanks to Elise’s ability and the wits of her brilliant troops.
I’ve been through a lot over the past 3 days.
It was common for them not to be able to get enough rest, let alone sleep, and the operation almost failed due to lack of communication with the outside world.
It was a journey that was never easy, to the extent that being able to teleport supplies on time was the only advantage.
But finally.
We were able to reach the desired goal.
[Omega Zero]
[Warning: Prohibition of entry except for those involved]
“First, try communicating with the outside world, and if that doesn’t work, put a shield on it and try again. If that doesn’t work, it’s because the concentration of demonic energy here is too strong, so try a little further away.”
“Okay, let’s camp first.”
Currently, the outside is in a state where support can come this way at any time.
The reason is that we reduced the number of demons through constant fighting over the past few weeks, but the biggest reason was that we tied the demons down with our infiltration operation.
According to outside information, the government knew about our infiltration long ago, but they just turned a blind eye to it.
Is it a sign that they don’t care about each other anymore, or does it mean that they will carry out the operation on their own regardless of our operation.
Either way, it didn’t hurt us.
A very positive sign. It was as if I could only vaguely see the flag raised high by the goddess of victory.
“Only the minimum number of people to stand guard, and let the rest rest.”
After giving a simple order to the crew, I entered the temporary commander’s room.
…There was a passenger there.
Ha Yul, Seol Ah, Lay, and even Yewon.
The fact that these four people, each of whom were at the level of a platoon commander, were in one place must have meant that they had something to say to me.
“Why are you all gathered?”
“It’s Jihoo.” “Mr. Jihoo.”
“Well, I’m not going to say anything like come here and retreat.”
“…It’s not like that.”
Yewon walks towards me with a hard face.
Dark purple hair and hardened eyes that could not be dulled by any dirt looked at me.
“Don’t get hurt, I just wanted to tell you that.”
“…All of you?”
“We all met at the door. If you don’t believe me, you can check with other people.”
“No, until it’s necessary… Rather, thank you for coming.”
“Then shall we begin soon?”
Yewon took out a small bottle from his chest.
After uncorking the bottle with familiar hand movements, he slowly pours the liquid from the bottle into a glass of water placed on the table.
“Have a drink.”
“No alcohol—”
“It’s okay because I’m not drinking.”
Reluctantly, he accepted the cup Yewon held out to him.
She took four more glasses from the cupboard next to the table, and poured the unknown drink into the other glasses as well.
It was only after Ha Yul, Seol Ah, and even Lay received their own glasses that Yewon picked up his own.
“If nothing else, tomorrow will be the last battle, right?”
“Yes?”
“In the old wars, they say that they had a small banquet like this before the final battle. So, I think that’s it. The last banquet.”
“Jihoo, you can eat comfortably. You seemed in a hurry up until now, so take a little rest today.”
Ha-Yul’s words of helping Ye-Won.
Senior Seol-ah and Lay also nod their heads as if agreeing with him.
Did I look that dangerous? I feel sorry for unintentionally causing concern.
Seeing my embarrassed expression, Yewon raised the corner of his mouth and lifted his glass high over his shoulder.
“Then let’s have a toast? Forget the worries until today and think only of tomorrow!”
“Yeah, cheers.”
“Cheers dear!”
“Cheers…!”
When I see them awkwardly raising their glasses, I burst into laughter.
For my sake, everyone came like this.
It feels like the fatigue of the past days of suffering was washed away at once.
I also raised my glass.
The light purple drink glistens in the glass.
I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s pretty good to see that I can smell it just by holding it in my hand.
“Cheers!”
I gulped down the drink all at once.
Then, I was surprised by the unexpected taste.
‘It doesn’t taste like anything…!’
Even if you drink bottled water, it often tastes like metallic or fishy water, but for some reason, this liquid is literally tasteless and tasteless.
I was even more surprised by the special effect of the liquid that followed before I was surprised by the taste.
“Yewon, this is…”
“Yes, that’s what is commonly said. It boasts the highest price among consumable artifacts.”
Elixir.
There are three major benefits that have been reported so far.
First, it restores all physical / mental fatigue and makes the user’s condition the best.
Second, it slightly but permanently increases the total amount of magical power. In addition, for about 24 hours, the ability to manipulate magic increases dramatically.
And the last third, in a way, it’s not a big deal.
Blood flow throughout the body is accelerated.
The blood flow is fast… That the blood goes through well.
That, of course, applied not only to the chest and arms, but also to the lower limbs.
“It’s the last one, how about it…?”
With chaeng.
An empty plastic cup hits the floor.
Yewon was already very close to my body.
“…No. At least tomorrow.”
Soundproofing, no matter how I can solve it, as a commander, it would be a great blow to morale that this kind of appearance could somehow be revealed.
Never. Never.
Of course, I also wanted to do it like a chimney… But this time, I can’t do it unconditionally.
“Phi. That’s too much.”
“Jihoo… You really don’t…?”
“I’m sorry, old man.”
When I refused, lowering my head, Seol-ah showed regret by puffing out her cheeks.
I’m sorry too. Is there anyone who doesn’t feel sorry for you?
Still, there is a clear distinction between public and private life.
…Instead, at least one of these seemed possible.
“…Ah, ahaha… Thanks, Jihoo…”
I hugged my senior as best I could.
To show that my heart toward my seniors, the temperature of my heart that will never cool down, is still strong.
To let her know I love her.
The love that began with eros is completed with philia.
Right now, right before the final battle.
If this is not fate, then what is?
We parted after a long and loving embrace.
Even after that, Yewon, Hayul, and Lay.
Ha-yul even started to cry, so it was quite hard to calm him down.
The night of the four of us went deep like that.
The last night that will never come back.
And finally the twilight dawn came.
