Chapter 1758 – 1758. Savior Of The Academy
“What is your wish?”
“…You’re granting wishes?”
Seong Hari couldn’t hide the anticipation in her heart.
Yet, she also felt a sense of doubt. What was the being in front of her? What was it that could grant wishes?
“Why are you granting wishes?”
“It’s simply because I decided to.”
“You created the Tower of Wishes, didn’t you? Why? To grant human wishes?”
“This world happened to be recognized by me. Seeing humans living so diligently, I wanted to grant their wishes. There is no other reason.”
“……”
Seong Hari realized. This being simply had a different perspective on humans. Perhaps it was similar to how humans viewed ants.
A thought crossed her mind that the being in front of her might be a god.
‘If it can grant my wish… I don’t care if it’s a god or a demon.’
Seong Hari told him her wish.
“I want to see my brother! I want to go to the real world where my brother is!”
“……”
He was silent.
Since she couldn’t see his expression, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. It meant she couldn’t know what he was thinking.
The longer his silence continued, the more anxious Seong Hari became. The worst-case scenario was imagined, and that imagination became reality.
“Impossible.”
“Why?! You said you’d grant wishes!”
“You should know. It’s because this world is fake. You are fake, and I am also fake. An elaborate fake created with the real as its background. A fake that will disappear without a sound. You seem to be a slightly different case… but in the end, the fact that its essence is fake does not change.”
Seong Hari felt the space shaking. No. It wasn’t the space that was shaking, but her. A headache rushed in, and nausea surged.
She knew that this world, that she, was fake. But in one corner of her heart, she thought that since it was the world she lived in, it must be real. That last hope was now shattered. To make matters worse, there was no way to meet Seong Yujin.
Suddenly, the tower began to collapse. The space inside the tower began to shake.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Seong Hari screamed and collapsed.
He calmly asked Seong Hari.
“Make another wish. For example, you could wish to have all the humans in this world at your feet, or perhaps the destruction of this world would be fine. Originally, those are also impossible wishes, but… this world is a fake destined for destruction. I can grant them easily.”
His calm words helped Seong Hari regain her composure, even if just a little.
“…Since it’s a fake world anyway, does that wish even have any meaning?”
“It is you who finds meaning in something. If you think it has no meaning, then it has no meaning, and if you think it has meaning, then it has meaning. I’ll ask again. What is your wish?”
“……”
This world is fake. So, should she just let it all disappear?
That was the moment when Seong Hari truly thought so. The space split open, and a demon in a suit walked in. It was a demon Seong Hari knew. Laplace. The eighth legion commander. Seong Yujin’s enemy. Blood was seeping from his shoulder. A blue lightning bolt crackled, attacking him at the wound.
“An uninvited guest has entered.”
“Haha. Please overlook this, god of another world. I have an offer for her.”
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“Thank you for your generous decision, god of another world. If you don’t mind, would you tell me your name?”
“I refuse. I am fake. I have no right to have my name spoken.”
“I know you are connected to the real. Even if you are fake, you could not exist if the real did not allow it. You are the only being in this universe.”
“I said I refuse.”
His voice was firm. Laplace immediately backed down. He was the uninvited guest. There was no need or reason to provoke him.
“Understood.”
Laplace looked at Seong Hari, who was sitting down. Seong Hari gritted her teeth.
“Did you come to laugh at me?”
“I’ve come to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
“…An offer I can’t refuse?”
“Don’t you want to become real? I will make you real.”
The demon’s words were sweet. That’s why she was suspicious. It was common sense that a demon’s words should not be trusted.
“Can you do what even that god couldn’t?”
“I can. That god is fake, but I am real.”
“…How will you make me real?”
“This world is fake, but you are a bit special. You could say you are half real.”
“What does that mean?”
“You have been observed at the center of the universe. Karma has accumulated. Furthermore, although it was virtual reality, you entered the real world. Although faint, your record has been engraved in the real world. Possibilities have arisen and grown. Now, it’s time to bloom. I will help you. I will make you real.”
“I won’t listen to the words of a demon…”
Seong Hari’s eyes wavered. The words of a demon. She couldn’t believe them. She would refuse them outright. She should refuse them, but…
“Don’t you want to be by his side? To be by his side, you must become real.”
“I’m already by my brother’s side, and I’m real.”
“You must take it. It is only natural for a fake who has become real to take the place of the real. Besides, you have something to repay, don’t you?”
“I’m going to become real…”
“Yes. You can do it.”
Seong Hari bit her lip. In fact, she knew. From the moment she couldn’t refuse the demon’s offer outright, her answer was already decided. She knew it, and the demon knew it.
“…What’s the price? A demon who is a legion commander wouldn’t help me without a price.”
“Haha. You know demons well. You will find out the price after you accept my offer.”
“……”
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask for what is precious to you as a price. I promise on my name.”
There was only one thing precious to her. The only real thing in a world where everything was fake.
“…Okay. If it doesn’t harm my brother… I’ll accept it. What do I have to do?”
“Make a wish to the god. Ask for the resources of this world. You will devour this fake world.”
“Resources?”
“Even a fake world that is about to disappear needs energy to maintain itself. The information that makes up this world, each resource, is all energy. You will have that enormous energy.”
Seong Hari couldn’t fully understand his words. One thing was certain: she was to absorb an enormous amount of energy.
“…Can I do that? I’ve seen many who were destroyed by gaining immense power without knowing their place.”
“You are different from them. You have potential. I, the demon of potential, guarantee it.”
Seong Hari looked at the god of another world.
“Is that your wish?”
“…Yes. That’s my wish.”
“The wish has been granted. This fake world will collapse, and all that information will be yours.”
Seong Hari felt it. Outside this tower, everything in the world was slowly collapsing. All the information that made up the fake world turned into energy and gathered towards Seong Hari.
Laplace intervened immediately. He managed the energy gathering towards Seong Hari. It would be right to reclassify and process it.
“…Can you handle this?”
“I can. I also got the processing device for that earlier. Ah, the uninvited guest has arrived.”
They turned their heads.
The uninvited guest.
Seong Yujin appeared, holding a sword.
“Brother!!”
Seong Hari, who had been sitting down, shouted without realizing it and jumped up.
“Hari!”
Seong Yujin also shouted. He rushed towards Seong Hari. Just as Seong Hari was about to move, Laplace blocked her path.
“Don’t confuse your priorities. What you need to do now is not to laugh and chat with that person. Are you going to give up the chance to become real?”
The fake world began to collapse.
If she gave up here, she would simply disappear with the fake world. Seong Hari knew it instinctively. Seong Yujin was knocked back as he ran. Laplace had used his power.
She clenched her fist tightly and asked.
“What do I have to do?”
Snap!
Laplace snapped his fingers.
Next to Seong Hari, space split open. It was a pitch-black space.
“Go inside. It’s a nest for you. A nest for a fake to be reborn as real.”
“What about my brother?”
“I won’t kill him. I swear. Well, I can’t kill him right now anyway.”
“Hari!!”
Seong Yujin called out to her. Seong Hari steeled herself.
“Brother! I will face you as a real person, not a fake!”
Seong Hari threw herself into the space that Laplace had opened.
She fell into the darkness. She fell and fell and then stopped. Hot, sticky darkness enveloped her body. Seong Hari felt an immense amount of energy. A power greater than when she faced the Spirit King seeped into her. It was changing her from the root.
The feeling of becoming real, not fake.
Seong Hari’s consciousness sank.
• • •
“You bastard!! What did you do to Hari?!”
Immediately after Seong Hari disappeared into the space, I rushed at Laplace.
The power of Laplace that had been repelling me had disappeared. Too easily, I grabbed Laplace by the neck and pointed my sword at his solar plexus.
Laplace was relaxed.
“You’re lucky. It’s fortunate that the time inside the tower and outside is different. If you had come any faster, you would have ruined everything.”
“Where did you take Hari! Answer me!!”
“Haha. She won’t die or suffer, so calm down. Ah, if you kill me now, she will also die. Will you still kill me?”
My hands trembled. I wanted to kill him right now. But what if his words were true?
“Are you not resisting because you believe that?”
“I don’t have the power to resist you. Right now, I’m too busy classifying and processing the information energy of this world. If she is not to be harmed, I have to keep using the power of possibility.”
“You son of a bitch…!”
“Calm down. It won’t take long. All the conditions have already been met, so three hours should be enough. Shall we chat while watching the world collapse? It’s not often that you get to see the world collapse.”
The tower was slowly collapsing. What could be seen beyond the tower was the collapsing sky. The finely shattered sky fell like powder and then disappeared.
I punched Laplace in the face.
Thud! Thud thud!
His face was becoming a mess. I kept punching him as if to release my anger.
“Stop it. You might actually kill him. If that demon dies, that woman will also die. That’s not a lie.”
The being who had been silent beside us intervened. I frowned and glared at him.
“Damn it. Who the hell are you?”
“O wielder of the scales of karma, I am not your enemy.”
“Bullshit!”
I swung the Kusanagi sword. The blade passed right through his neck. But there was no change. It felt like I was cutting through the air.
“Your karma is still insufficient. Let me give you some advice. Keep accumulating karma. Karma will be your greatest weapon.”
“This bastard is just saying what he wants!”
I kept swinging the Kusanagi sword.
It was useless. I was still just cutting through the air. Even with the power of Susanoo, it was meaningless.
“Haha. He is a god of another world. One of the most noble beings in this universe. Even if he is fake, do you think such an attack would work?”
“Do you still have the energy to laugh?”
The fist that was flying towards Laplace’s face stopped. Laplace was a mess. If I hit him one more time, he might actually die. Then Seong Hari would die too. I gritted my teeth. There was nothing I could do right now.
Time passed. During that time, I had to suppress the urge of the Demon Hunter (S) while listening to Laplace’s nonsense.
『The Demon Hunter (S) wants to kill the legion commander!』
‘Shut up.’
It was after 3 hours and 20 minutes had passed.
The world had already collapsed. All that remained was this space where I, Laplace, and the god of another world were. This space was also slowly collapsing.
Zzzzzzzzzing.
Suddenly, space split open. Someone walked out of the split space.
It was Seong Hari’s face. But her appearance was different from what I knew. She was wearing black armor that exposed parts of her abdomen and limbs, and she held a black spear that felt like it had demonic power in her hand.
Her black hair had turned white, and her eyes were as red as if they were filled with crimson.
Step, step.
She approached with a blank expression.
“Hahahahaha! My greatest masterpiece is finally complete! New eighth legion commander! I will give you a new name! Baal! You will become the strongest demon!”
Thud.
Seong Hari’s black spear pierced Laplace’s body.
