Episode 157: It’s just the beginning (7)
“If you had pushed me all at once, I would have been pushed back. “It looks like I’m not using my strength at all.”
[The nutrients saved in this way may be used for Ravizda.]
Lucy answered as if it was no big deal. Of course, in my view, it’s just a story about another world happening on screen.
However, I have already seen Lucy’s power in person several times and was thrilled by it. Especially the power I experienced to some extent during the recent ‘unknown dungeon attack incident’.
The countless legions that poured out at my word and the appearance of Lucy, who commanded them, are still vivid in my memory.
Naturally, people did not know about the Demon Lord’s army, which disappeared without a trace, and as a result, the unknown incident that saved the lives of countless people still remained in the labyrinth, giving rise to only numerous speculations.
[If the Demon World Alliance does not introduce a new variable, our team’s probability of victory is 56%.]
“I hope it won’t collapse that quickly.”
I answered as I prepared to leave the house. Traitors who betrayed the former Demon King. The enemies that Lucy absolutely wants to destroy. They too are the rulers of a world.
Recently, they have come together as one and maximized their power even more. If they had come out this way from the beginning instead of being divided into pieces and checking and competing with each other, Lucy, which started in a corner of the outskirts, would not have grown this much.
“A gate will be opening nearby. It is a bit far away, so residents should not come out in that direction… … .”
When I came out of the house, a text message from a government agency arrived on my phone along with a buzzing sound. It was a text telling me to be careful because a gate was scheduled to open not far away.
Everyone on the roadside was holding their cell phone and looking at it, as if it wasn’t just me who received it.
It was one of the scenes that changed in many ways. Compared to before, when the word ‘gate’ was enough to cause a fit of panic, people now accept most things calmly and ignore them without a care in the world.
‘Is there such a thing as an end?’
When I saw those scenes, I sighed softly. I couldn’t help but think this when I saw Lucy dividing the stages into provoking and dealing with the Demon World Alliance, as if testing its power and potential.
I wonder if there will ever be an end to these terrible disasters.
These disasters have already changed my normally ordinary life in that short period of time. It changed not only my life but also the lives of countless people.
People who didn’t need to lose lost a lot, and people who didn’t need to die died countless times.
Just as Lucy appears to be faltering or suffering from the fierce counterattacks of the demon lords, it is only the tip of the iceberg, I was worried that our resistance and struggle might become such a futile struggle.
‘Did I recommend it for no reason?’
I chuckled and put my phone away.
I was the one who recommended Lucy imitate invasive species in the first place. Because Lucy can imitate anything and make it her own.
It’s stupid to look at that and be afraid.
* * *
[It seems like you’re taking a different route today.]
“that’s right. Do not go to work today.”
As I took the wheel and started driving, Lucy soon raised a question.
Actually, I didn’t drive the same route I usually take now. I wasn’t going to work, nor was I going to Jiyeon Lee’s house.
After the last incident, we were on vacation again, and Lee Ji-yeon was also resting without saying anything.
“I have something to see.”
Instead, the place I headed to was none other than school. Although I took a quick leave of absence the moment I got a job, there were still things I needed to take care of, so I visited today.
“Isn’t it almost time for the second semester to end? See, that bus stop over there is where you first spoke to me.”
The school was crowded with students. If I had gone to school normally, I would have been among them too.
In reality, my friends were still attending school and were about to graduate. I wasn’t the only one who got a job in the second semester of my senior year, but I was a bit of a special case.
[I think I miss you.]
“You can’t deny it.”
I nodded at Lucy’s words, who were able to read my emotions.
I have worked until now thinking that it would be better to jump into the chaos with strength rather than being unfairly and helplessly dealt with in a chaotic world, but in reality, that was just a logical excuse to hide my true intentions.
As expected, I was a fundamentally different person from someone like Lee Ji-yeon. I miss and regret the daily life of the past that I enjoyed without knowing anything.
Maybe it’s something that can never go back.
“Oh, aren’t you famous?”
“what?”
I met my friends while hiding those feelings. We tried to keep in touch, but so much had happened that it was the first time we had actually seen each other since I left school.
But as soon as he saw my face, he started smiling and giggling.
“It’s not wrong. Among us, there is no one as successful as you. “Everyone is worrying about finding a job right now.”
“It’s a success I didn’t even know about.”
I couldn’t say no. The position of Ji-yeon Lee’s dedicated manager grew as Ji-yeon Lee’s fame grew.
Especially since it started from the bottom with her.
It was purely her will, and it was much easier for me to move alone rather than as a team, but there were some benefits to it.
“Tell me honestly. “You had a relationship with Lee Ji-yeon, right?”
“It would be easier to just think of it that way. “I’ve been asked so many times that now I just say yes.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Having put it down to some extent, I didn’t necessarily deny it.
Anyway, no matter what other people think, it wasn’t a factor to consider at all for her, who was going through all kinds of dangers, and I was also tired now.
Sure enough, he nodded with a look that seemed like he could do that. It seemed like he was already thinking of his own accord in his mind.
“If I had known that it was a blue ocean, I would have gone there too. But when you actually watch documentaries or things like that, you realize that even that is not possible. I’m not as dangerous as the hunters, but I… … I don’t think I can see it. “People die and get hurt.”
The type of laughter has changed. I smiled at his face, which smiled bitterly as he looked at me.
Actually, I am the same way. If you think about it, I saw a lot of deaths and injuries. The reason you can look at them and not notice anything is because you are so preoccupied with other things that you don’t even notice them.
I glanced at my phone in my hand.
Aside from the disaster that befell the world, it was Lucy who changed my life and made me persevere.
“At first, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion, but now it’s less so. Because I could really die, I would do anything. “You too, take care of yourself.”
My friend laughed and said that he had changed a lot from before. It has definitely changed. It wasn’t simply because time passed.
* * *
“I scoffed at first. Take care of your body. But I don’t think that’s the case anymore. “I need you to help me a lot.”
When I finished everything and returned to the vehicle. I looked around blankly and muttered.
The school scene was no different from when I attended. Students just walk around the campus busy taking classes.
Even if it’s a monster or a disaster, there’s still hope, so I can’t give up on the future.
It was clearly a scene of nothing, but I did not want to lose this barely maintained daily life and scenery.
This is even more so because I have seen so many times what kind of wars are going on in the other world and what the words of those who are pushed out of the competition, defeated, and eliminated are saying.
[That was the reason I existed from the beginning.]
Lucy answered my empty words right away, as she always did.
[If you command me to do anything, I will do it by any means necessary. That is my duty and mission.]
Lucy is not good at lying. It was the same no matter how much I grew. It seemed like he thought lying itself was ineffective.
But that’s why I could believe every word he said.
Although she says it lightly, as if it were obvious, I have already seen many times that once Lucy says something, it will come true.
“I have no reason not to trust you. “There’s a reason I won’t use you.”
It was definitely true that I was anxious and wary. Will Lucy get out of control or grow in a strange direction? But at this point, I felt like I was past the point of worrying about that.
No matter how much Lucy grew, she only listened to me. If you think about it, it was in line with the nature of artificial intelligence, which is its foundation. Then there is no reason for me not to trust Lucy.
“Try to finish that job first. Because there is still room here. Or how about you do the math. “Can we ultimately win the fight against invasive species?”
[It is impossible to even predict due to insufficient data.]
“I knew it.”
After getting into the driver’s seat, I gave instructions to first end the war with the Demon World Alliance.
From Noble mtl dot com
It was true that there was still time here. After Lee Ji-yeon and other outstanding awakened people carried out a crazy strategy of directly carrying a nuclear warhead, installing the warhead, and then escaping, they faced the ship-type invasion species.
I learned that various methods were implemented to eliminate the ship-type invasive species that appeared in the dungeon.
Even though the results weren’t very clear, there was still time to spare since they were stuck in the dungeon.
[The Allied Forces of the Demon World are leading a large army and charging head-on. There are more than 20 demon lords at the forefront. It seems that they have seen through the intentions of their allies and are playing a gamble.]
And as soon as she said that, Lucy reported again on the situation that had begun to change rapidly.
Thanks to this, I couldn’t start the car, so I parked the car in the parking lot, picked up my phone, and looked at what Lucy was showing me.
“Are you saying you’re going to break through and come to the center? Why? If we fight like that, there won’t be any back, right?”
It was literally an all-out assault.
Even I didn’t understand. Although the force that comes together at one point seems incredibly powerful, they are actually the residents of that place. This is different from Lucy, who is an invader who has already established a base in another world.
If they turned into a self-burning fireball and hit Lucy like that, even if Lucy’s demon lord army was annihilated, there was a high probability that they would suffer a loss.
[It seems like the intention is to occupy or attack an ally’s nest. They decided that they had no chance of winning if they did not attack the nest.]
“How are you going to respond? Are you going to protect the nest? Or are you going to give up?”
[Currently calculating.]
They were the ones who attacked first, but ironically, Lucy was holding the sword hilt.
In response to my question, Lucy calculated the odds as usual. And based on the results, we will decide how to respond in the most efficient way.