128 – The Awakening Protagonist
The only way for those who have been devoured by the dream to escape again is to make the Dream Eater, the person who devoured the dream, escape.
Because I know that fact-
“If there was a way to get out of here and start over, what would you do?”
“…What are you thinking?”
“Huh? “Is it just literal?”
Even though I knew that the words of Dream Eater, who was still grinning and embracing my neck, were false hopes, I couldn’t help but flinch.
“Is it teabagging to ask about something that has already ended?”
“Hmm. Is it already over? “No, is it correct to say that it might end soon?”
“What is that-“
“You’ll understand when you see this.”
Weeeing, I said.
The sound of something turning is heard again, and the screen, which had been turned off, suddenly lights up again.
“…Huh?”
“I might die soon. “You and the other main characters.”
What is reflected there is none other than the present.
Hangyeol and Yumi are gritting their teeth while fending off countless monsters. And-
“What the f*ck!”
Ji-hyeon and I are floating in the air, caught by Han-gyeol’s telekinetic powers, perhaps intending to move them safely.
“…Calm down.”
“You look calm now-“
“What can you do? “If it’s what you think, it’s already over.”
As soon as he saw the sight, he jumped up and clenched his fists, but then Dream Eater leaned his forehead against the back of his head and gritted his teeth at the words he whispered.
Yes, it is already over. But what can I do now?
I sat down quietly, looked at the screen, and sighed deeply.
“He is truly the protagonist.”
“…Sure.”
A hero who defeats monsters and protects both enemies and allies.
He is a true hero whom I have admired in the past and present.
“What do you think? How do you feel seeing the main character in front of you?”
“That sucks.”
“Why? A friend who moves to protect you. “Isn’t it a great feeling?”
“No, it’s not Hangyeol, it’s you. And me.”
A monster appears, Yumi faints, but the sight of her running forward with courage even in an unfavorable situation, fighting to protect everyone – is exactly what I was hoping for.
“I’m so disgusted with myself for not being able to do anything right now.”
But this time, I am just watching.
In the end, even though I became a villain, I could not use any power and could only watch.
If Dream Eater didn’t get me out, I couldn’t get out of here. And the possibility of that happening was very small, almost non-existent.
But-
“Do you want to help?”
“…Is this teabagging again?”
“Hey, don’t do that.”
Why do you keep giving me space? Why do we keep trying to give hope to those who are about to give up? Why-
“Do you know anything? “I will get you out of here.”
Are you stroking my head with that faint touch?
“…Phew. That’s really funny. Even though I am looking at this situation with suspicion, I am also confused because I see hope. “Are you that worried about those kids?”
“……”
“Do you know what’s really contradictory?”
It’s a contradiction.
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“In addition to saying, ‘This is a game world,’ you show so much genuine affection for the NPCs in the game.”
Certainly, I may be a contradiction in itself.
“The same goes for your reminiscence just now. “If this is a real game world, why are you feeling sorry for the NPCs?”
I always refer to the people who live here as NPCs and think of them as mere pieces of data, but I was treating the people who were important to me as people.
“Didn’t you already know the truth? “It is true that this world is based on a game, but it is still a real world where real, breathing people live.”
Actually, I already knew. It couldn’t possibly be that this world was just a piece of data.
The cold but fresh air at dawn, the very realistic scenery, the sounds of people talking, and most of all – the feeling of touch and even the pain are all real.
I realized this on the first day of being possessed.
“But why do you keep lying to yourself?”
“Because I didn’t want to admit it.”
Nevertheless, the reason I continued to deny it was probably because I didn’t want to admit it.
With my damn talent and damn stupid judgment, I will kick away the chance I got again, repeat my mistakes every time, betray the affection I received, and end up as a failure who took the wrong path again.
As someone who has already experienced failure, I did not want to admit that I failed again.
“That’s why it was like that. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.”
Killing people, using people, betraying people.
I make mistakes, make wrong choices, and do trash things.
In the end, isn’t everything you do to NPCs in the game world just fiction?
The NPC I value is- Well. You can treat it with care, like a character raised with affection.
If all of this were just a game, it would be okay if the players playing the game accidentally ended their lives.
Just as it is possible to retry even if you die over and over again, it didn’t matter if everything that happened due to my force was just something that happened in the game.
“That’s why it was like that.”
“It’s a realistic reason.”
“To be realistic, it’s the worst.”
Foolishly, I kept thinking that way.
If I hadn’t done that, my mind wouldn’t have been able to endure it, so I turned my eyes away from reality and continued to brainwash myself.
Despite the fact that he knew the reality better than anyone else.
“But it’s a shame that I only realized it now.”
However, now I have stopped shaking my head and insisting like a child. Looking back on the past, I wanted to make amends for my unfortunate life, but I abandoned the foolish act of blaming the world for my lack of ability along with the vain delusions of a child.
“This world is not a game world, and I am ultimately a person living here.”
This world is reality, and the people who live here are also people who live in reality. And I am one of them.
“We need to stop denying reality.”
All the people I killed were not NPCs or monsters. Those whose lives I have twisted, ultimately have their lives ruined because of me.
“Is that the end? What are you going to do with the guys you already ruined? What about the guys whose lives have been twisted in order to distort the future?”
“I should take responsibility.”
And the sin is mine alone. Since I am no longer a child, I will have to take responsibility for my actions.
I have to take responsibility for those whose lives have been ruined and give them a happy ending.
I have to pay the price for betraying those who trusted me, take responsibility and make them happy.
Yes, even if I risk everything.
“How?”
“Live as a villain, get caught as a villain, die as a villain.”
We will completely destroy and eliminate the evil brigade, and we will also eliminate all those who stand in our way.
And at the very end – following the lessons learned in the past, I was captured as a villain and received the punishment I deserved. He will die as a villain.
Repentance’s villains will not let themselves be caught. Just like my family did in the past, I could make them escape by sacrificing myself.
In order to do that, I’ll have to become stronger somehow, but there’s already more than enough time for that, so it doesn’t matter.
“-Are you crazy?”
“What? “Is this correct?”
The correct answer is that we must ultimately pay for the sins we have committed so far. And I committed a sin.
There is no way that sin will disappear just because evil is punished. In the end, I have to pay for my sins.
“Then what about the remaining guys?”
“You know what I’m thinking. “I will take responsibility and make it a happy ending and a happy life.”
“Ha… You damn selfish bastard. “It goes well and then it happens again.”
“…What?”
But what about this answer, why are you making such an expression? I glared at Dream Eater while trying to argue with that-
“Do you think the people who follow you, the people who value you, will accept the results?”
I just kept my mouth shut and couldn’t say anything.
“Do you think the people you cherish will let you go so easily?”
“…I forced myself to-“
“Stupid bastard. “No matter what you thought about saving people, it doesn’t change the fact that they were saved by you in the end.”
Dream Eater appeared in an instant, as if teleporting from back to front, grabbed his shoulder, and made eye contact.
“Kill everything that bothers you, save those who were destined to die or get hurt, and protect those who are in danger. Whatever the reason, in the end you saved them, right?”
She shouted with a wide smile in an exasperated voice.
“Why? What does it matter? There are a lot of trash in the world who don’t save people even if they see injustice, even if there is a reason. Procedure? Kill someone? What does it matter? Those are all bastards who committed sins, but didn’t they pay for their sins? It’s not like they slaughtered ordinary people in a fit of madness. Is it against the law? You know that too, right? That law is just trash. In the first place, why do we need to preserve intact the babies that are trying to kill people? “Don’t be a jerk!”
A movie theater that is falling apart little by little. Her voice echoing among them.
I can understand if you are blaming me. But what she says now is only affirmation of my mistakes.
“This world is not the world in the game, but unfortunately, it is definitely a world that came from that game and it is all wrong! So, throw away all the laws of this world!”
Ah. Yes, I did.
“Is there really anyone who pushed K to this extent against the evil brigade, the villain organization that has reigned for the longest time in the world? No! To put it bluntly, there wasn’t even one person! Any hero, including J and G, is just swayed. “There is only one person here who makes my heart beat!”
On the contrary, it was only strange until now, that guy – he was always like this.
“A world consumed by evil. Heroes die, and new villains always appear. “There was no use saving anyone in a world like this, but that’s why I gave up—Hyunwoo, you’re different, right?”
“You-“
“Who can say anything when a person who came from the world of gods acts according to the will of the gods? Rather, others should bow their heads and follow!”
She believed in God and lived as a nun to spread goodness, but eventually she surrendered to the world and became corrupted. Because she was a villain who abandoned the God she believed in and believed in an evil god that did not exist.
She shouts like she’s going crazy and has a bizarre smile on her lips –
“So, what I want to say is… Saving this world, killing the villains, correcting the heroes – everything you did.”
Then, as if she suddenly came to her senses, she lowered her head, then stroked my head with a gentle hand and smiled.
“On the contrary, it deserves praise. It is not your fault, let alone a sin. “I just wanted to say that.”
In a collapsing world, as if scolding a child.
“So, don’t feel so guilty.”
After muttering that, she quickly stepped back and shrugged her shoulders.
“Do what you want to do, do what you think is right, and keep moving forward like that – in the end, find the happiness you never achieved.”
The seats collapse every time she steps behind her. In a collapsing world that has already collapsed so much that it is difficult to even find traces of it to be considered a movie theater.
“Well, I guess I heard the answer. Now is good timing – it will be over soon.”
After I came to my senses from her words, I looked around and frowned.
“Suddenly?”
“Originally, everything in life happens suddenly. But- you know roughly, right?”
“Well, if you go this far, it’s hard to know what you want.”
What do you want? I kind of understand that now. I’ve done this to this extent, but if you don’t notice, it’s not just that you don’t notice, it’s that you’re an asshole.
Now that I have actually let go of various emotions such as the burden on my mind and guilt – I feel like my mind is clearer than ever.
However, there are still things we don’t know.
“…I’m really asking this for the last time.”
“What?”
“Why are you helping me?”
After thinking about her for a moment, I asked her from the crumbling world of her dreams.
Dream Eater is acting with a smile until the very end, but looks vaguely vague as if he is not used to acting.
Why on earth did you create this place and why did you help me so much?
I was simply possessed here… No, even if I came here because I was reincarnated. Even though I remember all my future memories.
In the end, what she wants is completely opposite to mine.
And again, why are you-
“…Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
I don’t know if he is looking at me with eyes filled with affection, with a sad gaze that reminds me of someone else.
“Hmm. “Okay?”
She continued to rest her chin in contemplation at my question, but when all her buildings finally collapsed and she lost her senses, she grinned and –
“-For the happy ending you’ve been longing for?”
“What.”
That’s bullsh*t.
She frowned and quietly opened her eyes at the vague answer that was neat but still left only questions.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Whoo, whoo-“
Hangyeol took a deep breath and cupped her forehead.
“Damn, there are too many…!”
The scene unfolding in front of him was a hell with numerous monsters, including the giant monster that was standing in the way, rolling around on the ground.
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But despite this, the monsters running forward trampling on the corpses and the people eaten by the dream still showed no signs of decreasing.
Hangyeol was still cornered and preparing for the next battle.
“Damn it.”
Heaches coming, my mental power is depleted from using my abilities too much, and my head feels like it is burning white.
That’s it. When fighting the giant monster, the arm that brushed against the monster’s leg seems to be broken, and the pain I feel in my chest after being hit by the flying monster’s lunge makes me feel like I’m going to pass out at any moment.
“Invisible Force.”
But he still stands on two legs and faces the monsters.
Never give up and fight no matter how unfavorable the situation is.
A mental strength that can be recognized by others, even Dream Eaters who are watching. He moves to protect his colleagues, or even people who are not his colleagues – a true hero.
Yes, the boy is like the main character in a game – no, he might actually be the main character – and no matter how cornered he is, he rushes forward and confronts the monsters.
-That’s amazing. But still, back off.
Moving to protect people includes those who have been eaten by dreams. His nature is so kind that he does not kill his enemies, no matter how good they may be.
If I hadn’t knocked them out – or at least, even after I knocked them out, I hadn’t taken action to move them aside so they wouldn’t get caught up in the battle – I might have been able to fight better than I am now.
-That’s why you can’t win.
That’s why she couldn’t trust him.
Investing into the hearts of good people and seducing bad people to become one’s side.
He was ridiculously inadequate to fight and win against K.
-So, it’s time for another main character to appear here.
So, we need to create another protagonist who can make up for the cruelty and determination he lacks.
“…Hey.”
“What, what?!”
Han-gyeol, who is running towards the monster, is startled by a sudden voice and screams and turns around.
After making eye contact with a boy, I was startled again, but-
“-You?!”
“Bow down.”
Even if it’s a sudden reunion, or in a situation where you might be embarrassed by the thought that your identity has been discovered.
It doesn’t seem to matter much to the boy who has already made up his mind. With his eyes shining as he clutched his sword, he swung his sword at the monsters approaching from afar.
Of course he knew. It was clear that no matter how much he swung his sword in the air, it would not reach him.
But still, he swung his sword. Light and exciting, as if drawing a picture in the air. But more than anything, it is heavy with strong will and power.
-Heh, it’s like the sword technique from a martial arts cartoon. No, did you say sword sword?
-I was thinking of fantasy… Sword Aura, something like that.
-It’s either that!
-Yes, it is martial arts. I mean martial arts. So, how about a name for this?
A technology that I had always thought of as a fantasy. It contains memories of contemplating and discussing technology with his friends, thinking that he might be able to use it someday.
“This is reality.”
I grabbed the handle of the sword and moved forward. As if performing a martial arts technique.
“Because I am a person living in reality.”
Throwing away all the sense of incongruity and wrong spirit I had felt so far-
“So. Now please listen to me. Damn ability. “You need to be more mature, too.”
Like that, he is.
“Slaughter.”
The limit has been exceeded.
“…Huh?”
Unlike Hangyul, who is surprised.
-Yes, that is it.
Dream Eater looked at that and smiled as if it was natural.
Suddenly? It couldn’t be expressed in words.
That’s right, no matter how short the period was – he trained and trained harder than anyone else during the four years.
-Common sense tells us that we can cut down the body and abilities of a guy who has already reached full maturity, so there’s no way he could just stay in the awakening stage, right?
Wild Pig, Weather, or the others.
The guy who cut off all those guys’ abilities and cut off their bodies. His ability to destroy the ground and buildings with just the ability to ‘cut things’ couldn’t possibly be at the awakening stage.
-Are you lacking talent? No, no. What you lack is
The ‘Power’ Of ability is strengthened through numerous trainings.
If the ‘Utilization’ Of ability is completed as a design of technology that originates from imagination.
What is needed to strengthen the ‘Level’ Of ability is literally mental strength.
-It’s just a difference in mindset. There is a world of difference between thinking it is virtual and recognizing it as reality.
If the nightmare of the past and the constraints of the present were holding him back.
He acknowledged his sin and his heart and moved forward –
-Congratulations. Just like overcoming winter and flowers blooming in spring.
“Ilsum.”
-…In full bloom. Hyunwoo.
I took a step forward toward the vain illusion I had longed for.
“-Huh? Huh?!”
A solid line drawn in the air. And at the same time, a burst of life.
Arms, legs, torso, head.
No matter what part of the human body it is, the monsters just draw a line, squirt out blood, and then collapse.
An unusual sight in which all enemies in front of the sword’s trajectory fall down, spouting blood.
Han-gyeol looked at the scene blankly and swallowed dry saliva-
“It’s been a long time.”
When Hyunwoo, smiling bitterly, approached him, he immediately turned his back with a complex expression on his face.
I tried to escape from being a child and face reality.
Paradoxically, his eyes contained the blue sky-blue desire of his childhood that he so desperately wanted.
“…Lee Hyeon-woo.”
“Yes, Hangyeol.”
His light blue eyes were shining and showing off their presence.
Just like that, the two main characters looked at each other and smiled.
“It’s a standard, but very satisfying story.”
Dream Eater, who was looking at them, quietly raised the corners of his mouth and nodded his head as if satisfied –
“…So Hyunwoo moved forward. What are you going to do?”
I stopped grinning and turned my head to ask when I felt a sign of popularity from behind.
“A heroine in tragedy?”