Chapter 330

While Chi-Woo looked into the distance, he suddenly felt someone grabbing and pulling his arm.

“Come on. I’m curious too.” Hawa pulled on his forearm and looked back at the wall. “About what’s inside.”

Soon after, Chi-Woo’s feet lift off the floor. He crossed the first line, then the second, and finally the third. When he was about to reach the wall, his foot got caught by something. He looked down and saw a fence—a small, thin fence that he could easily cross just by lifting his legs. While he was staring at the fence and standing still, he suddenly recalled what Byeok had told him.

[This is the strongest seal I can put on you.]

[It was unreasonable to completely block it with La Bella’s power in the first place. And if you want to, you can lift the ban whenever.]

[The reverse is also true: you can suppress it whenever you want.]

[…No matter how much you suppress it, that seal can act as a fence to hang your feet for at least a moment.]

Chi-Woo eventually crossed the fence. Hawa, who was urging him to go on, had completely disappeared. Instead, he heard Samigina’s voice.

—Only you can open that wall.

Chi-Woo reached out without hesitation. As Samigina said, he felt as if he could do whatever he wanted with this wall despite how strong it seemed. Chi-Woo touched the wall for a while and soon took a few steps back.

Thud, the wall collapsed. One by one, the other walls enclosing this small s.p.a.ce followed. And when the hidden s.p.a.ce was finally revealed, a white light filled his vision, and he felt the sensation of being sucked somewhere else around his navel area.

–I see. You can open it, but you don’t have the right to face it yet.

By the time Chi-Woo heard Samigina’s voice, he realized that he was standing in a strange but familiar place.

–Then you can earn those rights.

‘This is…’ A familiar elevator, a familiar apartment door…yeah, how could he forget? It was the house he"d been dreaming of. In front of the wide open door, he saw a young man. Standing tall, Chi-Woo stared blankly inside the house that let out cold air, and he fell into thought while staring at the young man’s back. This was…probably that time.

When he was about to leave home, his brother’s words had come to mind; that was why he stopped. What did his brother say? Did he say that whenever he felt too tired and wanted to give up, he"d gain strength by thinking about the snacks he left back home? Chi-Woo didn’t know why, but he had also wanted something like that. Chi-Woo pa.s.sed by his other self standing like a stone statue and entered the house. As soon as he went inside, he saw a black bag in the corner of the wooden table.

On the day he left, he had bought chicken because he felt envious of the family who was eating chicken at a pub on his way back home. Of course, he hadn’t opened the box then. Chi-Woo approached the box as if he was possessed, hurriedly opened it, and took out a cold chicken leg. He was about to take a big bite without thinking when—

–Is this your last lingering attachment?

Chi-Woo paused.

–Cut it off. Only then can you gain the right.

He heard Samigina’s voice ringing in his ears.

–The right to transcend and become greater.

Chi-Woo’s mouth closed. He turned to his other self, who was looking at him from outside the front door. Soon after, a snort came out of Chi-Woo’s nose, and the corners of his mouth went up uncontrollably. Then his mouth opened wide, and he tilted his head full back while his shoulders shook. Chi-Woo laughed silently for a long time as if he couldn’t suppress it anymore.

–…What is it?

Samigina sounded slightly dumbfounded.

–Why are you laughing? What’s so funny?

“No—It’s just—” Chi-Woo managed to stop laughing and breathed heavily. “I was wondering what you were going to say.” He continued while wiping his tears, “You’ve risked your existence just to say that?”

–…I told you.

Samigina’s voice sounded a bit heavier.

–It’s something I can’t do. But that’s not the case for you.

“Ah, really?”

–Only those who are chosen, and those who can choose—.

“Stop.” Chi-Woo cut him off. “I’ve heard enough. I didn’t expect to hear Machiavelli’s The Prince here, but it’s really too bad.” He smirked and continued, “I have no intention to do as you want.”

–What?

“I’m saying it won’t work out the way you wish.”

There was a moment of silence.

–It’s not that you don’t know. Why does it seem like you don"t understand?

Soon, he heard Samigina’s voice again.

–Do you think I’m trying to trick you right now?

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–Do you think this whole process is merely a great demon trying to entice and tempt a human with sweet words?

–I also know it’s not going to work against you, and you know that’s not what I’m trying to do, right?

He sounded slightly offended.

–It’s because I feel so regretful. It’s such a pity.

Chi-Woo snorted at his truly lamenting tone and said, “I’m the one who pities you instead. You know one thing but not the other.”

–?

“Well, it’s no wonder. How can you know that there’s something greater than what you’re talking about now when you’re just stuck in a small room and researching all day?”

–…Ha.

Sagimina let out a small exclamation as if he thought Chi-Woo’s response was unexpected.

–What is it? Since you of all people are saying that, it’s making me curious.

He asked in a deeply curious voice.

“Fine. I’ll tell you. It’s—” Chi-Woo lifted what was in his hand and spoke nonchalantly, “Chicken.”

–?

“Chicken is truly great. Savory and crispy fried chicken is great, but spicy and sweet seasoned chicken is equally amazing. And again—” While Chi-Woo sang the praises of chicken, his opponent didn’t respond; Samigina seemed a little lost.

“It seems like you still don’t understand. How about it? It’s a little cold now, but want a bite?” Chi-Woo held out the chicken leg in his hand and shook it.

–I really…don’t understand…

After a while, he heard a completely baffled voice.

–It’s the easy way out. It’s a path that has been prepared for you since a long time ago.

–It’s not even that hard. You just have to walk on that path.

Samigina’s voice lost its steam like he’d given up.

–It’s also a way to meet everyone’s expectations. There’s no reason not to walk on it in every way.

–How can you refuse to take the path to become the greatest who can even put the legend far below you…

Chi-Woo frowned while listening, “Seriously, hero this, hero that.” He covered both ears, indicating he didn’t want to hear anymore.

–You’re the one who thought you had to be a hero to survive.

Samigina spoke as if he was trying to teach and persuade Chi-Woo, but Chi-Woo shrugged. He admitted the last part. He couldn’t survive as an ordinary person on Liber, so he decided to abandon his way of thinking on Earth. At the Evelaya Volcano, he had prepared himself to die—so that he could survive. The important point here was that this process was merely a means and a method, and it wasn’t his ultimate goal. The real goal that he desired and wanted was completely different.

It was this contradiction that Samigina pointed out. Liber was now in need of a more powerful leader than ever. They needed a hero unprecedented in history to bring everyone together and return Liber to how it originally was, and in order to do that, everything needed to be adjusted and molded for Liber. All judgments and decisions needed to be made only for Liber’s present and future. Chi-Woo needed to have an iron will with which he could easily throw away personal and trivial matters. As Samigina said, he needed to be a hero like Giant Fist and Mua Janya and other heroes, who could sacrifice their lives like burning candles for the cause, for the better future of Liber.

However, the current Chi-Woo did not meet this standard. He wasn’t completely white or black and was more gray, more in the middle. Chi-Woo was also well aware of this. “…So what?” He countered with an air of indifference. “What do you want me to do?” He smiled brightly and said, “I like chicken.”

—That blasted chicken…!

“Oh, but I agree with one thing.” There was one part that Chi-Woo agreed with. “I agree that everything that exists should live according to their essence.”

—Then why are you…!

“But.” However, there were always exceptions. “That doesn’t mean that essence should surpa.s.s existence. You think I’m a door? Or this table? To just live according to how I’m made?” His parents, teachers, and mentor had all repeatedly told him to live how he wanted. He had lived like that so far, and he planned to continue living that way. “It’s fine as long as I reach the goal in the end.”

Since he was born a human, Chi-Woo was satisfied with living like a normal human. He was fine if people insulted him for having a small dream. He didn’t care what other people said, since everyone had different goals. He wanted to give strength to his parents who lost their memories and thought his brother had just gone missing. He wanted to help his parents regain their lost memories and bring them out of their helplessness. He wanted to repay his family’s dedication for helping him when he was straying to the wrong path.

In order to do that, he needed to get his brother and return to Earth after balancing this chaotic world as soon as possible. And the direction he took was not going to be according to anyone’s wishes or arrangements, but in the way he wanted and was most like himself.

“I’m really looking forward to it.” Chi-Woo gulped while looking at the chicken leg in his hand. “I wonder what it would feel like when everyone gets together and takes a bite of the chicken leg after everything is finished. How delicious would it be?” Just imagining it made his mouth water. He wanted to taste it, but Chi-Woo endured and left it untouched. He shouldn’t eat it now. That way, his desire to return to Earth would persist for a long time. He now understood why his brother hadn’t shared his snacks when he was young.

Moreover, Chi-Woo felt like he could understand why the prophecy had said he was a ‘successful’ candidate and not just a ‘suitable’ candidate. Thanks to this event, Chi-Woo was able to organize various thoughts, and he felt much more refreshed. It was now time to finalize his decision. Chi-Woo dropped the chicken leg he had been holding back into the box. “…So.” There was one thing he wanted to say.

“A hero?” Samigina talked about becoming great by being reborn as a true hero and correcting Liber’s balance. However, Chi-Woo had no desire to be one. Something like that—

“To h.e.l.l with it.” Chi-Woo spoke with his eyes s.h.i.+ning brightly. Then he made a refres.h.i.+ng smile and raised his middle finger for Samigina to clearly see.

Crashhhh! The mental s.p.a.ce broke into pieces.

* * *

Right after Samigina entered the fire pit and popped out, the rescue team, who had been on high alert, all looked puzzled. Nothing happened—except for the fact that Chi-Woo suddenly collapsed. Everyone hurriedly gathered in surprise, but Chi-Woo was unresponsive. He was breathing, but no matter how hard they tried to wake him up, he didn’t. He just lay on the ground as if he was sleeping.

“W-What? What happened?” Yunael looked around and asked.

—I think he got dragged into Samigina’s mental s.p.a.ce…

Philip glanced sideways at the furnace and smacked his lips because he wasn’t sure. It felt like Chi-Woo easily let himself get dragged. Although his opponent had risked his existence and used the magic fire pit, it was Chi-Woo of all people. If Chi-Woo really wanted, he could have resisted, but judging by what happened, it seemed as if he allowed Samigina to drag him in.

—…What on earth are you thinking?

“What the h.e.l.l happened!” Yunael’s cry rang out again. Everyone became mute. Since everything happened so fast, they all had no idea what happened.

“I saw something pour out…” Abis murmured, dumbfounded. As she said, everyone clearly saw darkness erupt out of the fire pit. Then Chi-Woo alone collapsed, while everyone was safe and sound. Although they didn’t know what exactly happened, it wasn’t hard to guess. What was clear was that Chi-Woo was currently handling Samiginia’s final blow by himself.

Yunael’s face turned pale. They were the ones who had stubbornly insisted on staying and asked for help to find their teammates. In the end, Chi-Woo had been right. Their two teammates had already crossed the river of no return, and in addition, Chi-Woo had…because of them… The train of thought made this situation unbearable for Yunael.

“…Wake up. Don’t mess around with me,” Yunael said with a dazed expression. “I’m telling you, w-wake up. You said you were great. You’re the leader of Seven Stars.” Stuttering, they grabbed Chi-Woo, but he still didn’t respond. This was the end? For real? Yunael soon took in a deep, trembling breath and shouted, “Wakeeeeeee upppppp!” Yunael shook Chi-Woo like crazy.

—Hey, stop!

Philip tried to stop them even though he knew he couldn’t.

Cras.h.!.+ Suddenly, they heard the sound of s.p.a.ce cras.h.i.+ng. Chi-Woo’s tightly shut eyes fluttered open, and he immediately sat up.

“Ahompf!”

And thus b.u.mping heads with Yunael, who was shaking him wildly. They looked at each other with wide eyes. Chi-Woo calmly tilted his head back and turned away. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he spat calmly.

“W-What—” Yunael pointed at Chi-Woo in shock. Then they looked back after hearing something crash from behind. Samigina was sprawled on the floor; there were cracks all over his body as if he was going to turn into a handful of ashes at any moment.

“Pwef—” When everyone saw Chi-Woo turn his neck from side to side and got to his feet, they could all clearly guess who won in the collision between the two. Chi-Woo walked towards Samigina and looked down at him. The great demon’s entire body was twitching. Samigina had become so weak that he looked like he would crumble if Chi-Woo just squeezed him with his hands. It was the natural result of using his existence as the price.

“I don’t know if you got the answer you wanted, but…” Chi-Woo saw Samigina move his mouth desperately and softly said, “I don’t think I got enough.” He stretched as hard as he could and smiled. “So you have to pay for the rest, okay?”

All his teammates blinked quickly. They didn’t know why, but Chi-Woo seemed a bit…different from before he collapsed.