Chapter 528: Doom Kiyoung (3) |
“Excuse me, Mr. Ki-Young. If you’re okay, how about you eat something?” Kim Hyun-Sung suggested.
“No, I don’t have an appetite,” I replied.
“Please, Mr. Ki-Young. You barely ate yesterday.” Sun Hee-Young pointed out.
“O-Oppa, let’s eat together,” Jung Ha-Yan said.
“I’m fine,” I told her.
“B-B-But still…!”
“Leave it in front of the door, and I’ll eat it when I feel like eating,” I said.
“Okay…”
The atmosphere changed completely, and I couldn’t help but acknowledge that Lee Ji-Hye’s scummy thought was right.
I was sure that in addition to thinking about his mistake, he was also probably worried about my mental health.
Kim Hyun-Sung had lived a selfless life in his past life, so I was sure that he had realized by now that it wasn’t my fault that I ended up becoming a villain that caused a lot of damage to the continent.
He was worried that I would do something extreme.
After all, it wouldn’t be strange if I harmed myself or had a mental breakdown.
I told them that I wanted to be alone, but Kim Hyun-Sung would come to check up on me almost every three minutes, and it broke my heart. I definitely looked like fragile glass in his eyes, and that wasn’t all...
‘If you’re going to lie, you have to do your best not to get caught lying, Hyun-Sung.’
His lie didn’t last that long, but it was still a lie. In other words, he was probably worried about how I would take the fact that he had deceived me. He was surely worried about what I thought of him right now.
Of course, the mystery behind my transformation and my mental health had precedence over anything else, but it was undeniable that he had deceived me.
A part of him was probably thinking along the lines of—what if he’s deeply disappointed in the Blue Guild and me?
If that was true, then I was sure that he would do his best to resolve the issue.
I felt bad for the guild members because they were definitely suffering at the moment, but this was what I wanted. An escape worthy of a thumbs-up.
Even if I wanted to go back to that room, I was sure that they wouldn’t allow me.
And I decided to test it out myself…
“Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I called out.
“Yes? Yes, Mr. Ki-Young. I’ll be right there. Is… there something you need?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.
“I think… it’s best if we return,” I replied.
“Wait—”
“Please. Tell the carriage to go back,” I requested.
“...”
‘What’s wrong with him? What’s with his face? Is he really going to turn the carriage around?’
“Please…” I begged.
I shed crocodile tears, and that was when I got the reaction that I wanted from him.
“I know what you’re worried about, Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.
‘That’s what I’m talking about, damn it.’
“However, what you’re worried about won’t happen no matter what. No, even if it does, I’ll stop it, so don’t worry too much. You’re not dangerous, Mr. Ki-Young. At least, that’s how I feel…” he continued.
“But…”
“Please trust me. Trust yourself just as much as you trust me,” he added.
And that was basically how it went…
Who would be crazy enough to imprison someone again when they had already locked themselves up in their room because they couldn’t trust the other self inside of them?
If Kim Hyun-Sung decided to handle this situation that way, then he would definitely see a mentally unstable Lee Ki-Young.
Kim Hyun-Sung knew that Doom Ki-Young would return if my negative emotions managed to consume me, so he would definitely do his best to stop me from going into a dark place by myself.
‘It’s your time to return the gesture in kind….’
It was just an assumption of mine, but I could feel that his confession was nigh. He had been considerate of me in the past twenty days because he was afraid that I might have a mental breakdown after seeing the truth, but the situation had changed.
The main character had to give courage to the despairing supporting character.
In other words, Kim Hyun-Sung had to give me a reason to keep on living.
‘Like saving the continent from danger together.’
He could also tell me that he needed me. I could still remember clearly that we had talked about that before while we were in his consciousness, so I was sure that it was about time we talked about it once more.
‘The problem is how long it’s going to take…’
It probably wouldn’t take long, but I would definitely make sure to achieve the regressor event no matter what.
‘It’s the same for making Doom Ki-Young known to the public…’
I felt like an idiot for not thinking about the typical cliche of controlling the darkness within me. I revised my plan and thought about how I had to show a small group of people that I could control this power to a certain extent, and it would be even better if Benigoa could attest to it.
I was sure that the people around me would discourage me from using it, but characters in a similar position would usually have a critical penalty in exchange for using a hidden power.
The critical penalties were usually something like sacrificing one of your limbs to activate the power, or you would eventually be consumed by darkness if you were to keep using it.
I wanted to make things look more realistic, so I had to do it.
I was sure that the people around me would be even more worried about me.
Well, Lee Ji-Hye had made sure to include her personal greed in this plan, but I didn’t really care as long as the result was excellent.
In fact, I would actually welcome it.
While I was happily imagining the outcome of my plan, Kim Hyun-Sung spoke cautiously once more.
“Looks like we’ll be arriving at the Vatican soon. I’m not sure why you can’t return to your original self, but I’m sure they can help us. So… please don’t say what you said earlier so easily.”
“...”
“And I’d like to… sincerely apologize for the unnecessary decision I made,” Kim Hyun-Sung added.
“No, you don’t have to apologize, Mr. Hyun-Sung. I probably would’ve made the same decision if I were in your shoes. You did the right thing,” I told him.
“It’s really not like that—” he said.
“I’m not trying to blame you, so you don’t have to look like that. I completely understand that… you had no other choice.” I interrupted him.
I was bothered by his expression, so I ended it as if I was putting down the small burden that I had been carrying in my heart.
Meanwhile, the carriage finally slowed down. In other words, we were entering the capital of the Sacred Democratic Country. I stared at the capital with a somber look, but it seemed that the capital hadn’t really suffered that much damage.
No, it would be more accurate to say that it hadn’t taken any damage at all. After all, only the Federation and Lindel suffered from the demons’ arrival. The demons had completely avoided the capital.
Lindel was currently being restored, so the people of Lindel had probably decided to move here because it was the best place to live, second only to Lindel. The fact that I saw many adventurers around reinforced that assumption.
I nodded because I could feel Lindel’s energy from the city square of the capital. The majority of the adventurers stared at the carriage carrying the Blue Guild’s banner, but I didn’t cover the windows to hide from them because the windows were tinted.
However, it seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung was bothered by their stares, because he arbitrarily closed the curtains.
‘Is he planning on making the carriage travel all the way to the heart of the Vatican? No, it’s highly likely that we’ll get off right in front of it.’
It would be bad to reveal Doom Ki-Young’s return to the public, so the public had no idea what was going on, which explained their surprise upon seeing the powerhouses of the Blue Guild entering the capital.
They were obviously curious about the identity of the individual in the carriage, but they were probably making their own assumptions, like the Blue Guild moving their headquarters over to the capital. However, some of them had definitely come to the conclusion that Father Lee Ki-Young was in the carriage.
‘I’m pretty curious.’
I knew I was still influential in the Sacred Democratic Country, but I was curious about how much influence I had over the people. I wanted to see if people would welcome and worship me if I were to appear in front of them.
However, the carriage didn’t care about my thoughts at all as it continued moving.
Soon, it stopped, and I felt everyone leaving the carriage aside from me.
I was certain that we were already in the heart of the Vatican. I was sure that Kim Hyun-Sung and the others were currently explaining the situation to the members of the Vatican.
I opened the window slightly and saw only Father Basel and his confidants.
Father Basel looked thirty years older compared to the last time I saw him.
Meanwhile, Kim Hyun-Sung was still worried about the worst-case scenario, but His Holiness nodded worriedly in response to Kim Hyun-Sung’s words as he approached the carriage.
The knights discouraged him, but he actually yelled at them and shook them off.
‘Our Father Basel is still the same as always.’
The door of the carriage had probably opened, because I could finally hear their loud voices.
“Let go of me! You fools!” Father Basel yelled.
“If the Swordsman of Light’s words are true… it can be dangerous,” a knight said.
“What’s dangerous are your rotten minds, you scum! I told you to let go of me!” he screamed.
“Father Basel!”
“Get out of my sight this instant! Go away right now! You useless fools!” he continued.
“At least…”
One of the knights had to have fallen to the ground because I heard a loud thud. It was funny that a holy knight with high stats couldn’t control an old man, but it was proof that Father Basel was really worked up this time.
I saw Father Basel frowning while he was running over to me.
‘I really hope he doesn’t get a heart attack.’
I thought he would grab his heart and collapse due to the shock, but he actually looked calm. He looked at me with a reassuring gaze, and it was clear that my transformation wasn’t affecting him.
“Father Basel,” I said.
“You’ve done well. You’ve… done really well,” Father Basel said.
“I’m sorry for visiting you while looking like this…” I apologized.
“Hahaha. Your looks don’t matter; what’s important is that the light inside you must not fade away. I can’t let the light inside you fade away. My eyes can see that you still haven’t lost your light,” he said.
“Father Basel…” I mumbled.
“Since you’ve come all the way here, then there’s nothing for you to worry about anymore. The goddess is watching over you. Yes, I’m sure of it. Now, can you stand?” he asked.
He went over to try and support me. The holy knights who had belatedly followed him tried to stop Father Basel while muttering Benigoa’s name, but they failed.
I was actually showing them that I was trying to avoid Father Basel myself. I was acting like I was dirty and cursed. I was showing them that I didn’t want to inadvertently harm Father Basel.
When I moved back awkwardly, however, he took a step forward to help me stand up.
“W-We’ll help Father Lee Ki-Young… stand up, Your Holiness,” a knight stuttered.
“I’m sure that’ll be more comfortable… for Father Lee Ki-Young,” another knight said.
The holy knights discouraged him, but Father Basel didn’t budge.
“Forget it. I’ll take him to the goddess myself,” Father Basel told them.
“W-we’re afraid that he might harm the goddess in his current state, Your Holiness,” said a knight.
“For the sake of Father Lee Ki-Young’s safety… How about we think—”
“How dare you…! You better watch your mouth, you rotten fools! Your heads are filled with the demon’s curse! This is exactly what the demons want, you fools! Can you not see the light inside Father Lee Ki-Young?! Do you still not have any idea why Father Lee Ki-Young looks like this…?! Are you still clueless as to why the demons planted this power inside him?! You fools…!” Father Basel screamed.
“B-But…”
“It looks like your empty minds are filled with the demon’s curse! Bring me my weapon! I’ll personally crush the demon in the minds of these fools!”
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