Player who Returned 10,000 years Later
chapter-475

Zzzzzt!

Static filled Kim Tae-Hyun’s vision. He could see a gray-colored world, a burning sky, distorted ground, and destroyed buildings.

“A-Aaaahh!”

There was a mountain made of countless corpses and a sea of blood. He threw up from the gut-wrenching stench.

“Bleeeeeeeeghhh!!”

His vomit mixed with the eyeballs on the ground.

“A-Arrrggghhh.”

Tae-Hyun stepped back as he trembled and looked up. On top of the mountain of corpses…

“Kang-Woo hyung?”

There was a demon.

The man had black sclera, yellow irises, black horizontal pupils, goat horns on his forehead, and wings of fire on his back. The man couldn’t be anything but a demon.

“Why is hyung…?”

However, the man looked like the one whom Tae-Hyun deeply idolized.

Fwoosh.

Kang-Woo’s wings, resembling a black sun enveloped by gold and black flames, swayed. He flapped his wings and slowly turned around.

Crunch, crunch.

He crouched and began to devour the corpses.

“Wh-What are you doing, hyung?!” Tae-Hyun called.

However, his voice did not reach Oh Kang-Woo. It was only natural since the sight that he was seeing was that of the future.

“Haaa, haaa.”

Just then, Tae-Hyun heard familiar heavy breathing at the foot of the mountain of corpses. He turned to the source of the sound.

‘Me?’

Tae-Hyun saw himself.

“Kang-Woo… hyung?”

His future self was trembling in shock.

Kang-Woo slowly stood up and asked dryly, “You… were alive?”

His voice was empty as if something had broken within him.

“H-Hyung… what is… all this?” Tae-Hyun’s future self looked around in confusion. “A-Aaaahh.” His eyes then widened as if he had understood everything. “It was… you? It wasn’t Bael… but you?”

Kang-Woo did not answer and stared blankly at Tae-Hyun’s future self.

“Answer me!!!” Tae-Hyun’s future self screamed. “I asked you if you did all this!!”

He collapsed and looked around at the city covered in corpses. He then unsheathed a sword with white frost covering its edge, unlike the dagger his current self used.

Kang-Woo slowly walked toward Tae-Hyun’s future self. Flames that looked like a black sun ignited the surroundings with each step he took. Kang-Woo’s mouth split open to his earlobes and revealed razor-sharp teeth.

“Yeah.” Kang-Woo nodded with a smile. “I did it.”

Tae-Hyun’s future self trembled in shock, tears flowing down his cheeks. “It… really was you, hyung.” His teeth clattered. “You’re… the Demon of Prophecy.”

Kang-Woo remained silent.

Tae-Hyun’s future self shouted in rage, “Wh-Why…?! Why did you do it, hyung?! How could you do something so atrocious?!”

The tears that accumulated on the tip of his chin dropped on a corpse, mixing with the blood.

“Why…” Tae-Hyun’s future self glared at Kang-Woo in resentment on his knees.

Kang-Woo slowly raised his right arm and covered his face with his hand. “Because…” His shoulders moved up and down as he cackled like a demon. He licked his lips and replied, “I was hungry.”

“What?” Tae-Hyun’s future self stared at Kang-Woo dumbfoundedly, unable to understand. “Hungry…? What… What are you talking about, hyung?”

“I…” Kang-Woo staggered as he walked. “I have to win.”

“...”

“Okay? I have to win.”

“Hyung.”

“Kihi, kihihihi,” Kang-Woo laughed as if broken inside. “Right, Balrog?”

He looked up at the sky and extended his arm toward it as if he were trying to grab something.

“Forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward,” Kang-Woo mumbled as if humming. “Pfft, ha, hahaha! Yeah, Balrog. You’re right. Forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward, forward!!”

Boom!

“To someplace higher! Higher than ever before!” Kang-Woo screamed madly as he reached for the sky. “Right? Huh? Am I doing it right?” Black tears flowed down Kang-Woo’s cheeks. “Right, Balrog…? I’m doing the right thing, right? Right? H-Hihi. What the hell, man? Why aren’t you answering me?”

Fwoosh.

The black sun burned.

“WHY AREN’T YOU ANSWERING ME?!!”

Boom—!

The earth shook.

“H-Hehe,” Kang-Woo giggled as if he had a screw loose. “Seol-Ah… Seol-Ah. Listen to me. Huh? Where did you go, Lilith? You said you would stop me, didn’t you? Hm? You said you would stop me if anything were to happen to me. H-Hihi. Si-Hun… Yeon-Joo… Wh-Where did you all go? Hm? Answer me already.”

“H-Hyung…”

“Pfft. H-Hihihihihi!” Kang-Woo giggled madly as he hugged himself.

Crack.

He turned his head far beyond what was normal for a human and slowly tilted it.

“Huh?” Kang-Woo stared crazily at Tae-Hyun’s future self. “You… were alive?”

Kang-Woo’s sharp teeth glinted; the starved beast bared his fangs at his prey.

“A-Aaaahh…” Tae-Hyun’s future self gripped his head in despair from the fact that the terror taking over him was from none other than Kang-Woo. “Sniff, sniff.”

The tears did not stop. Tae-Hyun’s future self could instinctively tell that his hyung, the man whom he deeply idolized, was no longer there.

“I… trusted you,” Tae-Hyun’s future self said as he gripped his sword tighter and bit his lip. “Even after finding out that you were the Demon King and the God of Voracity… I trusted you.”

He raised his sword covered in white frost.

“Why… Why did things end up this way?!!”

The surroundings froze in an instant once Tae-Hyun’s future self infused mana into the sword, which possessed the power to freeze the entire world.

“Haaa,” Tae-Hyun’s future self inhaled deeply and light poured out of his eyes as he gripped the sword exuding white frost. He commanded, “Freeze.”

Swoosh—!!

A frost storm so powerful that not even a being of godhood would be able to easily endure raged toward Kang-Woo.

“Heh.”

However, Kang-Woo split in half from neck to groin and something came out from the ends.

Crunch.

“Huh?”

Tae-Hyun’s hand, which had been holding the sword, was bitten off.

“A-Argh.” He staggered backward as blood poured out of the severed hand. “Gaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

Tae-Hyun’s future self screamed in immense pain. He twisted and turned as he fell to the ground.

“Mmm, how exquisite. It’s cooling my mouth.” Kang-Woo, who devoured Tae-Hyun’s hand along with the sword, nodded in satisfaction.

He walked toward Tae-Hyun’s future self, his body still split.

“A-Aaaahh.” Tae-Hyun’s future self looked up. He saw something within Kang-Woo’s split body. “Kang-Woo hyung…”

There was a black sea, an endless abyss large enough to devour the entire world whole.

Crunch.

Kang-Woo lifted Tae-Hyun’s future self and bit off his head.

Clatter.

Tae-Hyun’s necklace fell from his severed head. It began to exude blinding light once it hit the ground.

“Hm?” Kang-Wo tilted his head in confusion.

Whoooom!

The light wrapped the headless Tae-Hyun before Kang-Woo had a chance to grab the necklace.

Zzzzzzzzzt!!!

The gray distortion filled Tae-Hyun’s vision again, bringing along a severe headache.

“A-Aaaaaaaarrrrggghhh!!”

Tae-Hyun clenched his eyes. Tears of blood poured down his cheeks. Bulging blood vessels could be seen between Tae-Hyun’s fingers as he covered his eyes with his hands.

“Tae-Hyun?”

Tae-Hyun heard a voice; it was that of the hero he was now familiar with, and the brother whom he idolized.

“What’s wrong, Tae-Hyun?”

Tae-Hyun looked up to see Kang-Woo’s face.

“N-No.” Tae-Hyun shook his head and denied the nightmare that he had just seen. “There’s no way… hyung would do such a thing.”

It wasn’t even worth mentioning. Why would Kang-Woo, who protected Earth from the Parasite invasion, end the world?

“There’s… no way.”

However, Tae-Hyun knew deep down in his heart. He had already realized it.

“What’s wrong, Tae-Hyun? Did you see another future?”

The future that he just saw was inevitable and Kang-Woo, the monster putting on the façade of a hero, was the being who would end the world.

“Hyung… You were the Demon of Prophecy?”

Silence fell. Kang-Woo stared at Tae-Hyun with deeply sunken eyes.

“What the hell are you even talking about? I told you last time that Bael is the Demon of Prophecy.”

“...”

“You seem to have seen something with your ability, but you shouldn’t rely too much on—”

“Your wings.”

“What?”

Tae-Hyun stared at Kang-Woo’s back— or to be more specific, his wings of splendor shining gold.

“They look… the same.”

Although they were different colors, their unique fluid shape was the same as the wings that Tae-Hyun saw in his future vision.

“A-Aaaahh.” Tae-Hyun staggered backward and cried as he clenched his head. “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!”

The memories of his future self surged into his brain. The memories of the present and future mixed; it did not take long for Tae-Hyun’s consciousness to be taken over by his future self.

“What the…” Tae-Hyun raised his head and looked around. He mumbled as if he couldn’t believe it, “Wh-Why is Seoul… Th-The people are alive!”

“...”

“Wait… Yes, the Parasites! This is back when the Parasites attacked!” Tae-Hyun shouted in delight.

He then flinched once he saw Kang-Woo.

“Hyung— no, you damn demon.”

Tae-Hyun gritted his teeth and took out his dagger. He bit his lip and lowered his stance.

“I will kill you… right here and now.”

He glared at Kang-Woo furiously.

Kang-Woo placed his hand on his forehead as if he was getting a headache. “For fuck’s sake.”

‘Is it a fucking regression now? What a goddamn shitshow. What the hell is this novel’s genre?’