SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon
chapter-178

I hoped it wasn’t true, because that would be … too much for Ki Yoohyun. But the Demon God affirmed, his eyes flashing with delight.

【Yes.】

“……!”

【Infinite evil rising from the Primordial Chaos. The nightmare itself. A God of the Abyss. That is me, and that is also not me.】

My heart pounded and my head throbbed. The Demon God spoke calmly, as if reminiscing about a distant past.

【This body was the only suitable vessel. Other humans would go insane or die just looking at my true form.】Ki Yoohyun’s voice continued, 【I made a hole in his soul, and the Spider Goddess spun the threads through it. It took a long time for the web to be completed, but Aeon led him to me.】

I remembered the past of Ki Yoohyun, glimpsed through the vision. Everything that had happened was for this moment?

I stood in front of a being who bore the face of Ki Yoohyun, but who was so unfamiliar to me. There was no trace of him anywhere on his face that I knew.

Was this emotion that flooded my heart just a feeling of emptiness?

No, sadness and fury were filling my heart.

【The story is over. Now it’s time to put an end to this ridiculous fight.】

The Demon God raised his sword above his head. A dark aura enveloped the sword and it smouldered.

【 Hahaha! There is nothing to regret. Soon, others will follow.】

Boom! A black glowing magic sword flew straight towards us.

Klang! The first to come to his senses was Kang Hyunwoo. Even in the midst of his despair, he remembered his duty and raised his sword to block the Demon God’s attack.

“Ugh, uh….!”

However, the Demon God has become stronger than before. He managed to block one blow, but the following attacks were not so easy. In the ensuing struggle, Kang Hyunwoo’s sword cracked.

“Yaaaaah!” In the meantime, Joo Shinhee fired a flurry of arrows, many of them flying towards the Demon God’s chest.

But the Demon God laughed and dodged the arrows with ease. The arrows burst into flames as they hit his sword. Joo Shinhee drew her arrows back to her quiver and shouted desperately.

“Guild leader-nim! Wake up!”

【Ugh……. My head……. What’s going on here? I…….】

“Heuk, guild leader-nim! You’re…..” Joo Shinwoo, who was surprised, tried to approach the Demon God.

I screamed urgently, “No! Shinwoo, stop!”

“Yes? What … ugh! Cough, cough!”

【Hahaha! That’s so funny!】

The Demon God that attacked Joo Shinwoo burst out laughing. It was an act. He was having fun making fun of us.

Drop. Joo Shinwoo collapsed to the ground helplessly, unable to express his anger.

The battle continued, but no effective damage could be inflicted on the Demon God. All we could do was dodge his attacks and hold on.

“Ugh…..!”

“Lona!”

Lona, who was about to use the power of the Grimoire, staggered back as she was hit by the attack. Jijon braced her body and blocked the flying magic sword. My skin stung and ached. It was due to the black energy the Demon God emitted.

Time ticked away in the system window. I stared helplessly at the heartless numbers.

‘No…….’

【Boring.】

【I tried to treat you as my own because you were the colleagues of my ‘vessel’, but it wasn’t even worth the effort. It’s over.】

The Demon God has gathered his power. A tremendous power unlike anything I had seen before began to emanate from him.

No, no. This attack is impossible to withstand. Everyone’s faces clouded with devastation as they realised this.

Tuk! I couldn’t hold on and my knees hit the ground. The pressure was so intense that it was hard to lift my head and look directly at the Demon God. I tried to push myself up with my hands, but my body succumbed to the horror of the unknown.

……It was then.

Ash stepped forward.

As if the immense power that filled the room was nothing to him, he walked straight towards the Demon God.

I grew uneasy. Barely lifting my upper body off the ground, I called out to him, “Oh, no …. Ash, it’s dangerous. Don’t go.”

“…….”

He didn’t answer.

Strangely, the Demon God didn’t try to attack him. Instead, he simply looked at him with a puzzled expression.

【…….】

“No. Ash, don’t go…..”

If I could, I wanted to grab that child’s hand and pull him away. I wanted to tell him that he should only care about his own safety. But no matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn’t listen.

Why am I so weak?

The person that I loved was possessed by a Demon God and his soul was lost.

The child who I considered my younger brother has stepped forward.

All the while, I was unable to do anything. I regressed, but remained helpless.

I pleaded in despair, “You promised. You promised me.”

“…….”

“Ash, no…….”

I had no idea what Ash was trying to do, but I had a hunch it wasn’t something I wanted.

As he walked past me, he got further and further away.

“No. Don’t, Ash. Please don’t go.”

Everything around me seemed to slow down, as if in slow motion. As he drew closer and closer to the Demon God, the Demon God was … scared? No, his eyes were wide open, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

Ash looked back at me one last time.

Ah. Round cheeks, eyes with a slight upturn at the corners, a slender body, and…..

A smile. He smiled. It was the brightest smile I had ever seen from him.

How could he smile like that?

Ash’s face was blurred through my tear-stained vision. With only the shape of his mouth, he spoke to me.

“Goodbye.”

A moment that seemed like an eternity passed. It was impossible for me to fully comprehend what was unfolding before my eyes.

Ash reached out and touched the Demon God.

Flick. The noise created from that touch. As if it was a contact that couldn’t be possible. The noise grew louder and louder until it enveloped both the Demon God and Ash’s bodies.

[The incarnation of Demon God ████ has been recovered.

Please be aware of the shock.]

“……!”

A blinding flash of light that seemed to obliterate everything burst forth.

Click. There was the sound of a door opening.

And then.

[Checking your eligibilities … Completed.]

[The Eligible: Kwon Rieul has been verified.]

[Ether-Wiki]

[Welcome to the encyclopedia of the dimension cultivated by The Eligible.]

[Information collection rate: 100%]

***

Ash quietly looked at the Demon God.

It didn’t take long for his suspicion to turn to certainty. He could smell the familiar scent of magic from the moment he stepped through the Gate.

The Demon God in Ki Yoohyun’s body was also aware of Ash’s presence. Their eyes met for a moment. It was then that the Demon God opened his eyes wide in surprise.

Ding!

[※Caution: Contradiction occurs!

Those who cannot exist at the same time are in the same space.]

Ash glanced at the notification and deleted it.

Yes. That Demon God and himself were theoretically the same being. To be exact, they were fragments of a same body. The only difference was, that Demon God was much more complete and stronger.

[※Caution:

Multiple incarnations of the Demon God ████ cannot exist at the same time.

In the event of a contradiction, the incomplete incarnation will perish.

Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

Ash deleted the notification again and walked towards the heart of the hall, towards the Demon God.

[Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

[Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

[Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

He could tell without reading the endless warnings. The closer he got to the Demon, the more he felt something deep inside him crumble.

This happened back when he was trapped in the dungeon during the Sephiroth Branch incident.

He had found the traces left in the soul of the man he didn’t like …… Ki Yoohyun. It was the mark of a soul that had been fragmented and lost.

With so many of his memories erased, how could that person smile as though he was fine? Ash had that doubt.

From the moment he had seen the marks, some part of him had been vaguely expecting that this would happen; because that person had been falling apart little by little over a very long period of time.

‘That’s why I’m here..’

It’s an inherently imperfect body. At some point, he had to destroy this body and go back to the main body. He just didn’t want to admit it because he was enjoying the present life and having fun.

‘Ah. Now I understand it clearly.’

This was the reason why an incomplete being like him was still in the world. It was for this moment, to save someone precious to him. It was the only way to stop that Demon God now.

So…….

“No. Don’t, Ash. Please don’t go.”

So don’t look at me like that. This would be the last time I saw you, yet you were crying. I would rather see you smiling.

【…….】

The Demon God in Ki Yoohyun’s body hardened his expression when he saw Ash.

Individual incarnations are in an unstable state. Unable to exist at the same time, they are both themselves and not themselves. When they see another incarnation, they feel confused about their own existence.

[Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

[If you approach any further, the boundaries of individual incarnations may collapse.]

With steady steps, Ash approached the Demon God that had formed from the same source.

For the last time, he looked back.

He could see her eyes, soaked with tears. Her soft and wavy hair, her red lips twisted in grief.

Ash recalled his time in Cafe Rieul.

How Rieul would grumble about the smallest things, and then burst out laughing at silly jokes. The way she pretended to act like an adult and treated him like a child. Her courage sometimes surprised him.

The sweetness of coffee that he drank after his part-time job.

The animals that came and bothered him, the first friends he made. And…….

He realised that there was much more he wanted to say, but…..

It’s not like he’s going to die. He wouldn’t disappear either. The separate self might be gone, but he, who returned to his original body, the Chaos, would still exist. So…..

In the end, this was the only word he could offer. Ash moved his trembling lips. The soundless word was carried away by the wind.

“Goodbye.”

[Please be careful about contact with the subject.]

Whizz, whizz━ A noise erupted. The noise grew louder and louder, and soon enveloped Ash’s entire body.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!

Contradiction occurs!]

[You encountered your separate self. The boundaries of individual entities begin to collapse.]

[Magic power depleted!

The Incomplete will perish. The reconstruction of existence will proceed.]

[The Primordial Chaos reclaims its incarnation.]

[The Gate has been opened.]

…….

…….

…….

…….

[The “Ultimate Gate” has been opened.]

[Keyholder: Kwon Rieul (F) has entered beyond the door.]

[Rebooting the Causality.]

[The system will take some time to reboot.

Please wait a moment.]

[Now Loading…….]

A burst of light blasted out.

Buried in those light, Ash smiled.