YM778.TV Chapter 93 – The Pursuer VII
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The Pursuer VII
11
――How should I write the diary of the battle that took place that day?
I think I have managed to carry this episode quite well so far.
But now, as I reflect on the moment when I hunted down an exclusion god-level monster for the first time in my life, I suddenly feel the difficulty of describing it.
I always wish to be as truthful as possible to you all. If I happen to stammer out a poem, it is not to show off in front of you, but because there are nights in the sky that can only be expressed in poetic words.
Starlight poured down.
Those stars did not have light but the viscosity of water.
Swaaah― the red starlight poured down, producing the sound of a waterfall.
Like a sudden tsunami crashing onto the beach, the light made of water surged towards us, threatening to drown us.
Cheon Yeohwa quickly turned to me. We were still holding hands.
“Mister! Give me an order!”
“Never dissolve into your surroundings. That monster will try to test and experiment on you to eventually turn you into a predetermined object, like a lab rat. Various illusions and visions will engulf your life like a tidal wave. Do not be swayed and fix yourself.”
“Yes!”
Swaaah. The red water light quickly rose to waist height. I calmly and unwaveringly glared at ‘Endless.’
The distance between us and Endless was both just 10 meters and 100 meters. There was no rule that it couldn’t be 4,444 meters.
It was the distance between here and the other shore. It was Endless and Infinite. From that extreme horizon, the monster’s infinite laughter echoed.
Kyahahahahahaha ha ha ha ha―
If, as in ancient India, 13 kilometers were called a yojana, it was one yojana and also 20,000 yojanas.
In Buddhism, it is said that the hell of sentient beings is located 20,000 yojanas below the surface. That is, hell is 260,000 kilometers deep.
The diameter of the Earth is 12,700 kilometers. The distance from Earth to the Moon is 385,000 kilometers.
Since ancient times, the Moon has been the closest otherworldly realm from Earth.
Hell was precisely located in the distance sufficient and overflowing to traverse this world but terribly insufficient to reach another world.
Ka ha ha ha ha ka ka ka ka―
The midpoint between this world and the other shore. The realm where beings could no longer stay in this world nor had the strength to reach another world.
Therefore, in the territory of samsara, where the wheel of life merely spins in vain, only the endless mocking laughter of those sneering at humans resonated.
It was the sneer of the monster that alienated humans from the world.
“Yeohwa. In that monster’s domain, time and space can deceive you as much as they want. But ‘the fact that it is deceiving you’ itself does not change.”
“…”
Squeeze.
I held Cheon Yeohwa’s hand a little tighter. The distance between us was the smallest unit of distance that humans could have.
“…Yes.”
“The main culprit, person, or existence mocking you the most is the nail holding the illusion. Got it? Everything else will seem normal, but there will likely be something particularly abnormal. Pull out and eliminate that nail, and the illusion will disappear.”
“Oh! Ah, I totally get it! It’s like scenes I often see in manga. Okay. Mister, just leave it to me――.”
Flicker.
The light reached our chins, and our entire bodies were submerged in water. The sensation of our clasped hands almost swallowed by the water’s wavering became faint.
Clang, a sound echoed. It sounded like an elevator falling or the sound of a worn-out wheel rolling.
Perhaps it was the sound of time.
The world before my eyes changed.
12
Flicker.
“――Doctor Jang. Doctor Jang, what’s wrong?”
It smelled of summer. The scent of freshly fallen rain steeped in the leaves was as rich as the aroma of green tea.
It was a cedar forest. The cedars spread their roots in all directions, and atop their stiff legs, the blue hydrangea petals spread and stretched again.
Among the blue mature trees and the blue young petals, a playful old railroad track snaked through like a serpent.
“Really. Sigh. Be careful. If you get distracted like that, you’ll bite your tongue on this bumpy road.”
On the railroad was a miniature train, like a toy. It was a three-car mini steam train you might see in an amusement park.
Riding on that train, wearing a witch’s hat, Tang Seorin grumbled.
“…”
“Ah- Ah- the railroad is broken again. Even though the world has ended, aren’t the KORAIL workers being too lazy?”
Uhtcha, Tang Seorin jumped off the train.
Tang Seorin stretched out her body, “Uhtaahhh-” following the cedars and hydrangeas around.
Well, it had already been 4 hours since we boarded the train. I could stay still for 40 hours without any problem, but a frail magician like Tang Seorin would feel all stiff.
“…Understand. Even the KORAIL workers have become unemployed. The world is too harsh to demand passion pay.”
“Anyway, young people these days lack grit, grit. Sigh. I’ll reconnect the railroad, so you check the wheels. The train has been rattling for a while, and it makes me uneasy.”
“Alright. Leave it to me.”
“Okay.”
I gathered tools from the freight car and examined the wheels of our steam train… the ‘Hogwarts Express.’
Please don’t criticize the name of the train. In this journey, this insane plan to travel around the world on a miniature steam train, my authority was significantly insignificant.
The planner of this trip, who has loved Harry Potter so much since childhood that she always wore a witch’s hat all year round, twirled her wand.
“Separation-Restoration.”
A two-line song flowed simply from Tang Seorin’s lips.
Clang- Clang, Clang-
The tracks we had just passed split and floated in the air. Then they moved to the position of the broken tracks ahead.
Clack!
The disconnected tracks were restored in an instant. Of course, the price was that the tracks behind us were now broken, but well. What did it matter?
It’s hard to believe there would be other lunatics in the world like us who would undertake such a crazy journey.
“Done― How are the wheels? Are they broken?”
“No, just some bolts were a bit loose. I’ve tightened them with all my strength, so there shouldn’t be any problems for a while.”
“Good. Then let’s move out again!”
Clatter.
The express train moved. The horn blew a loud “Pwoooo―” as steam was vigorously released.
For the record, that wasn’t real steam from burning coal. It was just an ‘illusion magic’ set by Tang Seorin.
Not only the steam. Our express train was filled with ‘illusion magic for steam engines,’ which Tang Seorin had meticulously designed for 30 days, detailed down to the smallest details.
In a world gone mad, we were slightly more insane than others, and among us, Tang Seorin was outstandingly the most insane.
“We’ll be crossing into North Korea soon.”
Tang Seorin unfolded the map.
A map worn with use. Colored here and there with red and yellow markers. It trembled like an autumn leaf in the rattling of the tracks.
“From North Korea, we go to Tumen River Station, cross over to Khasan Station, and then it’s Russia. Then we take the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way up.”
“…….”
“Oh, I’ve had riding the Trans-Siberian Railway on my bucket list forever!”
Clatter, clatter.
“To think that I’d end up traveling only after the world had ended. Life is really mysterious. Anyway, after Moscow, we head to Belarus, Poland, Germany….”
“Right.”
“Huh?”
I muttered softly.
“Yes, this is my dream.”
“…….”
“To travel the world with you, Tang Seorin. On a strange train remodeled to your taste.”
“……? What are you suddenly talking about?”
Tang Seorin tilted her head, still holding the map.
“We’re doing that right now.”
The cedar forest swayed in the wind. I looked up at the sky. The hazy steam was rising along the sky’s breath.
“One car of the train is yours, Tang Seorin. Common sense says you wouldn’t give up the first car to anyone else. That one car is also your room. You’ll decorate it as you wish, just like a caravan camper. Skulls, crystal balls, wands, brooms… You might even raise an owl.”
“…….”
“The second car is my room. Initially, it would be neatly organized, but as the travel days go by, your belongings would gradually invade and encroach on my territory. You collect so many odds and ends that one car won’t be enough space for you.”
Clatter, clatter.
“The third car is the dining and rest area. The fourth car is a storage. With my magical trunk bag, space is surprisingly sufficient. If the tracks break, you can connect them with magic and song, and if monsters attack, I’ll fend them off. We can go anywhere, as far as we want. We can travel forever.”
“…….”
“But not yet.”
Clatter.
“Tang Seorin. The night I revealed I was a regressor after we exterminated the Ten Clans and you died. I swore to set this world back to the way it was before traveling with you.”
“When do you think we can leave?”
“Sorry. Honestly, it’s still far off.”
I chuckled softly.
“But… I always remember. Tang Seorin. And you need to get stronger too.”
“Me? Why?”
“Because we’ll be crossing the Atlantic and Pacific by train. You’ll have to use magic to freeze the sea in real-time and create an ice railway. Even if we reach the beach and there’s a lone telegraph pole standing in the sand, our journey won’t end.”
“Goodness. Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much mana it would take to freeze the sea continuously in real-time?”
“Listen. And it’s not just crossing the sea simply; we’ll follow the sea route that the Titanic sailed!”
“My goodness. Are you crazy? That’s a really great idea.”
We chuckled softly.
“…I see. Doctor Jang, you have a ‘perfect memory ability.’ No matter how illusory, you won’t lose your coordinates.”
“Yes.”
Tang Seorin looked up at the sky.
“Ah- Ah- So, the promise to travel together made centuries ago is postponed again?”
With her legs draped over the side of the train, she sighed deeply like the locomotive exhaling steam.
“Centuries? It’s been almost a thousand years. Seriously, what kind of friend schedules a trip a thousand years in advance and then postpones it again?”
“I’m sorry. It’s mostly Old Man Scho’s fault.”
“Pfft. Ha- haha! Yeah, it’s definitely his fault. He was a dealer who ran off alone, even though you were supposed to be his supporter.”
Tang Seorin laughed for a while.
Then she looked at me.
“I’m probably just a mere illusion of the anomaly. Like an AI created to be as close as possible to the entity called ‘Tang Seorin’ by copying your memories. Yet, why do you still treat me as your friend?”
“Don’t be silly. Life itself is just a dream. There’s no need to dismiss it as delusion just because we dreamed again within a dream. Rather, I’m grateful that you follow me in every dream.”
“…….”
My companion was silent for a long time.
Then she smiled at me.
“…I’m looking forward to the journey. It makes my heart race.”
“Me too.”
“I’ll be waiting. Even if it’s a thousand years later.”
Clatter-
The wheels moved.
13
What gets imprinted in childhood leaves a mark throughout one’s life. Just as magic and wizards did for Tang Seorin.
The first shape a person witnesses after birth is a circle, a sphere.
The human pupil.
The eyes of a mother and father. Someone’s eyes. A black island floating in a white, boundless sea.
That island wasn’t a lonely island but a twin island made of two pairs.
The most perfect shape for humans was the circle, and the round shape was always the archetype.
The archetype of humans looked at me.
“――Huff! Ah, sir?”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“Just now… Wow, it’s exactly the same… Unbelievable. I just spent over five years in elementary school! Wow, really… Wow.”
“It took quite a while.”
“I’m getting goosebumps. Really, how can such an anomaly exist? How…?”
I smiled.
“Who was the nail of the illusion?”
“Ah- um, it was my mother. She passed away when I was in the fifth grade. My family is pretty much filled with all sorts of cults. Only my mother was sane.”
“I see.”
Creak.
If you look around, it was still a galaxy teeming with thousands, millions of colors. Schools, hospitals, prisons, cinemas, cityscapes constantly intersected.
Caw, caw, caw—
The anomaly laughed.
But the universe was definitely a bit smaller than before.
The size where material was absent was exactly the capacity that could contain the mind.
“You swam out well. But it’s not over yet. Until we reach the core of that anomaly, illusions will intrude at every step.”
“…….”
“Whether to call it an illusion or not. It’s essentially another life. You could use the term ‘route’.”
“Route…”
“Embedding a ‘substitute existence’ for your time, your life, your existence. By doing so, the anomaly takes over your place. Just like it snatched Baekhwa (White Flower) and turned it into Baekhwa (Hundred Tales).”
“…If you can’t swim out of the route.”
“In this reality, you will disappear, and something else will wander around in your name, ‘Cheon Yohwa.\'”
“…….”
Cheon Yohwa nodded.
“…I don’t like that. Yes. I don’t like it.”
“What a coincidence. Neither do I.”
“But still… That anomaly looks so far away. I definitely feel like it’s closer than before, though.”
Cheon Yohwa stared into the void.
“How much longer… I mean, how many more routes do we have to swim through? Honestly, I just snapped out of three years in elementary school, so I’m still feeling dazed.”
“In this void, distance has no meaning. It’s always about the anomaly’s self-rules, the laws of existence. And in this case…”
Step.
I took Cheon Yohwa’s hand and took a step forward. Then two footsteps, twin black islands, were imprinted in the world.
“Three more steps.”
Death (Sa).
A strategy to turn the anomaly disguised as death (Sa) back into the reality of four steps (Sa). A ritual.
Since it was a rite of death, I called it a funeral.
I was Doctor Jang.
“Let’s go, Yohwa. It’s okay. As long as there are two people who don’t let go of each other’s hands, humans can do anything.”
“…Yes! Ah, damn, the national competition finals were way, way tougher! Let’s take it on!”
Blink. Clatter.
The archetype of man blinked, and the archetype of the universe turned its loop.
The wheel of time moved.
From the other shore to this shore.
Three steps forward.