VSP 161

It was only natural, but Dogyeong couldn’t suddenly run to Sejun’s side just because he called out so weakly. After all, the battle over there was still in full swing.

Boom!

“Uaaah!”

A gust of wind blew along with a loud noise, and the building where Sejun barely managed to stand shook precariously. A strange, ominous screeching sound followed. Sejun’s face turned pale.

The battle with Asura still continued in the distance. He could see it clearly because most of the nearby buildings had been blown away. He saw the monster with dark red aura rising from his body continue his endless assault.

Sejun bit his lip.

If only Hoya were here, I might’ve been a bit of help. If I were EX-rank too… I could’ve climbed down this building myself and joined the fight.

The ‘Seo Sejun’ in his memories fought so well. He didn’t just rely on his summons and do nothing; the image of him fighting alongside them was engraved in Sejun’s mind. The words telling him to watch how a summoner fights must’ve been meant for him. It was a lesson on how to fight together rather than just hiding behind a summon.

The words “Watch carefully, this is how summoners fight” were probably directed at him. They were meant to teach him not to rely solely on summoned creatures and hide behind them, but to fight alongside them.

“You shouldn’t have left at a time like this.”

It was when Sejun, who was feeling sad for no reason, snapped.

-Is that so?

“Aaah!”

Sejun screamed in genuine shock. He was used to the system answering his questions, but this felt like his own voice echoing in his head, not someone else’s. He didn’t need to ask who it was. It was his own voice. It felt strange because it was his voice, but he could still recognize it.

He didn’t disappear?

Sejun was feeling puzzled, but ‘Seo Sejun’ spoke to him calmly.

-Then, should I take Dogyeong?

“What?”

-You said I shouldn’t leave. So, can I have Dogyeong?

“What the fuck, are you crazy?”

Sejun reacted harshly without realizing it. What kind of nonsense was this?

Sejun wasn’t angry about the other using his body or exposing his secrets, but those words made him snap.

“This guy’s a bastard.”

Even after cursing, Sejun couldn’t stop huffing in anger. He already felt sorry for Dogyeong and missed him; he didn’t know why he was so weak. His emotions were a mess, and this provocation pushed him over the edge.

But ‘“Seo Sejun’ was much more shameless than Sejun thought. He wasn’t flustered by Sejun’s insults.

-It’s refreshing to hear myself swearing at me

“You are not me.”

Sejun retorted and patted his lower back, stiff from maintaining the same posture the whole time.

At that moment, a loud cracking sound rang out.

“Huh?”

His body tilted. One side of the railing Sejun was clinging to began to crumble. No, the entire building Sejun stood on was collapsing!

Oh.

The world turned upside down in an instant.

Whoosh!

The sound of tearing air whipped past Sejun’s ears along with the dizzying sensation of a fall.

“Aaaaah!”

Just as it’s always easier to go down than up, Sejun’s body plummeted with the railing and hit the ground before he could even think.

Boom!

A moment later, the ground shook from the impact. However, Sejun was perfectly fine, like someone who had just stepped off a low curb.

“……?”

Sejun blinked in disbelief at his own natural landing. The sound of debris crumbling echoed behind him. Acrid dust followed as well.

“Ow, damn it. Cough, cough!”

My lungs.

Sejun coughed and looked back. He saw the building he’d been standing in collapse, smashed to pieces as if a bomb had exploded.

His estimate of twenty stories wasn’t wrong. The fallen building was even taller than he’d imagined.

Yet Sejun was fine even after the fall. He was perfectly okay. He looked down at his legs. They weren’t broken, and there wasn’t even a crack. They didn’t sting, and there was no pain.

Am I this fine after falling from up there? Me?

…Me?

Sejun, who had been standing there blankly, raised his hand and knocked on the rubble of the building in front of him.

Since it was concrete, the back of his hand should’ve hurt after a knock. But the result was completely unexpected.

Crack!

The concrete debris shattered under his fingers as if it were made of straw.

“Huh?”

Sejun looked at his hands. They were clean, with no scratches or bruises, even though he’d just hit concrete. He realized it late. Mana overflowed through his entire body so much that he wondered why he hadn’t noticed sooner.

-How’s it feel to be strong?

“Ah.”

What a surprise. Sejun jumped when he heard his own voice again, which he’d completely forgotten. But the other party didn’t care and only said what he wanted.

-Don’t you feel like you have the whole world?

“What…”

-Use that power well since you have it.

Sejun blinked. He was more concerned about those words, which sounded like a farewell, than the fact that he’d grown stronger.

“Where are you going?”

-Why ask now? You and I are both Sejun, but we’re different people. I’m going back to where I belong. That’s how it should be, right?

That was true. The two were never one to begin with. Although they were the same person, their personalities differed, perhaps because their genres had split. They were like completely different people. However, they shared a unique connection as the same person. Sejun knew that he wouldn’t meet this Sejun again.

Their paths crossed through a mix of coincidence and fate, a connection that shouldn’t have happened but did. He knew they had to run parallel to never meet again, yet Sejun remained silent, caught in a strange emotion that was neither relief nor sadness.

What should he say right now? What words should he give him? Should he even speak? But what if this really was the end? Sejun wandered through a storm of thoughts for a moment, but his hesitation didn’t last long.

“……Hey.”

-What? I’m in a hurry. Can you say it quickly?

He grumbled, but his voice sounded distant as if he might disappear at any second. There was no time to pick his words. Sejun blurted out whatever came to his mind.

“Dogyeong isn’t the type to sleep with someone he has no feelings for just for the sake of work.”

-Hm?

Within the jumble of shared memories, Sejun caught a glimpse of memories from another world. The Cha Dogyeong he saw there was certainly unfamiliar, but he was still Cha Dogyeong. The Cha Dogyeong Sejun knew and liked.

“From what I see.”

Sejun hesitated to say what he thought, but he remembered the lack of time and quickly finished his sentence.

“I think Cha Dogyeong likes you.”

He felt more than just embarrassed after he spoke; he regretted it a bit, but the cat was out of the bag.

“You like him too. That’s why you came here to save him, isn’t it? Because you didn’t want him to disappear, and you couldn’t just watch that world vanish.”

Sejun spoke his mind, but there was no response. He might’ve left already, but Sejun continued.

“You came here because you want to live with Cha Dogyeong.”

If not, he wouldn’t have been so desperate to reach an ending. He must’ve grabbed this chance and come here because of Cha Dogyeong. Sejun, who seemed to have vanished in the silence, replied after a long while.

-……I know.

You don’t know shit; you just wandered around like an idiot.

Sejun wanted to retort, but he held back and decided to act like an adult. But his words seemed to spark something, contrary to Sejun’s intention.

-I can’t do this. I have to hurry.

“……Huh?”

-I stayed behind to explain things, but I can’t anymore. Look through your memories for details. They’re your memories too.

“What? What is it? Tell me before you go!”

-It’s because of you.

The sudden blame made Sejun jump in frustration.

What did I do?

-I can’t wait because I want to see Cha Dogyeong.

He had nothing to say to the following words. It really felt like his fault now.

-Thank you.

With those unexpected words, Sejun’s inner self became quiet. Just like always, there was no one.