Chapter 139 - The Latecomer (1)

The protagonists living within stories sparkled like constellations.

I had no interest in the constellations shining in the night sky. To me, the stars were protagonists. The stories they unfolded were my radiant constellations. Ah. There was countless starlight in the universe, and infinite stories in all creation.

"I want to see a little more of the story."

Without thinking, I reached out to touch the starlight.

"Just a little more."

That was all.

Silence settled over the library.

The Great Library of All Life. A place where each volume contained a world. Countless people lived in countless worlds, and each person held a story. Here stood two people from one of those books, the world called [Lefanta Aegim].

"..."

The Heaven-Slaying Star looked down at the director in silence.

"Did you say you were one of the people who killed me?"

"Yes, Mr. Kim Yul."

"What a strange thing to say."

His voice was bleak.

"My death is recorded as having occurred 153 years, seven months, and nine days ago. The name of the person who killed me then was the Sword Emperor."

The Heaven-Slaying Star took an old notebook from inside his clothes. That journal was the final destination [Kim Yul] had reached. A declaration that he would leave traces of the past he had passed through, but never remember it.

"The description of the Sword Emperor recorded in my journal does not match you."

Just as my skeletons refused to relinquish their daggers even after being swallowed by Rebirth of a Hundred Ghosts, the Heaven-Slaying Star, too, had kept that one old notebook.

"Are you a successor of the Sword Emperor?"

"..."

"As far as I have determined, the Sword Emperor is not the sort to apologize to anyone. Nor is he the sort to seek an apology from anyone."

The director must have realized.

"My judgment is this: you are not the Sword Emperor's successor, nor are you one of the people who killed me. There is also no reason for you to apologize to me."

That she was already too late.

"Therefore, I will not accept your apology."

"..."

"Above all, my name is Lefanta Aegim. My epithet is the Heaven-Slaying Star. You looked at me and called me Kim Yul. Yet nowhere in this journal is there any record of my having been called Kim Yul. Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

"Mr. Kim Yul."

The director's voice was trembling.

"Kim Yul was your name before you were called Lefanta Aegim. It was your name in the distant past, long before you even obtained that journal. The world you originally lived in..."

"It is no use."

Someone approached me and murmured at my side. It was the Librarian. He whispered to me, too quietly for the Heaven-Slaying Star or the director to hear.

"It is a poignant sight. Even I will concede that. On one side, a victim whose time is sealed away; on the other, a bystander whose time has been preserved like a specimen. Ah, beautiful as a painting..."

I turned to the Librarian.

[The Shut-In Librarian rejoices and despairs.]

He wore a peculiar expression. He looked sad. He also looked happy. His eyes drooped mournfully, yet his breathing was flushed with excitement.

"But, Death King. Far too much has come too late. The [Heaven-Slaying Star] can never be saved."

"..."

"An apology now would mean nothing. The Heaven-Slaying Star remembers nothing. His appearance and his way of thinking are already utterly different from when he was Kim Yul. How can he accept an apology for something he cannot remember? How can he forgive what he cannot remember?"

"You."

I spoke quietly.

"You know that I regress, don't you?"

The Librarian smiled.

"Of course."

"How? When I regress, do you experience the same stretch of time again?"

"Oh, no. That is not how it works. Your [Regressor's Clockwork Watch], in particular, is exceedingly special. Even a constellation cannot readily encroach upon its majesty. I simply possess a charming little authority of my own, as constellations do."

The Librarian snapped his fingers.

SNAP!

A book flew over.

[Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent]

It was the book the constellation had shown me when I first set foot in the Great Library.

"Do you remember? This book contains your world. It has not yet perished, so it cannot be called an apocalypse."

The corners of his eyes lifted.

"Now, take a guess. Whom do you think I designated as the protagonist of [Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent]?"

"..."

I see.

"Me."

"Indeed. Correct!"

"Is every event I experience being recorded in that book? Is that why you know all about my skills, and when and how I regressed?"

"Ah."

Grinning, the Librarian turned the pages of [Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent].

"The kiss of time you shared with Raviel Ivansia... That love, that communion, was truly sweet! You resolved the difficulty in a direction I never anticipated. It has become a scene I am most fond of."

"..."

"Of course, the 'trauma' you experienced this time is written in this book as well. That is why I made a special exception and permitted that human to enter despite having no epithet."

By that human, he meant the director. Even now, she was desperately explaining to the Heaven-Slaying Star what sort of person he had been and what he had suffered. But his expressionless face did not change.

"You strove admirably, Death King," the Librarian said.

"You tried. You struggled. You did your utmost. But it is already too late for the Heaven-Slaying Star. However hard the characters try, reaching the best ending is no easy matter. This is the Normal Ending allowed to him."

The Librarian was sad.

But he was just a little happier than he was sad.

"Aside from a Bad Ending, this is the ending the Heaven-Slaying Star can still reach. Sadly, he himself will never know. Your efforts, the director's regret—all of it is powerless. Ah. He will remain a weapon of slaughter, killing constellations. Forever..."

"No matter what we do?"

"Indeed. No matter what you do."

The Librarian slowly began to tuck [Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent] into his clothes. At that moment, I reached out and caught his wrist. He flinched.

"If you're that confident..."

I stared down at him.

"Shall we make a wager?"

"A wager...?"

"I'm going to connect Kim Yul's time to the Heaven-Slaying Star's time. Just as Kim Yul became the Heaven-Slaying Star, I'll make the Heaven-Slaying Star become Kim Yul. Then he'll be able to accept the director's apology."

"How naive. Did I not tell you? It is simply impossible..."

"That's why..."

I tightened my grip on his wrist.

"I'm telling you to bet on it."

"..."

"You said the Heaven-Slaying Star was one of your favorite characters. I'll use any means necessary to restore his memories. Help me. You don't even have to give it your all. Just help me as much as you did when you sent me into [The Epic of Lefanta Aegim]."

"Hmm."

The constellation narrowed his eyes.

"And if you fail despite my help? What do I gain?"

"You can do whatever you like with me for ten years."

The Librarian faltered.

"You said you wanted to pluck out my eyebrows and keep them, didn't you? Do it. Did you say you wanted to clip my nails? Do that, too. I'll grant whatever you want, so play with me to your heart's content for ten years."

His eyes wavered.

"Anything, you say?"

"Yes."

"Y-you say frightening things. Death King, appearances notwithstanding, I exercise considerable courtesy in your presence. If I were to do as I pleased, it would be... truly something tremendous. Just look at the bookmark maids..."

"The wager. Are you taking it or not?"

The Librarian's lips moved. For a moment, greed colored his eyes. Like the Heaven-Slaying Star, I was a character he cherished. He looked me over like a snake eyeing its prey.

"I adhere to a principle of nonintervention, but..."

He swallowed.

"It is another matter when a character asks first. That is why I granted the wish of the butler who appeared in [Tales of Sormwin Academy]."

"..."

"Very well, Death King. I shall help you. But if you fail to connect the Heaven-Slaying Star to Kim Yul... I shall take ten years of your life and savor them thoroughly."

Okay.

Still holding the Librarian's wrist, I walked toward the Heaven-Slaying Star and the director. My footsteps echoed through the section of the library that had been cleared of everyone but us.

"Hey. Hey! Zombie, are you insane? Why would you make a bet like that?"

My attendant spirit made a fuss.

"Are you betting because you're a hundred percent sure you can win? Huh? That shut-in's been fawning over you, calling you his favorite character, and it looks like it's gone to your head. But he's a constellation, too. A constellation! A seriously high-ranking star bastard, at that! Who knows what'll happen if you entrust your soul to an asshole like him!"

'It's fine. I'm doing this because I'm a hundred percent sure I can win.'

For a long time, I had thought about why the Tower existed.

Something does not need a reason to exist. But to me, at least, the Tower seemed to have been built for a clear purpose. Because it existed—because it was there—those who had turned their backs on the outside world could start their lives once more.

Living life once more.

Some would call it rebirth, and others reincarnation.

"Heaven-Slaying Star."

For some, it would mean reunion.

"Director."

And so, times that had stopped would begin anew.

"Let's do a coming-of-age story together."

The Heaven-Slaying Star and the director looked at me.

He was the first to speak.

"What do you mean?"

"Heaven-Slaying Star, you can't accept the director's apology because you've lost your memories. You probably think there's no need to accept it, either. But if you could accept it, you'd want to."

"Hmm."

With his journal open, he nodded.

"Correct. We have spoken only briefly, but the person kneeling before me has a very kind heart. She is upright. I judge that this is not an innate uprightness, but one acquired through enduring life. If possible, I would like to accept her apology."

"Director."

I looked at her. She was still kneeling on the library floor.

"If you could apologize to Mr. Kim Yul..."

"Even my life."

She answered immediately, without waiting for me to finish.

"I would gladly offer even my soul."

"... Yes. Thank you."

I took her hand and helped her stand. A hand grown fleshy with age. Only then did I realize how long it had been since I last held her hand. I remembered building sand towers with her at the playground, a very long time ago.

'This story became possible because of you.'

Because you did not forget, I was raised in the orphanage.

'If you had forgotten Kim Yul like everyone else, this moment could never have come.'

Kim Yul's life had spun the director's life. The director's life had made mine.

Now my life had gathered up the Heaven-Slaying Star's life, and at last, the three of us had barely managed to come together here.

The three of us were connected by bonds of fate.

'I will never... let this become meaningless.'

Though I was a little late, the time had come to repay the person who raised me.

"Librarian."

Holding the director's hand tightly, I turned toward the constellation. He was beaming, apparently convinced he would win the wager.

"Speak, Death King! Hunter whom I cherish endlessly."

"The Heaven-Slaying Star, the director, and I. The three of us will tackle the next stage together."

"Oho!"

His eyes sparkled with interest.

"That is, how shall I put it, quite admirable. A little late, but you intend to build the bonds between the three of you anew? Well, well. It is a possible ending. An open ending of sorts! Our story begins now..."

"No."

I reached out with my free hand and snatched a book.

"That's not what I mean."

[Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent].

The book in which I unfolded a story as its protagonist.

"I choose this book as the next stage."

"Hmm...?"

The Librarian tilted his head, bewildered.

"I am sorry. I do not understand. [Tales of the City of Heavenly Ascent] is already taking place here and now, in real time. There would be no point in making it a stage and clearing it."

"You said it yourself. I've been chosen as this book's protagonist. So everything I've experienced is recorded in it."

"That is true, but...?"

"Send the three of us into one of the events I've experienced."

"Which event do you mean?"

"The trauma."

"..."

Abruptly, the smile vanished from his face.

I calmly looked at the constellation before me.

"You said this just now."

["Of course, the 'trauma' you experienced this time is written in this book as well."]

"That trauma ended in tragedy. The world perished. Though it was only an illusion, it was swallowed by the void, and every character's story ended. Librarian, by your classification, that trauma is a flawless [apocalypse], too."

"Ah..."

His mouth opened.

He looked up at me with horror-stricken eyes.

"Death King, you... surely you do not..."

"Have the three of us appear in the apocalypse of Sinseo Middle and High School. Naturally, the Heaven-Slaying Star will be Kim Yul, and the director will be the class president. I'll be the perpetrator."

If he could neither accept an apology nor forgive because he had lost his memories...

"And allow [immersion]."

All we had to do was restore his memories.

Just as the Inquisitor had immersed himself in Lady Golden Silk Blossom and become that very person.

Just as I had immersed myself in the butler and become increasingly buried in his memories.

If the Heaven-Slaying Star immersed himself in Kim Yul...

Kim Yul's memories would be implanted in him.

He would be able to remember his time as Kim Yul.

"Librarian. No, Hamustra."

Yes. We were a little late.

But nothing was over yet.

"Open the book."