Chapter 41 - His Time (2)

3

I wasn't the only one enveloped in light.

[Searching for the Demon King's presence on the twelfth floor... Not found.]

[Confirming the Demon King's retreat.]

Light flared!

[History Revision.]

White light spread in every direction. It was like a faintly shimmering mist. In an instant, the glow swept across the vast plain, then covered the capital of the Aegim Empire.

Droplets of light.

There was no other way to describe them. They drifted through the air like countless dandelion seeds.

“What is this...?”

The Witch looked around in bewilderment.

“Kim Gongja, what on earth is happening?”

“Uh, I don't know. This is a first for me, too...”

I was just as bewildered. Watching the whole world become enveloped in light, I asked inwardly,

'Mr. Sword Emperor, do you happen to know what's going on?'

“No, I've never seen anything like this either. What the hell? This is scary.”

'...'

This guy really was useless except when he was teaching me swordsmanship. How had an ignorant gorilla like him cleared all the way to the ninety-ninth floor?

“Hm? Hey, Kim Zombie. You were just bad-mouthing me in your head, weren't you? Weren't you?”

'Oh, I was only thinking that you're so extraordinary, Lord Sword Emperor, that someone as lowly as me could never presume to fathom your thoughts.'

“That's weird. No, that can't be it. You've got the face of someone who's been secretly insulting me...”

The attendant spirit scowled and grumbled.

Even as we chatted, the droplets of light kept drifting endlessly.

“Huh?”

That was when I noticed a visible change. I pointed at the empire's imposing walls.

“Black Dragon leader, take a look over there.”

“Hm?”

“The walls. It looks like there are a lot fewer flags now.”

The military banners fluttering atop the walls were rapidly disappearing. Red and gold flags that had numbered in the hundreds even at a glance had already dwindled to dozens. They were still decreasing before our eyes.

“... You're right.”

The Witch furrowed her brow.

“Hold on to me for a moment. I need to check.”

“Yes, I agree.”

“Transfer!”

The Witch took my hand and used her skill. The next instant, we were no longer in the middle of the desolate plain but atop the empire's ramparts. The splendid city lay spread out before us.

“My goodness...”

The Witch let out a low groan.

“Everything is changing.”

It really was. The world was changing.

The slum—no, the refugee camp—disappeared. Refugees had fled here from every corner of the continent after the Demon King destroyed their homes. The shantytown they had formed, huddled together, became enveloped in pure white light... and vanished.

As though there had never been a refugee camp at all.

“...”

The clothes of the people passing through the marketplace changed, too. Worn rags became serviceable cloth garments.

Even the fruit on the market stalls transformed. Rotten apples slowly began to take on a fresh sheen.

I murmured without thinking.

“History revision...”

“What?”

“History has changed.”

There were noticeably fewer guards patrolling the walls. And it wasn't just their numbers. Their expressions were different.

Their faces were no longer steeped in despair born of fear of the Demon King. The boredom of duty. The tedium of patrols. Before we knew it, they had the expressions of people going about their everyday lives.

“Originally, the Aegim Empire was invaded by the Demon King. It was supposed to be. Whether it won the ensuing war or lost and was destroyed... either way, it faced an invasion by the Demon King's army. But...”

I swallowed.

“In this world, the Demon King's invasion itself has become [something that never happened].”

Without anyone knowing.

While no one was aware of it, the Demon King's invasion had ceased to exist.

Yes. I had erased it.

“... History has been rewritten.”

The results unfolded before my eyes.

[Revising the eleventh-floor stage.]

[Revising the twelfth-floor stage.]

White light enveloped the city. It touched the face of a child wandering the streets as a beggar. Droplets of light settled on the hem of a man walking aimlessly, worrying about tomorrow's meal.

SHHHH...

The droplets drifted like dandelion seeds.

Over the city's marketplace, its crossroads, a shop with a collapsed pillar, a home someone would return to after work.

The fingertips of light gently caressed the world,

[Revision complete.]

then withdrew.

They vanished somewhere.

“...”

I fell silent. So did the Witch.

No sound could be heard in the frozen world. Though only the two of us had gone quiet, it felt as if the world itself were holding its breath.

But then,

“... Come one, come all! Bargains! Bargains!”

Before long, the silence broke.

“Apples fresh from Eilbrant! Fresh apples! Sir, even elves won't pass up fruit in season! Come take a look at these fresh apples!”

Sound.

“The water at the baths has been awful lately. You can actually see the filth. Honestly, if those so-called officials can't even manage the water properly, what are we supposed to trust them with...?”

I heard sound.

Because I had accepted the quest, time, which had been frozen until now, began to flow.

“Honestly, I hear the princes are a real handful! They say you can hear His Majesty wailing from outside the palace walls every night. It's only a rumor, but if you ask me...”

“How about a drink tonight, just us?”

“Spare a coin. Just one coin! The goddess loves you all.”

“Eilbrant apples that make even elves lick their lips! Bargain prices!”

The world breathed again.

“You there!”

Among those breaths was one directed at us.

“Who are you scoundrels?”

The Witch and I turned toward the voice. A general stood on the wall, sword in hand. His face twisted into a fearsome scowl.

“Such insolence! Who dares trespass on the empire's ramparts? Come down at once!”

Something about his face was familiar. I murmured,

“Sarbas Aegim...”

The general NPC's eyes widened. He looked as though he had never seen anyone like me in his life.

“Ha! You brazen thief. How do you know my name?”

I pressed my lips together.

'... I see.'

The general who should have been on the eleventh floor, not the twelfth. The imperial citizen who welcomed the hunters kindly before anyone else. The NPC I had deliberately let kill me so I could copy his skill.

“You scoundrels! Did you not hear me tell you to come down?”

That man was shouting at me as if I were a complete stranger.

Not only the twelfth floor's history, but the eleventh floor's as well, had changed.

THUMP.

'Ah.'

Suddenly, my heart pounded against my chest.

An emotion I couldn't identify wrapped around my heart, my chest, then my entire body in turn. I could barely speak, as though even my throat had closed up. Why? The world had regained its breath, yet something seemed to have stolen my voice.

“...”

My lips moved as I looked down at the general, recalling the words the general NPC had spoken to me.

Memories that had already become a story from long ago.

[“Take a Hero's life? I cannot do that!”]

[“Thank you on behalf of the empire.”]

[“I was skeptical. I wondered whether these so-called Heroes would truly fight hard for us when this wasn't even their own world. But my fears were unfounded. Once again, I offer you my thanks.”]

Lastly, I remembered the general's smile.

[“Please, take good care of our empire.”]

“...”

Ah, yes. So this was what it felt like.

“Heh.”

I didn't know why, but laughter escaped my lips.

“Ahaha, ha! Hah, ahahahaha!”

I clutched my stomach and laughed.

The general stared up at me with wide eyes. The soldiers' gazes converged on me. The Witch looked at me as though something was odd. The attendant spirit stared at me as if I were insane.

But I didn't care.

Of course, there was sadness that the people of the empire had forgotten me. But a far greater emotion had seized my entire body.

“Ah.”

I drew a deep breath and opened my mouth a little wider.

“... I protected it!”

A lion's roar burst from my mouth. The general's shoulders flinched and hunched.

“I protected it!”

The soldiers on the walls froze.

“I protected your empire!”

Still, I didn't stop. I carried my roar on red aura so it would resound far and wide.

“I! Kept my promise!”

The people of the empire turned their heads.

In the marketplace, at the crossroads, in the shopping district, in someone's home.

My voice shook the city walls, rang against the palace walls, and must have echoed against the walls of the audience chamber, too. I laughed. Laughed loudly. My laughter echoed and echoed again, ringing through the Tower.

“Without a shred of shame!”

Standing tall on the ramparts, I pointed at the sky.

“Without a single regret!”

Hundreds of days.

Until my palm was black with permanent marker, driven solely by the resolve not to see even a single victim, I had crossed hundreds of days and finally driven off the Demon King of Autumn Rain.

“I'm proud!”

And that made me happy.

“I did it!”

It was the first time in my life. I had never felt anything like this before.

I had lived like trash. I envied others, mocked them, and passed my days doing nothing but drinking. Used them up. Under the pretense of being levelheaded, I froze my heart. Threw away my life. Threw myself away.

But not today.

[Stage cleared.]

At least today, I could hold my head high.

[Today, the twelfth-floor stage has been cleared.]

Before other people. Before the Witch and the Sword Star. Before the world.

Above all, before myself.

[Announcing once again to everyone.]

I could be proud of myself.

[Today, the twelfth-floor stage has been cleared.]

I could be that kind of person.

[Calculating the number of participants...]

[Calculation complete.]

I was so happy my heart could burst.

[Announcing the three participants who cleared the stage.]

Light etched itself into the empire's sky.

+

[Clear Contribution Rankings]

1st. Death King

2nd. Black Witch

3rd. Sword Star

+

Writing that probably wasn't visible to the NPCs.

The general had frozen at my roar.

“W-what on earth are you talking about...?”

“Sarbas Aegim!”

The general flinched. I looked down at him from the ramparts.

“Take good care of the empire!”

“...”

“Sorry, but this is as far as the Hero's role goes! Taking care of the Demon King is enough! Your empire is probably rotten in places we can't see, and I'm sure it has all sorts of problems! That's obvious enough!”

I grinned broadly.

“From now on, figure it out yourselves, whatever it takes!”

“...”

“Here's to us existing! Let's go, let's go! We can do it!”

The general opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish.

“W-what have you been talking about all this time...? I simply cannot... cannot...”

“Wahahahaha!”

The attendant spirit clutched his stomach and rolled through the air.

“Hee! Hehehehe! Gah! Y-you lunatic! Crazy bastard! Zombie bastard! I thought you might actually be mature for once and lose yourself in wistful reflection, but wow, this nutcase just starts openly bragging about himself! I want to know how your brain works! Hey! Kim Zombie! I'll give you that! You're a genuine subject for research!”

'Ah.'

I swept my bangs back.

'What else am I supposed to do? I'm just so lovable today.'

“Y-you lunatic...! Kim Crazy, you bastard! Gah, fine! I like that you're not being a pathetic little whiner about it! Hehehehe!”

The attendant spirit kept rolling through the air, as if even all that laughter hadn't been enough.

I turned to the Witch.

“Come on, Black Dragon leader! What are you waiting for? Let's head to the thirteenth floor!”

“...”

The Witch sighed with an inscrutable expression.

“Right... There aren't many normal people among the top hunters to begin with. It's all right. I understand. I'll just be grateful you're better than the Inquisitor.”

“What?”

“Transfer.”

The Witch took my hand and activated her skill. The next instant, we were back on the wasteland. Without any warning, she took hold of the Sword Star's forearm.

The leader of Black Dragon looked into my face.

“The entry ticket always goes to first place first,” she said. “Say ‘Teleport’ on our behalf, Death King.”

It was the first time anyone had called me by my epithet. Today had been a day of many firsts.

“Yes.”

I smiled.

“... Teleport.”

And so.

My stage moves on to the next.