The Strongest Oppa in History - Chapter 427
When Kim Se-hoon opened his eyes, the first thing he faced was Laon, who was lying on the ground, clutching onto the last flicker of life.
A common complexion, unkempt silver hair, and dead eyes like those of a rotten fish.
Struggling to hold onto the last spark of life, Laon opened his mouth.
“Are you Zion or Kim Se-hoon?”
In response to Laon’s question, Kim Se-hoon replied with a lonely voice.
“Kim Se-hoon.”
With a faint and relieved smile, Laon murmured.
“So… you’ve won.”
“Yeah.”
“Have you met the crow?”
“…Yes.”
“Then you must know how things are going.”
“Roughly.”
As Kim Se-hoon answered, his gaze wandered around.
Soon, he raised his hand towards Kim Se-jung, who was lying on the ground with a dagger in her heart, being guarded by Egrdasil and Choi Ah-ra. With a gesture, Kim Se-hoon summoned all of them before him, his chest stained red as he gently touched Kim Se-jung’s cheek, who was peacefully asleep.
“You know? Se-jung… your aunt didn’t want to become a god.” Laon nodded while coughing.
“Yes, so she chose eternal play; the ancestors or the administrators referred to mingling with humans for rest in the human world as play. Quite a few administrators enjoyed this play, probably because they missed the world they used to live in or human society.
Unlike them, Kim Se-hoon never enjoyed play even once.
In that sense, Kim Se-jung was peculiar. Instead of taking breaks and mingling with humans like other gods did when their spirits were tired, she abandoned the privilege of being Kim Se-hoon’s bloodline, chose reincarnation, and lived with people.
Was that why?
Laon still sometimes thinks.
If Kim Se-jung had not chosen reincarnation and stayed by Kim Se-hoon’s side, would the outcome have been different?
Of course, now it was just a meaningless assumption.
“Take it.”
With a blackened decaying body, Laon extended his right hand, the only intact part emitting a faint aura, holding an alphabet, Y, as Kim Se-hoon muttered.
“Y code…”
“Take it. It was originally yours.”
Examining Laon’s decaying skin as the decay started, Kim Se-hoon asked.
“Truly… is there no way to turn back?”
“Father. You have already gained a lot. You have had the chance to see your once thought dead aunt, grandmother, and mother again, and you have had the chance to correct your mistakes. If you lose nothing in return, who knows if the higher being above will play tricks?”
“A higher being… do you think they exist?”
At Kim Se-hoon’s question about the existence of gods, Laon smiled slyly.
Laon grinned at Kim Se-hoon’s question about whether there is a god.
“Lastly, please praise me. Tell me I did well. That I did my best. Yes, I understand. I don’t have the qualifications. But… even if I’m a sinner■, I should be able to act a bit cheeky towards my father, right? To that extent… even if I become shameless… it should be allowed.”
Kim Se-hoon, who understood what Laon was trying to say, muttered.
“…Is it indifference towards us?”
“My thoughts remain the same as before. Father, there is no paradise with a god.” When he was Sirius, Laon had told Kim Se-hoon.
A world without gods is truly a utopia.
And for that ideal of his, he sacrificed everything.
Even his life.
Laon grinned and said.
“But Father. Even if they exist but don’t show themselves, could it be my misconception that they sometimes play tricks? How did Void appear, and why? How could this world have been created? When Father met the Outer, met the Place of Heaven, was that entire process really just a coincidence, or was it Father’s ability?”
Laon closed his heavy eyelids and continued.
“Or maybe not. Perhaps we… unknowingly lived in a miracle… at times…”
Kim Se-hoon, sensing Laon’s exhaustion, gently held the hand of Laon, who was trying to sleep.
Feeling the Y code emitting a faint light in his palm, Kim Se-hoon spoke.
“A miracle… just hearing it makes my heart race… Setting aside whether such a thing truly exists.”
Laon, who chuckled, seemed to find it difficult to continue speaking and muttered.
“Father, I have lived too long. Yes. Too long… like a chronic insomniac who can’t sleep even if he wants to… even if I want to give up and sleep…”
“You’ve suffered. And I’m sorry. For burdening you with… too much.”
Laon, withered, parted his pale lips.
“Lastly… may I ask one thing?”
“As much as you want.”
“There is a glass container in a secluded place. Please tidy it up. I’m not the one to say this, but… finally… I couldn’t handle her myself. You know, what I mean by ‘tidying up’…?”
Kim Se-hoon said it was a request to be killed.
“I see.”
“And, please make her forget everything about me. She’s someone who suffered enough because of me. Just… let her go now… I want her to be free.”
“Of course, I’ll do that.”
“And, please don’t be sad.”
To that request, Kim Se-hoon couldn’t bring himself to respond.
Why is it so similar?
Why does it feel so predetermined, asking for favors like Eileen does?
“And please live. Instead of irresponsibly fleeing to death… please live. By doing so… please repay the debts this inadequate guy’ couldn’t repay. It’s a shameless request… but… can you do that for me? After all, causing trouble is a privilege of a child.”
“I will…”
Laon’s breathing gradually slowed down.
Leaning his head on the ground with a cool and regretful expression, he softly muttered.
With a refreshing yet regretful expression, he murmured softly as he leaned his head on the ground.
“Master. Although the situation is not favorable, there is no need to worry. Even though the logout system is paralyzed, it doesn’t mean that a large-scale logout is impossible. It signifies that sending out ‘some’ is still possible.”
Kim Sehoon gently caressed Raon’s head and comforted him quietly with both hands.
“You did well. You did your best. Yes, you did. I understand. You don’t have the qualifications. But… even if you are a sinner, isn’t it necessary to show some audacity to your father? That much… even if you become shameless… it’s allowed, right.”
Raon left with a faint smile on his lips, without a response.
As Kim Sehoon stroked his son’s face, who had peacefully left, he shook his head.
How greedy can a person be?
Mother, lover, friend.
He had the chance to see them all again.
Yes. Everything can be regained.
So, truly, he only lost one person.
But why?
Even though only one person was forever gone.
Even though he could never see that one person again.
He despised that fact.
Intensely, he despised it.
“Sleep well.”
The expected farewell. However, even then, it was still a painful parting.
But Kim Sehoon was not given the luxury of holding onto Raon’s departing body temperature, nor the leisure to be immersed in the short aftermath of the separation. This was because Egdrassil’s brief report had taken away all his composure.
“Master. I have something to report.”
Kim Sehoon replied, holding Raon’s head in his arms, “Can’t we do it a little later?”
“If you don’t listen now, you will regret it.”
At Egdrassil’s unsettling words, Kim Sehoon turned to her.
“Tell me.”
“Due to Void’s intrusion, there is a malfunction in the logout system. As it is, we cannot evacuate people outside the Outer.”
At the shocking news, Kim Sehoon widened his eyes.
“What…?”
With trembling hands, Kim Sehoon gently placed Raon on the floor and glared at Egdrassil with bloodshot eyes.
“What are you talking about? Can’t log out? Can’t evacuate?”
“Exactly. Void, which has invaded the external frame and mainframe, has corroded the facility maintaining the system. I did my best to defend, but it was futile. Void is like a virus without a vaccine.”
Kim Sehoon shouted in frustration.
“Why! Why are you telling me this now? You should have said it earlier!”
“If I had told you earlier, we could have mitigated it. However, the delay is on your part, Master. You were too late in suppressing Zion’s spirit, missing the crucial time.”
Kim Sehoon placed his hand on his forehead.
He was so confused that he didn’t know what to do.
As he possessed all of Zion’s memories, his understanding of the Outer was as good as Egdrassil’s.
That’s why he knew.
If Egdrassil’s words were true about Void corroding the logout system, the system wouldn’t function properly.
Kim Sehoon quickly regained his composure, realizing that panicking wouldn’t help, and calmly asked, “What’s the solution?”
At Kim Sehoon’s question, Egdrassil gave him a mysterious glance.
It was a gaze that seemed to be testing him or perhaps gauging him.
“Master. Although the situation is not favorable, please do not worry. Even though the logout system is paralyzed, it does not mean that sending out ‘some’ individuals is impossible, as it is still feasible.”
“If it’s ‘some’…?”
Igrdrasil replied in a composed tone, “I have served you for a long time, and therefore, I take pride in my understanding of you, Master. Hence, I have extracted data of those who are considered special to you, cherished them, and compiled a list.”
Furrowing his brows, Kim Se-hoon questioned, “A list?”
“Yes. I investigated the connections you made in Hagye and Laplaciya, those with whom you shared a bond, and compiled a list of individuals with whom you have communicated. Of course, family and close relatives are placed at the top of the list.”
“…How many in total?”
“Approximately 150 individuals.”
“If we exclude those 150, how many remain in the reserve frame?”
“Due to unforeseen circumstances such as infection by the Void, excluding some who were corroded by the Void before we intervened, the number is just under a billion.”
A billion others whose names and faces are unknown. And 150 individuals he cherishes.
Why is that?
When comparing the numbers lengthwise, the former would naturally be overwhelming, but in terms of importance, the latter is valued more.
Kim Se-hoon, feeling a surge of self-loathing for his materialistic side, gnashed his teeth at this.
“…To sacrifice a billion to save 150?”
“Yes, that is the best course of action.”
Honestly, he felt pathetic contemplating such an absurd dilemma, and felt dirty.
And yet, on the other hand, he felt relieved.
Even in the worst scenario, they could still be saved.
But no, that was not the way. He shouldn’t feel relieved.
Laon said,
To repay his debt.
And Kim Se-hoon owed them all.
Deceiving and exploiting billions of people, treating them as test subjects.
And now, abandoning them?
Whether it was Laon or Kim Se-hoon, it was an unforgivable decision.
At that moment, a thought crossed Kim Se-hoon’s mind.
A solution emerged.
“Wait, you said that it’s possible for ‘some’ to log out, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Kim Se-hoon chuckled and said, “Then it’s simple. I will go out first to rectify the system. Then, we dispose of the contaminated facilities by the Void, replace them with new ones, and proceed with the logout. That should solve the problem, right?”
In response to Kim Se-hoon’s confident words, Igrdrasil replied with an unyielding tone.
“No, Master, that is impossible.”
“…What?”
“The current server that can facilitate the logout is disposable.”
“What…?”
“It was unavoidable. Due to the Void, my available resources have been drastically reduced. To put it simply, it’s like having just enough airplane fuel for a one-way trip. Furthermore, once the airplane takes off, the airport is set to explode.”
“Explode? Wait, are you saying that the moment we log out, the Outer will be disposed of…?”
“That is correct. If a logout server is opened for the 150 people to escape, there is a chance that the Void will infiltrate through it. If that happens, there is a risk that the life support system in reality will be infected by the Void, causing the brains of the 150 escapees to die.”
Kim Se-hoon’s eyes flashed with a chilling light as he spoke.
“Yggdrasil. Don’t play word games. What you just said. Even if it wasn’t me, but Zion, would you have said the same thing? Huh? If it was Zion, would you have told him that Outer would be destroyed after he logged out?”
It was obvious that Zion would never have tolerated the destruction of Outer, which was why he asked.
“No. If it was Lord Zion, he would have suggested a different route.”
“…A different route?”
“Yes. He would have recommended the ByWay route.”
If logging out was the normal way to leave Outer, ByWay could be seen as an emergency escape through a shortcut.
There was one difference between the two.
If logging out was a passage using Outer’s normal system, ByWay was a passage for administrators and gods, or in other words, the operators.
This was because ByWay was a second alternative created for administrators to quickly go outside and resolve the situation when there was a problem with the system and normal logout was not possible.
Kim Se-hoon spoke with a noticeably brighter expression.
“Yes. ByWay. We can use that.”
“Master. The reason I didn’t recommend ByWay is for your sake.”
“For my sake? Why?”
“If you were Zion, you would have willingly sacrificed yourself for Outer. However, since you are Kim Se-hoon, your values cannot be the same. You would choose the survival of those close to you over Outer.”
“Sacrifice? Why would I make a sacrifice going to ByWay?”
“Master. ByWay is in the Heavens. And it is currently infected with the Void.”
“What’s the problem with that? I’m free from the Void.”
“That’s the problem. Master. You are not free… from the Void that chose you. You can just resist a little more than others.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t you know? I’ve gone into the Shadow Fog and come out before. Look. I’m fine. There’s no problem.”
“No. In fact, you were already infected with the Void at that time. Because of that, your brain in reality is in the process of necrosis. So originally, you should have died like Raon and the other gods. However… Your second Blessing, ‘Immortal’. That became a variable.”
“My brain… is necrotizing? But Immortal became a variable?”
“Yes. To be exact, it’s in a state of repeating necrosis and regeneration. Of course, thanks to a very delicate balance right now, your life is not in danger for the moment. However, if you get infected with the Void here once more and the balance is broken….”
Yggdrasil looked at Kim Se-hoon with cold eyes and said.
“Master. Keep this in mind. There is no such thing as if or maybe. This time, you will definitely die.”