Chapter 265:
Yu-hyun thought he was very rational when he lived in the realm of nightmares.
In this era where people died left and right, he recognized the Choi Do-yoon that fell from the sky at once and seized the opportunity.
He became part of Choi Do-yoon’s group, and endured the finger-pointing from others who called him a fox clinging to a tiger.
He survived without any trouble in this apocalypse that boasted a terrible survival rate.
But as the end of the ordeal seemed to be in sight, Yu-hyun decided that he couldn’t live like this forever.
Choi Do-yoon was really strong, and more reliable than anyone else if he was an ally. But that was only when he had some use for him.
This man, who judged people’s worth by their level, could discard his longtime comrades like roadside trash as soon as their value dropped.
He was a cold-blooded bastard.
If things went on like this, Yu-hyun would be thrown away by that man.
‘I can’t live like this forever. I have to prepare for the future.’
He lived like this because he didn’t want to die, because he wanted to live.
He killed someone, he deceived someone.
He gave up his pride and bowed his head to the strong, with only one thought of surviving until the end.
But as he went through more trials, Yu-hyun felt it vaguely.
He couldn’t live the life he wanted by just following that man.
‘So in this trial, I must get the fruit.’
The 98th trial, getting the fruit, was an opportunity given by heaven for someone like him.
He didn’t need to suffer anymore by catering to Choi Do-yoon’s whims. As soon as he ascended to the seat of the Divine Spirit, all this pain would end.
Yu-hyun believed it without a doubt.
If there were 100 despairs, there must be one hope among them. He thought this was the moment of hope.
The only hesitation he had was that Choi Do-yoon surprisingly didn’t show any interest in the fruit.
‘That guy said that becoming stronger with something like a fruit was meaningless. He said that those who coveted such things were all low-level bastards.’
He recalled that cold and arrogant voice and felt anger rising up.
‘Damn it. Who doesn’t know that? But it’s because there’s no other way to become stronger than eating such a fruit!’
Those who have something don’t understand those who don’t.
They are frustrated or look down on and despise those who can’t do what they do naturally as if breathing.
Who would want to live like this? Who would hate to live like this?
The world is unfair, and there’s nothing else they can do, but they can’t even do it.
That’s why they are more desperate to cling to something insignificant and live on.
‘Just wait and see. When I ascend to the star seat, I’ll watch you guys struggle in this hell.’
As far as he remembered, the number of fruits was limited.
The total number of fruits that could be obtained from this trial was 10.
Only 10 survivors could get the chance to ascend to the star seat.
One person ascended yesterday, so there were 9 seats left.
No matter how many people died, there were still many survivors. If he thought of them all as competitors, Yu-hyun had no time to relax.
Paaah!
He saw a white pillar of light rising from afar.
‘Another one ascended.’
Yu-hyun felt impatience along with envy at that sight.
It was still okay. There were still 8 fruits left.
He thought that was enough.
But as time passed, as white pillars of light appeared here and there one by one,
Yu-hyun’s anxiety reached its peak.
‘It’s been five hours and I haven’t found anything. How many fruits are left now?’
He didn’t even check properly from halfway because he wanted to avoid reality.
No matter how hard he looked around the ruins, he couldn’t see anything that looked like a fruit.
Yu-hyun stopped and pondered hard.
What was the problem? What was missing that he couldn’t find it yet?
As he was thinking, another light rose up somewhere.
Yu-hyun felt it instinctively.
‘The remaining fruit is… only one.’
Nine out of ten fruits had disappeared in no time.
He couldn’t find them even if he tried hard, but now there was only one left. What could he do in this situation?
Any moment now, another white pillar of light could shoot up into the sky. He felt anxious.
What kind of opportunity was this?
It was an unfair trial where if luck didn’t favor him, he wouldn’t even notice it.
His footsteps stopped. His shoulders that were stiff with anticipation sagged weakly.
He thought he had finally got a chance to escape this fate.
‘Was it just my delusion?’
Yu-hyun bit his lip in anger as he looked back at the way he had come.
A horrible realm where the glory of the past was nowhere to be found. The realm that had been torn apart by the jaws of a giant beast called destruction several times showed no signs of recovery.
But he had survived somehow.
Because he thought there might be a paradise at the end of this hell.
‘So I tried to get a fruit from Choi Do-yoon’s party to become independent.’
But even that was not allowed by this damn fate.
Maybe he was destined to live under that man’s heel for the rest of his life.
Buzzing.
Then he heard a commotion from afar.
He focused his mind and concentrated on his hearing, and the echoing sound became clearer.
‘Someone is being chased. Judging by the light footsteps, the one being chased is a child. And the ones chasing him are about three adult males?’
Yu-hyun couldn’t help but frown.
Even in this situation, people were still fighting to steal and plunder someone else’s things.
But he had no right to say anything to them.
He had also stained his hands with countless blood to get to this position.
‘The sound is getting closer. If this goes on, they’ll run into me.’
It was best to avoid trouble. If he provoked another group, he never knew when a knife would stab him in the back of his head.
Of course, if he was with Choi Do-yoon, there would be no one who would dare to do such a thing, but Yu-hyun was separated from his companions and alone right now.
There was no more dangerous moment than when he was alone.
‘Let’s avoid them. My priority is to find the fruit anyway. There’s still one left, so if I can somehow get that…’
As Yu-hyun decided to leave his spot, a little kid in a shabby robe popped out of the collapsed alleyway.
The moment he saw the kid, Yu-hyun had to stop his steps.
He didn’t know why, but as soon as he saw the kid, he felt something instinctively.
That if he let this go, he would definitely regret it.
“Hey! Hurry up and catch him!”
“He must be exhausted, he can’t have gone far!”
Three thugs followed behind him. The kid ran hard and saw Yu-hyun blocking his way and froze on the spot.
He probably thought Yu-hyun was also one of those who were chasing him.
But the three thugs frowned when they saw Yu-hyun standing in their way.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Could it be, he’s trying to steal our stuff?”
“Bullshit! How dare he try to take what we barely got!”
They looked at Yu-hyun with hostility, but Yu-hyun narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘Steal? What did they barely get?’
It sounded odd for them to say that they were just chasing a kid.
More than that, they were trying to kill him as soon as they recognized him as an enemy. Yu-hyun eventually sighed inwardly.
He wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible, so he tried to talk first.
“Listen. I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but it’s not what you think, so just go your way.”
“Don’t bullshit me! You bastard! You think we don’t know you’re trying to take our stuff?”
“I don’t know what’s yours or mine. But do you think you can handle me with a knife?”
“What? What did this kid say?”
Then one of the men who recognized Yu-hyun tapped his colleague’s arm.
“Hey, hey.”
“What, why! You’re not scared of that bastard, are you?”
“That’s not it. You idiot. Look at him. Don’t you know who he is?”
“Who… Oh?”
As his excitement subsided, his vision cleared up, and the man who was furious recognized Yu-hyun’s face and became nervous.
“Crazy. He’s one of those saviors.”
Yu-hyun didn’t like the word savior, but he decided to let it go for now.
He had deliberately pushed them from the beginning knowing this situation anyway.
“You know well. You’ve heard the stories too, right? Choi Do-yoon, that man never forgives anyone who touches him. And yet you point a knife at me?”
“This… Shit.”
The thugs were at a loss and panicked. They wanted to catch the kid, but if they did, they would be marked by that monster.
Then the kid who was watching took advantage of the situation and quickly stuck to Yu-hyun’s side and hid behind him.
The thugs grimaced, but there was nothing they could do.
“…Damn it. We can’t die either.”
“Let’s go.”
They reluctantly backed away from their spot. They were people who had survived this far, so they had excellent sense to make a deal without clashing.
Yu-hyun thought to himself that it was fortunate. Of course, he didn’t show it on the outside.
‘What about this kid…….’
Yu-hyun sighed with annoyance as he looked at the little child who slightly distanced himself from him after the thugs disappeared.
“Th, thank you.”
“……I don’t know why you were chased, but the matter is over now, so you should go.”
As Yu-hyun was about to leave after saying that, the child hurriedly followed him.
“Didn’t I tell you to go?”
“N, no, it’s just that…….”
The child seemed hesitant to say something. Feeling suspicious, Yu-hyun approached the child and pulled off the ragged cloth that was covering his head.
Long hair that was hidden underneath was revealed, and Yu-hyun opened his eyes wide.
‘She was a girl?’
She looked like a primary school student at most.
However, there was another reason why Yu-hyun was surprised to see her.
‘This child…… is not a simple human.’
He could feel it instinctively as soon as he saw her.
The little girl in front of him was none other than the 10th fruit that he had been desperately looking for.
***
“Oh my…….”
The companions who were watching Yu-hyun from afar unconsciously covered their mouths or struggled to hide their astonishment.
[Are you kidding me? The fruit they were talking about was not a real fruit, but a living being?]
Baekryeon muttered incredulously, and Yu-hyun nodded his head.
‘The fruit that people were so eager to find was the heart of a living being.’
[Then, does that mean the people who ascended to the stars…… all killed those people and ate their hearts? And they did that to each other for that?]
‘That’s right.’
[This is crazy! They’re all crazy! How could they do such a thing……!]
‘That’s the end of the world. They had to be crazy. That’s how they could survive.’
Even so, it was not a pleasant feeling to recall that fact.
Yu-hyun looked at the first encounter with the fruit girl with a sunken gaze.
How could he have known then that she would change everything for him.
Still, Yu-hyun did not intervene. He just watched from afar, secretly, without letting his past self notice.
“Yu-hyun…….”
“Just watch. Don’t do anything.”
He had to see it.
The biggest sin he had committed.
The nightmare he could never forget.
That was the only way he could do for now.
Until then.
I finally understood why the monsters that had disappeared a while ago had tried to chase her.
‘They wanted to take the fruit. In other words, they wanted to kill this girl and eat her heart…’
Yu-hyun’s eyes shone coldly.
It was right in front of him.
The last fruit was within his reach.
It was the opportunity he had been longing for, to become a Divine Spirit.
All he had to do was grab her slender neck with his hand and squeeze a little. It would be a painless death, and he could take her heart.
It was a simple thing to do.
But.
“…”
Yu-hyun hesitated.
Killing a person and eating their heart was not something that even Yu-hyun, who had survived in this apocalyptic realm, could easily do.
‘Nonsense.’
Yu-hyun shook his head.
Wasn’t he someone who could do anything for his goal? Hadn’t he endured all the hardships for this moment?
But now, he was supposed to give up everything because of some useless conscience?
‘I…’
He wanted to change.
He wanted to be different.
The chance was right before his eyes.
Hesitating here was a sign of weakness.
It meant he lacked desperation.
In this realm, caring about things like conscience or morality was only for fools.
And yet.
“It’s okay.”
The girl smiled at him, telling him not to worry.
As if she sensed her fate.
Her eyes were infinitely upright and clear.
Did she want to help the person who had saved her, if she had to die anyway?
Yu-hyun felt his chest tighten at her dignified attitude. Something stirred deep inside him.
He reached out to her as if he had made up his mind.
The girl closed her eyes and accepted the imminent future.
“…”
Yu-hyun, who had reached out his hand, grabbed the ragged cloth that she had used earlier and covered her head with it.
The girl opened her eyes wide at Yu-hyun’s unexpected behavior.
He glared at her as if annoyed by her questioning gaze.
“Don’t act like you’ve seen everything in the world, kid.”
Yu-hyun said that and turned his back.
“Follow me. I’ll find you a safe place to stay.”
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