Presumptuous Heart

“Shall we just die like this?”
“……”

Kim Min-su did not answer.
He simply ran and ran.

Although it was Moon Ha-yeon who had asked,
it was the first time he had responded with silence.

Moon Ha-yeon whispered softly to the silent Kim Min-su.
Her voice trembled slightly.
It was the first weak sound she had uttered.

“…You know too, right? I was betrayed.”
“…Yes, I saw the Master… no, Tang Seo-ran’s bitchy scheme.”
“…Yes, I lost, and I lost everything.”

From the start, Moon Ha-yeon and Kim Min-su had joined to devour <Tartarus>.
They had been loyal to the clan for over fourteen years.

They carefully and thoroughly carved out their plan,
And the long-awaited chance to strike the <Academy> arrived.
Originally, they were to safely retrieve the Soul Stone that bore the contract.

They intended to hand it to Tang Seo-ran and then stab her in the back when the time came.
Instead, they were the ones who were betrayed.
Moon Ha-yeon smoothed the area around her torn-open chest.

The Soul Stone had been snatched from her.
She no longer had a means to receive the Demon King’s power.
She lost both legs to Joo Yuri’s Breath.

Only her knees remained.
Finally, Tang Seo-ran melted away her right arm.
Now only one left arm remained.

Inside her body, as a result of barely neutralizing Tang Seo-ran’s poison,
she was utterly battered and broken.
Moon Ha-yeon instinctively knew.

To recover from injuries of this magnitude,
it would surely consume enormous resources and time.

For Moon Ha-yeon, who would continue living as a fugitive with nothing left, this was practically impossible.

Even if she somehow recovered…
What would remain?

‘…Nothing.’

Wait for another chance?
Rise again?
Crush and reign again?

Impossible.
It’s impossible.

She no longer had the strength…
or the confidence.

“……”

Moon Ha-yeon clenched her fist.
Her body had collapsed.
And even greater than that, her spirit…

Moon Ha-yeon was weak for the first time.
She was someone who had always survived stubbornly.
When shitty things happened, she’d do something even shittier to resist and win.

That was the life she’d lived.
A criminal’s life, pointed at by everyone.

Yet the confidence she refused to give up.
All of it was shaken and crumbled.
Ambitions she’d painstakingly built fell apart one by one and were engulfed in flames.

From such a crushing defeat,
she no longer had the strength to get up.

So she wanted to die.
She wanted to be at peace.

She knew.
She knew well.
How could she not?

That a villain like her did not deserve a peaceful end.

But now, couldn’t she die peacefully?
Especially if it were Min-su…
If he, like her, had no means left to survive,
The one who had always followed her…
Would die with her.

Moon Ha-yeon waited silently for an answer.
Then an unexpected reply came.

“I’m sorry, but I cannot carry out that command.”
“You…?”
“It’s not that I’m sparing my life. I still believe.”

You are the one who can properly establish the rules
Of this rotten world.

“Use any means necessary and get up.”

If it’s you, you can do it.

“……”

Moon Ha-yeon remained silent.
Suddenly, Kim Min-su spoke to her.

“…I have one request.”
“…What is it?”
“If you get back up, if you seize another chance…”

When that time comes, reveal yourself proudly.

“…What?”

Moon Ha-yeon asked in puzzlement.
What kind of nonsense was this now?
But Kim Min-su kept talking as they ran.

“Show yourself confidently.”

Always hiding her breath,
living like a worm on the ground.
That was the fate of villains and mains.

“I don’t mind, but I don’t want that for you.”

A sun not permitted to those who live in the shadows.
Kim Min-su wanted to see it.

With the sun at her back,
The sight of Moon Ha-yeon reigning higher than anyone.

“……”

Moon Ha-yeon thought him foolish.
Those who were always pushed to the margins,
The reason villains and mains had survived until now.

It had been possible because they hid in the shadows and took the initiative.
Telling her to display it proudly
Was tantamount to telling her to die.

But Moon Ha-yeon couldn’t refuse.
She gave a wry smile.
In front of this seventeen-year-old boy now,
She couldn’t whine that she couldn’t do it.

“Alright, fine.”
“……”

Kim Min-su, who had smiled faintly at the answer, flinched.
Moon Ha-yeon, too exhausted, didn’t notice,
But Kim Min-su could tell.

Someone was running toward them.

Filled undoubtedly with the resolve to kill,
An absolute will to leave no aftermath!

Kim Min-su used the last of his strength,
And barely reached a tree.

He dug into it like a mole,
And fortunately spotted an intact bundle.
He found a scroll inside labeled ‘1’.

Without hesitation, Kim Min-su tore the scroll.
A blue light flared before his eyes,
And a gate opened.

However, it was far too small.
Noticing this, Moon Ha-yeon asked in puzzlement.

“…Hey, Kim Min-su, this is for one person—”

-Thunk!

Kim Min-su pushed Moon Ha-yeon hard.
The gate began to close rapidly.

“……”

In that instant,
Moon Ha-yeon stared blankly at Kim Min-su.
He was smiling brightly.

“It was an honor to serve you.”

Words spoken like a last testament.
Simultaneously, the [Sword of the Saint] pierced Kim Min-su’s chest.

What Moon Ha-yeon saw with her own eyes was Yu Seha appearing like a flash,
unleashing demonic rage.

As the gate closed,
Kim Min-su’s arm was naturally severed.
Moon Ha-yeon was sent somewhere, clutching it in her hand.

“Damn it!!!”

Yu Seha hurriedly threw his sword at the gate.
But the gate had already swallowed Moon Ha-yeon and vanished long ago.
It sliced the empty air and shattered an innocent tree to pieces.

Yu Seha spat curses.
Harsh swears uncharacteristic of him.
Words his father and brothers used fired out like a machine gun.

“Hoo…”

He wiped his forehead.
He was frustrated.
So very frustrated.

‘If only I could have used <Rider Form> one more time…’

He would have appeared like a flash,
and taken them both out!

Anger and irritation heated his mind.
Soon, the evolved [Tyrant’s Mind] after reaching level 10 brought him calm.

‘…No.’

Calm down, calm down.
It’s greed.
Just greed.
What more can he do in this condition?

The outcome had already decisively tipped.
Far ahead was the battlefield of hunters and villains, as if seen through an unprecedented sense.

About 400 villains they had attacked,
Were mostly annihilated, he could tell.

Some were fleeing, but as long as the [Holy Barrier] held, they were mice in a jar.
He could say for certain.
Not a single one would survive; they would die here.

‘We suffered because of that natural disaster called the Sword Ghost…’

It was, literally, an overwhelming victory,
a contribution that would go down in history.

Behind him, a searing heat could be felt.
Temple of the Demon King’s center.
A massive pillar of fire that could scorch the sky was surging up.
It was no exaggeration to call it the rebirth of the ‘Red Dragon.’

A moment later, a black silhouette burned and fell.
It was undoubtedly Ju Yuri in Dragon Form.

Meanwhile, Ju Yae-young continued to display S-rank strength without restraint, radiating overwhelming energy.

Yes, as expected, fortunately…

“Ju Yae-young won, huh.”

He didn’t know if Tang Seo-ran was dead,
but the fact that they had won was what mattered.

‘This will cement the flow of the main story.’

With this,
the criminal clans of the underworld were certain to be eradicated.

I don’t have to do anything myself.

Chairman Yu Neung-hae, Su Ok-bin, Ju Yae-young, and other high-ups won’t miss this opportunity.

They’ll root them out like catching rats,
and kill villains and mains on sight.

<Niflheim>, <Kalasutra>,
And finally <Tartarus>.

They won’t have the capacity to wage another full-scale battle like today,
ever again.

“……”

A brief silence.
Yu Seha shook his head.
His bloodshot eyes emitted a menacing killing intent.

‘No.’

No,
no,
no!

Don’t be complacent.
In the face of the unprecedented calamity called the Sword Ghost,
they nearly lost everything,

What kind of optimistic thinking is that?
Leave no aftermath.

‘It’s not too late!’

Chase after Moon Ha-yeon even now.
Considering her near-death state,
she won’t have the energy to move absurd distances.
She’d die from the pressure while moving.

Yu Seha turned his body,
First, report by phone and then pursue himself.

As he thought this,

At that moment.

A sudden clench.

Yu Seha felt someone grab and hold his leg.
He felt the sensation of being grabbed.

“……?”

He looked down.
It was Kim Min-su.
Surprisingly, despite his heart being pierced, he was not dead.
Blood streamed from his eyes and mouth, yet he didn’t let go.

A moment of overwhelming mental strength.
With unfocused eyes,
Kim Min-su looked up at Yu Seha.

“I-I can’t let you go…”
“……”

Yu Seha frowned and kicked him away.

He fell backward but sprang up like a roly-poly and crawled like a worm.
He grabbed Yu Seha’s legs again.
With only one arm left and weak restraint, he opened his mouth and bit Yu Seha’s ankle.
The sound of teeth breaking crackled.
Of course, it could do no real damage to a Yu Seha who had long surpassed his limits.

“Wha- what!”

A desperate cry in a slurred voice.
Yu Seha exhaled through his mouth.

“…Huh.”

Finding it absurd, he gave up removing him.

Instead, he immediately made a call.

As if waiting, Chairman Yu Neung-hae answered.

—Yu Seha?! Yu Seha!? Are you okay? Are you okay!?

“Yes, I’m not fine… but I’m not dead. First, please listen to my report.”

Yu Seha gave a brief run-through of events.
And he hurried to report the most important thing: Moon Ha-yeon.
He asked to dispatch the fastest tracking teams.
He didn’t forget to stress that they must pursue immediately.

—Understood, I’ll send them right away. Se-ha, rest anywhere you can. Thank you… and I’m sorry.

“Not at all, Chairman — you are the one who suffered. Please, I’ll leave it to you.”

When the call ended,
Kim Min-su was dying, foaming blood from his mouth.

When Yu Seha casually removed his foot,
he had no strength left and slammed his head into the muddy ground.

‘…He’ll die soon.’

He tried to ignore him.
He intended to just leave.
Their problems as villains were none of his concern.

Yu Seha hated the word ‘washing machine.’
He hated it because, it turned out, the kid had his own reasons,
and he despised the phrase equally.

And that would not change going forward.
No matter what long, drawn-out past they had,
if they bared their teeth at his people, he would kill them without mercy.

‘……’

Thus, the one opening his mouth now was not ‘Yu Seha.’
It was merely a question from a fan of “Gonis Archive Life.”
A query from an instructor who loved ‘GAL’ for short.

“Still conscious?”
“……”
“Let me ask just one thing.”

An unbearable curiosity welled up.
The question always mentioned in the community,
He asked why Kim Min-su had shown such loyalty.

“…Why go that far to protect Moon Ha-yeon? What is she to you?”

Kim Min-su had never betrayed Moon Ha-yeon even once.

This was proven by the sacrifice he was showing now.

“I don’t understand you.”

The IF story instructors always mentioned.

“If you wanted, you could walk a different path—not this one—and look out for yourself instead.”

The unique ability he possessed, [Peace Mind].
If he applied just that properly,
he could have made a fortune and been treated like a king.

At the question, Kim Min-su glanced up.
In truth, he had no obligation to answer.
The two were enemies.

They could never join hands,
they were rivals who might need to stab each other in the back.

But Kim Min-su answered.
He didn’t even know what change of heart it was.

With broken teeth, a slurred pronunciation came out.
But…
that phrase was more intense than anything for Yu Seha.

“…Gah, I’m… like you.”
“…What?”
“I’m like you… Ma Hana… what does she mean to you?”
“……”

Yu Seha fell silent.
Not detailed, not specific, but
He felt he knew what was being implied,
It was a reply that would cut deep.

Kim Min-su laughed, unlike his usual self.
As if pleased at landing a hit.

In Kim Min-su’s eyes,
There was no longer Yu Seha.

“She is… my hope.”

The dying boy recalled.
The girl he first met in the junkyard,
The girl who seemed barely high-school age, reached out her hand to him.

—Hey, don’t you think the world’s fucked too?
—……
—I’ve got a fun plan. I’m going to wreck the whole world.

You interested in coming with me?
I’ll treat you well.

“…Moon Ha-yeon… my lady.”

I’m sorry for harboring presumptuous feelings.

Kim Min-su died.
His eyes lost their light.

Yu Seha, watching it, regretted the needless words he’d heard.

“Ha…”

Yu Seha approached Kim Min-su.
He raised his hand and closed his eyes for him.
He muttered softly one last time.

“You bastard…”