Chapter 265. Escape (2)
He had finally found him.
Kang Yujin let out a breath of relief as he looked at the man standing alone in the darkness.
Kim Nameless was safe.
That alone eased his heart.
But almost immediately, a new anxiety surged up.
Because it looked like Kim Nameless was about to throw himself into the sea spread out before him.
“Stop.”
Kang Yujin grabbed Kim Nameless by the arm.
“Step away from the water.”
"..."
“I said step away.”
There was no response, so Kang Yujin roughly pulled him back.
Kim Nameless didn’t resist.
“Were you planning to jump in?”
“Kang Yujin, don’t misunderstand.”
Kim Nameless answered in a flat voice.
“This is the Dead Sea.”
“It isn’t actually a sea. It’s a saltwater lake.”
“The Dead Sea?”
“The salinity is so high that your body floats.”
“Even if I jumped in, I wouldn’t die.”
So that was it.
Even so...
Kang Yujin’s uneasiness didn’t disappear.
If anything, the name ‘Dead Sea’ only made him more uncomfortable.
Because right now...
there was a scent of death around Kim Nameless.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
“How?”
“I just... kept searching.”
Christina’s power had been overwhelming.
When Kim Nameless collapsed, Kang Yujin tried to rush toward him immediately.
But he was caught in Christina’s attack and lost consciousness.
By the time he woke up...
Jason, Lee Gyu, and Princess Longji had already escaped with Kim Nameless.
“The other Constellations were discussing what they should do about you.”
“Joo Minha and Alexei were there too.”
"..."
“I couldn’t wait for them to decide.”
“So I ran off by myself.”
“Christina just let me leave.”
Christina had been completely relaxed.
Perhaps because she had gained overwhelming power, she seemed to feel no need to hurry.
“I just searched like crazy...”
“And eventually I ended up here.”
“Right...”
Maybe Kang Yujin had unconsciously sensed that Kim Nameless was here.
“What are you going to do now?”
"..."
“Are you planning to disappear?”
Kim Nameless didn’t answer.
Kang Yujin took that silence as confirmation and glared at him.
“Because you’re Lucifer?”
"..."
“Because you think Lucifer’s personality will eventually take over and throw this world into chaos?”
Kang Yujin did not doubt Kim Nameless’s original intentions.
The Nameless King he had known until now had never been Lucifer.
There was no way he had orchestrated everything just to reclaim Lucifer’s power.
When Christina revealed the truth, Kim Nameless had looked genuinely shocked.
He hadn’t known Lucifer’s soul was inside him either.
“Don’t make me laugh!”
Kang Yujin shouted.
“Even Christina was confident that Lucifer’s personality wouldn’t take over her!”
“So why is a man like you afraid of that?!”
He reached out and grabbed Kim Nameless by the collar.
“I don’t know that much about you!”
“But I do know that you have a stronger will and stronger desires than almost anyone!”
“There’s no way someone like you would let another personality take over!”
“You’re overestimating me.”
“Lucifer’s soul inside you probably isn’t complete either!”
“If you resist, you can beat it!”
“That’s just your delusion.”
“You have no basis for saying that.”
“Then keep resisting anyway!”
Kang Yujin gripped his collar so tightly it was almost like strangling him.
“You were the one who kept struggling from the very bottom!”
“You made me do the same!”
“So do it again this time!”
“Why do you want that so badly?”
"...!"
“Don’t misunderstand, Kang Yujin.”
Kim Nameless knocked Kang Yujin’s hand away.
“I was a Constellation.”
“You were my Contractor.”
“You had no right to demand anything from me.”
“Ghk...”
“We were master and servant.”
“Know your place.”
At those cold words...
the strength drained from Kang Yujin’s hands.
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
"..."
“What do I have to do to pull you back up?”
Kang Yujin’s voice trembled.
“You were the one who pulled me up from the bottom.”
“So if I want to pull you up from the bottom... what am I supposed to do?”
“Do I kneel and beg?”
“Should I lower myself and plead like your Contractor?”
“Like your subordinate?”
Kang Yujin started to kneel before the silent Kim Nameless.
But Kim Nameless reached out and stopped him.
“Don’t.”
“But I don’t have any other way left!”
“There’s no need.”
“I don’t care if I have to do this to save you!”
“I’ll kneel and beg in front of you as many times as it takes!”
Kang Yujin shoved his hand away and shouted.
“Even if you give up on yourself, I won’t give up on you!”
“If you need a Constellation, contract with another one.”
“With Jason’s help, you could probably contract with another S-rank Constellation.”
“I’m who I am now because of you!”
“If it isn’t you, it means nothing!”
“Kang Yujin.”
Kim Nameless spoke as though trying to calm him down.
“You’re like a chick that just hatched.”
"..."
“When you broke out of your shell, the first person you saw was me.”
“So you imprinted on me and kept following me around thinking I was your mother.”
Kim Nameless sighed.
“Even if I hadn’t rescued you, you would’ve escaped that research facility eventually.”
That was probably true.
The other Vessels had all become active on the world stage through different circumstances.
Merlin had his own plans too.
Even without the Nameless King rescuing him, Kang Yujin probably would have escaped the Church’s control and begun fighting as a Contractor.
“Even so...”
Knowing that changed nothing in Kang Yujin’s heart.
“I still want to keep fighting.”
“With you.”
Still gripping Kim Nameless’s clothes, Kang Yujin spoke almost like he was screaming.
“Please, Nameless King.”
"..."
“I’ll fight beside you until the very end.”
Why was Kang Yujin begging like this?
Because the Nameless King had been the standard by which he lived his life.
Even if that was merely Kang Yujin’s misunderstanding...
even if it was nothing more than a delusion he created for himself...
he didn’t care.
He had wanted to follow the Nameless King.
He had wanted to become someone the Nameless King wouldn’t be ashamed of.
That was why he had been able to fight until now.
Why he had been able to become stronger.
If he abandoned the Nameless King now...
Kang Yujin would no longer be Kang Yujin.
“Kang Yujin.”
“You said you are who you are now because I existed...”
“but that’s exactly what I should be saying.”
“What...?”
“I am who I am now because you existed.”
“Right after becoming a Constellation, if I hadn’t remembered you and contracted with you...”
“I never would’ve reached where I am now.”
