Chapter 77
Before I joined the raid party in my previous life.
I had only barely reached the 40th floor, and my body was in terrible condition.
I had collapsed the moment I came through the portal.
"Keugh... where am I?"
When I finally regained consciousness, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me.
My entire body, which had been covered in wounds, was wrapped in bandages.
"You're awake."
"I thought it'd take longer because of your injuries."
I flinched.
A man wearing a strange mask stood nearby.
Hugo.
"Relax."
"If I wanted to hurt you, I would've tied you up first after bringing you here."
He paused.
"Though if that's what you want, I can still do it now."
Even though I refused his care, he stubbornly kept looking after me.
When I refused to eat what he brought, he forced my mouth open and fed me.
If I refused to swallow, he even tickled me until I did.
Several days passed like that.
Then, at the training ground inside Hugo's hideout.
Whoosh!
"Haa... haa... keugh."
I touched my side.
Blood stained my hand.
I had forced myself to resume training before my injuries had fully healed, and the wound on my side had opened again.
Step. Step.
"I told you not to push yourself."
Hugo approached.
"You still don't listen to a single thing I say."
"What do I have to do to make you give up and rest quietly?"
"...I'm grateful that you helped me."
"But I'll take care of my own body."
"I don't have time to sit around here doing nothing."
I immediately raised my sword again.
Hugo watched me for a moment, then picked up a wooden sword from the corner.
"Let's make a bet."
"Winner gets to decide."
"If I lose, I'll stop bothering you and let you do whatever you want."
"But if you lose..."
He raised the wooden sword.
"You'll lie in bed and rest like you're supposed to."
"...Fine."
Naturally, I lost.
Not because of my injuries.
The difference in skill was simply too great.
"You're a Player who just reached the 40th floor, right?"
Hugo flexed his hand.
"I've never had my hand go this numb before."
"And that last strike was actually dangerous."
Hugo used a strange sword style.
Unlike Mikhail's swordsmanship, which overwhelmed opponents with sheer force, every one of Hugo's movements was irregular and too fast to properly follow.
"...Give it to me."
"What?"
"That swordsmanship."
I stared at him.
"Teach it to me."
"I'll do whatever you want."
"Rest, stay in bed, whatever."
Hugo stared at me.
"...Why are you so desperate to climb this Tower?"
"At this point, couldn't you just stay here and start a new life?"
It was something everyone had said to me before my regression.
And just like back then, my answer didn't change.
"I'm going back to my original world."
"I'll kill everyone who trapped me in this place..."
"And then I'll return."
"Nothing changes."
Hugo let out a hollow laugh.
Then he pushed my forehead with one finger.
"Stop looking at the ground."
"Look ahead when you walk, brat."
I frowned.
"...?"
"The straighter something is, the easier it breaks."
He turned away and walked toward the hideout door.
Before leaving, he stopped.
"I'll teach you once your body is completely healed."
"If you understood, go lie down."
Back in the present.
Late at night.
A wide, quiet park with no one else around.
Kim Hana stood before me in casual clothes.
Why did the two of them end up meeting like this?
Four years had passed.
Why had Hugo suddenly revealed himself to Kim Hana now?
History should have changed from the moment I stole her Trait.
This was probably another future created by that change.
"...I waited."
Kim Hana's voice trembled.
"For four years."
"Not a single day went by when I didn't wait."
She looked around.
"Do you remember this place?"
"Before Mom and Dad died, the four of us used to come here all the time."
She was desperately holding back tears.
About a year after I first arrived on the 40th floor, Hugo had told me himself.
Kim Hana was his younger sister.
"After the villain attack, I really thought everyone except me had died."
She reached into her shirt and pulled something from around her neck.
"This was the only thing left in the ashes."
A pendant.
Inside was a photograph.
A young Hugo.
Kim Hana.
And their parents.
I didn't know the full reason why Hugo had hidden the fact that he was alive from even his own sister while living as a villain.
But there was one thing I did know.
She's my little sister.
I still have things left to do, so I can't go back yet...
But someday, I'll see her again.
When that happens, I'll introduce you too.
He had always wanted to see her again.
Every day, he would stare at the other pendant, the one scorched black by fire.
"...I know everything now."
Kim Hana stepped toward me.
"I read every record the Association had."
"I know why you did all of it."
"I'll testify for you...!"
"So let's go back together."
"Please."
"We can still fix everything, even now...!"
She slowly approached.
Meanwhile, I looked coldly at the message floating before my eyes.
[Clear Condition: 1. Make Kim Hana feel ‘despair.’ OR 2. Kill Kim Hana.]
"..."
The System gave me nothing but cruel choices.
Almost as though it knew exactly what was happening and was enjoying it.
[Many Constellations express sympathy.]
[Several Constellations who enjoy despair, regret, and tragedy look forward to seeing which choice you make.]
I tightened my grip on the sword.
"Oppa-"
Whoosh!
"...!"
The blade swept toward her neck in an arc.
Kim Hana hurriedly jumped back.
Her pupils shook violently.
I answered in a low voice.
"You're still clinging to that pathetic family game?"
"Disappointing."
"...What?"
I gave her no chance to respond.
My sword slashed through the air again.
Kim Hana desperately tried to dodge and block.
It was useless.
The more she struggled, the more wounds accumulated from the unpredictable blade.
"Keugh! Haa... haa...."
Blood dripped from her right arm onto the ground.
The cut was deep.
Her vision blurred, and her breathing became ragged.
