Chapter 165. The Oath of Sacrifice
[First, you must choose.]
Shhhhh....
At the sound of cold rain falling beyond the window, I carefully opened my eyes.
Rainwater had leaked inside, leaving the floor damp.
Cold air seeped through gaps everywhere, and the smell of mold spread through the heavy moisture.
Splash... splash....
I planted my hands on the floor and struggled to lift my frozen body.
Trembling, I walked toward the hearth and blew air onto the few embers that remained.
My tiny hand picked up a piece of damp firewood.
Then, irritated, I threw it onto the floor.
An old memory.
A very old one.
Was it sixty years ago?
Fifty?
Back when I was nothing more than the child of a farmer, a terrible ordeal suddenly came upon me.
A plague abruptly spread throughout the entire village.
My parents died without warning.
Most of the villagers became sick and began dying.
And even in the middle of all that, thieves broke into our home and left it in ruins.
That was the day of my choice.
I scratched at the hardened scab of blood on my forehead, wrapped myself in the only blanket that had luckily avoided getting soaked by the rain, and climbed onto the bed to warm my freezing body.
Rain leaked through the ceiling.
Wind and rain poured through the broken door.
The fire had gone out.
There were no adults.
Even at that young age, I somehow realized that if things continued like this, I would die.
With those tiny trembling hands, I grabbed a kitchen knife and stepped out into the storm.
It was a dark night of pouring rain.
Even the moon was hidden behind the clouds.
Though it was not particularly late, not a single house in the plague-stricken village had its lights on.
“F-Fire....”
The young child looked around desperately from beneath the blanket.
By chance, he spotted a faint light.
Yes.
It was the flame inside a lantern hanging from an adult’s waist.
And that adult...
Was a man from the same village who had suddenly broken into my house, beaten me, and stolen our belongings.
Shhhhh....
I don’t think the world had ever been filled so completely with the sound of rain.
I stared at the lantern lying on the ground.
Then at the adult who had collapsed and died after taking only a few steps, perhaps because of the disease.
Despair swallowed me.
If even a strong adult could die after walking only that far because of the plague...
Wouldn’t it be easier to simply die right here?
For a moment, I truly thought so.
Thud!
But the child raised the kitchen knife.
Again.
And again.
He hacked at the strap that firmly tied the lantern to the adult’s waist.
Then he cut it free and hugged the lantern tightly against his chest.
To survive.
The warmth against my chest...
Or perhaps it was painful heat.
I could not tell.
That painfully insufficient warmth made tears pour from my eyes as I sobbed without being able to properly make a sound.
I was sad.
Empty.
My utterly ordinary life felt unbearably disappointing and painful.
If only I had possessed great strength like the Heroes in stories.
Or at the very least...
If I had been an adventurer capable of traveling the world and searching for a cure for the plague.
A child who possessed nothing silently cried as though his breaking heart itself were dying.
[Choose.]
“...Ah.”
I finally understood.
“So I’m playing that person.”
Afterward, I was found by someone from the black market who happened to be passing through the village.
They took me in.
Perhaps they intended to use me for begging or something similar.
I did not know.
But the boss who accepted me gave me a strange name and began using me as an informant.
They had taken in a dying child.
So I did everything I could to help them.
I spared neither my body nor my passion.
But that was as far as it went.
The boss who had accepted me was eliminated by a rival organization.
I believe I was twenty at the time.
“Right....”
“After that, I stayed in Jageun Village for the rest of my life....”
I occasionally continued helping with black market work.
But only until my forties.
After that, perhaps because I had overworked myself so badly when I was young...
My body stopped functioning properly.
[What path will you show this child?]
More than seventy years of life.
A life filled entirely with regret.
And the moment those regrets began...
Was that day when I had hugged the lantern and cried.
What gave me the life I would later regret...
Was that rough hand extended toward me back then.
“The Great Hero of Patience is quite mischievous.”
At some point, an umbrella had appeared in my hand.
I opened it and walked toward the crying child.
Toward my younger self.
Hearing me approach with splashing footsteps, the child noticed me and tried to run away in fear.
But with his frozen and injured body...
Even that looked difficult.
“Come with me.”
I guided the child...
My past self...
Toward the black market.
I made him walk the same path I once had.
I did not change the past.
This child would ultimately live the same terrible life that I had.
He would spend every day drowning in regret.
Only after growing old would he finally try to live by giving to others.
And someday...
He would surely meet him again.
Even if that man never came looking for me...
I would be the one to find him.
“If someone asked whether I have a single regret in my life...”
I felt the child’s cold hand in mine.
I spoke almost as though making a vow.
There was not the slightest hesitation in my words.
Because I knew this resolve would never change.
“I would tell them that my life has been filled with more regrets than I could ever count.”
I tightened my grip slightly.
“There is someone waiting for me.”
“And there is someone you must meet.”
“I swore that I would live for that person.”
“I hope you will do the same.”
Tap.
As we continued walking through the endlessly falling rain...
The child’s hand suddenly slipped from mine.
I had not been holding tightly.
But the hand fell so weakly that I was startled and turned around.
There...
Ingwang-nim lay collapsed on the ground.
...
She truly was mischievous.
“Village... Chief....”
Miss Aien.
Miss Mallyangi.
Everyone I had known for so long...
They all lay collapsed within a world stained red, their bodies soaked in blood.
[The future of those who wait for Madness and follow Madness has always been the same.]
[Even so, will you make the same choice?]
I slowly looked around.
There was a gun in my hand.
In the distance...
A crowd holding torches was slowly approaching.
If this was the future...
Then it was an incredibly bleak one.
All my companions were badly injured and dying.
I was the only survivor.
Yet I lacked the strength to protect everyone.
My weapon was inadequate.
And enemies were closing in.
Click.
It was the handgun I always favored.
A fine weapon made by a master gunsmith.
You could even call it a work of art.
It fired magic bullets with fairly high attack power.
[Choose.]
“...Interesting.”
A laugh escaped me.
The Great Hero of Patience seemed utterly ridiculous.
I never imagined she would present something this trivial as a trial.
It was almost insulting.
Just how weak did she think I was?
“Ingwang-nim.”
I looked down.
“Are you alive?”
“V-Village... Chief.... Save me....”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
Leaving the other companions behind, I lifted Ingwang-nim onto my shoulder.
Then I checked how many bullets remained.
Three rounds.
How generous.
I looked toward the approaching crowd.
Then toward my fallen companions, groaning on the ground.
“Village Chief....”
“Miss Aien....”
“Save... me....”
“Miss Mallyangi....”
“I don’t want... to die....”
“Miss Levy as well....”
I lowered my head.
“May you pass peacefully.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I fired the three bullets into Miss Aien, Miss Mallyangi, and Miss Levy.
Each bullet pierced a head.
Their bodies stopped moving.
I bowed my head and mourned them.
Even if these were merely false images...
It still hurt to shoot children.
“Why...?”
A voice trembled.
Ingwang-nim, slung over my shoulder...
And Miss Lucy, lying on the ground...
Both stared at me with resentment.
“Why...!”
“It is a shame I did not have one more bullet.”
I approached Miss Lucy.
She had always disapproved of me.
She had always been dissatisfied with me staying beside Ingwang-nim.
