Chapter 193 : Chapter 193

Chapter 193 - Epilogue (3)

“Stop it now! Please!”

The Guardian cried out desperately.

Her grief-stricken voice echoed poignantly throughout the great cavern.

In the terrifying space filled with Outer Gods, each capable of tearing apart an entire dimension on their own, the target of her plea was directed at only one person.

To the one man who was withstanding the terrifying pressure of those Outer Gods.

“You’ll kill him at this rate! He’s already been thrown dozens of times!”

That is, more precisely, to the Platinum Knight, who was being treated more harshly than a ball in a sports game.

“Are you even human? How can you treat someone in that state so roughly?!”

“...Now she doesn’t even care that the Outer Gods are being wiped out by the truckload...”

Seo Ah-in, standing next to her, muttered as if her head was throbbing.

If anyone else had been there, most would have agreed, but Kim Gyu-sik, at least, seemed to have no particular feelings about such an opinion.

“Ah, wait a second. Just let me clear one last wave.”

With those words, the Platinum Knight was sent flying again, bouncing around and wiping out five more Outer Gods.

It was such a splendid series of skips that Kim Gyu-sik, who had done the ‘pitching,’ let out a satisfied whistle.

“Strike.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

A common silence flowed from the two women and the one man whose consciousness was questionable.

It was a reaction that said they had no idea what this crazy bastard was talking about.

“...No, wait a minute. Is this really it? The terrifying threat that endangered our world is over with just a few rounds of stone-skipping?”

“Well, to be precise, it’s not over.”

Kim Gyu-sik muttered with narrowed eyes in response to Seo Ah-in’s dazed mumble.

“Because there’s still one guy I need to have a final talk with.”

As he said that, Kim Gyu-sik stared blankly up at the empty air.

“Greetings for the first time. And it will probably be the last.”

With a sigh, Kim Gyu-sik, who had been fiddling with the PC he had kept by his side until now, spoke in a voice full of annoyance.

“Come out, ‘Source.’ Or should I call you System?”

And with those words.

A string of characters was etched into the air.

***

[ Congratulations on your clear, Player. ]

I stared emotionlessly at the blue window that appeared before my eyes.

The source code. The Source of this world.

And probably, the reason I ended up settling in this world.

[ This is the first time I am greeting you directly, but the clear route you have taken so far is nothing short of astounding. ]

So it can now use sentences that are quite close to human speech.

I snorted and looked at it.

[ However, you have not yet reached a complete state. It is understandable, given that you have entered a hastily made bug character. ]

Just as I thought.

I wasn't sure of the details, but I could tell this guy had brought me here with a certain ‘intention.’

Then one more thing.

“Hey. Let me ask you one thing.”

[ Speak. ]

“You brought one more person besides me, didn’t you?”

[ As expected, you were already aware. ]

A hollow laugh escaped me.

There was no need to ask who it was. The Guardian, who was blinking as if she didn't even understand what this conversation meant... that is.

The target would be Kim So-jin, whose consciousness had been ‘overwritten.’

“And she’s a hostage. Isn’t she.”

[ The word hostage is a bit much... would you mind calling it ‘for management’? ]

The hollow laugh grew a little stronger.

Well, at least it wasn't denying it. That's good.

If this thing had tried to deny what I had worked so hard to interpret with the PC by my side, I would have had to go through a very tedious process.

[ You have truly proven your worth magnificently. Your skills are more than adequate to be used as an exclusive employee of the ‘Source.’ ]

It was hard to grasp properly since I could only see it as text, but the thought crossed my mind that the being displaying this sentence was undoubtedly wearing a satisfied smirk.

[ Shall we have you work for about a thousand years first? You would be an excellent ‘manager.’ ]

“So, let’s summarize.”

I said with a sigh.

“I don’t know who you are, but you brought me from that world, threw me in here, and have been observing me all this time to use me for your unknown purpose. Now that I’ve cleared the final episode, I’ve passed your standard, so you’re going to work me like a servant. And if I go against that, you’ll harm my precious person over there, is that it?”

[ It is good that I can save my words. If you understand that much, you must also know that you have no choice, right? ]

It does seem that way.

I let out a deeper sigh and typed on the PC.

“Yeah. It’s true that I don’t really have a choice.”

[ Compliance is a good attitude. Excellent. In that case, I can tell you quickly. The reason you were brought here is... ]

“No, wait. Hold on a minute.”

I held up a hand to stop the System, which was about to continue its explanation.

“I’m not really curious about that. From now on, you just need to prepare to die.”

[ ...? ]

Seeing the status window with a massive question mark on it, a bitter smile naturally escaped me.

“Think about it for a second. I’ve lived well so far without once thinking about why I flew here. If you suddenly explain who I am and why you brought me here, why should I listen to that? Wouldn't I just think of killing you and living comfortably?”

[ ...No, wait. Hold on. You’re not even curious about why you were caught up in this phenomenon? Or my identity? ]

“Hey, you. You said you’ve been watching me all this time. Then shouldn’t you have figured out my disposition long ago?”

Well, to be honest.

I don’t really know who I’m talking to right now either.

At least, it admitted with its own mouth that it was the entity that ‘transmigrated’ me here.

It could be a real god, or a trans-dimensional being somewhere. What’s certain is that it’s some supernatural being that’s no ordinary pushover.

“My aptitude is only satisfied when I properly school bastards who talk shit.”

[ ... ]

“That goes for you too, you bastard. I don’t care who the opponent is.”

In the first place, since it transmigrated me into ‘a world I created.’

Shouldn't it have been normal to think that I would have prepared a means to screw it over?

With that thought, I hammered a few lines of code into the PC.

-...Debug_all...

[ Wait a moment. You. What are you plotting? ]

“Debug.”

I answered with a grin.

“Judging by the fact that you brought me from the ‘outside,’ I don’t think you originally belong to this world either.”

I continued with a broad smile.

“Then if I punch in this command, you die. Got it?”

[ ...If you do that, won’t you die too? You and the woman behind you are not original components of this world either. ]

“You know.”

This guy.

It's got something seriously wrong.

“I have my ways.”

[ ...What did you say? ]

Well, even I think it’s a bit of a terrifying method.

But anyway, there is one.

I sighed and spoke.

“So, any last words?”

[ No, what kind of nonsensical- ]

“Right. Okay.”

I slammed the enter key on the PC.

At the same time.

The world went dark.

***

“Status window.”

No response.

“Skill window.”

No response either.

“Quest window.”

This one’s dead too...

“No, what in the world happened?!”

Seo Ah-in’s horrified voice came from behind me.

“Just now, just now something... the world stopped, didn’t it?! What happened...!”

“Well, it means Mr. Kim Gyu-sik’s journey has come to an end.”

I scratched my head and got up from my seat.

I left the PC, which had been completely discharged after I entered the command, right where it was.

I probably wouldn’t have any use for it in the future.

At least, I had cleared away everything that could be a threat to ‘this world.’

“So, hurray for the era of peace. From now on, humans will live peacefully without the threat of bastards from other dimensions, the Tower, or demonic beasts. Something like that.”

Of course, there would be all sorts of clean-up processes involved, but honestly.

I was a man who had saved the world multiple times single-handedly.

If I said I wanted to escape such chaos and enjoy a pastoral and peaceful country life, no one could stand in my way.

“...For someone saying that, you look awfully troubled.”

“Well, I mean.”

Of course, that was just talk.

I still had a very large task remaining.

A task with a level of difficulty that might not make sense even compared to all the crazy things I had done to save the world so far.

[ Singularity of the target has been discovered. Designated as a preliminary deletion item. ]

[ Time remaining until automatic deletion - 200 H. ]

The ‘System’ was dead, but my expression hardened even more as I looked at the string of characters flickering before my eyes with broken text.

The Guardian, who had collapsed after the debugging attempt... that is, Kim So-jin MK-II, would probably see the same thing when she came to her senses.

In any case, I was also a transmigrator who had entered this world from the outside. The System’s prediction that I would also die if I initiated the debugging was, in fact, extremely accurate.

So, there was only one way to get out of this.

It was truly hellish, but it was a fairly certain method that I could think of.

I approached Seo Ah-in and firmly grasped her shoulder.

“Hey. This is really important, so you have to answer me properly.”

“...Yes? W-w-what is it?!”

“My life is on the line. This is a really big crisis.”

“No, you’ve saved the world from the apocalypse and everything, what are you talking about?! What big task could possibly be left now?!”

There is.

So, you see.

Putting aside the complicated theories and various settings that were in place when Kim So-jin and I programmed this game.

There was only one way for me to be recognized as a ‘component’ of this world.

“I, uh, you know. I have to start a family.”

“...?”

“The time I have to handle it is... probably about a week.”

“...??”

“Could you, maybe, help me out? I’m really terrible with women.”

“...?????????????????????????????????”

“No, I’m sorry. That might sound too rude. I’ll try to handle it somehow, so just forget about it...”

“No, hold on. It’s all so sudden, I can’t process it.”

Seo Ah-in blinked a few times, sighed, and thought for a long time while frantically scratching her head until her hair was a mess.

Finally, she came to a conclusion.

“So. You need to find the most suitable woman to be your spouse. Within a week.”

“...Right.”

“Family... you say. It seems marriage is a must. What about a child?”

“...It’ll probably be necessary.”

“Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.”

Seo Ah-in sighed.

“You’re in deep trouble.”

“I am in deep trouble. Where in the world am I supposed to find someone like that...”

“Yes. That’s exactly why you’re in deep trouble.”

“...?”

What does she mean.

I don't really get it.

“You might actually die within a week.”

“...”

Continued in the Side Story! -

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