171 – Same Type of Stand #2

171 – Same Type of Stand #2

*Shwing-.*

Seo Gaeul drew the demon sword “Danpung.”

Like a well-ripened autumn maple leaf, the crimson blade had a rather bewitching aura.

“Autumn Shower, Apple Drop!”

*Shwack-*!

Seo Gaeul unleashed a sharp, long-range sword strike, potent enough to sever even the apples clinging to the highest branches.

That a person could launch sword energy like a protagonist in a martial arts novel was, of course, thanks to the application of the power of “Miracle.”

*Kwa-gua-gua-gwak-*!

Sword energy tearing through the surroundings.

Against this onslaught, Gu Sejun seemed to merely raise his worn hiking stick, then slammed it forcefully against the ground.

“Let the tempest be stilled.”

The sword energy dissipated in an instant.

Seo Gaeul had anticipated Gu Sejun might employ some sort of uncanny sorcery, but this was genuinely startling.

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Gu Sejun leaped into the air, as if riding a cloud, and swung his hiking stick down towards Seo Gaeul.

An attack descending from above—

*Kkaaang-*!

*Kkadeudeuk-*!

Had Seo Gaeul not hastily raised his sword to parry, he would have suffered a grievous injury from the tremendous impact.

In this instant, blades clashed against staff with ferocious power—

“……!”

A flood of information seemed to surge into Seo Gaeul’s mind.

It was Gu Sejun’s memories.

# # #

The nature of the psychic power “Concepts” circulating in the world was the desires of the people.

Those who yearned for something desperately would, through a seemingly accidental, yet fated trigger, acquire a new power.

Those who wished to run, “Sprint.”

Those who were thirsty, “Water.”

Those who craved a miracle, “Miracle.”

And those who sought salvation, the power of “Savior.”

The man, Gu Sejun, was born under a pastor.

His father wasn’t a good father, but at least he was a good pastor, a model for his congregation.

But as was common with fledgling churches, the number of congregants was small, and the income less than what he would’ve earned working a minimum-wage part-time job at a convenience store.

His wife’s death from illness, without the funds for treatment, was a result of that, too.

Gu Se-jun couldn’t grasp why his mother, who had lived such a devout life, had succumbed to illness and died in agony.

Young Gu Se-jun’s questions prompted his father to ponder for what seemed like ages before answering, as if having reached a final conclusion.

“Your mother didn’t die, she went to Heaven. It was God’s will that she be taken to Heaven. That’s providence. Even in situations beyond human comprehension, there is always a reason.”

From that day forward, the pastor began to fervently revere divine providence.

He came to believe without a doubt that everything happened according to God’s will.

The sickness gnawing at people’s bodies, the blades of criminals piercing their skin – even in those things, there must be God’s intent.

Without questioning, he devoted himself to following the voice of God, placing meaning in everything.

Thanks to this, his son, Gu Se-jun, was forced to inherit ascetic all-night prayer vigils.

Days spent only in prayer, without food or sleep.

On the threshold of death, the young Gu Se-jun truly yearned for salvation.

He hoped a savior would appear to rescue him or guide him to Heaven.

But, ironically, the boy who longed for a savior became, on that very day, his own “Savior.”

After that, his father exploited the boy’s power to establish a religion.

The Garden of Eden Church.

It’s a pseudo-religion.

But Gu Se-jun, who resides there, is undoubtedly the real thing.

“I… I can stand up again!”

“My eyes can see!”

“My skin disease is completely healed!”

Gu Se-jun performed miracles.

Each time people revered him, their eyes shining as if they were beholding a god, Gu Se-jun’s thoughts could only solidify into an even firmer obstinacy.

He was the only one who could change this world.

Those memories and that will flowed into Seo Gaeul.

At that moment, Seo Gaeul realized with certainty the kind of conviction that made the man before her mad, and it was almost on par with Ha Nam-jin.

Meaning, he was impossible to reason with.

“Miss, were you glimpsing my memories?”

“So what! You don’t expect me to pay for the viewing, do you?”

“Hardly. You must have heard this saying. He who stares into the abyss, the abyss stares back. As much as you saw me, I saw you as well, Miss.”

“What? You pervert! If you saw something, pay up!”

*Clang-*

Seo Gaeul, with all her strength, shoved Gu Se-jun away.

Even as the distance widened between them, Gu Se-jun added,

“The Lady seeks atonement for the sins she has committed. Atonement for the countless lives lost, and those who may yet perish, because of her.”

“So what? What’s wrong with repenting one’s sins? Isn’t that far better than those who live shamelessly, flaunting their transgressions?”

“Perhaps that is true. But the method is flawed. I, if I were to, could erase the Lady’s sins as if they never existed. I was born carrying such a desire—a ‘Savior,’ as it were. A single touch of this hand…”

*Swish-*

Gu Se-jun reached out toward Seo Gaeul.

Seo Gaeul felt a chilling premonition, a certainty that if his hand touched her, all would be lost, and she swung her blade.

*Shak-*!

But Seo Gaeul’s sword didn’t even graze Gu Se-jun’s arm.

No, Gu Se-jun had vanished.

“What! Where the—”

*Swish-*

Gu Se-jun stood behind Seo Gaeul, unseen.

In that instant, Seo Gaeul remembered the nature of Gu Se-jun’s “time.” According to Ha Nam-jin, he could manipulate time within a certain range.

“Thus, with a single touch of my hand, all sins are forgiven.”

*Thwack-*

Gu Se-jun’s hand finally landed on the crown of Seo Gaeul’s head.

At that moment, Seo Gaeul felt her very soul being bleached.

Like a machine reset to its factory settings, countless experiences lost their meaning, turning blank and white.

Was this what it felt like to be absolved of sins?

And yet, Seo Gaeul couldn’t understand.

“What right does a third party like you have to forgive the wrongs I committed against those people—”

Seo Gaeul couldn’t finish her sentence, because Gu Se-jun’s hand had clamped— *thwack!*—around her neck.

Flailing, flailing—

Seo Gaeul was lifted into the air, her arms and legs thrashing.

“In this state of repentance, so that you may sin no more, I will send you straight to Heaven.”

“You… you mean to kill me!?”

There was no hesitation in Gu Se-jun’s eyes.

Indeed, a conviction, a belief that he would kill Seo Gaeul and send her to Heaven, burned in his gaze.

“…You goddamn psycho!”

Seo Gaeul realized that Gu Sejun had already killed several people in this way.

Gu Sejun was, after all, a terrorist and a murderer.

“Miss, if I get my hands on your ‘Miracle’, I can send even more people to Paradise. People should be going to Paradise, not running to the moon.”

“That just means killing them all! After forcing that bizarre atonement or whatever it is!”

“It’s not just dying, it’s going to Paradise. The difference between the two is distinct, wouldn’t you agree?”

Thrashing, thrashing—

Seo Gaeul thrashed wildly.

But it was incredibly difficult to break free from his strong grip.

Gu Sejun was also having a hard time.

Even after being subjected to the touch of atonement that supposedly cleansed the very soul, Seo Gaeul’s resistance remained fierce.

Was it because the two possessed similar conceptual natures?

So Gu Sejun, with his remaining hand, picked up the knife that had fallen to the floor and stabbed Seo Gaeul in the side.

Thwack—!

“aaargh!”

Seo Gaeul writhed in agony.

Gu Sejun, watching the scene, spoke.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve been stabbed by this knife, Miss. We’ve already been through this fight, and you inflicted a fatal wound on me, eventually dying. Before that, you must have sought out that boy, Ha Namjin.”

Gu Sejun possessed the concept of “Time.”

Therefore, he understood that the current moment was the second iteration of time, forcibly rewound by someone.

He also knew that his past self had died at Seo Gaeul’s hands.

“Gghhh… could it be that what Ha Namjin said… the traitor to humanity….”

The traitor to humanity who had inflicted a fatal wound on Seo Gaeul.

That, in the end, was a reference to Gu Sejun.

Possessing the fanatical ideology of atoning for, then killing all humans with his own hands, and sending them to Paradise.

In a certain sense, he was one of the calamities, like conquest, famine, war, and death.

“You attacking me alone was a reckless act, Miss. Maybe the you from two years from now, but the current you is no match for me. But from your perspective, you had no other choice, did you?”

“…….”

“You wanted to be helpful to Ha Namjin, too. Did you feel impatient because you felt like you weren’t doing as much as the other girls? So you wanted to achieve a great feat with your own strength.”

Seo Gaeul vividly felt her concepts being plundered by “Maple Leaf,” which was embedded in her side.

The “mimicry” was fading. The “pathway” was disappearing.

At this rate, even the “miracle” within Seo Gaeul would be snatched away.

‘How did the future me fight such a monster? If the future me could do it, then so can I. I was kidnapped by Ha Namjin, and became stronger through training and conditioning.’

Seo Gaeul diverted his mind from the pain and focused on his inner self.

As he listened to the possibilities within him, a solution seemed to emerge.

Thwack-!

Just then, Gu Sejun’s body lurched violently.

It was as if a powerful kick to the groin had enveloped him.

“…Ugh!?”

The impact forced Gu Sejun to release Seo Gaeul, collapsing to his knees on the floor.

He spat blood as he spoke.

“…What was that just now?”

Seo Gaeul hadn’t made a single move.

So how had he been struck?

“Gaeul Kick!”

Whoosh-!

Seo Gaeul launched a kick into the empty air.

A crimson smile bloomed on his bloodstained lips.

“It’s usually the case that actions are followed by consequences, but with the power of a ‘miracle,’ things can be different. You just have to fit the action to the result. You can’t evade it, even if you control time.”

A miracle that reversed the order of cause and effect.

Just as he marvelled at the wondrous power, Gu Sejun’s body began to throb as if it had been pummeled by a flurry of fists.

“Gaeul Secret Technique, Relentless Barrage!”

Belatedly, Seo Gaeul began to throw punches.

Gu Sejun accelerated time even faster, dodging the incoming fists, but it was no use.

His body had already been battered and torn apart by the onslaught.

Once again, the result and the cause, the action and its effect, had been reversed.

“This is such an absurd—”

An absurdity that forced actions to fit the already-existing results.

A preposterously unfair power.

But powerful strength demands a powerful recoil and a price.

“…He couldn’t possibly launch attacks like that many more times. How many more unreasonable demands can he force? Two times? Perhaps only one?”

“…….”

Seo Gaeul gasped for ragged breath.

The ‘Gaeulbi-esque Forced Persuasion (Temporary)’ wasn’t, as Gu Sejun claimed, a technique one could just throw around willy-nilly.

It was a skill that forced her to taste the very limits of her mental fortitude.

At best, she could probably use it one more time.

And so, Seo Gaeul decided to make it count.

*Fwooosh-*!

A sharp puncture wound blossomed on Gu Sejun’s abdomen.

And Seo Gaeul raised the cursed blade, ‘Danpung’, which had been lying on the floor.

To steal the concepts embedded within Gu Sejun.

“…Am I to end like this?”

It was at that very moment that Gu Sejun looked bewildered.

*Rumble-*!

As if a fierce clap of thunder resonated from somewhere, the world plunged into darkness in an instant.

“You! What did you do this time!”

Seo Gaeul thought that Gu Sejun had unleashed some kind of trick as his last desperate act.

However, Gu Sejun was also staring at the darkening sky outside the window, his mouth hanging half-open.

“I didn’t do this.”

The sun that had been in the sky was completely enveloped in darkness.

The world, though it was 2 PM, was as black as night.

What this signified was only one thing.

“In the end, the ‘Red King’ has awakened.”

Seo Gaeul considered.

If it was the Red King of this generation then…

“Hanamjin…!?”