175 – An Early Graduation Ceremony # 4

175 – An Early Graduation Ceremony # 4

“Hanam-jjin! What are you doing up there?”

The old City Hall of D City, once used as the Presidential Residence.

As I stood atop the ruined building, gazing at the sky, Bbangdaengi arrived, waving his hand.

Perhaps it was because I’d been looking at the high-hanging sun and the sky for so long, but a solar afterimage clung to my eyes, making Bbangdaengi look distorted and strange.

“Hanam-jjin! I said, what are you doing up there! Thinking weird thoughts again, weren’t you!”

“I was looking between the sky and the clouds, wondering if Ingingi might come back.”

Quite some time had passed since Ingingi had flown away into the distance with the black clouds.

To be exact, three days and five hours.

Ingingi usually knew exactly when mealtime was and would come back, but for some reason, this time, Ingingi hadn’t returned.

Did something happen?

Perhaps he wouldn’t come back at all.

“He made a friend and abandoned me, did he? How very unfeeling.”

Guess there’s no helping it.

After all, a monster is a monster precisely *because* it cannot be tamed.

*Thump-*

I hopped down from the high rubble, and Bbangdaengyi, bless his heart, was also looking up at the sky, craning his neck to find Ingingyi among the clouds.

Of course, Bbangdaengyi couldn’t find Ingingyi either.

“Hehehe, Ingingyi is definitely enjoying his honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon?”

“Hanamjji, that black cloud you spat out! It was definitely female. And Ingingyi is male! So they got married and are gallivanting all over the world together, you see!”

Maybe he was right.

Though whether clouds like Ingingyi even *had* a gender, male or female, was another question entirely.

“Anyway, Hanamjji, graduation is coming up soon, so you have to participate! You worked hard at school, it would be a shame if the world ending prevented you from graduating.”

I’d vaguely heard talk about a graduation ceremony.

Looks like they really intend to throw a graduation party in the middle of all this chaos.

If I get my diploma, does that mean I’ll be a high school graduate instead of the smartest middle school dropout on Earth?

I’d done all sorts of things, but I’d never actually graduated from high school.

So I was actually looking forward to this graduation ceremony a little.

But Bbangdaengyi’s anticipation was so high it was almost unsettling.

“Yeongsa High graduation isn’t just *any* graduation ceremony! It’s a huge event! Under normal circumstances, recruiters from all sorts of companies would come and give the students presents!”

Yeongsa High is a school for superhumans.

Its very name is Hero Officer Academy, isn’t it?

Graduates from such a place are in high demand, be it at universities or companies.

Like in novels or comics, where awakened-being guilds compete to scout talented awakened individuals, shouting offers like “Annual salary of 500 million!”, “We offer an annual salary of one billion!”

He’s saying that graduation ceremonies at Yeongsa High were originally like that.

But?

For this graduation ceremony, honestly, I didn’t think anything like that would happen.

“Bbangdaengyi, all the companies and universities have collapsed, do you think there will even *be* anyone to give us presents?”

“Probably not! But so what! If those companies and universities are gone, we can just create our own! We can give each other gifts! Hanamjji, you’re so smart, how could you not know that?”

Bbangdaengyi, that kid, has actually learned to say something hopeful, hasn’t he?

When I first met Bbangdaengyi, he was always puffed up like a pufferfish full of resentment.

The old Bbangdaengyi was a guy who didn’t know what to do about his misfortune.

But even now, despite the terrible power of “Death” settling within her, Bbangdaeng still firmly maintained what one might call her ‘center’.

Of course, Bbangdaeng managing to control the power of “Death” to some extent was also thanks to living alongside Mibbang, who possessed the power of life.

“Bbangdaeng, you’ve changed a lot.”

“And you, Hanamj, haven’t changed at all!”

“Really?”

The Conceptual Stone of “Immortality” suddenly came to mind.

What should I do with it?

The truth is, I’d thought of several options.

However, I was still in the deliberation stage, as it was difficult to bring up so readily.

“Jin-ah!”

Just then, Yu Yeoreum came running towards me, calling my name.

Unlike her usual languid and cynical expression, she was sweating profusely, looking quite flustered.

What could be the matter?

“Mibbang is—”

# # #

Mibbang was missing.

I’d been so caught up with the whirlwind of events these past few days that I hadn’t even noticed.

It was also true that I’d relaxed my vigilance somewhat, having more or less dealt with the Nam Bada and Genesis Holy War groups that were after Mibbang.

“Lately, Mibbang’s been picking up bottle caps everywhere for Mom and Dad. Maybe she went too far this time trying to pick up bottle caps and got caught by someone!”

Bbangdaeng was half-sobbing.

Mibbang was Bbangdaeng’s avatar, like a little sister.

And the power of ‘life’ that Mibbang possessed was, in some ways, just as dangerous as the power of ‘death’.

If someone with malicious intent were to exploit Mibbang, everyone would be in danger.

“Keongkeong-ah! Track Mibbang’s scent!”

━Keongkeong…!

The wolf spider, Keongkeong, picked up Mibbang’s scent and dashed off somewhere. We all followed behind Keongkeong.

The place we arrived at was a chapel with a dilapidated sign that read, “Eden Church.”

On the chapel’s platform, Mibbang was tied up like a sacrifice.

Mibbang was struggling.

“…begging to be saved!”

Beside that Mibbang, a man stood clutching a dagger.

His hair was half-matted, drool spilled from his lips; a madman through and through.

Seo Gaeul cried out.

“Gu Sejun! You! Are you really going to do this until the very end? If I knew it would come to this, I would have dealt with you completely that day!”

“Hydrangea, black cloud, grape…, stag beetle….”

Instead of answering Seo Gaeul, Gu Sejun rattled off words, half-muttering, sounding like an incantation, but none of it mattered.

Rescuing Mibbang took precedence above all else.

But Gu Sejun’s sharp dagger was held at Mibbang’s throat, making any approach impossible.

Thud-.

Indeed, when Seo Gaeul took just one step, the madman Gu Sejun twitched the razor-like blade in his hand, drawing a line across Mibbang’s neck.

Trickle-.

Mibbang bled and cried out in pain.

“Hieeek…! This Baek Yeoul’s body is… marred!”

“None of you move a finger. Especially Seo Gaeul, you best watch how you breathe. Your ability is a nuisance, you see.”

Dealing with a madman was never easy.

Like a rugby ball, you never knew which way they’d bounce.

As if to prove the point, the insane Gu Sejun babbled on without prompting.

“Do you believe in providence? Everything has a plan, a providence, laid down by a grand design. Even in incomprehensible sorrow and hardship, providence exists. And that very fingertip of heaven points to me, Gu Sejun. I shall empty the cup of poison and bear the great cross─.”

Cough-!

Gu Sejun couldn’t finish his sentence because he coughed up blood.

For some reason, though, it looked as if Seo Gaeul had done something.

“Ha Namjin, now’s your chance!”

Swish-!

What mattered was I didn’t miss the opportunity, lunging towards Mibbang.

“You fiend! Ha Namjiiin!”

As I embraced Mibbang, the enraged Gu Sejun tried to swing the blade.

But Yu Yeoreum fired a beam of light from her eyes, knocking the weapon from his hand.

Zhiiiiing-!

His arm severed clean, Gu Sejun collapsed to his knees on the floor.

“Kuaaagh!”

Now I see it – a crimson stain blooming across his chest, a torrent of blood gushing forth.

A mortal wound, the heart pierced.

At this rate, Gu Se-jun would surely die.

“Seo Ga-eul, did you do this to him?”

“I had no choice. If he lived, he’d just continue his evil deeds. Some people, no matter how many chances or how much time they’re given, they can never truly improve.”

Seo Ga-eul spoke with a chill mirroring her name.

It seemed she, indeed, had used some method to plunge a blade into Gu Se-jun’s heart.

Perhaps Seo Ga-eul was right.

Perhaps redemption was simply beyond the reach of certain souls.

“But, staining our hands with blood to eliminate such a person is another matter entirely.”

When you kill someone, your soul is scarred.

Could a killer ever live an ordinary life?

“Ha Nam-jin, for the greater good, we must be willing to sacrifice small things. It can’t be helped. That’s the way of a man’s life. I have reclaimed all the concepts this man possessed through 「confiscation」.”

But Seo Ga-eul’s resolve was undeniable.

Who knew that such firm determination and will resided within her?

“Ha Nam-jin, you too have sacrificed much for the greater good, haven’t you?”

Seo Ga-eul was a reflection of me.

Yet, an unsettling feeling bubbled up, and in that instant, I looked back upon my own life. How many had suffered so that I could swallow the Immortal Concept Stone for the sake of the greater good?

Could the phrase – *for the greater good* – truly be a absolution?

That was the moment.

Released from her bonds, Mi-bbang placed her hand upon Gu Se-jun’s dying chest.

And then, with a *hmmmmpf* – she began to exert herself.

“Mi-bbang! What are you doing!”

Bbangdaeng-i seemed greatly alarmed by Mi-bbang’s actions.

But Mi-bbang, drenched in cold sweat, refused to abandon what she was doing.

“This Bbaek-yeoul doesn’t want to see someone die before her eyes…! If that happens… something vital within this Bbaek-yeoul will feel like its breaking and shattering…!”

*Ughhh* – Mi-bbang groaned.

As a result, Gu Se-jun, whose breath had stopped, coughed up blood *kuluk*.

# # #

“…Where am I? Where is mother…?”

The resurrected Gu Sejun was looking for his mother.

Just in case, I asked him, and he answered like this:

“I am Gu Sejun, and I’m 12 years old. Where is my mother?”

Has his mind reverted to being twelve years old?

Perhaps his grasp on time only returned so he could revisit the moment he missed the most.

I judged that the current Gu Sejun harbored no ill intent.

Of course, for the time being, we’d have to lock him up in this detention facility, vigilance required.

However, Seo Gaeul didn’t seem to like my decision.

“Ha Namjin, you’re leaving a spark of unnecessary danger. You always go soft at the very end.”

“But we can’t just eliminate someone who’s regressed to childhood. And there’s no need for you to get your hands dirty. Mibbang barely revived him, so let’s just lock him up for now.”

“Tch.”

Seo Gaeul clicked her tongue.

“Still, if someone has to do it, it has to be me. I’m the only one who can take responsibility for everything that’s happened so far. Ha Namjin, you should understand my feelings.”

“Responsibility?”

“After the graduation ceremony, when everyone goes to the moon, some people have to stay on Earth to restore the environment, right? I’m thinking of taking on that role alone. If my ‘Miracle’ and the ‘Immortality’ you possess are combined… we wouldn’t need the help of so many people….”

“So, what you’re saying, Seo Gaeul, is that you’re volunteering to stay on Earth alone and suffer? As atonement and responsibility for everything you’ve done?”

“That’s right. It’s something only I can do. If I do it, we won’t need so many people staying on Earth. I alone am enough to purify the planet.”

I’d been thinking Seo Gaeul was a bit distracted these last few days, but I never imagined she was thinking something like this.

However, in my opinion, it was a foolish idea.

“To stay on Earth alone for the sake of some cause or responsibility, enduring perhaps years, decades of suffering… how can you come up with such a stupid idea? You’re being an idiot.”

“Ha? An idiot?”

Seo Gaeul’s brow furrowed in a way that didn’t quite suit her.

So, this is how a beauty expresses such raw power.

“I came to this conclusion after so much agonizing! And Ha Namjin, are you really the one to talk? You’ve been destructively running yourself ragged like a rolling stone in the name of helping others!”

“That’s why I’m saying this. Even though it was for the sake of others, swallowing that ‘Immortality’ concept stone was still the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”

No matter how noble the cause, that’s not something you should swallow.

I know it well, having experienced it firsthand.

I don’t know if my thoughts got through to Seo Gaeul.

To persuade Seo Gaeul, who’s so drunk on the high of grand causes and self-sacrifice, we need to use more than a regular method.

So, I decided to show her a little bit of my sincerity.

“Wouldn’t it be something if, after sending everyone to the moon, we stayed behind on Earth and built a life? Rather than being a Red King for generations, wouldn’t it be more romantic to cleanse the Earth, generation after generation?”

That’s how I’d teach the kids, pointing to the moon.

That someday, people would return from that moon, bringing with them a flowering spring.

Hwaak-.

Seo Gaeul’s face flushed red.

“What’s with that talk? Are you… proposing to me or something?”

He kicked at the dirt with his foot, thud-thud.

“Funny. Who’d want to marry you? And who confesses right before graduation anyway! Don’t you know the Yongsago graduation tradition?”

“What’s the Yongsago graduation tradition?”

“Couples who confess before graduation are doomed to break up! But couples who get together after graduation last forever, all the way to marriage. That’s the graduation legend, the tradition. You didn’t even know!”

Was there really such a thing?

I truly didn’t.

Soon, Seo Gaeul was fanning her reddened face with her palm, scoffing—*hmph*—to herself.

“So, let’s pretend I didn’t hear any of that. But—”

*Hwik-.*

Seo Gaeul turned her back to me.

All I could see was the back of her small head and her hair fluttering in the wind.

“If you really want to convince me, come prepared with a grand event or gift at graduation! Then, seeing that, I’ll consider whether or not to stay behind on Earth with you.”