Chapter 513 – Delay.

A few hours that couldn’t even fill a single day.

That was the last delay given to me.

From the final battle ahead.

But right here, right now, there was nothing more I could do.

Cheonma had gone to the association, leaving only me in this place.

Moreover, everyone would gather at this gate tomorrow anyway.

Thinking that, I was silently watching the gate when I suddenly thought,

‘But, f*ck, doesn’t this look familiar?’

[You’re not sure, huh? There have been too many strange events, after all.]

‘……That’s true, but…’

Without realizing it, I felt a sense of déjà vu from that gate.

Honestly, it felt genuinely weird even to me.

I’ve seen plenty of gates, even if I’ve never requested a hunt.

But up until now, I had never seen anything resembling this.

Yet to dismiss it as mere delusion seemed off.

[Maybe it’s just that you’re tired.]

‘Is that so…’

It was incredibly hard to shake off the feeling that I’d seen it somewhere.

Anyway, I needed to get moving tomorrow.

Thinking it was just a figment of my imagination, I turned to leave the guild when—

“……No… no way…!!!”

A voice I definitely hadn’t expected to hear here jolted my eardrums.

My gaze snapped towards the sound, and there stood Caressy.

However, I couldn’t honestly say that Caressy’s state was good.

Was she extremely agitated? Her tail was puffed up and rigid.

Simultaneously, it seemed she could barely contain her impulses, trembling all over.

Her blazing eyes were a mix of resentment and hatred.

A sight I could never see from Caressy usually.

“Uh? Caressy? When did you arrive?”

“Shut the f*ck up!!!!!!!”

Even as I spoke to Caressy, she didn’t seem to register my presence.

Was it that she didn’t notice me from the start?

Or had her intense emotions dulled her senses?

All Caressy could do was vent her frustrations on the spot.

“Caressy? What’s wrong?”

“WHY?! Why!!!”

What came out of her mouth felt less like frustration and more like blood-curdling despair.

Her dramatic change took me by surprise, and I tried to speak to her quickly.

But she darted over to me and seized my body tightly.

I mean, that wasn’t surprising.

“Hey! Hey! You crazy girl! What’s wrong?!”

“I HAVE TO BREAK IT! LET ME GO! IF YOU DON’T, I’LL KILL YOU!!!”

Caressy was wrapping her divine power around her hands, ready to charge at the gate.

She had completely lost her sanity, even trying to bite my hand.

It was impossible to comprehend Caressy’s actions logically.

“Caressy! Stop! It’s me! It’s Shinwoo!”

“……Ah… Shit, it’s you, Shinwoo…”

Fortunately, my urgent cry brought back part of her sanity.

– Crack!

“Ah, f*ck.”

“……I’m… I’m sorry…”

I would have preferred her to regain her senses before biting me, though.

Still, since my fingers weren’t severed, I figured I could let it slide.

Watching the still-fuming Caressy, I started to speak slowly.

Honestly, I still didn’t understand her actions very well.

“Caressy, why did you suddenly act like that?”

“That gate, you know! Don’t you remember, huh?!”

“What’s so special about that gate?”

Why did she suddenly charge in here to break a gate?

“You definitely saw it, Shinwoo! Think back!!!”

“……Wait a minute… No way…”

At her words, a thought that I had buried sprang to my mind cautiously.

I quickly turned my gaze back to the gate for a closer inspection, and then I realized why I had felt déjà vu just moments ago.

Because.

“That gate is exactly like the one back then!!!”

“Ah, f*ck.”

“Exactly!!!”

That gate was the same as the one from Caressy’s future before her regression.

To be more precise about that future, it was the future where all the heroines were brutally murdered.

And by none other than my own hands.

“Why is this here…”

“That’s what I’m saying!!!”

That’s why Caressy was acting like such a drama queen.

It was the worst future I never wanted to repeat or experience at all.

In order to avoid that, she used the means of regression, and now it seemed like that future might be revived once more.

“It definitely wasn’t here in the future before my regression, though, right?”

“That’s right! I don’t know where it was exactly, but it definitely wasn’t here!”

To confirm this unbelievable sight, Caressy had desperately come here.

“This was because of the gate?”

“I really hoped I was wrong while coming here… but… But…! I wasn’t wrong!!!”

It felt unjust.

I thought I’d done my part to prevent the worst future.

Now it seemed like all those efforts had been in vain.

We had become mere expendable laughingstocks.

[The future can always change, you know.]

‘But… why hasn’t this changed… f*ck…’

In the end, that bastard was the root of the problem.

It had been targeting my life since some time ago.

The inexplicable phenomena had begun occurring.

Especially, it was that future where heroines had died.

Thanks to that prick, the intent to kill towards him began to deepen.

I hadn’t seriously thought of actually wanting to kill someone before.

But this time, I felt like it was okay to set aside that mindset and my humanity momentarily.

He was an irredeemable son of a b*tch who I couldn’t even extend forgiveness or mercy towards.

“……Shinwoo, are you okay…? Your expression… looks scary.”

“……Yeah, I’m fine…”

I forced down the words ‘I’m not fine’ and barely replied to Caressy.

Carefully jamming my fist, clenched tight to the point of blood oozing, into my pocket.

I realized how mentally strained I was becoming.

“…..Sorry for startling you.”

“It’s fine… You seemed… a bit strained….”

Only that short moment, though.

“By the way, Shinwoo, what are we going to do now?”

“For now, let’s head back. Everyone will gather here tomorrow anyway.”

“I got it.”

So, Caressy and I arrived at the guild where the heroines were waiting.

“Shinwoo, you’re back?”

“Yeah.”

“I went out too…”

Hyeji, who had been left alone in the guild, greeted us.

“I thought you hurried out for a secret meeting or something, but I guess not?”

“Ah, I forgot.”

Coincidentally, Elcia burst into the guild, huffing.

“Husband! Those association bastards are ignoring my calls because they’re preparing to leave!”

“No wonder the official documents haven’t arrived.”

Almost simultaneously, Ayeon arrived a moment later.

“The main faction did an impromptu inspection and found succubi from the standby unit sneaking pizzas.”

“Ayeon, let that slide. Succubi have it tough as it is.”

Of course, I’m not acknowledging that the succubi did well.

But the succubi had worked so hard, it wouldn’t be such a crime for Ayeon to show a little leniency for their tiny happiness.

Besides, punishing them just for eating would be too petty.

“They put canned pineapples on the pizza.”

“What the fck are those btches thinking?”

The issue wasn’t Ayeon; it was the succubi.

“I sent them to the disciplinary brigade.”

“Good job.”

That actually showed Ayeon’s mercy, considering she stopped there.

Anyway, now that everyone had gathered, I pondered how to bring up this incident.

At that moment, Hyeji, who had been silently looking at my face, cautiously expressed a question.

“Shinwoo, are you worried about the gate?”

“What……. it’s not wrong to say that…”

“Your expression seemed really grim.”

Probably, seeing my glum face compared to usual made her worry quite a lot.

As I tried to force a smile in response to her words—

Ayeon suddenly spoke to me softly.

“My dear, if you’re that worried, why not take the risk and just destroy the gate?”

That was quite an extreme suggestion for a casual remark!

Among other things, it contained a serious risk in terms of law and finances.

Of course, Ayeon didn’t propose this without thought.

“Yes, it’s illegal, and it would cost a lot of money due to the damages… but what does that matter?”

“Honestly, I agree. Money-related problems are the easiest to resolve.”

No, for Ayeon, that would be a pretty obvious suggestion.

Honestly, I also wanted to break the gate following that suggestion.

In fact, I had felt the urge to do so several times while returning with Caressy.

But.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

Here, I decided to take a rational stance.

“Honestly, we don’t even know what that gate is, so I don’t want to introduce unnecessary variables.”

“……You have a point there. This is a gate we’ve never seen before.”

Given that the nature of the gate was completely unpredictable, it was uncertain what would happen if we broke it.

[Now that I think about it, the gate seemed partially destroyed in that future.]

‘That’s also part of it. What happens if we break it and something goes wrong?’

Not wanting to take unnecessary risks to escape the immediate situation.

As Ayeon nodded in understanding.

Suddenly, Elcia threw out a question.

“Husband, can I ask you one thing?”

Her tone was unusually serious for Elcia.

As I nodded in response to her voice, Elcia continued.

“Why do you react so sensitively to the gate?”

The content of her question was as sharp as her tone was unusual.

It’s only natural for them not to remember the future before regression, so her reaction was completely understandable.

“If you’re okay with it, could you tell me why?”

I hadn’t told them about this gate much before, and I had somewhat forgotten about it until now.

But now, it was only the time to let them know.

“……Yeah… I’ll tell you…”

From their perspective, it might be hard to understand.

At the same time, it was a situation where I had no choice but to explain.

About the contradictory principles behind my actions.