Round 2 Starts With 990,000 Points

108 – Towards the End (3)

The darkness disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. In its place, only Imir, frozen like a stone statue, remained.

The first person to discover the stone statue was a man named Simmani Kim, who was wandering around the countryside digging for medicinal herbs. He did not know the identity of the stone statue.

“What is this? It looks like a real person.”

He reported the statue to the authorities because he thought it was unusual, and this report led the government agency to learn of the statue’s identity.

The government was aware of the entire situation due to the TF unit incident, so as soon as the tip about the stone statue was received, they realized that it was Imir.

They formed a fact-finding committee to figure out the situation, and coincidentally, Han Jun-yeop of the Daemyung Guild became the chairman of the fact-finding committee.

He was the one who had purchased the outer zone potion from Ymir in the past, and through that incident, he raised the Daemyung Guild to the ranks of the 15th guild, and also developed ties with the political and financial worlds. That’s why he had good feelings towards Ymir.

If an ordinary civil servant had been in charge of the work, he would have done it roughly, but he was a responsible person, so he did not do the work roughly.

He did his best to understand the situation and presented the findings in the report.

“Since the darkness first appeared, various unusual phenomena have occurred. And in order to investigate the darkness, the first-class hero, Ymir Hunter, conducted the investigation of the darkness alone. Perhaps there was something unimaginable beyond the dark passage. It may even be a passage leading to hell. Ymir, he must have sacrificed himself to close the passage. In return, he seems to have frozen like a stone statue.”

As the darkness disappeared, the unusual phenomena such as the monsters gathering and going berserk also disappeared. So his claim gained credibility.

After that, the government accepted the investigation committee’s claims and awarded Ymir the Hunter’s Mugung Medal, one of the 13 medals of the Republic of Korea, and held a funeral for him as a national hero. They thought Ymir, who had been turned into a stone statue, was dead.

Those who knew Ymir wept in sorrow, and those who did not know Ymir did not care what was going on.

Imir, who had become a stone statue, was placed next to the statue of Yi Sun-sin and King Sejong at Gwanghwamun. Only then did people begin to feel sorry for the hero’s appearance and death.

* * *

Judae looked at the statue of Ymir located in Gwanghwamun and cursed.

“…Fuck. What the hell did I do to deserve this?”

The darkness was gone, Ymir was frozen, and his sense of omnipotence had not yet returned.

Chaos is so intense that even its whereabouts are unknown.

“… This is annoying.”

She looked troubled with a gloomy face.

Should I destroy the world again or not?

Should I turn back time or not?

If your omnipotence is alive, you can destroy the world and turn back time in the blink of an eye.

However, in times when there is no sense of omnipotence like now, you have to control monsters and demons with talents like ‘Magic Worship’ and inevitably destroy the world. Even if you do that, if you don’t get a ‘power failure judgment’, you can’t turn back time. It’s because of the restrictions you created while enjoying this world.

“… Haa. Let’s wait a little longer.”

I really can’t figure out why Ymir is frozen like a statue. If only I knew that, it wouldn’t be so frustrating…

“Plague.”

Yudae looked at the stone statue with lonely eyes and left the place. Since she was used to waiting, she could wait longer than anyone else.

* * *

After a while, a middle-aged man with an unusually pale face approached the statue of Ymir. He was Ithor. Ithor looked at the statue and spoke to his subordinate Jang Yeong-sam.

“As expected, bloodlines can’t lie.”

“yes.”

“I never thought he would sacrifice himself and do something like that.”

“That’s true.”

It’s not a pity that my son died. It just gives me more room to utilize him. Itor smiled happily.

“But I still wanted to try genetic testing….”

“How about taking a piece of the statue?”

“The nature of the substance itself has changed, so it cannot be used as a test sample.”

“Is that so?”

“okay.”

Actually, I was afraid that if I did a genetic test, there would be a mismatch. There was no need to scratch and cause a rash.

“What do you want for lunch?”

“How about some noodles? I know a good restaurant near here.”

“I will guide you.”

“yes.”

Ithor and Jang Young-sam disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

* * *

After they disappeared, Yumunchang and Gimyeolchang appeared this time. The two were not on bad terms, so they would meet even on days when there were no meetings of the Eumjihoe.

“He was a rare young man. He’s gone.”

“I went.”

The two thought to themselves that it was a good thing, because the target they had to be wary of was gone. However, on the outside, they acted as if they were sorry.

“He was the next talent to become the center of the association… Hehe.”

“He was a rare talent who would become the deity of the Awakened Group… Hehehe.”

The association president and the awakened group are places where people’s attention is focused. So, in order to bite them, many journalists have been monitoring them and still are.

The journalists milling around them felt sorry for their obvious answers.

It would be nice if you could tell me what’s really on your mind… .

But they never had to tell their true feelings.

* * *

After lunchtime, the area around the statue became deserted. Normally, it was a place where many meetings and gatherings took place, but since the statue of Ymir was newly built, the frequency of such gatherings has decreased.

Instead, a group was formed to commemorate Ymir, and regular meetings were held to commemorate him. Today was not the day of the memorial service, so there were no people.

After the disappearance of Yumunchang and Gimyeolchang, this time, people who looked like tourists appeared on a bus. They were people who had come up from the countryside.

They were like children, playing around and taking pictures while looking at the statue of Ymir. Some people were praying reverently. Ha Yeon-si appeared among them.

“… … Phew.”

She took off her sunglasses and sighed.

“…if you chose me.”

If it were me, I would never have sent Ymir away alone.

She resented Mo Yeji. But she had no intention of harming her. She did not want to destroy what Ymir cherished.

“but….”

She stood there for a long time, looking at the statue. Suddenly, she remembered her days at the Academy. If I had acted a little more maturely back then, would the results have been different now?

… I don’t know.

But at least he wouldn’t have made Ymir like this. That was something he was sure of.

“Moving to the next course. Board the bus.”

She got back on the bus with the tourists and disappeared.

* * *

Choi Ji-seong, Han Cheol-woo, Yoo Seong-won, Ko Soo-young, and Woo Yoo-na all gathered together and arrived in front of the statue of Imir. They paid silent tribute to the statue and told stories from the past. Talking about the past always makes you feel good. It’s because you can go back to a time when you didn’t have any worries or concerns.

Then, suddenly, Choi Ji-seong muttered while looking at the statue of Imir.

“Why did you go alone…?”

No sign of life was detected from the statue. Ymir was dead. Choi Ji-seong felt sorry for that.

Because it was such a meaningless death compared to his outstanding abilities.

“There must have been a reason.”

Han Cheol-woo also felt sorry for his death, but he did not show it. If Ymir had been alive, he would have made a big mark in the world of hunters.

“No matter what the reason… if you had told me, I would have helped you…”

Uyun-i had her head down. Judging from the slight shaking of her shoulders, she seemed to be crying.

Ji-Sung Choi and Cheol-Woo Han were slightly surprised to see that. It was the first time they saw her cry, despite always maintaining her composure.

“…he was a good kid.”

Ko Soo-young, with a tired face, added a word.

They talked briefly about the statue of Ymir and then moved on to another place.

* * *

The sun had completely set and it was getting chilly. This time, a young woman approached the statue. The woman’s identity was Mo Ye-ji. Mo Ye-ji was looking at Imir while caressing her belly.

“I’m pregnant.”

She spoke to the statue as if it were alive.

“I can feel my heartbeat now.”

Ymir was dead. He was frozen like a statue and died. But she spoke to him as if he were a living person.

“I should have stopped you from the moment you said you were having close conversations with government officials….”

Mo Ye-ji suddenly remembered the government official who had promised to reveal the culprit who had killed her family. She had disappeared after Imir’s disappearance.

Mo Ye-ji strangely did not feel sorry about that fact. Instead, she felt relieved. Right now, she wanted to focus on prenatal education rather than negative emotions like revenge.

“… … .”

She caressed Imir’s stone statue for no reason. It was hard and solid. She couldn’t feel its body temperature. And it was cold. All of these are grounds for death.

“… He’s really dead.”

The day before the statue was erected, I checked it then too. However, at that time, there were many people around and I was in a state of confusion, so I couldn’t check it in detail.

So I wasn’t able to properly accept Ymir’s death.

But when I touch Imir calmly like this, I realize that Imir is dead.

“ha.”

Mo Ye-ji let out a deep sigh and barely managed to straighten her limp legs.

Now I’m truly alone in this world.

No, you’re not alone because you have a baby in your stomach.

Can I be a good mother?

She looked at Ymir and spoke with determination.

“…I will definitely raise you well, even if it’s just by myself.”

Then the stone statue began to split.