Chapter 67
“…Noona…?”
Ugh. Why is Sehun looking at me with those teary eyes?
“Noah…?”
“Hey, you…”
Why does Yu have that expression, and why does Choi Kkang-kang look so angry?
But what bothered me most was…
“……”
Baek Yi-heon’s expression, with his lips tightly pressed without saying a word, was the scariest.
The man who usually showed no emotion was now staring at me so intensely it was unsettling.
Before I could even think about why everyone was acting this way, excuses started tumbling out of my mouth.
“L-leave? Where would I go… I have nowhere to go.”
At that, the faces of Baek Yi-heon and the others immediately softened.
Seeing those expressions made my heart sting even more than before I lied, for some reason.
“Alright. Then shall we discuss again?”
“Let’s go towards Ganghwa Bridge, which is relatively shorter. For that…”
The group, having regained composure, started discussing how to enter Ganghwa Island again.
Watching them, I hesitated for a moment.
If I were to leave for Paju, now would be the best time, before entering Ganghwa Island. But…
‘There’s one thing I need to confirm first.’
I’ve received a lot of help so far, so I should at least do this before leaving.
Having made up my mind, I finally shared the fact that had been bothering me all the way here.
“Before we enter Ganghwa Island, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Everyone’s attention turned to me at once.
“What is it, Noah?”
“What is it, what is it?”
“All the survivor camps we’ve visited so far… Yoo Hyun-min’s group had their hands in them.”
The only exception was Dowonhyang.
But that place was able to avoid Yoo Hyung-min’s influence because Yoo Gain, who knew the original story, had set up a barrier.
Unlike that, Hwacheon Prison and Onjeong City…
Both survivor camps that appeared in the original story had been tampered with by Yoo Hyung-min’s group.
Although I couldn’t be certain yet, it felt too unsettling to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“Hmm. That’s certainly true…”
Baek Yi-heon nodded in agreement after hearing my words.
“They even went as far as planting that Yohan person in Hwacheon Prison beforehand.”
“Is that so? How did that man know…”
“……”
I couldn’t bring myself to reveal the original story.
I didn’t even know where to begin explaining, and more importantly…
I glanced at Baek Yi-heon.
To say that would mean admitting I had been deceiving him from the moment we first met.
That I knew he was the protagonist of a novel.
That all that talk about contracting with Intrachankunta and such was all lies.
That the highest god among gods had offered me a contract, but I refused because I didn’t want to save humanity.
‘Such words… I can never say them.’
I didn’t want these people, especially Baek Yi-heon, to discover such selfish thoughts of mine.
I finally admitted it to myself.
There was no longer any need to look good in front of Baek Yi-heon, the protagonist and survival cheat key.
If worst comes to worst, I could just steal a barrier stone and run away to the shelter.
Yet, for some time now, I’ve been caring about how I appear to him.
Pretending to be hurt by people’s evil deeds and pretending to be kind to the weak, mimicking that moral compass of a man.
I was afraid of this change in myself.
I’m supposed to be a psychopath.
…No. I’m supposed to have to be one.
If I freeze my heart like an iceberg and let no one in, I won’t get hurt.
Even if someone curses or betrays me, I can say, “I knew it,” or “I’m cold-blooded, so it’s fine.”
‘I really need to leave now.’
I had a feeling that if I delayed any longer, I might never be able to break free from this sweet companionship.
I don’t want that.
It’s scary.
What if I give my heart completely, and they leave me? If they suddenly start hating me?
“If only I hadn’t given birth to you…”
…If they suddenly change one day, like my mother who cried out those words at me…
“But what exactly are they planning?”
Choi Kkang-kang’s voice broke my chain of gloomy thoughts.
“They’re probably trying to summon an evil god to win this war.”
In place of me, still lost in my thoughts, Baek Yi-heon calmly answered.
“The evil god’s goal is to annihilate humanity and turn this place into a second Asura Realm.”
“No, I know that from what we heard before, Hyung-nim.”
Choi Kkang-kang mused with an unusually serious face at those words.
“What I’m curious about is, why do they make others do the summoning of the evil god?”
“…!”
“Wouldn’t it be faster if they killed and offered the sacrifices themselves?”
…Indeed.
It was a problem I had never considered before.
Faced with this new perspective, I forgot what I had been thinking just moments ago and became absorbed in the question he raised.
Human sacrifices are needed to summon or contract an evil god.
So, it was understandable that Yoo Hyun-min’s group was seeking out survivor camps.
But they had Bang Yohan prepare the evil god summoning ritual at Hwacheon Prison, and Kim Seo-min at Onjeong City.
Why go to such lengths…?
“Choi Kkang-kang…”
At that moment, Yu, who had been deep in thought, spoke up with a serious face.
“You’re… smarter than you look, aren’t you?”
“What? Than I look?”
At those words, Choi Kkang-kang threw off his serious face, returned to his usual self, and started ranting.
“I’ll have you know I’m a Craftsman-type Awakened! Do you know how smart you have to be to create blueprints, Nunim!”
The tense atmosphere from a moment ago dissipated at his reaction.
Watching them bicker, I found myself smiling without realizing it.
It’s always like this with these people.
I can never delve too deeply into thoughts about my past, or being a psychopath, or anything like that.
“They are certainly suspicious in many ways.”
Baek Yi-heon said calmly, trying to calm down the ranting Choi Kkang-kang.
“I could feel it from the moment we first met. That Yoo… that man would become humanity’s greatest enemy.”
He started to say Yoo Hyun-min’s name but changed it, conscious of me.
The other companions also glanced at me, checking my reaction.
I just tried to maintain an expressionless face as usual, pretending nothing was wrong.
For some reason, seeing this, the expressions of my companions worsened.
“Let’s go to the village and observe the situation for now.”
Baek Yi-heon concluded the discussion with a simple declaration.
“We’ll also check if there are any of his subordinates planted there.”
The rest of the group nodded without objection.
The same went for me.
“…Alright. Then we’ll head to Ganghwa Bridge for now.”
‘In any case, I have an obligation to get these people safely to Ganghwa Island.’
Even if not an obligation, something like conscience or, well, repaying kindness.
So I’ll make sure these people are safe until Ganghwa Island, then run away.
Yes. That’s all I’m going to do.
I started the engine, and cast my gaze towards the sea that was starting to appear in the distance.
At Ganghwa Island where we’re heading now.
‘…You’re definitely parting ways with these people. Yoo Noah.’
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09. Coming Out of the Egg
Ganghwa Island.
A historic natural fortress surrounded by sea on all sides.
In the original story, it was where the largest survivor camp was established.
And indeed, the security was tighter than anywhere else we had visited so far.
Entering the village was challenging from the start.
The moment we drove the camping car into the outskirts of the village, a surprisingly loud siren went off.
As the sound echoed in the distance, people immediately started gathering from all directions.
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
