Chapter 59
The story continues off the page
Floaties for Everyone
Swim lesson at the water park, and she's demonstrating on you
“Ku, kuheup!”
Sniffling sounds kept coming.
Maybe I had developed rhinitis after my body became like this, or maybe my throat was completely blocked.
Anyway, I didn't know why, but before speaking I had to force my airway open like that.
“Kuheup!”
There was no conversation, only sniffling sounds. In truth, he was trying to say something.
But he was nervous, and worried that he might say something strange, so it just went back into his mouth.
“Deok-gu.”
Whether he understood that, or whether he simply had something he wanted to say himself.
Seo Hajin called to him gently with a faint smile.
“Y-yes! Kuheup!”
“I heard you were formerly a great holy knight.”
Kim Deok-gu pursed his lips.
He took a pointless sip of the coffee in front of him.
He knew.
Seo Hajin had no way of knowing Kim Deok-gu.
If the marriage agency president had the ability to arrange their meeting without revealing that it was Dukarion, and even let Seo Hajin and him meet, then he wouldn't be at a small company.
“Actually, that's why I had something I wanted to ask.”
“Kuhup! Yes, yes.”
But this time, it was different from Maria.
Kim Deok-gu accepted it.
As if he had the right to.
“Why did you give me divine power?”
“…….”
“Actually, Ms. Maria had misunderstood and come looking for me. She thought I had the right kind of divine power for sealing a demon.”
“Ah.”
The strange puzzle finally clicked into place.
Kim Deok-gu finally understood how Maria had found him.
“Why…… did you give me divine power?”
“Ku, kuheup.”
“Anything. Kuhup- I wanted to help you.”
“You wanted to help me?”
“Yes, yes. Kuhup! Y-you may not know this, but after listening to your song, kuhup! I really drew a lot of strength from it.”
“…….”
It had been a coincidence that he heard Prism's song.
Seo Hajin had popped up in the YouTube algorithm.
She was pretty, sang well, danced hard, and even worked hard.
“I could see ambition in her. Kuhup.”
“Ambition?”
“I had it too.”
“…….”
It was the same eyes.
Noble ambition.
In other words, a dream.
But Kim Deok-gu deliberately called it ambition.
Because if he called it a dream, it would feel like he was making excuses to the two dead friends who had gone along with him.
“Y-you. Kuhup! I thought it would be good if you didn't end up like me. That's what I thought.”
“…….”
“Kuh, kuheup! Seo Hajin.”
“Yes.”
His breathing was rough, but the words he uttered were careful.
“Was your Prism activity— kuhup!— happy?”
“Yes, of course. It was the happiest time of my life.”
“Any conflicts with the other members—?”
“None. They all took good care of me, and I treasure them all.”
“If you were to go back again—.”
“There are parts I don't regret, but even so, I'd still do Prism.”
As if checking each answer one by one, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Deok-gu's mouth.
“Kuh, kuheup! I'm glad. That you don't regret it like I do.”
“…….”
“Today, I wanted to hear this. Kuh, kuheup! That I hadn't done something pointless.”
Of course, Kim Deok-gu knew that wanting anything more than this was greed.
“A former idol like Seo Hajin and me, together?”
No matter how he thought about it, impossible.
At Kim Deok-gu's words, Seo Hajin stared at him for a moment, then gave a small laugh.
“Deok-gu, you're a good person.”
“…….”
“Deok-gu, you're my fan, right?”
“Kuh, kuheup! Yes! Of course.”
Seo Hajin slowly held out a ticket.
It was written in a somewhat crooked, childlike hand.
“Th-this is? Kuhup?!”
“Actually, I'm having my final concert. It's the ticket for that. A solo performance, not Prism. It was my dream.”
“I, I will! I'll definitely go! Kuhuup!”
Clutching the precious ticket, Kim Deok-gu bounced in place.
“The handwriting's ugly, right? Actually, I'm not very good at writing.”
Shaking his head vigorously at Seo Hajin, who was scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
“N-no! Kuhup! I'll treasure it carefully!”
“Can you see the date and place? I did put some effort into it.”
“I can see it! Kuhup! Two days from now! The place is—.”
Sailos Cathedral.
“…….”
When Kim Deok-gu looked at Seo Hajin with a dazed expression, she smiled teasingly.
“Why?”
“Ku, kuheup. This place is— dangerous.”
“Yes, I know. But I'm definitely going to perform there.”
Seo Hajin slowly stood up from her seat. The smile on her lips remained.
“It's revenge.”
“Kuhup?!”
“Because Deok-gu gave me divine power as he pleased, I ended up having a futile dream.”
“I thought that if I retired, maybe I could become a holy knight who beat demons. I thought I could achieve something more meaningful than being an idol.”
“But that hope vanished like foam.”
“Bittersweet, but there was nothing to be done.”
“So I'll do as I please too, and push you forward, Deok-gu.”
“…….”
“I had times when I struggled and wanted to collapse too—but there were moments when strength suddenly rose up on stage. It must have been you pushing me.”
“…….”
“Thank you for helping me, Deok-gu. This time, I'll be the one to lift you up, as I please.”
After lightly patting Deok-gu's shoulder, Seo Hajin left the café.
Kim Deok-gu, who had been staring blankly at the ticket, quickly looked up at the presence he felt in front of him.
“Good grief, she left her coffee behind.”
The suited man casually pulled out the straw and drank the coffee Seo Hajin had left.
The man who had set up this whole arrangement.
The CEO of the marriage agency Meracle, Kim Joo-seon.
“Why are you here?”
With a dazed expression, I asked, and Kim Joo-seon shrugged.
“Actually, I have some business on the 4th floor, and it feels a bit lonely to go alone, doesn't it?”
“…….”
“Want to come with me?”
* * *
It took longer than expected to get to Sailos Cathedral.
After arriving in the city, we took a carriage again and headed deep inland.
A white cathedral standing alone on a vast plain, as if it had suddenly fallen from the sky.
This place, made up of spires, sculptures, and stone walls, would make a fine tourist attraction.
But for the size of the building, there were very few people.
Even from outside the carriage, you could feel that there weren't many people.
“B-boss.”
“Hmm?”
Kim Yang, who had stubbornly tagged along, insisting on coming even though I said she didn't have to.
Renea didn't want to come to the Lajesta Continent itself, so I let it be.
Maybe they're working a part-time shift at a convenience store right now.
“Souvenir photo.”
“What are we commemorating?”
Thud.
She immediately shoved my shoulder and glared at me.
With no choice, I stood in front of the phone she was holding, and she subtly linked arms with me before taking the photo against the carriage window.
Click! Click! Click! Click!
'How many pictures is she taking?'
Kim Yang kept changing her pose and expression now and then, but I was stiff as a board and stayed still.
For the record, we weren't the only ones riding in the carriage.
The person occupying a two-person seat all by themselves was sitting across from us.
“Ku, kuheup. Die, couple. Ku, kuheup.”
“Aren't you too steeped in 3rd-floor culture?”
Can a former holy knight really say that?
That was convenient.
We were almost at the cathedral, so I used the chance to ask.
“Deok-gu, please tell me clearly. Can you reseal it?”
“…….”
“I heard the story. You said you originally did it with three people, with your close friends.”
His face darkened instantly.
But this wasn't something that could be dismissed as a personal wound.
“Tell me. This is important. You know that too, which is why you came all the way here, don't you?”
Kim Deok-gu definitely didn't come all this way just to watch Seo Hajin's concert.
He probably came because there was something still left in his heart.
“Is it possible?”
At my question, Kim Deok-gu nodded slightly.
“Kuh, kuheup. If it's seal repair— I can do it. It's definitely possible, kuhup.”
“Good. Think simple. You're not going as a holy knight. As Kim Deok-gu, you're protecting the stage of the idol you like.”
“Kuhup.”
“Get it fixed quickly, go watch the stage, and get the handshake and autograph too. Okay?”
“Kuh, kuheup! Okay!”
“Good. Let's enthusiastically watch a beautiful idol shake her hips.”
“…….”
“…….”
A killer joke, and yet.
Since both of them looked at me with disgust, I turned my gaze out the window.
When we arrived at the cathedral, Maria was there to greet us. She had already been on the 4th floor with Ms. Seo Hajin yesterday.
“Come this way. The concert is ready.”
Following Maria's lead, we went into the cathedral. Going deeper and deeper underground, it grew dark, as if we were entering a real dome concert hall.
“Here it is.”
Once inside, there was a huge hall.
In the center sat a massive golden sphere.
I had heard there was smoke swirling inside, obscuring it, but now I could vaguely make out the demon's true form.
And opposite it.
Seo Hajin and the nuns were standing on the stage.
The nuns weren't performing, but I guess they'd at least serve as extras.
'There's even a choir team.'
I can understand that, but I hope they don't get in the way.
Our Deok-gu is the real deal, through and through.
“……!”
The bishop, who had been sitting there, saw Deok-gu and his eyes widened so much they seemed to split apart.
He'd be surprised, of course.
Because Dukarion was really alive.
But he said nothing.
Because Maria had repeatedly and earnestly pleaded with everyone not to burden him.
He isn't Dukarion here.
He's just Kim Deok-gu.
I said, walking beside Deok-gu like a guide.
“All right, Deok-gu. Let's go. Let's go repair it and watch our concert.”
“Kuh, kuheup-!”
“Look at this.”
I pulled a cheering lightstick out from inside my coat.
Sparkling neon green.
“I bought this too so I could cheer with you. Not bad, right?”
“Kuh, kuheup. Prism is pink.”
“…….” Hurry up and do it.
Kim Deok-gu slowly approached the seal.
As he steadied his breathing and reached out his hand, divine power began to manifest.
And then.
KWA-A-A-A-AANG!
A foot shot out from the golden sphere.
The black thing, completely unlike a human foot, looked like a bird's and also like a beast's.
The moment I saw the fragments of the broken sealing sphere rolling across the floor—.
everyone froze.
If there was one thing we'd overlooked—.
One.
Demons never forget those who humiliate them—.
Two.
That they are more cunning than we'd expected.
That they would even deliberately leave the seal unbroken.
I knew you'd be alive.
A voice from inside the sphere, like it was scraping at the inside of my head.
I was sure you'd come.
The one who knew Dukarion was alive in this world, and kept it hidden.
“Come with me to the Abyss. There, you'll become my clown, so be afraid, and fear again.”
Its black limbs began to swell. One by one, huge spheres formed like balloons—.
“Dukarion.”
Pop—! With that, two demons were born.
A demon judged capable of fielding an army alone.
Arhelark, the demon that splits itself.
As the slime-like substance clinging to their bodies made them straighten up, they grew to a huge two meters tall.
Black skin, six horns, red eyes.
It had only just been born from the demon in the sphere, yet it was definitely Arhelark.
As proof, their bodies were swelling again, trying to make another self.
“A-ahh—.”
In contrast, as Deok-gu collapsed with a despairing expression—.
I yanked out the spear stuck in place and charged forward.
“Kim Yang! Get Deok-gu and run!”
“Boss!”
He called out to me in a hurry, but the demon had already seen me. And I, too, rammed the spear in my hand into its head.
Crack!
Bleeding, one of them collapsed right there. But there were still two that had been born.
By the time the other one was finishing its split—.
“Ha—.”
I let out a short breath and clenched my teeth.
“I'll be hauled in by the Bureau.”
In an instant, the spear in my hand pierced the demon like a flash of light.
* * *
Arhelark had been waiting for him.
At that realization, Kim Deok-gu's legs went weak.
The holy knight who once bravely swung a sword at demons no longer existed.
The outer shell was just Kim Deok-gu, a useless gaming shut-in, hidden under layer after layer of flesh.
Trembling violently, he couldn't move.
BOOM!
One of the splitting demons was pinned to the wall.
Even after impaling the demon with tremendous force, the spear shaft still trembled tautly up and down.
The one who fired it was Kim Joo-seon, the marriage agency CEO, who until just now had been ordinary yet extraordinary.
A pure white, smoke-like thing was pouring from his body.
At first, I thought it was simply due to friction.
Like smoke rising from racing tires because of the speed.
But that wasn't it.
To put it simply, it was like dry ice.
Something like cold was flowing from his body.
And that was.
Not Earth's awakening.
Nor the mana of the Lajesta Continent.
Nor the inner energy of Old Murim.
Nor Cyber City's Oversync.
It was different even from the bizarre, unfathomable power possessed by the demons of the Abyss he'd fought himself.
The Tower has rules.
Power is granted only to those who belong to that world.
'What is that……?'
But to Kim Deok-gu, it was a power he'd never seen in any floor he knew.
“Kim Deok-gu!”
At that moment, a voice called to him like lightning.
Kim Joo-seon, who had pulled the spear from the demon corpse stuck in the wall, shouted as he charged at the still-splitting Arhelark.
“Run!”
His shout as he charged forward with the spear—.
“Duke!”
His childhood friend from long ago, and the original owner of the spear.
“Back off!”
It overlapped with his close friend, Valkar.
…….
…….