"Aaaahhh!"
"Lee Domin!"
"He, he's gone mad!"
No one had expected this. No one thought he would kill a comrade without hesitation.
Someone who had survived both the lava zone and the swamp was killed so meaninglessly.
This kid had completely lost his mind. The one who was most needed… the one who possessed the most crucial skill had gone so mad that he murdered his teammate.
In this desperate situation, an intense battle unfolded.
Normally, a fight between an S-rank and lower-ranked hunters would be too one-sided to even call it a battle. But since Lee Domin's mana had dropped below 40% and he wasn't in his right mind, it seemed possible if they received support from the healers.
However, as Lee Domin was trying to kill them and they were only trying to capture him alive, the tide of the battle gradually turned against them.
"Ugh!"
One of them coughed up blood as his chest was pierced by Lee Domin.
Though he barely clung to life, his head was soon severed by Lee Domin, ending him.
"No!"
A hunter, who was in a relationship with the fallen comrade, screamed and charged at Lee Domin. Lee Domin immediately rushed toward her, but Lee Kangjin barely managed to intercept him. After being knocked back by Lee Kangjin's sword, Lee Domin immediately targeted another Revenger.
"Damn it…"
Lee Kangjin's vision blurred. Tears fell uncontrollably. If he fought with the resolve to kill Lee Domin, they might somehow win. He still had one final card to play.
But how could he do that?
Even putting aside the fact that killing Lee Domin would mean they could no longer stop time…
'Hyung, I'm hungry. Could I get a little more meat?'
'Ah, please don't tease Chaeyoon. Hyung.'
'Want some of this? Chaeyoon and I picked these berries earlier.'
'Once we get out of the dungeon, I'm going to take a long break and just watch dramas. You all have to watch 'Love in Han River' when you get out too, okay?'
'I'll be watching dramas, but Chaeyoon doesn't have a hobby, so I'm worried. Hyungs and noonas, what are your hobbies? Maybe you could get Chaeyoon into something.'
His cheerful voice vividly echoed in their ears.
Damn it. Damn it, damn it…!
Lee Kangjin cursed endlessly.
'Kangjin hyung. I'm glad I entered the dungeon with you. I'm glad I got to know you.'
'Ah. Now I get why Chaeyoon says you're sometimes overly sentimental.'
'So, do you dislike me, hyung?'
'Of course not. No matter how hard it gets here, I'm holding on because of you, you punk.'
'If leading is that tough, pass it on to someone else. Like La noona.'
'Since I started it, I'll see it through to the end.'
'Hyung, you're really an amazing person.'
'You're even more amazing.'
'Good. That's the response I wanted to hear.'
"Lee Domin!"
Lee Kangjin called out the name of the one who had lost himself. Lee Domin turned to him with vacant eyes.
How am I supposed to kill him?
Even if I lose all my comrades here, I can never kill Lee Domin.
I, at least, could never…
"What the…?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice reached Lee Kangjin's ears. It was Seo Chaeyoon, speaking in shock. Lee Kangjin quickly turned around. Seo Chaeyoon, having arrived through
"Chaeyoon."
Lee Domin softly called out Seo Chaeyoon's name.
"Lee Domin? What… what is all of this?"
"Yeah. As your friend, I should've given you peace first."
"What are you talking about?"
"I've always been sorry to you."
"Hey."
"I really wanted us to go out together and watch that drama…"
Lee Domin swiftly passed by Lee Kangjin's side.
Seo Chaeyoon, staring blankly at his friend, noticed the dark red sphere that had killed countless monsters in Lee Domin's hand. He wasn't prepared to defend himself at all. His arms were hanging loosely by his sides.
Ah, ah…
Lee Kangjin's lips trembled.
This is wrong. Letting Lee Domin kill Seo Chaeyoon… That can't happen.
I can't let this happen.
Lee Kangjin finally used the skill he had been hiding all this time.
[Skill
A black shadow extended from Lee Kangjin's own shadow, enveloping Lee Domin. The dark red sphere vanished in an instant, and Lee Domin collapsed to the ground, dead. Seo Chaeyoon, seemingly unaware of how close he had come to death, rushed to Lee Domin.
Lee Kangjin stood motionless.
There was a reason he had kept his
It was a skill that could steal another's skill… but the person who had their skill stolen would die.
"What on earth… What's going on? How did this happen…?"
Seo Chaeyoon, clutching Lee Domin's body, looked up at Lee Kangjin, demanding an explanation. Hughes explained everything to him.
That Lee Domin had gone mad and attacked them.
That those two had fallen to Lee Domin.
Seo Chaeyoon's gaze shifted to the two comrades, brutally slain, one of whom had her lover's severed head in her arms as she sobbed. Seo Chaeyoon bit his lip.
"Chaeyoon. …We should bury the bodies."
"…Yeah. We should bury them. Dig two graves."
"No… for Domin too."
Only then did Seo Chaeyoon realize that Lee Domin, in his arms, was no longer breathing.
Lee Kangjin approached the frozen Seo Chaeyoon, kneeling before Lee Domin.
[Skill
[Congratulations, you have acquired the skill
[You have obtained the trait 'Controller of Time'.]
As Lee Kangjin, who had secretly acquired the skill, began digging the grave alone, others came to help. Even the one who had lost their lover approached, crying while digging the soil, but Seo Chaeyoon did not join. Instead, he crawled back to Lee Domin and shook his body.
"Domin… Hey, wake up."
"…"
"Lee Domin. What are you doing? Get up… They're about to bury you."
"…"
"Domin… No… You…"
Finally, after the graves were dug, they placed the two corpses beside Lee Domin's body.
When they approached Seo Chaeyoon, his white face was stained with tears.
"Chaeyoon."
"Did you really have to kill him?"
"…"
Lee Kangjin's heart ached even more because Seo Chaeyoon asked so calmly and quietly, not yelling or showing anger.
With a pained expression, Seo Chaeyoon continued.
"You didn't have to kill him. You could've just subdued him. He might have come back to his senses…"
"This was the only way."
"…"
"If we didn't do this, we would have had to fight a hard battle until Domin regained his sanity. Many more would have died in the meantime. The whole mission would've failed. There are billions of people outside. We have to protect them. That's justice… Domin would have wanted this. His sacrifice was noble, Chaeyoon."
Lee Kangjin took Lee Domin away from the dazed Seo Chaeyoon.
Stealing a life by stealing a skill.
Taking away a friend's body from someone who had lost their friend.
'I'm just someone who keeps taking everything away.'
Domin's malnourished body, too thin from lack of food, was covered in dirt. The hands that shoveled the soil over the body were so thin that the bones were visible. Due to malnutrition, their fingernails were worn down, and there were red bruises in places.
After filling in the graves, Lee Kangjin called for Hughes. He pointed at Seo Chaeyoon, who was sitting there, dazed.
"Chaeyoon won't be able to handle this situation."
"I understand. I'll alter his memory. But what will you do with time moving forward?"
"I… used
Lee Kangjin hesitated briefly before continuing.
"I copied the skill."
"Skill copying? Was there such a skill? Wait, is that also a Gaia skill? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I can only copy the skills of the dead, so I thought you might be wary of me…"
Lee Kangjin fell into deep thought. Seo Chaeyoon is smart.
When the shadow that extended from Lee Kangjin engulfed Lee Domin, Seo Chaeyoon witnessed the dark red sphere disappear in an instant and saw Lee Domin die. At this rate, Seo Chaeyoon would figure out that
"Let's start by erasing Chaeyoon's memory. Make it so that he never came here. It's best to reset any knowledge of the Gaia skill too. Let's pretend it was never shared…"
That way, everything would line up.
Thankfully, Hughes didn't object.
While Hughes manipulated Seo Chaeyoon's mind, Lee Kangjin explained to the others what they needed to do going forward. They had no choice but to agree to deceive Seo Chaeyoon. Only after giving a thorough explanation did Lee Kangjin slump down onto a nearby rock.
He looked up at the pitch-black sky.
'Kangjin hyung, I'm glad I got to know you.'
Me too, Domin.
I had to do this.
This is what you wanted…
Lee Kangjin's words, meant for no one, scattered into the empty air.
***
"Ah…"
Yoon Seo groaned, overwhelmed by intense dizziness.
"Hyung, are you okay?"
Kwon Jihan immediately grabbed him by the shoulders.
As all his memories returned, Yoon Seo closed his eyes and slowly inhaled and exhaled.
That's right, that's what happened.
'A noble sacrifice? Is this the price for not turning away from justice?'
'If this is what justice is, I will no longer live righteously.'
The hatred he felt toward the idea of justice whenever someone mentioned Domin's death—this was the source.
Even though he had lost his memories, his resolve to abandon such a hollow concept of justice, and his decision that he must die, had remained.
[The God of Life is concerned about you.]
[The God of Death says they'll welcome you if you're planning to commit suicide.]
[The God of Life scolds the God of Death.]
[The God of Life glares at the God of Death, saying this is no time for jokes.]
Even with his eyes closed, the gods' messages appeared in his mind. Yoon Seo muttered to himself that he had no intention of committing suicide.