Chapter 127: Memory Garden 4
“That’s too reckless. Private Kim Jinwoo still has a lot of magazines left.”
Yoon Taewoo desperately stopped Woohyuk.
‘I remember. You were always this kind of person.’
Someone who cared more about others than himself.
After he would be discharged, he said he would become a philanthropist.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh? What..”
Yoon Taewoo couldn't keep up.
Woohyuk struck a vital spot on his nape with a chop.
'I don't want to see you die again.'
This was just a world of images unfolded by the advanced magic circle, but it still mattered to him.
'Even if he doesn't die, he will only interfere with Kim Jinwoo’s subjugation.'
This imaginary world has a high level of implementation, so even if he didn’t actually take damage, there was the possibility that he would receive mental damage.
Therefore, he had to be careful not to be shot and eliminate all the unnecessary variables as much as possible.
As Woohyuk came out of the dormitory with his sword, Kim Jinwoo, who was standing in the hallway, pointed a muzzle at him from a distance.
“Sergeant Chun.”
Kim Jinwoo called Woohyuk in a somewhat trembling voice.
The appearance of someone who had always been kind to him seemed to have created an inner conflict.
But Woohyuk already knew that it wouldn't last long.
“There’s this thought I always had whenever I saw you.”
“..That I’m pitiful? That it’s painful to watch? Yes, you must have. Sergeant Chun did everything well and everyone liked you. That is why I must have looked like a wounded lamb, who only desired a single compliment.”
For Kim Jinwoo, Woohyuk was the object of longing.
A good leader that was just and recognized by all.
But he could never be like that. Kim Jinwoo was frustrated because the gap that could not be filled was so immense.
As a result, the newly sprouted emotion in his heart was anger.
It was a feeling of contempt for him who had enjoyed everything unlike himself.
“Yes, those were the thoughts I had in the past. But now, the greatest feeling I have is regret.”
“Regret? That you shouldn’t have been kind to a scumbag like me? Haha.. Indeed, Sergeant Chun is always innocent. You have always been exemplary in military life.”
“No, that’s wrong.”
historical
He regretted not giving Kim Jinwoo cold and harsh advice at least once.
He had only acted kind towards him, but that didn’t give any practical help or advice.
At Woohyuk's reminiscent words, Kim Jinwoo laughed.
“You finally realized your hypocrisy. Yes, that is correct. Your very existence was a pain to me. I wouldn't have been so desperate if you had gotten mad at me like the other seniors.”
It was painful for him to have Woohyuk watch all of his shortcomings.
No matter how hard he struggled, the reality was that he couldn't reach Woohyuk’s ankles.
So he had decided to destroy everything.
Everything, including his own idol.
“Anyway, you've gone down the wrong path, so now there is only one thing I can do.”
“Try stopping me if you can! I will never fall until I kill all the hypocrites in this unit!”
Kim Jinwoo's eyes were colored with madness.
He started firing the K2 rifle at Woohyuk.
Bang bang bang bang!
Empty cartridges constantly fell on the stone floor.
It was an urgent situation.
However, Woohyuk walked toward Kim Jinwoo with a casual expression.
His demonic energy was protecting him from the bullets.
"Die! Die already, motherfucker!”
“You didn't have to target your anger towards innocent bystanders by expressing your suppressed emotions like this.”
Click. Click.
The 5.56mm caliber bullets loaded in the K2 rifle had run out.
When Kim Jinwoo urgently tried to replace the magazine, Woohyuk's hand flew over and grabbed him by the neck.
“Argh.. ! Urgh... !”
“I can't even remember how many times I’ve killed you like this now. But I never forgot to say this to you at the last moment.”
‘You have to keep surviving using that courage to commit suicide of yours.’
After whispering that, Woohyuk put strength in his hand.
Crack.
With a broken neck, Kim Jinwoo's body was drooping like a marionette with broken threads.
'I will try my best not to let my vassals end up like you.'
A victim who couldn’t escape from his own mindset and brought destruction to everyone around him. Someone who brought misfortune to others.
Woohyuk had realized the dangers of it through the last shooting incident.
Because of this, he always raised his vassals firmly and gave cold and harsh advices only.
'This should be enough.'
The reason why this imaginary world had suddenly unfolded was to attack his own psychological weakness.
The first attempt had now failed.
It was difficult to predict how many more trauma attacks would come to him in the future.
After waiting for a while, a flash covered his vision again, and the surrounding landscape changed.
"What are you thinking about?"
He was inside a small hut.
There was only a woman with light blue hair hugging him from behind.
Lucretia.
Woohyuk opened his mouth, feeling her warmth.
"Nothing."
"Tch.. You’re lying..”
Lucretia stuck even closer to him.
“In truth, I was imagining where and what you were doing.”
"What do you mean? I’m here right now.”
“This time we must have arrived at our destination on schedule. And you must be working as a priestess for the Pope.”
Lucretia was a priestess of the Holy Apherian Empire.
On her way back home with her colleagues from her mission, she clashed with a criminal organization called the Crimson Crow.
Her life was threatened, but she managed to escape alive with Woohyuk’s help.
Later, she fell in love with him, quit being a priestess, and set up a home for the two of them in the forest on the edge of the Croa Principality.
The current scene was a recreation of the situation at that time.
“..You’re scaring me. Stop saying such weird things.”
“You cannot be with me.”
Although the Crimson Crow were killed in advance, he had countless other enemies.
They would try to target his weakness.
Therefore, it was safer for Lutretia to be working under the Pope.
“..You promised you’d protect me for the rest of your life.”
“I couldn't keep it. You were brutally murdered by the Crimson Crow.”
He couldn't repeat the same mistake twice.
When Woohyuk made it clear, Lucretia shed tears endlessly.
“I gave up everything and came this far.. And you’re abandoning me like this..?”
“..”
“Is it because of her? Do you think I'm worse than her?”
“It has nothing to do with Leifina. Please don't get it wrong.”
“No, I'm certain you like her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have brought her all the way here.”
Lucretia separated herself from Woohyuk with an expression of fury.
Afterwards she headed to the door and spoke again.
“If that is what your heart truly thinks, I'll leave. I hope you live happily with her.”
Creaaak.
Slam!
The door opened and was closed vigorously.
A situation that was never desirable for lovers.
However, Woohyuk did not follow Lucretia.
'I never abandoned you.'
Many things had changed from that time.
He had to overcome the limitations of human beings and reach the Demon God’s throne and fight against the mythical beings.
Before the regression, he had plans for the future, but unexpected variables appeared and overwhelmed him. As a result, the people around him were injured or killed.
In such a similar situation, it was impossible for him to imagine a happy future together with her as before.
For Lucretia's safety, she had to be as far away from him as possible.
'But I won’t ask you to try to understand me, nor to wait for me.'
In the end, even though their relationship had ended up going south, he would be satisfied as long as Lucretia was alive.
He had steeled his heart already.
Even if this were a real situation instead of an imaginary world, there was no reason for his resolve to shake.
Creak.
As I opened the door and left the hut, the scene of the forest stained with the sunset entered his vision.
Woohyuk looked at the vacant area with a firm expression.
Lucretia.
She was breathing wildly with her limbs cut off.
"Don’t.. come... It’s.. a.. trap...”
“..”
A trap set by the criminal group Crimson Crow to bait Woohyuk.
However, Woohyuk stepped forward without hesitation.
Step. Step.
"I.. beg... you.. I’m.. already..”
Swoosh!
An arrow flew right into Lucretia's desperate heart.
When her breath stopped, armed men immediately appeared around her.
“Kek kek.. How do you feel? Are you sad about losing the woman you love in front of your eyes?”
Oh Seok-joo.
The head of the Crimson Crow was also there.
“Stop talking.”
“Looks like you’re quite angry. But it would be better for you to remain calm. There is one more beautiful girl here with us.”
When Oh Seok-joo gave the signal, two men hiding in the bush dragged Leifina out.
She couldn't say anything until now because she was gagged with a cloth.
“I'll kill you right now.”
“Kill me? Oh, I guess that you don’t care about that lady over there. I thought you were using her every night as a playtoy because of her gorgeous appearance.”
“No, you’re wrong.”
Leifina was as precious to him as Lucretia.
Still, the reason she kept staying by his side was because she was bound to him by the bond of fate.
He was thinking of protecting her no matter what, even though he had never expressed such thoughts on the outside.
Swoooooosh!
As Woohyuk pulled out Verserios, a black vortex swept around the area.
Oh Seok-joo’s eyes widened when he saw his subordinates getting torn apart.
“Wha, what is this?! What the hell is...”
“I’m certain to have told you not to talk.”
Verserios' pitch black blade pierced through Oh Seok-joo’s heart.
A blow so fast that he couldn’t follow with his naked eyes.
Oh Seok-joo spat red blood from his mouth with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Cough, cough..”
“Now, nobody can stop me.”
In order to correct everything that had gone wrong, to end the turmoil and to restore the normal routine, he had returned to the past.
This time around, he would definitely fill in the empty divine thrones, no matter what the Creator had prepared for him as his destiny.
Spluuurt!
When Woohyuk pulled out Verserios, blood spurted out of Oh Seok-joo's body which now had a new orifice.
Then, with a mad craze, he wiped out all the remaining enemies...
“Are you okay?”
He checked on Leifina's condition.
Although it was a fictional world, he had almost lost her in real life recently.
“Yes, my Lord. Please don't worry...”
Fuwook!
As she desperately tried to form a happy smile, Leifina’s heart was pierced by an unexpected hand.
Woohyuk deeply frowned upon seeing that scene.
“Aleister Crowley.. .”
“I see. You won’t break with this kind of mental attack. Maybe it’s because you know this is a fictional world?”
Aleister licked his bloody finger, tossing the breathless Leifina to the side.
When Woohyuk stared at him silently, he spoke again.
“I am just an illusion in your mind, so even if I try to harm you, you won’t even blink an eyelid.”
“What are you here for?”
“Let’s get to the point. Not long ago, you blocked the Three Demon King's invasion, without sacrificing a single one of your precious vassals.”
“..”
“But in my eyes, your circumstances looked pretty precarious. What if Loengreen didn't show up in time? What if Gwak Seyoung hadn’t found out about Priscilla’s plans? What if you hadn’t overheard their conversation? You may not know, but a couple of core powers ended up dying out on that battlefield.”
Aleister smiled at Woohyuk with a relaxed expression.
At the same time, the surrounding landscape began to swirl, mix and change into a new form.