Thud-thud—
Amid the thick cloud of dust that billowed up, Jong-eon emerged from the isolated space and surveyed the surroundings.
I followed that gaze slowly, taking in the devastation. There was so much that I couldn’t see with my eyes alone, so I opened my senses and sketched the area around me.
“… Um.”
How should I even describe this catastrophe?
The once lush earth, devastated beyond recognition by my battle with Jong-eon, was now simply gone.
No, rather than gone… it would be more appropriate to say it was shattered.
A vast abyss lay beneath. Above it, the broken sky rained down like fragments of shattered glass, sparkling into snowflakes as they fell.
Completely an altered landscape.
As I stared blankly at this view, Jong-eon looked at me. I returned the gaze.
And then—
“Pfft!”
Cha-rrik— Jong-eon burst out laughing.
“Are you crazy?!”
“What, what do you mean…?”
“What do I mean? Why did you let it get this far?!”
“… I don’t know.”
Jong-eon tilted their head.
“You don’t know?”
“… Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Y-Yeah.”
I genuinely didn’t know. During battles, I don’t tend to think much, mostly relying on my instincts… So I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what happened in the midst of the combat.
Thinking back now, it felt like something explosive surged within me, but…
I slowly exhaled and rested my hand on my heart.
Thump— Thump— My heart was pounding hard. But it was a weak thrum compared to that earlier explosive sensation—almost embarrassing to compare.
No matter how much I pounded or stroked it, I couldn’t feel that massive explosion from before.
In this frustrating situation, I did discover one thing.
That sensation, that power, was something I had felt once before.
When that was, where I felt it, I had no idea.
“You’re really stupid.”
“I’m not stupid…!”
“No, you are.”
Jong-eon slammed the final nail into my rebuttal, crossing their arms and lightly tapping their lips.
“Why? How can you not know? You have eyes, right?”
“I see…”
“Then it’s confirmed that you’re out of it… Ah. Hey, come here for a sec.”
“… Why?”
Jong-eon raised their hand to their forehead, shaking it side to side with their palm lifted.
“Let me measure your height.”
“… Height?”
“Yeah. Just in case.”
“Y-You’re not going to ambush me, right?”
“Would I?”
… Well, that’s true.
I absolutely wouldn’t ambush them.
But after such an intense fight, suddenly measuring height…?
“Ah, it’s important, so hurry up.”
The Great Sword in Jong-eon’s hand disappeared.
And thump-thump, I stomped my feet, making a place for myself.
“Huff…”
Patter— Reluctantly, I stood before Jong-eon.
“Still… short.”
It was true.
I peeked up at Jong-eon just a little. Jong-eon was looking down at me just a bit too, and.
Of course, there wasn’t much difference.
“… Not much difference.”
“No, that’s not the problem… It seems the Elixir’s side effects haven’t worn off.”
Elixir…?
Sounds like they were talking about Yuria’s Elixir.
Didn’t Jong-eon—or rather, the ‘me’ at that time—reduce the side effects?
“Wasn’t it just about the height…?”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought.”
A playful smile crept across Jong-eon’s face.
“Maybe your intelligence dropped too. So it’s hard for you to grasp your own power.”
“… No, that can’t be true… I was definitely the same.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t know. And you would have to drop down a lot to not know that. Right now… I feel like you’re about the same as before you took it.”
“What…?”
I recited times tables in my head to counter Jong-eon’s statement. I even listed the alphabet.
… I was a little confused in the middle, but I remember it for sure.
See, I hadn’t gotten any dumber.
The intelligence stat can’t affect me.
Thinking this way, I shook my head in relief.
“See? I’m not dumb.”
“Kids know their times tables and the alphabet.”
Flinch— My body shuddered.
How did they know what I’d been reciting in my head?
“If I were to hear the same thing as you, I’d think the same. Well, my past self would. Now look, I’m speaking clearly without stuttering, right? I’m different than you.”
Jong-eon shrugged.
It’s true… Jong-eon spoke better than I did.
With a confident personality and a strong voice.
With various expressions…
“Well, anyway. This is unexpected and kind of interesting. To be so dumb that you can’t even grasp your own abilities… Just how stupid do you have to be to reach that level?”
Jong-eon muttered quietly, pondering for a while before slowly opening their mouth.
“I think it’d be better for you to realize what that power was. Even if I told you, it wouldn’t help.”
Then, they waved their hand dismissively.
“Let’s just finish what we were doing.”
I quietly stared at Jong-eon.
A light smile was on their face. A carefree tone in their voice.
But the emotions hidden behind it were deeper than before.
To save Rubia.
That was a common goal shared by Jong-eon and me.
Even if she and I spent different times, lived different lives, and saw and experienced different things, the goal remained unchanged.
However, Jong-eon said they had failed.
That they regretted it. That it was over.
Yet, Jong-eon still said they would save Rubia.
To others, it might sound like a foolish stubbornness, but I could tell that Jong-eon’s words weren’t merely stubbornness. I could feel it.
Because I understood her the most.
Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to think I fully understood her.
But at least, regarding Rubia, we would be the same.
I was sure of it.
So, I nodded at her words.
I understood her words. I accepted them.
What she entrusted to me.
What she left with me.
What she passed to me.
I bore it.
It wasn’t something I had to bear.
I wanted to shoulder it because I chose to.
So, I would save Rubia.
Not in Jong-eon’s way, but in my own way.
Not by the path you left me, but by my own path.
That’s the charitable path I chose.
And that’s the happy ending where everyone can smile.
I hope there’s no discontent.
If there is, then later, far in the future.
If perhaps we meet again.
Then I want to be told then.
If that happens, we could both laugh and talk.
We wouldn’t be able to express discontent due to our shared happiness.
Perhaps we might even forget, distracted by playing. Yeah, likely we will.
Imagining such a future made me snicker.
I hidden my laughter as I pulled out the Great Sword.
And nodded.
I spoke. I answered. I declared.
“… Yeah.”
Now, I won’t hesitate any longer.
I won’t doubt. I won’t tremble in fear.
I won’t look back. I won’t stop.
I won’t cry. I won’t despair.
If there’s no path, I’ll create one.
If something stands in my way, I’ll crush it.
Thus, at the end of continuously, forward, forward, I will—
Save Rubia.
Save ‘myself’.
Save everyone.
I will save them.
I will.
I, the protagonist of this story.
I will make it happen.
—Kwooong. The fierce thrum.
—Kwooong. The thrum that had stopped at one sound earlier.
—Kwooong. The explosion within me grew, becoming light, soul, and intensity, I felt it.
Closing my eyes, I quietly embraced it.
I recalled the familiar power.
I remembered.
And then.
I realized.
What this power was.
And what I could do with it.
What I could achieve.
I knew.
Thus, a smile I could no longer hide spread across my face. Uncontainable laughter burst forth from between my tightly closed lips, ka-rrik—.
Jong-eon, watching me, seemed to feel something too, their face scrunched.
“You… are you crazy?”
I guess they figured out my thoughts immediately.
So quick to pick up signals!
“… I’m not crazy.”
“Then why, why are you thinking that? You’ve done well so far. You can end it well. Why on earth are you doing this?”
It seemed like Jong-eon couldn’t control the emotions boiling up, shouting as they tightly gripped the hilt of the Great Sword.
“I just want to live. I want to be happy. So why, why are you insisting on such a choice? Just saving Rubia is enough. That’s all I need…”
Crack— A rough sound echoed between Jong-eon’s teeth.
Anger gleamed in their wide, glaring eyes.
Rough breaths escaped, almost like a growl.
Then, they spoke with a voice that was a little, just a little subdued.
“Don’t think frivolously. Don’t harbor useless pity. This is the path I chose; the ending I chose. You shouldn’t meddle with that.”
To that, I replied very lightly.
“No.”
“… What?”
“You changed me without my consent. So, I’ll do as I please.”
Jong-eon’s face twisted in a bizarre expression.
Neither crying, nor angry, nor laughing, just a truly very strange face.
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter again because of that expression.
“… Stop fooling around. You might not care about Rubia, but saving me… is impossible. I already—”
“No, it’s possible.”
“What do you know to say that?!”
“I’m saying it because I don’t know anything.”
I didn’t know anything.
I didn’t know the truth of this world.
How ‘I’ ended up like this.
What ‘I’ and Rubia had prepared to restart the world; I didn’t know. I couldn’t know.
But that’s okay.
I am. ‘I’ am. We are.
So far.
“I’ve taken down every boss without knowing a thing.”
Without checking guides.
With stubbornness intact.
Despite any penalties.
Even holding bizarre weapons.
I defeated every boss.
I reached the end.
Thus, we stand here.
So, we can—
“We can do it.”
And.
“I want to trick Ser at least once.”
“What does that even mean…?”
Jong-eon, momentarily at a loss for words, stopped opposing what I said.
They merely glared at me with eyes soaked in rage.
And let the Great Sword hang back.
“You’re stubborn, and your head’s thick, you foolish brat.”
I also let my Great Sword hang back, replying to Jong-eon’s words.
“… I’m definitely telling Rubia.”
“Ha. I have Rubia too.”
With those words exchanged,
our Great Swords swung.
