Chapter 712: Scenario (3)
‘What’s wrong with you… what’s wrong?’
It was scary to look straight at Kim Hyunsung. Even at a glance, it seemed that he had completely lost his human form.
I was at the point of doubting whether he still had a sound mind. Although I was a bit hesitant, it was still necessary to check how the current Kim Hyunsung was doing. As I slowly glanced at the guy from the bottom up, Kim Hyunsung’s solid legs came into my eyes.
‘I guess this part didn’t change that much here.’
His boots covered it, so I couldn’t see it properly. The only difference was the tail on his back.
I didn’t know what kind of beast should be compared to the tail shape that I saw for the first time. One thing was for certain, however. It looked extremely intimidating, and I thought it could be used as a weapon.
Both of his arms had changed enough to be unrecognizable. Would it be appropriate to say that they were wrapped in a dull black color?
It looked like the arms of a beast. I even doubted if he could hold a weapon. The black hands had no border between the fingernails, which were sharp and pointed.
Overall, it felt like he had become a little bigger. It was very little, but I could tell for sure. It was clear that his whole body, which was already muscular, gained a little more mass and got a little bit taller. The most striking new feature was the large horns on his head, curled inward like the horns of a goat.
‘That honestly looks cool.’
I didn’t know why they were modeled after goat’s horns, but it partly matched Kim Hyunsung’s reputation anyway.
Not only that, but his messy and randomly scattered hair looked awesome as well. I wasn’t certain if it was the crazy crow’s taste, but his long hair that extended down to the waist caught my eyes.
Even just by looking at it roughly, it didn’t look like simple hair. Was it correct to express that the material had changed? It felt like ordinary methods couldn’t cut it out.
It was okay to just look like that since I could tolerate that much. The problem was…
‘Where’s our Hyunsung’s face?’
The problem was that Kim Hyunsung’s face had completely disappeared. It was completely covered in black. Instead, fangs were visible, and a long tongue was noticeably in his mouth.
He wasn’t dripping saliva while sticking his tongue out disgracefully, but if he stuck that out, it would certainly be longer than a normal human’s.
Anyone would think he was like a monster.
“…”
I didn’t know what kind of gaze he had. I couldn’t see his eyes in the first place.
I couldn’t hear the beast’s rumbling, but above all, I wasn’t sure if he still had reason in him. Had he forgotten how to speak?
His face quietly looking down at me made me feel somewhat frightened.
I didn’t care if everything else changed, but I needed to see his face to determine what he was thinking.
‘Fuck, give his face back. Fuck. What is this? Fuck, that’s a monster. That’s ridiculous. I mean, he still has reason, right? Our Hyunsung hasn’t been completely corrupted, right?’
I looked up with an anxious face. As if he got stuck somewhere far away after Kim Hyunsung’s punch, Thronus wasn’t showing up. That was when Kim Hyunsung slowly grabbed my arm and lifted me, bringing my face closer to his.
‘What the hell? Is he really out of himself? Really? Really?’
It seemed like he was checking who I was. It was fortunate that he didn’t sniff and smell like an animal, but I was still strangely scared. Who knew if he would bite me with his big mouth open?
I was also worried about whether I provoked him too much.
‘Did I go too far? Was it the problem that I cried and pretended to be in pain screaming ‘please stop’?’
I shouldn’t have made a fuss as if I was going to die. I wondered if Kim Hyunsung became too immersed in my acting skills.
He must’ve thought that Thronus’ sharp sword would’ve stabbed my throat if he had been a little later.
I shouldn’t have made that horrified expression at the end… Perhaps the problem was the remarks saying that even the appearance of the demon was okay.
He might’ve thought it’s really okay since I said, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’ But reaching such a point where he basically turned into a beast wasn’t good at all.
In fact, it seemed that there were too many causes, so I couldn’t confirm which one made him turn into such a form. The only thing that mattered was that Kim Hyunsung, in front of me, became a monster.
‘Fuck, his awakening failed. Fuck…’
I felt strength in his hand that was holding my arm. He was startled when I frowned as if it hurt. In time, I saw him tilting his head.
There was seemingly still a bit of him in there. I didn’t expect to think that it would be fortunate that he didn’t tear me apart or bite me down.
‘You didn’t really change, right? You’re not going to stay like that forever, are you?’
That couldn’t be.
That wasn’t the future I saw through Yuno Kasugano. If the future hadn’t changed, Kim Hyunsung would once again restore his original form.
Perhaps being stabbed by Kim Hyunsung in that state could be a clue to regaining his true awakening.
Wasn’t it a cliché that I had seen a lot before?
The narrative in which a lost hero realized his fault at the death of his friend and was reborn as a true hero was no different from a classic.
Although the situation around me wasn’t set up for that yet, that was the key. Where did I put the anesthetic potion? Fuck. Did I even bring it?
If I got pierced by that hand, it probably wouldn’t just end with a little sting. It was bound to be extremely painful. What would be more ridiculous than spouting the wrong words and getting killed for nothing?
Raphael hadn’t gotten up yet, so the timing couldn’t be right yet. I wasn’t trying to convince myself just because I didn’t want to be stabbed by Grey Skull (N/T: In reference to Skullgreymon from Digimon) Hyunsung.
‘Why isn’t Thronus, that crazy pigeon bastard, coming? Shouldn’t he have stopped him at this point?’
When Kim Hyunsung slowly lifted me once again, his body bounced to the other side with a bang, and I naturally fell to the floor. There, Thronus stood in front of the black monster.
‘Fuck. You came.’
At that moment, I could no longer distinguish which one was the hero.
“…”
Grey Skull Hyunsung expressed hostility to the enemy, who reappeared with his big fangs bared. He took out his sword.
Boooooooooooom!!
I saw a huge black strike flying in with that sound.
‘Fuck.’
Of course, he wasn’t aiming and shooting at me, but I could bet that I would’ve been swept away by the black energy if Thronus hadn’t hit back against that assault.
‘It’s ruined. Fuck. I’m fucked.’
I suddenly felt an unknown sorrow rising from within me.
‘You bastard, are you for real right now?’
Who would’ve thought it would be a black catastrophe that I would get in return for raising him and helping him until I vomited blood?
I was afraid that I was the target of sending hostility with fangs in full view. He didn’t even have a kind face anymore that I could defend somehow.
At that moment, it wouldn’t be strange if I pressed the abandon button, but it wasn’t easy to press the prerequisite stance-change button that would damage the affection we had accumulated so far.
It wasn’t an appropriate example, but I felt like I could see why couples who had been together for a long time became hesitant about stamping divorce papers.
As if to show how funny the human mind was, Thronus’s back began to look more and more reliable.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah…”
“As I said before, that one is already a monster. It’s only now that his true nature has been revealed.”
‘What do I do? Fuck.’
“He’s already been engulfed by black magic. That one in front of you is a monster of destruction and slaughter.”
‘What bullsh*t are you talking about? Our Hyunsung isn’t a monster.’
“He will not recognize anything. He will destroy everything around him until his life is over.”
‘You know fucking nothing about how nice and gentle my kid is. Fuck, he’s like that because he hung out with bad friends.’
“Open your eyes and face reality, and you’ll be able to see what’s in front of you. You just want to pretend that you don’t know when in fact, you already do. That can’t be reversed.”
‘Fuck. It can’t… It can’t be.’
However, Kim Hyunsung, in front of us, didn’t say anything. There was no feeling of wanting to protect me in his eyes.
As per the words of Thronus, he had no other emotion than the desire to destroy everything in front of us. I slowly looked at the guy’s face once again.
“Huh?”
The part I didn’t see before came into my eyes.
‘Fuck… I can get him back.’
I saw a black material covering Kim Hyunsung’s face. The skin beneath that black magic was no doubt normal. It looked like someone covered it artificially.
It was a mask.
‘I can get him back, fuck!’
He hadn’t been completely eaten by the darkness yet. Kim Hyunsung was just wearing a mask that he couldn’t take off. Behind it had to be his normal face.
‘I just need to take it off.’
Wasn’t it simple? If that mask was causing Kim Hyunsung to lose his reason, I just had to take it off of him. I wasn’t certain if that would work, but he had come to his senses already.
My heart suddenly began to ache when I thought about how urgent he thought the situation was to need a mask like that. He must’ve felt like there was no other way.
Thronus judged that Kim Hyunsung became a monster who lost his reason, but that couldn’t be the case.
If Kim Hyunsung had really become a villain who used destruction and slaughter, I would’ve already been dead. The light of Lee Kiyoung still remained in his unconscious.
Just before wearing the dark mask, there must’ve been one thought in Kim Hyunsung’s mind.
‘I have to kill Thronus.’
Why?
That way, Lee Kiyoung could live.
That was what he wanted to protect, even if it meant giving up his own reason, even if it meant abandoning himself.
If I couldn’t understand him, who could?
The appearance of Kim Hyunsung, who made a silent cry with his big mouth open, seemed to be screaming.
It felt like he was shouting that he was going to protect me.
‘I can turn him back, right? You remember me, right?’
The problem was who could stop Kim Hyunsung, but I had already found a solution for that.
“Help.”
“What?”
“Please… Please help him.”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“No. There is still hope left for us. He can return to his original form. I can see that his embers haven’t gone out yet.”
“…”
“I won’t ask again about what you want to say, how do you know me, and why you came here. But if you want to show your faith in me even a little, help me. The willingness to protect even the smallest remaining light… the fact that you won’t forsake even those who have already fallen… you have to show it…”
“…”
“If you help…”
“…”
“I will follow your will, whatever that might be.”
“…”
I didn’t know if it was a positive or negative result, but I saw Thronus, who nodded, flying towards Kim Hyunsung.
Of course, following him was but a pure white lie.
‘Thank you, masked savior.’