Chapter 23: CH 20

Chapter 20

 

     “I’m so sorry…I don’t really understand. I’ve never died before…I mean, this is the first time I’ve ever been to a place like this. I’ve never heard of this space existing….”

–……

     “So, if it’s not too much trouble to explain….Can I ask you one thing? Is it possible…for me to return to my previous location?”

–Ah. Don’t worry about that. You’ll be back soon. In about two minutes, even if you wanted to stay longer, you won’t be able to.”

     Perhaps in response to my courteous tone, Dawon answered quite sincerely this time. If in two minutes I’ll be sent back even if I wanted to stay….Does this mean the transportation process is automatic?

     In addition, I was both confused and relieved that Seo Dawon, contrary to my expectations, had not bothered to pester me into signing a contract.

–By the way, it seems like you’re confident in your ability to run away after these two minutes? I brought you here since you were begging for help, but you’re more relaxed than I thought you’d be.

     “Huh?”

–Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo were about to chance upon your hiding location. If you return, you’ll return to that exact same situation….Is that really okay?

     What?

     I didn’t quite understand what he had said, and my mouth was left ajar. At my stupid face, Seo Dawon kindly explained the situation again, as if he was teaching a child.

–I’ve pulled you into something we can call my ‘consciousness.’ In this space, time flows extremely slowly. So, back in the real world, Lim Jisoo and Bae Jaemin are still on the verge of uncovering your location but have yet to make the actual discovery. Unfortunately, I cannot keep you for a limitless amount of time in this spatial distortion; I can only continue talking to you like this for two more minutes.

     “T-then if I return…I’m going to run into Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo?”

–Most likely, yes?

     Contrary to his kind and patient explanation, his responses seemed aloof.

     But, according to his explanation, time had been extended just before my impending death…It means that Bae Jaemin is waiting for me after my untimely return.

      If you think about the personalities of the two, as seen in Seo Dawon’s memories…it would be strange to not doubt my own livelihood in this situation. Before they found me, hydrochloric acid or some other further trouble, they had these kinds of meaningful conversations as well….

     Lim Jisoo, who would melt the bodies of the murdered Red Lotus Guild with hydrochloric acid, had a thorough and vigilant personality. I don’t know about Bae Jaemin, but Lim Jisoo was truly a shrewd villain. So, with her cruel and meticulous personality, it was clear that she would try to kill me with no regard to any excuses I might make.

     Actually, even if I were Lim Jisoo, I would kill myself to stave off further issues in the future. My hiding location was just too suspicious.

     I sat down and clutched my head while working through the implications and politics of the situation. At this moment, I recalled the one person that might be able to help me overcome this crisis.

      I eagerly shouted to Seo Dawon, though I had no idea where he could be. “Seo Dawon-nim! Then….Is there no way for me to escape safely? Could you return me to someplace different….?”

–No. I’m already dead?

     Seo Dawon refrained from answering clearly, again. And, as if to tease me, he sarcastically added –Now, there’s only 1 minute and 10 seconds left.

      I called upon him again, feeling like a ritual summoner talking to a deity through a magic circle. I made up my mind–nothing was going to stop me now.

     “D-dawon-nim…Then, what if you made a contract with me?”

–A contract?

     However, Seo Dawon’s reaction was a far cry from what I had expected.

     The contract was the ace up my sleeves, and I thought he’d jump at that chance with glinting eyes….But Seo Dawon responded with a complicated voice, as if he had no expectations nor interest in the matter.

      Confused by the unexpected reaction, I hesitatingly stuttered, “I-I’m a Necromancer….”  But I got the feeling that Seo Dawon wasn’t particularly listening. His soul seemed to disseminate this aura of  ‘Oh really? How interesting. But what does that have to do with me?’

     What? Doesn’t he want to jump at this chance…..

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     An idea crossed my brain like a bolt from the blue.

     “Why not? You have to get your revenge! It’s not fair!”

     I couldn’t let myself die without a struggle, like a mouse or a bird. I blurted out any explanation I could think of, while feeling like I was clinging onto the invisible hem of Seo Dawon’s intangible legs.

–Revenge? But, my revenge has nothing to do with you, right? And, similarly, your death shouldn’t matter to me either.

      “That’s….”

–And if you wanted to sign a contract with me in the first place, you would have immediately summoned me after viewing my memories…I wonder why you suddenly desire that now?

     “But, but Seo Dawon-nim had just brought me here…”

–Oh this? This was an unintentional intervention. Vengeful spirits are typically sensitive to a Necromancer’s desire–most want to curry their favor for revival. That’s why I brought you here instinctively. Should I call it an accident? If you want, I can send you back right now.

      He answered neatly, saying the process was instinctual. But, strangely enough, I could feel a stinging hostility within his flawless explanation. It’s like he’s laughing at me for daring to broach the subject of a contract…what did he expect from me?

     But no matter how hard I thought, I had no other choice. In the end, I could only helplessly ask again, “Do you really have no desire to sign a contract with me?”

–Why? You’re not sincerely invested in my revenge, right?

     “It’s…not that I wasn’t invested…Let me explain…I just thought that it was too difficult for me at this moment. So…”

–You think it’s impossible to attain revenge with your current power?

     “Yes….”

–Then I should ask. If you have neither the ability nor the will to avenge me…why should I tie myself to your fate? After I died, I was obsessed with my revenge and even missed the chance to reach nirvana.

     His words were reasonable, and I was lost for words for a moment.

     I was just too foolish. How stupid of me to think I can gamble a ghost’s quest for vengeance with my life! So, I tried again, “No! If you could save my life this time….! No matter what happens, I WILL avenge you!”

     However, Seo Dawon seemed to have lost all interest and didn’t even reply. I felt a cold gaze, as if he didn’t care whether or not I would survive on my own power after being flung from this safe space.

      “Seo, Seo Dawon-nim! I spoke wrongly! If only you would help me just this once….I’ll do my best to help you get even. I-I’ll do anything I can. And you ask me, tell me to do…I don’t want to die like this. Although I’m so sorry to say I don’t want to die in front of a dead person…Still, I’m so scared. And…And I’m really sorry! I’m going to die a dog’s death…

–…..

     “Maybe my life would have meaning if I became a ranker like you….Every day I’ve been ignored and underestimated….It’s the first time I’ve entered such a Dungeon and I’ve made it all the way here…If I die here, no one will know or tell my mother the news of my death….”

      I felt like I was speaking to myself; I felt so unbelievably frustrated. I shut my mouth to calm down for a moment but…suddenly, a flood of tears burst from my eyes. Ah! Fuck! I really needed to fix the habit of crying while frustrated.

     Apart from embarrassment, resentment deepened within the depths of my heart. To be honest, in this revenge, I’m like a crippled shrimp in a fight between whales. Lim Jisoo, Bae Jaemin, Seo Dawon…my fate–the danger of death–is tied to the swaying whims of people I had nothing to do with just this morning….

     Really, this Necromancer is nothing more than a hopeless class. Ah, before this happened, I should have accepted Hong Seung-min sunbae’s advice and left the Hub to take the civil service exam….

     There was no end to my pessimistic thoughts, and now I was certain that Seo Dawon would never want to contract with a loser like me. When I leave this space, I’ll run into Bae Jaemin…should I just beg Jaemin to spare my life? Ah……All sorts of crazy thoughts began to flood my brain before reality struck me.

–Are you finished crying?

     Just then, Seo Dawon asked, without hiding the fact that he had been observing me all this while. At his words, I almost cursed at him, but I stood still. It would be accurate to say that I didn’t even have the energy to be angry.

     In addition, the magic underneath my feet flickered alarmingly. As Seo Dawon said, I would soon be brought out of this space and back to my original location. When I go back, I’ll be right in front of Bae Jaemin, right? I should get on my knees and pray…that’s all that I can do….

     Haa…..Fuck it.

     Would he spare a stranger when he was someone who could bear to betray a guild member he had known for several years? Damn. If I knew this would happen, I would have called my mom in the morning.

–Hey. You don’t want to die, right?

     Suddenly, Seo Dawon’s voice, full of vigor, could be heard above my head.

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