Suddenly, dark storm clouds gathered overhead and refused to clear as dusk settled in.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, even the faint rays that had peeked through vanished completely, and twilight before nightfall set the sprawling city ablaze in a fiery sunset glow.
On the rooftop of an old fortress, bathed in the evening light, only two figures remained— a man and a woman— silently gazing at each other in the open space.
Kim Su-hyun and Kim Su-yeon had spent a long time talking after moving from the restaurant.
She had detailed the path she had walked so far and the situation she currently faced, while he listened quietly.
As a result, Kim Su-hyun approached his advice with great caution.
The situation was exactly as expected.
More precisely, it wasn’t a matter of good or bad, but rather that suggesting a clear path forward was complicated.
In truth, Kim Su-hyun had intended to tell her not to waste time stabilizing Atlanta, but to march straight to Terra.
Having succeeded in conquering the Steel Mountain Range, reaching the Temple of Promise would be a piece of cake.
That was, of course, assuming there was one king and four queens.
When Kim Su-yeon heard the straightforward plan to easily take Terra, she was greatly surprised but couldn’t hide the complexity in her expression.
Because, unlike Kim Su-hyun’s world, in this one two of the four queens were enemies.
From their first meeting, Kim Su-yeon had proven herself worthy as a king.
The Sword Queen Nam Da-eun and the Iron-Blooded Queen Han So-young were allies.
But the Shadow Queen Go Yeon-ju and the Holy Queen Yoo Hyun-ah were clearly foes.
In the end, the choices boiled down to two paths:
Crush them with force?
Or resolve it through dialogue?
When dealing with demons, the latter was the obvious choice.
Besides, half of the demon forces had already been wiped out, so there was plenty of time.
If things went well, they might even obtain the Zero Code before Satan could make his move.
But the problem was that things rarely went as planned.
The deep-rooted conflicts among the factions in the Northern Continent, reminiscent of the Warring States period, couldn’t be healed with just a few conversations.
After all, if the demons had taken the forefront and yet the factions still refused to unite, it spoke volumes.
On the other hand, there was an alternative.
The Holy Queen Yoo Hyun-ah could be replaced by Mar, who had awakened as the Fairy Queen.
But Kim Su-yeon didn’t even know about Mar’s existence, nor that the Canyon of Illusions existed.
She only knew of the Mountain of Delirium.
Kim Su-hyun was in the same boat.
When he asked casually who the woman with lemon-colored hair was, and heard she was the captain of the Obelo Knights, he cursed under his breath.
He had no idea that in the unexplored northern regions of the old Northern Continent, there was a relic called the Fountain of Life related to the Obelo Kingdom.
Though they were similar beings and had followed nearly parallel paths, there were clear differences.
In any case, much was said, but Kim Su-hyun couldn’t dictate what to do about the problematic parts.
The choice was hers alone.
Kim Su-yeon understood that, and with that, Kim Su-hyun’s lengthy advice came to an end.
It was time to part ways.
“It looks like it’s going to rain.”
Kim Su-yeon, who had been staring at the sky for a while, said softly.
Indeed, the weather was such that raindrops could fall at any moment.
Breaking the meaningless silence, she slowly rose from her chair and continued.
“I’m going for a walk. I need to sort through everything we talked about.”
Just as she turned to leave, she glanced back at Kim Su-hyun, still seated.
“By the time I come back…”
“I probably won’t be here.”
Kim Su-hyun smiled faintly.
As if expecting this, Kim Su-yeon returned a gentle smile.
“It was brief, but I’m glad we met… no, thank you.”
Kim Su-hyun shrugged.
No need for long farewells.
“Well then, goodbye.”
“Yeah. Goodbye.”
With those words, Kim Su-yeon didn’t hesitate and disappeared through the rooftop door.
As the sound of her footsteps quickly faded down the stairs, Kim Su-hyun finally stood up.
He stretched to his fullest, then looked up at the sky with a light heart.
Just like she had.
He wasn’t entirely without curiosity about this world.
Opportunities like this were rare, and there were many things he wanted to check out at least once.
If he were honest with himself, he wanted to stay longer.
Leaving so suddenly felt a little—no, very—regrettable.
But that was precisely why he wanted to leave quickly.
The idea that minimizing interference was best was only a surface reason.
The real fear was that if his curiosity grew too much, he might end up settling down in this world for good.
In the end, he had already made up his mind to leave, several times over.
Still, there was one thing that lingered in his heart…
“……”
It was because Kim Yu-yeon stepped out cautiously through the door.
“…You’re leaving?”
Her trembling voice was slightly choked.
“Leaving? Right now?”
“Yes…”
After a couple of prods, Kim Su-hyun barely answered.
“Su-hyun…”
After a brief silence, Kim Yu-yeon spoke in a voice full of sorrow.
“Just one more day. I’m not asking you not to go forever.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Please. Can’t you stay just one more day? Please?”
“There are… many people waiting for me…”
Kim Su-hyun tried to sound firm, even if forced.
But seeing her eyes, faintly reddened and bloodshot, his voice faltered.
Her swollen eyes truly reflected how hurt she was.
“You’re mean, really.”
“……”
“You might as well not have shown up in front of me at all… this is too much.”
“……”
Kim Su-hyun closed his eyes, turning away.
His heart was beginning to waver.
Sniffling, Kim Yu-yeon muttered,
“Then before you go… just one favor.”
“A favor?”
“Yeah. Just once, please call me ‘noona’.”
“Uh…”
Her tone sounded like a child’s whine, and Kim Su-hyun opened his eyes again.
It was no joke—Kim Yu-yeon was sincere.
“Is that too much to ask?”
Her quietly trembling voice tugged at his heart, making him glance at her repeatedly.
It was strange, but Kim Su-hyun’s standards for women were quite high.
Living with his uniquely charming wives had naturally raised his bar.
Yet Kim Yu-yeon was relentlessly shaking the iron wall he had built, even acknowledged by Han So-young.
She was that captivating.
After a moment, Kim Su-hyun cleared his throat lightly.
He glanced around.
Around him?
No one.
No one who knew him.
This world?
He probably wouldn’t come back.
Kim Yu-yeon?
This would be their last meeting.
Then?
“…Noo-noona!”
Since it was the last time anyway, and there was no need to keep up appearances, he thought.
“Noona!”
Kim Su-hyun threw himself into Kim Yu-yeon’s arms.
“Uh, uh?”
Caught off guard by his sudden embrace, Kim Yu-yeon’s face showed surprise.
“Noona, noona. Actually, I want to stay here too.”
“Huh…?”
“It doesn’t matter where. I just want to be with you.”
“Are… you serious?”
“Yes!”
“Really? Not lying?”
“Of course not. I think I’d be truly happy living with you and being cared for.”
“Oh, oh my… I see. So that’s how it is.”
“Uuuuh, noona, noona…”
“Ah… ah… okay, okay! Noona will take care of our Su-hyun forever. For a thousand years, ten thousand years, even after death.”
Kim Yu-yeon let out a passionate, almost primal moan.
If Kim Su-hyun had seen her expression, he might have stopped right then.
But she was lost in her feelings, clinging to him without restraint.
If only he had a third eye, he would have noticed the change in her true nature.
But it was too late.
Kim Yu-yeon had just opened her eyes to a dangerous world.
Her arms wildly embraced and caressed her younger brother, holding him tight.
As if to never let go.
“You’re mine…”
Her eyes gleamed with madness as she rubbed her cheek against his head.
“No one can touch you now… no one…”
…So this was what they called yandere?
Then—
Rumble!
Suddenly, the dark sky was torn apart by a fierce thunderclap.
It was the second thunder since morning, roaring again now.
At that moment—
Zzzzzzz—
A strange sound like space splitting echoed.
Thud, thud!
Something hit the rooftop floor twice in quick succession.
“Ugh!”
“Ow, ow, ow!”
Then came the voices of a man and a woman.
Startled by the sudden appearance, Kim Su-hyun and Kim Yu-yeon showed surprise.
Of course, for different reasons.
“Hyung?”
“Je-je-gal Hae-soool?”
That’s right.
The two who had fallen onto the rooftop were none other than Kim Yu-hyun and Jegal Hae-sol.
Faced with this unbelievable scene, Kim Yu-yeon screamed.
Hearing the scream, Kim Yu-hyun, who had been frowning, suddenly lifted his head.
“Su-hyun…”
The joy on his face vanished instantly.
He stopped running and stared intently at Kim Su-hyun beside him.
Perhaps sensing that gaze, Kim Yu-yeon, who had been looking at Jegal Hae-sol with a stunned expression, glanced away.
The eyes of a younger brother’s older brother and older sister met in midair.
With a loud bang, someone kicked open the rooftop door and rushed inside.
“Unni!”
Kim Su-yeon, who had gone downstairs, heard Kim Yu-yeon’s scream and hurriedly ran back up.
“What’s going on…?”
But in the next moment, Kim Su-yeon froze in place.
And so—
Kim Yu-hyun and Kim Su-hyun.
Kim Yu-yeon and Kim Su-yeon.
All four of them stood together in the same spot.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
I might post the next chapter around midnight tonight.
I expect to be busy on Saturday, so I probably won’t have much time to write.
Either April 2nd or 3rd, I’ll definitely upload it.
Wishing all my readers a peaceful night. (__)
P.S. Dear readers,
This omnibus has finally passed the halfway mark, but do you feel like the pace has slowed down a lot recently?
If it’s feeling dull or dragging, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
I’ll do my best to tighten things up and speed up the story’s progression.