Epilogue 3/4: “May You Rest in Peace.”
The tranquil night in Barbara.
The red hues of the sunset that lingered in the sky had vanished, replaced by the gray shadows of dusk that crept over the city. As the evening deepened, the twilight spread its dim light, and with each passing moment, the darkness settled more profoundly.
I glanced up at the window. Outside, the moon shone brightly, like a silver platter, casting its silvery glow into the dim room.
The noise that had filled the air just an hour ago faded as the moon rose. The bustling inn, once buzzing like a beehive, now embraced the night, sinking into silence and darkness.
“Hmm… hmm… hmm…”
A soft hum broke the stillness. Lowering my gaze from the window, I saw Go Yeon-ju, eyes closed, smiling serenely. She held me close, humming a cheerful tune, seemingly in high spirits.
Feeling her gentle touch on my head, I closed my eyes, surrendering to the moment.
After parting ways with Woo Jung-min, I met Go Yeon-ju in the square and headed straight to the control room. Once our work was done, we went to the inn she had arranged. Conveniently, there was only one room available, she said.
Though her intentions were clear, I didn’t mind. Sharing a bed with her no longer felt awkward.
I nestled my head against her chest, where the moonlight lingered. Her hand, which had been caressing my head, paused. Then, a soft breath tickled my scalp as she pulled me closer.
“You’re so cute…”
Despite the suffocating embrace, I found comfort in the warmth and softness. It was a moment that made me forget everything else, enveloping me in a cozy serenity.
As drowsiness crept in, I thought I shouldn’t fall asleep, but I couldn’t resist. Or perhaps, I didn’t want to.
Just as I was about to drift off…
Footsteps echoed in the silence, jolting me awake. Activating my magic detection, I sensed a presence outside our door. I took a deep breath.
Knock, knock.
“Excuse me. Is there a Kim Soo-hyun here?”
The voice outside was unexpectedly gruff.
“Who could it be at this hour?” Go Yeon-ju murmured, her voice tinged with annoyance at the interruption. She quickly adjusted her clothes, and I quietly got up.
Before leaving, I grabbed the ‘Mugum’ leaning against the wall.
“Soo-hyun? Why the sword…?”
“Just rest. I’ll be back soon.”
I couldn’t explain everything, so I offered a vague reassurance. As the knocking resumed, I opened the door to find a man with sleepy eyes.
‘This guy…’
I recognized him from earlier, one of the temporary guards at the entrance.
“I’m Kim Soo-hyun. What is it?”
“Sorry to disturb you at night. Someone’s here to see you.”
”?”
“They said to tell you it’s Won Hye-soo…”
I had to bite my lip to suppress a laugh.
‘Did she think I wouldn’t come out?’
“I’ll be right down. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Oh, alright then.”
The man nodded, casting a glance into the room, his eyes filled with envy, before walking away with a sigh.
Before leaving, I turned back briefly. Go Yeon-ju, her clothes slightly disheveled, was watching me. We exchanged a silent look before I quietly closed the door.
Descending the stairs, I found the hall empty. I stepped outside, curious.
Under the moonlit street, a lone figure stood. It was someone I knew well.
The ‘Holy Queen,’ Yoo Hyun-ah.
A renowned user from the first round, and in the second, someone I had a complicated history with.
I observed her quietly. Though her face showed signs of hardship, her gentle beauty remained unchanged.
The only difference was her hair, once long and wavy, now cut short. It suited her, but the rough edges suggested it was done forcibly.
I stopped a short distance away and spoke first.
“I didn’t expect you to actually come.”
”…I knew it.”
”?”
“It really is you.”
Her once gentle voice was now hoarse, likely from the hardships she’d endured.
I nodded slightly.
“I heard you wanted to talk, User Yoo Hyun-ah.”
As I spoke, I took a step forward, and she stepped back. I paused, noticing her clenched fists.
Silence stretched between us until she finally stopped retreating.
”…Can we talk for a moment?”
“Can’t we do it here?”
“I’d like to move somewhere else.”
I glanced around. Though it was in front of the inn, there were few users on the street.
“Alright.”
Understanding her intent, I shrugged. When I had stepped forward earlier, fear had flashed in her eyes. It seemed the incident at the ‘Gentle Lady’ had left a mark.
Yoo Hyun-ah turned and began walking, and I followed, my hand brushing the hilt of the ‘Mugum.’
We were still within the city, and though few, users were around. Yoo Hyun-ah wasn’t a clear enemy, so I had no justification. Killing her here would be reckless.
There was no need to act hastily in a place with so many eyes. A situation might arise where I had a reason, or if not, I could find an opportunity to deal with her quietly later.
Though there was no justification, our relationship had long since soured beyond reconciliation. At least, that’s how I saw it.
Eventually, Yoo Hyun-ah stopped, and so did I. We were near the warp gate.
Given the time, there weren’t many users around. But it was a space where users came and went regularly, showing she had thought it through.
Yoo Hyun-ah turned to face me. I activated my magic detection, just in case, and waited for her to speak.
”…”
”…”
But even after five minutes, she said nothing.
Just as impatience began to creep in, she finally spoke.
“Since that day…”
”…”
“I haven’t forgotten a single day.”
Her voice, though hoarse, was calm.
“Do you know? How I’ve lived since then… what I’ve been through…”
Her words left me puzzled.
I could imagine how Yoo Hyun-ah felt about me. Even putting myself in her shoes…
No, when I met Belphegor, who was directly and indirectly involved in my brother and Han So-young’s deaths, how did I react?
“Do you know? Do you?”
Before I could finish my thoughts, her repeated question made me shrug.
“I don’t know. But seeing you now, I can guess…”
”…”
“Were you still in Mule? Then you must have had a rough time with the vagrants.”
”…Yes. I did. I went through things so humiliating I can’t even speak of them.”
Yoo Hyun-ah admitted quietly, then looked up to meet my gaze. Her eyes, finally looking directly at me, were filled with indescribable sorrow.
“I see.”
”…Is that all?”
“What else? Should I offer condolences? Between you and me?”
“It’s because of you!”
She paused, then shouted for the first time.
“Don’t you know? Or are you pretending not to? It’s your fault. What happened to me is your fault.”
“Why is it my fault?”
”…What?”
“Did I make the vagrants attack?”
I didn’t stop there, pressing further.
“The vagrants attacked, and you suffered. But why is that my fault?”
“Th-that…”
Yoo Hyun-ah was momentarily speechless, her expression showing I’d hit a nerve.
I sighed and shook my head.
“Still the same, always passing the blame.”
I watched as Yuhyeon bit her lip, her face a portrait of frustration and helplessness. Her emotions were palpable, yet that was all she showed—no outburst, no desperate actions.
When she came to see me, I had hoped for something more, a confrontation perhaps. But this was anticlimactic.
After a deep breath, Yuhyeon spoke, her voice steadier now. “Fine. Then why did you do it?”
“Why? If you’re asking about the situation back then… you should have received the report.”
The report from the Golden Lion investigation had cleared me of any wrongdoing, ruling it as self-defense. Yuhyeon would have received the same notification.
“I’m not asking about that piece of paper.”
“That’s the only answer I have.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“And if I do?”
Her face fell, a look of disbelief washing over her. “Do you have no sense of morality? Do you think everyone else would accept that answer?”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s not a threat! I’m asking for your honest thoughts.”
“It doesn’t sound like it. But go ahead, if you must.”
“You really—!”
Her voice rose, but I cut her off. “I doubt anything would change.”
My words stopped her cold, her breath catching in her throat. But it was the truth.
In this world, power was everything. And between Yuhyeon and me, the gap was as vast as the sky and the earth.
She had nothing to leverage against me. I had hoped for something when she came, but it seemed she hadn’t lost her mind completely.
I spoke softly. “If you’re just here to complain, I’m not interested.”
“Just to complain…?”
She repeated my words to herself, her head drooping.
Then, unexpectedly, she spoke again. “I know nothing will change, even if I do this.”
Before I could respond, she continued, “Just one question.”
”…”
“Did you have to kill them?”
Finally, the question came.
I raised an eyebrow as she took shaky steps toward me, her resolve clear despite her unsteady gait.
“Seunghyun oppa, Dahee… they were good people. Did you really have to kill them?”
“Who knows.”
My answer was vague, but it was the truth.
In the beginning, I would have said “yes” without hesitation. Back then, I was driven by a sense of urgency, convinced that killing was necessary. Especially with the ‘Holy Queen’ looming over me.
But as time passed, as I gained allies, met Han Soyeong, reunited with my brother, and lost clan members, my perspective began to shift.
This was a recent realization.
I still held firm beliefs about clear enemies like vagrants or demons.
But other users… Go Yeonju was a prime example. Once an enemy, she was now a trusted ally.
A conversation with Seonyul and Jeom crossed my mind.
‘Well, you’re a king. The four queens…’
‘Oh, three now? One was cast aside. Poor thing…’
The card I saw then depicted a woman shedding tears of blood against a backdrop of holy light.
I recalled Yuhyeon’s player status with a calm detachment.
< Player Status >
Name: Yuhyeon (3rd Year)
True Name • Nationality: Tread a Thorny Path • South Korea
Disposition: Scar • Pure
‘Still pure.’
I regarded Yuhyeon with renewed interest. She continued to close the distance between us.
“How did it come to this? I just wanted to get along with you…”
One step.
“I’m not here to complain. I won’t. Just answer me.”
Two steps.
“Why did it have to be that way?”
Three steps.
“Did it really have to be?”
Four steps.
“I can never forgive you, but…”
She was now right in front of me.
Her lips trembled as she finally spoke. “I just wanted to hear an apology.”
Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed before me.
I looked down at her slowly, my earlier feelings replaced by something new.
It was a revelation about Yuhyeon, whom I had thought of as a hypocrite.
I had once been consumed by madness, lost in a frenzy of violence.
Won Hyesoo was currently lost to madness.
But Yuhyeon was neither.
Though one aspect of her disposition had changed to ‘Scar,’ the other remained ‘Pure.’ She hadn’t lost her inner purity.
‘A true Holy Queen…’
Yuhyeon was a significant figure in the history of the Hall Plain. I hadn’t understood why she attracted such talent, but now I had an inkling.
”…”
”…”
The world around us fell silent. It was the perfect moment, though I didn’t know when it would come again.
I realized something.
We were fundamentally different, standing on opposite sides of understanding.
I spoke quietly. “I have a question too.”
”…”
I had no intention of apologizing. My view of Yuhyeon hadn’t changed. She said she couldn’t forgive me, and I agreed.
Even if I understood a bit more now…
We had come too far to turn back.
Would an apology change anything? Would it alter Yuhyeon’s heart?
My answer was “no.”
Yuhyeon was at the edge of a cliff.
I looked down, and she looked up. Her tear-filled eyes were full of sorrow.
“What do you want from me?”
“Can you apologize to me?”
“If I do? What then?”
”…I don’t know.”
Yuhyeon shook her head, and I mirrored her.
“We’ve come too far.”
She seemed to understand, bowing her head.
“I heard your answer.”
”…”
“I still can’t understand you.”
I closed my eyes, accepting it.
Yuhyeon wasn’t a hypocrite.
She was kind and pure.
Amidst the scattered tears on the floor, a soft voice emerged.
“I just… I just want to die now.”
”…”
“Can you kill me? Like you did back then.”
”…If that’s what you want.”
I drew my sword, pointing it downward.
The blade was invisible, the only thing visible was the weeping queen.
As I raised the sword, I thought.
If circumstances had been different. If we had met later.
‘Perhaps…’
We might have gotten along.
We might have worked together toward a common goal.
Holy Queen, Yuhyeon.
‘Rest in peace.’
With that thought, I swung the sword with all my might.
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
“Suhyeon. You’re back?”
“You’re still awake?”
“Yes.”
”…”
”…Are you hurt?”
“Why?”
“I smell blood…”
”…I’m not hurt.”
”…That’s good.”