Chapter 292: The Founding Hero (3)

Balor Joaquin’s gaze lingered for a long while on the spot where Kang Geom-Ma had vanished.

“They say children grow up in the blink of an eye…”

He smiled wistfully as he stood up. His tongue slurred, and his body swayed.

‘Ah, looks like I drank too much.’

He stumbled on his way to the kitchen. He tried to lean on the wall, but unfortunately, he tilted toward the side where he had no arm. Thus, the man once known as the founding hero was about to fall disgracefully.

“Haven’t you had enough to drink?”

A youthful voice stopped him. Someone grabbed his remaining arm.

Despite the sudden appearance, the former Balor Joaquin—now Ho Ah-Hyun—barely flinched. He didn’t seem surprised at all.

“Seems like it. I got a little carried away seeing my boy after so long. Sorry for worrying you.”

He smiled gently.

“And why didn’t you drink with him? It was about time, wasn’t it? Oh, or is he still underage?”

“What good is a young face when inside he’s already over forty? Besides, that boy’s a hardcore drinker. If I’d sat down at the table with him, I might’ve died. That’s why I drank alone.”

“How amusing. A man once called the founding hero, completely helpless after a few drinks. If the demons had known 700 years ago, they would’ve beaten you. All they had to do was disguise alcohol as water and knock you out.”

“What a cruel joke.”

Ho Ah-Hyun murmured softly. The other’s gentle laugh brushed his back.

“…Was this your idea too?”

“You said it yourself earlier. I don’t act on my own will.”

The speaker, whose face remained unseen, shook his head.

“You also said I’m a useless observer.”

“I didn’t go that far.”

“Haha, just joking, just joking.”

The other chuckled and patted Ho Ah-Hyun on the back. Even so, he didn’t turn around. Like a statue, he kept looking straight ahead.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Ask. I’ll answer unless I don’t know.”

A carefree reply. Ho Ah-Hyun smiled inwardly.

‘Is there even anything this person doesn’t know in the whole universe?’

Even before Kang Geom-Ma had suddenly appeared, this person had already given him a revelation. That’s why he wasn’t surprised. He even hinted at the nature of the incident and its solution.

‘He knows everything.’

He doesn’t intervene in anything. Knows so much, he’s uninterested in all of it. Only lesser gods want to meddle and influence.

By comparison, this being watches everything from the highest place.

‘Some might call it negligence.’

Ho Ah-Hyun thought the same. Even so, he dared to speak, hoping this omniscient observer might indulge a small whim.

“What will be the end for that boy?”

In front of Kang Geom-Ma, he had hidden it well. But the anxiety pressing on his chest was real.

‘I passed on his message.’

He knew nothing else. Only the gods knew what was to come.

“Your words are double-edged. Joaquin, that’s not what you truly mean. Don’t you actually want me to watch over Kang Geom-Ma?”

“Huh huh, I was clumsy. Tried to fool you.”

Ho Ah-Hyun admitted it plainly.

“But yes, it’s true. I’m asking. That boy is mentally broken and has a volatile temper, but he’s not a lost cause. It’s just that the environment around him was so cruel it wrecked his mind.”

“Well, I’d say more than ‘a little.’ Though yes, if I’d grown up with those parents, I’d be a wreck too. Wasn’t his father a repeat offender and his mother an addict? Even trash would be offended by comparison.”

A tongue clicked in disapproval. Ho Ah-Hyun responded.

“They were your creations too.”

“Come on, man…”

“I know. You only observe, right?”

“Seems like you’ve got a lot built up against me. But still, you punished them yourself in a way, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

He asked despite already knowing. Such poor taste. Ho Ah-Hyun answered without hesitation.

“I killed them.”

“How curious. The man once called the founding hero, killing for personal reasons.”

“A hero isn’t someone who acts righteously, but someone who can’t tolerate injustice. As you know, in our world, those who deserve death, die. Here, the legal system is so soft the truly damned keep walking around.”

Ho Ah-Hyun’s gaze was firm.

“That’s why I killed them. Because by my standards, they deserved to die. If that counts as vigilante justice, I have nothing to say. But ever since, I’ve never killed anyone on impulse again. That, I can swear in your name.”

“No need to swear. I understand. Just as Kang Geom-Ma feels out of place with that world’s logic, you too felt alien to this one’s morality.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, alright.”

The other walked past Ho Ah-Hyun and headed for the door. He moved slowly, hands in his pockets.

Even for Ho Ah-Hyun, it was the first time seeing him with his own eyes. Until now, his revelations came only in dreams, through voice alone.

“I have a question. If you answer it, I’ll keep an eye on Kang Geom-Ma. Consider it a bribe.”

He said that just before turning the doorknob.

“Why, upon coming to this world, did you choose a sashimi knife? That’s why Kang Geom-Ma only uses sashimi knives on the other side.”

“…No particular reason.”

Ho Ah-Hyun scratched his forehead with his thumb.

“When I first came to this world, I passed out from hunger. This was the place where they fed me. Little by little, I started working here and ended up staying—that’s the story.”

“Now that you mention it, you were just like Kang Geom-Ma. Is that why you took him in?”

“I can’t say it didn’t influence me.”

“Well, don’t you sound human.”

“I am human.”

“Now I see who Kang Geom-Ma modeled himself after.”

Ho Ah-Hyun cleared his throat quietly.

“It’s not that much.”

“Even the tone’s the same. Anyway, it’s been a long-standing curiosity of mine, but now it’s cleared up. Feels like a weight lifted.”

“…”

“Got anything else to say? You’ve got that look.”

“Just in case… do you have a name?”

“Of course I do.”

The other slowly turned his head, and Ho Ah-Hyun’s eyes widened. Always serious, now he was visibly shocked.

“G.M.”

The other, an outer deity, smiled as he touched his cheek.

“Another name is, Geom-Ma.”

“…?!”

Ho Ah-Hyun reached out, but missed him. Even though it was his good arm this time, the alcohol hit late, and his eyelids fell shut.

As his consciousness sank, a soft voice echoed in his ear.

“Thanks to the academy you founded, Kang Geom-Ma remained human and not me. He’s the only one among all timelines. That’s your legacy. You can be proud, founding hero.”

Crrrk.

The scene beyond the restaurant revealed a lake. Countless sashimi knives were embedded on the surface like gravestones.

It was the domain of the God of the Sword—the Lake of the Sword.

“Did you know the universe is shaped like a donut? They call that a ‘loop.’”

He shrugged as he said it.

“Think of it like that, more or less.”

One final line.

“Thank you, Father. I just wanted to say that once.”

He left Balor Joaquin behind and walked out of the shop.

His vision blurred, and the founding hero fell into a deep sleep.

***

When he opened his eyes, the surroundings were no longer the universe.

They were what had once been the universe.

Celestial bodies and galaxies split in two. Sword scars carved throughout the cosmos.

Too colossal to seem like mere battle traces.

The word “astronomical” is often used when something is immeasurable.

What he saw before his eyes was exactly that.

Space, which in the human mind represents infinity, was shattered.

While he had been with the chief, it had all spiraled completely out of control.

‘Who did this…?’

He looked down at his own hands. He was gripping two sashimi knives tightly. Murasame, chipped, and Eternal Frost, silently weeping.

‘Was it me?’

It was absurd. How had he torn the universe apart with sashimi knives? And the funniest part was that he could still breathe.

Even without much scientific knowledge, he at least knew there was no oxygen in space.

‘Then I’m no longer human.’

That was the unspoken truth of the situation. Of course, he wasn’t the only one. There was also the hero, Leon, as wrecked as the universe itself.

“Haah… haah…”

He was breathing irregularly.

His right elbow was bent backward, and he held his sword only in his left hand.

His abdomen had several holes, from which no blood emerged—only black liquid and stardust.

He was miraculously still alive.

“The end… the end… look at it.”

Leon muttered between gasps.

Kang Geom-Ma watched him silently. The boy shakily raised his sword. Dark energy clung to the blade like pulsing veins.

“Kang Geom-Ma… you have to kill me.”

His voice was desperate.

“That’s the only way all of this will end.”

It wasn’t a provocation. He genuinely wanted it to be over. His intention was clear even without words.

Kang Geom-Ma sighed deeply.

Yes, Leon had absorbed the false gods into his body. Not to gain power, but to imprison them. He had turned his body into a cage for them.

There was only one reason why he did all that.

“…You plan to die with them?”

That was why Leon had joined Kuarne and betrayed humanity. To bear all the evil and sin of this world alone.

He didn’t respond. In his left eye, darkened, shadows churned. The right one had also blackened halfway. Perhaps the thoughts of the false gods were invading him.

For a moment, Kang Geom-Ma felt a kind of reverence. The fact that a teenager could retain his sanity in that state was already a miracle. Maybe it was thanks to his “Miracle Blessing.”

But that didn’t justify what he had done. He had attacked the heroes and, in the end, killed Saki Kojima.

No matter the reason, that was an unforgivable sin.

He had to pay for it. But not with his life.

That wouldn’t balance the scales. His punishment shouldn’t come from a sword, but from humanity.

He closed his eyes. He divided time into fragments, preparing for Leon’s strike. Then he focused on his inner ear. And then, his other self, Lycan, responded.

— So, you want to go back to the mythical era?

He asked mentally.

‘Can you do it?’

— I’ve never tried. But now I will.

Lycan’s spirit aligned beside him.

— Faster than light.

A flash of light illuminated the dark, silent universe.