Chapter 194

Soram wrapped blue mist around his sword. His body moved at high speed towards the black pillar. And he thrust his sword into the place where the sound was coming from.

Kadeudeudeuk!!!!!

Then Tae-un, who had come with him, also attacked the pillar.

Kadeuk, deuk, deudeudeudeuk!

Kugugugugugung!!!

The pillar was harder than the monsters. The two struck their swords against the pillar for a long time. As he did so, Soram felt it. He was no longer a person who could be the source of the 4th Great Rift. Because from now on, when he recalled the zoo from his childhood, this memory with Han Tae-un would come to mind.

Something fluttered away from his shoulders and back. As things that had been pressed down for such a long time and had become accustomed to their weight disappeared, his airways suddenly cleared. The wishes for Soram to destroy the world left him as he became unable to be the core of a mimicry dungeon again.

Kwang!!!!

With a thunderous sound, the speaker stopped making noise, and the pillar collapsed. Soon, a crackling crevice appeared in its place. The glimpse outside the crevice was a very familiar scene. The collapsed Seoul, and the people he had seen for a long time were there.

The nightmare from childhood had ended. Soram pointed to the outside of the crevice while looking at Tae-un.

"Since this seems to be my consciousness world, you should go out."

"...Yeah. I think I've used up all my ability too."

Tae-un's light clusters no longer moved. Perhaps because of that, Tae-un's body was gradually being pulled towards the outside of the crack. Soram, looking back, had an expression that was tired and sad but relieved. Like someone who had returned from a very long, difficult journey on their way home.

Now there were really only a few steps left.

"Then Soram-ah. Outside..."

"Oh right, don't forget you were dumped."

"...Huh?"

Soram cut off his words with a bright smile.

"You're a car. You were dumped and we broke up, you bear bastard."

"..."

"Don't think you can just gloss over it, make sure to remember. Got it?"

"..."

Soram waved his hand cheerfully towards Tae-un, who was being pulled outside the crack faster and faster. While watching with great satisfaction as Tae-un made a 'This, this isn't right' expression.

Tae-un, who had been rolling his eyes wondering what to do, grabbed Soram's hand just before being completely sucked into the crack.

"Eek, why is a dumped person doing this!"

"I'll confess again!"

Tae-un's tightly gripped hand gradually slid back. But he didn't let go of his strength until the end.

"And I'll keep chasing after you asking you to take me back. Continuously."

With those final words, Tae-un was expelled from Soram's consciousness world. Perhaps now Soram's will to see him outside was reflected.

'I'll confess again! And I'll keep chasing after you asking you to take me back.'

"..."

Soram smiled while looking at the bright blue sky. White, large cumulus clouds were gathering, covering the eye-stinging sight.

The 'again' that had been so tiresome was, this time, a little exciting.

Soram knew this would be the last 'again' in his life.

***

The hunters fell into confusion. While there was talk that Han Tae-un had been dragged inside, Jin Soram, who had seen the situation, suddenly lost consciousness in front of the crack.

Meanwhile, the mutants weakened abnormally rapidly as time passed. The hunters on the scene had already dealt with most of the giant beasts. Yet nothing more came out from inside the crack. It was something that could only be called a miracle in a situation where hope had seemed completely lost.

Currently, everyone was in a state of confusion about whether they should attack the crack or not. Even the director couldn't make a judgment about the situation.

'What on earth is going on...'

If he hadn't known anything, he would have chosen to forcibly wake Soram or attack the crack for now. But Director Park Jae-seon was the only person who knew the story of the two. It didn't seem to be mere coincidence that the two had fallen into this situation and the mutants had weakened. He was certain that the two were doing something.

"Let's wait a little longer."

He looked back and forth between the crack that had stopped moving and Soram lying unconscious with closed eyes.

That's when it happened. Soram's eyelids trembled.

"...! Soram-ah, are you coming to..."

Chaenggeng―

"!"

Almost simultaneously, the middle part of the crack broke horizontally, and Tae-un, who had been dragged inside, sprang out.

And Soram, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up.

As everyone around watched with surprised eyes, Soram and Tae-un raised their swords. The swords of the two were thrust towards the crack at the same time.

Kadeudeudeudeudeuk!!!!!

Gudeuk―..., deuk, deudeuk...

The crack resisted the two's attack. But the crack, having lost its source of power, spewed out sounds that couldn't take form as if it had broken down, and they no longer affected the two people here.

Gueoeoeo―...!!!

Having failed to intimidate, the crack pushed back the two deeply embedded swords. More strength entered the blood-covered hands of the two.

Right, you have the same power as a 20-time regressor, so you wouldn't go down easily.

But.

The constraints that had prevented Soram from using his power properly had also disappeared.

"This time, let's fight on equal terms...!"

Kak, kak, kak!

The sword tips went even deeper into the hard interior. The suppressed blue mist rose like wings, enveloping his whole body. There was absolutely no intention of retreating.

Tae-un also put more strength into his hands. The crack's vibration intensified, raising gray dust.

Kagak!

When he opened his eyes after frowning for a moment, another sword was embedded in the crack. It was Seo Min-ki, gritting his teeth. Though he couldn't grasp the situation exactly, he noticed that this was the opportunity.

The hunter with the keenest senses in the headquarters couldn't fail to notice the same thing.

"What the hell did you two do?"

Kadeudeudeuk!!!

Ga-eul's weapon, which had charged in, also attacked the weakest part of the crack. As the two approached the front of the crack, other hunters also kicked off the ground.

"Anyway, it means we can see the end now, right?!"

Kadeuk!!

Dozens of swords were thrust towards the crack. The size of the crack decreased rapidly.

Kadeuk, deuk, deudeudeudeuk!

Kadeudeudeudeudeuk!!!

Along with the hunters' attacks, the crack writhed more and more violently. Grotesque sounds that would normally make people feel repulsed flowed out from inside. But no one would retreat just because of that.

The hunters attacked the crack without leaving any gaps. It was the exact opposite situation from earlier, when numerous mutants had attacked from the opposite direction.

Kadeudeudeuk!!!

Not only did the height of the crack lower, but the open width also decreased rapidly.

"Uwaaah!"

"Aaaak!"

The voices of others were heard from so many places that the direction couldn't be gauged. Dozens of weapons were embedded in the crack, and attacks poured in from long range as well.

At that moment, paradoxically, Soram loosened the strength in his hand holding the sword. He was certain that the crack would collapse even without him smashing it alone until his hand broke.

When he raised his eyes, his gaze met Tae-un's, who was stabbing the crack from the opposite side. Tae-un smiled at Soram. The tip of his sword was embedded as deeply as Soram had stopped. As if being led by Soram's sword.

Deudeudeudeuk―...!

Deuk, deudeudeudeuk!

Kaang!!!!!

The tips of the two swords collided.

"...Ah..."

The pitch-black crevice that had been blocking Tae-un in front of his eyes...

Completely disappeared.

Until the afterimage created from looking at the pitch-black color for so long disappeared, not one of the hunters opened their mouth. The crack that had been standing tall in this place under the now darkening sky had vanished without a trace.

"Did, did we defeat it?"

"Ack! Deputy Chief! You shouldn't say things like that!"

Even after the frivolous jokes of two people passed, the area remained quiet. There were no more beast cries that had been ringing for hours, no heavy footsteps, no roaring sounds from the crack, nothing at all.

Director Park Jae-seon, who had been staring intently at the place where the crack had been, closed his eyes tightly and said.

"We won."

He was not a person to say uncertain things, nor to create an ending that betrayed expectations. At his single word, belated elation spread across the hunters' faces. Some collapsed on the spot, while others shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Uwaaah!"

It was over.

For the first time, they had overcome the 4th Great Rift.

"It's over..."

The moment Soram muttered, the weight remaining on his shoulders and back disappeared once more.

Was this the wish of those who wanted the world to be saved?

He felt something snap and disappear inside his body. It was the shackle that had bound him to the same time for a long period. The last link of the shackle that was fading away contained a familiar voice.

'I want to become a hero who saved the world and be loved.'

With the wish he had placed on himself as the final one, all the wishes placed on him disappeared. He clearly felt that he would never return to the past again, that the repetition given to him had ended.

"...We won."

"Well done, you bastard!"

Someone slapped Soram's back hard. The painful assault didn't end with just one hit, but included people from the headquarters, Busan branch, and other branches he had seen a few times during operations. Soram stood blankly among those showing various reactions.

We won, it's all over...

"Jin Soram."

Han Tae-un was in front of him.

"..."

Soram blinked and looked around blankly. The day that had been bright blue now had a clear night sky. The moon was clear even though the sky hadn't completely darkened with the disappearance of light from surrounding buildings. Ambulances, fire trucks, and even distant news cameras could be seen, as if the news that they had safely destroyed the Great Rift had already spread.

The day the 4th Great Rift broke out had ended, the bright blue sky had deepened, and night had come. Everything was a sight he was seeing for the first time. It was a world where he didn't know at all what would happen next.

Tears suddenly streamed down both cheeks of Soram, who was still standing unable to say anything.

"Heu..."

The gazes of the hunters all turned towards the person showing a completely unexpected reaction.

"Heu, keup, heup... Ah, heuuk..."

The crying, which had seemed like a brief moment of emotion at first, had now progressed to the stage of completely contorting his face and shaking his body.

A person of familiar height approached even closer. Soram immediately grabbed his clothes and leaned his wet eyes on his shoulder.

"It's over, right? It's over?"

"Yeah."

"It's really, over..."

Tae-un firmly embraced his shoulders and lower back.

"You worked hard."

"Heup..."

"Now let's really go home."

"Heua, ah, heu...!"

Once it started, the crying couldn't be contained. Even Soram himself didn't know how long it had been since he had cried out loud like this.

"...The guy who seemed least likely to cry is crying, so it's making me tear up too."

"Yeah..."

"Aish, he should just be slick as usual."

Though the deputy director clicked his tongue, he kept glancing at Soram crying in Tae-un's arms. As if Soram's tears had driven home the director's words that it was over, the murderous intent that had hardened on the hunters' faces from the battle gradually lifted.

"Hey, Jin Soram. Are you crying? Are you crying?"

Ga-eul didn't miss this rare opportunity to tease Soram. And Seo Min-ki rapidly pressed the capture button on the phone he had brought in an instant. Though he was also sniffling, his fingers absolutely didn't stop.

"Uwaeng, don't take pictures. Heu, I said don't take pictures..."

"Team member Han, could you move your shoulder a bit?"

"..."

Tae-un hesitated for a moment but stayed put obediently as Soram firmly gripped both lapels of his coat and threatened him heavily.

Soon, a long wet sigh burst from him too. The arms holding Soram tightened even more.

People who resent the world will inevitably appear in the future, and the Great Rift might come again someday. Those were new problems that Soram, who remained in this world, would have to solve. To think and ponder intensely after breaking free from the shackles. And also, together with the people by his side.

It would be difficult, other problems would arise, and various things would happen, but,

Nevertheless, humans ultimately had a stronger will to live.

Earnest wishes cause miracles.

Jin Soram would live this life.

He sank deeper into the embrace of the world he would live in from now on.

Cloudless Sky - The End