I Picked Up the Hero and the Demon King

33 – Trial and Growth (1)

Neutral sagged and died.

Without falling back or falling forward.

It has become a human body model that can be separated piece by piece with the slightest touch.

At the same time, Lee Seo-jin also stopped.

“…Brother?”

Yoo Seo-eun carefully called, but there was no answer.

Like a frozen person, his vision was out of focus and his entire body stiffened.

I wondered if postmortem stiffness was like this…

Fortunately, Lee Seo-jin is not dead yet.

‘The body… Don’t you listen?’

I was so clear that I wondered if this was what an out-of-body thing was like, but on the other hand, I was confused.

Forcibly moving his body and using the sword twice, his muscles let out a scream that went beyond screaming.

The blood flow seemed to explode because it couldn’t accelerate, and the nerves were burned because they couldn’t reach it.

I couldn’t understand this point of time when pain and stability were accompanied at the same time.

When you desperately want someone to explain to you what the hell is happening to you.

“Haa… I didn’t mean to see things go like this.”

A boy’s voice came from somewhere behind.

Is there a villain?

Or a hero?

I wondered, and the boy replied, perhaps reading my mind.

“Are you curious? How is the situation?”

A situation in which you answer even though you have thought in your mind without speaking.

Lee Seo-jin didn’t know what had just happened.

But when he heard the sound of walking slowly, he sensed that he was right next to him.

The boy snapped his fingers.

“Enough.”

“Huh!”

As his stiff body loosened up, Lee Seo-jin lost his balance and fell.

As he raised his head while lying on his stomach, he saw a young boy with red hair looking down at him in front of him.

“Do you come to your senses?”

“You…”

“Are you asking about me first? That’s unexpected. I thought you’d start by examining the situation around you.”

Look around you?

As she turned her head, wondering what to say, something amazing was happening.

Everything around me stopped.

No grass, no people, no wind, no sun.

A space where color is lost and only gray is painted over.

Without anything flowing, only I could move freely in this space.

“What is this… Time stop?”

“Similar but different. What should I say… I should say that we were separated for a while in the temporary flow of fate?”

“…What?”

I couldn’t understand.

A passing fate? Separation? She tried to ask what unknown words she was talking about.

“Ah. I’m sorry. I said it my way without explaining it in advance.”

I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut.

It’s full of questions from one to ten, but… I decided to ask the most important part first.

“Who are you?”

“Me? Well. Who do you think it is? Villain? Or Hero? Or… some anomaly?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer the words of the boy who grinned and asked a riddle.

It was because I knew instinctively that it wasn’t everything.

At least to compare it to a heterogeneous existence, but… It felt like a different, more alien sensation than that.

“Never mind. What matters now is that you could have died.”

“What? Dead…?”

“There was. I’ve solved it now, so it’s okay. If I go back though, there’s a high chance I’ll lose my mind.”

It was a bloody word, but I was a little relieved.

Because I risked my life and gave everything, I thought I would leave first this time.

But I felt grateful that I didn’t.

“If you know, be careful from next time. There will be no second time.”

“…I’ve been wondering since before, are you reading my mind and answering?”

“Oh. I know that. Did you just notice?”

From the giggling sound, I knew right away that it was not a compliment, but a sarcastic one.

“For what purpose did you appear?”

“Do you want to get to the point? That’s good. Then where should I ask a question?”

The boy pondered for a moment and tilted his head.

I don’t know what kind of question I’m going to ask, but I could vaguely guess that it’s not an easy question to answer.

Perhaps it was because of what was happening right in front of him that he was alerted to the boy.

“Okay. I’ve decided what to do.”

“…I don’t know what it is, but I want you to kill it in moderation.”

“Well, that depends on what you do.”

The boy smiled and asked me something.

And his first question… It was a question beyond imagination from the beginning.

“Lee Seo-jin… No. Should I call it a swordsman? Do you think your return will have no effect?”

“…What?!”

“Why do you look so surprised? You don’t think I know you’ve regressed?”

“No. That… no…”

I was speechless and hesitant.

Having no idea what to say, the boy sighed and offered advice.

“Just don’t think and answer whatever comes to mind. It’s easy. So what’s the answer?”

“…No. I think there is.”

The department store terrorism that has already taken place is an incident that has never happened before.

Moreover, with the appearance of strange villains… The villain I met before said he used some kind of drug.

I couldn’t help but notice that more and more strange things were happening.

“Yes. That’s right. There can be no influence. Because you are a fixed point. And I am the examiner who came to test you.”

“You speak incomprehensible. Fixed point? Examiner? What is that?”

“Oh. Aren’t you embarrassed now?”

“Since I’ve been listening to it since before, I think I’ve adapted to it.”

Of course, I’m not fully adapted, and I have doubts deep down in my heart.

Reacting to each of these things will not only delay time, but it will not improve the situation.

That boy must be reading this kind of heart.

“That’s the correct answer. Well. Then let me explain.”

The boy pondered for a while again.

Then, as if thinking of something, he raised a finger.

“Ah. Yes. I can explain it like this. Lee Seo-jin. Do you know that it is destiny?”

“Fate? What is a person’s life like?”

“It’s similar. But the concept of fate… In a word, it’s like a role determined by the world.”

“It’s a role…”

“Of course, it is a role that is not set. I think that the world is a role that moves freely on an empty stage and does whatever it wants.”

“So what does that have to do with it?”

The boy smiled.

When I lifted one index finger, a small light appeared at the tip of the finger.

“Originally, the world distributes roles fairly and equally to everyone. But… A problem arose at some point.”

“Problems?”

“You should know well. The sister called the Hero and the Demon King.”

I felt a little uncomfortable when I said something that bothered me.

But the boy didn’t care and continued talking.

This time, I raised my opposite index finger, and when the tips of both fingers met, a dot of light of a suitable size appeared.

“The two shared a huge fate, and the world revolved around the two of them. Of course, there’s a lot to say when it comes to the world, but… Let’s do that for now?”

“…So?

“Originally, the sisters had one destiny. But as time passed, the two walked different paths.”

The boy slowly opened his hands and lowered them gradually.

Then the light continued from the point and the shape of a circle began to be drawn.

The tips of both fingers touched again and when they were released, a glowing circle was created in the air.

“But in the end, the ending came down to one.”

“What kind of ending?”

“End.”

“…The end?”

“Is it better to say that the ending is the end? Or the end is the end… Would you rather say it this way?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you elaborate a bit?”

Asked puzzled, the boy smiled and shook his head.

“Unfortunately, it’s not my problem, it’s yours to solve.”

“…Yes. Got it. So? Anything else after that?”

“You see. Destiny in trouble has become a form that repeats itself endlessly. It’s a bond that will never change…”

Endless circulation and repetition… So you drew a circle.

Does that mean that the world has the same time no matter how many times you go back?

“That’s right. You have good reasoning skills?”

“…If you’re going to keep reading your mind, why don’t you answer?”

“hahahaha. That’s good, but talking is more fun.”

This guy doesn’t know English.

I don’t think the story is over yet, so let’s keep listening.

“So?”

“There was one fixed point in this endless cycle of fate.”

Two dots appeared in the middle of the line on either side of the circle, symmetrical to the boy’s words.

“A fixed point… Did you say it was me earlier?”

“That’s right. When you start with the fate of the demon king and reach the end, you are the last opponent of the hero, and when you start with the fate of the hero and reach the end… Remember before returning? That’s it.”

“I don’t remember. But wait a minute.”

A while ago, it was said that destiny endlessly circulates and repeats itself.

If you look at it differently, it means infinite regression.

But I don’t remember doing any regression other than once?

“Don’t worry. This is the first regression based on you.”

“…I’m glad I did… I should say.”

“If it’s fortunate, it’s fortunate. To continue, there’s always been a fixed point in this broken, twisted, troubled destiny.”

“Is that me?”

“Yes. And this fate…”

The boy opened his palm and raised his arm.

Then he hit the circle with his blade and split it in half, and the circle lost its shape and disappeared.

“I chose you, the anchor point, as the way to sever it.”

“Wait a minute. What is that…”

“Ah. If it’s hard to understand, think lightly. Yes. The sword… Wouldn’t it be comfortable to think that you were chosen as the sword to sever an imperfect fate?”

“A sword that will… Sever fate?”

I didn’t understand.

Severing fate. Why should I sever fate?

No. Rather than that, even if I saved my sisters now, I could become a demon lord or a hero?

“I know that well. Just because I only got it once…”

Just right.

As soon as the boy snapped his fingers, Yoo Soo-ah and Yoo Seo-eun appeared in front of him.

Soo-ah lay down with her eyes closed, and Seo-eun was just as she was about to run towards me.

“Did you think sisters wouldn’t become heroes and demon lords? You knew that too, right? I kept doubting.”

“…”

I couldn’t refute the boy’s words.

I sure saved the sisters, but I wasn’t sure if a war wouldn’t break out.

I never thought of becoming a demon king and hero.

“War… It’s a fixed point in a precarious destiny. Just like you. If you don’t save your sister, it won’t go away.”

“That’s…”

“Unreasonable? That’s right. Fate is completely twisted and ruined. If the sisters die, what… will they disappear?”

“No way!!!”

The words came out reflexively without my knowledge.

Not only the grace of the warrior I received in my previous life, but now the demon king… Because the relationship with Yoo Seo-eun has deepened.

The two of them became precious people to me, and they became my family when I had no family.

That will never happen.

“It’s a good attitude. By the way, here’s the explanation. If you have any questions, you should take the test, right?”

“A test?”

“Didn’t you hear earlier? I’m the examiner who came to test you.”

“That’s…”

“It’s no joke.”

In an instant, the mood changed.

As the laughing boy made a cold expression, an indescribable feeling of anxiety came over me.

Is this a situation like falling into an abyss and not knowing what to do?

“What. Suddenly being asked to take a test can make you less motivated. Then… Ah. Yes. Would you be motivated if I told you why the demon king and hero in your previous life became like that?”

“What!? Can you tell me something?”

“Sure. I can tell you more, but… I’ll ask after the exam.”

It was something I had been thinking about in my heart.

I wondered why the sisters had to separate and why they had to be hostile, but I thought I couldn’t figure it out.

I couldn’t help but pay attention to the fact that the answer was being told right in front of my eyes.

“Let’s see… Okay. Let’s go back from when you and the sisters first met.”

“They were put in boxes on the street…?”

“That’s right. Originally, you were training at the training ground. The sister was there. You know what? The sister became a superhuman from then on.”

“What? She said that from then on she became a superhuman…?!”

“Don’t worry. The fate of the present, where the fixed point is the subject, has become non-existent.”

I wondered how to turn it off, but… There was something more important than that, so I decided to move on.

Because I need to find out what happened to my sister first.

Perhaps he read my mind, the boy smiled and presented a problem.

“Now. Then the problem. Cops, civil servants, heroes, etc… Who saved the helpless sister?”

I was a little taken aback by the sudden problem, but I decided to think about it.

I asked for help everywhere I went, but I didn’t get it.

If there is someone who can help the sister who has always been neglected…

“…No way.”

I vaguely remembered the answer, but I hoped it wouldn’t.

Unfortunately, however, the boy nodded as if the thought he had thought was correct.

“That’s right. It’s a villain. You know that? Villains are absolutely evil and crazy, but very few villains remain good even when they go crazy.”

“You mean you were rescued by that villain?”

“But soon they were wiped out by the heroes and the sisters were rescued by the heroes.”

“Rescued…?”

To hear that. Isn’t that the right word after being rescued?

Why did you use the word “Suffer”?

“Because now you were the villain to the sisters in your previous life. You taught me how to handle your abilities and welcomed me warmly… But when you were wiped out, killed, and handed over to a hero nursery facility, Yoo Seo-eun was furious.”

“Seo-eun…?”

“She has been helped by her sister since her childhood, and she lamented that she was not helped. She blamed herself and hated herself for being helpless. What should I do now that the place I thought was a haven has disappeared?”

“…”

“The darkness in her heart that had been there since she was a child grew bigger and bigger, and when she saw the villain die, she grew out of control that day.”

Mana changes depending on the user’s personality.

When I thought of the demon king in my previous life, I couldn’t imagine how deep the darkness would be.

The demon lord was so powerful that I don’t want to recall her… How sad was she?

“From then on, she hated and hated the whole world. She wanted to somehow grow stronger and destroy this world. So she went over to the Villain side… As you know, she belongs to the Villain Union and becomes the most powerful Villain. It’s done.”

“…Who is the hero?”

“She was kind from her birth, and though she was in despair and darkness, she never lost the light in her heart. She stayed with the hero and became a hero, and she set out to stop her brother who became a villain.”

“…I see.”

“Okay. Looks like your curiosity has been largely answered. The story ends here. Now I’m thinking of starting the test in earnest.”

The boy brushed his hands.

Come to think of it, it was like that from before because it was a test tube and a sword.

“I’m curious, what the hell are you testing?”

“I know when I see it.”

The boy smiled once and then snapped his fingers.

Then suddenly an earthquake began.

The surroundings became blurry, something began to rise from the ground, and the terrain began to change.

Not only that, but the boy also began to change.

The voice changed like that of a mature adult.

There was no longer a soft look anywhere, only a blunt and serious look.

“You’d better work hard. If not…”

Boy.

No. The examiner smiled at me.

“I’ll discard the anchor point and find another way.”