BXBX NOVEL Chapter 421: Tales of Those Left Behind
Chapter 421: Tales of Those Left Behind
The Sun God, who had proclaimed the destruction of mankind, finally turned to light and vanished, and the procession of other angels that had filled the sky naturally evaporated.
Mankind had fought against the gods and won.
At last, there was peace on Earth.
All the angels are gone, and the Sun God who bestowed his power is dead so the superpowers of superheroes and villains alike have begun to weaken.
The world is gradually returning to normal.
…Of course.
However, the world did not immediately return to a festive mood.
There were many sacrifices made and many cities destroyed in the war with the angels.
For the world watched, huddled in shelters, breathlessly watching the heroes save humanity.
…and how one of those heroes met his end.
[…Ha ha. S, Stardus…]
[No… please… why… why, hmph, no…]
~The ruined land of Twilight~
There, a woman sobbing and clutching a man.
…the man who gave his body to defeat the god.
The Korean villain who spearheaded the war against the Sun God, Egostic.
Soon after, he sacrificed himself and saved the world he breathed his last.
Another hero who faced the gods, turned to black ash in Stardust’s arms and flew away.
And so the war ended.
…Of course, at the end of a war, heroes are born.
It is more effective to make heroes out of the dead than the living.
Egostic, Da-in, would be remembered by the entire world for his sacrifice for the world.
With that, after the world had stabilized and settled down a bit the mourning procession for him was overwhelming.
[…On a happy note, we have some sad news. During the battle with the gods, our country’s S-class villain, Egostic, who led this war on behalf of Cathedral and fought for the world to the end, was killed. Our broadcast is dedicated to honoring him, a national hero who, despite being a villain, never took a life. We will continue with a special feature covering the life story of Egostic, who died after saving the country with everyone’s support and finally saving the world…]
[Up next. The International Association of Heroes has recognized Egostic as an S-class hero. ‘Given his life’s work and his heroic end, there is no reason to call him anything less than a hero,’ the organization said, ‘Egostic was a villain, but a hero nonetheless. The Association will always remember him as a hero,’ explaining the reasoning behind giving him the title of Hero.’]
[Thus, he was jokingly referred to as a hero in public, and would eventually be called a hero posthumously…]
In addition to this everyone who was close to him and knew him expressed their condolences.
Katana of Japan, Li Xiaofeng of China, Atlas of the Atlantic, Heikin of Germany, Isabelle of France, Korean Hero Association President Park Jun-ho, Shadow Walker, an A-class hero, and all the heroes of the Yuseong Group PMC… Some of them were said to have reacted in disbelief to the news of his death, and were said to have had a fever.
…Especially.
*
[Don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous]
[Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream? Is this a dream?]
[I’m just fucking sober because I’m fucking sober how does this make sense]
[Let’s save him, you crazy bastards, it’s really fucked up, what are you doing, why are you killing our mango because he’s happy now, what a fucking world]
[Did anyone else gasp at the moment of Egostic collapse, it just went black]
[Don’t fuck with me, my mango can’t die from that shit, he’s going to come back to life like Jesus in three days, I’m sure of it]
[Do something you’re not supposed to do at a funeral, freak everyone out, resurrect now]
*
The fancafe-like community that was the biggest supporter and follower of Egostic… Well, it went crazy.
Hundreds of posts were posted every few seconds, making it impossible to function.
Most of these posts were about disbelief in Egostic’s death, lamenting the world, or suggesting that there was a way to resurrect him, making it impossible to have a normal conversation.
In such a situation….Eventually, people realized that something was amiss.
It turns out.
Those who were closest to him in life, the members of the villainous alliance he founded, the Egostream, and the hero Stardus, who watched over him on his deathbed, Celeste, the head of his organization, Cathedral, Lee Seola, the chairwoman of Yuseong Group, who worked with the task force….they were all gone.
Unbeknownst to everyone they were all gathered in the living room of the large mansion of Egostic.
“Holy shit! What the hell is going on!!!”
With tears in her eyes, Choi Se-hee is shaking Stardus to the ground.
And as she does, Stardus can only stare blankly, tears streaming down her face.
After the incident….All of them, unknowingly, gathered at the former home of Egostic in search of something, anything.
“Haha… You’re lying, aren’t you? Da-in died, it doesn’t make sense…”
Seo Jae-young, who always wore a puzzled expression, was also muttering as she sat on the couch with her head hanging down, dead-eyed.
“What can I do… Hmph. De, Uncle Death Knight is gone too…”
“What…? Mr. Death Knight?”
“Yeah… He was contracted by Da-in and was released by the ring’s seal, hmph…Da-in died, so he got trapped in the seal, the seal again… Hmph.”
“…Ah.”
Eun-woo is sobbing while holding the ring with trembling hands, and Lee Ha-yul is looking at her in dismay.
…That meant that the Death Knight was sealed again, which meant that Da-in was dead with no chance of coming back to life.
“No… Da-in, no…”
Lee Soobin, who had always led them calmly, had already lost her composure and collapsed.
“…It’s because of me, hmph… It’s because of me, ah, ah…”
Beside her, Celeste was also chewing her nails alone, muttering unintelligible words with reddened eyes.
And at the kitchen table, Lee Seola was drinking several bottles of wine that she had taken from somewhere without saying a word.
They were all broken, like dolls with a broken thread.
…Actually, they weren’t particularly conscious of it.
These were all people who had been very much kept alive by Egostic, both physically and mentally.
After all, it was he who had saved and given them their lives.
They couldn’t imagine life without him, so, when it was clear that he was indeed dead, leaving no body behind….they all fell apart to the point where life no longer had meaning.
And in the moment they did.
“…What are you all doing!!!”
There was one who spoke to them.
Her hair was white, and her eyes were just as red as everyone else’s, but she still stood on the ground, shouting at everyone.
Seo-Eun…began to speak, albeit in a muffled voice.
“…Is this all I have to do, cry? Da-in is coming back…?!”
“Well, what should we do…?”
“We have to find a way to save him! He must have… left something… for this kind of situation…You’ve never been to Da-in’s room, have you?”
Saying that, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie.
Han Seo-Eun turned to everyone with a determined expression.
“First, search Da-in’s room.”
“……”
And so they did.
A few minutes later, they were gathered in Da-in’s room.
Soon, they really found something.
“Look! I found something here!!!”
“Really?”
…Da-in had once written down the original knowledge he knew.
It was created so that those who remained could save the world after his death.
It was the Egostream Emergency Response Manual, which was supposed to be unsealed after the death of Egostic.
“…! Look at it now!”
And they quickly gathered around the desk and began flipping through it.
As it turned out, there was quite a bit of information, but most of it was written in the event of the death of the Egostic himself during the main story.
He’d written down what the rest of them should do if he died during the Moonlight Gate, what the rest of them should do if he died during the Great Jailbreak…
A manual designed to help the rest of them live in a world without him.
…However, they weren’t interested in that right now.
They were already done with the last Sun God.
In the first place, they weren’t interested in a world without him.
So, quickly, they flipped through the pages.
…and finally, they found something.
“…I found it! Sis, I found it…!”
“What? Really…?!!”
[How to Raise the Dead]
The manual did indeed contain information on how to bring the dead back to life.
That sentence, written in the handwriting of Egostic.
Filled with hope at the sight of those words, they began to read the pages with trembling hands.
…Only then.
They found something, something strange.
[First, how to save Stardus]
[If Stardus is dead, it means the story is completely out of the mainstream. Stardus is the hero who will save the world, so she must be revived. Here’s how to bring her back to life First. Stardus is a consecration to the Star God, so her physical body would have been destroyed upon her death. This would have caused a ripple in the timeline…]
[Second, how to revive the Moon Maiden Baek Eun-woo]
[If Baek Eun-woo is dead, it is likely that only her body has been destroyed and her soul has gone to the Moon God. However, if you wish to bring her back to life, you will need a magic circle strong enough to communicate with the Moon God. The first ingredient is a substance called lunar ore…]
[Third. How to bring Celeste back to life.]
[Since Celeste is dedicated to the Sun God, there must be a way to save her. I don’t know exactly how, but the following three methods are likely. First, use the Sun God’s holy items…]
That’s right.
The only texts on how to bring the dead back to life only mention Stardus, Eun-woo, and Celeste, three special cases of devotion to the gods.
And nowhere did it say anything about Egostic himself.
…Thereupon, with a pounding uneasiness in their hearts, they turned the pages impatiently.
And there, at the end….There, at last, was the story they had been looking for.
It was different from the others, as if Egostic was speaking before their eyes in colloquial form.
*
[If I die.]
[If I’m dead.]
[Hmm…maybe the fact that you’re reading this book in the first place means I’m dead, haha.]
[I don’t know how the hell I died, but whatever…it was a worthy death, I hope. Anyway, I’ll tell you the story.]
[First… I should start by talking about the afterlife. There are souls in this world, which means there’s an afterlife. Yes, there’s a real place where people go when they die. And the Moon God is in charge of this afterlife.]
[Except… The problem is, the underworld itself was built a very long time ago. As far as I know, the Moon God is in charge, but he has no control over the details. Especially, no matter how you enter the Underworld, it’s impossible to find a specific soul because all the souls of all the people who have died so far are gathered in one place. Even if the body is made by a god, finding a soul would be harder than finding a specific grain of sand on the beach.]
[…And, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I’m from another world, so I don’t even know if my soul is in this world in the first place, haha.]
[So… you get it.]
[It’s impossible to bring me back to life.]
[So, forget about me. You guys move on with your lives. You have that power. Lean on each other, okay? I believe in the power you have.]
[…Although, of course, it would be better if you guys didn’t read this forever. Haha.]
[…Okay? After you defeat the Sun God, I want you to burn this book and move on with your lives, because that’s what I want. Can you grant my wish? I’m counting on it.]
[Then…yeah. Bye.]
*
“…Ah.”
And with that, Egostic finished writing.
…In the room, there was a heavy silence.
Suddenly, they realized that it was impossible for him to return.
That’s when the overwhelming despair hit them all.
“…No.”
At the desk….came a quiet, watery voice.
“I can do it.”
“…Seo-Eun?”
“Here, hmph. He said there’s an afterlife, and he went there, he’ll have a soul, so… so…”
In front of the desk, there, with her hands curled into fists, Han Seo-eun, red-eyed, in front of everyone who was despairing opened her mouth.
“No matter how many years or decades pass…Even if hundreds of years pass. We just need to find Da-in’s soul, and even if he’s gone to another world, we can go to the other world and bring him back…”
With those words, Han Seo-Eun slammed the desk in front of her.
Then, looking at everyone, she declared with a glint in her eye.
“We can find him again.”
The words were full of conviction.