Chapter 110: The True Hero (5)
TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/week, Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Here
Join the discord! Here
Time flies so quickly.
It''s already been 10 years since Dice appeared.
Despite all the effort I''ve poured into it, I can''t say that we''ve be close.
But that doesn''t mean we wereplete strangers either.
I found out his home address, sent many letters, and waited in front of his ce many times to express my gratitude.
While everyone else was scared and running away from him, I was the only person who approached him.
Wouldn''t at least my existence be acknowledged?
It was a wish, perhaps greedy, unique to Han Yoo-jung.
But I didn''t intend to end things here.
She had finally found a way to use her ability.
It was an ability that didn''t apply to herself, and after her younger sister''s death, she hadn''t used it in a while...
But she discovered that if she could scratch the deepest part of their desires, people would cling to that dream afterward.
Maybe she could gather a following for him.
Perhaps she could alleviate Dice''s boredom, or loneliness.
...And maybe, just maybe, she could be by his side.
So, it couldn''t end like this.
She hadn''t even repaid him for his kindness yet.
She knew he had donated to the orphanage they had been in.
Once again, Han Yoo-jung ran towards the location warned about in the news.
The sounds reminiscent of a battlefield poured out.
Silhouettes of heroes flying in the distance were also visible.
"....Dice...!"
When everyone wished for Dice''s death, she alone desperately hoped he would survive.
She paced back and forth in ce, searching for Dice.
There was no way to get closer than this.
After all, there was nothing she could do.
She couldn''t stop their fight.
All she could do was pray from afar.
Her heart was heavy. If there was a way to help Dice, she wanted to do it.
She had watched him for over ten years.
He''s human. He doesn''t attack unless provoked.
He doesn''t take sides. Whether hero or viin, he doesn''t care.
If you look into the heroes he''s smashed, like Cant, there was also something about them hidden.
He doesn''t attack mindlessly; he uses his power based on a philosophy, his own set of values.
In a way, he was such a delicate person.
Was there anyone else who understood him as well as she did?
"What the?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind.
"-Ugh!"
And with a rough grip, he covered her mouth.
"Ha... Ha... Why is a civilian in a ce like this?"
She was quickly dragged through the alleys.
Her heart was pounding furiously.
Soon, she was spun around and pushed against the wall.
The hand covering her mouth hadn''t disappeared yet.
It was Dice.
He kept his guard up, breathing heavily, and without looking at Han Yoo-jung, he said,
"Ha...ha... Disappear. Don''t stay here."
Han Yoo-jung, with eyes wide in surprise, grabbed Dice''s arm.
It was the first time they were this close.
The person she longed for was right in front of her.
Then he nced at her. Their eyes met.
"...If you get hurt, Sce will be disappointed."
"...."
There was indeed a change in him. All his attention was focused on Sce.
Despite being archenemies, they seemed reluctant to fight each other.
Perhaps they became stronger because of each other, and in the process, became friends.
His hand slowly fell away.
Dice turned around again.
"Run down this alley. I''ll head to the opposite side-"
"-Dice!!"
But Han Yoo-jung didn''t want to miss this opportunity.
He looked exhausted.
She didn''t know for sure, but he seemed different than usual.
Han Yoo-jung, who had been watching him for a long time, could easily tell that the dice hadn''t rolled in his favor.
It''d been rolling low for 2, or even 3 days.
That''s why the heroes were seizing the opportunity to attack.
She had to help.
Dice turned his gaze back to Han Yoo-jung.
She uttered the words she had practiced thousands of times.
"...Dice. My name is Han Yoo-jung. In the past, you helped me greatly-"
"-I get it, so hurry up and disappear."
But Dice was uninterested, swinging his hand and heading back to the alley outside.
Her heart sank in an instant, but she didn''t give up.
"...I''ll help you."
"..."
"...I want Dice to live. If there''s...anything you need..."
Dice''s attention returned to her.
He looked at Han Yoo-jung and blinked several times.
Though not sure, he seemed to be thinking.
-Thump!
Then came the sound of heroes.
There wasn''t much time left.
Dice muttered as if mumbling.
"...Water."
"...Pardon?"
"...Then bring me some water. Leave it here and go."
With those words, Dice vanished back into the shadows.
---
---
Han Yoo-jung returned to that space in less than 10 minutes.
In her hands, she carried numerous water bottles and some snacks that could be eaten quickly.
With a rapid heartbeat, she was thrilled at the thought of helping Dice for the first time.
The sound of battle had since moved away.
Now, there were no sounds of things breaking or exploding.
Checking the live news, they had moved to a distant location.
Dice might return to this ce again.
Perhaps he had deceived her, telling her a lie just so she would quickly disappear.
However, Han Yoo-jung did not leave her spot. She quietly waited for Dice in that alley.
It was dark and damp, but she continued to wait for Dice.
Somehow, she knew he woulde back.
5 hours passed.
Han Yoo-jung waited quietly in that ce, motionless.
Checking the news asionally, she kept track of Dice''s situation.
Dice was getting farther and father away from Han Yoo-jung.
Still, she waited.
Dice woulde.
8 hours passed.
The clock pointed to 6 a.m.
-Swhoosh..
Next to Han Yoo-jung, who was crouching, a distinctive sound rang out.
Startled, she looked up and saw Dice twisting open a water bottle.
"Ha... Ha... Why are you still here?"
His condition was worse than before.
He had wounds here and there, his breath wasbored, and his top was soaked with sweat.
Seeing him like this made Han Yoo-jung''s heart sink.
The reality she feared was gradually bing true.
Was Dice really going to be defeated here?
"...Hm?"
Dice rummaged through the convenience store stic bag, found the snacks, and started eating with a small smile.
Then, catching his breath, he spoke.
"I don''t know what you want, but I''m not nning to listen."
"..."
"I probably couldn''t do it even if I wanted to."
Han Yoo-jung inhaled sharply.
The way he spoke, as if epting hisst moments, increased the anxiety in her heart.
"...Why, why talk like it''s the end..."
Dice let out a smallugh.
A dice materialized in his hand.
-Thud.
A dice rolled towards Han Yoo-jung.
The number showing was 1.
Dice said,
"...Since yesterday, it''s been nothing but 1s and 2s."
He wore a somehow relieved expression.
"...Can''t win with this."
"...You... you could just run away, Dice...!"
-Thump...! Thump..!
Heroes were drawing closer.
Dice smiled and disappeared into a ck mist again.
Once again, the intense sounds of battle echoed.
---
---
Han Yoo-jung returned to the alley with more water bottles and snacks.
Dice''s words kept echoing in her head.
The anxiety grew into fear.
She had felt this emotion when Yoo-ra died.
This feeling of being alone was something she never wanted to experience again.
What would happen if he died?
Although they hadn''t be close, Dice had been a pir of support for her.
The thought of a world without him was terrifying.
The idea of heroes like Cant appearing again was abhorrent.
...No, in the first ce, she didn''t want Dice, a man pure at heart and the only one she truly understood, to die.
Suppressing and swallowing a multitude of emotions, she continued to wait for Dice.
She knew he would return.
A day passed.
Han Yoo-jung stayed in that spot for over 24 hours.
In fact, considering the previous day, it had been more than 32 hours.
She had no intention of giving up waiting for him.
As long as Dice''s battles continued, she wanted to be a base he could return to.
-Swhoosh...
That shadowy sound again.
As Han Yoo-jung lifted her head, there Dice was, appearing once more.
He copsed onto the spot as soon as he appeared.
The strong man had copsed from exhaustion.
It was inevitable.
The six heroes attacking Dice were taking turns to rest, from what she heard.
Only Dice had been fighting without any rest.
Han Yoo-jung quickly got up and approached Dice, handing him water bottles and food with trembling hands.
Dice silently epted the water and food, catching his breath.
Seeing Dice''s worsened condition, tears unknowingly fell from Han Yoo-jung''s eyes.
But before Dice could see them, she wiped the tears away and said,
"...Can''t you just run away?"
Han Yoo-jung suggested again.
"Please, yeah? Dice."
Dice asked dryly with a tired expression, unlike before.
"...And do what if I run away?"
It felt like a brief glimpse into Dice''s inner world, which she hadn''t seen until now.
Han Yoo-jung was momentarily stunned, then spoke with conviction.
"...You have to live...!"
But Dice only let out a smirk.
"...What''s the point of living like this."
He looked tired of living.
That brief statement contained emotions Han Yoo-jung couldn''t fathom.
Overwhelmed by those emotions, Han Yoo-jung found herself unable to say anything more.
She didn''t know where to begin.
Any careless word might just irritate him further.
"Anyway, with these powers, I can''t even run away. The heroes probably know I''m here."
"....."
"...But I have to hold out. Enough to not shame Sce."
He turned his head.
For a brief moment, there was a spark of life. He asked,
"...Where is Sce now?"
"..."
She couldn''t understand why he was asking.
She knew their rtionship had changed, but that was just her guess.
She couldn''t tell if he was asking because he wanted to attack Sce or if he was waiting for her.
They were archenemies.
Perhaps Dice, sensing his own end, was simply asking about the whereabouts of his rival.
Han Yoo-jung shook her head briefly.
There were rumors that Sce was trying to stop the fight... but she couldn''t be sure, so she she couldn''t say.
At her response, Dice''s eyes once again lost their spark.
Nodding his head, he stood up from his spot.
He was preparing to re-enter the battlefield.
Han Yoo-jung felt a sense of crisis, thinking this moment might be hisst.
Dice''s hand formed a dice.
Han Yoo-jung quickly grabbed his hand.
"...?"
"...Di, Dice."
Han Yoo-jung knew.
The dice, reflecting Dice''s mood, changed its numbers.
When fighting Sce, it always rolled low numbers, and when dealing with crooked heroes or viins, it rolled high numbers.
Perhaps the reason Dice was only rolling 1s and 2s now was a reflection of his will to live.
So, he shouldn''t roll it anymore.
Instead, she should roll it for him.
"...I...I''ll roll it for you."
Dice and Han Yoo-jung exchanged looks for a moment.
Then, she snatched the dice from his stiff hand.
Whatever it was, it had to be better than a 1 or 2.
With a trembling heart, Han Yoo-jung prayed.
Please, let it be a high number.
-Thud.
The dice rolled.
The number was...
Not much different from what Dice had been rolling.
Dice began to walk away from the alley.
He said,
"...See?"
Han Yoo-jung desperately said,
"Again...!"
And picked up the dice to roll again.
"-Found you!"
At that moment, a chilling voice came from above.
As Dice and Han Yoo-jung looked up, they saw three heroes descending through the gap in the alley.
One hero, clumsily descending, touched an air conditioning unit.
-Crack!
The unit''s fixture broke, and it rapidly fell towards Han Yoo-jung''s head.
The incident that happened with Yoo-ra was unfolding again.
-Bang!!
But once again, Han Yoo-jung wasn''t crushed.
"...Ugh...!"
Dice was suddenly in front of her, holding up the air conditioning unit.
-Swish!
The three heroes moved at once.
One lifted Han Yoo-jung.
It was the hero who touched the air conditioning unit.
"Are you okay...! Ha... Ha... Sorry...! You almost got seriously hurt...!"
Another stepped on the air conditioning unit Dice was holding.
And thest one was stabbing something into Dice''s stomach.
-Poof....
Blood surged and burst from Dice''s stomach as he moved away.
Even in that situation, Dice burst intoughter.
"....Ah..."
Air escaped from Han Yoo-jung''s mouth.
This was a familiar scene.
The scene where someone dear to her loses their life instead of her.
The scene where a non-hero saves her.
Facing the same scene again, Han Yoo-jung felt despair.
The hero who had taken her to a safeer area bid her goodbye and left her side.
Han Yoo-jung nkly stared at the dice she had rolled.
And after a few hours, news that Dice had been defeated rang out.
---
---
Refusing to believe the news, Han Yoo-jung stepped onto the battlefield.
The remnants of the fierce battle were everywhere.
The fallen heroes were also visible.
From rank 7, to 6, to 5.
The hero who had stabbed Dice in the abdomen, and the hero who had saved her, were also down.
Using these heroes asndmarks, Han Yoo-jung continued to run.
Wiping away her tears, she kept running.
Rank 4. Rank 3.
And finally, she found Shake, also downed.
She didn''t want to believe it.
She refused to believe that Dice had been defeated.
With the heroes lying down like this, how would he be defeated?
And then, there was a trail of blood stretching forward.
Han Yoo-jung followed these traces.
She was drawn into a building as if mesmerized.
-Thud!
"Ah!"
In her frantic run, Han Yoo-jung collided with a hero.
"......"
"...."
It was Sce.
With her hands and clothes soaked in blood, she was shedding tears with a vacant look in her eyes.
A sight Han Yoo-jung had never seen from the always-smiling hero.
There was even a cigarette in her hand.
Exhaling white smoke, she looked at Han Yoo-jung... then brushed past her.
Then she sat down and continued to cry.
Seeing her like this only made Han Yoo-jung feel more uneasy.
It was as if she was bearing an indescribable emotion over the death of her archnemesis.
Han Yoo-jung passed Sce and headed deeper inside.
And then, she found him.
Dice, lying down, covered in blood.
Whether arranged by Sce or not, hey there with a peaceful expression, hands on his abdomen, as if asleep.
For Han Yoo-jung, time seemed to stretch from that moment.
The walk towards him felt like an eternity.
".....Dice."
She called his name again.
The one who had gotten angry on her behalf when she couldn''t.
Han Yoo-jung knelt down next to Dice.
"....Dice, please wake up..."
She ced her hand on his shoulder and shook him.
"...Please wake up, Dice..."
But his body was cold and unresponsive.
She knew all too well that he was dead.
Tears flowed endlessly.
".....Ah.....Ah...."
Who should be med?
Even if she had rolled a 4, Dice might have lived.
If she hadn''t been there, Dice might have lived.
If she had died from the beginning, Yoo-ra and Dice might have lived.
Maybe she was the biggest problem.
People die around her.
Now Han Yoo-jung understood why Dice had no attachment to life.
He must have felt the way Han Yoo-jung was feeling now.
Alone and empty.
She had Dice... but Dice had no one.
He was always avoided by people.
And the heroes.
Again.
It''s the heroes again.
Another hero took away the most important person to her.
As her self-loathing exceeded a certain level, that overflowing loathing shifted towards the heroes.
This is how viins are born, she realized.
It''s the existence of heroes that creates viins.
Dice too, would not have appeared if there were no heroes.
They were the root of all evil.
"....Ah...Aah...."
Han Yoo-jung embraced the fallen Dice.
If only they had be closer sooner.
If only she hadn''t been afraid of bing a criminal.
But she couldn''t wish for the past to return.
".....Huh...?"
At that moment, Dice''s body began to shine brightly.
Terrified, Han Yoo-jung held onto Dice.
She couldn''t allow anything to happen to his body.
She had to protect him at all costs.
It was the only thing she could do for Dice, who had saved her multiple times.
"No..No...!"
His body continued to glow brighter.
Soon, Han Yoo-jung was surrounded by a pure white light.
Her consciousness began to fade.
---
---
"Ugh!"
When she regained consciousness, she was in a familiar one-room apartment.
The familiar bed and windows.
The familiar portrait of Yoo-ra.
"Di...Dice!"
Han Yoo-jung quickly looked around, but Dice was nowhere to be seen.
What happened? Why was she waking up in bed?
She turned on the TV to check the news.
"...?"
Then she noticed something unmistakably odd.
Some of her possessions had regressed. Things she had used in the past had returned.
The TV was a prime example.
She searched her pocket for her phone.
It was the old phone she used long ago.
Her confusion was short-lived.
She checked the date.
"....Huh?"
She had returned to 11 years ago.