"Ramen, water, and long-life preserved foods. These were all items the Valkyries plundered during their scouting expeditions... but there's a limit to how much an individual can carry. They lasted maybe five days at most? Mumble, mumble."
The former Valkyrie is inhaling chocolate chips as if she's possessed.
Aya and I took out a few morsels of food from the car parked next to the Blue House.
I think I saw something like that in a documentary before.
It's a story about a person who starved for too long and died after eating too quickly.
“Sister.”
“Ummm ummm ummm ummm.”
“Sister! Look at me.”
Valkyrie looked at Aya with a slightly dazed expression.
"huh?"
“It’s okay now.”
"what."
“There’s food, and you won’t die. Okay?”
"ah."
Valkyrie looked at Aya with blank eyes.
He smiles hollowly, the corners of his mouth lowered.
“I see. I guess we lost?”
####
Seocheonma created four paradise zones and ‘set out’ towards the Blue House.
It was a calculated move on her part. She planned to disperse Paradise, entrusting her trusty Valkyries to protect the rear. She herself would quickly enter the Blue House and seize the singularity.
But in this ruined world with virtually no means of communication, it was foolish to expect them not to betray.
Moreover, she didn't move to the Blue House as quickly as she'd hoped. Even if the Masters had acquired the transcendent power of ego, most of them still had to travel by foot.
Besides, it wasn't a singularity, nor was it a power that could be absorbed by simply knocking it down as she thought.
More than that, what surprised me was.
A person who was ‘loyal’ to Seocheonma until the end—even if it was a castle in the air, like the relationship between Liu Bang, Han Xin, and Yeongbu.
The fact is that Lee Yeon-jeong was alone.
Seocheonma, who could no longer expect the supply of paradises, was isolated.
For a twenty-two-year-old girl, all of this was a daunting task. To begin with, it was all too much for her to handle.
No matter how much power she gained in destruction, she was still a twenty-something family restaurant worker.
In the end, Cheonma is now left here with only four or five feminists.
“Haha, this isn’t like I’m talking to a stone Buddha.”
The inspiration and the demons are loitering in front of the building, like people waiting to get off work after finishing overtime.
On the way back, I gave all the potato chips to the hungry Valkyrie.
It's a convenience store. But it's not the brand Aya and I worked at. It's a Japanese convenience store that recently opened.
The first floor of the convenience store was emptied out by survivors a long time ago, leaving only broken windows.
That seems to be the final resting place of the Cheonma.
“Sir, what are you doing outside?”
"That boy, Cheonma, doesn't speak. No, to be precise, he refuses to say anything. At first, I thought he was mute."
“When we worked together, he was quite talkative.”
“It doesn’t look like it at all. Why don’t you go in and talk about it?”
I look at Aya quietly.
Aya, who has not transformed into her Transcendent form, is holding only the hilt of the Ekejax sword.
Her face also looks complicated.
“Shall we go in together?”
“No. I think it would be better for you to go in alone.”
“Why? Because if I go in, I feel like I’ll be cut off right away from the head of the Heavenly Horse.”
Aya shakes her head.
"Because I trust you, sir. Perhaps I can tell you my share as well."
Again. Again.
You only say foul words.
####
"hey."
“….”
"hey."
“….”“You idiot. You fucking feminist. Hey?”
“….”
This is serious.
For a moment, I think back to Seocheonma when we worked together in Paradise.
She was a self-aware woman who constantly preached the superiority of herself and feminism.
She's responsible for everything that happened there. To put it a bit harshly, you could almost call her a war criminal.
Responsibility for all the atrocities committed in the name of feminism.
When I was carrying Aya on my back and wandering around miserably with no one to take me in…
I don't know how many times I've imagined tearing the Seocheonma apart to death.
I wanted to kill him by inflicting him with every kind of punishment imaginable, if not more, and with more horrific pain.
No, killing them isn't enough. Dying once isn't enough.
I have to revive it and kill it again.
however.
I don't know if the Count of Monte Cristo was right.
Yeah, just like that.
It's useless.
I saw Cheonma sitting on a torn leather chair, looking like a discarded recycled paper cup.
For some reason, I don't want to feel like killing him.
“Hey, you. Remember me? When I wore the armband in Paradise….”
I nudge the black-clad Valkyrie, who is sitting with her back turned to the Heavenly Horse.
Bam.
Binggeurur.
The chair is turned towards me.
She bows her head and greets politely.
“Why would you even say hello like that…?”
I see that feminist's chest.
Something resembling a beast's claw completely tore her ribcage apart.
Half-dried blood stung my eyes like a cross-section of a cheap gore photo.
"what!"
“I asked Ego.”
Femiga, who had already become a corpse, suddenly lowered her head in front of me.
Seocheonma opens his mouth weakly.
The sarcastic tone, the cheap politeness, all disappeared.
Seocheonma is speaking with the voice of a twenty-year-old part-time worker who is about to be fired.
"If we all die like this, our egos will be destroyed anyway. So, I asked them to just kill us with their own hands. Then, at least, our egos will go their own way. You know everything by now, don't you, Teacher?"
“Ha, teacher. The name on the armband you gave me.”
"Teacher, you know what? Even if you kill me, my singularity won't go to you. I can't guarantee that."
“I know. Because the singularity chooses its owner.”
Seocheonma raises his head for the first time and looks at me.
“You already know?”
"then."
"As expected of a teacher. A teacher must know more than his students."
With her thin body and small breasts, Seocheonma looks more like a middle school girl than a high school girl.
“Is it time to pay the price?”
"Don't mess with me. Do you even realize what you've done? It's not something you can just tease me about."
“Kill him.”
"what?"
"A week ago, I think... I was giving a speech to feminists when that crazy bitch showed up riding a dinosaur-like thing. At least back then, I had at least a few dozen Masters."
“….”
“Now, there are only three corpses and one starving Valkyrie.”
I think of the woman who was just now inhaling the chocolate chips.
That seems to be the last subordinate of Cheonma.
“Kill me.”
“Don’t mess with me. That’s….”
“I decide?”
The Seocheonma is giggling.
“Is it decided by the teacher?”
Come to think of it, who decides whether Seocheonma lives or dies?
Me? Or God? Or a voice?
"If you're going to kill me, do it with your own hands. I know you've obtained the singularity, sir. I don't want it with the President's hands."
Seocheonma sits on a chair with his arms outstretched, his chest puffed out and his eyes wide.
“Teacher, kill me.”
“Why? The head of state is right here in front of you.”
"Fuck you. With the country in this state, you still care about titles? Adults are so annoying."
“You, you little brat.”
“I guess he’s still a high school student, teacher.”
“You, don’t you speak like a real woman anymore?”
“Ha, I hit it.”
“Is this the real voice of Seo Cheon-ma, who was frying at the restaurant?”
“Kill him quickly. Please.”
The dried lips and cracked mouth of the Seocheonma are moving.
“I told you to kill me, teacher. Students are supposed to die by the hands of teachers.”
“Are you crazy? I’ve never had a student like you.”
I look around Seocheonma.
The cube, glowing in multi-colored light, is still making noise next to the Heavenly Horse.
Other than that, there really is nothing.
He doesn't even seem willing to fight me. Since he's a singularity, I'm also trying to figure out what a singularity is.
“Hey. What are those crackers?”
“My last food?”
I see that crumbled bag of chips.
At least, it's been more than two days.
“Teacher, kill me quickly.”
"wait."
“Can’t I even die as I please?”
“It’s noisy.”
I'll look at the Seocheonma.
“Stop whining like a little kid. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Oh, really.”
Seocheonma laughs, shaking his weak chest.
“You speak like a teacher.”
####
“Geonwoo. Have you talked to her?”
“Roughly.”
A park bench that appears to have been shattered during the battle between Paradise and Eden.
Now it is our place to sit.
That's amazing. You can still sit on a chair even if it's flipped over.
“I don’t think they’ll agree to that grand plan to gather all the singularities right now.”
“But won’t you grant her wish?”
I look at the president's face.
“You want me to kill you?”
“Then, isn’t that the child’s wish?”
“Then, before I came, the inspiration said to do that.”
“The legislative, judicial, and executive branches have already collapsed. How could I possibly be qualified to do so?”
“So, am I qualified?”
“Yes. I don’t know the details, but… wasn’t it that kid who gave you and Miss Aya a hard time?”
It was hard. In so many ways.
One interesting thing is that she too was betrayed in the same way.
In a ruined world, the idea of god is nothing more than a bowl of sheepskin from a Hong Kong movie.
Hmm, I think the best woman in the world would like that.
“Does that give me the right to kill her?”
“Heh heh, Gunwoo. Are we going to talk about philosophy now?”
“I’ve decided.”
The old man looks at me, adjusting his glasses.
“They decided on how to treat Seocheonma.”
####
Seocheonma quietly climbed into the back of the truck.
“Aren’t you following?”
Ego wearing a doll mask similar to a teddy bear costume, it seems to be the same Ego as the Valkyrie.
The Valkyrie, who escaped starvation thanks to us, just smiles and waves her hand.
“You should be fine going back to paradise, you didn’t do anything like the other feminists.”
“I don’t know. Even bystanders are accomplices.”
“Don’t be so strict.”
“I don’t want to go. I’m going to live with this guy, just the two of us.”
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you learn at least the minimum survival skills?”
"I heard there's a fairly large survivors' camp along the river from here, heading toward Haengjusanseong Fortress. I'll head there. The survivors would welcome a master who could handle their egos, wouldn't they?"
“Now you have no intention of entering feminism or the other side of Eden?”
Valkyrie giggles.
"The power of anger has its limits. I realized that."
"huh?"
"When I got off work and pounded away at my keyboard, I was furious. This shitty world, this unfair judicial system, this world where only the rich get rich, the gender issue, the real estate issue, my boss being a jerk, the ridiculous delivery fees... and the community idiots who wouldn't listen to what I said on the other side of the keyboard."
That's life.
"But, once I actually harnessed that 'anger' into power. Every day, I would press the keyboard and say, 'You really are going to do this and that to me the moment I see you.' It didn't last long. That burning emotion, you know."
The teddy bear doll shakes its shoulders and plays the janggu.
"Know this. Anger is intense for a moment, but it fades quickly. In martial arts novels or web novels, the protagonist who spends their entire lives consumed by rage, slaughtering their opponents, is truly unusual. Or, perhaps, a berserker."
"What if it's real anger? An enemy of a teacher, a parent, a lover?"
Valkyrie touches her chin with her finger.
“Hmm, even so… after I finish my revenge, I’ll feel empty again.”
“That doesn’t mean I won’t take revenge, right?”
“Haha. Well, I guess that’s a matter for the parties involved.”
The devil in the driver's seat makes a creaking sound.
I just nod my head, signaling to go.
A strange procession of Blue House ceremonial vehicles and trucks begins to move.
Beyond the car's view, the Valkyrie is gradually disappearing into the distance.
She waves her hand.
Aya and I waved our hands too.
The Blue House and Gwanghwamun are getting further and further apart.
Both Valkyrie and the teddy bear Ego gradually drifted away.
Within, everything disappears.
We entered the road leading to paradise.
“Is this what you think, sir?”
Seocheonma, who sat in the corner of the cargo hold, leaning against the wall, just like an abandoned runaway girl.
Aya looks at her and speaks to me in a voice.
“So, what do you think?”
“Actually, I don’t know.”
“Me too.”
How much more enjoyable would the world be if the plot, development, climax, and conclusion were all unfolded in a refreshingly realistic manner?
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Like the remnants of an old wound, the existence of Seocheonma evokes complex emotions in me.
It would be nice to just summon a bunch of skeletons and have them bite you alive to death.
Is there such a thing as a right answer in life?
“And, Seocheonma can no longer use his abilities.”
Ayaga looks at me with a surprised face.
"Just think about it. Even if feminists are a bunch of disloyal bitches, do you think their power could collapse in a week?"
When the president first saw her, he said she looked like a ‘stone Buddha’, which was an ambiguous statement.
Since I am also a singularity, I can see the state of the singularity at a glance.
I don't know why he can't control the power of destruction... but anyway, the current Seocheonma is just a kid in his twenties.
“Why is that?”
“I guess it’s because your imagination itself has collapsed.”
Ayaga blinked as if she didn't understand.
"The voice said, 'Singularity is a godlike power. It is the absolute power of imagination.'"
“So?”
"Seocheonma has now lost her imagination. More precisely, she's lost the very beliefs she once held. She's lost that 'ego' called feminism."
Her true ego. The ego that all humans possess, regardless of the world's state.
To Seocheonma, it was feminism, misandry, resentment, injustice, and something I didn't know.
Just as Seocheonma doesn't know my past, I don't know her life either.
Anyway, after a series of betrayals and defeats, her ego must have crumbled.
So, the singularity is not being implemented either.
“Now, what happens?”
I quietly caress Aya's hand.
“You reap what you sow, and leave it to nature.”
She sowed seeds in paradise… .
I, the fate of the Heavenly Horse that lost its power.
I decided to leave it to paradise itself.