Chapter 457: Here It Is
"Ascension?"
What is he talking about?
I stared straight at the man, and he smiled back at me.
"This is a proposal."
"..."
"We don't ask for much."
"What?"
"Some wish for humanity's extinction. Others simply eat without a second thought."
"...So you'll prune the more capable ones, while you continue to feed and fight at a manageable level?"
"You know well. Did someone have similar thoughts?"
"There was one. Aestheticism."
"Ah, no wonder she didn't move around much compared to her power. So she was a colleague."
The gaunt-faced man muttered and shook his head at my words.
"But we're a bit different. This is, ultimately, a transaction for the sake of the ecosystem."
"..."
"You've achieved too many great deeds in a short time."
"So. You're going to kill me?"
"That's not what I'm saying, I told you."
The man shook his head again at my words.
"Think of it as preemptively dealing with a dangerous person. It'll be easier that way."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we'll just kill everyone."
He answered my question calmly.
"...Is that a threat?"
"It is a threat. Because it would be faster for us to kill someone than for you to quickly provide enlightenment or answers to others."
His gaze turned to me.
"...Family... hmm, ...what now?"
The man muttered, seeming perplexed.
"You have parents, but... I don't know if there are more blood relatives or not."
"..."
You even know that?
"And, well, there are your immediate colleagues too."
"..."
"Anyway, only you need to ascend."
"What exactly is this 'ascending' in the first place?"
Is it different from being killed?
"Ascension, literally. Or nirvana."
"So what is that?"
"Becoming a being one level higher."
"Like a god?"
"Not exactly. Think of it as becoming a concept."
The man scratched his cheek as if it was difficult to explain.
"You become the backing of humanity. Simply put, you become an anomaly or an isolation object on humanity's side."
"...Then how has the Branch Chief been okay until now? Frankly, the Branch Chief is someone who would have achieved even more great deeds."
"Achieving great deeds and attaining enlightenment are different matters."
"Are you saying it's because the Branch Chief only solves problems with physical force now?"
"I never said that."
I see.
"What matters is what enlightenment one attains, and above all, what harm they might cause us is important."
What enlightenment?
I haven't attained any such enlightenment.
I'm just surviving to the best of my ability. I had no clue why he was talking about enlightenment and such things to me.
First of all,
"You could just kill me."
"Of course, we tried killing first."
He laughed pleasantly at my words.
"But what comes from killing someone like you is greater backlash."
"..."
"You become, so to speak... a sacred sacrifice. Then others honor you, seek revenge for you, vow to carry on your will, etc. It's just a flood of tedious things. And in that regard, people are more tenacious than you'd think."
He gestured with his chin towards somewhere else, as if to say, 'You know who I'm talking about, right?'
"Especially your friends. They all bring nothing but troublesome things, one after another."
"..."
Wait a minute.
"...So is that how you sent off the Team Leader's wife too?"
"Wife?"
The man looked at me as if he didn't know what I was talking about.
"It's hard to know if you refer to people by their relationships. Who exactly are you talking about?"
"...I don't know her name."
"Sorry, then I can't find her either. I might remember people's names, but there's no reason I should also know whose wife or whose family member they are."
I racked my brain furiously.
Let me think.
First, I've essentially received an offer I can't refuse.
Regardless of trusting others, the offer this guy made here is outright blackmail.
It's the same as declaring that if I don't accept the offer here, he'll destroy the people around me.
"..."
What can I even do here?
"That's exactly what's scary about you."
"What?"
"Usually, when people face a situation like this, they despair at the given circumstances, collapse, or beg for their lives."
The gaunt-faced man shook his head and looked at me.
"But you, your eyes light up thinking, 'How can I break through this situation?' And then you find a way, somehow."
"..."
"That's what we call enlightenment. The mindset of trying to find a breakthrough in any situation, or the desperate struggle to cling on."
"Of course I should."
Isn't it strange to just sit still and accept the end?
"Ordinary people don't do that. When faced with pressure or choices beyond a certain limit, they ultimately sacrifice themselves or grab the option right in front of them."
"Seeing you explain things one by one like this, you seem to have plenty of leeway."
"No, it's not that I have leeway. It's that it's already begun."
*
Yu Daon was blankly watching the situation before her.
Kim Jae-heon was talking to something.
And, even a fool like Yu Daon felt she understood what it was.
"What's the reason for showing me this?"
"Hmm..."
She asked in a calm voice, and the emaciated person who heard the question let out a groan as if pondering.
Somehow, she had regained the ability to speak.
Had Song A-rin perhaps released the hypnosis?
Watching this, Yu Daon let out an "Ah," of understanding.
I see.
Without another word, Yu Daon closed her eyes.
"...I know nothing."
Yu Daon is weak to temptation.
If the man were to enter a situation she couldn't comprehend, she wasn't confident she could endure it sober.
So, she closed her eyes.
It was an act of faith and resolve.
Faith that the man would make the right choice.
And the resolve to turn her eyes away even if he didn't make the right choice.
The others were the same.
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon was squatting down, eyes closed and ears covered, and Song A-rin was doing the same.
Only Eileen hesitated for a moment, then frowned at a loud noise coming from afar.
-BOOM!
She just closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall.
*
I looked at the gaunt-faced man before me.
No semi-transparent window appeared.
So, is this man a corpse?
Or is it because he's a subordinate of Mara Papiyas that nothing shows up?
I couldn't tell.
But anxiety tends to grow larger at times like this.
"..."
I turned my gaze away.
I recalled the contents of the report written by the Chinese Branch.
Mara Papiyas and Buddha are inseparable beings.
Inseparable beings.
If Mara exists, Buddha must also exist.
That means there must be a Buddha somewhere.
Frankly, around times like this, shouldn't Buddha show up?
Why is the one who tempts people running rampant here, but the one who saves sentient beings doesn't appear?
"..."
Wait a minute.
Mara appears only when Buddha appears.
Buddha appears only when Mara appears.
Let me just check, just check.
"Just suppose."
"I'm listening."
"If I become a higher being, what can I do?"
The man smiled a torn smile at my question.
"First, you can get rid of Kang-byeon."
"And?"
"You can provide more help for humanity."
"Then, why didn't the other seniors who went ahead eliminate Kang-byeon?"
"They simply didn't touch Kang-byeon. They all eliminated the things they wanted."
"..."
I recalled the words the Team Leader had said.
His most beloved was his wife.
If they love each other, they can't leave the other behind.
Of course, paradoxically, because they love each other, they can also make sacrifices.
This is a vicious trap.
A trap that plays with human emotions, where you must sacrifice because you love.
If I had to leave behind someone I love, what choice would I have made?
The annihilation of Mara Papiyas? Even in that situation?
No. People only become simple at the very end.
Perhaps, she...
-BOOM!
Dust scattered along with the sound of something breaking.
"Mr. Kim Jae-heon!"
And a cheerful voice followed.
A man covered in dust, who had been curled up like a pill bug, stood up and looked at me.
"It's me!"
It was Ahn Sang-hyun.
"...How are you here?"
"Ah, the others will be here soon!"
"Huff, wheeze...!"
And as soon as he finished speaking, someone came running.
Wearing a bucket hat, the Team Leader was running towards me, sweating profusely.
"Jae-heon!!"
Then, closing his eyes tightly, the Team Leader shouted loudly.
"Are you okay!!!"
"..."
I looked at the Team Leader.
Then, I turned back to look at the gaunt-faced man.
"Probably, your wife... no. Everyone must have wished for similar things."
If you threaten someone with their loved one, they would choose self-sacrifice.
Whether it was nirvana, predation, or a trick, their choice was always the same.
So the answer was all too obvious.
If I love them enough to stake my life, there is only one thing they would wish for until the moment my breath stops.
"Team Leader."
"Wheeze, huff...! What...!"
The Team Leader wiped his sweat and looked at me.
"Are you happy?"
"What nonsense is this, you brat!"
Thwack! He hit my back hard enough to make a sound.
"Don't listen to him, Jae-heon! That thing absolutely does not grant wishes—"
"I know."
I answered calmly, looked at the Team Leader, then at Ahn Sang-hyun.
"Mr. Ahn Sang-hyun."
"Yes!"
"Please break some walls around here and look for the others."
"Understood!"
Ahn Sang-hyun rolled away and disappeared at a speed like light.
After a brief silence, once the Team Leader's breathing stabilized, I looked at him.
"Team Leader. Do you live alone?"
"No, I live with my younger sister."
"Is your younger sister single too?"
"Younger sister 'too'? I'm a divorcee, you punk."
The Team Leader hit my back with a thwack and then looked at the emaciated being in front of us.
"...So, that's—"
"Yes."
"..."
He made a complicated expression, then settled into a stance.
"What do I need to do, Jae-heon?"
"...They say if there is Buddha, there is Mara, and if there is Mara, there is Buddha."
There are those who use human desires to tempt them.
And to shake off those desires, it's said that someone ascends to a higher place and casts everything away.
But that is ultimately a story of tempting oneself and overcoming oneself.
The problem started from the thought that a hero on a white horse would appear and save us.
The only one who can lead me to the right place is me. No one else.
I can't lead anyone else to the right place either. I can make the path, but walking it is their responsibility.
Standing straight, I looked at the man before me and opened my mouth.
"As always, I will fight to the best of my ability, prepared to die."
The Buddha was already here.
The Team Leader, me, and everyone else.