The boy holding a sword larger than his forearm was trembling. Unable to discern whether it was due to the burden of the sword or fear, Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes and met Noah’s gaze in the darkness.

His focus was clear. He wasn’t yet in the state of being controlled by the system.

If that’s the case.

With this thought, Sa-yoon furrowed his brow and rolled his eyes to check on Geon-joo lying on the opposite bed. The one who had sought sleep after the day’s exhausting events was in deep slumber, not moving an inch. After observing him busy with regular breathing, Sa-yoon grabbed Noah’s arm, who was standing like a criminal.

It was better to talk outside first.

When Sa-yoon gestured towards the door with his chin, Noah hesitated but then nodded. Sa-yoon opened the door and walked out into the corridor.

Two sets of footsteps echoed continuously through the night corridor. Sa-yoon suddenly lowered his head to check Noah’s condition. The thoroughly cowed appearance was familiar. The pale face reminded him of his own past self, making it easy to guess Noah’s situation.

Isn’t it quite similar, after all?

Himself, whose parents died and was saved by a man living next door, and Noah, whose parents died and was saved by him.

It was similar enough to evoke a bitter laugh.

Because it was funny, and also disgusting, he wondered if making those damn systems eat shit would improve this unpleasant and uneasy feeling.

So…

As Sa-yoon continued his thoughts, he slowed his pace as he became aware of his inner feelings.

So that must be why.

Even though he had predicted how things would turn out, he had embraced Noah and brought up the matter to Geon-joo, putting on his own brakes, wanting to protect Noah.

Perhaps it was because he wanted to die.

“Did I even think of you as hope?”

“Pardon?”

Noah flinched and responded to the self-deprecating words. Judging by his overly startled face, he seemed to have all his nerves on edge. Despite this, his expression showed that he hadn’t properly heard what Sa-yoon said, causing Sa-yoon to frown. Without adding an explanation or brushing it off, Sa-yoon simply continued walking.

Crossing the corridor of the lord’s castle, taking the stairs, all the way to the outside of the castle.

To ensure no one could overhear, he moved all the way out to the grass outside the castle.

“Um…”

After a while, when Sa-yoon stopped walking, Noah opened his mouth. His voice was filled with undisguised anxiety and fear. Sa-yoon slowly blinked, waiting for the boy’s words. His gaze slipped to his own sword in the child’s hands.

It looks burdensome, but he’s holding it well.

Despite the situation not calling for it, an irrelevant thought crossed his mind. And at that moment, Noah bowed his head deeply.

“I…”

The unfinished words were trapped between his quivering lips, unable to come out. The small fingers gripping his clothes turned white. As Noah repeatedly uttered “I, I,” seemingly frustrated and confused, Sa-yoon sighed and spoke first.

“Were you planning to kill me?”

“What?”

Surprised eyes turned to Sa-yoon as he voiced what he had been anticipating. The expression looked as if he had hit the nail on the head, making Sa-yoon almost exhale sharply. More precisely, he suppressed his disgust.

The system’s nonsense, carried on regardless of the era, made him nauseous.

“I asked if you were planning to kill me.”

As Sa-yoon emphasized each syllable, Noah’s expression clouded. With this, one thing became clear.

The parchment that appeared before Noah was the system, and he had received a quest similar to Sa-yoon’s.

It must have told him to kill.

Me.

It probably set harsh conditions, saying it would force execution or kill other people if he didn’t. That had been the method used on him for the past 10 years, so it probably wasn’t much different for Noah.

How truly wicked is it?

To force murder on a mere twelve-year-old boy.

It felt as if a lead weight had settled on his heart, making it hard to breathe. As he watched Noah, who seemed to have become aphasic, his gaze was drawn to the sword the boy was holding. While observing the sharp tip of the blade, Sa-yoon unconsciously touched his own neck.

The true evil of humanity.

And the one who leads to destruction.

The trait for the world’s destruction is quite similar. Given the similarity in the trait’s name and the shared title, the nature they possessed was likely to be similar as well. If so…

Can you kill me?

Calm eyes took in the boy.

He was in a situation where he had been ordered a quest to kill Sa-yoon, and Sa-yoon was someone who had wanted to die for a very long time.

Suddenly, he recalled his thoughts when he first saw Geon-joo. A being capable of killing him, who was living an unwanted immortal life. At first, he thought it was Geon-joo, but now he wondered if it might be Noah.

Why don’t they call it fratricidal?

Perhaps destruction can only be destroyed by destruction itself.

Is this the opportunity, then?

Thoughts continued to chain together at the hypothesis encountered in this unexpected situation. As his mind raced, his gaze on Noah intensified. Feeling his heart, which had been beating at a normal pace, now beating more slowly, as if it might stop at any moment, Sa-yoon raised one eyebrow and reflected on his past life.

It was a life he had held onto because he couldn’t let go. In Sa-yoon’s life, there was more pain than happiness, and momentary joys were not enough to fuel the continuation of his arduous life.

Of course, he had regrets. But they weren’t weighty enough to cling to a life backed by the system. Jongsik, even if he cried for days after Sa-yoon’s death, was the material to revive Night Mouse. Gyeongjin would help him. He wasn’t worried about those two.

If there was anything to worry about, it was the wildcat that had followed him into the Gate.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly that he had followed meekly, but…

Sa-yoon’s lips curled up as he thought of Geon-joo, who had fallen asleep due to physical fatigue despite the serious situation between him and Noah. It wasn’t particularly funny or joyful, but remembering that foolishly sleeping face made him smile for no reason.

Yes, if there was anything to worry about, it was Han Geon-joo. He was still young, unfamiliar with the atmosphere of the hunter industry, and inexperienced. It wouldn’t be a lie to say he was uneasy about leaving him alone, as there were often times when it felt like watching a child left by the waterside, feeling so frustrated.

But it wasn’t enough to miss a lifetime opportunity for his sake.

He hadn’t given that much affection or placed that much weight on him. And he was the type who would probably live better without Sa-yoon.

Remember that dazzling status window.

Is he the type to die so pointlessly?

He would guarantee that if there was anyone who could be a match when competing in skill, it would only be the future Han Geon-joo. At least among all the opponents Sa-yoon had met so far, Geon-joo was the most threatening.

So, thinking that he would live quite well on his own, Sa-yoon had already withdrawn his attention from Noah and was examining his own inventory. He was contemplating which items to give to the pretty boy before dying so that he could safely conquer and escape the field without Sa-yoon when…

“…No.”

“Hm?”

The faint voice that reached his ears brought Sa-yoon’s mind back from where it had wandered for quite some time. Sa-yoon, whose mind had been full of thoughts of willingly dying to Noah if he was the being to end his life, blinked as he mulled over the words he had just heard. Noah, who had been agonizing alone for a long time with his head bowed, was now looking at Sa-yoon.

With an expression that was somehow both solemn and sad.

“I didn’t… intend to kill you…”

A chilly night breeze, cold enough to be biting, brushed past Noah and Sa-yoon. Despite the cold that was enough to make one shiver, Sa-yoon remained motionless, stiffening his body as he looked down at Noah in silence. Perhaps because the night air was particularly cold, his body kept stiffening.

“What do you mean?”

“You, you were misunderstanding me…”

He kept breaking up the syllables between words, making it sound almost like hiccups. Sa-yoon alternated his gaze between Noah’s tense face and the sword in the boy’s hand, then frowned.

“Then.”

“Yes?”

“Then what were you planning to do?”

“Ah…”

He had been answering well until now despite his stammering, but now he closed his mouth at a single question. As the small eyes rolled around as if hesitating, Sa-yoon tilted his head and urged for an answer, letting out a frustrated breath. The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. It wasn’t this awkward and uncomfortable even when he first encountered Noah holding the sword.

Noah seemed to sense the changed atmosphere too. The boy’s eyebrows drooped, making a tearful face as he repeatedly gripped and released his t-shirt before finally dropping his head.

“I was… planning to stab myself…”

“…”

“I was going to… stab myself…”

But then you suddenly woke up, and, um, you seemed to misunderstand…

The words continued in a naive voice, rambling on. Sa-yoon stared blankly at the boy, forgetting even to breathe. Noah, too preoccupied to check Sa-yoon’s expression, continued to mumble about his situation in a small voice.

I was going to stab myself, really. How could I, how could I kill you? But if I didn’t do it, they said everyone in the castle would die…

The voice he heard became distant.

He said he was going to kill himself.

Sa-yoon slapped his palm against his ear as the words seemed to not just pierce his ear but embed themselves in his mind. Noah startled at the dull impact sound, and a tingling pain visited Sa-yoon’s ear. Only then did Sa-yoon feel his scattered mind, which had been shaken by the fact that he could die, return. He lowered his head slightly.

In his vision was a boy with eyes full of tears.

And overlapping this boy was a slightly larger sixteen-year-old child.

It was himself from 10 years ago.