Chapter 38: The Child Who Holds Light

I used to think the same thing ‘X’ did.

That our abilities should have been swapped.

My ability, Black Flame, looked ominous — like condensed darkness.

Meanwhile his light sphere… the one humans called Light Bomb… looked needlessly beautiful.

Like salvation descending upon a darkened world, pure white light flooded the earth.

The drifting glow, gently falling like snowflakes, even looked mystical.

But the result was unimaginably horrific.

More brutal than any bomb humans had ever created.

Anything that touched that light vanished without a trace.

Human corpses, advanced buildings — nothing remained.

When he was my enemy, there was no ability more terrifying.

If a Light Bomb dropped on my head, there was nothing I could do.

But now, seeing this strike — it stirred a completely different feeling.

In this restarted second life, the moment my five years of investment bore fruit had arrived.

The calamity that would plunge this rotten world into ruin had finally descended.

“Are you okay, hyung…? You’re not hurt, right?”

Maybe it’s because I was thinking of the past ‘X’ just now.

Jaeyul’s face right in front of me felt strangely unfamiliar.

It was exactly the same as the ‘X’ in my memories, down to every detail — yet it felt completely different.

It was hard to believe this was the kid who caused that massive explosion.

He stared at me with a face full of worry.

“I’m…”

I was about to say I was fine, and ask if he was okay.

“What happened?! Did a Gate explode?!”

Voices began rising from all directions.

Anyone who saw that blinding light and felt the tremor would rush over.

Thankfully, Ppoppi turned back into his puppy form quickly.

“Let’s go home first. We’ll talk there.”

I picked up Ppoppi and slipped away.

Too many eyes were following us.

“Haa… Are you hurt anywhere? Why did you run into a place like that alone! Also — when did you awaken?!”

“Hyung, one question at a time. Breathe first.”

I was angry, and I had a thousand questions.

My chest felt chaotic from everything that happened.

Meanwhile, Jaeyul simply fetched a cold bottle of water from the kitchen, opened it, and handed it to me.

I drank reluctantly — and only then did I calm down a little.

Then came the regret.

I acted too immature.

Right… what’s done is done.

What matters is something else.

“You’re okay now, hyung?”

“…Yeah. Thanks to you. Really… thank you, Jaeyul. If it weren’t for you, it would’ve been bad.”

Right.

I needed to thank him first.

If not for him, I really would’ve had my limbs cut off and turned into a guiding machine.

“Let me see. You might not feel pain yet because you’re still in shock.”

Jaeyul spun me around, checking every inch.

He lifted my arms, turned my head side to side.

“Really, I’m not hurt. You came at the perfect time.”

“…Perfect time? I should’ve come earlier. I was late.”

Seeing him pout made it hard to believe he was the same guy who wiped out the Six-Point Star members.

“So how did you even know where I was?”

“Oh, that…”

According to him, he went out because I said I’d meet someone for a used-item sale and still hadn’t come home.

Ppoppi followed the scent from the park all the way to the Six-Point Star hideout.

“And your awakening? You hadn’t awakened before…”

“Huh? Uh… I don’t know either. I just suddenly felt like I could use that ability.”

Awakening… suddenly?

Just recently, he showed no signs at all — yet he awakened the exact moment I was kidnapped.

Sure, he used an ability once when he was thirteen, but for the last five years he couldn’t use anything.

The timing was too perfect.

Hard to believe — but I had no reason to doubt him.

Even if he had awakened earlier, there’d be no reason to hide it from me.

Despite a few suspicious points, I decided to trust him.

It was inevitable anyway.

No use interrogating him.

“Ppoppi… did he know?”

This was the last question.

How did Jaeyul know Ppoppi was a monster?

“Hyung. I’m not stupid. How could I not know? What puppy eats a whole cow’s worth of meat every week? And stays a puppy for five years? And breaks TVs and sofas…”

“Ah… well… yeah…”

Embarrassing.

I really kept treating Jaeyul like the little kid he used to be.

Pure, cute, clueless.

But he was right — noticing nothing would’ve been the stupid part.

So I had been pretending.

Or rather, avoiding the truth.

“I just pretended not to know because you didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it.”

“…I was scared you’d be startled. Sorry…”

This too… was suspicious.

Even I didn’t fully understand Ppoppi’s combat ability.

I only ever brought him into cleared Gates, never actual combat.

Yet Jaeyul fought in perfect sync with him.

Maybe… it was the nature of the past ‘X’, who once led monsters against humans.

“Why are you looking at me like that…? Do you not like that I awakened?”

I had been staring.

And suddenly, Jaeyul looked different to me.

The line between ‘X’ and Seon Jaeyul blurred.

With absolute power awakened, it was natural.

His question made me reconsider my feelings.

Why was he asking something like that?

“What? Why would I dislike it? I love it. I love it a lot.”

I truly did.

Finally — the villain… no, the savior who would destroy this rotten world had appeared.

After today, I hated humans even more.

It wasn’t that my environment was full of garbage humans — this world was rotten long before that.

Even in the Special Ability Forces, I had met all kinds of human scum.

And Jaeyul was the same.

He had been hurt so many times since childhood — by humans.

So if this world were to end, I had no regrets.

No — I’d welcome it with open arms.

“No matter what you look like or what you do, I’ll always support you.”

Even if he became ‘X’ and slaughtered humanity, I’d stand at his side.

Only then did his stiff expression relax.

I pulled him into a hug.

For the first time today, I felt fully relieved.

His foundation for the future was complete.

And knowing I helped even a little made me proud.

“Okay, hyung…”

He hugged my waist and nuzzled in like he did when he was small.

“I like you too.”

So much that he couldn’t put it into words.

“Try making it as fast as you can.”

“Like this?”

With a soft shooong sound, a Light Bomb formed at the tip of his index finger.

A sphere the size of a fingertip appeared instantly.

“…Uh… y-yeah… that…”

But this was too fast.

Even the past ‘X’ needed time to build up a Light Bomb.

And there were always signs — the air would tremble first.

But Jaeyul made one instantly with just a few attempts.

I was trying to assess his awakened state.

With how much Petra he had been taking constantly for years, it was reasonable to assume he surpassed ‘X’.

And… he definitely didn’t seem weaker.

I’d fought enough battles to know.

“I can do this too.”

The light sphere split into five.

Then into dozens of tiny fragments.

Dust-like particles spun rapidly around his body.

“…Insane…”

That was… a complete cheat skill.

I had never seen ‘X’ use such delicate control — maybe he never needed it.

But this technique was extremely practical.

Those tiny pieces could defend, or be fired individually to take down multiple enemies at once.

“Huh? What’d you say?”

“P-put that away! If even one of those hits something, the whole building will disappear!”

I snapped back to reality.

They looked like dust, but even one could erase our house.

“Okay, okay. Ppoppi.”

“Arf!”

“Eat.”

…Eat?

What?

I stared in disbelief.

The Light Bomb fragments spinning around Jaeyul — Ppoppi jumped up, tail wagging, and swallowed them one by one like treats.

“…How… is that possible…?”

“I dunno. Ppoppi eats these too.”

I gave up trying to understand.

What kind of monster dog was he… a walking trash can?

“But anyway… what do you think, hyung?”

“Huh? About what?”

“…Now that you’ve seen me awakened… what do you think of me?”

What kind of question was that…?

What else would I think?

“Hm… You’re amazing. I’m proud of you, my Jaeyul.”

“Haah… forget it. I’m going to bed.”

He grabbed Ppoppi and stormed into his room, slamming the door.

He asked a weird question, then suddenly acted offended.

…Ah, right.

He is a teenager…

What answer was he hoping for…?

I should figure it out before he launches a Light Bomb at me.