Chapter 18: He Still Doesn’t Understand

‘They all looked desperate.’

The eyes of both Rigor and the man were bloodshot, filled with a desperate stubbornness born from the need to protect someone precious. Taehyun was beginning to understand, at least vaguely, why the man had chosen this particular memory.

[General, why don’t you ascend the throne yourself? Do you truly believe the Empire can achieve victory with nothing but that ridiculous claim to legitimacy?]

[Don’t talk nonsense. Even after the world has come to this, you still cling to the Empire’s victory? What we need right now is for everyone to survive. If the rightful and proper person does not inherit the throne, the obsession of our ancestors accumulated over thousands of years will devour us. Do you truly not understand that?]

[General!]

[I swore my entire life that I would become the sword protecting His Majesty the Emperor. Besides… I’ve told all of you countless times. I have no intention whatsoever of daring to ascend the throne!]

As Taehyun listened to their conversation, the man’s intention in sending this memory became even clearer.

‘Maybe victory really is meaningless, just as you said. But doesn’t that mean you don’t cherish the Emperor you chose to serve, the Emperor who sacrificed himself for you and ultimately had his body taken over by the curse?’

It felt as though that accusation was being conveyed to Rigor as plainly as possible.

It was almost as though the man was trying to persuade him, just as the angel had vaguely warned Rigor earlier.

Rigor, however, showed no reaction to their conversation. While the Rigor in the memory and the enemy forces fought a fierce battle, the real Rigor and the Prisoner attacked everyone indiscriminately, making no distinction between friend and foe.

Rather than transforming into the form of the four-legged beast curse, Rigor fought in human form, methodically taking down his enemies one after another.

The Rigor in the memory was covered in grotesque pieces of flesh presumed to be the obsession of his ancestors, but the real Rigor defeated his opponents with astonishing agility and skill without relying on those pieces of flesh at all.

Of course, he could not have done it with his own strength alone.

<Now that I look at it, aren’t all of you here nothing but a bunch of hopeless fools? It’s difficult to find people who resemble me this much, and yet I’m almost disgusted by how happy I am to see you!>

The Prisoner burst into laughter as he slaughtered the enemy with a crude sword he had pulled from somewhere.

Whenever the thick purple smoke pouring from his sword touched the grotesque flesh, the soldiers twisted their bodies desperately, as though the very flesh granting them power had suddenly become unbearably heavy.

The assassins targeting the Emperor were affected most severely by the purple smoke, but the guards protecting Rigor seemed to suffer just as much.

Perhaps they, too, had been suppressing a secret desire for self-destruction.

They wanted to enthrone the rightful Emperor and protect everyone, but they also knew that this was merely a temporary solution that could never last. The smoke released by the Prisoner seemed to be exploiting precisely that weakness.

While everyone writhed in agony under the influence of the smoke, Rigor and the Prisoner continued cutting through their enemies with relative ease.

Yet the longer Taehyun watched, the stronger the vague sense of unease inside him became.

‘They’ll win this battle. But…’

Winning the fight was one thing.

But what about persuading him?

The moment Taehyun thought of that, his mood sank slightly. If the man had asked Rigor, How can you not cherish the Emperor you went to such lengths to protect?, then Rigor had to give him some kind of answer.

‘Of course, the memory Rigor sent might serve as that answer. But if it doesn’t… won’t that only drive an even deeper wedge between Rigor and that man?’

Taehyun wanted the two of them to reconcile.

At some point, he had begun to genuinely wish for that.

Putting together all the clues he had witnessed so far, it was obvious that the two of them had once been close. Rigor seemed reluctant to return to his original world, yet he was never truly cruel toward the man.

And although the man resented Rigor and appeared to be devising some absurd plan, it was equally obvious that he had never been able to let go.

‘Yes. Attachment.’

People were always moved by the things they could not let go of.

If that attachment still remained, perhaps there was a way to repair their relationship.

“…It’s over. This battle, too.”

Taehyun had been lost in thought when the angel spoke in a calm voice.

He looked up with a start.

The hall had already been completely cleared.

Even the Rigor and the man in the memory, covered in grotesque flesh, appeared to have fallen to the hands of the real Rigor and the Prisoner.

The only one left was the Emperor.

He sat upon the throne, quietly looking down at them. He did not appear inclined to fight, nor did he seem frightened by the sudden appearance of these uninvited guests.

‘Is it because he’s merely a figure inside someone else’s memory? Perhaps he simply repeats predetermined lines unless some variable intervenes.’

As Taehyun was forming that hypothesis, Rigor wiped the blood from his sword and walked toward the Emperor.

‘Wait. Is he really going to kill him too?’

The Emperor clearly had no ability to fight, nor did he seem interested in doing so.

And if Rigor killed him here, wouldn’t that only give the man an even greater reason to misunderstand him?

Taehyun hurriedly tried to get up, but Rigor did not raise his sword against the Emperor.

Instead, he knelt before him.

The Emperor looked down at him and whispered like a sigh.

“I am sorry, Brother, for leaving you behind in that place of bloodshed.”

“I am merely remaining where I ought to be, Your Majesty.”

Rigor answered him calmly.

The real Emperor’s soul had died long ago.

So who was that answer really meant for?

The man who would hear this memory?

Or Rigor himself?

“You always wanted to leave, Brother. Somewhere far away, beyond the glory of the Empire and the obsession of our ancestors. But things have come to this, and I cannot even protect this body properly on my own… Could you stay by my side just a little longer, for the sake of this inadequate little sister?”

“How could I ever leave Your Majesty’s side? As long as Your Majesty wishes it, I shall remain by your side forever.”

Rigor’s voice was strangely sorrowful as he whispered those words.

Even the Prisoner, who had been grinning throughout the battle, and the Knight, who had been kicking his legs impatiently out of boredom, had fallen quiet and watched the exchange with subdued expressions.

[[System (Temporary)] Both sides have completed the general battle.]

But the moment did not last.

The Emperor disappeared like smoke before he could even respond to Rigor’s words, and the lavish imperial hall vanished with him.

In its place was the dim, theater-like room where they had begun.

Taehyun approached Rigor, who was still kneeling.

Rigor stood up almost immediately, looking as though he had just awakened from a brief dream. Yet there was no hiding the sadness lingering on his face.

Taehyun had a question he wanted to ask after hearing that conversation, but he forcibly swallowed it and asked something else instead.

“Rigor, what kind of memory did you send them this time?”

“…The memory of the moment in the final chamber of the Origin Dungeon, when I reached the conclusion and paid the price.”

“Was there a reason you chose that memory?”

“I thought I needed to make him understand that, no matter how dissatisfied I am with who I am now, there is nothing I can do about it. That immature brat seems to have liked the person I used to be and dislikes who I am now. But just like all my other companions, we paid the price too. And I…”

Rigor shrugged lightly, speaking almost cheerfully.

“I will never return to the person he knew back then.”

Taehyun was rendered speechless.

No, wait.

Technically, what Rigor said made sense.

The man disliked the Rigor he was now, while Rigor wanted the man to accept reality.

But still…

‘Does this guy have absolutely no intention of repairing their relationship?!’

At least, none of his actions suggested that he wanted to restore the friendship they once had.

Making the man accept Rigor’s current state was certainly important, but did the man actually want that?

And even if that process was necessary, did it really have to happen like this?

Taehyun wanted to say something, but he could not think of anything appropriate.

As he hesitated, the Knight, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, muttered incredulously.

—I get it now. The reason you were so harsh on the Mechanic… turns out that’s a habit you’ve had for quite a long time, huh?

“…?”

—And you, Yoon Taehyun. At this point, you should practically know everything that’s going on inside your lover’s head. So why do you look so stupidly confused? That Wraith bastard has simply gotten so used to playing the villain that he doesn’t know how to stop. He could afford to be a little kinder, but he’s afraid of being resented by the other person, so he deliberately gets there first and acts frightening.

The Knight clicked his tongue.

—Even though he doesn’t need to do that anymore.

Rigor’s lips parted as though he were about to protest.

But before he could say anything, the Replica displayed another message.

[[System (Temporary)] Before moving to the next room, you may observe how your opponent responded to the ‘exchanged memory’.]

Everyone fell silent and turned toward the wall.

Just as before, a film-like image appeared across the screen.

The setting was the glowing lake Rigor had mentioned.

‘Did he kill all of us again?’

Just as he had before?

Taehyun watched the screen, chewing over an inexplicable bitterness.

But this time, things were different.

[…]

The man merely stared at them for a long time.

He listened to their conversation and quietly watched what was happening.

How much time passed like that?

Eventually, once everyone had paid the price in the Origin Dungeon, the versions of Taehyun and Rigor inside the memory simply disappeared into the glowing lake.

Left alone in the empty lake, the man sank to the ground and fell deep into thought.

Taehyun suspected that he had remained there until their side’s battle was over.

“…”

The moment he saw that sight, Taehyun instinctively realized something.

‘Rigor really doesn’t understand people’s feelings. He hasn’t changed at all. If I leave everything to this man, we’re going to have a serious problem.’

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