The archbishop at the door sneered at Mikhail.
"Puhahahaha...!!"
His brow furrowed.
A mocking laugh loud enough to burst his eardrums.
The laughter, endless and unrestrained, poured out as if sothing was imnsely amusing.
-Thud.
"Ha... Kiddo, I think you’re really sothing."
-Click.
The sound of the doorknob locking echoed in Mikhail’s ears. At the sa ti, Yung’s sharp inhalation, a "Ssssss..." sound, ca from beyond the door.
"I was expecting a grand reunion...."
-Click.
"What a sha."
Yung muttered to himself and continued speaking, as if it didn’t matter whether Mikhail responded or not. He continued to praise Mikhail, who was presumably beyond the door.
"It’s impressive that you enrolled in the Academy without parents and managed to live without envy."
’Creak...’ Mikhail gripped the doorknob tightly and responded to Yung’s words with silence. He had no intention of playing along with his gas.
Though a fiery anger boiled within his chest, he wasn’t confident he could defeat him with his current strength.
After all, he had suffered a bitter defeat last ti. Not wanting to repeat the sa mistake, Mikhail bit his lip and held back.
Rather than losing his composure and giving up his chance, waiting for an opening to escape would be better for his future.
Besides.
-Next week, I’ll treat you to a al.
-...Can I co again?
-Of course.
There was a promise he had to keep. Mikhail wanted to avoid reckless challenges.
No matter what that man said.
"It really is impressive."
He decided to push forward with the best choice he could make right now.
Yung continued his one-sided conversation.
"Honestly, I thought you’d turn into a vengeful spirit. I figured you’d foam at the mouth trying to get revenge on sohow."
Yung spoke in a detached voice, devoid of emotion, as if he were genuinely praising the path Mikhail had walked.
"Everyone else did, so I thought you’d be the sa."
He calmly explained his own experiences.
"Learning to wield a sword you’d never touched before, driven by revenge...."
"..."
"Hiring rcenaries with money to co after ...."
"..."
"Clumsily learning dark magic and destroying yourself...."
"I’m not interested in your story. Get lost before I kill you."
"You should be curious. Otherwise, how will you know what kind of magic I cast on you?"
"..."
’Magic...?’
Mikhail held his breath at Yung’s words and swallowed his retort. It was the first ti he had heard the word ’magic’ from his mouth.
It wasn’t in his mory.
No, he couldn’t rember.
He had no recollection of that man casting magic that day....
-Let go...!
’...’
Yung let out a faint chuckle at Mikhail’s now-quiet breathing, imagining his expression.
"Aren’t you curious?"
"..."
"You must be dying of curiosity."
"...What did you do to ?"
"Yes... That’s how you should respond. That’s the attitude that makes want to tell you."
"Tell now."
"Puhaha! You’re dying to know what trick I pulled on you, aren’t you? Then listen. I heard your story through soone else’s mory.... So shouldn’t you listen to mine as well?"
Yung took a deep breath and forcefully recounted his story to Mikhail. Muttering that every event had its own narrative.
"I wasn’t always this kind of person."
Yung’s voice carried a heavy sense of regret, as if he were reminiscing about a mirage-like illusion, speaking to Mikhail while recalling his past.
"I had good parents, a girl I had a crush on, and a youth anyone would envy."
"...Then why."
"The wind blew."
"..."
"An unavoidable wind."
Emotion began to seep into Yung’s voice.
"My parents died in an accident."
"..."
"The girl I liked left for another man."
"..."
"I ended up with nothing."
"What are you even talking about?"
"I’m explaining why this Mister lost his mind."
Yung scolded Mikhail’s retort with a raised voice.
"Life was hard. I got scamd, lost all the money I’d saved to gambling... And then I got angry. Why is my life such a ss... I thought."
"..."
It was revolting to hear.
The emotional manipulation of the man who had inflicted such vile mories made Mikhail shudder with disgust.
"When I was young, yeah, about your age..."
"..."
"I didn’t care anymore, so I hit the guy the girl liked with a rock. He happened to walk past , annoying as hell..."
"..."
"So I hit his head. Hard enough to kill him."
Yung spoke with glee, as if boasting about his actions, and Mikhail’s shoulders trembled at his twisted joy.
"Do you know what happened next?"
Yung let out a faint chuckle and said.
"He couldn’t rember."
"..."
"Who the girl he liked was, who hit him on the head.... I turned him into a fool, and he even thanked for taking him to the hospital...."
With a grin wide enough to tear his face, Yung spoke to Mikhail.
"He didn’t know a──nything! Puhahaha!"
Listening to Yung’s words, Mikhail gripped the doorknob and breathed heavily. He still couldn’t adapt to this situation.
The ranting of that madman.
The warped ideals of a man who turned small misfortunes into greater tragedies made Mikhail’s hands tremble in fear.
Feeling the faint tremor through the doorknob, Yung spoke.
"That’s why I lost my mind."
"..."
"Because it’s so much fun... This euphoria! The thrill of taking soone else’s life...! It’s so good I can’t stop myself..."
With a trembling voice, Mikhail asked Yung.
"Just... for that?"
"Just? Do you know how miserable I was?"
"Just for those petty things!!! Is that why you did all this?!"
Mikhail couldn’t comprehend Yung’s words, as if he were the victim. It was true the events were tragic, but he couldn’t fathom how they could justify his descent into depravity.
When you think about it, his own life had been more wretched and miserable, yet his misfortunes were more...
-Click.
"Kiddo."
"..."
"Watch your mouth. Unless you want to die right now."
*Gulp.*
Yung, spitting out chilling words, let out a hearty laugh as he spoke.
"You too..."
Holding back his anger, Yung expressed his ideals to Mikhail. Without using force, he didn’t attempt to force the door open. Leisurely, he continued his monologue.
"You too. If you had seen my mories, you wouldn’t have said that. That word ‘petty’ would’ve disappeared, and you’d have just cried."
"No. I don’t pity trash like you."
Mikhail bit his lip at Yung’s words. After all, there were people who deserved pity and those who didn’t.
"Hmm... That’s awfully cold."
"Stop spouting nonsense and tell the magic you cast on ."
"I don’t feel like it anymore."
"Stop ssing around...!"
"Why?"
Yung slamd his fist into the door with a *bang!* and sneered.
"Why am I trash?"
"Because you’re trash who killed countless people…."
"In other people’s mories, they all forgave you. So why won’t you forgive ?"
"..."
"I can be good too."
"..."
"If you’d give a chance, I could be good. If you opened the door and hugged ...! I could ‘atone.’"
"Don’t make laugh."
Yung sneered as he spoke to Mikhail.
"You don’t believe , huh…."
"..."
"Fine..."
Yung, with piercing eyes, stared at the door as he spoke to Mikhail.
"People don’t change."
"..."
"Unless you completely erase their mories, people don’t change, not even in death."
Yung spoke to the frozen Mikhail.
"I guess it’s ti to tell you what you’re curious about."
*Gulp.*
"It must’ve been hard waiting. Listening to an old man’s sob story must be getting tiring."
-...
"What a sha."
-...
"If I had pushed a little harder, I think I could’ve seen sothing interesting."
"Sothing interesting...?"
"If I had cast it on that kid instead of you, it might’ve been more fun... but it didn’t work. Makes want to kill them..."
"What are you talking about...?"
Yung could clearly see Mikhail’s expression. A face consud by curiosity.
"Didn’t you think it was strange?"
"What’s strange...?"
"Think carefully. Didn’t you find yourself irrationally hating or despising soone? I’m sure you did. Isn’t that right?"
At Yung’s chilling question, Mikhail fell silent for a mont. His words sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"It wasn’t sothing worth hating this much…. But I hated them more."
‘No...’
"It was sothing that could’ve been resolved through conversation, but I thought it was pointless and ignored it."
-No, that’s not it...?
From beyond the door, the silence was broken by Yung’s quiet chuckle, filled with delight.
"Didn’t it seem strange?"
No, it couldn’t be.
No.
It mustn’t be.
Mikhail, gripping the doorknob tightly with both hands, stared at the door with trembling eyes.
The thought that ‘he’ was the root of all this made his breath ragged and his eyes bloodshot.
"Looks like sothing’s co to mind."
"You..."
"Now the story’s getting more interesting, isn’t it?"
"Was it you?"
Yung ignored Mikhail’s question and continued boasting about his magic.
"My dark magic can turn soone’s mind into a blank slate, just like the people you passed by..."
"..."
"It can make you call your mortal enemy ‘Mother.’"
"..."
"On the other hand..."
Mikhail clenched the doorknob tightly and gritted his teeth at Yung’s overwhelming malice.
"It can make soone hate another."
"..."
"When you look at photos of them, their face appears blurry, and even if you try to rember, you can’t."
"..."
At Yung’s chilling testimony, Mikhail’s fingers began to tremble.
"But you can’t forget them and long for them."
"..."
"You miss them so much it makes you cry..."
"..."
"And yet."
-Click.
The doorknob Mikhail was holding began to tremble. The locked door started making clicking noises repeatedly.
-Click. Click. Click!
"When you see a certain person, impulsive emotions arise..."
"..."
"Why are they making that face?"
"..."
"Why are they smiling like that?"
"..."
"I wish that person weren’t happy."
Mikhail shouted at Yung with a boiling voice.
"I’m asking if it was you!"
"Why are you angry, kiddo? I’m just trying to apologize for the prank I played on you."
"I told you to shut up."
"Why...?"
Yung spoke to Mikhail in a calm voice.
"Are you scared?"
"..."
"No. I just planted a tiny seed of doubt. Later, when that kid shows up in front of you, I rely played around enough for that feeling to turn into ’anger.’"
"..."
"You’re the one who ruined that relationship."
"..."
"The Dark Magic was weak... You could have overco it, but the fact that you didn’t is your fault."
-Rattle.
Yung looked at the trembling doorknob with a satisfied smile.
"You shouldn’t be shaking already. What are you going to do when I open the door and co in?"
"..."
"You know, I’m not the kind of person to stop at this level."
"..."
"I worked hard to prepare a gift for you, so it wouldn’t be fun if it ended too blandly."
Yung spoke with a thrill, as if he truly found it entertaining.
"Shall I change your mory entirely this ti?"
"..."
"This ti, I’ll really make you hate that kid. I’ll make you call Father while turning the person you thought was a hero into your nesis...!"
"Shut up."
"Yes! Let’s make our first eting an unforgettable mory...! If I swap my face with that kid’s and that kid’s face with mine..."
"I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you right now!"
"You?"
Yung asked Mikhail seriously.
"How?"
"..."
"Can you kill ?"
"..."
"You know, kiddo."
Yung sneered at Mikhail as he spoke.
"If it weren’t for , you would have burst into tears the mont you saw that kid."
"..."
"You should be grateful."
"I... I’ll kill you."
"There’s sothing called the art of waiting."
Yung turned the doorknob with a ’click’ once more as he spoke to Mikhail.
"When I open this door and co in, a new world will unfold before you... Aren’t you excited?"
Yung spoke to Mikhail with genuine sincerity.
"You’ll be happy. Happier than you’ve ever been before."
-Click!
"So..."
-Click... Click...!
"Let’s have a pleasant dream..."
The doorknob began to tremble violently. Along with the shaking doorknob, Mikhail’s body also started to tremble.
The once-quiet people began pounding on the door like mad.
Outside the window, darkness began to gather.
The falling raindrops swallowed up the sound as they brought a cruel storm.
-Ssshhhhhh.
As if to announce that for Mikhail, the worst was not the end but the beginning.
-Ssshhhhhh.
The fierce rain began to fall.
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