“Seo Dojin?”
Raon, who was close to the Black Gate, doubted his eyes.
The shimmering black light was swallowing Seo Dojin.
Although it was hard to see clearly from a distance, it looked like Seo Dojin was entering the Black Gate of his own accord.
“Team Leader Seo Dojin! What are you doing!”
As Raon shouted loudly, Hamin, who was carrying him and flying, increased his speed.
Then, he stopped midway.
“Team Leader, the Gate seems to be getting bigger?”
“What did you say?”
Only then did Raon also see the Black Gate gradually expanding.
The North team had mostly eliminated their monsters, but due to the expanded Black Gate, Seo Dojin and the other Espers were disappearing into it.
“Shouldn’t we retreat for a moment?”
“Hmm…”
At Hamin’s question, Raon looked around.
The battles in the East and West were not yet finished.
He didn’t know how much bigger the Black Gate would get, but for now, it seemed better to go support the other teams and join forces.
“Then, to the East team where Siwoo is…”
Since joining forces with the team that had the strongest firepower would be the safest, Raon tried to head towards the East team where Siwoo was.
However, suddenly, everything before his eyes turned pitch-black.
“…!”
“Team Leader!”
For some reason, Hamin’s shout sounded distant.
Raon was instantly enveloped in the black light.
“Hyung!”
“Si…”
Furthermore, Siwoo’s voice, which shouldn’t be heard right now, pierced his ears.
Raon weakly stretched out his hand.
But even that hand was buried in the pitch-black darkness.
“Ugh.”
Raon slowly opened his eyes.
But everything before his eyes was only black.
Raon slowly lifted and lowered his eyelids.
“What in the…”
The last thing he remembered was the black light, presumed to be the Black Gate, instantly swallowing him.
Then, was this inside the Black Gate?
No, was the thing that formed inside the Dark Blue Gate truly the Black Gate?
Raon, confused, shook his head vigorously.
Then, something appeared before his eyes.
[Congratulations! You have now entered the Final Route.]
[Would you like to accept the Quest?]
“Quest?”
A quest suddenly given by the System window, which had been silent for so long. Raon was immediately suspicious.
But he couldn’t ignore the System window’s quest either.
Raon first checked the contents of the quest.
[Final Quest]
[The external entities launch their final total attack. Now, become the true ○◇☆ and save the world! (/\^▽\^)/]
“What is this now?”
He couldn’t even properly read the contents of the quest.
Particular words were obscured, as if covered by a mosaic, and Raon frowned.
“…Tran, scendent?”
As he struggled to read it, the System window crackled and disintegrated, disappearing.
Raon flinched and turned his head.
“Han Raon?”
“…”
Surprisingly, Han Raon, who looked exactly like him, was standing where the System window had disappeared.
Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at him.
“No, you are Han Raon.”
“What is this…”
The man in the form of Han Raon walked steadily towards Raon.
Looking closely, the smile and tone of voice were not those that his past self would have adopted.
“Who are you?”
Raon asked, wary of him.
If this was inside the Black Gate, he had to be extremely tense.
“Hmm, it’s generally courtesy to answer when asked who I am, but.”
The man muttered words he had likely heard somewhere and tilted his head.
Raon looked at him in disbelief.
“I’m also in a difficult position to answer because I cannot confirm my existence right now.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Hmm, for now…”
Raon frowned at the cryptic words.
Then, the man, who had been contemplating, opened his mouth again.
“I wonder if ‘System’ would be a better answer?”
“…!”
The System?
That man who looked like him?
Raon glared at the man, who was wearing an unsuitably gentle smile.
K’s words suddenly crossed his mind.
‘Come to think of it, he said I would be able to contact the System inside the Black Gate.’
He didn’t know the principle behind how Gates were created, but since the System used the Gates to bring in souls from parallel worlds, it seemed the System’s power was also amplified by the Gates’ influence.
‘If that’s the case, then the System is probably…’
Raon looked at the man with tense eyes.
Seeing the System approach him in human form solidified the thought he had been having all along.
“Was the System created by the heroes of the 1st generation?”
To fight back against the invaders, this star, Earth, created beings called Guides.
But the System was not something that could be created naturally.
It contained too many human elements.
So, Raon thought that other humans must have been involved in the System’s creation.
He just hadn’t expected those people to be figures who had already died in the past.
“Yes, I’m finally relieved to be able to say it accurately.”
The man smiled sweetly.
But when he smiled, his face instantly changed grotesquely, as if multiple faces were merging.
“What happened in the Grave of Death back then?”
Raon swallowed and asked cautiously.
What he wanted to ask the 1st generation Espers who died inside the Gate was, more than anything, what had happened inside.
The man was silent for a moment before answering.
“We thought that Gate was the last one created by the invaders.”
“But it wasn’t the last.”
“Yes, the invaders were hiding a greater power. And we all died meaninglessly due to his betrayal.”
“…!”
So, the Commander-in-Chief killed all the 1st generation Espers?
Raon clenched his fist.
If he had definite proof, he could oust the Commander-in-Chief and Seo Dojin at once.
“And we found out that the invaders put the most effort into creating this Black Gate. We had to make a choice.”
“A choice?”
“Yes, heroes to protect this world in our stead.”
“Surely…”
He felt an ominous premonition.
When Raon frowned and stared at him, the man, the System’s physical manifestation, shook his head.
“We had no choice at the time. We could only invest in the most likely candidates to save the world in our place.”
“And those were Seo Dojin and Lee Hamin?”
“That’s what we thought then.”
“Haa…”
So, the novel was a story about a world twisted by the System’s wrong choice?
Raon shook his head dismissively.
“Siwoo and I were naturally pushed out of the running?”
“That’s right. Honestly, you back then were too…”
“I know exactly what you mean.”
He had nothing to say, as he honestly thought his past self was hopeless.
Raon sighed softly.
“Anyway, we realized our choice was wrong only when the world was on the brink of destruction.”
“And you turned back time?”
“Yes, so the next choice had to be careful. Fortunately, because the spacetime of the parallel world was twisted, we could bring in someone with the same soul, even though the timeline was different.”
“So, you Transmigrated me into this world as an experiment, even though I was living well in another world?”
“That way, the probability of saving the world was much higher.”
Was the System some kind of supercomputer?
Still, the man’s answer helped Raon understand what had happened to him a little better.
Raon quietly nodded.
“What should I do now? If I suppress the Black Gate, will the world truly be safe?”
“Actually, I can’t be sure about that.”
“What did you say?”
Raon’s face crumpled at the man’s answer.
How could he say such an irresponsible thing?
To save the world after going through such trouble, only for it not to be the end.
“Then, are you saying this threat will continue?”
“The Black Gate is their last resort, it’s true. But I’m not sure if we can completely destroy the Gate.”
“Haa…”
Indeed, it didn’t seem like the connection with the invaders would be completely severed just by destroying the Gate.
Unless they completely eliminated the invaders’ world, it would probably just buy them time.
“But wouldn’t other heroes arise by then?”
“That’s a convenient thought.”
“It’s about trusting the future generations.”
The man said, shrugging his shoulders.
Raon looked around the completely black space.
In any case, if he could just destroy this Gate, the world would be safe for a while.
If not, it would be destroyed, so there was no room for hesitation anyway.
“Come to think of it, Seo Dojin seemed to have entered the Gate first.”
As Raon muttered and surveyed his surroundings, the man spoke in a serious tone.
“Be careful. Seo Dojin has become more dangerous than expected.”
“Seo Dojin?”
Raon flinched and looked at the man.
But his body was becoming increasingly blurred.
“System?”
“Be careful of… Seo Dojin.”
“…!”
In the end, the System, in his own form, completely disappeared.
Leaving only an ominous warning.
Raon gritted his teeth.
Being left completely alone in the darkness made him extremely anxious.
Tuck.
“Ugh!”
Just then, someone grabbed Raon’s shoulder.
Raon flinched and turned his head.
And he met a pair of distinct, dark eyes.
“Han Raon…”
“Seo Dojin!”
But Seo Dojin’s condition was strange.
Raon frowned as he looked at him, who didn’t seem to be in his right mind.
“Let go of me, Seo Dojin.”
“I’ve got you.”
Dojin lifted the corner of his lips as he looked at the annoyed Raon.
