Chapter 67: Two Days

I blankly stared down at the bed where the Sword of the Association had vanished like dust.

“……”

She had kept using her domain ability, even though she knew that every time she did, it drained her life.

She knew that if she died here, she’d just return to her original world…

So death probably didn’t mean much to her.

“That’s what a real first-tier ability looks like…”

But regretting something that had already passed…

“I mean, she could’ve at least taught me how to use domains before she left.”

Still, I regretted it.

“Okay, I get that using it shortens your lifespan, but isn’t it worth it if it saves you from dying?!”

Damn it, I really regretted not just swallowing my pride and asking her how to use a domain.

If I had learned how to use it, I could’ve broken this electronic anklet….no, the ability suppressor by now.

“Well, fine… thanks for everything. You came all the way to this distant otherworld and worked to save people from a different world. I appreciate your effort.”

But still.

Regret wouldn’t change anything.

I’d been lucky enough today to figure out how to use the fire ability.

And I learned a way to get rid of my abilities without needing a suppressant.

“Yeah, even this much is a miracle.”

I didn’t accomplish any of my original goals…

But what could I do?

It was already over and done with.

“Hoo… time to head back.”

I moved quickly, intending to head straight back to my hideout.

Too late.

When I looked up at the sky, the sun had already disappeared, and a round moon now hung in its place.

“Feels like I’m kind of tired.”

I felt a bit worn out.

And on a day like today, dozing off at the wheel could easily lead to disaster.

So I figured it’d be best to just head back to my car and get some proper sleep.

“Hmm?”

Inside my car…

A familiar woman was already sitting there.

“What the hell? Isn’t this a bit early for you to be back?”

“Aren’t you being a little cold? One of your subordinates is dying and you don’t even bother showing your face.”

“She’s not dying, she’s just going back to our world. I’m jealous, honestly. I want to go back too and see my mom already.”

The president of the Hero Association.

In my childhood, she was like an imaginary friend.

She came and went as she pleased.

I had thought the next time I’d see her would be at least one or two years later…

But it turned out I got to meet her again much sooner than expected.

“You always say you’re busy. So what, you’ve got free time now?”

“Yeah, I was super busy before… but all of a sudden, I’ve got nothing to do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I didn’t know why she’d suddenly become free.

But hey, wasn’t this perfect timing?

I had so many questions I wanted to ask the Sword of the Association, but instead of her, the president was here.

“I don’t know either. Normally, around this time, the Heavenly Will Cult would pull something brutal. But nothing’s happened.”

“What do you mean, ‘brutal’?”

I was climbing into the backseat of the car, making space to lie down, when—

“They offered your mother’s ashes as a sacrifice.”

“…What?”

It was an answer I never could’ve imagined.

“I told you, didn’t I? You were bound to end up fighting them.”

“…Where are those bastards?”

“Don’t worry. They’re all dead.”

“…All dead?”

“Mhmm.”

Hearing that they tried to use my mother’s ashes as a sacrifice sent a surge of rage through me…but then, being told they were all dead left me confused.

“…Why?”

“This is a first for me too. I’m just as confused.”

And also…

“…‘A first’? You make it sound like this has happened a few times before.”

The word “first” in her answer struck me as oddly out of place.

So I asked about it—

“It’s the kind of ability you see a lot in webtoons or novels.”

“…What kind of ability?”

“A Hero’s power.”

“What’s your power, then?”

“Take a guess.”

“…Regression?”

“Correct.”

I could tell that she possessed the power of regression.

“…Regression is a supernatural ability?”

“It’s not just some supernatural ability. It’s a divine power granted to me by the Goddess herself.”

That explains a lot…

At times, it felt like she could see straight into the future.

And yet, in certain moments, she acted surprised. Like something hadn’t gone according to plan.

“…Hah.”

So she really was…

A hero who had regressed over and over again from a world where Earth had already been destroyed.

“For the record, this cycle’s a first for me too. A run where all the Heavenly Will Cult bastards got wiped out by the very god they worship.”

“Is that… a good thing?”

“It’s the best. Normally, I’d have to wait two years for that god of theirs to fully grow in strength. But for some reason, it matured early this time.”

“Oh…”

“In just two days… its true body will start to crawl out into the world.”

From our conversation, I was able to piece together a few things.

The upcoming battle…

It would be the final fight for Earth’s fate.

And if we failed…

Well, I figured she’d just regress again.

The Association President would take care of all the hard work anyway—

“Wow… You talk like regression’s as easy as grabbing a snack. Do you even know how many years I’ve been stuck on Earth?”

“Sorry.”

I had briefly forgotten.

That she was a being made from half of me and could read my thoughts.

“Anyway, this is the final fight.”

“What do you need me to do?”

I lay on the roughly flattened backseat of the car, looking up at the Association President.

Now that the final battle was approaching, I began to understand why she had chosen me as her ally to help save the Earth—

“Just rest.”

“…Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“I originally needed your help, but I don’t anymore.”

“…So you’re just using me and tossing me aside?”

“Calling it ‘using you’ feels a bit harsh. Especially for someone who saved your life.”

“Explain it properly.”

Tick—drrrrk—

She casually pulled the passenger seat back as far as it would go and got comfortable.

The woman who had always claimed to be too busy, for the first time, settled into a relaxed posture in front of me.

And then, she began explaining her situation.

“I’m a Hero, Min-hyuk.”

“And?”

“A Hero is…”

…

The Association President who was a Hero, and the god of the Heavenly Will Cult were both beings that came from the same world.

To explain the sequence—

The Hero defeated the underlings of “Death” one by one, and finally succeeded in taking down the god of death itself when it manifested on the surface.

But gods survive by feeding on “faith”.

And so, the defeated god found a way to hide on Earth. That was by seeking out and embedding itself among cults who worshipped idols similar to itself.

It planned to devour all the humans on Earth, regain its strength, and return to its original world to take revenge on the Hero.

That was why the Hero hadn’t come to this world with the goal of “protecting Earth”. But rather with the mission of “protecting her own world”.

The power of faith, huh…

When traveling from a lower world to a higher one, the energy capacity was small, so one could go in their true form.

But moving from a higher world to a lower one came with power restrictions. That’s why the Association President too had come here as a being created through someone’s “faith”.

When she spoke of higher and lower worlds, what she said to me really stuck in my mind.

“Earth wasn’t a higher world?”

“How could a world without magic possibly be higher than ours when everything else is the same?”

“You’ve got science and technology.”

“We have magical engineering, which is even more advanced than your science and technology. While you’re firing bullets, we’re shooting lasers.”

“Tch…”

So Earth wasn’t a higher world…

Anyway.

Among all the beings created from countless forms of belief, the reason she had ended up as my imaginary childhood friend of all things—

She said it was a decision she made after countless regressions.

The reason being, I was the only one who had fought against and defeated members of the Heavenly Will Cult while using supernatural powers.

That was why her goal was to come here in the form most familiar to me and seek the cooperation of the Villain Hunter.

Truly…

So a Hero isn’t allowed to kill people. She really is a righteous goddess.

Because a Hero wasn’t allowed to kill people.

No matter how different the world, no matter how much of a cult it was….those people were still “human” after all.

She couldn’t kill the fanatics of the Heavenly Will Cult herself. So, she had intended to entrust the killings to me instead.

But.

For some reason.

If things had gone according to the originally planned future… then the god of death, who was supposed to begin the “Selection” process two years later with the cultists in tow…

Suddenly felt an overwhelming hunger and devoured all of its followers.

And it happened at all times during lunch today.

…Is this the power of luck and miracles?

Looking at the timeline… the incident occurred around the same time I had asked Sae-eun to grant me a miracle with diamonds and emeralds.

Whether it really was thanks to luck and miracles, I couldn’t say for sure.

But I was fairly convinced by this theory with a pretty high degree of certainty.

I’ll need to gather as many diamonds and emeralds as I can tomorrow and stack every bit of luck and miracle possible.

It was at that moment that I resolved to ask Sae-eun to cloak me in as much luck and miracles as she could manage tomorrow.

That aside…

“Krhhh… kuuhh…”

I looked over at the Association President who was fast asleep and snoring.

“Krh…”

As if to prove she had been running tirelessly without rest until now…

Her snores carried the resolve to finally get a good night’s sleep tonight.

Right… she’s the hero saving Earth. I can’t wake her.

Just as I was determined not to disturb her peaceful,

Suddenly—

Huh?

The name I had once given to my imaginary childhood friend flickered at the edge of my memory—

Whoosh—

“…..!!”

Just a second ago, the Association President had been fast asleep, snoring…

But now, she had pressed a sharp longsword against my neck.

I was about to demand what in the world she was trying to do….only for a moment.

“Don’t remember.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Don’t recall it.”

“…Recall what?”

“My name.”

“…Didn’t you want me to remember it?”

“Not now. If it were going to take two years, then sure, remembering my name would be fine. But if things might wrap up in just two days… no. So, fill your head with something else instead.”

“…Like what?”

“Like spending the whole day screwing around with those girls who follow you around saying they like you…. whatever it is, just fill your head with them.”

“Wow.”

“Just two days… all I’m asking is two days. Please, Min-hyuk… I’m begging you. In this cycle, I-I really want to go back. I want to return to my parents too, so… don’t remember anything. Please.”

“…I’ll try.”

Seeing her now, asking me not to remember her…

For now, I decided to try filling my head with other things.

What should I fill it with?