Im Haekyung not being some ordinary S-rank mental-type Hunter was something I knew better than anyone else.
However, that did not mean I understood the bullshit Haekyung had just said. Leaning against the wall, I slowly looked the bastard over and said,
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I didn’t phrase it in a complicated way.”
Even though Haekyung had been sleeping just moments ago, Im Haekyung’s voice was clear. There was no trace of drowsiness left in the eyes either. I glanced at the bastard’s disheveled hair, then recalled the Im Haekyung from those “memories.”
Now that the pain had subsided and I had fully woken up, the memories from the deleted timelines I had seen kept catching on me one after another. It felt like recalling events from an extremely distant past. It no longer felt like I was detachedly observing someone else’s life the way it had before, but at the same time, it was not overwhelmingly close either.
Logically speaking, after living through close to a thousand timelines, my mind should have been horrifyingly worn down, yet strangely enough, the current me was perfectly fine. Hell, until just moments ago, I had not even remembered all those “deleted timelines,” had I? Calling forgetfulness the “kindness” of a god felt fucking awful, but either way, it had contributed to me standing here now with a stable mind.
It went without saying, but Im Haekyung definitely existed in the deleted timelines too. Just like now.
Of course, it was not as though I had often seen Im Haekyung this disheveled, but if I tried, I could remember scenes like this. It just took some time, like recalling something from a very distant past.
Even across that endless stretch of time, Im Haekyung had been an impressive bastard. Without memories of each individual timeline, how could Haekyung reach “conclusions” at such an unbelievably fast speed? It really was... questionable.
Just like now.
Without ever seeing a being similar to a “god,” without ever regressing, without ever reading the “original work” like I had... how was this possible?
Because the bastard was not some ordinary S-rank Hunter? But Kwon Taehan and Sung Uijae could produce this level of output too. Then was this slight difference what made mental-type Hunters what they were?
'No, why the hell am I obsessing over something like this in the first place?'
Sung Uijae and Kwon Taehan both held doubts about the Cataclysm too, but not to this extent.
So why... only Im Haekyung?
While I silently stared at Im Haekyung, the smile gradually disappeared from the bastard’s face.
“You have restrictions like that stuffed into your head, yet this is the part you refuse to believe.”
There was no irritation in the voice. As though this level of distrust was something Haekyung dealt with every day.
I walked past Im Haekyung and yanked open the curtains beside the bed. It was still dark outside, but the room became a little clearer than before.
Even Im Haekyung’s expression.
Im Haekyung merely followed my bizarre actions with the eyes without offering any criticism. Standing with the window behind me, I faced Haekyung directly.
“Guild Master.”
“Yes, Jehyun.”
“How far can you see through Mental Suppression?”
At my question, Im Haekyung went quiet for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.
“Mm.... So that’s the question. Whether I can see your ‘memories’?”
“Yes.”
“To give the conclusion first, not at all. I’m not a psychometrist, after all. I simply manipulate people’s minds... block them, and occasionally suppress them. Though I can make people confess things. What you saw just now, and what you felt....”
“And yet you’re certain.... Why is that?”
“Was that talking to yourself? Or a question for me?”
At Im Haekyung’s words, I let out a short laugh and walked closer.
“I do think, you know.”
“Often?”
Ignoring the bullshit smoothly, I thought back over the Im Haekyung I had known until now.
“So our Guild Master has been going easy on me this whole time. No matter what kind of shit I pull, you let most of it slide... let yourself get used too, and today you even dug through my mind until all your mana was drained dry.”
“Since you know that, could you maybe be grateful? I feel like I’ve never once received proper thanks....”
“When it keeps happening, it naturally makes me curious. Why go this far? What’s the exact reason? Just to satisfy your curiosity?”
“Even though you already know the answer?”
“That’s it?”
Just to resolve one little question, the Guild Master of Haeseong obediently listened to everything I said like this...?
I acknowledged that there had been a certain level of power game between Im Haekyung and me. But Kwon Taehan, Joo Seowon, Do Yehyun, even Sung Uijae — all of them had clear goals, and I could see those goals plainly.... But what was Im Haekyung’s objective? Haekyung almost never refused my requests. Of course, the price for that was pretty brutal, but just as the bastard himself had said, Im Haekyung was not betting on my death... so saying Haekyung had driven me into life-threatening situations was honestly ambiguous.
In other words, I needed an explanation for this fundamental question. Why was Im Haekyung trying to isolate me so thoroughly — cutting off my escape routes, contacting Joo Seowon, planting distrust in Ryu Taeyoung, even blocking followers of the Church of Heavenly Decree?
'To make me need Haekyung.'
To keep me under surveillance. Then what came after that? Why go this far just to keep me nearby? To resolve some curiosity? Then what kind of question was making Haekyung this... desperate for an answer?
Ironically, despite all these questions, I already knew the answer.
'The Cataclysm.'
Im Haekyung had consistently been curious about why the Cataclysm happened.
I recalled the moment I witnessed Haekyung’s fear in the Forsaken Land. What Im Haekyung fundamentally feared was the meaninglessness of the Cataclysm. Or rather... the possibility that Haekyung had been wrong to believe the Cataclysm had meaning at all.
Because Im Haekyung was someone who prepared for the future... and reached conclusions about it.
The bastard did not want to use me to find out why all this had happened. Im Haekyung wanted me to validate the conclusions Haekyung had already reached.
In that case, what I wanted to know was this: how had the bastard reached those conclusions in the first place?
“That’s it? I’ve spent my entire life wondering about this.”
“Your whole life? The Cataclysm only started six years ago.”
As I pointed out the contradiction in the wording, the corner of Im Haekyung’s mouth twisted upward.
Standing right in front of the bastard, I stared down steadily.
“Or are you saying you predicted the Cataclysm?”
“Not exactly. But... I always felt like something like this would happen.”
“Something like this?”
“Mm.... This is always difficult. I wonder if I can explain it properly.”
Im Haekyung narrowed the eyes slightly, let out a small laugh, then continued in a calm voice.
“Ever since I was very young, I felt like the world was going to end. It’s not that I had some twisted wish for it... it’s difficult to explain clearly, but I had that certainty. And when you look at the world while holding that certainty, everything feels incredibly strange. The world is going to be destroyed, yet everyone’s acting perfectly normal? Is it because they’ve all already accepted death?”
“.......”
“It was when I entered middle school that I realized nobody else actually knew. Back then, I was rather shocked. To me, it had been a completely fundamental truth ever since I was born. Not something you gain through experience....”
What?
What Im Haekyung was saying was quite far from what I had expected, so I could not understand it immediately. But instead of refuting the bastard’s words, I listened to the explanation continue.
“But other people didn’t think that way.”
“Other people?”
“I had a family too. Not for very long, though.”
“Guild Master Song?”
“Including Guild Master Song... my father and mother at the time as well. Around then, I think I started doubting myself. Ah, am I the problem? And... ten years later, I finally got my answer.”
“.......”
“When the Gates first appeared, do you remember what keyword was used most often worldwide?”
Like hell I would remember.
After checking my reaction, Im Haekyung answered the question personally as though it were nothing.
“Destruction. Not Cataclysm.... Some people said it was a temporary incident, others claimed it was a secret government project that had been conducted for years. There were all kinds of explanations for the cause, but the conclusion always came down to two possibilities. The world will be destroyed. The world will not be destroyed.”
“.......”
“As the Gates increased and awakenings began, people started calling it the Cataclysm instead. Back when the whole world was in chaos over whether it would end or not, how do you think I felt?”
“You probably felt good.”
I answered without hesitation.
Wasn’t that obvious? If Haekyung had predicted all this alone — no, if Haekyung had instinctively known it... then it would have felt good to be proven right.
At my answer, Im Haekyung’s expression disappeared for a moment before turning back into a smile.
“The world changing, destruction approaching, all that wasn’t particularly important. It was just... ah, I was right. That feeling was good.”
“.......”
“But then the next question naturally appeared. Why did this happen? What exactly was the reason for the Cataclysm?”
“And you think the answer lies with something non-human.”
Yet at that moment, Im Haekyung felt more inhuman than anything else. More human than the gods I had seen, and much sloppier too, but still.
“This was certainty too. But now I needed evidence. Evidence that transcendent beings existed. And proof that they caused this Cataclysm. I’m not a believer, Jehyun.”
“.......”
“But even if I don’t worship gods, I still acknowledge their existence. And I felt as though the proof of that would eventually appear right before my eyes... like this.”
“.......”
“So what was it you wanted to ask me, Jehyun? Ah, should I guess?”
At some point, a faint excitement had begun mixing into Im Haekyung’s voice.
Just like the many times before when Haekyung had acted this way in front of me.
Smiling back, I silently observed the bastard.
“You were wondering why I’m interested in you, Jehyun.... Why I can’t let you go even while accepting these ‘losses.’ It’s the same reason.”
“.......”
“From the very first time we met, I was already somewhat certain. From the moment you intruded into my Hunter Market, called yourself my fan... and suggested we enter together into the variable Dungeon in Sokcho.”
“.......”
“I thought you would prove my certainty correct.”
“How did you know I was connected to the Cataclysm?”
At my words, Im Haekyung’s gaze lowered briefly before rising again. A faint madness shone in those almost transparent eyes.
It was excessive certainty.
“I looked through your memories, and you definitely witnessed something.... I already believed you were connected to the Cataclysm.”
“.......”
“And when I stated that certainty just now, you responded by asking how I knew.”
Ah, so that was it.... Haekyung had deliberately spoken with absolute certainty to draw out my reaction? And after seeing me ask how Haekyung knew, the bastard had truly solidified the belief?
'That’s one hell of a bluff.'
Still, what exactly was Im Haekyung relying on to casually tell me all this?
“You really do spout insane bullshit with confidence. What if I start telling people about all this?”
“Go ahead. If there’s anyone who’ll believe you.... You’ll just end up looking insane, Jehyun. I already experienced that myself, remember?”
“Sounds like a curse of knowledge.”
“It feels similar.... A certainty nobody else believes in. Mm, though that’s not the only thing I rely on.”
Mental Suppression(S) is activating.
Im Haekyung curved the eyes and added,
“I have the ability to take back anything I say once it’s been spoken. One of the advantages of the Cataclysm... and the reason I haven’t gone insane. More precisely, the reason I wasn’t classified as a madman.”
In other words, Haekyung was saying the bastard would erase my memories.
'Convenient.'
So this was how Haekyung had always taken words back in front of other people? Well, for a psychopath with mental-type abilities, it was not exactly an impossible line of thinking.
However, there was one thing Im Haekyung was overlooking. Without a single regression, Haekyung had reached astonishingly accurate conclusions, but I had been watching the bastard for far longer than that.
Im Haekyung, who had consumed a considerable amount of mana digging through my head, was still dangerous... but there was an opening now.
Almost simultaneously with the activation of Mental Suppression, I pulled the suppressor cuffs out of my pocket.
I had expected Haekyung to react like this much. Finding the suppressor cuffs Haekyung had hidden again by repeatedly opening the Status Window was hardly difficult.
Driving my knee down onto the bastard’s thigh, I instantly grabbed both wrists, yanked the body downward to throw Haekyung off balance, then pinned the bastard down and locked the wrists overhead.
It did not even take ten seconds to put the suppressor cuffs on.
Being S-rank, the suppressor cuffs alone would not completely restrain all of Haekyung’s Skills. But fortunately, Im Haekyung was a mental-type Hunter, currently had a considerable amount of mana depleted... and I possessed the passive Mental Strength Skill.
I pulled upward on the suppressor cuffs to pin the bastard to the bed, then rolled my stiff shoulder once.
It was only for a moment, but completely taking the upper hand and looking down at Im Haekyung felt new.
Im Haekyung’s eyes were calm, but the gaze itself was persistent.
Looking for an opening?
'Interesting.'
Looking down at Im Haekyung, I slowly smiled.
“My apologies for subduing you. Your mana will recover soon anyway, so to get straight to the point....”
“.......”
“If I forget everything, Guild Master is the one who loses out, isn’t that right?”
“Is that so?”
“Let’s put all our cards on the table. I’ll cooperate too.”
“Ha ha.... In this state, I don’t particularly feel like saying anything.”
Would negotiation work? Or maybe... threats?
With one hand still holding Im Haekyung’s wrists bound, I used the other to lightly touch near the bastard’s cheek. When I pressed my thumb into the hollow directly beneath the eye, those dense eyelashes trembled slightly.
“Even if it’s temporary, I’m in a far more advantageous position right now, so refusing would be a loss. Of course, I don’t think I can kill you. I don’t want to either.”
“.......”
“Don’t try brainwashing or Mental Suppression. Unless you want to walk around wearing an eyepatch over an empty eye socket from tomorrow onward.”
“.......”
“Even for an S-rank, eyes are still just as soft.... And you’d miss them if they were gone, wouldn’t you?”
Leaving function aside, they were also one of the biggest contributors to the bastard’s appearance.
I placed my thumb on Im Haekyung’s eyelid and applied the slightest bit of pressure.
“Let’s have an interesting conversation. We’ve both been waiting for a moment like this, haven’t we?”