280. Epilogue (1)
"It has been 200 days since the new era began."
As the news anchor spoke, the screen shifted, revealing a blue sky.
In the past, only white clouds would have floated in that sky, but now, there was a mysterious hole, its purpose unknown.
A hole that appeared after the incident 200 days ago.
Some said it would bring the end of the world, but in truth, it was a portal leading to the demon realm.
A hole opened by the demon god Estella, connecting to the demon realm.
However, not a single demon had crossed over through that hole until now.
Contrarily, it was humans who had reached out to it.
"This time, the third group of pioneers will be going to the so-called 'demon realm' through that hole."
The screen displayed images of countless people in succession.
Among them were both humans and demons.
The incident 200 days ago had been concluded with a man named Jin Su-hyuk taking all the blame upon himself.
Both demons and humans ended up in the palm of his hand.
Naturally, there were many who sought to place responsibility on the demon side.
However, the hole in the sky provided them with an opportunity.
"I don't like this~."
With those words, Yeon-ji abruptly turned off the television.
Her expression showed she truly did not like it.
Because of this, Alencia, who had been enjoying the TV, couldn't help but lose her interest.
"Shouldn't you be happy about this, Yeon-ji? You're half-demon after all."
"Yes, yes, that's right. Which is exactly why I have even more work to do now."
All of the demons who had sided with Jin Su-hyuk during the previous incident were, as expected, punished.
Some had left for the demon realm, while others wished to be punished according to human law.
Among them was Damian.
He admitted his wrongdoings surprisingly obediently and accepted his punishment.
He would probably never see the light again.
"If only Dad... No, if only he hadn't taken on unnecessary burdens."
As a result, the current spokesperson for the demons was Ardan.
The Great Duke of the demon realm.
Not only did he have enough status, but he was also a hero of the past to the demons.
Moreover, the fact that he was Yeon-ji's father made him even more likable to people.
Wasn't he the one who fought the hardest during the incident 200 days ago?
He was also the one who restrained Damian.
It was only natural for him to step up, acting as a bridge between humans and demons.
"I'm the only one always exhausted."
The incident was over, but for some reason, it strongly felt like things were just beginning.
No one knew what the demon god was thinking when she opened that hole.
'Maybe that man knows.'
For whom was the door to the demon realm an opportunity?
Was it for humans, or demons?
If humankind were to share what the demon realm possessed but humanity did not, the world might become something completely different from how it was now.
Also, the matter of the awakened and non-awakened felt as if it had cracked open a new layer because of that hole.
"Wasn't it Ah-yeon unni's magic that made that?"
With a rather gloomy face, Soo-ah curled up on the sofa as she spoke.
"Her magic isn't like that."
Yeon-ji replied casually, as if she was now used to Soo-ah's attitude.
Yeon-ji knew better than anyone else what Ah-yeon's magic was.
"Potential..."
Estella left behind the portal to the demon realm.
And Ah-yeon's magic created potential.
The possibility that even an ordinary human could become an awakener.
The possibility that anyone could become awakened with enough effort.
Of course, if one lacked talent, they would only become a nominal awakened without being able to significantly improve their abilities.
But there is a difference between zero and one.
There is a vast difference between not being able to do something at all and possibly being able to do it.
The flames that could have burned the world remained in the world as sparks of possibility.
"But Soo-ah unni, how long are you going to be like that?"
Alencia, as if marveling at Soo-ah who was sprawled across the sofa, spoke.
From Soo-ah's perspective, it was a comment that turned her insides out.
Before Soo-ah could answer, Yeon-ji interjected.
"Hmph, she just can't let things go."
"Because of Ah-yeon unni and the manager?"
"It's obvious."
Unable to hold back, Soo-ah shouted at their conversation.
"T-That's the same for Yeon-hwa unni too! You still have so many lingering regrets!"
Silenced by Soo-ah's mention of Yeon-hwa instead of Yeon-ji, Yeon-ji shut her mouth.
It was hard to deny, especially because, in her own case, things had ended before she could even try, making it all the more unfair.
"I've always been a woman with regrets."
"You seem awfully laid-back for someone like that."
At Soo-ah's remark, Yeon-ji puffed out her chest confidently with a, "Hmph."
"Don't lump me together with you, okay? I've never given up, you know?"
"......?"
Soo-ah questioned Yeon-ji—no, Yeon-hwa—doubtfully.
It sounded just like saying, "If there's a goalkeeper, you can't score a goal?"
"Are you crazy?"
"Oh my, what's wrong? Wasn't I always the villain here?"
"Hmmm."
Well, that's not really wrong.
Although she thought so, some part of Soo-ah's heart was strangely swayed.
Maybe, there was still a chance? Or perhaps, there was some other way?
Perhaps if she just took her to somewhere outside the reach of human law and persuaded her well enough...
Ah-yeon unni seemed like she could be convinced...
'Do those two even know what they're talking about?'
Alencia looked at the two and turned her gaze elsewhere.
She could no longer tell what was real and what was a joke.
'Nothing's really going to change anyway.'
Park Jung-woo's attitude toward them and toward Ah-yeon would hardly change.
His feelings had always remained the same.
From the very beginning and even now, he had always held only one person in his heart.
Alencia knew this.
Ever since she first met him.
No, even before she knew him, from the stories her mother told her.
There was something Alencia had never told Park Jung-woo.
Estella's final words.
She never bothered to tell him the last moment of the woman who had sent him away and ended the world.
The words her mother had seen with her own eyes at the end.
"Her wish finally came true."
Perhaps it was the reward for a thousand years of loneliness.
A beautifully happy ending, like a fairy tale.
Alencia liked that very much.
***
"I want to play games."
Shin Ah-yeon slumped over in her chair like she was melting.
She must have been really exhausted from today's CF shoot.
"For someone saying that, didn't you play late into the night yesterday?"
"If it's an RPG game, you can't even get started until you play for about five hours."
Is that so?
Having never played games for that long, it was hard to empathize.
But if she said so, it must be true.
"But, you know..."
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you okay with not going to the demon realm?"
"I don't care. I'm not interested."
"And me?"
Shin Ah-yeon had never been to the demon realm.
Park Jung-woo probably hadn't, either.
All the demons he'd encountered had always come from other worlds to invade.
"Do you want to go?"
"No, not really. I was just curious."
Shin Ah-yeon did not know why Estella had "intentionally" left open the portal to the demon realm.
At the time, she thought it was to call forth the demons for battle, but with the hole left there like that, it felt different.
"Estella."
As if reading Shin Ah-yeon's mind, Park Jung-woo spoke.
"Maybe she wanted to offer salvation even to the demons."
He didn't know how the resources of the demon realm and earth differed.
But the things needed would be mostly similar.
Maybe Estella hoped the two races might exchange goods through that hole.
"Relying just on you?"
"She was still there herself, too."
Well, that's true.
Shin Ah-yeon nodded, but she couldn't help feeling concerned.
Park Jung-woo seemed to understand Estella even better than her, despite her having been reincarnated.
"And also..."
"And?"
"She probably wanted to neutralize conflict."
In the end, humans have a tendency to unite in the face of a common enemy.
Now that the demon realm was connected, everyone's attention was focused there.
No matter how much Shin Ah-yeon's magic had implanted the "possibility to become awakened" in this world, it would still take time for that seed to sprout.
The demon realm's hole served as a perfect topic to buy that time.
"And now, no more dungeons or gates appear, either."
Thanks to that, even the hunters lost their jobs.
The profession was nearly extinct, but thanks to the hole to the demon realm, it managed to survive.
Under the new title 'pioneer', they now had opportunities to explore a new world.
However, as returning required help from the demons, only a small number could go for now.
"Which is why I've ended up as a CF-shooting machine."
Magic had also become almost unnecessary.
Dungeons and gates no longer appeared as they did before.
Life could be called peaceful, but who knew how long that would last?
The world could change at any moment.
"Shin Ah-yeon."
"Yes?"
"In the future, you know..."
The door to the demon realm was open.
If they went to the demon realm, they would reach another possibility:
A way to travel to that "other world" they had once fallen into.
The world the demons had ruled 300 years ago.
"Would you like to go with me to the world I visited through the rift?"
The demons might still have a way to go there.
If so, he wanted to show Shin Ah-yeon.
He wanted to show her what he had done there, what journey he had gone on, and who he had met.
"Is that okay?"
At those words, Shin Ah-yeon, uncharacteristically, looked at him with worried eyes.
"What is?"
"That place... you don't have only good memories of it."
"Well... that's true."
When he'd first fallen into that world, it was nothing but pain.
It took a long time to adapt to the new environment, and once he overcame that, he was subjected to terrible experiments.
After surviving by any means necessary, it was just a series of battles.
"But there are good memories, too."
"... With Estella?"
"That, and others."
"You're supposed to deny things like that!"
As Park Jung-woo answered so calmly, Shin Ah-yeon punched him in the waist.
She'd felt it before, but Shin Ah-yeon's punches hurt a lot.
But from his perspective, it felt terribly unfair.
After all, Estella was Shin Ah-yeon herself.
"We're the same but different, you know?"
"But you remember everything now, don't you?"
"That's true, but we're still different!"
Just because you recover your memories doesn't mean you become that person.
But then, to say otherwise felt odd.
Honestly, admitting they were the same was more romantic.
Didn't even Park Jung-woo fall for "Shin Ah-yeon" and not Estella from the very beginning?
"Still, I'm not as devious as that woman."
"Devious, huh."
"Even just that one incident..."
Using Ivan Hunt and exploiting her own wish for Estella's plan was something Shin Ah-yeon could never do. Of course, all of that stemmed from her faith in Park Jung-woo.
With him, she believed her wish would be led in the right direction.
'I really want to say something, but I'm holding back.'
But Shin Ah-yeon knew.
The Shin Ah-yeon who fought the demon god Estella knew that, at the time, Estella had truly beaten her up.
At that moment, Estella genuinely pummeled her.
She tried to show only her gentle side to Park Jung-woo, but threw all the dirty work at Shin Ah-yeon.
She could have explained those golden threads more clearly and taught her how to create magic more kindly!
The animosity Estella directed toward her at the time was real.
'I'll just have to be the good one and put up with it.'
With that, Shin Ah-yeon quietly lowered her gaze.
Her eyes fell on the ring adorning the fourth finger of her hand.
Just looking at it made all her anger toward Estella melt away like snow.
"Shall we get going now?"
"Where?"
"To our next schedule, of course."
As Park Jung-woo replied nonchalantly, Shin Ah-yeon looked at him with pleading eyes, but he was merciless.
That part of him had not changed in the slightest.
Though the relationship between the two of them had changed, much had remained the same.
It was a little disappointing, but it also felt right.
'Oh well.'
Such ordinary days—
That was the life they had both wanted to protect.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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