Damned 13th Regression – 332
by Jessie@AFNCC
<Regression number 13 is damn right, episode 332>
“It’s a dog! Why are we-!”
“How did I get this ability! “Why are you taking it from me!”
“I was going to show my parents how great I’ve become!”
“I became strong like Superman! We are heroes! “You came here instead of the damn earth bastards and fought like dogs!”
“Nine out of ten are dead! “We sacrificed enough!”
“But why can’t I go back home!?”
“Send us back! Please send it back!”
“Send me home!”
“I’m sick of barbells!”
“Do you know how many years I’ve lived here? Do you know how many dead people I’ve seen!?”
“I don’t want to be here!”
The hunters knelt down and prayed.
“I don’t like this place….”
“Send me please let me go!”
“sorry! I was wrong! Please please please send me home… please-!”
Those who had done nothing wrong cried and prayed.
I begged Joo Gong-hyeok to return my avatar to my home.
More than a million people cried out.
Shadows with undistinguishable faces screamed and cursed.
The cries overlap and become meaningless.
It just turns into a loud noise and cannot be heard as human speech.
However the hate and hatred are fully conveyed.
“Go back.”
Joo Gong-hyuk snapped his fingers.
“To your house.”
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widely-
Hunters disappeared.
The pure white space became dark as if a light had been turned off.
The hunters returned to the 10th floor.
To the city where they lived.
A new 88th floor with pure white brick.
Joo Gong-hyeok sitting on the tyrant’s throne leaned back.
“It’s quiet.”
The burden on my shoulders has been lifted.
There is no need to fight anymore.
Everything doesn’t work out and you don’t have to start from scratch.
‘A future that continues without destruction.’
The world that Joo Gong-hyeok had hoped for was created.
But even though my shoulders have become lighter my heart is still heavy.
Several corpses with the same face approach one on top of the other.
Hunters who were executed for peace hunters who were sacrificed to prevent destruction.
The people that Joo Gong-hyeok kept killing.
They opened their mouths.
‘The weapon that saved the world must become unhappy.’
‘You have to suffer.’
‘In eternal hellfire….’
Eternal sin was engraved on Joo Gong-hyeok’s soul.
Joo Gong-hyeok sacrificed the world 13 times.
He attempted to save the world by sacrificing his loved ones and those whose names he did not know.
‘So I guess I can sacrifice the 14th time.’
Sinners must be punished.
Punishment must not be avoided.
You shouldn’t make excuses either.
You must accept your sin.
Even the future punishment.
The price of realizing ‘justice’ and ‘ideals’.
“Joo Gong-hyeok….”
The angel Nathaniel came to comfort him.
There are no avatars that made as much noise as Mirae in episode 14.
He sits alone on his throne and is lonely not understood by anyone.
Nathaniel shed tears.
“Why aren’t you crying?”
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“Because you don’t deserve it.”
“…It’s okay to cry.”
She bit her lip and shed tears.
‘What can I say to comfort you?’
Nathaniel couldn’t find words and cried into Joo Gong-hyeok’s arms.
“Someday people will look at you too….”
“You don’t need to comfort me. Because that won’t happen.”
Joo Gong-hyuk closed his eyes.
“I was wrong. But it’s the right thing to do.”
There is a flip side to ideals and justice.
There are sacrifices and costs.
Joo Gong-hyeok will never receive anything in return.
The only thing that can be achieved by the blood shed for the ideal is the ideal.
The only thing that can be gained from the blood shed for justice is justice.
Those who hope to be rewarded by ideals and justice become distorted.
The moment a person asks others to pay for what he has paid he becomes a monster.
No one will pay the price for justice and ideals.
I closed my eyes and darkness seeped into my eyelids.
Joo Gong-hyuk fell into a deep sleep for the first time in a long time.
It was a sleep I had never enjoyed since returning to Babel.
Joo Gong-hyeok fell into a dream.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Joo Gong-hyeok.”
When I opened my eyes I saw a familiar but unfamiliar face.
The “14th” sitting on the dusty throne spoke again.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret. Joo Gong-hyeok.”
“…I don’t regret it.”
Joo Gong-hyeok spoke to the “14th person” who consistently gave advice.
“This is my answer. “I have absolutely no regrets.”
The answer arrived at after 13 regressions.
“The 14th” smiled.
“Then that’s it. “If you don’t regret it that’s fine.”
“….”
Joo Gong-hyeok who was sitting on the same throne in the same posture asked the “14th person.”
“Are you okay?”
Joo Gong-hyeok asked sadly.
“You must have suffered more than me.”
The smile disappeared from the mouth of the ‘14th’.
“I’m fine.”
After a long silence “the 14th” answered.
“It’s okay because I’m a sinner.”
When he lowered his head plaster-like dust fell.
“I regret it and it’s painful but I deserve it.”
“….”
“I must suffer more and more.”
The angel Hayeonsi appeared next to the 14th.
When the angel Hayeonsi tried to extend her hand to cover her the “14th” slapped her hand away.
“I need to suffer more.”
“You shouldn’t be forgiven by anyone.”
“You have to suffer alone forever.”
“The 14th” was crying.
Tears mixed with dust flowed from moss-covered eyelids.
“…farewell. Joo Gong-hyeok.”
“The 14th” smiled through tears.
“Congratulations on saving the world.”
“…「14th」.”
Joo Gong-hyeok spoke to the “14th person” who had already disappeared.
“I will pray that you be forgiven.”
Joo Gong-hyeok sincerely prayed that the “14th” would be forgiven someday.
He killed Christina with his own hands.
Killing and destroying the people you love.
The 14th Joo Gong-hyuk’s heart must have been broken when he reached the basement of Babel.
I would have regretted and despaired.
However “14th” did not return but went up.
He ascended upward without abandoning his own world.
But what finally appeared to him when he opened the door to the 88th floor was…
9 Joo Gong-hyeok.
“The 14th” must have been dumbfounded.
I’m glad I didn’t die from the devil on the spot that day.
While the 14th was defeated and fled the 9 Joo Gong-hyeok would have thoroughly devastated Babel.
Fight together with your remaining comrades but too many will have died.
When all his beloved companions died and he was left alone killing the black helmets one by one he finally killed the Demon King.
How many survived?
How many?
How many thousand?
The “14th” had to give the worst sentence to those who barely survived.
‘iced coffee….’
Joo Gong-hyeok groaned without realizing it.
It must have been incredibly painful.
I know that feeling better than anyone else.
No maybe I don’t know at all.
It still hurts like this.
It’s so painful.
The pain of being left alone when everyone dies and no one can be saved.
How he feels about having to bear the yoke of a traitor and be resented by those who survive…
As much as Joo Gong-hyeok does not regret anything he does not know “The 14th.”
The 14th would have had to spend eternity immersed in regret.
Hayeon-si who couldn’t see that wanted to go back to the past and fix it again.
No one was saved by sacrificing countless people.
When I think of the “14th” where I was forever immersed in a broken heart and endless pain and regrets greater than myself the pain I would experience is nothing.
I don’t even have the right to shed tears.
The blue flame disappeared from Joo Gong-hyeok’s whole body.
The power of ascension which cannot be maintained is fading away.
In his dream Joo Gong-hyeok was standing on a path of blue flames.
On the way to Ascension from Azazel’s Valhalla.
“….”
Shadows swayed at the end of the road.
Eight faceless gods were looking at him.
Joo Gong-hyeok smiled at them.
“Thank you all for your help.”
“….”
“It’s okay you don’t have to worry anymore.”
The shadows that were looking at Joo Gong-hyeok with sad eyes disappeared at the end of the road.
I can’t meet them yet.
Joo Gong-hyeok gave up death.
Even if we meet again someday it will be in the distant future.
However they will lend their strength to Joo Gong-hyeok whenever he wants.
* * *
Kwaang-!
There was an explosion and the buildings in the city collapsed.
“The avatar is my avatar!”
“All dimension refugee slaves have disappeared!”
“Why on earth is Joo Gong-hyuk!”
“I cleared Babel even though the devil was dead!”
“Why did it become like this—!!”
The hunters who returned to the city cried.
“I fought for the Earth!”
“Why can’t I get anything in return!”
“It’s unreasonable-!”
“Why are we like this!”
Edgar stood up from among the fallen wounded.
“Everyone wanted to go home.”
Edgar held in his hands the relics of his comrades who died in this battle.
“But you Joo Gong-hyuk…!”
“Kill! “Better kill me!”
“Kill us!”
Joo Gong-hyeok on the 88th floor woke up to the sound of hunters crying.
‘I want to die…’
It’s a lie.
In the past they clung to Joo Gong-hyuk because they wanted to live.
Those who shout for death are those who do not want to die.
Those who really wanted to die have already died on the battlefield.
Like Soma Sangay.
He fell asleep as a white bone on an unknown battlefield and was buried in a graveyard becoming the cornerstone of salvation.
The only ones who survive and cry out for death are those who are good at acting due to their emotions.
‘but….’
They are not wrong.
Warriors who cannot return home even though they are victorious.
A war against monsters not a war against humans.
It is literally a lawless battlefield where one eats is eaten kills dies is robbed robbed violated and trampled.
They have been fighting for decades in humanity’s worst battlefield where there is no minimum level of humanity and morality.
Nevertheless their sacrifices are not repaid.
The height of absurdity.
But that’s reality.
Not all sacrifices are always rewarded appropriately.
Those who try to accept from others the sacrifices they have made become distorted.
The more a person wants in return the more he or she becomes a monster.
“Everyone cried and fought….”
“It’s a dog’s death!”
“Joo Gong-hyeok will soon invade Earth!”
“Because that bastard is a bad bastard!”
“That’s why we have to be strong!”
The hunters said anything.
No one stopped them.
The other hunters were powerless to stop them.
Joo Gong-hyuk also had no intention of stopping them.
‘There should be at least the freedom to hate.’
Joo Gong-hyeok did not want to deceive the hunters.
While imposing his own definition he did not want to take away their free will.
‘If only we could create a happy world by any means possible…’
All you have to do is reign as the eternal ruler of the Earth and gently touch the minds of humans.
Like the future of “Sigmund.”
All you have to do is instill ‘happiness’ into your head so that you don’t fight and hate each other.
You can change humans and hunters to suit your taste.
It can create an illusion for hunters right now.
He can show them a happy future where they return to Earth and lock them all in a “coffin” without telling them the truth.
But it’s deceptive.
It’s a sweet lie.
As he returned Joo Gong-hyeok realized something.
You only live once so you shouldn’t live a lie.
Even if it hurts and is difficult we must live in the truth.
Sweet lies are a harbinger of destruction.
The world is headed towards destruction as everyone continues to act like ridiculous clowns and lie.
The false utopia does not fit Joo Gong-hyeok’s ending.
『GM』 also rejected Sigmund’s future.
Joo Gong-hyeok was lost in thought as he looked back at the hunters who cried out for righteousness in hatred and at his own justice.
‘What is right?’
Black and white logic.
In reality there are few areas where right and wrong can be clearly distinguished.
Most of the world is in an area of contradiction and gray.
In reality there is no correct answer that satisfies everyone.
In the hunters’ eyes Joo Gong-hyuk is nothing more than a psychopath who is crazy about the position and power of the devil.
But Joo Gong-hyeok looks further than them.
I have seen more than them.
Hunters are destroyed in their ignorance not knowing that they have chosen the worst choice.
People like Christina and Edgar can rise again even if they return to Earth.
A person with a strong mind can find happiness even if he loses all his strength and returns to Earth.
But the majority of hunters are not like that.
Because we have experienced so much pain and violence.
Among them Joo Gong-hyeok can select those who will return to Earth.
‘That’s a deception.’
There are no exceptions.
Based on one’s own value judgment this person can go to Earth and this person cannot.
You shouldn’t make judgments like that.
We send this person to Earth because he is more valuable and we do not send that person to Earth because he is worthless.
This is a piece of trash that has been repeated several times already.
A trashy choice that I had no choice but to make.
What Joo Gong-hyeok could have chosen was the ‘lesser evil’ that avoided the worst.
It was always like that.
The best thing to do is for everyone to work together to clear Babel and return to Earth and live righteously.
Everyone who becomes gods and heroes can live happily on Earth.
I also like stories about people who have tremendous power and sometimes have to laugh but who hide their abilities and live as ordinary people because they want to live quietly in their second lives.
But the world does not move so easily.
If we leave it alone the world will turn to the worst.
An uncomfortable life saves the world.
Everyone’s sacrifice saves everyone.
However most hunters cannot tolerate discomfort.
You cannot give up your right to trample on others you do not like the pleasure and happiness you originally enjoyed.
They cannot tolerate the reality that they are not treated as well as their powers.
Joo Gong-hyeok returned to that world several times.
The easy normal ending has already failed several times.
In an ideal world ideal heroes exist.
However in a twisted world there are only twisted heroes.
Joo Gong-hyeok could not come up with an ideal ending.
Faced with the limits of reality he has no choice but to become the tyrant of Babel and the devil.
If anyone cared about him they might have asked.
‘Why should I even care about such things?’
Why should Joo Gong-hyeok who has fulfilled his duties take care of the hunters’ misfortune?
Why do we have to be so picky about what is fair and fair?
Why should we care about people’s future even at the expense of our own happiness?
Because it is right.
For the returnee it was engraved into his instinct.
Through repeated regressions ideals and justice anger and hatred and the belief that these ideals are carried out were engraved in my soul.
Joo Gong-hyeok learned from everyone.
To Liang Xien Ha Yeon-si Edgar Christina and even Jeong Hyeon-do and Marcus Almog.
The boy who admired heroes learned ideals from Christina. I learned justice from Edgar. I learned forgiveness from Hayeonsi. I learned the cause from Liang Xian.
And the young man who became a returner learned hatred anger violence and meanness from the hunters.
Everything I met and experienced became a part of Joo Gong-hyeok.
By sacrificing the world he became a machine that saved the world.
It was completed as a righteous weapon that saves the twisted reality.
However the blade of the weapon is not only aimed at the Demon King and Hunter.
Be fair to yourself as well.
Ideals and justice have become obsessions engraved into his soul and he cannot even forgive himself.
Those who commit sins must be punished.
It is so unfair that the human who killed the hunters and put them through hell ends up living a miserable and happy life.
This is incorrect.
If you are the main character in a story you can freely bully steal kill and end up living happily in the end.
But real people are not like that.
Such things should not be accepted as justified.
Trampling on others for one’s own happiness should not be taken for granted.
The ‘main character’ who enjoys pleasure by killing people to his heart’s content assaulting people as he pleases and threatening others…
“I lived happily ever after.”
Joo Gong-hyuk cannot accept such an ending.
The soul rejects such an ending.
Those who commit sins must be punished.
You must bear your own sins.
Joo Gong-hyuk gave up his happiness.
Whisper-
The Earth separates from the roots of Babel.
The dimension of humanity freed from the bondage of Babel departed for a distant place.
Joo Gong-hyeok looked down at it from the top of the barbell.
The world where gods live and the world where humans live must be separated.
“The 14th” took hundreds of years but for Joo Gong-hyeok it was just a moment.
Now even if you want to go back you can’t.
The dimension of humanity will gain the right to win over Babel and safely swim in the Lake of Void.
Joo Gong-hyuk turned away.
To sort out the possibility of a final regression.
To cut off the true source from which the “Future People” came.
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