Chapter 84: Time to walk the story (Time Lapse)

Shutout to our newest Protagonist Tier Patron Manuel Rodriguez!! Thank you so much!!

Hero Leskapi was originally an ordinary young man from the countryside.

He was not a warrior, a knight, or a mercenary. But an accidental meeting gave him the opportunity to go to the capital of the Empire.

At that time, he entered a dungeon by accident, and coincidentally, the dungeon was the tomb of a true warrior that was sealed thousands of years ago. Very coincidentally, Leskapi was entitled to hold the ‘True Second holy Sword’ that was sealed in the dungeon.

The true Hero! Leskapi!

[The protagonist ‘Leskapi’ was born.]

He had a timid personality, had always been ignored, never been in a fight, and he was not even good at talking to someone.

However, after getting his hands on the second holy sword, ‘Noslet’ everything started to work out for him.

For some reason, even when he said something timidly, everyone listened to him. When he showed the sacred sword to the nobles, they all knelt down without questioning, not asking the credibility of the sword. He even possessed a stronger ability after training for a month compared to a wannabe knight who trained for 10 years.

Then, Leskapi finally felt something.

‘I can do it.’

The world began to look easy. There was rarely an enemy who was stronger than him. And even if he encountered them, the divine sword noslet glowed every time he defeated the enemy and gained stronger power.

He became stronger than a swordsman who had been training for 15 years when he had been training for three months, and by half a year he was able to defeat even a famous knight who had trained for 20 years.

The world was easy.

Regardless of the dangers he encountered, the situation was easily solved by simply wielding the holy sword noslet. His teammates always listened to Leskapi’s words like a fool, and for some reason the Demon King always sent an enemy around his level. He used them as a foundation for his growth.

When Leskapi said a word, women always blushed for no reason.

He could get anything he wanted.

Power, honor, even purpose.

So, after he was chosen as a hero,

‘There was one more warrior…’

Leskapi began to hate the existence of Yoo Seodam, another hero who wielded a holy sword just like him.

And then, Leskapi, who was afraid of the existence of the other hero, started to spread an unlikely rumor about his opponent.

‘He is a demon! He’s Satan who stole the holy sword Youslet!’

Everyone in the world never doubted his words. The fact that he was holding a holy sword was like a proof that heaven had chosen him as a hero. So, everyone was furious when he mentioned that a demon had played a trick.

And then, the world starts to see Yoo Seodam as a demon. And Leskapi became the sole hero of the world. He gained more and more confidence and finally,

‘If I come back after defeating the Demon King, will you accept my proposal?’

It was now possible for him to confidently confess to Nisha Carmel, the most beautiful flower of the empire.

Leskapi had no doubts, believing that the princess would also shyly accept his proposal while blushing just like any other woman.

However,

He didn’t know.

‘Protagonist correction’ didn’t work on Nisha. Because she already met someone who could destroy these probabilities.

‘…·Sorry. Give me some time to think about it…’

‘······!’

At that time, Leskapi could see the eyes of the princess. It was a look of disbelief! Maybe, that look was supposed to be the normal reaction.

Wouldn’t he be like that too if someone proposed to marry him at the first meeting? The two didn’t even get to know each other at all.

However, Leskapi had confidence he could win everyone’s favor . 

And so Leskapi approached the princess with all of his sincerity and tried to win her heart. He hoped that Nisha would really fall in love with him. However, it was too late now, the princess’s heart was moving far away from Leskapi.

Before long, Leskapi became angry with the princess, and realized. He himself did not love her either. He just wanted to make her his wife because she was the most beautiful flower in the empire.

So his goal became simple and clear. The marriage itself had already been approved by the emperor. If he returned to the empire after defeating the Demon King, the Princess would become his wife.

·····It should have been that way.

‘The demon Yoo Seodam kidnapped the princess!’

‘In a week, the wedding between the demon of rice cake soup and Nisha Carmel will be held under the arrangement of the Demon King!’

The empire was overturned. It was an absurd situation where an imperial princess could end up marrying a demon! 

The emperor called the warrior Leskapi urgently and ordered.

‘Defeat the Demon King within a week!’

It was an impossible task.

No matter how strong Leskapi was, it had only been a year since he became a hero. He had not yet obtained enough strength to defeat the Demon King. He needed at least 10 years, or even 20 years more to train while growing stronger by killing more of the demon king’s subordinates. He would certainly die if he went now.

However,

Leskapi was a hero.

He was obligated to save the world, the empire, and the princess.

‘Hahaha…. Can I bring….the imperial army…with me…?”

‘What are you talking about, Oh great hero! Only the hero could stand against the Demon King!’

For the first time, his opinion was rejected.

It was natural.

‘As long as a warrior existed in this world, only a warrior could fight against the demon!’

That was a law created by the ‘protagonist correction’ received by the hero.

It was created to prevent anyone from intervening with the hero’s achievements.

It was created so everyone had no choice but to rely on the warrior.

‘Ah.’

Only then did Leskapi realize something.

He was already too late.

But he shook his head.

‘I am a hero.’

The hero chosen by the world. The first hero in thousands of years to wield the holy sword ‘noslet’ that could only be wielded by a true hero!

‘I can do it!’

Thus, the hero, Leskapi, charged with a white horse towards Demon Castle, showing off his reliable back to people of the empire.

But, exactly three days later.

[You have successfully hunted a level 78 protagonist.]

He returned as a corpse.

* * *

“The hero is no more…”

Nisha muttered while standing at the top of the wall and gazing at corpses of countless demons laying around everywhere. Not all these demons were killed by Leskapi. Most of them were killed by Yoo Seodam.

He couldn’t help it. Because if he really took the princess to the Demon king’s Castle, both of them would die.

Yoo Seodam put holy sword Youslet on the floor. A holy sword that had never been used since it was picked up. Right next to it was the second holy sword Noslet that Leskapi had left behind.

“Now… What will happen to the world?”

“Well. At least it won’t be destroyed soon.”

“Sorry?”

The theme of the protagonist’s story in this world was the hero and the demon king.

However, it was not such a common cliché where there was happiness in the end of the story, rather, the theme was『The hero who could not save the world』.

In other words, it was a world where the ‘Cliché Twist’ was about a hero who couldn’t defeat the Demon King.

What would happen to the hero who failed to defeat the Demon King?

After the world gets destroyed, the hero escapes from this world with his wives and goes to another world. That was the original ending that Yoo Seodam saw 50 years in the future.

But now, such an ending would be no more because the hero Leskapi was dead.

Sizzle..

“Th..The holy sword is disappearing…!”

Both holy swords turned into particles of light and disappeared.

“Now……what will you do? Will you… become the new hero?”

“Ehei~ I don’t think that title will fit me.”

“But the world still needs a hero….”

Yoo Seodam smirked at Nisha’s words. He raised his head and looked far away.

Because the protagonist had died, the ‘protagonist correction’ was gone as well.

Now, all the powerful constraints surrounding the world had disappeared.

Du Du Du Du…!!

“There it is.”

“That’s……!”

The fluttering red flag she saw was certainly the flag of the army of the Anwar Carmel Empire.

Yoo Seodam watched the incoming army and handed the ether blade he was holding to Nisha Carmel.

“It’s too far to go back, so I’ll lend this one to you, be careful it’s expensive.”

“Isn’t this Seodam-nim sword?”

“No. It’s not just any sword. It’s the third holy sword.”

“The third one? No way….”

“Why? There’s a second one, is there any law that states that there can’t be a third holy sword?” 

“Is this really…??”

When Nisha spoke as if she couldn’t believe it, Seodam replied by clicking the button on the ether blade.

“No. Actually, I’m lying. It’s not the third holy sword.”

“…What?”

“Because you don’t need any qualifications to lift it. Just hold it up, press the button, and the light will come out-”

Yoo Seodam continued,

“-The qualification to lift a sword is not determined by the sword, but by the person who must prove it by themselves. From this moment, this sword is the third holy sword. You need to prove it to the people that you are a hero worthy to wield this third holy sword.”

“That…..”

“Isn’t that what you really wanted to do?”

Nisha flinched, as if she had been hit by lightning.

He was right.

Rather than the title of the most beautiful flower of the empire, she wanted to fight the demon army as a hero. However, she couldn’t do it, because in this world, it was the duty of the hero to fight against the Demon King, and her duty was to become the hero’s wife.

However, if the world didn’t have a hero, it meant that anyone can become a hero.

Nisha Carmel, hesitated for a moment before accepting the ether blade, then she took out something. It was a pure white flower. A flower that was small and delicate, but still emitted strong life-force. She put that flower on Yoo Seodam’s chest. The flower, which looked like nothing, was the only gift she could give to Yoo Seodam at that moment.

Eventually, she met Yoo Seodam’s eyes and smiled. Then, she walked towards the edge of the wall.

Below, the army of the Empire were looking at her with longing eyes. The clouds and darkness are lifted, and the light of early dawn pours down.

At that time, it was really… really a coincidence that one of the first pillars of light lit Nisha Carmel.

“Everyone listen!”

“……!”

At the edge of the wall of the Demon’s Castle, Nisha Carmel, whom they thought had been kidnapped by the demon, appeared, and all the knights of the Empire lifted their heads and looked at her.

“Pr, Princess…!”

“That’s the princess! The Princess is there!”

Just when tens of thousands of people looked at her, Nisha Carmel raised the sword and pushed the button. It was just a sword that anyone could hold, but at this moment, it was a very sufficient scientific instrument to dazzle everyone’s eyes.

Nisha Carmel looked around.

“The previous hero is dead.”

In time, a beautiful glow burst from the ether blade. Nisha’s voice was rather low, but it reverberated towards everyone.

“So, from now on, I will catch the Demon King.”

As she said so, the system message appeared.

[There is no story to interfere.]

[Fast forwarding time.]

The world’s time has accelerated.

A day passed in just a few seconds. A month passed in minutes, Yoo Seodam rubbed his face. In the fast-flowing time, he could see Nisha Carmel grow more and more.

In a world where she would have perished, Nisha Carmel led the forces of the empire and fought the Demon King. Now that the Demon King failed to properly recover his original power, it was a war worth trying.

Nisha Carmel was no longer called the most beautiful flower.

She was now called as the strongest and most courageous hero.

So, one day.

The Demon King fell, and Nisha Carmel put her third sacred sword on top of the Demon’s Castle.

The first victory achieved without a hero.

There, Nisha Carmel raised her hand and swung the imperial flag.

[Stabilizing time.]

[Current time: May 30, 3070]

[Current location: Anwar Carmel Empire, Empress’s Office]

“…Yoo Seodam?”

As she turned her head, Empress Nisha Carmel, with her brown hair and brown eyes, was sitting in her office and staring with a puzzled look. 

Her youthful looks were no more. Nisha Carmel had grown into a wise Empress from a young but confident woman.

“Oh my God….”

She rose from her seat, and walked toward Yoo Seodam, her gaze suddenly went to his chest. A flower that she had put in as a joke on that day decades ago was still there. The flowers still maintained its beautiful appearance and sweet fragrance.

“The flower has grown big.” 

“….Yeah. and you are still the same.”

Nisha opened her mouth and closed it again. It was hard to believe that the very man who had been the pillar of her heart for decades had finally shown up in front of her.

There were so many things she wanted to say. There was a time when she prepared the coolest and most powerful lines in case he suddenly appeared.

But he didn’t show up, and just when she forgot to wait.

He finally showed up.

“…..Sometimes, I used to dream. It was a dream with the same thing every day.”

“What kind of dream?”

“In that dream, I survived alone in a perished world.”

A world where everything had collapsed. A world where the Demon King had not been defeated. And, in that world where the hero ran away from the world, Nisha Carmel stood alone, preparing to accept the destruction alone.

“It was a terrible dream. Even though the Demon King was clearly defeated, I didn’t know why I had such a dream. And today, the dream is finally over. …..Because you appeared in front of me at the end of my dream.”

Nisha laughed brightly.

“From then on, you go back in time… You removed all the stories that could lead into world destruction.”

“Uh, but it wasn’t intended to be such a great deal….”

“Thank you.”

In fact, she may not need other words.

“Since that day, I’ve been working really hard. I always think of you every time I feel exhausted from fighting.”

“……”

“Thank you very much.”

After being silent for a moment, he checked the date and opened his mouth.

“Happy Birthday.”

Eventually, the figure of Yoo Seodam disappeared, and Nisha was left alone while looking at the place where he once stood. She bowed her head once again. In the end, she couldn’t show him what she wanted to show.

“…..”

Nisha left her office and headed for the gardens of the Imperial Palace. 

Over the past decades, after Nisha had been fighting against the Demon King, she focused her attention on something.

That something was restoring Yoo Seodam’s image, who once called the devil, and now as a hero again.

And it was quite successful. She was finally able to build a statue of him in the Imperial Palace.

Arriving at his statue, which was almost 5 meters tall, Nisha looked at it quietly. 

“It’s a nice statue.”

Nisha turned his head as she heard a voice from her side. 

There, she found a girl with straight black hair and blue eyes standing next to her.

Despite being in a place where no one could come in, Nisha wasn’t alert at all. She was already used to people popping in and out in her life.

“He is the one who saved my world.”

“Is that so? He’s still the same.”

“Do you know about Yoo Seodam?”

“I don’t know and I’d love to know. That’s why I came here like this, but I think I’m too late.”

The girl stared at the statue,

“But that statue…. He looks more handsome than the original? Especially around the nose…”

“Huhu. Memories tend to be glorified over time.”

After Nisha said that, she looked at her girl again, and she had no choice but to be surprised. When she looked at her for the first time, she was a young girl in her mid-to-late teens, and now she had already grown up and became a woman in her mid-to-late twenties.

“…You, what are you?”

“Ah, it’s become like this again. I’m sorry. Because I lack the ability… When passing through the portal, I was exposed to a twisted fragment of time. How does he get through these things….”

When she said that, she smiled bitterly as she took her necklace out and touched it. It was an object that did not exist in this world, a necklace made of bullets.

“I’m still looking for you, Professor.”

Before long she disappeared silently, just like when she appeared.