The Swimming Emperor(20)
Like a marionette that has reconnected its severed strings, Nam Hae-soo staggered to his feet.
Surprised by this, I shouted,
"Gah?!"
His wife, who had been calmly accepting her husband's death, was also startled.
Bang! Bang! Bang...!
The quick gunshots from the betrayers and snipers lurking on the cruise ship revealed their agitation.
What was even more surprising?
This phenomenon was just the beginning.
"......"
Nam Hae-soo, with a painfully distorted face, opened his mouth wide and let out a silent scream.
Tick, tick, tick...
As if tapping on a solid steel plate, a change came to his body, which was no longer being hit by bullets as before.
Swoosh-
His hands and feet withered like wilted flowers, disappearing as the fat-stripped flesh clung to his bones.
Then, they gradually flattened and thinned out like a blade.
No matter how you look at it,
"Blade Demon...?"
But not yet.
He only has two arms like a human-
Thump! Thump!
As the ribs under his armpits protruded, a new pair of arms resembling blades was added.
Now he has four arms.
He had all the features of a Blade Demon.
"Ho, honey?!"
"......"
Nam Hae-soo, who had healed the bullet wound in his head, looked at his betraying wife with indifferent eyes.
"I was wrong...!"
"......"
"Please forgive me for the sake of your child! This baby is undoubtedly Hwang Hae-soo's legitimate child by genetics...!"
"......"
The Blade Demon, who used to be Nam Hae-soo, swung his arm.
Clang!
His wife's head fell off as her neck was severed while she was crying and begging for forgiveness.
And then,
"I can't take it anymore...!"
"Uhng~!"
I leaped, holding the newborn baby I had taken out of the stroller in my arms.
Swoosh-
The stroller was split in half. If I hadn't saved it, this young life would have been taken away too.
"......"
Nam Hae-soo looked at me with a blank face, his mouth slightly open.
There was no need to even think about who the next target would be.
Bang-!
If there hadn't been a third party interfering, it would have undoubtedly been so.
The bullet shot from the cruise ship struck Nam Hae-soo's body roughly.
Wobble~
The peculiar wound, resembling a thin steel plate punctured and dented by a sharp object, increased. The recoil from the physical force of the gunfire was a bonus.
Was it very annoying? Or did he judge it as a threat?
"......"
Nam Hae-soo turned his gaze from me to the cruise ship on the sea.
And he charged straight towards it.
'...Is this for real?!'
He jumped from the luxurious villa into the sea and was gliding over the waves.
He raced towards the cruise ship, moving like a skater with only the tips of his sharp feet touching the water!
He simply ignored the laws of nature like gravity and surface tension. Moreover, his speed was very fast?
Bang! Bang! Bang...!
Attempts to stop him with suppressing fire began, and the cruise ship, which had been stationary until now, moved away to create distance.
"What on earth..."
The villa, in a mess with the body of the decapitated woman and the ruthless gunfire.
Leaving this place was a priority to avoid the pursuit of Nam Hae-soo, who might return after dealing with all the traitors on the cruise ship.
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo."
Upright.
A familiar woman's voice called me.
"...Is it you again? Witch Lady."
The Witch.
It's a nickname I made up without knowing her name, but her attire would be recognized as a female sorceress by anyone.
This time, the witch, wearing a wide-brimmed black hat, was sitting on the villa sofa with her legs crossed.
"A witch... Should I call you Shaman then?"
"I don't mind."
"...I didn't expect you, who hated your own aptitude, to accept it like that."
"What's going on here?"
"I told you before. This is a world I created. I'm just the landlord entering the house."
"This is the dream of Emperor of Swimming, Nam Hae-soo."
"I told you I created that dream. Is what I'm saying difficult?"
"......"
A deep wrinkle appeared on my forehead as I was treated like a fool.
"Why are you interfering with Nam Hae-soo, who was looking for happiness in the world he wanted?"
"This world is not real."
"What is the standard of reality?"
"...The real world."
"Do you have any proof that the world you believe in is real? What about the possibility that it was created by someone like this place?"
"......"
A sharp question that hit the mark.
The witch raised the corner of her mouth, seeing me unable to refute her immediately.
"Mr. Kang Moon-soo."
"...What?"
"Admit it."
"......"
"The fact that you, like Mr. Nam Hae-soo, are just a human living in a dream."
* * *
As virtual reality and artificial intelligence technology advanced, intellectuals despaired.
Why?
"The probability that the world we live in is also virtual reality is about 99%."
It's because of this conclusion.
Just as artificial intelligences living in the world of virtual reality believe, "We are humans," the creators (humans) have the same thought.
Can there be no creator of the creators?
Like machines made by humans creating other machines!
There is no clear evidence that we are "real humans."
"Look at Mr. Nam Hae-soo."
"......"
"He, who wanted to change the past, failed to fulfill his wish and was killed by the betrayal of his wife and subordinates."
"Are you saying it's my fault?"
"Yes. Because of your accusation, all his closest people went to prison, right? Even the captain, who was in command of the soldiers, was defeated by you on the plane."
"Hmm..."
As the witch pointed out, it is true that I interfered with Nam Hae-soo.
'He should give up the dream then...'
Just like Kim Eun-jung, who possessed the beautiful protagonist of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count>!
It was a strategy to induce complete failure and break the dream world.
"It's your fault that he changed like that."
"Like that?"
"...I've said too much unnecessary things."
"Witch Lady, do you know the cause of Nam Hae-soo turning from a human to a monster, a Blade Demon?"
"Of course."
"......"
She said it was my fault.
Is it really?
I'm confused.
"Nam Hae-soo won't stop the massacre until the world he loved is completely destroyed. It's a kind of affection."
"...Is that true?"
"Do I have any reason to lie to an intruder?"
"I don't know about that."
"If you don't trust me, you can watch from now on."
"Hmm..."
If she says so, it must be true.
But what about it?
Nam Hae-soo, who destroyed his dream by himself, will wake up eventually.
It's a good thing.
"Aha! Now I get it."
"What is it?"
"You're angry that I interfered, aren't you?"
I realized the reason why the witch appeared 'again' in front of me.
"No. If that were the case, I would have killed you as soon as I saw you. Look down."
"Down? Huh...?"
Swoosh-
Suddenly, a noose was wrapped around my neck, and the floor had turned into transparent glass through which I could see the sea.
Hanging.
* * *
As a method of executing a criminal by hanging, this was a suspension method, which killed the person by removing the support and leaving them hanging.
Anyway,
'When on earth...?!'
I hadn't noticed until she pointed it out.
"Now you know? I can kill you anytime if I want to."
"...What's your purpose?"
"Guess. If you're wrong... you know, right?"
The glass supporting my feet would disappear.
The witch's purpose.
If it wasn't for venting her anger, only one thing came to mind.
"...Is it to stop interfering with other people's happiness?"
"Correct."
A smile appeared on the witch's face, half-hidden by her hat.
"I just want to ask one thing."
"Go ahead."
"Do you think Nam Hae-soo was happy before I interfered?"
"Of course."
"Even marrying a woman he didn't love?"
"Shaman, didn't you say only one question?"
The witch's voice was unwavering.
There was no room for persuasion.
In that case,
"Witch Lady, I want to make it clear too."
"Is it a question?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"The dream you created is no different from a drug that leads people to pleasure and gradually destroys them."
"......"
There was no rebuttal.
Suddenly, the floor disappeared, and I was overwhelmed by a sense of floating and gravity.
'She's ruthless!'
But if she had intended to kill me for sure, she should have tied my arms.
"Uhng~?!"
After carefully throwing the baby onto the bed,
Swoop!
I grabbed the noose with both hands before it could completely strangle my neck and quickly pulled my head out.
"Hey! Be prepared when we meet in reality- Huh?!"
Thud.
Hanging in midair, holding onto the noose connected to the villa's roof, I was horrified.
It was because this seemingly strong rope was a 'rotten noose'!
It was about to break.
"I told you. I have no intention of killing you."
"Damn! I'll get you~!"
Splash!
I fell from the villa and plunged into the sea.
'That witch...!'
When we meet again, I'll pull out all her hair so she can't take off her hat!
Swoosh-!
There was no way I would drown on the beach, as I could easily beat a 10km swimming marathon.
I swam and quickly climbed ashore.
* * *
"Moon-soo!"
A girl who found me drying my wet clothes on the beach ran to me and threw herself onto my chest.
"Ha, Han-hee?"
"Sniff, sniff!"
Park Han-hee hugged me tightly with both arms, crying.
"I'm fine."
"You dummy! I was so worried! If you're safe, you should contact me first...!"
"......"
I had nothing to say.
"Everyone else safely attended the Olympic opening ceremony. But I'm not a national representative."
"I see."
"I was left alone, searching for you diligently."
It seemed that Nam Hae-soo didn't touch her.
"I'm sorry."
"Where have you been until now?"
"On this island..."
It seemed that he played a little trick to prevent us from meeting!
Nam Hae-soo was a petty man until the very end.
"No more dangerous actions from now on!"
"It's not up to me-"
"Don't!"
"...Okay."
"Promise me here! Who am I supposed to marry without you!"
"Marriage...?"
"Come on!"
I naturally felt pressured to marry.
* * *
"...What a way to interrupt such a touching reunion."
The scenery changed in the blink of an eye.
I felt empty.
It was all a dream!
Even though I knew it from the beginning, the mental impact was quite significant.
"You finally woke up."
"Manager Seo Hye-joo?"
"That's right. It's me. It seems your brain cells haven't been destroyed."
Manager Seo Hye-joo, who was in a partnership with me, diagnosed with a joking tone.
So this is reality.
I woke up from the dream while Park Han-hee was sobbing with her face buried in my soaked chest.
It left me with a rather uncomfortable feeling!
Again, I couldn't say a proper farewell.
"How long have I been sleeping?"
"62 days and 9 hours. You slept much longer than expected. Did Nam Hae-soo really turn into a dolphin?"
"No. He was a human. A completely different human, not Nam Hae-soo."
"But you managed to find him?"
"It was tough."
Thanks to that, I was able to experience the bizarre politics and society of the old days.
"Good job."
"What about Mr. Nam Hae-soo?"
"He woke up first and had a video call with his family."
"Ah...!"
That's really a relief!
Nam Hae-soo, who died from the betrayal of his wife and subordinates and turned into a Blade Demon.
I thought things were going wrong due to the completely unexpected situation.
The death of a patient.
* * *
As Song Seon-young committed suicide as if it was a meal, it seemed that one would wake up even if they died in a dream.
'I wasted my efforts last time!'
I couldn't beat Choi Kang-min, the strongest magical boy on Earth, with my strength, but I had many opportunities to kill Kim Eun-jung, who was born as the youngest daughter of a count.
Assassination, deception, war, poisoning...
If I had known I could kill her, I wouldn't have struggled to persuade her.
'I'll kill her next time.'
It's not a good method considering the mental health of the patient, but I don't want to waste my time on persuasion.
And what about the experience of death?
In reality, it's a rare experience that you can't even pay for.
"Good job."
"You too, Manager."
"As soon as Nam Hae-soo woke up, he talked about inheriting his assets. It must have been because you explained it to him in the dream beforehand?"
"Yes."
It seemed that he accepted reality as soon as he opened his eyes.
"He asked to dispose of all his assets and use them for the preservation of Korean cultural heritage."
"...What about his family?"
"Of course, they were upset. Nam Hae-soo's assets are quite substantial."
"I see."
His shocked family members would be rushing to persuade him.
"Ah! Nam Hae-soo also had a message for you."
"I'll hear it from him directly."
"......"
Manager Seo Hye-joo's expression subtly changed.
"Why?"
"He already passed away."
"What?"
"The cause of death was a heart attack. You woke up just as we were about to visit him after hearing the sudden obituary news."
"......"
The dream didn't end as a dream.
'Is it my fault...?'
The witch's warning not to interfere with the dream stabbed my heart like a dagger.
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Access 5 advance chapters with Silver Tier($10) or 10 advance chapters with Gold Tier($18) or 15 advance chapters with Platinum Tier($35).
Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support Me' button!!
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters upon reaching specific milestones.