Chapter 44
Countdown (6)
It felt as though his heart was being gripped in a vice.
Sehyun couldn’t even move.
All he could do was draw in ragged breaths—
“Snap out of it!!!”
Suddenly, Ratman and Dyna lunged in from both sides, fists and feet flying.
Bang!
“Gahhh!”
But they were both flung back helplessly, struck by the wave of force Rachel had unleashed.
The difference between those who possessed stellar power and those who didn’t was absolute.
The two were showing, with their very bodies, why ordinary people collapsed before a Player.
Even so, they didn’t give up.
Ratman clung to Rachel’s leg with all his might, shouting,
“Go! Hurry, go!!!”
“……”
“Hurry up!!!”
At the same time, Dyna sprang to her feet and kicked Sehyun, forcing him away from Rachel. Then she grabbed Rachel’s wrists and held her down.
Only then did Sehyun’s mind snap back into focus.
…Not again.
The current scene overlapped with a memory from before.
He had to abandon them again and run…
But there was no time to hesitate.
Sehyun grabbed Inha’s hand and bolted toward the hill.
“Pointless resistance,” Rachel muttered.
After confirming Sehyun’s escape, she turned to the two clinging to her.
She twisted her arms to throw off Dyna and kicked Ratman away.
“Argh!”
Even such simple movements carried the shock of her stellar wave.
After shaking them off, Rachel extended her hand toward Sehyun’s back.
“Reverse Wave.”
Bang!
The two running figures were blasted backward in the opposite direction.
They tried to get up and flee again, but some counteracting force froze them in place.
“Ugh… my body won’t move…!”
Bwoooong──!
Just then, a whistle echoed in the distance—
The train bound for Edinburgh.
It was the escape route they had planned in advance.
But before they could do anything, it roared past along the tracks.
“My, looks like you missed your train,” Rachel said clearly, approaching the immobilized pair like someone reading from a book.
“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we have a calm conversation? I have so many questions.”
“……”
A chill ran down Sehyun’s spine.
Is this how it ends?
Not by Ha Ilhwan’s hand, but by someone who had no idea what was coming next…
Overwhelmed by the long-forgotten feeling of helplessness, Sehyun grimaced—
“Get away from Sehyun!!!”
With a sharp cry, a saber came flying toward Rachel.
Thud!
But just like the others before her, Inha was effortlessly deflected by Rachel’s wave.
Yet that wasn’t the end.
Twisting midair, Inha landed on her feet and charged again, sword in hand.
“It’s useless, Miss Chae Inha.”
Distorting the sword’s trajectory with a wave was child’s play.
And Inha couldn’t even properly channel her stellar power right now.
As expected, her strike went wide, and she fell once more, powerless.
Rachel subdued her easily, then grabbed Sehyun’s wrist.
“I remember when we first shook hands,” she said.
“That strange feeling—I’ve never forgotten it. Though now, your wave is quite clear.”
Naturally so.
Back then, the chain bracelet had hidden his energy by absorbing external stellar power.
…Wait.
At that moment, the bracelet on his arm caught his eye—
It was burnt black, crumbling at the edges.
It’s burnt out?
It wasn’t just drained of energy like other artifacts.
It had absorbed too much power—completely overloaded.
Artifact: [Valley of Ashes].
It was a hastily made object, but its performance was solid thanks to the myth imbued within.
A deep valley that swallowed flowing stellar power.
Its very ability is to receive stellar energy.
That was why, unlike other dead artifacts, this bracelet hadn’t lost its power—
It had just fulfilled its role too well, to the point of breaking.
Which means…
Realizing the possibility, Sehyun focused his mind.
Vmm──
Just as he hoped—
My stellar power is still alive…!
Thanks to [Valley of Ashes], his ability still worked.
Awakening Ability: [Myth Imbuement].
It wasn’t a combat skill, so he hadn’t considered using it—
After all, his fighting strength came from artifacts, and this power only made those artifacts.
But in a situation where everything else was neutralized, things were different.
He recalled how he’d first used this power.
Clack!
Sehyun swung his arm, knocking Rachel’s hand away, and leapt back to gain distance.
“Still planning to resist?” she asked.
“……”
“If you’re thinking of abandoning your allies and running, forget it.”
Her words shut down the very idea of escape.
Sehyun laughed bitterly.
“What are you talking about? Why would I run?”
“Then… you mean to fight me?”
Rachel couldn’t understand.
A Player who’d lost access to stellar power shouldn’t be able to fight—
Yet this man still could?
“I’ll throw your words right back at you,” Sehyun said. “How much do you really know about my ability?”
“…?!”
Veeeeen──
He gripped his pocket watch tightly, infusing it with stellar energy.
Since it was already an established artifact, layering a new myth on top felt natural.
“What—?!”
Sensing the energy, Rachel hurried to unleash her own wave—
“Too late.”
Fwoooosh──!
The reset Dead Ringer’s hand spun rapidly.
Click.
[1 o’clock – Aftershock]
A familiar ability—one Sehyun had already experienced—activated.
Boom!
A powerful shockwave erupted, flinging both Sehyun and Rachel backward.
Rachel’s eyes widened as she realized what it was.
“This is… my ability?! How did you—”
“Good things are meant to be shared, don’t you think?”
Grinning, Sehyun snapped his fingers at her.
Bang!
A compressed wave shot straight toward Rachel.
“Kh…!”
She barely swung her hand, neutralizing it.
Tap!
Then she ducked low and charged forward.
Shh! Shh!
Jabs, straights, hooks—relentless punches rained down.
Catching and blocking each one, Sehyun had only one thought:
I can actually do this.
He was starting to read her movements.
Boxing techniques learned from aristocratic self-defense, each one enhanced by stellar waves—still dangerous, but nowhere near as terrifying as before.
And he understood why.
Right now, she and I are on equal footing.
He had just copied her wave ability into the Dead Ringer and activated it.
That made them equals.
And after countless battles with Players, Sehyun’s instincts were razor-sharp.
Whoosh──
He slipped past a straight and landed a counter hook to her ribs.
Thud!
At the same time, he drew on his stellar power.
“So this is how it’s done?”
Boom!
“Urgh!”
Rachel groaned as his amplified wave exploded.
“You little—!”
Her counter-hook came flying back.
“Kh!”
He blocked with his arm, but her wave tore through his body, forcing a dry heave from him.
Rachel stepped back, raising her hand—fingers poised to snap.
“This time… I’ll finish it, Nam Sehyun!!!”
Snap!
She snapped her fingers.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Overcome by rage, she unleashed a barrage of Dispel Waves.
Hit after hit, the waves crushed Sehyun until he fell to his knees.
[Valley of Ashes] finally shattered and hit the ground.
“Kh…”
That oppressive force unique to Players pressed down on him completely.
The stellar energy the bracelet had preserved, the power he’d carved into the Dead Ringer—all gone.
“Hah… hah… tch. Should’ve done this from the start,” Rachel muttered, panting from the strain.
“No matter who you are, you’re finished now—”
Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!
At that very moment, Big Ben struck six o’clock.
Rachel’s eyes widened in shock as realization hit her.
“You… you were waiting for this?!”
“Took you long enough to notice,” Sehyun smirked.
“It’s activation time. You know what that means better than anyone, right?”
“You bastard…!”
Now that the community’s official time had taken effect, she couldn’t attack him carelessly.
Any trace of stellar energy could be tracked—
The moment she used her power, her actions would be exposed.
Or so Sehyun thought—
“Kh… hahahaha!!!”
Rachel burst out laughing.
When Sehyun frowned in confusion, she spoke with arrogant confidence.
“That’s what you were counting on? That I couldn’t touch you once the clock struck?”
“If something happens to me, the first suspect will be the Adams family,” he warned.
Of course, Rachel knew that.
That was why she’d used the Gentlemen’s Club to act indirectly—to keep her family’s name clean.
“True. But you see…”
Her gaze hardened.
“My father always told me—don’t get hung up on small things.”
“……”
Even if Sehyun was eliminated here in London, where the Adams family held power, evidence would be scarce.
And if suspicions did arise, other communities wouldn’t dare intervene—fear of being targeted themselves would keep them silent.
The Scottish faction, the one most likely to protest, could easily be framed as Sehyun’s allies. Their words would lose weight.
In short—
If Sehyun died here, everything would resolve neatly.
Vmm──
Rachel gathered waves of energy in her hand, aiming at him.
Sehyun bit his lip.
He hadn’t expected her to go this far, this recklessly.
Was he truly this powerless against events that hadn’t happened before his regression?
Damn it…!
He shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the end.
“…?”
But after a long moment, nothing happened.
Puzzled, he opened his eyes slowly.
Rachel’s movements were frozen mid-gesture.
“…What?”
Jingle─!
A metallic sound broke the silence.
Moments later, an old bicycle rolled to a stop before them.
A postman dismounted and approached.
“Good decision, Acting Head of the Adams family,” he said politely.
“How are you here…?”
Rachel’s eyes widened in disbelief—as if she’d just met someone she absolutely shouldn’t.
“If you’d snapped those fingers, I’d have intervened immediately. But since you stopped yourself, I’ll overlook it this time.”
He opened his messenger bag and pulled out an envelope, turning to Sehyun with a bright smile.
“Mr. Nam Sehyun, correct? You’ve got mail.”
“Huh? Ah… yes.”
Dumbfounded, Sehyun accepted it.
[…This certifies that the creation of your community has been officially approved.]
And beneath the lengthy text was a single crucial line—
Stamped with the grand seal of the Foundation.
It was genuine.
The long, desperate chase had finally come to an end.
Later, the exhausted group safely made it back to their hideout.
“Hah! Look at you now, you arrogant pretty boy!” Dyna whooped with laughter, celebrating their survival.
Ratman clapped Sehyun on the shoulder.
“You did something incredible. This’ll set a great precedent—the whole world will know now! The Foundation isn’t everything!”
Sehyun chuckled faintly.
“The whole world? Maybe a few people in London, if that.”
“Big things always start small,” Dyna said brightly, already dreaming of a hopeful future.
But Sehyun’s smile faded into something more bitter.
The outcome was good, yes—but many had paid a price.
Baker…
He wasn’t the only one injured or dead.
Even if they’d all chosen that path willingly, Sehyun couldn’t shake the guilt.
And this event—none of it had existed before his regression.
It was something he had caused.
That knowledge weighed heavily.
…You know that’s not what really matters, he told himself.
The important thing wasn’t just mourning the dead.
It was carrying on their will—the cause they had given their lives for.
Baker had known that, which was why he’d made his sacrifice without hesitation.
Knock, knock.
Knock. Knock.
Someone was at the door.
Dyna walked up and spoke through it.
“We all born to be blue.”
A riddle-like phrase.
From the other side came the reply:
“So, I willing shine my sixth shot.”
A voice they knew all too well.
Sehyun and Inha’s eyes widened.
“No way…”
Creeeak──
The door opened, and a man stepped in.
Under a slouched fedora, his face was gaunt and shadowed with deep dark circles.
“Sorry, young man. The whiskey run took longer than I thought.”
With a casual grin, Baker held up a bottle of whiskey.
Dyna smirked at the stunned pair.
“Told you, didn’t I? That bastard would find a way to survive.”
Sehyun silently nodded—his heart just a little lighter than before.
