Chapter 162: Journey to the Past (2)

-Thrust.

It wasn’t fast.

It wasn’t powerful.

Nor was it a thrust carrying inevitability.

That thrust was merely an action meant to kill someone.

It was a movement far inferior to the Straight Punch I had taught Lee Seo-jun before.

But that movement was something the past me—the me who had just been transferred—could not handle.

However.

‘Was there a situation like this?’

No.

It was true there had been a fairly dangerous situation, but there was no situation where a spear pierced my heart.

But the doubt was brief.

Pat!

It narrowed the distance, crossing space.

The spear that now filled my vision.

I changed its direction with my palm.

Swish

The spear grazed past my side.

But.

‘This…?’

Something felt strange.

I thought it was an utterly ordinary attack, but no.

That attack was truly sharp, carrying a fate that the past me could not avoid.

And then.

Twitch.

I could see the opponent, the Galas Empire soldier who had thrust the spear, smiling.

“You’ve come.”

That wasn’t the soldier’s voice.

A familiar voice.

That was.

“Nepas?”

It was Nepas’s.

“That Altain fellow. He’s done a truly pointless thing.”

Indeed, Nepas.

He had quickly realized I now possessed the ability of Time Travel.

“Well. Considering the connection between you and me, it’s probably inevitable. There’s no way you’d die easily.”

“You probably don’t wish for that either, do you?”

Nepas let out his characteristic laugh at my words.

I’ve thought about it continuously; he had plenty of opportunities to kill me.

But he didn’t.

As if he enjoyed situations like this, this sense of urgency.

I realized that after I understood his power.

He was stronger than any opponent I had faced until now.

If he had decisively acted when I first returned to the Gritia Continent or Earth, there would have been no obstacle.

Yet, he showed no regret whatsoever about that.

The reason was because he was enjoying this situation.

At my words, he gives his characteristic smile again.

“As expected, my nemesis. You’ve finally realized my feelings for you.”

He rejoices as if an unrequited love had finally been acknowledged.

It’s pure delight, and madness.

“Sorry. For not recognizing those feelings. But you… you’re not my type.”

…

…

There’s no reaction to the absurd joke.

“Perhaps because you’ve found your emotions. You’re not my taste either.”

“That’s a relief then.”

“That’s why I’m executing a plan to eliminate you like this.”

“Pity. That plan seems like it will fail too.”

“Huh. Do you really think so?”

A meaningful smile.

It was a strange, regretful smile, as if convinced of my death.

“Among all the warped ones, the Time Traveler is the most complex.”

That’s not a statement to elevate himself.

Certainly, the authority of a Time Traveler, which goes against time, completely defies a kind of law, so there are many points to be cautious about.

After absorbing Altain, I learned somewhat about the laws of Time Travel through his memories (this is also how I learned about the signals sent by my past and future selves), but that’s not everything.

And the one who knows the most about that Time Travel is Nepas before me.

A guy who, during a time I cannot guess, traveled through time and engraved those laws into his mind.

Therefore, the words he’s saying now are likely not just idle talk but contain important information.

“Huhu. A pity. But I can’t help but teach you, as someone I once had an unrequited love for.”

He pointed behind him, at the past me.

Being a bit far away, he was in a state where he couldn’t hear my conversation with Nepas.

A frightened expression, and a look of shock.

Exactly as I was when I was first transferred to the Gritia Continent.

“Meeting my past or future self, excluding the present, is quite a dangerous thing.”

Meeting one’s past or future self is an extremely dangerous thing.

The reason is simple.

Because seeing oneself from a different time period causes confusion of identity and anomalies in the laws.

It’s also related to the butterfly effect.

Just as the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a tsunami on the other side of the Earth, what if my past self sees my present or future self?

If he confirms powerful strength like now, he might imagine his future self and become complacent.

Due to such various outcomes, a sense of alienation, different from my past self and current self, can arise, leading to annihilation.

That’s why I didn’t let my past self see my face.

What he’s seeing is only my back.

He hasn’t precisely grasped my current self yet.

“If you’re talking about temporal alienation…”

“Temporal alienation? That’s something you should naturally observe.”

But it seems that wasn’t what Nepas meant to talk about.

“I’ve traveled through countless times. Immeasurably many times. Among them, I was lucky enough to see my past and future selves too.”

Countless dimensions, countless times.

Among them, encountering one’s past or future self is nearly impossible.

But what if the time traveled is close to eternity?

If one traveled through an infinite amount of time, no matter how low the probability, one could encounter one’s past or future self.

“And I realized then. Meeting myself from a different time period leads to unintended consequences, a phenomenon of unification.”

“Phenomenon of unification?”

“It’s simple. My past self is me. My current self is also me. And my future self is the same. But the existence called ‘me’ is now two. The laws of this world cannot accept that. The ‘me’ from a different time period undergoes a phenomenon of unification, becoming one.”

Now that I think about it.

‘That earlier…’

I had been feeling something strange since a little while ago.

How should I put it.

Memories of the past kept flowing into my head.

At first, I thought it was a phenomenon occurring because I faced my past self.

But that wasn’t it.

Should I say the boundary is disappearing?

Memories of the past overlay the memories of the present.

If this reaches its peak…

‘The current me will disappear and merge into the past me.’

The existence called the current me will be absorbed by the past me and vanish.

That’s why a Time Traveler must not encounter their self from a different time period.

Even if they do encounter them, they must leave that place as quickly as possible.

Therefore.

“Thank you.”

I expressed gratitude to Nepas.

“For informing me of a fact I didn’t know.”

Even though the memories of the past, that existence, were overlaying me, it’s fine.

An ordinary being might be confused or have a hard time because of those memories, but I’m different.

I’ve tempered myself over a thousand years, and thus, I can delay the unification phenomenon.

My spirit was still firm, and at its center was the standard of the current me.

Being devoured by my past self was still a story far, far away.

And.

“If I just deal with you and leave this place, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

What I need to do?

Simple.

Deal with Nepas, who came to the past time on his own, and return to the present. That’s all.

But even in the face of that reality, he only laughed.

“Do you think that’s possible?”

“It is.”

I bent my waist.

Picking up any random longsword lying around.

Slide.

I entered a preparatory stance for a flawless slash, identical to the flawless thrust I had shown before.

Straight Punch.

That manifested to show Lee Seo-jun the most suitable attack for him.

But my forte, regardless of what anyone says, is the sword.

The flawless slash perfected through what was passed down by the Nameless Old Man is my strongest attack and weapon.

“Hoh?”

Nepas, seeing that stance, let out a small exclamation of admiration.

“This… it feels like past emotions are reviving. Yes. If you are my rival, if you are the one I loved, you should be at this level.”

Delight fills his eyes as if he’s truly looking at a loved one.

Of course, those eyes belonged not to the Galas Empire soldier but to Nepas, who had possessed him.

“You. It doesn’t seem like your main body came here.”

And I saw through his condition perfectly.

“Right. No matter how long you’ve traveled through time, close to eternity, controlling that arbitrarily determined authority is impossible. You…”

And the fact I realized.

‘…You used a shortcut.’

I don’t know exactly what shortcut he used.

But that method was the kind that couldn’t transfer the full power of his main body, that is, Nepas, to a different time period.

If it weren’t, there would be no reason to use such a complicated method like possessing a soldier as he is now.

His smile.

And within it lay the truth.

“You’re certainly quick to notice. Yes. My main body isn’t here. More accurately, it cannot come here. As you guessed, choosing a desired time period to travel to is impossible for me right now. Unless, perhaps, for a being from that unknown realm.”

Unknown being.

His words about it contained a subtle expectation.

The expectation that he would soon reach that place.

“Then it’s simple. I just need to kill you, who has become a mere insignificant existence, and leave this place.”

“Uahahahaha!”

But he laughs at my words.

As if it’s ridiculous.

“Do you really think you can do it?”

“Can’t I?”

Swish-

The sword that had reached his neck in an instant.

Indeed, the Nepas who had possessed a weak Galas soldier couldn’t grasp my movement.

“Die!”

There is no hesitation in that motion.

Squelch!

His head separates from the body.

Thud-thud-thud—

It rolled on the ground.

That disgustingly smiling head.

Crunch!

I stomped on it and crushed it.

Since I don’t know what this tenacious monster might do again, I handle it perfectly.

That’s not just the head.

Squelch! Squelch!

The sword swings consecutively.

Because of that, his flesh.

Pssst—

Turned to powder and scattered.

Perfect annihilation that prevents resurrection from the start.

At this level, no matter what means are used, there should be no resurrection.

‘Is it over?’

I dealt with Nepas, who came to this era using a shortcut.

Then now, returning to the present…

Clap! Clap! Clap!

And the sound of applause that comes at that moment.

Who could clap in the middle of this war zone?

The answer was practically predetermined.

“Splendid. Truly an attack worthy of the one I loved.”

A soldier.

This time, it wasn’t a Galas Empire soldier but an Asran Empire soldier.

“Surely you’re not surprised? You didn’t think I wouldn’t have made this much preparation, did you?”

He died.

To be precise, the part of Nepas that had occupied the Galas Empire soldier’s body was clearly annihilated.

But upon killing him, a new part appeared.

“You see, in this world, there are a great many parts of me that I’ve spread. Kill me? Do it as much as you want. But can you possibly know how many parts of me remain? If you leave this era reassured after killing me, I can target the moment you’re gone and kill your past self as many times as I want.”

At this moment, even I was at a loss for words.

He had laid a perfect trap.

If I linger here to find all his parts, I will undergo unification with my past self and the current me will vanish.

If I leave this place without eliminating all the parts, it’s clear his parts will reappear and kill my past self, causing even my current self to vanish.

This is… an inescapable predicament.

A plan of death where I am inevitably doomed to die.