What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 641

Gangrim (1)

As soon as the flash of light released us, a thick darkness swallowed the group.

Like jellyfish covered in ink, we drifted aimlessly through space-time.

In my fading consciousness, I blankly wondered…

…Why wasn’t the future me beside those two?

Wham!

-Whoosh!

“Ugh! What is this…!”

Flash! Flash!

“Ah, it’s cold!”

-Grumble!

Flash! Flash! Flash!

-Whoosh! Papapapat!

“Leia! Leia! Get in hyung’s [older brother’s] hat!”

-Kkya!

Swish, swish, swish…! When I opened my eyes, a sharp wind that stung my skin was torturing my body from all directions in various forms.

The icy blizzard and hail threatened to pierce through my skin.

The endless feeling of falling was a terrible sensation that I never got used to, no matter how many times I experienced it.

My ears felt like they were about to fall off from the cold, and my jaw trembled madly as my hands, feet, and even bones seemed to freeze.

The view was all murky and mottled gray.

No, it was definitely pitch black at first, but gradually the saturation faded and turned whitish.

Whether my eyes were open or closed, what I saw was still a desperate color.

Occasionally, something flashed and lit up the sky, but that was it.

It was so cold that physiological tears streamed down my face, and I saw the water droplets freeze in that short moment.

I couldn’t believe it.

We are plummeting from the sky.

-Whee! Whee―!

-Kiee, Kkyaaa!

Ah!

“Perry! No! Use your vines!”

-Kkyaeung…!

Due to the tremendous air interference, even nearby shouts didn’t reach, and I ended up dropping the Divine Beast.

Seeing the Divine Beast become a dot and disappear beyond the storm, I felt like even the edge of my mind was fading away.

My frost-covered fingers trembled in the air.

A wave of fear overwhelmed me, and I gasped for breath.

This was a completely different disaster from when I summoned the Rainbow Bridge.

That was a whirlwind caused by the power of Divine Objects and Holy Relics, and at least I could plant my feet on the ground. The purpose of opening the bridge was also very clear.

But now, we are constantly falling without even knowing the landing point, and gravity was originally nature’s most terrifying force.

My frozen hair and eyelashes fluttered rapidly.

Leia, barely clinging to my back, created vines, but the wind was too strong and my hands were too numb to wrap them properly around my body. Besides, I already had Demi in my arms.

-Kkiiiii!

“It’s okay! Hyung [older brother] caught you! It’s okay!”

-Swaeeee…!

In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut, hugging all the vines and Divine Beasts.

I felt the children’s body temperature rapidly disappearing, which sent chills down my spine.

Every time the blizzard pushed my back around, my heart sank helplessly.

I prayed to a god I didn’t even know like a madman.

Please, please let me get Perry back. Please keep my friends safe. Please let me meet my family again…

【Danger┃】

Huh?

【Clone System Error Occurred┃┃】

“Heok!”

My eyes snapped open.

“Hyung [older brother]! Hyung [older brother]! Jung Hyun-seo! Where are you―!”

-Whooong! Whoooo!

Knowing that my voice wouldn’t reach, I started shouting at the top of my lungs.

My already frozen body felt like it was about to shatter completely.

But what appeared before my eyes was not a phoenix feather, but a cold message.

Even that kept stuttering like the power was cut off, flickering ominously—a pale, sickly purple window.

【Congratulations!┃┃┃】

-Flash!

“Hyung [older brother]!”

【Your party has arrived at the destination!@?(@*】

【The shard of the vessel has fulfilled its sacred duty!%$#^&】

-Zzzzt, zzzzt!

“Jung Hyun-seo!”

【Warning.? Invalid access.?】

【Denies existence.??】

【Clone System is colliding with the world line.???】

-Chijijijik!

“Hyung [older brother]! Answer me! Please!”

What is all this nonsense! We haven’t even properly said goodbye yet!

【Unread Clone System Messages】

【01】

【Exists. Now%#(#(?】

“Confirm! Confirm! I’ll confirm!”

The Divine Beasts were terrified and trembling. Now, even I had trouble hearing my own voice.

I thought I might get hypothermia like this.

Beyond the mercilessly raging snow and hail, we were falling infinitely.

Moreover, my Ether was almost depleted.

As I realized that, my mind seemed to gradually go blank. At this rate, the result would be one of two things.

Freeze to death, or fall to death.

-Pajijijit!

【Message 01】

【…Jung-ye, you’ll be okay. Hyung [older brother] is okay too. I’m not worried about you, so don’t worry about Hyung [older brother] either.】

【Just trust yourself, trust your friends. And trust what you can do. No matter what happens, that’s enough.】

“……”

I had vowed so many times not to do this from the moment Hyung [older brother] first appeared, but in the end, my eyes welled up with tears.

At the same time, the status window rapidly lost its light.

The bluish-purple that was dying turned into a light purple, and then faded into an even lighter color.

I shook my head wildly like someone possessed.

Don’t do that, not yet. I still haven’t said anything to Hyung [older brother]…!”

“Jung Hyun-seo!”

【Don’t worry about Eun-seo either.】

【See you again. I miss you.】

“Ah……”

【-Last message.#%(@*).】

-Pajijijik!

“Hyung [older brother]! Don’t go―!”

Seven years old. A time when I was his only sibling.

I remembered losing his hand in a crowded marketplace filled with unfamiliar adults.

Was it a tofu and bean sprout errand? I forgot my shame and cried out his name like a naive seven-year-old.

Perhaps fear and loneliness, inappropriate for my age, gripped my throat and wouldn’t let go.

Meanwhile, the status window was crumbling into golden dust forever. I couldn’t even say goodbye.

-Saaaaaa……!

“……”

The golden dust, which had taken the form of a phoenix at the last moment, finally scattered and seeped into me.

My cheeks, where the water had frozen, became even colder. I stared blankly into the air.

It felt like a huge hole had been punched in my chest. My lips, speechless, trembled with regret.

It was then.

-……Kkihuooo!

“Perry?”

Beyond the whitish dark clouds, I spotted the Divine Beast falling with me.

In an instant, my reason returned as if by a miracle.

“Perry! Perry! Hyung [older brother] is here! Here!”

The instinct to save that child at all costs cleared my blurred vision, and a heat called evil circulated in my frozen knees. Even if I died, I had to.

I looked down at Demi and Leia, trying to reach Perry somehow.

The children, with icicles on their beards, trembled as they looked at me.

“Guys, can you help me just once? If we combine our strength, we can save Perry! Please!”

-Kkya!

-Kkiwoo!

“Thank you!”

Forcing a smile, I turned my head, and saw another shadow beside Perry.

This time, I bit my own tongue, which was about to faint.

No. Absolutely not!

“Ms. Gain! Cedric!”

‘Sir Johan―!’ I screamed with all my might, but the three of them were completely unconscious, even from a distance.

My friends were falling with Perry.

The Divine Beast had loosely tied the three people together with vines, but in this situation, there was no telling when the vines would freeze.

I frantically threw the thick vines and plants that Demi and Leia were pulling out.

The little ones were also using all their strength. But it was like throwing eggs at a rock.

-Papapapat……!

“Ah, damn it!”

All the physical force we exerted soared into the sky and disappeared.

We couldn’t possibly overcome the gravitational acceleration!

“But we can’t give up. There must be a way!”

-Kkieung!

Seeing my friends falling helplessly, the will to do something surged.

I desperately twisted my body and took out the Sungjang [a magical artifact] from the Gaga bag [a magical bag similar to a Bag of Holding] and held it.

I thought it was rather fortunate that my hands were frozen.

If my palm stuck to the Sungjang [a magical artifact] like this, at least I wouldn’t drop it―

-Rumble, Kwagagagang!

“Ah ah……! No!”

At that moment, a sharp lightning bolt tore through the clouds and struck down.

I was on the verge of being completely horrified.

My throat, which had been resting, spat out a rough pain, but I had no time to care about this.

Hugging the children tightly, I glared with both eyes.

Fortunately, Perry and my friends seemed to have avoided the natural disaster. I saw the little one shaking its frozen tail from afar. And―

-Pasuseu, Pajijit!

“Wait a minute……!”

-Kkyat!

Wait, isn’t that mana? I was shocked and quickly looked down at my feet.

Sure enough, red mana traces were flowing in the place where the lightning had struck.

I couldn’t see the ground yet, but maybe someone had discovered us from below first.

In an instant, my head spun with all sorts of calculations.

If this is the Empire, it would be fortunate, but what if it’s the Divine Kingdom? Or in the middle of a battlefield?

Then wouldn’t we be attacked by the enemy and die, or become targets of friendly fire?

Without meeting anyone, just helplessly?

-Swaeeng, swaeeng, swaeeng!

“That can’t happen.”

I’ll stop it! I gripped the Sungjang [a magical artifact] so hard that it made a cracking sound.

Whether the cold wind scratched my forehead or tore at my hair, I didn’t care anymore.

Even if I fainted from Ether depletion, I had to stop it. Anyway, I had to try.

Because I had to save everyone, no matter what. And because I had to live.

Definitely―

-Jjeojeojeojeok!

Right then, the sky above my crown was torn to shreds.

I slowly looked up with a hollow expression.

One second, one-third of a second, one-thirtieth of a second… I had the illusion that time was stretching out like taffy.

The lightning containing Zeus’s authority was striking down, leaving a strong afterimage on my lens.

My arms holding the children tightened. My instinct indicated only one fact.

‘Too fast.’

-Pajijijik―!

I can’t avoid it. This is the end.

【Phoenix Feather has settled on you!】

……What?

【Gained blessing due to the effect of the noble bloodline.】

【Activate blessing, ‘Soar, Vermilion Bird!’】

-Ssaaaaa……!

-Kwagwagwagwang!

“Aaaaaaack!”

And the lightning struck me. An indescribable shockwave rushed through my entire body.

【—SYSTEM DOWN】

‘Out of the blue’!

-Jjeojeojeojeok!

-Kwagwagwagwang!

“……”

It seems to have hit, but I feel strange.

The magician dusted off his staff, thinking that.

The feeling wasn’t very good today.

There was no sticky feeling of mana sticking to it, and the afterglow after using magic wasn’t very pleasant.

Even though I slept more than five hours as His Majesty ordered, my physical condition wasn’t very good.

“……Waaaa!”

However, the soldiers seemed to think differently.

“It looks like you hit it properly, Young Master! You are really amazing!”

“Young Master Dioph has saved our camp once again!”

“You are truly a great magician!”

“Flattery. There’s nothing falling on you for saying that.”

Jibril scratched the side of his head with his staff and replied.

For the past few days, the Divine Kingdom army has been flying strange reconnaissance planes over the front lines, so recently, most soldiers except for the wounded have been participating in shifts.

It was fortunate that he could snipe them in time like today, but the day before yesterday, there was a casualty.

“When the wreckage falls, collect it properly. The non-combat magicians are waiting.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

“……Hmm?”

Pause. The man stopped all movement and looked up at the sky.

Then, his bloodshot eyes narrowed.

Following his gaze, everyone’s eyes turned upwards.

That is……

“Oh my god! It’s a person!”

“No way!”

“A person?!”

“No! It has wings, look at that!”