NABC Side Story Chapter 117: Endless Eighth (3)
Side Story Chapter 117: Endless Eighth (3)
“Hmm… okay. Let’s talk later.”
Echidna left the room in dejection.
“Haaa,” Oh Kang-Woo sighed deeply, sweeping his hair back as he frowned.
He had no idea who was looping the eighth, from where, or how. The only thing he was sure about was that a Titan was involved.
“Eve, is it impossible to use the Law of Titans to track them?”
[Yes… I didn’t even know something like that was happening until you told me, Sir Guardian Deity.]
Kang-Woo was even more frustrated by the blue message window in front of him.
“But… why am I the only one with my memories intact?”
[Oh, I believe I know.]
“What is it?”
[I believe you have escaped the time loop’s influence because the power you possess lies beyond the realm of Titans.]
In other words, the power of the Demonic Sea transcended the power of turning back time, allowing Kang-Woo’s memories to remain intact.
The problem was that nothing could be resolved from him knowing that.
[Do you have a guess as to who it could be?]
“A guess, huh?”
Kang-Woo closed his eyes and fell into thought. He had no idea how they did it but could more or less tell who did it.
“Akart.”
[Aremyou saying Akart is behind this?]
“I’m not 100% sure.”
Kang-Woo lacked far too much evidence to be certain but it was highly likely based on what was happening.
All of Akart’s subordinates so far had taken action with their focus on humanity instead of Kang-Woo— the same went for the zombies in Singapore and the fanatics of the Church of Radiance.
Kang-Woo didn’t know why Akart was doing this and how he could do something impossible even for Nostrian, but he couldn’t think of anyone but Akart who could do something of this scale. Even time-wise, it was about time he had made his move.
[Then… what should we do?]
“I dunno.”
Kang-Woo clicked his tongue and shook his head. He wasn’t even sure this was Akart’s doing. Besides, even if it was Akart, Kang-Woo couldn’t do anything about it since he had no idea how Akart was doing it.
Kang-Woo doubted Akart could rewind time on a scale of this level at a distance from Earth; he was sure the one who was rewinding time was somewhere on Earth, but…
“I have no idea how to find them…”
Kang-Woo couldn’t detect the power of a Titan. Horos had his Clairvoyance ability but even if he could look hundreds of thousands of kilometers away, he couldn’t scour the entire world with it. Even if Horos could, there was no way to pick out Akart’s subordinate from the billions of people.
“Shit,” he cursed with his arms crossed.
He did not feel he would find the culprit even if he spent all night randomly
“Wh-Who the hell are — Kurgh!!”
Kang-Woo pushed him to the ground and stepped on his chest, caving it in as if it were smashed with a sledgehammer, and crushed his heart.
The guard quickly grabbed his walkie-talkie and shouted, “E-EMERGENCY!!! EMERGENCY!!! THIS IS SECTOR 28-C!! A MURDER HAS OCCURRED!! REQUESTING REINFORCEMENTS!!”
This went without saying but not even a Guardians member couldn’t kill a death row criminal without following protocol just because they were already scheduled to be killed.
Dozens of guards surrounded Kang-Woo after not even a minute.
“Step aside,” Kang-Woo warned.
He had no time to waste dealing with these people.
“Haap!!”
“Get him!!!”
Dozens of guards charged at Kang-Woo with weapons but Kang-Woo paid them no mind and easily walked through them.
“ARGHHH!!”
“MY AAAAAARM!!!”
The guards who swung their weapons at Kang-Woo fell to the ground, clenching their broken wrists.
“Let’s see.”
Kang-Woo walked out of the detention center after breaking through the dozens of guards and took out his smartphone to check the time.
[November 8th, 9:27 PM]
“I’ve still got tons of time.”
Kang-Woo used the Authority of the Sky to fly back to his home. He spent the rest of the night putting Yeon-Joo, Seol-Ah, and Lilith, who had been waiting for him in worry, at ease and telling them he was okay.
[November 9th, 7:59 AM]
“Just hold on for a little longer, Darling.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“We’ll get to have that engagement ceremony soon.”
“E-Engagement ceremony? Wh-What do you—”
Seol-Ah, who was stepping backward in confusion, suddenly turned blurry.
“Kurgh.”
His consciousness flickered black and he felt nauseous.
[November 8th, 8:00 AM]
“HM! KANG-WOOOOOOOOOO!!! GET UP!!”
The fourth eighth began. Kang-Woo stood up before Echidna charged to jump on him. He caught her by her underarms and raised her into the air.
“The wedding dresses are coming tomorrow, right? Hmm, I wonder what I should give Darling as a gift at the engagement ceremony.”
“H-Huh? Echidna’s eyes widened. “H-How did you…”
Kang-Woo smirked as he saw Echidna’s confused expression. He messied Echidna’s black hair and walked past her to open the room door.
“I’ll be right back.”
“K-Kang-Woo? Where are you going? Forget that, how did you know the wedding dresses were coming today—”
“I don’t think I can come back for dinner.”
Kang-Woo left the apartment suite, leaving behind the dumbfounded Echidna. He immediately flew to the Player detention center he had visited yesterday.
“HONG SEUNG-HYUN HAS ESCAPED!!!”
“Where the hell did that son of a bitch go?!”
There, he could see the guards running around in search of Seung-Hyun.
“I knew it.”
Kang-Woo smirked as he looked down at the chaos in the detention center.
However, the impossible had occurred, and the reason why it had been possible was simple.
Kang-Woo cackled as he looked down at the detention center.