RG 57

As soon as Eun Woojeong left the church, she quickly departed after saying, “I’ll be in touch.”

It was amazing to watch him instantly scale a nearby building and disappear using chains. He seemed like a famous superhero. Well, both have something in common with spiders, I suppose. Although, Eun Woojeong is far from having a nerdy image.

‘He said the Spider’s Web will take care of the church cleanup, so I only have one thing to worry about.’

Late at night, after confirming that Cha Sahyeon’s breathing was steady as he slept in my arms, I opened my eyes. Carefully, so as not to wake him, I got out of bed. I left the bedroom and sat on the sofa, taking out a book I had stored in my inventory.

I turned on a small lamp beside the sofa and opened the book from the first page.

<Revelation of the Night>

As soon as I turned the leather cover, the title on the first page caught my eye. Normally, I would laugh at such a cheesy phrase, but now my mind was filled with confusion.

Revelation of the Night. It would be better if it was filled with ramblings about a non-existent god and faith.

Of all things, why a revelation? This means that the things written here are events that will happen in the future or are happening now.

‘This is absolutely crazy.’

Not only did I dislike the idea of a revelation, but the word ‘night’ attached to it made me even more uneasy. It felt as if it signified the skill that Cha Sahyeon possessed.

Pressing my wrinkled brow with my fingertips, I slowly turned the pages.

Perhaps this is a relief in some way, but the book didn’t contain much. Most of the pages were blank, with only a few lines written here and there.

However, there were parts I couldn’t just laugh off.

<Calamity requires patience.>

<Do not doubt. Even if the Calamity wanders and gets lost, you must wait.>

<More suffering is needed. The more blood that is gathered, the faster peace will come to us.>

<The birth of a Calamity is a predetermined fate, as is the peace bestowed upon humanity.>

<The stronger the Calamity becomes, the more it attracts the powerful. They will be the Calamity’s loyal minions.>

<On the day the Calamity is born, the sky and earth will be shrouded in darkness. The night when even the moon disappears will bring us peace.>

“Crazy bastards…”

The curse slipped out before I could stop it.

After finishing the last page, I closed the book roughly and pressed my forehead. I endured the throbbing headache and continued to think.

‘The lab wasn’t the end of it.’

Behind the lab was this ridiculous cult.

It must have been the same before my regression. There were no children among the victims rescued from the lab raid before the regression. Additionally, unlike this time, the lab was completely destroyed in an explosion before.

During the chaos of the building collapsing from the explosion, they probably smuggled Cha Sahyeon out. The drug I managed to prevent from being used this time… they must have used it on Cha Sahyeon.

Unable to escape and dragged away again, Cha Sahyeon suffered continuously until… eventually, the Seed of Calamity sprouted, bloomed, and turned him into the Great Calamity.

“…”

I bit my lip, swallowing the emotions rising in my throat.

My chest churned. It was a strange feeling. Amusingly enough, the existence I encountered before the regression, the Great Calamity, seemed a bit pitiable now. Even knowing that many lives, including those dear to me, were lost at her hands.

‘Ha, who’s pitying whom…’

I couldn’t believe I felt sorry for the Great Calamity. Such a moment was unimaginable in my previous life. As I smiled bitterly, the bedroom door, which had been closed, slowly opened with quiet footsteps.

“Brother…?” Cha Sahyeon, looking half-asleep, called out to me. He must have woken up and come looking for me when he found I wasn’t beside him.

Meeting his sleepy eyes, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Even though he was so sleepy, he came looking for me as soon as he realized I wasn’t there. Seeing him like this, he just seemed like a child craving affection, making it hard to believe he harbored the Seed of Calamity.

“…Come here.”

As I put the book back into my inventory, I called out to Cha Sahyeon, who rubbed his sleepy eyes and stumbled toward me.

When he came close, I hugged him, and his warm body heat spread to me. Seeing him wrap his arms around my neck and hold me tightly made my heart feel heavy.

‘Can I really do this?’

A predetermined fate. The thought of it felt ridiculous, but at the same time, an endless wave of anxiety washed over me.

What if everything I’m doing now turns out to be useless? What if I fail to protect anyone again and end up dead? There’s no way I’ll get another chance like this regression.

Suddenly, I remembered the face of the Great Calamity before I died. His expressionless face devoid of any emotion. His long, unmanaged hair blowing in the wind, and the scars covering his body.

Even the drug the Director made when I rescued Cha Sahyeon was so horrifying. I couldn’t imagine the amount of pain he must have endured until he manifested as the Great Calamity before the regression.

There’s no way Cha Sahyeon would prefer such a fate.

I could be sure of it now, unlike before the regression. I knew that the child in my arms, who smiles when given a gift and pouts when displeased, is just an ordinary child.

To ensure Cha Sahyeon doesn’t suffer and everyone survives, there’s only one way. And I was the only one who could do it.

‘…Get a grip.’

It wasn’t a question of whether I could do it or not. I had to do it. No matter what.

I steadied my wavering heart. My resolve wasn’t so weak as to be shaken by such things. Feeling the warmth emanating from Cha Sahyeon, I slowly closed my eyes.

***

During the church raid, I came to recognize Eun Woojeong to some extent. With so many gains, I couldn’t help but acknowledge him.

As I drew back the curtains that had been closed overnight, the bright blue sky and sunny weather appeared beyond the window. Reflecting on the contents of the revelation I had read at dawn, I wondered:

‘They didn’t even write any proper revelations, so why call it a revelation book?’

Maybe it’s because it’s a cult; they do things their own way. Clicking my tongue, I organized the information I had gleaned from the revelation book.

First, as I suspected, Cha Sahyeon attracts monsters. It started with a dungeon and then a rift. There’s no doubt about the dungeon since it triggered a quest. What surprised me more was the rift. If Cha Sahyeon hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t know, but given that he saved me, it’s likely he had been keeping an eye on me nearby.

The sudden appearance of an S-class monster in the second rift was probably due to the Seed of Calamity that Cha Sahyeon harbors.

‘Though I had suspected it even before reading the revelation, I didn’t expect to get such a definitive answer like this.’

From now on, I need to keep Cha Sahyeon away from high-rank dungeons. The same goes for rifts.

Second, whether it’s those cultists or the lab, they haven’t given up on Cha Sahyeon. Even now, they must be searching for him since he disappeared from the lab.

Fortunately, Eun Woojeong placed a tracker on the guy who survived the church raid, so if we wait, he’ll bring back new information. Until then, we must be cautious not to attract unnecessary attention.

“I need to prepare in my own way.”

I had gathered information, and with nothing pressing to do, it was time to move diligently.

I sipped coffee from the machine I bought for guests and took out my phone. After glancing at Cha Sahyeon, who was sitting on the sofa engrossed in a game, I walked over to the window and dialed a number.

Leaning against the window frame, I waited as the phone rang. Finally, the call connected.

― …What?

The other person’s grumpy voice greeted me almost immediately. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his unchanging demeanor, which made the other person instantly annoyed.

― Why are you suddenly calling and laughing like an idiot?

“Ah, sorry, it just happened.”

― I’m hanging up.

“Hey, don’t be like that.”

With a light retort, Hyeon Dowun sighed deeply and spoke.

― I don’t have any new information.

“I know. That’s not why I’m calling.”

― If you’re asking for another favor, I swear I’ll kill you.

“Haha.”

― I’m serious this time; I’ll charge you a million won.

“Oh, that’s fine. How about this—do me a favor, and I’ll give you a million won.”

― You son of a b*tch!

Successfully eliciting another curse from Hyeon Dowun, I chuckled while sipping my coffee.