Chapter 49: Something That Can Never Be Inherited (Epilogue)

The White Mirage Forest.

Located at the center of the continent, this vast forest was famous for its perpetual snowfall, lasting 365 days a year.

The reason for this phenomenon was unknown.

What was known was that the plants in the area were entirely white.

The elves, who disappeared 300 years ago, had created a barrier that made it impossible to enter the forest’s center.

These were the only two facts passed down over time.

If one could pass through the central forest, there would be many advantages.

Moreover, the elves, the first race created by the gods, were known for their unparalleled beauty.

Many adventurers ventured into the forest to see them, only to lose their way as if trapped in a mirage.

Thus, the White Mirage Forest became known as the sanctuary of the elves, who had severed their ties with the outside world.

Strangers were now walking through this secluded domain.

“Hoho, it’s been a while since the two of us walked together like this.”

“Well, yeah, I guess. Was it back when I was still pretending to be a good guy?”

“Yes, those were truly enjoyable times.”

Baek Min-jun, dressed in a thick cloak robe, brushed snow-laden leaves aside as he walked.

At his recollection, Diana laughed as well.

“Pfft, you call it enjoyable, even though the little brat you cared for died?”

“Oh my, are you jealous?”

“Jealous? Not a chance. I knew this would happen from the start. You might as well have been the one who killed them.”

Diana’s words twisted reality, making one unable to see what was right, only distorting thoughts.

From the start, Fran had been mentally unstable, making him the perfect tool.

Though Diana and Fran seemed close, it wasn’t to the point where jealousy came into play.

“Oh no, I liked Fran a lot, you know?”

“Then why did you leave him in that state?”

“Hoho, because I liked him. Breaking things you like is a special kind of fun. Didn’t you also break the hearts of girls who loved you?”

The fallen warrior Baek Min-jun had played with countless girls as he pleased.

Using the Mesmerizing Eye, he hypnotized them, mocking heroines who begged for his love.

When he got bored, he threw them to orcs or goblins, sold them to brothels for cheap prices, or worse.

Sometimes, when his sadistic urges spiked, he handed them over to filthy criminals to fulfill their lust.

That was just the nature of this game.

Baek Min-jun thought it was entertaining and didn’t even feel the need to return to his original world.

He never intended to pursue the hidden routes, let alone encounter something like this so early.

“I’m different. Those girls were toys. It was their fate.”

“Then, am I a toy as well?”

“Why, were you expecting love?”

“Of course not. Love only clouds judgment and is of no help to anyone.”

“People say love makes anything possible. It sounds miraculous, but ‘anything’ includes all kinds of sins as well.”

Baek Min-jun agreed with this sentiment.

“When you pour your heart into something for a long time, they say it gains a soul. Even a toy like me has awakened, hasn’t it?”

“I prefer to play with my toys for a long time. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve broken you sooner.”

“Couldn’t you still break me now?”

“Well… if I wanted to, I suppose I could.”

A heavy silence fell between them.

Baek Min-jun glanced sideways at Diana.

Her white hair shimmered like silver frost.

Her half-lidded eyes arched slightly, curving into a pleasant smile.

Her crimson lips resembled blooming roses.

What emotions were hidden beneath that smile? Baek Min-jun opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again.

She was a toy too precious to break, at least until Rina’s resurrection.

Yet, he was already aware of the unbridgeable gap between them.

Though they walked the same path, their destinations were entirely different.

“Diana and Rina… saints are truly the hardest beings to deal with.”

Baek Min-jun already knew.

The Demon King didn’t actually exist in this world.

Or, to be more precise, the original saint Rina and the Demon King were locked in an endless battle over control of their shared identity.

If the Demon King’s resurrection took too long or the warrior failed to collect enough magic stones, the Demon King would prevail.

Rina would be consumed by its power, losing all sense of who she was, becoming nothing more than a female Demon King bent on corrupting the world.

At the fortress, Baek Min-jun had tried to hasten the Demon King’s resurrection before Rina’s personality disappeared.

But who could have predicted Diana would interfere with her mischief?

Fortunately, Sera had swallowed a magic stone.

No matter how powerful the Demon King was, it couldn’t suppress the combined strength of two saints.

Rina had begun to awaken, completely overtaking the Demon King’s personality.

Thus, the current Demon King was none other than Rina.

Baek Min-jun was grateful he knew the hidden route to meet Rina.

With this thought, he continued walking.

“I’m the protagonist. Rina, this world, everything belongs to me.”

“The warrior is me. I’m the one who will claim everything in this world.”

He decided to use Rina’s plan, which involved reviving her lover in the warrior’s body, to his advantage.

“Ugh… you people…”

“Hey, shut up and guide us properly.”

Toys don’t count as part of the numbers.

So, just two people. A supporting heroine blessed with the Guide’s Favor, and an immovable rock whose abdomen was struck hard by Baek Min-jun’s fist.

The White Mirage Forest cannot be entered through ordinary means.

The barrier originating from the World Tree at the forest’s center causes all who enter to wander aimlessly.

Of course, in the normal route, the demon invasion nullifies the barrier entirely.

But in the hidden route where Rina’s resurrection occurs, there’s no possibility of a demon invasion.

Diana, unaware that Rina was dormant within the Demon King’s power, brought a certain satisfaction to Baek Min-jun whenever he saw her ignorance.

Clearing every route in the game world is akin to knowing the future entirely.

Baek Min-jun reveled in his immense power, befitting a protagonist, as he stomped on the immovable rock’s face.

“So, which way next?”

“Ju… Just kill… me already!”

The immovable rock had always been on Baek Min-jun’s radar.

If they had joined the warrior party, Baek Min-jun wouldn’t have hesitated to kill them.

While the events in Edirne unfolded, Diana and Baek Min-jun successfully kidnapped the immovable rock and were now making good use of them.

“I’ll kill you. The warrior party finding their way here would be troublesome. But before that, you have a job to do.”

The immovable rock, powerless and succumbing to pain, still showed signs of resistance, which annoyed Baek Min-jun to no end.

Should he rip off their nails this time? Or cut off their tongue?

Ah, but if he cut off their tongue, they wouldn’t be able to speak. While pondering, Baek Min-jun unsheathed his sword.

“Hoho, how pitiful.”

“If you’re not going to help, then stay out of it.”

Every pain reveals a truth.

To ensure the immovable rock didn’t die, Diana and Baek Min-jun continued to torture them slowly as they advanced.

Who knows how much time had passed? The immovable rock, now incapable of even groaning, found themselves confronted by a man.

A beautiful man with long golden hair cascading down his back.

His slender frame was complemented by lean muscles and pale skin.

His pointed ears made it clear—this was an elf, one of the first race created by the gods.

“…This is quite noisy. Are you aware of the price for stepping into this forest?”

“White footprints, I suppose?”

“Hoho, I appreciate the poetic sentiment.”

The elves, calling themselves the First Descendants, looked down on other races as insignificant.

After the war with the Demon King, they hid themselves within the forest.

It was as if this elf had already anticipated Diana and Baek Min-jun’s visit.

Removing the hood attached to his robe, he revealed his face.

Thunk.

“Ah, introductions can wait. First, let’s kill this one.”

“No… Please… Stop…”

“You were begging to die earlier, and now you’re saying to stop. Make up your mind already.”

Red blood began flowing in the snow-covered forest.

Due to the cold, the blood froze quickly into icy streams.

With this, there would be no need to worry about the warrior party finding their way.

Baek Min-jun shook the blood off his sword and extended his hand toward the elf.

“So, I guess we can consider you an ally from now on?”

“Ha, an ally with someone like you?”

“But you can’t refuse this hand, can you? Especially when it might save your queen, Oberon.”

“…What are you? Who are you people?”

“Just like your kind. Those who are unforgivable. The ones who can fulfill your wish.”

The strange presence to the west of the forest hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The thick stench of demonic energy and the human voices that didn’t belong in the forest gave it away.

Had a s*ave trader slipped through the watch unnoticed?

If that were the case, quietly driving them out would have been the plan.

However, Baek Min-jun began to make an unexpected proposal.

“This is the White Mirage Forest… a place where the Blessing of Life breathes.”

Diana alternated her gaze between Baek Min-jun and the elf as she closed the eyes of the immovable rock.

She wondered, what kind of pleasure could she feel if the Blessing of Life, which breathed vitality into the entire continent, were destroyed?

The gift the gods had bestowed upon the elves.

Looking at the massive tree in the distance, Diana forcibly calmed her pounding heart.

“Our poor warrior. Neither Rina nor you realize you’ll all return to mere demonic energy.”

Three hundred years ago, the Demon King was defeated by the warrior’s party.

Though that power did not disappear, it left severe contamination upon the warrior and the five heroes.

Nevertheless, a defeat was still a defeat.

That power alone wasn’t enough to destroy the world.

Thus, the strength possessed by Rina and Baek Min-jun was merely a sacrifice.

The fact that the Demon King’s personality had disappeared delighted Diana.

For a being destined to destroy the world, having a personality was nothing but a luxury.

If both Rina and Baek Min-jun disappeared, only pure demonic energy would remain.