“With my power… I can have him live for maybe a few hours…”
Giwon spoke carefully even when he should’ve made it shorter.
‘It is too late.’
“Unless he has his own regeneration power, there are only two ways to heal him.”
Both were almost impossible to achieve.
One was to find a potion that had exceptional healing power.
Or the second was to find a healer with great power.
It was needless to say how hard it was to find a good healing potion. The only thing that might have a chance to heal Bill at this point was an SS-rank potion. Giwon had only seen such thing once throughout his entire life, including the previous one.
It was even more complicated to find a healer. Even Dohyuk’s Nature that healed him, now required a huge amount of energy to heal himself as his body had grown.
In that regard, Bill was too powerful. It was pointless unless the healer was at least strong as Giwon or Yuri.
“Of course… there are healers who can heal by paying life energy.”
However, Giwon knew Dohyuk would never agree to that healing method.
‘So, we should just…’
‘Forget it and let him concentrate on healing himself.’
Giwon looked at Dohyuk. He could now see why Heeyun was so pale in search of equipment when she ran into the city. Giwon already spoke to her that Dohyuk had equipment in hand to heal himself, but she didn’t care.
She was right.
Dohyuk digested a B+ rank item, but no part of his body was okay.
However, Dohyuk did not care about himself. He was looking down at Bill.
“Giwon.”
“Yes, Boss.”
Dohyuk then pointed at a direction.
“I haven’t combined into one yet.”
“…!”
“That me is much worse in shape. You should go take care of me until Heeyun brings me more to digest.”
Giwon then quickly ran in that direction.
‘It’s… much…’
Giwon then found Dohyuk. He was now stuck together with the melted metal. He was in such terrible shape that Giwon gasped.
The other Dohyuk was looking down at Bill. What Giwon just said was that Bill was going to die. If he said it, then it was that. Dohyuk had accepted it already. But he was felt hollow for reaching such an end. That’s why he looked down at Bill with no hope.
Bill opened his eyes and spoke.
“…It feels weird.”
It was a similar, but different voice from before.
“It feels like crap, but it’s not too bad.”
“Of course.” Dohyuk said, “You were out of your mind, and came back. Although I can only guess how that feels.”
“I see.”
Bill laughed. It was for the first time Dohyuk heard him laugh.
“Maybe I’m the first. But I won’t be the last. I don’t think he turned everything back only to corrupt me…”
“…”
It was certain that who he meant.
Casita.
The Lord God that the Phenomenal Nine killed at the end.
“Dohyuk.”
Bill was now his normal self — the one with the clear mind, and all the memories.
“The answer might be to succumb.”
“…!”
“I know what you want to say. Unlike me, you have not changed a bit.”
“…Then why?”
“Because you will not change. It was always so. You were the most solid. That’s why…”
Bill coughed, blood splattering out from his mouth. Dohyuk did not stop him from speaking.
“Everyone followed you. We never doubted you. We trusted your direction to be our answer.”
Dohyuk listened carefully to each word.
“You might not remember, but we were desperate. Casita isn’t like anyone else. He is not bound by the system. His power is not just infinitely strong. He is… infinite.”
“But we succeeded.”
“The process it took… is a hell to walk again.”
Bill looked at Dohyuk.
“Yes… but you will get there eventually. And just like last time, you won’t do it alone. You will have people following you… and maybe it’s only me who couldn’t resist out of those nine.”
There was no telling however, that it would end up same this time around. Casita had turned the game upside down. There was possibility of a third, or even fourth game.
“But even then…”
“You will not give up.” Bill answered instead. “Even you start over and over again… I know you will never give up. That is the you that I know.”
There was the possibility of a third, a fourth and maybe even more. And every time it reset, there was chance for the world to be more harsh. Maybe every one of the Phenomenal Nine would start to become corrupt except Dohyuk.
Even then, he will not give up.
That’s why Bill was saying it will be easier to give up. It wasn’t based off logic. It was out of sadness. Sympathy toward a friend. Dohyuk recognized this from Bill’s eyes.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“…”
His voice was now dying out. He even had to repeat himself as he couldn’t voice it out.
“Corruption… even when corrupted… I trust that there is a difference. I was a monster just until while ago, but I was different. You… I trust that you will be different even when you are corrupt.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Dohyuk spoke hesitantly. “Even if it’s different… corruption is corruption. There’s a chance that I will become more of a monster than anyone else.”
“…I see.” Bill then spoke sadly, “You have not changed a bit.”
“…I think I was just a bit more lucky than you.”
“No. Even if you were in my position, you would not have ended up like me.”
Before Dohyuk could say no, Bill raised his hand. And on the twisted hand, Dohyuk felt energy being focused onto the hand.
“What… did you do?”
“I set them free. If I die… you will kill those people that I placed my metal in”
His men that he controlled. Bill had set them free from his reign with his last remaining power.
“If you can… lead them. They are used to succumb to a strong man. They will be of help. And…”
Bill then turned toward the city.
“…Bring the boy here.”
“Boy?”
Was there a boy inside the city that Bill knew about? Bill knew that Dohyuk had a method to utilize his dying body to the fullest.
“I cannot help you, and you have no way to save me. But you have a method to kill me in the best way possible.”
“….!”
That’s when Dohyuk realized.
The boy.
He didn’t know how Bill knew him, but there was one boy whom Bill was speaking of.
“Call him, Dohyuk.”
And with that, Bill placed his hand over his heart.
“My heart. I will give my first Nature to you.”