I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 209

Chapter 209

The Edge of Memory

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‘What is that?’

Iris furrowed her brow as she stared at the black-painted object. There were some letters written on it, but she couldn’t read them. They were in Hangul, spelling out [Self-Censorship], but Iris, not knowing the language, couldn’t understand.

As Lian moved forward, the number of strange entities around him steadily increased. Some looked as ordinary as the little match girl from the fairy tale, but most were so grotesque that just looking at them made her feel nauseous.

Seeing such creatures gathering around her brother, Iris felt a tingling anxiety spread through her fingers and toes.

She clung closely to Lian, scanning her surroundings with wary eyes, but none of the creatures seemed to react to her presence.

Lian then took a seat in one of the few intact chairs in the ruined lecture hall and began attending the class.

The creature, which was supposed to be the professor, made incomprehensible noises, none of which conveyed any meaning to Iris. However, Lian seemed to understand something, as he nodded and occasionally made sounds of admiration.

After staying close to him for some time, Iris’s mind began to grow hazy.

‘Ah… No, I can’t fall asleep…’

It felt as if she’d taken a sleeping pill; her consciousness became fuzzy, and soon, her vision was swallowed by darkness.

Tap.

“Gasp…!”

When she came to her senses again, she found herself outside the building. Startled, she quickly looked around.

‘Has more time passed?’

The once-ruined city had now been half-consumed by nature. The cars, which had only been broken before, were now rusted, and water had pooled in the cracks of the destroyed roads.

The sky was still filled with dark clouds, casting a gloomy atmosphere, and the skeletal remains of buildings partially collapsed, making the term “ruins” more fitting than ever.

As Iris gazed around, unable to hide her confusion, a familiar voice reached her from nearby.

“Ugh—”

“…!”

She quickly turned her head and saw a figure she knew all too well, calmly walking ahead. He moved so effortlessly, as if the rough terrain beneath his feet was nothing more than a slightly uneven path.

Iris hurriedly began following Lian.

“Huff… Huff…”

Without the ability to use her magic, Iris’s breathing became more labored with each passing moment. In contrast, Lian moved forward without even the slightest disruption to his breath.

Swallowing her dry saliva, Iris quickened her pace.

Though the surroundings were still unfamiliar, some signs and buildings she had seen before came into view, making her realize where Lian was headed.

‘That strange building filled with monsters…’

If Lian could see her, she would have wrapped her arms around his waist to stop him, but she still couldn’t even grasp the hem of his clothes.

All Iris could do was grit her teeth and do her best to keep up, refusing to fall behind.

The path became rougher as they moved forward, and when they finally arrived at the university, it looked entirely different from before.

“…!”

Iris stood there, her mouth agape, staring at the enormous plant that had become even more grotesque.

The plant, which had swallowed the entire building, had grown to twice its size, as if it had consumed countless things in the meantime. A massive, vibrant flower, as large as an entire floor of the building, bloomed beautifully on top. Sharp thorns, now resembling blades, had grown all over the vines, giving off a dangerous aura.

As the vines moved with a soft rustling sound, Iris hurriedly tried to grab Lian, but he continued forward without hesitation.

When he approached the entrance, which he seemed familiar with—

Swoosh.

The thorns, which looked like they could easily sever a person’s life, gently drooped down, as if worried about harming him.

Feeling a strange sense of unease and foreboding, Iris followed closely behind Lian.

“…!”

The moment she stepped inside the building after Lian, countless eyes turned toward them as if ready to devour them whole.

‘Are all of these… monsters?’

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but it seemed like quite a while. The building was now filled with grotesque creatures. Iris stood beside Lian, swallowing her dry saliva repeatedly, trying to suppress the nausea that rose from deep within her. Her face had gone pale, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Lian greeted the monsters as if they were ordinary people, his face bright and cheerful. The grotesque creatures, which looked as though they might tear him apart at any moment, merely stared at him without attacking.

In fact, they even made way for him as he passed through. Lian walked through them as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

From time to time, horrific screams and the sound of something being chewed echoed through the air, as if the monsters were fighting amongst themselves. Lian, however, seemed to hear something entirely different, laughing and saying, “Haha, they’re lively today.”

Now, the pressure from the monsters was so intense that Iris had to stick close to Lian to avoid being crushed by their presence. Her face was tense with anxiety as she clung to his side.

Just as before, Lian greeted many of the creatures and referred to the black-painted monster as “Professor” as he entered the even more ruined classroom.

Inside the decaying lecture hall, only one desk and chair remained intact. Lian sat in his usual spot. With no place for Iris to sit, she had no choice but to stand behind him.

How much time had passed?

Creak.

Crack. Crack.

The sound of something breaking echoed clearly. Iris instinctively turned her head toward the sound.

“…!”

A section of the classroom wall cracked as if it were about to collapse, then crumbled to the ground. Beyond the broken wall, a withered plant stem came into view. It didn’t take much thought to realize that this was the same plant that had been wrapping around the building.

“What on earth… is happening?”

A slow, creeping sense of dread, like a deep, dark abyss, began to climb up her spine.

Through the cracks in the collapsed wall, a profound silence seeped into the room.

Time seemed to stretch uncomfortably, and the air felt heavy and suffocating. With every breath, the tension in her chest grew more palpable. Unnameable fears flitted through her mind, only to vanish and reappear again.

Creak.

“…!”

This time, the sound came not from the wall but from somewhere farther away, beyond the wall where light was filtering in.

“This can’t be…”

Iris was overwhelmed by the distant scene beyond the wall.

The sky, the earth, the buildings, everything that was alive was cracking like fragile glass and collapsing.

Faced with an indescribable, overwhelming terror, Iris stood frozen, barely able to breathe.

‘No… No…! Brother, Brother!’

She let out a silent scream, forcing her stiff body to turn. Lian, who had been listening to the lecture with a bright expression, was now staring blankly at the collapsed wall.

‘No…!’

Despite his calm face, Lian’s body was riddled with cracks, as if it could shatter at any moment. The realization that she might lose him again, helplessly, made Iris scream inwardly as she desperately reached out to him.

“So beautiful.”

Lian murmured softly, gazing at the crimson hue of the apocalyptic sky pouring in through the broken wall. The countless monsters that had gathered around him were frozen in place, as if petrified by the overwhelming despair of the world’s end.

Creak.

Lian stood up effortlessly, as if unaffected by the oppressive weight of the apocalypse, and approached the collapsed wall.

He gazed out at the crumbling world with a vacant expression. His cracked body began to disintegrate, but he showed no signs of pain as he stared at the crimson sky.

“…Haha!”

Lian smiled contentedly, and then, like fragile dust, he began to crumble away. It was as if he had accepted his end. He looked down at his disintegrating body, then turned to face the monsters that were crumbling just like him.

“I guess I’ll be going home early today. Have a good day, everyone.”

The usual “See you tomorrow” that accompanied his farewells never came. With Lian’s bright smile, the world itself seemed to acknowledge its end, rapidly turning to dust.

Just as Lian’s body had almost completely disintegrated, starting from his hands, shoulders, and legs—

[Found you.]

“…!”

A chilling voice, so cold it made her heart drop, echoed in Iris’s mind with a thud. At the same time, a brilliant white light, so radiant it felt divine, poured in.

[Hahaha! Yes, you… You can do it!]

The once emotionless voice gradually filled with laughter and madness, soon turning into pure joy. Iris squinted, trying to peer through the blinding light.

At that moment, a soft hand covered her eyes from behind, gently blocking her view.

“That’s enough now.”

A gentle woman’s voice echoed in her ears, and with it, her vision was swallowed once again by darkness.

End of Chapter