I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 192

Chapter 192: IF ━ If the Cathedral Was Still Standing （3）

“Huff, huff.”

It was a scorching summer day. As always, I was taking a slow jog in a nearby park after lunch.

Rumble━!

Without warning, thunder and lightning struck, and the ground shook. The sky darkening was a bonus.

But that wasn’t all.

Whooooosh━!

I heard a sound I had heard during the battle with the Evil God in the Capital. My memory was hazy, but I remembered this. It was the sound the Evil God made when opening a dimensional gate.

“Huh?”

Confused by the inexplicable phenomenon, I stopped and looked up at the sky. Something was emerging from the now blackened clouds.

A giant fissure, created by the distortion of dimensions.

It was red, unlike the one I saw in the Capital, but it was clearly the Evil God’s dimensional gate.

“….!”

I froze, unable to even scream. Why was there a dimensional gate? Here?

I wanted to run, but even my feet seemed frozen, refusing to move as I willed. I just stood there blankly, watching the dimensional gate.

Within seconds, a giant monster emerged. It was an Eastern Dragon Zombie, its bones and muscles exposed.

“M, Malak?”

━ Kroooooar!

Jin Malak roared, as if screaming with its glowing red eyes. The horrific sound sent shivers down my spine.

“M, Monster!”

“C, Call the police…!”

“Police? We need the army!”

“No time! Come here!”

“R, Run…”

The park instantly descended into chaos as people fled, and my phone buzzed incessantly, flooded with emergency disaster alerts.

A surreal and desperate scene. I could see a man riding on Jin Malak’s back.

━ Gods of Earth! Behold! And despair! My name is Karon! The end of gods, the end of myth!

He looked different, but I knew instinctively, no, intuitively. The man who had shouted with a voice that rang in my ears was undoubtedly Karon.

Kyaaaaaaaa!

Wooooooooo━!

Countless zombies poured out of the dimensional gate behind Karon and the zombified dragon Jin Malak. They fell to the ground and indiscriminately slaughtered the people.

Among the zombies, there was a giant man wielding an axe as big as his body, and a little girl zombie who walked with a slow, dragging gait before biting into a man’s neck.

━ Sanz…I see you…!

Karon, standing high in the sky, looked down at me. I trembled, unable to even think of running or resisting, like a mouse before a cat.

“No. No. This can’t be…”

Karon was alive.

He had gained power in a place no one knew, and while the possessed and I were gone, he had succeeded in destroying the other world.

━ Did you think you could escape? Or did you hope it would just remain a fleeting memory? No. That won’t happen. I am your nightmare, your death.

The zombified Malak wriggled its massive body and descended towards the ground. Overwhelmed by fear, I wet myself and collapsed.

━ It’s no use wherever you go. You cannot run, you cannot escape.

Thud!

Jin Malak landed in the park, and Karon, fully armed in Paladin armor, flew towards me, his cape billowing.

His eyes glowed crimson with hatred, rage, and madness.

━ Did you enjoy playing god? You clown. Your deception and mockery are over.

Karon, now a transcendental being, burst into laughter.

“Y, You crazy fuck.”

My frozen body loosened slightly. I quickly turned to run, but it was futile.

Karon reached out towards me. An invisible force bound and lifted me.

━ Now, it’s time to pay the price.

Whooooosh━!

A small dimensional gate opened before my eyes. What emerged from the gate was…a tall, black-haired warrior woman with a black curved sword.

Her eyes had turned red, but I recognized her at once.

“Ah…!”

This is not how I wanted to see her again. Not like this.

“Grooooar…!”

Rake, turned into a zombie, approached me, tears streaming down her face.

“Rake…!”

The Meteor Sword she held flew towards my neck, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

“Noooooooo!!!”

I shot up in bed, screaming.

What? Bed?

“Ah, fuck. It was a dream.”

Of course. I knew something was off.

The Evil God died by decapitation. I watched as its body fell to the ground and turned to ash.

But Karon using dimensional gate abilities? That’s impossible. In the first place, it didn’t make sense that he, who was so strong, could kill and control Jin Malak, who was too powerful to descend alone.

Because it was a dream, I couldn’t think rationally.

“Phew…”

Was it because I met and talked with the people from the Administration or whatever? I had a nightmare for the first time in almost 10 years.

Judging by the fact that I couldn’t move, it seems I was also sleep paralyzed.

“Well, at least it was just a dream. Everyone must be safe.”

I muttered to myself and threw off the covers. The sheets were damp.

“Shit.”

Not with sweat, but with ammonite that had poured out of my lower body.

“Son! What’s wrong? Why were you screaming…oh my!”

My mom, who had flung open the door, yelled. It looks like I’m in for a beating.

Karon, you bastard. You’re going to get petty revenge like this?

You should be quietly getting tortured by the King of Hell in hell. Tsk.

“Ugh! I can’t believe you! A twenty-five-year-old!”

Slap!

“Ow!”

In the end, I got slapped on the back by my mom and couldn’t help but yelp. I still haven’t gotten used to physical pain.

I put the laundry in the washing machine and checked the time. 7:30 AM. I had plenty of time to wash up and meet Hanna.

“Whew.”

Well, what can I say? Hanna and I talked for hours on the phone and decided to meet today.

Since we were both unemployed （This can’t be helped）, we had nothing but time. As we talked, it naturally led to a plan to meet in person.

Well, I wanted to meet her too. After all, she was my comrade who saved the demon apocalypse world.

Even though I said I had adapted, I was actually living in a bit of a daze, so I couldn’t help but look forward to this meeting.

What does the real Hanna look like?

She didn’t upload any pictures of herself on Outstagram or her Cocoa Talk profile, so I became even more curious.

The mysterious Hanna.

“If she’s ugly, I’m going to tease her like crazy.”

I entered the bathroom, thinking silly thoughts.

It takes about an hour by bus, so I have plenty of time.

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄

I arrived at the cafe we had agreed to meet at first and was sipping on iced tea with an extra shot of espresso.

Ding!

The doorbell rang as the cafe door opened, and a woman with short, red-dyed hair appeared.

A woman in her 20s with sharp eyes, she looked chic.

I didn’t even need to ask. Just by looking at her, I knew it was Hanna.

“Over here, Netkama.”

I waved at her as she looked around, about to check her smartphone.

“Ah…!”

She smiled brightly when she saw me, but her eyes immediately narrowed at the word ‘Netkama’.

It was an expression I often saw in the other world. How familiar.

“Don’t ever call me that again. I’ll really pinch you.”

“Okay.”

Hanna sat down after her cute threat.

“Did you dye your hair today?”

I wanted to ask her from the moment I saw her. I was going to wait until we talked a little more, but I couldn’t help myself.

“What are you talking about? No, I didn’t. I’ve always dyed my hair.”

It looks like you dyed it today.

“…Just. I wanted a change of pace. And, I thought you might feel awkward.”

Hanna muttered defensively when I just smiled silently.

“It suits you. You look exactly like you did in the community pictures in the other world.”

There was some flattery mixed in, but it wasn’t a complete lie.

Hanna’s face, a 21st-century Earth Korean woman, retained traces of her appearance as a Western fantasy Paladin.

It made me wonder if the Paladins’ artificial bodies were based on and upgraded from the original.

Oh, but that doesn’t mean Hanna is ugly now. Objectively speaking, she was pretty.

How should I explain this?

She had a cat-like face that looked like she had a very strong personality and high pride, but unexpectedly, she seemed like the type with a weak mentality?

People with puppy-like faces and those who smile brightly like social butterflies usually have stronger personalities.

“You’re dressed too casually. Sweatpants? Seriously?”

“I couldn’t help it. My parents buried all my clothes with me in the grave. I didn’t have time to buy new clothes.”

“It’s been a week? That’s an excuse.”

“Anyway, it’s not.”

“Pfft. You need to go clothes shopping too.”

We talked for hours, losing track of time. It was more comfortable than talking to a girl my age, like talking to a close male friend.

In fact, the conversation flowed even better than with my male friends. Is it because she used the community a lot?

Anyway, as we talked, the conversation naturally shifted to ‘that topic’.

“Did the Administration contact you?”

Hanna was the first to bring it up.

“Yeah. Just yesterday.”

“Me too. It seems they contacted everyone on the same day.”

“I guess so.”

“Didn’t they give you a paper offering a job?”

“They did. I still have it.”

I took out the booklet the Administration lady gave me.

“Me too.”

Hanna also took out her booklet and continued.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”