I Became the Childhood Friend of a D*ug Dealer

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But Han Si-Hoo overcame it.

Even if he was crushed by a building, even if he was shot in the leg.

He overcomes.

Somehow, he prevails.

In the end, the protagonist is the one who carries everyone’s hopes.

That’s why he is the protagonist.

Han Si-Hoo stood up again.

He calms his wavering vision and assesses the situation.

What he sees is his childhood friend being engulfed by black magic.

The result of tragic misfortune compounded by yet more misfortune.

He hears sounds around him, something about magic devouring.

Seo-A looks strange.

He spots black, branch-like horns.

And then Seo-A raised her hand.

Magic gathers above her hand, and she fires.

Zing.

A thick beam skims across the floor.

Boom.

And in its path stood Han Si-Hoo.

He raised his sword to block it, but his body was already at its limit.

Consciousness threatened to slip away.

But he overcame!

Wobbling, he stood up again and regained his stance.

He briefly lost consciousness.

Smoke filled the air.

Awakeners were seen attempting to attack.

Seo-A floated in the air, unleashing beams of light.

Could he even call her Seo-A anymore?

He shelves that question for now.

Hope always exists.

And here, hope lies with no one but Han Si-Hoo.

“I don’t know about saving the world…”

Han Si-Hoo raises his sword, pointing it at the sky.

He knows what he must do.

“But if I can help even one person…”

He hasn’t fallen yet.

Even if he falls, the protagonist is the one who stands up infinitely.

“If I can save just one person…”

He can’t do everything alone.

It is impossible to save the world by himself.

He can’t be that kind of hero.

But…

One person should be possible.

At the very least, the closest person.

He must save her.

He must.

Or else…

“I won’t be able to say I’ve lived a worthwhile life.”

He uses every method at his disposal.

After all, there’s no turning back from here.

Purification.

Is that the answer?

He decided to accept the side effects.

He’ll mix in various other skills as well.

The last time he used the purification skill, he mixed it with an augmentation skill.

Now he can mix it with the skill known as transcendence.

Kugugugh.

A storm of magic brews.

Magic.

That’s the problem.

There’s not enough magical power.

That’s why he can’t carelessly use the purification skill.

But there is one way.

A skill he recently acquired.

[Last Bastion]

The skill description is simple.

[Using this skill consumes life force instead of magical power.]

Life force is not the same as stamina.

It means using up one’s lifespan.

But there’s no other option.

And he’s already using it.

“Han Si-Hoo! Are you okay?”

Chun Yu-Hwa rushed over.

“I’m fine.”

Not really.

“More importantly, I need to get close to Seo-A…”

“Other Awakeners are calling that a dragon. There’s no reason to see her as your friend anymore, is there?”

“I can save her.”

“Save her? You should probably focus on saving yourself first. Your condition is critical. You need to head back and get treated.”

She tries to pull Han Si-Hoo along, holding his hand, clearly seeing him as a severely injured patient.

They can’t afford to keep fighting.

“No. I need to save Seo-A.”

“…How?”

“Just by touching her, I can activate the skill. I’ll bring her back to normal.”

There’s no swaying Han Si-Hoo’s determination.

“Do you plan to give up?”

“No.”

“Well, if you’re going to be this stubborn…”

Chun Yu-Hwa sighs.

There’s no time for useless arguments.

Han Si-Hoo grips his sword tightly.

If Chun Yu-Hwa tries to stop him, he’ll fight.

“…Then I’ll help you. What do you want?”

He loosened his grip.

Fortunately, Chun Yu-Hwa is an ally.

***

This is a bad ending.

That’s the feeling.

Let’s think about what the right choice was.

Rewind and rewind until he sees himself, completely out of money.

He had no money to buy medicine.

Can’t think that the happy thought of borrowing pops into his mind because he has no money.

No, there’s no time for these regrets.

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s finding a path even in a dying situation.

It’s a final desperate struggle.

He feels his mind and body being devoured.

Ironically, perhaps due to the medicine, he succeeds in keeping his consciousness intact.

[Update Failed]

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…1]

Ignoring the dizzying status window, he focuses on what he needs to do.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…2]

He knows what he can do with this body.

Flight.

Not so much flying as just floating in midair.

The ruins seen from above are beautiful.

If not for the attacks coming from all directions, it would have been even more beautiful.

What he can do.

Dragon Breath.

He reads it and just fires a black beam.

Nullification and absorption of magical power.

Thanks to that, regular attacks can’t even touch him.

And a variety of other miscellaneous abilities.

People are shooting something at him.

Magic flying towards him.

Something huge attacking.

But it doesn’t hurt that much.

He fires attacks in all directions.

Someone is bound to get hit.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…5]

He feels his sanity being gnawed away.

But he knows what he needs to do here.

The world’s destruction!

No, that’s not it.

So what was he trying to do?

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…15]

Open a gate with dragon powers.

Then the monsters will pour out.

In that case, yes, the world would surely be doomed.

This world should end.

That’s true.

But not everyone is a bad person.

It could become a good world.

It’s just a narrow margin.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…21]

Kadadadadak.

He tears space with his hands.

Opening a door to another dimension.

He’s in the process of creating a gate.

An ordinary gate won’t suffice.

A giant gate from which massive monsters will spill forth.

In that case, the vicinity will naturally be turned to ashes.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…36]

Shut up.

This is where people live.

Even if it is the slums, there are children…

What does that even matter?

Everyone is going to die anyway.

What does it matter if they die early?

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…55]

Originally, the plan was to destroy the factory making medicine.

To eliminate the doctors.

To help the protagonist achieve a happy ending.

The protagonist.

Han Si-Hoo has already gone astray.

I made him stray.

He’s veered off the path the protagonist must walk.

Couldn’t become the hero that everyone admires.

So the world will surely perish.

He sees a gleam of light.

Down there, it seems Han Si-Hoo has risen again.

The protagonist will never fall.

Maybe he’s still the protagonist.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…82]

Kadadadadadak.

The space twists and tears unpleasantly.

A strange sight as if summoning the empty void of the universe.

The dragon knows.

It’s impossible for the world to end with this body.

So he seeks to call upon his companions.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…150]

If Han Si-Hoo can’t do it.

Then I will become the protagonist.

Ah, this is the protagonist I’ve longed to be.

Saving the world.

The world’s destruction!

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…342]

The more attempts there are, the more faint his consciousness becomes.

Kadak, kadadak.

He stretches space with both hands.

He feels as if he’s locked eyes with a colossal monster from beyond the gate.

Tell them to open up quickly.

Let him out.

How much more should he open it up?

He’s trying to fully open the gate, but a glow down below is bothering him.

Is it a star? No.

Stars are not on the ground.

But Han Si-Hoo shines like a star.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…541]

Is that the protagonist?

Is he still not dead?

Han Si-Hoo.

Boom!

The protective shield he had up has been breached.

It’s because of a magic shot from somewhere.

This can’t be Han Si-Hoo’s doing.

He needs to deploy the shield again.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…1416]

He feels as if his head is temporarily blank.

He couldn’t correctly deploy the shield.

In fact, just holding onto his mental state is already a limit.

The world’s destruction!

Yeah, let it end.

Just as he attempted to deploy the shield, his body feels incredibly heavy.

He falls.

It feels like he’s been weighed down.

He must have been hit by some strange skill.

Ahh.

He falls.

Boom.

Falling alone doesn’t cause significant injury.

He just can’t move.

It seems it’s a binding magic.

A type of magic that prevents motion in place.

He tried to stand but failed.

He ended up in a kneeling position.

He sees Si-Hoo.

He motions an attack towards the approaching star.

A black beam shoots forth.

But it doesn’t connect.

Would it connect? He’s the protagonist.

The star is too hot.

You die if you get too close.

The light is dazzling.

And the star reaches out its hand.

[Attempting Consciousness Fusion…]

Hurry and kill me.

I can’t hold on.

If my consciousness is consumed here, I’ll never return.

Still, I’m glad that the one to kill me in the end is Si-Hoo.

It’s strange that Si-Hoo still hasn’t fallen despite being this exhausted.

I want to stop the bleeding, but my body won’t move.

“You’ve worked hard. It’s been tough for you.”

I’m glad I could leave behind at least these words.

My body feels heavy.

My sanity is being devoured.

Si-Hoo’s hand touches my shoulder.

His expression is both sad and smiling.

“I’m glad we were friends.”

“…Me too.”

Si-Hoo replies.

Yeah.

So this is when I finally get killed.

As I try to say goodbye, a bit of sadness creeps in.

At least I’m getting to say my goodbyes while I’m still sane.

“It took quite a while. It would have been better if I had died back then.”

When I first went to the academy.

When I first fought with Si-Hoo.

“No.”

“Yet, since this opportunity has come…”

I’ll do my best to smile brightly, for it’s the last time.

Though it doesn’t go as smoothly as I’d like.

Before I fully become something other than human…

“I’m sorry. I wish there could have been a better method.”

Si-Hoo said with a look of sorrow.

“It’s okay.”

This is the best option, so there’s nothing I can do.

I’m satisfied.

I smiled.

Si-Hoo gives a faint smile.

“…[Purification].”