The Boss Wants to Die

Chapter 25

The Boss Wants to Die

Smoothing down his clothes, Akt gave an effortless order.

Taken aback, Michael looked up.

“What?”

“Help me.”

“Why should I…….”

“Why? You felt it firsthand.”

His index finger slid forward, jabbing Michael’s chest.

“Right here. The world’s despair.”

“You still haven’t explained the full situation to me.”

Michael clenched his fists, attempting a petty bit of defiance.

“I’m not idle enough to help you without a reason.”

“You need a reason?”

Akt tilted his head, looking genuinely baffled.

“You already know. You know we have to prevent Lee Rowoon’s death. Back then, you must have clearly felt how terribly wrong things had gone.”

“…….”

“Or did I assume you’d reflected enough on your actions, when you actually haven’t?”

Abruptly wiping any trace of amusement from his face, Akt leaned down to meet Michael eye to eye.

“Enough to still have the brazen nerve to defy me, after brutally murdering the Evil God like that?”

A low voice, as if freshly crawled out of hell, smoldered with formless hatred.

His voice sounded like an ancient curse.

“Having felt down to your very bones how everything went wrong because of you, now you want to back out? Like a shameless beast?”

“Kgh……!”

“Get a grip, Michael. I haven’t forgiven you.”

Akt straightened his back.

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

“What do I do, and how am I supposed to help?”

Michael gave in, finally speaking up.

“Keep leveling up until I contact you. You’ll need to become far stronger than you are now.”

Turning to leave the tavern, Akt glanced back as if something had just crossed his mind.

“And don’t tell Rowoon about the memories that surfaced or what happened today.”

“…….”

“It’ll only make things even shittier.”

Whatever thought crossed his mind, Akt scowled fiercely.

When Michael didn’t answer, Akt kindly added an explanation.

“If Lee Rowoon finds out about this, the world won’t just end in a simple blackout next time.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the tavern.

---

“She seems completely fine right now.”

As he was about to climb the inn’s stairs, Akt suddenly gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into the wall.

The swaying wall lamp cast his silhouette in dizzying distortion.

As his head drooped low, white hair spilled toward the floor.

So did his heart.

It was plummeting into the abyss.

‘She looks completely fine, huh.’

The old wooden stairs creaked, groaning under the weight of Akt’s massive frame and his fury.

A dry chuckle escaped him.

It was a laugh that sounded like the wind tearing through broken glass in a sob.

With every breath he exhaled, it felt as though toxic sulfur gas was spewing from inside him.

The rage settled in his gut pumped scarlet hatred, melted over a long time, into his bloodstream, scorching him from within.

His airway burned, choking him.

Pain dug into his brain like a red-hot iron skewer, churning Akt’s nauseated stomach even further.

“Ugh…….”

Covering his mouth with a hand, he doubled over.

The metallic stench of blood seemed to fill his nostrils.

A familiar scent of blood.

Lee Rowoon’s blood.

‘It’s an illusion. There’s no need to worry. Rowoon is fine. She’s not hurt……’

He lifted his face, beaded with cold sweat.

Right before his eyes, he saw sharp black high heels.

The hem of an elegantly flaring mini chiffon dress swayed lightly in front of him.

It was an enticing sight, as if meant to pluck Akt’s soul right out of him.

Spotting his eyes through his disheveled hair, Lee Rowoon furrowed her brows in a curious frown and asked:

“What are you doing here?”

The Lee Rowoon before him was real, not a hallucination.

The fact that she wasn’t bleeding made it certain.

“Are you unwell? You look so pale.”

As if she hadn’t just asked so curtly, Rowoon squatted down in front of Akt.

It was because he was practically collapsed on the stairs, down on his knees.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Not… really…….”

“What is this smell?”

Leaning in close, she caught the scent of Akt’s breath.

Cutting through Akt’s characteristic smoky scent was the rich aroma of beer.

“Did you drink? Is that why you’re like this?”

Clicking her tongue, Rowoon draped one of his arms over her shoulder.

The option of simply abandoning him didn’t even seem to cross her mind.

Though she acted prickly and got angry, he knew that wasn’t who she truly was.

Whenever he felt the kindness that surfaced unconsciously like this, Akt felt devastated.

He felt sick to his stomach toward this world and the players who had driven her to the edge, tortured her, and changed her.

“I told you to drink in moderation. How much did you drink to look like this?”

“…….”

“You’re usually not like this. Did you drink something poisoned? Where did you drink? Who gave it to you?”

Inquiring relentlessly, she hauled Akt’s body—more than twice her size—up the stairs.

He was bulky, but with her formidable strength, Akt’s weight was nothing to her.

With every gentle sway of her long black hair, Rowoon’s rich, alluring scent of roses drifted over him.

Akt let his eyelids droop languidly.

His breath, which had been boiling like lava, felt as if it were sweetening into calm.

“Feeling any better?”

“Mmh, urgh…….”

“Gasp, hey!”

A migraine burrowed into his brain as if splitting his skull open, churning it into mush.

Unable to bear it, Akt threw up.

Fortunately, it was after they had entered the room.

All he had consumed was alcohol, so it was mostly liquid, but it was still revolting enough to turn anyone’s stomach.

Yet Rowoon looked more startled than disgusted.

“Hey, what is really wrong with you?”

She rummaged wildly through the shelf, grabbed the first handkerchief she could find, and wiped around Akt’s mouth.

Vomit was splattered on the hem of her pristine dress as well.

Lee Rowoon must have noticed.

With her dynamic visual acuity, there was no way she could have missed the flying splatter.

Yet she simply crouched in front of Akt, examining only his face.

“Can you hear my voice?”

“Haa, huu…….”

“Are you okay? Try to breathe properly.”

Gently.

Her slender fingers rubbed his back in soothing strokes.

It was a nostalgic sensation.

Akt gritted his teeth to keep from crying.

“What can I do to help? Is there anything you need? Tell me. I’m the Evil God, remember?”

Rowoon’s reassuring words stabbed into him like a dagger.

When she hated being the Evil God more than anyone else.

She was boasting about being the Evil God just to comfort him.

How could he not understand what she was feeling?

Flouting her status as the Evil God was a method Rowoon often used to mock her own situation.

A form of self-harm.

There had been a time when Akt hadn’t known that at all…….

Tears welled in the corners of Akt’s eyes after all.

It had been a very long time since he last shed tears.

His expression remained blank and not a sob escaped him, yet tears pooled along his eyelids and streamed down unchecked.

Rowoon’s expression grew even more grave.

“Did you really drink poison or something? Does it hurt so much that you’re crying?”

“…….”

“The Evil God doesn’t have recovery skills. A healer can’t cast skills on themselves, you know.”

Rowoon placed her hand on Akt’s forehead, checking his temperature.

“Why are you so cold? This won’t do. Wait here.”

After sitting Akt down on the bed, she swung open the wardrobe and dumped out a heap of thick winter blankets.

Grabbing a few, she began wrapping Akt up like a caterpillar.

“Stay right here and don’t move!”

Having sternly warned him, Lee Rowoon hurriedly shut the door and left.

Then, just a second later, she threw the door open and stepped back in.

“Heart! Heart!”

“Yes, Master?”

Popping out from the shadows, Heart blinked its single eye adorably and asked.

Lee Rowoon pointed at Akt.

“Watch over him for a bit. He’s sick right now.”

“Understood, Master.”

Slam!

After roughly slamming the door behind her, the sound of Rowoon dashing down the stairs echoed up.

Even then, Akt remained still.

Upon his plaster-cast, emotionless face, only hot tears continued to pour.

He looked like someone who had lost his soul.

In truth, that wasn’t far from the truth.

Wandering through long-buried memories of the past, he merely repeated pointless thoughts over and over.

“Take this.”

Lee Rowoon returned remarkably fast.

It was fast enough to make one wonder why she had even bothered leaving Heart behind.

After forcing a hangover-relief pill down Akt’s throat, she carefully studied his expression.

“Any better?”

“…….”

“I mean, it serves you right if you die, but there are gentler ways to go, you know.”

She scolded him with a reluctant scowl.

“Like having your head lopped off in one clean blow without any pain, something like that. Stuff like this just drags out the agony for no reason. It’s pretty unappealing, got it?”

Lee Rowoon massaged Akt’s arm, which had grown cold from poor circulation, and continued to nag.

“I mean, why should I be rubbing the arm of a mere level 42 player?”

“……Thank you.”

Akt finally spoke.

Lee Rowoon could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She wiped away Akt’s tears with a practiced hand.

Her large, clear crimson eyes gazed into Akt’s face.

Like an older sister who, having soothed her younger brother after a long crying fit, tenderly asked what had happened.

So gently.

“How did you end up like this?”

“I think I drank something too strong.”

“Good grief.”

Akt took Rowoon’s hand, which was wiping his face, and lowered it.

Her expression showed she was completely unaware of how naturally and unreservedly she was behaving.

Yes, this was the kind of person she was.

Though no one knew it because she was dragged around by the hair, manipulated by the Evil God’s will.

Such a gentle person had died with a smile.

Even when she was pierced by Michael’s sword and met her end the very first time, she had worn that exact same face.