Resurrection Chapter 0 - The Man Who Was Once a Paladin

Eeeeeeng—

A sudden ringing echoed in my ears.

Amid the noise that scattered my thoughts, I opened my eyes wide and stared at Heesoo hyung.

Heesoo hyung was looking back at me, seemingly startled. He appeared confused, as if he had no idea what was happening.

I was just as bewildered.

Why on earth was there a massive jungle knife protruding from Heesoo hyung’s back?

It looked far too sinister to be growing out of a human body. The sight was made even more chilling by the droplets of blood dripping from the scarlet-soaked tip of the blade.

The realization of what it meant hit me all at once, and my heart began to pound loudly. My face flushed, and my breathing grew rapid as blood surged through me with a mix of excitement and shock.

I gasped for air as if I were the one pierced by the jungle knife. The burning pain in my chest was so intense that tears began to stream down from the corners of my eyes.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Yoon Younghyun, who had stabbed Heesoo hyung, raising the jungle knife upward. The blade sliced through Heesoo hyung’s chest with a sharp crack, and blood gushed out in torrents. As the fountain of blood poured over him, Younghyun muttered.

“To seize this opportunity, Seo Heesoo, you’re still too strong for that to happen.”

“…Ugh.”

Frozen in place, watching the scene unfold, I heard Heesoo hyung’s faint groan. That barely audible sound felt like the harshest condemnation in the world, tearing my soul into a thousand, ten thousand pieces.

I writhed in agony.

“Yoon Younghyun! What the hell are you doing? Argh, aaargh!”

I screamed and thrashed, but the hands of those restraining me wouldn’t let go. Pinned down by their grip, I lost all reason and wailed like a beast.

“Let me go! I said let go! You bastard! I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you!”

I raged and thrashed in a frenzy of anger and sorrow, but it was unclear who my emotions were directed at. At first glance, it seemed aimed at Yoon Younghyun, who had stabbed Heesoo hyung with the jungle knife, and at those restraining me, but that wasn’t entirely true.

A voice within me questioned sharply.

Was Yoon Younghyun truly the only one who killed Heesoo hyung?

Wasn’t it also me, who pushed forward with an absurd plan driven by foolish hopes?

As if in a fleeting montage, a time that was both short and long flashed through my mind. The shock of first discovering him in that hellish place, the relief I felt knowing he was still alive despite everything, the conflict I wrestled with upon learning of his circumstances, and ultimately, the decision I had no choice but to make to choose him.

Everything surged up and then faded away.

“Why me?”

“Because it’s you, hyung. Heesoo hyung, you’re the one I’ve longed for all this time.”

Whenever I wanted to give up on everything, I always thought of Heesoo hyung. He wasn’t just someone who saved my life; he was the savior of my existence.

I lived because of him, I lived through him, and I wanted to live for him. To me, the world’s only savior could be none other than Seo Heesoo.

And yet, I had caused his death.

Of course, I knew this wasn’t the end.

But even knowing that, I couldn’t bear the reality.

I wailed in the midst of unbearable self-reproach.

“Uuuugh, aaaaaah!”