Saving My Beloved from a World on the Brink of Destruction

Greetings! I would like to begin by mentioning that I was requested to translate the first chapter of this novel. However, I have not yet decided if I will continue translating the following chapters. If there is sufficient interest, I may work with a co-translator to continue the translation, although the subsequent chapters will likely only be available to private members to avoid any potential DMCA notices from the original author. It’s also important to mention that this chapter was translated using my limited Korean skills, machine translation software, and dictionaries. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies in the translation, so please keep that in mind while reading.

That being said, I hope you find this chapter enjoyable!

“Attention, citizens. A gate has appeared in this area. As of this time, all locations within 100 meters of the gate are off limits. Again, I repeat…”

“Come this way-! Over there! Don’t push-!”

“Why did the gate have to open on the day I came out to have fun?!”

People swarmed like a tsunami. Employees from the association’s administration department were breaking a sweat as they guided citizens to the escape routes. This time, even the advance notice of the S-class gate’s appearance didn’t help much.

“Please maintain order!!” The man who helped a fallen child stand wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Being a D-class hero, his only task in this situation was to maintain order. Nevertheless, his abilities were utterly useless on-site. He had the nerve to apply for an S-rank gate without any fear, but it was fortunate if he didn’t become a hindrance. ‘Shit. If I’d known this was coming, I’d have prioritize my life over getting some reward.’

The gate made its first appearance five years ago. The monsters that spilled from it. At first, the emergence of Gates was not frequent, but when they did appear, a significant number of casualties occurred. Now that ‘they’ are here, it’s comparatively better.

Screeeech~~

A car screeched to a halt across the street with an electrifying sound. BANG. A man with long legs got out of the door that opened refreshingly.

With dazzling silver hair, the man entered the scene. “Wow, it’s huge. So big,” wearing an S-class hero’s uniform and sunglasses, he whistled and looked up at the gate. His livery, accented with colorful strings, stood out noticeably.

“Save the admiration for later, huh?” A man with black hair followed him out of the car.

“Aigoo, did you get irritated while eating lunch, our Jaeha?”

“Don’t you ever think that it’s because of you that I’m annoyed?”

Then another young man got out of the car and separated the two. A white headset slung over his shoulder, and his expressionless face. “Guys, don’t fight.”

“Right, if you want to fight, let’s have a proper battle at the training center later!” yelled a short-haired beauty, her arm draped over the silent man’s shoulder.

“…Please, noona, don’t pick any fights.”

Kikiki~. The woman laughed while clutching her stomach, and the youngest-looking boy among them sighed deeply.

“…It’s the SH1 Unit. The SH1 Unit.” 

The D-Class members, who had been assessing the situation, instantly froze in place. They saluted. As they stood at attention, a man with silver hair walked casually past them. Nevertheless, they couldn’t utter a word.

“That’s… the famous S-rank. Yoo Hwa-shin.”

“Is that Cha Jaeha over there?”

“The one with noise-canceling headset killing it. Insane.”

They can tell what the other is thinking just by looking into each other’s eyes. Yoo Ji Ahn had completely captivated one of them.

A D-rank meeting an S-rank in person is as rare as picking stars from the sky. No, it’s more difficult than picking the stars. Meeting an S-rank from the SH1 Special Forces is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, if it occurs at all. The situation was already tense due to the rapid opening of S-rank gates.

Ah, can you hear me?

“Yes, I can hear you perfectly,” Hwa-shin responded to the voice by lightly pressing the in-ear receiver.

The gate that appeared this time is an ordinary S-class gate after a long time. Finish it quickly and come back.

“Isn’t it possible that people have gotten too lazy?”

Contact me when it’s done. If needed, you can respond in between. I’ll be watching through a drone. Please, please don’t get into any trouble.

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

Cha Jaeha, Jeong Mu-eum, and Yoo Ji Ahn stood next to Yoo Hwa-shin, who had put on new sunglasses.

Cha Jaeha asked while putting on his gloves, “What are you staring at blankly?”

“Thinking about how to finish it efficiently,” he said, his voice relaxed and smooth.

D-Class, who had been watching them nearby, swallowed their saliva nervously. The tension-filled scene from moments ago was now gone. This place was under SH1’s protection, thus, making it a defensive zone. Monsters that had just come out of the gate charged toward them.

Bang, bang, bang. The loud noise spread. The ground shook. In the midst of it all, SH1 still managed to have a leisurely conversation.

“All you have to do is stop them, and we’ll come after you. How many seconds are too much”

“Hmm. Their power isn’t all that great, so maybe 10 seconds? But I’m capable of pushing myself.”

“Take it easy, hyung,”

“And that’s enough for me,” Yoo Ji Ahn said, pulling out the double axes attached to her back. Clang, clang. The sound of them clashing was striking.

Hwa-shin laughed softly in response to their response. “Alright. Let us get started right away.”

Eventually, golden threads linked the monsters’ movements toward an empty space. Hwa-shin muttered as he held the threads between his fingers.

「Monsters before me. All of them,—Stop.」

I recall hearing something about this somewhere. Why is Yoo Hwa-shin, an S-class hero, so well-known? What made him so famous? His daring personality? His laid-back demeanor and manner of speech? Each of his characteristics contributed to his fame, but the biggest reason was his special ability.[1]

“…crazy.”

One of the reporters filming the scene instinctively lowered their camera lens beyond the danger zone of the gate.

Five monsters. Because of the five monsters, the ground rose up, buildings crumbled, and people were evacuated. Strange and massive monsters that D-class heroes couldn’t even approach came to a halt.

—Rumble—

Cries could be heard intermittently. The monsters, on the other hand, remained motionless. No, they couldn’t move. S-class hero, Yoo Hwa-shin’s ability was such an ability.

“Mu-eum-ah.” At Yoo Hwa-shin’s voice, as if waiting for his cue, a boy floating in the air dropped from the sky. His landing point was on the head of a massive lizard-like monster that had come to a halt.

“Hey, next time you cast a spell, can you please make the blood stop too? … It’s no joke when blood splatters everywhere. It’s so damn filthy,” Jeong Mu-eum said, slinging his headphones over his shoulder.

Hwa-shin, the laid-back figure, stroked Mu-eum’s head. “Mu-eum-ah has such a pretty way of speaking.”

“No, it’s because you told me to try it once.”

“That bothers me. Hahaha.”

“Ah, please stop laughing!”

“Hahahaha.”

Before the D-class heroes who were watching the scene could even let out a sigh of admiration, Yoo Ji Ahn’s twin axes sliced the neck of one of the remaining monsters with a hearty voice, “Don’t relax after just killing one.”

Just like that, once more—Yoo Ji Ahn’s axes floated in midair. Jeong Mu-eum’s fingers flicked forward. The monster’s head moved at a fast pace and later pierced through the body of the same monster.

“…Wow.”

It was impossible not to be moved by the unfolding scene. A natural flow, like running water, and their calm demeanor in the midst of it all. Plus… There was no trace of the monster to be found on the road where the flames had raged.

Despite the fact that the road had turned into a raging inferno, Hwa-shin stood leisurely, taking photos with his phone camera. “My kids, they really do their job well, don’t they?” he said, proudly, as if bragging about his firstborn child.

“…Ah, that.”

That’s right.

Hwa-shin was overjoyed with himself for having made it this far. He was now here with the characters he had loved the most, as a (former) archmage, thanks to his possession of a character in the novel Your Hero is Here>.

Ah, to begin this story, I must first talk about my past. In the past, I was called ‘Elric’. My former occupation was not a hero, but an archmage.

While filming the scene with his video camera, Hwa-shin momentarily reminisced about his past before possessing his new body.

◈◈◈

The dark cave entrance gradually lit up as archmage Elric flicked his finger. Monsters swarmed around the entrance. They appeared to believe they could defeat the dying dragon who refused to leave the cave.

As Elric leaned his head against a pillow that happened to be a dragon, the pillow spoke to him, “Shall I help?”

The dragon language flowed into Elric’s mind. He smiled and replied, “I’ll handle it myself. It’ll be more fun that way.”

“You always look for something interesting. Why don’t you live like the hero in the neighboring town?”

“I did that about a hundred years ago,” Elric shrugged.

「Dispel the barrier.」

With his voice, the flow of karma[2] surrounding the cave changed. The barrier blocking the entrance crumbled with a crackling sound. From hobgoblins to rainbow-furred mutant unicorns, all sorts of magical creatures rushed in.

A goblin wielding a giant club led the charge.

Another club, another brawl. Why do they always have the same repertoire? They’re not even worth playing with.

With a short sigh, Elric opened his mouth.

「In the order you entered, starting with you.」

And pointed his staff at the goblin in the lead.

「Explode. Neatly, if possible. 」

At Elric’s single command, the body of the foremost goblin began to swell slowly. With a loud pop, its stretched green skin burst. The ripped, square-like pieces of flesh landed heavily on the floor.

“Gurrk?”

“Gurrk!”

The pursuing monsters’ footsteps came to a halt. Some of them ran back to the entrance. However, their fate,’ sealed by the spell, could no longer be altered. Blood began to splatter in waves, pooling on the floor like a puddle. The stalactites that had grown from the floor on the ceiling turned blue as they became smeared with the monsters’ blood.

“Well then, Yong, would you like to clean this up?”

A voice devoid of excitement. A languid attitude, as if waking up from a tedious dream. Every day, the archmage Elric, who was well over 200 years old, was utterly bored.

About 20 years ago, when life was dull for Elic, he found a dragon living in a cave. (He no longer counted the days properly, so this was also not accurate. Therefore, Elic did not know his own age correctly.)

Elric, who roughly named the dragon “Yong,” lived with the dragon and often listened to old stories, which were very interesting. One day, Yong threw a book at Elric, who was scratching his belly with a bored expression. The writing was in a different language from a different world and Elric could not read it. After a very long time, Elic finally succeeded in deciphering the book that Yong had handed to him!

It was a novel titled “Your Hero is Here,” which contained hero stories. However, the book referred to the hero as a “hero[3]“.

Elric began to chatter with Yong, who was seemingly falling asleep soon.

“Here, the hero is from the SH1 unit. He’s so cute. My baby saving the world.”

“How old is he?”

“The protagonist is 25 years old.”

“Such a kid is going to save the world. What about you…?” Yong, who had opened his eyes, briefly looked down at Elric.

And Elric was an expert at turning the conversation around, “Anyway, thank you. It’s been a while since I’ve heard an interesting story.”

Elric went back and read the book several times after that. Although he could read the characters, expressions that he didn’t understand sometimes became clearer to him as he read. Naturally, his affection for the protagonist, Chae Jae-ha, grew.

‘Chae Jaeha needs to speak a little more softly.’

‘His tone is rough, but he is really kind. He should be more polite.’

‘Is the face on the book cover Cha Jaeha’s? If he looked like this, he would be very popular.’

‘To prevent the destruction of the world, Cha Jae-ha dies. But the world is still destroyed. Can’t I just rip the ending of this book?’

Elric spoke for a long time before approaching the unresponsive Yong and sitting down in front of him. The ‘today’ he had wished to avoid had arrived. Elric supported Yong’s snout with both arms. His only friend’s soul was now dying. Elric softly asked, “…Are you not dead yet?”

“It would be difficult if you killed me just like that, Elric.”

“Can’t you just live a little longer?”

“Perhaps if you had found me a little faster.”

The conversation continued in a trivial manner. It was even better because the content was meaningless.

“When I’m gone, you can go into a book or something, so you won’t be bored. You hate being bored.”

“That’s a completely random thing to say…Of course, if you weren’t here, maybe being in a book would be better. And make sure to spare Cha Jaeha. I honestly cried when he died. Haha.”

Elric stroked the dying dragon gently, holding it close. His hand clutched the silver scales, which had turned to dust. The dragon, who appeared to be losing the strength to speak, persisted until the end.

“Live well.”

A dragon, which peacefully completed its life, returned to where it had been before. f it was earth, it went to earth; if it was fire, it went to fire; and if it was wind, it went to wind. Immediately, the dragon’s body was enveloped in a white light. Later, after squeezing out the last ounce of its strength for the first and last time, the dying dragon spoke human language, “Don’t worry. Even without me, you won’t be bored.”

Elric’s field of vision was soon engulfed by a blinding white light. Everything became cozy as he felt his soul embark on a journey with the dragon. Elric closed his eyes naturally. In any case, once the dragon vanished, he’d be alone. He reasoned that it wouldn’t hurt to go back to nature together.

When he finally opened his eyes, he discovered his body in the middle of a pool of blood.

“…What’s this?”

He manipulated his karma to reattach his broken arm. There was some discomfort in his right ankle, but it was fine for now. Elric bent his legs, which seemed longer than his original body for some reason, and stood up with a grunt. He was wearing a black outfit in a shape he had never seen before, and the white sleeves were soaked in blue liquid.

He flexed his clean long fingers. His current body was not his. He looked around, trapped in the darkness of the night, and saw many unfamiliar monsters lying dead all around him. He looked around as he kicked the carrionized flesh.

Before long, the memories of the man who had been the owner of Elric’s body started to return to Elric’s mind. The memories quickly intertwined with Elric’s original memories.

Hero, Cha Jaeha, South Korea, Awakened, Gate.

Among the scattered words, he realized where he was.

The world where his most cherished hero existed, who vowed to save everyone even if it meant becoming a villain.

“……Hahaha.”

He had now entered to a new dimension within the novel, <Your Hero is Here>.

That’s right. Come to think of it, my dragon friend. “It was a Dimensional Dragon.”

[1] The one’s speaking this is a reporter, not Yoo Hwa-shin

[2] Literally karma in the raws.

[3] Romanized sound of hero.