Chapter 57
Murder.
'Who has the authority to decide a human's life and death? It's natural to have a murderous desire towards someone who killed my family. But just as they had no right to kill them, I have no right to kill those people either. Revenge only seeks to punish, not to eliminate the sin itself.'
At that moment, Soo-hyun felt an intense anger for the first time in his life. His face bloodshot, he chased after the two boys who were fleeing, shocked by the incident they had caused.
'I'll kill you, I'll kill you.'
Ironically, at that moment, Soo-hyun was filled with rage, and the two boys were captivated by fear.
"Damn it! Run faster!" the boy who had been called a coward urged.
Paul, who had initially egged the other on, now looked back as he ran, even more frightened. A pillar of red flame, thick smoke.
"This wasn't supposed to happen…" he muttered.
"You punk, wake up and run!"
"F-Fabian…"
"You made fun of me and called me a coward! If we get caught, our parents will kill us. No, do you think those who were hurt will let us go? Run!"
Sometimes, a timid person faces big problems calmly. Fabian, who was teased for being a coward, seemed to be that type of child. Behind them, a red shadow was rapidly approaching. The handsome, black-haired boy was gone; in his place, an evil spirit with red eyes was trying to claw at Fabian's back. Soo-hyun, whose entire body had turned red, gritted his teeth and screamed.
"I'll kill you!!!"
Just before Soo-hyun's nails could fatally wound Fabian, someone grabbed Soo-hyun by the scruff of his neck and threw him sharply to the ground.
Thud!!!
"Kuaaa..."
It didn't hurt.
'That's not the problem! I'll kill the guy who got in my way and the two boys who ran away!'
The boy lay on the ground, writhing and screaming with a rage that surged from deep within him.
"Let go!!! Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Snap.
The sound of fingers snapping could be heard. The forest fell silent. And then a voice echoed in Soo-hyun's head again.
[The emotion you felt just before your family's accident was fear, and what you feel now is anger.]
'I'm so angry I could cry. I want to kill Beethoven!'
"Let go of me! I'll kill you!"
But no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't break free from Beethoven's grip on the back of his neck.
[I didn't show you this so you would be consumed by it, you idiot.]
"Why?! Why did you do this to me?! I didn't need to know! Why the hell?! Why?!"
[There may be reasons to be angry, but they are rarely just. Anger strips away a person's true nature. Do you really want to kill someone?]
"Stop talking nonsense and let go!"
Soo-hyun, who was not in his right mind, struck Beethoven's arm hard. But it didn't move at all.
[Don't get angry at others' foolishness or corrupt your heart. When others do wrong, it is their misfortune. Therefore, you should feel compassion for them.]
The strength slowly drained from Soo-hyun's struggling body. The red aura that colored his body faded, and Soo-hyun's face was visible, crying with sad eyes.
'You want me to pity them? Because of those guys' pranks, not only my family, but 88 people lost their lives… And I'm supposed to feel pity for those children?'
Beethoven looked at Soo-hyun with a stern expression and then snapped his fingers. The background surrounding the two changed. They were in a small, pure white room.
[Look.]
Soo-hyun turned his gaze. A very small window with bars. Below it, a bed stained with vomit and filth. A young man in his twenties was crouched and trembling in the corner of the room.
"What do you want me to see?"
[The perpetrator.]
Soo-hyun looked at the man. His hair was matted and dirty. He was mumbling with unfocused eyes.
"It was me, it was me. No? No. I didn't mean to. Ugh..."
Soo-hyun stared at the man's face, and then suddenly stood up. Beethoven pointed to the entrance of the locked room. The man's name was written there.
Patient 403, Fabian Maurer.
'Hey, Fabian. Is that boy from before this one?'
Soo-hyun looked at Beethoven with surprised eyes.
[Paul Schneider is in the next room.]
Soo-hyun looked back at Fabian in shock. His appearance was so miserable that it was difficult to even consider him a human being.
"What happened? Where am I?" he said, returning to his usual way of speaking.
[It's a psychiatric hospital.]
"What's that?"
[You don't even know what a psychiatric hospital is, you idiot.]
"I haven't been in the world for long."
[This is a hospital where patients with mental problems are admitted. Both young men were admitted immediately after the incident and have lost their minds.]
"…"
Beethoven walked around Soo-hyun with his arms crossed.
[How about it? Is this what you wanted? Is your revenge not yet enough?]
"…"
'Until a moment ago, I wanted to kill him. Tear him to pieces. But his miserable appearance makes it seem like they would be better off dead. When I see them like this, my heart should feel relieved, but why do I feel this sense of emptiness and bitterness now?'
Soo-hyun clutched his chest.
"What is this… feeling?"
[It's futility.]
"Is this… a feeling of futility?"
'It's an emotion that cannot be understood with just one short experience.'
Soo-hyun lowered his head. And then Beethoven's voice echoed in his head again.
[Fear is the oldest emotion of mankind. It is classified into three types: the fear that comes from instinctive revulsion towards objects that cause disease or are unsanitary; the fear caused by supernatural phenomena, disasters, or wars that humans cannot cope with; and the fear that comes from the discomfort felt when one cannot guarantee one's own safety.]
'I don't want to know, sir. Do I really have to know? Can't I live without knowing?'
Despite Soo-hyun's heart's pleas, Beethoven's words continued.
[Tremble in fear. But it is foolish to be consumed by fear. What you must know is pure fear. Anger is always accompanied by a being called agony. It tightens the killer's trigger, manufactures the killer's poison, and sharpens his dagger.]
Soo-hyun looked at Beethoven with sad eyes.
"Is this an emotion I really need to know?"
Beethoven laughed.
[Just because you can't define it doesn't mean you don't know it. What kind of human being dares to live without feeling fear or anger? Are you pretending to be a fool who feels it but doesn't know it?]
"…"
[Not everyone lives with the same past as you, but everyone has their own fears and angers. It is said that God gives people just enough pain to survive.]
'But in the end, I end up resentful. Why do you give me such harsh trials?'
Beethoven said, seeing Soo-hyun's face turn sad.
[Anger is a raging horse. If you let it run wild, it will tire you out. You need to know how to control it. Are you angry with God? How foolish!]
Soo-hyun remembered something his Uncle Frederick had told him long ago: "Don't think the world has abandoned you. The world never had you in the first place. You are always the one who abandons it."
In Soo-hyun's eyes, he saw Fabian trembling and biting his nails. A man who seemed to have turned his back on the world. Soo-hyun sighed again and spoke slowly.
"Now I know what you're trying to say."
When Soo-hyun finally calmed down, Beethoven's cold face brightened. He snapped his fingers again, and they were back in the room where they first met.
'Was what I just saw real? Or was it an illusion you created?' Soo-hyun wrote in his notebook. Beethoven began to scribble.
"It was a fantasy, but it is reality."
'What was shown was an illusion, but it must mean that it showed something that existed in reality or still exists today.' If that was the case, then Fabian and Paul were probably still in a psychiatric hospital somewhere. Soo-hyun took Beethoven's notebook and wrote something.
'Thank you.'
Beethoven looked surprised for the first time.
'Thank you? Unlike the others who curse and swear. After seeing that miserable scene, this man says he feels grateful.'
"You're really a strange guy."
Beethoven held the piece of writing and waved it. Soo-hyun smiled slowly as he looked at Beethoven.
- - - -
Big News! Unlock More Chapters Every Week!
Hey everyone! Your favorite author, Mike, here with a super cool way for you to get even more chapters of your beloved novels every single week! I'm talking about more daily releases, and it all depends on you!
How to Get More Chapters on Webnovel!
It's simple: Weekly "Power Stone" Goals!
For every 200 Power Stones collected across all my novels on Webnovel each week, I'll add one extra chapter per day for the entire following week!
Hit 200 Power Stones? You get 3 chapters daily instead of 2!Hit 400 Power Stones? That's 4 chapters daily!...and so on, all the way up to 7 chapters daily if you hit 1000 Spirit Stones in a week!
These daily chapter boosts will run from Monday to Sunday of the following week, then reset for the next challenge!
Patreon Free Members: Another Way to Boost Chapters!
But wait, there's more! We can push those daily chapters even higher with a little help from my Patreon!
For every 10 new FREE members who join my Patreon each week, I'll add another extra chapter per day!
If 10 new free members join, that's an extra daily chapter.If 20 new free members join, that's 2 extra daily chapters!
Remember, even free Patreon members get 10 advanced chapters of all my novels compared to Webnovel, so it's a win-win! Find my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/iLikeeMikee
The Ultimate Goal: Up to 12 Chapters Daily!
Combined, we can reach an incredible maximum of 12 chapters per day across all my novels!
Let's say in one week we hit 1000 Power Stones on Webnovel and50 new free members join on Patreon. That would mean you get 12 chapters daily (7 from Spirit Stones + 5 from Patreon members) for the entire following week!
Special Bonus for Patreon Subscribers!
And for those of you who subscribe to a paid tier on my Patreon (starting at just $5!), if we hit these awesome weekly goals, you'll enjoy a massive 15 chapters daily during that boosted week! That's right, even more content just for you, my dedicated supporters!
Let's smash these goals and get tons of chapters every week! Your support makes all this possible!