Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 764

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 764
I recalled watching something on a streaming service with everyone, but strangely, I couldn’t remember whether that Senior had found the movie entertaining or not.
Only memories involving the Senior seemed to slip away like this.
The films we watched back then differed in era, setting details, characters—nothing matched—yet the fundamental question remained identical: what is “I”?
Yeo Ha-ryun asked.
“So, if all the city people are Rakshasas, why must you uphold the precept against killing? Couldn’t you simply burn them all as you did with the Demonic Ghosts? No matter how many times they resurrect, if you set them ablaze like before, none would return.”
The same logic applied to the Demonic Ghosts.
No matter how many times they appeared, my Inferno Formation could have ended them permanently.
Jasi asked.
“But those people retain their memories, and except when their bodies transform into Rakshasas, they are simply ordinary commoners. Can you truly say they are not human?”
“Those creatures are monsters that devour humans. The commoners have already been consumed, swallowed into the Rakshasa’s belly. They merely believe themselves to be those commoners. Besides, travelers and merchants will continue to be devoured—is that acceptable?”
“Bandits are the same, yet we still call them human. Even if you check their meridians and vital points, they were undoubtedly human. They live ordinary lives, love their families. Surely you don’t intend to kill children as well?”
“That’s merely a creature wearing a child’s shape.”
“It will die screaming for its mother until its last breath. If you’re going to kill it anyway, why not do it during daylight? It won’t even understand why it’s dying.”
“Are you being sarcastic? What do you think, Hyeong?”
“….”
Suddenly, both Yeo Ha-ryun and Jasi realized that Jin Cheon-hee had said nothing.
The two turned to look at him.
His blue eyes trembled like water filling a cup to the brim.
That blue light seemed ready to overflow with a single breath.
One could not fathom what his brilliant mind was thinking, yet that blue radiance, for some reason, made the heart ache merely to witness it.
“I….”
Jin Cheon-hee forced the words from his throat.
-If memory and body are identical, then is that “I”?
Back then, the Senior had provided an answer.
The four of them sitting on the sofa drinking beer had each found their own answers.
All of them were reasonable answers.
Then what answer should Jin Cheon-hee himself, who had picked up the remote and started that film, provide?
-Are they “human”? Or merely Rakshasas wearing human shapes?
-Should they be eliminated?
-If so, is what I do murder? Or demon exorcism?
I had merely observed their answers with detachment and enjoyed them, offering a single compliment that they were impressive.
That was all.
Somewhere along the way, I had discarded such questions into the trash.
Thinking I should watch another science fiction film on this theme next time.
In that moment, the sound of an iceberg collapsing echoes.
The sound grew louder.
‘A hell constructed from everyone’s good intentions.’
The people were certainly happy.
With hunger—one of humanity’s basic desires—removed, they had become even more virtuous than ordinary people.
Now that I understood they couldn’t die, I became even kinder to those around me.
Abuddha.
They were virtuous. They never raised their voices in the marketplace.
Since they barely ate, food became an absurdly expensive luxury, but everything else—clothing, glass—was reasonably priced without overcharging.
They even tried to share precious wound medicine with someone who’d merely bumped shoulders with them.
That was true until daylight faded.
Until then, they were Buddhas.
That place was paradise, a sun-drenched heaven.
Yet when night fell, they transformed into monsters that devoured human flesh.
Without memory, without death,
my vision tilted, the world itself tilted.
‘It’s been a while.’
A place I thought I’d never return to.
It was Jin Cheon-hee’s world.
* * *
Jin Cheon-hee sat briefly on the stone floor, drank water, and took a deep breath.
‘Watching it on a screen was quite entertaining.’
Other people’s lives are always the most interesting.
Because it’s not my affair, not something I truly have to worry about.
Now it’s right before my eyes.
Jin Cheon-hee took another sip of water.
The cold liquid slid down my esophagus, creating a vivid sense of being alive.
‘Do those villagers feel the same way?’
They probably do. Their bodies were identical to humans inside.
Until daylight.
“First, can we determine why they resurrect?”
Jasi shook his head at my question.
“That much isn’t shown in the murals. Some form of grand sorcery must have been used. Otherwise, the dead wouldn’t return to life.”
I nodded.
“Still… the Rakshasa itself is strange. The way they reproduce through eggs, for instance.”
Jasi spoke.
“Perhaps there are conditions—if they share essence in human form, a child is born; if they share essence in monster form, they lay eggs. There seems to be some rule governing it.”
Yeo Ha-ryun said.
“Regardless, they must all be killed. They merely believe themselves to be human, but they aren’t truly people.”
Was that Ha-ryun’s conclusion?
Jasi spoke.
“No. They are people. They continue living with their memories, don’t they? Can you kill the daytime version of them? After killing them, can you say they weren’t commoners?”
At those words, Ha-ryun’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
I exhaled softly.
“It seems we’ve learned everything we can here. There are no more traces of Hyeolseonggyo or Mireuk. Now there’s only one place left to go.”
“Where?”
“The mines. If I were Baekcheon-gun, I’d probably be preparing for a final confrontation there.”
Baekcheon-gun didn’t want to fight Jin Cheon-hee.
He simply wanted each of them to go their separate ways.
If Jin Cheon-hee turned back once the truth was revealed, it would end there.
A city where people occasionally went missing.
Perhaps I could simply close my eyes and pretend not to know.
Or, if Ha-ryun was right that we needed to uproot it entirely, then when that time came…
‘Ha-ryun would probably stay behind and kill everyone if I closed my eyes and left.’
That was the kind of person he was.
Then at the very least, I needed to know whether what I was doing was complicity in murder or demon subjugation.
That’s what being a Doctor means.
“Let’s go back.”
The world tilts.
* * *
There was a drama I’d seen before falling into the Gangho world.
A world where people uploaded their consciousness into an electronic realm and all lived eternally.
Whether that was truly me or just a copy of my code, I couldn’t know—but I felt the same uncertainty about myself now.
‘It would’ve been easier if it were just my problem.’
How much simpler if the only decision was about my own life, my own self-reflection.
But reality was always cruel.
When I stepped outside, Hwang-gu panted and licked my hand.
Hwang-gu was happy.
There were no enemies, and the jerky his master gave him tasted like honey.
As we left the temple to return to our lodgings, I suddenly noticed Ha-ryun, Jin Cheon-hee, and even Hwang-gu staring at something.
Jasi asked.
“Why aren’t we leaving?”
Ha-ryun answered.
“Enemies. At least several hundred are positioned outside the temple.”
A voice rang out, as if they’d realized we’d noticed them.
It was a familiar voice.
“Governor Jin, come out.”
It was the Governor’s voice.
Jin Cheon-hee’s group exchanged glances before stepping outside immediately.
Outside the temple, countless Rakshasas surrounded it.
However, they were different from other Rakshasas. They wore armor and weapons as if they were soldiers.
Their movements also had a certain discipline, suggesting they retained their reason.
And standing before them was the Governor in human form.
“Governor, you seem quite well.”
Jin Cheon-hee smiled as he spoke.
Eyes holding the pale blue of dawn light.
That gaze was somehow as cold as a blade’s edge, causing the Governor to swallow hard for a moment.
“If you ask whether I’m still human, then of course not. I too am a Rakshasa. But for now, I maintain my sanity.”
The Governor covered his face with his sleeve.
As that fabric swept across once, the visage of a tiger was revealed beneath.
Jasi muttered softly.
“According to the records, Rakshasas use transformation arts to alter their appearance—it seems that much is indeed true.”
The Governor heard this and nodded.
“Correct. That is why, if one can maintain reason while facing humans, one need not lose memories, and can maintain a human form whenever desired. This city remains under my control.”
The Governor drew a deep breath, then spoke with firm resolve.
“Prefect Jin. You will return as if you know nothing.”
At those words, the other soldiers cried out.
“Governor! But we cannot trust them….”
“Silence!”
The Governor’s voice rang out powerfully across the surroundings.
As he glared at his subordinates, all who opposed him lowered their heads and withdrew.
The Governor spoke.
“All I ask is a promise. Simply tell me you will not interfere in this city. Then I will trust that word.”
It was a naively simple proposal.
Though he had become a monster, he still believed in people.
It was strange.
The “paradise” he had created.
And the “hell” that existed beneath it.
Yet despite everything, the proposal was so absurdly naive that laughter escaped me.
I asked.
“You have already consumed people. Yet you ask us to pretend we know nothing?”
At my words, guilt stained the Governor’s face. But it was only momentary.
“This land has its own laws. You have no right to interfere in them.”
“No, I must interfere. I don’t know how many people you’ve sacrificed… but I have a stake in the mines.”
“Well… This is merely a transitional period. Soon enough, all will regain their sanity. After that, there will be no casualties to concern yourself with.”
Even at night, one could regain sanity.
It was like a dream. The soldiers following him likely maintained their reason for this very reason, standing in perfect unity with weapons drawn.
“When will that be?”
“When we have survived long enough.”
Then Ha-ryun stepped forward.
“Hypocrites. You are nothing but evil. You devour people, and obscenely attempt to package that evil as something else.”
“Ha-ryun. Wait a moment.”
My brother tried to apply the brakes.
But Ha-ryun pressed the accelerator.
He was one who would not forgive evil, one who would not compromise.
Even if it resulted in a sea of corpses, nothing would change.
For Hyeong, even the wicked were still ‘people,’ but for me, the only way to stop that evil was death.
Killing intent radiated from my body.
The Governor observed me.
“Your resolve is quite extraordinary. First, I wish to express my gratitude. Thank you for playing with my son. However, I must take responsibility for all of them. No matter what they become, they are the people of my castle, and I have the duty to protect them. Therefore….”
He raised his hand.
At that signal, everyone aimed their weapons at me alone.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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