Chapter 247: An Unexpected Companion (3)
Crunch.
The monster's fangs dig into my shoulder.
Blood gushes out and my mind grows dizzy, but.
I endured the pain and sparked a flame.
Flare-
It was truly a pathetic flame.
An indicator of just how wretched my current level was.
And the flickering flame on the verge of extinguishing showed what my life had been like.
A bug-like life.
An utterly incompetent existence.
It was the aggregate of all such negative meanings.
Grrr!
The monsters endlessly surge forward.
Like a wave with no end in sight.
Should I call it a mass of despair.
I had originally given up any hope of survival, but.
[This is a bit too much.]
Looking at this hellish scenery, a hollow laugh escapes me.
It's hopeless to expect any hope from that, isn't it.
How many miracles would it take to survive.
At least one or two wouldn't be enough.
[Haha.]
Should I curse Seolbong, that crazy bitch, even now.
Or perhaps, when Jamryong called me a crazy bastard and said he would go instead, I should have let him.
If not that.
When So Geom-seong tearfully told me not to go.
Should I have said something else.
All of this is a futile thought to have now.
Because even if I went back to that time.
I would obviously make the same choice.
[Fucking shitty life.]
It seems it's finally coming to an end.
Since I lived so futilely, should I be moved by the fact that I can be of some help now that it's come to this.
Unfortunately.
I'm not that emotional of a person.
I didn't have any such warm thoughts.
Kwaaah!
The monsters gather in one place and roar.
Can I block them.
As if.
I was simply drawing their attention.
And even that didn't draw all of them.
A mere fleeting moment of time.
Even this would be desperate for them.
I burned my body.
Blaze.
The flames covering my body were weak, but.
Even that was a level beyond my realm.
Driven by desperation, my dantian was instantly emptied and squeezed dry.
[Ugh.]
My wounded flesh and dantian screaming in agony, excruciating pain dominated my entire body.
Yet the flames burned even fiercer.
Using my flesh as firewood.
Pouring innate qi like oil to burn even more.
Meaning I was burning my life away.
What's the use if I'm going to die anyway.
If I hoarded it, it was just going to go to waste, so I might as well use it.
[So this is what it feels like.]
Burning my innate qi to increase the size of the flames.
Funnily enough, I feel a sense of enlightenment.
How I could control the flames.
And how I could grow the flames even larger.
To have such enlightenment when I'm about to die.
[I really have the worst luck.]
Kwaaah-!
The monsters rush in upon seeing the flames.
Like moths drawn to a flame.
If I had to point out a difference.
[Ugh...!]
There were just too many moths.
And the flame was not large enough to handle them all.
Crunch.
My arm was bitten.
Since I was wreathed in flames, the inside of its mouth should have been scorched.
But the mindless monster didn't care about such things.
It focused solely on the prey before it.
[Fuck…!]
Blaze-!
I expanded the flames and burned the bastard biting me to death.
Along with it, I built a wall of flames around me in a circle, but.
...
....
...
...
Grrr!
Kwaaah!
It was impossible to hold back these mindless bastards with just this.
[...Hah.]
The monsters pour out.
Perhaps because I was the only flame burning.
The monsters that discovered the light gradually gathered in swarms.
Can I block them.
[No.]
Rather than asking if I could block them, it would be more appropriate to ask if I could hold out.
But even that was impossible.
The monsters endlessly surged forward.
And my flesh was not strong enough to withstand them.
Claws pierce through my skin.
I feel thirsty fangs digging into my collarbone.
Dizzying excruciating pains line up, but.
Damnably, my life line didn't snap easily.
Because of that, I burned even more flames.
So that I could hold them back even a little bit.
[Idiotic bastard.]
To try to do more even in this situation.
If I was going to do this, I should have lived hard earlier.
Then I would have had a better life than now.
Is it something you realize when you reach death.
No, to think that, I must have known it from the start.
I just lived ignoring it.
No matter how much I tried.
I thought it was something I couldn't handle.
So I just ignored it and ran away.
And so I reach this point regretting it.
In an instant, a shadow falls over my eyes.
Another monster approaches with its mouth wide open.
It's probably planning to rip my head off in one bite.
My body is already ruined beyond repair.
I've lost too much blood; there's no chance of survival.
Feeling the shadow, I closed my eyes.
I couldn't do any more than this.
Just holding out until here was doing well.
Even this futile life.
Has now come to an end.
Can one become a little more peaceful upon reaching death.
I thought so at the very end.
Then.
Plop-.
I felt something drop onto the tip of my nose.
[Hm?]
I had only closed my eyes for a brief moment, but it was enough time to experience death.
Yet, for some reason, my consciousness remained.
Did I die and just not realize it.
I slowly opened my eyes.
[...Ugh!]
I had to tremble at the sight that greeted me as soon as I opened my eyes.
The monster was frozen with its mouth still open.
And the drool flowing from its mouth had touched my nose.
[What?]
The question was brief.
The monster that was trying to eat me slowly closed its mouth and backed away.
And the fangs and claws lodged in my body started to pull out.
[Urk...!]
Pain was felt during this process, but the important thing was something else.
[...The wounds are healing?]
The wounds that seemed like they would kill me instantly started to heal in an instant.
The blood that had flowed abundantly onto the ground disappeared.
And the sight of my torn flesh restoring itself.
Was not a situation that could be explained with words.
[...What in the world is going on...]
Just when I couldn't figure out what was going on at all.
Grrr... Grrrk-
[...!]
The monsters gathered around slowly started to distance themselves from me.
One step, then two steps.
The monsters, slowly backing away.
Eventually began to slowly bow their heads one by one.
[Crazy, what is this.]
These bastards who feel nothing but hunger without a shred of intelligence.
Are bowing their heads to me?
Is it a dream.
If I wasn't dreaming because I was really dead, this was a completely incomprehensible situation.
I was so panicked that I unknowingly distanced myself backward, and then.
Thud.
Something like a wall touched my back, blocking my movement.
I knew it was an empty plain.
So there shouldn't be anything behind me.
Thinking it might be a monster, I urgently turned around to confirm its identity, and.
[Hm!]
The fact that the wounds all over my body, which had been slashed to ribbons, healed in an instant.
And the countless monsters bowing their heads to me.
Were not important right now.
Because there was a bigger problem right in front of me.
[What is this now... A tree...?]
What touched my back was not a wall.
A giant tree.
It was so massive that its height couldn't be gauged.
And its densely spread branches were wide enough to cover the sky.
However, since it had withered without a single leaf attached.
I could only guess it was a dead ancient tree.
The bigger problem than that.
Was how such a tree had appeared out of nowhere.
[...Just... Just how.]
If it was such a giant tree, it made no sense that I hadn't seen it until now.
And it was an even more nonsensical level that the other promising talents hadn't discovered it either.
Where on earth did such a tree pop out from?
Amidst the repetition of incomprehensible situations.
-I found it.
A voice echoed in my ears.
[Who is it!]
I looked around at the sudden voice, but.
No matter how I looked, I couldn't see any being that could speak to me.
-You've finally arrived.
The sound continued regardless of my reaction.
-The embers that will burn this long, long karma.
I turned my head, which had been scanning around for a while.
And looked up at the tree.
Even while thinking it was impossible.
My gaze was drawn to it for some reason.
[...Don't tell me.]
The one speaking to me, don't tell me.
It's this tree?
-Nice to meet you.
The gently offered greeting was quite soft, but.
The supreme presence felt from it made me feel like I would be unable to endure and throw up at any moment.
My dantian trembles and I feel a vibration in my body.
-I am the fifth World Tree that took root in this false land.
As the words continued, I felt my mind gradually growing distant.
My fragile vessel couldn't withstand the tree's voice and was slowly cracking.
-Mua (Sproutless). That is my name.
The moment I heard the tree's name.
I felt a sensation like my body was melting.
And as I started to tremble and drip with cold sweat.
I felt the tree's roots, appearing from somewhere, wrapping around me.
This encounter, in the hellish demonic realm.
Was the starting point where I had no choice but to kill all the other promising talents.
And the reason I later caught the Heavenly Demon's eye.
'Seed of the Great Tree.'
Is it because of the memories of that time.
At the words "Seed of the Great Tree" that the beast-like bastard spoke of.
I couldn't help but naturally recall that tree.
The memories of that day are hazy and hard to see clearly, as if covered in fog.
As if it were a dream.
Or as if telling me to think of it that way, but...
I absolutely couldn't think of it that way.
Because I knew myself far too well that it was at least not a dream.
"...What is that."
At my question, the guy shut his mouth again, but.
I had no intention of waiting for his silence.
As I swiftly tried to reach my hand out toward the bead.
[W-World!]
The guy hastily spoke up.
Perhaps speaking itself was difficult, his voice was full of panting breaths.
But this was not a situation where I could care about such things.
"World? What world. Explain properly."
[...The seed is... the seed... The tree is... the world.]
"Bullshit, seriously. Is that what you call an explanation right now? Do you want to die?"
I knew from the start that he couldn't speak properly.
But listening to such an explanation made me furious.
I thought about just grabbing the bead or whatever.
[...If the tree... grows... destruction.]
I had to forcibly stop my hand at his words.
What's with those scary words.
"This is a seed. And if the tree grows, it brings destruction?"
[Grrr.]
"This world? If not, then what is destroyed?"
[Grrr...]
"Don't just grrr and growl, speak with your words, you bastard."
I didn't know how it would cause destruction, but.
"...Then why is something so scary here?"
This was what I was most curious about.
If what he said was true, this was something terrifying to the world.
Yet such a thing was left here so haphazardly.
[Grrr?]
His reaction was as if he was asking how he would know.
"This is driving me crazy."
I didn't know whether what he said was true or not.
And I couldn't believe that the bead my ancestor brought and placed here.
Was such a terrifying object.
"Then what does it mean when you say it'll explode if I touch it?"
[...Impossible to handle.]
"So what exactly is it that I can't handle... Wait. You fucker, were you trying to suck it up again if I touched it?"
[...]
"Then it's not because of me, it's because of you!"
If it's such a dangerous object, you just shouldn't have eaten it in the first place.
"Isn't this crazy? Even if I didn't touch it, my life was ruined because you kept sucking up everything you touched."
[Grrr...]
He howled as if he was unfairly treated, but.
Wasn't that exactly the truth?
Because he ate everything out of hunger, I was the only one suffering.
"I'm going crazy. Really."
I wiped my forehead at the throbbing headache.
What was the ancestor of the Gu family thinking.
Where did they even get such a thing and bury it here in the first place?
"...Does father know?"
I, at least, didn't know that such a secret was contained in this bead.
I just thought I was checking it out and looking around as a formality.
But if what I just heard is correct.
Would father know.
'I don't think he does...'
Even the reason he just said it would explode if I touched it now.
Could mean that the energy it held was so vast that I couldn't handle it.
Or it could mean that the bead might explode and plant the seed in the ground.
'Great Tree, huh.'
I recalled the tree I had met once.
-Will you make a contract?
That damn tree that offered a question while giving only one choice.
I never wanted to see its face again.
'...But I have to go see it again.'
Somehow.
I had to head to that demonic realm where I fell in my past life.
There was a secret in the demonic realm I fell into back then.
How many years did I roll around in that place.
At least ten years.
I spent a quite long time in the demonic realm.
And while countless people died there.
There were also those who survived for a long time.
Jamryong was like that.
Seolbong was like that.
So Geom-seong also survived.
Those who had just reached adulthood.
Had passed their thirties over time.
The flow of time was originally like that.
'...This damn world.'
Later, when these people returned to the original world.
Surprisingly, less than ten days had passed since they fell into the demonic realm.
And the other promising talents who were supposed to have died had also returned alive.
Even as if the time spent in the demonic realm didn't exist.
They returned in the state they were in just before falling into the demonic realm.
And the most important thing was.
That no one remembered what they had experienced there.
The one who died in someone else's stead.
The one who betrayed their comrades to survive.
The one who died screaming to be saved.
The one who confessed their love to another.
None of them remembered what happened in the demonic realm.
Except for me.
Only then did I understand the words it had spoken to me.
'False world.'
The time, the world.
The demonic realm where everything was twisted and broken.
That was the kind of place it was.
And.
I was planning to head there in the near future.
[Grrr... Grrr.]
Meanwhile, the guy in my stomach starts thrashing as if in pain.
It had been acting strange since the moment it started giving me answers to my questions.
But aside from hunger, this was the first time I'd seen this guy thrash around like this.
What could be the problem.
Can I not ask any more.
"...So in the end, the conclusion is that I shouldn't touch it."
I wanted to just grab it and see if it was a lie, but.
If it was the truth, it would be a fucked up situation, so I couldn't act rashly.
Even now, honestly.
The urge to snatch the bead was still there.
'Is this kind of impulse also a problem.'
It felt like the bead was tempting me.
Whether it was a lie or the truth.
It seemed better to quickly escape this nauseating feeling.
'The problem is whether I should just leave it like this.'
If it was a dangerous object anyway.
I wondered if I should just leave it alone.
Also, since there was already a barrier set up in the first place, I wondered what I could even do.
'...Should I casually mention it to father.'
It was the ancestor's object.
No matter how recklessly I act, if I messed with something like this.
I didn't know what kind of roar of anger would fall from my father.
"It's still hard to act up against Father..."
I wondered if it would even be possible later.
Staring quietly at the bead.
Splash-!
First, I turned my steps and slipped out.
"Since it's not going to go over like this."
[Grrr...]
"Make sure you explain properly later, too."
[...]
At my words, spoken like driving a nail.
The guy shrank back and avoided answering, but.
I had no intention of letting it slide.
'They said the land was vast, vast indeed.'
The hidden secrets were all disgustingly huge.
Every single thing that happened was enough to make my head explode.
Stroking my throbbing head.
I headed toward Mo Yong-hui-a, who would be waiting outside.
First, I had to head down to the campsite before it got any later.
As I came out through the path from the center.
Mo Yong-hui-a was still waiting for me with a stiff posture.
And she immediately turned to look this way at the sound of my footsteps coming out of the entrance.
As I made eye contact with Mo Yong-hui-a.
She took a step toward me.
"Did you finish your work well?"
"...Uh, um, yeah."
Did I do well?
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like it.
Perhaps noticing something from my tone.
Mo Yong-hui-a's expression changed slightly, but.
She didn't seem to want to ask any further.
Probably because she knew I wouldn't answer even if she asked.
'...She's perceptive, as expected.'
Leaving the slight sigh behind.
Just as I was about to take a step.
"1st Young Master."
Mo Yong-hui-a called out to me briefly.
"What."
Wondering what it was, I answered.
And Mo Yong-hui-a slowly reached her hand out toward me.
Seeing her fair, beautiful hand, I frowned slightly.
"What is this..."
"May I hold your hand?"
"What?"
Wondering if I had misheard for a moment, I looked at Mo Yong-hui-a.
But she was looking at me without a single change in her expression.
What is this.
Perhaps I was so flustered by the unexpected words that my eyes were trembling fiercely.
Mo Yong-hui-a, who had been observing my expression, slowly withdrew her hand.
"I guess it's not time yet."
"...What are you doing right now?"
"It's fine. We have plenty of time."
As if she had no regrets whatsoever, Mo Yong-hui-a passed me by and went down the path first.
"...What...? What is she doing?"
At Mo Yong-hui-a's sudden strange behavior.
The thoughts about the bead I had just experienced seemed to completely vanish from my mind.
Looking at her like that.
I suddenly noticed that her ears were turning red.
It seemed she was also feeling embarrassed.
Then why did she just...
'Don't tell me.'
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Did she try to comfort me because I looked complicated?
No, surely not.
It wasn't just anyone else, but Mo Yong-hui-a.
"...Probably not."
Even while thinking that wasn't the case.
Recalling the conversation I had with Mo Yong-hui-a just a moment ago.
I thought that Mo Yong-hui-a, like the Demonic Sword Empress.
Might have changed a lot from her past life.
Was that a good thing?
I couldn't dare to confidently say so.
However, it didn't seem to have a bad meaning either.
I slowly looked at the back of Mo Yong-hui-a walking ahead.
And moved my steps to follow.
And by the time we arrived at the campsite.
The sun was slowly rising.
"...Where... did you two... go...?"
Namgung Bi-a was waiting for me with cold eyes.