Ruined World (2)
Once a location had been captured, moving to that place was not a very difficult task for Hans.
Not even in this extreme environment, worse than hell, was it an exception.
As he flew quickly toward where a life response had been detected, he glanced down at the ground.
The scenery flashing by in an instant was nothing but similar landscapes.
Destroyed buildings, collapsed ground, devastated nature, and so on...
'So this is truly a ruined world.'
The end of a dimension.
Even for him, who had faced no small number of worlds in crisis, this was the first time he had seen a world that had met a complete end.
The Ganghwan Realm, which had begun its course of destruction after its Dragon Heart was torn out, and even Dibore from not long ago, had possessed at least some possibility of recovery.
'If all living creatures in the dimension were annihilated at once... just how many died?'
Even Hans, who prided himself as the Ruler of Death, could not easily fathom it.
Had the souls of the victims, their final thoughts, or auras of death remained, it might have been different, but all such things had dried up completely.
Not a single intact corpse could be found either, as if they had melted from the inside out.
'But one thing is certain. At least billions of people must have lost their lives in this incident.'
And that was only when limited to humanity.
If one considered that all living creatures in the dimension, including plants and animals, had gone extinct because of this...
'What in the world are you after, Lord of Buncheon? Why would you go this far?'
This ruined world would not be the only one; this place called Cosias would not be the only one.
Under the pretext of sprouting mystery on Earth, there must have been no small number of worlds that had disappeared without a trace in places he did not know of.
What in the world did he seek to achieve, amassing such tremendous negative karma?
[I've arrived.]
With such thoughts, having reached his destination in an instant, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
To find that out, he needed to concentrate more on this search.
This place was not very different from the scenery elsewhere.
Except for the fact that the remains of collapsed shacks were gathered together, as if it had once been a slum, and tattered clothes presumed to have been worn by humans were strewn about everywhere.
'Is it here.'
Hans descended to the ground and walked toward one of the shack ruins.
Then he lightly waved one hand and delicately emitted magical power.
Kugugung—
At the same time, all kinds of debris rose into the air.
As if in a zero-gravity state, the fragments floating before him scattered in all directions, drawing something from within toward him.
[Found it.]
Hans quietly gazed at the object that approached right before his nose.
The existence that had drawn him here, emitting a faint life response even at this very moment.
A translucent blue crystal in which a young girl in her early teens slept, curled up like a fetus, clutching something tightly in both hands.
***
She was dreaming.
A long dream whose beginning and end were both unknown.
—"#%@—!!"
A voice that seemed to be calling her caused her to turn around, but no one was there.
As always, only pitch-black darkness that revealed nothing even an inch ahead welcomed her.
She crouched down again and buried her face in her knees.
Trying to think would only make her head hurt for no reason, so she intended to spend time endlessly just like usual.
Having forgotten how time was passing, who she was, and why she was doing this.
—"#%@—!!"
But this time, something was different.
The voice that normally disappeared quickly when ignored had echoed through her mind again.
And louder than before.
Her hands gripped her temples.
Hearing that voice made her head tingle as if something was trying to surface, but a stabbing pain that followed immediately kept hindering it.
'I hate it.'
I hate pain.
She just wanted to forget everything and sleep like this.
Deeply submerged in a world without any pain or suffering.
Alone as usual...
'Alone?'
Her hands gripping her head froze stiffly.
Even stronger pain tormented her, but she bit down and endured, already fixated on one question.
Even amidst that, her consciousness gradually began to awaken at the continuously heard voice.
'No. I hate being alone. I... I...!'
And the next moment.
—"Ramyu—!!"
With the familiar voice that shook her head.
"Brother!"
Her eyes snapped open and she jerked her upper body up.
"...Huh?"
Inside a clean room she had never seen in her life.
Wrapped in a soft blanket she couldn't have even imagined existed.
Blinking her eyes, she tilted her head.
"What is this... where am I...?"
Unable to organize her thoughts at the sudden change of situation, she looked around her surroundings with a dazed face.
A splendid interior that she, born in a garbage dump and living her whole life in ruins, wouldn't have dared to dream of.
Her gaze, which had been examining it as if entranced, suddenly fixed on one spot.
"Ah!"
Beyond a large window situated on one side of the room.
A world that she could only recall through imagination after seeing it in a picture book was spread out.
"Could that be..."
It was her first time seeing it directly, but she instinctively knew.
That thing which felt so clear and transparent that it stung the eyes was what she had only encountered in stories until now.
That thing called the 'blue sky'.
"Ah, you're awake."
While she was blankly staring out the window like that.
From behind her, in the direction of the door, a strange man's voice was heard.
"...Who are you?"
Highly guarded, she turned toward it and clutched the blanket tightly.
Her head was still dizzy and her thoughts unorganized, but one thing was clear: this situation was not normal.
Her single question contained a complex mix of doubts: the other person's identity, what they wanted, and why she was here.
"Ah, me?"
Whether he knew her feelings or not.
The man entered the room holding a tray with water and porridge, placed it on the bedside table, and scratched his chin.
Then he seemed to ponder something for a moment before soon snickering and shrugging his shoulders.
"Hmm, the detailed story is complicated so I'll tell you gradually from now on. For now, I am..."
A robust physique hard to find in a world where food was scarce, clean skin, clothes made of expensive-looking fabric, and even glasses that were said to be the exclusive property of the upper class.
A type of man she had never seen in her short life continued with a sincere smile.
"...Call me 'Hun'."
His first self-introduction since being born into the world.
***
Hun came out after closing the door so the girl could rest comfortably, and let out a short sigh.
"I didn't know things would turn out like this."
Then he slowly walked around the interior and began carefully checking where everything was.
Though he was technically the homeowner, this was his first time actually visiting this house, so it was necessary.
"Still, it's good I prepared in advance. As expected, there's nothing bad about preparing everything ahead of time."
This house was a secret safe house he had separately prepared.
It couldn't compare to the main mansion on the outskirts of Seoul with all kinds of defenses, but it was a two-story house with a small garden, having everything it needed.
'And from now on, it will also serve as the base of operations for this avatar, 'Hun'.'
-Entity Name: Hun
-Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Great Spirit」, 「Super Regeneration」, 「Clear Mirror Still Water」, 「Monstrous Strength」, 「Nervous Hypersensitivity」, 「Clairvoyance」, 「Xenoglossy」, 「Toughness」, 「Aquatic Breathing」, 「Subspace Storage」, 「Limit Break」, 「Mimicry」
-Individual Trait: 「Mental Resonance」
-Special Notes: The thirteenth avatar of Han Seong-hyeon. Can connect thoughts with others using 「Mental Resonance」.
Scratching the back of his head once, he plopped down on the living room sofa.
And he slowly closed his eyes, recalling past events along with future plans.
'Ever since Hans discovered the crystal containing that child...'
Hans had tried many things with the crystal he obtained.
After all, to get any information, wouldn't he have to wake the person inside and talk to them?
But that task had hit a snag from the very beginning.
'If I touched it carelessly, the child inside could come to harm.'
The crystal was a kind of life-support device.
It had held onto her life until the very end in the environment of the ruined world.
However, if he broke the crystal and forcibly removed the girl inside, she might be exposed to a hostile environment...
'I can't take such a risk.'
Even for Hans, he couldn't be confident he could perfectly block it.
That terrible environment was born from the very laws comprising the world being twisted.
As an Awakened and undead, Hans did not have much to worry about, but protecting a native who couldn't help but be bound by the world's laws required preparations sufficient to defy those laws.
While trying various methods and devising a way.
He realized one fact.
That for some reason, the crystal containing the girl could be moved to another dimension.
After that, everything proceeded smoothly and swiftly.
Since on safe Earth, there was no need to be excessively careful.
After taking the girl out of the crystal like that, what followed was holy power treatment from Saint Heinrich using 「Entity Projection」.
Perhaps the blue crystal wasn't perfect either, as she was in such a weakened state that she seemed about to breathe her last, so he had tried to perform emergency treatment...
That was when he found out.
That the girl's survival hadn't been due simply to that crystal.
'Her physical condition was very similar to the Dragon Child of the Ganghwan Realm. The fact that a transcendent being had intervened from the moment of her birth.'
Of course, it wasn't exactly the same.
If the Dragon Child was closer to having problems because it received holy power to which it had no immunity, that girl could be seen as having a natural vessel too large for her body to handle.
Anyway, what that meant was one thing.
'It was that girl. The countermeasure against destruction arranged by the Dimensional Lord of Cosias. And unlike the Dragon Child's passive method, she was prepared as a hidden blade to actively strike down the enemy.'
Since the Lord facing destruction had personally intervened, the potential she harbored would be beyond imagination.
Unlike the Dragon Child, who had been divided among many, the effort would have been concentrated as well.
But that was all.
The world couldn't endure until the girl shed her shell and grew, and it completely perished, leaving only her behind.
A failed world.
A possibility that withered before it could fully bloom.
A fate that would have had to perish alone and lonely in a world ultimately abandoned even by its Lord.
But now.
'It's come into my hands?'
The corner of Hun's mouth twitched.
The very foundation of her existence was that of an adversary born to oppose the Lord of Buncheon.
No different from a lottery ticket with the prize already determined.
How could he ignore something like that lying on the ground?
"Whew, looks like I've become a nanny all of a sudden. She'll need some time to adapt to a completely different world."
He had considered leaving her with subordinate organizations like the Blood Alliance, but he couldn't carelessly entrust such a rough gem to others.
More than anything, his own care was absolutely necessary for her to grow properly.
'If I hadn't become able to create a new avatar at a convenient time, I was even thinking of managing her with my main body...'
In that sense, it could be called fate that 『Unique Skill Enhancement』, which he had felt was about time to activate, had advanced to the next stage.
No matter how much his main body had grown, it was more advantageous for him to choose options with minimal risk.
He'd have to figure out later how things would turn out.
'Besides, the matters I've stirred up on Earth are huge, so I needed an avatar to manage them anyway. I should think of it as killing two birds with one stone. And I can deploy it elsewhere anytime if needed.'
He shrugged his shoulders and rose from the sofa.
He had given her time alone out of consideration for her inevitably confused state, but he had no intention of leaving her like that forever.
'There is much I want to ask. To use time as efficiently as possible, I should get the preliminary preparations done in advance.'
Avenging against the Lord of Buncheon.
For the sake of 'our' wish.
***
An interior thick with colorful smoke.
"...The distortion has grown larger."
Oracle, holding a hookah in hand and staring into empty space with hazy eyes, furrowed her brow.
Based on experience so far, there was only one force capable of causing such a thing.
"The Masquerade again...? What in the world did they do?"
The plan to shake up Korea, presumed to be their base, was steadily progressing.
It was taking some time as they tried to be careful not to greatly affect the law of causality, but several operations had already entered the execution phase long ago.
But of all times, ripples as if a large boulder had fallen into a lake had begun to spread in this situation...
"...This is ominous. I hope there are no major problems."
She chewed nervously on the pipe held in her mouth.
Unknowingly revealing inner thoughts unbecoming of a prophet.