The End of Delusion (3)
Hella, who freely entered and exited others’ dreams, and Ramyu, who could bend the space called dreams to her will.
Their cooperation produced synergy beyond all expectations.
‘The effects are certainly undeniable.’
Sitting beside the sleeping Ramyu in bed and holding her hand while immersed in meditation, Hun opened his eyes and slowly nodded.
‘Thanks to this, I’ve broken through the wall to the next stage myself.’
It went without saying, but those who participated in this joint operation were not Hella and Ramyu alone.
Was he not the perfect talent for this task, optimized for connecting person to person through 「Spiritual Resonance」and the Chakra of Communion?
A meticulous combination that capitalized on the unique traits of the trio—Hella, Ramyu, and Hun.
That very thing was the decisive factor in this dramatic turn of events.
“Hoo.”
Having subdued the chakra swirling violently within him, he took a deep breath.
The inner universe within his mindscape, grown incomparably deeper through this affair and beginning to exude a presence of an entirely different dimension than before.
Finally, Hun had reached the Deep Stage as a practitioner, surpassing the Upper Stage.
‘Has it been a little over a month since I began chakra? People would faint if they knew.’
Of course, strictly speaking, it could not be considered purely one month.
Because while inside the dreams during this operation, he had used Ramyu’s ability to train for more than a hundred times the amount of time others had.
A long journey traversing the dream worlds of countless people along a timeline disconnected from the outside.
For him, who had awakened the Chakra of Communion, that alone was nothing short of an unprecedented miracle.
“Mmmm…”
Just then, the sound of stirring and a frail voice came from ahead.
“Mmm
— Kuaaaah—!”
Soon, Ramyu tossed and turned before yawning and stretching her body.
Then, a pair of eyes hazy with sleep collided head-on with Hun’s gaze looking down at her indifferently.
“…Ngyak!”
Ramyu, who had been blankly blinking, jolted in surprise and shot up from her spot.
Then she quickly swept her messy hair into place, wiped her mouth once, and put on a nonchalant, dull expression as if nothing was wrong.
…If only the pillow marks left on her cheek and her reddened ears weren’t there, it would have been more perfect.
Hoon, ever the considerate adult mindful of the child’s delicate heart, did not point that out and spoke to her.
“You’re up? Good work. Thanks to you, the matter was settled easily.”
Unlike Hun, who could access others’ minds using his ability, Ramyu had to actually fall asleep to enter the world of dreams.
Having been constantly drowsy these past few days for that very purpose, such an appearance was not all that strange.
“Is everything finished? What about Hella…”
“She must have gone to catch that hidden mastermind. It probably won’t take long.”
Though it seemed the other side was doing their best to flee, once caught in the Demon King’s gaze, it was nothing more than a meaningless struggle.
No matter how much they flew or crawled, they wouldn’t last a day before being dragged back half-dead.
“…That’s a relief. It seems I was able to help, even if only a little.”
At Hun’s answer, Ramyu muttered softly.
She had agreed to join this operation through his persuasion, but it seemed she had been feeling burdened without realizing it all this time.
At such a timid demeanor, he looked at her with a peculiar expression.
‘You’re far beyond just being “a little” helpful.’
Without her help, he could not even guess how sluggishly things would have dragged on.
If the mastermind hadn’t felt a sense of crisis and overreached as they did now, catching them by the scruff of the neck wouldn’t have been so easy.
Judging by their track record so far, the culprit seemed to be far more cautious than one could imagine.
“By the way, congratulations. You’ve finally reached the Deep Stage. It was only a matter of time, truthfully.”
“Thanks. It’s all thanks to you. Come to think of it, Ramyu, you’re already at the Middle Stage, aren’t you?”
“Yes… Fortunately, my growth doesn’t seem to have slowed much yet. If only I have enough time, I should somehow be able to reach the Upper Stage.”
“Please, if it’s you, you’ll reach the Deep Stage in no time. If I’m going to avoid being caught up to, I’ll have to work harder too?”
The two conversed in a calm tone.
It was a conversation that would have made other practitioners cry out in alarm.
The Deep Stage in chakra was, in other worlds, a realm called the likes of Ultimate, Transformation Boundary, Master, and other such limits of humanity.
Seeing as the number of Heavenly Gate practitioners corresponding to Transcendence in Sabacheon was scarce enough to count on one hand, the fact that he had reached the Deep Stage after merely a month or so was an absurd story.
Of course, there would still be gaps in level even there.
‘But I’m not joking at all. Ramyu’s growth speed has already far exceeded my expectations. Not to mention the chakra she awakened…’
It was common knowledge among practitioners that the more complex the meaning contained within a chakra, the slower the growth.
When there were elements called “weapon” and “sword,” while “weapon” might have better versatility, the growth speed of “sword,” one of its subcategories, was faster.
‘In that sense, Ramyu’s chakra is unprecedented.’
The chakra she had awakened was “World (世界).”
It was an incomparably grand name that made one feel dizzy just hearing it.
“…Ramyu, you must absolutely never tell anyone what your chakra is, okay? Got it?”
“Huh? Yes, of course. That’s why I didn’t tell that Hella person either.”
“Yeah, well done.”
Patting Ramyu’s small head, Hun let out a sigh.
Even Yun Sohoe, who was of a similar age and had overcome training akin to abuse since childhood, was just now on the verge of setting foot in the Middle Stage.
Yet if it became known that Ramyu, who was touted as a genius and bore everyone’s expectations, had awakened such a grand chakra as “World,” and had already reached the Middle Stage on top of that…
‘Truly a maddening growth speed. The ability she possesses is far too compatible with chakra.’
In dream worlds where only the mind existed, one could not temper the body, nor refine and accumulate energy.
The only things possible were endless inquiry and arduous mental cultivation.
However, for chakra practitioners who could grow through inner growth and understanding alone, it was no different from a heavenly training ground.
‘I too reaped the benefits fully this time.’
Chakra that had reached the Deep Stage whirled violently within Hun’s inner self as he opened his eyes blearily.
If the Upper Stage had been a top-tier sports car, now it was comparable to a supersonic jet engine.
Though it was merely one stage of difference, the gap was absurdly wide.
Wooooom—
The power of communion spread in all directions with him at the center.
Not only did it completely cover the base of the Seongcheon Yun Family, but it extended beyond to the entire city, and even to regions beyond that.
As Hun surveyed the situation flowing within his range through his chakra, his face hardened stiffly.
‘It seems there are still matters here that need to be settled as well.’
He lightly turned his neck to loosen his muscles and rose from his seat.
Then he looked at Ramyu, who was staring up at him blankly, fell into thought for a moment, and opened his mouth.
“Ramyu, want to go for a walk together?”
“…A walk?”
“Yeah, you must have been feeling stifled staying inside all this time.”
At those words, Ramyu blinked and tilted her head.
But only for a moment. Soon, as she readily nodded, Hun gave a faint smile.
***
The outskirts of the city ruled by the Seongcheon Yun Family.
“Attack.”
A single command fell in the command tent of the Hongsan Kingdom’s garrison built there.
“Sir?”
“I said attack.”
Though one of the flustered officers asked again at the sudden order, the general who had issued it only shone with bloodshot eyes on a serious face.
Gulp—
Sensing something ominous about him, the adjutant swallowed dryly.
He did not know why the general had suddenly issued such an order, but wrong was wrong.
Offering proper advice when a superior made an incorrect judgment was the basic duty of a competent adjutant.
He cautiously opened his mouth to persuade the general.
“General, the stand-down order was issued barely a short while ago. Attacking the Yun Family recklessly inevitably carries political burdens, which is why we need time to ascertain the facts. And I heard additional reinforcements are being deployed in preparation for full-scale war…”
Puaak—!
The adjutant’s rambling words could not even be finished.
Along with the sound of splitting hide, his body tore through the canvas tent and was flung outside.
All that remained were the officers frozen at the sudden turn of events, and the general baring his teeth savagely while lowering a fist from which blood dripped down.
“How dare you disobey orders in such a critical wartime situation?”
At the ferocious momentum flowing from his body, the officers hurriedly straightened their posture and broke out in cold sweat.
They had known that he had been under so much stress lately that he couldn’t sleep properly, but because he wasn’t the type to act out and lay hands on his subordinates so rashly, they couldn’t help but be even more bewildered.
“Listen well. Those bastards are criminals who humiliated the Grand General and accomplices hiding them. In this situation where we don’t know what hardships the Grand General is enduring, how much longer do we have to wait?!”
A roar filled with rage burst forth and swept through the surroundings.
Of course, war was no trivial matter, and there were limits to how much an army could move on a single commander’s orders.
However, the problem was that he wasn’t the only one who shared this opinion.
Not only within the garrison, but fierce clamors were being exchanged in various places including the capitals of each nation.
And though the chaos of the higher-ups was temporary, it was enough to grant the frontline troops a slight degree of autonomy.
As a result.
The army of the Hongsan Kingdom began marching toward the main house of the Seongcheon Yun Family.
The forces of the Cheonghae Kingdom stationed opposite them did the same.
At the same time, the space near the Yun Family collapsed, and demonic practitioners revealed themselves one after another from beyond.
“Now is the time to repay the grace received from the Grand General!”
“To join hands with such criminals. This opportunity shall expose every last one of their ugly true faces!”
“Kehehe
— I smell the sweet scent of blood. This is the perfect opportunity to erase the Yun Family without leaving a single cornerstone behind.”
Their estimated numbers alone were easily in the thousands.
Though it hadn’t reached full-scale war yet and hadn’t exceeded ten thousand, considering that they were all practitioners acknowledged in their own right, it was by no means an issue that could be easily overcome.
It was a moment when the flames of the Great War that had been extinguished decades ago were being reignited.
At this point, victory, defeat, or causality were no longer important.
War was the worst of fiends, not content with devouring blood and resentment, but calling forth more death in a chain reaction.
Even the old grudges from decades past hadn’t been fully washed away yet; if such an event were to occur again, the situation could deteriorate to the point of no return.
Moreover, if the party at the center of this war was the Seongcheon Yun Family, which had proclaimed absolute neutrality until now…
“Whew, you really have to admit people are impatient.”
“Why do they do such things while living in such a good world? It would be nice if everyone got along.”
“Well, everyone has different beliefs and values, so it can’t be helped.”
At the center of that chaos.
A young man and a girl walked leisurely atop the city wall where the Yun Family had established themselves.
They appeared not to care in the slightest about their surroundings, which were wrapped in extreme tension with war looming.
“Y-you shouldn’t be coming up here…”
An officer of the Yun Family in charge of the top of the wall shut his barely opened mouth and took a step back.
An instinctive reaction that had come out without him even realizing it.
Though he belatedly noticed something was strange and was flustered, Hun, who had already passed him, simply continued talking to Ramyu, who was following along timidly beside him.
“Listen well, Ramyu. There is no unconditional peace in this world. Because every person has their own thoughts and desires. To think you can stop all conflicts that arise from that is arrogance.”
“…It’s difficult. I suppose fairy tales are just fairy tales after all.”
Ramyu let out a sigh.
Was this what it meant to become an adult?
Of course, having survived in a world headed for ruin, she knew better than anyone how cruel humans could be and how ugly the world could be.
Still, she had held a faint hope that somewhere among the countless dimensions, there might be a world as happy as in fairy tales…
“Then is there really no way?”
At Ramyu’s words, her lips pouting in disappointment, Hun smiled warmly.
“No way? There’s one very certain way!”
And then he continued, his expression serious and filled with conviction.
Like a prophet proclaiming the secrets of this world, like a scientist who had witnessed absolute truth, …and like a viper whispering corruption into the ear of an innocent girl.
“Power.”
The fastest and most certain means of maintaining world peace was neither firm and sublime justice, nor compassion that warmly embraced the weak, nor wealth that could fill everyone’s bellies.
“Absolute might that no one dares approach!”
A strength that could neither be challenged nor defied.
That was the key to true peace that history proved.
“From now on, I’ll show that to you.”
Hun was the one who had a record of overwhelming a Deep Stage practitioner even when he had just started chakra.
Such a man had finally reached the realm of the Deep Stage.
To be perfectly honest.
There now existed no one in this world who could do anything to him.
Even if it were a Transcendent who had reached the Heavenly Gate.
Wooooom—
The energy rotating violently within his body resonated with the world.
Mediated by it, his inner universe opened wide, and pure will began to forcibly control the surrounding phenomena.
The mental power of Avatars who had reached the realm accelerated their thoughts beyond their limits.
Unlike before, when he couldn’t properly utilize those abundant resources due to output limitations, now that he had reached the realm of the Deep, he possessed at least the minimum qualifications to mobilize them.
Within an eternal moment where breathing and indeed all metabolic functions had ceased.
Only the chakra extracted from his inner universe rotated endlessly.
He couldn’t use Thought Rampage.
If something went wrong with those elites of each nation, it would truly become irreversible.
‘Communion means making things flow without obstruction. If so, one could say that forcefully pounding my will into others is also a form of communion.’
The chakra rotating like a wheel and skills such as 「Root of Ideals」, 「Spiritual Resonance」, 「Wheel Path」 intertwined as one.
From it, a psychic wave spread in all directions.
Beyond where he stood now, to the entire territory of the Yun Family, and to the thousands of practitioners approaching the city with malicious intent.
And…
[Halt.]
—That was how the war ended.