“Huff!!”
“Have you co to your senses?”
How long had it been since the shock hit ?
Soon, the avatar ca into my now clear sight, calming my trembling body as I sat on the ground.
“Take a deep breath. Slowly exhale… Calm your mind and maintain composure.”
“Huff, ugh…”
“Good, if you’ve cald down, answer . Who are you?”
“I-I’m Woo Hyo-sung…”
“That’s a relief. Thanks to your ability, it seems you won’t completely lose your mind.”
Losing my mind…
Yes, ever since entering this world, I had nearly lost consciousness twice.
Losing consciousness here could easily lead to death.
Fearing that such incidents could happen again, I quickly turned my gaze to the avatar, who was scanning the surroundings with a serious look.
“…What just happened back there?”
“The recreated event ended, so the tiline collapsed.”
“The tiline collapsed? Is that even possible?”
“As you know, the otherworld is a place ford by the remnants left behind by the living… If those remnants recreate events, it’s natural that they would end with the most intense mories.”
In other words, in a place where past events were recreated, the mont the event would end, it couldn’t continue and would completely collapse.
And those caught in that collapse would face the danger of their existence being erased.
When a tiline would fully collapse, it ant that everything within it would be completely obliterated.
“…Then, where are we now?”
“Since one tiline collapsed, we must have been transported to another tiline connected to it. Likely not too far from the previous one…”
The avatar’s gaze slowly turned to the surroundings.
Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the city under the dark sky, and soon, a displeased voice escaped her lips.
“This place is quite familiar to , sharing your mories… Does nothing co to mind for you?”
“If I had to guess…”
My gaze followed, taking in the surroundings.
The distant castles and churches felt sowhat familiar to .
It didn’t take long to understand why.
“…Briton?”
This was the Kingdom of Briton.
Before entering this world, it was nothing but ruins, and in Tacchia’s lifeti, it was where she was hired as a rcenary and appointed as a hero.
However, according to those mories, even during warti, Briton was a place where moral order remained.
Yet now, this city was shrouded in darkness, with only silence hanging in the air, and the roads and buildings were stained with blood, giving off a sense of foreboding. Ꞧ𝐚₦òВƐ𝙎
“What on earth happened here…?”
“Ugh, oh, ugh!”
As I wandered through this eerie place, I suddenly encountered a shadow in the distance.
Rather than relief, I felt an imdiate sense of hostility.
I had learned from battling on the field that people from the past could also be recreated here, and I had painfully realized that they weren’t always friendly, given the countless enemies I had cut down.
“S-Save —cough!”
But what appeared before now was sothing beyond the realm of a normal human.
As it approached, its body twisted grotesquely, rapidly swelling up.
Crack, snap.
Long tentacles began to sprout from its discolored skin and misshapen limbs.
The tentacles, covered in suction cups, flailed in all directions as its swollen brain began to tear through its skull and protrude outward.
The surface of the brain cracked open, revealing teeth and a tongue, and beside it, eyes began to slowly erge…
Gurgle, screech, kiiiek… squawk!!
As its eerie cry escaped and its eyes focused on , the sword in my hand instinctively aid itself at the creature.
“…A monster?”
No, although it was grotesquely twisted, sothing felt different.
The monsters from the sanctuary were mostly based on beastn, so they retained strong animalistic traits. However, the creature before felt more like a cephalopod, resembling an octopus rather than a beast.
“I think I understand now… what kind of place this is.”
As the monster gradually approached, did the avatar finally figure sothing out?
The avatar, fixing her gaze on the monster, spoke in a grave tone.
“It seems we’re in the tiline when Briton was destroyed by the plague.”
“The plague? You’re telling that thing is infected?”
That made no sense.
A disease causing soone’s body to twist grotesquely and sprout tentacles? Could such a thing be explained by an illness?
Gurgle, squawk, screech!
No, no matter what you call it, the important thing was that this person, who turned into a monster, was a threat.
If such beings were swarming the city, then it ant the entire kingdom was effectively a danger zone.
Wasn’t this the worst-case scenario?
Ga-ram could have been dragged to this place and imprisoned sowhere.
Roar! Screech!
The monster, sensing my fear, lashed its tentacles toward , charging.
Although this creature had clearly been human just monts ago, there was no hesitation in its actions.
It had already lost its humanity after turning into a monster… I could see that more clearly as it erged through the fog, revealing its hideous form.
“…Damn it!”
But instead of swinging my sword at it, I chose to dodge the tentacles, rolling into a nearby alley.
“What are you doing, you fool?!”
Then, the avatar’s sharp rebuke followed.
She must have found my current state frustrating, as her face twisted into a scowl while looking down at from above.
“You had a chance to counter the attack! Why are you stalling? Don’t tell you plan to show rcy to that monster?”
“rcy? No, it’s not that—”
“Get a grip, you fool! This place isn’t even real—just a remnant of the past! Do I really need to explain how stupid it is to be bound by petty morality in a world that’s nothing more than a moving record?”
Growl! Roar!
Tentacles lunged through the avatar’s scolding, attacking again.
Dodging the attack once more, I blurted out the first thing that ca to mind.
“You said it yourself! This is when the plague was spreading through Briton! That person beca like that because of the disease… What if I get infected too? What am I supposed to do then?”
Even though this was the afterlife, I could still die here.
That was sothing I’d experienced countless tis, crossing the line between life and death on the battlefield.
If this really was a plague-ridden city, just coming into contact with an infected person could turn into a monster.
“…That’s a convincing excuse. But how pathetic.”
Despite my reasonable argunt, she frowned as if displeased, then approached and began to alter her form.
What she created in the end was a blue armor that enveloped my body.
Just as I started to feel the thickness and sturdiness of the armor, sothing began pouring out from the gaping maw of the tentacled creature coming toward .
Kweeeek!
It was a mass of mucus large enough to cover my entire body.
If there was a risk of infection, this was the worst kind of attack. Even if I noticed it, it was liquid, making it difficult to block.
“Let it hit you. It won’t get through.”
But at that mont, I heard the avatar’s voice coming from the armor.
Trusting her words, I stopped moving and let the mucus fall on . Instead of sticking, it slid off the armor and scattered on the ground.
“…What did you do?”
“I used precise control of the spirits to expel anything harmful from your exterior. As long as my body doesn’t take a shattering blow, no danger will befall you.”
Armor that guaranteed complete immunity and protection unless it was destroyed?
What the heck, it was a complete cheat.
“Now, since there’s no risk of infection, you can handle it, right?”
However, I didn’t have ti to be amazed, as the avatar didn’t seem to be in a good mood.
Even though she said we shared the sa roots, her attitude radiated nothing but cold indifference.
“I have no intention of humoring your pathetic morality, so stop wasting ti and finish this. You know just as well that getting stuck here would be a problem for you, right?”
As she said, this place was nothing but a fragnt of the past.
This was a virtual space, created by replicating reality. Nothing I do here would affect the present.
So the only things I should be concerned with were Ga-ram and my own safety.
Screech…
I knew in my head that it was the right thing to do, but as the tentacled monster approached , I couldn’t help but feel hesitation in my sword-wielding hand.
Even though the creature was clearly showing intent to attack .
Kieek, please… save …
In the midst of its cries, a faint voice could be heard, reminding that this creature was once human.
“…I’m sorry.”
Even so, I chose to swing my sword at it.
The guilt I felt wasn’t just as Woo Hyo-sung.
Even if I sohow returned from my battle with the dragon victorious…
Slash!!
I realized that for soone like , whose only skill was killing, there wasn’t much else I could do here…
Yes, even for Tacchia, what happened in this city was sothing difficult to accept.
She believed that once the dragon was slain and she returned alive, no more disasters targeting humans would exist.
Even the King of Briton had promised that after the dragon’s defeat, humanity would achieve unity.
But then, why did such a terrible disaster occur after she was gone?
Why, in place of the salvation that should have co after the dragon’s demise, did such a horrific calamity strike and crush everything?
“Pull yourself together, you fool.”
By the ti I passed through that grueso scene, the place had beco drenched in blood.
The avatar, having left my body, began scolding as I stood idly in the alley.
“This otherworld is a place where, if you lose focus even once, you will never return to reality. Have you forgotten why you ca here?”
I knew. I ca here because there was soone I needed to save.
It wasn’t just the hardship of waiting in the afterlife—it was this unbearable scene, which even my other personality struggled to accept, that shook .
My mind, which was close to collapsing under that strain, felt a little steadier after the avatar’s reprimand.
“…You’re helping ?”
“…What?”
“No, I an… You’ve been protecting my body, scolding when I waver, and giving advice.”
I still didn’t fully understand who or what she was, but she’d protected from infection, acted as armor, and been genuinely helpful.
If it weren’t for her, I would’ve had to avoid every infected being, and I wouldn’t have been able to explore the city as freely as I had.
“I thought you were saying sothing stupid…”
Was it pathetic of to feel grateful?
The avatar pressed her finger against my forehead and began speaking irritably.
“Listen closely, you fool. My body is sustained by the spirits drawn to your power. Like it or not, I am bound to you.”
“Uh, so… You can’t separate from ?”
“If you die, I’ll probably disappear too. Even though your pathetic self irritates to no end, and I feel the urge to crush you, I have no choice but to help you in order to keep myself alive.”
Her eyes narrowed, and the intense gaze that followed bore into .
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh in response, preparing to resu my steps that had montarily halted.
“Well, whatever the case, you’re helping for now, so I should at least thank you.”
“Ugh, what nonsense are you saying now…?”
“Thank you for helping .”
If she wasn’t here, I might have fallen apart long ago.
After I expressed my sincere gratitude, the avatar turned her head away from and muttered indifferently.
“Pathetic fool. It’s because you can’t let go of that foolish heart of yours that you ended up suffering here.”
“…Haha, I can’t argue with that.”
Well, I suppose this attitude might make seem like a pushover.
But it was this attitude that had kept alive so far, and I believe it was the best way for to survive in the future.
And I had a feeling this avatar would continue to follow without complaint.
As I was about to move forward after a brief rest, feeling a small sense of hope, the avatar stepped in front of , displaying caution.
“Be careful. There’s sothing up ahead.”
“…Is it dangerous?”
“We’ll have to see for ourselves. This is a one-way path, so be ready to push through with force.”
With ti running out, turning back to find another route wasn’t an option.
Feeling the lack of choices, I took a deep breath and headed toward the place the avatar was watching cautiously.
As soon as I stepped into the area, I was greeted by the sound of flesh being torn apart.
Slash! Slash!
But the source of the sound didn’t seem like the tentacled monster I had cut up.
“Do not forgive …”
A man, his face hidden behind an iron mask, clad in armor with no gaps.
The sword in his hand, pulled from a pile of flesh on the ground, began to reflect the moonlight shining in the sky.
“Do not forgive , do not forgive …”
The man in the iron mask kept repeating those words as he continued to crush the corpses scattered across the plaza.
He only stopped his assault when even the faint twitching of the corpses ceased.
“Do not forgive for failing to save you…!”
Slash!!
With a final shout, he delivered a powerful swing, bringing his sword down one last ti.
As I felt a strange familiarity in his guilt-ridden voice, his gaze slowly began to shift toward .
“…You too.”
Yes, despite being fully armored, I was certain it was the person I knew.
The man, now fully facing , gripped his bloodstained sword tightly and asked a question.
“Are you… infected too?”
How ironic, considering the ti he was called a wise king.
Now, he was showing how he executed his plague-stricken people with his own hands.
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