2.
2.
"Kh... euk!! N-No...!!"
I let out a scream and snapped my eyes open.
My dick was terribly burning hot, and my underwear was wet and soaked.
Like an adolescent boy, I had ended up having a humiliating wet dream.
As I gasped for breath trying to pull myself together, a sharp pain struck my right eye.
"Aaaargh....!"
Along with a splitting headache, my right eyeball began to turn bloodshot red as if it were about to burst.
"Haa, haa."
"Louis, what's wrong? Why are you breaking out in such a cold sweat...?"
Lina was looking at me with worry.
Still beautiful, pure, and looking only at me—my most precious wife in the world.
However, the lewd and promiscuous figure of Lina that I had just seen began to violently gouge into my mind.
'....If Lina really spread her legs for other men and cried out in ecstasy....'
Kung, kung, kung.
My heart was beating like crazy.
Rationally, overwhelming jealousy and fury should have washed over me.
Yet beneath it, an unfamiliar excitement and twisted sense of immorality bubbling up made the blood surge backward through my entire body.
"No. What kind of trashy thoughts am I having right now...!"
As I clutched my head in horror, Lina gently reached out her hand toward me.
"Are you okay? Louis, your face looks so red... Look at me."
Every time her warm touch reached me,
a bizarre urge surged from a corner of my chest.
Her warm gaze worrying about me...
and her gaze as she looked at me bewitchingly while being violated by other men overlapped in my vision.
Then, noticing my reddened right eye, Lina started in shock and urgently raised her voice.
"Louis, you... Y-Your eye turned red. It couldn't be...."
Seized by fear, Lina was trembling uncontrollably.
I warmly hugged her as she shuddered with fear and spoke.
"It's okay. Still, just in case, let's go see the High Priest-nim today."
It had already been one year since the final sealing was completed.
Since no abnormalities had appeared, we had let our guard down.
We had been soaked in peace, completely forgetting the horrifying historical fact that countless heroes of the past had ultimately been consumed by malevolent energy.
A red eye.
The High Priest-nim's request, telling us to come find him without delay if such a omen appeared, echoed heavily in my ears.
"It can't be.... right?"
Leaving the inn to the staff, we headed straight for the Royal Capital.
Upon the dirt road where the morning mist had not yet cleared, the horse powerfully pounded its hooves.
The horse's mane fluttered wildly in the morning wind, and a strange thrill was held within the cool air brushing against our skin.
"How about it, Lina? I ride horses pretty well now, don't I?"
Holding the horse's reins leisurely, I turned my head and asked boastfully.
Though my right eye covered by an eyepatch was still bloodshot red, I tried hard to maintain a bright expression.
Lina also scolded my bragging, as if trying to hide her anxiety.
"Louis... I guess you don't remember crying because you were scared of horses back then? Crybaby Louis."
"........!!! Are you going to keep bringing up the past?"
"Because you couldn't ride a horse, our journey back then was delayed for ages. Pfft. Scaredy-cat Louis."
"You....!!!!"
A strange vibrancy hung within our bickering voices.
An open plain.
An endlessly stretching green meadow.
And the body heat we felt while holding each other tightly.
Our hearts pounded to the rhythm of the vibrations from galloping on horseback.
The excitement of the past.
It felt as if the fluttering heartbeat of those days, when we took our first steps harboring a vague sense of mission to save the world, came fully alive once more.
'Right... It was like this in the past. If I was with Lina, I felt like I could go anywhere in the world.'
Her warmth as she hugged me tightly.
From within it, her worry and love for me were conveyed completely.
Though she was still a tomboy and fierce,
Lina was growing more and more dazzlingly beautiful as she got older.
Her tomboyish appearance from childhood was transforming into the visage of the Goddess-nim I had seen in visions.
Could it be...
She, who was chosen as my guardian.
Was even her appearance changing like this under the influence of receiving the Goddess-nim's abundant blessing?
'Hehehe, thank you, Goddess-nim.'
My wife, dazzlingly beautiful and more precious than anything else in the world.
The desire to set off on an adventure into the world once more was welling up profusely in my heart.
Countless days of having to fight hunger and exhaustion during our arduous journey...
Every time, I was deeply grateful for the coziness that inns provided.
That was why I vowed to one day open an inn offering warm meals and a place to rest for travelers, and at last, I had achieved that dream.
However...
I thought that just like this, setting out on the road toward a new world together with Lina again wouldn't be bad either.
As we pushed forward with such a fluttering excitement, we arrived at our destination, the Royal Capital, before we knew it.
A massive castle gate came into view, and numerous people were undergoing inspections to enter inside.
If we revealed our identities, we could enter immediately without standing in line, but...
we did not want to draw boisterous attention.
So, quietly pulling our hoods low, I lined up at the end of the queue with Lina.
Burly guards stood in imposing postures.
At that moment—
The remnants of the nightmare from last night stealthily encroached upon my consciousness like black poison.
'If Lina's pure white crotch...
loosened wide open at the touch of those rough guards... and spilled out dainty coquettishness....'
A fantasy more vivid than reality began to unfold before my eyes.
Lina was dragged away by the guards, her two hands bound as she dripped love juice continuously.
Toward the rough men drooling hideously at her, she was acting coquettishly and begging lewdly.
"Haa, haang♥.
Please shove the guard-nims' dirty dicks, soaked in sweat all day... into Lina's slutty pussy."
"Keke, what a lewd guardian. Do you want this that badly?"
"Yes... Haa, Lina is the kingdom's public meat toilet."
"Ha... Crazy bitch... You're squirting pussy juice like piss."
"Lina is a bitch in heat. Please shoot plenty of your cum inside my womb."
"Fine, then today I'll knock you up with a child whose father you won't even know."
"Huu-♡. Yes, I'd love to! I'll get pregnant with you gallant men's child. And then I'll cuckoo it onto my husband."
"Ha-euk.... The dick is going in. It's coming in♥.
Haa... Haang.♥."
Jjigeok, jjigeok.
"Eueut...♥♥ Eugeuk!!"
Jjigeok, jjigeok.
"It's reaching my womb! It's incredible♥..."
Umjjil, umjjil.
"Hueut!!.. Ah,,♥ Aaaat!! Ohoook!!♥
Ah~♡ Aang~♡ I'm coming~~♡"
At the lewd delusion suddenly piercing through my head, my entire body trembled violently. Worried about me, Lina asked.
"Louis, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly shaking like this? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
With a worried gaze, she gently placed her hand on my forehead.
Every time her soft warmth touched me,
it felt as though the foul stench of the curse blooming from the nightmare's wreckage tightened around my entire body.
The more I loved Lina...
the twisted desire wishing for her to be miserably disgraced by those rough men grew uncontrollably.
Lina knows nothing.
Her pure gaze, genuinely worrying about and loving me, ironically became an instrument of immorality that stimulated me.
My heart beat like crazy.
The fluttering excitement from memories of past adventures had turned into a whirlpool of perverted arousal and guilt before I knew it.
Hiding my ragged breathing, I forced the corners of my mouth up.
"N-No, it's nothing. I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Really? If anything feels even a little strange, you have to tell me right away. Got it?"
"Yeah, don't worry. Let's go."
The entrance to the Royal Capital was packed with a human sea of people trying to enter through the castle gates.
Guards clad in armor were meticulously inspecting identities and belongings with grim expressions.
"Phew, the inspection is way stricter than I thought. At this rate, the sun will set."
Lina grumbled lightly as she readjusted her bag strap. Carrying her bag for her, I spoke.
"Did something happen around the Royal Capital recently? Let's just be patient and wait a bit."
It was while we were passing the boredom and waiting for our turn.
A middle-aged man casually looked back, and upon discovering our faces revealed between the hoods, he froze in sheer shock.
His eyes widened immensely.
"Huh...? E-Excuse me... Could it be?!"
The startled man urgently raised his voice.
"N-No way! Aren't you Louis-nim and Lina-nim?!"
At that single phrase, the surrounding gazes instantly focused on us.
The merchant handing identification to a guard, the passerby standing in line with luggage, and even the soldiers standing guard all turned their heads at once.
"What? For real?!"
"It really is the Hero-nims!"
"Aigo, why are the Hero-nims standing in line?!"
In an instant, the front of the castle gate was enveloped in cheers and applause. People flocked over in a crowd and began surrounding us.
"Louis-nim. Living while bearing that heavy curse all alone for our sakes. How difficult it must be for you..."
"Lina-nim, you are so exceedingly beautiful."
Surrounded by the crowd in an instant, we couldn't hide our flustered expressions.
Though residents of the Royal Capital close to Greenfell Village could see us from time to time,
to those who came up from the provinces, our married couple was no different from proxies of the Goddess-nim.
In seconds, the area filled with people kneeling before us and bowing while praying for the Goddess's blessing.
"Ha... Seriously... How awkward."
"It's because you wore your hood so clumsily..!! Clumsy idiot Louis..!!"
"That's because you were grumbling, Lina, so this happened while trying to carry your bag for you..!!"
"Why you..!!! Crawling all over me again..!!"
"Hahahaha. You two are as lively as ever."
Just then, parting the noisy crowd, a welcome party came to rescue us.
"Ha... What heartless rascals. I asked you to show your faces more often before this old man dies..."
A white-haired old man neatly dressed in white priestly robes walked out from inside the castle gates under the escort of the royal guards.
"High Priest halabeoji?!"
The surrounding people and guards all bowed respectfully in unison. Catching his breath, the High Priest-nim stopped in front of us.
"..........."
And without a word, he pulled us into his embrace.
The High Priest-nim who had delivered the Goddess-nim's oracle to me.
Deeply sorrowful about placing such a heavy burden on a young me, he had voluntarily accompanied our adventure.
Four years of time.
Sharing joys and sorrows together, even sleeping under the open sky—that was the High Priest-nim.
He was the one who had guided us just like our real halabeoji.
Within his warm embrace, we were sinking into fond old memories.
"Now... Let us go inside and talk."
As the High Priest-nim gently gestured, space distorted and we instantly teleported to his office.
Inside the cozy office, the noble dignity of a neat clergyman subtly permeated the entire space.
Amidst the fragrant tea aroma spreading around, we sat on the sofa and finally caught our breath.
"High Priest halabeoji, please scold Louis..! He still doesn't get that acting out of 'consideration' actually turns into a nuisance."
"Wh-What. I can just wear a mask next time..."
"You dummy...!!!"
Kkeol-kkeol-kkeol-kkeol.
Watching our squabbling with a warm smile, the corners of the High Priest-nim's eyes grew moist with fond memories.
However—
The moment he saw my bloodshot right eye revealed after removing the eyepatch.
The High Priest-nim's expression froze chilled in an instant.
"Ha.... I-It can't be...!!"
He pulled his body in close and began staring intently into my eye.
His hands were trembling violently.
"Louis-ah... That eye is....!!"
"Ah.. When I woke up this morning, it was like this. It doesn't hurt, though..."
"Good heavens... This is...."
Beyond the red pupil, deep within the abyss, there was something writhing.
It was undulating like an unpleasantly twisted black tentacle.
Seeing the High Priest-nim's expression stiffen gravely, Lina gripped my hand tightly.
Cold sweat was seeping from her palm, which was seized by anxiety.
"Goddess-nim... Ah, how could you bestow such a cruel trial upon this child..."
Hot tears began to drip from the High Priest-nim's eyes.
Kneeling on the floor with his head bowed, he was sobbing.
Barely collecting himself from the sobs poured out for quite a while, he forced a warm smile and asked me.
"..Louis-ah.."
"Yes, halabeoji..."
"Could you tell me about any other symptoms without leaving anything out?"
"Ah... Th-That's.."
Seeing me hesitate, Lina spoke reprovingly with a worried face.
"What... Louis, you...! You were hiding something from me..!!"
"N-No.. It's just.. a bit embarrassing."
"What is it...?! Hurry up and tell High Priest halabeoji everything...!!"
Blushing slightly in embarrassment, I answered.
"Well, in the dream, Lina was... um, gang-raped...
I mean, I had a dream where she was violated by multiple people.
It was so vivid that even after opening my eyes, my heart was pounding for a long time, you know? Hehehe..."
At my innocent confession, Lina's face turned bright red and she jumped up.
"Louis, are you crazy?! Is that something you should say right now?!"