Chapter 146
Chapter 146
“……”
It was an overwhelming sight.
Indeed, the landscape viewed on a small smartphone screen was different from reality.
The sight of countless armies surging forward was far more intimidating than I had imagined.
“Hahahahahaha!”
But what stood out even more was Bihyeong’s appearance.
He was darting across the battlefield, utilizing his signature skill, [Ghostly Appearance].
[Ghostly Appearance], which resets its cooldown when an enemy or structure is destroyed, was highly effective against enemies with low health and large numbers, like this wave.
“Oh, traveler. You should not wander through the thick fog. Why do you cross the Samdo River? Your impatience leads you astray.”
And one person quietly flaunted her presence.
[SSR Moon Miko]
Soyeon.
She was controlling the battlefield.
With a unique constitution unaffected by the Yokai energy of the Samdo River, she knew how to wield yokai energy itself by becoming a maiden of the Samdo River.
Maidens are beings who can use magic despite not being monsters.
And the magic they learned from the [Yokai King], who could be called the source of yokai energy, could not be ordinary.
Soyeon’s magic spread fog, creating confusion in space itself.
Enemies were trapped within it, flailing, unable to escape.
Although magic was less powerful than sorcery, its versatility was immense.
As someone with few offensive means, I couldn't help but be interested.
Is it not a truly widespread and accurate crowd control technique?
“Hmm……”
After sufficient observation, I looked around a bit more broadly.
I could see goblins, including the [Imemangryang], easily turning enemies into piles of kindling.
“Well, since it’s definitely the first wave, there’s no need for me to step in yet.”
It seemed I still had some leeway.
Initially, even in the game, the [Goblin Forest] episode was akin to an introductory event for Bihyeong and Soyeon.
Users would only open their wallets if they could truly appreciate the characters’ appeal.
With two such characters gathered in one place, there was no reason for it to be difficult now.
Of course, the subsequent waves would be even stronger.
“I need to finish this quickly……”
The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantaged I would be. My goal was to pick the fruit before the World Tree withered.
The sooner, the better.
“Hmm……”
The first wave finally subsided after about six hours of fierce fighting.
Our casualties were greater than expected.
Since it wasn’t a game, the battle itself didn't proceed smoothly.
Bihyeong seemed fine, but the other goblins would probably only last about two or three more times.
“This isn’t good.”
Striking the World Tree's main body has now become a goal that must be achieved, beyond my personal desires.
This wave must be ended prematurely. To do that, I need to break away from the main force with Alexios.
To do that, I must first solve the biggest problem.
The relationship between Baekyang and Soyeon.
It wasn't largely evident in the first wave, but the subtle dynamic between them divided the battlefield in two.
Their objectives were different.
Soyeon focused only on binding the enemies’ movements, and the goblins focused only on defeating the enemies.
Defense and offense. The two should have moved organically, but they couldn't because they weren't focused.
To break through the waves, the battlefield must be overwhelmed.
Ultimately, the prerequisite is to improve the relationship between the two.
After the aftermath of the battle was settled for now, Oz moved in the direction of Soyeon to meet her.
But……
Oz raised his head and looked around. He intended to head to where Soyeon was staying, but it seemed things wouldn’t be easy.
“Does this mean you don’t want to meet me either?”
The surrounding area was filled with fog.
It hadn't formed naturally.
Oz recalled Soyeon’s magic she used to deal with the wave earlier.
This space must be as chaotic and tangled as the Samdo River.
“We need to prepare for the enemies that will keep pouring in. Do you think it's right to waste power like this?”
“If you think so, just go back.”
It was Soyeon’s voice.
Oz strained his ears, trying his best to pinpoint the direction of her voice, but then shook his head.
‘It won’t work.’
Her voice was coming from all directions.
“You know Baekyang, don’t you? Why did you pretend not to?”
“With what conscience could I acknowledge that child……”
Soyeon remembered. She remembered that moment as vividly as if she closed her eyes. The day Baekyang reached out to her, pleading.
What did she do then?
“I inflicted a lifelong wound on that child. How could I……!”
She shook off that hand, treated her like a monster, and abandoned the friend she had thought was closest just moments before.
Soyeon knew.
That Baekyang was looking for her, desperate for even a straw to grasp.
How many years had she, who could see the world clearly even within the Samdo River, been watching that scene?
How could she not know why Baekyang wandered the Samdo River?
That's why she knows.
“That child is a coward.”
“That’s right.”
“You know, Oz. I know a lot more about Baekyang than you think.”
Baekyang’s routine, wandering in and out of the Samdo River for almost her entire life.
It’s just lingering regret.
It’s just the thought of “what if?”
No, she probably knows the truth. That the chances are slim.
She was just repeating it to atone for that day.
But what if she directly confirms that Baekyang is alive? And what if she knows that Baekyang has to live in the Samdo River forever?
“Even if Baekyang meets me, she will only suffer more.”
Baekyang’s guilt won’t fade. Instead, the time she dedicates to the Samdo River will increase.
To meet Soyeon, to atone, she will step onto the shortcut to the afterlife.
What then?
Should she say harsh words to her?
To her, who is swaying as if she’s about to die right now?
“It’s better to pretend not to know, to just leave it as a suspicion.”
If it were confirmed, the situation would spiral into the worst possible direction.
But if not, Baekyang would constantly agonize and doubt.
“Because she’ll be afraid, but she won’t be able to confirm it.”
And that doubt will become another fear, limiting the places her steps lead.
“It’s better this way. Then, the time she spends in the Samdo River will naturally decrease.”
That way, the act of stepping into the Samdo River becomes burdensome.
Soyeon sought to save Baekyang by carving another wound onto an existing one.
She thought that was the most perfect method. If they couldn’t forgive each other, and couldn’t hate each other.
Wouldn’t pretending not to know be the best?
“……Monsters and humans are ultimately just unhappier the more they intertwine. We cannot understand each other.”
Soyeon spat out the words.
The gloomy weight of those words, carried by the fog, made Oz feel as if his entire body was being crushed.
“No.”
Nevertheless, Oz raised his head. He endured that weight. His face was tinged with annoyance.
“Of all people, you shouldn’t be saying such things.”
Oz knew. The moments Baekyang tried to understand humans.
Even though it was a brief encounter, it was clear that she had put in a tremendous amount of effort.
But there's no way Soyeon wouldn't know what even Oz knew. She knew it, yet she was denying it.
“Baekyang is a coward. That’s true.”
Oz recalled Baekyang’s desperate hand gripping his sleeve.
“But you shouldn’t conclude that she’ll remain a coward forever.”
Baekyang ultimately asked Oz for help. She, who had wanted him to pretend not to know, had found a little courage.
Who is trying to make her efforts come to naught right now?
“You too, Soyeon. How long are you going to hide in the fog, terrified like that?”
Another coward.
[Contemplation – Activate]
Oz gazed at the fog, with [Contemplation] fully activated. Of course, that wasn’t enough to pierce Soyeon’s fog.
But Oz was different. He already knew the method.
Oz strode fearlessly through the fog, where he couldn’t see a step ahead.
Oz, who advanced in such a way, instantly reached Soyeon.
“What……”
Soyeon was shocked.
It was impossible. This fog couldn’t be penetrated even by monsters accustomed to yokai energy. Yet, a human broke through it.
“You’re just afraid to truly face Baekyang, aren’t you?”
“……”
Soyeon seemed overwhelmed by Oz’s piercing blue eyes and couldn’t easily speak.
“Yes…… that’s right.”
She couldn’t say no.
Soyeon bowed her head. She was a coward. A coward who didn’t even have the courage to untangle an already tangled thread.
A fool who hesitated even when the solution was right in front of her.
She was afraid, not knowing what despair might lie within that tangled mess.
Soyeon was afraid.
That their relationship would be ambiguously cleared up, causing Baekyang to constantly wander in and out of the Samdo River.
The result of spiraling into the worst.
“You’re amazing……”
Soyeon looked at Oz and smiled wryly, as if in despair.
“So brave.”
It was impossible for her.
For her, piercing through this thick fog and finding a path was too terrifying.
“That’s why you can’t understand us. This fear…… it can’t be overcome so easily.”
“……”
Soyeon knew as well.
Baekyang knew as well.
It couldn’t continue like this. This was a rare opportunity. If they were to resolve the misunderstanding, now was the chance. But her feet wouldn’t move.
Even if they forgave each other, could they return to being friends?
Would only guilt remain, causing them to hurt each other?
Both were cowards, lacking the courage to advance through the thick, impenetrable fog.
“No, it can be overcome.”
“How? How can you be so sure?”
“Because Baekyang was able to find courage.”
Soyeon trembled pitifully, then shook her head.
If she truly could have found courage, it should have been her who came here, not Oz.
Nevertheless, Baekyang didn’t come.
The coward couldn’t move.
“Baekyang has constantly striven to blend in among people.”
“That’s impossible. We are too different. The more we learn about each other, the more fear and strangeness we harbor.”
“Yes, that’s your fear.”
Soyeon trembled at Oz’s words.
That’s right. The root of their fear is ‘understanding’.
No matter how much they tried, the current situation, which they couldn’t understand, became so stifling and frustrating that it was suffocating.
Headaches surged, and their vision blurred, turning into a boundless fear.
“But I decided to be a guide for people like you.”
Nevertheless, Oz smiled.
Soyeon stared, as if mesmerized, at the smile Oz, who had been wearing a serious expression just moments ago, now wore.
Her heart fluttered at that arrogant, self-righteous, confident smile.
A sense of anticipation arose, that things truly might change.
“I’ve already shown Baekyang the way. Baekyang won’t wander, and she won’t repeat the foolish act of constantly going in and out of the Samdo River to atone for you.”
Oz raised his hand.
At his fingertip, blue mana was imbued.
Magic unfolds by drawing incantations.
Drawing them with a fingertip is learned in the basic stages of magic.
“Did you say Maidens cannot come out unless something special happens? Then Baekyang will create those special things.”
But basics are still basics.
Even with intermediate magic, it was impossible to draw all those extensive incantations with a fingertip.
Therefore, it was unusual for Oz, an elder-level mage, to imbue mana into his fingertip and draw incantations.
"Instead of an incident, it will be a festival. She will find a way to welcome you."
The mana gathered at Oz's fingertip began to glow with a purple light.
Its nature began to change.
The incantation was drawn gracefully, like an amulet.
Yes, it was a wondrous and mysterious.
"The two of them will return to their old relationship and become friends again."
Fairy Magic
[Will-O'-The-Wisp]
The power to turn the impossible into possible.
A proof for someone.
The purple flame born from Oz's incantation floated in the air, flickering strangely.
It seemed to flash and then appeared in another place, then emitted heat, then in an instant, emanated a chill.
As if its very nature was a 'chaotic' force.
The impossible, which they had thought impossible, appeared as reality at this very moment.
"Because the impossible you imagined, I already proved it long ago."
Oz sent the flame soaring high into the sky. Like a signal flare sent to someone, it flickered in the sky, creating a colorful light.
"I've instilled in you the courage you lacked, so now all you have to do is follow the path I've illuminated."
The guide's flame.
And as that flame seemed to fade and disappear, the anomaly occurred.
A snowflake-shaped mark appeared on Oz's robe sleeve.
"Would that be difficult?"
Goblin Mischief
[Moonlit Steps]
"No. I don't think it will be difficult."
Oz, who was in front of Soyeon's eyes, disappeared like a phantom, and Baekyang, the goblin, appeared in his place.
"Wolha."
Baekyang's ultimate skill, a guardian that swaps positions with a designated ally. Steps taken to greet someone.
"I've come."
Baekyang, who had been constantly terrified and cowering, finally gathered her courage and appeared to greet the moon.