Chapter 130: Nightmare (16)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130: Nightmare (16)
In truth, this was an opportunity.
Now that I had improved my constitution and acquired numerous artifacts, it was a chance to see how far I could go against these guys without the uncertain element of memories from beyond the noise.
Ha-ni was the first to charge.
Her sword, which had always been by my side, was now pointed straight at me.
It was her specialty: the quick-draw strike.
The slash was faster and more menacing than when she fought the War Demon, but since I had expected it, I managed to block it with Ruyi.
Ha-ni, you might think a surprise attack is always a valid strategy, but against an opponent who knows your habits perfectly, it’s more like telling them exactly where to block.
Of course, it was a lethal strike that an ordinary person wouldn’t even see being drawn, but thanks to my Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils, combined with a body enhanced by Demonic Energy, I blocked it without much trouble.
…Wait, she hit me with the back of the blade.
I appreciate the sentiment, but what’s the point of a quick-draw if you kill the momentum like that?
“Not bad.”
“I’d prefer it if you told me that when you’re in your right mind. And don’t just say ‘not bad,’ say it’s the best. Kang So-hyun.”
Wow, she’s calling me Kang So-hyun. Is she mad?
The moment I blasted out Demonic Energy, Ha-ni backed away, and this time, Cheon Yu-hak stepped in, clad in lightning.
“Come to think of it, this is our third time fighting. It’s been one win and one loss so far, so shall we see who wins this time?”
Yu-hak’s spear lunged forward.
The greatest advantage of a spear comes from its overwhelming reach, making it hard to classify as a mere melee weapon.
Yu-hak was a spearman who understood this perfectly, preferring a combat style that suppressed enemies by sticking to the basics.
However, because of that, if I could seal off the thrust he took such pride in, his options would be severely limited.
As I collapsed his footing by increasing Ruyi’s weight, his posture momentarily wavered.
Firing off the thrust without hesitation was good, but because his posture wasn’t precise, his aim faltered, and the momentum died down significantly.
“Kh…!?”
Hmm, but it’s hard for me to give this guy advice.
— Indeed, this brat’s thrusting has already reached a high level, so it would be difficult to advise him. If anything, rather than fixing the spear technique itself, it might be better to practice so he can execute an ideal thrust under any circumstances.
“You’re not bad either. However, being flustered the moment your footing collapses means you can’t be considered first-rate. It would be better to practice so you can deliver an ideal thrust without panicking, no matter the situation.”
— …Right, it’s not like I didn’t know your face was thicker than an iron plate.
“Thanks for the advice. But is it okay to keep your eyes only on me?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m not alone here. I’m warning you now, this is really going to hurt.”
A tiger made of flames and Professor Cathy’s kick came flying at me.
…This is actually getting dangerous.
“Don’t call it cowardly. It’s all for your sake.”
A playful glint flickered in Yu-hak’s eyes as he widened the distance with his unique footwork.
First, I had to deal with the kick.
I could handle another ‘donut’ somehow, but if that kick landed, I might actually shatter into pieces.
And yet, she wasn’t holding back at all.
Ah, right. Since this is a dream, I won’t die.
“Give So-hyun back.”
Her eyes, devoid of light and depthless, were truly terrifying.
“Pathetic.”
The moment I blocked the kick with Ruyi, the flame tiger bit into me.
My resistance had increased significantly because I was shrouded in Demonic Energy, but the heat piercing through it was quite brutal.
“Disgusting. Get lost!”
The moment I extinguished the flames with a storm of Demonic Energy, a pure white blade clad in mana slashed at me again.
Actually, since it was the back of the blade, it was more like a blunt beating than a slash, but it was still a blow heavy enough to crush my bones.
Gah!? That really hurts…
It seemed this was my limit.
Honestly, even getting this far was impressive. Most villains or heroes would have been slaughtered trying to face this lineup, but I had managed to endure everyone’s attacks at least once.
So, this was enough to verify my skills.
The others seemed relieved to see me being pushed back, as they likely expected me to show overwhelming power, but I had a trump card.
‘Sun Wukong, please!’
It was Synchronization, my ultimate move.
Unlike before, my body now had its mana circuits completely cleared.
Sun Wukong should be able to do much more now.
— …Hmm.
But Sun Wukong’s reaction was lukewarm.
…Huh? Don’t tell me you’re cutting me off? Is it because I stole your advice earlier? No, right? It’s not that, is it? We were doing so well.
— No, it’s nothing like that. I used to do plenty of bad things and play mischievous pranks back in the day, too. Since you seemed to be having so much fun, I just thought I’d give it a try myself.
‘Excuse me…?’
— Since this is a dream world, this much interference should be fine. It’s all an illusion anyway.
Then, instead of synchronizing, Sun Wukong began to create a body using a clone from the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
However, what Ruyi created wasn’t a clone of me. What appeared was a woman with blonde hair tied in twin-tails.
Her face was hidden behind a red mask, and although perception interference seemed to be active, it wasn’t hard to recognize who she was thanks to the Golden Hoop on her head and the ornaments on her tail.
Sun Wukong? Why are you coming out like that…?
[Oh, so this is what it feels like to have a body after so long. Hmm, it’s not as bad as I thought.]
She gave a cute little hop, naturally took the Ruyi Jingu Bang from me, and began to swing it around.
[Hmm, first of all, let’s see.]
She nodded her head as if choosing the right words, then extended Ruyi, scanning everyone from Professor Cathy to the rest of the kids one by one.
[From now on, this one is mine, so back off.]
Then, she said something insane and draped her arm over my shoulder.
No, what is this crazy monkey talking about?
— Aren’t you trying to train these kids? To draw aggro, there’s nothing better than this.
‘…I mean, that’s true. But it feels weird.’
The effect was indeed potent; everyone looked furious, staring this way with eyes that had lost their highlights.
“…May I take those words to mean that you are the Demon King?”
When the relatively calm Professor Cathy asked, Sun Wukong nodded as if it were no big deal and stepped closer to me.
Wait, why are you getting so close?
[Demon King? Demon King, huh. Well, I was called that once upon a time.]
That was true. The Seven Demon Kings of Journey to the West were famous. And the most famous among them was the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, Sun Wukong, the star that shines brightest in the heavens.
The… him? Or her? Anyway, the moment Sun Wukong reached out and lightly caressed my cheek, the artifacts in my head began to bicker.
[If this child is the Consort of the Demon King, being called that again wouldn’t be so bad.]
And with those final words, the atmosphere turned incredibly vicious.
— I think I understand why you enjoy playing the mastermind so much. Doing this after so long, playing the villain isn’t half bad, is it?
It is. No, what do I mean ‘it is’? It’s not! I didn’t enjoy it this much!
I almost agreed with her.
— Anyway, I’ll handle your sisters, so you try sparring with the others. Opportunities for a life-and-death struggle without actually dying are rare, so don’t hesitate.
A brief silence fell, but it was soon shattered by a furious Professor Cathy.
“That hand.”
The look in her eyes as she took a stance and lunged was anything but ordinary.
“Remove it this instant.”
Sun Wukong lightly caught her punch and let out a chuckle.
[I don’t think I need to remove it for something of this level. You’ll have to try harder.]
“Fine, let’s see if you can keep it there until the end.”
…It seems she really took a liking to the Professor.
Well, if Sun Wukong was handling the Professor and my sister, I had to face the rest.
A brilliant light burst forth.
This brat. I wondered what he was doing since he hadn’t joined in for a while, and it turns out he was charging up.
“Thanks, everyone.”
Lilac raised his sword, emitting a light far more radiant than usual.
Just being bathed in that light began to slowly purify the Demonic Energy surrounding my body. The powerful light of purification, free of impurities, felt like proof of his steady growth, which made me feel strangely proud.
At this level, even a lesser demon wouldn’t be allowed to even approach him.
There was conviction on his face.
The conviction that with that power, he could blow away all the Demonic Energy enveloping me and save me.
“With this, I should be able to save So-hyun. Everyone, create an opening for me.”
Oh, and the fact that he didn’t say something stupid like ‘I’ll take it from here, so everyone back off’ was another plus.
Well then, I should make use of everything I can.
Cheon Yu-hak and Ha-ni charged first.
Well, sorry to Sun Wukong who’s having a blast, but this should be enough.
I won’t be able to win anyway, so I’ll just play along for a bit and then stop.
But.
This.
It was a bit strange.
Three of Yu-hak’s thrusts came at me almost simultaneously.
His targets were my right eye, my right arm, and my left leg.
As long as I could see the thrusts, dodging them wasn’t difficult.
Ha-ni’s slash approached.
She still had no intention of using the sharp edge on me, swinging with the back of the blade, but dodging a slash from a reverse grip wasn’t particularly hard.
Strange.
Why does everything look slower and slower, like I can dodge it all?
I knew my muscles and bones had recovered thanks to Sun Wukong, and that I was further enhanced by Demonic Energy.
But it wasn’t just that; something fundamental was slowly changing.
How should I describe this feeling?
It was as if my mind didn’t know, but my body’s habits were coming back to life.
The lost combat instincts were reviving. A clash that had been overwhelming just seconds ago felt manageable in the next moment.
The two of them, who hadn’t been fully serious since they were fighting me, also seemed to notice my change and were gradually becoming faster and stronger, but it still wasn’t beyond what I could endure.
If there was one regret, it was that I was holding a dagger instead of a short sword.
While the two were exchanging blows with me, Lilac rushed in.
It happened again.
— I believe in you.
It was a memory from beyond the noise, one I was now somewhat used to.
Unlike the memories of the others, which were mostly from the future, Lilac’s face didn’t look much different from now.
— What? Don’t believe in you? Hey, if you say that, what does that make me? I’m going to believe. I know you’ll do great. You can do it.
The Lilac in the memory was still kind to me and seemed relatively bright.
— If we don’t stop it, it’s the end. We can do it.
No, you don’t have to do it. In fact, if I set my mind to it, I could stop it myself. But there’s no need to say that.
The one burning the ruined Academy and harvesting fear was a demon shrouded in thick Demonic Energy.
Many humans died.
Cadets and professors alike.
Based on this incident, Lilac would grow again.
They were people destined to die anyway. They were born for that purpose.
So, there was no need for me to help them or Lilac more than necessary.
They would manage on their own anyway.
The Holy Sword advanced, cutting through the demonic aura.
I also ran forward, protecting only those who were not yet meant to die.
The Holy Sword emitted light.
The demon shrieked.
The one who eventually broke through all adversity, reached the demon, and pierced its heart was truly a hero.
But what are you doing?
The moment the demon was defeated, he collapsed as well.
Things that shouldn’t be leaking out were spilling from the hole in his abdomen.
— Heh, heh. See? I told you we could do it.
Why are you lying there? You shouldn’t be doing that.
You’re the protagonist.
— Thanks for being part of my group.
Why did you end up like this after fighting a mere small fry like that?
There was no need to ask why.
It was because he had moved more than necessary to protect the people.
— Ah, sorry… I’m… dizzy… Yu-na… please…
He slowly closed his eyes.
Don’t give me that bullshit.
Get up.
But he did not get up.
Because of the incident we caused, because I didn’t do my best.
The protagonist of this world met his death.
“So-hyun…!”
When I snapped back to my senses, Lilac’s Holy Sword was right in front of my eyes.
What the… fuck. Why are you dying?