Chapter 446: The Last Fortress.
Chapter 446: The Last Fortress.
A heavy silence fell. Like the desolation around me, my mind went completely blank. I couldn’t think at all. The only thing I could see was Yoojung, slowly sinking to her knees as if she were about to collapse.
A moment later, still on her knees, Yoojung began to gather the shattered pieces of metal, one by one. She slowly reached out, picking up the fragments that had scattered in every direction. Her hands were trembling so violently it was impossible to miss.
I quietly lifted my foot. Then I lightly kicked one of the metal fragments. Just as Yoojung had done to Hanbyul.
Clang!
The piece of broken metal tumbled across the ground and struck another fragment.
“Ah…?”
A pained groan, almost a sigh, escaped her slightly parted lips. For a second, Yoojung flinched. Her hand, which had been about to grab a piece, missed its mark and hit the ground instead. She froze in that position, unmoving.
It was then.
“—. —. —.”
The sound of someone quietly murmuring broke the surrounding silence. My mind snapped back to reality, and I turned my gaze toward the sound.
“Reflection!”
It was Hangyul, chanting a spell. No, he had just finished and was about to manifest it.
A brilliant light burst from Hangyul’s body, gently enveloping all of us. The grand, resonant sound of flowing magic hummed in my ears.
I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a hemispherical barrier with a smooth, glossy sheen erected around us.
I closed my eyes again.
Once, twice, three times.
I had only blinked three times, but the world before me felt different.
My head felt clearer. Or perhaps, it felt like I was waking up. Thoughts began to surface one by one in my empty mind, and the cold anger in my chest subsided.
Don’t tell me…
I calmly touched my face and realized it was frighteningly stiff.
It wasn’t just me. The other clan members’ faces showed a flicker of realization, and they began to exchange awkward glances.
I slowly looked down. I could see things I hadn’t noticed before.
Yoojung was still on her knees, her shoulders trembling faintly. She still held the metal fragments in her cupped hands. Her eyes, brimming with tears, shone with sorrow, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Putting myself in her shoes… What would I feel if someone broke a weapon I had cherished for so long?
The thought made me realize I had gone too far. I had certainly been angry, but I hadn’t intended to take it this far.
Perhaps… I had suspected it, but it seemed the field effect had influenced me as well.
“User Lee Yoojung. Please get up.”
A little time passed. Cha Sorim glanced at me once before approaching Yoojung and gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I stood still for a moment, then turned to the clan members with a long sigh.
“It would be best to pass through this place quickly. Everyone, regroup and check your gear.”
At my command, the clan members began to move. Some checked their weapons, while others received treatment from the priests for their injuries.
Even as he chanted a healing spell, Shin Jaeryong kept stealing worried glances at Hangyul. I placed a hand on Shin Jaeryong’s shoulder, signaling that I would go check on him, and walked over to Hangyul, who was still maintaining the spell.
Hangyul’s face was deathly pale, but his eyes, filled with a strange sort of tragic resolve, were fixed on me.
“…Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“You don’t need to push yourself.”
“No. I remember everything now… I’m really okay.”
His voice was firm. To be honest, he didn’t look fine at all, but I could feel his silent determination not to dispel the barrier.
I nodded once or twice and placed a hand on his head.
“Alright. But how did you know? What made you think to use your ability?”
“…Because it was the same as that time.”
“The same?”
“Yes. Back then, everyone suddenly started acting hostile toward each other. When it happened again… I thought, ah, there must be some kind of bad effect here.”
Hostile, he says. I smiled bitterly. I gently ruffled Hangyul’s soft hair to praise him. He blushed slightly and carefully looked up at me.
“Hyung-nim… Ahn Hyun-hyungnim is okay, right? We can save him, can’t we?”
“Clan Lord. We have finished regrouping.”
Just as he asked his question, Seon Yuun reported that they were ready. I paused in thought for a moment, then decided not to answer. I couldn’t be certain about Ahn Hyun’s fate either.
Instead, I made a request.
“Hangyul. I know it’ll be a strain on your body… but if you can bear it, could you use this barrier a few more times today?”
“No. I can keep it up continuously, not just a few times.”
“Maintaining it for a whole day is impossible. Dispel it for now. I’ll ask you again later when I need it.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim. I’m really okay now.”
Hangyul’s voice was crisp, as if to tell me not to worry.
I calmly turned around. The clan members, having finished their preparations, were gathered in one place, waiting for me. Among them, Yoojung, with her slumped shoulders, was particularly noticeable. I walked quickly to the front of the group.
“We’re moving out. We’ll be doing a forced march today, so I expect everyone to keep up without falling behind.”
For now, let’s focus on getting through here quickly.
Thinking we had to get out of this area as soon as possible, I immediately began the march.
*
Three days passed. It was only three days, but they felt as long as a month.
As I had told Hangyul, we managed to cross the ‘Land of Hatred’ in a single day. It was a distance that should have taken at least two days, but we shortened the time by pushing ourselves with a forced march. There were a few dangerous encounters along the way, but each time, we used Hangyul’s ability to escape the crisis.
In a way, it was a tactical error. No matter how urgent the situation was or how I hadn’t anticipated Hangyul’s condition, it was an undeniable fact that I had been careless in my preparations.
In any case, after somehow escaping the ‘Land of Hatred,’ we immediately entered the fourth gateway: the ‘Land of Fear and Illusion.’
The Land of Fear and Illusion.
As the final gateway before reaching the ruins, it was an infamous region. To be precise, it was an area with a terrifying field effect that threw a User’s emotions into chaos, read the fear latent in their hearts, and materialized it as an illusion.
For example, let’s say Ahn Sol knew of the existence of dragons and feared them.
If Ahn Sol fell prey to this area’s field effect, we might have had to suddenly face a dragon.
Of course, the illusion’s true form was nothing more than a specter, but its power was not to be underestimated.
Therefore, to prevent such a disaster, I used the Mind-Calming Pills I had been saving as we entered the final region.
They were of quite good quality, so a single pill could defend against most forms of confusion, and its effects were long-lasting. Of course, it was a type of stimulant that was not good to take frequently, but it was an unavoidable choice to pass through smoothly.
Wooooooooo…
As I was thinking, an eerie sound echoed from the distance. I lifted my gaze and saw a forest painted in pitch-black.
It was a quiet night. The area around the campsite was silent. An occasional cry could be heard from somewhere, but the sound was so faint that it only seemed to accentuate the night’s stillness.
I slowly closed my eyes. It meant nothing. I just wanted to calmly organize my complicated thoughts.
“Oppa. It’s time to change the watch.”
Just then, a soft, gentle voice spoke to me. I glanced over and saw Hanbyul staring at me. I nodded blankly.
“…Mm.”
“Oppa?”
“Ah. You guys go ahead and rest.”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I considered just going to sleep, but there was something more I wanted to think about. I spoke again.
“I said go on ahead. I have some things to think about…”
“So… you’re going to continue standing watch?”
“Yeah. Don’t wake the next watch either, just let them sleep. I’m fine on my own.”
“I already woke them…”
Hanbyul’s voice trailed off cautiously, but I shook my head, signaling her not to speak further.
A moment later, I sensed Hanbyul and the other guards carefully getting up.
After checking my Sensing, I sank back into my thoughts.
Two days had passed since we entered the ‘Land of Fear and Illusion.’
If my memory was correct, we should be able to pass through this final region by tomorrow morning. Then, we would finally arrive at the location of the ruins.
I suddenly thought how grueling this all was. On any other expedition, we would have already reached the ruins, finished the assault, and been on our merry way back. But this place, whatever it was, we hadn’t even reached the ruins, let alone started the assault.
No, the problems would continue even after we arrived. If the regions that were mere rites of passage were this difficult, I was both curious and worried about what might lie inside.
Of course, the reason I had to worry about things I shouldn’t have to was because of one person.
That Ahn Hyun… that bastard…
Rustle.
As I was quietly cursing Ahn Hyun, I was reflexively pulled from my thoughts. I had heard the sound of dry leaves being stepped on behind me.
Calmly focusing my senses, I could feel someone hesitating behind me.
I slowly turned my head.
“……”
“……”
The figure I saw was that of a woman with long, straight hair.
Seeming to realize I had turned, the woman flinched slightly. After standing still for a while, she slowly began to approach where I was.
I turned my gaze back to the campfire in front of me.
Soon, the sound of slow footsteps stopped again.
“Uh… Oppa…”
It was a low voice, but the sharp edge that remained was unmistakably Yoojung’s.
Ever since the incident in the ‘Land of Hatred,’ Yoojung and I hadn’t exchanged a single word. She seemed to have been in great shock, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk either.
I didn’t know why she was suddenly talking to me, but I simply didn’t answer.
“C-Clan Lord-nim…”
I almost laughed for a second but managed to hold it in.
Crackle, crackle-crack!
Sparks flew from the fire. The blazing campfire cast a red glow, brightly illuminating the surroundings.
Yoojung seemed to hesitate for a while longer before making up her mind. She walked to the opposite side of the fire from me and carefully sat down.
A long silence flowed between us.
Seeing her still-sullen face, I felt a little sorry for her. After all, she was the User who had been with me the longest, the one who had gone through the rites of passage with me, the one who truly adored me like a real older brother, and the one who followed my words the most faithfully.
I knew all too well what kind of User Yoojung was.
But separate from that, I didn’t regret breaking Skurepf. Although I admitted it was excessive under the circumstances, I believed it was something that had to be done eventually.
To be honest.
If I still thought of Yoojung as I had when I first met her, I wouldn’t have cared how she changed.
No, I might have even encouraged her to become more unstable. Because that would have been more useful in battle.
But at some point, my thinking changed. Yoojung was no longer a tool for my objectives.
At least for now… she was one of the precious people I wanted to return to Earth with.
The fire, which had been burning vigorously, seemed to have died down a little. I slowly fumbled for the pile of branches and found a few. When I tossed them into the campfire, the dying flames roared back to life.
Fwoosh!
In the firelight, Yoojung was hugging her knees tightly, staring blankly at the flames. Then, she gently rested her face on one knee and cautiously looked up at me.
The moment our eyes met, Yoojung’s dry lips slowly parted.