Chapter 339
Chapter 339
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 339
Chapter Title: S6. Phantasm Realm -2
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The power gathered at the tip of Mirror Yuna's finger was contracting into a single point. All the information under her control compressed, soon forming a vivid red circle.
It had scraped together every element that made up the Tower of Phantasms, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say it contained an entire world.
They say that for something new to be born, one world must be destroyed—but there's no need to discard everything like that. What's the point of a blank white space stripped of memories and pain alike?
At the very least, it wouldn't be fun.
The scene I envisioned—the one I wanted to create—was the complete opposite.
If I couldn't accept it, I had no choice but to fight back. I picked up my brush with my heart.
Having seen, heard, and felt Yuna's past, I cast Phantasm Realm: Gate Opening based on my understanding of her.
The effect was the same. It blurred the boundary between illusion and reality, granting the power to summon things that didn't exist in this world. But the key difference was that I was the one casting it.
Until now, she had been the Game Master and I the player.
But now, I stood in the Game Master's seat as well. It was my duty to tell the story, breathe life into it alongside others, and weave a lively flow for joy and fun.
Now it was time to fulfill that duty.
"Don't you think it's too empty, Yuna? Just hold still. I'll fill it up in no time."
S0.
First came the tour—the backdrop.
I repainted the modern city that never sleeps, which had been erased. The night sky black, countless crosses red, lights mostly white. It spread rapidly from the door I'd left open.
Mirror Yuna scowled at the sight.
"I don't know what you're scheming, but I won't let you. I won't give you... not even a grain of sand's worth of time!"
"I'm giving you all my time."
"—Shut up, vanish! Just disappear—!!"
Crack.
Flash—!!
The soap bubble Mirror Yuna had created burst. A torrent of chaotically mingled worlds shot forward, sweeping everything away. Various scenes flashed between the red beams of light.
In the old days, I wouldn't have dreamed of winning head-on against a spell like that. But not anymore.
The modern city that never sleeps was being pushed back cleanly by Mirror Yuna's attack. Before it collapsed completely, I needed to patch it up quick.
S1.
Next came the flowers—emotions.
"We'll meet again soon, Creator. Has the rain stopped?"
Centra crossed through the door. In that instant, Crown Hall from a century later blended into the modern scenery, and human shadows began to flicker. Even in a finished tale, the festival continued.
The hook on that spire and the memory of the flying couple—that was the highlight of this session.
My world, now a bit sturdier, could withstand Mirror Yuna's attack just a little longer.
S1.5.
Then came homecoming—a look back.
"Destroyer God, sir—I've filled in everything nice and thorough, just as ordered!"
Ferro crossed through the door. The wasteland and safe bunkers merged, and travelers nostalgic for the past began to walk. People look back to move forward.
I couldn't invite her here, but recreation was possible. I drew Elaine in, and she smiled faintly before summoning a storm.
My world, now more solid, stood against Mirror Yuna's attack.
S2.
Added to that were the stars—direction.
"Young Creator, are you saving them?"
Abraham crossed through the door. A brilliant starry band adorned the night sky, and people began to gaze upward. When lost, humans follow the constellations.
Starlight twinkled, consoling the lonely moon. I moved the night sky to whisper: I'm coming to you, so fly to me and become a star.
My world, having found its direction, pushed back Mirror Yuna's attack a little.
S2.5.
Added to the void were dreams—hope.
"The radiant light that saves all—Pure Light, entering the stage!"
Oh Hyein crossed through the door. The cackling demons that had slipped through shadows vanished, and stability settled over the chaotic cityscape. As long as people dream of hope, darkness and shadows hold no terror.
I too gained countless dreams. The thousands of dreams I wanted to share with you would never lose their light, even on the darkest night.
My world, sparkling under the lights, began advancing against Mirror Yuna's attack.
S3.
Singing softly in the quiet was the chronicle—adventure.
"...Is this really where I come in, Dad?"
"That's when you started having fun, wasn't it?"
Hee Young-hyun crossed through the door. Martial artists leaped across rooftops causing a ruckus, and amusing commotions broke out everywhere. Life is full of ups and downs, but with righteousness in your heart, it's worth enjoying.
Aisha snarked.
"Be honest. You just shoehorned in wuxia because the tower lord likes it."
"And that's a problem?"
Look, man—the moon's so beautiful. I could picture Yuna secretly loving it. Isn't that enough?
Aisha stood beside me, adding variations to the mana. My world, now embracing more possibilities, began devouring Mirror Yuna's attack.
S4.
Stepping forward amid the clamor was the path—footsteps.
"Mima, I heard you calling... anything I can help with?"
Yuri Lanster crossed through the door. Black paths and white paths crisscrossed the world, each heading toward their own stars, walking their unique roads.
I made a simple request to Yuri beside me.
"Just cheer me on."
"I'll pass."
"That's not cheering; that's interfering."
"In a way, it is cheering. It pumps you up."
Our usual banter flew. Now we just needed one more person. What do you think, Yuna?
My world began walking with steady steps, pushing back Mirror Yuna's attack.
S5.
Thus dawned the daybreak—the future.
"For humanity, for survival, and now... for a happy future. I'm ready. My body's transcended even the Great Kaiju."
Woo Chaerin crossed through the door. Giant kaiju appeared everywhere, buildings split in half, and massive robots emerged. A mix of genres might be dizzying, but—
There were still so many things I wanted to show you. So please, I thought deep in my heart, look forward to it.
My ever-changing world had somehow reached right in front of Mirror Yuna.
And now.
S6.
The finishing touch was phantasm—me.
Mirror Yuna desperately squeezed out her power and shouted.
"Why... why am I losing? I'm stronger, I compressed more information, I suffered more—! So why! Why can't I shatter this stupid, wretched—?!"
"You just said the reason yourself. Dummy."
It was so simple.
Looking back, the beings born from my world were chatting idly. Oh Hyein asked after Abraham, Woo Chaerin requested situation reports from Ferro or Centra. Aisha and Yuri bickered nearby.
In the epilogue after trials and events, they lived peaceful, serene days on that stage... steadily marching toward happiness.
I chuckled and told Mirror Yuna.
"A painful ending can't beat a happy one. Forehead flick."
"Ridicu—Gah!"
Thwack—!!
I really put my all into it, flicking Mirror Yuna's forehead with gritted teeth. She flopped backward and didn't get up, her eyes brimming with tears.
It was as good as a declaration of defeat.
Then, the moon in the sky slowly descended to touch the ground. Carefully peeling away the moon's texture revealed my beloved Yuna inside.
I struck a triumphant pose and said.
"How's that?"
"...You lost an arm again. Idiot."
"Is that the point? The point is I can now become an armored great kaiju using martial arts. Fuse with Aisha, and I could even pull off Heavenly Flowers Falling in Torrents."
"........."
Yuna fidgeted for a while before mumbling softly.
"...Are you really okay with this?"
"With what?"
"Everything I touch... turns to disaster. I couldn't protect my friends. I ruin everything. Things fall apart at the drop of a hat, and even now... this time too. And yet, you'll still... love me?"
"Love you? We'll get married, have kids, live so sweetly others will die of envy. I've got the whole plan laid out. Just nod, Yuna. Here."
I shaped the light of hers that had sunk to the bottom of the Null Zone into a ring and held it out. A proper proposal.
Yuna reached out, then pulled back. Reached out, pulled back...
"Do I even deserve to be lo—Mmgh?!"
She kept spouting nonsense despite my love.
Tired of her drivel, I sealed her lips with mine. With utmost care and skill, pouring all my talent into the 'persuasion' process, Yuna ended up blushing tomato-red with eyes spinning.
She must have finally decided to accept. Or my warning-threat of 'double next time you spout nonsense' worked.
"...Um, hey. Will you... propose to me?"
"I am proposing."
"No, properly! I mean, since it'll last a lifetime... make it cool."
"Hmm..."
Cool, huh.
I wasn't sure if it'd be cool, but I had words I wanted to say.
"No matter what, I'll make you happy. If gods block the way, I'll slay them. If the world stands in our path, I'll remake the whole damn thing."
"......Yeah."
Yuna cautiously raised her hand.
I took her small hand and slipped the ring of light onto her left ring finger.
Ding—dong—, bells rang out. Someone thoughtful had rung the spire's bell. Whoever it was, thanks. Reward later.
We gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment.
"I... I love you too. For you, I'd do anythi—Mmph?!"
Before the witnesses born of our shared tale, we sealed our vow for a happy ending with a kiss.
Now for the cleanup.
"The Tower of Phantasms... what'll we do with it? Gotta demolish it. Maybe wrapping Yuna in full-body restraints would help."
"Just to check, my love—this spell, can you dispel it?"
"I-it... squeak. I mean, I can't control it well. It sucked in way more info than usual, so the door won't close."
"Thanks, honey."
Screech!
Yuna made weird noises and trembled every time I tested a pet name. Must be unbearably embarrassing. But no punches or 'stop its' with it, so she likes it.
In short, to erase this Tower of Phantasms, we need to dump the energy somewhere. Methods abound.
"What about her?"
Yuri dangled the now-unresisting Mirror Yuna like a cat, swinging her. Her sulky expression made her look like a declawed kitty.
"As for handling her, I couldn't separate them. They're practically fused. She's essentially the same person as Yuna. Just with a nastier personality."
No trace of Yuna's friend lingered in Mirror Yuna. It was always just Yuna's reflection, loaded only with her friend's wishes.
So.
Hierarchy sorted, we'll leave her be. She's not harming Yuna. This mess was that fucking Goat's doing.
I manipulated the Tower of Phantasms, shifting spaces around.
Then, the twelfth door hidden inside Yuna's mental barrier emerged. Gloomy, depressing things still leaked from beyond it.
A taste revealed painful memories from the old Violet Magic Tower.
This backdoor caused all the chaos. The door connected to Yuna's friend.
"...Alice."
Yuna murmured glumly.
I stroked her hair and said.
"I said I'd make you happy. Stay put."
Something's off here.
'I'm glad. That I died. Really...'
From her friend's death memory—the speaker was clearly Yuna's friend. Weird, right? This is Yuna's mind.
Not mixed in during Mirror Yuna's formation; too much info. And crucially, this memory leaking from the backdoor I just tasted.
Same speaker: Yuna's friend.
My theory: When Mirror Yuna appeared and started purging the tower, the Goat fled with Yuna's friend's body and the Abyssal Idol. Kept it safe to prevent death.
Then returned her soul bound to the idol to her body, using her now for Yuna's rampage.
Even if not, as long as the soul's intact, we can save her.
"Yuna, transfer all authority of the Tower of Phantasms to me. I'll make her spit out everything she absorbed and dissipate the excess energy properly."
"Y-yeah."
Whoosh—
Control authority transferred, a sense of omnipotence washed over me. Power from a rampaging archmage at ascension. With this... I can use what past-me did.
If connected, I can move.
I entered the twelfth door, swam upstream through the turbid flow, reached Yuna's friend's mind. Then materialized like a succubus slipping in and out of dreams.
Ta-da.
"...Crazy wizard?"
I appeared before the Goat messing with Yuna's friend.
Crack.
Space shattered, and from beyond, a massive red eye appeared, peering out. No precursor, no mana fluctuation.
"...Crazy wizard?"
Wasn't he caught in his own trap?
One of the Goat's clones froze solid. Too many incomprehensibles to even question how. Tracking his location, the power rippling from that eye—all impossible.
This pressure was different. Had his plan succeeded? Had that one finally awakened from the crazy wizard to meet him?
No. The glint in the eye was murderous intent, not playfulness.
-I'll be taking Yuna's friend.
It extended a massive white slimy arm, engulfing Alice's body on the magic circle. And then.
-You're not dying easy. I'd love to gut you now, but calculations show I'm a tad short on power for everything. So today... I'll leave a little gift as a reunion promise.
Red light.
The Goat recalled the past. A flash that erased and devoured all info. It resembled the Violet Tower Lord's signature ultimate, Subtract... for now.
Kiiiiing—!!
The hue deepened in brightness and saturation, shifting to a color beyond human perception. The Goat instinctively shrank in fear.
He was immortal. Even if this body died, another clone would continue. No attack should scare him. Shouldn't.
-I'll take half your name, little lamb. May you writhe in agony every time you mull that void. I sincerely wish it.
Flash.
────Then, there was light.
The Lamb regained consciousness three hours later. Opening his eyes, test subject Alice was gone. He groped around. Hands fine. Arms, legs—all intact.
Bluff?
Just a simple... bluff and threat from the crazy wizard?
The Lamb felt an odd unease. Like he'd forgotten something. To check his damage, he tore the room apart investigating everything.
And found it.
"Ha, haha..."
His stock of backup Lamb personality clone ampules had halved.
Information quantity slashed in half.
He asked the other clones. Same for them. Every Lamb in existence had been cut in half. Half annihilated.
Ampules and Lamb were one. If ampules vanished, so did half of himself.
A whopping 50%. Lose half your body, and humans die. Same for info. Half his composing data gone—serious side effects inevitable.
Throb.
His head started aching. Maggots writhing deep in his brain. But checking yielded no illusion magic traces.
Not illusion. His very essence had been shaved and warped. Clutching his head, the Lamb desperately recalled. What did I lose? Why this pain?
Even setting pain aside.
Forget part of a spell formula? It might backfire on use.
Forget part of a scheme? It'd fail on execution.
Forget the goal...? Damn.
Must remember. What did I forget? Quick!
"........."
But the Lamb could never recall what he'd lost.
Perhaps forever.