In Search of Dream's Afterglow (2)
The Middle Ages were a barbaric era.
Aside from the central civilized regions where certain nobles and mages resided, most places were little more than shitholes.
Even in cities, stepping into the back alleys meant being assaulted by the stench of sewers and the acrid gas rising from unprocessed human waste left to ferment everywhere.
“Ughhhhh......”
For Julian, nothing tormented him more than this sense of smell.
You could close your eyes or cover your ears, but a nose? You had to breathe, so there was no blocking it.
That was why, in the early days after his arrival, Meyrin would always guide him to a specific place first whenever they entered a city.
“They say heroes have sensitive noses. Yours is really something. Here, go on in.”
Inside this miserable city lay a brightly lit space decorated with exquisite beauty.
Dream's Afterglow
Perfumer Chad
“Mr. Tou. Aren’t you coming in?”
“I-I’ll… stay out here.”
“?”
The martial artist Tou considered perfume a lady’s product, so he remained standing outside.
Indeed, the interior decor did not suit his tastes at all.
Only Meyrin and Julian stepped inside.
Fragrances tickled the tip of his nose.
Haa. This is much better.
Julian relaxed a little.
It wasn’t just the scents.
In this world, mages or those capable of handling magic were the equivalent of specialist physicians running their own practices in modern terms.
Wherever magic lingered, the comforts of civilization could always be felt.
The items mages created were often truly special, and perfume was one of them.
“Welcome, seekers of dream’s afterglow. What scent are you looking for today?”
Meyrin returned the greeting and immediately got to the point.
“This guy is a hero. So please give us the longest-lasting, completely unscented option you have.”
Though the way she said it clearly carried the meaning of this idiot is supposedly a hero.
“Oh. A-a hero? My goodness. It is an honor.”
The clueless perfumer Chad bowed with sincere respect.
A hero was, after all, a savior summoned from another world through the prophets’ oracles.
“Your sense of smell must be exceptionally keen, just as the legends described?”
Chad asked while rummaging through several perfume bottles on the shelf.
Clink. Clink.
Enjoying the pleasant sound of wood and glass, Julian answered.
“It’s not exactly that…”
It’s just that the shit smell here is way too strong.
Julian pondered how to phrase it indirectly.
Nothing clever came to mind.
“Ah, I see.”
Chad looked troubled.
“We have no unscented stock. We haven’t been able to obtain any materials lately.”
“Ah……”
“In that case, how about trying ‘Whiff’?”
“Whiff…?”
“Yes. It is the lowest intensity level. It leaves only a faint trace that lightly brushes the tip of the nose.”
Pssht—
Chad sprayed the perfume onto a white cloth, but there was no need to bring it close; a strange sensation had already brushed past the tip of Julian’s nose.
“Will that be all right for someone sensitive?”
Meyrin seemed a little worried.
People with sensitive noses were usually weak to perfume.
But in truth, Julian’s nose was not particularly sensitive.
He simply hated the smells of this place.
“It smells nice……”
He felt the fragrance was pleasant.
Yet he was disappointed.
It passed by too faintly, so he unconsciously leaned his nose toward the white cloth.
“It is a subtle yet lingering, wonderful scent, isn’t it? You can enjoy this fragrance in stages as well.”
Chad smiled as he explained.
“Whiff is a light brush against the nose. Aroma permeates the air. Scent carries enough presence to dominate the atmosphere. And finally……”
Swish—
He lifted a black perfume bottle.
Mythic-grade / Belzerack's Tears
The afterglow of memories. Powerful enough to transport the wearer back to the happiest moment of their life.
“Use this scent at the moment when you two are happiest. Then, if you smell it again while drowning in despair? Your consciousness will fly back to that happy moment in an instant. That is why it is often given as a gift between lovers.”
Chad glanced slyly at Meyrin and smiled. She immediately stepped backward.
“L-lovers? It’s not like that!”
No. That was not why Chad had smiled.
Thud.
He set the price tag down.
As the intensity of the scent increased, so did the price.
Julian decided at once.
“Um… I’ll take the Whiff.”
“……”
Meyrin’s expression soured considerably.
Oblivious, Julian’s only thought was to spray the perfume on as quickly as possible.
Once outside the shop, he tore open the packaging and pressed the nozzle.
Pssht—
* * *
Whiff
An indescribably seductive and dangerous fragrance burst from the bottle.
The Belzerack's Tears, which had been roughly one-third full, decreased slightly.
It was more than enough to leave its trace at the tip of everyone’s nose.
Kang Hae-il, who had been charging forward to slaughter the black mages, instinctively sensed danger.
‘Huh?’
Something was wrong.
It was an aura he had never felt before.
Yet it felt strangely familiar.
‘This is… a monster?’
At first he thought it was a powerful monster.
It certainly resembled the energy they emitted.
‘No. This is……’
It was different.
The word “strong” did not fit.
‘The original.’
It felt like facing the source from which all monsters were copied.
Like seeing color for the first time after only ever seeing black-and-white duplicates.
In other words, the origin of magi.
A demon.
Among them, something belonging to a high-ranking demon race. That was what Kang Hae-il sensed.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Black magi exploded.
The shocking part was the point of detonation.
‘Sagosul?’
Sagosul was wielding magi.
Black lightning surged from the center of his body.
The Blizzard Yu Jihun had fired was swallowed by the magi and vanished without a trace.
It made no sense.
No matter how wicked the man was, he was still human.
How?
Even in that brief instant, Kang Hae-il wondered if he should stop.
World Boss Summoning in progress... 57.8%
There was still time.
Assessing the opponent first before killing the black mages wouldn’t be a bad idea.
No.
Yet he gritted his teeth and poured out even more flames.
Whoosh!
He had to close the distance even faster.
Because I don’t know what that is.
Not knowing the opponent’s technique meant any delay would only make things harder.
His judgment was correct.
Kang Hae-il could make the right call precisely because he objectively understood that he was weaker than Sagosul.
However, there was one thing he could never have known.
That Sagosul was no ordinary awakener.
He was Julian.
Whoosh—
His hand swept outward. Black magi spread in every direction as dark eyes glowed fiercely through the mask.
Whip of Pain
Crack!
With a sound like tearing flesh, Kang Hae-il’s eyes shot wide open.
“Guh?!”
Something black flew in and struck his Achilles tendon in an instant.
Kang Hae-il, who had been soaring like a rocket, had his flames extinguished with a single blow and slammed back onto the rooftop.
Boom!
Kang Hae-il’s constellations were dumbfounded.
They had been rejoicing over how much stronger he had become.
This gap was overwhelmingly vast.
It wasn’t even a one-on-one fight.
Crack!
The whip lashed out again. Yu Jihun, Kim Ri-el, and Lee Suyeon all dropped to their knees instantly.
“Gaaaaaaaah!”
“Ah… aaaaah, aaaaaaaah!!!”
Screams tore through the air as they writhed and rolled across the floor.
The hallucinations created by Belzerack’s Tears mixed with genuine pain, delivering agony intense enough to rattle the brain.
Even Yu Jihun, who lived and died by his pride, screamed like a little child.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
All the magic Yu Jihun had been casting was canceled.
The Ice Ghost that had bound Junil’s feet finally disappeared.
“Damn it. Finally free.”
Junil grumbled as he stepped forward.
World Boss Summoning in progress... 78.9%
The world boss summoning was nearly complete.
The black mages, buried up to their chins in the demon realm portal, foamed at the mouth.
“Ugh, grrr!”
If he dragged things out just a little longer, it would be over.
It wasn’t difficult.
Not with the whip.
Crack!
The whip transformed into a free-moving form and struck the enemies one by one in an instant.
“Gaaah!”
“Ugh!!”
They all screamed in horror.
Then Junil spoke as if scolding them.
“All right, everyone stay still until the summoning finishes. If you don’t want to hurt anymore.”
Nod. Nod.
Surprisingly, they all lowered their heads and trembled.
“Grrrrrr……”
Even Kang Hae-il had no counter.
He couldn’t charge in stubbornly like usual. He simply knelt, wracked with pain.
His constellations were bewildered. They had expected him to endure at least once.
The constellations noticed that Kang Hae-il’s flames had shrunk dramatically.
His S-rank class.
Flame of Conviction.
It was literally the flame of his conviction.
As long as his conviction remained intact, the flame would protect him.
The opposite was also true.
This was exactly that situation.
Delaying the world boss summoning went against his conviction.
It was a hasty compromise with reality, swayed by personal feelings.
Now he was paying the price.
For the first time since the battle began, several of Kang Hae-il’s constellations left.
Junil learned of it indirectly through his own constellations’ chat and smirked.
“What’s wrong, Kang Hae-il? Your so-called conviction isn’t all that great, huh?”
He had really wanted to say that.
Was his greed too excessive?
Junil failed to notice the blind spot created by his mask.
“Gr……”
Kim Ri-el.
The youngest of the group gritted his teeth and stretched out his hand.
‘Huh?’
Junil’s eyes widened.
Come to think of it, the boy had not let out a single scream until now.
Whoooosh……!
Compressed wind gathered in his palm.
The casting was already complete.
Too late…!
Junil was stunned.
To think that kid could endure the pain of this whip.
I never imagined anyone could endure it as well as I could.
Memories of his past self flashed past like a panorama.
Boom!
The compressed wind bullet slammed into his side.
“…Kuh!”
Junil’s body folded like a bent ruler and was sent flying.
World Boss Summoning in progress... 89.1%
There’s still too much time left?
Junil’s eyes grew urgent.
In that moment, Kim Ri-el rode the wind and shot toward the black mages in an instant.
“Die.”
A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he forged the wind into blades and hurled them at the black mages.
Damn it…
Junil swung the whip quickly.
Whoosh—
Suddenly a giant hand emerged from the portal.
It was large enough to seize a dozen people at once.
‘Huh?’
The black shadow swallowed Kim Ri-el and the black mages together.
Kim Ri-el’s eyes widened.
World Boss Summoning in progress... 91.3%
In a flash the giant hand clenched shut.
The world turned pitch black.
——Crunch!
With a horrific sound, red blood burst out from beneath the giant hand like juice from a crushed tomato.
It happened so fast that not even a scream could escape.
World Boss Summoning in progress... 100%
The sacrifices had been completely absorbed. There was no longer any way to stop it.
“……”
Regardless, Junil first steadied his stance.
Ta-da~!