Chapter 56: Nightmare (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56: Nightmare (3)
Come to my heart, cruel spirit,
Adored jackal, indifferent monster.
— From Les Fleurs du Mal
*
My philtrum felt burning hot.
Drip, drip. Blood from my nose dotted the floor.
My vision was completely crimson. A sudden spike in intraocular pressure made it feel as though my eyes were going to pop out. In the end, tears of blood streamed down my face.
“…It hurts because you are denying yourself, Fenrir.”
Even amidst all this, Chae Lina moved behind my back and kept whispering, her delicate fingers tracing smoothly along my chin. The scent of incense seeped into my nostrils.
“How could a demon like you ever be free from 'evil'? Changing an innate attribute is impossible, even for the Counterforce.”
“Then what am I supposed to…?”
“I’ve been telling you all along. You just need to accept yourself. Claim your place as the Apostle of Destruction, as the Demon King of this world. With that, this world can be free.”
“……”
From behind me, Chae Lina leaned her head forward. Her lustrous black hair fell over my forehead, casting a shadow.
I flicked my eyes upward. Chae Lina’s appearance had changed. She had rapidly matured from a young girl into a lady. Standing taller than my current fourteen-year-old body by a full hand’s breadth, she was… painfully beautiful.
That face must be her appearance from our past life. Indeed, I too had briefly taken on my past life's form after a long while.
Chae Lina looked almost identical in both past and present lives. She was simply about ten years younger in this one. That was the only difference. She spoke.
“If even that displeases you, then leave with me, Fenrir. I saw you fight the Apostle of Conquest. Seeing that changed my mind a little. You are… far beyond what I imagined—”
It happened in a flash.
Fsssshhhh, BANG!
No sooner had a sharp sensation prickled my spine than Chae Lina was slammed crumpling into the far end of the hallway. Drenched in a blood-red landscape, I only regained my senses when I heard footsteps approaching.
Chae Lina peeled herself off the wall like a sticker. She scowled, her eyebrows furrowed with deep irritation.
“Again… you’re interfering again.”
“Sheesh, I really can’t let my guard down for a single second, can I?”
A woman walked toward Chae Lina from the opposite direction, draped half in moonlight and half in shadow.
Chae Lina snapped at the woman.
“You were a contradiction from the start.”
“Jörmungandr, the serpent that devours itself. If that’s not a contradiction, what is? Unlike you, I’m currently staying true to my identity.”
The woman stopped, keeping a bit of distance between herself and me. I blinked my bloody eyelids repeatedly.
Her manner of speech, her swaggering gait, and the crook of her lips were unmistakably those of Saintess Yoo Se-in. But her face…
Yoo Se-in glanced at my stunned expression, then smirkingly curled the corner of her lips.
“Stunned because I’m too pretty?”
“…It’s not a matter of being pretty or not.”
And understandably so…
“Why are there two Chae Linas?”
They looked more alike than identical twins. It felt as if I were standing between two reflections in a mirror.
“Let’s get the order of events straight. I’m the original. She created herself modeled after me.”
Chae Lina glared fiercely at Yoo Se-in, her sharp aura rattling the windowpanes.
Yet she only glared. Chae Lina couldn't refute Yoo Se-in's claim. She was honest in the strangest ways.
“I suddenly have… so much to say, yet so little.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I have so many questions that I can’t narrow them down to just a few.”
“You little punk.”
Yoo Se-in roughly ruffled my hair. It was a bizarre feeling—being patted on the head by Yoo Se-in, who normally barely reached my chest in height.
At the same time, I felt it: the black sprout growing inside me throbbed once, then visibly shrank in size.
“I take it you can’t explain the situation anyway because of ‘plausibility’ or whatever.”
“Yup.”
“And cleaning this up is your responsibility, so you’ll handle it, Yoo Se-in.”
“That’s right.”
“And this moment will fade from my mind like a dream, won’t it?”
“It’ll remain in your subconscious.”
Yoo Se-in took a wide stride past me. With her back to me, she stretched a hand behind her to hold me back. Despite her slender waist, she looked remarkably dependable.
“Hela planted the seed of evil in you back when she showed you that illusion. What fed directly into it as fertilizer was the recent disaster. Facing the Apocalypse head-on was the best possible nourishment for that 'seed of evil.'”
My mind cleared. Wiping the nosebleed away with the back of my hand, I stood up.
“Do I cut her down?” I asked.
“What you need to cut down isn't Chae Lina. It’s the evil inside yourself. As I’ve told you repeatedly, Chae Lina is an indispensable existence to prepare for the coming Apocalypse.”
Chae Lina’s enraged scream interrupted us. She lunged forward explosively with both arms outstretched.
“You hypocritical serpent—!”
Her attack crashed into Yoo Se-in’s barrier. Supporting the barrier-deploying hand with her other arm, Yoo Se-in was pushed back slightly, clearly at a disadvantage in a contest of pure force.
“Kang Geomma!”
Yoo Se-in broke her silence, cold sweat dripping down her face.
“You can cut through anything! Hurry up and cut down this ridiculous nightmare!”
She shouted at me:
“And hurry back to where your family is, you bastard playboy—!!”
“Playboy…?”
“Hey! Do you have any idea how many people in this world envy you? Stop wallowing in self-pity!”
“Still…”
I don't have a sword…
A lightning bolt of inspiration struck me. Seeing the revelation dawn on my face, a bead of sweat pooled in the laugh lines of Yoo Se-in’s face.
“Is your Mindscape just for show?”
“……”
I bit my hesitating lip tightly.
I closed my eyes. My hell began to warp and float away. Visualize it, Kang Geomma.
‘The place where you are most calm.’
The Lake of Swords.
Standing beside its calm, mirror-like waters felt as if it cleansed my mind.
That was why my Mindscape had to be a lake.
Swoooooosh…
Amidst the spark-flying standoff, the sound of water resounded. The hallway began to flood.
Yoo Se-in smiled while Chae Lina’s face crumpled into a heavy scowl. Two identical faces displaying completely opposite expressions. I realized that good looks could be used in vastly different ways.
Splash, splash.
The swelling water rose all the way to my knees. I lowered my head.
The lake reflected a scene. The long row of windows down the hallway showed an endless stream of apocalypses. In contrast, beneath the surface of the water, scenes of my past daily life—laughing, chatting, eating—shifted with every ripple.
It was strange. Looking at it from an bystander's perspective, I was actually quite emotionally expressive. I had thought that in others' eyes, I was just a cynical bastard.
Whoooooosh.
A heavy gale slammed into my face. The balance of power was shifting toward Chae Lina. As they said, this was my, Kang Geomma’s, hell. Chae Lina was bound to be stronger here.
But what if I overwhelmed her with numbers? After all, no strongman can withstand a ganging-up. Except me.
I opened my palm and extended it forward. Bubbles boiled over, and a sashimi knife surged upward, fitting snugly into my hand. That was only the beginning.
[Manifesting Divine Blessing of Borrowed Power.]
Every happy moment I had experienced was a form of [Blessing of Borrowed Power]. Through the blessing that pulled past time into an instant, those moments crystallized on the surface of the water.
My memories, Kang Geomma’s memories, shattered into bright yellow particles. Then they coalesced once more—into the shape of sashimi knives.
Rippling, rippling.
Countless ripples spread across the water. How blessed a life I had lived since falling into this world, Miracle Blessing M. Those memories took on physical force and floated to the water's surface.
Slash.
A Slashing Line carved straight across the long hallway windows. Half a beat later, the hallway scenery slid cleanly downward. Without stopping, the Slashing Line branched out into fine splits, utterly fragmenting this world.
Chae Lina panicked. In a single instant, my hell had been 'erased.' She clearly hadn't expected me to overcome it so quickly.
Chae Lina swept her trembling gaze around her surroundings. A cage made of blades had locked her inside. Thousands of sashimi knives pointed their fangs at Chae Lina from every direction, like arrows nocked on bowstrings.
“Th-This is…”
My personal domain pushed the dreary past into a corner. Or perhaps saying I chopped it to pieces fits better. Doesn't matter either way.
What mattered was that I turned that hell called the past…
Hell.
Into this using sashimi knives.
Toll, toll, toll.
For some reason, a school bell rang—a sound that shouldn't be ringing here. It was likely a remnant I hadn't managed to slice away.
As if the ringing relaxed her tension, Yoo Se-in deactivated her barrier. With Chae Lina imprisoned by sashimi knives, the enemy was as good as neutralized.
I stepped forward, lightly tugging Yoo Se-in back by the shoulder. Looking at me, Yoo Se-in said,
“Look at you showing off.”
“If not now, when else am I gonna show off?”
We let out a dry laugh together. Chae Lina tried to scream something out, but Yoo Se-in ignored her and added to me:
“Don't kill her.”
“She won't die. I turned this entire space into a Subspace.”
“What…?”
I snapped my middle finger and thumb together as I explained.
“I thought to myself about how Chae Lina was constantly able to create phantom spaces like this. I figured that because mana is flowing into the Human Realm, she was able to invade my mind, even if only in a dream.”
“Sounds plausible.”
“You know how Balor Joaquin created a Subspace at the Academy, right? He created a rift by causing a mutual conflict between magic power and blessings, then used his own blessing to pry open the dimensional tear even further.”
All of those conditions matched the power I possessed. In short, there was no reason I couldn't do it too. Yoo Se-in let out an incredulous chuckle.
“Kang Geomma, weren't you originally a guy who didn't use his brain like this? You're Death Sashimi. Sashimi Faster Than Words. Drawing your blade first is your whole shtick.”
“I'm an adult now too.”
Snap. I flicked my fingers.
“I plan to think before I draw my blade from now on.”
Behind my back, the sashimi knives erupted. The red water that had struck at my Achilles' heel crept outward, expanding its domain.
I didn't bother looking back. Yoo Se-in's expression facing me gave away everything happening behind me.
“Seriously… once this bastard draws his blade, his methods are just so… anyway, then or now, I guess you sure live up to your name…”
My lessons might be a bit harsh. But the learning effect was phenomenal.
From now on...
“Gaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!”
I will be Chae Lina's nightmare.
“Kang Geomma.”
This was how I sprouted the Flower of Evil.
— Nightmare. End.
*
*
[Cleared the First Trial!]
[Reward Obtained: Flower of Evil.]
— Imbues the Blessing of the Sword God with the attribute of Evil (惡). The area of effect and power of ‘Slashing Domain’ are significantly enhanced. Furthermore, reduces the amount of chakra consumed by Slashing Domain. Since chakra is based on the bonds and humanity you have accumulated, it can slow down the erosion of your 'Humanity Rank.'
— By doing so, you can be reborn as a Calamity God—a god among gods—while retaining your humanity. You no longer need to restrict your power to the 1-minute time limit. You can break free from the shackles of the Counterforce.
*
[Until the ■■ of □□ (1/4)]
[Final Reward: 【? ? ?】]
*
*
It’s been two days since I woke up from that nightmare.
To explain what happened back then before getting into the main point:
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw Ryozo and Abel resting my head on their thighs (that thing commonly called a lap pillow) while looking down at me with worried, groaning faces. Man, I really am one lucky bastard.
According to the two of them, I groaned in pain the entire time I was asleep. That day was an even-numbered day. Even though it was Abel’s day, she called Ryozo over to check on my condition. From head to toe, every single inch… Okay, let's leave it at that.
Anyway, around that point, the nightmare of the midnight hour faded away into distant memory. Furthermore, thanks to their utmost care and nursing, I recovered my condition in half a day.
So today, I came out for a morning stroll. My original schedule was to join my classmates who participated in the Exchange Meeting and call in the participants one by one to reward them.
'It's not like I was in too bad a shape to participate, though.'
Regardless, Ryozo and Abel were overprotective when it came to my health. They would buy anything said to be good for the body no matter how much it cost. Black raspberry wine, eel, and so on.
'Why does this lineup feel kinda sus...'
Wandering aimlessly while mulling over this and that, I arrived at the back gate. Even if I left the Academy grounds, I didn't have anything particular to do. So I turned back to retrace my steps.
“You really are a hard man to see.”
Suddenly, a soft voice tickled my earlobe.
“Do you have time for a short chat?”
Ryozo’s half-sister.
Saki Hina gave a cute wink. When it came to me, she put aside a fair bit of her dignity as the Prime Minister of Japan.