Chapter 38: Tyrant (Part 2)
Chapter 38: Tyrant (Part 2)
Before my vision even cleared, a thunderous roar ripped through my ears.
[Burn—them—all!]
A terrible blast followed that strangely familiar bellow. Through the blur, I saw what looked like a colossal battleship straight out of a video game bombarding the surface. The ground touched by the beams flipped inside out, lava geysered upward, and shockwaves kicked up swirling storms of dust and soil.
Bizarre crawling monsters caught in that ferocious attack were erased without leaving so much as ash behind.
'What the hell is this now?'
The scene looked like a blockbuster sci-fi movie, and I shook my head for a second. My vision was hazy and my ears were ringing numb, so something was clearly going on that I didn't understand. Plus, shaking my head didn't change the view at all, which meant this wasn't a scene I was watching of my own accord.
[But, Your Majesty! Think of your subjects down below, I beg you!]
[Do you truly believe anyone survived that wave of monsters, General?]
I felt tears tracking down my face. Maybe the blurry vision had been because of them—I could finally see clearly now. An old man wearing a golden crown. Instinctively, I knew this "Majesty" was The Incinerating Tyrant. It was easy to deduce from all the red-adorned weaponry, including the sci-fi-style warships.
[General, rather than opening your mouth to spout paltry morality, I'd prefer you kill at least one more of those accursed monsters. Think of the subjects? Even the elite Imperial Guard couldn't hold out on the ground for an hour before communication was lost. Is there a method to rescue anyone down there?]
A shabby, aged man with deep hollows under his eyes. Yet perhaps because of his two eyes, which flickered with madness and fury, no one inside the ship—including the person whose vision I was sharing—dared open their mouth. Not even while he burned the monster-choked surface, and even the cities still holding their defense lines.
'...So that's why he's called The Tyrant.'
The emperor, stained by madness, burned everything. The vassal who prattled that Her Majesty The Empress would be enraged if she were alive. The ground defense forces who'd cheered at the sight of the Red Fleet while holding the line. The scout ship that radioed for support saying it had been spotted and surrounded. He burned the planets, burned the alien lifeforms roaming the cosmos, and finally destroyed their homeworld—and during the entire return trip to annihilate every contaminated colony world, not a single soul dared even think of rebelling against the emperor.
[Your Majesty, this is the last, the very last colony world! If you burn even this planet, we'll be forced to wander uncharted space at the edge of the universe searching for a habitable world!]
[Then so be it.]
The emperor ordered bombardment on the grounds that alien flying types and a small colony had been found on the final planet. Several vassals whose sightline I shared foamed at the mouth and tried to dissuade him before being executed by mechanical soldiers. And so, beyond the ship's transparent barrier, humanity's last bastion went up in flames. Now only three ships remained, including the emperor's flagship. Even with an eternal power source for infinite cruising, their internal resources were critically insufficient. The emperor announced he would enter a hibernation pod, then gave his vassals a choice. People chose differently. One ship changed course, declaring they couldn't serve under a mad emperor. Some chose to age and die aboard the ship without hibernation pods, embracing life inside. A staggering number committed suicide, crushed by the grief of losing their families. The vassal whose sight I'd shared also vanished, carrying a single pistol. Bang—! A short gunshot, and a ship fallen silent.
'Well, fuck. He's not going to burn this whole continent down too, is he?'
After the gunshot, my gaze was my own again, and as I looked around, a whisper reached my ear.
[So, was this memory useful?]
I think I'd have my wits about me better even if a giant were dragging me around by the hair.
"Where is this?"
[My airship, young Constellation.]
I'd thought I was watching a gradually dying ship, but at some point, I'd naturally boarded an airship. The world had literally changed in the blink of an eye.
[It's been a very long time since I've seen a Dream Walker. They were the first to be swept away by those accursed alien species.]
Right—the Dream Walkers, the Dream Demon clan, were all driven insane and killed by the aliens' telepathy before the planets even started burning. The thought made chills suddenly race down my spine. Dream Walkers are Dream Demons? And how does he know they were the first to die?
[Your inexperience is rather apparent. Until you can govern yourself, you'd best not approach a being like me.]
"No, wait, what is this...?"
[There's quite a lot I'd like to tell you, but any more would be too much for you. Have you undergone a soul mutation? I feel as though I'm watching a child just learning to toddle. I'd thought I might finally have a conversation partner after so long. Come back once you've grown a bit more.]
Before I could grasp the situation after that one-sided dismissal, I realized I was lying on the bed in my studio apartment.
'What a shitshow. Seriously...'
※
Lying in bed with my head spinning like I'd been on a monstrous bender, I tried to sort through what had happened. I had been watching my Incarnations cross into the Northern Continent to take part in The Incinerating Tyrant's event. At some point—whether I'd seen the same screen as him or been indirectly linked through my Incarnations—I got sucked into The Incinerating Tyrant's nightmare. Like osmosis—I was yanked in against my will. The Tyrant noticed, lightly flicked me out of his mental world, and from the sound of it, he wasn't even a Dream Demon or a Dream Walker himself—had he really just batted me around with sheer mental force? My world shifted every time I blinked, and the dizziness was unbearable.
What kind of freak monster is that guy.
I sprawled out on the bed to settle my churning stomach. Looking at the screen, I could see Han Ye-ji and Lee Ha-rin happily hunting monsters and getting fired up like the warrior women they were, but the sluggish sight made bile rise in my throat, and I shut my eyes again. Dizziness and lethargy were hammering at both sides of my skull.
Just as The Incinerating Tyrant had said, I'd only been a Dream Demon for about a year. A toddler taking his first steps? He was being too generous. At my current level, I was a slug. A slug writhing and dying as salt sucked all the moisture out of its body.
"Agh, fuck... I never felt this bad even eating contaminated rations."
My throat felt like it was about to crust shut, so I forced my mouth open. If I didn't at least talk to myself, I felt like I'd never be able to make a sound again. Getting the back of my head split open by falling ceiling debris or forcing down a bloated can of spoiled food hadn't made me half this dizzy.
By the time my condition finally stabilized and I could get out of bed, a full day had passed. Han Ye-ji had gone back to work, and Lee Ha-rin had returned to the Academy for classes.
[Talent Evolution: Swiftness (快)]
[Talent Awakening: Extreme (極端)]
The surprising part was that both of them had gained a new trait.
'It hasn't really sunk in yet...'
During our exchange, The Incinerating Tyrant had asked if his memory had been helpful to me. Knowing I was a Dream Demon, a Dream Walker, had he done something for me? The points due to arrive later and two traits—honestly, after getting roasted just watching him burn planets, the guy was practically a saint. Two free traits; three cheers for Lord Incinerating Tyrant.
'What kind of traits are those, though?'
Both of them had their traits awaken simultaneously and dashed off to report. Han Ye-ji reported to her senior, got a half-day off, and headed for the training grounds. Lee Ha-rin reported to her instructor during class and went to the physical conditioning facility. Now that I thought about it, was there no split-screen function? There had to be... for points, right?
The dizziness and the sluggish, languid fatigue had gone, but my brain still appeared to be running slow. Two events were happening at once, and I couldn't decide who to observe or what conversation to have—I just stared blankly. I fixed the screen on Lee Ha-rin for now. Han Ye-ji's "Swiftness" trait was pretty clearly something that made her projectiles faster. She was always shooting that tranquilizer gun, so her traits appeared to be leveling toward a gunner path. But a trait called "Extreme"—I couldn't figure that out from the word alone, so I kept the screen fixed there to hear the explanation.
"So, Cadet Lee Ha-rin. You're saying this trait appeared after you participated in The Incinerating Tyrant's event?"
"Extreme? This should be in the database."
"Yes, it's likely a trait that pushes your growth direction to one extreme."
The instructors and Lee Ha-rin talked. Naturally, the instructors were the ones asking questions, and Lee Ha-rin was the one explaining the trait. Not only was she well-versed in Constellations and Incarnations, but she'd apparently memorized traits and Authorities by heart too, and she began describing her own trait.
"I recall it likely splits into two branches—physical and mental—and skews development entirely toward one. Since I don't feel any surge of vitality or improved stamina, I'd like to be tested on basic magic."
"In that case, I'll put in a call to the Basic Magic Studies instructor."
Lee Ha-rin, who had been discussing it with the instructor casually as if it were nothing, walked away and then collapsed onto a bench. 'Yeah, that tracks.' After making sure nobody was around, she started giggling like a madwoman, jabbing her finger at empty air and scrutinizing her trait window over and over. Compared to foaming at the mouth and fainting, was this an improvement—or a deterioration?