The Worldline Without You (2) - Beyond What I Prepared For
It's more than I was prepared for.
Comprehension too low.
Grandfell's past alone was burden enough—profound and pitch-black beyond measure. And now, on top of that, this warning message pops up. The sensation is different from when I entered the Curse, Unstoppable Current. What the hell does "comprehension too low" even mean?
Is it just that my mana affinity is zero percent or something? No matter how I rack my brain, a single line isn't enough to grasp the intent. I can't just swallow it whole. But...
Comprehension too low.
The First World Tree's Blessing rejects the "Warning."
Thanks to the World Tree's tender love, I was able to force my eyes open. It's like tuning into a channel with the wrong frequency—my vision is clogged with static noise. And not only that, even the viewpoint feels alien.
...Annoying.
Especially this long, dangling hair—it's awkward as hell. I pieced it together on instinct right away. According to the effect of Darkness Understanding, I have to confront the past. Is this Grandfell's past perspective, by any chance?
I recalled Grandfell's setting.
Long, flowing silver hair, striking features, and a speech pattern that exudes noble dignity in every word and gesture.
Ah, so this is that long, flowing silver hair. To think I once found this cool... No wonder middle-school me was into the demon hunter's flowing robes.
But then.
The past is unstable.
This message that's been popping up...
What the hell does "the past is unstable" mean? Guessing is probably the best I can do. Let's focus on "unstable."
Static-filled vision. Wrong frequency. Yeah, it's just like...
Grandfell's past is trying to push me out.
Well, it's a different situation from blackening.
Even viewing from Grandfell's perspective, I have no idea if my voice reaches him. But as an adult, there's one thing I have to say.
Please, don't try to shoulder it all alone again!
I might have a stake in this too!
You have to take responsibility for your mistakes. That's the pride of an adult, as I, Lee Hoyeol, see it.
Whether that thought reaches Grandfell or not, I can't tell.
With his usual stubbornness, how could I?
But one thing's for sure.
...What the hell is that?
My comprehension is lacking. Just as the message says. Maybe I don't understand Grandfell as well as I thought.
And that's because, in the wildly shaking vision, I witnessed it.
Silver hair. A man with Claudy's hair.
His back turned to me. A man whose identity I couldn't pinpoint from the rear alone spoke.
"I hate you, Grandfell."
The fall of the great Claudy family. Ever since awakening as a player, I'd pondered the setting I wrote countless times. Especially as I uncovered Claudy traces one by one, the questions grew.
How the hell did Claudy get wiped out?
Just from their actions, it's clear. They simply vanished from the continent. To the continent's longtime residents—dragons, elves, and all—Claudy's greatness endured. Even the four great families, each rivaling an empire in power, couldn't lift their heads before Claudy's name.
That's why I—despite writing it myself—wanted to look away, yet was desperately curious. How could a family that seemed impossible to destroy actually be exterminated?
And now I finally knew.
This soap opera bullshit...!!
Right. In trashy dramas, plot holes are always fixed with secret births and blood ties!
Claudy's enemy wasn't external. The extermination started from within, at the hands of that unidentified man. No doubt.
As if answering my thoughts, the man continued.
"I remember the look in your eyes from childhood, when you held my hand and gazed at me. Even then, you looked down on me. With that same arrogant gaze, unchanged from now."
Time to use the insight I gleaned peeking over Grandma Cheolhui and my sisters' shoulders at their dramas. I don't know who he is, but that line reveals one thing.
First off, he's older than Grandfell.
That explained the hatred's backstory.
"Yes. That was the gaze of the family head. One I could never have."
So that's it.
Grandfell was chosen as heir at just seven years old for good reason.
That unknown man truly hated losing the head position to a seven-year-old brat.
I could understand if I tried. Grandfell's so damn talented, even I'd be pissed. His intense reaction suggests he was dead serious about the role.
But still.
Isn't yelling at a kid too much, even for an adult?
Thud—
The man stepped forward, leaving his final words.
"Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo, damned head of Claudy. I pray you protect the Claudy family to the bitter end. Until the day I return to you."
With that mocking honorific...
ZZZzt—!
The vision shook violently.
The past is unstable.
The landscape shifted with the message. Now I understood why the viewpoint felt subtly off earlier. Unlike before, the eye level was distinctly higher.
That last scene was Grandfell as a child, not fully grown.
So now...
This must be a more recent past. No sense of disconnect beyond the noise.
Just... the background glimpsed in flashes was shockingly unbelievable.
Claudy Territory.
"Fl... flee... Head... Your Excellency..."
A man—one of Claudy's retainers—gasped those words and breathed his last. Shifting my gaze revealed the burning Claudy mansion. The blood-soaked garden. The fountain spewing blood instead of water.
This was the memory of "that day"—when Claudy was exterminated.
The realization hit.
!
My body staggered. Only then did I notice how precariously it swayed, drenched and heavy with gore from countless wounds.
This...
I lamentably don't know the exact percentage of blood loss that kills a human—arts major, after all. But there's a limit.
...This is dangerous, isn't it?
Not just soaking his clothes—the blood had drenched the entire area. I was certain. This was enough blood to have killed him whether he collapsed, passed out, or stopped breathing long ago.
So he was already on the verge of fading out right from this moment.
Yet Grandfell stood ramrod straight in that body. Pride? Propriety? Or because of the man before him? I couldn't tell why.
But it was definitely that man from before. Front view this time.
Yet I couldn't make out his face clearly. The static persisted, and blood loss blurred my senses—I couldn't focus.
Of all timings, why show me this?
Couldn't it start a bit closer up?
I could've gleaned more info. In this state, all I could gather was...
That the man had come to collect on the foreshadowing he'd dropped earlier.
Swallowing my regret, a voice rang out.
"Couldn't protect it, could you, Grandfell?"
Obviously, I ignored the taunt. This was a rare chance.
Recalling Grandfell's setting once more.
Heir to a great family, destroyed by demons. Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo, the family's sole survivor, walked the path of the demon hunter to avenge them...
Yes. In the ruins of Claudy Territory stood the demon that led to their total annihilation.
Of course, I already knew the Seven Deadly Sins were involved—I'd hunted two already: Gluttony and Envy.
But.
The Seven Deadly Sins alone couldn't do it.
From experience, I could estimate. The Claudy I knew wouldn't falter even if all Sins attacked.
Claudy's extermination involved a demon far surpassing the Sins.
Damn it again.
Can't even see up close...
...This black history isn't easy to comprehend!
As I grumbled earlier, noise and flowing blood now obscured my eyes.
The only clear thing: the blinking message.
The past is unstable.
Footsteps drew nearer. The man approached Grandfell.
Thud—
I was certain. Those were steps laced with killing intent.
But no need to fear.
Grandfell didn't die here.
Right—he survived to torment me to this day.
At this point, a loyal retainer or Claudy force would appear to save him from crisis.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
...They should.
But as the man closed in, no presence emerged.
"Do you see, Grandfell? This is the result of you stealing my place as head. Look with those insufferably arrogant eyes. The end of Claudy."
Close enough to end the near-dead Grandfell.
Even as the man spat his mockery, no savior appeared.
The man spoke in a bored tone.
"As expected, conversing with you brings no joy."
Shing—
The clash of steel pierced my eardrums.
"Even chills me now. How do you remain unshaken in every situation? Look properly, Grandfell. Everyone in Claudy but you is dead. Your arrogance doomed the family. Aren't tears and atonement the least you owe?"
Stab—
The blade thrust like a reprimand pierced Grandfell's chest.
If aimed at the nape...?
Grandfell would've died instantly.
That's when I knew for sure.
No one came to Claudy's—or Grandfell's—aid that day.
"Not even a scream? I see."
Shing—
Not one hand, but both on the sword. Skilled enough for sword aura, perhaps.
Just from the stance, the next scene painted itself vividly: a full swing would sever head from neck. A classic beheading.
No hesitation in the man's movements.
Swish—!
The blade rushed in. A sudden thought struck.
This was undeniably Grandfell's past.
No one coming to save him? Looking back, it made sense. Even dragons sincerely repented their inaction that day.
So only one question remained.
How the hell did Grandfell survive?
Or rather.
If Grandfell dies here, what happens to me?
Recalling the Curse, Unstoppable Current.
Baal definitely reacted to my chatter.
And thanks to that—or whatever.
—"Why waste such tribute, Baal!! Do you know the sacrifices the Demon Realm made for this day? We won't settle for a mere three continents. Honor the contract. Open the gate to the Arcana Continent with that sword!!"
The Arcana Continent was safe.
So the reverse should be possible too... right?
Not certain.
But with my life on the line.
Even a 1% chance.
I couldn't stay silent.
Fine. No one needs to save Grandfell.
Because right now, right here.
I've got me.
Precisely.
Heir to a great family, destroyed by demons. Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo, the family's sole survivor, walked the path of the demon hunter to avenge them...
Me, Lee Hoyeol, who added that lonely backstory footnote.
It's possible, Hoyeol. Baal proved it, that bastard.
The curse is tangled enough to allow interference in the past.
Changing the past could change history.
So.
My—our—vision flickers.
Natural Enemy Relationship
The firmly shut mouth moves.
"Do not make me repeat myself."
"...What?"
"Dare not test my patience."
Now I can see clearly.
As I thought.
It was you, the demon who doomed Claudy.
Symbol of possession.
Staring into the man's blackened pupils, I spoke coldly.
"I do not converse with prey."