NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 367
Chapter 368
“Hmm. It’s been a while, this feeling.”
[Ah, Dad…!]
At Yeon-woo’s relaxed words, Shar spoke up with concern. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. This kind of stuff doesn’t bother me anymore.”
Yeon-woo still wandered through the darkness. Not everything had remained unchanged. A while ago, it was complete darkness, but now it transformed into the sight of a crowd.
What continuously echoed around were petty curses. Derogatory names mocking those unsuitable for mana, and taunts heard on the battlefield as a C-Rank Hunter. Now, they were just things that didn’t faze me anymore.
“Still, reflecting on it like this, I can’t help but think I’ve heard some ridiculous stuff.”
Among them, the most absurd was the nickname “Party Eater.” Since every party I joined ended up dead, it was a malicious rumor from bottom-tier Hunters claiming I was devouring my party members.
The command staff told me to focus on gathering information about the enemy instead of fighting, but what are they expecting me to do?
The party members agreed and fought valiantly while leaving the information-gathering to me. I also couldn’t just sit back; I shared the information I gathered in real-time during the fight. If it still didn’t work out, I’d find a way to escape.
[Are you really okay? How can they say such mean things…?!!]
[They are too much! People can be so mean!!]
While Yeon-woo wasn’t bothered, Shar and Tae-oh were fuming. Why are they getting so angry? After a moment of thought, the answer came to me.
‘Ah, so it’s inappropriate to say such things in front of the children?’
Well, I can’t stand dirty talk. It’s only natural to feel rage towards them.
“Still, don’t hate those people too much. It’s a future event anyway, and it’s a future that likely won’t come again. They were in a desperate situation too.”
[Still, still, there’s no need to insult someone fighting for their life…!!]
That’s a valid point. It’s hard to say it was a good action, even for mere words. However, they also symbolized the grim situation back then.
Humans are such weak creatures, able to completely reverse their thoughts with just a slight change in circumstances.
“Did you see? The surrendered necromancers. They betrayed humanity with such ease, and the Demon King would betray humans just as effortlessly. That’s just how people are.”
[Is Dad the same…?]
I could feel the eyes of the two children turning toward me. I couldn’t bring myself to answer. There’s a bit of uncertainty when I say I’m different from them.
“Well… no matter what happens, I’ll always do everything for you.”
Yeon-woo believed that such transformations in humans stemmed from a lack of strong will or purpose. With no solid resolve to hold onto, they would be swept away like paper in the wind.
However, Yeon-woo had children. There’s Nea, and the people saved until now.
That was something sufficient to form his resolve.
“So let’s hurry through. Even I don’t feel good listening to this for long.”
Yeon-woo quickened his pace. The bridge made of the World Tree continued to shine brightly, leading him on, as if lighting up wherever he passed.
*
“Hey, isn’t this endless?”
[How far must we go…? Tae-oh, do you have any idea?]
[I have no clue!]
I felt an urge to ruffle the cheerful Tae-oh’s tousled hair. However, escaping this situation was the top priority.
The problem was that the World Tree was no longer shining. The light which had guided us flickered and disappeared upon reaching this place.
“I don’t know where we are, but perhaps being brought here means we should figure out the rest ourselves…?”
I even thought about whether the Demon King was creating this illusion of shining like the World Tree, but once I started doubting, it could go on forever.
It was better to approach this positively, thinking this is the only clue we have.
“Let’s think this through. Whatever the reason, now that the Demon King isn’t making a fuss, might be the chance!”
[That’s true. Can we go out?]
“Nope. That might be what they’ve been waiting for.”
[Ugh. So frustrating.]
No matter how frustrating it was, I couldn’t let them loose inside the Demon King. I hope you can understand Dad’s feelings too.
In Yeon-woo’s thoughts, both of them seemed to have no arguments left and only grumbled. My kids are well-behaved. I smiled warmly while looking around.
“It doesn’t seem all that different from what we’ve seen so far.”
It stagnated. Not even a current flowed. There was no distinct passage of time, and it wasn’t a dream, meaning there was no end in sight.
In other words, it felt like a prison. I wondered if this is how it feels to be trapped in Shuyo’s curse.
“Hmmm…”
How can I escape this space? The fact the Demon King isn’t pulling any tricks makes me even more uneasy. It was an unsettling feeling.
Shall I try something? I raised White, and it emanated a gentle light. As Yeon-woo paused to gaze at it, he started fiddling with White.
‘Now that I think about it, didn’t Uncle Pillar mention hiding something in this sword…?’
While I hadn’t thought to look for it, this situation made me suddenly recall it.
But how did he hide something? I kept changing the shape from spear to sword, back and forth.
Aside from the shape alternation, there was nothing structurally special. I still couldn’t fathom why switching between its sword and spear forms was seamless, like some kind of divine technique.
As I pondered and busily adjusted my nose, I gradually realized something odd.
“…Why does this keep rising?”
[That’s true. If you’re going to use it as a spear, why should it rise this high?]
When I pushed my nose up, the blade would disappear from that part, leaving only the tip of the sword transforming into a spear shape, meaning it shouldn’t have needed to rise this high.
Yet, it was somehow possible. Design flaw? No way, would that guy make a design flaw?
“…Is this a hidden feature?”
But for what purpose was this feature hidden? A ridiculously long staff resembling a Y-shape? What could I even do with this to touch the ground?
[It kind of feels similar to a great sword. It’s like the handle just got super long.]
As Tae-oh inspected it, he offered that opinion. Yeon-woo frowned at his words. Something felt itchy. I felt a sneeze building up but not quite coming out.
After contemplating for a moment, Yeon-woo suddenly had a lightbulb moment. He remembered the characteristic of one of the magical metals represented by Shinne and Orichalcum; perhaps one like Hanchul.
The transmittability of mana. In attributes, Hanchul stood right at one end with ice and water attributes. Given that, it was the material that allowed aura to pass through most efficiently.
It was a different concept from the transmission rate of Shinne. Shinne allows mana to pass, losing some in the process, which enhances the properties of the mithril, whereas Hanchul has extremely minimal loss during transmission.
What that means is, something like this could happen.
Yeon-woo infused an Aura Blade into the handle of White. Pouring through Hanchul, the Aura Blade slowly began to manifest atop the empty handle, forming a blade.
It was a sword made purely of aura. Without any loss in power, it was the essence of destructive force.
An extraordinary light sword only an Aura Master could wield, completed beyond merely encircling one’s body with Aura.
[W-What’s good about that!?]
[I’m curious!! It looks cool!!]
As the golden blade grew above the pure white handle, Shar and Tae-oh asked with excitement in their voices. Yeon-woo grinned as he tightened his grip on the handle. I could sum it up in one statement.
“It’s presumed to be powerful enough to make one’s guts spill out…”
The reason it was just presumed was that it’s challenging to materialize physically. Even wrapping aura around one’s body incurs losses; few dare create a weapon using a solid piece of top-tier Hanchul without any loss.
In my mind, only the two owners of the Ice White Divine Armor, which holds value beyond even a solid Hanchul weapon, would accurately gauge this thing’s true power.
In essence, this was a mad weapon encapsulating a man’s dreams, a BFG-level crazy weapon. I’m relieved I could entrust my weapon to Pillar…!!
With tears of a man streaming down his face, Yeon-woo swung his sword. And then, there was light. The shell of darkness surrounding him began to crack. Simultaneously, something started to become visible.
“Y-Yeon-woo… Thank goodness─.”
Boom! Baek In-hwa’s body burst forth, and.
Yeon-woo smiled slyly.
“Do you really think the same trick would work twice!?”
Clang!! He smashed through the shell and shattered the illusion, crossing over the final thin layer.
Of course, he thought he’d escaped the hallucination, but inserting a realistically crafted illusion at that timing? Had it not been him, he might have been ensnared.
*
[…You caught on to that already? Impressive.]
Seeing Yeon-woo slowly rising, the Chaos of Confusion purely admired him. Yeon-woo glared at the Demon King with a sharp gaze. Hmm, exhilarating. That gaze of hatred is thrilling.
“Hoho, awoken, are you, Hero!!”
“Been asleep for quite a while.”
As Yeon-woo replied, Kargos and Baek In-hwa spoke to him. Why are they here? I thought, but it wouldn’t be polite to question those who came with difficulty.
Both were covered in blood. This space was made of the Demon King’s flesh, mixed with his blood, but more significantly, the blood flowing from them was considerable as well.
Though Kargos, with his superior stamina and regeneration, seemed fine, Baek In-hwa’s blood loss was alarming.
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Sure, I didn’t expect to hear anything other than that. Far more productive to quickly take care of the Demon King than ask that.
“I came to keep my promise to assist against the Demon King. Now, let’s fight together, Hero! Until my life burns out completely!”
That’s the kind of notion where even after killing the Demon King, he’d still want to fight. That’s some serious determination.
“No reason to decline. Have you been polishing your neck, Demon King?”
[Ugh, if I had known it would be like this, I should have prepared my consciousness a bit more carefully.]
The Demon King shook his head in distress. The power he could muster now was barely half of his original body. If he retreated like this, no matter how he returned to his core, he wouldn’t be able to interfere with the Earth for a while. That was something he disliked.
[Alright, then let’s fight.]
Well, it was fun, so I guess that’s okay? The Chaos of Confusion thought as he rose from the throne. The world within their gaze grotesquely wriggled.
(To be continued in the next installment)