1320 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

As I steeled myself with the thought of returning home, my first action was nothing noteworthy. "I'll return to the main camp first." There was no need to go back to gather forces or assess the situation. Such luxuries and reasons had long since vanished. I glanced at mother, bound in a state of trance. "……." I didn’t know what she had expected from me. Thus, I wanted to ask. "Mother." Did you truly wish for me to become a calamity? If not, then why do you continue to steer me toward that path? Or perhaps... "Even if it was barely done." Am I destined to head toward my fate in the end? Regardless of what it might be, there was no one here now to answer these questions or provide clarity. No, perhaps I had already heard the answer. I just chose to ignore it. "Muah." I ran my hand over the wood. The rough texture felt no different from any other tree. The World Tree, once called that. Whatever might have resembled the sacred tree I had seen had long lost its size and presence. "Muah." I called out again. No response was likely to come. "……." I grimaced. Was it a futile hope after all? "It seems there's still consciousness." Recalling how Muah had stirred the winds, granting father's permission, I figured there might still be some awareness left in Muah. But the lack of response could only mean either it couldn't answer or chose not to. "Tsk." I clicked my tongue shortly. It was then that I heard Tolly, who had been accompanying me. "Are we going home now?" With wide, eager eyes, Tolly asked, and I nodded. "Yeah. We should go." "Ooh... Oooooh!" His bright response drew a sigh from me. Tolly looked endlessly cheerful, oblivious to my inner turmoil. I passed Muah, taking Tolly with me. Outside, the Dark King was waiting for me. "You've-" The Dark King, who had been starting to speak upon seeing me, suddenly stopped as his expression changed upon seeing Tolly. "……What is it you're carrying?" "Can't you tell by looking? It's a child." "A child?" "Yes. As you can see..." "You’re spouting nonsense." The Dark King appeared on high alert. Tolly, noticing the reaction, looked puzzled. "Why is that man acting like that?" I almost wanted to ask the same thing. "You’re holding something strange… Where'd you pick something more dragon-like than you?" "I didn't pick it up. It sort of just fell into place." "What do you mean by that?" "Anyways… Dark King. Could you help me out?" "What?" "I seem to need to head to your main camp. Before I do." Since the Dark King didn't know the way to the camp, asking him to lead was unreasonable. "I have someone I need to bring along." Thus, it made sense to prepare the right personnel. Of course, the personnel involved were... 'Only one person.' Just one and no more. * * * "……What’s going on here?" Upon arrival, I immediately sought out Hyun Soyeon. After all, the only person I intended to bring was her. She was clearly startled to see me appear abruptly in the middle of the night, especially with a child in tow. "What's this? Who is… is this your sibling?" "……More or less." "……A sibling out of nowhere?" Hyun Soyeon squinted at Tolly. It was hardly believable, this sudden claim of a sibling when the resemblance was uncanny. Tolly’s appearance heavily mirrored my own from childhood, not just by chance. It had imitated me exactly. "Is she awake?" "Oh, no." As I cut her off, she shook her head. "It seems she's still sleeping. There's no movement." "Hmm…" What to do? I contemplated briefly. There were still questions for Namgung Bi-ah. 'Given this situation…' It would be cumbersome to bring her along. Once she awoke, there would be information to gather and help to seek, but it was uncertain when she’d wake up. "Understood. I’ll come back later then." "You're leaving just like that?" "Yes. It's a bit urgent. Should she wake… hmm." How should I phrase it? I wasn’t sure. "……Just tell her to rest when she wakes." There was nothing more to add. Leaving that message, I headed back to the Dark King. "Let's go." "Where to?" "Please lead us toward your main camp. The distance is…" I pointed out a rough location. Approaching, the domain of the enchantment would eventually allow me to reverify with my refined senses. Whoosh-! A black aura obscured my vision. As distances warped and positions altered, after several repetitions, "……Stop here, please." The Dark King ceased using his authority upon his request. "Ooh… Ooooh. Amazing." Tolly was enthralled by the ever-changing landscape, his curiosity never sated as he looked around. Leaving him behind, I stopped at a particular spot. "Hmm." I surveyed my surroundings. My honed senses picked up a subtle something. There was an alien feeling to the space. 'Have they set up something again?' The place was the same, but the terrain was different. I could sense a barely visible barrier. 'The energy…' With the energy I possessed, breaking it seemed somewhat difficult. Could I manage if I used it sparingly? As I poised myself, slightly tense, to attempt something, "What is this?" Tolly suddenly reached out his hand. Tsssssssss. "Huh?" "Oh my." The boy extended his small fingers into the air and tore it like paper. Watching this, my eyes widened. '…He just broke the enchantment?' The boy tore away the enchantment. Or rather, did he really break it? It seemed more like he just grabbed and ripped it apart. 'How did he do that?' I watched in amazement. The boy, bewildered, didn’t seem to understand how he did it either. "Wow, I did it." "……." Such an innocent reaction. Astonishingly naive. "Dad! Look at this!" "……Yeah, I’m watching." Regardless of how he did it, he had succeeded. With the newly opened path before me, I proceeded onward. Whoosh. Passing through the entrance, the familiar landscape from before unfolded before my eyes. The Dark King soon followed me inside. "……Hmm." The Dark King let out a low breath. "It's unpleasant." "What do you mean?" "This space feels unpleasant. Can you not sense it?" "Hmm... Not really." I tilted my head in confusion. "Never really felt anything that wasn't unpleasant." "……." I was sincere. Since falling into this world, there hadn’t been a moment without discomfort. If anything, seeing Muah was the closest I came to feeling less unpleasant. "That's the main camp over there." "Where the Sword Queen is?" "Yes." At the peak of the great mountain. That's where the Sword Queen was for sure. As I narrowed my eyes at the thought, "Perhaps that's why. There are many rats around." The Dark King noted. I agreed with that sentiment. "Indeed. There weren't this many last time." Suddenly, I felt numerous gazes around us. Moreover, "They're all apostles. Were there always this many?" "……." The Dark King did not respond, nor did I need him to. I hadn't said it for the Dark King's benefit anyway. "Well, that's convenient." Just as well. "I needed some energy replenishment." The prey had come to me. As that thought crossed my mind, Rumble-!!! I felt presences all around us. Hostility was a bonus. Turning my gaze, I saw apostles with horns and alien tails charging at us. As I was carefully loosening his wrist, preparing for the onslaught. "Let me ask first." The Dark King posed a question. In that moment, a foe's sword thrust towards the Dark King's neck. "Should I kill them?" Unbothered by the attack, the Dark King asked expressionlessly if he should slay them. Was he intending to engage directly? "Please leave a few of them…." Before I could even finish his response. Slit. "I shall." With the Dark King's agreement, the charging apostles' heads were severed. And that wasn't the end of it. Ripppp-!!! The sound of something being shredded echoed all around. "……Crazy." Blood fountains erupted everywhere. Blood spurted from dismembered bodies. I hadn’t even properly sensed when they were cut. Even though my sensitivity had diminished, the speed just now had exceeded my perception. It was powerful. 'He claimed his aura wouldn’t work against them.' Yet the apostles' necks were severed with ease, contrary to the claim that they were a nemesis to warriors. The remains of the apostles thudded to the ground, the earth quickly soaked in blood. It only took a moment for the ground to become drenched. Clink. The Dark King sheathed the sword he had been holding, then spoke to me. "I left some alive." "……Ah, yes." In that blink of an eye, everything had been handled. True to his word, only a few apostles remained, their faces failing to comprehend the recent events. "……Thank you." I expressed gratitude to the Dark King for handling them, as I prepared to move. "Dad." "Hmm?" Tolly called him. What now? "What?" In response, Tolly asked me, "Can I do it too?" "What?" "I'm hungry…." "……What do you mean by 'do it'?" "Food." Tolly's eyes scanned the tense apostles around them. What did he mean by food…? "What are you planning to do…?" I bemusedly queried just as Rumble-!!! Tolly's body transformed. In an instant, he expanded massively, his size swelling. The appearance of his human form had long vanished. Growwwl-. "……Wow." A gigantic beast. Tolly, now twice as large as the last time he had seen him, wrapped in pitch-black scales engulfing the mountain. "……What is that." What had caused him to grow so large…? My eyes widened in shock.