Chapter 356: Nightmare (3)

Come to my breast, ruthless soul.

Adorable wolf, indifferent monster.

— From The Flowers of Evil

***

My upper lip burned.

Drip, drip.

Blood from my nose dripped onto the floor.

My vision was completely red.

The pressure in my eyes had surged so suddenly, it felt like they were about to pop out.

In the end, even tears of blood began to flow.

“…It hurts because you’re denying yourself, Fenrir.”

Chaerina, meanwhile, had moved behind me and continued whispering.

She stroked my jaw with her delicate fingers. A scent of perfumed oil reached my nose.

“How could you possibly be free of evil? A change of attribute can’t prevent the Suppression.”

“Then what am I supposed to do…?”

“I’ve been telling you all along. You just have to accept yourself. Acknowledge that you are an apostle of destruction, that you are the Demon King of this world. Only then can this world be free.”

“……”

Chaerina leaned just her head onto my shoulder. Her glossy black hair cast a shadow over my forehead.

I raised my gaze slightly. Chaerina’s face had changed.

From girl to woman in an instant.

Now she stood a head taller than me—in the dream, I had the body of a fourteen-year-old boy.

She was painfully beautiful. That must have been her face in a past life.

Not surprising, since I too had taken on the appearance from my previous life.

Chaerina, in both her past and current life, had barely changed physically.

Maybe ten years younger, at most. Then she said.

“If you still can’t bear it, then come with me, Fenrir. I saw when you fought against the apostle of Conquest. And after seeing that, my thinking changed a bit. You are… more than I ever imagined.”

How ridiculous.

Zzzing, bang!

Before the shiver ran down my spine, Chaerina was hurled to the end of the hallway as if smashed.

The red-stained landscape trembled with the sound of footsteps. I came back to my senses.

Chaerina peeled off the wall like a red sticker.

She frowned, visibly annoyed.

“Again… you interfere again.”

“Wow, I really can’t let my guard down for even a second.”

In front of Chaerina appeared a woman.

Half wrapped in moonlight, half in shadows.

Chaerina shouted at her with hostility.

“You were the contradiction from the beginning.”

“The serpent that devours itself, Jörmungandr. Isn’t that contradiction? At least I’m true to my identity. Unlike you.”

The woman stopped a cautious distance from me.

I blinked several times, my eyelids sticky with blood.

Her way of speaking, her relaxed gait, the slightly crooked gesture of her lips—it was unmistakable. Saint Yu Sein.

But her face—

Yu Sein cast me a quick glance, seeing my confusion, and then smiled with a mocking smirk.

“Too beautiful, is that what’s got you stunned?”

“I don’t think that’s the issue…”

It made sense…

“Why are there two Chaerinas?”

They looked more like twins than actual identical twins.

It was as if I had become a mirror between them.

“Let’s get one thing straight. I’m the original. She based her version on me.”

Chaerina shot daggers at Yu Sein.

The hostility felt like a slap against a windowpane.

But she only stared. She didn’t deny the claim.

Deep down, she was oddly honest.

“There were so many things I wanted to say, but now they’ve all reduced.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That I have so many questions, I can’t even summarize them anymore.”

“Idiot.”

Yu Sein ruffled my hair roughly. It was a strange sensation.

That she, barely reaching my chest, patted my head so casually.

And at the same time, I felt it.

The small black seed that had sprouted inside me pulsed once and then shrank noticeably.

“I’m not going to explain what’s happening. That whole realism-of-coherence thing or whatever it’s called.”

“Ah.”

“The rest is on you, Yu Sein. You’ll handle the cleanup.”

“Of course.”

“And this moment will also vanish from your mind like a dream.”

“But it’ll remain in your subconscious.”

Yu Sein stepped forward and stood before me.

Then she extended a hand behind her, as if trying to hold me back.

Despite the haze around her figure, her waist looked firm.

“Hel planted the seed of evil in you when she showed you that vision. That was the point of connection. And the incident at the center, where you faced the apocalypse directly, was the perfect fertilizer for that seed.”

I felt my head clearing. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and stood up.

“Do I have to cut something?”

I asked.

“The one you have to cut isn’t Chaerina. It’s the evil within you. Like I’ve said many times, Chaerina is someone absolutely necessary in preparing for the end.”

Then Chaerina roared, lunging at me with both arms outstretched.

“In this form, I will cut you!”

But she was stopped by Yu Sein’s barrier.

Yu Sein held the barrier with one hand and reinforced it with the other.

Though she struggled against the force, she was slowly being pushed back.

“Kang Geom-Ma!”

Yu Sein spoke through clenched teeth, her lips tight.

“You know how to cut, right? Then cut through this absurd nightmare already!”

She shouted at me.

“And go back to where your family is, you damned womanizer—!!”

“…Womanizer?”

“Hey! Do you know how many people in this world envy you? And there you are, drowning in melancholy!”

“But…”

I… the sword…

A deafening flash shot down my spine.

With a look of revelation, a bead of sweat slid down Yu Sein’s clothes and pooled in the folds.

“Do you think the mental world is just a dream?”

“……”

I bit my trembling lips hard. I closed my eyes.

My personal hell began to rise, distorted.

Forge it, Kang Geom-Ma.

‘The place where you can be most serene.’

The sword lake.

Feeling like I was on a perfectly clear surface of water, my mind cleared.

Thus, my mental world touched the lake.

Shaaaaaa!

Amid the crossfire, the sound of water echoed.

The hallway began to flood.

Yu Sein smiled, while Chaerina scowled.

The contrast of expressions on the same face taught me that even beauty can be used in different ways.

Splash, splash.

The water rose to our knees. I lowered my head.

The surface reflected scenes from the past.

In the long hallway windows, an endless apocalypse was projected.

In contrast, the water showed memories of me laughing, chatting, attending classes… Every time a ripple formed, the scene changed.

It was strange. Watching from outside, I realized that I, too, could express emotions. I had thought others saw me as cold and cynical.

Whoooooosh.

A strong gust hit me in the face. The center of gravity tilted toward Chaerina.

As she had said, this was the hell of my emotions. It was natural for her to be stronger here.

But what would happen if I used the power of numbers? In the end, nothing can withstand an avalanche—except me.

I extended my palm forward.

The bubble burst, and a sashimi appeared in my hand.

That’s how it all began.

[You have manifested the Blessing of Divine Strength.]

Each of my happy moments was a [Blessing of Strength]. With this blessing, compressing time into a single instant, memories floated to the surface of the water.

My memories, those of Kang Geom-Ma, disintegrated into golden particles.

Then they regrouped. They took the shape of sashimi.

Drop, drop.

The ripples spread countless times.

Ever since I arrived in the world of Miracle Blessing M, I had lived a life full of miracles.

Those memories took form and emerged with real weight.

Slash.

A line drew itself across the hallway window.

In a single moment, the landscape began to slide, slipping slowly like a falling painting.

The cutting line didn’t stop; with just a touch of my sword, I fragmented this world completely.

Chaerina looked perplexed. Because in an instant, my hell had been “purified.” She hadn’t expected me to overcome it so quickly.

She looked around as if searching for something.

But she was already trapped in a cage of swords.

Thousands of sashimis pointed at her from every direction like a magical net.

“W-what is this…?”

My personal domain had turned my repugnant past into a weapon.

Or rather, I had shredded it. Call it what you want. The important thing is I transformed that hell of a past—

—into sashimi.

Ding, ding, ding.

For some reason, a school bell rang. Maybe it was a leftover I hadn’t fully cut.

Perhaps the sound broke the tension, because Yu Sein deactivated the barrier.

From the moment Chaerina was trapped between blades, she was out of the fight.

I approached. Gently touched Yu Sein’s shoulder, and she said to me,

“You really know how to take the initiative.”

“And when else, if not now?”

We both let out a soft chuckle as we looked at each other. Chaerina tried to shout something, but Yu Sein ignored her and spoke to me.

“Don’t kill her.”

“She won’t die. I turned this whole space into a subspace.”

“What…?”

I pressed my thumb and middle finger together, explaining.

“I’ve been thinking about why Chaerina can create these illusionary spaces so easily. I think it’s because magic flows through her body, allowing her to infiltrate my dreams or inner world.”

“Sounds convincing.”

“You know how Balor Joaquin created a subspace at the academy. He overlaid magic and blessing to open a rift, then expanded the space using his blessing.”

All those conditions matched my powers. In short, there’s no reason I can’t do it. Yu Sein let out an incredulous laugh.

“Kang Geom-Ma, since when are you the thinking type? You were the deadly Sashimi! You always acted before thinking—sword first.”

“I’m an adult now.”

Snap—I clicked my fingers.

“Now I think before using the sword.”

From a corner, the sashimis activated. The red water that targeted my weak spot, my Achilles heel, began to extend its domain.

I didn’t look away. Because I could understand the situation just by seeing Yu Sein’s expression.

“This idiot… Once he draws his sword, there’s no stopping him… He’s always lived up to his name—for better or worse…”

My training had something divine about it. And my learning was outstanding.

From now on—

“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”

…I will be Chaerina’s worst nightmare.

“Kang Geom-Ma.”

That’s how I made the flower of evil bloom.

***

== ==

[First Trial Cleared!]

[Reward Acquired: Flower of Evil]

– Imbues the Blessing of the Sword God with the nature of evil. The range and power of the Cutting Domain increase significantly. Additionally, the internal energy consumption is reduced. Since this energy is based on the bonds and humanity you’ve cultivated, the drain on your Benevolence Level slows down.

– With this achievement, you may be reborn as a True God or a God of Desire without losing your humanity. It will no longer be necessary to limit your power to a one-minute span.

You can free yourself from the shackles of self-restraint.

== ==

[Sick to Death of □□□ (1/4)]

[Final Reward: (???)]

== ==

***

Two days have passed since I woke from the nightmare.

Before I get into the details, let me tell you about that moment.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Ryozo and Abel with my head resting on their laps (that thing they call a “lap pillow”) and a look of distress on their faces. I really am one lucky bastard.

According to them, I had been groaning all night in my sleep.

It was an even-numbered day, so it was Abel’s turn to be with me, but even so, she called Ryozo so they could check my condition together.

They examined me from head to toe.

In any case, the midnight nightmare vanished like smoke in the wind.

And thanks to their devoted care, I recovered my physical condition in just half a day.

That’s why I went out for a morning walk today.

Originally, I was supposed to attend a ceremony with my exchange group, where participants would be called one by one to receive rewards.

‘It’s not like I can’t participate, honestly.’

Anyway, both Ryozo and Abel were ridiculously concerned about my health.

If they heard something was good for the body, they’d buy it no matter the price—mulberry wine, eel, you name it.

‘Their repertoire is… unique.’

While thinking this and wandering aimlessly, I ended up near the academy’s rear exit.

But even if I went outside, I had nothing in particular to do, so I turned around to head back.

“You’re hard to catch, you know?”

In that instant, a soft voice brushed my earlobe.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

It was Ryozo’s half-sister.

Saki Hina winked at me with a charming expression.

Even though she was Japan’s Prime Minister, she relaxed her formality a bit when speaking to me.