Chapter 128: Memory Garden 5
‘This place is...’
Ravenhill, a northern province.
Currently, it was the border area of the Enoa Kingdom facing the Lydia Kingdom.
The stage in which Adakar, Elder Chief of the Golden Dragon Tribe, tested his qualities in the Primordial Forest.
However, the scene was a little different compared to that time.
“You lost a lot of vassals here in the past, right? From the attack of DragonLord Ivanov.”
Aleister said as he faced Woohyuk, pointing upwards. In that direction was a red dragon gliding through the gray sky.
"So, what does that have to do with this?"
“Dragonlord Ivanov grew up in the Talis kingdom, and the Talis Kingdom is just below the Izuna Kingdom. This means that a tragedy like that could happen again if he fully tames the Red Dragon Carnelian.”
Aleister's words were true.
The Eeth continent was divided between the East and the West on the basis of a long isthmus, similar to how the Americas were divided between the south and north.
However, in the West, the Holy Aperian Empire occupied the central area which had a temperate climate, and the rest of the small kingdoms and the principalities were around it.
In the current situation, Woohyuk could be called the leader of the Western Union.
Therefore, there was no choice but to be monitored by the neighboring small kingdoms, but the problem was that if a war was waged against several small kingdoms at the same time, there would be a gap in his defenses.
Ravenhill had become ruins in the past due to this kind of situation.
In particular, in the case of Dragonlord Ivanov, he was able to take advantage of Carnelian and pierce through the gap at any time.
“I also have a golden dragon. It's growing well under Joanna's protection in Blackburn.”
“Well, how long will that dragon continue to follow you? As you may know, when it enters adulthood, the dragon will become very difficult to control.”
“That’s why, I recruited a woman with a natural talent for taming as a vassal. With her help, I could figure out a more efficient way than to torture it and make it submit to me.”
Woohyuk talked openly about his plans.
This was an imaginary world in the first place. Moreover, this conversation was created through his inner feelings, therefore it was better to state the truth instead of hiding it.
"I see.. You have your own plans. Then I won’t mention Logan in Norton, Alice in Enoa, and Marcus in the Yen Principality.”
“The same is true for the Holy Aperian Empire. I have captured the capital, Delpheon before. The Theresian Empire in the East will be occupied by Marcus, so there is no need to argue about it right now.”
“That is true. You were indeed the strongest overlord. But you might want to consider this: I didn't intervene back then. Lady Lilith said you're still going to have a hard time to complete the challenges.”
Previously, Lilith came and also said so to Woohyuk when he had sealed all 72 Demon Kings.
He was pretty good, but was still lacking.
She pointed out that if he wanted to defeat her, he first had to reach the divine thrones.
“Didn’t you say you had no intention of fighting against me?”
“Yes, but I said I would give you trials instead. I originally tried to get rid of you, but I received a revelation from Lady Lilith.”
“I guess you really like Lilith.”
"Hahahahaha! I exist only to preach her gospel! So I have prepared your new trial!”
Aleister laughed like a madman and pointed towards Woohyuk's back.
Woohyuk's expression hardened as he turned his head and looked in the same direction.
‘Things have gotten complicated
Leifina and Lucretia were hanging on the cross.
However, they were quite far away from each other, so he wasn't sure who to rescue first.
As Woohyuk hesitated, Aleister laughed louder.
“Hahahahahahahahaha! This is what you are really afraid of! The challenge of having to choose only one of your two beloved women! What kind of decision are you going to make?”
"Shut up."
Slice!
Verserios was swung and Aleister's head fell to the ground.
However, Aleister did not stop his laughter as his head rolled.
"Oh dear. You don't have the leeway to get angry right now. You do know that cutting me won’t solve the problem, right?”
“..”
As he ignored Aleister who reassembled himself like nothing had happened, Woohyuk stared in the direction of the crosses.
This was obviously all fake.
However, because it was the fear in his heart, he had to overcome it.
Rumble!
Carnelian flew towards the crosses, breathing fire from its mouth.
The range was quite wide, so if left as it is, both women would be burned.
However, both of them were too far from where Woohyuk was, so he had to make a decision quickly.
'I still won't give up.'
He returned to the past to overcome his limits in the first place.
In other words, thinking of solutions that were quite average and normal were meaningless.
So he had to figure out a way to save them all.
“If the dilemma is the problem, I just have to cut it down.”
Just like how Alexander the Great had cut the Gordian knot without releasing it, Woohyuk thought of doing the same thing too.
He spread his abyssal wings and flew towards Ivanov, who controlled Carnelian.
‘I don’t need to face Carnelian if I kill him.'
If he fought a fierce battle against the adult red dragon, he would not be able to save Leifina and Lucretia in time.
historical
As Woohyuk approached, Carnelian turned its head and roared with anger.
“Kraaaaaaahhhhhh!”
A warning.
A strong message telling him not to approach any more.
Overcoming the pain attacking his entire body, Woohyuk lifted Verserios.
Rumble!
As a black vortex swirled around Verserius, his surroundings became dark for an instant.
[Absolute Space].
Woohyuk was being unreasonable and tried expanding the range to where Carnelian was.
'If this is my limit, I will definitely surpass it.'
A world in which infinite growth was possible in the system.
It was believed that the impossible did not exist.
No, even if it existed, he had promised to surpass it.
He couldn’t come this far to give up.
With a strong determination in his mind, Woohyuk stared at the dragon breath flying toward him.
Rumble!
The flame that had turned Ravenhill into ashes.
He would not come out unscathed if it hit directly, but there was no fear in his eyes.
Because this place was already inside his absolute space.
Boom!
The long breath was split into two by Verserios.
Afterwards, Ivanov, who was riding on Carnelian, crashed to the ground with a scream.
He was not able to withstand the shock wave caused by the slash.
Normally, Carnelian's magic would have protected him, but in the abyss, such a trick didn't work.
“Obey me, Carnelian,” said Woohyuk, looking down at Ivanov's crushed appearance.
Then Carnelian began wriggling in the air, as if having a seizure.
“Kraahah! Kiyaahhhhhh!”
Its mind was confused by the death of its owner.
It couldn't accept this situation because it was trained not to live without Ivanov.
“I am now your new owner.”
Woohyuk forced it to obey him so she wouldn't run away.
This was possible because of his absolute space.
In time, Carnelian became silent, and Woohyuk sighed in relief.
Pant pant...
His body was burning and sweat was pouring down his face like rain.
As expected, he had gone over the limits of his mind and body.
He was exhausted as if he would collapse right away, but Woohyuk stepped forward.
Leifina and Lucretia had not been saved yet.
As he exited the absolute space, Aleister spoke with a funny expression.
“You really are a ridiculous existence.”
“.. Will you stop me from saving them?”
“No way. I just impose trials according to revelations. Anyways, the problematic situation is over, so let’s skip the unnecessary details.”
The surroundings turned pitch black instantly.
Woohyuk stabbed Verserios in the ground and leaned on it as he stared at Aleister.
He was an illusion derived from his own imaginary world, but on the other hand, he was a being that fully reflected the real world’s version.
He couldn’t look down on him as he did with Midas, the Phrygian king.
“How much longer will you continue this?”
“Until you exhaust yourself and faint. But it seems like your limit has already been reached...”
Aleister smiled as he pointed at Verserios.
A weapon that greedily absorbed its master's demonic energy.
As a result, Woohyuk was gradually losing his vitality.
“I have to escape from this place.”
“It won’t be so easy. This is a few levels harder than the Elder chief of the golden dragon tribe Adakar’s trial.”
"I won’t rely on luck."
He just had to make the best decisions.
When Woohyuk brandished Verserios again, Aleister clicked his tongue and waved his index finger.
“You can't kill me as you currently are. Haven't you tested it before already?”
“You are not the one that I’m trying to cut.”
Swoosh!
Verserios tore through the air.
Immediately, a black rift appeared in the air and Woohyuk stepped in it.
'Is it over now?'
He had passed more than enough trials.
Angrboda's magic circle wouldn't be able to hold on any longer than this.
He had a lot of work to do in the future, and didn't have time to play around leisurely.
As a new sight entered his eyes, Woohyuk frowned.
‘How annoying.'
Another imaginary world.
This time, it was inside the house where he lived with his family when he was a normal college student.
“Just come with us on the trip, brother. It's not even a real job, so it won’t matter if you don't go to work for a few days, right?”
“..”
It was the day his family died in an airplane accident.
At the time, Woohyuk was busy working in a private company as an intern student even though it was summer vacation.
“Don’t bother your big brother. He has to go to work soon.”
“But Mom..”
“Once you grow up, you shouldn’t play around and work diligently like that. Do you know how difficult it is to get a job these days?”
Woohyuk's family was about to travel to Guam.
As they left through the front door, they waved at Woohyuk.
“I'll buy lots of souvenirs, so look forward to them, alright?"
“Take good care of the house while we’re gone, Woohyuk.”
“Let’s go on a trip together next time.”
Woohyuk stared at their backs without a word.
The front door opened and closed, and a long silence followed.
‘I’m getting tired of this.'
Woohyuk began to ponder as he couldn’t see an end to these situations.
'There’s something missing.'
The reason why he couldn't escape from the imaginary world was mostly because of his internal feelings.
In other words, he is still hesitant to face a certain reality.
As he contemplated, the TV in the living room was turned on and the voice of a female announcer resonated.
“This is breaking news. At 11:30 am today, a Korean airliner heading for Guam exploded for an unknown reason. All the passengers in the plane...”
His family who had just left on the trip were immediately killed.
Originally, there should have been a gap of at least three to four hours, but since this was an imaginary world, such a thing didn’t matter.
Woohyuk stared at the TV, and then raised Verserios again.
Slice!
As the air was torn, a black rift appeared again.
'If I don't know the reason why, I just have to look for the answer myself.'
Although his mind and body had already reached their limits, it was actually better. The more he was in trouble, the better he could find his inner fear.
With a determined look, Woohyuk took a step.