Ch.13747. The Phoenix Clan (1)

I recalled. That terrible ill-fated connection with the red dragon.

However, I had no time to organize those resurfaced memories. The red dragon, resembling an Eastern dragon more than a Western one, began spewing fire.

“Everyone, attack that red dragon!”

At a commander’s shout, soldiers grabbed their weapons.

KYAAAAAAAH-

But the soldiers froze in place at the horrifying scream the red dragon let out.

Seohwa and I were merely observers without physical form in this memory.

Yet the deadly killing intent emanating from that red dragon was enough to make my entire body break out in goosebumps.

‘This level is far higher than Krosel’s magical energy when he was summoned.’

It felt several, no, dozens of times stronger. Seohwa, who was nestled in my arms, spoke.

“That red dragon is Gaga’s… an evil incarnate that my clan has long fought and sealed away. But the red dragon in this memory was the most wicked and dangerous of those evil incarnates that had been resurrected.”

“If it’s an evil incarnate… then it must be connected to the evil god trying to resurrect in the current Earth…”

“Yes. They are the same entity. The very red dragon that Gaga defeated has been resurrected as an evil god.”

The conversation between the two of us paused. A moment later, warriors wearing more elaborate armor appeared. They engaged in battle against the red dragon.

‘Are those glowing weapons using mana or aura?’

Unlike the ordinary soldiers from earlier, they did not retreat when facing the red dragon.

But even they were neutralized by the crimson flames the red dragon breathed out. Over a hundred warriors fought against the red dragon, but it was all in vain.

That’s when it happened. A resonant voice filled the castle.

“Everyone retreat and regroup! We will handle this red dragon!”

It was a young man’s voice. And the moment the warriors saw him, their expressions brightened.

“It’s the warriors of the Vermilion Bird Division! The Vermilion Bird clan has arrived!”

“Yoo Jahyun! The Vermilion Spear, Yoo Jahyun is here!”

Instinctively, I followed the man’s face. An unfamiliar figure. A young man who appeared slightly older than me.

The very man I had seen in my unconscious memories. The man who had met his death by Seohwa’s side.

‘So that man’s name is Yoo Jahyun.’

And I sensed it. Though he looked completely different from me, a handsome man, I knew who he was. Seohwa spoke as if reading my thoughts.

“That person is Yoo Jahyun. The head of the clan that serves the sacred fire of the Vermilion Bird. And my lover in my past life… and also…”

“……”

“He is Gaga from my past life.”

It was as I had suspected. That man called Yoo Jahyun was my past life. Just as Hong-ok’s past life was Ju Seohwa thousands of years ago.

I, Min-soo Lee’s soul—my soul’s past life was that Yoo Jahyun.

‘Then I wasn’t just a minor character after all.’

The contradiction that I, who had possessed a minor character in Aka Hunter, was actually a figure who existed thousands of years before the present time of that novel.

But I could clearly tell. Yoo Jahyun was undoubtedly my past life.

Rather than pondering that contradiction immediately, I observed Yoo Jahyun. Beside him was a red-haired priestess. I could see Seohwa from the memory casting a blessing on him.

And soon, Yoo Jahyun leaped into the air.

GROOOOOAR-

The red dragon spotted Yoo Jahyun. Even without directly meeting its ferocious gaze, it was enough to make my skin crawl, but Yoo Jahyun did not avoid that gaze.

Instead, he engaged directly in battle against the red dragon.

“The sacred fire of the Vermilion Bird…?”

And Yoo Jahyun’s body began to burn. Simultaneously, a spear of blue flames formed in his hand.

That spear penetrated the armor-like scales of the red dragon.

KYAAK!!

A terrible scream echoed through the air. But the red dragon’s momentum did not diminish.

‘If he can fight like that, he must be at least Five Heavenly Stars level. As expected, the red dragon is…’

Thus, the two beings entered into full-scale combat.

Even I, who had grown almost weary of battles between hunters and monsters, witnessed a mythical and fierce battle unfolding before my eyes like nothing I had ever seen before.

Finally, that intense battle concluded only after daybreak.

***

After the battle in the memory ended, Seohwa and I returned to the initial field.

There was an abandoned house with no people, so we borrowed the place briefly. Seohwa, seemingly exhausted, lay down beside me and quickly fell asleep.

I absentmindedly played with her long red hair while calmly organizing my thoughts.

‘I can’t know everything for certain yet, but I need to establish some hypotheses.’

I, a possessor in a novel. And the person I possessed, Min-soo Lee. I needed to clarify these two existences.

And I reached a conclusion. While it’s true that I possessed this world, the “me” before possession was also Min-soo Lee, not a separate person. There’s sufficient evidence for this.

‘That’s the only way to explain Yoo Jahyun as my past life.’

I don’t have memories from before the possession. No, if there’s any memory that exists, it’s only of the original “Aka Hunter.”

Who I was before possessing Min-soo Lee. What kind of life I led. Whether the place I was before possession was truly the modern Earth. I have no memory of any of it.

All the past I remember is entirely Min-soo’s past. So now, I am in a state of perfect assimilation with Min-soo.

‘So while my memories might have been erased or overwritten by Min-soo’s…’

But rather than thinking that way, it was more convincing to believe that I was Min-soo from the beginning.

Because of Yoo Jahyun, my past life.

Due to the special space of the Mythology Church’s temple, and because this space is closer to the mind than the body, I could be certain that Yoo Jahyun was my past life.

Regardless of bodily memories, the instinct engraved in my soul, and the memories with Seohwa, confirmed that Yoo Jahyun was definitely my past life.

‘It’s complicated, but to summarize…’

In the end, there’s only one thing that can explain all these contradictions. Parallel worlds.

So I first assumed that fact, along with my memories as a possessor and the memories of the original Aka Hunter, to be true.

If so, there would be three possible parallel worlds.

First, world A where I existed before possession. In fact, I was Min-soo Lee in that world too. In that state, I possessed Min-soo Lee in a parallel world B.

That world B is the world of the novel and the current reality.

And there exists another parallel world, world C. That world is the source that made world B seem like a fictional world, namely the original Aka Hunter.

So world C might not be a parallel world but an actual novel, but I assumed that the original Aka Hunter was also a parallel world.

That’s the only way to definitively speak about the existence of world B, the current reality.

‘Anyway, thinking most simply, these three worlds must exist.’

Of course, considering the definite evidence that made me think of parallel worlds, the number of possible worlds could be even greater.

That evidence is the unconscious memories. Yuri, Soso, Arini, and the memories with Seohwa that I clearly have but have never experienced.

If all those memories and connections aren’t delusions, if they’re facts, they can only be explained by parallel worlds or regression.

To summarize again:

I’ve lived in world B for five years, having lost memories of world A, possessing only the memories of world C, the original Aka Hunter where Siwoo is the protagonist.

So even if parallel worlds A and C exist, I was ultimately Min-soo Lee living the reality of world B.

And the current world B is facing destruction due to the resurrection of an evil god.

‘Even if it’s this complicated, what I need to do is already determined.’

To prevent that destruction.

If parallel worlds exist as per my hypothesis, and if I’m possibly regressing in this world B,

Even if this world is destroyed, I might be able to regress to the beginning again. But I immediately denied that possibility.

‘The Sacred Fire of Parma has stated that it must prevent the current destruction.’

The Sacred Fire of Parma is a holy relic of the White Cross Society. So that sacred flame contains the will of Ayel, the god of this world.

The will of that sacred fire was giving me a definitive answer that there wouldn’t be a second chance. I decided to stop thinking about parallel worlds and regression now.

‘There’s something I need to do first in this space and memory.’

I lay down next to the sleeping Seohwa. Right now, we’re in the memories of long ago with Seohwa.

Ailethan before the dimensional fusion. And the Eastern Empire that perished thousands of years ago even in that Ailethan. In these memories, I needed to learn all the truths about my past life.

And about the truth of the red dragon, that evil god.

But I soon couldn’t resist the oncoming sleep and fell asleep.

***

I woke up from my sleep.

Looking around, it was still the same house where I had fallen asleep. I soon felt a soft sensation at the back of my head.

“Gaga, are you awake?”

Opening my eyes, I saw Seohwa’s face. It seemed I had been using her thigh as a pillow.

“Hong-ok, no, Seohwa. I’m sorry for being rude…”

“No! You can… you can stay like this longer if you want. I actually like it!”

Seohwa’s expression was bright. She seemed genuinely happy, as she said.

“When we return to reality… I won’t be able to feel and touch Gaga like this.”

And soon her gaze turned wistful. Her red eyes looked pitiful yet incredibly beautiful.

I unconsciously raised my body. Before Seohwa could express disappointment at our bodies separating, I pulled her into my embrace.

“Gaga…”

And I patted her back as she nestled into my arms. All these actions felt natural.

This space, this space reflecting past life memories, seemed to have awakened the emotions of that past life as well.

I felt like spending a long time alone with her like this.

Seohwa, as Hong-ok, had been substituting for my mana heart.

Just as Seohwa wanted to feel me, I too, who had always felt her will and emotions through the mana heart, might have wanted to feel the materialized Seohwa more deeply.

My body moved with those emotions. One hand on the back of her neck, the other around her waist, I kissed Seohwa.

“Mmph… mmm… haa…”

The warmth of her tongue felt loving and warm. For a moment, I felt the urge to know more about her, but I barely suppressed it.

‘This could get a bit dangerous if we continue.’

After all, I didn’t come here to leisurely share intimacy with Seohwa. I pulled my lips away from hers. Her eyes had become dreamy.

“If Gaga wishes, we could continue…”

It was truly hard to resist that seductive gaze, but I stood up from my seat. I extended my hand to Seohwa.

“Seohwa, I’d like to spend more time with you, but since we don’t know how long this space will last, we should move now.”

“…… I understand.”

Though she seemed very disappointed, Seohwa obediently followed my words. She took my hand and stood up.

Outside the house, it was midday.

I decided to re-enter that massive castle with Seohwa.

“And Seohwa, I have something to ask you.”

Seohwa, who was walking hand in hand with me, looked at me. I continued.

“About me. No, about my past life. Could you tell me in detail about that man called Yoo Jahyun?”

At those words, Seohwa nodded.