Ch.227Chapter 227: Fog and Flames (1)

My vision blurred.

After experiencing the miracle of regression.

How could my vision not blur when I witnessed with my own eyes the manifestation of that era’s nightmare—a collection of malice that couldn’t be fully described even with the word “nightmare”?

I was flustered.

I had always pictured in my mind how to respond when I eventually faced that nightmare from that time.

But I never predicted it would happen now, earlier than I remembered, and not in the Central Continent but in the Eastern Continent.

Despite my firm resolve to face it without fear when the time came…

“…”

My slightly parted lips from the shock of seeing this from the window remained open.

I even forgot to move my legs toward the place where the crimson mist—so dark red it reminded one of blood—was rising.

Of course, I soon recalled everything I had forgotten and moved my body.

Why? How?

When I first witnessed that, I kept repeating these two words to myself, and it wasn’t my will that moved my body, which was overwhelmed with confusion at what was unfolding before my eyes.

“What the hell?!”

Unlike me, Excel’s scream was filled with shock at the unprecedented sight before us.

[What are you doing standing there like a statue? We need to go now!]

Paphnir’s voice, who knew as well as I did what that was and that we needed to stop it, rang loudly in my head.

These two voices were what made my body, frozen in shock, move again.

The time between my stunned moment and hearing the sounds that prompted me to move was just an instant.

But if that blood-colored mist meant what I thought it did, wasting even a moment that could barely be called an instant was extremely dangerous.

“I’m going ahead.”

“Hey?! Where are you going?”

“To stop that thing.”

I left behind Excel, who was floundering without knowing how to respond to the situation, and burst through the lodging’s entrance.

I needed to get there and stop that crimson mist before it spread further and became more intense.

Following my urgent thoughts, my body moved so hastily that it created loud footsteps that followed me like a shadow—footsteps I would never make under normal circumstances.

I was concerned that moving so urgently might cause some physical problem.

Fortunately, the imbalance between my hurried steps and body was restored after just a few steps.

My gaze remained fixed on the point where the blood-colored mist was rising.

While thinking I needed to stop that thing, I also belatedly remembered that during my stay in Hyunseong these past few days, making noise at night was forbidden.

But what could I do? Given the situation, where this beautiful city, also known as “the place where the setting moon dwells,” could be reduced to ashes overnight, what did a little noise matter?

As I moved forward, I glanced back to see Excel’s figure growing distant, his expression still confused and uncertain whether he should try to stop me or follow me to that place.

If this were an ordinary emergency, I would have stopped and gone back to grab him by the collar and drag him along, but not now.

No matter how much he was the successor of Keraunos, a legendary divine weapon passed down since the days of the Great Temple.

Against that blood-colored mist filled with malice that would distort a person’s five senses just by measuring it, no amount of self-proclaimed strength would be enough.

The only one who could face that was someone with experience confronting it for a long time.

It was only possible with the will to not break when facing it, supported by the right equipment.

The necessary equipment was armor.

Against a mist that wouldn’t dissipate even when slashed with the sharpest weapons.

Armor with the steadfast power to resist submission even when enveloped by it.

And the person who had all of that was right here…

“Paphnir!!”

It’s me.

With the name of Paphnir called from my lips after a long time, the Ring of Nibelung on my right index finger ignited, wrapping my body in flames as I continued my relentless steps forward.

Unlike the dark red light of the blood-colored mist that seemed to exude the smell of blood just by looking at it.

The bright crimson flames, which seemed to bestow warmth upon everything they encountered, gave my increasingly rapid body the fiery courage to face that malice without retreating.

And the armor imbued with flames intense enough to disperse that mist of malice.

Red Dragon Armor—that’s the name of the armor.

Created by a dragon with immense power who once came close to achieving divinity in dragon form.

Meticulously crafted using its own scales to confront the transcendent beings that had disrupted its life…

[The finest armor there is.]

Ah, bragging again so soon.

I barely managed to suppress the laughter that almost burst out at Paphnir’s voice suddenly cutting through my thoughts, and savored the energy of the flames enveloping my body.

Starting from my feet and eventually completely enveloping even my head, the flames subsided.

‘Please properly support me in this official battle with that finest armor of yours.’

[I don’t answer requests that are painful to even say once, so hurry up and move!]

‘As if I wouldn’t.’

I continued my powerful stride toward where I needed to confront the threat, my body reborn through the baptism of flames.

#

It was an instant.

The speed I achieved by wrapping my well-trained body with battle qi was embarrassingly fast compared to three years ago.

But the steps taken in armor that further enhanced that body were even faster.

I arrived at the place where the whitish mist had been visible from the lodge window in just a few breaths.

In a normal situation, I would have wanted to express satisfaction with the power the Red Dragon Armor had given me.

But as soon as I arrived at the area where the blood-colored mist had expanded its territory and deepened its color in the brief moment it took me to get there…

“Urrrgh…”

“Aaaagh!!”

“H-help me!”

The screams of the elite guards of Hyunseong, who had assessed the situation before me and arrived at the scene, indicated they had already fallen to the malice of the blood-colored mist, leaving no time for such thoughts.

It was utter chaos. These elites among elites, whose individual skills could rival even the Royal Knights guarding the Imperial Palace of Solarium…

“I can’t… I can’t see anything!!”

“Ugh… bleeaargh!!”

“My ears… my ears!! I can’t hear anything!!”

How could I not call it chaos when a glimpse of hell on earth was unfolding as they writhed in pain from their distorted senses?

Of course, even amid this, there were those who remained faithful to their roles while suppressing the pain of their distorted senses.

“Don’t panic! If you envelop your entire body with battle qi, you can withstand this kind of mist!”

The bodyguard who had been following the Moon Emperor like a shadow, protecting him, was a prime example.

I couldn’t help but admire how she rallied the disoriented Imperial Guards with her resounding voice, restoring order to their faltering ranks.

Even though her naturally refined voice didn’t sound threatening despite her deliberate volume.

Seeing the Imperial Guards escaping the malice of the mist by using battle qi to suppress their distorted senses at her command…

I could confirm that she was someone with the influence to command them with a single order, even considering her position as the Moon Emperor’s bodyguard.

Unfortunately, some whose hearing was particularly distorted couldn’t respond to her resounding commands.

But that wasn’t important.

Why?

Because I had seen this and used the flames created by my battle qi to burn away the mist, freeing them from its influence.

Just as Paphnir had assured me it would be one of the few effective methods against this blood-colored mist, the crimson flames made the mist disappear in an instant—so quickly that even “vaporized” would be an inadequate description.

“…ugh…”

“…I’m alive.”

The voices of the Imperial Guards who had been groaning in pain from their distorted senses showed significant relief.

Have we caught a break now?

As I was about to prepare to respond to that thing, feeling relieved that I had saved innocent lives struggling in the blood-colored mist…

“…?”

I felt a strange coolness on the nape of my neck and turned my head.

“Who are you?!”

I could see the Moon Emperor’s bodyguard pointing her beloved weapon at my neck, her voice filled with vigilance.

Behind her, the Imperial Guards ready to swing their weapons at me at her command were just a bonus.

…Oops.

Only then did I recall what I was wearing when I appeared before them, and lightly hit my forehead with my right hand.