Ch.391Sorcery (5)

There’s a thing called lucid dreaming. It’s when you dream while being aware that you’re dreaming.

In other words, it means knowing that the situation unfolding before you is all a dream and not happening in reality.

The reason I’m saying this is because I was having a lucid dream just now.

Since my reincarnation, I’ve always slept so soundly that I haven’t even had dreams, let alone lucid ones. But for some unknown reason, an unfamiliar scene was now spread out before my eyes.

The setting was generally dark and resembled a temple. Five statues that seemed to be guarding the center were erected here and there, and uniquely, they had wings and horns.

Wings and horns that only demons could possess. Moreover, each demon statue had drastically different appearances.

Even just looking at the horns, some had straight ones pointing upward like Cecilly’s, while others had curly ones like Gartz Balack’s, resembling a sheep’s.

The genders were also widely distributed, and they were so elaborate that it seemed as if they had been crafted after seeing the real thing.

And in the center that they were guarding stood a much larger statue.

Reminiscent of Cthulhu, it had tentacles on its mouth and was far more massive than the other statues.

It had a liveliness that made it seem like it could come alive at any moment, just like the other statues. I could understand the demons, but who was this supposed to represent?

“Cough! Cough! Keurgh……”

While I was blankly observing the lifelike statues, the sound of someone’s rough coughing reached my ears.

The coughing came from directly below me. I stopped looking around at the statues and shifted my gaze downward.

“Uh……”

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded by the horrific scene that met my eyes.

A battlefield reeking of blood. There was no other way to describe it.

A man was lying beneath what appeared to be an altar, covered in blood and breathing heavily.

Whether it was because of the blood or if he had always been that way, the man had fiery red hair.

A hairstyle reminiscent of a lion and a physique that could only be described as enormous.

Though his life was fading, his eyes, barely open due to the blood, still shone with determination.

Puak!

With one cough, the red-haired man spat out a bowl’s worth of blood. As evident from his coughing up blood, his condition was extremely serious.

Various weapons, including swords, were stuck in his body like skewers, and his right arm was completely gone.

It wasn’t even cleanly severed; it looked as if someone had forcibly torn it off. There were clear traces as if paper had been torn, and even the bone was visible.

Despite this, he still firmly gripped a massive double-bladed axe in his left hand. However, even his axe wasn’t intact; one of its blades was broken.

Injuries so severe that it wouldn’t be strange if he died right away. I saw the scene but took no action.

No, I couldn’t take any action. I was too preoccupied with observing the horrific scene surrounding the man.

‘My goodness……’

It was a scene that made my mouth drop open involuntarily. The number of corpses visible was five, the same as the number of statues.

First, there were two demons who had either activated demonization or had much larger horns than ordinary demons, with demon wings spread out.

One had his head chopped by an axe, causing brain matter to flow out, while the other had his upper and lower body separated, creating a party of internal organs.

These two were relatively better off. The other three were so horrific that the word “terrible” was insufficient to describe them.

One corpse had all four limbs torn off. Another was split from top to bottom like firewood.

And the last one… its face was not just caved in but hollowed out like a sinkhole, as if it had been beaten to death with bare hands.

Surprisingly, the corpse with the hollowed face was an elf. Though its ears had been cut off and were rolling on the floor, it was definitely an elf.

Anyway, none of the corpses had died peacefully. The dying man was in the best condition by comparison.

In other words, the man had killed all of them.

“Ugh……”

“Eehik?!”

Wasn’t it dead? I couldn’t help but exclaim when the elf with the hollowed face let out a groan.

Though its face was so disfigured above the mouth that its form was unrecognizable, it still had consciousness. With that level of damage, its brain should have been mush, so how was it maintaining consciousness?

It’s fortunate this is a dream; if I had seen this in reality, I would have immediately vomited everything in my stomach.

“I don’t…… understand……”

And it even speaks. There’s no horror like this horror.

I backed away cautiously when the half-corpse elf spoke. I couldn’t comprehend what kind of life force it possessed.

Meanwhile, the elf, seemingly exerting all its strength, spoke in a dying voice.

“Why…… Why go this far……”

Apart from the elf and the red-haired man, there was no one else alive. In other words, that question was directed at the red-haired man.

“……Why aren’t you dead yet?”

To this, the red-haired man replied curtly. His voice lacked any vitality, as if he too sensed his impending death.

A voice that conveyed conflicting emotions of both emptiness and satisfaction.

“No one…… will remember you…… for this……”

“… …”

“It’s just…… a bit delayed…… with you gone…… our victory…… hehehe……”

I’ve never seen someone whose mouth corners stretch to their ears in real life. With that appearance and letting out an eerie laugh, it sent shivers down my spine even though it was a dream.

The red-haired man, after hearing this, thought for a moment and slowly raised his head.

What he saw, leaning against the altar, was a single lamp placed on the ceiling.

That lamp, too, was maintained by magic and was destined to go out someday.

“I know.”

The man calmly answered the elf’s question. Then, as if reminiscing about the past, he continued wistfully.

“As you said…… Kuluk!”

The man spat out another handful of blood. Judging by his dimming eyes, he didn’t have much time left.

“……We’ve lost. Probably few people know of your existence, and even if they do, they won’t tell. They’ve seen our defeat with their own eyes.”

“Then why…… Don’t tell me your descendants……”

“No. That child knows nothing. I didn’t tell them. Starting from that child, they’ll rise to the light.”

The child the red-haired man mentioned. For some reason, my father came to mind. Looking closely now, the man had many similarities to my father.

The thick build, the fiery red hair, and finally, the golden eyes.

While I was tilting my head at the appearance that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar, the man took a deep breath and exhaled.

A breath of relief, as if putting an end to a task. He slowly closed his eyes and quietly murmured.

“Our ‘duty’ ends here.”

“A hero…… with a miserable end…… whom no one…… acknowledges…… whom no one…… seeks……”

The elf, now almost at its last breath, with its voice gradually diminishing, managed to finish its question with all its might.

“Even you…… fade away…… without knowing the truth…… it’s lamentable……”

“… …”

“Father of All Things…… I’ll soon be there too…… Keuik.”

The elf died after leaving behind incomprehensible words. The man looked at the elf’s death and then shifted his gaze back to the ceiling.

A serene silence contrasting with the cruel carnage. Sorrowful eyes contrasting with the robust physique.

The man looked at the ceiling for a while and then slowly closed his eyes. And like a child falling asleep, he murmured softly.

“Nameless soul who has come here……”

“… …”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop it.”

A heroic spirit that sacrifices for others until the end and honors those who have been sacrificed.

But all of it would be blown away by the wind and disappear. For no one would remember.

“God. Please……”

“… …”

“Watch over that soul……”

With those words.

Flash!

An intense light filled the surroundings with brightness.

******

“… …”

Waking from sleep, I blinked and looked at the dark ceiling. I had just woken up, but my mind was clear without any drowsy feeling.

And that dream I just had. What was its identity?

Usually, when you wake up, you forget most of the dream’s content, but not this time. Instead, it was vividly imprinted in my mind.

Swoosh-

In my bewilderment, I carefully raised my body. As I did, I sensed a presence beside me.

Looking to the side, I saw Ariel sound asleep, firmly holding onto my arm.

Unless I spend the night with women, she usually sleeps in my bed. Today was one such day.

But unlike other times, I had a lucid dream. A dream that seemed related to the final moments of my grandfather, Clark.

Judging by the timing, it might have been when my soul had just crossed over to this place. Thinking hard, that seems about right.

‘A hero whom no one acknowledges……’

It’s truly a fitting description. I can also understand why the red-haired hero didn’t appear.

But ironically, as Clark himself gave up being a hero, the glory of the Mayshall family began.

Additionally, Clark, in preparation for any contingency, ruined the summoning ritual and slaughtered all the top officials.

Perhaps because it was such an impressive dream. I reached for the drawer of the bed. I always keep a notebook and a magic pen in the drawer.

Scratch- Scratch-

I jotted down a brief memo in the notebook. The content of the memo is honestly nothing special. It’s about a side story.

In terms of my previous life, it’s one of the most common clichés, but it’s closely related to the dream I just had.

‘The title…… “The Hero Who Passed By.” Let’s go with that.’

This should do. I closed the notebook and looked out the window.

The sky adorned with stars was so beautiful that the expression “beautiful” was not at all inadequate.

‘Should I make Xenon the descendant of the side story’s protagonist?’

That sounds good.

After that, morning came……

“Where are you going?”

“To the temple. Luminus told me to go there…”

Kate came looking for me, saying she was going to the temple.