Ch.80Chapter 80. I Want to Become Stronger Too.

Tachia Pailoi.

My feelings toward her could be summarized as gratitude and concern.

From our first meeting, she had done everything with a composed attitude, and above all, she had given me items far too valuable for a novice adventurer free of charge.

Conversely, there must be some reason for giving away such valuable items for free.

“Now, try to repeat after me. Ta.”

That was why I was concerned about the name this child had introduced herself with.

The soul of the Ego Weapon created by her hands might be related to why it used the same name as her.

“Taa~”

“Not ‘taa,’ but ‘ta.’ Let’s try again.”

“Ta~”

“Next is ‘chi,’ and then ‘a.'”

“Chi~ A~”

“Good, now put them together.”

“Tachya~”

“…Yes. Well done.”

Perhaps it’s because she’s still young and her tongue isn’t fully developed, but her speech is inevitably slurred.

However, while she has trouble speaking clearly, she can express herself and, most importantly, understand what I’m saying.

Thanks to that, direct communication like this wasn’t difficult.

“Hmm, then can I call you Pailoi from now on?”

“Pinyoi?”

“Yes, since you have the same name as your mother, I think it would be better to distinguish you by your surname rather than your first name.”

Thinking that we should establish how to address each other if we’re going to be together from now on, I spoke up, but the girl looking at me began shaking her head.

“Nyaa, mama name diffent.”

“…Your mother’s name is different?”

“Diffent.”

Different? What does that mean?

Was this child’s mother not Tachia?

“What is your mother’s name?”

“Tachya Penyoi.”

“And your name?”

“Tachya Pinyoi.”

“…Aren’t they the same?”

“NYAAA! DIFFEEENT!!!”

The little rat child thrashed about in my arms.

Afterward, the girl looked at me with an angry face and spoke with a resolute attitude.

“Mama Tachya Penyoi! Me Tachya Pinyoi. Diffent!”

“O-okay. Yes. They’re different.”

I gently stroked the head of the girl who kept emphasizing her point, and reflecting on what she had said earlier, I drew my own conclusion.

I think I understand now.

In short, the two names have some similarities, but they sound alike because of the pronunciation.

Well, as mother and daughter, they would both use the surname Pailoi, so the last part would be the same.

“Then can I call you Pailoi from now on?”

“Good~ Hehe~”

And so the baby rat in my arms became Pailoi.

I wonder if I should call the weapon Pailoi when using it too.

Ego Weapon Pailoi… not a bad feeling at all.

“Anyway, I’m wondering what to do next.”

After holding Pailoi in my arms, I wanted to explore the abandoned city where I was standing.

While I was aware that this was a dream, everything here felt too vivid to be just a dream.

Even this child, who is actually just a weapon, can communicate here.

It would be unreasonable to think that what happens here has no meaning.

“Hey, Pailoi. Is there anything special around here?”

Thinking there might be a reason I came here, I asked, and Pailoi began pointing to a specific place with a blank stare.

“Dere~”

“…Is there something over there?”

“Yes! O~ver dere~”

Yes, it’s really cute how she points with her small hand. Feeling this, I patted Pailoi’s head and immediately looked in the direction she was pointing.

A massive castle visible above the foggy, barren abandoned city.

Though smaller than the imperial palace, it was still an impressive structure even by modern standards.

Like a grand castle where a king of some royal family would reside.

As I took a step toward that place, which stood out distinctly in this barren land, Pailoi raised both hands and shouted energetically.

“Go~”

“Yes, yes, let’s go~”

Well, since I don’t know what I should be doing until I wake up from this dream, I might as well go check it out.

With that thought, I crossed the city and passed over the drawbridge of the castle, finally arriving at the entrance of the long-abandoned fortress.

Fortunately, getting inside wasn’t difficult. The door was already half-open, so there was no problem passing through even while holding Pailoi.

“Is this where we need to go?”

“Yes! Hurry~!”

Pailoi tugged at the hem of my clothes, urging me on.

Though I felt a chill from the desolation characteristic of an old castle, I thought it didn’t matter since this was just a dream, and I stepped inside.

Yes, whatever awaited me wouldn’t be a problem for my real self.

“Hyoseong, sir.”

That carefree thought was shattered when I encountered a familiar face after stepping inside.

Irie Haven.

The person I consider half a lover.

“Irie, why are you…”

But why was she staggering and bleeding here?

-Thud.

Before I could grasp the situation, Irie collapsed. I gasped and rushed forward, but midway I noticed something hit my foot and quickly stopped.

There, collapsed before Irie, was a woman in a black hood who had fallen and was bleeding…

“Me-Merilyn…”

Merilyn Sutherland.

Her eyes, which usually formed a characteristic eye-smile, were now wide open and motionless.

This wasn’t sleep. Since entering this world, I had seen countless people in this condition.

These were the eyes of a corpse.

A person who was special to me had appeared before me as a corpse.

“Why, how…”

As I realized this and turned my head reflexively to understand the situation.

Eventually, my gaze fell upon faces that were all familiar.

Garam Lee who had adventured with me, Tachia who had given me weapons, and hundreds, thousands of corpses of people I had formed connections with in this world were welcoming me as I entered the castle…

“A-a dream. Right?”

Convinced that such a reality couldn’t exist, I took a deep breath and raised my body, which had somehow sunk to the ground.

Yes, from the moment I met Pailoi, I knew this was a dream.

“Yes, it’s a dream. This couldn’t possibly be real…”

-Yes, it’s a dream.

As I was trying to dismiss it as just a nightmare, a familiar voice whispered in my ear.

-But who can guarantee this won’t become reality? As you know, this world is gradually heading toward destruction.

Startled, I twisted my head toward the source of the voice.

Standing atop the field of corpses was an Undead with a gaunt frame, wrapped in black rags.

-Even if it’s a dream, it’s based on something… You yourself have foreseen such a situation, which is why you’re witnessing this tragedy in your dream.

“Gorgon Zola.”

I knew him.

Three months ago, I encountered him and was lucky enough to survive until now.

And my decision to face the powerful enemy known as the Fallen Hero afterward stemmed from my determination to never suffer such humiliation again…

-It’s been a while, Woo. Do you like the gift I prepared?

“…It’s not Woo, it’s Hyoseong Woo.”

-Hahaha! Would I, who aims to be an excellent professor, not know that? I’m just calling you Woo affectionately because I think highly of you.

No, if you drop the surname it would be Hyoseong, why do you keep dropping the first name and acting crazy?

Just as anger welled up, I felt a tingling sensation near my neck.

I belatedly realized what kind of situation this was.

“…What do you mean by gift? What do you want from me?”

That day, when I met this guy, he injected a strange power while gripping my neck.

Although the Red Knight of War intervened and I somehow avoided becoming a drained corpse, the power he injected into me didn’t completely disappear.

The occasional whispers or impulses I felt…

Until now, I had dismissed them as hallucinations due to fatigue, but now that they’ve become clear, I can no longer treat them as insignificant.

-Hehehe, what would I want from you? I just hope you hold onto stronger attachments.

“Attachments…?”

-All humans are destined to return to dust anyway. But if there is a next life, what proves the value of that second life is neither authority nor strength, but what we might call ‘attachments.’

Swoosh.

Gorgon Zola, who had turned to dust and disappeared, suddenly revealed his presence behind me.

Then, gripping my shoulder with his bony hand, his whisper contained no hostility toward me.

-Don’t you have hunger too? Don’t you always feel insufficient no matter how hard you try or how much you grasp?

Rather, it was the opposite.

His whisper contained a sense of kinship, trying to evoke empathy from me.

-Hunger isn’t just about eating and drinking. Whether it’s wealth, power, or strength, all humans are destined to live in hunger throughout their lives.

As he said, I too am always hungry.

I need power.

Power to block all dangers targeting me in this harsh world, from Heroes to disasters like him.

No, beyond that, I’ve always dreamed of ‘overwhelming power’ that could protect the people around me, those who are now lying as corpses all around.

-Release that desire.

But this is dangerous.

No matter how much I need power, it should be achieved through my own will.

If it comes from someone else’s instigation, the result will be far from what I desire.

-Don’t look back, just press forward. If you accept that desire, my power will endlessly encourage you so you won’t waver.

“I’ll handle it myself, so shut up and get lost!”

With my shout, the black rags scattered.

But persistently, he didn’t disappear immediately and instead solidified his form again, letting out a mischievous laugh.

-Hehehe, well. You’re a special human, so I can’t completely dominate you with just this.

Saying that, the damn zombie turned his attention away from me.

But that wasn’t a declaration that he would disappear from this dream.

Not giving up but considering a detour, he merely shifted his gaze away from me.

-But your companion seems a bit different.

“What…”

My head gradually turned to where he was looking.

There, I saw Pailoi standing in front of Tachia’s corpse.

The girl was staring down at the corpse of her creator, more than that, the one who deserved to be called her ‘mother’.

“…Pailoi.”

“Daddy, do you want to become stronger?”

The girl, who had been touching the corpse, now turned toward me with hands and mouth covered in blood.

Her previously slurred speech had become clear as if it had never been that way.

Her eyes, which had shone with purity, were now tinged with a hollow color.

“I do too. I want to become stronger. Because…”

“Because then I can kill the mother who abandoned me with my own hands…”

The moment my heart sank at the eerie smile on her face.

That sensation unconsciously made me step toward that child.

“No, Pailoi.”

It’s dangerous.

Unlike me, that child has only recently awakened to self-awareness.

With no resistance to mental attacks, she might be corrupted by the whispers of that damn Undead if this continues.

“So, you can’t be like this.”

“Come here, quickly!!”

“I need to become stronger. To make the mother who abandoned me regret…”

Uttering incomprehensible words, Pailoi gradually walked into the tragedy.

I quickly reached out toward her, but before I could, the corpses on the floor gripped my body first.

-Sooner or later, all living beings will eventually become one with us.

Irie, Merilyn, Garam…

The corpses of all the people I had connections with were restraining my body, trying desperately to push me down.

-So don’t reject hunger. Endless hunger will make you stronger until the moment you join us.

“Shut up!! This isn’t your concern, so get lost!!!!!”

How can I accept fear of an illusion that hasn’t even happened yet?

If I can’t protect those who are right beside me now, what use is the power I might grasp later?

“Pailoi! Come back!!!”

The struggle born from that conviction shook off all the corpses restraining my body, and finally, my hand gripped the shoulder of the departing Pailoi with all my might.

And then…

****

-Squish.

The soft sensation I felt in my hand at that moment.

But it was completely different from the body of the girl I had held in my arms earlier.

It was soft, but much more voluptuous than the simplicity of a child’s cheek, something that intensified a more pure desire than the urge to protect.

“Wow, look at you, going for the breasts as soon as you wake up.”

“Wh-what…?”

Realizing the situation had changed with that sensation and the muttering I heard, I recognized the person standing beside my bed and opened my eyes wide.

Tachia Pailoi.

The creator of the girl I had been with until now.

“You must be very hungry. Should I give you some milk right here?”

“N-no, that’s… I-I’m sorry!”

I quickly removed my hand from her breast, but she just looked at me without saying anything.

Judging by her lack of displeasure, her composed attitude that she had shown since our first meeting seemed unchanged.

But wait. Why am I lying in bed?

And why is Tachia here?