Chapter 21 : Mongma (3)

The Gate entrance Bari indicated was deep in a remote mountain.

There was no need for me to actually enter.
A Gate like that could just be destroyed from the outside.

-Poof.

I crushed the Gate’s core with my hand.
There wasn’t even a need to use a Magic Bullet.

Besides, it was difficult to use Magic Bullets in my current state.
Although using unconventional methods could bypass the 7th Magic Bullet, it wasn’t a method worth using against an easy opponent.

“…Nothing special.”

Well, it was only B-rank. Natural, perhaps.

Then the problem now is… dealing with the Mongma already out on Earth?

Erosion-type Gates have a wide range, but their influence is immediately removed when the Gate is closed. In contrast, for monster-spewing Gates, the monsters already released don’t disappear even if the Gate is closed.

Meaning.
The Mongma remaining on Earth must be hunted down directly.

Troublesome.
It’s annoying to hunt them down if they hide in dreams.
Though they’d starve to death eventually if left alone since the Gate is closed…

But they might harass Caspar in the meantime.
So I have to hunt them myself.

Besides, there was something I wanted to know too.

‘Mongma are also demons…’

Perhaps.
They might know information about Hell.
After all, their roots are the same.

For now.
Should I return to Caspar?

I’ve been away for too long.

***

My home in Seoul.

I carefully checked Caspar’s condition.

“Well… He’s normal, but.”

However, his expression looked slightly unwell.

Caspar was frowning and letting out faint groans.
Honestly, it looked a bit… well, a bit suggestive.

Is he having a nightmare?
There’s no guarantee Mongma only induce erotic dreams.

Who knows.
Maybe they’re showing Caspar nightmares in retaliation for me destroying the Gate.

-Rustle.

‘Right. This… This is just monster subjugation.’

Forcibly suppressing the smile creeping onto my lips, I lay down next to Caspar.

If we sleep in the same place, maybe we can share the same dream?
That was the thought.

It might seem nonsensical at first glance, but if the dream’s creator isn’t each individual brain but the Mongma, it’s entirely possible.

“Mmm… Caspar. I miss you.”

Yawn.

Sleepy.

***

In deep sleep.

A young man was dreaming.

‘…What is this.’

Surely. I thought I had died.

It feels like being submerged deep underwater.
I can try to move my limbs, and they seem to move, but my body itself doesn’t budge.

It feels like when I sometimes have nightmares on the battlefield.
Trying to escape from a pursuing monster, but constantly stumbling, feet refusing to move forward.

-Throb.

‘Ugh. My head…’

Memories of the day I died surface.
No, considering I’m thinking like this now, maybe I didn’t die.

It was nothing special, an utterly ordinary day.

Killing monsters as usual, encouraging the people gathered in the royal castle. Researching ways to reverse the old blessing that had turned into a curse…

Extending life by forcing down disgusting porridge boiled with rotten meat and monster flesh, that kind of ordinary day.

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t hard.
After childhood, thanks to Agathe, I could escape a gutter life, but everything changed at the happiest moment.

Life plummeted into the abyss in an instant, but I could barely endure because there was someone I loved.

The master of the Silver Hall, blessed with unerring aim.
The rightful ruler of the Land of Prosperity.

And… the iron woman who showed me strange kindness but didn’t seem to like me much, which made me wish she’d look at me even more.

Agathe. The woman who saved my life.

However…

It seems she herself couldn’t rely on anyone except her younger sister.

Surely. I thought I had won her heart.

Memories of that day resurfaced again.
I calmed my mind and observed my last memory.

.
.
.

“Shut up. Caspar. Even for you, don’t cross the line.”

I see Agathe trembling.
Her disheveled hair had lost its light, looking strangely dull, and her blue eyes were moist.

Since her sister’s death, Agathe had always suffered from fits of madness.
When the madness first manifested, she went around slaughtering people indiscriminately.

I barely managed to hold her together through the ridiculous charade of digging Enhen’s fake grave, but now, no one looked at her with the same eyes as before.

Not even me, nor she herself.

“…Agathe. You’re the one crossing the line. Sacrificing the people who follow us for some damn grimoire? Especially through a disgusting method like human sacrifice?”

“You know it can’t be helped. No matter how much power we gain, it’s not enough, and the invasion of the undead dragon is already imminent.”

This too was a daily occurrence.
The contradictory act of weighing human lives to survive.

When I spoke of ideals, Agathe countered with pessimism.
When our opinions clashed like that, the result wasn’t the best, but it avoided the worst.

There was the problem of our relationship gradually worsening, but it was mostly resolved by spending the night together.
Whispering words of love in bed made minor grudges melt away like snow.

But. Just now. No, should I say ‘back then’?

That day, the situation was a bit worse.
As always, the worst-case scenario updated with each passing day.

“Agathe. Be honest. It’s not because of that, is it? The undead dragons, your Magic Bullet or I can handle them sufficiently. It’s because of Enhen, isn’t it? Summoning that damn devil. Isn’t it?”

We were exhausted from the endless war, and the situation always worsened.

Civilization continuously regressed.
No new children were being born anymore.

Cannibalism became commonplace, and the scent of decay was treated like a sign indicating food.
Because at least for decay to happen, organic matter had to exist.

Perhaps it was natural that the words exchanged gradually became harsher.

“…”

The woman I loved wore an expression as if struck to the core.
But she fiercely pushed back at me instead.

“Yes. So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Give up already. We don’t even know if that thing called a devil actually exists. It’s a being existing only in your claims. And even if it does exist, through this method-”

Thump.

Agathe gripped the gun barrel as if to crush it, then pushed my shoulder.

“So. I’m just some b*tch who went crazy after accidentally killing her sister? Huh? Just wasting time searching for a being in my fantasy.”

Deep down, I agreed.
Separate from the devil, it was true she suffered from madness.

I thought the idea that a devil took Enhen’s soul was likely her defense mechanism.
Of course, I considered the possibility it might be true, but…

Even that has priorities.
Besides, even assuming everything Agathe said was true, the success rate was low.

It wasn’t worth attempting by sacrificing innocent people.
Definitely not.

“I didn’t go that far, Agathe. Let’s calm down first and find a way that doesn’t kill people. Okay?”

I didn’t want your hands stained with blood.
It pained me to see you, who were so beautiful and noble, seemingly falling.
After Enhen died, I wanted to be a pillar of support for you, burning with a sense of duty and an unknown desire for revenge.

So. I didn’t want you, Agathe, to leave behind regrets.

Because I loved you.

However… In the world, few things could be resolved with such soft emotions.

Agathe commanded coldly.

“I. Am the ruler of this land. We decided that, right? So you follow. That’s an order. Caspar.”

“…Yes. Your Majesty. My… Queen.”

In the end. Was it impossible?

First, go back and find a way to stop her, and if not, it can’t be helped.

About to turn back with a sorrowful heart.
I felt a strange distortion.

“…Huh?”

It was something you could call a devil’s ploy.

Absurdly, a monster that had climbed a wind cliff fell from the sky, Agathe reflexively fired her gun, and.

It happened to be the 7th Magic Bullet.

Due to the reversed blessing of unerring aim, the 7th Magic Bullet was loaded.
The Magic Bullet said to fly towards the beloved.

Naturally, there weren’t zero safety measures.
The effects of the 7th Magic Bullet could be ignored through various tricks.
Enhen died from the 7th Magic Bullet; there was no way Agathe wouldn’t have considered the possibility of me dying too.

However.

Those safety measures failed to activate due to another incredible coincidence, and Agathe, caught off guard, couldn’t control the 7th Magic Bullet in time.

-Bang!

And the gunshot rings out.

An extreme, piercing pain in my chest is felt…

Suddenly, blood spurted violently from my chest.
I see the Magic Bullet exiting my back and flying far away.

Memories break off intermittently.
My brain is paralyzed from the strong impact.

Agathe approaches with a bewildered expression, holds me, and examines the wound.
Soon, her face is dyed with despair.

Amidst flickering consciousness, I could only remember the final moments.

“I’m sorry. Open, open your eyes. Caspar. I’m sorry. Ah. Heu. I’m sorry……”

The image of a woman, tears streaming down, endlessly apologizing to me.