Chapter 50: Nightmare (3)

The Demon King’s black magic moved according to Terminus’ will and attacked those in the training grounds.

The knights in the training grounds were not guys who would just be defeated easily.

They were elite knights who had received the title of knight and joined the royal knights, with talent and effort.

“Ugh, what is this magic!”

“Even if I cut it, there’s no end!”

“Everyone, don’t touch the magic! The guys who touched this black magic have become strange!”

The kingdom’s treasures, the knights, were being unilaterally hunted without being able to do anything.

“Kyaaaaaak…! Aaaaaaaaah!!”

The knights, eroded by the black magic, screamed horribly for a moment.

Drooling, with bloodshot eyes, they glared at other, unaffected knights.

“Wh-What’s wrong with you. What’s going on? What the heck is going on…!”

“Kyaaaak! Aaaah!”

The knights, eroded by the Demon King’s magic, emitted black energy from their entire bodies and swung their swords at their comrades, with whom they had shared joys and sorrows until recently.

Losing reason and remaining only with instinct, and even that instinct is controlled by the magic.

A power that tramples and violates the personality of a being at will and corrupts them.

To resist that power, I quickly brought my greatsword and took a battle stance.

“Your Highness. Stay close behind me.”

On this day, I was powerless.

I faced Anastasia’s death, heard her last words, and shamefully escaped with the Princess.

But now it’s different.

My hands, holding the greatsword, were filled with sweat.

It’s not because I’m afraid.

I already know how to break the Demon King’s magic, and I’ve even killed Terminus.

Therefore, the object of fear was not that guy.

However… it’s a dream.

I wondered if I could change the scene of this day, at least in my dream.

Anastasia not dying, the Princess not being eroded by the Demon King’s magic… Could I create a future where they smile happily?

It’s just self-satisfaction… but if I could…

At the same time as that thought.

I realized that I didn’t hear the Princess’s answer from behind.

I also didn’t feel the small hand that was holding my clothes tightly.

I forced my stiff neck to move and turned my head back.

Seeing the Princess, hanging limply like a corpse, held by the black magic in the void, I realized once again.

I had forgotten.

There were no sweet dreams among the dreams I had. And…

Nightmares are crueler than reality.

The surrounding scenery collapsed in an instant and revealed a new scene.

The royal castle burning under the crimson sunset.

The half-destroyed training grounds.

The knights who were eroded by the black magic and went mad.

A child crying desperately for their parents.

The kingdom’s people evacuating from the sudden disaster.

And, Anastasia.

Her left half of the body was completely eroded by the black magic.

Her upper right torso was pierced by weapons such as swords and spears, and her arm was crushed by a mace and was hideously mangled.

Her lower right half had sword marks left by knights who had gone mad and couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe, and below the ankle did not exist.

Blood gushed out from the severed area.

The two rapiers that she was so proud of and cherished, the swords bestowed by the Princess, were broken in half, leaving only the handles in her hands.

The battle between Anastasia and Terminus inflicted fatal wounds on each other.

I approached Anastasia, who was leaning against the wall in a corner of the training grounds, powerlessly.

“…Don’t come… Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Anastasia, eroded by the black magic, coughed up black blood and pushed me away.

Nevertheless, I approached her and knelt.

“…The Princess, what happened to… Her Highness?”

The Princess is still alive. Of course, she’s only breathing.

And she dies in another incident in the near future.

I lied.

“…Her Highness. She is alive and well.”

“Is that so… She’s safe… That’s good. That’s good…”

Anastasia looked relieved as if she had relieved her worries.

“You should leave this place too. Go and stay by the Princess’s side.”

“…Then Anastasia… who will stay by your side.”

“…Hmph… You have no respect for your heavenly teacher… And I… am already done for. I can’t even put any strength into my fingertips.”

The red eyes that were burning hotly lost their color and began to lose focus.

While looking at Anastasia, her trembling fingers touched my cheek.

“…Don’t. Don’t cry… so much.”

I must have been crying without even realizing it.

Anastasia’s thumb gently pressed the corner of my eye.

Her trembling fingers rubbed against my eyes, wiping away the tears.

“People die someday. I… am just closing my eyes a little earlier. So… don’t cry like that, smile. Like me.”

Anastasia smiled at me even as the flame of her life was fading.

Anastasia’s smile, seen through the blurred vision due to tears, was shining so brightly.

A smile so bright that I had never seen before.

“It was a short time… but the three years I spent with you… were not a bad time in my life.”

The hand that had wiped away my tears and rubbed my cheek for a while gradually fell down.

I held her hand tightly with both hands.

“Please take care of the Princess. Hero… no, Suhyeon.”

With the last words, the spark of life went out.

And I, couldn’t keep her last words.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Cutie♡Angel.

Wooooong…

Cutie♡Angel was looking at me with a worried look.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. I just had a little nightmare. Don’t worry.”

Woong…?

“Yeah. There’s nothing to worry about. I told you I’m fine.”

…Woong.

It’s already 7 years ago in terms of years.

About 2,500 days in terms of days.

How many times have I had this nightmare during that time?

It’s a memory that I’m already used to.

I hugged Cutie♡Angel, who was still looking at me worriedly, tightly.

Woooooong…

The guy let out a strange moan and hugged me.

After that, I carefully maintained Cutie♡Angel for an hour or two and put it in my inventory.

“…… Haah.”

A deep sigh came out instantly.

It’s all a dream. It’s a memory that can’t be undone.

I have to look at my current life without being buried in nightmares.

I took a cold shower to clear my complicated mind.

As the cold water soaked into my head, my nerves stood on end.

I took out Dr Pepper from my inventory and drank it to soothe my mind and recall the memories of the past.

First, from the actions after returning.

Currently, I am a D-rank hunter, using a rapier as my main weapon.

I’m making my name known by uploading videos of the Ogre incident and clearing the E-rank gate to iTube.

Also, I’m gaining quite a bit of popularity in the virtual reality game Hunter’s World, acting under the nickname Dr Pepper.

This is the approximate history so far.

After organizing my thoughts to some extent, I recalled the cause of the nightmare this time.

The black aura I saw on the news while eating with Yu Ayeon.

The appearance of a monster eroded by the Demon King’s black magic rampaging.

There was no way I could say, “How?”

The Demon King was dead.

The Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings were all dead too.

I killed them myself, no one else.

I tore apart the entire foundation of the Demon King’s existence, and purged all the Demon King’s army and the Ma Cult guys.

There is no one left who can handle the Demon King’s magic.

After confirming that thought with conviction, I returned from Grandia to the present.

And in the first place, it’s a different world.

There’s no way that kind of power could have occurred naturally.

Something else must have intervened.

The Demon King’s magic had to be eradicated.

Otherwise, that hellish landscape would unfold again.

But there’s no way to find that something right now.

According to the news reports, monsters eroded by the Demon King’s magic appeared inside the gate.

It was not known whether the eroded monsters appeared before entering the gate, and it was a completely random phenomenon, so they said to always be careful.

In the end, it’s the gate.

I will clear the gates and regain my previous strength.

I will continue to clear the gates and find the cause of the Demon King’s magic appearing on Earth.

And I will eradicate that cause.

But I won’t give up on the goal of enjoying a happy life because I’m obsessed with that goal.

However, for the time being, I’ll have to focus on the former.

I immediately called Manager Eun and asked her to select a gate that I could participate in.

Usually, a D-rank hunter has to find a gate and a party to participate in on their own, and they can’t directly call someone like Manager Eun.

“Are you talking about a D-rank gate? I understand. I will immediately look for a gate that Han Suhyeon can clear.”

But I wasn’t an ordinary D-rank hunter.

There’s no reason not to use a useful connection.

After a while, I received a call from Manager Eun.

“There’s nothing right now, but a new D-rank gate will open in two days.”

I replied to Manager Eun that I would participate in clearing that D-rank gate and ended the call.

And I called Yu Ayeon.

“I-In two days…? Oh, I see… I’ll prepare…”

I told Yu Ayeon to mentally prepare for entering the D-rank gate.

Because the D-rank gate will be much harder than last time.

I also immediately started preparing for the gate raid.

It seems like I’ll be a little busy for a while.