Became an Academy Self-Inflicted Blackmailer chapter 169

169 – Touhou (9)

The world was frozen.

It was not a metaphor.

Literally means ‘frozen.’

Just, everything stopped.

‘The power of time… ….’

I swallowed my voice and raised my head.

Still, the Dragon Emperor stood in front of me.

I can move, and the Dragon Emperor also has blurry eyes.

It meant that the only ones who escaped this frozen world were me and him.

To put it simply -.

Time has stopped.

Tsumei, with a shocked expression, stiffened in the same state as when he had been raising the power of the dragon, and others were no exception.

The situation is such that no one present here can perceive the freezing of time.

An abnormal phenomenon that makes no sense in common sense and would not be easy to understand even in a worldview filled with magic and power.

The common sense and superficial scientific knowledge that modern people have accumulated so far are powerless and scattered in the face of this power that transcends knowledge.

I looked around again.

A world where everything stands still.

What I felt when I saw the power of time, which deserves such reverence, was not just a general feeling of astonishment.

‘…… Why?’

Rather, if it was a question, it was a question.

Literally, why? How?

The dragon stopped the world once and still held on to me. However, he doesn’t seem to be pressing for an answer.

Are they trying to be considerate so that they don’t fit in?

I couldn’t know his exact thoughts, but right now, my attention was focused on Tsumei rather than the Dragon Emperor.

She, like everyone else, was deprived of her freedom of action.

Obviously, it was a strange thing.

“…… It does not make sense… ….”

Is that why I ended up muttering like that?

A word spoken half-instinctively.

“Hmm?”

The Dragon Emperor did not miss that creeping voice.

His gaze narrows for a moment and looks at me.

This time, I didn’t try to avoid his gaze either. Rather, he gave a more intense look than that guy.

Ironically, he was the only one who could answer my questions right now.

Dragon Emperor Carsilion.

Master of the power of time.

I swallowed dryly as evidence of the tension that I couldn’t hide, and spoke to that guy.

“What did you do?”

“…… What?”

The dragon asked me again after a short interval.

At the same time, he appears to be slightly tilting his head.

It seemed like he didn’t understand what I was trying to say, so I realized that my explanation was insufficient and continued speaking again.

“The power of time. “It is certainly an absolute power that other beings cannot touch, but that does not mean it is omnipotent, does it?”

“Hmm…… ?”

“…… “I’m asking how I was able to stop Tsumei, right now.”

Towards the Yongje, who frowned as if he didn’t understand, I spat out the words while trying to suppress the emotions that were almost boiling over as a reaction of fear.

The voice that seemed to be chewing continued like that, and the dragon emperor, to his disgust, finally let out a short exclamation of ‘Ah’.

And then, just for a moment, he chuckles and bursts into laughter.

The moment I opened my eyes, he spoke briefly.

“Was it ‘implemented’ in that way?”

A word that feels quite distant from my question.

“Implementation? “What is that?”

Of course I wrinkled my expression, but the Dragon Emperor continued speaking without hesitation.

“I’m talking about the game. “I guess you’re from Earth, after all.”

“…… What.”

“Unfortunately, the ‘me’ in that game is not data created by completely copying the day here.”

He doesn’t care whether my eyes flutter when he hears those words or not, and he continues to pour out words that confuse me with each word.

“Did you ask how they stopped Tsumei? It shouldn’t be difficult. Because my power is to interfere with all time in the world.”

“Perhaps in the game that I neglected after completing the initial programming, the balance was adjusted in such a way that I could not interfere with the time of beings who were on the same level as me… ….”

“In the end, it’s just a chunk of data. hahahaha. “No matter how perfect the game is, there’s no way I can put everything I have into just one online game.”

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Yongje paused for a moment and declared while briefly tapping my shoulder.

“There is no being in this world that my power cannot interfere with. “Except for you, who are not included in ‘this world.'”

That was a direct attack on my carelessness in blindly trusting the information in the game.

I don’t want to believe it, but I do.

I have no choice but to believe it.

…… Words that might help me trace the origins of why I fell into this world.

“Seol, Ma.”

I was feeling an unprecedented fear with trembling eyes and an endlessly shaken expression, but-.

Nevertheless, I think I need to know.

“If you made that game. If you knew the world I lived in…….”

Deep down in my heart, on the one hand, I forcibly suppressed the cries of my own weak self, who may have thought that I just wanted to ignore it and live here as I am now.

“The one who possessed me in this world.”

That’s what I asked.

“Are you saying it was your fault…?” … ?”

“… ….”

The Dragon Emperor was silent for a moment, but the silence did not last that long.

“Well. In order to talk about that, there is a lot of prior knowledge that needs to be explained…….”

Soon he closed one eye and seemed to remember something.

As if reminiscing about a certain moment in the past.

“Was it my fault to possess you, La?”

Close your eyes like that.

Answered me.

“That wouldn’t be completely wrong either.”

It was positive.

*****

“I am someone who has already surpassed many worlds. He is the only being who is free from the restrictions of dimensional movement. He was called a god somewhere, a devil somewhere, but now he is called the Dragon Emperor here. “I am Carsilion, a fleeting wanderer of the three thousand worlds.”

Yongje said: He says he belongs to this world, but that is only a story limited to this moment.

Before that, in another world, and even before that, in another world.

And perhaps, this too, after eons of time, I am a pitiful wanderer with no destination who will leave for another world.

“Earth is also a world where I once stayed. “It is a place that left me with impressive memories, just like the Pantheon Continent, and perhaps even more so.”

“… ….”

“A dimension without mana, a developed world. An advanced civilization built through technology and science that is grander and more unwavering than any other world. “I really remember how there was a lot of entertainment.”

No matter how far the Dragon Emperor continued, I did not give a single answer, but he continued to tell the story with a benevolent smile as if it was okay.

“Games were one of them.”

And at that point, something that finally brought out my reaction came out.

I blinked very slightly, then immediately raised my head and looked at the dragon emperor.

He was smiling as if he had expected my reaction, but it wasn’t very pleasant because I felt like he was reading my inner thoughts.

…… Even so, there was nothing I could do.

“I traveled around many worlds, leaving arrangements behind whenever I left. In other words, it was a process of searching the soul of my junior.”

For some reason, the dragon continued speaking in a slightly slower tone than before.

The intention was obvious, but I had no choice but to question him.

“…… “Being a junior.”

“It also refers to the person you are now.”

I kept my mouth shut in response to the immediate response.

The Dragon Emperor continued speaking leisurely.

“In other words, a talent who can overcome dimensional constraints. An unlucky child born with the same abilities as me. I guess it was an effort to find a comrade like you who could respond to the magic I planted in the game and jump around the world…….”

The body was melting just now, but paradoxically it showed no sign of collapse.

How are they holding on?

Through my blurry vision, I saw another power of time being applied to his body.

I’m just reading the flow, but…

Perhaps the current Dragon Emperor wanted to prolong the conversation with me even if it meant applying the power of time to his body.

For some reason, it felt like a hollow laugh would come out.

“Actually, I didn’t have very high expectations. Of course it is.”

Even at that moment, the dragon emperor continued speaking without getting tired.

At that time, I suddenly realized something.

There were many mixed emotions in the way he looked at me, but despite that, they were all positive.

So, I noticed that it was an emotion based on goodwill.

As I said, it’s like looking at a junior or younger brother. Otherwise, it’s like looking at your child.

The Dragon Emperor had a smile on his face, as if he was very happy to have met me.

“Skipping across dimensions can be a talent or a curse. However, since even that was something we were born with, it was difficult to find even the slightest possibility. After changing dimensions dozens of times, I gave up halfway. However.”

He added a little, and the dragon looked at me gently, as if nothing was impossible.

“While I was giving up all expectations, you appeared… …. “This body is not my true body, although it is too late to recognize it.”

But it’s okay, it’s okay because I was rewarded for my many years of attempts.

The Dragon Emperor said so and stretched out his hand to me.

His two dragon eyes were already activated and were staring right through me.

“Now, you are with me. “I will be moving between dimensions at some point in the future, and I hope that you, my junior, will not experience the same time of loneliness as I did.”

I looked down blankly at the hand he held out like that.

It was still a confusing situation, but that was the situation.

Still, I vaguely felt like I could understand what he was trying to say.

Skipping a dimension.

That would ultimately mean seeing with one’s own eyes the destruction of the world one has lived in, or one’s own extinction, and having to start all over again from the beginning, being thrown into another world.

How many times did Yongje go through that process?

That was something I couldn’t possibly guess, as it was only the first episode.

Just look at it now. Aren’t I so shaken just because I found a clue to the original world?

“I have prepared a lot for the unexpected appearance of my junior. Now I don’t care about Tsumei or the Three Kings of the Nine Heavens. “I will now do my best to assist you.”

“… ….”

Still.

The Dragon Emperor was reaching out his hand to me.

I understand you’re confused, so gather your thoughts and hold my hand.

It was as if he was saying that.

But.

“…… “Dimension shift.”

I didn’t grab his outstretched hand right away.

However, my mind was filled with other thoughts.

I understand the situation. Although it was no different from being injected with causality unintentionally, almost semi-forcibly.

The reason why I became possessed by this world.

The world I thought was a game was actually not a game.

The world that originally existed was just created into a game.

The purpose of the dragon, the intention of the action, and the reason for making such a game.

Probably a fragment of what he felt and what I will feel in the future.

The name of that feeling would be loneliness.

The truly terrible loneliness.

At this moment, I had an instinctive intuition.

Currently, I am standing on the same path as the Dragon Emperor.

Probably, no. Almost certainly, I would have to hold the hand held out by the Dragon Emperor.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to endure it.

So, I looked at the dragon emperor.

I met his eyes.

The two eyes that looked at me with pity on a day when I was in deep panic could definitely be said to belong to a senior.

I asked him that question.

“Can I go back?”

I didn’t hesitate.

I didn’t even hesitate.

First, I had to check.

“…… “That’s what I’m asking, is it possible for me to return to Earth?”

I was dragged into this world, but it wasn’t a type of dimensional transfer like the Dragon Emperor.

Wasn’t it the Dragon Emperor’s fault for dragging me in the first place?

He actively used the concept of a game, gathered players together, and tried to find souls born with the same fate as himself.

And so the one chosen was none other than me.

Perhaps that was the reason why I did not fall here with my original body, but instead inhabited the body of Dante, who was dying after destroying paradise.

I and the solvent were the same, but different.

That’s why I’m asking.

Is it possible?

I wonder if I can return to the world I originally lived in.

“… ….”

And to my question-. The Yongje closed his mouth straight for a moment.

Are you worried? So what?

His true intentions are still not easy to understand.

But I have to hear the answer.

If he doesn’t give a proper answer to this question, or says something that looks like he’s avoiding it.

Probably at that time, I will also not want to hold that guy’s hand forever.

So he had no choice.

“…… “Do you wish to return?”

After that moment of silence, the Dragon Emperor looked into my eyes once and let out a short sigh as if he realized that he could not break my will.

“Just to conclude.”

And that’s what I’m saying.

“It is possible. “You can go back to Earth.”

“… ….”

This time, it was positive.

For a moment, I felt like my heart was pounding, and I was overcome by an ‘ambiguous feeling’ that was neither joy nor disappointment.

“But I don’t recommend it. “That’s probably not a good choice.”

The Dragon Emperor’s words were not over yet.

He looked at me with a complicated expression.

It was a bad choice. First of all, I didn’t understand the meaning of what he was saying.

Probably the dragon emperor also read my expression without difficulty.

“…… If I were to explain it, it would take a long time. There are probably a lot of things that are difficult to understand with your current knowledge…….”

So the Yongje did not spin his horse around anymore.

“So, I will ask.”

He sighed again and asked me only one question.

“Do you remember the name you used on Earth?”

It was a very sad expression.

At the same time, it was that kind of voice.

“… ….”

I was silent.

Why?

It’s such a simple question, I never thought I’d be asked this.

Is it because I didn’t feel it was worth answering and felt dumbfounded because I didn’t know the intention of the question?

“…… “Huh, huh.”

No.

It’s not like that. It wasn’t like that.

It happened in an instant.

I fell to my knees and squeezed my eyes shut against my will.

‘What. What.’

…… I felt like my head was going to explode.

A terrible headache is pounding in my bones.

Why, why, what is this?

Unorganized thoughts and anxiety began to color my mind completely black.

Name? What is your name?

It’s a simple question. There was no reason not to answer.

A letter that has never been forgotten, and is so engraved in my memory that I cannot forget it even if I want to.

“Okay, turn it off.”

It felt like the excess emotions were exploding inside my head.

I couldn’t suppress the tears of my own will.

Tears flowing down, streams of hot water soaking the cheeks.

The headache was constant, and even more so, my heart was pounding.

There was a sudden pain.

It wasn’t physical pain.

──I forgot something I shouldn’t have forgotten.

“…… “Because you have already left the Earth.”

Yongje’s explanation continued at that point.

The sad voice still remained.

“The very existence has been forgotten. Or should I say erased.”

Pajik, Pajijik-

I found it so disgusting, and I was disgusted by the way he spoke in a way that seemed to have nothing to do with the subject, which was actually the person who dragged me in.

I wanted to burn his entire body right away, but-.

‘…… Ha ha ha.’

I couldn’t bear to take that one step further.

The thought that I shouldn’t have done that grabbed hold of me.

“I also don’t remember my name in the first world.”

“… ….”

“Carsilion is a name I gave myself in the second world.”

The Dragon Emperor spoke, and I did not answer.

Tears flowed without stopping.

Something seemed wrong. Why, why?

You’ve been fine so far.

I’ve always thought that it wouldn’t be a big deal if I left this world and never returned.

But why? Why come now?

‘Ah… ….’

I let out a distorted breath and thought at the same time.

Actually, I know the answer.

Yes. There is no reason for this to happen now.

This was just the pain of loss.

The difference between not being able to return to the world I originally lived in, and the twenty years I lived in that world being treated as if I had ‘never existed’.

It was so terrible.

…… It was so, so scary.

If I can’t remember my name.

If I don’t remember myself.

If so, then. Who am I now, who am I standing here right now?

[…] ….]

Just because I inhabit Dante’s body doesn’t mean I become Dante.

They may be similar to some extent, but they must be fundamentally different.

I’ve always tried to think that way.

But, wasn’t it?

I don’t know. I, the person I am now, could never muster the courage to understand my own identity.

‘I, I.’

I held my arms tightly as if I was shivering from the cold, and let out a series of sharp breaths and burst into laughter.

It wasn’t surprising that I was hyperventilating.

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“… ….”

Even as I was doing that, the hand that the Dragon Emperor had stretched out towards me was not retracted.

The gaze that meets by chance becomes fixed without moving away.

…… Maybe, if we hold hands, everything will be okay.

Suddenly, an unfounded thought occurred to me.

The headache that felt like my head was going to explode, the cold and chills as sharp as a knife, and even the fear that came from the fact that I couldn’t understand myself.

Let’s hold hands together.

If I accept my destiny of wandering through countless dimensions in the future.

Still, wouldn’t it be less painful than it is now?

I thought so.

I wanted to think that way.

So I stretched out my hand. I moved my trembling hands.

If you hold my hand, there will be no turning back.

On the other hand, I had those thoughts, but that didn’t stop me.

I just don’t know.

I decided that Carsilion, the Dragon Emperor in front of me, would be the only one who could understand my current state and help me.

That’s why I reached out.

I want to escape this panic, even if only for a moment.

I tried to hold the dragon emperor’s hand.

-Dante.

“… ….”

And, at that moment.

Someone in my memory gently filled my vision, which was covered with water and blurred, and passed by.

It was a girl who called my ‘name’.

There was a girl who called my name and smiled playfully as usual.

It was a memory that came to mind very suddenly, but it was such a sight and a vague smile.

That made my heart ache so much.

For some reason, I feel like I need to come to my senses, even just for a moment.

I am─.

Tak.

“… ….”

The dragon emperor threw away the outstretched hand.

It was just a weak movement.

I could see the Yongje closing his eyes for a moment.

He too had a thought, and soon opened his eyes again.

“…… “I think I need some time alone to think.”

He ended with a very brief nod of his head…….

“I understand.”

He hid himself before my eyes.

“After you have organized your thoughts, come to me. “We’ll talk about it again later.”

Lastly, with those words left behind.

Jejeo, Jeojeo-

“… ….”

Of course, the moment the solvent disappeared, the time freeze was slowly about to be lifted.

Probably not long ago.

Soon the people around you will wake up, and their expressions will be distorted when they see that the dragon is gone.

Because of that, I also stood up.

What can I say? It felt like I had calmed down quite a bit compared to before, but it still felt like something was trying to endlessly tighten my heart.

The name of the shackles that will not disappear and will bind me is probably anguish.

Because I was tied up in agony, I had no confidence in remaining here.

I turned towards the entrance of the cave and burst into laughter at the same time.

“hahahaha…….”

It was just as the Dragon Emperor said.

“…… f*ck, really… ….”

Right now, I needed time and space to think alone.