Episode 89. Hello dad.
-Huung.
A desolate city I have once set foot in.
The empty wind blowing between them and the foggy surroundings…….
Through the sense of déjà vu I felt, I realized that I had safely entered the dream I had last night.
I never thought he would come in just unconscious. Should I thank my brother for this?
“Firoy! Here it is!? Philoi!”
No matter what, the first priority is to find Philoi.
As I was crossing the ruins with only that in mind, I came across a shadow standing tall in the fog.
Is it Philoi?
“Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. “I ended up coming in.”
No, my body is too dry to be a normal human being.
An old dead man wearing black rags.
The person who could be defined in that one sentence was someone I also knew.
“…… Gorgon Zola.”
To be exact, it was a curse he planted in me, a lump of will that copied his memories.
“You don’t have to be so guarded. “I have no power over you now.”
The reason why the voice of such a being feels particularly weak is not only because I resisted his curse and maintained consciousness for three months.
I could understand it right away just by looking at him.
“What a fierce kid. “At first, I thought I would help raise you, but since you rejected me directly, I’m going to throw you out right away, saying you’re useless.”
Powder scattering from the tip of the raised hand.
The fact that the body embodied in this mind is disintegrating means that his power has weakened.
Yes, even if we leave it like this, it will disappear soon.
“Where on earth did such a monster come from?”
But even though he was aware of imminent extinction, there was interest in his voice.
Although it is said to be nothing more than a curse, it is an evaluation made by one of the Four Knights, which is considered to be the greatest fortune for mankind.
This is not something that an insignificant foreigner like me should take lightly.
“… Where is Philoi?”
Nevertheless, my priorities remain unchanged.
I asked, erasing my hesitation while remembering the child who smiled innocently in my arms, and soon the gorgon began to gather itself and take a step back.
“Follow me. “I will tell you about my hometown and take you to where that child is.”
“… Hometown?”
“Nothing bad will happen to you. “It will be a helpful story to understand that child.”
Gorgon Zola moves through the foggy abandoned city without hesitation.
There was no hesitation in his steps until he reached the abandoned castle located in the center.
As if this abandoned city, which he thought he had no connection with, was the ‘hometown’ he mentioned.
****
“Do you know that it is the Kingdom of Britain?”
The throne room we reached after arriving inside the abandoned castle.
The chair there showed no grandeur or sophistication.
Only the heaviness that vaguely reminds us of the authority of the past remains.
“… Unfortunately, I don’t know much about the history of this world.”
“Well, you were from another world.”
You should understand that much, Gorgon Zola muttered and immediately stared at the two chairs in front of him.
“Briton IV… …. His reputation was so widely known that it spread beyond his vassals and residents of the royal capital to rural farmers at the edge of the royal capital. “He is a wise king who only focuses on politics for the people and preserving the country’s magnificent history and traditions.”
The fourth king of Britain.
If he is the owner of this throne, does it mean that Gorgon Zola was his vassal during his lifetime?
From Noble mtl dot com
If this space itself is based on the memories of the character who forms the basis of Philoi, then she is also a character belonging to the country called Britain, right?
“But ironically, the country ruled by him could not just be said to be peaceful and good to live in.”
The story of Gorgon Zola continues even when such questions arise.
“Before aliens like you came into this world, humanity was focused on taking more for their own power.”
The voice telling me about the history of a country did not show any of the humor that I felt when we first met.
Like an old man sitting at a campfire looking back on his life.
There is only bitterness in that voice.
“… “Are you saying there was a war between humans?”
“No matter where I went, there was war. “Wherever we go, blood flows, wherever we go, the number of people who crave power increases, and those who do not have it have no choice but to be swayed by their greed and lose their property, their hometown, and their lives and dignity.”
A skinny hand caressing the throne.
Gorgon Zola, who had finally crumbled to dust, looked down at his empty hands and let out a bitter laugh.
“In a time like that, it would be natural for a king who only knew his people to call himself an ‘ally.'”
“… ….”
“… But because he was such a foolish king, he felt more desperate than any other leader in the era of war. “Even while he was training his people and sending them to the front lines to protect the country, he was constantly concerned about avoiding war at any time.”
Gorgon Zola finally walks away from the throne and approaches a sword that is already lying on the floor.
He picked up the sword with his still intact hand and immediately set it upright in front of me and said.
“And finally the opportunity came. “An absurd disaster that would render a war between humans meaningless.”
“Disaster?”
“Dragon. “A monster that only appears in legends suddenly appeared and completely destroyed several countries.”
Dragon.
Even when I came to this world, it was a being that was dismissed as a legendary being, but if such a thing really existed, it wouldn’t be such a big deal now.
This world is full of absurd disasters that will turn even monsters who can destroy a country with their breath into nothingness.
“Humanity, which had been pointing swords at each other, stopped fighting after several countries disappeared and began to join forces to stop the dragon. “The peace that the king, who was called an ally in the era of war, had longed for, was finally achieved when a common enemy appeared.”
If it’s ironic, it’s ironic.
However, as I listened to the story in silence, I could vaguely guess the story that would follow.
For a king who prayed for the well-being of mankind beyond his own country, a disaster that can only be prevented if mankind joins forces would be seen as an opportunity in itself.
“And to take advantage of that opportunity, the king summoned one of the mercenaries he had hired to protect the country to his castle. “In order to elevate a woman whose nationality and origin are unclear, and who has been obsessed with making merit by killing people in exchange for compensation, as her hero.”
A legend, not a war.
An individual, not an army, defeats a legendary being, and receives support from everyone by revering him.
The fact that they are rallying the group around him and making them forget their internal hostility is something that can be guessed just by looking at the fact that they are still obsessed with the existence of a hero and are mass producing him.
“Even if she couldn’t defeat her dragon, if she killed it or inflicted fatal wounds on it, I thought she wouldn’t have to kill anyone anymore…”
-Clink!
The moment when even his remaining hand crumbled, and the sword given to him fell helplessly to the floor.
However, Gorgon Zola’s gaze had already been withdrawn from him and was directed beyond the window that existed beyond the throne.
“Ironically, before we even heard the results, so many disasters struck this world that it was meaningless. “Even the kingdom that was waiting for her to return has begun to be irreparably damaged by the spread of her unknown plague.”
It is an empty city with only a wide foundation, showing that it was once prosperous, and now only sandstorms blow.
Even the corpses left here and there were probably weathered away by the passage of time and disappeared.
“The king regretted his choice.”
A wise but foolish king.
The country he wanted to protect, and everything that exists in it.
“Perhaps because he dreamed of uniting humanity through a common enemy, an unbearable disaster engulfed the world, ultimately leading to the destruction of everything he was trying to protect.”
Foolishly, foolishly… ….
Even as I was complaining, I noticed that the face underneath the rags was cracking.
“… In such a trend, how can the story of a hero who disappeared along with the existence of a dragon be told to the world?”
-Puseok, Puseok.
The sound of decomposition echoing throughout the body.
After that, as the decomposed powder was pouring out from under the rags I was wearing, the alter ego that had inherited the memory of the deceased began to shed bitterness towards me.
“That’s the kind of world you live in. No matter how great the hero or how long the history is, in the end, there is nothing left……. “A world where, at best, only living corpses can barely maintain their existence.”
In the end, the rags covering his body completely sank to the ground, and only the debris that made up his body began to fly around, creating a black smoke screen around him.
“I pity you. “I’m talking about your situation, having been chosen by the alter ego of someone who was not recognized as a hero even though he had developed powers comparable to disaster in a human body.”
The echo heard in the darkness at the end must have come from sincerity.
As even that was gradually fading away, I looked around, realizing that the smokescreen hiding my surroundings had disappeared.
“This is…” ….”
It was hell.
As soon as I first set foot there, I felt that way, and there was only misery around me.
Weapons stuck upside down everywhere, crows landing on corpses left in the midst of blood flowing between them, and the faint movement of maggots…….
Just as I was getting goosebumps at the all-too-realistic tragedy, I began to hear sounds that should never have been heard in this place.
“Mom, where are you?”
A young child.
The cry of a child who should never set foot on this battlefield, sitting alone on a field of corpses.
“Why did you abandon me? Why… ….”
How did that child survive such a tragedy, and where is the guardian?
Although such a question was natural, the first thought that came to my mind was why such a thing was important.
The bloody armor worn on that body.
And the blade, which was dyed red enough to cover up even the reflected light of the blade, showed that that girl was a part of this tragedy.
“Answer me, Mom, I…” …. “Why do I have to go through this?”
Nevertheless, there is a discrepancy that arises from the cries that come out of that mouth.
Does this teach us that this is just part of a nightmare?
-Whoop!
At that moment, the sandstorm that hit me again blocked my view, and the smell of iron that lingered there even blocked my breathing.
The moment when you reflexively take a step forward to unconsciously resist the flow.
With that action, the wind that hit my face disappeared and I felt cold moisture covering my feet.
-Cheolpuk.
Yes, the water that was enough to fill my ankles had already filled the surroundings.
Could it have been in a puddle of blood?
No, when I opened my eyes, all I saw was a puddle of water covering the horizon.
“When the fight is over… ….”
The girl sitting in front of the puddle spoke to me.
“After the fight, I took the time to soak my body with my armor in the lake near the battlefield. Only then could I remove the dirt from my sword and armor.”
Even though it is the same voice as the girl who cried before.
In an extremely cold and blunt voice.
“… Philoi?”
“Hello, Dad.”
Compared to last night’s dream, the girl has grown dramatically…
No, what I would call a child soldier was there welcoming me.
“I wanted to be a cute daughter in front of my dad, but my memories came back faster than I expected.”
Even though she will become a hero one day, she starts out as just a neglected girl in a time of war.
“…I’m sorry, really.”
It looks like the pieces of living hell that we passed through before have been completely removed.