novelraw Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
Chapter 141 : Chapter 141
Chapter 141. The Past?
Zzzzzzzzzing.
With a severe headache, my mind went blank for a moment.
A sense of suffocation washed over me, and suddenly, I heard unfamiliar voices.
“Our baby…….”
“Still…….”
Voices that were unfamiliar, yet I felt like I had heard them somewhere before.
“Ughh…….”
Twisting my stuffy limbs, I barely managed to open my eyes.
“Honey, put him down. He seems uncomfortable.”
“I-Is that so?”
Huh?
I saw giants (?) chatting leisurely about me.
Two giant figures, a man and a woman with gray hair.
“Oochie-coochie. It’s okay, our Ryute. Mommy is right here~!”
The gray-haired woman with a kind face lifted my body and planted a peck on my cheek.
‘What is this……?’
My mind grew increasingly hazy.
“See? He’s quiet, isn’t he?”
“Ah. Why does this fellow hate his dad!”
Thump.
The gray-haired male giant fell to his knees and cried out in despair.
But I could tell at a glance that it was a rather playful gesture.
“It’s only natural for a baby to prefer the mother who stays by his side longer. Ryute, bye-bye to Daddy. Wave your hand.”
The giant woman forcibly took my hand and waved it at the man, and only then could Muno understand his own situation.
A tiny, tiny hand wrapped in swaddling clothes. In other words, it wasn’t that the man and woman who appeared to be a couple were giants.
‘I’m a baby?’
It was a situation that made me laugh in disbelief.
‘This is absurd.’
As soon as I thought I was under a spell, I tried to absorb demonic energy.
Nothing happened.
“Daddy, don’t you have to go to work? Look at Ryute’s blank face. He’s asking why you’re not leaving.”
“Aww, really. Alright. I’m going, I’m going. Before that……”
Peck.
Smooch.
The man, who had suddenly thrust his face forward, kissed the woman’s and my cheeks in succession and laughed.
“Oh my? What was that, so suddenly!”
“Puhaha. Well then, I’ll be back~!”
The sight of the couple exchanging greetings with smiling faces was quite affectionate.
‘It’s definitely magic…….’
I struggled once more, but as expected, my body wouldn't move as I willed.
But what was more bewildering was.
‘This situation, I’ve experienced it somewhere before.’
I felt a sense of déjà vu from the scene before my eyes.
“Aww…….”
I tried to say something, but my body wouldn’t move.
The woman smiled and rubbed her cheek against me, no, the baby.
“Ooong. It’s okay, Ryute. Daddy will be back in the evening. He’s busy because he’s the head of the Exeo family.”
“Awoong…….”
“Daddy will be less busy if our Ryute grows up quickly and helps him. No, no. If you grow up too fast, Mommy will be sad. Grow up slowly. Got it? Let’s leave Daddy a little busy.”
The woman seemed to have a vibrant personality, chattering away without a break even while holding me.
Ryute? Exeo?
Words that were definitely not in my memory, but I felt like I had heard them somewhere.
And even the scenery, which somehow felt familiar.
‘Gray hair. The inside of a house with an antique atmosphere…….’
Just as I was mulling it over, a memory that felt like something I had always known suddenly flashed in my mind.
‘Mom, Dad?’
The moment I recalled it, my mind couldn’t help but go white.
Names that had been submerged in the distant memories of my current life.
Those longed-for sensations came back to life vividly.
“Pa……?”
“Hm? Ryute, did you just say Papa!?”
“……Ppa?”
“Oh my! Again, try it again! Ah, no. Not Papa, Mama! Ma. Ma. Repeat after me. Ma. Ma!”
The beautiful woman holding me up before my eyes, smiling brightly.
That image felt so familiar and longed-for that tears strangely welled up.
And then.
“Waaaaah!”
A cry naturally burst out.
“Oh, oh. I’ll give you milk, milk! Mommy’s sorry!”
There were so many things I wanted to say, but my mouth wouldn’t move as I intended.
The moment the woman holding me, my mother, hastily took off her cardigan.
Snap.
Muno’s memory was cut off, and pitch-black darkness filled his vision.
How much time had passed like that?
“Really, is it really true?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true! He definitely said Papa!”
The moment those voices were heard again, my eyes opened naturally.
“He’s awake! Quick!”
“Don’t rush me! He’ll cry! Do you know how hard it was to get him to sleep!”
“Ah, alright.”
The man and woman came into his sight again as he struggled to open his eyes.
Their gazes, looking at him so warmly with a mixture of anticipation and concern, their body heat.
My body remembered.
‘Really…….’
Dad and Mom.
The ordinary family that Han Munho of my past life had longed for so much.
Yes, that was right.
There was definitely a time like this.
However.
‘How, is this……?’
It must be the work of a monster, so why does it feel so real?
Just when my mind was in chaos.
Crash, clatter.
- Head of the family!!
A frantic voice began to be heard from outside.
“Honey?”
“What is it now…….”
The moment the man, my father, frowned and turned around.
- Aaaack!
Kwwwwwaaaaaang!
Along with a bloodcurdling scream, I saw a huge flame erupt in an instant.
“No!”
The moment my mother rolled on the floor holding me, even the sight of the searing heat washing over us.
This too was something I had experienced someday.
And with it, even the sensation of my consciousness fading away.
How much time had passed like that?
“Ex, slam. You, you bastard…….”
In my newly opened eyes, I saw my father on his knees, bleeding from all over his body, and in front of him, a man in a black robe holding a black sword.
“Ahem. Is that any way to speak to your granduncle, Head of the family?”
“The son of a bitch who was cast out for committing patricide has finally brought demonic energy into the cradle of God!!?”
The wrinkled lower half of the face revealed beneath the black robe formed a rotten smile at the sight of my father shouting as if he were vomiting blood.
“Same as ever. You really don’t change. The Exeo family.”
“You crazy son of a……!”
Kwwwwwaaaaaang!
With a single gesture from the black-robed man, my father was sent flying with his eyes wide open, tumbling to the ground.
“……Pathetic, I say. Do you think this forgotten family has some great power? Isn’t that right, Rosalin? No, should I call you the mistress of the family now?”
The moment the black-robed man whirled around.
My mother stood in his way.
“Exlam! The traitor of the family has finally committed such an audacious act!? Do you not fear our ancestors!?”
“……My, my, that cute little kid. You’ve grown up to be quite spirited.”
“You, what do you think you’re……!”
My mother’s trembling body revealed her fear and anger in its entirety.
“Do I know what I’m doing? Of course, I do.”
Puuuuuuk.
A black blade finally emerged from behind my mother’s back.
No.
Crackle, crack.
A lump of demonic energy in the shape of a blade.
“……I’m in the middle of completely erasing this forgotten family.”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
Only when he heard that voice did Muno, no, the baby, burst into tears.
And.
“The baby, my baby…… my son, you can’t, you can’t…….”
He saw his dying mother desperately reaching her hand out to him.
“Hoh, a baby? Strangely, he has inherited the divine blood properly. It seems thicker than mine. Isn’t this the best in history? Hmm…….”
When the snake-like eyes inside the black robe looked at him.
The baby couldn’t help but freeze.
Also, only then did Muno realize for sure.
“……Good. He seems suitable as an experiment, so I’ll spare him. Though I don’t know how long he’ll survive. Kehehehehehe.”
Even the sight of his mother closing her eyes without hearing the words that came out with a sneer.
“The forgotten lineage of a god. Kill them all. Spare only the baby and make him an experiment.”
“Yes!”
The cold command of the black-robed man and the answers that echoed from behind him.
That this was a memory deeply asleep in the baby’s, no, his own subconscious.
‘The lineage of a god, Ryute, Exeo. And……. Exlam.’
Muno, who had returned to the baby’s point of view, repeated the words he must not forget.
And at that moment.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzing!
The world shattered with a surge of headache.
And again.
‘Ugh?’
With a stuffy feeling, a familiar scene appeared.
“Our baby…….”
“Still…….”
As if nothing had happened, the same voices as before were heard.
‘Hmm?’
“Honey. Put him down. He seems uncomfortable.”
“I-Is that so?”
As I blankly watched the warm memory unfold once more.
After taking a nap and waking up, the tragedy repeated itself.
“Exlam! The traitor of the family……!”
Puuuuuuk.
The moment the black demonic blade once again protruded from my mother’s back.
‘No, this isn’t it.’
A shout erupted with extreme anger.
“This isn’t it!!!!!”
- Hmm?
At that moment, the snake eyes in the black robe seemed to look at me.
As soon as that happened.
The world shattered again.
This time, with a slightly different feeling.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
* * *
A booming sound was heard along with a searing heat.
‘What in the world is this……?’
Amidst the bewilderment, I reflexively tried to get up.
“You’re finally awake……!!”
My head snapped around at the familiar voice.
And at that moment, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
“What are you looking at! Move!”
The familiar face shouting at me, Anthony, with his short, angular brown hair and cold expression.
I had discovered that his left arm was completely gone.
‘How much time has passed?’
And once again, a chilling killing intent washed over me.
[It’s awake?]
[How?]
[The chain of hell? Is it because of the divine blood?]
[Even so, it is an inferior species that has only shed its skin four times. Impossible.]
[Incomprehensible.]
[But what it did to us is also incomprehensible.]
[Just kill it.]
[Kill.]
The monsters’ gazes focused on me.
To Muno, who could feel the demonic energy flowing like a waterfall from their entire bodies, it came as an immense pressure.
The demonic energy, which seemed much fiercer than when they had human heads, was dyeing the sky pitch black.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
At some point, a golden light flashed with an explosive sound, and the black sky was split in two in an instant.
[As expected, for a mere human, quite impressive.]
[If only our level hadn't dropped.]
[If only we had removed that contaminant quickly and recovered our heads…….]
[It’s all because of that black thing.]
[But we must deal with that first.]
Fortunately, the monsters’ gazes were focused on the Dragon Sword Duke who had appeared, tearing through the black sky, not on me.
And the clash began again.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
Ruuuuuumble.
Along with the illusion that the heavens and earth were turning upside down.
The ground shook and dust clouds covered the sky.
‘Th-This is……?’
Both the power of the Dragon Sword Duke and the magic used by the monster called Hydra were now beyond my ability to even fathom their momentum.
In that gap.
“Move! We’re escaping!”
At Anthony’s shout, which came out again, Muno began to move reflexively.
Then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“What about Sir Rantor!?”
The same answer returned to the question I spat out.
“Move!”
The answer given by the world-renowned Blood Knight as he clutched his severed arm and screamed allowed me to infer one fact.
‘Sir Rantor…….’
A pillar of the Iron Kingdom, one of the cornerstones of the Red Iron Knightly Order, had met his end in this place.
And.
“If you’re still frozen……!”
“I’m fine!”
The reason why one arm of this middle-aged knight, who had been anticipated as the next Seven-Star, was severed.
Perhaps.
‘Because of me……?’
The moment I instinctively clenched my teeth, my body naturally began to move even faster.
Ruuuuuuuuuuuumble.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaang!
A battlefield where the ground and sky seemed to be flipping over due to the clash of monsters.
The steep cliff of the wild mountain was already gone without a trace, and only overturned and cracked land blocked their path.
Ruuuuuuuumble.
“The monster has the ability to control the earth!”
Even without Anthony’s shout, I could tell by looking at the situation before my eyes.
“It doesn’t matter! Come on!”
Using his iron chain, Muno leaped over the wall of earth and pulled up Anthony, whose movements seemed to have become relatively sluggish.
[Will not miss…….]
[you.]
[Grudge.]
[Will not forget.]
Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!
At that moment, with a chilling psychic wave, the ground on all sides suddenly rose and came crashing down on them.
A sight of the earth lunging as if to crush them to death.
“Damn it!”
Chwaaaak.
Unable to find a way to escape, Muno wrapped the iron chain around himself and the injured Anthony.
Kwwaaaaaaaaaaaaang!
The pile of earth that came crashing down easily broke through the barrier of the iron chain and struck them directly.
‘Kh!’
A sharp pain shot through my entire body, but thanks to the armor that hadn't crumbled, I felt pressure, but not a single bone was broken.
And.
“Front!”
Flash.
With a short word delivered to my ear, a red light flashed and pierced a small hole in the earthen wall in front of me.
‘Now!’
- Grr.
The moment the Demon Devourer cut off the wavering flow of demonic energy in the pile of earth that was assailing my whole body and the iron chain.
Ruuuuuuuuuumble.
The earthen wall that was about to swallow everything began to collapse, and my vision cleared up again.
And through that cleared vision.
Craaaaaaack.
“Kyaooo……!?”
I saw two of the monster’s necks falling to the Dragon Sword Duke’s blade.
But even in the midst of that, the Hydra focused on us, no, on me.
[You can no longer escape!]
[Domain Declaration!]
Boom!
A huge green earthen wall rose again, blocking Muno and Anthony’s path.
A ghastly green barrier with a dark green liquid flowing down it, high enough to touch the sky.
Only then did the Hydra’s gaze leave them.
[Hehehe.]
[You lot…….]
[I’ll cook you later.]
“Damn it!”
Kwwaaaaaaaang!
The moment Anthony violently struck the green barrier, a dense green fog burst out from the slightly collapsed part of the wall.
Chiiiiiiiiik.
Seeing the ground melting, the terrified Anthony reflexively stepped back.
“What the!?”
His eyes widened as he saw Muno, who reacted slower than him, swallow the poisonous smoke.
Muno was merely frowning at the stench he felt from within the green mist.
“You, are you alrigh……?”
“Sir Anthony!”
“Uh, yeah!?”
“Can you, can you throw me over there!?”
Muno asked, ignoring the green mist and instead looking toward the inside of the battlefield.
For a moment, Anthony thought he was giving up in despair, but.
Muno’s eyes, blazing with fighting spirit, were clearly saying something else.
‘I, cannot die here.’
Now that I finally knew the name of my true enemy.
I could not fall in a place like this.
‘If I can’t escape, I have to fight.’
Muno’s gaze, filled with determination and anger, was directed toward the center of the battlefield where a clash of a different dimension than before was taking place.