Chapter Season 2 747

...Drip.

Cold.

The liquid dripping onto his face, that is.

His body was hot. Scorching hot. It almost felt as though it were on fire. His throat in particular was parched, as if lava were boiling within it.

...Drip.

Were those drops of water?

One drop at a time was frustratingly slow, but the coolness felt wonderful. If only the drops would come faster, if only there were more... More than anything, he wanted a drink.

Peran opened his eyes.

He was in some kind of cave. The stalactite hanging from the ceiling and the drop of water suspended from its tip appeared strangely vivid.

“Are all mages so stubborn?”

Yang In-hyun sat a short distance away.

“Ah... Ahem.”

He had trouble speaking.

Peran shifted his gaze toward Yang In-hyun and looked him over as he spoke.

“...Sir, are you all right?”

“You would do better to look at yourself than at me.”

“Pardon? ...Urgh.”

Peran had just begun to sit up when a sudden pain made him grimace.

“Your face is severely burned. Half your hair was scorched away, exposing your scalp, and even that is shriveled. The burns run down your neck and cover most of your back. You have also lost your left ear, and your right eye is blind. The little and ring fingers of your left hand were severed, while a large piece of flesh was torn from your right foot. The injury likely damaged the nerves. You will never walk properly again.”

“...”

“The same power that severed my arm must have caused those wounds, so none of them can be healed. Peran, do you understand what I am trying to say?”

Yang In-hyun looked somberly at Peran.

“You went too far. You lost far too much merely to save one dying old man.”

“Uh... You are not exactly an old man, are you?”

“...”

It seemed Peran had no talent for jokes.

Faced with that chilly gaze, he found it difficult to brazen it out any further. Peran smiled bitterly and said,

“I was prepared to sacrifice far more than this. If anything, I believe I got off cheaply.”

“I expended everything I had. I can no longer contribute to our forces.”

“Yes.”

“Peran, answer me seriously. Do you truly think there is any point in returning to Mount Hua in this condition and going on living?”

He felt bad about his reaction, but the first thought that crossed his mind upon hearing those words was that Yang In-hyun was asking the obvious. In a way, that was also tragic. Did it not mean that even something so self-evident had been absent from this man's life?

Perhaps Yang In-hyun was not detached from life. Perhaps he had simply never grown accustomed to living.

“Of course. Once you die, everything ends.”

“...I see.”

Yang In-hyun fell silent for a moment, then shook his head and spoke.

“Since we survived in the end, I suppose you won. Forgive me for thanking you so late. I sincerely appreciate you saving me, and I will not forget this debt. Someday, I shall repay it.”

“N-no, there is no need.”

Peran nearly sprang to his feet. Strangely, his face burned even hotter than when Yang In-hyun had spoken reproachfully. That was because he respected the man as much as his own master.

Fortunately, Yang In-hyun did not linger on the subject.

“I have one more question. My vision was blurred, so I could not see it clearly, but you must have. I mean the giant's true form beyond the dark clouds.”

“I did.”

Peran straightened his posture and replied in a stiff voice.

“Her Highness the Half King was right. We were taking this far too lightly. The giant had no upper body.”

“No upper body? What does that mean?”

“Exactly what I said. There was nothing above its pelvis. It looked as though everything had been torn away.”

“Hmm...”

“And something pale stretched from the land the giant had trampled all the way to its waist. I do not know what it was. It looked like dust, yet also like clouds. My guess is...”

Peran cautiously gave voice to his hypothesis.

“...The giant may still be ‘in the process of being made.’ In other words, once its construction is complete, we may lose any possibility of stopping it.”

After listening in silence, Yang In-hyun slowly began to speak.

“To put that another way...”

“Yes.”

Peran continued in a lower voice.

“If we fight it before then, we should have a real chance of victory.”

They decided to return to the Magic Planet first.

Even on the way back, Peran constantly revisited the battle against the giant, but the more he dwelled on it, the hazier his memories of the event became.

The voice he had heard just before the dark clouds could swallow him. Had he misheard it? That was possible. It had not been familiar enough for him to recognize immediately in the first place. When he asked Yang In-hyun, the man said he had heard nothing. Of course, Yang In-hyun's condition at the time had been even worse than Peran's...

Yet it was a fact that something had dispersed the dark clouds, and also a fact that someone had moved them into the cave. The problem was that there was not so much as a trace of that person.

With no one else to ask, Peran set the matter aside for now.

When they reached a point the giant would take roughly ten days to reach, they found Michael waiting there. They had agreed in advance to meet at this place if they returned. It was a lonely stretch of highlands, but there were still no signs of devastation.

Michael was surprised that they had both returned alive, then surprised again to discover that they were on the verge of death.

“Please take us to Mount Hua.”

“You appear to be in critical condition...”

“It looks worse than it is.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

Yang In-hyun's treatment came first.

Frankly, it was uncertain whether he could survive, but Peran did not want Yang In-hyun to die.

When they arrived at Mount Hua, the elders and others flocked around them.

They were greatly alarmed by Yang In-hyun's condition.

“Sect Leader!”

“What in the world...”

“How did this happen?”

Some of them even glared at Peran with an intimidating air, but he did not take offense. He knew they were only acting out of concern for Yang In-hyun.

Before Peran could answer, Yang In-hyun shook his head.

“Enough. Do not be discourteous. That young man saved my life.”

“What...?”

“Peran.”

Yang In-hyun looked past the bewildered martial artists of Mount Hua and addressed Peran.

“You should go now. I will look after myself.”

“Sir.”

“It is all right. I will not die. My thoughts have changed somewhat. You said there was no need to force an ending. You were right. Perhaps I had become obsessed with dying.”

“...”

“I have undergone a profound change within. That is thanks to you. Once again, I thank you.”

As he said this, Yang In-hyun's shoulder gave a slight twitch.

It looked as though he had tried to offer a fist-and-palm salute. It was certainly not a greeting that could be performed with one hand.

Peran offered the salute in his stead and smiled broadly.

“I look forward to the day we meet again, sir. Please take care of yourself.”

Harun was not at Mount Hua, but Elder Heo was able to tell Peran about the Red Knight.

She had not only come to Mount Hua to share the information, but had personally visited the Magic Planet and even the King's Castle to report the situation.

For someone who had always looked so languid, she had shown surprising initiative. Had seeing the giant stirred something in her too? He had no way of knowing.

Peran decided to begin with what he could do.

That was why he visited the King's Castle instead of returning to the Magic Planet.

“Welcome, Peran. You have changed greatly.”

“Have I?”

Peran smiled bitterly.

“In a good way. You seem more manly.”

“...Thank you.”

As the Half King spoke from her throne, Peran found himself seeing her slightly differently. It felt as though his vision had cleared, allowing him to see things that her overwhelming presence had previously obscured.

“El gave me her report. I heard you experienced a great deal. Can you explain it to me?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

Peran bowed respectfully and explained everything he had witnessed. Since he had come without even having time to organize the information properly, he had worried that his account might be disjointed. Surprisingly, however, a well-ordered explanation flowed from his lips.

The Half King listened to the entire account with composure. Her expression had remained impassive throughout, changing only when he delivered the most crucial piece of information.

“The giant had no upper body.”

“It had no upper body.”

“Correct.”

“Explain in greater detail.”

“The upper body seemed to be in the process of being created, rather than simply absent. This is only my subjective interpretation, but it appeared to be absorbing all the information from the regions of the Unified World it had trampled and destroyed, then using it to reconstruct its own body─”

The longer Peran's explanation continued, the deeper the furrow between the Half King's eyes became.

Once he had finished, she spoke.

“You mean there is a possibility it will grow stronger the longer we delay?”

“Yes. From a distance, it appeared to be nothing more than a giant. Up close, however, the dark clouds concealed everything above its pelvis. In other words, it had disguised itself, and the purpose of a disguise is generally to deceive one's enemies.”

“Hmm.”

The Half King casually asked,

“Then, Peran, what do you think we should do?”

“We must convene a council.”

“Another council?”

“Yes. But this council will be markedly different in nature.”

“In what way?”

“Until now, our councils have been held to discuss possible methods. This time, we will be assigning roles.”

“Assigning roles...”

“We must prepare for an all-out offensive.”

Peran gave voice to the conclusion he had contemplated throughout the short journey to the King's Castle.

The Half King smiled faintly, apparently pleased by his attitude.

“It seems your encounter with the giant has brought about many changes within you. To be honest, your attire is somewhat disrespectful for an appearance before the throne, but you look remarkably healthy.”

“Ah... My apologies.”

Only then did Peran realize that he was still covered in dirt, and he lowered his head.

“Ahaha. It was a joke. Futurix is not here to nag today, so I thought I would take over her role. The old you would have paid more attention to appearances, but this is hardly the time to devote your attention to such things. Returning to the subject, have you given any thought to how the roles should be divided?”

“Yes.”

Peran nodded without hesitation and was about to speak.

The Half King's head suddenly snapped toward something. Peran unconsciously followed her gaze, but there was nothing where it landed. At least, not for the next few seconds.

Riiip.

Space split open, and someone emerged from within.

It was a face both the Half King and Peran knew: Iris PeaceFinder. She was not alone. A small girl stood beside her, and Peran had little difficulty recalling that her name was ‘Luca.’

“What a distinguished guest. Iris PeaceFinder, have you decided to accept my proposal?”

“...Forgive my impertinence, but no.”

“Then?”

“I obtained important information and came to share it.”

“Important information?”

Having been listening to just such information moments before, the Half King naturally turned her gaze toward Peran. Iris followed her gaze.

“You are...”

It was not that they had never met, but he would not be easy to recognize.

For one thing, his appearance had changed drastically.

Thinking that this might happen often for a while, Peran smiled bitterly.

“I am Peran Jun.”

“...You have changed a great deal.”

“A great deal has happened.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Iris gave an awkward little nod, but soon regained her composure and asked,

“It seems you had something to report. I apologize, but my own business is rather urgent. May I interrupt for a moment?”

“Please do.”

Peran nodded. It would interrupt the flow of his discussion, but he too was curious about Iris's urgent business.

Iris turned back to the Half King.

“Yesterday, I went to the eastern giant.”

“Hmm?”

“I did not approach very closely. I observed it from a point roughly two days ahead of its advance.”

“There should have been nothing you could observe from that distance.”

The Half King spoke while recalling the giant's characteristics, and Iris nodded.

“That was true for me, but not for this child.”

“H-hello.”

Luca bowed deeply to the Half King.

The Half King regarded the girl with a somewhat uncertain expression, then asked,

“...You were indeed the First Destruction. Was there something you could see because you are a Destruction?”

“I-I'm not sure. I don't know if that was why, but I did see it move strangely. I thought it might be better to share even such minor information...”

“When it concerns the giants, no information is minor. Anything will do, so tell me.”

“Well, yesterday the eastern giant staggered slightly.”

Peran's eyebrow twitched.

The Half King's did the same.

“Explain in greater detail.”

“The giant was walking as usual. Then, partway through, something like a magical bombardment suddenly began raining down around it. Its movements also seemed to become a little rougher. It was almost as if something were attacking it...”

“What was it attacking?”

“There was nothing nearby. At least, not that I could see.”

“...”

“After it walked a few more steps, its body swayed slightly, as though it had momentarily lost its balance.”

Having finished her account, Luca looked tense, as though wondering whether she had said something strange.

From the Half King's perspective, it was indeed a strange account.

For now, she asked,

“I will ask you several questions. Answer them precisely.”

“Yes.”

“First, are you certain the giant you witnessed was ‘the eastern giant’?”

“...Pardon?”

“I asked whether it was the eastern giant, rather than the one in the west.”

“Of course.”

“You were not mistaken?”

“...I don't understand why you're asking. Do I look like an idiot who can't even tell east from west?”

When Iris snapped in a slightly offended voice, the Half King shook her head.

“Not at all. It is simply important enough to confirm twice. Then... Peran, what do you make of this?”

“...Whenever I think about the Destructions, I feel as though another blind spot in my reasoning is being exposed.”

The fragmented and scattered clues were coming together one by one.

Pieces that had seemed ambiguous in isolation were gradually assembling, and the outlines of their previously unknowable enemy were slowly growing clearer.

He could never have done this alone.

They had uncovered this much because they were working together.

It was childish, but Peran's heart swelled at the realization.

“We will have to compare the exact times to be certain, but the two of you may have brought us decisive evidence.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you and that girl encountered the eastern giant, Lady Iris, the Everlasting Plum Sword and I were fighting the western giant.”

“What?”

“A magical bombardment rained down, but we broke through it and reached the dark clouds around the giant's waist. The Everlasting Plum Sword's strike dispersed those clouds, and the giant staggered violently when the attack struck it directly. Immediately afterward, however, it recovered its balance with an unnatural motion, as if time itself had been reversed. It was a movement beyond anything I could comprehend.”

“Hmm...”

“This could be an extremely important clue. Perhaps...”

Peran said,

“The two giants may be connected to each other.”

*****

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