NOVEL WEB Chapter 144
As expected, the dungeon had collapsed, and monsters were sprawled everywhere. I figured this would happen once I spotted the Frost Troll.
‘There are plenty of ways…’
If I didn’t want to fight, I could just create a stepping stone and cross the mountain range, but did I really need to? It was all experience points, after all. The Wolf had grown just as much during that time, swelling with power. Now it could cover dozens of meters as a massive shadow—devouring everything greedily and grotesquely, it turned the mountain range dark.
“…Crazy.”
In a limited sense, maybe I wouldn’t have known, but the Wolf couldn’t perfectly handle the Void yet, making it tough to distinguish between monsters, animals, and the terrain. Consequently, the height of the shadowed areas dipped suddenly by several meters.
Thinking back, this Marang had soloed the regional boss and even devoured the Volcano Ceratops, Hong Yu-ri shook her head.
‘—Yeah. I’ve thought about it.’
My mind was already made up.
Hong Yu-ri bit her lip. It felt bad, really bad. She didn’t want to do it. But…
When the time came, she would ultimately have to make a choice. Moreover, there was only one path available. The Square had to exist. In the first place, there was no room for choice. Yet, Hong Yu-ri found herself weighing the scales over and over… no, she couldn’t do that. The consequences wouldn’t remain just within her. They would impact the dawn, too. So she had to ensure that nothing like that happened.
It wasn’t far now. Hong Yu-ri quietly took a breath while resting on the Wolf’s back. It didn’t take long before they could spot the Square.
“…We’ve arrived.”
“Wow…”
Baek So-yul, raising her head, looked stunned. Humanity’s last bastion, blocking the Plague and Disease, the sanctuary of the Mages. Even from several dozen kilometers away, the massive Floating Island was clearly visible.
‘The Square.’
A miraculous place created by humanity. Lifting an island spanning several kilometers was nothing short of a miracle.
“How could they…?”
“Support it.”
“Support it?”
Baek So-yul looked puzzled, not quite understanding, but Hong Yu-ri continued.
“With the magic power of all the mages living in the Square.”
That was the energy maintaining the Floating Island. Because of this, the number of mages residing in the Square always reached into the thousands.
“But still…”
“I know. It’s crazy.”
Hong Yu-ri laughed ironically.
“But still, it has to be done.”
If they were on the ground, they’d be wiped out in an instant. Casting magic from a floating island. Without doing it this way, as Hong Yu-ri said, they couldn’t stop the Disease and Plague.
But conversely, doing so meant it was indeed possible to stop them. Just like it always had been.
Therefore, the Square must exist. For humanity to survive… Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Hong Yu-ri flicked Baek So-yul’s forehead.
“Honestly, it’s not that tough, you know?”
She said magic was absorbed, but the amount consumed was less than what naturally recovers—saying this, Hong Yu-ri was oddly self-deprecating, and for a brief moment, a spark of something drifted past the Wolf’s eyes.
“Anyway, there are benefits…”
Because it absorbs all the magic of life on the island, not even a blade of grass could grow. So Baek So-yul awkwardly smiled at the mention that there were no bugs.
‘The Empyrean Square…’
The Wolf stared up quietly at the Square. It was right there where the Butterfly of Covenant was. And not just the Butterfly of Covenant, but she would also be there.
…In fact, the way up was simple. If it came down to it, they could climb right now by stepping on a stone. But then, they’d have to go alone.
Unless it was the Wolf with its stealth, hiding would only get them discovered. Considering the Fairy too, it was better to wait silently.
As Hong Yu-ri had said, the floating island sustained itself, so self-sufficiency was impossible. Thus, there was one day a week when the Floating Island descended close to the ground to supply materials, and that day was the only time the mages of the Square could touch the ground and ascend to the Square, she had explained.
The Wolf, listening quietly, nodded.
“Are you going back to the material world?”
“I must. But…”
Hong Yu-ri glanced back at Baek So-yul. Her gaze still focused on the Wolf, and Hong Yu-ri sighed deeply.
“…Well, if we’re going anyway, showing you beforehand wouldn’t be too bad.”
With that, she gestured to follow and walked on for a while beyond Tehran, towards the land where the Floating Island was.
***
When they returned to the material world unnoticed from a corner of the city, the Wolf exhaled deeply.
‘The smell…’
Even though they were still far away, the trace remained. The foul stench hit his nose mixed with the smell of blood…
“Tsk… It’s gotten pretty bad.”
Seeming displeased, Hong Yu-ri clicked her tongue. Still about 10km away, but before she departed from the Square, the front line was close to Iran’s border. It meant they had fallen back several hundred kilometers in less than ten years. If not for the Square, they wouldn’t even have gotten this far.
“―――!”
Suddenly, Baek So-yul unknowingly covered her mouth. An endless line of people walking and scattered wounded… Death was not hard to find lurking in various spots along the street. It was a sight utterly unexpected in the fantasy world where the beasts lived, as if looking into a mirror.
“Ah…”
The Wolf’s tentacles were lightly brushed away by Hong Yu-ri.
“Don’t be dramatic. What do you think this is, a soap opera?”
Confronted with such blunt words, the Wolf hesitated for a moment but mustered his courage and withdrew his tentacles.
“You know you’ll have to see this at least once while at the Square, right? You think you won’t see this when you’re there?”
“…….”
“What’s so terrible about corpses? It’s brutal and ugly… So what? What’s the big deal?”
Dismissively, Hong Yu-ri pointed towards the distance.
“The real issue is over there.”
The muffled roar of explosions echoed from far away. To the Wolf’s eyes, it was a horrid hellscape. They were using every means possible to stop them, from firearms to grenades… cannons and tanks, bombers, you name it.
In response, the Wolf let out a hollow laugh. He “knew” through the stories. Why Europe went to ruin and how the Temple of War was born…
‘Not even close.’
Knowing and experiencing firsthand were completely different.
How much blood had been shed, the ground was stained red, and gray smoke billowed up from the gunpowder.
Another wave of dark red and black rolled across the crimson earth. That’s the only way to put it. They looked like they were covered in a thick black mold while drenched in blood and muck.
Most of them were human, and there were also the occasional dogs or cats. Even monsters were not exceptions.
To stop them, humanity was struggling. Soldiers in dozens of different uniforms, each representing their country. Occasionally, there were those presumed to be Hunters trying to hold them back.
But when they made contact, they too became casualties—mutated in the process.
Yeah. That’s why they were called the Disease and the Plague. Just by existing, they infected, spread, and altered.
“……”
What’s funny is that they weren’t the real threats. They were just the aftermath of the Disease and Plague, having been infected and transformed. The monsters that humanity couldn’t defeat weren’t those.
Yet, they were still a considerable threat. It was only after dozens of bullets hit that they staggered or squashed under the cannon fire; even mangled, they kept moving.
No one present would ever witness that scene.
It was the distance, but also the buildings and makeshift barricades blocking the view. Unless you had piercing eyesight or something like the Wolf, you wouldn’t see it without climbing to a high place.
Even if you couldn’t see it, you could certainly hear the explosions… the warplanes filling the sky and the smoke rising endlessly. Baek So-yul’s face paled at what she vaguely pictured.
“The Temple of War. The Square. The Clans… They wouldn’t just exist for no reason, would they? This is the real situation facing humanity.”
Then she raised her hand, pointing towards the Square.
“You get it, right?”
—It’s not some nonsense about power coming with an equal amount of responsibility, Hong Yu-ri stated.
“If we don’t do this somehow, we end up destroyed. So, we have no choice but to struggle.”
Many came to the Square for their own reasons to learn magic. And most of them turned a blind eye. Hong Yu-ri forced a blank expression.
That shouldn’t be.
The Square she prided herself on wasn’t like that. When she realized the truth about those who turned away, just how much doubt and self-loathing had she felt? —That’s why she bolted from the Square. Her clenched fist represented that sentiment.
“I get why you want to learn magic…”
Of course, she didn’t think less of them. At least, as long as they didn’t betray humanity, the mages contributed in one way or another, no matter how small.
‘But.’
It might be a wild thought, but she often wondered what would happen if they all stepped up a bit more. Then Hong Yu-ri self-deprecated. Sure, they all had reasons, but her—the one who didn’t live as a mage in the Square but as a Hunter—was the first to have issues.
‘…Right.’
Baek So-yul’s choice wasn’t wrong; if she could help the Wolf—the Alpha—then that was surely a path for humanity.
So this was what she truly wanted to say.
“You know, when everyone doesn’t know, they throw around bravado. While you’re in the Square, you might see that side of things quite a bit.”
But now you know. Knowing that, do you still want to learn magic? That was a test of commitment, but Hong Yu-ri didn’t mention that many in the Square turned a blind eye to those scenes. With a deep inward sigh, she glanced at the Floating Island visible from behind.
There’s no doubt the Square was necessary. Yet, most mages living in the Square were little more than sources of magic power lifting the island. They just practiced or researched magic safely up there. What she had self-deprecated before was for that very reason.
It’s pitiful, but there were very few who actively stepped up. Despite being at the frontlines, the Square was always safe.
As she said, if they wanted to, they could avoid seeing such sights during their time learning magic. They could ignore and turn a blind eye to it.
But Hong Yu-ri deliberately showed Baek So-yul this scene. Even if she wouldn’t directly show her the battlefield, she guided her thoughts toward imagining that sight. The intent was clear. Even if she didn’t realize it now, she would learn when entering the Square. Maintaining her blank expression, Hong Yu-ri asked Baek So-yul.
“Do you still want to learn?”
The question of whether she had the courage flowed in the silence amidst deafening explosions. With her pale face, Baek So-yul stammered as she opened her mouth.