Chapter 260 : The Worst Magical Beast

"What is this..."

I was at a loss for words at the sight before me.

It was a familiar back alley.

Was I dreaming?

I pinched my cheek, but the pain was still there.

My hands and feet had also become shorter.

I had become a kid.

So, to summarize.

I had gone back in time twenty-odd years to the days when I was rolling around in the dirty back alleys of Schirnberg.

Time and space. To that time.

Just a moment ago, I was fighting the Snowman with the Sherwood members.

What in the world...?

I was suddenly terrified.

I was afraid that everything that had happened so far was just an illusion.

That it was just a midsummer night's dream that a shabby kid from the back alleys had.

I quickly looked for the Heavenly Demon first.

"Master, are you there? Can you hear me?"

[Yes, I can hear you.]

Fortunately, the master imprinted in my mind was fine.

A sigh of relief escaped me.

Because it was clear proof that my past days were not an illusion.

Whether he knew my heart or not, the Heavenly Demon just muttered with interest.

[Hoh... interesting. It seems to be a type of illusion or formation.]

"Illusion? Formation?"

[A branch of magic that confuses the mind.]

"Aha."

Come to think of it, Sorrow had warned me at the end that it was a mental magic.

[Do you remember his words?]

I also vaguely remembered the Snowman's words.

He had said he was inviting me to his nightmare.

"So, this is a dream, right?"

[Well, it's certain that it's not reality.]

"Hmm."

A dream.

A dream breaks the moment you realize it's a dream.

But this seemed to be of a different nature.

How could a dream be so vivid?

It felt as if I had really gone back to the past.

Did such a magic exist?

[The more I look, the more familiar it seems. Is this the Schirnberg of the past?]

"Correct."

I looked around and muttered.

"So, how do I get out of here?"

[I wonder.]

I had never even heard of this kind of magic in my life.

If it were Big Sister, she would have found a way to get out somehow, but I was not the Red Witch.

But the Heavenly Demon seemed to have an idea, so I sought his wisdom.

"What would you do, Master?"

[If it were me, I would have released my power and forcibly torn the formation to escape.]

"Then I should also..."

[There's no harm in trying. Go ahead.]

I immediately drew my sword and tried to cast the Moonlight Sword, but...

"Huh?"

There was no sword at my waist.

It seemed my two swords had not followed me into the dream.

I fumbled at my empty waist and muttered.

"Where can I find a sword?"

Just then.

"Hey!"

At the calling voice, I looked over and saw some thugs appearing in the back alley, swaggering.

"Hey, kid! Come here."

"If you run, you're dead."

Memories slowly came back.

It was a gang that used to roam the back alleys and steal money.

I could see the sword at their waists.

"Aren't you coming over here?"

Screech—

Just then, one of them threateningly drew his sword and threatened me.

It's only human to go when you're called.

I grinned and approached them.

* * *

"Keuk...!"

"S-stop!"

"Help me!"

Since they were guys I had wanted to beat up someday anyway, I didn't spare any violence.

It was quite refreshing and nice to beat them up, even in a dream.

After taking their swords, I gave them the order to leave.

"Get lost."

"Hiiik!"

Our thugs, who ruled the back alleys, ran away in a hurry.

Now, the only thing they could rule was their own flesh.

"That's a pretty good joke, isn't it?"

[...]

I was quite satisfied.

I chuckled and drew the sword I had taken from them.

"Hmm."

It was a cheap sword, but what was important was not the tool, but the one who wielded it, so I didn't care.

I immediately poured my internal energy into the sword.

Black Night Sky flowed, then starlight twinkled, and then moonlight entered.

I poured the moonlight of the full moon into the sword and then swung it with all my might.

Moonlight Sword. First Form. Half Moon.

"Hup!"

The building in front of me was cut diagonally.

The building collapsed diagonally, causing a commotion.

"Aaaah!"

"What's going on!"

"The house is collapsing!"

"Get out of the way!"

KWAGWAGWANG!

"..."

I stared blankly at the half-destroyed building.

I could hear the Heavenly Demon clicking his tongue, tsk, tsk.

[Not even close.]

Clang!

The sword I had swung belatedly shattered.

It must have been unable to withstand the power of the full moon.

But since I had taken more than one sword, there was no problem.

I drew another sword and held it with both hands.

I didn't give up and this time, I created the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art.

The enormous internal energy of the eighth stage of the Snow Branch Blue Flame Art flowed into the sword through both hands.

Woooong—

First, frost formed on the sword, and then it turned all white.

And on top of that, a blue flame coiled.

The blue and white energies flowed arrogantly as they were.

It felt as if the Heaven-Reversing Light had been melted into the sword.

With more concentration than ever before, I swung the sword with all my might.

"Hup!"

KWAAAAAAAANG!!

The half-collapsed building was completely smashed.

Several screams erupted.

"..."

And yet, I couldn't wake up from the dream.

...Was this still not enough?

[If you could produce the Snow Branch Blue Flame, maybe, but for now, it seems impossible.]

"Then how do I get out of here?"

[How should I know?]

"..."

[There is always a solution to a formation. It's only when there's an exit that it can be stable. This should be no different.]

"So, I have to find it?"

[That's right.]

Just then, the scenery flickered and returned to its initial state.

The building I had split was back to normal, and as I was staring at it blankly, the thugs appeared from over there, swaggering as before.

"Hey, kid! Come here."

"If you run, you're dead."

I blinked and looked at them.

One of them got angry.

"Aren't you coming over here?"

First, I got angry too and beat them up again.

Then, the scenery flickered again and returned to the beginning.

"What in the world...?"

After beating up the swaggering thugs several times and destroying the surrounding buildings once,

I figured out one thing.

That to reach the end of the dream, I had to play along with the dream.

This nightmare, I don't know how, but it was accurately projecting a past that even I was hazy about.

The event would proceed only if I followed what I had done in the past.

...Was this the exit?

Beating up the thugs or destroying the buildings was not in my past.

So every time I did that, it would go back to the beginning.

Fortunately, other minor errors were not corrected.

So, I didn't have to follow every single minor action, but I had to follow the main storyline.

The Heavenly Demon summarized the situation in one sentence.

[It means you have to watch as you reenact the past.]

A question crossed my mind.

"...Why this kind of thing?"

Why did the Snowman use this kind of magic on us?

If it were me, I would have used a destructive magic that would have collapsed the entire valley.

What a bad taste.

There was no way to know, even if I thought about it now.

There wasn't much time.

I had to escape this damn magic circle quickly.

"Hey, kid! Come here."

"If you run, you're dead."

"..."

For that reason, I first let the thugs beat me up quietly.

After getting beaten up and having my money taken, I was lying on the street.

'What did I do after this?'

Because I couldn't remember well.

Just then.

"Ashuban!"

I heard a girl's voice.

The moment I heard it, something inside me dropped.

It was a voice I missed so much.

My mind cleared.

Thump, thump, thump!

I heard the sound of hurried footsteps, and soon, the owner of the voice appeared.

"Are you okay?"

White hair, as if snow had fallen.

Sky-blue eyes, as if the blue sky were contained within.

How could I forget?

It was Tina.

As I was just staring blankly, Tina struggled to help me up and then dusted off my clothes.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

"...Tina."

Tina placed her hand on my forehead and tilted her head.

"Did you hit your head?"

"..."

Just then, another footstep was heard.

A boy with black hair was walking over.

"What. Ashuban, did you get beaten up by someone again? Was it Johnny's gang?"

"...You."

I was more surprised than when I had seen Tina.

I pulled another name that I had completely forgotten from the swamp of my memory.

"...Yuri."

The black-haired boy, Yuri, frowned.

"What, what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

The one who had first taught me the bitter taste of the world.

The first traitor, whom I had once believed to be a truly irreplaceable friend.

And, the one who had finally sold Tina to them.

"...Ah."

Only then could I realize the true nature of this damn nightmare.

There was a reason why it was called a nightmare.

It was not enough to remind me of the event that was considered the worst nightmare, but it was intended to make me experience it again.

And very vividly.

With a curse that would send me back to the beginning if I changed the event even a little.

To reach the end of this nightmare, I had to somehow follow the most regrettable event of my life without doing anything.

A reenactment of the most terrible memory.

There was an exit, but it was a thorny path that I had to walk on, even if my feet were torn.

So, I had to trust that damn traitor again, and be betrayed.

I had to watch Tina die again.

I had to live the worst day of my life again.

"Hahahaha!"

I laughed like a madman.

How could there be such a cruel magic?

How could I reach the end without going mad?

"Hahahaha!"

"Ashuban, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Is this bastard crazy?"

The Heavenly Demon said in a low tone.

[My disciple.]

"Keuk... yes, Master."

[Don't be captivated by the illusion.]

"Yes, yes. Of course. Will the Red-Eyed Devil lose to such an illusion? Keuk, keuk!"

I barely managed to control the laughter that kept bursting out, and then I stared at the traitor who was looking at me with a strange expression.

"You. First, let's get beaten up."

I beat him to death three times before I could calm my mind.

* * *

"Hmm?"

Scarlet, who was running on Miho's back, looked back.

"What's wrong?"

"...It's nothing."

Scarlet shook her head and then looked straight ahead.

How far had they run?

The forest was gradually thinning out.

—————!

From not too far away, I heard its cry.

The cry seemed to be calling them.

"Stop crying. We're here."

Soon, the two, who had reached a large clearing, found the one who was waiting for them.

Her pure white, huge body came into view.

It was a white dragon.

Boasting a huge body of about 30 meters, it looked down on the two guests who had come to find it with a lofty figure.

Miho muttered.

"What a flashy fellow."

Scarlet got off Miho's back and then looked up at the queen of the magical beasts.

The horns that grew like ice on her head really looked like a crown from below.

The Half-Dragon, who had been looking down at the Red Witch and Miho, spread its half-wing, then looked up at the sky and roared with all its might.

—KYAOOOOOOO!!

The air burst, and the snow piled on the ground rose with a whoosh.

An enormous pressure crushed the area.

Any intelligent creature would have trembled and bowed its head.

But the two guests just looked at it as if it were strange.

"What a peculiar cry."

Scarlet nodded.

"Dragon Fear. It's quite a good imitation."

Miho laughed softly.

"Then we should also give it a proper response."

Flash!

As soon as Miho finished speaking, a light burst out from her.

It flickered with an eerie light, and then.

Thump.

Soon, a mysterious woman came out of the light.

Behind the woman, whose eyes had a red tinge, nine pure white tails were swaying.

A long time ago, the legendary magical beast that had destroyed a prosperous ancient kingdom.

The title given to her, the worst magical beast in history.

The special S-rank individual, the Nine-Tailed Fox, gave an eerie smile.

"It's been quite a while since I've been in this form."

When Scarlet snapped her fingers, a total of eleven swords flowed out from the air and flew to Miho.

She held nine swords with her nine tails, and two swords with her two hands.

Miho, holding the eleven swords, walked toward the Half-Dragon.

With a leisurely and light step, as if she were strolling on the snow.

Scarlet said to her.

"Be careful."

Compared to the huge Half-Dragon, her back was so small, but Scarlet never felt that she was being pushed back.

Because in terms of danger, Miho's was much thicker.

—KYAOOOOOOO!!

The Half-Dragon roared again and then opened its mouth wide.

Seeing the white chill overflowing, it was easy to guess that it was preparing a breath.

Regardless. Miho walked toward her without hesitation and smiled softly.

"I wonder what your liver tastes like."

—KWAAAAAAA!

Soon, a white chill covered the area.

(End of Chapter)