The End of Bewilderment (3)
Hela, who can freely navigate others’ dreams, and Ramu, who can manipulate the dream space at her will.
Their cooperation generated a synergy beyond expectations.
‘This is definitely effective.’
Hoon, who had been meditating by Ramu’s sleeping side, slowly opened his eyes and nodded.
‘Thanks to that, I crossed another threshold myself.’
Of course, it wasn’t just Hela and Ramu who participated in this joint operation.
Wasn’t he also a fitting talent, optimized to connect people through “Mental Empathy” and communication chakra?
The meticulous coordination leveraging the traits of Hela, Ramu, and Hoon was the decisive factor in the progress of this dramatic situation.
“Hoo.”
After calming the chakra swirling violently within him, he took a deep breath.
The little universe within him, which deepened thanks to this event, began to emit an aura entirely different from before.
Finally, Hoon had advanced from the upper to the deeper layers as a practitioner.
‘Has it been just over a month since I entered chakra? Others would probably faint.’
Strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered a pure month.
During this operation, thanks to Ramu’s ability, he could utilize training for over a hundred times more than others while in the dream.
A long journey crossing the dream worlds of countless people while separated from the outside time line.
For him, who opened the communication chakra, it was almost like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Ugh…”
At that moment, a rustling sound and a fragile voice came from ahead.
“Uwoo— Gahhh—!”
Soon after, Ramu shifted her body and stretched with a yawn.
Her half-awake eyes met Hoon’s steady gaze.
“…Eek!”
Startled by the encounter, Ramu quickly jumped to her feet.
She swiftly tidied her messy hair, wiped her mouth, and put on a nonchalant expression as usual.
…If it weren’t for the pillow-marked cheek and her flushed ears, it would’ve been perfect.
The kind Hoon, considerate of the delicate child’s feelings, didn’t point that out and spoke up instead.
“Awake? Good job. Thanks to you, the work ended easily.”
Unlike Hoon, who could access others’ minds with his powers, Ramu had to actually fall asleep to enter the dream world.
It wasn’t strange to see her in such a state since she had been continuously intoxicated with sleep these past few days.
“Is it all over? What about that Hela person…?”
“She’s probably gone to catch that hidden mastermind. It shouldn’t take too long.”
It seemed that they were doing their best to escape, but once caught in the Demon King’s gaze, it was meaningless struggling.
No matter how they fly or crawl, they’d be dragged back in a half-dead state in less than a day.
“…That’s a relief. At least I feel like I was a bit helpful.”
Ramu murmured softly at Hoon’s response.
She agreed to join this operation due to his persuasion, but she seemed to have felt some pressure all along without realizing it.
Seeing her timid demeanor, Hoon looked at her with a strange expression.
‘It really wasn’t just a little help.’
Without her help, he could only imagine how sluggish the progress would have been.
If the mastermind felt the same sense of crisis as now, it wouldn’t have been easy to grab them.
Just looking at their past actions, it seemed they were much more cautious than expected.
“By the way, congratulations. You’ve finally reached the deeper layers. I knew it was only a matter of time.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you. Speaking of which, you’re already in the middle layer too, right?”
“Yes… Fortunately, it seems my growth hasn’t slowed too much yet. If I have enough time, I should be able to reach the upper layers somehow.”
“Come on, if it’s you, you’ll reach the deeper layers in no time. If I want to keep up, I need to step up my game too, huh?”
The two exchanged words in a casual tone.
To another practitioner, it would’ve been an unbelievable conversation.
In the world beyond, the deeper layers are levels called extremes, realms, or mastery, marking the limit of humans.
Considering that the number of celestial practitioners corresponding to transcendence in Sabacheon could be counted on one hand, ascending to the deeper layers in just a little over a month was ludicrous.
Of course, there would still be disparities based on levels.
‘But it’s not a joke. Ramu’s growth rate has far exceeded my expectations. Her opened chakra is… well, you know.’
The more complex the meaning behind the chakra, the slower the growth, as is common belief among practitioners.
When you have both ‘weapon’ and ‘sword,’ the versatility may lie with ‘weapon,’ but the growth rate is faster with ‘sword,’ one of the subcategories.
‘In that sense, Ramu’s chakra is unprecedented.’
What she had opened was ‘World.’
A name so grand that just hearing it could make one feel distant.
“…Ramu, you must never tell anyone what your chakra is, alright?”
“Yeah? Of course not. I haven’t even told that Hela person.”
“Good job.”
Hoon patted Ramu’s small head and sighed.
Even Yoon So-hwa, who was around the same age and had endured abuse-like training since childhood, was just barely stepping into the middle layer.
Yet, being hailed as a genius and carrying everyone’s expectations, if it became known that she had opened a chakra as grand as ‘World’ and was already in the middle layer…
‘That would be downright insane growth speed. Her abilities really complement her chakra well.’
In the world where only the mind exists, there was no chance to train the body or refine and accumulate energy.
What could be done was limited to endless inquiry and arduous mental training.
However, for chakra practitioners who could grow just by inner growth and understanding, it was like a heavenly training ground.
‘I also benefited greatly this time.’
The chakra that reached the deeper layers whirled vigorously within Hoon’s drowsy eyes.
If his upper layer was a high-end sports car, now it was more akin to the engine of a supersonic jet.
It was just a one-level difference, but the gap was absurd.
Vrum—
Communication powers spread from him in all directions.
Covering the entirety of the Seongcheon Yoon Clan’s turf, extending even beyond to the entire city and beyond.
While observing the circumstances flowing within the range through chakra, Hoon’s expression stiffened.
‘Looks like there are still matters to sort out on this side.’
He casually turned his neck to loosen his muscles and rose from his seat.
Then he glanced at Ramu, who was gazing up at him blankly, thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Ramu, how about we go for a walk?”
“…A walk?”
“Yeah, you must have been cooped up in here all this time, feeling suffocated.”
At his words, Ramu blinked and tilted her head.
But it was only for a moment; soon she nodded willingly, and Hoon smiled faintly at her.
*
On the outskirts of the city ruled by the Seongcheon Yoon Clan.
“Attack.”
A single command echoed in the command tent of the Hongsan Kingdom’s garrison.
“…Huh?”
“I said attack.”
One of the officers was taken aback by the abrupt order, but the general who gave it maintained a serious expression, with his eyes shining bright red.
Gulp—
Noticing something was off, the aide gulped nervously.
He didn’t know why the general was suddenly giving such an order, but a wrong decision could not be denied.
It was the basic quality of a competent aide to advise the superior when they were making a mistake.
He cautiously opened his mouth to persuade the general.
“General, we just received the order to stand by, right? Rushing into an attack on the Yoon Clan would inherently bear political burden, so we need time to verify the facts, right? Besides, I heard reinforcements are being added for the full-scale war preparations….”
Bam—
Before the aide could finish, his body flew out through the tent with a breaking sound.
Left behind were frozen officers and a general angrily grinding his fists, dripping with blood.
“How dare you defy orders in this critical wartime situation?!”
The fierce aura emanating from him made the officers quickly straighten their stances, drenched in cold sweat.
They knew he hadn’t been sleeping well because of stress lately, but he wasn’t the type to lash out at his subordinates recklessly, making the situation all the more shocking.
“Listen well. Those people are criminals who humiliated the great general and accomplices hiding that fact! How much longer must we wait in this situation, where we don’t know what those great generals have to endure?!”
His furious outburst swept over the room.
War was no trivial matter, and an army couldn’t just move on the order of one commander.
However, there was one issue—the fact that many shared the same opinion as him.
From within the garrison and various places, including the capitals of other countries, intense discussions were breaking out.
And this upper-level confusion, though temporary, granted a slight autonomy to the frontline troops.
As a result…
The army of the Hongsan Kingdom began their march toward the main house of the Seongcheon Yoon Clan.
On the opposite side, the forces stationed there from the Cheonghae Kingdom were also mobilizing.
At the same time, the spatial arena around the Yoon Clan crumbled, revealing mage practitioners emerging one after another.
“Now is the time to repay the kindness shown by the great general!”
“Allying with such criminals. I’ll expose their vile faces this time!”
“Hehe— The sweet scent of blood is in the air. This is a golden opportunity to erase the Yoon Clan without leaving a single stone unturned.”
The estimated numbers were easily in the thousands.
Though they hadn’t reached full-scale war yet, it didn’t exceed ten thousand, but considering they were all recognized practitioners, it wouldn’t be an easy feat.
Thus, the moment when the flames of the great war, extinguished decades ago, would be reignited.
At this point, victory or cause was no longer important.
War consumes not only blood and resentment but also brings about more death in a chain reaction, making it the worst fiend.
The grudge from decades ago hadn’t been washed away yet, and if such a thing were to happen again, it could escalate to an irretrievable extent.
Especially since the main subject of this war was the Seongcheon Yoon Clan, which had been a staunch neutral party…
“Ah, you have to admire how fast people are.”
“Why do they act this way in such a wonderful world? It would be nice if everyone got along.”
“Well, everyone has their own beliefs and values, so it can’t be helped.”
In the heart of all this chaos.
On the walls of the city where the Yoon Clan had settled, a young man and a girl walked leisurely.
They showed no signs at all of the extreme tension surrounding the approaching war.
“Y-you can’t be up here…”
An officer responsible for the wall looked as though he was about to speak before retreating a step back.
An instinctive reaction he wasn’t even aware of.
Noticing something was off a moment too late, he panicked, but Hoon had already passed him, continuing to speak to Ramu, who was trailing behind.
“Listen, Ramu. There’s no such thing as unconditional peace in this world. Everyone has their own thoughts and desires. Trying to block all the conflicts that arise is arrogance.”
“…It’s difficult. Is that all a fairy tale really just a fairy tale?”
Ramu sighed.
Is this what it means to grow up?
Of course, considering she was one who survived in a world crumbling away, she understood better than anyone how cruel humans could be and the ugliness of the world.
Yet somewhere deep down, she secretly hoped there might be dimensions where such truly happy worlds as in fairy tales existed…
“Then is there really no way?”
Ramu pouted, looking disappointed, and Hoon smiled warmly.
“No way? There’s actually a very certain method!”
Then he spoke with a serious expression, filled with conviction.
Like a prophet unveiling the secrets of the world, like a scientist witnessing absolute truth, and like a serpent whispering corruption into an innocent girl’s ear.
“Power.”
The fastest and most certain means to protect world peace was neither a determined and noble justice nor a compassionate warmth embracing the needy, nor even wealth that could feed everyone.
“Absolute force that no one can dare to challenge!”
It was power that couldn’t be contested or obstructed.
That was the key to true peace proven by history.
“From now on, I will show you that.”
Hoon, who had achieved past feats by overwhelming deep-layer practitioners even with just newly entered chakra, had finally reached the deeper layer level.
To be honest, the reality was this:
There was no one left in this world who could do anything to him.
Even if they were transcendents who reached the celestial status.
Wooooooosh—
The energy fiercely turning within him resonated with the world around him.
Through it, his little universe opened wide, and a pure will began to forcefully manipulate surrounding phenomena.
The concentrated mental strengths of avatars who achieved enlightenment pushed thoughts beyond limits and accelerated them.
Unlike before, when he could scarcely utilize rich resources due to limits in output, he was now fully eligible to mobilize them.
In the eternal moment where even breathing and all bodily metabolism had ceased.
Only the chakra drawn from his little universe spun endlessly.
He couldn’t use “Thought Overload.”
If those elites from various countries made a mistake, it could lead to situations they could never return from.
‘Communication is about allowing things to circulate without obstruction. In that case, forcibly implanting my intentions can also be considered part of communication.’
The revolving chakra, along with skills like “Root of Ideals,” “Mental Empathy,” and “Wheel of Law,” were woven together.
The resulting mental waves radiated outward.
Beyond the current location, throughout the Yoon Clan’s territory, and to the thousands of practitioners harboring malice approaching this city.
And…
[Stop.]
—Thus, the war ended.
