‘What the heck…’
Temurlen was momentarily lost in thought.
Before his eyes, an unbelievable scene was unfolding.
The implement device, ‘Alma,’ wasn’t anything extraordinary.
If anything, it was akin to a high-performance speaker.
The only difference from a speaker was that it made you vividly feel all your senses, not just sound.
Alma had no computational abilities; it merely interpreted inputted data and outputted it as-is.
‘How is uninputted data being output…?’
Just as a listener couldn’t interfere with sound flowing from a speaker, it was obvious that a third party couldn’t participate in the results of Alma either.
One could only observe quietly without having any influence.
Yet, that man was breaking such common sense head-on.
His hand touched the footage of the past.
He embraced the girl as if to comfort her by going back in time…
The girl wept profusely, clinging to that man, shedding tears.
Unlike the lonely past, which gradually crumbled, there was now a silent man gently stroking her head beside her.
‘What in the world…?’
There was only one possibility.
He had seized control of ‘Alma.’
Now, Alma was no longer a device merely outputting inputted data through illusion magic.
It had evolved into a simulator.
Of course, since Alma lacked a computational device, fundamentally, simulation was impossible.
This meant that something else must have been taking on the role of the computational device.
And from earlier…
From when that man began interacting with illusion magic…
He felt something deep inside his bag emitting a powerful wave of magical energy.
That must be it.
He still didn’t know what it was, but it was helping connect Alma to the girl’s past.
‘Impressive. An illusion simulator capable of real-time interaction. This could be quite a money-maker.’
Though he likened it to a speaker, the amount of data Alma handled was far beyond simple channel audio data.
To implement senses like magic and demonic energy, one would need to read all the information etched in the brain.
Yet, to have a device capable of interacting with that much data?
If such a thing existed, products like illusion simulators would have already hit the market.
The strongest computational gem that didn’t exist in this world.
Temurlen began to desire that unknown computing device more than anything else.
If he completed the illusion simulator, he could rake in cash.
In a world where many were addicted to the one-dimensional pleasure of drugs, countless people would be seeking to escape reality and find a simulator.
‘Huh? But no matter how extraordinary the computing gem is, can it operate during all this chaos?’
However, there was another oddity.
Though people perceived computing gems as doing all the computation, that wasn’t entirely the case.
Operators had to exhibit strong concentration through meditation to effectively operate them.
But that man seemed uninterested in operating the gem, focusing solely on embracing the girl.
The idea of the girl’s illusion from the past operating the gem was absurd.
Then, could it be that there was a spider inside the man’s clothing…?
‘Oh my. Seeing so many bizarre things in one day is messing with my head.’
He found himself having such a bizarre suspicion.
A spider operating a gem? Ridiculous.
It surely must be that the man’s gem operation ability was extraordinary, even superhuman.
That was the only explanation.
‘What…?!’
At that very moment.
Another wondrous thing occurred.
Data was being layered over.
In real-time, the girl’s memories were being altered.
As if the man had been there in the past.
The lonely, heart-wrenching memories of the girl were changing to reflect being healed by that man.
It wasn’t a radical and destructive alteration like brainwashing or hypnosis.
It was an alteration done with the consent of the recipient.
The girl would know that these memories had been altered and would recall how she felt before the alteration.
It wasn’t about deceiving the girl.
It was about covering painful memories to ensure they would remain bittersweet memories inspiring reflection and conversation.
Courage to look back at the past.
Just by bestowing that upon her, the man seemed satisfied, grinning.
‘He’s really using Alma for his own purposes…’
A memory copier disguised as an illusion simulator.
At this point, Temurlen wondered if his understanding of Alma had surpassed his own.
No. Perhaps he had come here with the intention of exploiting Alma from the start.
It was a bold and cunning act beyond imagination that made him laugh.
Having been used without receiving anything in return, strangely, he didn’t feel displeased about it.
Perhaps it was because he had also sought to gather information about the man.
‘Yeah. I believe you. You’re not a Great Demon.’
Temurlen decided to conclude that.
This man, treating an ordinary Blood Ghoul girl with such precious care aside from regaining his reasoning.
He acknowledged that he was neither a Great Demon nor an ally of the adversaries from the other world.
[Let’s end this. You both just spent ten days’ worth of magic from the White Magic Tower.]
Temurlen murmured to the machine inside and turned off the power.
But Alma, having lost control, resisted by briefly releasing magical energy.
Finally, it ceased casting illusion magic.
sniff sniff
“Ugh! Hoo, Aaaah! Mooooom! Daaaad… Aaaah…”
“······.”
Mi Jeong clutched her chest and wailed uncontrollably.
It was a long-walled sadness trapped deep within her heart.
A sadness she had never even thought to express outwardly.
She could only think of pressuring herself with feelings of guilt, believing she had committed an unforgivable sin.
Though the subjects had died,
I forgave them in their stead.
She had doubted her worthiness until now and couldn’t even ask.
Yet now, after peering into Mi Jeong’s past…
Seeing that horrific scene and feeling those emotions, I could finally comprehend Mi Jeong’s position.
I still felt unworthy,
and I couldn’t say I fully understood her.
And yet, daringly and presumptuously,
I forgave her on my own terms.
It’s okay.
You can forgive yourself now.
Whispering repeatedly while stroking Mi Jeong softly.
[Let’s end this. You both just spent ten days’ worth of magic from the White Magic Tower.]
The surroundings began to collapse.
Mi Jeong’s figure in my arms gradually began to transform.
Kuh … Huh … Waaah …
The Blood Ghoul girl, who had been covered in blood and crying, disappeared.
Only a Blood Ghoul, sobbing without tears, remained.
Before long, we returned to the interior of ‘Alma,’ surrounded completely by white panels.
“Mi Jeong.”
“······Mm.”
Mi Jeong’s voice was also hoarse and slurred.
This was the Mi Jeong I knew.
An all too familiar Mi Jeong.
Although she hadn’t completely shaken off her past trauma yet,
she was now facing her past and slowly recovering.
“Nobody blames you. Your guilt that has been bottled up for over a decade. You can throw it all away. It’s not your fault. You have no responsibility. You shouldn’t have to suffer like this.”
“······But, when I close my eyes, I can still hear it. The voices that blame me.”
Despite having a body that could live without sleep, the fact that sleep curses or such magic still worked on her indicated she could sleep if she wanted to.
It appeared Mi Jeong had been adamantly refusing to sleep for this very reason.
She was afraid of her dreams.
Afraid that her past would come crashing down on her…
“Try closing your eyes.”
“······Mm.”
“Can you hear anything now?”
“······No.”
“Then what comes to mind?”
“······You, Yoo Jin, who protects me. Hugs me and tells me that I’m not at fault.”
Now, my existence was etched into Mi Jeong’s mind.
By facing it, I had allowed her to look back on the past that had brought her only pain.
Now, I would protect Mi Jeong within her.
I would eliminate all the guilt and resentment directed toward herself.
And at that point,
I felt strength surging through my body as thoughts accelerated.
[The Trait ‘Guardian Knight’ is activating.]
[Stats]
[Strength: 20(x5) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Stamina: 45(x5) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Magic: 50(x5) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Aglility: 28(x5) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Luck: 10(x5) *Guardian Knight effect active]
The Guardian Knight had reactivated.
It seems Mi Jeong was starting to regain the perception of being ‘protected’ by me.
Now, I seemed to understand the meaning of that perception.
Why Mi Jeong could always have her Guardian Knight activated.
The ‘protection’ Mi Jeong received wasn’t physical.
I had been ‘protecting’ her from the past until now.
Without question, I had kept her from remembering and thinking about it.
Yet now, that meaning had subtly changed.
I had remained in Mi Jeong’s memories.
I had embraced her by engaging with her past.
In a fundamentally impossible past, I was still protecting Mi Jeong now.
I was guarding her against that painful trauma.
Perhaps the ‘me’ inside Mi Jeong would eternally remain to embrace her.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]
[Conditions for the trait’s evolution have been satisfied.]
[The Trait ‘Guardian Knight’ evolves.]
At that moment, the system window appeared before me.
The stats window crackled and transformed as new abilities applied.
[Initial Trait: Guardian Knight (Enhanced)]
[When protecting someone, stats are ‘greatly’ amplified. When not activated, there is a penalty of a ’50’ decrease in base stats.]
[Stats]
[Strength: 20(x7) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Stamina: 45(x7) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Magic: 50(x7) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Aglility: 28(x7) *Guardian Knight effect active]
[Luck: 10(x7) *Guardian Knight effect active]
Now, the amplification was a whopping 7 times.
I’ve been fretting about how to boost my specs for a while.
Thanks to this, I saw a significant surge in power.
With this, I could probably keep up with Kali’s speed, as ‘perfected’ by Luna.
Maybe I could even match Transylvania evenly…
But that might be overestimating it a bit.
Regardless,
With this level of power, it seems I can now certainly crush Belphegor’s true form.
“Welcome back.”
“······Mm.”
“And goodbye.”
“······.”
The Mi Jeong who had been blissfully happy while forgetting the past no longer existed.
I chose to bury that child in my heart and quietly bid farewell.
And that was that.
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t much of a deal.
Facing the past was.
