118: A Total Disaster
It felt like I had just woken up from a really, really awful dream. Not the kind of nightmare that left you with a splitting headache or made no sense at all—it was disturbingly coherent.
My head was foggy, like it was wrapped in a thick mist, but I could still faintly recall what happened.
I had woken up alone and wandered toward the World Tree. Then, suddenly, I was in a white, empty space, watching a bizarre-looking girl hurl some mixture of accusations and questions at a woman.
Then I was back outside the World Tree, where that strange girl and Georg—no, Elliot—were flinging spells at each other in a chaotic battle. The World Tree even ended up damaged in the process.
It was a dream that was oddly specific. Maybe all the stress lately was creeping into my sleep. Or maybe I just slept in a bad position.
Anyway, all my plans had been canceled, per the official notice. I had woken up early yesterday, so today I figured I’d really sleep in. I adjusted my pillow with that in mind.
…Except something felt off. This wasn’t a pillow.
It felt soft and springy, like I was lying on someone’s thigh. No way the pillow had swapped places in my sleep.
And now that I thought about it, I could feel the chill in the air, the strange texture of the blanket over me… and the surface underneath me wasn’t a bed.
I forced my heavy eyes open. The light was blinding—it made me wince instantly.
“…You’re awake, Dogeon? How’s your new body?”
In that moment, I saw a silhouette—it was Hoyeon. I hadn’t recognized her at first; the sounds and scents were all unfamiliar.
Wait. That meant I’d been sleeping on her thigh. I jolted upright, quickly easing the burden on her.
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize her. But… what did she mean by “new body”? What was she talking about?
“…What are you saying, Hoyeon? A new body…?”
Still sluggish from sleep, I twisted and stretched to check my body. But instead of the usual cracks and protesting muscles, nothing hurt.
Actually, I felt… incredibly refreshed. Not even a hint of fatigue. What?
Things looked a bit clearer somehow, too. And there was this strange, hard-to-explain feeling—like my senses had expanded.
“…Ah. Ah… Aaah? Aah.”
Even my voice sounded a little off from yesterday. Something had happened to my body. I wanted to think more about it, but I couldn’t. Because of what happened next.
Elliot came crashing down in front of me.
…What the hell? Why was he in this state? Even at a glance, it was clear he was badly wounded. Yet he was still hurling dozens of spells, fighting back with terrifying force.
Against who? I followed the trajectory—and saw the bizarre-looking girl from my dream. Except, unlike the dream, she was now missing half her body.
…This wasn’t a dream?
“Hoyeon… What the hell is going on?”
I had no clue what was happening, but I knew it was serious. That girl was radiating pure demonic energy.
And judging by the way Elliot was attacking her with murderous intent, this had to be a real demon—or something close.
But Hoyeon looked like a calm lake. Amid all the chaos, she just smiled faintly at me, utterly unshaken.
“A lot’s happened, but nothing too important. More importantly, Dogeon, I’ve got a somewhat serious question. Is that okay?”
She could say that in a situation like this? But more than her nonchalance, I was more concerned about what she wanted to ask me. If she was asking now, it had to be big.
“…What is it?”
“Hm. Do things that never change… deserve to continue existing?”
What kind of question was that? My mind just couldn’t process it at first. Things that never change? Deserve to continue?
What was she really asking? I tried to piece it together.
It didn’t take long to realize what she meant. She was asking whether this continent—stagnant and unchanging—deserved to survive.
“…That’s not something you can judge by value alone. Even if there’s no progress, nothing deserves to be erased from the world. Besides, it could change someday, right?”
“But what if it’s too slow? What if the chances of it changing are absurdly low? What if it’s holding other things back? Would you still say it should stay?”
She clearly saw things a little differently. From what she’d told me before, her homeland was a place of constant progress and innovation. Compared to that, this continent must’ve looked outdated and sluggish.
That, and Jeongho’s ideology, probably influenced her too. Still, I couldn’t just sit back and let her wipe out an entire continent.
This was the best I could do. So I kept trying to reason with her.
“…If they’re being dragged down and still aren’t cutting ties, doesn’t that mean they’ve got the luxury to be patient? Wiping something out could go wrong, too. Does it really have to be like that…?”
Honestly, I wasn’t confident I could convince her. Even if half of what she said was exaggerated, the East was undeniably far ahead of this place.
But there had to be some reason to preserve it. If I just thought hard enough, I could find at least one good thing.
But then—she said something that brought all my thoughts to a halt.
“Dogeon. I just want you to be honest. You're doing this because you don’t want to see people die, right? Tell me.”
……
“…Yeah.”
I just… didn’t want to see people die. Even if this continent had no progress, I hated seeing the efforts of those trying to live day by day trampled over.
“Then that’s all you had to say.”
Even if she’d seen right through me, I hadn’t given up on convincing her. I still hadn’t given her a reason she’d accept.
“That’s enough. I’ve reached my own conclusion. Let’s go.”
“…Go where?”
Where could we go in the middle of this chaos? My heightened hearing picked up distant screams. That probably meant the academy was in trouble too.
“Where else? Where we’re supposed to be. Can you walk?”
I hadn’t heard her conclusion, and I still didn’t understand what she meant by “new body.” This weird sensation that my body wasn’t my own. And the background chaos—Elliot and the girl were still tearing into each other.
Nothing had been resolved, and it made me uneasy.
Still, I’d just woken up and felt perfectly fine, so walking wouldn’t be a problem… but my skin—why was it like this?
It wasn’t my usual tanned tone—it was pale. And my body felt unusually energetic. Wait… did she literally make me a new body?
Who? Why? How?
I wanted to ask what had happened—where my old body had gone, why I’d woken up in this one—but Hoyeon was already walking far ahead.
“…Wait! Where are you going?! Child, what conclusion have you reached?!”
The strange girl, now even more damaged, tried to block Hoyeon’s path. I rushed over, thinking it was dangerous—but Hoyeon beat me to it with a reply.
“…It’s the punishment for a god who dared touch Dogeon. A se—cret.”
“What—?!”
Just as I reached her side, a massive pillar of light brushed past us and obliterated the girl. The light shimmered for a few moments before settling down.
Hoyeon, completely unfazed, casually linked arms with me and offered a teasing comment.
“…How about tying your coat around your waist? I’ve seen everything already, but the others haven’t.”
***
Meanwhile…
Heukrang found himself feeling a flicker of competitiveness as he sparred with a young woman who kept coming at him relentlessly. If they brought her to the East, she’d definitely be made a warrior—he could admit that much.
But that was it. She was impressive for a human, sure—but only on par with his subordinates. He was barely trying.
On the other hand, Anastasia was fighting with all her might. She could feel the gulf in skill, but she knew this man was one of the key players behind the chaos. So she gave it her all.
In the distance, Eric was struggling against an elderly opponent—but Anastasia didn’t have the luxury to check on him.
“Now, that’s quite enough, Lady Anastasia. I don’t have any business with you, and if you get hurt, the Princess would be terribly upset. We’re just searching a few rooms—not attacking anyone. Don’t you think you’re overreacting?”
“…Hah… Hah… If that’s the case, then why are there screams?!”
“Well, that’s because they weren’t exactly cooperative—huh? Princess?”
Heukrang’s eyes fell on Hoyeon. And next to her—
It was Dogeon. He looked different—taller, paler—but there was no mistaking it. If Hoyeon was holding onto him like that, it had to be him.
He abandoned the fight and dashed over.
“You found him? No—where did you find him? And… why is he white again…?”
“He was inside the World Tree, in soul form. So I made him a new body.”
“…Yes. That’s… what happened…”
Hearing Hoyeon speak about something so absurd with a straight face, and seeing Dogeon agree with a bitter smile, Heukrang gave up trying to understand what had happened.
“…Anyway, now that you’ve found him… we’ll stop the search. That's okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks for your help.”
With that, Heukrang darted off and shouted loudly:
“It’s over! Stop and regroup!”
Anastasia was left standing alone, utterly confused, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
“…Miss Hoyeon! And Dogeon—sir? What is going on?! The barrier around the World Tree is gone, there were explosions, your guards are acting aggressively—what’s all this?!”
And to that, Hoyeon simply replied:
“Nothing at all.”