NOVEL NEXT chapter 49
49 – Nightmare 2
When I fell asleep and opened my eyes,
I found myself standing at the entrance of an alley.
I glanced ahead.
The alley was a place seldom touched by human hands.
“Uwaaah.”
Beggars crowded the narrow path.
They begged with bowls in front of them.
This was their way of not dying.
I looked behind.
Unlike the alley, it was a place touched by human hands.
“hahahahaha.”
There, various merchants and children were walking around.
They were selling goods or joyfully engaging in conversation.
This was how they lived.
Though no separate line was drawn, people seemed to avoid looking into the alley, as if there were an invisible wall, never getting too close.
It was clear.
This was a dream. No, a nightmare.
The nightmares I dreamt were always the same, sharp and without mercy.
Despite recurring several times, none of them became familiar.
It wasn’t a terror from the unknown.
Rather, it was more frightening because I knew what would happen next.
Step by step.
My body entered the alley.
Against my will, my body moved.
“No matter when I come here, my body trembles… Damn. Can’t even speak as I wish.”
My mouth moved without my consent.
At this moment, the clown-like tone was unfamiliar and embarrassing, so I wavered in expression.
The reason I went to the alley was to obtain a magical tool.
“Ugh.”
Someone rushed towards me and collided.
My body lowered, and I looked at the person I collided with.
It was a small girl.
Not the kind to live in this alley.
“Sorry, sorry!”
The child trembled, kneeling and pleading.
This was how the child survived in the back alleys.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Then someone ran and stood between the child and me.
“Oh, oppa.”
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
The boy was slightly older than the girl.
At least not old enough to claim he could protect her.
“Try laying a hand on my little sister!”
The boy threatened with a knife in his hand.
The knife he held was so pathetic that it could hardly be called a knife.
Perhaps it had been discarded by someone.
Both of them seemed malnourished and frail.
There was nothing the child could do in the back alleys.
Swoosh.
“……………..”
I wordlessly took out bread from my bag and handed it to the children.
I couldn’t remember if I had nothing to say or if I didn’t want to speak in a clownish tone.
The girl was still hiding behind the boy.
The boy was still standing, as if protecting the girl.
The children were wary of me, but their gaze was fixed on the bread.
“Eat.”
Leaving those words behind, I walked past the children, setting the bread down.
The girl’s gaze remained fixed on the bread on the ground, while the boy remained cautious until I disappeared from their sight.
“Oppa, can I eat this?”
“Just wait a moment.”
I hid and watched the children eat the bread.
This was my first encounter with the children.
Suddenly, everything in the world except for me rushed by.
My body was walking down the alley again.
“I really enjoyed the bread you gave me last time!”
The girl approached me, smiling, and greeted me. The boy remained silent, bowing his head. He didn’t draw his knife, but he was still on guard.
“……………….”
Once again, I handed the bread to the children.
“Eat.”
This time, the child took the bread I offered.
“Thank you!”
Without saying anything more, I walked past the children.
“hehehe, received bread again today. How should I repay this?”
“Nevertheless, we should stay cautious just in case. They’re wearing suspicious masks.”
“Psh, you’re enjoying it too, oppa. Will you give some tomorrow too?”
“Sigh, I’m fine with this much, so you eat more.”
“No, I’ve had plenty too. Eat more, oppa.”
Once again, I concealed myself and watched over the children.
Once again, everything but me spun swiftly in the world.
“Hello!”
The girl dashed towards me upon seeing me and greeted me with her short legs. The boy beside the girl also bowed his head in greeting.
“Eat.”
I handed over more bread and water than usual. Then, I passed by the children.
“Why are you giving us food to eat?”
The boy, staring intently at the bread and water, spoke to me as I walked past.
I turned around to look at the boy. Perhaps he had given his thicker clothes to his younger sibling; the boy was wearing thin, worn-out attire.
The child who should have been bright and playful had matured to protect his younger sibling.
“Just because.”
Leaving behind a brief reply, I departed.
Once again, everything but me sped swiftly by in the world.
“Wear this.”
I handed thick clothes to the children along with food.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you.”
The young man also expressed his gratitude to me.
“hehehe, it’s heartwarming.”
“…..Indeed. It’s warm.”
Once again, I silently watched the children’s satisfied expressions as they hid their bodies.
And then, everything except for me passed by quickly.
“Masked Oppa~.”
The young girl ran towards me and embraced me.
It seemed like quite some time had passed, as the children had grown taller, and their skinny bodies had finally reached an average size.
“Why did you come so late today?”
“…..Eat.”
I took out warm soup and meat from the space and handed it to the child.
“Wow- meat! Meat! Masked Oppa is the best!”
Now, I no longer just handed over the food but ate with the children.
“But why does hyung always speak so briefly?”
Unlike the girl who used informal speech, the boy used formal language.
“That’s right! Masked Oppa is a kind person, but speaking briefly made you seem scary when we first met.”
“If I speak at length, a frivolous tone comes out.”
Speaking at length naturally brought out a frivolous tone. Speaking briefly was the only way for me to avoid using a frivolous tone.
At that time, I disliked, no, I abhorred using a frivolous tone.
A casual tone and behavior make people look down on me.
“I don’t mind being a frivolous older brother. What do you think, oppa?”
The girl asked the boy. The boy, who was cooling off thick soup for his younger sibling, paused to think for a moment upon hearing the girl’s words.
“I like sincerity.”
However, the boy added.
“Sometimes, I think it’s nice to speak comfortably without being serious. It seems like you’re deliberately speaking heavily, hyung.”
“……………”
I silently stroked the children’s heads.
“hehehe.”
The girl enjoyed my touch and laughed, while the boy, feeling unfamiliar with the caress, blushed slightly.
If only they had shown me until now, I wouldn’t have thought it was a nightmare, and I wouldn’t have tried to avoid this dream by taking pills.
.
.
.
“Ah!!”
Yohanna heard a woman’s scream from her house and went inside.
Thud.
Inside the house, a woman was screaming in agony, and Loki was holding her by the collar.
Yohanna tried to stop Loki first. That is, until Loki spoke.
“Are you selling that child?”
Yohanna finally looked around the house. Trash rolled on the floor, contrasting with the vibrant colors of the woman’s clothes.
“My daughter! It’s obvious that I do as I please! Why are you, a mere man, meddling in this!”
Smack.
“Thud!”
The woman’s face turned.
It was because Loki slapped her.
“To whom did you sell her?”
Yohanna shuddered at Loki’s cold, low voice. She had never heard Loki speak like this before.
“Why would I…”
Smack!
“To whom did you sell her?”
Loki’s voice, addressing the woman, conveyed no emotion.
Smack! Smack!
Whenever the woman hesitated in her response, Loki unhesitatingly slapped her.
Yohanna silently stared at Loki. No, she had no choice but to stare.
Loki was always full of mischief and laughter. That’s why his current expression, devoid of any emotion, felt strangely unfamiliar.
Moreover, Loki hadn’t even realized he had entered.
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“Speak.”
The woman’s face was already covered in blood. Rocky’s hands were stained with her blood.
“Skull! People with skull symbols have come!”
Thud.
Rocky released the hand that was holding the woman’s collar upon hearing those words.
“What did you say?”
Hesitation.
If just a moment ago Rocky didn’t show any emotion, in that instant, an enormous energy was felt.
During training, I’ve encountered highly skilled assassins. But none of them emitted such a strong energy.
“Uh, I really don’t know anything other than that!”
The woman trembled in fear from the energy emanating from Rocky.
“Why on earth those guys.”
Rocky muttered to himself, lost in thought.
It’s too late. The poker face has been broken. The deeply suppressed emotions are surfacing.
It was different from fighting with the berserk. Back then, I knew I would be fighting the berserk, so I meditated several times to control my emotions.
But the current situation was completely unexpected.
If there’s a bigger problem, I didn’t want to control my emotions.
“Johanna, go to the academy first.”
That’s why I decided to act as it seemed.
The best choice in this situation is to ask for help from the academy professors.
But I didn’t act that way.
I personally killed all those corpse-like bastards.