Chapter 344

344 – Time of Progress #4

I felt as if my vision was getting dizzy.

It was like the bl**d was draining from my entire body, and whatever fighting spirit I had left moments ago was fading away.

“Ah, Father-.”

What sprang from the darkness was not a giant spider, nor an enraged Elpride. It was the man I knew best, and simultaneously, the one whose true form I knew the least.

My father.

No, the King of the Underworld, Pluto, slowly approached me and looked down.

It felt like an eternity since someone had looked down on me. Even though there was a height difference of about one head, the pressure was as if I was being crushed by a massive mountain.

My legs trembled, and cold sweat continuously flowed down my back and forehead.

Gooo-.

I was on the verge of losing my sanity due to the overwhelming pressure.

I wanted to turn back and run. But I had a feeling that the man holding the two-pronged spear wouldn’t allow it.

“Father-.”

I clenched my mind and spoke again.

“…”

But there was no response from the man. He just wore a stern expression, as if angry or as if he was disillusioned with everything.

Sleung-.

He pointed the tip of his twin-bladed spear, Bardich, at me.

Shi-eek-.

It was as if it were about to pierce through my head. I managed to avoid it by stumbling backward and falling over.

I could feel a cold sensation on my forehead.

“d*mn it-.”

If I had been struck by that, my neck would’ve surely been pierced. A little later, and that’s how it would’ve ended. The realization sent shivers down my spine.

Is my father trying to k*ll me? In this world, which father would want to k*ll his own child?

Although I may have committed numerous acts of disrespect, things weren’t bad enough between me and my father for him to come at me with a spear the moment he saw me.

I quickly moved back, maintaining distance while thinking.

The voice from the darkness had mumbled something about nightmares and fear. So this must not be real; it’s likely just some kind of hallucination or illusion.

“I don’t fall for such fake stuff, you idiot!”

That’s when it happened.

You-.

I had thought it was just a silent apparition. But the nightmare of my father began to speak with a weighty tone.

You have always fallen short of my expectations.

“What…?”

After I gave up everything for you-, and you turned out to be the biggest coward in the world, a fool who only knows tricks.

“No….”

Someone like you wasn’t what I wanted to create.

For heaven’s sake. To hear such terrible words from the nightmare resembling my father hurt, even though I knew it was all an illusion. If I hadn’t been stronger emotionally, I might have shed a tear.

I will bury you in the darkness and return everything to its original place. But it’s beneath me to personally deal with a punk like you.

The nightmare Pluto planted his twin-bladed spear into the ground with a thud.

Rise-. Warriors of Elysium-. Rise, walk.

Soon, at his gesture, countless bones burst forth from the ground around us.

Gaaaah-.

Guh, guhuh….

The number was countless. Powerful undead creatures with glowing green eyes. Some even wielded better armor and weapons than what I had on.

Each one seemed as strong as decent adventurers. Among them were also mage skulls that summoned blue flames in their hands.

sh*t, isn’t this kind of like cheating?

To rise with a single gesture and form an organized formation around me like this – it was an army.

An army of the risen dead summoned by a single command.

Is this what true necromancy is?

Alright, come on ruthless traitor. Cross these and completely knock me down.

Sleek, sleek-.

Each time Pluto moved his hand, a strange ripple of magic could be felt. Even I, who barely understood magic, could tell it was quite complex.

Gaaaaah-!

I couldn’t help but compare the bone goblins I had dealt with before against this spectacle. I naturally realized how amateurish and crude they were compared to these.

What I had been doing was nothing more than a child’s play of cultists.

“Grgh-.”

But this wasn’t the time to marvel at such things. I hastily drew the club on my back and blocked the d*ath Knight’s sword that swung at me.

Kagagajik-.

A loud clang of sharp metals clashing caused sparks to fly. I narrowly avoided being split in half but managed to block the attack somehow.

But the real problem came next.

Geruaaak-!!

The undead enemies rushing at me were already countless, too many to count on two hands.

In fact, I felt the sharp edge of an axe blade about to cleave through my back. Trying to evade it, something like a sturdy chain coiled around my legs and knocked me off balance.

“d*mn-!”

I ended up smashing my jaw on the hard floor. While my stance was compromised, skeletons crowded around me like bloodthirsty piranhas.

Gyeooaa-!

Geyeeyaa-!

They pressed against my shoulders and body, trying to pin down my arms and legs. I fought back using my measly 15 Strength.

“Where do you touch me? Get lost, you bastards-!”

I thrashed my limbs as much as I could, swinging and smashing everything I could see.

The fear that if I were subdued by these bastards, it would truly be the end, drove me to move.

Pajak, pajak-!

My resistance was surprisingly effective. The strong-looking undead creatures were struck down by my club one by one, creating a small gap.

A small gap.

But as Elpride had once said, a small gap could collapse a dam. It was true.

Taking advantage of that small opening, I kicked the ground with all my might. I charged—my target was the nightmare Pluto sitting on a bony throne, watching this scene with a look of boredom.

I hear someone shouting into my ear.

T-that’s the Forbidden Move even in Hell, The Throne Succession Strike-! Mr. Hassan, it’s too reckless…!

Indeed, it was.

This is The Throne Succession Strike.

Like father did to his father, and his father to his father’s father, I too would pour every ounce of my strength into this strike and stake everything on it.

I’ll surpass the father and finally become an adult.

Of course, this is just a nightmare born of my fears. But if I can’t even overcome this nightmare, I’ll never be able to surpass the real thing.

I’ll pour all my strength into this club, into this strike!

Fajjit, fajjit-.

Responding to my fervent spirit, my club, Fear Crusher charged with aura, emitted a strange red light.

Uuuuung-.

It glowed so much that it could rightly be called a glow stick or a beam saber.

Whatever it is, getting hit by this would surely blow your skull apart.

“Hahaaa!”

I swung my club down onto the nightmare’s head.

Thheeeek-!

With the red aura, my club not only delivered blunt force but also had destructive power comparable to even the best of swords as it split the space itself in this dark world.

Kwagagajik-.

My club finally rushed toward Pluto’s crown. Thinking it would be over with that single strike, I was instead met with an unexpected strong resistance, almost being repelled.

“Grghh-!”

But thinking that if I retreated now, I might never have another chance, I exerted as much force as I could, even though bl**d was spurting from my nose.

“d*mn-Seeding!”

It ultimately tore through Pluto’s body into two pieces. As the whole world was wrapped in bright light, a sense of strange joy and peace began to envelop my heart.

In my ear, the torn and powdered Pluto slowly spoke.

Good.

Even knowing this was merely a nightmare, a dream, I felt something rise up in my chest.

“…I’ve done all sorts of things to survive. I’ve killed people and done many wicked deeds.”

Saying it somehow made me feel a bit relieved.

Sarrr-.

The dream version of my father, slowly turning into powder, collapsed. Before fading, he grasped my hand and placed something on it.

Then, wake up.

At that moment, I suddenly became aware.

“So, whether to enter or not is your choice. You know, it’s not too late even now. You can still go back.”

Next to me, Baron Fleur with a black top hat was speaking. I was extremely confused.

What’s going on?

Looking around, I saw a steel gate wide open, a staircase, and Fleur gazing at me with glowing green eyes.

What the hell?

When did I come back here?

I asked.

“…Why am I here? Wasn’t I inside already?”

“What are you talking about?”

I couldn’t comprehend Fleur’s puzzled response when I explained in detail what had just happened to me. The skeleton baron seemed to nod in understanding.

“Ah-. It seems you’ve fallen victim to the guy’s nightmare just standing at the entrance of the Ghost Cave and seeing the hallucinations.”

“Hallucination… hallucination…?”

I had an eerie feeling realizing that everything I experienced was actually a hallucination. Was I dreaming standing up?

What part of it was a dream, and what part was reality?

Sreuk-.

That’s when I noticed that I was tightly gripping something in my hand. Had my father in the dream placed something in my palm?

Sreuruk-.

When I opened my hand, I saw a small blue bead-like object. Narrowing my brows, wondering what this could be, Fleur spoke.

“My goodness, isn’t this a pomegranate seed from Tartarus?”

He raised his voice in a way that didn’t suit him, as if the bead-sized item in my palm was astonishing. Perplexed, I asked him.

“What’s that?”

“The blue pomegranate that grows only in the Underworld…! They say if you eat it, you can wield the power of the dead. Something every necromancer desperately seeks…!”

“So will I be able to use necromancy if I eat this?”

“Maybe, if you have the right constitution. If not, your soul and body will be forever bound deep within Tartarus. But, well, as the son of Pluto, you should be fine.”

“Whoa, hell-”

“Indeed, I made the right decision leading you here. She seems to approve of you.”

“Who’s ‘she’?…”

“Exactly. In this darkness, amidst all the evil spirits, solitude is born. This must be Melinoe’s gift to you. However, staying here longer may affect your mind. Let’s head back.”

Fleur muttered some spell.

The darkness we had faced was gradually fading, being covered by the thick steel gate, leaving only a faint trace.

Kiiiik-.

Just as the door was about to close, I thought I saw two strange blue glowing eyes flashing in the darkness.

Was that ‘her’ or ‘something’ Fleur had mentioned?

Jebek, jebek-.

Climbing the stairs with Fleur, I eventually arrived at a vast hall where Paranoi and Brigitte were playing together.

“Paranoi, stop there! Play with me! I’ve never seen a nymph before! Just, let me smell, just sniff once more!”

“Nymphs don’t come just because you chase them…!!”

What are you guys doing, hell?

Paranoi, who was running around like crazy, suddenly brightened upon seeing me.

“Ah-! Mr. Hassan! I’ve been waiting for you…!! Let’s hurry up and get out of here…!!”

And then he hid behind me, revealing some weird fact.

“That Brigitte over there is an anti-nymph fanatic, tightly bound together with hatred for nymphs…!! She’s really a bad one always bothering me…!!”

It seems they were having a grand playtime.

Suddenly, Paranoi sniffed with “Kinkk-“.

“Ah-! I smell a strange nymph-like aroma from Mr. Hassan…! This, this is the scent of a first-time nymph…! Could it be, maybe it’s the upgraded mythical type…!!”

The guy kept trying to sniff my body like a dog, which gave me the chills.

“Get outta here, you brat. Why’re you sniffing me?”

“Just a little more, please a little more! It might help me, Paranoi, evolve into an Infernal Imp-.”

He backed off only when I pressed my palm with all my might against his face. Smelling a nymph off me?

Paranoi aside, I don’t recall having any contact with a nymph.

Then I suddenly recalled the blue glow in the darkness. Was the owner of the Ghost Cave perhaps a nymph?

Nymph?

Thinking about it, the dark and terrifying space suddenly felt more like a fun haunted house ride.

Wasn’t it called Melinoe?

If I remember correctly, it sounds like Alinoy and Paranoi’s name ends with “noi.” Maybe it’s a trendy name among nymphs.

How dare a nymph scare me?

I’ll have to give her a good whack next time. Keeping these thoughts in mind, I swallowed the pomegranate seed in my palm.

“Ugh-aahk-.”

It tasted like the sourest Vitamin C supplement I’ve ever imagined, making my saliva glands work overtime. It was really horribly sour. Who knew something could be this sour.

Ai shaa.

It made my entire body feel like it was being zapped by lightning, yet after swallowing it, I didn’t feel any extraordinary surge of power, nor did any special words come to mind.

“Feel anything?”

Fleur, who approached me with concern, seemed ready to jot something down in a notebook he had pulled out somewhere. He must be a man of great academic enthusiasm, having been a university professor.

“Just really sour, nothing special.”

“Is that so. So, nothing was gained from Ghost Cave after all?”

He sounded slightly disappointed, but I didn’t see it that way.

I still vividly remembered how the nightmare version of Pluto had raised the dead and how he handled them.

“I’m going then. Paranoi, let’s go.”

“Understood…!”

“Nymph, let’s play again next time! Tell me more about the outside!”

“I’ll think about it if you bring lots of candy…!!”

Thus, I moved toward the west entrance where the abandoned graveyard lay.

Among the misty graves filled with countless corpses, the man who had been digging stared at my face silently.

“Are you ready now?”

“Perhaps-.”

I knelt and placed my hands on the ground, slowly opening my mouth just like my father from the nightmare did.

“Rise, walk.”

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