Chapter 408
“……Where is this?”
When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by thick fog. No matter where I looked, there was nothing but dense fog.
The afterlife? Is this the world after death?
As I regained my senses, I tried to recall my memories.
“I’m sure…”
Just a moment ago, I had successfully shattered the ceiling of paradise.
The clouds in front of me broke apart. Fragments of the crumbling clouds fell like rain, forcing me to shield my face with my arms.
The ceiling of paradise shattered with a thunderous roar. Perhaps it was because I forcefully broke through without finding the entrance.
At that moment, I felt a strange sense of weightlessness. My body, which had been sitting on the dragon, floated up. At that moment, I felt a powerful force from the cracks in the shattered ceiling. A gravitational pull like a black hole, sucking in everything around me.
“Tristan!”
“Count!”
Urgent voices called out. When I turned around, Bella, Helga, Blanshe, and Wendy were riding their dragons toward me. They were coming to save me.
“Count, the boat!”
“Don’t come!”
My shout was louder than I expected. The women who were reaching out to me looked at me in shock. Even then, the distortion of the ceiling was pulling me in.
“If you come closer, you’ll be dragged in too.”
“It’s okay! We’ll save you right away!”
“No. This is as far as we go.”
“Count?”
“Thank you for coming this far with me. I owe you all a great debt.”
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden!”
Helga rarely raised her voice.
“I told you I’d follow you anywhere! Even if it’s hell…! I said I’d follow you to the end!”
It was a desperate cry, devoid of any falsehood.
“Hey!”
“Wait! Helga!”
“Helga?!”
Before anyone could stop her, Helga leaped off her dragon. The area around the ceiling was like a zero-gravity zone, with sharp fragments floating around. She ignored them and reached out to me.
“Grab my hand!”
“Helga…”
“Hurry! I won’t let go! I’ll never let go… even if I die…”
Her desperate appearance left me speechless. Her outstretched hand was trembling.
“Just a little… just a little more…”
I was consumed by the desire to grab Helga’s hand. I wanted to take that hand and move forward together. No, I wanted to forget everything and go back. I wanted to return to the mansion and spend the rest of my life with her. That wouldn’t be a bad ending…
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go with you.”
“Why not! I… I can protect you! There’s no one who can protect you better than me!”
“That’s exactly why I can’t.”
“What?”
Blood was dripping from Helga’s cheek. If she followed me, she would be covered in wounds again. She would throw herself in harm’s way for me.
“Helga. I… don’t want to lose you. That’s why I can’t take your hand.”
Helga wouldn’t know. She wouldn’t know how many times she had sacrificed her life for me. She wouldn’t know how she had fallen protecting me in a rain of arrows. That’s why I couldn’t take her with me.
“Count…!”
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. A clear refusal. Seeing this, Helga’s face was filled with sorrow.
Helga’s outstretched hand was pitifully moving away from mine. Watching this, I suddenly spoke up.
“…Helga. Do you remember what I said before?”
“Huh?”
“I said that you must be there at my end.”
“Yes, yes! I remember! I remember!”
Helga nodded vigorously.
“Then… can you wait for me at my end…?”
“Huh?”
“It’s shameless of me to ask… but please. If you’re waiting for me… I…”
This was a message not just for Helga, but for the women behind her as well. Even as I was being sucked into the ceiling, I smiled to reassure them.
Even if it was completely out of place…
“I will definitely return to your side.”
With those final words, I was pulled into the ceiling of paradise. I lost consciousness and when I opened my eyes, I was here.
For a moment, I felt a pang of regret for the cheesy line I had just delivered… but I shook it off and stood up.
“First… is this the ceiling of paradise?”
Judging by the circumstances, this seems to be above the sky of paradise. Now that I look closely, what’s surrounding me isn’t fog, but clouds.
I stood up and checked my body. I had poured all my magic power and personality into breaking the ceiling, so I was drained of energy, but other than that, I didn’t seem to be injured. Come to think of it, the ceiling closed as soon as it swallowed me. Since no one else is around, it seems I came here alone.
Only then did I feel relieved. It was a relief that the women hadn’t been caught up in this. I had been worried about their safety during this journey.
The reason I came here was to save the world they live in. To me, they are this world, and if anything happened to them, it would be a disaster.
Of course, worrying about them might be excessive, given how strong they are compared to ordinary women… but still, now that they’re my women, I can’t help but worry.
“…Well. Let’s consider it a relief.”
The fact that I made it here safely was only possible because of their strong support. But from here on out, this is the deepest part of paradise. A place where unexpected dangers might lurk. At least it’s a relief that I’m the only one who came to this final destination of the journey. They must have safely returned to the surface.
Reassuring myself, I began to walk.
Based on what had happened so far, paradise didn’t seem to be just the heart of this world, supplying magic power to this world where magic exists.
The Valkyries guarding paradise were security programs I used when I worked at the company. Programs personally created by CEO Park to prevent the Milky Way system from being attacked from the outside. The fact that such programs are guarding paradise suggests that paradise might be closely related to the system. Or perhaps…
“…This place might be the ‘system’ itself.”
The system is a powerful force that can interfere with this world. It can summon tens of thousands of players by installing summoning gates. In other words, the system holds the most threatening power in this world. Along with CEO Park, it’s my greatest enemy.
‘It’s still just speculation…’
From now on, before installing the gate here, I plan to confirm that fact with my own eyes.
I pushed through the clouds and moved forward. The deepest part of paradise was completely shrouded in clouds. I couldn’t tell the direction. But it’s not like I could install a gate in such a desolate place. The deepest part of the deepest part… that’s where the gate must be installed.
I decided to walk until I saw something… but no matter how far I walked, nothing appeared. No horizon, no faint shadows… nothing.
Rustle.
Then, I stepped on something.
“A twig…?”
It was a dry twig. Thinner than a finger.
Why would there be a tree in this place full of clouds? Without thinking, I bent down to pick it up, but it wasn’t a broken twig. It was a tree branch that extended so far I couldn’t see the end.
“Did it stretch out from somewhere…?”
If so, there must be a place where this tree branch began. For some reason, I felt that place might be the center of this area.
I followed the long tree branch as I walked. Five minutes, ten minutes… the branch gradually thickened. But even so, the tree itself was still hidden by the clouds. A tree with such a long branch… I can’t even imagine how huge it must be. I’ve never seen it before, but it might be as big as the World Tree.
As I walked, I felt a chill run down my spine. It felt like someone was nearby.
What is it? I don’t feel any gaze, but…
“Waaah…”
Suddenly, the sound of a child crying startled me.
“Sniff… sniff…”
Turning toward the sound of sobbing, I saw a figure about ten steps away.
It was the back of a young woman standing in the middle of the dense clouds. Seeing her, I felt my hair stand on end.
It wasn’t because I saw a ghost. No, it wasn’t a ghost. It was a back I could recognize no matter how many times I saw it… a back too familiar to me.
“Sora…?!”
At my voice, the woman turned her head.
“Who…? Is someone there?”
Ah… of course…
There stood my sister, Jeong Sora. How long has it been? She looked exactly as I remembered her.
My voice barely came out through my choked throat.
“It’s me… Jihwan.”
But Sora’s gaze wasn’t directed at me. Her eyes were looking past me, toward my back.
“Sniff… who are you…?”
“Mom…?”
When I turned around, two little girls were standing there. A blonde, blue-eyed girl and a black-haired, black-eyed girl… probably the owners of the crying I heard earlier. Wait, could they be…
“You’re not Mom…”
“Sniff…”
The girls looked disappointed when they saw Sora’s face. Sora asked them in a trembling voice.
“Who… are you?”
“Sniff… I’m Michaela…”
“……Lukaela……”
The twin goddesses, who looked no older than two or three, looked up at Sora with tear-filled eyes.
“Sister… have you seen our mom and dad…?”
