Jang Hyunseok's group led the march, with us walking alongside them. The King candidates along with their subordinates followed behind as he walked deeper into the massive tunnel.
Without a doubt, this tunnel would lead us to the Territory Master.
「 How many minutes has passed since they started walking on this lonely path? 」
Despite walking through the straightforward tunnel for a while, there was no signs of the tunnel's end. In fact, there was no end in sight. It was as if the tunnel stretched on to infinity.
Of course, that was just an exaggeration. There was no way for the tunnel to be that long, but the mind seemed to believe such an illusion.
I glanced over my shoulders to a man walking in the crowd of survivors. To be precise, It was a man wearing a black cloak. His name was Park Joonhyuk and his chosen king path was the [Devil] path.
There's a troublesome question has been bugging me this entire time...
「 Just how exactly could he get rid of that person? 」
Killing him was truly meaningless. That person has the power to puppets he can control at will.
Therefore, as long as his Main Body remains hidden, killing him was impossible. And it does not help that he can also create multiple duplicates of himself too.
What kind of ominous combination is that? More importantly, why didn't I think of that? No, that's not right.
Duplicate revolved around the sacrifice of memories to create a clone or duplicate. If you sacrifice too much, there's a possibility that the clone in question to gain a will of its own separate from the user. Naturally, It didn't seem like a good skill to have in the long run. But It seems that person has compensated for that weakness using the Devil card to create puppets indeed.
Thus, If I want to take him down, I would have to wait for the right time among the chaos. But there's a possibility that his main body is not even inside this Territory too.
「 Just thinking about that person was enough to drive his mind into disorder 」
The oblivious Shin Joonkyung, who was walking besides me, opened his mouth. "This is really interesting. It feels like we're inside a novel."
"A novel, you say?"
"Yes, the current world is like one of those famous stories, don't you think? Killing demonic monsters, completing Trials which are recorded as Fables, and now, people who would have killed each other if they met under normal circumstances have gathered to fight the big bad. It reminds me of stories where the Hero and his companions journey to fight the Demon King."
"It's a common cliche in stories with the fantasy or Isekai genre. Sadly, It has been overused to the point where most would find it boring."
It couldn't be missed when reading such stories.
Demons invade the world, a Hero is chosen on the Oracle. The Hero Journey around the world and recruits a few loyal Companions to help him on his quest. And together, they confront and kill the Ultimate Evil which is usually the Demon King.
It's a common development in most fantasy stories.
Shin Joonkyung only looked at me with a meaningful smile. "I don't think that's exactly the case."
"What?"
"There are just too many stories that make it bad. Those familiar cliches can be enjoyable when written properly. Jakga-nim, you're a writer, Yes? How would you write such stories?"
His question took me by surprise.
「 How would I write this story if I was the author? 」
It was a question I hadn't entertained in a long time. After all, in this world, the line between fiction and reality had been blurred, if not entirely erased.
We walked in silence for a moment longer. The rhythmic echoes of our footsteps filled the silence as the tunnel stretched on endlessly. I thought about a reality where I was the author of Song of Nightmares.
How would I write it differently? Finally, something emerged from within.
"If I was the one writing this story..." I began slowly, "... The Hero might not necessarily be the good guy and the Demon King might be a simple villain. It's possible for the Demon King to be the one to bring Salvation instead of the Hero."
"What? Is that possible?"
I turned to Jang Hyunseok and opened my mouth. "You already know what to do, right?"
"Naturally. This falls into my line of duties as well." His voice seemed steady enough. "His injuries are beyond healing, but I can at least ease his suffering as his soul passes on to the next life."
Jang Hyunseok, whose back now faced me, approached the ruined soldier that was at the verge of death. For a moment, it seemed like his body radiated a subtle, static energy, as if deflecting everything around him.
Was he... angry? It was hard to tell.
[The character 'Jang Hyunseok' has used Healing Prayer.]
"고요한 평화의 길로 떠나시길 바랍니다.
이 삶의 고통과 번뇌를 넘어,
부처님의 자비로운 인도 아래,
편안한 마음으로 새로운 생을 맞이하소서.
이 세상의 모든 업과 악연을 떠나,
오로지 깨달음의 길을 향해 나아가기를 기원합니다.
관세음 보살의 인도와 축복이 함께 하시길."
What he said wasn't anything special. Jang Hyunseok held his hands together and muttered a short prayer befitting his status as a Buddha Monk. But the formerly immobile soldier raised his hand towards Jang Hyunseok if to catch something in the air.
The ruined soldier also spoke.
The Shaolin Monk nodded and ruined soldier's body began to glow. The ruined soldier seemed to relax as if all his sins, worries and tension were being washed away.
The trembling outstretched hand dropped.
Pak!
With a heavy sound, the hand that the ruined soldier has stretched out, landed on the floor.
At the next moment, something came out from the ruined soldier's body.
It was an orb-like object that seemed small enough to perfectly fit into the palm of my hand yet looked unreal enough to make me doubt what I was seeing.
Was that actually his Soul? Why does it look like that?
I glanced around, but no one else seemed to notice. They were still focused on the fallen body. Was I imagining it?
I rubbed my eyes but the strange spiritual object did not disappear. It was no illusion. The Soul of the fallen soldier was really floating infront of my eyes and pulsing as if it was alive.
Swish!
Suddenly, without warning, the translucent orb flew up into the air. However, there was no clash or distorted. It gently phrased the ceiling and drifted off somewhere. It was like It was being pulled by some mysterious force into the unknown.
But there was no head to worry.
Perhaps the Soul will head towards a peaceful rebirth. Or maybe It will fly straight into hell.
Either way, the soul of the Ruined Soldier was free from this world. That was his salvation.
"Let's go!"
The voice of the Shaolin Monk was heard. At that moment, I was reminded of something.
"Now we have another reason to fight! We can't afford to linger any longer."
This was truly a battlefield.