◈ Episode 549: The truth in dreams (2)
Franz sat quietly and looked into his past.
that day.
The day he first fell into the depths of Dreamland and his father went crazy was an unforgettable memory for him.
That is what you are seeing now.
Even if I wanted to forget, I couldn’t. It was so vivid that it was deeply embedded in my soul.
When I closed my eyes, it came to me automatically.
A foolish kid accidentally fell into the depths of Dreamland.
And there, I came face to face with the most undesirable being.
-Oh my. Hey kid. Are you lost?
Even if I encountered a shark eating its prey in the pitch black deep sea, it wouldn’t have been like this.
-It’s not time for me to wake up yet, but you’re making me open my eyes like this. Who would have even thought that it was a human who arbitrarily invaded the goddess’s territory. What a bad kid.
Nirva’s voice was quiet.
It felt like a lullaby was being sung, and I felt like my ears were flowing just by listening to it.
Looking at his smiling face, he looked like a kind grandfather taking care of his grandchildren.
But Franz was not deceived by such appearances.
The sweeter Nirva’s voice sounded, the more skin grew on his whole body.
The author is not human.
And he had no intention of letting himself go alive.
Perhaps sensing that, Nirva paused for a moment and grinned.
-The child is quick-witted. It won’t be enough to play with it until you fall asleep again.
Nirva said and slowly stretched out his hand.
Franz could only freeze and look at the approaching palm.
It was then that a warm feeling enveloped him from behind.
-I’m sorry.
-father?
A familiar voice.
Perhaps because the situation was hopeless, the voice resonated even louder.
-I should have paid more attention to you, but I was careless.
-Oh, no. father. Because I couldn’t go out… … .
Nirva frowned at the appearance of an unexpected guest.
-There is not one human being on this earth, but two? A customer opens the door and comes in at will. No, this would make him practically a thief.
-I have a favor to ask of you. It’s definitely our fault for coming in arbitrarily, but can’t you just pretend you didn’t see it and let us go?
Nathanael asked Nirva in a polite tone.
Nirva burst out laughing as if he had heard something interesting.
-Hahaha! As I live, I hear people politely ask me for favors!
The expression on Nirva’s face disappeared in an instant.
The appearance was so fleeting that it was like wearing a mask.
-How dare you shamelessly say something like that in front of me?
-Of course, that doesn’t work.
Nathanael sighed softly.
From the moment he saw Nirva, he had made up his mind.
The moment Nirva tried to use his hand, Nathanael moved before him.
The image of him hugging Franz disappeared like a mirage.
Nirva paused for a moment, her face twisted at the fact that Nathanael had run away.
-How dare you wake me up and run away? I will never let you go gently.
As Nirva made that promise, Nathanael, who appeared far away, faced Franz and opened his mouth.
-Franz.
-Oh, father?
-Originally, this was my job to do. So don’t worry too much.
Nathanael said that and took the ‘thing’ that Franz was holding tightly in his hand as if he were snatching it away.
-Maybe this was my original destiny.
-father. What on earth is that… … .
-Listen carefully. There is no way to escape from this being. However, if you fall into this depth, there is no way to escape safely. At least the two of us.
-Two means… … .
Franz, who was quick-witted, realized what Nathanael was trying to say and opened his eyes wide.
-All I can say is that I’m sorry to you.
-father! What do you mean!
-If we had a little more time, we might have made more memories.
Franz felt uneasy at those words.
Nathanael took something out of his belt and hung it around Franz’s neck.
-Tell Clara that I’m sorry for being a bad husband. And also not to worry too much. It had to happen at some point.
-why? I, I did something wrong. Because I didn’t listen to my father properly… … .
Franz’s voice was damp.
Nathanael managed to say something while crying, but shook his head with a smile.
-It’s not your fault. This was a kind of fate that had been handed down for a long time. It was my fault for ignoring that.
-I don’t know what you’re talking about.
-You don’t have to know. No, you shouldn’t know.
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Nathanael wiped the tears from Franz’s face with his hand.
-Son. Okay. If you leave, I will follow you. So don’t worry.
-… … Really?
When Franz asked, Nathanael nodded with a bright smile.
-of course. Have you forgotten who your father is?
At that moment, a sand storm raged in the distance.
The huge sand had a will and rushed like a tidal wave towards where Franz and Nathanael were.
-It looks like they’ve already found us.
-Ah, father. I am… … !
-Shh. Until there. Let’s talk about what we couldn’t finish later.
Nathanael activated the artifact worn around Franz’s neck.
It was an emergency escape device created in case the user fell into the depths of Dreamland and was caught in a huge dream.
It was an item that only Nathanael and Clara had, as it required the highest grade magic stone to make one.
-Go.
Nathanael lightly pushed Franz’s shoulder.
Franz’s body floated up into the sky as if ascending to heaven.
Franz stretched out his hand and pointed it at Nathanael.
But the hand never touched.
What Franz saw through his flowing tears was a sandstorm with the face of a huge old man and the back of Nathanael facing it head on.
That was the last memory Franz had.
It was the end of the dream he always had.
Franz opened his eyes.
What he saw, standing up with an expressionless face, were Dream Walkers glaring at him with wary eyes.
Wariness, hostility, suspicion.
I didn’t feel any good feelings about this side.
People who don’t know about themselves and people who know about them all have the same reaction.
Franz burst out laughing.
His gaze caught the sight of an old woman being supported by dream walkers.
Even Franz, who didn’t care about the other Dreamwalkers, couldn’t take his eyes off the old woman.
“Why did you come?”
The old woman, Clara Cowen, spoke to Franz as if reprimanding him.
“It’s none of your business.”
“that… … .”
Clara was speechless.
It was the other Dreamwalkers who got angry at those words.
“You insolent bastard! How dare you speak to the Master like that!”
“You bastard! Consider what you have done! “I can’t beg for forgiveness just because I didn’t do well right away!”
They were people who knew Franz.
Franz responded coldly to those dream walkers.
“so.”
“What, what?”
“If I tell you I was wrong, what difference does it make?”
Even the people who were angry at Franz’s shameless words opened their mouths in bewilderment.
“Even if I apologized in tears, what difference would it make?”
“Shut up!”
Zantman, who couldn’t hear, shouted.
“At least the Master! Even in the midst of losing his loved ones and even leaving his children, he steadfastly stayed at the school and did his job! He had a harder time than anyone else! “It’s different from you who averted your eyes from reality!”
Franz responded to those words with a sneer.
“You turned your eyes away from reality? “Isn’t the Dream School a group of people who have turned their eyes away from reality?”
“what!”
“I rather saw reality. “To deal with the devil who might one day open his eyes again.”
Franz took out the dagger he had packed.
“At least I got one of his arms. Conversely, what did you do? “Aren’t you just helplessly violated?”
“This crazy guy… … !”
Zandman shook his beard.
Franz said to Clara, ignoring Zandmann, “Do it or not.”
“It is impossible to fight that monster with your skills. “Take out the disruptors.”
“You really are… … !”
It was Clara’s small gesture that stopped the Dreamwalkers who were about to get angry.
The Dreamwalkers all kept their mouths shut, waiting for Clara to say something.
Franz stared at Clara with a cold, cold gaze.
His gaze was not on the mother who once cared for him, but on the obstacles that stood in the way of his revenge.
What Clara said after receiving such a look from her child who had been away from home for a long time was completely unexpected.
“Have you been eating well?”
“… … !”
The words were so unexpected that the Dreamwalkers widened their eyes.
It was Franz who reacted more violently.
“You’ve dried up a lot since I haven’t seen you in a while. my son “What a hardship he must have had.”
“What are you saying now… … .”
Franz bit his lip quietly.
His hand holding the dagger was shaking.
“I know. “No matter how coldly you speak or make that face, you are worried about me.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. “I have changed.”
“I know because I’m a mother. When I look at your eyes, nothing has changed at all between before and now. That look too… … .”
“You mean this ageless appearance?”
Franz sneered as if trying to forcefully disturb the mood.
“That day, because of my foolishness, I fell into the depths of Dreamland and this is what happened. Even after so many years, I haven’t aged properly. “As if I couldn’t forget my past, the real me stopped changing.”
It was not a blessing that Franz maintained his youthful appearance even after so many years.
This was a curse.
An indelible scar created on his body by the deep environment, telling him never to forget his mistakes.
Although his physique may have grown significantly, his pale skin and youthful face still resembled those of his childhood.
This is the abominable image of himself from the past that led to his father’s death.
“Just because my appearance hasn’t changed, do you think I haven’t changed?”
“I wasn’t talking about your looks. Hey kid. “The wonderful feeling of thinking about someone even though you pretend not to have it has not changed.”
Clara broke into a dry cough while saying that.
“master!”
“Grandma!”
Everyone looked at Clara with worried faces.
She tried to regain her youthful appearance by burning off her powers and returned to her original old woman, but the aftereffects still remained.
Franz’s eyes fluttered wildly.
“Don’t worry. You’re not going to die right away. “It’s just that the reaction that was excessive a little while ago has returned.”
Clara, whose color returned for a moment, cast a warm gaze towards Franz.
“It’s not your fault.”
“… … So we have to fix it.”
For that purpose, Franz left the Dream School and continued his research alone to kill Nirva.
In the meantime, what I came across was Zero Order.
-Recently, there was a person who was asking crazy questions about the devil. I asked who it was, and he said, “It’s a child, right?”
-Who are you.
-Would it be possible to answer if I said, “The devil you are looking for?”
He was unusual from the moment he first appeared.
Without even thinking about hiding his identity, he revealed that he was a devil.
-But let me tell you, it’s not like the devil you’re looking for.
-What is the purpose?
-oh. My brain moves faster than I thought. Without even a doubt.
A crescent-moon smile appeared on Zero Order’s lips.
-I’ll help you kill that demon.
It’s the devil’s whisper to make you kill the devil.
A person with a normal mindset would have coldly rejected Zero Order’s offer.
But at that time, Franz wanted to hold on to the rope.
If it was to kill Nirva, he didn’t mind holding the hand of the same demon.
-What is the price? My soul?
-ha ha ha. It’s fun. Well, is that the perception of the devil among kids these days? I’m sorry, but I don’t need your soul. Instead, I want you to teach me the abilities dreamwalkers use.
-That’s all?
-hmm? Are you saying that’s all? Wizards foam at the mouth when you ask them to teach you their specialty magic. So what?
-It doesn’t matter. If only you would teach me how to kill that demon.
-good. Then the contract is concluded.
Under a moonlit night full of stars.
Zero Order extended its hand towards Franz.
-I will tell you my name especially to you. My name is Surna.
-Sur, me?
Franz opened his eyes wide.
While looking through literature on the devil, I came across that name several times.
In the past, the name of the great devil who was said to have fought and destroyed the powerful saint of the Lumensis Church was Surna.
If you only heard about it, it was like a gigantic darkness that would cover the world, but in reality, Surna was not like that at all.
Isn’t it much different from humans?
But Franz believed it.
In fact, I was even more grateful.
What if, instead of holding the hand of an ordinary devil, you are holding the hand of an archdemon?
Because he will definitely be able to achieve his goal.
-What is your name?
-Franz Cowen.
Franz shook his head after saying that.
-no. Please just call me Franz.
That was my first meeting with him.
‘I joined hands with the devil to avenge my father.’
Franz has now crossed the river of no return.
Clara stared at Franz with a sad expression.
It’s not that I don’t know his heart.
His life up to this point has been tinged with revenge and guilt.
Just because she was Clara didn’t mean she didn’t think like that.
still.
That shouldn’t be the case.
“Franz. There is something I didn’t tell you. This is something you all, the Dreamers, need to hear.”
Clara’s sudden words drew everyone’s attention to her.
“It is a truth passed down only to the masters of the Dream School. And, it also has to do with Nathanael, who left.”
