Chapter 75 – Purgatory (4)

A long spearhead soars through the air and lodges itself in the ground near my feet.

Outside the gate, a towering, massive fortress looms before me.

‘…What is this?’

I find myself in front of the castle gate, which has dropped without any further explanation.

An atmosphere of disgust pervades the surroundings, emanating an undeniably repulsive aura. The landscape is decrepit and rotting, and certainly far from inviting. Stagnant, rust-tinged water trickles from iron pipes protruding from the base of the stone walls. The sight of the bizarre, sludgy substance flowing in various spots is enough to induce nausea.

Not a single piece of wood can be seen in this fortress of scrap metal. Although there is a palpable sense that something lurks within, it is a desolate environment seemingly unfit for human habitation.

An ordeal, perhaps, but what am I to do?

My sudden doubt is quickly suppressed by a looming threat that emerges without any forewarning.

– Flash!

A long, sharp bar pierces my thigh.

“…!”

The rusted blade wedges and pierces between the muscles, expanding the wound.
Intense pain surged through.

“Ugh, aaaaagh!”

I realized I was screaming.

Despite having experienced and withstood ample pain before, this felt… No, it was even more agonizing than anything prior.

Sweat trickled down my spine. My hands trembled violently.

Unable to do anything due to the severed tendons, I shivered and eventually knelt on the floor, gasping for breath.

“Ha, hah… Hoo-wook. Huh.”

My vision blurred with a crimson hue.
A warm liquid flowed beneath my eyes. It felt as if my consciousness would shatter if I let my guard down even slightly.

Endure it. I must endure.
Haven’t I withstood much worse than this before?

After repeating that thought dozens of times internally, I finally managed to direct my gaze towards my thigh.

– Fwit, piik.

A wound gushing with blood. With trembling hands, I grasped the spear shaft and slowly pulled it out. I wanted to yank it out immediately, but my strength failed me. I paused several times mid-way, and eventually, the spear blade rested on the lower part of my thigh. I took a deep breath, feeling the agony of the flesh tearing, and carefully extracted the blade.

– Flick.

A brief sound of air escaping. Simultaneously, I retrieved a potion from my belt.

– Click. Due to my inadequate strength, the first potion slipped from my grasp and rolled helplessly through the bloodied pool. I fetched a second potion, tore off its cap, and poured it over the wound.

Gradually, the pain subsided.

“Ha, ha, huh.”

I envisioned Cheondo’s face in my mind.

“…”

Healing my wound once more with the power of rejuvenation, I stood up from the blood-soaked ground. I reattached the fallen potion to my belt and drained the remaining half of the potion.

– Gulp, gulp.

I tossed the empty potion to the floor and wiped my chin with the back of my hand.

“…This.”

It’s not easy.

I brushed the blood off my body and cleaned my face. The blood-soaked protective gear was already worthless. Should I turn back? Such thoughts briefly crossed my mind, but I soon steeled myself and corrected my disheveled stance.

“Whew”

Regulating my breath, I once again took in the sight of the fortress.

It wouldn’t matter if I were alone, but of all things, it’s the women’s lives at stake. Giving up is not an option, and under no circumstances should I abandon them.

I took a step forward.

-Flash!

A burst of light. A swift javelin that even a battle-ready body couldn’t detect.

Relying solely on my intuition, I hurled myself to the side. The spearhead, grazing past my shoulder, embedded itself in the ground behind me.

-Hissssss.

A relentless assault without warning or sign. The thought of the uncontrolled onslaught hitting a vital spot sent shivers down my entire body. I hoisted my mud-covered form and moved forward once more.

It was then that an odd noise echoed.

-Scree, scr-sc-scr-scree.

Ringing sharply in my ears. Discordant, as if the gears of a machine were misaligned and grinding against each other. A javelin hurled from an unknown location, followed by a bizarre voice. The certainty that something lurked within the fortress compelled me to advance.

-Screee, eek, eee- eee.

-Kick.

-Screeeeek.

Laughter intermingled with the sounds. Merely imagining it was enough to send chills down my spine, but inside my head, it was naturally translated and heard.

[O foolish seedling of the World Tree.]

[Do you claim to be the root of a rotten, ancient trunk, even after receiving the king’s grace?]

Flash!

The javelin struck again. I turned my head to evade it. This time, I was able to react at my own pace.

[Do you intend to stake your claim beneath this tree?]

“Who are you?”

[Turn back.]

The figure offered no response to my inquiry, replying only with a mechanical tone.

“What are your conditions?”

I was prepared to comply and turn back without resistance, as long as the restrictions were lifted. Ever since I heard Heaven’s words, my sole focus had been on saving the lives of those women, rather than perfecting my skills.

[……]

However, the figure remained steadfast in silence, as if my question had already been answered.

-Step.

With determination, I took a single step forward. A sudden, biting gust of wind surged and swept through my body.

-Whoooooooooosh!

While being pushed back by the wind, I stretched out my foot once more. Blood seeped between my tightly clenched teeth.

I reached out my hand and swung it diagonally in a single, swift motion.

Summoning my magic, I reversed the wind’s flow, altering the trajectory of the spears raining down from above.

-Thud, thud!

Several spears embedded themselves into the ground. I clutched my head, a headache taking hold.

Even though I had only interfered slightly, my magic reserves were already depleted. If the difficulty of a challenge varies depending on the weight of its constraints, then having devoted myself to Heaven, the trials before me must be nigh on impossible.

I took out a pill infused with condensed magic and chewed on it. It wasn’t ideal, but I had long ago prepared myself to the best of my abilities.

-Hisss.

In front of me, several Ents rose from the ground.

“Geek, gigigig geek.”

The roots and branches forming their elongated, torn legs and their rotten, tree-like trunks looked entirely different from the Ents I had previously encountered.

If the Ents I had faced before seemed to burn with life, these appeared as nothing more than hollow husks.

‘Barely alive.’

Upon seeing the parasitic plant sprouting from the neck, it was evident that control had been wrested away.

‘Is that what happens when you’re struck by that?’

Boa lashes out. There was something she wanted to understand further, but regrettably, she couldn’t.

‘Damn them.’

-Grasp!

The vanishing figures. Cutting off my thoughts, I gathered magic in both hands.

I dodged the Ent’s fist aimed at my solar plexus by twisting my body.

“Gigeek!”

My stance disrupted by the sudden attack, I grabbed its elbow, attempting to turn it around, but retreated quickly due to its unexpected firmness. The stems were incredibly sturdy.

-Paang! Fain!

The tree roots tore through the air, relentlessly targeting me like a whip. Barely evading them, I increased the distance between us and cautiously assessed its abilities.

‘I can’t win.’

The Ents before me possessed a distinctly different sense and strength compared to the ones I had faced previously.

On the other hand, my power had hardly progressed since that time.
Woefully inadequate physical strength and magical power. I clicked my tongue, acutely aware of it.

I took out a capsule-type medicine and placed it in my mouth.

As if the Ent couldn’t tolerate even such a trivial action, it closed the distance in an instant and swung its fist.

– Quaang!

I blocked the attack by crossing my arms, and a shockwave coursed through my entire body. The tiny thorns sprouting from its branches pierced my skin and disrupted the flow of my magical power.

– Chashak!

Blood trickled out.

The attacks became slightly more predictable, but the odds of victory were still nowhere in sight.

Demons show no mercy.

Feeling as though it could crush my throat at any moment, I kicked off the ground, spun my leg, and aimed for the creature’s neck.

“Gig.”

My target was its vulnerable spot. A kick imbued with magical power connected with the back of its neck.

– Paang!

Bark splintered, and a ghastly scream reverberated through the sky.

“Giiiiiiik!!”

The Ent writhed wildly.
Soon, it seemed to melt and scatter, vanishing like fertilizer on the spot.

I found a weakness.

However—

“Giiiiik!”

My short-lived joy came to an end as the upper body was seized by another Ent that quickly joined.
The thick limbs of the tree-like creature gripped my body from the pit of my stomach to the spine at my back. As if avenging the fallen mistletoe, it drove me into the ground with all its might.

– Kwaang!

My mind reeled from the pain.

A massive crater formed, and I was buried in the soil.
As the long, sharp nails pierced my stomach, blood flowed between them.

“Cough!”

My lungs constricted for a moment, then released.
An unknown ringing lingered in my ears.

As the brink of death neared, I barely managed to place my hand on the ground and activate my magic.

– Kugugugugu!

A pillar of fire erupted from the earth.

As I obscured the Ent’s view and conjured a gust of wind to make my escape, I hurled my battered body as far away as possible.

-Rolling.

In a near-death state, I rolled across the open field for a while before coughing and rising to my feet.

“Cough, kuch….”

My insides must have been injured, as bright red blood streamed from my mouth. Even the capsule-form medicine I had on hand couldn’t be chewed properly in this condition. Rummaging through my belt, I applied several potions to my body and used my power to heal the wounds.

“Ha… Hh.”

As my skin gradually began to mend, my breathing finally steadied.

Shivering in place, I gazed down at my bloodied form with a grim smile.

The face of my mentor came to mind.

“…One more time.”

I had no intention of dying yet.

* * * * *

The tattered protective garments, the snapped belt, and the blood-drenched body slumped listlessly. The eyes were unfocused.

Aimless trials had left nothing but unsightly scars.

It will be difficult. Cheondo’s bitter words now resonated with me.
There are things one cannot know without experiencing them firsthand.

“…Ah.”

Sitting atop the corpses of the Ents, breathing in the chilly night air, the scent of blood permeated my nostrils.

[Return. There are no trials here.]

Directly translated sentences echoed in my mind.
I was healing my half-severed forearm with my supernatural ability while observing the scene of the fierce struggle. Each time I saw the dripping blood, dizziness overcame me.

There were no potions. The potions Cheondo had provided were already expended long ago.
The artifacts, too, were either damaged or shattered during the brutal battle.

“Ha.”

A single bitter sigh.

Today, all I could glean from this place was a sense of helplessness.

What was the issue? Had I not put in enough effort?
Or had I been too lazy to think things through?

No matter how much I pondered, the reason eluded me, and it likely would remain unanswered for the rest of my life.

‘For now… let’s head back.’

Entering the shelter,
Heaven was waiting for me.

I stepped over the corpses and descended to the ground. Limping several times, I made my way toward the gate.

In the end, I couldn’t even set foot on the threshold of that scrap-metal fortress.
Would I ever be able to reach it?
I forcibly swallowed my weakening thoughts.

Stumbling time and again, I finally reached the gate. Casting one last glance at the citadel, I infused the gate with magic.

Day 1.
No progress.

– Oof!

My vision flipped.

Upon reaching the shelter, I collapsed to my knees like a wilting tree. I felt as if the tenuous grasp I had on my consciousness suddenly snapped.

“Master… where are you?”

“I am here. I haven’t moved a single step since the moment you left.”

“I see… I apologize. But my vision is failing me now.”

“It seems so. Your eyes are a stark white. Have you been poisoned?”

There were some Ents known to use such substances.

As I let out a weak laugh, I felt the warmth of a gentle hand on my cheek. The silhouette of a woman in my clouded vision gradually became clearer.

“How careless of you. To be afflicted by a poison like this.”

Heaven was still smiling.

“Come, quickly.”

“Master, about my accomplishment…”

“No need to speak of it. Just your return is enough to lift my spirits.”

Her heart-melting words made me relax, releasing all the tension in my body. Heaven embraced me as I let go.

Her face is buried in her ample bosom.

“You’ve shed much blood.”
“…Yes.”
“You’ve endured much. That’s how growth occurs.”

Could it be her pallor is due to losing so much blood in the previous battle?
The warm hand of Cheondo stroking my hair felt comforting.