n

n

nDuring 3 months after Jaehwan left, a lot of things changed outside of also. As Carpediem grew in strength, there were forces that opposed Carpediem. These were the generals and underlings of the Lords of the . Mino was shocked to hear this.

n“…Isn’t that a problem? How can we beat them? They are at least 4th stage Adapters.”

n“We can beat them now.”

nMino understood why Claire was so certain after she saw the ‘Tower of Awakeners’. That tower had the same name as the fortress. People were training day and night within the tower.

nMost people of did not walk the path of becoming an Adapter anymore.

n‘Awakening.’

nIt was the present that the King had left for .

n“…And we can even fight 9th stage Adapters?”

n“Yeah.”

nShe thought ones at the 5th or 6th level were untouchable, and now the 9th were considered like they were nothing. She couldn’t even guess what kind of power it was.

n“We can’t defeat any Adapters though. The 9th is just a start. There are a lot of Generals who are over the 9th stage in . Some are coming over even now.”

nAfter Jaehwan killed hundreds of Generals, the 9th region was now in a fierce war, due to the destroyed power balance. There were hundreds and thousands of dead spirits transferring over to . Some were Great Generals.

n“What stage are they? Great Generals?”

n“10th or sometimes 11th stage.”

n“…How strong are they?”

n“I heard they can destroy a mountain in one strike.”

n“God…”

nMino became pale.

n“What if they attack this place? We can’t defeat them.”

n“Yeah, at least the ‘humans’ can’t.”

nMino flinched. It seemed she was too calm for saying that it was impossible. Impossible for ‘humans.’ It seemed like someone other than humans was helping them. Then she realized something was off. It had been 3 months since Jaehwan left. It was enough time for those Generals to attack this place. But how was this fortress still safe?

n“You know the place where the Generals are sent to when they die is different, right?”

n“…A bit. I heard they are summoned into the Palace of Reincarnation.”

nHigher stage Adapters were summoned to the palace so they could be revived quickly. Claire nodded.

n“Right. You knew.”

n“…What about it?”

n“Well, the Overseers of Void Factory fixed it. The place that they get called into is different now.”

nWas that something that could be changed? But..

n“Where to?”

n“Here.”

n“…Huh?”

n“Generals are called to Carpediem when they die.”

nMino screamed in shock. “…HERE?!”

n“Yeah.”

n“B-but…! We can’t fight them! They’re too strong!”

nMino became pale but Claire didn’t seem to be concerned at all.

n“Well- it’s further inside to be exact.”

nClaire was pointing toward the inside of the fortress, deep within.

nDeep inside Carpediem, a summoning circle shined brightly and a naked man appeared from within. He looked around as he was confused, and then nodded.

n“…Dammit. So I was killed.”

nIt was one of the Lesser Generals of the 9th region.

n“See, I told you it was no use being loyal.”

nThe General was surprised by another voice and turned around. It was one of his comrades who was on the battlefield until while ago.

n“Wow, you’re dead too, Jake?”

n“You’re dead too, Drake. What would make me different?”

nDrake frowned. It has been 400 years since he lived as a General of 9th region. He fought and fought for the Darkness but he was abandoned like a dog in the end.

n‘…Maybe I should go to the 5th region next time.’

nAs he was thinking, Jake opened up.

n“By the way, where is this place?”

n“…I’m not sure.” Drake mumbled as he looked around. This place wasn’t familiar.

n“I thought we were summoned to the Palace of Reincarnation.”

n“It doesn’t look like it.”

nDrake nodded. “So the rumor was true. The palace is no more.”

nThere was a recent rumor that a powerful force had appeared within and destroyed the Palace of Reincarnation. Drake did not believe the rumor to be true.

n‘But even then… couldn’t have defeated the Generals of the palace. I guess those generals fought against each other for the Fruit or something. I heard it almost ran out.’

nDrake stretched himself and spoke to Jake.

n“Jake, so what will you…”

nBut he couldn’t talk any longer. Jake’s face wasn’t there anymore. Instead, blood was pouring out from his neck like a fountain.

n“J-jake?!”

nDrake was so terrified he couldn’t even make a move.

nAn insect is here again.

nA voice came to him with a power that beyond anything he had felt before.

nExplode.

nAnd that was the last word he heard.

nAfter a week, Mino made up her mind. Claire was looking at her with a concerned look.

n“Are you really going in?”

n“Yeah.”

n“You might go mad and die!”

nMino shrugged. She was looking at the Tower of Awakeners.

n“I’m ready.”

nThe tower wasn’t big or tall. It was small and crude compared to the real Tower of Nightmares. But Mino wasn’t concerned. She then looked at the people going into the tower. She heard that the training inside was like hell, but the people didn’t seem to be worried at all.

n“I want to know too.”

nClaire understood, even if she didn’t specify what she wanted to know.

n“Alright, go ahead. You damn girl.”

nClaire turned back. But her back was shaking a bit and Mino smiled.

n‘I’m sorry, Claire.’

nThen she took a step toward the tower. As she joined the people going into the tower, she reached into her pocket and felt the stone. She knew what it was.

nReturning Stone

nClaire said that Jaehwan visited her before he left for the Void Factory and gave the stone in her hand.

n‘Why did he save ?’

nIt was one question that was not answered. Jaehwan, as she knew him, was cold and uncaring. He didn’t seem like he liked ‘humans’ very much. But he saved the world. He saved the world of Dead Men that he wasn’t related to. Mino remembered her last words before she fainted a long time ago.

n-Please don’t give up on this world.

nMino then shook her head.

n‘I doubt it.’

nThen she stopped at the entrance of the tower. She felt something filling her heart. She realized why the expression on people’s faces wasn’t dark as they entered. It was hope. There was hope that there was something in this world, something she could do.

nShe smiled. The man who was trying to make this world fall left hope in this world.

nThen she thought. Maybe… just maybe. This too was kind of a fall in itself.

nShe then looked up to the sky. Beyond the sky, at the , Jaehwan was surely somewhere, fighting against the world.

n‘Maybe… I can see the same world as you.’

nShe couldn’t understand the kind of world Jaehwan pictured, but she could imagine. And within her imagination, the world was a small tree, a lone tree with no leaves or land to grab on to. But Mino didn’t think the tree was lonely. Even if the whole world turned its back on it, the man was surely beside it to protect it.

nIt was the world that the one man protected and will protect.

nIt was the World after the Fall.

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