Chapter 236. Two (2)

Chi-Hyun was telling him to roll the World’s Milestone and go to the future one more time.

While Chi-Woo understood what his brother was saying, he hesitated. “Will it be all right?”

They didn’t have an infinite number of chances to see the future. Thus, they needed to find all the triggers that led to Shalyh’s fall in three tries. If they rolled the die this time, they would be left with only one chance.

“I successfully prevented myself and the people around me from leaving the city, and you were able to discover and destroy a dozen colonies of demon flowers.” As he said, they had prevented two events that might have developed into a bigger catastrophe.

“But…” Chi-Woo smacked his lips. “I don’t think that’s enough to avoid Shalyh’s destruction. I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about it.” Therefore, Chi-Woo wanted to find more triggers and throw the die only when they were more sure that they had changed the future.

—You’re right. I also think the same.

Chi-Hyun didn’t deny the truth of Chi-Woo’s opinion. On the contrary, it was what people should normally do—if they had enough time.

—But time is against us.

“Time? Didn’t you say that the plan to use the demon flowers will take a long time?

—Yeah, but that plan was destroyed by me.

Chi-Hyun had been moving around non-stop for the past few days. By extensively using his detection magic, Chi-Hyun was able to investigate a wide range of areas, and every time he detected demonic energy, he immediately flew to its source and destroyed it. He even went back to places he’d been before to make sure he had destroyed everything and thoroughly checked the surroundings multiple times. As a result, the number of demon flowers had significantly decreased to the point where it would be safe to say there was now none. All this was good, but the real problem was what would happen after.

—As you say, will the Demon Empire step back so easily like this?

The Demon Empire wasn’t foolish either; it was meaningless for them to continue a war of attrition given the circumstances, especially if the demon flower seeds were precious to them.

—In my opinion, I think the Demon Empire is extremely determined this time.

The holy city, Shalyh, was an eyesore to them; Chi-Hyun was sure that they’d do anything to get rid of it. It was to the extent that a belligerent faction that liked to start a war at the drop of a hat decided to follow a plan with a clear strategy, even if it took a long time. However, now that the particular plan was foiled, he had no idea what the Demon Empire would try to do next.

—There’s too little information at the moment.

A definite future in which Shalyh was destroyed by the Demon Empire would not easily change. And there must be more than one path leading to that future; there could be two, three, or more. There was no way that the Demon Empire would give up just because one of their possible roads got cut off; they’ll surely take a different route then. Or perhaps the Demon Empire’s original plan still remained, and Chi-Hyun and Chi-Woo might have just erased a side option. This was more reason for them to find out why Shalyh would fall, and Chi-Woo had to gather as much information as he could in his second chance before they could no longer go to the future.

“I see. Because of you and me…” Chi-Woo groaned as he finally understood his brother’s intentions. Due to their actions, the paths towards the definite future he saw had fluctuated in real life. Considering this point, it was not the time to save his chances for seeing the future.

—And one more thing. Try turning on your device as soon as you get to the future this time.

“Huh? Why?”

—Just think about it. When you used your first chance, I had no idea that you went to the future.

“Yeah, so?”

—But it’s not like that anymore. From that point on, I’ve known that you can go to the future. And in the future, I know that we are suffering from a lack of information, and that you’ll soon be moving into the future for the second time.

Chi-Woo’s eyes gradually widened as he listened to Chi-Hyun.

—Given my personality, there’s a high chance that the future me would have left a message for you, and after hearing this, your future self might have also left a message, thinking that you should start recording what is happening.

Chi-Woo clapped his hands loudly. “That’s right! Then…!”

—Perhaps this might be the last time we have to go to the future.

Chi-Woo was sure that if it was his brother, he would have sent a message recording what was going to happen in the future for him. Then there was no need for him to go around looking for information. All he had to do was carefully read the messages on his device, remember them, and throw the die again.

“Okay! Got it, I’ll be right back!”

While Chi-Woo enthusiastically searched for the die in his pocket, Chi-Hyun suddenly spoke softly.

—…Chi-Woo.

“Huh? What?”

—Don’t overdo it.

Chi-Woo’s hand paused before he could take the die out.

—Like everything in the world, things may not go the way we think, especially in a world like Liber.

Chi-Woo wanted to tell his brother to not worry, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it because his brother’s face looked too serious. Moreover, he didn’t think it was something he should take lightly.

—I’m saying that there’s no need for you to wander around to get more information. Just read the message quickly and come back right away. I’ll never blame you even if you come back without much gain.

“…”

—There’s still one chance left. You understand what I mean, right?

“…Yeah, I got it.” Chi-Woo also nodded with a serious face. “If I feel uncomfortable, I’ll throw the die right away like last time.”

—Good. Take care.

“Same for you. You sound like you really need to take a break. I’ll contact you as soon as I get back.”

—Yeah, I’ll be waiting.

The call ended. Chi-Woo flipped his left wrist, where his device was. After taking a deep breath, he threw the die in his right hand. Then white light swept through his body. Soon, Chi-Woo collapsed as if he was falling down.

* * *

Chi-Woo felt a sensation that he would never get used to no matter how many times he experienced it. His whole body felt like it was getting twisted into braids, and he felt like he was getting sucked in. Still, Chi-Woo prepared to vomit first because he had experienced it once before. However, the next moment, the intense need to vomit disappeared as if it had been washed away.

…No, it hadn’t disappeared—it was replaced by a stronger sensation. It was a sensation he had experienced for the first time. His whole head felt empty and lethargic, and he felt like he was sinking endlessly in the ocean. His mind constantly kept coming to a halt, so he had to try all his might to stay focused. It was much harder than he thought. It wasn’t easy for him to pull himself together, let alone gain control of his body. Even though he tried to stay awake, his mind kept getting dizzy, as if someone had forcibly put him in this state.

‘I…can’t…’ Chi-Woo bit his tongue hard because at this rate, he might fully lose a hold of his mind that he barely managed to grasp onto. Then he was startled; the pain lasted only for a moment, but it soon turned into intense pleasure and swept through his mouth. Chi-Woo let out a moan without realizing it. Why did he feel so good when he should have felt pain? He couldn’t even think properly because of the sensory overload, and it felt as if sugar powder was melting off his tongue rather than blood. The added stimulus further convoluted his already muddled mind. His eyes loosened, his mouth opened, and his tongue rolled out.

“Uh…eh…” A pathetic sound came out of his mouth. He felt like not thinking anymore and was starting to think that he should let his body surrender to these sensations when…at the moment he was about to give up, Chi-Woo gathered his exorcism mana by instinct. When exorcism mana circled inside his body once, he finally came back to his senses. It felt like he had jumped into cold water after being on the verge of losing his mind in a hot sauna. It felt like he had woken up from a long nightmare.

After barely managing to get his mind back, Chi-Woo took a big breath. The repressed nausea began to come back to him again with an extremely pungent smell assaulting his nose. He wondered if it was the smell of blood or corpses, but it smelled slightly strange. Rather than blood, it smelled fishier and similar to human feces or piss. The smell permeated everywhere around him.

After recovering his sense of smell, the next sensory he recovered was his sense of touch. His body was cold. It felt like he was naked in an igloo in the dead of winter. And for some reason, it was hard for him to maintain his balance. Chi-Woo’s head kept dropping from the strain of holding it up, but he managed to open his eyes. The dim view reflected a murky light. Judging by how the light kept wavering, it seemed to be coming from a torch on the wall.

“Uu…ugh…” Chi-Woo drooled and tried to put more strength in his eyes. He was able to gain a little focus in his field of vision. The first thing he saw was a dark, sticky, cramped space of about 100 to 150 square feet. The floor was made out of damp earth and wet straw. He felt the sensation of a cold brick against his back. A wooden wall that looked like a partition divided the space into multiple compartments. When Chi-Woo saw an iron door between a wooden fence, he realized where he was. He was in prison—no, it was too shabby to even be called prison. It was more like a ranch where livestock was kept, and it resembled a barn.

Moreover, he had been wondering why he was so cold, but he really was naked. He didn’t even have a fragment of cloth to cover himself. When he tried to move his body by instinct, he heard a loud metal sound rang in the air. At the same time, he felt a slight pull around his neck; he was on a leash. A chain was wrapped around his neck and connected to the back wall. Chi-Woo let out a deep sigh. It hadn’t been this bad when he first went to the future.

‘What the heck happened…?’ How did things turn out like this? Chi-Woo and Chi-Hyun had definitely stopped two significant events. Of course, the second future was different from the first future where only ashes remained, but it was hard to say this future was an improvement from the first. Anyway, it was as his brother had said. The situation was extremely awful; even if he wanted to gather information, there was nothing he could do while being locked up like this. One good thing was that there was currently nothing that posed a serious risk to him.

‘I guess it can’t be helped.’ It felt slightly wasteful, but he had no choice but to quickly check his messages and go back. Chi-Woo, who was fiddling with the die in his right hand, raised his left hand—no, he tried to. Chi-Woo’s face suddenly became blank. His left forearm was missing. Gone were his hand and wrist like they had been wiped out together. Chi-Woo stared for a while. His left forearm had been cut very neatly, and judging by how there was a faint scar on his arm but the wound had healed cleanly, his forearm must have been cut a while ago. Chi-Woo tapped his remaining left arm like crazy out of desperation, but as expected, a hologram didn’t appear. Since the part where the device was stored was gone, it couldn’t be helped.

“…” Chi-Woo was beyond shock and fell into a state of panic. How could things turn out so badly? There was only one way to leave now—throwing the die to go back to the present. However, once he thought about this, he felt conflicted. His brother had said that they still had another chance, but the situation might turn out the same way. He felt regretful to throw this opportunity away in vain.

‘…Wait.’ Come to think of it, he wasn’t the only one who knew about the future—there was his older brother, Ru Amuh, and Ru Hiana. Of course, there was no guarantee that all three would still be alive. However, considering that he was locked up like this, there was still a chance that they could be alive like him. If he could at least find one of them and hear what happened, he might be able to get more information and have a better chance at changing the future. But first, he needed to get out of here, and he needed to look for those three who might be locked up like him.

Of course, he was taking a considerable risk, and if something went wrong, he might not ever be able to go back to the present. Or rather than simply dying, he might have to live a miserable life like this forever.

‘How…’ Should he go back right now, or take a risk and find out at least a little more about this future? While he agonized over his options—

Creak! Suddenly, a loud, unpleasant sound of metal scraping rang inside the space. It seemed as if someone had opened the iron door. Subsequently, Chi-Woo heard several figures coming in and chatting excitedly. Chi-Woo dropped his head and let his arms fall weakly to his side on the ground. At the same time, he put his right hand behind his back and got ready to throw the die at any time.

After a while, he heard footsteps approaching, and three or four shadows cast over the fence.