Necromancer Survival

Chapter 435

Snap–!

Click–!

With a flick of Dawon’s fingers, the invisible force blocking the door seemed to dissipate.

Kim Olim walked straight into the room. I felt a little embarrassed, so I avoided her gaze and greeted her with a sheepish, hesitant voice. "Haha… Hello. It's been a long time."

Olim looked as if she would explode at any moment, but, after looking at me, her expression eased slightly.

Her lips parted as if she were about to say something, but she then pressed them shut again. After a brief pause, she finally spoke in a calmer, more measured tone. "…Is your body alright?"

"Yeah…"

"Alright. Hang in there. I'll exorcise Seo Dawon for you."

"…What?" Startled by the unexpected statement, I looked up to see Kim Olim glaring at Dawon with an unwaveringly serious expression. She wasn't the type to joke, so I could feel the sincerity in her words. She truly meant what she said.

‘Honestly, though, exorcism…?'

She was outright treating him like a malevolent ghost.

Dawon, the so-called ghost in question, showed no signs of reacting to that taunt. Instead, he continued to calmly brush my hair with his hand as if nothing unusual was happening.

At that sight, Kim Olim immediately strode up and grabbed the Mage's wrist. If this were a manhwa, there would definitely be a dramatic “Squeeeeze!” sound effect scribbled next to them.

Only then did Dawon slowly turn to look at the Paladin. "Let me inform you in advance. I didn't hypnotize him or otherwise force him."

"Do you think I'd believe that?"

However, I was the one to respond to that question, "What?"

Why wouldn't she believe him? Does she think Dawon did something I wouldn't know about?

Moreover, I was surprised at how much Kim Olim distrusted Dawon rather than the actual content of her accusations. Wasn’t she supposed to trust him as her guild master?

At that moment, she mentioned a completely unknown detail, "You know Choi Lee-kyung suffers from sleepwalking. And you know what caused it."

"… Sleepwalking?"

"If you had any conscience at all, you wouldn’t have—!"

Kim Olim’s eyes flared with a piercing blue light as she snapped at Dawon; her anger was practically tangible. I was utterly taken aback by her rage.

At the same time, I wondered if she was perhaps getting too angry, so I had no choice but to insert myself into their fight. I sneaked in and held her hand. "Excuse me… F-first things first. This conversation is about me, so w-why not include me in the discussion?"

"……"

"You're talking about me, right?"

"….." Kim Olim didn't answer and clamped her lips shut. Of course, it wasn't that she was ignoring me–she was contemplating on a good way to phrase her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Dawon didn’t attempt to intervene. He simply took a step back and quietly observed us–his gaze calm but focused.

After a brief silence, Kim Olim finally spoke, her words heavy and deliberate, "…I've been keeping my mouth shut because the timing wasn't right, and I couldn't find the right words, but… Choi Lee-kyung, actually… you've been in a bad state for a long while."

‘She deliberated over her words for so long and…this is all she came up with?'

I was flustered by the sudden admission, but I was also slightly anxious at her serious expression. I couldn't get a feel for what she considered ‘bad.' "…What…Do you mean?"

"If we just let you be, you would go mad."

"……" I was rendered speechless.

Kim Olim continued, "That's why we rifled through your diary and checked your social media. We suspected that you had a drug abuse problem or were depressed."

"….Ah."

"You may not remember, but you would wake up in tears often… No, you didn't exactly ‘wake up.' You suffered from terrible nightmares and even sleepwalked. You even harmed yourself sometimes. And… during your sleep, the words that escaped your lips were mostly about us.”

"Self harm? … And I talked about you guys?"

"This is just conjecture, but you seemed to be affected by the [Vengeful Ghost Memories]. Since you looked into the deaths of the deceased as a participant… you had experienced death as if it were your own. In short, you were being murdered every night."

"Ahh…" Her words triggered an unsettling memory. When I first formed a contract with Dawon, I often felt nauseous, almost sickened, by anything that reminded me of the [Vengeful Ghost Memory]. The [Vengeful Ghost Memory] was all too vivid–too personal. As if the memories were my own. But, at some point, I thought the symptoms had alleviated…

"Then…" I started.

"So, since then–"

At that moment, Dawon, who had been silent this entire time, opened his mouth, "I designed and planted a ‘firewall' of sorts in your consciousness every night…so that you can withstand the [Vengeful Ghost Memories]."

"What?" I was startled–this was the first time I had heard of this. However, Olim and Dawon were tranquil–this was old news to them. Perhaps the other Servants already knew about this as well.

I don't exactly know what Dawon did to me, but it wasn't pleasant to hear that I was kept in the dark–this was shared knowledge for everyone but me.

So, I asked a very pointed question, "A ‘firewall'… What is it exactly?"

"I'll explain that right now. This is the most important part. Choi Lee-kyung." Kim Olim bowed her head towards me. "First of all, I would like to apologize…albeit belatedly… for doing all of this without your permission."

She raised her head and continued to speak, "But, at the time, we didn't have a ‘healer' to cure your trauma. Additionally, the plan we devised would be most effective only when you were unaware of it, so we had no choice but to keep it hidden from you.”

"……"

"But, I swear, this method was slowly devised to keep you from losing your sanity. There was no other motive."

"The idea we devised, Lee-kyung-ah, was to build a barrier in your mind. One your trauma cannot penetrate."

The two spoke alternatingly before sighing at almost the same time. The sigh seemed somewhat ominous.

"So… You tried to make something in my subconscious? For my sake?"

"That's right."

"Yeah."

However, the plan seemed to have failed judging by their glum expressions.

So, I nervously asked, "But…?"

"The issue is that… The thing we made is being overprotective."

"We believe that all the entities interfering with you in the [Vengeful Ghost Memory]—twisting it or appearing in my form to hold you back—are essentially extensions of the barrier."

"What…" Honestly, I'd also thought that the difficulty of [Vengeful Ghost Memories] had become increasingly challenging at some point. Compared to the earlier intense but brief episodes, the contract memories now had full-fledged stories, and there were several instances where I had almost failed due to an obstacle that adopted Dawon's appearance.

But.. to think that all this fuss was caused by something the [Red Lotus] members made to protect me. My brows furrowed; there was something I couldn't understand no matter how much I thought about it. I mumbled, "But, those apparitions that appeared in the [Vengeful Ghost Memories]… They just harassed me though."

There were several times when things nearly went horribly wrong because of the obstacles that adopted on Dawon's visage. Just recently, when the younger version of Dawon appeared, I almost didn't wake up again. I shook my head and waited for a response.

Kim Olim answered, "They're following one very clear command: to protect you."

"Mmm?"

"But, in some sense, the world within our subconscious is their world. So they want you to be protected within their world."

"……" My mouth fell open slightly at her words.

It was true. The Dawon-like entities that appeared in the [Vengeful Ghost Memories] always interfered with me. Yet, at the same time, they seemed intent on keeping me there.

"So, considering the [Vengeful Ghost Contract] progression would consume your lifespan or inflict serious injury upon your body, the barrier seems to judge that ‘reality’—the world your physical body resides in—is more dangerous than its crafted reality. That’s why it aims to keep you from waking up."

"…What?"

"In addition, Choi Lee-kyung, the biggest issue is that, in your unconscious mind, you’ve placed Seo Dawon on a pedestal of absolute authority. When the barrier manifests as Seo Dawon, you’re almost entirely defenseless. In your subconscious, he’s practically omniscient and omnipotent."

‘This is crazy…'

At this rate, I might as well put up a public notice proclaiming to everyone that I was hopelessly in love with Seo Dawon and worshiped him like a deity.

I buried my flushed face in my palms and rubbed my cheeks vigorously. "…Isn't there anything you can do about it? If you've made it, then you can unmake it, right?"

Sadly, though, both Dawon and Olim shook their heads.

"It was originally meant to turn your nightmares into pleasant dreams… but now it’s reached a point where it can’t be removed anymore."

"……."

Olim glared at Dawon after she finished speaking. "To think you’d touch Choi Lee-kyung while he's in such a vulnerable state… You’re the worst kind of trash, Seo Dawon."

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Become a member!

TL: … Kim Olim, if Choi Lee-kyung won't choose you, take me instead. I volunteer as tribute.

Also, if you think about it, Dawon's firewall is literally an anti-virus gone terminator rogue.