Fantasy World - Chapter 18 (Older Edition)

Listening to the howls of the monsters, everyone began to panic. Many of the students had flashbacks to the last time there was a large number of monsters coming towards them, compounding their terror. Ha-Yoon attempted to gain control of the situation but was failing.

"Master, what would you like us to do?" Queen whispered into his ear. His creations were likely eager to make up their prior failings.

Due to the special circumstances, he thought it would be a good idea to have some fun this time. "Feel free to go all out. I do not mind if my classmates get a taste of how much power you wield."

"Yes, Master." She grinned hungrily at the prospect of showing off in front of him.

Walking over to her fellow created, Queen whispered Han's orders. Judging by their jubilant facial expressions, all of them enjoyed the thought of flexing their muscles.

Queen found someplace away from the students and adventurers, standing resolute like some Amazonian. "From the realm all who end up, I, your Queen, demand your presence. Like a swarm, RISE! Overwhelm all who stand before me! Drown the living!" The ground tore open, a bright light piercing the world. Hands and other appendages stretched forth, contaminating existence with their presence. There was a mixture of pure white bones hands and armored arms grasping beyond the fissure.

Students stopped panicking as they began to witness the surge of undead soldiers, answering Queen's call. The ground opened up, like a gaping maw. Darkness spilling out and pulsating out of the hole in the ground.

Han made his way towards the opening and looked down into the pit. There was an endless number of undead creatures, of all types, crawling up the walls. Without needing any orders, they parted to not get in Han's way. He felt like some kind of prophet from the divine parting an ocean of the dead.

Unlike the previous time Queen had used her powers, against the Empire, these creatures didn't get into a proper formation. They just swarmed all over the field. The undead forming a perimeter around them, as more kept surging out.

Off in the distant, it looked like the ground was moving. He was slightly confused but then realized it wasn't the ground but monsters. This was a lot more than what he was expecting.

When it came to these types of scenarios, the key was dealing as much damage at once and have it spread out. He needed to use something with a decent area of effect. The thought of going all out came to mind, but he had to find a balance due to his classmates being nearby.

Pointing the finger at the monsters, he just imagined an extensive attack. There was a dome of fire spreading out and engulfing all the monsters. The force of the blast caused a strong gust of acrid wind to blow at them. It felt like they were in front of a hurricane, causing the students to be flung back.

"I did not think that was going to happen. It never does in anime shows." He muttered. Looking at where a crater formed from the blast, there was an empty spot free of monsters, but it didn't stay clear for long. "That was unexpected," Was all that he could say.

A part of him thought of doing the same thing but was worried for those behind who were getting back on their feet. From their facial expression, the sight of such a large explosion may have short-circuited their minds.

"Instead of that, how about this?" Han spoke, lifting a finger and pointing at the sky. Above him, dark and menacing clouds quickly gathered. Inside the clouds were colossal flashes of blinding light, hinting at the amount of power being held inside. "It should be enough." He quickly pointed at the ground, and thousands of lightning bolts crashed to the ground. The surrounding area was bathed in light. The thunder rushing towards them reverberated deep in his chest. Screams could be heard from everyone.

Once everyone could see in front of them, almost all of the monsters were gone. Feeling a little more satisfied, he patted himself on the back. "Queen, send out your undead to deal with the remaining monsters." Though almost all of them were incinerated, like a tree in the middle of a field, there was enough to require the army of undead.

"Yes, Master!" Queen spoke up and commanded her army to move out.

He watched as they made their way, slashing, eating, and killing the remaining monsters. After feeling a sense of accomplishment, and hearing the cheering of the students and adventurers, there was a similar feeling of the ground vibrating.

"You got to be shitting me!" Han yelled out.

Over the horizon, there was another wave of monsters heading over to them. It was even seen how some of the monsters were scrambling over their companions. The undulating wave of creatures getting ready to crash against their group.

"What is with this place!!" He yelled in frustration. It was like dealing with a swarm of locusts, and they were the crops! "Fine! You want to play?!" He yelled out at them. "Let us play!"

Raising his finger towards the sky, he placed all of his anger and frustration into his attack. Behind him, everyone saw he was getting ready to repeat the onslaught of lightning strikes and dropped to the ground, covering their heads. Jutting his finger at the oncoming swarm, he unleashed the pent up power. It was like a screen of pure white flashed in front of him, making him close his eyes. With his eyes closed, he could only hear the constant sound of lightning striking the ground. The concussive sounds felt as if the entire continent was shuddering from the power of his attack.

"Y... -ou ee t s !" He thought he heard something other than the lightning. Turning his head, Han saw Ha-Yoon with her arm raised, trying to protect her eyes. She was yelling something at him, and it was then he realized what she was trying to say.

"Yi! You need to stop!" Ha-Yoon was screaming out.

Halting the attack, the silence was palpable with a heavy ozone smell in the air. Traces of lightning scattering crackling through the air. Looking around, he realized the area they were in was now raised as if someone had pressed a giant donut into the ground while they were in the middle. The lightning had been so severe it had destroyed the ground around them. All that remained were the charred corpses of all the monsters.

Ha-Yoon was breathing heavily, her voice scratched up from having to shout so long to catch his attention.

The students, who were huddling on the ground, looked around to see if it was okay for them to get up. Several of them were shaking after witnessing such an event. Many of them looked over at where Han was standing and felt like they were seeing him for the first time.

Looking at Ha-Yoon, Han said, "We should probably start heading out before more monsters start to appear."

Ha-Yoon only nodded her head, still a little astonished by what had happened.

"What was that, Yi!" Jim and everyone else rushed up to him.

"I do not think this is the best time to talk about this." Han cautioned them.

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They had been traveling for quite some time, being on guard for more monsters. This environment held a significant number of them, causing their group to run into new hordes periodically.

Queen had kept her undead army, having them form a perimeter around the group of students and adventurers. Whenever a fresh group of monsters appeared, the undead would engage them.

"Han, I think we should talk about what happened?" Ha-Yoon asked him, in a demanding tone. Her twitching brow betrayed her true emotions, showing how she was doing a poor job at coping with everything happening.

Looking at his teacher, Han sighed and decided it may be a good idea to reveal a little bit. "What you saw was a portion of how much power I possess. I saw the number of monsters was going to overwhelm my servant's creatures, so I had to step in. I have never used that much power in one sitting, so I admit to getting a little lost in it."

"How are you able to...?" She tried to put her thoughts into words. "I have never seen a human or any being able to..." Ha-Yoon failed to describe what she had witnessed. "What other things are you able to do?"

"I understand you are curious, but I have reasons for not showing everything I can do. If possible, I would appreciate you not sharing what I tell you to others." Han requested.

She nodded her head, but there was a look in her eye hinting at something. From her expression, she didn't appear to be happy about it.

"Is there something bothering you?" Han asked, trying to find out what was going on with her.

Ha-Yoon hesitated a bit, before saying, "I am just concerned about my students. The number of creatures we are running up against brings memories to what the Overflow was like. Before you destroyed all those monsters, I had flashbacks to when I was a child. I thought all of us were going to end up being devoured." She chuckled a little at the thought.

"I would not imagine the idea of being devoured would be something amusing." Han slightly frowned, unsure where she was going with the story.

"Sometimes death is not a bad idea if there is something worse waiting," Ha-Yoon flung back some of her hair over her shoulder, refusing to elaborate. Looking away from him, she asked. "Do you fear death?"

Han thought about this question, wondering how such a natural thing would affect him now. "I believe we are meant to fear death. The idea of leaving behind unfinished things, and the fear of the unknown. For me, I have begun to feel as if death is not something to fear. I picture the end being a void, and our current presence random and without meaning. At one point, I did think there was some deeper meaning to everything..."

"Sounds like a very sad life. What happened if I may ask?" Ha-Yoon inquired.

"Just a series of events kept on repeating. I thought I had found something different, but walking in I realized it was just like all the others. The only thing different was the duration of the event, but the ending was like all the others. Seeing what was happening...," Han paused, trying not to remember certain memories in his past. "It felt like my mind finally accepted this truth, though I do think about it from time to time. I am sure others would have acted differently, but I felt fighting meaningless and would lead to more sorrow."

Han's voice became softer as he relived that day and all the other similar events in his life. He remembered the first relationship he had ever had, and how much he had fought for it only to be heartbroken. Each time, Han would fight a little bit less, as the sequences of events seemed to just repeat itself.

At first, his friends would try to cheer him up, but after numerous times of him catching a love being unfaithful, they started to suspect he was the source. They felt he was the reason why each one would run off to another guy or just leave.

"Are you alright, Yi?" Ha-Yoon asked, concern in her voice.

"I just started to think about something, wondering if maybe they were right about me." He shrugged and said nonchalantly.

Ha-Yoon placed a hand on his arm. "I do not know who these people are, but I know you are a decent person. You have protected so many people and done so much for others." Her expression darkened, "Some people enjoy seeing others suffering, especially when they are the ones inflicting such pain."

Han listened to Ha-Yoon and wondered what she would think if she knew he was able to take them from this hellish environment. He imagined all of them would be angered, wondering how a person could be callous as he was.

All he could think about was seeing where this lead him. Though it might sound monstrous, a part of him thought this was like a video game, and finding himself at the home of the Ones Before as a secret level.

"What could be at the end of this place?"

[Master, I have discovered something ahead of us!] Anacolis whispered. While Queen and Brittany stayed by his side, Anacolis and Aracia scouted ahead. With their skill at stealth, Han didn't need to worry about them getting attacked by monsters.

[What did you see?] He asked her.

[There is an extensive temple here.]

Peaked by her response, he glanced over at Ha-Yoon and said, "One of my servants have found something ahead of us. I think it may be prudent for us to increase our pace."

-------

As they followed after Han, an ancient temple could be seen. All the students and adventurers began talking amongst themselves, trying to understand why there was such a thing in this hell hole.

"Interesting, I wonder if this belonged to the Ones Before or was created for the demons." Han wondered to himself.

The closer they approached the temple, the more details could be seen such as how primordial it appeared.

"This place looks..." The measurement of such a place failing her mind. Several students close by nodded, equally at a loss.

"I wonder who made this?" Selene asked. "What is this temple doing in the middle of nowhere?"

Han was mesmerized by the temple, appreciating the simple beauty it held. It was like going back and seeing the Parthenon back when it was completed. Compared to the Parthenon, during modern time, this place was in far better condition. There was a mixture of seeing the Parthenon and Angkor Wat at the same time, with how much presence this place held.

"This place looks a lot older than the fallen city near the Academy, but it's in better condition." Jim voiced his thoughts.

Walking up to the temple, Han placed his hands on one of the massive stone blocks. Feeling the worn and cold surface which reinforced the encompassing mystery of this place.

"Was this where they lived... or was this where they worshiped their gods?" Han questioned.

Going up the stairway in the front, he reached the mammoth doors. "Gah! These doors are extremely heavy!" Han grunted, opening them up. If it was anyone else in their party, aside from his creations, he didn't think they would have been able to get in. "Did they only create this place for those like them?" Entering the inner part of the temple, the only thing he could think was, "What the hell is this place?"

The inside looked very organic as if the walls should be moving. He looked behind him to see how everyone else was experiencing this. It looked abnormal. On the walls were spikes grew out of the sides, making this place look like a mixture between a person's mouth and insides.

"What is that smell!?" Lilly called out, as she held a hand over her nose attempting to block out the smell.

"Smells like Jim's breath," Selene glance over towards Jim, who was also covering his nose.

Jim glared at Selene and didn't even bother to try and retort. Chris patted Jim on the back supportively, understanding what was going through his mind.

"It does smell like the inside of an animal," Ha-Yoon agreed with Selene indirectly.

Selene snickered at Ha-Yoon's comment.

Ha-Yoon blushed once she realized how it could be interpreted. She looked back at Jim and waved her hand in denial about agreeing he smelled like the room.

Everyone began to look around the temple, trying to figure out what this place was. After several hours had passed, Han felt a breeze coming out of the wall. Walking over to it, he noticed there appeared to be a hidden door. Finding it odd for there to be a randomly hidden doorway, he decided to investigate further. Opening the door revealed a long stairway heading down into the dark.

Glancing at the other classmates, he made sure they didn't notice his absence. Entering this area, lights began to turn on and illuminate the path. It was then he noticed how the organic interior transitioned to the same material as the exterior of the temple.

Han, along with his creations, headed down the stairs to see what was at the bottom. It felt like it continued forever, but eventually, they arrived at another doorway. This one had a symbol of a hand on the center of the doorway.

"Interesting they only placed this on here." Han closely observed the door, trying to glean information from it. Placing his hand on top of the symbol acted as a catalyst, the hand glowing and shifting to look liquid.

"Welcome, brother." A voice called out from nowhere. The door then lifted towards the ceiling, and a room was revealed.

The room looked very much like a laboratory. There were various ancient tools and equipment and several stone tables. On several of the tables, there were dissected monsters.

"Master, it appears whoever was using this room was investigating the monsters found on this moon and the planet." Queen hypothesized. Heading closer to one of the tables, investigating the dissected creatures. None of the corpses looked touched by the passage of time.

Next to the tables were piles of notes. Looking closer they had drawings of the creatures. The language written out was unfamiliar to him, so he passed his hand over them, and they shifted into something he could read.

[Tests show that these creatures which appeared out of nowhere have a rapid growth phase. They breed from different genders, but if forced they can produce an offspring without the need of an opposite gender to inseminate them.

My brothers have discussed what we should do with these creatures, but due to our weakened powers, we are unable to wipe them out. The best thing we can do is limit them.

After much discussion, I was able to offer a potential solution. As it is now if we leave these creatures unchecked, they will head towards the new home we created. All life on there will be destroyed in a decade or more, so I offered to create a series of mazes and structures deep inside of this moon.

The creatures will be mostly contained, not including those that will naturally exist outside. We will give our children the ability to control this mechanism.

I have created this place to be able to experiment and learn more about these creatures and built a smaller version to test out whether it will work.

Our children will need to lead the younger beings. I hope they will be able to provide help and comfort. I wish we did not have to do this, but we are out of options. Even now, I feel my power is barely half what it was. I do not regret creating a new world, though I wish I could have joined the others.

My work must continue.]

"I wonder if this individual was one of the Ones Before?" Brittany asked.

Touching the letter, thinking how the author likely felt alone but traveling a necessary path, Han solemnly nodded his head. "It appears this is the case." Han agreed. He could only imagine how isolating this life was.

"MASTER!" Anacolis shouted.

Running over to where she was, Han saw a series of numbers displayed on a large screen. "What is this?" Han wondered.

Just looking at the numbers, there were a lot of zeros but at the far right were numbers going in descending order. "It looks like it is counting down. But to what?" Knowing there wasn't enough time to warn the others, Han quickly covered everyone in a powerful shield. When something counts down, there was usually an undesirable outcome that would emerge.

"Signal has been received to initiate purging of the Varg. Do you wish to allow the testing facility to follow with the purging?" An old voice called out.

"What testing facility?" Han asked the voice.

"This testing facility was designed to test out the function of purging the Varg, allowing those on the new homeworld a chance to survive while mitigating the effects of the Varg. Due to the current number of Varg contained inside, the testing facility does not need to join in. Do you wish to allow the Varg contained inside to be purged?" The voice explained.

Trying to think of something quickly, he shouted, "No! I do not wish that."

Unbothered by his tone of voice, the voice said, "Testing facility will continue to contain the Varg. Based on the current rate of population growth, the testing facility will be automatically set to participate in the purge to reduce future levels."

"What is the Varg?" Han asked the voice.

"The Varg is an organism discovered thousands of years ago. These beings appeared and landed on the prior homeworld. Based on their aggressive nature, these creatures were deemed dangerous. Due to the available resources, termination was found to be impossible. The Varg appeared to be very adaptive, so a failure to wipe them out would only lead to them growing stronger."

"This research facility was designed to test out a new method, where the majority of the Varg would be contained and purged around every decade. This would allow the lifeforms on the newly created homeworld to survive with the assistance of the children." It explained to them in a clear and unhurried fashion.

A shaking of the ground and rumbling noise alerted all of them that something was happening. Rushing back the way they came, Han saw everyone panicking from the quake and the loud noise.

"Yi, where have you been? While we were looking for you, the ground began to shake, and a rumbling noise could be heard. We do not know what is going on. Everyone is frightened." Ha-Yoon rushed up to Han.

"Wait here!" He told Ha-Yoon, before rushing out of the temple. Ha-Yoon ignored his advice and was right behind him. Several of the students and adventurers followed, upon seeing Han running towards the entrance.

Outside, everyone saw thick streams of monsters rushing forward, away from the temple. There was a wide variety of them, some no one recognized.

"Are those all monsters?" Jim cried out.

"What is that thing?!" Lilly pointed at a large monster appearing to just be tentacles and legs.

"There's another one!" Chris pointed at a giant monster, whose head appeared to be a massive pyramid spike. Out of its shoulders were dozens of giant spikes, making it look like something out of a person's nightmare.

"What happens if it comes over here?" A female student wondered, terror, marking her face.

"It looks like they are heading away from us," Han observed.

"Where do you think they are going?" Ha-Yoon asked him.

Han didn't bother to answer her question, as he just watched the river of monsters pass by.

"Something is appearing?!" Selestra cried out, pointing off in the distance to a giant bubble growing off in the distance.

Shifting his focus towards the bubble, he concentrated on it and his vision improved. As he got a closer view, Han realized what the bubble was.

He spoke in an awed voice. "They are climbing over one another. That thing is just a massive mound of monsters."

"What did you say?" Ha-Yoon's voice went up an octave after hearing such a scary thing coming out of Han's mouth.

"Are you saying that thing is all monsters?!" Selene shouted at Han. "What are you talking about?! Why would they do that?!" Selene struggled to wrap her mind around such a thing.

All around them, people were clamoring after hearing Han's declaration. The bubble was quite a distance away, so being able to see it and realizing it was just monsters climbing on top of other monsters they could only gape.

After several hours had passed and the initial shock had worn down, everyone stared at the bubble as it stretched into the sky. It was larger than any mountain they had ever seen.

The river of monsters didn't appear to be settling down anytime soon and instead became wider. They felt like the temple was a tiny island in a torrential river.

"What is it doing now?" Ha-Yoon asked no one in particular, after noticing the giant mound was shaking.

The mound appeared to pulsate and move around before it finally exploded at the top. A bubble rose into the sky and fading into the distance.

"I know what this is now," Han stated.

This caused many to look at him, hoping for an explanation. As if desiring to know if their eyes truly saw reality. Fraying of consciousness being seen in their behaviors.

Han stared at the drop, falling towards the countless people peacefully living their lives. "If you realize this is one of the moons of Eletran, I think you will understand."

Hearing what Han said, many were confused. They had entered into the prison the demons were trapped in, and now Han was talking about one of the moons of Eletran?

"This can not be?!" Ha-Yoon covered her mouth, her voice quivering.

Han looked at her, nodding his head and empathizing with the emotions bubbling up from inside her.

"No! I refuse to believe it!" She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought.

"What?!" Selene asked, trying to understand.

There were several screams in the background, as more of them understood the significance of the mound of monsters. People began to sob in anguish, thinking about what was about to happen.

Seeing that Selene still didn't understand, Han said softly, "That is the Overflow."