Necromancer Survival

t sort of explanation–I shot him a curious look.
Annoyingly, as soon as he and I locked gazes, Koo Hui-seo began to match the timing of his blinks to mine.
Faced with the impenetrable wall of the ex-chimera’s lack of perception and tact, I had to interrogate him further.
“…Excuse me, what’s wrong with sleeping? You’ve already overpowered Koo Kyungman… or did your brother have an accomplice there?  Actually, if you said you slept, how did you walk all the way over to my home?”

     “Ah.” Perhaps Koo Hui-seo finally understood my confusion, he continued to explain, “Actually, I stabbed myself with a knife…to try and wake up.”

     “……”

     “I accidentally cut myself too deep… I thought I would die.
Just then, I thought, ‘wouldn’t Lee-kyung-ssi have a solution?’ So…”

     “……”

     “But, by the time I arrived at Lee-kyung-ssi’s dorm, I was already almost half-asleep.
My memories are quite fuzzy.
I probably caused you much trouble before the fuse of my consciousness snuffed out, but… I wasn’t in a good enough condition to explain or argue about anything…”

     Of course, his words were still incoherent.
As soon as I crossed my arms across my chest, Koo Hui-seo nervously rolled his eyes and fidgeted, “Uh, mm… I shouldn’t fall into deep sleep.”

     “…Why?”

     “When I sleep deeply, I have nightmares.” Koo Hui-seo tapped his head with his index finger.
“That wouldn’t be a problem when I’m in a good condition.
However, when I’m not…”

     “……”

     “I’ll fall asleep for a long while.
Well…that’s normally not a huge deal, but…”

     “Uh huh…”

     “Because your blood and mine have mixed together, things have gotten complicated.
It’s gotten…worse.”

     My mood slightly dampened because I felt like he was blaming me; in any case, I felt like I was slowly grasping what the ex-chimera was trying to say.

     If I understood correctly, [Koo Hui-seo has nightmares when in a horrid physical condition–the tussle with Koo Kyungman led to that condition.
Therefore, before he could fully fall asleep, he came to me for help].

     ‘…Wait a minute.
Why would someone try to hurt themselves in order to wake up just because of a nightmare?’

     Furthermore, it’s unbelievable to think he could sweep others around him into his nightmares.

     Naturally, I had never experienced this sort of situation before, and Koo Hui-seo’s attitude caught my eye.
I pondered what was so strange when suddenly an idea occurred to me.

     ‘Does Koo Hui-seo know what sort of state his body is in?’

     Most ill folk may not realize how broken down their bodies are.

     I recalled Kim Olim and Seo Dawon’s conversation when Koo Hui-seo had first arrived at my house.
The ex-chimera was not a normal human, and his mentality was different from normal modes of thought.
I’m not particularly knowledgeable about mental illnesses, but even I could tell the man was short-sighted and cruel.

     Therefore, it was hard to take Koo Hui-seo’s babbles at face value.
Rather, perhaps it’d be more accurate to say that the ex-chimera didn’t understand his situation either and constructed child-like theories based on his short-sighted judgment.

     “May I ask why you don’t want to have nightmares? You must be incredibly scared of falling asleep if you’re willing to scar yourself to chase it away.” I asked him another question to confirm my theories.

     Koo Hui-seo’s pupils began rolling around as he stammered significantly and rambled.
“M-Mother appears… Also, I’m alone…”

     “……”

     “….Ah! Also, if I’m injured in my nightmares, the injuries are still there when I open my eyes… C-Come to think of it, Lee-kyung-ssi has broken his leg… S-Sorry.”

     “……It’s alright.
Disregarding that…you said that injuries attained in the nightmare appear in real life as well?”

     “Ye~es….”

     As I looked into Koo Hui-seo’s vacant eyes, I was certain.
‘This place… It’s a place made from Koo Hui-seo’s [skills].’

     Before he was trapped in the hospital, he was the next guildmaster of the Red Dragon Guild; he must have been a User.

     ‘Though, it seems like his memories of his time as a User have either dissipated or distorted…’

     Since the body remains intact, perhaps he was able to access his old skills?