Strike – sacrifice, ritual (2)
Footsteps are heard behind the locked door.
As usual, Astiel sighed and stood up. Hearing his popularity, Densi Dwan quietly stood up. It felt like midnight, so everyone else was sleeping.
Dewan whispered with a worried expression.
“…is it okay if I go?”
“It’s no big deal. You might suddenly change your attitude.”
It’s been a few days already, so Astiel doesn’t seem to care anymore. Soon the door opened and a mask with a torch appeared.
As the mask lifted her head, Astiel came out of the hallway and followed him familiarly, walking down the long passage.
At the end of the passage, a huge door appeared. The mask unlocked the locks and shackles, opened the door and said:
“Don’t ask me again today…”
Astiel handed the torch to the mask and entered the room.
A rotten stinging nose starts to come out. It’s a familiar smell now.
As we headed forward to the torch, the appearance of a creature that had been subjected to numerous ‘hacking’ was revealed. A mixture of blood and ooze was dripping from the wound that looked like it had just opened.
It wouldn’t be strange if he had already died, but he was still alive, only breathing heavily.
every day.
“healing.”
A warm light was created from Astiel’s hand. And as the light got closer to the living things, the deep cuts healed little by little.
The rough breathing, which had been painful, slowly regained stability.
‘···죽여달라고 할 때는 언제고, 이제는 치료를 해달라니.’
가면의 부탁이었던 불사의 생명을 죽이는 일은 당연히 불가능했다. 그 사실을 알자 가면은 이렇게 매일 치료를 부탁했다. 오히려 이쪽이 본론이었다는 느낌이다.
그러나 치유를 해도 지금처럼 심한 상처가 매일 발생하기에 의미는 없었다. 지금 보이는 자상들은 다수로 이루어진 집단이 무차별적으로 찌른 게 틀림없었다.
즉, 이 건물에는 수많은 사람이 불사의 생명을 난도질한다는 의미 모를 짓을 행하고 있다는 것이다.
‘그 의도가 실험인지, 고문인지 모르겠지만.’
···너무나 악질적이다. 가면의 말대로 이 생명은 불사가 틀림없었다. 계속되는 부상에도 오직 고통스러워하고 쇠약해지기만 할 뿐 결코 죽지 않았으니까.
“혐오스럽지 않은가?”
뒤에서 들려오는 가면의 물음에 아스티엘은 묵묵히 대답했다.
“외견만 보면 대개 그렇게 느끼겠죠. 그러나 이 아이는 당신들한테 고통을 받을 뿐이잖아요. 가엾은 생명일 뿐입니다.”
그 대답을 듣고 잠시 조용히 있던 가면이 입을 열었다.
“···진심이군.”
“그럼 거짓말이겠어요?”
“입발린 말을 하는 사람들이 많아서 말이야. 이해해줬으면 좋겠군.”
아스티엘의 손에서 빛이 꺼졌다.
“후우. 이걸로 됐어요.”
적어도 보이는 상처들은 모조리 치유했으니 한동안은 아프지 않을 것이다.
아주 잠깐일 뿐이겠지만···.
다만 그것만으로도 기분이 좋아졌는지 생물은 아스티엘의 주위를 빙글빙글 돌았다. 그것을 본 아스티엘이 피식 웃고는 몸을 일으켰다.
“By the way, isn’t it time to tell you? What the hell is this kid?”
“Liu.”
“Liu?”
“That’s the boy’s name.”
“…I didn’t ask for your name right now.”
Astiel turned to face the mask and grabbed the divine power from his hand. It is not a warm energy like before, but a violent light that radiates wildly. Astiel showed his will to use force if there was anything else.
“Now I need to know. Where it is, what it is trying to do. And what the hell is this immortal life.”
The mask stared at Astiel and smiled quietly.
“Khhh…”
Upon hearing the sound of laughter, Liu groaned and crawled towards the mask. The mask carefully grabbed Liu, who had approached her at her feet, with one hand.
“I thought it was going to come out like this. Hey, priest. You…”
That was then.
thump thump. Suddenly, another footstep sounded outside the door. Mask stopped talking and turned his head towards the door.
“Turn off the torch and stick to the corner. If you don’t want to die.”
Astiel quickly grabbed the fire with his hand wrapped around the light. Then the room went dark, and according to the mask’s words, he cautiously approached the corner where there was no light.
The sound of footsteps stopped.
Kick-. The door slowly opened and an old man was standing in front of him. The mask bowed his head politely towards him, and the man looked at Liu.
The man exclaimed and said in an exasperated voice.
“Hey! Have you been healed yet?”
“Yes. Yes. It seems to be getting more and more magical as the days go by.”
아스티엘은 가면과 그의 우두머리로 보이는 남자의 대화를 집중해서 듣기 시작했다. 가면이 무슨 목적으로 이러는지 모르겠지만, 지금 중요한 건 그게 아니었다.
‘그보다···.’
아스티엘의 눈에 늙은 남자에게서 검고 역한 기운이 흘러나오는 게 보인다. 보기만 해도 불쾌해지는 그런 기운이었지만, 어째선지 기시감이 느껴졌다.
‘···뭐야, 저건.’
왠지 모르게 익숙한 기분이 드는 저 역한 기운. 그것을 유심히 노려보던 아스티엘은 머지않아 정체를 깨달을 수 있었다.
늙은 남자에게서 흘러나오는 검은 기운은 바로.
‘···신성력이라고?’
자신이 갖고 있는 것과 근본이 같은 힘이었다.
“Kiiiiiiii!!!”
스캐빈저가 불꽃을 뚫고 달려온다. 그러나 불꽃에 타버린 눈은 시각의 기능을 잃었다. 놈은 그저 겁에 질려 폭주할 뿐이었다.
나는 들고 있는 창을 타이밍에 맞춰 찔러넣었다. 스캐빈저의 입안으로 들어간 창이 등을 뚫고 나온다. 몇 번이고 반복한 짓이라 이제는 익숙하다.
As his legs drooped, he slowly pulled out the spear and swung it vigorously in the air. Whoa! Since it was a weapon with a ‘clean’ effect, all the blood and fat was washed away with that alone.
“Are there too many scavengers than you think?”
It’s been 3 days since I came here. I’ve already met the seventh.
As I turned around, feeling strange, Oh Yoon-ha, who was idly idly by, said:
“Yeah. I think I caught two yesterday.”
“…why did you come here?”
The people around here are me and Hong Jae-yu. If my memory is correct, Oh Yoon-ha must have just returned from the border crossing.
Oh Yoon-ha looked around with her hands in her pockets.
“I was bored, so I followed. If a strong guy comes out, I’ll catch him!”
At those words, Jae-Yoo Hong, who had his arms crossed next to him, intervened.
“All the monsters in this area must be weak ones.”
“When I came here, there were a lot of strong enemies around, but the heroes and seniors took care of them all. The ones that appear now are probably weak ones that even our level can capture.”
“Oh yeah.”
Oh Yun-ha answered bluntly and looked at me.
“By the way, it’s true that you can use magic. You can use other attributes?”
“···Ttt.”
“It happened because I learned. I must have had a talent here.”
It’s not something I’ve been hiding until now.
Well, I learned [Waterball] in front of Castell and Tails, so the other guys would know, but I would have been skeptical until I saw it.
“I told you before? You said you’re good at mana.”
As if Oh Yun-ha knew it, she smiled and leaned against the tree and murmured.
“I want to finish it sooner than that and go home and wash up—”
“You still wash here, don’t you? I think I’m lucky.”
There was also a reason why magic was convenient.
In the case of water, it was created by Castel’s magic, and even temperature control using Aiden’s fire was possible in a short time. For me, who came here thinking that I would not be able to wash it at all, this alone was terrific.
However, Oh Yoon-ha said that he was not satisfied.
“I mean, it doesn’t feel like real water. Besides, even if I wash my face, I wash my face or wash my hair, and I can’t even soak my body.”
“Well, it is not.”
Jae-Yoo Hong also nodded and agreed. That’s why they are unwritten…!
“Yeah, that’s right. Rather than that….”
I turned around and lifted the scavenger’s corpse at my feet. Then the heavy body turned over.
“Isn’t it strange that you guys look at cancer?”
Usually, when a monster dies, it is immediately decomposed into powder and disappears. Since there are no items to farm, they should disappear immediately, but for some reason, the body remained for a long time like now.
It is because of this phenomenon that there are many scavengers who are scavengers.
“Isn’t it because of erosion?”
“Erosion? Probably not.”
Even if the area was contaminated by erosion, erosion did not have the function of making the body stay longer.
If it’s a hardcore difficulty, even if a new power is added, I don’t know what made it more difficult. At least, how much did the frequency of scavengers appear?
I thought of necromancy, but it was safe to say that the remaining corpses had no effect on necromancer.
“Hmm… there must be something else. What are the heroes doing now to stay here?”
“That’s right. We’re the only ones hit.”
Aspiring heroes keep the base so that expeditions and expeditions can find the missing people and return safely.
However, the heroes of the expedition did not try to find the missing personnel yet. There was no sign of such a way of reconciling opinions.
‘Three days was enough.’
I’ve waited long enough, so I guess I’ll have to move. There was also a need to raise questions about the phenomenon of corpses remaining as they are now.
I threw the spear into the subspace and said.
“I think I should go.”
“Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“That’s for the heroes.
Jae-Yoo Hong stopped me from moving.
“Why, ma’am?”
“Think about it. We haven’t run out of time yet.”
“It’s a pinch hit.”
I pointed to Yoon-ha Oh, who was bored and was about to die.
“···ok?!”
Then, Yoon-ha Oh’s star-shaped eyes flashed upon hearing the sound. I moved faster than Oh Yun-ha, who got up from the tree.
“Then please!”
“Hey, Seo Ji-han!!!”
Ignoring the sound
At least it was more urgent to know what was going on now.
In the tent, the heroes were gathering and talking. The voices didn’t come and go high, but looking at the hardened expressions on their faces, it was clear that the content was serious.
“What do you mean?”
“…I’m not even funny when I say it.”
When Beatrice asked with a frown on her face as if she had not heard well, Arthur wiped her exhausted face. Arthur Gran, who is now the new head of the base, had a holy sword placed on the table.
Arthur Gran raised his voice towards the holy sword.
“Now say that…!”
To others, he looks like he’s talking to himself, but he’s not.
Weapons that have a self, like a holy sword, can talk with their current owner through images. For example, the weapon man ‘Rian Arwell’ also talked with Park Noah in his heart as he became a weapon.
Arthur was talking with the Holy Sword and telling the contents to the heroes.
…the problem is that the content is quite serious.
“Didn’t you say that the Holy Sword is feeling the divine power of Astiel Grand?”
“I did. But…”
Arthur pounded the blade of the Holy Sword with his fist with resentment.
The scream of the holy sword began to resound in his head. It was a meaningless act, but Arthur covered his ears and said to the heroes.
“When this guy comes here, he says he won’t be able to find him.
Otherwise, you may have to cancel all the current expeditions and return. This meant that retrieval of the missing personnel would be delayed or perhaps even abandoned.
“I heard that the Holy Sword has a personality. Was it a joke in the first place?”
“···Ugh! Be quiet!”
Arthur suddenly shouted and looked startled.
“…sorry. I didn’t say this to you, but this guy yelled…”
“You know, you don’t have to worry about it. What did you say?”
“Thank you for understanding… I was definitely feeling it until I came here, but when I come here, it’s just frustrating as if I’m trapped in the water, but I can’t even get a feel for it.”
“Hey, can I hear a story too?”
Then I heard a young voice. The heroes turned their gaze towards the entrance to the tent where the sound was coming from. There was Seo Ji-han, who walked on a cloth and raised his head.
“Who’s an aspiring hero?”
When Beatrice called his name, Jin-su Kim, who was nearby, approached Seo Ji-han.
“Seo Ji-han! I’m talking about something important now, so go out.”
Seo Ji-han, who heard that, said while looking at Kim Jin-soo.
“…it may be arrogant to say, but we’re working hard on our missions, but it’s questionable that the heroes stay still.”
“Oh, it’s not like me, other kids do.”
Seo Ji-han looked at Arthur Gran with a ferocious smile with his ferocious eyes.
“So, at least let me know what’s going on.”
“If you tell me, you’ll understand what I’m talking about? I’m in a meeting, so get out quickly.”
At least I know better than you.
Seo Ji-han thought to himself.
“I… the aspiring hero of Jihan seems to make sense. I think it is right for aspiring heroes to recognize the current situation and share it.”
Beatrice carefully approached Jinsu Kim and interrupted the conversation. When he took Seo Ji-han’s side, Kim Jin-soo was perplexed.
“Yes? Sir Beatrice. Anyway…”
Although Jinsoo Kim was the former manager, he could not ignore the words of the Imperial Knights Commander and Weapon Master. In addition to her, Arthur Grand, who had been watching Seo Ji-han silently, opened her mouth.
“··· That’s right. Come to think of it, it seems natural to talk about it together. We’re on the same expedition.”
“That’s right. Hero Kim Jinsu.”
“Can I come in now?”
At that, Jinsoo Kim, with a shaky expression on his face, put his body aside.
‘I’m glad that I can speak well.’
Seo Ji-han was relieved and went inside the tent.
