Strike – Sanctuary (1)
mind is fuzzy
I hear a mixture of loud screams and roars in my ears. Scenes I’ve never seen come to mind in my dizzy vision. A gate floating in the air was sucking the surroundings.
At one point, I was lying in the middle of the scene, watching them.
instinctively knew. That this is the memory of ‘Seo Ji-han’. However, even in a dream, the situation in the memory and painful emotions are painfully felt.
I think it’s been like this before, but it’s gotten worse than it was back then.
“…to be alive. You’re lucky.”
I heard someone’s voice above me. Because his body was not moving freely, he could not see his face.
“────.”
He seems to be saying something more, but because of the noise around him, it’s hard to understand what’s going on behind the scenes.
Immediately, the unbearable agony caught my chest.
As soon as I opened my eyes, my stomach churned.
I lay down on the floor and spit out my stomach. I felt sick to my stomach because of vomiting up gastric juice, but I was still sober. Fortunately, I did not feel any pain as I reflexively placed my hand on my chest.
‘What the hell do you remember? Where else are you?’
I looked around and it was in the middle of the grass. In addition, the sky is clear without a single cloud, and the sun rises in the middle of the sky. It was as peaceful as a lie that I had just been in the Nether.
‘Other people….’
For a moment I wondered if I was alone, but luckily I wasn’t.
When I turned around, Oh Yun-ha was sitting leaning against a tree. It is certain that the perks have been activated.
Oh Yoon-ha, who was showing signs of exhaustion, approached this way and said.
“I was vomiting, are you okay?”
Youn-ha Oh nodded and pointed at the vomit behind me, embarrassment.
“Uh… it’s better to spit it out. Are you the only one with me? The others?”
“Well, let’s move to a deeper place. This place is so open. I’ll tell you about it as we go.”
I followed Oh Yun-ha into a denser forest. As you go further into the forest, you can hear birds chirping and a pleasant wind blows.
I am deeply perplexed by this peaceful alienation that is different from my expectations.
“…the others have been captured.”
Oh Yun-ha walked ahead and opened her mouth.
“To whom?”
“I don’t know for sure. When I barely came to my senses, no one got up except me. Then I saw people nearby in strange robes approaching.”
As soon as I entered a place that was somewhat obscured by trees and grass, Oh Yun-ha stopped walking and looked back at me.
“This should be enough. Let’s talk while taking a break.”
Even if I have come to my senses, my body is in a state of exhaustion. As she sat down in her seat, Younha Oh sat down and continued her speech.
“You were the one near me, so I took you and hid in the grass. Others were carried away by people wearing those robes with magic. You also woke up two hours later.”
“Wait. Why did you bring me here?”
It would be impossible to fight alone, but the power of Manasa would have been enough for the others. Oh Yoon-ha shakes her head to see what my question is.
“Mana doesn’t move on my own. It feels like I’m wearing shackles. You’ve barely dragged me, too.”
Hearing that, I also tried to move the mana of my body to confirm.
. . . . it’s a jigsaw puzzle
It really doesn’t move at will. Perhaps it was clear that there was a ‘debuff’ in this area. So I’ve been down for a long time.
Anyway, the first thing that Oh Yun-ha woke up to was probably the effect she had, the influence of [Luck], or the defense mechanism of Mana.
“Oh, and take this one. It was right next to you.”
Younha Oh took the Assault Wolf out of her arms and handed it to me. She is relieved to feel the familiar cold touch. But other than this, other weapons were also taken out of the subspace, but they were invisible.
“Any other weapon?”
“I didn’t have time to take care of it. It was hard to take care of people too.”
“… it will be.”
I wanted to, but it doesn’t open as expected.
It’s difficult.
Unless the mana moves freely, it is difficult to use magic bullets, let alone magic. There was only one magazine with a magazine in it, and the other armament was Soul Iron.
Oh Yun-ha couldn’t handle mana at will, so it couldn’t even be called a proper power…
While I was worried about the armament, Oh Yun-ha sighed and asked.
“Where the hell is this place? Did the people who disappeared before also come here?”
“Maybe it’s a sanctuary.”
“sanctuary?”
“Uh. Simply put, it’s a place of divine influence. Like Grand’s temple.”
Although it is a sanctuary, it can also be viewed as a barrier.
Upon entering this place, I could see how people disappeared. A certain number of ‘sacrifices’ were required to enter this sanctuary. It was the corpses of the demonic beasts that played the role of the sacrifice.
When a certain number was met, the conditions were met and people entered this barrier. In the end, they just entered the barrier, and in reality, it was correct that they were in the same place as before.
“In other words, there are two worlds in one space.”
“…that’s why it seems like people suddenly disappeared.”
This is the same method as when entering the base of ‘Eclipse’. The only difference is that it wasn’t a peaceful space like it is now.
‘···ah!’
Then I realized something and got up in a hurry.
“What, why all of a sudden?”
“Aiden. We must rescue Aiden quickly.”
“Huh? That’s natural. You don’t have to plan first.”
“It’s not…, I don’t have time.”
These are the guys who have been targeting Aiden since then. Without the knowledge of other people, they might do something right away when they find out that Aiden is among them.
But when he tried to move quickly, his body suddenly lost strength and he staggered. Oh Yun-ha grabbed my arm and barely fell over.
“Look. Don’t overdo it.”
“there···.”
Then an unfamiliar voice spoke to me.
When I reflexively grabbed the gun, Oh Yun-ha grabbed my arm and deterred me. The owner of the voice was a young girl.
The blonde girl looked at us with curious eyes.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen them, but who are you?”
Unspoken eyes came and went, and Oh Yun-ha stepped forward and said.
“Gee, I’m lost.”
Even with that awkward tone, the girl was surprised and had a worried expression on her face.
“Huh. Really? It’s true… The forest is thick here, so I lose myself often. Your brother also has a bad complexion, are you okay?”
As he looked at me, he nodded his head.
“···yes I’m okay.”
“Ummm. If you get lost, follow me. I’m still on my way back to town.”
As the girl spoke kindly, I whispered quietly to Oh Yun-ha.
“What do we do?”
“Let’s go along.”
Oh Yun-ha’s sense is reliable. I removed my finger from the trigger and stood up.
“I, follow me so I don’t miss it.”
So we followed the girl’s guide.
Shortly after coming out of the forest, an open space was revealed. The village was visible below. People seemed small, and the village had a quiet and warm atmosphere.
“What is that…?”
Yoon-ha Oh also saw it and muttered as if she was a little perplexed at the different scenery than expected.
‘It’s the terrain I know.’
It was a very different landscape, but it is true that this is the place where the final chapter, ‘Eclipse’ took place. Many things were different, but that was certain.
The system said that Maiden Kess was the ‘mother’ of Eclipse. If you put it together by sense, it must have been Eclipse that the Maiden Curse’s power collapsed in the original, and the remnants continued.
And in this world that has become hardcore, religion, ‘Eclipse’, does not exist because it is not disbanded in the first place.
‘There were no wizards in Eclipse…’
If ‘Maiden Curse’ is the power of wizards as it is, it is correct to think that there are wizards in addition to priests. In the end, the power has risen just like the hardcore difficulty.
“Come over here.”
As I entered the village following the girl’s guidance, my tension increased even more in contrast to the quiet atmosphere. Because there may be fanatics.
Soon we arrived in front of a house. Fortunately, I came in from the back, so I didn’t run into anyone else.
The girl shouted at the door.
“Wait here, Dad!”
At that call, a strong man came out of the house. With a welcome expression on his daughter’s voice, he looked at us and his face hardened sharply.
“Laura. Who are these people…?”
“I got lost in the woods. Besides, I thought one person was sick, so I brought her.”
The man took turns looking at a girl called Laura and us, and said in an unfavorable voice.
“Come in.”
Oh Yun-ha and I carefully followed into the house. The interior of the house was neat. There was a fireplace inside and it was well decorated.
However, I couldn’t wash it properly, and when I entered the room, I could feel the body odor emanating from my body.
Laura said with a bewildered expression, maybe she smelled the stench from nearby.
“Why don’t you wash yourself first? I’ll lend you some clothes.”
“Laura!”
When her father shouted in an angry voice, Laura listened and went somewhere with Oh Yun-ha.
“I’ll lend you my clothes!”
“Huh? Yes, yes….”
When Oh Yun-ha panicked and was dragged by Laura’s hand, only me and the man were left. The man who looked at me for a moment pulled a chair and sat down at the table in the kitchen.
“Sit down.”
As he sat across from him, the man asked with a grim expression.
“Your clothes are outsiders. They live within the border? Why are you here?”
Without saying a word, I took the Assault Wolf out of my arms and placed it on the table. As soon as he saw it, the man quickly got up and grabbed the knife that was next to him.
“Are you threatening me now? If you think so…”
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re saying you don’t want to fight.”
“I think he’s hiding a weapon. That’s why I showed him.”
At my words, the man widened his eyes. Then, with a smile, he sat down again.
The reason I showed off my armaments is for a simple reason.
‘No enemy.’
The red border is not visible to this person.
Just being wary of strangers. The fanatic was not the same potential enemy.
I told the man about the process of how he got here. Of course, I can’t tell you everything, so I’m just giving you a few facts.
“…and then my companions disappeared, and I happened to come here after chasing the trail.”
“How did you get here?”
“Me? It’s been about two years since I’ve been here. I lost my wife and I fell while wandering around to death, but when I woke up, I was here.”
He also didn’t go into detail. The uncle was the first to open his mouth after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
“I can put you to sleep. Instead, leave tomorrow morning. You know what I mean?”
“Thanks for the favor.”
I nodded my head. To be honest, I’m reluctant to stay here, but I had to recover my stamina, so I couldn’t sleep.
It would be helpful if you ask for other information… However, they may be looking for us in the temple, and they may cause damage to this side by letting us know.
“Wash your brother too!”
“Ah yes!”
I heard a call from somewhere and got up from my seat. Then Laura approached her and handed her new clothes. It probably looks like that guy’s clothes.
As I headed to the bathroom following Laura’s guidance, Oh Yun-ha was just coming out of the shower. I looked at it and stopped.
The plain clothes that Oh Yun-ha was wearing were so small that her navel was clearly visible. No matter how you look at her, it’s a little too much to be called a crop tee.
“What, what do you see?”
Oh Yoon-ha was also conscious of it, covering her stomach with an embarrassed expression and getting angry for nothing. but···. Younha Oh is too big to wear the size Laura wears.
I handed over the clothes I brought with me.
“I’ll ask for new clothes, so you’d better wear these too.”
It’s men’s size, so even if it’s baggy, this would be better. Oh Yun-ha doesn’t show it, but with a blushing face, she snatches her clothes, and she changes her clothes back out of her bathroom.
I asked Laura to get some new clothes and then went into the bathroom. As the hot water flowed all over my body, I felt tired and drowsy.
‘after. It’s sweet.’
Resisting the desire to wash for a long time, I quickly brushed my hair and came out. In the meantime she saw Oh Younha sitting at her table and eating her rice.
Does he eat what he gives without a doubt…?
Although Oh Yun-ha is lucky, she is not too vigilant. Even though I have confirmed that these people are not enemies, I want them to be a little wary.
Laura looked at me and said,
“Come here and eat!”
Thankfully, this family was able to receive a light meal as well.
After dinner, we left the house for a while. Suddenly it was dark outside. Oh Yun-ha, who had already been with me, was watching the other place. When I came out, Oh Yun-ha pointed somewhere.
“there.”
Where Oh Yun-ha was pointing, I saw a scene where the moon was hanging from the spire of a huge temple. It was a bit far from here, but it was clear that we had to go there.
“People must have been arrested over there.”
“Looks like I’m going to have to be busy.”
At least, the appearance of the temple I remembered is correct. If you want one more, I just want it to have the same structure as the main map. That alone makes the attack easier.
“Let’s go to bed early. We have to get up early to move.”
The wind got chilly and we went inside the house. Then my uncle was sitting on a chair and waiting for us.
“I, you guys.”
Uncle looked at us and said with a calm expression.
“I’m sorry, but there’s only one room, so I think we’ll have to sleep together.”
My eyes and Oh Yoon-ha’s eyes met quietly.
