134 – Wajangchang
Having found amusement in touching the bead, Lian tossed it up in the air and caught it repeatedly. As a result, the old man collapsed to the ground, clutching his heart.
“Ugh, huuuk!”
It felt like a dizzying sensation of jumping from a high place!
Even though his feet were firmly planted on the ground, it felt as if he was floating in the sky and endlessly falling. The old man’s face turned pale as if he had been hit by anger.
The scene of the old man struggling on the ground was terrifying, but it was a perfect opportunity for Pia. She immediately ran to the children and started shaking them to wake them up. In her heart, she wanted to hold them tightly and run away, but there were four unconscious children. It was realistically impossible for her to carry and move all four of them alone.
“Ugh…?”
Fortunately, the children began to wake up, their brows slightly furrowed.
“Pia… ni?”
“Where is this…?”
“Oh, Mom…?”
“Sob…”
The children from the Nest organization remained calm, having experienced their fair share of horrors. But the village children, upon seeing the dark cave emitting a foul smell, were filled with fear. No matter how much they tried to suppress their cries, the sound of the children’s wailing echoed through the cave walls.
Pia hurriedly covered the children’s mouths and gestured for them to be quiet. The children from the Nest organization nodded stoically, while the village children pressed their hands against their mouths and nodded.
Pia turned her gaze to the old man. He was still crouched on the ground, clutching his chest. As Pia watched the old man twist in pain, the children anxiously scanned their surroundings.
And then, they found it.
“Gasp…!”
In a dimly lit corner barely touched by light, there was a black prison. Inside were small skeletons and decaying flesh, still attached, forming a rotting corpse.
One child stared at one side, and the others followed suit, freezing in place.
“Gag… Ugh!”
One child couldn’t hold back the nausea and turned away, retching violently. Nothing came out except for stomach acid. Meanwhile, Pia, who had properly identified the exit, looked back at the children and spoke.
“Hey, come here.”
Pia lined up the children and stood at the back. Then she pointed to the faintly lit passage.
“If we go through that passage and keep moving forward, we can get out. If we stay calm and move carefully, we can escape without anyone getting hurt. Understand?”
Perhaps it was Pia’s calm voice, but the frightened children were able to calm down quickly. Just as the children nodded, ready to take a step forward,
“Sob, sob…”
The old man, who had been screaming in agony, suddenly gasped for breath and slumped down as if the pain had finally subsided.
Lian was playing with marbles when he got bored and lazily placed them on the bedside table.
“Run!”
Pia, realizing the situation, shouted loudly, and the children began running ahead without looking back. Pia followed behind them, glancing over her shoulder. The old man was struggling to get up. The jade pendant in his hand shimmered blue.
“Ugh… Ughhh…”
The old man gasped for breath, clutching his chest.
“Intruder… An intruder has come.”
His kind face had transformed into a twisted, demonic expression as he looked down at his body.
“I have to go to the dungeon immediately. I need to retrieve my heart…!”
As he continued his thoughts, he suddenly looked around with a stern expression. He caught sight of the children and Pia running away.
“We can’t let that woman live!”
No matter how much power the old man possessed, if the guards came rushing in, he would be helpless. It didn’t matter if his throat was slit or if a dagger pierced his chest. His heart was in the dungeon anyway!
If he was buried in the ground, he could dig his way out. If he was thrown into a corpse disposal site, he just had to make sure he saved his body. And then he could collect the dungeon and find a new village to start over from scratch.
But if the existence of his heart was revealed, he would surely be burned alive or someone would attempt to conquer the dungeon. It was a dungeon too difficult for the guards or the villagers to clear, and he didn’t even know if a knight from the empire would come.
Regardless of the outcome, if the secret leaked out, the old man had a high probability of dying. He staggered forward.
Thud… Thud, thud!
His slow steps suddenly accelerated, as if arrows were being shot.
Thump.
A peculiar symbol appeared on his ankle. It was a devil’s symbol, allowing him to move at an inhuman speed, but in exchange, his ankle turned blood-red as if it were sleepy.
As long as his heart didn’t break, his body would return to its original state, and the wounds in front of him, the woman and the children, would heal immediately if he devoured them.
“My child?”
The voice that flowed from the old man’s throat was incredibly gentle, despite his face twisted like a demon.
“It’s dangerous outside! Come here quickly!”
Pia bit her lip, cold sweat streaming down her face. No matter how fast she ran, the children in front of her could only be slower. The old man’s voice chased after her from behind.
“I’m, telling you, to, come, here!”
“…! Ahhh!”
As the voice came closer to Pia’s ear, the old man’s sword flashed. Pia’s legs lost strength in an instant, causing her to collapse. Like a snake snatching its prey, the sharp tip of the old man’s sword aimed for Pia’s throat.
Slice!
Just as Pia’s throat was about to be severed, the old man’s sword suddenly slipped and hit the cave wall. It was the power of divinity. Pia swallowed a breath and looked up at the old man.
Perhaps due to running like a madman in fear, her legs were trembling.
“Sister!”
“Nuna!”
“…! Run, kids, run!”
At Pia’s desperate shout, the child who was running in the front burst into tears.
“There’s, a wall…this, is a wall…ahhh!”
“What is that…”
The child’s high-pitched cry echoed throughout the cave. Then, the old man chuckled and spoke.
“Well, now you’re like a rat trapped in poison.”
Thunk! The old man’s left wrist crumpled. It was the price he paid for borrowing the power of the demon to create a wall blocking the passage. But there was no regret.
The bizarre appearance of the old man made the children sit on the ground or cry. There was even a child wetting themselves. Faced with the distant terror, all Pia could do was search for her own god.
“Lian-nim…please, save us…”
“Sure, send me off without pain.”
The old man, thinking that Pia was searching for a god of dark fantasy, showed a compassionate attitude when Pia emitted a strong divine power. Worried that his heart might give out and he would lose his mind, the old man immediately raised his sword.
“Go to the side of the god!”
Just as his sword was about to pierce Pia again.
Dorururuk, tuwuk… jjeojeok!
“Ah..!”
While inspecting if there was any mechanism in the foundation, the old man accidentally dropped a bead on the floor. The bead, perhaps with a fragile durability, shattered as soon as it hit the ground, scattering dozens of pieces of gold.
Hooong!
As the old man’s heart shattered, the spells he had cast began to unravel one by one. The bright light that illuminated the room faded, leaving the room in darkness. At the same time, the dungeon began to make a crumbling sound, as if it were about to collapse.
“Wow! It’s, it’s collapsing!”
Lian covered her head with both hands and quickly turned her head around, searching for an exit.
From Noble mtl dot com
“If we reach the end of the dungeon, there should naturally be a portal or an exit leading outside, right?!”
While complaining inwardly, she diligently searched for a way out.
“…There it is!”
Among the blue glowing walls, there was a small door. Without hesitation, Lian opened the door and stepped inside.
“This… is a cave?”
Bending slightly at the waist, as she entered, she found a corridor-like path stretching out.
Kurung, hooddeuk…
“Whoa! Let’s get out quickly!”
If they stayed there any longer, it would take ages to escape. Lian immediately started running along the path.
After climbing the uphill path several times, a faint light appeared in the distance. Without hesitation, Lian threw himself towards the light.
Crash!
“Oof!”
The door opened roughly, and Lian rolled on the floor a few times before hitting something. He quickly regained his senses and looked around.
“Where is this…”
Overgrown trees and a village in the distance. He was standing in a place that seemed to be behind a mountain.
“Hmm… First, I need to go back to the village… Ah.”
Lian belatedly realized that he was almost naked. His torn clothes were barely recognizable.
“Phew… If I had gone down to the village like this, I would have definitely been taken away by the guards.”
He wiped the cold sweat and summoned his magic sword.
[Partner, it’s too late for dinner… Hmm?]
