71 – I don’t know what’s what, but let’s run for now!
[ Ugh… Partner, save me… ]
The dark mage groaned in pain, weakly trembling as he let out a cry. Unlike my considerate partner, Iris, who had no sense of empathy, casually ignored the dark mage’s reaction and swung her sword.
Kugugugung!
As she swung her sword, the arena, which had already been partially destroyed from fighting the Champion, collapsed. The Champion, who had only clashed swords with her for a long time, was now a lifeless body rolling on the ground.
Many people in the arena tried to escape, but except for a few, most of them couldn’t get out.
“What… what is this?”
“Damn it, let us out!”
A dome-shaped barrier engulfed the entire arena, preventing them from leaving. Even among them, there were those who successfully escaped outside.
“Sister…!”
“Run, just keep running!”
Only a pure soul untouched by evil could break through the barrier Iris had set up and escape.
The slaves who had harmed others for the enjoyment of cruel spectators and their own amusement were unable to escape.
Ah… I wanted to kill them all. It’s so frustrating. Damn divine power.
Deep within Iris, a suppressed power muttered curses in a weary voice.
Well, there are still plenty of things to kill.
“That” whispered in Iris’s ear, singing a tune. Let’s kill those terrible beings and get rid of the trash that killed my beloved brother.
Even without hearing that voice, Iris, consumed by anger, had no intention of stopping.
Kugukung! Quagwang!
The sound of a sword swinging was accompanied by an unbelievable roar, and the arena began to crumble. Countless sinners in the building died.
Having barely escaped with his life, Otogi returned to his office, limping, and looked out the window.
“Please, please…!”
What he was waiting for was a response from Jisoo. If she had received the message, she would have set off for the arena immediately. That meant, with the arrival of the response, Otogi could survive.
Flutter.
“…! It’s here!”
With a smile filled with joy, Otogi checked the crow’s leg that had returned. He had sent the crow off, and it had come back.
“Huh…?”
The letter that he thought was a response turned out to be the SOS letter that Otogi had sent. That meant… this letter hadn’t reached Jisoo.
Otogi had experienced this situation several times before.
“Jisoo… isn’t here, huh?”
If Ji-soo left her seat in a hurry, then she wouldn’t receive a reply like this and the crow would return.
Pat.
From Noble mtl dot com
The crow that was sitting on the paperwork desk of O-ddugi suddenly spread its wings and flew up.
Caw caw -..
The menacing attack of the crow fiercely scratched the office. The clever crow left the crumbling arena without looking back.
***
Thump, thump.
Iris was walking somewhere, covered in blood. Each step she took left a long trail of red stains.
“…Oppa.”
The place where her footsteps stopped was in front of Lian, who had been discarded in one corner of the corpse processing facility. Iris stared blankly at Lian and then sat on the floor with a distorted expression.
Clang!
The dark sword rolled on the floor, but Iris didn’t even glance at it.
“Oppa, oppa…!”
The one who had effortlessly cut down numerous people with an indifferent expression now held Lian in her arms with a grieving expression like never before.
Because of the endless stream of tears, it felt hard to breathe and her head was spinning. It felt as if she would suffocate in the deep, unfathomable sorrow.
She held onto him with her whole body, pleading desperately, but there was no response. It was too late for everything. My family, salvation, love… they all died in my hands.
She poured out tears endlessly, to the point where it was doubtful if it was trying to form a river, and pressed her ear against Lian’s chest. She couldn’t hear anything. In the chilling silence, Iris repeated despair, pleading, and hatred.
Perhaps because she cried too much, her young body began to get feverish and her ears started to feel stuffy. Iris wanted to die on top of Lian’s corpse like this. She wanted to go back to him even if it meant doing that.
Closing her eyes like an animal seeking a place to die, she held her breath.
“Ugh… where is this…?”
Was it Iris’ effort that paid off? Along with the inaudible sound of a heartbeat, Lian’s voice tickled her ears. She heard him muttering in Moore.
Perhaps she didn’t know that she was dreaming of past memories. She opened her eyes, afraid that if she did, she would wake up from the dream and come face to face with his corpse. She held her breath as much as possible.
“Ah…Iris?”
“…!”
The moment Lian called her name, her eyes opened wide without any resistance, and her head turned towards the direction of the sound. As if it were an instinct engraved in her body.
“Uh, uh? Ah, Iris?”
“Sob…”
“Gasp…! Ah, Iris, why, who, who did this to our Iris-…”
When Iris met his eyes, filled with affection, she suppressed her grief and vomited out her plea and hatred.
“Sob, sob…!”
From that day on, Lian became her death, her salvation, and her love.
To the point where she would die if he died.
Unbeknownst to himself, Lian was bound by the shackles called “Iris.” Now, even if he didn’t want it, she would never leave his side. Forever.
***
“It’s been a while since I worked, Mosaic…”
My head spun as I saw mosaics scattered everywhere with no discernible pattern. I wandered around the collapsed arena, rummaging through people’s pockets to collect money.
“hehehehe, now I feel like I’m getting used to the dark fantasy world too, huh?”
I was even looting the pockets of corpses!
I praised myself as I gathered the materials to survive in Iris and the cruel land of the Demon King. Fortunately, I was able to find a dimensional bag. I collected everything that looked good.
Just when I thought I had gathered everything, I felt a presence outside the collapsed arena. People in ragged clothes were entering the arena with a glint in their eyes.
They looked like beggars or thieves at first glance. They quickly left the arena, knowing they would only be sold as slaves if caught.
“Here, Iris, put this on.”
“Okay.”
Iris nodded as she stubbornly looked at my face. I dressed her in good clothes and put on a hooded cloak. Since we had to travel for a long time, I also gave her a pair of good shoes.
Dressed like Iris, I walked through the chaotic streets.
“Damn, who the hell blew up that arena?”
“Wasn’t it a fight between the Four Kings?”
“That’s probably the most likely. Well, we might die if we go now… but we might be able to harvest some pretty good stuff…”
“Hey! If not now, when will we rob the arena? I’m going!”
There were various types of arenas on the land of Giso, but it seemed like the one I was in was the main one. Just looking at the size, it seemed so.
I tightly held Iris’s hand and urged her to walk faster. In every alley, fallen fighters were as common as stalks of wheat.
“First, let’s get as far away from the arena as possible. This place is more dangerous than anywhere else.”
“Okay.”
Iris nodded and replied. Since there were limits to walking, we boarded a carriage that circled the city regularly like a bus.
I calculated everything on my own. The voices haggling were so loud that it wasn’t difficult to figure out the right price.
As we were moving on a carriage with an open back, some people secretly hung onto the carriage and tried to move, only to be whipped and fall off.
“Ugh… it’s like a wild city. Completely…”
I glanced briefly at a person whose face was a mess as they rolled on the ground and shook my head. Thanks to the carriage, we could quickly get closer to the city entrance.
“Let’s stop by a store before we leave.”
“Okay.”
The original plan was to leave the city, but since we didn’t have the necessary camping gear, we had no choice but to stop by and get some. As luck would have it, there was a nearby mercenary store, so we headed towards it.
“Sleeping bag and lantern… Ah, I’ll need this too.”
I quickly scanned the items in sight and mentally noted what to buy. I had plenty of money, thanks to the safe I stumbled upon at the gambling arena and the pockets of the deceased gamblers.
Without hesitation, I planned to sweep up the necessary items.
CRRaaaSH!
A terrifyingly loud noise echoed through the air. Reactively summoning my Gargandoa, I turned towards the direction of the sound.
Iris had suddenly appeared in front of me, wielding a sturdy iron sword she had picked up from the gambling arena.
Seeing her standing there bravely, determined to protect me with her small frame, tears welled up in my eyes. But since I needed to assess the situation first, I looked towards the place where a massive cloud of dust had risen.
“What’s that?”
It was quite far away, so I couldn’t tell what it was, but at least it soared higher than a 10-story building, with something shooting up from the cloud of dust.
“Is that… a person?”
It soared even higher than 10 stories and then began to descend, revealing the silhouette of a person. Furrowing my brow, I quickly turned my body towards the shop and picked out the items I had already looked at.
“Oh… ohh… thank you!”
I calmly made the payment without bargaining, and the shopkeeper smiled widely and added a few extra items.
“We sell groceries at a different store, so just stop by there and then head straight out of town.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t know if the city was already prone to incidents and accidents, but if such a big disturbance occurred, I didn’t know when the authorities would return. He seemed to like me and Iris quite a bit, so we might end up back in slavery. That fact urged me to quicken my pace.
“Oh, over there.”
Just as I was about to head towards the store in the alleyway.
“Hey!”
A ruffian appeared!
“Yeah, you, give me some money -…”
As the ruffian attempted to snatch the money.
Swoosh!
A sound of wind cutting through from above could be heard. I looked up, wondering what it was. A shadow suddenly fell inside the alley.
“If you hand it over willingly -… Kuh-huk!”
Crash!
Someone, wearing a torn and worn-out robe, landed on top of the ruffian in a stable posture. Seeing this suspicious figure, Lian grabbed Iris’s hand and spoke. No, she tried to speak.
“Sob… Huh?”
The unfamiliar person, with a hood pressed against their face, turned their head and looked at me.
“Huh?”
“Ah!”
Simultaneously recognizing the familiar red hair.
“Jujin-nim!”
Jess rushed over and pounced on me.
