165 – That Place (2)
Thud.
A heavy sound echoes throughout the shabby cave.
The source of the sound is none other than a huge deer.
It was so huge that if it weren’t for the deer antlers on its head, you could almost believe it was a bear.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What, nothing special happened?”
“Yes. “What about that one?”
“I am a person who feels that it is a crisis only if the Demon King comes out, so what?”
“You can’t do that. There could be a worst case scenario. And… “I think I would be very heartbroken if I got hurt.”
“Don’t worry. Even if I die, I won’t let down my guard.”
Two people smiling and talking.
It was none other than Choi Si-woo and Yurika.
The two were creating a loving atmosphere, caring for each other like a married couple who had been together for at least 20 years.
“I’ll prepare a meal.”
“Yes.”
Currently, the two people were resting around a bonfire in a cave believed to have once been used by beasts.
‘… ‘It’s been two weeks since then.’
The first place I opened my eyes after being ambushed by two children was an unknown, desolate desert.
However, it is just hot during the day.
It was dangerous at night, unlike any other cold desert.
―Choi, Si-Woo Choi. I don’t think this is an ordinary desert. The sand is sticky… As soon as you touch it with your hand, the poison comes out… This is my first time seeing a place this polluted.
―Yurika. First, let’s move to a safe place while maintaining .
After that, my daily life continued to be wandering around unknown places.
What used to be a desert has suddenly turned into a swamp inhabited by bizarre insectivorous creatures.
After crossing the swamp, what appeared was a wilderness inhabited by unidentified beasts.
Fortunately, food and drinking water were about to run out.
I never starved because I could supplement in any way, whether it was by robbing a store or hunting……
‘… ‘I feel anxious.’
I don’t know how long I’ll be trapped here.
I tried to swallow and soothe the nervousness rising from deep in my heart.
“… Are you okay.”
“Huh?”
Yurika smiled as she was arranging the fur of her deer, probably feeling that anxiety.
She must have suffered in many ways during the two weeks, but she still showed a kind and beautiful smile.
“We are not alone, we are each other. So… “We can get through this together again.”
An answer close to the truth.
But that was an answer that was possible because we both deeply trusted each other.
“… Huh.”
Choi Si-woo let out a faint laugh as he felt a warm feeling deep inside his heart.
*
“… “It seems too salty to grill and eat.”
Yurika nodded her head quietly at Choi Si-woo’s words.
A large deer the size of a bear.
The species itself is not special or cannot be used as meat, but the condition was not good.
The back and buttocks were covered with poisonous mushrooms that were presumed to be poisonous, and the internal organs were contaminated with various diseases and gave off a strong odor.
▶Even though it’s gotten to this point, I’m still alive. You even attacked the Master as soon as you saw him, right?
‘I guess this means that this level of pollution is a common occurrence for living beings living in this world.’
“Yurika. Please.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Yurika puts meat into her scrap metal pot as if she is used to it.
Place both hands together and begin to sing a low
Chant.
It is not a special holy power like a forbidden holy law, but an ordinary holy law that simply prays, blesses, and purifies the target.
It is one of the basics that any trainee priest who enters the religious order learns.
Because the person who spread it was none other than a saint, the condition of the meat began to improve at a rapid rate.
Of course, this does not completely eliminate long-standing toxicity.
“Mumbling… It’s better than I thought. “At least it’s better than the crocodile meat I ate yesterday, right?”
“It would be great if there was just salt, right?”
“I see something that looks like an urban area across from there… “Let’s get some spices or something.”
Fortunately, it was not a fatal dose for Choi Si-woo, who had divine protection, and Yurika, a saint.
Rather, he liked it, saying, ‘It tastes just like this, even though it’s a little spicy.’
“… “Where on earth is this, anyway?”
Yurika put down the wooden bowl she had finished eating and started her luck.
Choi Si-woo puts the last piece of meat into his mouth.
Think deeply for a moment and then mention the highest possibility.
“… “I think it’s probably in a themed dungeon that’s at least grade A.”
.
Unlike ordinary dungeons or gates, this is an abnormal phenomenon that is infinitely close to reality, unfolding with a specific story, tale, myth, or theme as its core.
It was a type of disaster, literally like an abyss, with no proper exit or escape conditions that automatically appeared when the boss was defeated.
“… If it’s a theme dungeon with a damaged environment like this… “
“Probably Or Level. However, if you look at the basic style and background, it is modern. Personally, I think it’s a story in the Genre. “Maybe it’s one of the fragments of another world that was destroyed by a virus or something.”
Choi Si-woo said in his explanation, ‘It’s definitely like that…’ ‘ He looked at Yurika asking for consent.
In fact, he had another possibility in mind.
Maybe…… A thread that came to mind with a short thought… No, the odds are pretty high.
‘… No… ‘
That can’t be possible.
That shouldn’t be the case.
This is a world where everything has already ended.
Returning there again is something that should never happen.
I shake off my thoughts and continue eating.
That night, we quietly greeted the morning without any problems.
*
[Saint Yurika is maintaining .]
[The Is automatically maintained and repositioned around Saint Yurika.]
[ Is maintaining its purification effect.]
“… Is it worth walking, Yurika?”
“Yes, no problem at all.”
Early morning.
The two walked diligently again.
It seems like I’m just wandering around without any particular goal.
It wasn’t like I was just walking blindly without any basis.
“… Here… “I think the left side would be better.”
In front of the divided road.
Yurika opened her closed eyes and muttered.
Currently in her hands was a crude necklace made up of pieces of animal bone and several pieces of metal.
Surprisingly, the necklace radiated divine power and small arrows were pointing in various directions.
This necklace, which functions like a compass, was a type of special sacred method called .
It is a That is not helpful in either combat or support, but it has one unique ability.
It was the effect of teaching the caster the location deemed most necessary.
Although it is a very useful , The reason it is ranked (A-) is that it can be used by creating an artificial Using crafts collected through effort on your own for at least a week.
And because it only gave an abstract destination of ‘most necessary’, there was no certainty that it was the way out.
Originally, this would be like a gamble.
I wouldn’t prefer Choi Si-woo or Yurika, but since both of them had no clear path, they had no choice but to use this as a guide to move forward.
“… However, I’m a little puzzled.”
“Huh?”
Yurika tilted her head and stared at the divine power shining from her necklace.
It has a blood-red color that is completely different from normal divine power.
“… Although the connection with the Goddess was not lost… “I have never seen divine power discolored to this extent.”
“…… “
“Like, the place where the witch lived a—”
From Noble mtl dot com
Yurika, who had been muttering without thinking, belatedly closed her mouth.
A moment of awkward silence passes between the two.
That’s what Choi Si-woo vaguely felt.
Yurika also didn’t say anything, but she started to subconsciously think about that possibility.
“… “Let’s go.”
“… Yes.”
The two people who deliberately did not mention began to move forward.
A huge group of Appear from time to time, running towards the two people.
[Casts Severe Slash (S).]
[This is a technology that has reached its peak. The number of swords increases and a guidance function is added.]
Choi Si-woo was not much of a threat to Choi Si-woo, who had already defeated even the mid-ranking With a single person.
“Yurika. Excuse me.”
“…… !”
About two hours have passed since we went on like that.
Choi Si-woo, who has good eyesight, spotted outlying structures in the distance that resembled modern cities and pointed them with his finger.
In a moment. Two people entering the city.
“… Hyundai… Is it a place with a strong theme?”
Yurika passed the barricade she improvised from her scrapped car and scrap materials and entered.
Soon, she noticed that there was no response to the answer she hinted at.
“… Choi Si-woo?”
“… Nonsense.”
“… Yes?”
Yurika, embarrassed, quickly approaches Choi Si-woo.
“…… !”
Soon, I startle.
Choi Si-woo’s whole body was shaking like a tree swaying in the wind all year round.
Both eyes are dilated, and the fluctuating irises stand out as if something incredible has been seen inside.
“Choi Si-woo!”
Yurika holds him as her breathing becomes heavy.
She continued to hold her arm as if she was okay, but his complexion showed no signs of improving.
‘… How… ‘
What made him like this?
Yurika also turned her head in confusion, and she felt her breath suffocating on the spot.
『Prunel Academy』
A huge signboard that says
.
It has become worn and weathered after so many years.
That unique pattern never disappeared.
And a statue on top of the sign.
A two-head, deformed female knight holding a sword made of light, presumed to be a brilliant holy sword.
It was a statue symbolizing the unmistakable hero Erina.
“…… No way.”
Yurika knew very well what those two symbols symbolized.
She is also the future Yurika.
Because she saw all the horrors with her own eyes as a witch.
‘…… ‘
Yurika stood in a daze, and she came to her senses late.
She calms her mind as best as she can and looks around.
A unique street.
Unique building.
Traces of collapse and weather damage.
Unidentified pieces of rotten meat presumed to be the corpses of monsters.
Lastly, it is believed that she was probably a colleague who fought against the Demon God together… Even human bone fragments.
“…… Choi Si-woo.”
Yurika picked up a piece of bone and looked behind her.
A teardrop falls from her eye.
It was the moment when the possibility that I had thought of just moments ago became reality.
“…… Uh.”
Choi Si-woo, who had finally managed to control his emotions, answered quietly in a voice that seemed to have a lump in his throat.
Control your breathing.
I sigh deeply.
I quietly stood next to Yurika with a bitter gaze.
“… “It looks like he’s back.”
“… That… “
“Even if you want to deny it… “I think it’s true.”
The original world.
A parallel world of the future.
The world of the first episode where Choi Si-woo died.
A dimension on the verge of destruction with very little respite left before it is defeated by the Demon God and faces the end.
“… “It’s been a really long time.”
I returned there again.
