The damp, wound-like basement was extremely uncomfortable just to stand in.
Liquid seeped into my shoes, and the piercing stench was as nauseating as petroleum.
A bed filled with stains and a quilt stained with blood tracks. Avoiding the sight, my eyes fell on Seonghan, arms folded.
"I never thought you'd go this far, Brother Lee Shiheon."
"Could you please stop calling me 'brother'?"
"So you care that much about our daughter? Thinking of risking your life and all."
"Look, I'm not a good person who risks their life to save others."
We exchanged a few words.
I steadily infused magic into the magic stone I was holding.
"There's some trust to be had."
"Hmm?"
Finding the hideout of terrorists was extraordinarily tricky.
Especially for a world-famous terrorist group. Locating their hideouts, which controlled the underworld and concealed information, was nearly impossible.
'Advanced magical investigation, artificial satellites. Every possible means is employed just to find them.'
However, it changed once you entered and received the coordinates directly.
What would cost billions to find could be resolved with just one locator.
Seonghan was a big fish.
Being somewhat equivalent to a chairman of a renowned company in South Korea, the significance of this cleanup was substantial.
-Hum! Hum!
Seonghan smiled bitterly at my locator.
"That is…"
"Do you know what this is?"
"Brother never intended to be with us from the start."
Of course.
Seonghan, rubbing his forehead as if he had been tricked, drew his sword from his waist.
"But you can't escape. You can't activate teleportation inside the basement."
At his confident words, I pulled out my last magic stone. Teleportation was set to the academy as the destination. But there wasn't even a sign of activation. My plan to receive the location and flee was slightly altered.
"Damn."
…I had also been tricked.
-Coo-coo-coo!
Noisy sounds were heard from outside.
Knowing and finding the location was quick; probably, everything would end within an hour.
"Brother. I still trust you."
"Still saying that? Cultists are really out of their minds."
"Faith has never been misguided. You will eventually help us."
Swooosh- Seonghan's sword seemed to emit a moonlit glow even in the darkness.
I was already battered. Battling with the cultists so that the survivors could escape, I was left without any residual magic power.
I wasn't completely out of energy.
How long could I last here? Honestly, I couldn't see any chance of winning.
"Who is the god you believe in?"
"Answering a shallow question, huh."
Seonghan, spreading magic power throughout his body, talked with a grotesque expression.
"The sacred object of Him is located here. Seeing it might convert you. Want to see?"
Dust fell from the ceiling. The sound of walls crumbling and screams were heard from various places.
Despite the tense situation, Seonghan only chuckled. From where did he get such composure? He opened the inner door of the basement.
-Sssssss.
White fog flowed from behind the door.
The floor was covered in bright red soil. Above it, a large tree was visible.
I didn't know its name. It didn't strike me like Lee Seyeong or Sansuyu, like a bead hitting my head.
A small tree, without any rough bark to protect itself, exposed its apricot-colored body. Not a single leaf covered it. The smooth curve was noticeable. A tight fissure in the middle of the stem was visible.
"How is it, brother?"
Seeing him smirk boastfully, I frowned.
"Do you see this as a god? Isn't this a World Tree?"
"Don't dare to compare Him to the World Tree."
Magic vibrated in his sword.
Suddenly, I was taken aback by the unexpectedly furious Seonghan.
I knew he had stepped into the realm of madness, but this was downright insanity.
-Boom!
A wave of intertwined magical air flew towards me.
Quickly lowering my center of gravity, I dodged it, pulling the magic deep within my body.
"Was I wrong? Wasn't it just worshiping the same World Tree and talking nonsense?"
"...!!!!!"
Seonghan, his face abruptly contorted, rushed at me with enormous momentum.
Our tightly gripped swords crossed.
Wooden Sword Technique 3, Pruning.
-Zing!
Magic sparked, and blood splattered. Pain surged in both of my shoulders.
Just from clashing swords, bone-crushing pain returned to my body.
"O Lord, grant this lamb a hammer."
Seonghan's necklace glowed red. The gem embedded in it seemed familiar.
It was the gem he showed me before.
He said it controlled the neck. Damn, was he hiding such power?
My trembling arms were screaming. The tendons in my left arm might have been severed, as it refused to move, no matter how hard I tried.
"…Damn."
I muttered a curse and adjusted into a one-handed sword stance.
I knew it, but the fact that I could die if I was careless felt overwhelmingly real. Sweat ran down my back.
"I'll start the conversion. Brother."
A cold sensation seeped into my skin. Wake up, I reminded myself dozens of times, pulling up the magic.
The core of my heart, the core of the vessel.
The insufficient magic was supplemented by gathering it from the surroundings. My body started to reject the rough, unrefined magic.
-Drip.
I started to overheat, and my nose began to bleed. To resist that unknown power, I had to forcibly gather magic.
To be honest, it was still not fully under my control.
Any result wouldn't be strange.
The zenith of my fight.
From the core of my heart, the black burning magic began to ooze out.
Seonghan's body reached out to me. In response, I moved my body.
-Swish!
My field of vision broadened immensely. The movement of the sword, the pathway of the magic. The magic blade that stretched towards my whole body, invisible till now, was reflected in my pupils.
I saw where I had to stab. I bent my body and sprang forward like an arrow.
-Whirr.
Black shadows slowly rose above my forearm.
The wavering form of that magic wasn't a beautiful flower or fresh leaf.
It was just a monotonous fight, only for slaughter.
It advanced, emitting a vicious aura.
-Coo-coo-coo!
Stepping forward, the ground broke. My muscles swelled due to the sudden increase in physical ability.
I looked at him approaching. I was certain where to aim.
-Crack!
Straight, yet faster than he could see, the thrusting sword blade penetrated Seonghan's cheek.
"-Kekekek"
The sword blade, piercing through his skull, crushed the brain.
The gushing magic blew open the wound.
The feeling of piercing through the head was unpleasant. The man's body sagged as it hung.
I kicked the corpse away. The sound of flesh being crushed by the deeply embedded sword echoed. My head felt dizzy.
Seonghan's dead face was damaged beyond recognition.
I sat down on the spot, catching my breath.
"…*gasp, *gasp."
Sweat flowed in streams.
In the end, I killed Seonghan alone.
I felt assurance in my own power, but it was not a situation where I could feel a sense of accomplishment.
'Damn. I feel like dying.'
Hallucinations flickered before my eyes. It was like eating a poisonous mushroom. My stomach churned, and my whole body itched.
"The…the gem."
Even in this situation, I unconsciously extracted the gem from the corpse's neck and looked at it.
▶ Mass-Produced Pink Dawn(B)
[Category: Equipment]
-Effect 1: Instills solid faith in the user through sex or conversation.
-Effect 2: Temporarily produces an invisible blade.
I put the gem in my pocket, placing my still-mobile right arm on my forehead.
-Coo-coo-coo!
Was the fight still ongoing outside?
When would this end?
The stench of the rotten blood was so horrible that I crawled towards where the tree was.
The cool air felt good.
Leaning against the trunk of the tree with my eyes closed, a shadow fell over my head.
I closed my eyes.
The bark of the firmly rooted tree fell off.
Sticky sap extended, revealing white skin to the world.
Jin Dallae knelt down with her face wincing at the uncomfortable sensation while her legs lost strength.
How could a human endure this?
Jin Dallae's eyes were staring at the empty sky.
Nothing was left from where he had departed.
Her hands were trembling.
"Pingchang. Get up now. We need to go to the auditorium."
"Call, call Angelica."
"Why?"
"Siheon. That, that person. He's okay, right?"
The voice that asked Suyu trembled violently.
The still expressionless face of Suyu seemed devoid of emotions.
Suyu silently stared at the ground, then slowly opened her mouth.
"Siwon is fine."
"..."
"It's all according to Siwon's plan."
She wanted to believe that too.
She hoped that Siheon was alive.
Realizing such feelings, regret surged from deep within her heart.
This wouldn't have happened if she had believed in him from the start.
'Why did he have to…'
'Why did he have to sacrifice so much for me?'
She needed to know the reason.
If she didn't, she felt like she would go mad.
"Dallae!"
Jung Siwoo, breathing heavily, ran to her, his body full of wounds.
"Are you okay? What just happened?"
"Jung Siwoo. That's not important."
"…Suyu?"
"We need to go to the auditorium quickly."
Suyu firmly helped Jin Dallae stand up. Jung Siwoo, flustered, followed Suyu's advice.
Supported by them, Jin Dallae's body seemed to lose strength.
-Step. Step.
Her mind was in chaos.
Regret, pain, and contempt for herself surged up.
It would be okay. It should be.
She felt that if she looked away, that arrogant man would be smiling brightly at her.
Jin Dallae hated herself for not holding onto their bond.
All the way to the auditorium.
Suyu kept repeating to her that it was okay, but…
-See you.
The last words she heard from Siheon felt like a farewell…
Jin Dallae could only spit out those words with a voice soaked in guilt.
"… I'm sorry."