131. [Side Story] One step to hell
[STAGE 5]
– Until start: 24 hours in the future
***
Crossroads downtown. barracks.
Dion mercenary’s quarters.
“We took a chance.”
Dion grinned as he stood in front of his party members.
“During that time, we were always treated poorly. I always played the role of a meat shield.”
All four party members nodded their heads in unison.
Before coming to the front here, these five had to go through all sorts of hardships as mercenaries.
When he was a new recruit, he was thrown into all sorts of suicide missions just because he was a new recruit.
Even after his career was built up and he learned how this floor worked, he only took care of the messiest tasks, citing his lack of talent and lack of great skills.
“But Prince Ash recognized our true worth.”
Ash was different.
When asked for an opportunity, he not only gave it willingly, but also invested heavily after recognizing the potential of the Dion Mercenary Corps.
He was provided with good armor and an expensive silver sword, and he was allowed to wear a military uniform designed exclusively for soldiers on the southern front.
Of all the treatment I received while living as a mercenary, I liked the treatment at the Monster Front here the best.
Dion was already full of allegiance to Ash.
“Let’s show it properly to His Highness in this defense battle. how well we can do it.”
Dion clenched his fists.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity. This time, I’m going to succeed!”
“career… … .”
“Let’s make it proudly successful!”
“success… … !”
career. success.
The five faces melted away at the dreamlike words. Dion grinned.
“good! Now, let’s talk about each of our aspirations. What will you do if you earn a lot of money?”
“If I succeed, I will raise funds to build a caravan. My dream is to do a big business.”
“I am a wedding fund! My boyfriend is waiting for me at home!”
“I want to send pocket money or a heap of money to my parents. I’ve never done anything right… … .”
“I’m going to enroll my younger brother in the magic workshop. Will he feed me when he grows up?”
The party members, each speaking a word, looked at Dion in unison.
Dion laughed and pointed at himself.
“Uh, me? I am… … hmm. It’s so insignificant compared to your dreams.”
Dion scratched the back of his head.
“On the first day I started working as a mercenary, I couldn’t stay sober, so I went for a drink… … The price is too high. There is a brand of whiskey that I couldn’t drink because it was expensive.”
A shy smile crept across Dion’s lips.
“I still can’t drink it because it’s such a waste of money. But when you get out later… … I will drink one bottle a week.”
Upon hearing Dion’s goal, the rest of the party members burst into laughter.
“What is that, Dion! Your ambitions are small!”
“Drink at least one bottle a day!”
“You bastards, then you’re just a drunkard!”
Dion, who made a pep-like sound like a chick, smiled broadly before long.
“Let’s grit our teeth and do it right. We can make it.”
Dion yanked his arm up.
“Dion mercenaries, this is the beginning of a legend!”
“My top too!”
“My marriage too!”
“I will be filial to my parents!”
“My old-age fund younger brother! wait!”
The five members of the Dion mercenary corps shouted loudly and then laughed at each other.
***
manor house. outbuilding.
The shadow unit’s quarters.
The three archers were jumping on their own beds.
“Are we taking a day off today? Can I not go to the dungeon?!”
“huh! His Highness told me to rest in peace today!”
“Hehehe! exciting. I love being in bed doing nothing!”
I was thinking of stopping the archers who were running around blowing dust, but I decided to leave the body bag alone.
In the meantime, if I had a little spare time, I went through training.
It’s been a long time since I had a very determined and comfortable day off. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for the three archers to be excited.
“?”
At that moment, Body Bag noticed that something was out of the ordinary and looked up.
God Hand was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where did you go?’
Leaving the archers playing in the room, Body Bag escaped from the outbuilding.
Looking around, I saw God Hand’s back standing in the archery training ground behind the outbuilding.
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The body bag’s feet, which were moving towards God Hand, stopped abruptly.
“… … Don’t worry. I’ll protect you… … .”
God Hand muttered something softly.
“… … yes. If that’s what I can do… … .”
Bodybag tilted his head.
Who are you talking to?
“God Hand?”
When Body Bag deliberately approached, pretending to be human, God Hand, startled, turned around with a puzzled face.
“A body bag? What are you doing here without resting inside!”
“Just to catch some wind… … What is God Hand doing? talk to someone… … .”
However, God Hand’s conversation partner had already disappeared.
It seemed that they had quickly gone into the woods behind the archery training grounds.
“A conversation. Big! I was alone. I was just talking to myself.”
God Hand’s face was clearly embarrassed.
As a body bag, it was the first time I saw God Hand like this, so I couldn’t understand why. what?
It was then. Three archers rushed out from inside the outbuilding.
“What is it, what are you two doing? Do you have anything tasty?!”
“It’s lunch already! I am hungry!”
God Hand smiled thinly as he looked back at the party members who were holding their stomachs and suffering.
“Are you all hungry? Then, let’s all say, shall we go rob the restaurant in the mansion?”
“Wow, good! Godhand genius!”
“Highly agree-!”
“I am juice!”
“I like pickled fruit!”
“I have to bring a lot of walnuts and peanuts!”
The three archers, who were very excited, ran towards the main building of the mansion first.
God Hand, who was following the archers, looked back at the body bag.
“Let’s go, Bodybag. You should eat something too.”
“… … yes.”
“Tomorrow is going to be a difficult day. You should eat well today.”
The archers had already gone quite far. God Hand kicked off the ground and ran to catch up with his children.
“Um… … ?”
A vague sense of incongruity remained, but I decided not to take it seriously.
Body Bag quickly chased after the party members.
***
Temple. Damian’s room.
“… … .”
Damian calmly looked at the armed men in front of him with sunken eyes.
Six horse guns. A single crossbow.
Three barrels of silver arrows, two barrels of silver arrows.
Enchant Scroll here.
It was a single-use attribute-enhancing magic scroll that Ash had been collecting. A total of three sheets, Freeze, Fire, and Gust attributes.
Ash gave it to Damian. I was told to use it when I’m in a hurry.
Damian quietly reached out and swiped the horse gun and crossbow placed neatly in front of him with his fingertips.
next moment,
Clap!
He snatched the handle of the horse gun at once with his slender fingers, and pressed his face against the barrel as he gripped the stock.
Okay! Chunk!
Line up the crosshair and put the sight in front of your eyes.
“… … .”
Damian slowly let go of the aiming stance he had taken in an instant.
In the meantime, Damien has been repeating the training of taking this aiming posture quickly.
It was to shoot the enemy as quickly as possible.
In fact, it didn’t mean much to aim the sights visually at Damian.
Because [clairvoyance] is not a concept that works that way.
However, this stance was not bad for receiving the horse gun’s enormous recoil. So he was practicing.
‘If only I could do it a little faster… … I could be of more help to the prince… … .’
Damian, who was thinking, suddenly felt dizzy. It must have been because he had trained in a corner of his room all day.
‘Let’s get some fresh air… … .’
After coming out of the room, Damian headed for the central hall of the temple and found something.
“… … .”
Saint Marherita was kneeling in front of the statue of the goddess in the central hall.
He seemed to be praying with a serious face. Damian sighed and stopped.
“… … .”
Holding her hands tightly in front of her chest, her curled up body trembled slightly.
Marherita, who had been still with her eyes closed, let out a slow voice.
“I just want to be faithful to the mission given to me… … .”
Marherita let out a long sigh and slowly raised her head.
“Now what should I do… … .”
An elaborately carved statue of the goddess overlooked Marherita.
Marherita closed her eyes again and whispered vaguely.
“please… … please let me know… … .”
“… … ?”
It was the first time he had seen Marherita like this, so Damian tilted his head.
***
Inn Etty’s honey. Junior’s room.
“haha… … Cool!”
Even while coughing up blood, Junior used his mana to float elemental particles above his head.
“Just a little more… … That spell will be mine… … .”
All sorts of metaphysical magic circles formed around her, bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth, and then they were released.
“This is not too much, just a little more… … a little bit… … !”
Completion was imminent.
At that time, the realization that the Vampire King had shown through the reverse calculation was just about to bloom.
That moment.
– Are you going to die before me?
Grandma’s voice echoed in my brain.
“… … .”
A sneer hung over Junior’s lips.
“There’s no way I want to die just because it’s me… … .”
but.
Because if you don’t use your life, you can’t even reach it.
Gently sweeping the blood from his nose and mouth, Junior spat out in a low voice.
“Hey, just a little more… … !”
***
Mercenary Guild. Jupiter’s room.
“Cool, cool!”
Jupiter coughed violently. Dark red blood splattered on her pillow.
“Ha ha ha… … !”
The aftereffects of the mana runaway still haven’t completely healed.
However, because of ignoring and using magic, Jupiter’s whole body had a reaction.
‘Is this a feeling, dear?’
Jupiter tightly closed his only eye as he held on to his staggering old body and poured out unstoppable blood.
‘Until I endured this pain… … Do you really want to become a wizard? Even if you die before this grandmother?’
– That wouldn’t be too bad.
The face of the granddaughter who said that disturbed my mind.
“… … Like that, do you hate me?”
Jupiter gritted his teeth.
yes, hate it Hate and curse yes
‘I don’t care how much you hate this grandmother. Still, I… … .’
Cool!
Jupiter, who coughed up blood, wiped his mouth roughly. A bright light once again shone in the blurry eyes.
“Not yet. little bit more.”
Hold on a little longer, you damn body!
***
manor house.
backyard garden. A small decorated gymnasium.
widely! Percussion! grasp!
Lucas and Evangeline were fighting with wooden swords, wooden spears, and wooden shields.
Since the day they were defeated by Celendion, Lucas and Evangeline have sparred with each other every day.
Lucas broke through Evangeline’s defenses, and Evangeline blocked Lucas’ attacks.
At first, the odds were even, but at some point, Evangeline continued to win.
Evangeline completely mastered the use of her ‘intuition’, and blocked all of Lucas’ attacks without any gaps.
The same is true even now, with only one day remaining in the defense battle.
widely! Tadak! Tuhak!
It was the time of evening twilight.
Evangeline’s emerald-colored eyes shone, blocking all of Lucas’s sword attacks with her shield.
‘I feel it. All ‘roads’ can be felt through the skin!’
Now fully guided by intuition, Evangeline stood on the brink of realization.
If you take one more step.
The moment when it seems as if the cross family is about to reach a certain “ultimate” that has been built up from their ancestors-
F*ck!
Kudangtangtang!
Evangeline fell back.
At some point, Lucas’s wooden sword touched her body, and immediately after that, she flew outside the gymnasium with a tremendous impact.
“uh?”
Evangeline, who was lying on the floor in a daze, murmured.
Then, I raised my eyes and saw the opponent who fired this sword.
“haha!”
Lucas stood in the middle of the arena, gasping for air.
A misty steam rose from the muscular knight’s body.
The knight’s blue eyes… … It was burning like that of a beast.
“… … What is that, what is it?”
Evangeline looked down at her chest. Her practice armor, which she had been wearing in case of her accident, was hollow.
If I hadn’t worn it, I might have died.
“Even with my intuition, I couldn’t avoid it. No, it didn’t even look right. What kind of attack did you launch?”
“… … this?”
smile.
Lucas brushed back his sweaty blond hair and raised his mouth.
There was no trace of his usual Golden Retriever-like smile. A fierceness like a wolf hung over the knight’s mouth.
“… … Let’s call it my desperation.”
***
South from Crossroads. champaign.
Late at night as dawn approaches.
chuck! chuck! chuck! chuck!
1,000 blood relatives led by Selendion arrived here.
Alpha, who confirmed the crossroads in the distance, made a report.
“I see the castle wall. road.”
“… … .”
“It is a city of human bastards. We will be within attack range in the next few hours.”
“Hoo.”
Selendion, who was sitting on the palanquin with a bored face, glanced northward.
“Soon.”
A slaughter battle that kills and kills each other.
Finally, now, this is the beginning.
Selendion, who rose from the palanquin, slowly looked back.
“My people.”
The Vampire King smiled at his bodyguards, who were shining bright red eyes.
It was a vampire-like smile with prominent fangs.
“Are you ready to cover the royalties with mountains of corpses and seas of blood?”
No answer was needed.
It covers the human body with acidic blood.
Because that was the reason for their existence.
***
“He is coming.”
I murmured as I glared at the southern plain in the distance.
I couldn’t sleep at all, so I had been to the fortress wall since dawn.
And I was able to confirm their appearance with my own two eyes.
They were advancing from afar, but steadily.
[STAGE 5]
– Until start: 3 hours in the future
Hell.
Towards the monster front here, a living hell… … It was coming.
It was right in front of me now.
