Episode 288
The shape of the giant eyes was bizarre.
It wasn’t just a pupil, but disgusting chunks of flesh and veins were tangled around it, spreading all the way to the wall and sticking to it… … .
To me, it looked like a spider standing in the center of a sprawling web looking down.
The eyes that showed off such an overwhelming presence left as suddenly as they appeared.
“… … !”
Immediately after, the music that felt like it was constricting my whole body, the tinnitus, and the pain in my brain disappeared, but we couldn’t move for a while.
“… … .”
How much time has passed?
As my hearing returned to normal, I could faintly hear the sound of a duel in the distance.
The sound of metal clashing, screaming, crying… Even though the corps commander appeared, they were still fighting like slaves.
Is it the opposite?
Because they confirmed the manifestation of that existence, they may be fighting more desperately.
“… “It’s a successful advent.”
It was Verita who spoke first.
This woman’s voice doesn’t waver even at times like this, which is a bit surprising.
Of course, it may not be surprising that Verita, a church member, maintains her composure upon seeing the corps commander… … .
I know.
Just because you are a member of a church does not necessarily mean you know everything about the devil.
Didn’t even Juan, the priest right now, face different deaths from the two demon kings he worshiped?
Maybe that’s why I felt different about this guy now.
It just occurred to me that the human being Verita herself might be strong.
“Successful? Surely this doesn’t mean that the corps commander was summoned in perfect form?”
“Not really. Usually, what determines the success of a demonic descent is how much power it has. “If you have more than half the strength, it’s considered success, and if it’s less than that, it’s considered failure.”
“half… … .”
So does that mean that the overwhelming presence just now is only half of the power of the main body?
Should we see this as good news?
I suddenly had a headache.
If you think about it, it might be natural.
Corps commander Kajitta seen in the other world… … .
I risked my life even in the battle with the devil, who had only crumbs of power compared to my true self.
“How much is half the power of the commander?”
Verita thought for a moment, spread one finger, and then pressed it down.
“like this… … .”
“… … .”
“… “You will be able to crush B-rank or lower heroes to death as easily as pressing your finger.”
Araksad, who had been listening quietly, spoke.
“Ramon.”
“yes.”
“You go back to Seokmun right now.”
“… … .”
“The situation has changed rapidly. I thought you would have plenty to do, but I guess I was wrong. If a demon of that size has already been summoned, the most important thing to consider is combat power. “As you rely on holy relics, you are also the weakest in anti-demon aptitude.”
In short, if you don’t want to be a burden, leave.
Ramon, who was thinking deeply, nodded.
“… All right. Then I will go back and wait for you.”
Just as Ramon was about to stand up with shaky legs, Verita shook her head thoughtfully.
“Unfortunately, that plan is unreasonable. “Because we already have [the mark] engraved on us.”
“A mark?”
“Everyone, pay attention to the backs of your hands.”
The back of your hand?
When I looked down, I noticed a strange-shaped burn mark on the back of my hand.
No, it looks more like an evil spirit than a burn.
“It is a [curse mark] that only high-level demons can leave. If you are separated from the demon with this mark for a certain amount of time, you will die. And you said that the stone gate has a power that transcends space.”
I don’t know the exact distance, but it’s clear that it’s quite a long distance.
in other words.
“… Does this mean that if I cross the stone gate and return to my original place, I might die?”
“yes.”
pestilence.
If that’s the case, this explains why they didn’t deploy any special personnel near the stone gate.
From the moment you step foot in it, you become a rat in a poison.
“What is the solution?”
“… Slaying the demon that carved the mark, that’s all.”
* * *
First, I returned to a place a little away from where the church member was.
Verita continued her explanation there again.
“It’s not like the commander has already figured out our location. This mark is a marking done in a certain space. Since the poison is sprayed randomly, it is impossible to know how many rats were infected by the person who sprayed the poison.”
“… … .”
“Those eyes are not the corps commander’s true face. It is probably a type of power possessed by the commander of the corps, and judging by its form, its functions are assumed to be surveillance, emitting instruments, and engraving marks.”
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It was when Verita was talking in a serious voice.
Suddenly, gurgling… A voice was heard.
Needless to say, my stomach was screaming for food.
Naturally, attention was drawn to the source of the sound, and Mir lowered his head with a red face.
“I-I’m sorry… … .”
“… In situations like this, calorie intake is more important. “After hearing that, I feel a little hungry too.”
Araksad defended Mir. Even so, he appeared to be a very compassionate man.
We immediately started eating energy bars one by one.
Crackling.
… A person whose teeth are in terrible condition will definitely break his teeth while chewing this.
Then, one of the qualities of a hero could be clean teeth… I had this useless thought. Am I getting tired of it too?
After filling our bellies, we continued talking again.
Gurgling… … .
I once again heard my stomach churning. Mir, who was startled, even waved her hand and denied it.
“Hey, it’s not me this time!”
“it’s me.”
I raised my hand.
“Strangely, I keep feeling hungry. “Should I forget one more energy bar?”
“I told you before I came here to eat sparingly.”
“That’s true, but my mouth is bored-.”
“wait for a sec.”
Araksad interrupted us.
“Something is strange.”
“what?”
“I’m already hungry too.”
I laughed at Araksad’s words.
“This can be happen. Even if you don’t really like food, when you see other people eating… … .”
“That’s not what I meant. “I can survive for at least three months by drinking only water.”
“Isn’t that the same for people? “It may be too much for three months.”
In fact, the average person, unless they have a chronic illness, can easily survive for a month by drinking only water.
“yes. But in my case, I can last up to a year.”
“uh… … .”
“There is less stress due to hunger, and the decline in exercise ability is not significant. Above all, my normal eating amount is about one meal every three or four days, which is also a lot compared to my fellow countrymen.”
“and… … .”
Now that I think about it, it’s rare to see him eating.
I heard that some crocodiles and lizards can survive for several years without eating. Is this true?
“But I just felt hungry too. Of course, I ate quite a bit before coming to Seokmun today.”
“… … .”
I couldn’t say it was because of my condition.
I had already realized through numerous mock battles that Araksad was a man with good sense. I believed in the spirit of this hero, and I also believed in his instincts as a wild man.
If such a man felt uncomfortable, something was going wrong.
“One of the effects of this stigma is hunger.”
“no.”
“right. “I didn’t think so.”
In times like this, it might be helpful to recite whatever comes to mind, so I started spitting it out as it came to mind.
“What if it makes you think you’re hungry when you’re not actually hungry? Or numb the senses. Or, when you crossed the stone gate, you may not have realized it, but a lot of time may have already passed… … .”
“that… … .”
“know. “It was such bullshit, wasn’t it?”
“no. hour. “Maybe that’s the right answer.”
“what do you mean?”
“I don’t know if you know, but there is a place in the world where the flow of time is completely different from here.”
The memory that flashed through my mind at that moment was that of an ominous city with no sign of popularity. The ominous sound of a bouncing ball, an evil spirit with a green, bloated body… … .
“You mean hell? “Is this really hell?”
“To be precise, it would be a connection between hell. This is also one of the church’s arcane spells, and once it is successful, the entire space and time will become distorted.”
“… … .”
“… So, in the midst of accelerating time, only our will can be clear. “It’s just a guess.”
“no. “I think what you said is correct.”
As he said that, Ramon showed us the watch he wore around his neck.
“Look at this.”
“… … .”
The moment I saw it, I got a little goosebumps.
As if the clock was broken, the second hand was spinning at an incredible speed.
“With this flow… “You can roughly think of it as passing about ten times faster than our original time.”
“Then what? Does this mean that 1 second here is the original 10 seconds?”
“That’s right.”
“Why was such an environment created?”
“Isn’t it because it is to their advantage that time passes quickly?”
“So why do you want time to pass quickly? “You probably don’t want to grow old quickly.”
“… “The devil comes down.”
Verita heard me.
“There is inevitably a time-consuming section in the ritual stage. Was it because you wanted to get over that part as quickly as possible? I thought it was strange. It was never too late for Heros to act. Even considering that it was in the North, originally, the ritual would have been overturned before the corps commander, let alone the Demon King, was summoned.”
The moment I felt there was a point, I got goosebumps again.
So how much time has the church actually invested in the ritual of the devil’s descent?
“and… “If this is how time goes, I have to deliver one more piece of bad news.”
“What?”
“This is the ability of [Curse Mark]. “He who is marked with this mark is destined for his death from that moment on.”
“Does this mean that everyone is terminally ill?”
“yes.”
While everyone was silent, I asked an uncomfortable but inevitable question.
“How much is left?”
“Each person is different. Just like resistance to a musical instrument, a person with a higher aptitude for anti-demon magic can last longer. Judging by the darkness of the marks, Brother Luan and I had one month, Brother Araksad and Sister Mir had twenty days, and Brother Ramon… … .”
Berita, who rarely spoke, looked straight at Ramon and spoke.
“… “It will be difficult to last a week.”
one week.
It’s not a short time.
If I could really use that time, I would have been able to analyze the enemy in more detail, make a plan, and even wait for Peed or Lanfero to join.
but… … .
In this ice cave, time passes about 10 times faster than outside.
1 second here becomes 10 seconds.
1 minute becomes 10 minutes.
That means there are only 6 minutes in an hour and only 144 minutes in a day.
By this calculation, our remaining time is about three days for me and Verita.
Araksad is a day and a half.
and… … .
“… “About 17 hours.”
Ramon muttered in a low voice and smiled slightly.
“You have more time than you think.”
“… … .”
fantasy,
