28. Princess Run (3)
Bam!
As the fairy and elf watched, Minjun took out a stone knife and quickly cut his wrist.
“Eww!”
The old fairy shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away, but Blair, standing next to her, watched with calm eyes.
Swish!
Blood flowing from the wound on his wrist hung low, forming a hazy mist. It quickly spread, lightly covering the ash-turned grass and the soot-covered earth. Minjun’s intention was to send this blood mist as far away as possible.
Of course, if you cover a wide area with just the raw blood, you will die from excessive bleeding no matter what. The blood combined with the black magic was multiplying in the air.
Let’s wait like that for a moment.
“What, I feel a little strange?”
The first to notice the change was the fairy with her keen senses. At first it was a feeling of unreasonable discomfort, but it didn’t take long for her to be able to put a suitable reason to the change in mood.
“It smells bad.”
After hesitating, he adds a word.
“It’s getting closer.”
After a while, the elf with good eyesight spotted something.
“Just now, how far did you spread that?”
He asked about the scope of the fog. Minjun answered calmly.
“About a 3 kilometer radius?”
A small sound of footprints leaving their mark on the ash-covered ruins.
“Woof!”
The fairy frowned and gagged.
Among the groups that appeared one by one between the fallen trees that had been broken and broken, there was not a single one in good health. It was natural, since they were creatures that had died in the forest fire.
A deer, its skin melting and its forelegs glued to its chest, crawled toward me, squirming. An owl, its feathers gone and its wings bare of bones, a squirrel with its snout shrunken and its teeth exposed, and a wild boar with its eyes melting and leaving tear stains, all rolled or barely managed to stagger to walk.
Before considering the damage to the body, the driving force of the body, which was naturally unable to move since it was dead, was replaced by black magic.
Agh!
The fairy, perhaps in a state of mental shock, took out a handful of candy from her bosom, roughly unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed it so vigorously that it seemed as if her teeth would break. On the other hand, the elf’s face was still as calm as the surface of a lake.
“Isn’t this strictly speaking a necromancy?”
It even expresses curiosity.
“If you look at the results, they are the same, but the underlying force is different.”
He didn’t explain further and she didn’t ask, because as the horde of undead beasts approached, Minjun’s expression darkened.
‘As expected, it’s thrilling.’
The animal corpses that responded to the call were possessed by ghosts that could not leave this world due to the shock and resentment of sudden death.
A spectre is distinct from a spirit entity, commonly called a ghost, because, unlike them, they possess only very limited memories and are incapable of rational thought.
Most ghosts are immersed in meaningless repetitive actions, immersed in memories of the moment they died or the days when they were close to death. The resentment they harbored as they died in pain was so intense. They were so strong that they were not even swept away by magical forest fires that blew away all remaining thoughts and ghosts.
And as Minjun got closer to the undead, he felt the cruel memories seeping into his mind.
‘Seeing things like this, it seems that just because they have lower intelligence than humans, it doesn’t mean they have less fear or feel less pain!’
Rather, there are emotions that are amplified because of that.
The confusion and pain they felt just before they died were conveyed in their entirety. It was a mixture of the pain of many animals, and it poured out all at once. They were all killed for the same reason, and each of them had different memories, but they were equally horrible deaths that could not be judged as superior or inferior. It was enough to drive an inexperienced sorcerer mad.
But Minjun only had a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and instead of ignoring it or wasting time, he looked straight at it.
The scene in my memory was a scene of chaos. The hot air that was burning my lungs. The acrid smoke that made me want to vomit everything out. The pain that felt like my hair, my beak, my beard, my skin were all being ripped off. The struggle. My vocal cords were eventually torn after enduring the harsh howls. The pain that came over me in a state of incomprehensible pain that only got worse with time. And finally, the heavy darkness that weighed down on my body in my last moments.
‘Just a little bit… Let’s turn back time just a little bit more.’
Even after his will was conveyed, some continued to shoot out horrible memories, but there were also ghosts that sent old memories as they were told.
A flood of sensations pouring in, mixing together the five senses. Minjun carefully examines the traces one by one, being careful not to get lost in the confusing maze.
Memories of the deep night, just before the fire broke out.
Minjun didn’t expect much from the animals’ visual memory. Wild animals are not adventurers who show curiosity and follow people who appear in the middle of the night. They would run away as soon as they hear a sound.
Yes, ‘sound.’
‘The resolution of the eyes of nocturnal animals is not tuned for me, and it is difficult to obtain meaningful information. However, their hearing is far superior to mine.’
Minjun concentrated on the memories of the sounds they had heard last night. He concentrated like that for a long time.
“Phew.”
I let out a big, deep sigh.
dump!
The animal corpses surrounding him lost their strength and fell one after another like dominoes.
“Are you done?”
The fairy, who had been chewing on the candy with her eyes closed as if she could not see at all, asked. Her tongue was slightly twisted as if she was under the influence of medicine. The elf answered her.
“Larissa, you’d better not open your eyes, there are still bodies lying around.”
He knew full well how much of a headache it could be if a drugged fairy went into shock, so he struck first.
“Agent, did you find anything?”
He nodded.
“That night, there was an animal that heard the sounds of those wandering in the mountains far from the trail.”
The conversation between the intruders was mostly the bland lines that a vault raider would say: ‘Be careful.’ ‘Prepare your order.’ ‘This side is complete.’ ‘Move quickly.’
But within it, Minjun caught one word that allowed him to guess the other person’s identity.
“Some of the intruders called each other ‘brother.’”
The elf’s face hardened coldly. The old potion fairy, still with his eyes closed, asked.
“Why? What is that? Who is it?”
It seemed like his head wasn’t working well because he was under the influence of alcohol. Minjun explained further.
“It’s a magic that completely burns the material world and the spiritual world that are intertwined with Mt. Bukhan. It must have cost a lot of money, and the magicians’ skills are no ordinary ones. I can only think of one organization that has the ability and motivation to raid the Elder Dragon’s vault and calls each other that.”
The elf muttered in a cold tone that seemed like it could kill a person with just words.
“······Those uncivilized human supremacists!”
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“Human supremacists? You mean those politicians from the ‘Human-Centered Party’ or something?”
Minjun denied her guess.
“That party is nothing more than a splinter group. There is a secret society that is supposedly controlling them. A group of vicious men that even the Elder Dragons have not yet been able to completely eradicate.”
“······Ah! No way?”
Only then did the fairy notice and mention the organization’s name.
***
“We, the new brothers who have joined the ‘Human Rights Action Solidarity’! We offer you our heartfelt welcome!”
A man who introduced himself as the head of the Seoul branch of a secret society called the Human Rights Solidarity for short stood at the podium and began his speech in a powerful voice.
He looked into the eyes of each of the ten or so new members sitting in the audience. The man’s eyes were filled with a strangely distorted enthusiasm.
“I don’t think there is a brother here who doesn’t know what we have come together for and what kind of future we dream of. Nevertheless, if you will allow me a moment of leisure, I would like to say something that will help us in our future struggle. I would like to say something about the essential part of our solidarity that we must never forget.”
His voice swayed with a strange rhythm, constantly hammering heavy intonation and emphasis into the listener’s ears.
“Let’s talk about it in a simple and easy way. Who are we? Yes, we are, in short, ‘people who want to change the dictionary.’”
A page from the Korean dictionary opens on the screen projected by the projector.
“My brothers and I are here to fight for human rights. Human rights. Before we talk about what rights mean, let’s first define what a human is. The dictionary says: ‘Human. Noun. A primate classified under the scientific name Homo sapiens sapiens.’ That’s it. Short. Simple. Clear. Well, good. Not bad. That’s about it.”
He let out a laugh whose meaning was hard to read.
“Then, this time, let’s look up the word ‘person’ in the dictionary?”
He pressed the presenter button. The slides moved to the next one, and another chapter of the Korean dictionary opened. He read the contents on the screen without looking back.
“’Person. Noun. A socialized animal that thinks, uses language, and makes and uses tools.’”
The speaker carefully observes the expressions of the audience.
“Well, there are some ambiguous parts, but I can accept this much. The biggest problem is the part below!”
The slide flipped over again. Just below the dictionary definition of a word was an endless list of synonyms.
“Synonyms for the word human! Look at them. Human, elf, orc, dwarf, goblin, troll······.”
The man spat out words without even taking a breath. His voice was filled with bitter and damp emotions. With bloodshot eyes, he recited the synonyms listed in the dictionary one by one as if spitting.
At that pace, the slide zoomed in on a list that would fill a page of the dictionary. Only when the audience began to worry that the man was having trouble breathing and was about to faint did he finish his list.
“Was it long? Yes, it was long. Isn’t it? There are exactly 112 synonyms for “person” listed in the dictionary. That means that there are 112 species, including humans, that have ever obtained citizenship on Earth! Including both mass and individual immigration! If you open any dictionary, including Korean, and look at the “person” section, that part is the same. Why? Because if you don’t list all those races, it’s against racial discrimination laws!”
The heat rising inside the room grew even stronger.
“Let me say it again: We are people who want to change the dictionary.”
A long red line was drawn across the list of synonyms on the slide, and the words began to disintegrate and disappear one by one, like dust. Soon, only one synonym for the person remained.
human being.
“We live in a society that has gone mad. The worst crime committed by the committee and the world leadership is the violent expansion of the human scope without the consent of most of humanity. We did not consent. Yes, we did not consent! Originally, only humans lived in this world. Until the fall of 1945, the list of synonyms was short and simple, like the screen you see here. Everything was simpler then.”
The man continued speaking, stepping out of the podium.
“Let me emphasize again: We live in a time of madness unparalleled in the history of mankind. Never has the darkness been so deep and the shadows so long. Monsters live in our neighborhoods and walk our streets with impunity. They demand and take from us what belongs to us. They rob us. Our money, our welfare, our jobs, our rights!”
The branch manager’s voice was sharp enough to cut my skin.
“Now, let’s put it all back in its place. Let’s revise the dictionary. Let’s return to the old days when man meant only human beings. Let’s fight for the rights of human beings. ‘Human rights’ should be a word only for human beings!”
The man sighed, grabbed the glass of water on the podium, and drank it in one gulp.
Meanwhile, the slide changed and silhouettes of two races appeared on the screen.
“Look. Up until now, our brothers in the Order have spread out across all levels of society and have been working covertly. Of the many alien races that have invaded Earth, our activities have been focused on two of the most threatening species. Yes, that’s right. Dragons and Orcs.”
The silhouettes disappear and illustrations of the two races with a disgusting touch appear.
“Dragons, those scaly demons, must be resisted and overthrown as they are a sociological disaster that seeks to control everything from behind the scenes. Orcs, those disgusting pigs that hatch eight at a time, must be isolated and exterminated as they are a biological disaster that will outnumber humans if left unchecked.”
Take a breath again.
“But······ Recently, we have heard news of a new species that is comparable to these two.”
A heavy murderous intent was mixed into his gaze.
“This is a critical moment. I feel the need to address the newly joined brothers here. Our short-term goals have been revised. We cannot afford to sit back and let the terrible nightmare of the eighth mass migration become a reality. When I first heard the news, I could not help but be shocked.”
The slide changes.
“Do you know their biological characteristics well?”
Chewed words flowed out like a piece of rag from between the distorted lips.
“This species that is being discussed now ovulates almost every day. If they succeed in implantation, they lay more than ten eggs at a time. Furthermore, their physical condition is also overwhelming. The average height of an adult is 3.5 meters. How much money would it cost to remodel their social infrastructure to match this? Furthermore, their physical strength is said to be comparable to that of a troll, which is truly heartbreaking. What would happen if this species adopted a low-class lifestyle like the orcs? What if monsters that can tear steel with their bare hands were to commit crimes in groups?”
The branch manager declared.
“That is why our organization will mobilize all its capabilities to stop the 8th mass migration planned by the committee. As a first step, there is an alien that we absolutely must obtain.”
As the slides turned, a picture and name of an alien appeared.
The branch manager spoke as if declaring.
“That alien is······!”
***
“Princess Vermi is waiting.”
Minjun’s fellow inmate, Bradley, met his security target for the first time today.
The guards from the Gelanco dimension who had been escorting the princess from the terminal to the hotel were to exchange baton touches with the Earthlings here and immediately return to their original dimension. This behavior revealed how the Shutan people were treated in their home dimension.
Before heading to the princess’s room, Bradley was greeted by a middle-aged female dwarf who was fluent in English, Korean, and the Shutan language, and acted as an interpreter.
“Then, I will ask you to take care of me for the rest of the time.”
After exchanging greetings, they walk together and Bradley asks.
“How is your condition, Princess?”
This dwarf said that he had crossed over to the Gelanco dimension a few months ago and had been serving the princess since then. He needed someone to interpret for the video conference with Earth. She introduced herself as Olga and spoke in a low voice, stroking her beard.
“Honestly, it’s not good. The princess is… very anxious. You know that the level of security has caused some problems in the consultation process between the committee, the Korean government, and the Kingdom of Gelanco?”
He nodded quietly.
“Of course, thanks to that, we were able to hire an excellent person like Agent Bradley as our security chief, but···.”
She trailed off. Bradley pointed out the omission in her words.
“You still think it’s not enough.”
“Well, don’t take offense.”
Arriving in front of the princess’s room, he knocked. There was no answer, but the dwarf opened the door. It seemed like a common occurrence.
A strong smell of blood wafted from the hotel’s presidential suite, which had been chosen because of its high ceilings. The two entered.
And then, the eyes of the princess and Bradley sitting on the sofa met.
She opened her snout, covered in dense dark green scales. The mouth of the Shutan was extremely long. It was like two pieces of rough plank, and as it split open, sharp teeth reminiscent of industrial saw blades were revealed proudly.
Although she had no intention of speaking, it was inevitable that she would feel as if she was about to chew off a human head in one breath. The princess made a sound like she had put a spoon in a chopper.
Olga interpreted what he said.
“It’s nice to meet you, and I hope you do your best.”
“······Yes, don’t worry.”
Olga translated Bradley’s words back to the princess, making a sound like she was scraping a spoon from the chopper back onto a blackboard. After a few more nerve-wracking noises in both directions, the princess turned back to the book she was reading.
Then Olga immediately gave Bradley some advice.
“Princess Vermi is to eat 20kg of raw meat six times a day. The poison test must be conducted by Agent Bradley, the head of security. As you may have heard, please note that she will be staying at the hotel for the next few days to deal with dimensional sickness. And one more important thing is….”
Her eyes became serious.
“Once a day, when the princess is in production, no one is allowed within a ten-meter radius. Do you know what I mean?”
“About what time is it?”
“It’s about 8 a.m. Earth time, but it might be irregular for a while because of the time difference.”
“okay.”
“At that time, the princess’s psychological state will become very unstable, so you must pay close attention.”
Shutan females ovulate almost daily and regularly lay unfertilized eggs when unpaired.
By simply processing the shell of that egg, you can obtain a metal with extremely high ductility and malleability, which is a valuable commodity exported to many dimensions.
“Yes, I understand. Be careful.”
Thinking that she seemed to have a more difficult personality than he had thought, Bradley glanced at Princess Vermi, or, as he put it, the ‘crocodile that lays golden eggs’, whom he would be responsible for protecting for the next few days.
