< 130. In Search of the Scream (7) >
#130
“Is the leader of Nebula Clazier my father?”
“Hoo.”
The shadow shrugged as if it was interesting. Actually, it was an idea I had been thinking about for quite some time. Just leaving room for it felt like shit, so I just buried it deep down there.
‘It was strange ever since I was able to use those bastards’ abilities…’
But at this point, I had no choice but to leave the possibility open. It wasn’t just that her man’s face beneath his robes looked too much like her own.
If the hypothesis is correct, many questions have been resolved. Things like the ability to cut mana or how you came to be able to manipulate sparkling mana. The shadow that was sipping tea opened its mouth.
“He’s the leader of a religious cult…maybe that’s the case, maybe not.”
“Aren’t you going to speak straight?”
“I have no obligation to do so. Why are you so sure that that man is the cult leader?”
“···At least I didn’t look stupid.”
Ronan reflected on the memory for a moment and gritted his teeth. It was the first time he had suffered such a crushing defeat. He was unable to establish a match with the man until the moment his head was cut off.
Elsia and Alibrihe, who were immensely strong, were helpless. Even before the betrayal, it was unusual, but after taking away the savior’s power, it was impossible to even estimate his skills.
“That kid had strength and ambition. Those bastards are supposed to be leaders unless they are assholes.”
“That’s an interesting deduction.”
“f*ck, if you don’t want to talk, hit me.”
Ronan cursed and stood up. He shook his head to shake off the numerous questions that arose in his mind. What was important now was not family relationships.
No matter what the identity of that white-haired guy was, if he was the leader of Nebula Clazier, he had to be killed anyway. Because there was no change in calling for bald heads with wings and trying to destroy the world. Ronan, who was wandering around with his forehead touched, opened her mouth.
“So, why did you show me something like that?”
“It’s to give you a chance.”
“opportunity?”
“okay. Opportunity to make better choices. The caster of this curse hoped that you would never realize your own power.”
A shadow stood up, muttering something incomprehensible. He continued his speech while looking out the window.
“Insects are bound to be attracted to flowers with a strong scent… But not only have you already destroyed three curses, you have turned the church into an enemy.”
“What do you want to say?”
“It means that the stronger you become, the more fateful you become. “Are you still thinking about confronting the church?”
Sigh! Suddenly, the body of the shadow spread wide. The battle between Ronan and the robed man unfolded before his eyes over his stretched body. It took less than five minutes for his head to be cut after the cliff encounter.
‘f*ck.’
Ronan frowned, feeling the hopeless gap again. Watching her own head fall off in the third person was not a very pleasant experience for her.
“That man is still alive. “As time passed, she would become stronger.”
“I guess so.”
“If you continue to fight against the church, you will meet that person again in the not too distant future. “At that time, you won’t have the luck of having a severed head healed.”
Ronan clicked his tongue. She felt the hairs all over her body stand up. The shadow continued speaking in a heavy voice.
“But it’s not too late. Give up on Haeju now and return to a peaceful life. “If you really want, I will tell you what to cut, but I will not hide the fact that it was a foolish choice.”
Shuuuk… The size of the shadow has decreased to its original size. The video disappeared and the original black body appeared. said the shadow.
“Now decide. “I will respect your choice, but I won’t ask you twice.”
“Damn, did you just go to all this trouble to say something like that?”
Ronan laughed. In the end, it was the same question that Secret had asked before Haeju. The type of person who encourages comfortable giving up rather than risky challenges.
Of course, it was true that I was scared. Just imagining being reunited with her man made my hands break out in cold sweat. Perhaps, as the shadow said, his head might fall to the floor as soon as he met him.
‘It really sucks.’
But none of that mattered. Once I made a promise, I had to keep it. Ronan, who spat on the floor, answered without hesitation.
“Please find a way to solve it.”
“good night. “Follow me.”
Surprisingly, the shadow didn’t sneer or ask twice. He walked with long strides and left the entrance.
Ronan followed the shadow. The moment he stepped out of the doorway, his eyes widened. There was a huge rock sticking out in the middle of the garden.
“What is this again?”
“You are the one who must be cut down for Haeju.”
It was a really ugly rock. This is what it would look like if the giant chewed and spit it out and left it in the desert for about a thousand years.
“It is the materialization of the core of the curse. “I am sealing it so that your potential cannot be revealed.”
“this?”
“okay. “Just touch it.”
Ronan placed his hand on the rock. It was indeed as the shadow said. I felt some powerful energy struggling to escape from the depths of the rock.
‘hmm?’
But something was strange. Even the rock itself could feel its own unique mana. Ronan tilted her head, feeling a sense of déjà vu. The shadow continued.
“As soon as you cut this down, you can return. Of course, it won’t be easy.”
“As long as the rock is hard.”
Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. La Mancha, dyed red, appeared. Before the shadow could say anything, the sword shot hit the rock directly.
Kaang! A violent collision sound rang out. Ronan twisted his lips when he saw the surface without a single scratch.
“…It’s solid.”
“I told you. “It won’t be easy.”
It was a hardness that far exceeded expectations. No matter how many times I tried, only the blade was damaged and the rock was still intact. The cackling shadow opened its mouth.
“I’ll probably have to take some time and train myself. “You can’t destroy that core with your current skills.”
“Training?”
“okay. Until I can cut down that rock.”
Perfect! Suddenly, the shadow snapped its fingers. The landscape rippled like waves and Nimburton disappeared. Ronan shook his head at the sight of the club area training ground that appeared the moment he blinked.
“It’s not surprising anymore.”
“You don’t like it? “I thought it was the most optimal environment for training.”
“…keep going.”
Nimburton’s house had been turned into the building of a special adventure club. The ugly rock protruded from the floor of the spacious training ground. In the training area, the equipment and tools needed for training were neatly lined up. The shadow nodded.
“You can implement anything you want. You can sleep or eat in that building. “You just have to focus on breaking the rock.”
“It seems like they want me to sit still, but I don’t have that much time.”
“Didn’t I tell you? “Ten days here is one hour outside.”
Ronan’s eyes widened. This was also the first time she had heard this story.
“Actually, only three days had passed outside. Training in the world of images also affects the physical body in reality, so it might not be a bad idea.”
“Your personality has suddenly changed in a more favorable way. “It’s completely different from when I was tearing it apart.”
“It is also the caster’s will to respect your choice. And something like this is possible.”
The shadow that was looking around the training ground snapped its fingers again. Suddenly, the door to the club building opened and an unlucky-looking boy strode out. Ronan frowned at Schlieffen’s appearance without any context.
“f*ck, what is this?”
“It’s been a while. Ronan.”
Schlieffen said. Even the voice was the same. He approached the training magic engineer and pulled the hilt of his sword.
Sigh! A sharp wind blew across the training ground, and the heads of thirty knights fell at the same time. He put his sword back and looked back at Ronan.
“How about we spar?”
“her.”
Ronan laughed. Shadow added that if there is someone who needs training, he can implement it as much as he wants. As if to disprove him, the door to the club building opened again.
A tall woman appeared. The truly desirable attire caught my eye. Dressed in her Imperial Army uniform, Ade Shan wore high leather boots.
“Corporal. “How have you been?”
It was even Adeshan during his days as a general. At her waist was a whip that Ronan had given her as a gift. Adeshan came scurrying over and grabbed his face with both hands.
“Your face is very damaged.”
“···General.”
“You don’t have to worry alone. “I, along with the Empire’s Morning Star, will help you.”
The gray eyes were beautiful. Her flowing hair was tickling her face. Even though I knew it was her illusion, a vague sense of nostalgia crept up on me. Closing her eyes tightly, Ronan growled lowly.
“Get rid of it.”
“Sure.”
widely. The sound of fingers snapping was heard. When I opened my eyes, Schlieffen and Adeshan were nowhere to be seen. Ronan, who was quietly looking up at the rock, let out a deep sigh.
“Yeah… it’s fascinating.”
Honestly, it was an offer that there was no reason to refuse. Not only could he get everything he wanted, but he could also summon a sparring partner. There was no need to explain what a great advantage it was that time passed more slowly than in the outside world.
“Then call me if you need to. “I will come right away.”
“Wait a minute.”
However, under the premise that all of this is not false.
“hmm?”
The shadow that heard the call stopped in place. At the same time, Ronan pulled the hilt of his sword. A red comet shot toward the shadow.
“what···!”
The shadow urgently distorted the shape. However, the slash was faster than before and did not give him a chance to avoid it. Suddenly! A red line was drawn over the shadow’s body.
“Gagging!”
The cut lumps were scattered on the floor. The surface of the shadow boiled like bubbles. He looked up at Ronan and opened his mouth.
“Did you notice it from the beginning?”
“Well, that’s right.”
“Huh… I thought the acting was perfect.”
The shadow muttered as if lamenting. His body, which had been cut to its core, was never recovered.
Seaaaa… Everything that made up space began to crumble into powder. The club building, the ugly rock, the dying shadow and even Ronan’s body. Ronan said, pointing to a rock with the tip of his chin.
“Trying to come out from down there is a curse.”
The shadow didn’t answer. Actually, I noticed it from the middle.
It wasn’t Ronan’s potential that was suppressed by the rock. A curse much more powerful than the one he was currently dealing with was seething as if it were about to explode at any moment.
The rock was preventing the curse from spreading further. If that rock had been destroyed, the suppressed curse would have burst out and consumed my entire body. The disappearing shadow opened its mouth.
“How did you notice? “They must have taken steps to make it not feel like a curse.”
“Well…”
Ronan trailed off. She certainly wouldn’t have noticed if it had been the same. As the shadow said, the curse lurking under the rock had various camouflage spells attached to it.
However, immediately after the memory trip, his senses became much more sensitive. It was as if the fog blocking his eyes had disappeared.
Also, the same mana that was felt from the statue of Seniel could be felt from the ugly rock. A lump of will served by the elf Sarante. It never occurred to me that such a being would be blocking his growth.
‘It’s similar to what I cooked and ate.’
Ronan chuckled. Anyway, the purpose seemed to have been achieved, as the surrounding scenery was disappearing. The source of the curse was, of course, that shadow.
The shadow, which had been gradually shrinking, had now turned into little more than a handful of ash. Consciousness slowly began to fade away. The voice of a shadow rang out in a disappearing world.
“As expected… you have a good eye.”
****
“Ummmm…”
Ronan opened his eyes. She woke up feeling dazed, as if she had slept for a very long time. A thick blue wall reminiscent of her glacier was blocking her view.
“···What is this again?”
An unidentified wall surrounded Ronan’s whole body like a chrysalis. There was barely enough space to move my arms and legs, but I couldn’t see outside at all.
‘You do all kinds of things. Is it still an image world?’
A chilling sense of ominousness passed through my mind. Considering that I didn’t feel any unique sense of disconnect, the possibility of that happening was low, but I couldn’t let down my guard.
Ronan slowly stretched out his hand and placed it on the wall. Kwajangchang! A large crack appeared and the wall shattered.
“f*ck, this is a surprise…!”
Ronan hurriedly got up. He didn’t expect that it would break so easily. Fortunately, he was not injured by any debris. As she looked around, a familiar sight finally came into view.
“···Separacio.”
The closed study room was filled with books. On the floor, the magic circle he had used when entering Haeju remained intact.
Suddenly, Ronan noticed that his vision had increased significantly. The size of his hands and feet was no different from when he possessed the savior’s body.
‘Damn, how long have you been locked up?’
Just as I was about to touch my face, I heard a familiar voice from behind.
“······It’s been a really long time. Ronan.”
