novelA New Path (3)
| ← Ch.320 | Ch.322 → |
[Republic of Leores]
Beyond the Demon Realm Gate was a world full of mystery.
Three kingdoms and one republic stood on the continent of 'Kruni'. In this unfortunate world soon to be destroyed, Kim Suho was a sword commander of the Republic.
"... So, you're saying that Baal is going to destroy this world?"
Currently in the office of the sword commander, Aileen, wearing a somewhat worn-out uniform, asked Kim Suho. In this world, she was a maid to a high-ranking politician of the Republic.
"That's right."
"And we have to stop Baal to pass the Gate's test?"
"Yes, exactly."
Kim Suho nodded and handed Aileen a book. Aileen frowned the moment she saw it.
"What's this?"
"It's an item I got as a reward for clearing a quest."
"Quest? Oh, right, I have a quest, too. What was your quest?"
"I had to enlighten the president's daughter in the way of the sword."
"... What kind of a quest is that?"
Aileen grumbled and received the book. The words [Summary of the Past and the Future to Come] were written across its front cover.
"Hmm."
But the moment she opened the book, her face once again distorted into a frown. There were nothing but blank pages inside.
"What the heck. I don't see anything."
"... Huh?"
Kim Suho widened his eyes in surprise, but soon understood what was going on.
"Ah, I guess I'm the only one who can read it."
"What? Why?"
"... Here, let me read you the most important chapters."
Kim Suho recited the book slowly enough for Aileen to understand.
"First of all, this world is also currently under the process of Demon Realm Transformation. Fortunately the people of this world discovered a type of ore called 'purification crystal' and the progress has slowed down...."
To summarize the 'past' part of the book— the people of Kruni had successfully averted Demon Realm Transformation, all thanks to 'purification crystals' and 'devil hunters'.
"... Devil hunters?"
Aileen opened her eyes wide.
"Yes, they're humans who are particularly strong against devils. Devil hunters can inflict deadly damage to devils, whether the devil has descended or remains in the incarnation body."
According to the book, devil hunters of this world had already murdered a total of 8 devils.
Aileen shrugged and said, "Well, to me it sounds like stopping Baal would be awfully easy, then."
"No. The next part is the important part."
Kim Suho read the next paragraph out loud.
"... As the damage continued to escalate, the devils decided to stir up divisions between humans. Baal possessed the prince of Arunheim and ousted the clan of Leon, whose members had been devil hunters for generations. The eldest daughter of the Leon clan, Harin Von Leon, attempted to escape to the Republic but failed and was murdered.... Two months later, Baal descended."
'Baal', the strongest devil of all.
In the face of the malicious god armed with overwhelming force, the world without its shield—the devil hunters— crumbled easily.
"Baal... , " Aileen muttered, "So, we only have 2 more months left."
"Two months and three days. The world was destroyed in 3 days after Baal descended."
"What? 3 days? Seriously?"
Aileen's expression stiffened.
Even Orden couldn't have destroyed the world in just 72 hours.
"Yes, it took him 71 hours in total."
"..."
Aileen started biting her fingernails subconsciously. Kim Suho let out a small sigh as he watched Aileen chew.
"Aileen-ssi, quit your job and become my maid."
"... What? Your maid? Are you out of your mind?"
"We don't have any choice here. The most important thing right now is for us to stick together. Also, we have to restore our power and Gifts."
Kim Suho shrugged. He had only managed to locate Aileen so far, but as sword commander, he could mobilize as many informants as he wanted. That was how he found Aileen in the first place.
With the right composite sketches, he was confident it wouldn't take him too long to find the others.
"First, I'm going to gather our party and save the eldest daughter of the Leon clan."
"... Save her? Isn't she already dead?"
Aileen asked doubtingly, to which Kim Suho grinned.
"Who knows? There are 198 more people like us in this world, after all."
**
[Lotio Mountains, the peak of Ploriun]
We reached the peak of Ploriun. Due to the severe cold of -50 degrees, we felt as if our bodies were splitting in half but got used to it over time. Harin and I exchanged glances and then started going down the mountain.
"Six more peaks this size and we'll reach the Republic, " Harin said, leaving footsteps across the white snowfield.
I remarked sarcastically, "Thank god."
"... Hang in there."
Harin gave a small smile. She seemed much more comfortable around me after the incident back at the cave.
"Oh, and... the one who murdered your family was probably a Djinn, not a devil."
Harin whisphered, walking closely behind me. Her tone was cautious.
I threw a glance at Harin.
"... You've been thinking about what I said this whole time?"
"Of course I was. How could I not?"
Harin smiled, and I continued to walk.
The climb down was much easier than the climb up.
After 3 hours, I could feel the cold dissipate.
Wild boars, hawks, and monsters such as Yeti began to appear, but Harin and I hunted them down with our sword and crossbow. The boars and the hawks were especially great food items, and we stored them in Harin's spatial pocket.
"... Wait."
However, when we reached the midpoint, I felt a faint presence.
The owner of the presence was spying on us, so he or she was definitely not a monster. Or a passerby, for that matter. What kind of person would climb this mountain voluntarily?
There was only one conclusion.
"... Take out your sword."
Harin did as she was told. sssk— The sound of metal colliding against the sword sheath rang out.
I took out my crossbow and fitted a bolt against the bowstring. Kiiik— The sound of bolt and bowstring rubbing against each other rang out.
There was no such thing as a secret in a place so quiet and so open as this mountain range. Just as we noticed their presences, the enemies must have noticed our hostility.
It was then.
Six assassins in white robes jumped out from below the snow-covered hills and above the barren trees.
Their target was clearly us.
"... It's Icarus, " Harin muttered as she glared at the enemies. She sounded angry and troubled.
"Icarus? What's that?"
"They're a group of assassins who work for Arunheim's royal family in secret. Looks like they've been waiting for us to arrive."
"... Mm."
I nodded and looked at the assassins surrounding us.
It would be hard for me in my current state to handle all of them.
... At that moment.
Suddenly something strange happened. One of the assassins looked at me and began trembling.
Confused, I turned my gaze to the assassin.
The assassin was too small to be a man and had black hair poking out of her robe.
Finally she called my name.
"... Kim Hajin?"
"... Huh?"
My eyes widened. I saw through the assassin's robe.
The woman underneath the robe, whose eyes were sparkling like obsidians in surprise, was none other than Boss.
"Boss?"
"Y-Yes! It's me!"
She nodded hastily and, one step, two step, three step... slowly approached me.
The other assassins looked bewildered. Surely they had no idea what was happening.
When Boss got near enough, I whispered into her ear.
—What are you doing here?
—... I don't know. I was with them when I woke up.
—Ah, really?
Boss probably became an assassin the same way I became an F-rank sharpshooter. I glanced at the assassins over Boss's shoulder. They were still frozen in confusion.
"W-What's going on? Have you been working with them this whole time?" Harin yelled in shock.
"Huh? Oh, of course not, I'm on your side."
I shook my head and pulled Boss towards me. The fight just went from 2-6 to 3-5. Now everything felt more balanced.
"... Boss?"
"Hmm?"
I whispered, "Could you take care of them?"
Boss nodded with a smirk.
"Of course."
"How much of your abilities have your recovered?"
"I've still got a ways to go, but...."
Suddenly a dark shadow rose from behind Boss. The shadow turned into sharp blades that resembled the legs of a spider.
"I can take care of them."
The shadow blades flew towards the assassins, and the assassins stepped back in bewilderment. Only the leader of the assassins came forward.
"... Aiken! Just what are you doing-"
"My name is not Aiken."
However, Boss had no intention of listening to him.
Chwaaak—! She wielded her shadow, and the blades swiftly penetrated the assassins.
Chwaak.... Scarlet blood splattered on the snowfield.
Watching the scene unfold, Harin dropped her sword by mistake.
**
A campsite on Ploriun, 1300 meters above sea level.
We decided to take a break before moving on to the second mountain, 'Lokio. ' The tent was stored in Harin's spatial pocket, and it was my responsibility to set it up.
"... How do you two know each other? You called her 'Boss'. Were you members of the same squad?"
Inside the cozy tent, Harin looked at me and Boss in turn. I could only shrug at her question.
"She's a friend of mine from home. Don't worry, she'll be a great addition to our team."
Despite my word of honor, Harin still looked uneasy. I glanced at Boss, and she put her hand on Harin's shoulder.
"Worry not. I'll protecteth thee."
"..."
Why was she speaking like that? I suppressed my laughter. Harin also frowned in suspicion, but soon nodded with a sigh.
"It's not like I have a choice.... I'm tired. Let's get some rest, " Harin remarked bitterly and lay down on the tent floor.
Boss pointed at Harin and mouthed a silent question.
—Who is this woman?
I answered.
—An important client. She's a devil hunter.
—Devil hunter?
—Yes. I'll explain the details later.
"Enough with the silent conversation, " I said with a smile, "We should get some sleep, too."
I was exhausted, which was only natural considering I climbed a 5000m tall mountain in just 3 days.
"... Okay."
Boss nodded, and I lay down on the tent floor.
"Huaam~"
With a big yawn, I closed my eyes.
Ssk— ssk—
Shortly afterwards, however, I heard a sound. I opened my eyes and saw Boss spreading her blanket and getting ready to lie down next to me.
"... Ah."
"..."
Our eyes met, and we stared at each other in silence.
It was Boss who first let out a dry cough and said, "... There's not much space."
Zzz— Zzz— It was then that we heard Harin snoring. I glanced at Harin to make sure she was asleep and nodded.
"Yeah, well, it's okay. Please lie down. I'm going to let it slide this time."
"Slide... ?... Well then."
Slightly bothered by my choice of words, Boss lay down next to me sulkily. Just as Boss had said the tent was very small, and my shoulders touched hers as we lay next to each other.
... 10 minutes passed by in absolute stillness.
I was tired but couldn't sleep for some reason. Because I couldn't sleep, I turned to my side. There, Boss lay straight like a vampire in a coffin, her eyes closed.
"Boss, are you sleeping?"
No answer. She seemed to have fallen asleep as soon as she lay down, even though she said at one point that she didn't need sleep.
With a smile on my lips, I stared at Boss.
"Hmm...."
Was it because I hadn't seen her for long? Or perhaps it was because I met her at such an unexpected place that I felt extra glad to see her? She looked prettier tonight than usual.
I slowly reached for her hair. I brushed the soft, silky strands with my hand.
"..."
Still no response from Boss. I proceeded to pinch her cheek.
Streeetch— Her cheek stretched easily. It was so soft and tender that I felt as if I was touching a mocchi. I could get addicted to this.
As I continued to play with Boss's cheek....
"..."
Boss opened her eyes.
She turned her head to the side and looked at me and my fingers alternately.
I slowly let go of her cheek.
"What are you doing?" asked Boss.
"Hmm? Oh... nothing. It's just that...."
I smiled at Boss and stretched my hand towards her head. Then I picked up a leaf that had been stuck in her hair.
"You had a little something there."
"..."
Still Boss looked at me without a word, and I too looked into her eyes.
Our gazes stayed intertwined for a long time— long enough for me to notice that her hair and clothing were disheveled.
... It was then.
Her scent penetrated me from a close distance.
I could feel her breath on my nose.
Her red lips came into my view.
Suddenly, I was consumed with a certain desire.
—Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
My heart started beating fast—
And I moved without thinking.
| ← Ch. 320 | Ch. 322 → |