Punishment(2)

BOOM—–!!!!!

With a tremendous roar, the enlarged Hwa-gon plunges down onto the hideout, and the surrounding tall buildings are swept away and collapse in the process.

Of course, since the structures of the buildings were very sturdy, it ended with the outer walls breaking in several places, but it was still too serious a devastation to be the result of just swinging down a club once.

However, it was still a much better result than my expectation that dozens of buildings would collapse.

So, feeling relieved that it wasn’t damaged as much as I thought, I soon asked Hwa-gon, who had struck down on the hideout:

“How is it? Did you extract it properly?”

『Yes, thanks to completely covering the body of that one who had changed into mist, it was a perfect success. I’ve firmly grasped it, so now I leave it to you, Shin-yeon.』

“Good… Shrink, chop chop.”

At Hwa-gon’s words of success, I grinned and reduced the size of the enlarged Hwa-gon back to its original size.

Rumble—!!!

As Hwa-gon shrinks back to its original size, the debris of the building begins to collapse along with it.

Since they had been leaning on the giant Hwa-gon, as it shrinks, the debris also falls in succession, spewing out noise.

But that too was only for a moment.

As all the remaining debris falls, as noisy as it had been, silence envelops the 15th district in an instant to the point of being eerily quiet.

“Phew, finally I can take off this filthy thing.”

Click—

And in that silence, landing on the half-crushed rooftop of the hideout, I immediately took off the stone mask that had been unpleasantly covering my face.

Then, after taking a few steps, the appearance of a pure white, semi-transparent ‘soul’ begins to appear.

Looking at that soul floating above the body sprawled on the floor like a corpse, I approached while unknowingly wearing a sneer.

“Ahahat! This has become quite a sight to see. How does it feel to look down at your own body in a soul state?”

“Well, it’s not exactly a pleasant feeling.”

Well, of course it wouldn’t be. Unless you were originally a ghost spirit, wandering spirit, or white ghost, existing only as a soul after abandoning a living body would never be a good feeling.

It was something I could partially empathize with, as my soul had been slightly touched by ghost fellows who were only souls in the past.

Probably Ryoka now felt like she would die immediately if she let go of her mind even for a moment, so I nodded at her answer and let out a sneer.

However, while I was briefly closing my mouth, Ryoka suddenly burst into hearty laughter as if feeling relieved.

“Puhu… Puhahahat!!”

Immediately after, at the words she uttered, I had to become serious again, even erasing the sneer I had been wearing.

“I thought you’d be strong, but you were stronger than I imagined! To think I couldn’t win even after drawing out the full power of the black mist!”

“What…?”

“Well then, now it’s the right of you, the victor! I allow you to strike off my head! End it in one breath!!!”

“…Ha.”

As if she would humbly accept death since she had been defeated, as if there was no other path for her defeated self but death, Ryoka kneels on the ground and extends her neck to me.

Because not even a hint of lingering attachment could be found in that appearance, I felt anger rising again that I thought I had completely vented.

『…What an interesting fellow.』

‘Indeed…’

To be honest, at first I had planned to bestow death upon Ryoka at the end of an elaborate torture.

After all, I thought that death would be the final blade I could stick into her.

But the moment I saw Ryoka’s words and appearance just now, I had no choice but to change that thought.

“…You, the loser, allow me to strike off your head? No, before that, why do you think I’m going to kill you?”

“Well, since we fought with our lives on the line, isn’t it natural for the victor to take the loser’s life?”

“Ha… At least for me, that’s not a natural fact. In the first place, my purpose for coming here isn’t the same as yours.”

What was the reason I came here?

Wasn’t it to retrieve Neon, who Ryoka had taken away, and to vent the emotions that had boiled up upon hearing that fact?

However, there was no way I could vent these emotions by giving what she wanted to someone who welcomes death like that.

And as that thought occurred to me, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning, and I struck the Hwa-gon I was holding on the ground.

“Come out, chop chop.”

Bang–!

As I strike Hwa-gon on the ground, with a sound like a gourd bursting, pure white smoke billows up.

And what is revealed as that smoke disperses is a steel coffin exuding a fierce demonic aura.

With a creepy sound, the door of the coffin opens as soon as it appears in this world.

“Wh-What is that…?”

When the coffin door opens, Ryoka seemed to feel something ominous from the demonic aura that wafted out even more strongly, but there was no way she could escape when she couldn’t even move her soul body properly.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Ugh…!”

Ryoka’s neck is caught in my hand before she could even retreat three steps.

And looking at her still trembling from the ominous feeling, I spoke with a smile in a tone as if soothing a child, telling her not to worry.

“You can look forward to it. You won’t be able to die comfortably in there. At least until this Hwa-gon is destroyed, you’ll have to be trapped inside the coffin without being able to move a finger.”

“Wh-What…?”

“However, you won’t be able to lose your mind either. This is very kind to souls like you. All you have to do from now on is just endure in this coffin full of vengeful spirits for thousands… no, tens of thousands of years with a clear mind.”

Of course, by that time, I’m not sure if the clear mind maintained by the coffin could be called a clear mind… but at least that wasn’t my concern.

What I needed to know was that Ryoka, who would be shoved into this coffin, would have a very enjoyable time from now on.

All she has to do is slowly count the eons of time with a clear mind in a body that can’t move a finger, suffering from the curses of vengeful spirits.

Now that she has become a soul, Ryoka no longer had a lifespan, so this coffin would truly not let her out until Hwa-gon is destroyed.

I slowly began to push Ryoka, whom I had caught, towards such a coffin.

Whoosh—

However, before Ryoka’s soul could enter the coffin from which a bone-chilling wind was flowing out, Ryoka struggled and shouted at me.

“W-Wait a moment…! Wait a bit! Just kill me instead!! You can kill me more painfully by tearing off my skin or cutting my flesh!! Or some other torture…! Why on earth would you go this far…!!”

“Why am I going this far, you ask?”

Ryoka, whose relaxed voice from earlier when she told me to strike off her head had disappeared somewhere, stops my arm with an urgent voice.

And to Ryoka’s question, which seemed to still not understand the reason for reaching this situation, I gave an answer that could be called obvious.

“You touched my human.”

“What…?”

“My human, I’m saying. You touched Neon.”

“J-Just because of one human?! You’re saying you’d go this far just because of one human!! Don’t be absurd…!!!”

The moment she realized the reason from my mouth, Ryoka shows an expression of disbelief and becomes angry.

But before she could finish venting her anger with curses, Ryoka’s soul was shoved into the coffin by me, who had released my grip.

“…!!”

As Ryoka’s soul is fixed to the shape of the coffin, fear and terror begin to swirl in Ryoka’s eyes, which can’t move an inch.

To the extent that tears flowing down her cheeks are visible, even though tears shouldn’t flow.

However, even so, there was no dramatic hero here to save her.

Creak— Thud.

With the sound of old steel hinges, the coffin finally closes completely.

“Huhat…”

I feel even a slight elation as Ryoka’s face, which had tried to resist until the last moment, floats in my mind.

『Until I’m destroyed… Then it really can’t be gauged when she’ll come out.』

“Well, even if the goblin race becomes completely extinct, at least you alone will remain.”

And I answered with a smirk to Hwa-gon’s words, which muttered while calculating Ryoka’s incalculable life in the coffin.

Some more small talk with Hwa-gon follows after that.

Now that the fight that could be said to be the most difficult among all the fights so far had ended, I felt the tension unknowingly easing.

Glance—

“…Come to think of it, that’s still left.”

『Oh ho, I did feel quite ticklish when it hit earlier, but to think it hasn’t even cracked, let alone broken. It seems to be quite a good weapon.』

And in the middle of chatting with Hwa-gon as the tension eased, a sword that suddenly entered my view.

It was Ryoka’s sword that she had dropped earlier when changing into mist.

It seems to be a truly good weapon if even Hwa-gon, a goblin club, acknowledges it for not breaking despite being smashed.

“Hmm…”

Therefore, I moved my steps and picked up the sword that was lying alone on the crushed rooftop of the hideout.

“It seems like a decent weapon… Should I use it?”

If I’m not going to use it, it would be fine to give it to other guys.

So I picked up the sword, the only thing Ryoka had left behind, and held it in my other hand, and slowly moved my steps while leading Hwa-gon, who started to get angry asking if I was thinking of using such a weapon.

“…It’s finally over.”

The time when today’s events, which felt so long, have finally ended.

Recalling the figures of Esi and Yeon-ah that I had seen returning in the sky earlier, I began to walk towards where they would be.

Neon would probably be there too.