episode_0088

28. The Third Tower. (1)

I rode Yeonseo’s summoned beast to attack the tower as quickly as possible, but the sunset had already painted the palace where Gyeongbokgung Palace was located in its own colors.

The sight of the palace slowly turning yellow had a charm that made one imagine the old days.

However, due to the devastation of the tower, the walls of the palace were crumbling here and there, and the tower, seen from afar, had a different appearance from the palace itself, spoiling the appearance of the palace.

As soon as you arrive in front of Gwanghwamun, you feel an eerie atmosphere and the smell of rotting corpses hits your nose.

Hyunseok got down from his summoner and started to create wind to clear away the stench around us.

” Ugh… This smell… Is it some kind of undead demon? ”

Yeonseo covered her nose, fanned herself with her hands, got down from the summoner, and sent the bird-shaped summoner flying.

” That summoner… is it an eagle? ”

” No, crow. Its name is ‘Gienna’. I like eagles too, but Seojin oppa… likes… crows. ”

As I looked at Yeonseo, who was scratching her cheek and speaking shyly, I looked in the direction the crow had flown away, wondering if I was making that kind of expression too.

” Did you send me to scout? ”

” That’s right. Normally I wouldn’t do that, but… I think I have to be quite careful this time. Because they’re my opponents. ”

” Are undead demons that dangerous? ”

” Hmm… Honestly, zombies and skeletons are okay. They’re slow and have weak defenses. But… if there’s an ‘Arch Lich’ controlling them… it’s a different story. ”

” Ark… Richie? ”

” As the name suggests, Archmage. Think of him as a corrupted Great Wizard. ”

” Indeed… he must be a difficult guy to deal with. A wizard… ”

” He’s a guy who summons undead in addition to using various attribute magic… so it’s going to be quite difficult. ”

Yeonseo said that and frowned, her expression gradually becoming more serious.

Not long after, I saw her clutching her eyes and collapsing.

” Yeonseo! ”

” Ugh. Oh… It’s okay. It’s just a reaction from losing connection with the summoner. ”

” Are you sure you’re okay? ”

” Don’t worry. But… I guess I’ll have to keep my right eye… closed for the rest of the day. ”

As Yeonseo spoke, blood began to flow from her right eye.

” What’s okay about it!!! ”

He quickly poured divine power into her eyes to begin healing them. However, even with the healing, the flow of blood only stopped, and Yeonseo’s right eye was turning a serious shade of purple.

The purple bruise that seemed to spread stopped after almost covering the right eye of Yeonseo’s face.

” How are you? Are you still in pain? Do you have any other symptoms? ”

” Thank you. It’s okay, except for the slight… stinging sensation. ”

” Just in case, if you feel something strange, tell me. Okay? ”

” Okay. Really… ”

He got up from Yeonseo’s side and approached Hyunseok, creating a very thin film of divine power over her wounded area.

” How is it? Do you feel anything in the wind? ”

Hyunseok shook his head from side to side and created wind with his hands.

What was different from usual was that sand from the surrounding area was dragged in.

But it was his consideration to show me how the wind moved, and the sight I saw with my own eyes was…

When the wind blew the sand away, it did not pass over the palace walls and instead began to rise upward, and when it was continued to flow, it took the shape of a large dome.

” Should I consider this a boundary? ”

” Yeah, I think so too. It looks like Archlich is waiting. ”

” Arch Lich… Wait… There’s an Arch Lich outside the tower right now? ”

” Haha… ”

” This is not the time to laugh… ”

Hyunseok smiled, stroked my head, and looked at Yeonseo.

” For now… let’s rest here for today. If we go in like this, Yeonseo will be in danger, and Arch Lich is not someone to be taken lightly. ”

” Yeah. ”

We sat down in an empty lot at the 5 o’clock direction of Gwanghwamun and took Yeonseo, who seemed to still feel pain in her eyes, into the tent.

*****

As usual, while Hyunseok prepared the meal, Yeonseo and I took a slow bath to relieve our body fatigue.

I continued to watch Yeonseo’s appearance.

Let’s check if the film made of divine power remains by occasionally groaning and caressing the pain in the right eye.

The barrier I had created began to break.

” Yeonseo, come this way. ”

” Why? Again… ugh… ”

” Whoa, wait. Again… ”

He channeled his divine power, this time creating a thicker film over her entire body, and the aura of the dead stopped flowing out of Yeonseo’s right eye.

” How about now? ”

Yeonseo’s expression brightened and she stopped rubbing her hands on her face.

” It’s…pretty good. Thank you. ”

” No. If there’s any problem again, you have to tell me. Okay? ”

” Okay. More importantly, did you feel anything? ”

” Yeah. The spirit of the dead. Maybe it’s because I can feel the magic of Archlich… It looks like he’s cursed. ”

” Haa, as expected… I said I lost contact with my summoner earlier, right? ”

” That’s… the cause? ”

” Maybe… the connection is lost, but I can feel it. Giena is still… summoned. ”

” What? No way… Ark Lich…! ”

” Yeah. As expected, he was a great wizard, so he broke my control and made it his own. He really is an unpleasant guy. ”

” Is your magic power still leaking out? ”

” No, that’s not it, so I guess that’s a good thing? Haa, it really pisses me off. It’s been a while since I brought out the guy my brother likes… ”

” Sure, just take it back from him. ”

” Phew. Yeah, I have to take it. And I’ll feel better if I hit it hard. ”

After talking for a bit more, I noticed that Yeonseo’s condition seemed to be worsening, so I took her out to the living room.

Clearly… the barrier created by divine power did not break or anything, and Arkrich’s magic was not felt, so Yeonseo’s condition was strange, so she could not understand.

It simply released divine power to reduce the pain Yeonseo felt.

” Charlotte. How is Yeonseo? ”

” I don’t know. Obviously… there’s nothing wrong with the barrier made of divine power, and I can’t feel the guy’s magic. I’ll keep sending divine power, so it’ll be fine… ”

” No matter what, Charlotte. It’s hard for you to keep doing this. Is there any way I can help you? ”

” Hmm… Nothing comes to mind right now. Sorry. ”

” No, I’m sorry I couldn’t help you. If you’re having a hard time, let me know. I’ll give you some time to rest. ”

” Yeah. Thank you. Yeonseo. Can you hear me? ”

” Ugh… Sha… Charlotte…? ”

Yeonseo was writhing in pain and slowly calling my name in a small voice, but then lost consciousness again and fell down.

No matter how much divine power I poured into her, I was getting impatient because she showed no signs of waking up.

” Why… why…! ”

” Charlotte, calm down. You may have fainted for a moment because of the pain. ”

” Ha… But…! ”

” First of all, is it okay to keep sending out divine power? ”

” Yeah… ”

” Then… I’ll sleep first and then… I’ll change it after about 5 hours, would that be okay? ”

” If that’s the case… Yeah! It’s okay. ”

” Okay. Then wake me up when it’s time? Of course, I’ll set an alarm on my device. ”

” Don’t worry, just rest first. ”

*****

Yeonseo, who had lost consciousness and collapsed, was in a worsening condition.

She started to sweat as if her body was getting hot, so I soaked a towel in cold water and placed it on her head while continuing to pour out my divine power.

But despite all that, her condition didn’t get any better… it just stopped getting worse.

One hour, two hours, and finally five hours passed slowly, and Hyunseok woke up to the sound of the alarm.

” Hwaaam. Whoa, should we switch now? How’s Yeonseo’s status right now? ”

” I was surprised when I suddenly got a fever, but… I’m pretty stable now. I’ve infused a lot of divine power into you, so until I wake up again… there won’t be any problems. ”

” Okay. Go rest quickly. You look really tired. ”

As I looked around, wondering if I looked ugly at his words, he came over to me, gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, and led me to the blanket.

” Good night~ ”

” Yeah… ”

I must have been tired of continuing to infuse Yeonseo with divine powers, so I just collapsed.

Perhaps, other than that, meeting Zia… I think that also played a part because I was quite mentally burdened.

I was falling asleep like that when I suddenly opened my eyes to a noise and smelled blood.

” Yeonseo?! ”

I got up from my seat, threw away the blanket, and looked in front of me… Hyunseok… was impaled on a spear made of ice.

” I… couldn’t stop Yeonseo. ”

” That’s not the problem! ”

He went straight to him, pulled out the spear in his stomach, breathed divine power into it, and healed the wound, asking.

” What the… heck happened? ”

” Ugh… First of all… There was no problem until about 4 hours after you fell asleep. But then Yeonseo suddenly opened her eyes with a convulsion…

The eye bruise turned black, and the purple bruise on his right eye spread until his entire body turned purple. ”

” What?! No way…! Arkrich’s magic power… ”

” I tried to subdue her… After that, she suddenly started swinging a spear made of ice and attacked me, saying ‘For her. ‘ but…

He was after you. So when I stopped him, he stabbed me in the back and went outside. What happened next… You saw it. ”

I was complacent. Obviously… Yeonseo kept saying it was okay and I didn’t feel Arkrich’s magic either… so I thought it was okay.

It’s all my fault. I should have been more… certain.

Perhaps, Acrichi was Yeonseo’s summoner. He may have been connected to Yeonseo as he took control of Giena.

By the divine power I breathed into her… she wasn’t immediately controlled, but she continued to… Yeonseo must have heard his voice…

And the reason why I couldn’t feel his magic was… probably… because it was disguised by the purple bruise on Yeonseo’s face before I fell asleep.

Hyunseok won’t be able to feel Arkrich’s magic power… He won’t even notice the magic power spreading through Yeonseo’s body, and then he’ll be completely controlled.

I guess you learned about it through changes in your body.

” Hurry up… Let’s go to Yeonseo. This is dangerous. If we do something wrong…! ”

” Charlotte. It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself too much. ”

” But… If I…! If I! Had kept watching Yeonseo a little longer… This would have happened…! ”

” Charlotte! Even if you did that, it would have ended up like this because you were taking advantage of the gap. Rather… I think it’s better that it happened to me than to you. ”

” What are you talking about! How is that a good thing! ”

As I cried and screamed, he hugged me

” At least… I was able to protect you like this because you weren’t hurt. And who knows… if that guy’s magic flows through me, it’s better than flowing through you. Right? ”

” That’s… ”

I couldn’t say any more, because I knew what he said… wasn’t wrong.

If… that guy controls people with his magic power… at least if I’m not controlled and Hyunseok and Yeonseo are… the odds of winning are higher.

” But… if that happens, I really… can’t forgive myself. ”

” I know. Me too. But first… let’s go find Yeonseo. ”

” Yeah. ”

As we went out of the tent with Hyunseok, we saw zombies and skeletons rushing from Gwanghwamun in the distance.

I can’t forgive Arkrich.

Just like when Hyunseok got seriously injured in the first tower… this time, with the fear that Yeonseo might get seriously injured…

Anger burned within me.

‘How dare you… take my friend… away? I won’t forgive you… I will definitely… kill you! ‘

I breathed divine power into Rosario and took out Durandal along with the protective gear.

It seemed as if the divine power had reacted to my anger, and Durandal’s flames began to burn a little more red.

Archlich. The fallen archmage.

You must have an immortal body…

I’ll make it so that you say you want to die!