episode_0161

51. The Black Knight and the Awakened Girl. (3)

” Sister, are you really okay? ”

” Huh? What are you talking about? ”

While I was searching through the junk lying around, I heard Ara’s voice from behind me.

I put down the thing I was holding and turned around to look at her. Ara was looking at me with her hands on her hips with a displeased expression.

” Haa… Do you really not know? Or are you just ‘pretending’ not to know? ”

” Well, I’m Araga… ”

” Sister. ”

I exhaled deeply at the sight of Ara glaring at me and slamming her hands down on the table nearby, then brought the chair next to me forward and dusted it off with her hands before sitting down.

I covered my face with both hands and thought about what to say.

Obviously, when Ara asked ‘are you okay’… it was about the kids and him.

It’s already been four days since I left the Blue House settlement.

And where we are is Seoul Station settlement.

Wouldn’t it be quick if you opened the portal? Of course, I used the portal to get here. It was as if the background changed in an instant, and all I had to do was pass through the ring of flames.

But when we got here… there were people who had turned into demons.

The place was wandered by demons with bodies that had been brutally mutilated and whose bodies were sewn together in disgusting and grotesque black threads.

The demons were different in appearance, size, and the number of bodies they were attached to.

At first, I tried to step forward and burn the guys, but some of them expected it and ran away every time I used my power, and some of them even targeted Arana Pedro.

I had no choice but to stop using my divine powers and just try to defeat him with my sword, but this was annoying for another reason.

When I cut it with my sword, black threads started to spurt out from the severed body, and they embedded themselves into the body of the guy next to me, becoming a part of that body…

It took almost three days to organize everything.

After that, we entered Seoul Station, set up camp in a good place, and only now began the search.

In that situation, Ara asked me, “Are you really okay?”

” I’m… okay. Really.”

” You’re just saying that…! ”

” Kang Ara. I’m really okay. ”

” Sister… ”

” It hurt my heart to leave the kids and him behind, but I thought that leaving the kids behind and both of us would be something I shouldn’t do to the kids.

I know! I know too… I know… You said you’d be by my side, and now I’m here… I’m… the worst… ”

He clenched his hands on his knees and shouted loudly. But soon, just like Ara said… he realized that it wasn’t okay.

” I’m sorry. I thought it was okay… but it doesn’t seem to be okay as you said. ”

” No, Sister. I’m sorry too. I don’t know why you came here, and you originally planned to come without me and Pedro. You could have refused, but you insisted that I go with you. ”

As Ara said, in fact, on the day of departure.

I wasn’t planning on taking Ara and Pedro with me like he said. I was just going to suggest it, and if they said no, I was going to quickly send them to Mokdong or Seonyudo through the portal.

But since Ara had told me not to forget the ‘request’ and had asked me to go with her, Pedro came along as well.

” Sister, I asked you to do me a ‘favor’ in exchange for taking Cerberus with me. So you did. ”

” That’s right. It was a request to definitely take her if we go to ‘places related to the spirits’. ”

” And if, as you said, I could meet Yeong-i before she becomes the ‘vessel of God’ called Thanatos… it might be a win-win situation for us. And Yeong-i’s appearance. I’ve only seen her briefly in pictures. ”

” Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Okay? ”

” Foot, now you’re like a big sister. So, what do you think? Honestly, I get goosebumps when I think about what I saw when I first got here… ”

” Phew… ”

I took a deep breath, stood up, and looked around.

As Park Se-chan, who was your informant, said, the appearance of the residence showed that people had left.

But if there’s something peculiar…

” Ara, what would you do if you had to leave in a hurry? ”

” Me? I… I would have packed our family photos first, then my favorite clothes and food, right? ”

” Pedro, what about you? ”

Let’s ask Pedro, who is quickly coming down from above on a thread.

” I’m similar. First of all, I’ll pack my bags with Uncle Bin. But why are you asking that… ”

” Me too. I’ll take care of the things that are precious to me. But do you want to look around here? ”

At my words, the two slowly looked around and then back at me. I looked at them and picked up the picture frame next to me.

” This looks like a family photo at first glance, right? I wished for it so much. ”

” Really…? Ah! ”

” Are you trying to say that you didn’t bring your precious belongings? ”

” Yes, I know both of them. It’s true that people were living their lives as usual and then left, as you can see around them. But… Even if they had to leave in a hurry, or no, even if they just had to leave, it’s… impossible to leave precious photos behind in this day and age. So… ”

Clearly, Seoul Station, which used to be lively and bright because there were many people, no longer has that appearance, and has become dark, gloomy, and has taken on a dreary atmosphere because the warmth of people has disappeared.

Yes, to the point where it would be more appropriate to say he died.

” Everyone who was here… ‘left with their will ‘lost by someone. ”

*****

(There may be some slightly harsh expressions. If you feel uncomfortable, you can just skip it.)

The girl lying down opened her eyes to the sound of the armor made of steel moving.

And when he got up and looked ahead, he saw the figure of the black steel knight in front of him, just like that day a month ago when he first opened his eyes.

At first, I was startled by the sudden appearance of the large man and went into a corner of the room, but now, somehow… I felt familiar with him.

” How long do I have to stay here… ”

The girl’s small voice echoed through the room and came back to the girl’s ears, letting her know that she was trapped.

I slowly got up from the bed I was lying on and looked out the very small window. Outside, there were only people in black robes walking around.

The sky was so dark that it was impossible to tell if it was day or night.

The occasional screams and cries of joy from people drive the girl crazy.

” Gyaaah! ” . ” Oh my god!!!! ”

What on earth is the god you are looking for that you are shouting and calling out to like that?

The girl simply slowly returns to bed, covers herself with the blanket, closes her eyes, and covers her ears.

Soon, if there is, another nightmarish time will come, so at least until then… the silence of not being able to see or hear anything actually puts my mind at ease.

How long have I closed my eyes and blocked my ears like that?

When I heard the dull clanking sound of the black knight’s armor moving, I realized that it was time, so I put everything down, threw the blanket that had been covering my body aside, and just sat down.

A door that opens with a ‘creak’ sound and a locking mechanism.

” Yeah, did you sleep well today? ”

” Shut up. You piece of trash. ”

” Haha, you say that and glare at me, but you know what will happen, so you’re wasting your energy for nothing. ”

The man before my eyes is wearing a pure white robe embroidered with black thread in the shape of a bizarrely twisted tower.

The girl looked at him

” How… How… How could you do this? Aren’t you ashamed in front of your mother or your child? The person who said he was a pastor is really… disappointing. Mr. Hyukjin…! ”

The man who was looking at the girl with a kind smile had his expression distorted at the girl’s words.

He slammed the cane he was holding in his hand down on the floor with a ‘thud!’

” Shut up! What do you know…! How dare you say such things? Are you my wife? Or my daughter? You don’t know anything! You’re so naive that you think you saved your father with your own life! ”

Yes, that’s right.

The man in the robe was a devout believer and a kind pastor, a kind husband and father to his family. Oh Hyuk-jin.

And in front of him was a long black hair, eyes that were turned up as if she had quite a temper, and a walnut-shaped only daughter who now seemed to be an adult. ‘Ho-ryeong’ was there.

” Huh! ”

” What are you doing! Take me away! ”

Following his instructions, the black-robed believers behind him grabbed the girl’s body and dragged her away forcibly.

” Let go! Let go! This time too… How many people… Are you going to kill in front of me! ”

” Don’t worry. It will be over soon. ”

” You crazy people! What kind of god do you believe in! What does that god do for you! Why are you killing innocent people! In front of me! ”

No matter how much she screamed and threw tantrums, the girl who had finally woken up from the dead was no match for the strength of the strong believers who were trying to catch her, so she was dragged underground.

Looking at that scene, Oh Hyuk-jin hit the armor of the black knight next to him until it made a ‘thud’ sound.

” I really don’t understand why your daughter is so persistent. Huh? Isn’t she? ”

The black knight just silently looked at where the girl was dragged, then moved his body.

Watching the scene, Oh Hyuk-jin smiled crookedly.

” Walnut-sik… Don’t worry. Your daughter… will become the vessel of our god Thanatos and lead us to the new world…! ”

This time again, many people gathered in front of Horyeong, who was dragged underground.

If it’s the same as last time, there are almost a hundred people gathered in this basement. And the reason they’re gathered is…

” Ahh!! Holy Mother!! The Holy Mother has come!! ”

” That abominable… Not the Goddess’s apostle, but our true saint…! ”

Horyeong thought as he looked at the people laughing strangely and swaying their bodies with completely disgusted expressions.

‘Everyone… are crazy…! What the hell happened while I was sleeping…? ‘

I looked at the people who had lost their taste to the point of being called fanatics and wondered how I could escape this hellish place.

Since they were people who called her a saint, she tried to persuade them, thinking, ‘Will they listen to what she says? ‘ But every time, she gave up on persuading them because their eyes suddenly turned cold and she looked at them.

However, his mind was too unstable to make tools out of scrap metal or other things around him.

Yeah, that was the biggest reason. The reason I couldn’t leave this place.

” Ugh… My head hurts again…! ”

As soon as I leave the bedroom I’m sleeping in, I start to feel dizzy and I keep hearing voices.

Hallucinations such as ‘Give me over’, ‘Just go to sleep’, ‘Those people are dying because of you’, ‘Why don’t you use your powers to help me?’

The voices she heard as hallucinations would break her mind, but they would occasionally seduce her with their sweet words. In the month that she had her eyes open, she almost fell for those sweet words several times, but she could endure it because she saw a certain scene here every day, every day, whenever she closed her eyes.

But soon, the scene she was about to see was… a scene she would never be able to forget in her memory.

” Okay! Everyone, for the saintess!! And for our god, Thanatos!!! ”

At the signal of one person standing in front of the gathered people, everyone picked up their swords in front of them and…

” Eek…! ”

Horyeong closed his eyes as he saw the arrows stabbing him in the heart, cutting his throat, or repeatedly stabbing him in the body.

No, I was trying to close it.

Soon, those right next to her forced her eyes open, making her unable to look away from the ‘ritual’ called ‘descent of the Grim Reaper’ that was taking place right before her eyes.

” Let go! Let go! Please…! I don’t want this anymore… Ugh. Why… Why are you doing this to me…!”

Just, helplessly, today too, she would engrave on her retina the images of people dying in front of her, calling herself a saint.

That was it.

As if he was mocking the fact that he risked his life using his powers to protect his precious family, his father.

The blood of those who died in front of the girl flows into one place.

A bathtub made just big enough for one person to fit in.

A girl who ‘splashes’ into a bathtub filled with people’s blood that is gradually flowing out.

The girl begins to cry, her voice breaking into tears.

A girl struggles to get out of a bathtub full of blood, but… men in black robes nearby rush in and grab the girl’s head, arms, and legs, and begin to submerge her.

The pungent smell of blood, the deaths of people that he couldn’t forget even when he closed his eyes, and the auditory hallucinations that kept tickling his ears.

The girl is getting tired of it all.

Not knowing that there was a black knight calmly watching the scene from afar, and a robed man laughing happily with a twisted smile.

And so, today, too, the day passes without anyone knowing what is happening in the basement of the War Memorial.

Just like that day when I passed by without noticing the sight of a middle-aged woman and a young girl bleeding and collapsing.

*****

The headache I felt while organizing the tent I had set up.

” Ugh…! ”

” Sister?! ” . ” Sister! ”

My vision went dark as I saw Ara and Pedro calling me from the side, and when I opened my eyes again…

” You’re finally awake. It’s been a while. ”

” Volcanus? And… Thoth? ”

” Hey, how have you been? ”

” Suddenly… why me… ”

Yes, when I opened my eyes, there before me was Vulcan and Thoth, whom I had met several times.

And many other gods too.

Thoth slowly came in front of me and swung his staff to make a circle, and from that circle… the figure of a girl covered in blood appeared.

” It’s not long until Thanatos’s incarnation… ”

At the end of those words, the girl’s faint crying sound can be heard, and black smoke flows out from the girl’s body.

That was enough to tell.

That this girl is the daughter of Uncle Dosik and a girl named Yeong who might become Thanatos’ vessel.