episode_0042

12. Towards the second tower (6)

A huge red dome spread out before our eyes.

Inside, it was a scene of chaos. A huge vortex appeared in the center of the dome, and soon began to consume flames and expand its territory within it.

As the tornado’s winds blew, there was a flash of light, black smoke like a firecracker exploding, and then another explosion occurred next to it, eventually creating explosions that seemed to connect with each other.

Obviously, the demons inside would not be able to hold out and would either be torn to pieces by the encroaching flames or shattered by the aftermath of the explosion.

And only then did I remember the girl inside.

” Sha…Charlotte?! Where’s Charlotte?! ”

When I touched the dome screen in front of me, I immediately withdrew my hand due to the hot temperature and looked at it, and my hand was already red as if it had been burned.

” Are you okay? ”

Yeonseo quickly created a small ice cube and handed it to me, looking at me with worried eyes.

” To be honest, I’m worried about Charlotte and I don’t know what to do.”

” Don’t worry. The fact that this exists is proof that Charlotte is still safe. ”

Yeonseo was still looking into the inside of the dome, which was filled with tornadoes and explosions. Contrary to her calm expression, her hands were trembling and clutching her clothes.

Yeonseo must be worried too. She’s a friend I made after the world changed so much.

Next to us, Pedro was already sitting there with a blank expression on his face, just looking at where Charlotte was.

” Pedro, are you okay? ”

” Yes?! Oh, yes. I just didn’t know it would turn out like this. ”

” Me too. But as Yeonseo said, if this barrier still exists, I think Charlotte will be okay. Okay! Let’s go down and wait for Charlotte.

All we can do now is trust Charlotte and wait. ”

So, I decided to wait for her, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in my heart, hoping that she would be okay.

*****

It’s hot. The air, the ground, the clothes I’m wearing are all hot.

I quickly expanded the area to prevent damage to Hyunseok’s group and the National Assembly building, but considering my current situation, I think it may have been a bit too much.

As the hot air passed through my lungs, I felt the sensation of my body being cooked, and I endured the pain, repeating the healing with divine power.

” Ugh…ah…uh…ah…haaak… ”

How many times did I repeat this? I couldn’t even open my eyes because of the heat. My ears were already ringing from the continuous explosions accompanied by the sound of strong wind in the darkness.

In this never-ending situation, my will gradually weakened.

I couldn’t hear anything, I couldn’t see anything, and even when I tried to breathe, it was painful because of the scorching heat.

I thought it would be difficult to endure this any longer, but at that time, no other option came to mind.

I heard Hyunseok’s voice calling me.

It could be an auditory hallucination. I can still hear the whirlwind of flames blowing so fiercely and the explosions from the chain reaction that is still continuing.

But his voice, which ignited a fire in my weakened heart, continued to come to mind, and as I slowly opened my eyes, I began to see ahead, and my ears, which had been blocked by tinnitus, began to hear little by little.

” Hoo, hoo, s …

Even the act of breathing, which had been painful, was no longer painful.

I looked around to see what was happening and saw that another area had been created, different from the one I had created to block the tornado and explosion.

At the same time, I felt a headache as something familiar was engraved in my head, and at the same time, one word came to mind.

‘Brittany’

These are the names of the areas created by Curtana so far.

I don’t know why the powers that were locked in Curtana were released now, but thanks to that, I was able to endure this chaotic situation.

The heat and explosions are gradually dying down, and the demons are no longer felt. What this means is that all the demons around the Capitol have been subdued.

However, since it was still a dangerous situation to solve, I started to maintain the territory of ‘Brittany’ and grasp the surrounding situation.

” What about Han Jin-oh? What happened to Han Jin-oh? ”

As I searched for the guy with the aura of an evil god, who was spreading his divine power around, I could feel it very, very faintly, so it seemed like he had suffered quite a bit of damage.

After some time, there were no more tornadoes or explosions, so ‘Brittany’ was released.

” Phew, croak croak. Ugh, it’s still a little hard to breathe because of the ash. But it’s finally over. ”

The moment I was about to approach Han Jin-oh, who seemed so subtle, I heard a voice calling me from behind.

” Charlotte!!! Are you okay!? Are you hurt? ”

As I turned around, I saw Hyunseok crying and hugging me, shouting that I was lucky. I wrapped my hand around his back, trying to push him away.

” I’m fine, so don’t make that face. I’ll be feeling sorry, right? ”

The group of demons that had taken up residence in the National Assembly building were cleanly defeated, and thanks to that, the only ones left were Han Jin-oh, who had turned into a demon, and the two towers that needed to be conquered in the future.

At the same time, there were the two of us hugging each other in front of it.

*****

After meeting Hyunseok and feeling each other’s warmth, I quickly pushed Hyunseok away when I heard the sound of someone approaching, but it seemed it was already too late.

” It’s already too late~ ”

The warmth I had felt just a moment ago disappeared completely as I saw Yeonseo smiling with her half-closed eyes wide open, waving the photo in her hand, and my body was flushed with embarrassment.

” Haa, just… wait…! I’ll do the same to you…! ”

” Hehehe! Let’s try hard~ ”

Hyunseok and Pedro burst into laughter at the sight of Yeonseo and me, and began to explore the surroundings.

” Charlotte, so what happened to Han Jin-oh? ”

Hyunseok looked around and asked about Han Jin-oh, who we were looking for.

” It’s over. Of course, he’s not completely dead, he’s just immobile. Hmm, okay, we can just go that way. ”

So we headed towards Han Jin-oh. There he was, with his wings melted, his limbs burned, and his face distorted by burns.

” Uh…uh…uh… ”

As we approached, it moved its mouth as if to say something, but soon it turned to dust and disappeared, and instead of the usual purple magic stone, a black magic stone that looked like it had been painted with black ink fell out.

When Hyunseok tried to touch it, I felt an evil spirit coming from it, so I pushed his hand away and picked it up with my own hands.

” Don’t touch me! Huh…!? ”

The moment I picked up the black magic stone, the evil spirit energy that spread through my body began to consume me.

” Huh…! Haat…! ”

” Charlotte?! ”

Hyunseok tried to reach out to me, but I shook my head to stop him, and the three of them looked worried.

” It’s…okay…! Just wait a minute…! ”

As I quickly turned my divine power to counteract the evil spirit’s energy, this time a scene started to appear in my head.

[ Hey! Don’t leave that girl behind! ]

[ Don’t make me laugh! It’s ridiculous to ask me to leave my daughter behind! ]

[ Ah… Dad…! ]

‘ Is this…? Han Jin-oh’s memory…? ‘

Soon, their confrontation began, and the scene seemed to end with Han Jin-oh stabbing the stomach of the man who was protecting the girl in front of him.

Suddenly the scene crackled and the positions of the man and the girl were switched, ending with the scene changing to the girl’s stomach being pierced instead of the man’s.

‘Just now…what the heck was the scene…?!’

It was clearly a man… probably Mr. Dosik, but I didn’t understand why it was the man’s daughter and not the man himself who was attacked by Han Jin-oh at the end.

But at that moment, I was thinking that there must be a reason why I saw this scene.

My consciousness returned to reality as the sensation of my body shaking came back to me.

” Charlotte? Are you okay? Answer me. ”

I saw Hyunseok, Yeonseo, and Pedro looking at me while shaking my shoulders.

” It’s okay. I briefly saw the memories contained in this magic stone. I don’t know what it means right now. Oh, and Pedro. Take this. ”

What was handed over to Pedro was a magic stone that had been containing pitch-black light until just a moment ago.

Now the evil spirit’s energy was gone and my divine power was inside.

” This… This? Isn’t that the magic stone from before? Why is the color…? ”

” It’s because it’s purified. So don’t worry, if you break it next to your uncle, the divine power inside will come out and solve your uncle’s curse. ”

Pedro soon began to bow his head repeatedly and express his gratitude.

” Thank you so much! ”

” Haha, okay, go to your uncle quickly. Yeonseo and Hyunseok, you two can go together. ”

” What are you going to do? ”

When Yeonseo tilted her head and asked.

” I’m going to rest in the tent for a while since there’s no danger anyway. ”

” Really? But if you go, you won’t be back until tomorrow, right? ”

” Don’t worry and go. You too, Hyunseok. ”

” Are you sure it’s okay? ”

” Yeah! Go to sleep! Hurry up! ”

I pushed Hyunseok’s back, who had a worried expression on his face, and urged him to move quickly.

Yeonseo had already taken out her summoner and started riding with Pedro, and Hyunseok was looking at me while riding on the summoner.

” Are you really okay? Do you really need me to go? It’ll be hard, so I should be there to help you out in some way… ”

” Ah! Is that okay? Hurry up and go. We have to lift Mr. Vincent’s curse quickly! ”

Only then did they nod and quickly disappeared from before me.

” Phew, he…finally went… huhu… ”

I dragged my tired body back to the tent, locked the entrance, and sat down.

The reason I sent them both… is probably because from now on, I will be…

Because I didn’t think I could show it to either of them.