episode_0072

“······It keeps moving.”

The box handed to me by Mijeong.

The black magic stone, containing Kali’s spirit, keeps trembling incessantly.

My head is spinning right now.

I feel like I might throw up, and the situation is so disorienting.

But I have a strong intuition that the black magic stone can resolve this situation.

“Ugh. Open it.”

“······Okay.”

Without hesitation, I command Mijeong to open the box.

The moment Mijeong wets the latch of the wooden box, the black magic stone springs out with a thud.

Even after falling to the ground, the stone continues to tremble like a motor.

I’ve never seen anything like this before.

As I reach out to touch the stone in wonder, a system window appears before my eyes.

[Mass accumulation is beginning.]

“······!”

A black energy starts creeping up from the train floor.

Magic.

It’s the magic that was casting a curse and now it’s swirling in the air.

And then, the magic is sucked into the black magic stone in an instant.

Like a black hole.

The magic that flowed throughout the train is suddenly absorbed into the stone, and the vibrations cease.

Simultaneously, the headache and dizziness disappear completely.

My clouded mind clears up.

With the dense magic, the effects of the curse are completely nullified.

“Phew······.”

Finally, I can breathe again.

Taking a deep breath, I place my hand on the floor to check.

[Cross-Continental Train]

[Condition: Deteriorated]

[A large passenger train that operates from the southern continent of Gallia to the northern continent of Palana.]

The ‘curse’ has disappeared from the condition.

It seems that the magic being absorbed into the stone has lifted the curse.

I swallow nervously as I touch the stone.

[Accumulation: 2,850/62,500]

The accumulation amount has significantly increased.

It was around 80 last time, so it has increased by about 2800.

‘It seems like it’s not just absorbing magic but also magic.’

Come to think of it, the stone’s description didn’t mention that only magic was accumulated.

I was just assuming that because it could only accumulate magic at the time.

I never imagined it could also be charged with magic.

Considering that this stone was born from the aggregation of Kali’s magic, it might be a natural result.

‘2800 each time······.’

This is an enormous amount.

It would take me over ten days to gather the amount of magic I’ve amplified as a guardian knight.

Of course, it’s not possible to directly equate magic and magic, but roughly speaking, that’s the idea.

“Well done.”

“······Peace.”

As if waiting for praise, Mijeong immediately shows a blank expression and looks at me.

I pat her head roughly and stand up.

Glancing around the compartment, I see the passengers who were just lying like corpses are now standing up, looking confused.

‘This is how it can be utilized.’

This black magic stone.

I was wondering if there was a way to fill the accumulation amount massively.

But I never imagined it could be filled by nullifying a curse.

‘Who exactly is this guy?’

Normally, magic doesn’t require the presence of the caster on-site.

Of course, they could cast it directly, but it’s more common for spells to be cast using pre-installed talismans or totems.

However, in this case, I strongly suspect that the caster is still on this train.

‘The curse wasn’t life-threatening. It was meant to just make them lose consciousness.’

Although the curse was powerful enough to make all the passengers faint, it wasn’t meant to take lives.

It seems like the plan was to sell the unconscious passengers as slaves or to harvest their organs while they were still alive.

“The caster is still on this train.”

So, the caster must also be on this train.

That’s my conclusion.

The problem is how to find him······.

“Tsk······.”

Even after looking around the compartment, I can’t tell who seems suspicious.

It would be great if I could use ‘inquiry’ on people.

Unfortunately, that’s not possible.

So how should I find him?

There are not just one or two compartments to search but a dozen.

‘Time is running out.’

The moment the train arrives at the next station and stops.

He will just jump off and escape.

So I have to find him before we reach the next station······.

“Ah.”

I got it.

I may not know where he is right now, but.

It’s obvious where he’s heading.

The engine room.

The train is still running.

The only way for the caster to escape is to get off when the train stops.

And there is a way to stop the train right now.

Just step on the brakes in the engine room.

If I’ve come up with this idea, he must be thinking the same thing.

“We’re going to the engine room. Follow me.”

“······Okay.”

Holding onto Mijeong’s hand, we hurried to the front of the train towards the engine room.

We must arrive before that guy.

To stop the smoothly running train, we would have to subdue the station attendants eventually.

If that guy arrives first, there could be casualties.

“Are you okay, Deputy Chief?”

“Uh, I’m fine. What’s going on······.”

Passing through the noisy dining car.

Through the regular cabins, past the first-class cabins.

Then we came face to face with a locked door.

We haven’t reached the end yet.

This is the cargo car.

We have to pass through the cargo car to reach the engine room.

“It’s unlocked······.”

But the lock is just hanging there unlocked.

When I turned the doorknob, the door opened without any resistance.

It means that guy has already passed through here.

“Ugh!”

As I swung the door wide open.

A strong gust of wind hit me.

We were currently on a bridge crossing the strait between the southern and northern continents.

Being over the sea, the wind was quite strong.

As I tried to open the door to the next car, the cargo car.

“What’s wrong? Why won’t it open.”

The door wouldn’t budge.

Was it locked from the inside?

No, that couldn’t be.

If the guy was thorough enough to lock the door we just opened.

Then his destination would be narrowed down to one direction.

Up.

“Mijeong, get on my back.”

“······Okay.”

I lifted Mijeong onto my back and leaped up.

As I crawled up the wall.

I saw a person standing precariously on the ceiling of the train.

“I got him. This guy.”

“······?!”

A woman dressed in black nun’s clothing.

When she turned around, her pale face was revealed.

Was she a sorcerer disguised as a nun?

The Seonsingyo strictly prohibits sorcery as witchcraft.

The sin is quite severe.

“Raise your hands and kneel. Otherwise, I’ll have to kill you.”

“······.”

I put Mijeong down and brought my hand to my waist.

And as I grabbed the bag hanging on my waist, it gradually transformed into the shape of a long sword.

I drew the sword and aimed it at him, he looked at me with a fierce expression.

“So it was you who cursed me.”

“Can you keep it short? How old are you?”

“Are you discussing age in a human context? Which side is the one without manners?”

“I don’t know what race you are. Hurry up and surrender, or I’ll have to kill you.”

Never let your guard down just because the opponent is a woman.

She could be in disguise.

In the fantasy world, there’s a saying to be cautious of the elderly, women, and children.

Wait, was that not it?

Anyway.

“Hehe······.”

Contrary to my expectations, the nun raised her hands without resistance.

Is she surrendering?

But it’s too early to relax.

‘Just in case, I should try using Weak Point.’

She looks like an elf from her age.

Even so, to be on the safe side, I activated my skill, Weak Point.

But the weak point should be marked in red on his body…

“Why is this happening?”

I couldn’t see any weak points.

When I use Weak Point, the guy is marked in gray all over.

No red marks at all.

This can’t be right.

Every living being has a weak point.

Even a dead body like Mijeong’s shows a weak point, so what’s with this guy?

“It’s the gap!”

“······!”

In the split second between closing and opening my eyes.

His body surged towards me at an incredible speed.

Not just fast, but mind-bogglingly fast.

But as a Paladin, with boosted stats and preheated body control, I wasn’t about to be hit.

Already inside the attack range of the longsword, it was too late to swing it.

As the nun’s hand blade struck, I blocked it and drew my dagger.

“Ah!”

With a thud!

The tip of the dagger plunged deep into the nun’s abdomen, and a short scream burst out.

The feeling of piercing the flesh and stirring the intestines was palpable.

It was a solid hit.

At least this wasn’t a puppet.

“Ah, ah······.”

The color drained from his face in an instant.

And the expression of fear gradually spread across his face.

The nun’s pupils shook, unable to take her eyes off the dagger lodged in her abdomen.

As she began to lose strength and fall backward, I wrapped my arms around her waist to support her.

“Am I, am I going to die?”

Trembling, the nun asked me, her confident attitude from earlier completely gone.

Only a woman who couldn’t accept death and was filled with fear remained.

“Are you done acting tough? You’re pathetic.”

“······.”

I wouldn’t even think that.

There’s no vital point on my body.

Even if I get stabbed in a non-vital area, I won’t make a big fuss about it.

“Why…”

As expected.

The nun’s expression twisted in discomfort.

Honestly, the acting wasn’t bad.

If there weren’t any weak points, I might have fallen for it.

Of all people, it had to be me.

Just my luck.

“I’m going to arrest you. If you have any grievances, settle it with the police at the station. For now, behave yourself-”

“Behind you!”

At that moment, Mi-jeong’s sharp voice echoed.

As I turned my head,

I discovered tentacles rising from the nun’s ankle, creeping into my blind spot and aiming for my head.

“Gah?!”

“Hahaha! I could have killed you! What a waste!”

I managed to dodge the fierce tentacles flying at me, but…

In the meantime, the nun, with a chilling laughter, pushed away my arm and ran off.

Even though I reached out to grab her again, all I caught was air.

In front of me, the empty nun’s robe slumped down, and the creature had disappeared.

“What?!”

I thought she used some kind of 9th-grade magic like teleportation.

A black figure emerged from under the nun’s robe.

A black centipede.

Almost as huge as Mi-jeong.

“Goodbye!”

The centipede swiftly leaped off the train ceiling.

It seemed like it would fall into the strait, but…

“Where are you running off to?”

“…”

Its body floated in the air.

Despite wriggling countless legs, it moved meaninglessly in the air.

It couldn’t fall, and soon it was right in front of my face.

“Huh?”

5th-grade neutral magic, Yeomdong.

It’s a basic magic.