episode_0154

49. The End of a Peaceful Daily Life (4)

After cutting down the guys who came inside the settlement and coming out, the square was already crowded with them.

While I was enjoying the festival, the stage I had come up on had already collapsed, lost its original appearance, and was now just a piece of trash.

From afar, the believers of the Obelisk wearing robes with the symbol of the tower were seen flocking here, and fortunately, following the instructions of their elder brother, those who had been outside were able to evacuate one by one into the settlement.

So the only ones left here are me and these guys.

A little while ago, I heard them telling me to eat something called the ‘gift of God’, as if they had seen me cut down all of their comrades and turn them into ashes.

At those words, the figures that had been cowering at the sight of me disappeared, but they all took out boxes from Rob’s arms and ate them. One by one, they began to flinch, emitting black smoke from their noses and mouths.

At first glance, it looked like a red candy, and the image of the old man I couldn’t find in Garam came to mind.

Of all the things I’ve experienced so far… this is a memory that was quite unpleasant for me.

‘Yeah, if that’s the case… I don’t need to hesitate any longer.’

I lifted my foot towards the guys and slammed the ground with a ‘thud!’ as I released my power once more. A wall of holy fire made of pure white flames spread out from where I was and reached the guys rushing towards me. They screamed and were consumed by the ‘holy fire’ filled with divine power, disappearing in a cloud of pure white ash.

Those guys coming from far away also seemed to have eaten that so-called ‘gift from God’ and I turned my back on them, thinking I didn’t need to watch any longer as they continued to burn up the wall of flames that was spreading.

” Phew, that’s it for here. So now…? ”

As the situation seemed to be settled, I turned to check if there were any guys hiding inside the settlement, when I heard a child’s voice.

” Please, save me… ”

Let’s quickly head towards the place where the sound is heard, and there…

There was a young girl wearing the robes worn by the Obelisk devotees. She was about… 8 years old?

A child crying and groaning in pain.

His left arm, already burned by the Holy Fire. His two legs, grotesquely twisted and now rotting and rotten. His skin, bruised and blue as if he had been beaten.

As I slowly approached him, he groaned in surprise and pain, but tried to move his remaining right arm.

” Wait! I’m not a scary… person. ”

” That’s a lie… The uncles and the aunties…! ”

” Those people…! ”

When I saw the eyes filled with fear on the child’s face distorted by pain, my lips… would not part.

Just, the moment when you are contemplating whether or not to… reach out to the child!

The child began to slowly look around and turn his head.

Surely… it must have been difficult to even move because of the wound.

” Hey, Sky…!? Hey, where are you…! Sky!!! ”

He moved his remaining right arm around, then, as if he had found what he was looking for, he began to crawl quickly.

What the child… found was… a little boy who had been badly burned by the wall of fire I had created. He was probably… my little brother.

Yeah… judging by the size… it was a little kid, probably about 5 years old.

” Oh, heavens…! Sob… ”

I quickly approached the sight of a child slowly crawling towards me, holding the child in his arms while shedding tears…

” I, I don’t care… no matter what happens… ugh… if you, if you hit me, I’ll take it…! T, so, please, at least for my little brother… please…! ”

At those words, I could only… keep my mouth shut.

What can I say to this child now? I almost took away his precious family…

‘What should I do? What should I do…’

At that moment when I was thinking that… I couldn’t hear the crying child’s voice.

As I quickly put my ear against the child’s body, I could feel the faint but slow beating of the heart along with the sound of breathing.

” Haa… Thank goodness. The hidden… is resting. ”

But, seeing the child who couldn’t even breathe properly because of the excessive blood and pain, I felt a sharp pain in my chest, as if I had been stabbed by something.

When the divine power is poured out for the child, only then does the child breathe comfortably as if the pain has disappeared.

” I’m sorry. I’m really… sorry. ”

As I looked at the child, I wiped away the tears that were flowing down my face and looked at the condition of the child that the child was holding, who was my younger sibling.

Already… the limbs were completely… burned out by the Holy Fire. A very small… child… whose heartbeat… and breathing… were not perceptible.

When I saw that sight and was just mumbling, ‘I didn’t mean to do this… I meant to do this…’, I felt a sense of relief for the first time in a long time.

Yes… the ‘Protection of Courage’ that Patruna left for me began to activate.

I was grateful to her for the power that allowed me to calmly assess the situation, erasing the fear that I had almost taken the children’s lives… This time… it came at the perfect time.

Let’s quickly examine the condition of the little child in more detail… Since he hadn’t completely stopped breathing, I quickly poured out my divine power and created [Sanctuary. Brittany.] to surround the entire settlement.

With this… not only this child… but other people too will be cured to some extent.

When I confirmed that the condition of both children had improved, only then did the stabbing pain and sinking heart… feel relieved.

I stood up, holding the children in my arms.

” First… let’s put these kids… to a safe place, and then… I have a lot to ask the guys who are hiding. ”

I held the children in my arms and ran to where my brother was.

*****

People were surprised to see me suddenly appear holding something, but my brother approached me calmly and asked about the children.

” Jisoo. What about those kids? ”

” Outside… are the children I saved. And… are also the children who got hurt because of me. I was too complacent… ”

He lifted the robe covering his body slightly and showed the children to his brother.

My brother said it wasn’t my fault, glanced at the patterns on the robes the children were wearing, and covered them with robes.

” It’s not your fault, okay? Or rather… ”

My brother glanced at the crowd of refugees and watched me closely.

” Don’t worry. I know where the… guys who are hiding are. But before that…”

Just then, he came down from the sky and approached me, having finished scouting the surrounding area.

” I looked around, but those women are the end. ”

” You worked hard. First… Will you follow me?”

He nodded silently and followed me into the medical area.

People were surprised to see me suddenly appear with two children in my arms and asked what was going on… but I calmly asked for a room and took the children in.

Fortunately, there were two beds in the room that was given to me. I slowly laid the children down on the beds one by one and took out [Kurtana] to create a sanctuary for the children to heal quickly.

Only after I saw the bodies that had been burned by the Holy Spirit or grotesquely twisted and rotted by the so-called ‘gift of God’ slowly grow back with new flesh, returning the children to their original state, did I just collapse in my lap.

” Charlotte…! ”

” Shhh…! I’m okay… The kids… Be careful not to wake them. ”

” Oh, yeah. So these kids…? ”

When he asked about the children, I just held my breath and cried.

How did it turn out like this?

I just used my power to protect… the people I thought were precious to me… the place they were…

Why…

He held his breath and shed tears, thinking that the children might wake up… He grabbed my shoulder and hugged me, pulling me into his arms as I cried.

I held him in my arms and cried, holding him tightly so that no sound escaped.

I sobbed and shed tears even more as his hand patted my back.

I wiped away the tears that were falling in his arms and quietly felt his warmth.

When he noticed that I had regained my composure, he patted my head and asked me about the children again.

” Charlotte, can you explain now? ”

” Outside… because of me… the kids got hurt… ”

” What happened? ”

” As seen in Garam… It seems that the ‘gift of God’ has already been distributed to the believers who came here. And these children… ”

” You ate that…? ”

” Yeah… Honestly, I don’t know why only these kids… survived. But I… carved an unforgettable pain… into these kids. ”

” Charlotte… That’s… That’s not your fault. You didn’t know the kids were there, did you? If they were… You…! ”

” But it already happened! I… I…! ”

As we were talking in his arms, the children’s voices got louder and I froze at the sound of them groaning, perhaps because it was noisy.

I slowly pulled myself out of his arms, walked over to the children and reached out to them.

No, I tried to reach out… but the moment I tried to pull my hand back, I thought I had hurt the children.

” It’s okay. I’m here too. ”

He held my hand and placed it on the forehead of the little child he called my little brother.

” Charlotte, you may have… hurt these kids. But… wounds… can be healed. Look. At their faces right now. ”

The sight of him covering my hand with his own, caressing the child’s forehead with a gentle smile…

It felt like something… something very warm… had bloomed in my heart.

In that warmth, I found myself thinking… ‘If he and I had a child… would this be how I would feel? ‘

But soon, I started to feel nauseous, feeling guilty for almost killing the children.

” Ugh… ”

” Charlotte…? ”

” Oh, it’s okay… I just… found myself… a little disgusting. ”

He made a worried expression, took his hand off the child, and hugged me.

” You, you…? ”

Just by his actions of quietly embracing me, I… slowly caressed his back and felt his warmth.

” Charlotte. I’m here for you. If you feel guilty toward these children… I’ll take that guilt too. Let’s make up for the hurt these children have received… and more. So you don’t have to carry it alone. ”

” Yeah… Thank you. You… ”

I wanted to share the warmth he gave me with these children.

The warmth I feel… the love… I want to share it with these children too…

‘Huh…? This is… like…’

I felt like I had some kind of ‘motherly love’ coming over me, so I left his embrace and turned around to caress his flushed face.

” Why? ”

” Oh, nothing. It’s just… It’s just… Right! I have… something to do with that older brother, right? So… ”

” Don’t worry, I’ll be watching you. ”

” Yeah. Thank you. And… I love you. ”

‘ Okay. ‘ I said and kissed his cheek as I quickly left the room.

A heart that beats roughly, making a ‘thump, thump’ sound.

It doesn’t feel like… something different… when you think about loving him.

” Now that I think about it… Lately… I’ve been seeing the kids… a lot…? ”

I don’t know if it was because I saw the image of Gaia shown by Thanatos at the top of Namsan, or because I was connected to him, but after that… whenever I walked around the settlement or something, my eyes were fixed on the children.

Why… did I keep acting like that? I definitely didn’t think I liked children that much…

‘ Right now… this isn’t important… ‘

As I slowly placed my hand on my chest, I felt a warmth I had never felt before.

That warmth somehow bothered me… but what’s important now is…

It is a ‘judgment’ on those who use it without hesitation, even by children like that child.

*****

When I contacted my brother, he told me that there were still people gathered at the place where I had met him earlier.

I snapped my fingers and headed towards the place. People’s eyes started to turn towards me who had suddenly appeared.

My brother nodded when he saw me suddenly appearing. I released my power and spread my wings of pure white flames and shouted at them.

[Thank you for coming here and following the instructions in this sudden emergency.]

[ Some of you may already know me, but… let me introduce myself again. My name is Charlotte Maniègne and my name is Yu Ji-soo. ]

As I called my name and slammed my sword into the ground with a ‘Koo-Woong!’, most people just watched in silence as I unleashed my overwhelming power, while a few people with strong abilities began to watch with wariness.

And… the guys who were followers of the Obelisk… were looking at me with eyes filled with hatred.

[ Like this… before I appeared before you all, I took the lives of those who attacked us from outside with my own hands. But in the process… I almost took the lives of two young children. ]

My throat was choked up with emotions that were about to spill out, but I continued speaking.

[ I… couldn’t forgive myself. No! Before that… I hate them so much for using the lives of those young children. ]

[ If you come forward… I will guarantee your life. But if you don’t… ]

He snapped his fingers and created several [Spears of Flame. Ardvar.] that burned white and he continued speaking.

[ In the name of the goddess Manienu whom I serve… I will pass ‘judgment’. ]

People began to watch as he spread his shining white wings and pulled out a spear of pure white flame.

However, the believers of the obelisk just stared at me silently, and then, as if trying to incite others, they looked at each other and shouted at me.

” A judge? That’s ridiculous. Even if he’s the younger brother of Mr. Yoo Ji-seong, this is really absurd! ”

” That’s right! Just because you conquered Namsan Tower…! ”

” What the Goddess…! ”

Right now… I didn’t have the time to listen to their stories.

Because there were little… children behind me whose spark of life was almost lost.

Just like that, I snapped my fingers and shot a spear of flame in front of them, and the spear of flame stopped in front of their eyes and began to glow, slightly burning their hair and eyebrows.

[ Right now, I’m almost out of patience. I don’t want to ask you to believe in the goddess I serve, Manienu. I just… wanted to give those who tried to ruin a fun festival… at least one more chance, even at the cost of the lives of children. ]

I waited for them to come forward, leaving them behind as they sat down, making a ‘thud!’ or ‘thud!’ sound.

But the guys who don’t come out yet. Yeah, I guess I’ve waited a long time for this.

He snapped his fingers and gifted the guys with a spear of flame.

” Ughhh!!! ” , ” Stop…! ”

Those who swallowed the items imbued with Thanatos’ energy began to writhe in pain due to the opposing force of the flame spears created by my divine power as they approached.

[ So… if you come out when you’re saying nice things, it’s good for both of us, right? Right? ]

He snapped his fingers again, “Snap!” and pierced the guys with spears of flame.

” Kaaah…! ”

The boys cried out for help as they looked at the spears of flame piercing through their bodies.

[ Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you… ]

Sticky, pitch-black blood flowed out from the bodies of the men who were impaled on the windows along with black smoke, but it was burned up by the pure white flames.

I looked at my brother, who had snapped his fingers and disappeared from the window, seeing the guys losing consciousness due to the pain.

[ Brother . ]

” Got it. Alright! Take them in, quick! ”

People who restrain and move the guys under the orders of their older brother and those who watch them.

[ I’m truly sorry. I think you may be offended by my sudden actions. But… please believe that I did this for your safety. ]

[ And if there’s anyone who got hurt while moving earlier, please let me know. I’ll treat them. ]

He released the power he had liberated and apologized to the people who had gathered.

I don’t care if you blame me for this… I just hope that no harm comes to my brother, sister, and the person I love.

Fortunately, contrary to my worries, people started to laugh slowly as if nothing had happened. I looked at them with a bewildered expression.

” It’s okay. Well… If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be alive right now. ”

” I was surprised when you suddenly mentioned the name of the goddess, but what’s the big deal, since I have a tower and abilities? What! ”

” Don’t you all know? Isn’t that the girl called ‘Saint’? ”

” That’s right! That’s the person who healed me before! ”

I shed tears as they accepted me, telling me stories they had heard and experienced, as if they were forgiving my actions.

Because my actions, which I thought would help others, seemed to be reciprocated with good intentions.

” I’m really sorry! If anyone needs treatment, please come to the medical area later… Thank you! ”

I bowed vertically to them once more and quickly turned back to him.

On the way back, I smiled and responded to people who said thank you or were thankful and that they would take care of those who said bad things to me.

*****

When I opened the door and went in, the two children were still sleeping.

He was wearing pure white clothes, not the robes that had been burned to rags by the Holy Fire, and he was looking at the children next to him when he realized that I had come.

” Are you here? You came pretty quickly? ”

” Are the kids… okay? ”

” Yeah, the person who came earlier checked on me while changing my clothes and said that my life was not in danger. It’s all thanks to you, Charlotte. ”

” Really? That’s really… fortunate… ”

He caught me as I was about to collapse.

” Charlotte?! ”

” Hey, maybe it’s because I’m relaxed. Hehe… ”

” Really… Don’t worry me. Ugh… Well, isn’t it easier this way? ”

He laid my body down and put his face on my thigh.

Yeah, it was a knee pillow position.

” Thank you. Then… just a little bit… ”

I closed my eyes in his arms without being able to finish my words, as if the tension had completely released.

I felt his warm hands tickling my forehead…