episode_0210

After the rebels fled to the royal capital, the dark red mud that followed them rapidly increased its speed as if it would never let go of its prey.

Ga-ga-gak–ga-ga-gak–

As a result, the sound of fingernails scratching the ground and the sound of bare hands touching the floor were mixed together, and a sound was heard as if a large insect was crawling in the ear.

The soldiers shuddered at the horrifying sound and looked outside the castle walls, and the rebels, who knew the identity of the sound, covered their ears and screamed.

-crazy… ! What is that? What is that? … !!

-Oh God… . Please look down on your lambs… . Please protect the innocent and pass judgment on the distorted… … .

—Please, I hope it’s a dream, I hope it’s a dream. please… . please… … !!

―Ouch… … . Fuck… … !

The dark red mud that had become much closer in that moment—no, the dark red mass made of an uncountable number of people—was now clearly visible in what exact shape it took.

The faces that were close together were constantly rising and falling like bubbles, letting out a series of wailing sounds, and the sight of countless hands with hands was like looking at a giant bug.

It covered the land and ate the forests, ate each other and came endlessly towards the royal capital, and the legs that grew out of the mud that covered the high siege tower were entangled and tangled together, taking on the shape of a withered old tree and writhing. .

Just looking at that horrible thing broke my spirit. My morale was broken, and just by having it right in front of me, my body, soul, and being instinctively felt threatened and cried out.

――Run away from here immediately. That shouldn’t exist.

――You will die the moment it touches you. It is something that no one like you can dare to confront.

Due to the outcry coming from the realm of instinct rather than reason, the rebels, who were a ragtag group to begin with, trembled with fear and retreated without even the trained soldiers able to keep their positions.

Even the ordained knights froze in cold sweat in front of the distortion.

But they didn’t run away. I gritted my teeth, faced my fear, and held my ground.

“Everyone ready for battle!!”

The soldiers, who returned to their positions at Jin’s shout, poured everything they had into the mud.

Shooting out ballistas and mangonels, the wizards fired magic until their magic power was exhausted.

“Why, why is there no effect!!”

“Shoot more!! If you don’t have any rocks, break down the house and get them right away!!”

“No water, no ice, no fire, no lightning, no wind… … . What on earth does this mean? … !”

But all those attacks didn’t work. no. It actually worked, but the effect was very minimal.

Even if you threw a fireball, cut it down with a sharp wind, froze a whole part of it, burned it with lightning, or attacked it with weapons such as ballista and mangonel, it did not stop.

The burned part subsided for a moment, then boiled like bubbles and became even larger, while the cut and frozen part disappeared like smoke and quickly regained its original appearance.

The part that was pierced by the ballista’s arrow and crushed by the stone of the mangonel exploded, but soon regained its original form and swallowed up the arrow and the stone.

―Kikikick… Kick… Kicky… -it hurts… … . Why are you hurting me… … . ―It’s so hot!!! -stop. no. -Kill me, kill me!!

The more it was attacked, the faster it became, and each time it was attacked, it made strange noises and twisted its body.

As the attack continued, it only irritated the mud further and consumed resources, and even that had no significant effect.

“This is not this… … .”

“Fuck… … . Shibaaaal!!”

One by one, my heart was broken, and all that burning hope remained was ashes.

The despair that engulfed everything eventually reached the castle wall, and the mud that hit the wall began to climb up the wall and try to come over.

Because the walls were high, the climb up was quite slow, but even that would only be temporary. Soon, that mud will come over the castle walls and cover the inside of the royal capital.

Can a sword and spear defeat something that siege weapons and magic cannot defeat? No, never. Are you telling me to cut against something that I am sure will kill me the moment it touches it?

can not do it. impossible. After making that decision, Jin gritted his teeth and made a quick decision.

“Retreat, retreat!! Retreat from here immediately!! Princess! Hurry this way!!”

“… … Damn it!!”

As soon as the order was issued, the soldiers quickly fled down the castle wall, and the rebels below were distraught at the sound and began to run away.

A scene resembling a father’s hell unfolded, and in the middle of that hell, only one person was standing alone.

* * *

I hear a sound.

A child’s cry, a tearing scream, a painful murmur, and a horrifying sound.

The promise to save at least one more person was broken down so easily, so vainly and in vain.

“… … .”

I worked hard because I didn’t want to face a future like this, and I prepared for it because I didn’t want to face this outcome. In the end, it ended up like this.

It ended up being the worst situation where it completely deviated from the original. It wasn’t even a bad ending, the result was everyone’s despair and everyone’s death.

Suddenly, what Charlotte said came to mind.

-I want everyone to be unhappy.

Is this the future you wanted? Is this the world you wanted? Is this the world you wanted, where everyone is struggling and suffering?

I stood alone in the midst of the chaos and looked around.

“Hwaaa!! Hmm, huh, oh my!!”

A child crying and losing his or her parent’s hand.

“Get out of the way, you bastards!! Get out of the way!!”

A soldier who runs away while pushing others away for his own sake.

“This, this, and this could also be useful… !”

A person who cannot give up his greed even in this situation and steals property from other people’s collapsed houses… … .

“I… .”

Why, why did it become like this?

Because I don’t have enough strength? Is it because my efforts aren’t enough? Because this is all I can do? Because I’m helpless? I… . I… … .

‘I’m trying to protect these people…’ … ?’

I ended up thinking that with people like this, with a world like this, it would be better.

I felt like my heart would break. I felt like my heart would break if I looked ahead, so I lowered my head. I couldn’t bear to look ahead.

I hated how things were no different now than when all I could do was lie down in the hospital. I hated myself for being so helpless.

The reality of people having no choice but to end up like this was so cruel that I cried.

“Now! I’ll take you to mom! Wake up!!”

It was a cry so small that it was drowned out by people’s shouts, but it was like a pure white dot on a pitch black drawing paper. The voice came through so clearly.

I raised my head again and looked in the direction where I heard the sound. There, Hermel was holding the child and running around looking for the child’s parents.

“Mom!! Mom!!”

“Ah! Cheryl!! thank you! Thank you!!”

I could see the child shedding tears of relief in his mother’s arms and the child’s mother expressing gratitude.

“Stay calm and move slowly!! Running is more dangerous!!”

Even though my legs were shaking and I was sweating out of fear, I could see a soldier standing by to evacuate people.

The soldier was the one who had just pushed past the others and tried to be the first to move forward. The reason I ran while pushing others was to help others.

“Someone got crushed here!! Help me!!”

“If you do one, two, you’re pushing, one, two!!”

I saw people who stopped to help others in situations where they had to run away immediately, and people who came back to help.

“I am a doctor!! I found something useful in the collapsed house over there!!”

Among them was the person who had just been rummaging through someone else’s house.

“Ah, ah… … .”

It was me who was broken, not someone else.

Everyone was moving with hope, but I was the only one who got scared and gave up.

Pathetic. I’m weak and fell. You couldn’t do anything? You weren’t doing anything.

What was powerless was not strength, but heart. Everyone is helpless in the face of that, but their hearts are unbroken.

Quick――

I heard the sound of something breaking.

It was helplessness and frustration.

It was a dark memory and a broken heart.

What they all had in common was that they were shackles that bound me.

“Now, it won’t break.”

As I stood up, a ray of sunlight fell on my head.

* * *

People who were running away from the black mud stopped as if they were mesmerized by the bright light that suddenly shined down on them.

Just looking at that light seemed to make my fears disappear, and just touching it made my wounds heal as if they had been washed away.

People turned their heads to follow the light as the light was truly like a miracle of God, and their eyes caught the image of a girl standing alone on the castle wall, bathed in the light.

The sight of the girl bathing in the shining light on her body looked so sacred and noble.

“Saint… . She is a saint… … .”

As someone muttered something, people looked up to a girl, and the girl opened her eyes as if she was repaying the people’s wishes.

“Hey, look over there!! The mud recedes!!”

As he said, the sun that came down through the clouds began to push away the mud that had come over the castle wall, and the mud that had half covered the castle wall disappeared as if it had been washed away.

To be exact, he was purified and became Buddha, but no one would know that.

People cheered with tears in their eyes at that feat, and they hugged each other and rejoiced, forgetting that they were enemies.

“… … Ha.”

And as I watched it from afar, I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“I already knew this, but really… … . It’s unfair, being the main character.”

Thinking of the altar hidden underground in the Bneron Mountains, I sighed and closed my eyes.

Still, I’m done with this because I’ve hit the first button properly.

Just a little bit further.