Episode 361
Episode 120. Traces of the Black Wizard (1)
The site of the black magic ceremony was in a cave about four hours away from the lord’s castle.
On the way, we had to cross several low mountains, and the road was uneven. If using a wagon or horse, it would have taken more than a day.
Yuma thought about Zeilgyo as he went.
A pseudo-religion that worships the god of light, Zeil. During the days of the eunuchs before returning, they were completely unaware of the fact that they were playing a role in the war against the demons.
The prayers and ascetic practices stemming from asceticism were also known only to the extent of nonsense peculiar to pseudo-violence. Who would have imagined that it was for the purpose of preventing the second coming of Hwa and restoring Zeil’s rights?
-You would think that Yuma Drake’s Zeilgyo is a perverted cult that seeks asceticism, right?
-When Hwa descends, this world is over. Have you ever imagined a land where every leaf and every drop of seawater is stained with emptiness and no life can be found? A world that has become void itself.
– Let’s keep talking.
-The best way to get away from the void is pain. The ascetic culture of Jailgyo originated there. Death wakes Hwa, but pain wakes Zeil.
-Is that incompetent god of light unable to awaken without human suffering? That damned pseudonym was actually an organization working for the world?
– The light isn’t all that beautiful.
The dragon Soluto, who took Rugal’s body and reigned as the emperor of the East. It was a conversation I had with him on the first day I met him in the dimension of the void.
He participated in the decisive battle with Amanzo, dealt with Gwyatt, and saved many humans, but it was because of the great cause of preventing the second coming of Hwa and goodwill toward Yuma, not for humans.
In some ways, he too was similar to Archmage Risol.
It was the way that it did not take issue with individual human suffering or sacrifice if it was for a greater cause.
Because of this, until Yuma killed the slave traders in the East one by one, he personally sent the slaves to Zailgyo and forced them to join them.
‘Light isn’t all that beautiful… It’s literally. If killing a lot of humans was more efficient for Zeil’s restoration from their point of view, they would have been on the side of killing humans without hesitation.’
Even with a slight change of perspective, I could see that they weren’t just beneficial to humans.
‘If we succeed in stopping Hwa and Geile is reinstated…
what will happen then? Will the world really be safe?’
Xail, the god of light.
He was as much a veiled god as Hwa. It was only known that he lost his power and position due to being deceived by Hwa’s ruse in the age of mythology, and there was no other information.
It is also true that the status of a god is originally formed from the influence of the religion that worships him. And the influence of religion begins with the values and actions they pursue, but the way of Jailism could never be popular.
After all, to enjoy whipping oneself, walking barefoot on a hot stone slab, and cutting off one’s own flesh is what they call ‘mortification’.
‘It’s a strange thing. If the power of God begins with faith, even though they have not been conscious of it, why did they only propagate that way?
I could have created a better awareness and gathered followers.’
Is there a reason why the pursuit of pain was the only answer?
Looking back, those who served Seil tended to go to quite extremes for the sake of Seil’s reinstatement. It was an action that stemmed from the great cause of preventing the world from falling into emptiness, but there were many parts that I could not understand.
Thinking that far, an assumption suddenly popped into Yuma’s mind.
‘If Geil regains his power… wouldn’t all humans fall into pain?’
From Geil’s point of view, that would be the surest way to suppress Hwa. Regaining power, then pushing all humans into suffering, away from the Void.
It wasn’t a very unlikely story.
There is no guarantee that Geil loves humans.
At least, most of the gods and transcendental beings that Yuma had experienced so far hated humans.
Not to mention Hwa, Risol treated humans as if they were objects, and Soluto did the same.
Igmeseus Kantai Sheltion Even the recent encounter with Ariel. Everyone hated or hated humans.
Heider, too, would not look at other humans meaningfully, except for Maria, the reincarnation of Lil.
Even Krisha, who is infinitely merciful, did not truly love humans either. I’m just trying to love you
It was probably the influence of Mahatrisha, the only being who loves everything in the world, including humans. Kriesha is the spirit of Mahatrisa.
‘Thinking like this, I feel like my allies are infinitely lacking…
Somehow, I felt bitter.
Kriesha and Mahatrisha, who were the closest to the allies among the transcendental ones, met a miserable end before returning.
Kriesha was killed by demons and her whole body was torn apart, and Mahatrisha committed suicide with the three Khmeira.
“Tulka, who had been running all the way, suddenly let out a low, menacing cry. It was because he smelled ogre blood.
They had almost arrived at the place where the black magic ritual had taken place.
“It’s okay, let’s go. Tulka.”
Tulka seemed a little wary. While Yuma was reading, he cautiously moved towards the cave that he was starting to see in the distance.
It was an uninhabited remote area. It was a cave in the middle of a cliff in a dense forest, and there were traces of the excavation team sent by the empress who climbed the cliff using iron rods and hammers.
“The members of the investigation team must have had a hard time.”
Tulka’s massive front paws began to ram into the cliff like an awl. While climbing the rock wall, Yuma realized that the cave was located much higher than it appeared.
“It must have been a lot of trouble.”
Kwajik Kwajik!
The sharp claw stabbed the rock wall again. Half way up, Yuma suddenly patted Tulka on the back and stopped him.
“What is this place, is it empty?”
It was because he felt the echo from the spot where Tulka’s claw had just been lodged.
It was a subtle echo that only superhumans or those who had acquired senses close to it could barely detect.
Ordinary people could not tell that the deep inside was empty even when they hammered on the thick rock wall.
After tilting her head once, Yuma threw her fist at the rock wall.
Kukkuk… Empty!
The rock wall was shattered like a clod of earth, even though it was a fist thrown in an awkward position. And Yuma was sure that the space in the middle of the cliff was completely empty.
Even the empty space seemed quite spacious. It was about 10 meters thick to judge by the feeling of touching it with a fist.
In other words, there is a ‘cavity’ right under the cave where the black magic ritual is performed.
When the ogre’s corpse was first discovered, Duran himself visited the place and confirmed it. However, he did not notice the existence of this joint because he climbed the cliff on a rope that the investigation team had set up in advance.
“It is unlikely that the wild beasts dug that much into this hard cliff to make a nest…
To think that it was a natural cavity formed while the cliff was being formed, it must have been the site of a black magic ceremony.
Yuma checked the site and decided to break it down and go inside on the way back.
Getting to the site was quick.
The ogre corpse at the site had been removed. No, it was lost.
As soon as the investigation team found the body, they attempted to transport it to the wizards’ lab. However, as soon as they came out of the cave, the ogre’s corpse began to decay rapidly, and by the time they arrived at the laboratory, there were no bones left.
It was a strange phenomenon, but neither the investigation team nor the wizard could find a clear cause.
Perhaps even if the corpse was completely passed on to the wizards, it would have been difficult to find any special clues. Among the black magic, Shiram’s black magic, which uses the power of Hwa, was still an unknown territory.
It was the reason Yuma personally visited the site of the black magic ceremony. Yuma also didn’t have a deep knowledge of black magic, but he wondered if he could find some clues with his demonic senses.
I raised the senses of the demon god, but I didn’t feel anything special. Even the purple blood shed by the ogre had been wiped clean, as if someone had cleaned it up.
I couldn’t find anything, so to speak.
Yuma immediately got back into the tulka and started down the cliff. Then he stopped in the middle of the cavity and put an aura on his fist.
Previously, he had lightly punched out for confirmation, but this time he had to make up his mind and break the 10-meter-long rock wall.
If you just broke it without thinking, it would be a piece of cake. Yuma’s strength was already close to that of a superhuman.
However, there might be clues in the cavity that ‘should not be damaged’. Also, if you break it randomly, there is a risk that the cavity will collapse, so you had to use your strength carefully.
“Suck!”
As Yuma took his stance and exerted his power, a hole was dug in the rock wall as if his fist had dug into it.
There were few ruptures and the surrounding rocks were not cracked.
I thought the martial arts I learned from Mantu would shine in a place like this. This kwonbeop, which completely concentrates destructive power in one point, was an area that he had not known before meeting him.
Whoop!
For a while, sweat formed on Yuma’s forehead as he broke the rock wall with his fists. It was only natural that this kwonbeop required much more stamina and concentration than most techniques.
He must have been punching for three hours.
Yuma was covered in sweat for the first time in a long time and couldn’t help but breathe heavily. The knuckles covered with stone powder turned white, and fortunately, a cave was formed that led to the cavity.
‘I never thought I’d go through such hardships.’
Yuma pushed herself into the cave. It was not a perfectly walkable burrow, but rather a crawling position.
“hmm?”
On the way in, Yuma smelled something and his crawl quickened.
Upon entering the cavity completely, Yuma involuntarily swallowed his breath.
It was not only because the cavity was wide enough to be compared to the central hall of the imperial castle, but also because the strange sensation that Yuma was familiar with engulfed his body.
This sense of being suddenly cut off from the world the moment you enter. The wind that blows from outside is blocked, and the unique echo that makes your head buzz unpleasantly continues.
‘Isn’t that the same feeling as when you entered the demon’s cave!?’
The devil’s cave was also an artificial devil’s cave. Just like the magic tower in Dempir.
Yuma beckoned to stop Tulka from following and jointly jumped off. He then floated several Auror spheres to illuminate the surroundings.
“What is this…?”
The common area was filled with strange letters. At first glance, it was not intended for use by humans.
It’s not even from the famous world. The characters of the underworld were learned to some extent through Rakir, so Yuma couldn’t be ignorant.
Besides, if this place was an artificially formed demon cave in the underworld, Yuma would have already noticed it with her demonic senses.
It was an underworld letter.
‘I’ll have to go back quickly and redecorate the investigation team. In the first place, the ogre used in the ritual in the upper cave was summoned here…
until the very end!
At that moment, the wall behind Yuma twisted grotesquely and something long and dark came out. Turning around, Yuma immediately recognized what it was.
Underworld monster Selove. It was the leg of the monster that Yuma faced for the first time after returning.
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