Chapter. 21. Another solo play (13)
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Tak. widely. widely. Tak-
‘5472. 5473. 5474. 5475-‘
Every time my sweaty hands touch the wall, I count the numbers in my head. In this darkness where even the sense of direction is scattered, the walls of the valley running along the left and right sides of the street are the only thing that can tell the direction.
It’s a new thought, but I thought it was a good idea to board the salvage ship. Thanks to the underwater breathing equipment I brought there, I can breathe properly in this canyon full of bad smells and gases.
‘5500 steps. When I entered the rift, I could vaguely see the walls of the Castle City… At this rate, I would have come close to the battlefield between Mute and the Imperial Army that I saw earlier.’
I tried to listen, just in case, but I couldn’t hear even a single shriek or roar. It’s probably the effect of an old curse that has fallen on this valley.
[I will help you as much as possible. Regardless of your will, by my needs.]
[All you have to do is get help and go to the imperial castle. I will follow the path you took.]
‘Warlock Darik. He said he also had something to see at the imperial castle.’
When I thought of the keyword [curse], I naturally thought of that suspicious guy I had just broken up with.
Darik. A warlock whose face had half melted and all his facial features disappeared.
The one who said with his own mouth that he was related to the emperor’s curse, that he was heading to the imperial city because of that, and that he would help me and follow after me for that reason.
If you asked me if I could trust that guy, I would definitely say no. Because I have no way to find out or prove the facts he revealed. Even if it is a story made up at random, there is no way to know, so it cannot be trusted from the beginning.
‘but. ‘Can we use him… is something worth considering.’
widely. widely.
Following the regular sound of hitting the wall, the information in my mind settled into place one by one.
If there was one thing I could trust about Daric’s actions, it was that he needed me. He even wants me to reach the Imperial Castle if I give him some time.
‘The bastard’s words. action. ‘The situation and circumstances that have unfolded so far all point to that much being true.’
He led me to the Temple of Mercy. Thanks to this, I learned of the safe path created by the Church of Mercy, obtained plenty of holy water to use inside the cursed capital, and discovered the bishop’s atrocities… The Temple of Mercy, which had been standing there for three years, was lost to the imperial army. made to fall into Darik said that the imperial army that had filled the city had flocked to the temple where the divine protection had disappeared, and that was why the residential passageway I used was so quiet.
widely. widely.
Among the information that was being placed one by one, something very old suddenly popped out.
[Isn’t it natural that there is no sign of him? There is no way that a warlock who is already close to the dead would have any trace of his presence.]
The ability of this guy who suddenly appeared next to me several times. A unique state in which the entity that touches the tip of the sword and the fingertips clearly exists, but somehow feels like an phantom, and yet can clearly interact with me.
I saw something similar to that a long time ago.
=========
‘This child is called Nell. ‘She is my sister who had the misfortune to become an evil spirit and is the one who turned me into a warlock.’
=========
‘….Evil spirit. ‘Aldrich’s demon is similar in many ways to his sister Nell’s demon.’
I heard that a warlock is created by replacing his torn soul with another equally fragmented soul.
In the case of Aldrich’s younger brother, Nell, the evil spirit appeared out of nowhere at Aldrich’s call, attacked the enemy with a clear identity, and disappeared into thin air when the job was finished.
Thinking about it now, the way the warlock Daric appeared and disappeared also seemed very similar to that.
Although he was a little different from Aldrich’s younger brother, the demon, in that his ego was so vivid.
[I also have work to do at the imperial castle!]
[I cannot move where the emperor’s curse touches me.]
‘What he wants is in the imperial castle.’
‘It is very closely related to the emperor’s curse.’
The imperial castle is the center of a curse that has engulfed the capital, and the evil spirit (presumed) Darik is being rejected by that curse.
‘…The fact that the emperor uses curses means that the current emperor has joined the ranks of warlocks who can use curses.’
‘Couldn’t Daric be an evil spirit inhabiting the emperor’s soul?’
It’s a guess, but with the knowledge I have now, this level of inference is limited.
First of all, it is true that its existence in this cursed land is very special simply because it is rejected by the emperor’s curse throughout the capital.
It is also true that even if only half of the reasoning matches, he will be an important key to solving this situation.
‘As expected, it would be better to put it on the back.’
In conclusion, nothing had changed from before I thought about it, but it was excellent at chasing away the whispering thoughts in the terrible silence of the darkness.
****
-Tooong!
‘Ugh!’
The point where I walked about 12,000 steps.
As I was rushing, I noticed something made of metal at the tip of my foot.
Tongue, tongu- tongu-
‘….helmet?’
By the sound of it, a hollow metal. As a small echo seemed to seep into the darkness and disappear, I groped the floor, found the helmet on my foot, and lifted it up.
Stuttering –
A rough engraving that catches your fingertips. A wooden pattern symbolizing the empire.
A faceplate with a T-shaped opening. It is a different form from the imperial capital’s helmet, which only has holes for the eyes, or the Mercy Church’s paladin’s helmet, which has holes in the form of a wire mesh.
‘This is the traces of the external knights who arrived after the curse spread in the capital.’
For a person who had been groping endlessly in the darkness that was perfect for driving people crazy, this change was like a sweet rain in a drought.
‘Let’s see….’
Swish-whisk-
kang!
‘It’s here too.’
Teong-
‘It’s here too.’
As I swung my sword as if trying to trace the path, there were things that got caught on the tip of the sword one by one.
Broken sword.
Crumpled armor.
solid wood. Or human bones.
Traces indicated that a battle had taken place here.
‘Was the source of the stench here?’
If there were a large number of corpses covered in the curse and rotting, such a foul smell would have been mixed into the rising air currents of the valley, but for some reason, only a few pieces of armor or metal were caught on the tip of the sword, and nothing rotting was caught.
Tadat-
‘Footsteps!’
Instead, it seemed like something else was at stake.
‘bare foot. It weighs about half of me. ‘The strides are wide and the movements are fast.’
A move so secret that you wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t nervous. If the other person is planning to surprise me, it would be better to pretend not to notice.
Sssssseu-
‘Sound of rubbing against stones. They’re coming against the wall over there too. The view is the same as here.’
Twenty steps.
Kaang!
When I deliberately knocked on the scattered armor, I felt the direction of something in the dark bending in this direction.
‘come.’
Ten steps.
A faint but slightly different feeling of darkness moving in the darkness, with a haze like when you close your eyes.
Five steps.
Three steps.
one.
‘….now!’
Wow!
“Agaaaagh!”
The broken sword swung in its sheath struck the enemy’s knee like an axe. The moment I felt the lightness of my hand along with a thin, high-pitched scream, a sharp, piercing sound came toward the back of my neck.
Fishit!
Instead of dodging, he lunged forward and the nape of his neck was slightly torn. In return, I was able to push the guy whose balance was broken and throw him into the wall. This kind of rough hand-to-hand combat was far from my style, but there was no method that worked as well against an opponent who was lighter than me.
‘Judging by the wound, the enemy’s means of attack is claws. Or handcuffs with blades.’
Wow!
“Geuggeuak!!”
He broke what appeared to be his elbow and wrist, swung the arm he was holding, and threw it far away. The sound of a light enemy crashing into the opposite wall was heard.
“Keuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu its…”
The sound of the enemy with a broken knee and arm squirming was heard.
I waited.
“Ugh….”
I waited a little longer. Until something lurking in the dark responds.
.
.
.
.
“…Wasn’t this the one telling you to be careful about the sound?”
There was no change other than the moaning of the enemy, presumed to be female or female.
Darik clearly told me to lower my voice.
As I came, I noticed that ‘something’ did not respond to the sounds of footsteps or rolling stones, so I thought it must be responding to the sounds of living creatures.
So I planned to throw some noisy food over there to distract it, but somehow the darkness remained as quiet as ever.
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu….”
“Then I guess it meant to be careful of this person who came after hearing the sound…. Why?”
Of course, they attacked me, and the fact that they were able to determine our location and attack us only by sound in this deep darkness is something to be cautious about, but if we look at their combat power, they were in the poorest category by the standards of this imperial capital. The attack was monotonous, not fast enough to make use of its light weight, and its oddly long limbs broke easier than expected.
“Is this a bad mute that fell from above?”
Considering that the battle between the Imperial Army and Mute was in full swing above this canyon, it was quite plausible. Maybe this guy is also injured and not at his full fighting power.
“Ugh….”
“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I learned that it’s okay to talk. “If I go and talk to myself, I’ll be less bored.”
The moment when I was about to pluck his head without any pain as a sign of gratitude.
“Kuheuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuux as…. Conceiy… zhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu….
Stand tall!
The voice that flowed from its throat stopped the slashing blade.
Faba Park!
I pressed down on its abdomen and shoulders with both knees and its neck with one forearm, and quickly fell to the ground and groped its moaning body.
‘skeleton. The joints are slightly higher than those of the average person. The number of ribs is also different. The distance between the cheekbones and the forehead and eyes is also slightly different.’
‘A prisoner I don’t know? no. Even if it’s a special species like Isena, its skeleton can’t be this hodgepodge. My broken wrist is almost completely healed. I think mute is correct…?’
I couldn’t be completely sure because my vision was blocked, but there was no other creature that was so heterogeneous yet perfectly combined, from the texture of the skeleton, muscles, and skin to the structure, other than a race called Mutation Blood.
“Thoughts…. Yaksokee-….”
The problem is that the guys who seemed to be using their own language up there are now speaking human language, albeit awkwardly.
‘no way. Named?’
[Talking Mute] is the representative nickname for the Named Mute in 3 World. However, the person under me was not strong enough to be called a name.
“Mi mihaaak- Mi-a-nae…. I saw it wrong….”
He even apologized.
‘What kind of mute would apologize to a human?’
Although there are many intelligent mutes, there has never been a mute that is not hostile to humans. They had a deep-rooted hatred for humans running through their blood, so the consensus was that humans and mutes could not coexist.
“….hey. Can you hear me? “If you can understand, tap your foot twice.”
“Ugh Iik Iik!”
Jiik-
Struggling!
“I broke it….”
“I really understand.”
As I released its windpipe from being strangled with my forearm, I heard it gasp and inhale.
“Are you mute? Or is it another race born in this capital?”
“Knock, knock!” Mute? tribe? Uh… I don’t know.”
“Your intelligence is not that high… Then which of the two races fighting up there do you belong to?”
“left!”
“Mutro.”
Small cheers and sighs of relief crossed inside. I was also thinking about the possibility that the other person was someone who had been transformed like this by a curse, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘The other party is a species capable of conversation.’
‘I don’t even see Mute’s unconditional hatred for humans.’
A possibility that could never have been expected from an entity called Mut.
At that moment, a very interesting thought occurred to me. An interesting thought related to the question that came to mind when I first arrived in the capital and saw the large army of mutes crowding around the outskirts of the capital.
“hey. “What do you mean I saw wrong earlier?”
“Ugh…. Catch me, the fallen emperor. “If you leave it alone, it will come all the way inside.”
“The emperor’s army. With just that skill? “It wouldn’t be at the level of being damaged if they fell from up there.”
“That’s not a lie! flower! The flowers here without fog raise their heads in confusion! “Let’s go before it’s too late!”
“Instinctively, we process only the flower the moment it is exposed to find the place where the fog has spread. “You have a point.”
There are two things we can learn from this conversation. This weak-bone Mute is responsible for preventing fallen imperial troops from entering the canyon.
That means there is a higher being giving this guy a role and something inside the canyon to prevent the imperial army from entering.
Warlock Darik said that there is a gathering place for survivors somewhere inside this canyon, and
for some reason these strange mutes are not hostile to humans.
“…Are there any other species like you here?”
“there is! many!”
“good. In that case…”
I cautiously and cautiously raised his hand and placed it on my face.
“Is there a species that looks like this living together?”
The only way to gauge the opponent’s form in this place where vision is blocked by darkness, where the smell is alive and the sense of smell is alive.
Mute seemed to have not yet fully recovered, but helplessly touched my face.
And he nodded.
“Mutes and humans live together. Am I right?”
“Huh…huh? “I don’t know anything like that.”
Even after familiarizing myself with my appearance, I don’t feel any particular suspicion about the differences between the mute and human forms. This means that humans live together without even knowing the differences between species.
“Do your species fighting up there think the same as you?”
“Um uh maybe? Because the King taught you that way?”
thud.
One word that fell casually pierced my heart.
A question I’ve had since I arrived in the capital.
Unlike the Mutes of the past, each Mute Lord can be considered a different race. How did the Mutes of April World come together and beat the empire so faithfully for three years?
There are many Mute Lords who are as intelligent as they are powerful, so why do they abandon the vast land outside the capital and hang themselves in a rotten empire for three years?
‘king. I’m sure the king taught that.’
This is possible if there is an absolute being.
If there were such a being as Mutt, who had enough control to change the instinctive hatred of humans. It would also be possible to take control of Mute, which was like a noble-centered warlord, and turn it into an army.
However, at least as far as I know, Mute is a traditional matriarchal society.
“There is a king.”
“huh!”
“Then is there a queen?”
please.
“huh!”
Holy shit.
The sound of Mute’s voice wheezing as if he was happy just saying that name continued into my ear, as if my emotions were collapsing.
“Queen Nigmi connects us all! King Aud teaches and leads us!”
….who?
“King Aud and Queen… Nigmi?”
“huh! “Mother of hearts!”
“Uh… scales and snake-like?”
“that’s right! Beautiful scales! “Did you get a copy of Lord Batran, who made me?”
Uh
uh…
huh?
King of Mute – The story that had been flowing naturally until now was completely turned upside down the moment it moved to the queen.
‘Him? Queen?’
I heard a rumor that he survived.
I also heard a rumor about how he escaped after meeting that crazy Professor Park.
But she’s the queen. ‘Nigmi the Coward’, famous for her underwater battle with the named dog of 3 Worlds, is the queen?
“A snake without a skin, a queen who gave up everything! “We are here to serve him!”
Mutt’s thin voice was full of respect.
oh my god. That timid Named Mute is the queen of this huge Mute army. The Named, descendants of the Mute Queen, would not be able to reproduce.
And far from hating humans, he accepts them into his group and protects them.
‘What on earth are you thinking?’
What kind of future does Queen Nigmi envision?
How did they control them and why are they attacking the empire so persistently?
And why did he protect humans and accept them into his group?
‘….Let’s explore.’
It’s a gamble.
Maybe this was a trap and if I followed it without thinking, I could have been torn apart by the waiting claws of Mute.
I don’t have any hatred towards humans, but I don’t know any hatred towards myself. Because it’s a pretty old relationship.
But I couldn’t deny that this was a huge opportunity. An opponent that will break through that thick cursed army.
If we knew why the Nigmi were attacking the Empire, wouldn’t we be able to cooperate?
“….hey.”
“huh?”
“Are there any beings like me who have followed this canyon and gone inside before me? Wearing armor like that and holding a sword like that?”
Cancan!
When asked while tapping the armor with the scabbard, Mute nodded loudly.
“many! “Not recently!”
“…Then I can’t help it.”
That answer was the final blow. For now, we have no choice but to keep pace.
“Nigmi. Nygmi, who became queen from Named…”
I don’t know what a king is or what the strange modifier is in front of her name.
I just hoped that he was the kind of person who would forget old grudges.
Because he ran away after meeting a professor from April World.
That guy who looks just like me.
****
