Episode 156
-Please.
From the first time I saw it, I thought it was a precarious look that would not be strange even if it collapsed at any time.
Didn’t really last long.
It was a request that could be ignored.
Even so, it does no harm to him.
…No, it would be a loss if accepted.
So it was right to stand by and do one’s duty, as it had always been.
yes it should have been
Together.
-What can I do?
what the hell is the feeling
What was the fate that led to the decision to take the thorny path? ….
You will be chased for the rest of your life.
You will not be able to work in the sun and you will always be suspicious of others.
And the stigma of being a traitor will gradually eat away at you.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to choose the thorny path in the end.
I don’t know exactly why.
just for some reason… ….
-Thank you very much.
After answering like that, I really liked the smile and the gently swaying eyes.
– If you… …No, because I had no one to trust except you.
She said and took her hand.
The two clasped hands were very warm and contained a faint trembling.
Finally, she earnestly conveyed the request to herself.
– Take care of Mia, Hedos.
* * *
“Ummm….”
Hedos, buried in a pile of paperwork, slowly opened his troubled eyes.
He seems to have lost his mind for a while.
Although the curse has been resolved to some extent, it has not freed you from the harsh fate of overwork.
…Rather busier.
The Marquis of Walpurgis asked for a huge amount of work instead of being a fence.
The effort is different from when he was just trying to establish an information guild in the capital.
As the Marquis of Walpurgis is one of the four major families of the Empire, there were a lot of things to do as an information guild under its command.
Why on earth does this damn empire have so many incidents like this… ….
“dad!”
“…yes Mia. Come on in.”
Hedos gave a rough answer and pressed his eyes tightly.
My eyes were relaxed, and I could see well in my dim eyes. But what you see right away is a pile of papers.
Oh, why won’t that disappear?
It seems like he handled it like crazy until he passed out… ….
‘It’s really endless.’
He sighed lightly and turned his head.
When Mia opened the door and entered, her face was pale.
It wasn’t common for her to appear like this, so Hedos asked in a sharp voice.
“…Is there a problem.”
Naturally, momentum as an Assassin Master flowed out.
Momentum as an assassin who can assimilate to surrounding objects anytime and anywhere and decapitate the target.
And Mia’s mouth opened.
“Come here…You left, Dad!”
“Who said you came and left?”
Hedos’s head turned quickly.
If Mia is such a trembling and fearful person… ….
“no way.”
“Oh it’s me.”
A relaxed voice came from behind Mia.
Mia Hee! He hurriedly clung to the side wall with a groan.
Hedos’ expression also quickly darkened when he saw the owner of the voice slowly creeping inside.
“Ah ah…“
Why are you looking so dead?”
Mikhail Walpurgis.
He is a hero of the time and a person who can be called a benefactor who helped them settle down in the Walpurgis estate.
But why?
‘I don’t know why my body trembles every time I see it.’
Hedos greeted politely, feeling his body tremble.
“Are you here, warrior?”
“Oh yes. As you probably know, the two of you have business to come.”
“They say it’s a dragon…”
If an ordinary person had mentioned ‘business’, they would not have taken it so seriously.
But if it’s that Mikhail who said that, I can’t look at it lightly.
Warrior.
All of the hero’s activities that have been heard so far are achievements that can only be said to be absurd.
If the word “business” came out of his mouth, it would surely not be an ordinary thing.
“They both have a hometown.”
“that…Yes.”
At those words, Hedos’ face darkened for a moment.
…hometown.
Yes, maybe you can call it that.
It wasn’t a pleasant place by any means, but it wasn’t wrong to call it home.
“Are you thinking of going there?”
“…!”
Hados’ eyes trembled.
hometown.
– If you… …No, because I had no one to trust except you.
It was only natural that the voice came to mind at that moment.
there she is
Maybe she is enduring the pain right now.
‘But what can I do now?’
For a moment, I thought about what it would be like to reveal everything to the hero and ask for a favor.
But this is not something that can be solved so simply.
If touched incorrectly, it may lead to irreparable damage.
‘Damn it.’
Know.
To the extent that this indecisiveness of oneself is very hypocritical.
But what can I do?
Unless there is a ‘sure way’, you cannot move freely.
Wouldn’t it be better to stay under the protection of Walpurgis forever like this?
But then.
“You can’t keep an apprentice shrine maiden hidden forever.”
“…!”
He raised his head hastily.
I can’t believe I was able to figure out that information!
“Uh how did you… …!”
“You are a warrior.”
I casually say things that are not obvious, as if it were obvious.
“The warrior knows everything.”
Mikhail laughed.
* * *
This is before the regression.
In terms of time, I’d say it happened just about now.
Madness spread all over the world.
Infected with madness, the people went insane and started killing and killing each other.
In some territories, cannibalism spread.
In some territories, all sorts of inhumane things took place using madness as a shield.
It was a really confusing time.
Worst of all, the ‘chaos’ itself gave the demons power.
The world-wide madness has created many tragedies and at the same time spawned many devil worshipers.
“I don’t know where the hell to start.”
Problems popped up everywhere.
Mad Undead Army, Gwangcheon King’s Rise, Mage Tower’s Division, Religion’s Corruption, Imperial Capital’s Destruction, etc… ….
It was a series of events so bleak that I had no idea where to start.
And I realized it belatedly.
The source of this damn situation is the heinous danger zone outside the empire.
I was in the Dark Forest… ….
And that’s where it had to start.
‘…It was terrible.’
When I recalled that time, my face naturally frowned.
The march of madness that swept across the continent was truly terrifying.
Humanity was not strong enough to withstand the madness that the Dark Forest imprisoned.
If the problem had been recognized and addressed in advance, the disaster could have been prevented.
Of course, unless you know in advance, where would it be easy to see through everything and act?
But now it’s different.
At least now I know the cause of the disaster and I have people who could be clues to it.
“How much do you know about the shrine maiden of the dark forest?”
Hedos didn’t try to hide their circumstances.
“About being the central point that unites the clans of the Dark Forest. And other than that… …“
Information about the Dark Forest.
I put the information recorded in Remegeton into my mouth.
“An honorable sacrifice?”
“You know everything.”
Hedos nodded with a bitter voice.
“Yes, it is. scapegoat. The clans of the Dark Forest glamorize the shaman, but in reality, she is nothing more than a scapegoat.”
“…that’s right.”
Sitting next to Hedos was Mia with a sullen expression.
Apprentice priestess Mia.
Being an apprentice originally meant that this dark elf girl should have become the ‘shaman’ of this generation.
Then she bluntly opened her mouth.
“What do you do if you call me a shrine maiden? In the end, the shaman’s reason for existence is to endure the madness of the Dark Forest.”
“The madness of the dark forest…“
In the dark forest lies the corpse of the distant ancestor of the elves. To be precise… …Should I say that he was an ancestor who was betrayed by a trusted sister?”
“Betrayal. It must have been quite venomous.”
“That’s right. It is said that he died cursing his sister who betrayed him until the very end. After 10 years, 100 years, and 1,000 years, the curse became more and more terrible.”
It was originally a beautiful forest.
However, an elf’s poison-filled curse accumulated over hundreds of years, and it became as dark as it is now.
‘Even Lemegeton… …This information is only fragmentary.’
Naturally, information about the elf ancestors came to mind.
“You were royalty. A very noble royal family among the elves at one time.”
“…how did you know?”
“It just seemed like it. No matter how much time has passed, if the forest is destroyed with just grudge, you won’t be a decent elf.”
“that’s right.”
Mia nodded.
“It was a cursed forest, but for us who were fugitives, there was no other forest like it. We are quite used to that kind of darkness.”
“Hmm.”
But simply the Dark Elves’ affinity for darkness was not enough.
The grudge in the dark forest demanded more.
“The ghost of King Seonjo could not forgive the sister who betrayed him. However, it is said that the sister passed away shortly after. There was no way to resolve the grudge.”
“Is that why you used the shrine maiden?”
“We selected those who had similar personalities or appearances to the sisters of the ghost and made them bear the evil of the ghost. It doesn’t kill, but wears down the mind little by little… …Instead of resolving the resentment
, they created another resentment and induced an endless vicious cycle.
Dark elves need the dark forest.
And the dark forest needed someone to vent their anger on.
Horrible.
I also understood how the madness had grown to the extent of covering the continent.
‘Rather than being resolved, the grudge has increased endlessly. It’s such a damn vicious cycle.’
A huge powder keg that would not be strange if it exploded at any time.
That is the Dark Forest now.
“If Mia was an apprentice shaman, Hedos, you must have been the guardian of the shaman.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He nodded.
“To be precise, he was the current shaman’s guardian in the Dark Forest. jeon…She asked her to take Mia out of the Dark Forest.”
“In the process, the curse that was on you was activated and you became a time limit?”
“…That’s right.”
I could barely understand the situation.
One day, the shaman of the dark forest asked him to take Mia out of the forest, and he accepted.
well, anyways
“Who will replace Mia?”
“doesn’t exist. Even if it doesn’t happen, it will be after 100 years have passed. Until then, the present shrine maiden… …There’s no way I can stand it.”
In other words, from the standpoint of the dark forest, lost children must be recovered.
According to my father’s words, it seems that the Dark Elves from the Dark Forest are still roaming around the estate.
Of course, Hedos must know that much.
There must have been these things among the reasons for accepting my offer in the first place.
“What are you going to do?”
“What do you do? I have to solve it.”
The Dark Forest holds too many dangers.
Until then, I didn’t approach it because I was lacking in preparation, but now it’s different.
Now I’ve risen to a level where I can somehow handle the madness of the Dark Forest.
Hedos stuttered at my words and spoke to me.
“Ha, but this is not something that can be easily solved, even by the hero. …”
“It’s okay.”
Sometimes, being human is overly complicated, so we go around the obvious path.
This is the case.
There is a very simple path, so why do I need to go back?
“You can lose anything.”
“…yes?”
The law is far and the fist is near.
What is the source of all the tragedies in the Dark Forest?
That is the grudge of the ancestors!
Then, once you defeat that resentment, the problem of insanity will be solved!
“And indeed Walpurgis…Hearing those words from the side, Mia
nodded in admiration.
Great mage who transcends by regression
