Episode 166
EPISODE.83
* * *
It’s a great grove where only greenery should grow thickly, but today the atmosphere was unusual.
Somehow, an ominous air current spread over the entire forest, and the cries of monsters could be heard from everywhere.
Kiek Kyakyakyakyakyakyak-
!
Gurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
It was only the cries of flesh dotted with madness.
I didn’t feel the slightest bit of rationality in those cries.
Sensing the ominousness, an elf guardian shouted to the other elves standing on the burn.
“Let’s raise our guard a little more! Recently, the movements of monsters have become more ferocious, but today… something is a little more strange.”
The existence of the spirits scattered in nature felt especially faint today.
In addition to that, the hidden spirits felt somehow frightened.
Just in case, I asked some of the spirits, but they all just scolded me.
They didn’t seem to know why they were afraid.
‘It’s a fog that stimulates the fundamental fear of the spirits. No matter how you think about it, it’s ominous…’
What I didn’t like the most was this gray fog that was getting thicker with each passing day.
For some reason, whenever I touched the fog, my body seemed to stiffen and freeze.
No, to be precise, it was as if the soul was frozen, not the body.
A feeling as if it is not the fog of this world. The elven guardian trembled as his eyes widened sharply at the sensation.
I glared at the other side of the forest with more cautious eyes.
Why has the forest, which has always been a fence for their tribe and always conveyed only a sense of security, feels so uneasy these days?
It was then.
───!
What sound came from far away? The sound and dust blown by the wind caught the elf’s unique sensitive senses.
Do-do-do-do-do-!
Pavat Pak Cheolreong!
The sound of a group of herds running through the woods, the sound of something kicking up branches and vines.
Besides that, there are flapping wings and bizarre cries and so on. The sound of all kinds of miscellaneous things is transmitted from afar.
A young elf who had been standing still at the sound tilted her head involuntarily.
“Is it a great movement of monsters?”
Although the number has increased rapidly in recent years, the Great Forest has always been a place where quite a number of monsters exist.
If one group of them moved, that sound could have been enough.
At that guess, the elven guardian who first gave the order shook his head.
“No… It’s not like the movement of monsters.”
In general, the great migration of monsters meant that monsters of the same race moved for some reason.
As such, the footsteps had no choice but to be constant.
But what about the commotion you hear now?
More than a dozen types of footprints!
Even more so, the moment I confirmed that the commotion was gradually approaching this place.
“attack! It’s an attack by monsters!”
The elven guardian screamed like a scream.
“Sound the alarm!”
The bow that was hanging on his back came over to his hand in an instant and was pulled to the limit.
Kude deudeuk-.
The elf guardian muttered to himself as he heard the screams of the bow.
‘If you look at the sound of footsteps, the number of attacking monsters is in the hundreds…’
Even if they gathered all the elves in their village, that number did not come out.
‘Excluding the young elves among them, even if you think about it from the point of view of the power exchange cost…’
So, the guardian added a word as he fired the bow he had drawn.
“We need to contact other tribes and get support!”
Whee-ae-ae-ae-aek puck!
However, contrary to the guardian’s wish
…
Kyakyakyakyakyakyakkyak!
Among the six nearby villages, not a single tribe could help them.
“It’s a raid raid!”
“Stop!”
“Send the little ones to the rear!”
Not only the elves, but all the fairy villages nearby were being attacked by monsters.
Despair and fear spread like wildfire from the depths of the Great Forest at the massive attack by monsters unprecedented in history.
.
.
“Aaaagh!”
“Where are these monsters all of a sudden!?”
“North wind, stop their advance!”
Abigyuhwan (阿鼻叫喚) or mayhem (阿修羅場).
Scenes that could only be expressed like that were occurring all over the Great Forest.
The cultist man Hypnos, who was watching the scene floating high in the sky, raised the corners of his mouth and smiled.
The ensemble created by screams of despair and fear was the sweetest musical movement in the world to him who revere blood and death.
There were two iron stakes in his hands.
“It should be soon.”
Hypnos moved his eyes while spitting out a hideous glare.
I muttered as I stared at the huge darkness that covered part of the Great Forest in the middle of the greenery.
“Tartaros (Τάρταρος) will open soon!”
Many of the keystones of the Bongma that were nailing the lid have been removed.
There was no way the few remaining keystones could keep the seal of Tartarus.
The monsters pouring out now are just a precursory phenomenon that occurs through a very slightly open gap.
As time passed and the seal gradually weakened, it was clear that those who were still crouching inside would also come out.
‘Once upon a time… revered as the incarnation of destruction-!’
One of the ancestor races that fought for supremacy on this continent in the past.
[Τiτᾶνες]
They were monsters with the power of reverse divergence that would overturn the earth and uproot entire mountains.
In this era where mythology has almost disappeared, there weren’t many strong people who could stand up to them.
Of course, it was unknown how many of them were alive in Tartarus.
However, if even one of them survived, there was a strong possibility that not only the Great Forest and the Red Gorge, but also parts of Endymion would be wiped out.
“I’m so sorry for Endymion. Crossings are likely to occur not only in the southwestern part of the territory, but also in the royal capital…”
Hypnos dragged his tongue as if he knew what was going to happen next.
“…For the time being, there will be no end to blood and death.”
Of course, to those cultists who revere it, it was just a sight of endless joy.
* * *
Russell, who returned to the capital a few days after visiting Count Raymond with Hecate, was spending a fulfilling day as usual.
‘To solve this part of the problem, if we apply Professor Moriarty’s formula…’
Of course, he strives to improve his personal research and skills-.
“In terms of steps, your achievement belongs to an unprecedentedly rapid aspect in history.”
“However, in comparison, embodiment cannot keep up with that state.”
“Perhaps it is because achievements that should have been gradual rises so rapidly.”
“Of course, it’s not that there’s a shortage, but the archmage…”
“The state of being called a superman is as important as pioneering new horizons and refining what you originally have.”
“Magic is like a muscle. It’s hard if you overwork it, but that’s how you grow and get used to it….”
“In order to embody it, I have no choice but to overwork it without stopping. giggles.”
-The days of being taught by Daria.
Besides, Russell had two more people to care about.
One was, of course, Hecate Latmos, the princess and fiancée of this country, and the other was…
‘Aidan Owl.’
It was Aidan Aul, whom I had met on the way to the Kuril Islands the day before and had written a letter of recommendation to the Salt Tower.
A genius of magic pharmacy who developed a catalyst with miraculous effects that increased the function of recovery potions by several percent.
Even before the regression, he had achieved quite a bit of success, so he wouldn’t have to worry about it, but he would do well on
his own…
It was for this reason that Russell visited Aidan Owl’s lab.
smart-.
“Are you there?”
When I heard Russell’s voice, I heard a crackling sound from inside.
“Now, now, now, wait a minute. Wait a minute, Mr. Russell!”
Then, as if embarrassed, a stuttering sound followed.
The door opened, revealing Aidan Owl.
Scruffy clothes and messy hair, probably because he had been staying in the lab for several days without going home. In addition, the dark circles that have come down to the fullest.
“What’s wrong with Mr. Russell in my lab…”
Russell smiled at his stuttering appearance.
“You can speak slowly and comfortably.”
“Sorry….”
Aidan Owl was an avid follower of Russell, enough to hang the autograph he received the day before on one wall of the lab.
Perhaps because of this, every time we meet, it is a repetition of stuttering like this.
Russell asked as he took a deep breath to calm the commotion.
“It looks like you haven’t been home for several days. Is it because of a new study?”
A few months after completing the potion catalyst, Aidan Owl had selected the subject of a new magic potion and had begun research.
“yes. It is a drug that stimulates the human extremities and peripheral nervous system to achieve growth in a specific part…” “In terms of
extremities, peripheral nervous system, and growth, I should say height, considering the effectiveness of nails. Is it a drug that makes you grow taller?”
“It’s similar… but a little different.”
Russell tilted his head at the word a little different.
Aidan Owl stuttered with an embarrassed expression.
“That… that’s it. hair. More precisely, hair.”
“Hair?”
It was hair that would grow on its own even if left alone.
But is it necessary to make it grow even with magic potions?
Aidan Owl, who stared at Russell’s hair once with a questioning expression, put on a somewhat sad expression.
Then, he replied by stroking his hair with his hand.
“Russell will never understand this bitterness.”
“Ah…”
Russell sighed briefly, confirming that ten strands of hair were falling out.
“Anyway, I haven’t made any progress in my research for a while, but I’m pretty good these days. Fortunately, Lord Vermillion is helping.”
“You mean the death penalty?”
“yes. These days, when you’re ironing… the hair keeps falling out under your feet…”
“Hmm.”
It was then.
I heard the sound of footsteps outside, but someone stopped in front of Aidan’s office.
smart-.
“Sir Russell. Are you there?”
When the door opened, what appeared was a new wizard who had just entered the tower and was working at the front desk.
“You weren’t in the lab, so I came here after hearing from someone else that you’ve been here. Seniors.”
After meeting Russell’s eyes, he handed the dispatch message he was holding to Russell.
“This is an urgent message from Wang-sil.”
Russell, who quickly received the message at the word “urgent,” quickly skimmed through the contents.
‘Looking at the word ‘urgent’, it wouldn’t be an ordinary thing…’
Russell’s face stiffened as he muttered to himself as he checked the transcript.
!!!
dragon-swallowed wizard
