◈ 696. [STAGE 40] Man of La Mancha
Alcatraz exploded.
And before everyone in La Mancha could react, a figure flew onto the deck of La Mancha, with a long smoke billowing behind it from the shattering wreckage.
It was Imperial Emperor Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack.
“Hmph!”
And Traha immediately raised his right hand, the back of his hand glowed brightly… and control of La Mancha was transferred to him.
“Huh?”
Kelly Bay, who had suddenly been robbed of control, let out a puzzled sound.
The Emperor shouted, glaring at the front of the aircraft carrier.
“Don’t lose your bearings just because there is no light! “Because where we had to go was decided from the beginning!”
La Mancha’s rear thrusters were instantly overloaded and spewed out terrifying flames. The emperor shouted, accelerating the aircraft roughly.
“To the darkest place!”
“…!”
Everyone on the bridge suddenly came to their senses.
“To the most unpleasant and most despairing place! “That is the direction we need to go!”
All kinds of vicious tentacles and grip rakes followed behind La Mancha.
And the emperor’s driving skills were so great that even Kelly Bay was left speechless. La Mancha moved forward, avoiding all the attacks by just a hair’s breadth.
A huge curtain-like blackout appeared in front of La Mancha, which was advancing fiercely.
“Make a way, warriors!”
At the same time the emperor shouts,
Taaa!
Lucas jumped from the bridge to the deck like a thunderbolt and swung his dual swords.
A large X-shaped hole suddenly appeared in the huge tent, and
boom…!
Darkness spurted out like blood through the X-shaped hole, as if the body of a huge creature had been wounded.
La Mancha rushed into the gushing blood.
The entire airship and all the heroes who jumped onto the deck were stained pitch black as if they had fallen into ink.
And-
***
“Huh?”
Kelly Bay made a stupid noise.
Suddenly, the entire surrounding scenery changed. He was not standing on the deck of La Mancha, but in a large, brightly lit shaft of a mine.
As he stood blankly, unaware of the change in the situation, a young boy’s mysterious voice sounded in his ear.
“Dad, what’s wrong?”
When I looked down in surprise, I saw a young dwarf boy with big, bright eyes.
Kelly Bay absentmindedly called the child’s name.
“Kellison?”
Then young Kellyson twisted his eyebrows and lightly tapped Kelly Bay’s leg.
“Why are you calling me by my name? wonderfully.”
What was it originally called?
My son’s childhood nickname slowly came to mind from memories that were old and faded as if buried in mud. Kelly Bay laughed nervously.
“…my pebble.”
Kelisson, who was laughing, gestured forward.
“Okay, open it quickly, quickly!”
“huh? “What do you want me to open?”
When I turned my head forward, there was a door leading to a small crypt.
And when Kelly Bay looked down at his hands, he saw a key in his hand.
‘Oh yeah.’
Today was the day he gave his youngest son a crypt for the first time.
A very early coming-of-age ceremony, so to speak, where all dwarves begin to solidify their identity as miners.
Kellyson’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation, and Kelly Bay slowly opened the door to the crypt with trembling hands.
Click –
The small door opened and Kellyson excitedly rushed into the crypt. Kelly Bay, who hesitated, followed him into the crypt.
The crypt was small and narrow. When two adult dwarves and child dwarves entered, it was full.
And it was cozy.
The comfortable smell of the earth, the warmth of a warm magic lamp, and the young father and son… After
circling around the inside of the narrow cave to inspect it, Kelly Thorn slapped the earthen wall with his hand with a very heated face and asked.
“Dad, are you playing with me here today?”
“…okay.”
The corners of Kelly Bay’s trembling mouth slowly rose.
“Anything for you.”
Kellyson laughed and ran into the depths of the crypt.
Kelly Bay slowly followed behind and closed the door to the crypt.
Dalkak….
***
“Can’t I go, sister?”
Verdandi, startled by a young hand pulling on his sleeve, turned around.
A young Skuld was standing there with tears in his eyes. Skuld shook his head.
“I don’t need anything like the Holy Grail… I just need my sisters.”
“….”
“Don’t go, Sister Verdandi… please….”
“…Schoold.”
Verdandi tried to emphasize the need for the Holy Grail.
I tried to explain that this was the only way to save the Fairy Kingdom, which had already clearly lost the race war.
But for some reason, no voice came out.
As if he already knew that this search for the Holy Grail would have nothing to do with the outcome of the war.
And as if I already knew that I would regret today’s breakup forever.
“…good.”
After thinking about it, Verdandi nodded. Schooled blinked.
“what?”
“I’m not going. I’ll stop searching for the Holy Grail. “I’ll stay here instead.”
Skuld’s face instantly brightened and he hugged Verdandi.
“I love you, Sister Verdandi! thank you!”
“He too…”
Verdandi, who had been embarrassed, raised his head.
Behind Skuld, the Fairy Queen – Urde, the eldest sister, was standing and looking at her with complicated eyes. Verdandi let out a trembling voice.
“your majesty.”
“….”
Urd, who had been silent, eventually laughed a little.
“okay. Our three sisters must not be torn apart. “We should always be together.”
“your majesty…!”
“Whatever war is raging in the outside world… let’s not worry about it.”
Urd approached and gently wrapped his arms around Verdandi and Skuld’s shoulders.
“Let’s be happy here, Verdandi.”
Verdandi smiled brightly with tears filling her face.
“huh…!”
Verdandi reached back.
The open door of the oak tree palace slowly closed.
***
“Thorkell!”
Thorkel, who was sweeping the broom at the temple’s main gate, suddenly came to his senses.
“Thorkell can’t you hear me? Thorkell!”
A voice he thought he would never hear again called to him. Thorkel slowly looked inside the temple.
“…Saint?”
Margerita was walking towards us with her characteristic expressionless expression.
Margerita looked at Thorkel’s expression and twisted her eyebrows in confusion.
“What’s going on? “The expression on your face is scary.”
“yes? Can you see my expression?”
“Then you can’t see it? Look in the mirror over there. “Did you sleep wrong?”
There is a mirror installed at the entrance to the temple. The intention was to organize one’s clothes before praying to the goddess.
And in the mirror, instead of the disfigured face covered by a helmet, there was a man with a normal face without a helmet.
Thorkel couldn’t believe it, so he drew his own face and touched his entire body.
There wasn’t.
There was not even a trace of the cursed leprosy that had plagued him all his life.
He had become an ordinary human being, just as he had prayed and wished for tens of thousands of times.
Not the type of person who gets pointed at for just breathing or walking down the street, but an ordinary person who doesn’t care about anyone and doesn’t despise or hate anyone for no reason…
that kind of ordinary human being.
“I can’t believe it… I….”
“Are you tired after organizing the warehouse until late yesterday? Or where does it hurt?”
Margerita approached and calmly stretched out her hand and touched Thorkel’s forehead. Thorkell felt his heart drop at the touch of those rough, warm hands.
“You don’t have a fever? “Don’t act like a fool and go to sleep.”
“yes? Where… do you mean?”
“The routine after the morning cleaning is set, right?”
Margerita smiled as she took the lead.
“pray.”
“….”
“Now come here. I will pray with you. “Just like I did every morning.”
The saint who was walking into the temple motioned as if to welcome me.
Thorkel, who was looking blankly in that direction, slowly put down the broom.
And after finishing cleaning, the main gate of the temple was closed.
***
“Professor! “I don’t understand this formula!”
“grandfather! “I don’t know this!”
“I don’t even know the basic principles of this?!”
The chick-like young wizards chirped and chirped all at once.
Diarmudin, who was covering his ears in front of the children who were crowded into the ivory tower dean’s office and making noise, screamed.
“hey! Do you think I look that relaxed? “You guys study on your own!”
“But~ Grandpa teaches in the easiest way to understand.”
“The professor is the one who told me to ask questions, even if they are trivial!”
“Grandpa, can’t I eat these cookies?”
“I’m going to lie down on Grandpa’s sofa!”
“Can I braid Grandpa’s beard?”
Diarmudin suffered among the young wizards surrounding him.
“Kaaaaaa! “My precious research time…!”
Even as he said that, a smile appeared on the old wizard’s lips.
The young wizards I met and taught at Crossroads.
And the disciples of the Ivory Tower who parted ways some time ago.
Seekers of truth who died while deployed to war all over the world and never returned.
They were all alive and by his side. Instead of dying, his old self was alive and breathing like this.
“You are too young to go out into the outside world. So stupid. too… “They’re kids.”
Diarmudin declared sternly, waving his artistically braided beard.
“You can’t leave here until you learn everything I tell you!”
“Eh~”
The children jeered and laughed.
Diarmudin took out some snacks from the cupboard next to the dean’s office door and slammed the door to the dean’s office behind him.
At the same time, the marble door of the ivory tower was closed.
***
“….”
Young Lucas was standing in front of the second empress’s villa where he spent his childhood.
In the bright, sunny summer garden of my childhood, Serenade in a beautiful dress and Ash in a cute tailcoat dance with blushing cheeks.
Empress Dustia clapped her hands and laughed, and Chamberlain Alberto cried until his beard got wet.
This was the scene from that beautiful engagement day.
“….”
Lucas looked back.
Inside the garden it was midday summer, but outside the garden it was pitch black night and winter snow was blowing.
And outside the closed back gate of the garden, assassins wearing black masks were waiting with blades in hand.
It was an assassination unit sent to kill Ash.
Lucas’s eyes met with the leader of the assassination squad at the head of them.
‘open it.’
The leader of the assassination squad whispered with his mouth.
“….”
Lucas slowly turned his head and looked toward the center of the garden again.
“Lucas!”
While dancing, Ash stepped on the hem of Serenade’s skirt, lost his balance, and fell.
Ash, who was holding his stomach and laughing while entangled with Serenade, gestured.
“Come and let’s play together!”
Everyone smiled brightly at Lucas.
Serenade, Dustia, and Alberto.
And my lord in his youth….
“….”
Lucas closed his eyes tightly once and opened them.
There was no reason to hesitate.
He took a step.
***
“Why are all these people suddenly losing their minds and just zoning out?!”
Private La Mancha. On deck.
After breaking through one level of the barrier, the attacks from tentacles and claws coming from all directions became more intense.
And all the heroes who were supposed to take this attack were lying unconscious.
Almost everyone, from the elite heroes led directly by Lucas to the reserve heroes belonging to the special team, had collapsed on the deck.
The one who remains sane is Nobody, the emperor who controls the airship, and lastly, Lunar Red. There were only three like this.
“Even if I shake it or slap it, it won’t wake up, the tentacles will get stronger everywhere, and I’ll go crazy and jump up and down, really…!”
Nobody groaned and swung his sword repeatedly.
Is it because he was born blind? Or is it because he is good at blocking out his senses and living his life? Even though he was hit directly by the darkness, he did not lose consciousness.
The Emperor endured with superhuman-like willpower, and Lunared…
“Are you using this nightmare? I’m just like water.》
Perhaps because he was the shadow of the nightmare corps commander, he was holding on just fine.
“It’s because you guys grew up smoothly without any hardships… After going through a lot of hardships, it’s just like a sweet drink.”
Immediately after, darkness spread like ink everywhere.
And Luna Red, who had been beaten by all of this, curled up on the floor and began to cry bitterly.
《Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu)))
“Someone get rid of this useless wolf cub!”
Of course, there was no one who corresponded to that ‘who’. Now, the only ones who remain sane are Nobody and Traha.
Emperor Traha drove the airship with divine piloting skills and fired machine guns and guided missiles installed on the airship in all directions, clearing away the tentacles. But the limit came quickly.
“Hehehe… Let’s go home, go home…”
“You don’t have to kill me anymore. Now, let’s jump down and get comfortable…”
One by one, the heroes of the reserve unit belonging to the special team were unable to endure and fell into mental contamination.
Those who had been sitting still and unconscious suddenly jumped upright, ran down the deck in a strange, creaking posture, and stretched out their bodies toward the falling or coiling tentacles.
Even the heroes who fell and those who sacrificed themselves were happily snatched up by tentacles, palms, and rakes. and.
Kwasik! Quack! Wow…!
The reserve heroes died gruesomely.
One had his limbs torn off in the air, and another was crushed between the giant palms. One person’s entire body was dismembered by a pitchfork.
Blood splattered everywhere. The reserve heroes were annihilated in vain.
‘Shit, shit, shit! If this goes on…!’
Nobody swung his sword desperately, but his black sword could not properly cut down the tentacles of darkness.
The darkness maintained its shape as if cutting off a stream of water.
Clap, clap, clap….
The tentacles landed on the deck with a splashing sound.
And he pointed the tip of that long, hideous antenna towards the heroes of the special team who were still unconscious.
“no-!”
Nobody screamed.
Sigh!
The next moment, a swarm of tentacles rained down on everyone who was still breathing.
