#175. Madou is Madou!
* * *
A narrow alley covered in fog.
There was a woman who was running with all her might, where it was difficult to walk, let alone run, because of the thick fog.
“haha.”
Jessica ran with all her might.
One shoe had already taken off from running too fast, and her appearance was a mess, but she didn’t care.
However, while looking back at the extension with uneasy eyes, he did his best to run through the alley.
Quadang!
“evil!”
Could it be because of the thick fog?
Or is it because I couldn’t look ahead because I was looking behind?
Not seeing the winding stairs, Jessica stumbled and fell down the stairs.
Even after such an accident, Jessica immediately got up and tried to run away again, but that was only her own wish.
Maybe it’s because I hit my head while rolling down the stairs.
The hazy mind and blurry vision made her sit back down before she even got up.
‘Oh, no. I have to run away.’
Even though there is nothing strange about fainting right away, it is overwhelming fear that holds Jessica’s spirit.
The terrible certainty that she would not even be able to escape if it was too late stimulated her survival instinct and made her forget the pain.
Is it luck out of misfortune?
While desperately looking around, she found a door and knocked on it with all her might.
Bang bang bang bang.
“hello? Is there anyone here?!”
“Please let me in for a second! I will ask you this!”
“It’s fine until the fog clears, so please…!”
Jessica cried sadly.
However, to the disgrace of that earnest plea, the door remained firmly closed and did not budge.
It was natural.
In this misty hour, at least in this city, there is no such thing as an idiot who opens the door enchanted by an unfamiliar voice.
Despite knowing that fact, Jessica continued to cling to the door.
Because now this door was his only lifeline.
‘It wasn’t coming out.’
edgy anxiety fear etc. In the whirlwind of countless emotions, Jessica belatedly regretted it.
I couldn’t go out when the dark hour was near. No matter what, I had to leave after the bell rang.
‘No, I wasn’t going to a place like that in the first place.’
Regrets that cannot be undone are therefore more deeply and deeply captivating.
When Jessica puts on a desperate expression in the midst of the door that won’t open no matter how many times she knocks on it and the regret soaring.
A heavy bell rang through the air.
Dang –
‘This is…!’
That moment.
Jessica made a bright expression in spite of herself.
This unique bell sound, like a thousand hammers hitting a thousand pieces of iron at once, was what she had been waiting for so long.
It was a sign that the hour of darkness had come to an end.
Dang –
twice, three times, four times.
Jessica shed tears as she watched the fog gradually dissipate each time the bell rang.
The sense that the death that was approaching right in front of me was moving away made me feel relieved by letting go of the tension that had been pulled taut.
But that’s why she didn’t realize it.
The more the bell rings.
And as the fog clears.
A shadow gradually approaching oneself.
And so, when the eleven bells finally rang in the air and Jessica let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was all over.
Kwajik!
Dang-
The bright red blood soaked the wall.
A stiff, hardened corpse was strewn about.
With the twelfth bell resounding as if consoling the death, the thick fog like a veil loses its power and shatters.
Instead, it was a blue shadow that appeared as if it were springing up.
They were knights who seemed to come out of old stories, covering their whole bodies with full armor and wearing blue capes.
and its lead.
She was in front of the bloody floor.
A blue-haired woman wearing a neat uniform instead of armor and holding a bloodstained sword.
She gazed down at Jessica’s corpse with her eyes as calm as a lake, then opened her mouth as she sheathed the sword she was holding.
“Sir Lucas, please clean up.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“And make sure there are no witnesses, just in case.”
“All right.”
After the man in the most splendid armor prostrates himself.
Until the knights move in perfect order to collect the corpse and disappear.
The woman who silently watched the process finally left with a knight named Lucas after confirming that all traces had been cleaned up.
The death of a woman named Jessica disappeared into the mist as if melting like that.
Leaving behind only the fishy smell of blood…
* * *
‘I’m going to London this time.’
‘Me! I’ll go too!’
‘…I’m not going to play.’
‘How are you? It wouldn’t cost much more to take a baby bird as cute as me along the way!’
‘Isn’t your body getting heavy these days to be called a baby bird?’
‘Because ladies don’t weigh themselves!?’
‘The lady must be some kind of chicken.’
As much as she followed Limon all the way to London, even enduring all sorts of scolding, Yuna-kyung had a lot of expectations for this trip.
It’s exciting to go on an overseas trip that I’ve never been to before because I was busy with work.
Even if the destination was London, it was really heartbreaking.
But the moment I got off the train.
Yuna-kyung realized that her expectations were wrong.
Because London, which she arrived at after a long journey, was a much more fantastic place than she expected.
[Wow!]
Magic lanterns floating in the air as if replacing streetlights push away the fog, and one out of ten passers-by wears a robe and confidently walks the streets.
In the streets, carpets and horseless carriages instead of taxis run through the sky and roads carrying customers, and dancing puppets solicit customers in front of shops.
On one side of the street, there is a monster shop with two-headed snakes or eagles with the bodies of lions on display, and on the other side is a perfume shop that sells love potions.
Truly a crucible of chaos.
The city is more like a scene from an abstract painting than a reality.
Looking at London, Yuna-kyung admired it.
[When I saw it in the movies or on the news, I thought it was a little over-packaged, but London is the real magic!]
“….”
[Come to think of it, the team leader has been to London before, right? Compared to before… Why do
you look like you have a headache?
Limon lowered his hand that was holding his forehead.
Then, looking at the scenery that made Yuna-kyung admire, he muttered with a puzzled face.
“What is this crazy sight?”
[What is it? It’s London, right? A magical city with the most dungeons and magic players in the world.]
“What kind of magic is magic? This and that are all items, skills, and players.”
[Why is that? It may have changed a little from the past, but even so, the only difference is that magic was replaced with skills and items, right?] “…Do
you really think London was like this?”
[uh? Isn’t it?]
“If London had been like this since long ago, it would have been called the Magic Land, not the Magic Island, you rice bowl.”
As much as he had lived a long life, Limon had seen a scene where a rural village suddenly became a big city or a culture changed rapidly.
Especially after the opening of the Iron Age, I got used to the rapid change of the world.
However, the change in London was enough to make even such Limon startled.
‘What the hell have these madmen done to London?’
Originally, it was quiet London.
Seeing the quiet city turned into a theme park, Limon shuddered.
Of course, he knew that London had changed a lot since the Magus Guild came into existence.
It was also the fact that 90% of all magic players in the world gathered and made London into a new magic.
However, one hundred words are not enough.
When I saw it on the news or in the newspaper, I was shocked by the scene that I was only tongue-in-cheek.
This is all the more so in that the grotesqueness of the scenery seen through mass media is less than one-tenth of what it actually is.
[Ah, chief! look over there There is a discount on dancing sweets. Can I come and see you for a while?]
When Yun Na-gyeong looked around happily on top of Limon who was suffering from headaches like that.
A cold voice came from behind.
“It’s nice to be excited, but you’d better refrain from walking around alone, even if only for once.”
[yes? Why?]
“I heard that there are many cases of neglected pets going missing in London recently. They said it was probably being eaten by another abandoned pet.”
[Ay Wei Ling unnie is also worried about everything. I can’t just be that kind of pet food…]
Yuna-gyeong, who was about to answer confidently, suddenly shut her beak.
Then, just rolling my eyes, I saw a man come out of the monster shop with a wolf with some kind of winged collar on it, and I swallowed dryly.
[…I’ll stick close to the team leader.]
“I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.”
A woman dressed as a man dressed in a suit made Yun Na-kyung, who was making such a fuss, calm.
Wei Ling asked Limon quietly.
“Where are you going now? As you said, we didn’t find a separate accommodation, but if you want to rest, we’ll find a place to stay right now.”
“…”
“Why is that?”
“No, it’s because I think you’ve become quite like an attendant lately.”
“…It’s not like an attendant, it’s actually an attendant.”
“Is it so?”
“yes. I don’t know if some of you have forgotten me because you just thought of me as a machine that did the work for you and kept me at work.”
“Looks like he works for someone who knows how to look for talent.”
Looking at the dark circles around Wei Ling’s eyes, who seemed to have accumulated quite a lot, Limon chuckled.
Well, she was the one who had to take care of Guardian’s duties instead of Limon.
After the establishment of the Guardian, all sorts of things happened in succession, and it was surprising that he did not hold a grudge when he thought of the days when overwork piled on overwork upon overwork.
“Well, now that the lodging is done, why don’t you start by giving directions?”
“Would you like a tour guide?”
“No, nothing like that. You know what I asked you to find out in advance?”
“…Are you talking about the magic house?”
“okay. The magician of the 27 genealogy of magic is so tightly hidden that even you guys will have a hard time finding it, but I think it should be at least that much to do the job properly.”
“Then I don’t think you need my guidance.”
“ok? What do you mean by that?”
Limon put on a puzzled expression.
Instead of answering, Wei Ling raised one hand and pointed in one direction.
And the moment he turned his gaze to follow her finger, Limon made a bizarre expression without realizing it.
[Didn’t the team leader say that it would be difficult to find the magic hall of the 27 genealogy of magic?]
“…Yes.”
[I think it’s very conspicuous for something like that. Is it because of my mood?]
“I hope it’s because of my mood too.”
The magnificent clock tower standing tall in front of London Station.
Limon thought while looking at the banner that read [The Street of the Original Magic Hall, which inherits the tradition of the 27 genealogies of magic!] stuck there.
He said he had no idea where the magic he knew had disappeared over the past few decades.
