Episode 114. ceryl (7)

“now.”

Tata Tang-!

As soon as Meriel’s signal went off, the muzzle that was pointed at the cabin door spewed fire.

The hotel walls, which were covered with high-quality wallpaper, spattered sharp fragments all over the place and vomited blood.

Instead of screaming, only the flames that rode over the corpse flew in front of my eyes.

“… !”

The enemies fired explosive magic at the wall where the assassin fell without hesitation.

The ice wall was erected before Meriel could even speak, and although she was not caught in the explosion, daggers began pouring in through the cracks in the ice that were shattered like dust at the impact.

While Meriel fended off the incoming memorization, I picked up the table.

Kwajijik!

Thrown at enemies, it parried several hacks and turned into pieces of wood.

“Luwen Joe, we secured the escape route!”

Along with the shouts of the guards in the rear row, thunderous gunshots erupted from the long guns that had been lit.

In order to reduce the radius of action of the guards who move freely in the dark, the enemies were lighting up lights and throwing light emitting devices all over the hotel.

Rewen and two wardens, badly wounded in the battle with Fang, were out of the battle group and trying to secure a way out by removing light emitting devices or detonating blackout rounds that sucked in the surrounding light.

Gritting my teeth at the tinnitus that plagued my eardrums, I shouted to the three platoon members.

“Let’s move on!”

Assassins pushed through the wreckage of the collapsed wall grabbed the hole in the abdomen and stepped on the fallen comrades and charged.

But right before we were captured, we were able to immediately ride the shadows and move into the hallway where Lewen had turned off the lights.

Looking down at the light emitting device that had lost its light on the floor, I asked Meriel.

“How many have you caught so far?”

“seven. Considering how small our numbers are, we did very well… .”

Instead of continuing her conversation, Meriel looked worriedly at the three wardens who were servicing the burning long guns.

“The bullets are running out.”

We intercepted the Wardens, taking advantage of the fact that they can move faster than the enemy in the dark.

Thanks to that, the Wardens’ mobility combined with Meriel’s detection ability allowed me to take down seven enemies in an hour without casualties.

We were still in a situation where many times as many enemies were aiming for our necks… . Since he couldn’t engage in close combat with several times as many assassins, it was obviously a fatal problem that the bullets were slowly running out.

‘I have to change the strategy.’

Considering the number of remaining bullets and the condition of the wounded who could not rest properly, it was difficult to continue this war of attrition.

“… Still, the number of enemies has been greatly reduced.”

I told the guards who had finished loading.

“Now let’s stop running away and find a place to block the enemy’s entry. If we match the sum like now, even if we stick together head-on, it will be worth fighting against.”

“Then, I will tell the platoon commander to return to the hallway.”

While Meriel and I were preparing for the enemy raid, Jinner, who joined the group first from the tracking team, talked to Lewen through the receiver.

“… Yeah!? what is that-”

“no. The assembly order has also been issued, so it would be better to explain it directly to the professor.”

Shortly after returning to the darkened hallway, her red pupils were trembling nervously, contrary to her calm expression.

“Professor, the identity of Prisoner #14-”

Before she could finish her words, the carpet and wallpaper covering the hallway began to rot and crumble.

* * *

“Did you finally release it?”

“What is that… !”

Dana opened the window and stomped her feet toward the decaying hotel.

The hotel was engulfed by the purple smoke rising from the first floor, and red veins sprouted like roots on the outer walls.

The glass windows that were supposed to illuminate the interior were covered in dark colors like withered flowers.

‘Bioweapons? No, this is mana itself is changing.’

Thinking that she must have seen something like this in Kiruna, Dana turned around in search of the source of the smoke that transformed the hotel into a strange creature… . Eventually, at the front door of the hotel, I was able to find a monster chained and screaming.

“That, please… . Are you a unique magic user?”

“yes. A death row prisoner who cannot control his abilities, and a strategic weapon of the Empire.”

It is said that the miracle of realizing one’s worldview into the world, the unique magic, is a blessing that a goddess bestows on some humans from time to time.

however… . In reality, those who cause miracles that are unpredictable and uncontrollable often become demons who bring about natural disasters, so the Imperial Society had to confine and manage them in concentration camps.

“Since it is an ability that is greatly influenced by emotions, it is often the case that it accidentally uses its own magic and makes the surroundings a mess, so if it was natural, it would be a natural response.”

Fortunately, when there is no one around when unique magic users run amok, they are given nerve tranquilizers at the camp, receive training in ability control, and come out again.

In the case of human damage caused by unique magic, a large amount of sleeping pills are administered, and then high-intensity hallucination magic is constantly applied… . The Imperial Academy quarantined unique magic users.

“Death row inmates who, after being in a happy fantasy, turned off the hallucination magic and faced reality again. Let’s start rampaging again.”

Because they were sentenced to death, as if they were dead.

They were operated like weapons, not men.

It is prepared for an emergency, such as when a super-large monster appears that cannot be solved with troops deployed on the border, or when a conflict arises between the empire and the dragon someday… . The Empire’s secret weapon.

Prisoner #14 was one of them.

Looking down at him crying out to be locked away in his hallucinations again, Dana pursed her lips in a leaking voice.

“How could you do such a terrible thing… .”

“If you’re going to kill it anyway, wouldn’t it be wiser to use it like that? By the way, there are unique magic users among the students who follow Ian?”

“… .”

“Do you think they are different from them?”

“No, they are different… !”

“Of course, there has been no word of it going out of control so far, so that might be the case. but… . If he went against Seryl’s wishes and stayed by Princess Frill’s side like now. Wouldn’t it be possible enough to be framed?”

In Dana’s ears, whose fingertips were cold, Kegar’s voice rang like a sentence.

“There is no hope for Ian, Dana. Did you think that he would be able to get out of here safely even if he directly challenged Seril, who held the imperial power? It’s all your fault for not stopping him.”

In front of Dana, who leaned against the window as her legs gave out, a screen showing Ian’s party appeared.

“Brother… !”

Ian’s party tried to break the windows to escape from the nightmarish twisting hotel, but the window transformed by its own magic made only a dull sound as if hitting a tough curtain.

Even when they tried to get down the stairs to the front door, they continued to hover on the 11th floor.

Space was distorted and collapsing.

‘If only I had tried a little more persuasion on the train… .’

Dana sat down on the spot as she watched Ian and the others desperately distance themselves from the approaching ceiling and walls.

Having tasted the foreseen victory, Kegar stood in front of her unfocused eyes.

“Come to think of it, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“… .”

“Some have a dark past, but they say they want to change the world so that others don’t have to go through the same thing… . I heard you gave this sermon to Rane.”

On Kegar’s lips, an unbearable sneer formed.

“You said something similar to me earlier. I don’t care what other races will suffer because of my research?”

“… What. out of it? Is it wrong… !”

“Yes, no. Because it really cares about other entities. It’s because you want to break the wrong bond even at the cost of damage.”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

“under… ! Do you think you deserve to say such a thing, not others? On the topic of posting reports full of hatred for humans for a hundred years… . You, who lived like an idiot while getting rid of notoriety in Kiruna, are making noise as if you became a saint in a year.”

“… .”

True to his word, Dana was immature and self-centered.

The reason why the human observation journal written while traveling around the world in search of her sister was particularly cynical was because of the resentment she had for her sudden departure and the intense jealousy she felt toward the people she loved.

‘Why was I so determined? I can’t even figure out why my sister suddenly stopped coming back to my nest.

Her prejudice against humans intensified when she reached Kiruna, which had many problems.

Before Professor Ian arrived in Kiruna, the atmosphere at the school was disgusting to the point where I couldn’t see the end… .

She purposely puts humans in trouble with her eccentric experiments, and, thrilled by their reactions, she has no qualms about disliking them.

“Yes, that is my fault.”

However, her long flight… . It ended with Ian.

“As you said, I wasted my years in a twisted feeling for a long time. but… . At least, the moment I realized something was wrong, I don’t try to repeat it anymore.”

As Ian transformed the school, she learned the responsibility of being an educator.

“Do you know what the students who hear geniuses under Professor Ian are going through?”

Children who are depressed due to the limits of reality, or who have not been able to spread their wings properly due to short thoughts, have escaped from the shackles of the past with the guidance of Ian.

Without stopping there, together with him, we gathered our strength to fix Kiruna’s cancerous side.

“The attention someone gives to the people around them brings about a great change. I experienced firsthand how great changes take place when those who are saved overcome their wounds and reach out to others… ! Your ways are wrong, Kegar. Change doesn’t have to happen that way!!”

“… Directly how the change you speak of ends up in the end-”

At that time, at the small change that occurred at the window behind Dana, Kegar froze.

“What, who-”

Paang-!

The horn sounded long after he had stopped talking, and the first train bound for the tower gradually began to appear.

“No way. Seryl must have blocked the train tracks… ?”

While Kegar hurriedly picked up the crystal ball and tried to contact Cheryl, Dana, who was sitting on the floor, slowly got up and looked out the window.

“That, please… !”

Tears are welling up in her happy heart, and when Dana opens the window wide… .

bang-!!

The world flashed in jade light.

* * *

As soon as a green bolt of lightning fell from the dry sky, Kegar pushed Dana away and stuck his head out the window, looking up at the sky.

“The barrier… !”

The transparent barrier that had imprisoned Ian’s party was beautifully shattered by an emerald-colored lightning strike, turning into sparkling water droplets that lit up the blue sky.

As the chorus of crickets began to sing at night, as if to greet the sun, the seeds that had been swept away by the rain and mixed in the mud stuck out their heads.

The wild beasts that had been hiding from the search team began to gather to receive the sunlight.

“Damn it… !”

“Uh huh.”

Dana immediately grabbed Kegar’s wrist as he ran toward the train.

“Where are you going? If you call out your busy body, we should play together, shouldn’t we?”

The wind blew, carrying a strong scent of mint to the stopped research complex.