EP.106 Runaway from group task (3)
Oh, she wants something perfect.
Once I got it, once I lost it, and once again I hope for what I dreamed of. Anything you can give it to is fine. She doesn’t care whether it’s light or shade.
Oh, she always wants the light
A brilliant light that will not be hidden by anything. A greater light that will swallow up the light. He wants a brilliant light to look back on him.
okay.
This is the child who will carry on the name of Gray.
Have mercy on the first woman who sinned.
“······.”
The first gray covered the book.
As I fumble through the dusty books, old memories appear and disappear repeatedly. Memories worn away over hundreds of years exist only as fragments.
There was a day when the light was brilliant.
There was a day when the light that I thought would never go out went out.
One day, at some point, I remembered the tragedy I had to face, and the first gray color swept over the cover of the book. Dust came out on his swept fingers.
“…I miss you.”
The words I spoke sink heavily.
Gray lifted up the worn-out scales. The scale is still level. Contracts made hundreds of years ago are still alive and well.
When will the balance collapse?
Do I want the balance to be lost?
Do you hope for the day when you will be freed from this heavy burden?
“······.”
I couldn’t figure it out.
Because I don’t know, I can no longer understand. The first gray laughs. The laughter that escaped made a crunching sound.
* * *
Deep in an alley.
Succubus Queen Lefe let out a long sigh and sat down on the stacked boxes.
‘It took longer than I thought.’
It wasn’t supposed to take this long.
At best, it would be kidnapping a girl who is not yet an adult. I thought it would be easily resolved by just using charm…
‘The charm didn’t work.’
It was an amazing thing.
Those who make eye contact with the succubus queen Lepe lose their reason. Unless you are a superhuman, you cannot resist her charm.
However, the girl resisted.
There wasn’t even a hint of fascination.
Of course, it’s just that charm doesn’t work, but the girl’s power is nothing to see. She succeeded in subduing him easily. It wasn’t the girl who was annoying.
Quickly.
At the sound of teeth grinding, Lepe lowered his head slightly. There is a boy at her feet.
“Anyway, what on earth is this?”
Lefe crossed his legs and let out an exasperated sigh.
Her gaze is directed at the boy. The boy is being overpowered by the black knight and his head is placed on the floor.
“…Tough.”
The Black Knight, Dyke, spoke briefly.
There are no injuries to Dyke. However, there was a hint of fatigue around his eyes.
The boy’s resistance was fierce.
The moment they were about to kidnap the girl, the boy sensed someone else and started attacking them. Although it couldn’t pierce Dyke’s black armor… it was a very annoying attack.
Magic using shadows.
It was a type of order I had never seen before.
“He used a unique magic. To be honest, if it wasn’t for the surprise attack, I think it would have been a bit difficult. Lepe.”
“···Is it that much?”
“I’m not sure, but something feels off. I’m not the type to fight normally. “It is right to quickly suppress these types of people.”
Because I don’t know what they’ll do.
Dyke muttered that and tightened his grip.
“So, Lepe.”
Dyke asked, looking at Lepe.
“What are we going to do with this guy?”
“···wait.”
Lepe waited for orders.
Soon the parasite moved her mouth.
“You say bring it in.”
“is it.”
This was somewhat expected.
Since time immemorial, apostates have had an eye for ‘unique’ things. Lepe felt a little sympathy for the boy.
‘Receiving his attention…’
This is not a good thing at all.
This is something to be afraid of. Lepe clearly remembers ‘what’ those who received the apostate’s love took on.
Among the four disasters, it is the one that should not be associated with the most.
That is Gletus, the apostate. Lepe frowned as he felt the parasite writhing along his spine.
“Let’s finish it quickly and go back, Lepe.”
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“okay.”
Even if you don’t say it, you will do it.
Lepe snapped his fingers. The humans sprinkled with charm lifted the girl and carried her on their backs.
“Exit through the underground waterway.”
They nod at Lepe’s command.
They carry the girl around and go deep into the alley.
“······.”
Lepe, who was checking the situation, got down from the box.
“Dike.”
“I get it.”
Dyke grabs the boy’s hair and lifts his head. Lepe bent his knees and was eye level with the boy.
“Hold on tight.”
Lepe let out a short breath.
A sweet scent spreads throughout the alley.
‘I’ve been cleverly avoiding attention so far, so I haven’t had a chance to charm…’
If you hold on like this, it only takes a moment.
Lepe closed his eyes and opened them. Her pink eyes sparkled unexpectedly.
Quickly.
The boy grinds his teeth.
The boy’s black eyes tremble. Lepe looked into those eyes and let out a sigh of admiration.
‘What kind of eyes…’
These eyes are so cute that you can even feel them.
Even as they lose their shine due to fascination, those eyes contain a light so intense that it’s scary.
To live.
Even in unfavorable situations where the power gap is clear, the boy’s intense spirit of life does not dissipate. Lefe licked his lips without thinking.
‘······Shall we just have a little taste?’
There is nothing more enjoyable than breaking down and crushing those with strong will. Lepe imagined those intense eyes colored with joy.
‘It’s fun just to imagine it, but…’
That won’t work.
“Ugh.”
Lepe sighed and shook his head.
He is certainly an attractive prey… but he is a boy who has caught the eye of an apostate. He didn’t do any good by messing with him.
“Tsk.”
Lepe took a bite and blew on the boy’s face. The boy’s eyes lost focus.
“······Take it away.”
Those who are fascinated by Lepe’s orders move.
As they disappeared through the alley, Dyke asked Lepe a question.
“Why are you leaving behind a demonic beast and ordering them to do it? “Isn’t there a magic spell given to you by an apostate?”
“Because magic beasts are easy to detect. And, it all has its uses.”
“Where to use it?”
“huh.”
Lepe nodded.
“We didn’t leave traces in Cadinac for nothing.”
“Are you talking about the corpse? “The things you sucked up and left behind.”
“Rather than sucking it up and leaving it behind… it was an offering to an apostate. “Those corpses are all vectors.”
“···what?”
“It will start slowly by now… so we can take advantage of the chaos and get out.”
What begins?
Lepe responded to Dyke who asked that question.
“Things that can never be overlooked.”
Chuckling, she laughed.
“It’s going to take a long time to sort it out, right? At least, it would be impossible if we didn’t bring a party of warriors from the battlefield.”
And now, on the battlefield, the demonic beasts unleashed by the apostate are rampaging. Demonic beasts that cannot be dealt with without borrowing the power of a hero.
‘By the time I got back after cleaning it up…’
The whole incident will already be over.
Lefe walked away with a bitter laugh.
“Let’s go now.”
There was nothing to be a variable.
It was a flawless plan.
* * *
“what?”
Professor Rania blinked after hearing the story.
“Do you want to say it again?”
The three students who came to the professor’s office are all members of Belnoa’s group. They looked at Professor Rania.
‘I don’t know if what I’m saying is right…’
It doesn’t come off easily.
Originally, group tasks were tasks that students had to solve among themselves. Even if there is a problem with the member’s participation, the professor does not step in to solve it.
‘Resolving that will be one of the items graded in the group assignment.’
So, I was planning on resolving it among them. However, as they searched for Belnoa… they began to feel that things were turning a little strange.
‘I can’t contact you. ‘I don’t even come to school.’
It was out of their hands.
I had no choice but to inform the professor.
“Well, Belnoa didn’t show up to the group project meeting… so I went to the dormitory, and they said he wasn’t there.”
When one person opened their mouth, the other two also opened their mouths.
“I guess I didn’t come in last night.”
“Yes, I asked the kids in the Combat Magic Department and they said they didn’t show up in class all day today…”
Three students speak side by side. Professor Rania, who had been listening to them in silence, smoothed her chin.
“hmm······.”
She thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“Would you like to proceed with it among yourselves first? As for Belnoa, I will contact the owner of the Dark Tower.”
2.
There is a boy who has been living in the slums.
As is often the case with people living in dirty places, the boy’s life had no value. Since it has no value, it also has no meaning. The boy lived like that.
A life without purpose is futile.
However, life for survival is not worth living.
What is left of a life without purpose and value?
It was something that a boy could not have known.
Human life becomes brilliant when it has a purpose. The boy also wanted to become brilliant. He wanted his life to have value. The boy who has lived in the shadows hopes for the light.
-what is your name?
And then the boy faces.
The light he had longed for.
-Chloe. That’s my name.
The light I encountered was dazzling than the midsummer sun.
-you?
Even in dirty places, the girl shined.
The boy saw the girl who held out her hand, which was covered in blood. He took hold of her hand.
The hand of another person I held for the first time was warm. In the warmth, the boy remembered his name.
‘Belnoir.’
A name that means abandoned child.
-Bellnoa? Is that your name?
I told him the name I once abandoned.
That’s how Belnoa’s life gained purpose.
It’s funny when I think about it now.
I don’t know why such a girl was in the alley. The weak, good, and needlessly naive girl was different from Belnoa. She didn’t fit in with the slums.
Those who don’t fit in with their surroundings stand out.
Unspoiled purity shines among the dirty. Belnoa was not the only one who longed for purity. Longing sometimes degenerates into greed.
There were people who wanted to covet the girl’s innocence.
There were people who took aim at the girl’s talent.
There were many people like that. There were a lot. Belnoir learned a spell to protect the girl from them. He borrowed a magic book from an old man in an old store and tried studying for the first time.
A life of purpose was rewarding.
Belnoa lived day after day, relying on the girl’s light. Chloe was everything to him. It was the value and meaning of life.
There was a moment when it was taken away.
It was a long time ago.
Belnoir opened his eyes, recalling that moment.
“······.”
My body was shaking.
Heading somewhere while being carried by someone.
Drop, drop, drop.
I can hear the sound of water drops falling. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of water flowing. My vision was blurry.
‘dizzy.’
I felt dizzy.
My thoughts didn’t flow properly. I was so dazed, it felt like I was dreaming with my eyes open.
‘My memory is vague.’
Belnoa pieced together vague memories.
I was definitely walking around the square with Chloe. And, someone tried to kidnap Chloe.
‘I tried to stop it, but.’
Failed. Chloe fainted and was struck by an unknown magic. I lost my mind like that… and the situation continues to the present.
The situation has been resolved.
This is a situation where you need to move your body.
However, the body still does not move. Anger boils deep inside, but it cannot be released. Something is binding you.
‘Where is Chloe?’
It’s not visible.
All you see are walking corpses and unfocused puppets following orders.
······No light was seen.
Belnoir feels fear at the loss of light.
It only takes a moment for fear to transform into determination.
‘is it.’
Belnoir closed his eyes.
His fingers moved. It was not moved according to Belnoa’s will.
Tap, tap, tap.
Fingers are broken.
However, no spell appears. It is not an offering to manifest a spell. It is an offering for a more perfect transaction. The star responds to the offering.
“Do you want to make a deal?”
Although he closed his eyes, he could see the scales in Belnoa’s field of vision. Libra is talking to Belnoa. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.
······Belnoir has always been in control.
He knows his talent.
He also knew very well that it was a wasteful talent that wore him down.
“I want a deal.”
Therefore, Belnoir has always placed restrictions on himself. The minimum offering has been made. She did not dare to look beyond what she could not look beyond.
However, sometimes that time comes.
It’s time to break down the restrictions you have set for yourself.
There are definitely moments when you have to destroy yourself to reach something that is out of reach. And, Belnoa realizes that it is now.
“Offer an offering.”
There was a day a few years ago when the slums were stained with blood.
On the day when a ghost that lost its light ran rampant, the twilight that had dominated the underworld for decades disappeared without a trace. Those who witnessed that day speak out in unison.
What I encountered that day was a ghost.
At least it wasn’t something you could call a human being.
“I dedicate it to you.”
Now many years have passed.
“The deal has been concluded.”
The ghost of the slums opens its eyes once again.
3.
Two days have passed since Belnoa went missing.
Aplia’s academic staff tried to contact the Black Magic Tower, but were unable to connect. Several professors from the Combat Magic Department visited the Black Magic Tower.
Still, the door to the magic tower did not open.
Sometimes wizards poured out through the open door. The wizards of the Black Magic Tower roamed the royal capital. They were with the knights.
The royal capital was noisy with untimely commotion.
I don’t know what happened. There are only rumors that the Black Magic Tower is looking for something. Aplia quietly waited for the Black Magic Tower’s answer.
Not everyone is like that.
“······.”
There are also professors who don’t wait for an answer.
In Aplia’s professor’s office, Raniel was writing a letter. She tried to pronounce what she wrote in her letter.
“The student doesn’t come to school. “What should I do?”
-How can I do it? Are you asking because you don’t know, professor?
-It is right to make him sit down even if it means pulling him by his hair. The surrounding atmosphere will be cloudy, so it would be best to deal with it as quickly as possible.
“oh······.”
She nodded absentmindedly at the message that came back. It seemed like a pretty attractive option. Folding her stationery, she stood up.
“Let’s go look for it.”
If a child does not go to school, it is right to catch him/her.
‘They’re even doing group work.’
This means that he escaped during the mission. That’s like a deserter.
‘And deserters deserve to be punished.’
Raniel made that decision.
“Master, I will go out and come back.”
“Where are you going?”
“······hmm.”
She said as she put on her gloves.
“Let’s go catch the deserter.”
“······A deserter?”
“Oh, isn’t he a deserter?”
Raniel tilted his head.
“Wouldn’t it be similar in meaning?”
“······Please don’t just cause an accident.”
“Yes, Master.”
A word from the author (author review)
Aplia’s nightmare as she hunts down the ghosts of the slums.
Damn it! Belnoa!
*Please see the illustration commemorating 30,000 favorite works in the notice!
*The subheading has been changed to “Escapee from Group Tasks”!
