Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Kua Holy Order (5)
Creak.
When I forcefully turned the doorknob, the lock broke easily.
I didn't even use much mana. It would have been an easy task even for Beden, who hadn't gone through the Selection Ceremony.
'But why?'
Simurtr scanned Beden's hospital room.
The structure and the furniture were identical. Beden was sitting on a small cot for children, his face buried in his knees.
“I said, get lost.”
Thud. Simurtr carelessly threw the priest's corpse into a corner. Despite the unexpected noise, Beden didn't even look this way.
“What are you doing?”
So defenseless, what if someone came in to attack?
Even if he hadn't tried to escape, four days had passed; he should at least be prepared to do something.
“...Simurtr?”
“Yeah, it's me. What are you doing?”
“...Why are you here?”
His buried head shot up. Disbelief filled Beden's eyes. It was a voice and a face he should never have met here.
“Don't tell me you were captured too?”
“You think I'm you?”
“If not, you have no reason to be here.”
Beden's voice was devoid of strength.
Were the conditions terrible? A meal tray lay on the floor next to the door. He hadn't eaten, and the leftovers had cooled and hardened.
“Whatever. Stop being so pathetic. Get up, we're leaving.”
“...If this is an experiment, I will not comply.”
“Do you think I’d get caught? I came to do the catching.”
“What?”
“I came to get you.”
Beden's eyes widened.
A rescue party from Mectera? Even so, there was no way Simurtr would be a part of it.
“...You?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
Beden looked at Simurtr.
The black hair reminiscent of Mectera despite not being of Mectera blood, the fierce eyes that seemed to hold a complaint against everything in the world, the rough words and actions in every matter.
“Yeah.”
“...Why?”
He was exactly as Beden remembered.
It felt like an attack could fly at him any second. An attack he could now block, but wouldn't.
It's all my fault. Therefore, Simurtr wasn't the kind of person to come all this way to save him.
“What do you mean, why? Does a kid getting kidnapped need another reason?”
“...You hate me, don't you?”
“You are a brat. Badly raised. I heard Kelken retrained you, have you changed a bit?”
“……”
Kelken.
An elder and a teacher who died trying to protect Beden. At the mention of his name, Beden's spirit sank even lower.
“Lift your head. What did you do wrong to bow your head? The ones in the wrong are the bastards here.”
“...I'm not in a position to be proud either.”
“What. To me?”
Nod.
Beden slightly moved his head, which was buried between his knees.
Kelken died, and he was kidnapped. Things that were normally unimaginable happened unconsciously, and all at once.
Still, thanks to Kelken's education, he had developed a sense of shame. Even in the midst of confusion, once something was formed, it did not disappear.
“You think this is a prison? You’re not even wearing the Information Bureau’s cuffs. You know that now, so it’s fine. Just don't do it again. Look, it's only been a few months and you've already changed.”
Simurtr extended his hand.
The first floor. The floor with the exit to the outside, which he had already found. It was the first thing he confirmed after dealing with the remnants on the first floor.
‘He can't fight in that state.’
It would be different if he had at least managed his body with escape or rescue in mind. The meal tray scattered on the floor was bothering him.
He probably hadn't eaten anything for the past four days. Not just his body, but his mind was half-gone too.
Before a full-scale battle broke out, he had to get Beden outside.
“...My mother died.”
Tsk. Simurtr secretly clicked his tongue.
His mind was more gone than he thought. Not that he could say anything about it. Sixteen.
An age where the presence of a parent looms large.
“...I couldn't protect her. I was the only one there. I should have protected her.”
And in the middle of all that, Janya had committed her atrocity, and now she was dead.
She should have been a little more composed.
She should have thought of the Beden she would leave behind.
“Did you see it?”
“What?”
He didn't like children. He knew how to kill enemies, but Simurtr didn't know how to soothe a child. And there was no time for that now.
“Did you see it? Her death.”
“No…. But I heard she was discarded. Because I was useless. The bastard called father and
Deuhan asked me things I didn't know.”
Father, Deuhan.
The kidnapped Beden seemed to have met the man called father in person. But there was no time to ask now.
“Tell me later, after we get out of here. You didn't see her die? Then what about the body?
Did you see the body?”
“I didn't. I didn't see it! I didn't see her die, or the body!”
Beden suddenly shouted.
He already felt like dying, and Simurtr kept prodding at his sore spot.
“Right, damn it. You wouldn't have seen it. If you had, you wouldn't be human. We already rescued her.”
“What?”
“She's not dead. She's alive, and we already rescued her. By now, she should have arrived at the main castle and be receiving treatment.”
There was no time for persuasion.
He could just return together like this and take a few hits later.
“Really…? Is mother really alive?”
“Yeah. So get up, you idiot. Are you not leaving? You want to stay here like this? Not going to see your mom?”
At first, the arrow would be aimed at him, but soon, he would live diligently with the sole determination of revenge.
As long as he didn't foolishly waste his life, as long as he didn't die, it was fine. Anything was better in the world of the living.
Simurtr, who had already died once, knew that truth better than anyone.
“Let's, let's go! I'm going! Thank you!”
Beden wiped away his tears with both palms and smiled.
“But you have to wait a little.”
“Huh? Why? For how long?”
Screech.
As if on cue, the door opened. Beden, who had been sitting, shot up like a spring. He jumped to his feet and unconsciously placed his hand on his waist.
“You don't even have a sword.”
“Ah.”
“It’s fine.”
Simurtr said without looking towards the door.
“I thought you said you would stay quietly confined.”
From the open door, Deban, covered in blood, was flapping a single piece of paper.
***
[Come to Beden's room.]
It was the note Simurtr had left on the hospital bed. If they missed each other, they would only waste precious time.
“You're here early?”
“There was no need to drag it out. The children were all sent inside, and they were all gathered in the same place. To check if there were any unusual occurrences during the night.”
“You finished them all right there?”
“Yes, there were no black magicians. So it ended quickly. Oh, but the priest was missing.”
“Probably hiding somewhere, slacking off.”
Simurtr didn't show any reaction.
“They seemed flustered too. Said the person in charge has never missed that meeting.”
“Then he must be a sharp one. Hiding somewhere. Or he fled to the upper floors.”
“Alone?”
“Too much baggage will only hold you down.”
“Where did you kill him?”
Deban’s eyes narrowed.
He didn't know how he figured it out. Just like Ael, those sharp ones were awfully good at seeing through lies.
“I don't know.”
“You killed him, didn't you, young master?”
“I really didn't know. I was about to be discovered, so I killed him, and it turned out to be the priest.”
“Where did you put the body?”
“Over there.”
Simurtr pointed to the corner with his finger.
The illusion that had been cast as soon as Deban entered disappeared. The hidden corpse revealed itself.
“You're meticulous.”
“If I were, I wouldn't have been caught.”
Fortunately, he didn't say much else.
As if it wasn't the right situation for it, Deban returned to the main topic.
“I've gathered the children in one place. You're going to send Master Beden outside, right? I plan to send them with him then.”
Deban had already read Simurtr's intentions and was moving accordingly.
Simurtr looked at Beden. Fortunately, his mind was occupied with the fact that Janya was alive.
He might dislike the Kua and the black magicians, but he didn't seem to have any particular feelings towards the children who were test subjects.
“Do they follow you well?”
“Of course, we're family. We're on a different level from the believers who are just nannies.”
“What about the Black Tower guys?”
“They're not coming down, strangely.”
“Then you lead.”
But Beden, in his current state, wasn't enough.
His motivation was high, but his neglected body wouldn't be able to follow.
“What about you, young master?”
“You said they're not coming down. Then I'll have to go up and buy some time. And crush the upper echelons.”
“By yourself?”
“If it seems impossible, I'll pull back. It's easier to do that alone.”
Casting illusions on others was still awkward for him. It wasn't that effective either.
Phantasmal Ability was a power that was more effective when used on the caster themself and the enemy.
“You're not going to pull back, are you?”
“I said I will.”
Deban looked at Simurtr with suspicious eyes.
He talks like that, but what if the situation actually arises?
Simurtr was the type of person to fight with a smile on his face until he died.
“I'll get everyone out and come back.”
“I'm telling you, you'll be a hindrance.”
“That's what I mean. You're saying I'll be a hindrance in a fight. Then you'll pull back.”
“……”
***
“They're really not here.”
Having come out of the facility, Simurtr was inwardly flustered. No matter how strong the individualistic tendencies of magicians were, the sun was already high in the sky.
“Maybe they're all dead?”
The Black Tower was already ruined.
He didn't think there would be that many black magicians. Those who survived or were born here would have mostly left for the Black Land.
The Black Land was a paradise for black magicians. There was no merit for the talented and spirited to feel towards the Black Tower. The Kua? That experiment would only appeal to the old.
‘The young and talented ones wouldn't be doing that already.’
The lack of their own achievements would hit them harder than the limits of their lifespan.
“Still, a Great Magician remains.”
Deban’s words had a point. But at least one person remained. A Great Magician. Simurtr scanned the wall of half of the first floor.
Stairs had been built in the basement for the Kua's research team, but fundamentally, the Magic Tower was a tower without stairs.
“This is the entrance. Remember it well.”
The structure of the tower was circular. Tracing the wall, Simurtr first found the entrance.
Beden and the children were a priority over dealing with the Great Magician.
“You go back now. Get out on your own.”
Simurtr, who had been walking past the entrance, stopped.
The means of transport inside a Magic Tower, which connected floors and treated the concept of space as if it were putty in its hands.
“Can you feel that? It should just be a formula.”
“I use it every day. If I concentrate, there are residuals.”
Just as if you blocked the water in a daily flowing stream, the wet marks would be clear in that spot. Simurtr felt the residual mana caught in the formula and placed his hand on the wall.
“If I take too long, find the Northern rangers. It shouldn't be too hard, they roam the North like it's their own backyard.”
“Suddenly?”
“You and Beden might be fine, but the kids won't be able to stand the cold. Tell the rangers and go to the Grand Duke of the North. I'll go find you.”
“Will the rangers accept us? I heard they're that picky.”
“What can they do? We're still Mectera.”
“We have nothing to prove our identity.”
Deban searched his belongings. He had nothing to prove he was from Mectera. Seeing that, Simurtr also rummaged through his subspace.
Denin Korg's Rift Detector, the subspace, a spare sword, and the elixir Medeoban had personally placed in his hand... Nothing. Despite being an adopted son of Mectera, he had no way to explain it.
“If you ask the Information Bureau, they'll give it to you, won't they?”
“Will the rangers be convinced by that?”
Simurtr recalled the rangers from his past life.
Single-minded fools who only followed the orders of the Grand Duke of the North.
What would such people think if they saw Deban wandering the northern wilderness with children?
“Damn suspicious.”
“I think they'll kill me and just take the kids.”
Simurtr nodded.
But he couldn't just leave the children, who were only grown in body. He felt uneasy about hiding them on the first floor or in the basement.
‘I might be breached.’
He planned to block the entrance when he went up to the second floor. But that was a personal wish. He didn't know how the situation would unfold.
“Who is the Grand Duke of the North now?”
“It’s Grand Duke Lushuala.”
“Lushuala? Are you sure?”
As time passed, the Grand Duke had also changed.
If it was Lushuala, she was the daughter of the previous Grand Duke.
“Yes.”
“Then find an older ranger if possible, one with combat experience. If there isn't one, tell them to call for one. Say you have something to tell them.”
“What if they don't listen?”
“Tell them that Grand Duke Lushuala will regret it for the rest of her life if she finds out.”
“What is it you have to say?”
“...The successor of the Star-Breaking Style is looking for you. Relay that.”
Lushuala hated the Star-Breaking Style more than anything in the world. If she found out, she would want to capture him herself.
“Will that be enough?”
“...It should be.”
“Then how about we request reinforcements with that?”
“They won't listen.”
They might accept out of curiosity, but they wouldn't help. They weren't on such terms, and that was enough.
“What if that doesn't work even after I say it?”
Right. He should also consider the case where the old ranger he met didn't know about the Star-Breaking Style.
“...Tell them there was a last will.”
“Pardon?”
“Tell them you have the last will of Lushuala's former fiancé.”
“Pardon?”
“Aran told me.”