Chapter 36: The Devil's Help
Tak!
Nuri’s boots slammed against the stone as his breath came in ragged, burning hitches. Behind him, the snorting and heavy thud of hooves snapped right at his heels.
They’d flooded the streets out of nowhere. At first, he’d panicked for the villagers, but right now, survival took priority. He had zero interest in becoming boar feed.
Unlike Elina or his sister, he didn't have the magic for a direct brawl. Running was his only option, he just needed to survive long enough to figure out a plan.
The heavy breathing behind him grew louder. Every step sent a sharp stitch through his ribs.
I should've listened to Alina and worked on my cardio.
Where were these things coming from? They didn't look like normal wild boars, their hides looked fused, warped with something unnatural.
Biting his lip, Nuri muttered a quick syllable under his breath. A thin barrier flickered into existence behind him. It shattered a second later, but it bought him just enough time to duck into a narrow gap between two crumbling walls.
He slid against the cold stone, collapsing back to catch his breath.
"Hey there."
Nuri didn't even jump. Lucien stood at the mouth of the alley, leaning on his umbrella like he’d been waiting for a bus. It was classic Lucien, showing up exactly when it was most inconvenient.
Caelan used to say that if you understood how a person was broken, you could predict every move they made. Nuri was starting to get what he meant.
"...Hi," Nuri panted, wiping sweat from his eyes. He hesitated, rubbing his neck. "...Can I ask you for something?"
Lucien raised an eyebrow, lazily spinning the tip of his umbrella in the dirt. "What?"
"...Will you help me?"
The alley went dead quiet. Even the distant snarls from the main street seemed to dull.
"Why should I?"
There it was. The exact wall Nuri knew he'd hit. He took a slow breath, knowing he might hate himself for this later, but making the play anyway.
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"You asked me once if I wanted to know the truth. I do. But if I get eaten out here, I'm not going to find out, am I?"
Lucien stopped spinning the umbrella. He crouched down until they were eye-to-eye, his long hair brushing the dust on the ground.
"Aren't you terrified?" Lucien asked softly. "What if the truth completely destroys how you see everything?"
Nuri had asked himself that a thousand times. What if the answers ruined whatever he had left?
"...I don't know," Nuri muttered, looking down at his boots. "I just know I need to see it."
Lucien stared at him for three long seconds. Then, a small, genuine smile touched his lips. "Fine. Just this once. Besides... the guy running this show is starting to annoy me."
Tucked into Nuri’s coat, Mo hovered in complete horror. The charm’s spirit shivered inside its housing. Is this kid insane? Lucien was a monster wrapped in polite manners. Nuri was terrified of the man, yet he was striking deals with him like it was nothing.
Human logic made zero sense. Mo gave a silent, metaphoric shake of its head.
Lucien stepped out of the alley into the open street. Three boars caught his scent immediately, lowering their heads and charging.
Lucien didn't even change his stance. He gave his umbrella a casual, horizontal flick.
The air cracked, and all three beasts vanished. Gone. No blood, no bodies. Just empty street.
Nuri blinked, frozen. He’d known Lucien was strong, but this was ridiculous.
"...What's actually happening here?" Nuri asked carefully, stepping out behind him.
"I don't owe you an explanation," Lucien said, already turning his back.
Right. Back to being insufferable.
Nuri went to follow, but his boot brushed against something on the cobblestones. He stopped, crouching down. Etched into the dirt was a broken, incomplete magic circle, glowing with the same greasy mana he'd felt on the monsters.
Is this how he summoned them?
He wanted to ask, but he held his tongue, knowing he'd just get another sharp answer.
Surprisingly, Lucien stopped too, staring down at the jagged line of runes.
"What is it?" Nuri asked.
"...This array," Lucien murmured. "It's old."
"Old how?"
"Ancient ceremonial work. Banned a long time ago." Lucien tapped the border with his umbrella tip. "It was meant for offerings to the God of Sacrifice. I've never seen it twisted into a summoning array before. Especially not half-finished like this."
He didn't elaborate. He just turned and kept walking toward the center of the village. Nuri fell into step behind him.
Inside the charm, Mo was trembling.
The spiritual body inside the artifact felt ice-cold. Memories were still patchy, coming back in fragmented bits, but one instinct remained crystal clear: fear the divine.
And the residue clinging to that broken circle didn't belong to a human cultist. It carried the distinct, heavy stench of the God of Sacrifice itself.
They walked in silence down the empty street, Lucien’s quiet footsteps lead-in the way toward the central hall.
"Before we go crashing in," Lucien said without looking back, "we need to figure out what's pulling the strings."
The logic was sound, but Nuri couldn't shake the knot in his stomach. Where were Elina and his sister? He knew they could handle themselves, but the silence in the village felt wrong.
And why was Lucien actually talking to him now? Nuri let out a quiet sigh. The man swung from indifferent to helpful in the span of five minutes.
It was frustratingly similar to Captain Caelan. Both of them walked around carrying mountains of secrets, refusing to share the load with anyone else. Why did the strongest people always have to be so miserable to be around?
Nuri looked up as the moon cleared the rooftops, casting a pale, cold light over the quiet roofs.
I just want this night to end.