DMHS 35

Frederick and Daisy had heard only a short explanation from the king. On the way here, Kian had added more details, so they understood the situation.

But they still did not know what evidence they were supposed to find.

Kian was the same. Since everything was still only a hypothesis, he decided to first look around slowly.

“Let us check the place where Gimere Harkin’s body was found. There might be something left.”

“Understood.”

This time Daisy stepped forward.

The one who had handled Gimere Harkin’s corpse was a guard from a village near Chronos. The related report had already been sent up to the central knights.

“They say it was a mound about fifty meters west of the city gate. Black blood was flowing out of every hole in his body, but the man himself was smiling.”

“Ugh…”

Frederick’s shoulders shook. Just imagining it was terrifying. Kian asked him a question.

“How much do you know about black magic, Sir?”

Frederick’s face turned pale with panic.

“B-Black magic? Are you suspecting that I secretly studied black magic? I swear to the goddess, I have always walked only the orthodox path! I have never touched anything dark like black magic!”

‘That is a natural reaction.’

Kian was satisfied. Normal mages even hated to say the word ‘black magic,’ often stumbling over the words and saying ‘b-black magic.’

But Daisy did not seem happy with Frederick’s answer.

“If Sir Frederick, the only mage among us, does not know about black magic, it will be hard to find clues.”

“I can at least trace the flow of mana. Let us go first.”

The group approached the ruined city. The closer they came, the taller the walls rose, adding to the oppressive weight.

At last they stood before the city gate.

“The gate is wide open.”

“They must have needed to collect the corpses. After that, the city must have been abandoned.”

Beyond the open gate, the city looked as though it had escaped the flow of time. The buildings large and small remained, but no other voices were heard.

It was a bleak and eerie sight.

Everyone stayed silent, feeling the same thing.

Shhhhhh.

The occasional gust of wind sounded desolate.

“……”

“……”

At that moment, something white moved inside the gate. It went from one building to another, and then disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

Daisy asked in a trembling voice.

“What was that just now?”

“……”

“It could not be a ghost, right?”

“Hic.”

At that, Frederick began to hiccup. Kian spoke calmly.

“We should check.”

“Hic!”

Frederick’s hiccups grew worse.

“According to the reports, there is no one living in the city. We will change the plan. Let us look inside the city first.”

“Hic! Hic! Hic!”

Leaving Frederick hiccuping violently behind, Kian stepped forward. But they did not get far.

“Stop!”

A sudden voice made them turn their heads. A young man was coming from the opposite direction of where they had come.

“This land is cursed! You must not enter the gate!”

Daisy stepped forward, wary of the distance closing.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Aslan Zayd. I was following the traces of the holy goddess on a pilgrimage, and I happened to arrive here.”

Daisy reacted at the word ‘pilgrimage’.

“Are you from Delia?”

“That is correct. I am a shaman of the Delia tribe.”

The young man pulled back the hood of his travel robe. With ash-gray hair and gray eyes, he had striking foreign features and was very handsome.

“I entered the kingdom with an official permit. If you wish, I can show it to you.”

Kian, who had been standing behind, stepped forward.

“There is no need for that. Continue what you were saying. What do you mean by saying the city is cursed?”

“It is as I said. A plague is spreading in this city. Skin turns black, and in as little as twelve hours the patient dies. You must not enter the city.”

Kian asked.

“Sir Daisy, have you received any reports related to this recently?”

“None.”

“Understood.”

Kian moved past Aslan and tried to enter the city. Aslan hurriedly grabbed his arm.

“You cannot! There are already patients in the city…”

Before he could finish, he rolled on the ground.

“Out of the way.”

Lucien had pushed Aslan aside for touching Kian’s body.

Since this had happened often before, Daisy awkwardly helped Aslan up.

“It is better not to lay hands on him. He has just held a wedding.”

“A wedding? But they are both men, are they not? And that one looks like just a brat…”

Catching on quickly, Daisy let go of Aslan’s hand.

Thud.

Aslan fell back on his rear in the dirt.

“Were you not helping me up?”

Daisy gave him a serious warning.

“The word you just said is forbidden. When you are with us, you must not say it.”

“Are you throwing back my warning at me? But I was not joking when I said it.”

“Do I look like I am joking to you?”

Daisy’s eyes shone sharply.

From the last several days, she had learned that the word “brat” was Lucien’s trigger. Among the countless bandits they had run into, the ones who had called him a brat had never gone back safely.

The time it usually took before they were tormented, short of being killed, was half a day. With the city right in front of them now, Daisy did not want to waste time letting Lucien torment someone.

Fortunately, Aslan saw the killing intent in Daisy’s eyes and stood up on his own, brushing off his backside.

“Well, that aside. What matters is that it is true, if you enter the city you will catch the plague.”

Frederick asked in a blunt voice.

“Then why are you fine? If you know this much, doesn’t that mean you also went into the city?”

From the moment Aslan revealed he was a shaman, Frederick had been tense. The kingdom’s mages and the Delia tribe’s shamans could not coexist.

“I am a shaman. I have resistance to what you call ‘black magic,’ so I am unharmed.”

“How do you know what happened inside was because of black magic?”

“Because parts of the land are turning black.”

Kian clenched his fist.

‘Damn.’

Blackened earth was the start of demonic corruption. Negative emotions such as anger, resentment, hatred, jealousy, anxiety, and contempt gathered and seeped into the ground, staining it black.

‘If the land turned black, then the demon ruling this place has crossed over.’

Kian thought of demons that spread disease.

‘Marbas? Sabnac? No, to infect just a few humans there is no need for a demon of plague to step out.’

Kian thought and looked back.

“Lord Lucien, I need the relics from the temple.”

Lucien took the relics from the subspace pouch.

There were three in total. They were silver oval spheres engraved with an eagle, olive branches, and lilac, symbols of the goddess of creation. With the blessing of the goddess, the relics would protect the group from curses.

“There are four of us but only three relics. What should we do?”

“One is enough for me and my mate.”

Lucien gave the remaining two relics to Daisy and Frederick.

“Anyway, we will stay together.”

Daisy reluctantly agreed with a sour face.

“Ah… yes.”

But Aslan’s eyes had completely changed when the relics appeared.

“You carry relics! Are you people of the holy temple?”

‘That’s right. He said he came on pilgrimage.’

Unlike the kingdom, which treated the Delia tribe as heretics, many in Delia believed in the goddess.

‘More exactly, they also believed in the goddess.’

The Delia tribe were polytheists who served both the god of creation and the god of destruction.

Kian shook his head and denied Aslan’s words.

“We are only holding them temporarily because of circumstances. Our faith is poor.”

“There is no need for such humility from those who possess not one but three relics blessed by the goddess. Hahaha! I was worrying for nothing. Now, let us go inside quickly and check the situation.”

Looking like a kindly shopkeeper, he went ahead and entered the gate.

Thud. Thud.

The group walked along the central road. Dust rose at each step.

Daisy looked around at the endless red buildings and asked.

“Where are the people afflicted by the curse?”

“They are gathered in the temple. Though the city has fallen, a little of the goddess’s blessing still lingers there. It has delayed the worsening of the disease.”

“Help from the temple…”

“I came after requesting it. But it will take time for a high priest who can lift the curse to arrive.”

The deeper they went into the city, the darker the sky grew. Black clouds spread, and then drops of rain began to fall, one by one.

Aslan pulled the hood of his robe over his head.

‘We must find a way to stay out of the rain.’

Before anyone could say it, Lucien raised the relic in his hand high.

A faint barrier formed around Kian and Lucien.

Kian watched as raindrops falling from the sky bounced off the transparent shield.

“I did not know the relic could do this too.”

Meanwhile, the rain became heavier and heavier. The surroundings turned as dark as night.

Swoooosh.

Walking under the pouring rain, it felt like they were walking alone together under an umbrella.

Lucien seemed to feel the same, and asked a question he normally would not.

“Do you like rainy days?”