STM 185

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠Hoiga’s eyes wavered, revealing his inner conflict. It was ridiculous. He must be desperate to live to show that side of himself right in front of me, someone he hated so much.

Hoiga will never know what I wanted to see more than the misery of prison or his ugly rage toward me was precisely that look on his face.

That desperate longing to live. The desperation he was only now beginning to feel was an everyday reality in our world.

People endured each day on nothing but this desperation. Yet you came to this world, lived comfortably, and are only now beginning to feel it.

Feeling the rage filling my head, I demanded expressionlessly.

“If you want to live, show your desperation.”

“Are you telling me to beg you?”

“What good would it do to see you grovel? Tell me what you know. Everything.”

Hoiga’s mouth tightened into a straight line. A hollow laugh escaped my lips. This guy hasn’t suffered enough yet. I turned away without another word.

“Wait!”

He must have grown anxious, as he called out to me urgently and sat up.

“Take me with you first. Then I’ll tell you everything.”

“You’re not in a position to negotiate right now.”

“But how can I trust you to keep your promise?”

“Whether you trust me or not is your problem.”

His face contorted. He looked as if he might explode with rage at any moment, but I was certain he would eventually kneel. It was just too horrible here.

“What do you want to know?”

“Tell me where Montaine Bilge is.”

His eyes widened slightly, he was taken aback by the question.

“Why… why are you asking that…? Do you know about Duke Kilu?”

Hoiga’s reaction alone confirmed that my hunch was right. Fuck. The Montaine divine beast really had been trapped by black magic. I felt anger rather than surprise upon seeing the worst-case scenario unfold before my eyes. Was this Kilu’s doing? Was he a dark mage?

“Is Bilge the door of the divine beast? Did Kilu capture Bilge and lock him up?”

There was no immediate answer, but judging by Hoiga’s wide eyes, I didn’t need confirmation.

“Where is it? Where is Bilge being held?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“If you don’t even know that, why are you locked up here? There must be a reason you’re arrested, right? Because you know Kilu’s secret.”

“How did you…?”

“This isn’t the time to be surprised. Just spill everything you know.”

But Hoiga suddenly went silent as if he’d gone dumb. His eyes were filled with terror. I couldn’t help but imagine the worst-case scenario.

“Has the rift opened?”

Hoiga couldn’t even open his mouth and began to tremble. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

“I’m asking if monsters are swarming out because the divine beast’s power is weakening!”

Hoiga’s mouth still wouldn’t open, but his head moved. He nodded slightly. Shit, fuck. Every curse imaginable raged inside me.

I couldn’t make any sense of this situation. What is Grand Duke Montaine doing? Since her power is weakening, shouldn’t she be the first to notice? Could this be the same situation as with Zav?

What if someone like Dorgo is sweet-talking her and deceiving her? Is Kilu playing Dorgo’s role here?

Whatever the case, the important thing was to rescue the divine beast quickly. But how do I find Bilge?

“Don’t you know a place where Bilge could be hiding?”

He shook his head. Hoiga’s answer was disappointing once again. It was a waste of time to ask him, so I started to stand up, but he suddenly grabbed my collar.

“Take me with you.”

“I’ll only take you if you’re useful! One last question. Where’s the rift?”

His blue eyes wavered. But even though he wanted to leave, he couldn’t bring himself to answer. I couldn’t tell if he was afraid of Kilu or if he still didn’t trust me. I deliberately shook his hand off.

“Wait! Kilu took me through a portal, so I don’t know the exact location. But, but there are traces of a volcano…”

Hoiga, who had been about to say something, suddenly stopped breathing and turned bright red. The way his limbs flailed in agony was something I’d never seen before.

“What’s wrong with you?”

I asked, but Hoiga could only gasp for air, as if he’d lost his voice. An answer came from behind me instead.

“That’s the price for breaking his oath with his companion.”

Tairok looked down at Hoiga with cold eyes. He’d been keeping watch outside so I could talk to Hoiga.

“Companion? You mean Kilu?”

“It was a promise not to betray him, I suppose.”

He really shouldn’t have chosen just anyone after getting rejected by the person he liked. He must have grabbed Kilu’s hand in a fit of anger. The guy looked pathetic, but there was no time to waste.

“I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to take him with me.”

“What for?”

“Once he’s able to speak, I need to get some information about the curse.”

“It’s unnecessary. He tried to strike a deal under the guise of friendship, offering to lift the curse in exchange for a price.”

His cold gaze was fixed on Hoiga, so I unconsciously turned my head away. Hoiga seemed to have recognized Tairok in the midst of his agony.

A jumble of dark emotions swirled across his face, laying bare the horror he was feeling without filter. And when Tairok continued speaking, he finally closed his eyes.

“Besides, he always said he wanted to repay the debt for saving his life. He’s untrustworthy. Even if he told us how to lift the curse, it can’t be trusted.”

He turned away coldly, but I couldn’t bring myself to do the same. Before I could move, Hoiga’s body twisted again.

“Gah! Ugh!”

He finally went limp after convulsing for a while. He wasn’t dead. He was barely blinking. In the traitor’s eyes, I saw everything I had hoped for.

Despair and frustration born of rage and humiliation. What finally broke him wasn’t this terrible situation or the fact that I had caught him in it, but the judgment coming from someone he had once loved.

“Lu.”

Tairok called out to me. Yes, it was time to turn away now. I was satisfied with my revenge. But my feet were rooted on spot. Then I heard a question.

“Do you have personal feelings for Hoiga?”

In a situation where every second counted, I should’ve lied to him, but couldn’t bring myself to. Hoiga looked up at me, he was confused as well. I felt the urge to tell him the truth when I saw his face.

Who I was, and what had become of our world. The pent-up anger slowly rose to the surface, but I gritted my teeth instead.

“Later. For now, let’s just get out of here…”

‘Squeak!!’

A spine-chilling sound rang out mid-sentence. The moment I heard it, the blood in my body ran cold. It was the wail of a monster echoing in my head.

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“They say the gate is closed!! We can’t get out!”

Someone’s scream rang out from the chaotic streets of the outer castle. But that cry vanished without a trace, swallowed up by the panicked movements of the terrified crowd.

The people who had rushed out into the streets seemed to hear nothing, consumed by the fear that they had to get out of the outer castle quickly. I was the only one standing still. Someone gently touched my arm.

“It’s dangerous.”

I could hear Nuchir’s concern, but I shook my head.

“The real danger is the monsters.”

I was used to people’s panic. During the first few years after the monsters appeared, chaos was a daily occurrence. But why is it like this here?

Since the monsters hadn’t shown themselves yet, there was still time to escape. But the gate was closed? As I took a step toward the crowd, someone else grabbed me this time.

“Didn’t you say we had a separate way out? That’s what Tairok said!”

The voice belonged to Hoiga. He still couldn’t properly walk and was barely standing with Nuchir’s help.

“Yes, we do.”

I replied and headed back toward the gate where the people were moving. Then Hoiga grabbed my arm.

“Then do as Tairok said. Don’t go around…”

Hoiga barely managed to swallow the rest of his words, but I could tell from his furrowed brow what he was thinking. Don’t go around causing trouble. Instead of listening to his advice, I shook his hand off.

“The gate is blocked.”

Tairok had just run off to find the monsters. I knew from Haas how he’d dealt with the monster that appeared at Crystal Lake, but if there were too many monsters, even he alone would miss some.

If monsters overran the castle in that situation, everyone would be wiped out. And the soldiers must know that. My doubts were only resolved once I reached the gate.

“No one is allowed outside the castle! Everyone step back!”

As the soldier guarding the gate shouted, the other soldiers threatened the people with their spears and forced them to retreat. On the arms of the soldiers blocking the people were the same obedience bracelets that had been on Nuchir’s arm.

Ah, so that’s why they are blocking the gate. But even so, this was going too far. In a situation like this… Just then, an old man bravely stepped forward.

“But monsters have appeared. We must all flee before they reach us.”

“We’ve been ordered to keep the gate sealed. No one who sets foot on Montaine’s soil can disobey orders.”

At that, a young man nearby flew into a rage.

“If we stay here, the monsters will devour us all!”

“But the order is… Hey, I told you to step back!”

Unable to contain himself, the young man charged toward the gate, and the soldiers ran to grab him. But the soldiers didn’t actually need to stop him.

In an instant, huge flames began to rise from the young man’s body. A perfectly healthy person suddenly burst into flames…

I was horrified and couldn’t believe my eyes, but strangely, the onlookers weren’t as shocked as I was. Instead of surprise, the air was permeated with a familiar fear.

Why? The reason was a person who had suddenly jumped from mid-air and landed. From where I stood, I could only see her back, but I could tell who she was from the crowd’s reaction. Everyone was bowing their heads in unison toward her. Grand Duke Montaine.