STM 84

“Your Grace!”

Haas ran over and caught Tairok, but he managed to support himself with his sword and got back on his feet. Then, while glaring toward where Dorgo had vanished, he spoke harshly.

“I can catch him.”

“Yes, you must. He probably went to the lake.”

Tairok nodded in agreement agreed with my words, then he turned to Haas. Haas swallowed, seeming to understand what that look meant.

“T-the lake, do you mean the Crystal Lake? But, Your Grace, are you really going after him in that condition? You can’t even use your strength properly!”

“Open it.”

“But… yes, I’ll open it.”

Haas bit his lip, looking flustered, but he obediently opened a portal. Tairok quickly walked toward it, then turned to look at me.

“You?”

“I need to break this damn shield.”

He stared at me for a moment without saying anything. Then he turned to Haas and gave an order.

“You stay and follow Lu’s command.”

“Yes? You mean follow Adeye Lu’s command?”

Haas pointed at me with his finger and asked incredulously, but when he saw Tairok’s expressionless face, he quickly bowed his head.

“I-I’ll follow the order.”

Before stepping into the portal, Tairok looked at me once more. Then he adjusted his grip on his sword and disappeared.

When the portal closed, I turned back to my task immediately. Behind me, Haas was bursting with the questions he’d been holding back, but I didn’t have time to listen.

‘Mo, mark the spot Dorgo looked at.’

As soon as I ordered it, a red dot appeared under one of the glowing stones embedded in the wall. I warned Haas before grabbing my club and moving toward it.

“Step back. If this isn’t the first black magic stone, you could die.”

“What? First black magic stone? Wait, are you trying to break the shield here? Hey, don’t!”

Haas, who had been speaking in an strangely polite tone, suddenly shouted in panic.

“You can’t find the first black magic stone! The only person who knows that is that crazy black magician, Dorgo or Dorun or whatever his name was… ah.”

I ignored him, and tapped the wall with my club.

Thump.

It was just a light tap, but cracks spread across the wall. I kicked the cracked part down, and things hidden inside tumbled out in a heap.

There must have been at least were a hundred small black stones. I cursed without thinking.

Ah, you sly bastard Dorgo.

“Ugh! They’re all black magic stones. No, no, no! If you touch black magic stones used for sorcery the wrong way, we’ll die right here! Not just us, the whole castle will burn down!”

Haas screamed in something close to terror. I supposed messing with black magic could indeed cause a disaster.

I added that to my knowledge and stepped closer to the pile of black stones.

I didn’t have a plan. I only thought Dorgo must’ve left some kind of mark so he could find it later. Then I noticed something.

Among the many black stones, one of them was subtly releasing dark energy, like smoke rising. I sensed it instinctively.

It’s you.

I picked it up with my hand, placed it on the floor, and warned Haas without looking back.

“Get back, just in case.”

“What? Wait, you’re not trying to break that—”

Before Haas could finish his sentence, I brought the club down.

Crack.

The black stone shattered easily with a small sound. It remained still for a few seconds, but nothing happened.

Did it work? I turned to check the shield, but it was still glowing with that unpleasant light. It was the chatty Haas who confirmed my suspicions

“Wha—what is this?! What the hell is this?!”

His shock was directed at the shield. It seemed even someone else could now see that disgusting thing. I decided I would thank Bichon when I saw him next. Then I asked Haas.

“When you break the first black magic stone, there’s no danger afterward, right?”

“What? Ah, well, in theory, yes, but…”

So that’s how it is. I lifted the club again and stepped forward.

“Hey, wait, where are you—!”

Haas now sounded more like a spectator than a participant. His jaw dropped when he saw me swing the club at the dark shield. There was no sound from the shield as it was being struck by the club.

Whoosh, whoosh.

The only sound was the wind blast from my swinging club. It was like an impenetrable wall, unbreakable no matter how hard I struck it. Well, it made sense that something that could trap a divine beast wouldn’t be easy to destroy. I had no intention of giving up, but I couldn’t just charge forward recklessly.

‘Mo.’

As soon as I called the name, Mo gave me an idea.

[There’s a spot where Zav touched the shield to check it. It’s likely that spot has a small gap.]

Ah, right.

I ran to where Zav had collapsed. Mo marked the exact point Zav had touched with a red dot, but I didn’t even need it. That spot was the only place where the flickering over the whole shield was weaker.

Whoosh.

The club moved with a louder sound this time. Once, twice, three times. Even as I gasped for breath, I didn’t stop swinging.

Behind me, Haas was now lamenting, as if he could not understand my actions.

“Why are you doing this? What even is this shield, and why are you trying to break it? I mean, I’m working so hard to help you, so I deserve to know at least a little…”

“The Borhumi divine beast is trapped inside.”

“A divine beast… what?!!”

His voice echoed through the cavern, but it barely reached my ears.

Please! Just! Break already!

I swung the club with all the strength I had.

Rip

I heard a small sound, like fabric being ripped apart. Huh? I froze and looked at the shield. There was an actual crack. Haas must’ve seen it too.

“W-what the hell is that club? You could beat monsters with that thing.”

Could it really beat monsters? I decided I would test it later. Just as I thought, another tearing sound followed.

Rrrip.

That was the beginning. The small crack began to spread in every direction like veins crawling across glass. Slowly, it spread through the entire shield that covered the lake.

I stared blankly at the sight, gasping for breath.

“G-get back!”

I heard Haas shout, and before I could react, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Huh? The next moment, the shield shuddered like an earthquake, and it shone with a blinding light.

Like a mass of light breaking free from an eggshell, the shield completely shattered, filling the entire cavern with light.

It was a piercing blue light.

It was so bright I could barely keep my eyes open, so I covered my face with my arm. But it didn’t last long. After a few breaths, the cave returned to its original darkness.

Ha, ha… did it work?

Still panting, I slowly lowered my arm and froze. The blue water filling the underground lake rippled. No, it wasn’t water. It was the coils of a gigantic blue serpent.

Then the serpent’s head rose slowly. That was the beginning. It lifted itself until it touched the ceiling, and five tails spread out behind it like a peacock’s fan.

Its size was overwhelming, far beyond what could fit in the underground hall. It was a magnificent sight.

Now my heart pounded for a different reason. I couldn’t move, overwhelmed by awe, until I met its gaze.

It felt like diving into the depths of a vast blue ocean. I was afraid, as if I was alone in an endless sea, yet at the same time I was captivated by the immense beauty of nature.

So when the serpent’s form began to fade, I even felt a hint of regret. Huh? Is it leaving? As if it heard my thought, a voice echoed in my head.

‘I’ll return, my child.’

It was my grandmother’s voice, the same warm tone that always made my chest tighten no matter how many times I heard it. She used to call me her child even after I was grown, and hearing that again left me speechless.

So I couldn’t move for a long time even after the divine beast disappeared. Then someone touched my arm. I turned and saw Haas, his face serious.

“What’s wrong?”

At his question, I realized I was the only one who had seen the divine beast.

“…Nothing.”

He didn’t seem to believe me, but he didn’t insist further. He was busy with something more important. He was picking up the black magic stones.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, these things are rare… and expensive. Very, very expensive.”

“…..”

“…Do you want to pick them up together?”

“Let’s do it.”

I quickly stuffed the black magic stones into my pouch. Right, when a quest ends, you have to collect the loot. When my pouch was full, I got up.

“Let’s go to the lake. We have to help His Grace.”

Haas’s expression grew serious, and he immediately opened a portal. But as soon as we passed through, a sound I hadn’t expected made my blood freeze.

‘Kkirikhit.’

It was the cry of a monster.