Chapter 182: Shaela
Shhh!
The once healing wound now faced intense pressure as Lucion was abruptly pulled back by the forceful water stream.
‘Damn…!’
Lucion gritted his teeth.
His legs floated in the air, accompanied by his fluttering hair. His vision swiftly shifted from the ship to the sea, while the ship he had ridden on grew slightly distant, partially obstructing his view.
If he used black magic, he could easily escape.
But here?
Priests stood on both sides.
In the center was Heint.
And behind it lay the treacherous Sea of Death.
Isn’t this the perfect angle to die at?
‘Damn red thread!’ Lucion cursed, feeling as though they had orchestrated everything meticulously just to ensure his death.
―Lu, Lucion! Lucion!
[Crazy!]
Lucion wasn’t the only one who was frustrated.
Ratta and Russell could only stomp their feet in helplessness.
The surging water threatened to cast Lucion into the jaws of the Sea of Death at any moment.
-Lucion. Don’t be startled, and remain still.
There was a flash of light, and Troy appeared.
With swift agility, Troy soared through the air, closing in on Lucion, and used his claws to sever the water stream.
[Great job, Troy!] Russell exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight.
Troy caught Lucion as he descended, landing safely on his back.
“Teacher, is Hume alright?” Lucion asked, his face turning bluish.
Hume had vanished before his eyes. [Hume will be fine even if he falls off the cliff, so worry about yourself first!]
-How is your condition, Lucion? I smell blood.
“You have an incredibly sharp sense of smell. It seems my wounds have reopened slightly,” Lucion replied, frowning and clutching his stomach. His clothes were gradually staining red.
―Does it hurt a lot? Are you okay?
Ratta fidgeted nervously in the shadows.
“Don’t worry, Ratta. Lucion is safe…” Troy began to say, but suddenly, a shiver ran through Lucion’s body.
It wasn’t just Lucion; even Troy’s fur stood on end.
As Lucion turned his head towards the source of the chilling sensation, hand-like shapes emerged from the Sea of Death.
‘Crazy! What the hell is that?’
-Hold on tight, Lucion! Troy swiftly adjusted his course towards the land.
Come here.
Come here. Come here.
Come here. Come here. Come here.
A chilling voice reverberated in Lucion’s ears.
-The corruption wants you.
In a hurried response to Troy’s statement, Lucion spoke.
“Why in the world?”
-It may be because the corruption sensed Ratta’s presence within you. Perhaps it seeks the purifying power that Ratta possesses.
Come here. Come here! Come here…!
The ominous voice grew closer, originating from behind them.
[Damn it! I could banish it with black magic!] Russell exclaimed in frustration.
However, using black magic now would only harm Troy.
“Young master!” Hume’s voice echoed from below.
Lucion looked down.
The sea was illuminated by the priests’ light, allowing Hume to be clearly visible.
The question of whether Hume could swim all the way there seemed ridiculous to Lucion.
But because he was Hume.
“I’ll get off,” Lucion declared and released his hold on Troy.
-Lu, Lucion…?
Troy couldn’t fight against the corruption because using light would harm him.
Being restricted and unable to act freely was truly frustrating.
―Waaaah!
Ratta screamed.
As Lucion opened his eyes against the rushing wind, he spotted Hume in the sea.
He trusted Hume.
Before he could plunge into the water, a cold wind enveloped him.
[Well done, Hume! Lucion, don’t make me worry too much!]
In that brief moment, Russell’s heart skipped several beats.
Despite knowing that Lucion had no support, who would have guessed that he could easily let it loose?
“Thank goodness you’re okay, thank goodness!” Hume sobbed as he shouted.
“Not yet. And put me down, Hume.”
“I smell blood. Sea water is not good for wounds.”
“I don’t want anyone finding out that you can use the power of ice.”
Lucion said firmly.
Phaaat!
Lucion’s body shuddered as light radiated from Troy.
In the midst of Lucion’s bleeding and being struck by the light, he now wanted to be placed in the sea.
Hume could never comply.
“No! Hold on! If you drop him, I’ll kill you on the spot!”
At the sound of a sharp female voice, Hume involuntarily reached up, holding Lucion in both hands.
Suddenly, a floral scent filled the air.
They heard the sound of something growing.
‘A tree branch…?’ Hume’s mouth fell open in surprise.
Abruptly, a tree emerged from the sea.
“Sister!”
Even before her hood fell off, Lucion recognized her.
There was only one person capable of this magic—Shaela.
[Sister? Shaela?] Russell blinked in astonishment at Shaela’s sudden appearance.
She did bear a resemblance to Lucion.
Russell shifted his gaze.
From the mainland, thick and tall trees rapidly grew, following Shaela’s path and shooting up from the sea.
The branches cautiously wrapped around Lucion.
“Phew, that was a close call,” Shaela said, brushing her chest while standing on another tree branch.
Her deep purple hair fluttered in the wind.
“Whoever the hell is laying a hand on you, I’ll beat the crap out of them.”
“S-Sister, should we relocate now?” Lucion was flustered.
Lucion wondered if she had defeated the knights on her way here.
Shaela flinched for a moment, then extended her palm towards Lucion.
Long beams of light shot out from her eyes like threads.
In an instant, a wall of trees rose from the sea.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Crash!
With a loud noise and the gusting wind, Shaela moved her right finger, wrapping Lucion in leaves for protection.
“…What?”
Shaela’s eyes widened in surprise.
The trees instantly withered.
No, they melted.
“What kind of crazy hands are those?”
Black hands stretched out from the dead trees.
Shaela’s fingers moved swiftly, but as soon as they made contact with the black hands, every blooming flower and lush tree perished.
Her expression gradually darkened.
This entity was no match for her.
“You, wrap yourself around Lucion. We need to escape.”
Shaela created a foothold at Hume’s feet.
“This is Hume. He is my butler.”
“Apologies. So you’re Hume. Hume, of whom Anthony was so proud!” Shaela smiled softly at Lucion’s words.
“Anyway, let’s flee! Follow me, butler!”
“Yes! I will follow,” Hume replied with determination as he carried Lucion.
Shaela grew trees to create stepping stones for their escape.
Interfere.
You too, interfere!
The black hand reaching for Lucion trembled as if in convulsions.
Come here. Come here. Huh?
The black hand urged Lucion, its movement sharp and seemingly intent on killing Shaela immediately.
‘Will I be caught? Will I really be caught if I use black magic?’
Lucion grappled with inner conflict.
Troy struggled to break free from the other black hands, and suddenly, with the appearance of wizards, even the knights on the ship had their movements restricted.
[You’ll be caught. Definitely. There’s nothing to shield you.]
Russell discerned Lucion’s hesitation.
The night had already surrendered itself to the priests’ illumination.
There was no opportunity to conceal his face with a mask.
Why doesn’t he understand?
He can avoid it just by using Ratta’s shadow movement.
Kwarr!
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, light streaked down from the sky, striking the black hands that reached out for Lucion.
“…Cough!”
Lucion’s upper body collapsed under the force of the light that appeared right in front of his nose.
Drip.
He leaned against Hume’s shoulder, blood spilling from his mouth.
‘Crazy… I’m going to die because of the light, not that hand.’
“What the hell…”
As Shaela turned her head, someone was standing at the end of the ship, breathing heavily.
“Hey! You crazy bastard!”
Shaela recognized who he was.
It was Heint.
Although she knew there was little she could do, the damage inflicted upon Lucion was severe.
Shaela immediately inquired, “Lucion, are you alright? Or do you think you’re going to die?”
“…The latter,” Lucion weakly replied.
Shaela approached Lucion and assessed his condition.
A chill ran through his body.
Goosebumps appeared all over Lucion’s skin.
[It’s here!]
With Russell’s warning, Lucion shifted his gaze and noticed another black hand looming behind Shaela’s neck.
Corruption.
Being in darkness, it was also eerily quiet.
Perhaps because it had witnessed the hands being killed by the light just now, it quietly approached as if glimpsing a chance to avoid the same fate.
‘That’s impossible. Shaela can’t stop it…!’
Lucion gritted his teeth and using Hume’s back as leverage, he threw himself forward and grabbed the black hands.
The darkness faintly encircled his palm.
—Ratta…
[No, Ratta!]
Russell quickly stopped Ratta.
Purification wasn’t what Lucion was after.
If Ratta were to greatly increase the darkness here while the knights were fighting and all eyes were on Lucion, it would be problematic.
Splash!
As the black hand dissolved within the darkness surrounding Lucion, he plunged into the sea.
‘…Ugh!’
Thanks to the life jacket, he didn’t sink, but the saltwater entering his burst wound was agonizing, almost driving him insane.
However, he could endure the pain because he was accustomed to it.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Hume, like a water ghost, fought off the strong waves and approached Lucion.
Hume reached out his hand, and Lucion reciprocated, grabbing hold.
But a voice tickled his ears, and a sharp pain pierced his abdomen.
A black hand wrapped around Lucion’s stomach, pulling him deeper into the sea.
Upon contact with the corruption, it felt scorching hot, as if it had been seared.
Bubbling.
Foam rose from Lucion’s mouth.
Around the time Lucion was summoning the darkness, Russell shouted.
[You crazy bastards!]
After all, they were submerged underwater.
No one would be able to see this far.
The opportunity had come.
[Don’t lay your filthy hands on my disciple!]
—Ratta will assist this time as well!
Ratta’s tail, which had been concealed in the shadows, stood upright.
In that moment, as Russell unleashed his pent-up rage, the sea distorted.
As the compressed darkness erupted, the black hands gripping Lucion and the ones emerging from the sea all dissolved away.
Yet, the surface of the sea remained undisturbed, as if nothing had occurred.
It was corruption and darkness that held sway now, with no priests to counteract them.
[Hume! Take him and go!]
Prompted by Russell’s urging, Hume swam swiftly, carrying Lucion with him.
Damn it.
I’ll kill you!
I’ll kill you…!
The black hands struggled and shouted, but Russell instead just snorted.
[Come at me if you dare.]
Russell knew.
He knew that corruption had its own consciousness, and they feared the darkness.
But what could he do about it?
If they confronted him, he would eliminate them.
Right here, in the depths of the sea.
* * *
“…!”
His body twitched.
“There you are!”
He rose from his seat.
Time flows differently between inside and outside the door.
Although he knew of the existence of the divine beast of darkness, tracking them was challenging due to the constraints imposed on him.
But the divine beast exerted its power.
Right there.
In the place where his power thrived the most.
“The sea!”
The only place where he could easily go without constraints.
“Ah, in this world, isn’t this place known as the ‘Sea of Death’?”
He chuckled and gazed into the darkness.
“I suppose you had no choice.”
He spoke softly.
“If you summoned me here to protect the vessel, to safeguard the divine beast, then you must have distanced yourself.”
Pfft.
He laughed at the darkness.
“But the situation is not as hopeful as you might think, is it?”
As the darkness around him grew restless, he burst into laughter.
“After all, this is my domain.”
Snap.
He moved his fingers.
“Now I’m going to twist these two things in front of you.”
The darkness rose to its feet.
Their rage was so massive that it distorted the space, but he just chuckled.
He waved his hand.
The anger emanating from the darkness swiftly dissipated.
“Don’t get angry. What’s the point of being angry? You can never defeat me,” he taunted with a smirk.
* * *
Startle.
Lucion opened his eyes in surprise.
“Uh…”
His head throbbed, and his entire body ached.
He felt a burning sensation, as if he were running a fever.
After being rescued from the sea, the black hands disappeared, and he had no recollection of boarding the ship.
―Lucion!
Ratta’s presence tickled his right hand.
―Does it still hurt? Is the pain gone now?
[Are you alright…? I didn’t expect something like this to happen while I was away. I should have been there. I shouldn’t have left.]
Bethel tightly held Lucion’s hand, bowing her head.
She should have been there.
If only she had possessed him, things might have turned out differently.
Lucion glanced at Bethel and tightened his grip on her hand.
It would have been better if Bethel had been there, but at least he was alive.
That was enough.
“Shh, calm down, Lucion,” Shaela comforted, placing her hand on Lucion’s forehead.
“It’s all over now. There’s nothing targeting you anymore.”
“Sister.”
“Yes, Lucion.”
“Are you alright?”
Smack!
Shaela struck Lucion’s forehead hard.
“Ouch… I’m the one who’s injured here!”
Lucion protested, feeling unfairly treated.
―Hop! That’s right! Lucion is in pain right now!
Ratta growled, looking at Shaela.
[Pfft!]
Russell burst into laughter.
He felt refreshed inside.
[Russell. Lucion is wounded].
Bethel was perplexed.
Russell’s laughter was so carefree that it made her question if he had been the one worrying just a moment ago.
“I told you to break that habit of yours, didn’t I? Who is the one truly injured here, you or me?”
Shaela furrowed her brow and spoke.
Author's Thoughts
Her sister is savage ??
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