Chapter 310

C310. What is this…. (1)

The north of the Ashtalon Kingdom.

Perhaps due to receiving a bit of influence from the northern climate, that place always maintained a low temperature, even when the seasons were clearly defined.

There, Kurak was observing the strange door in front of him—

No, more accurately, he was observing the object he had brought from inside the door.

It was a rusted spear.

A spear so corroded that anyone seeing it would think it could never be used as a weapon. But what caught his attention wasn’t the spear’s utility, but its appearance itself.

‘Another type I’ve never seen before.’

Kurak turned the spear in all directions.

It was so old that its shape couldn’t be distinguished well.

Even so, there was one thing he understood with total certainty:

This spear did not exist in this world.

“Hmm—”

Of course, he had no need to discover such a thing.

From the beginning, the order he had received from Hazard was not to investigate the true nature of the door, but to extract the source of the power emanating from it and obtain the “original stones.”

Even so, he couldn’t help but be interested in these things due to the always strange landscapes he saw every time he entered the door.

‘Like painted scenes from another world. Perhaps they aren’t from another world… but completely ancient things.’

Kurak became absorbed in his thoughts.

But then—

“Do you want to know?”

Upon hearing that voice, Kurak opened his eyes wide and turned his head.

A man was standing there, behind him.

He wore a black holy mantle, and his body was adorned with numerous chains.

Kurak felt a cold sweat run down his back.

And it wasn’t because of his appearance.

‘I didn’t feel… even a trace of his presence…!’

Neither before nor after receiving power from Hazard had he experienced something like this.

There was no being capable of escaping the senses of someone who had already reached his limit and transcended repeatedly.

Even Hazard himself, who had granted him power, could not escape his perception.

But—

That man had escaped Kurak’s senses.

And so perfectly that, even having arrived right in front of him, Kurak had perceived nothing.

Even now that he looked directly at him, he couldn’t feel the man’s aura.

Instinctively, he grabbed his weapon.

Kuung—!

With a wave of his hand, a huge hammer appeared in it.

A hammer even larger than Kurak, measuring over two meters; a weapon so gigantic it was hard to imagine how it could be wielded.

But Kurak lifted that hammer with a single hand as if it were nothing, looking at the man in the black mantle with deep tension.

“Hmm— I don’t believe I offered an aggressive greeting, but it seems yours is.”

The man in the black mantle smiled lightly.

In an instant, he appeared in front of Kurak and lightly touched with a finger the hand with which he was trying to react.

An extremely soft touch.

However, with just that—

“What—?!”

Kurak’s body, which was trying to quickly move that huge hammer, became completely paralyzed.

As if he had never been able to move from the start.

“Ghh—!”

His eyes became bloodshot, and his body began to expel a colossal amount of magical power.

His muscles swelled in an instant, displaying a murderous power capable of crushing the man in front of him.

But—

“You don’t need to strain yourself so much. You won’t be able to move anyway.”

“W-what is this—?”

Even so, the man in the black mantle spoke with total calm.

He slowly took something out of his chest and placed it on Kurak’s arm.

And then—

“II”

Kurak’s body began to turn black.

The man observed the transformation and took the spear Kurak had been holding.

“Since I gave you a body I like as a gift, I suppose I can give you a small present too.”

He moved the spear gently and, while Kurak struggled desperately to free himself even as his body darkened—

“The door… is a fragment.”

He pronounced that phrase.

But Kurak didn’t hear the man’s words.

He couldn’t hear them.

“Ghhhk!”

He was too busy trying to escape.

The vessels in his eyes burst.

His muscles were bursting from not being able to withstand the force.

However—

“It is a fragment of another world.”

The man continued speaking with absolute tranquility.

And then.

When the blackness flowing through Kurak’s arm consumed his mind as well—

What reached him was:

“The one with the eyes—”

A dry voice.

“Fragment.”

And several dozen concentric circles superimposed in terrifying yellow eyes.

---

A week later.

“Then, see you next time.”

“Understood, brother.”

Alon arrived back on dry land, said goodbye to Radan, and they parted ways.

“He looked a bit gloomy. Did you feel it too?”

Evan asked as they both watched the ship moving away in the distance.

Alon nodded.

“I know.”

“Shouldn’t you say something to him, even a little?”

Evan was right.

Alon had noticed the worry on Radan’s face but hadn’t asked anything.

Even so, Alon shook his head.

“If he doesn’t want to talk, I have no reason to force him.”

He recalled Radan’s expression.

The awkwardly forced smile.

It was evident he didn’t want to reveal his worries.

If Alon asked, he would undoubtedly answer, but that would only mean forcing him to talk about something he didn’t wish to.

That’s why he didn’t ask.

If Radan didn’t tell him something, it was because he had a clear reason.

After watching Radan’s ship in silence for a good while, Alon spoke:

“Let’s go.”

He headed toward the carriage.

Just as he was about to get on—

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just that… the carriage is clean.”

“And is that a problem?”

“It’s just… we left it here for almost a month, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then it should have some dust.”

Alon, unintentionally, nodded.

He had never paid too much attention to cleanliness, but it was logical.

Uuuung—!

With a small amount of magical power, Alon checked the carriage just in case.

But he found nothing unusual aside from its cleanliness.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, well…”

They got on and began to move forward.

Meanwhile, Basiliora and Blackie had placed a board similar to chess in front of them and were playing.

[Kkhahaha!!]

[Nyaa.]

Alon watched them move the pieces with their clumsy heads and adorable paws, and concentrated on what he had to do.

‘First, find the three objects.’

The Mask of the One Who Walks.

The Blessing that Howls.

The Jewel of The One with Closed Eyes.

Luckily, Alon knew where two of the three objects were.

And the process to obtain them wouldn’t be that complicated.

But the Jewel of The One with Closed Eyes never appeared in Psychedelia, so he had no idea where to look.

‘For this, I’ll have to ask Nangwon for help.’

The leader of the information guild could undoubtedly help.

[I won, stupid beast! That proves your intellect is inferior to mine— Kyaaa!]

[Nyaa—]

While Alon was thinking, Blackie was crushing Basiliora’s head with its paw on the completely ruined board.

Evan watching Blackie motionless despite the movements of Basiliora’s tail, Alon thought:

‘……When will Blackie grow up?’

Of course, only a year or two had passed; it was impossible for it to be in the mature stage.

But he knew Blackie grew quickly by absorbing things, so the doubt barely lasted.

“Marquis. I remembered something I should have said earlier.”

“Is it important?”

“Not really. Just that, thanks to you, the bandits are disappearing.”

“?”

“What does that mean?”

Alon tilted his head, confused.

“Well, I don’t understand it exactly either, but…”

Evan began to explain with an uncertain gesture.

A few minutes later—

“So… in summary, if they eliminate bandits and show proof, they can enter the Shinto (Divine Land) of the Palatio House?”

“Yes.”

Invisible hooks dug into Alon’s mind.

“Who is spreading that?”

“I don’t know…”

“Did we make such an announcement?”

“Of course not. We only made that ambiguous notice you asked for.”

“Then… how did it turn into ‘bring me proofs of dead bandits to train in the Shinto (Divine Land) and obtain the power of Kalanon’? It makes no sense.”

Alon touched his head, dizzy.

“And besides… why would they want to enter the Shinto?”

“It seems there is a rumor.”

“Rumor?”

“Yes. I don’t know where it started, but they say that if one trains in the Shinto, one can use the power of Kalanon.”

“Just to confirm… we didn’t start that rumor, right?”

“Of course not.”

Evan replied firmly.

Even so, no matter how much Alon thought—

‘How did it go from ‘we only accept the righteous’ to that?’

It was incomprehensible.

‘What is happening…?’

A strange sensation invaded him.

---

Several months had passed since the Sin destroyed Fildegrin.

Thanks to the human mages, the city had been almost completely rebuilt.

In one of the halls of the royal residence—

There was Rine.

With a serene expression, she was drinking black tea.

Kiiiik—

The door opened by itself.

She looked forward and showed a slightly surprised expression.

Because someone who shouldn’t be in that place was there.

“Oh.”

That person was—

“Yutia, what are you doing here?”

It was Yutia Bloodia.

With the light of the blue moon behind her and her crimson eyes shining, Yutia appeared in front of Rine.

“Don’t make that face, Rine. Hidan must have already told you.”

“I didn’t think it would be now.”

“If it’s you, you must have felt I was coming, right?”

Yutia smiled.

“Ah, did you figure me out?”

“Aha.”

After that greeting disguised as lightness—

A cold silence fell between the two.

…A heavy, chilling silence.