Chapter 216
‘…No.’
I shook my head as I watched the sudden appearance of the unidentified intruder.
Of course, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down in front of an intruder, so I only did so internally.
“Who…?”
Noticing the sudden disruption, Da-eun cautiously tried to approach—
“Kana, is this someone you kno—”
“Don’t come any closer.”
“W-what?”
My firm warning left Da-eun visibly flustered.
After confirming that Da-eun hesitated and backed away, I turned my attention back to the intruder.
A man with no particularly notable features.
His face was nothing like the angel I had seen when I visited Edel.
However, it wasn’t his appearance that struck me with unease.
…
The angel’s figure.
Or rather, the one pretending to be an angel.
It didn’t take much attention to notice that the man’s eyes weren’t truly looking at me.
Eyes devoid of any light, a void that shouldn’t exist in living beings.
Staring into those eyes filled me with a profound sense of discomfort.
“When did this world become a place where corpses could roam?”
With a short mutter, I swung my arm.
Naturally, the sword in my hand moved along with it.
Ssshhhkk—
The sound of flesh being sliced echoed, and the man’s head flew into the air.
“…Huh?”
From a distance, Da-eun, who had been watching everything, let out a stunned sound.
“D-d-did he die? For real…?”
Her voice trembled with fear.
Her unexpected reaction made me furrow my brow slightly.
Why was she so shaken?
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen someone die…
“…Ah.”
At that moment, I realized something I hadn’t noticed before.
For me, Silia was reality, but for Da-eun, it wasn’t.
Even though Da-eun now understood that Silia wasn’t just a game but reality, it was unlikely her past experiences and perceptions had suddenly transformed.
Especially since Earthlings who connected to Silia were protected by Edel’s blessing.
In short, just because she had seen people die in that world didn’t mean she was accustomed to it here.
‘And watching a head fly off would be even worse.’
Acknowledging my mistake, I let out a sigh.
I should have handled this with less shock value.
But what was done was done, and regretting it wouldn’t undo the past.
In an attempt to salvage the situation, I took a step toward Da-eun.
Even Yuki, who stood beside her, seemed quite shaken but was comparatively composed.
No matter how much of a battle maniac she was, she had still grown up in a peaceful modern world.
It was fortunate that there was only one person I had to comfort.
“U-uh…”
“Da-eun.”
“…Mm…”
“Da-eun.”
“…Huh?”
Noticing she was too panicked to hear me, I called her name firmly. Her scattered gaze finally focused again.
Not stopping there, I gently clasped her trembling hand.
Flinch!
Da-eun flinched slightly but didn’t pull her hand away.
Even though I wasn’t gripping tightly, she could have easily pulled her hand free if she wanted to.
“Calm down.”
“But just now… that man….”
“To me, it didn’t look like a person.”
“…What do you mean?”
Without giving her room to protest, I shifted her gaze away from me.
Although she was reluctant to look, fearing the gruesome sight, I applied slight pressure to her hand, urging her to turn her head.
Her stiff neck creaked as she reluctantly followed my lead.
Da-eun’s reluctant gaze landed on where the man had been.
“…Huh?”
A dumbfounded sound escaped Da-eun’s lips again.
“It’s gone?”
“I told you, it wasn’t a person.”
“No, but I saw it… I definitely saw the head fly into the air….”
“If that had been the case, the place would’ve been drenched in blood.”
Preventing blood from spilling at the moment of cutting isn’t hard.
If I had used the power of Crimson Aegis to sever the neck and cauterize the wound with fire simultaneously, no blood would have leaked from the cut even after some time.
But since I cut purely with the blade, without using mana, the gym floor should have been stained red with the blood pouring out of the body by now.
If it had been a person, that is.
“…Uh….”
The spot where the man had been was now completely empty.
No corpse, no blood, not even a drop remained.
Da-eun rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.
Not that it would change anything.
“What… just happened?”
Yuki, who had regained her composure faster than Da-eun, spoke up instead of the latter, who seemed to be thinking, “Was that just a dream?”
“I’m not sure either.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough information to answer Yuki’s question.
Though I could give some insight.
“But I do know one thing—it wasn’t human. If you call something human just because it looks like one, I won’t argue.”
What’s your stance on this?
I glanced at Yuki, who seemed to understand my gaze, and she nodded.
“I saw it. The body vanished in an instant.”
“You’ve got a strong stomach.”
Even though it had looked like a human, hearing her calmly describe watching the entire process left me clicking my tongue.
The man I cut down…
He possessed Edel’s holy power.
At first, I mistook him for one of Edel’s angels.
But upon closer inspection, the man’s inner self was entirely different from what I knew.
Unlike the angels, who were brimming with radiant holy power, the man’s insides were hollow, like an empty shell.
“…Tsk.”
Maybe he truly had been one of Edel’s angels once.
But regardless of what he had been before, by the time he appeared before me, the man was already dead.
That’s why, when I cut his neck, there wasn’t even a corpse left behind.
“It seems something has happened.”
Whether Edel sent him or not, something like that appearing suddenly in front of me wasn’t normal or routine.
I channeled mana and spread it throughout the area.
My mana, which extended over a considerable range, confirmed there were no other similar entities nearby.
It seemed like these things weren’t popping up everywhere.
Which meant it was likely he had come specifically to me with some purpose.
“Looks like I’ll have to pay someone a visit.”
“…Huh? W-where are you going?”
“Where else?”
Da-eun, who seemed to have mostly recovered from her earlier panic, cautiously asked me.
I waved the Crimson Aegis, still in its sheath, and replied.
“Someone sent me an invitation. It’s only polite to respond.”
The sender of the invitation? Unknown.
The party venue? Unknown.
The date of the event? Unknown.
In fact, I wasn’t even sure if this was an invitation at all.
The paper I metaphorically “received” was filled entirely with question marks rather than clear text.
But if the recipient believes it’s an invitation, then perhaps it is one.
Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter.
‘If they mess with someone else’s house, they should expect payback.’
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t even my house, though.
“Da-eun, Yuki, stay here.”
“Okay.”
If it had been any other situation, it would have been safer to bring them with me than leave them alone.
But for some reason, I felt like that wasn’t the case this time.
That’s why I told them to stay put. Yuki nodded without protest.
“…Do you really have to go?”
Da-eun, however, voiced her objection.
“This doesn’t feel right….”
Her tone sounded no different from her usual whining, but the emotions behind it were vastly different from normal.
“Your voice is filled with sincerity.”
It was paradoxical, but as I looked into Da-eun’s worried eyes gazing down at me, a smile naturally appeared on my face.
“That’s a flag, you know.”
The magical phrase that makes insignificant things seem like a big deal.
If I were to say something like, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon,” or anything along those lines, something would definitely happen.
So instead of saying that, I tightly hugged Da-eun.
Even through her slightly thick clothes, I could feel her warmth.
That warmth, along with her familiar scent, calmed my slightly unsettled heart.
As I rubbed my face into Da-eun’s embrace, a pouting voice came from above.
“…Now I can’t even tell you not to go. That’s so unfair.”
“It’s a premium service.”
One that might never happen again.
“Pfft… I guess it is.”
Da-eun let out a soft laugh and hugged me back tightly.
“Make sure you don’t get hurt and come back safely, okay?”
“I will.”
“Yeah, you said that last time too, but you came back completely drained.”
“…But I didn’t get hurt that time.”
Sure, I was startled, but I didn’t actually get hurt.
Annoyed that she brought up something I’d been keeping in the back of my mind, I pressed my head firmly against Da-eun’s chest.
“…Ugh, this is so obnoxious to watch.”
By the time I finally pulled away from Da-eun’s embrace, I heard Yuki muttering in an exasperated tone.
Whether she meant it or not, she turned her head away sharply.
…Was this worse to watch than someone losing their head?
Pushing aside my minor shock, I stepped out of the gym.
To find out who sent me the invitation.
***
Broadcast nickname: Pine.
Real name: Kim Do-hyun.
For him, today was an ordinary day.
The sun was shining, the sky was clear, the air was pleasantly chilly…
The only difference was that he, someone who rarely went outside, was in the heart of Seoul for a business meeting.
That, and the fact that this meeting was with a company related to his streaming work, not some random, unrelated one.
In other words, even this could hardly be called a departure from his daily routine.
Yes, there were some minor annoyances, but ultimately, today was just another day.
…Or so he thought.
“…What the hell.”
Contrary to his expectations, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
_
There was no warning.
What sound would the sky make if it were to collapse?
He had vaguely imagined it would be something like a thunderous “boom-crash!”
But instead, the clear blue sky split apart in utter silence.
And what lay beyond that crack…
“….”
In the middle of the bright blue day, a night sky suddenly spread out.
…No.
That wasn’t a night sky.
Kim Do-hyun unconsciously took a step back.
Some passersby seemed to share his sentiments, retreating with pale faces.
But not everyone reacted the same way.
“Is this a movie shoot? Did anyone hear about something being filmed here today?”
“Whoa… the scale is insane….”
“How much do you think this cost?”
In the corner of Do-hyun’s vision, there were people marveling at the pitch-black screen and chatting casually.
Even though his instincts were screaming at him, warning him, did they really not feel it?
“…Run.”
Forcing his uncooperative legs to move, Do-hyun muttered under his breath.
“We need to run….”
But where to?
Would running in another direction take him out of the reach of that silent curtain?
Negative thoughts swirled within him, darkening his gaze.
If escape wasn’t possible, then maybe staying here and…
“—?”
Do-hyun, who had been staring blankly at the ground, suddenly raised his head.
‘…What was I just thinking?’
It felt like his thoughts had been unlike himself.
His mind was foggy, as if it were blanketed by a thick mist.
Unable to recall what he had been pondering moments ago, Do-hyun blinked.
It didn’t seem like he could continue his train of thought anyway.
“What… is that?”
Because from the pitch-black curtain that had been still moments ago, a massive arm began to emerge.
Even the visible part of the hand was far larger than any vehicle, tearing through the sky.
It looked like a human hand, but there was no way it could be one.
“…There’s no way that’s a human hand.”
What kind of human could have a hand large enough to grasp the sky?
What kind of human could possess an arm vast enough to drape over the heavens?
As Do-hyun stared blankly upward, a sudden thought crossed his mind.
If the owner of that arm were to fully reveal itself…
What would happen then?
‘…My savings account is almost at maturity.’
Ironically, that was the first thought that came to his mind.
Faced with a scene so surreal and illogical, his mind clung to a hyper-realistic thought.
It was also a sign of resignation, of a person coming to terms with an unavoidable disaster.
And so, Do-hyun continued to stare at the immense calamity looming overhead.
At that moment.
A soft breeze…
“…?”
An oddly out-of-place gust of wind brushed against his cheek.
It was gentle, sweet, yet somehow carried an eerie undertone.
Though wind had no color, Do-hyun inexplicably thought of it as pink.
Instinctively following the lingering trace of the breeze with his eyes, Do-hyun’s own widened in shock.
-Slice!
A single, vivid pink line appeared across the massive hand obscuring the sky.
And along that line, the colossal hand began to split apart.
—
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