EP.148 Teleportation
“어? 이 기척은?”
With her eyes and ears shut, Dawna, who was momentarily cut off from this world, managed to utter an incredulous voice as that murderous intent became evident.
Even from a distance where I could only recognize the clothing and hair color, I was certain that the Hero and the Saint were glaring at this side, thanks to that sharp intent.
“Ugh! It’s cold! Hey, do you have an extra coat?”
The man, who instinctively sensed something but mistook it as mere cold, cheerfully shook his body.
Fortunately, the bystanders, including him, seemed oblivious to the fact that the Hero and the Saint were staring daggers at us.
I needed a moment to ponder why the Hero and the Saint found this unfamiliar man’s close proximity irritating, but soon enough, I reached a conclusion.
They were probably feeling quite jealous that this strange man was snuggling up to me and even throwing an arm around my shoulder.
I never expected them to harbor jealousy towards a guy.
Perhaps because I had been through countless unpredictable situations recently, I wasn’t in a state of mind to make cold judgments.
“Could you back off a bit…?”
“Hey! Why so distant between us? C’mon!”
The moment I tried to push the man away, he suddenly started ruffling my hair with a raucous laugh.
Although his sneaky glances toward the surroundings were quite ridiculous, I had to set aside my growing irritation for now.
“AAAAH! The Hero and Saint are looking at me!”
“No! They’re looking at ME!”
“Another unconscious person! Get a stretcher! Hurry!”
The more casual he became in dealing with me, the clearer the murderous intent approaching from afar became.
In truth, I could easily shake him off with force whenever I wanted.
But given the many eyes watching, such a blunt solution felt inappropriate.
Moreover, I wasn’t inclined to use brute force anyway.
After crossing countless lines and inevitably acquiring tremendous strength that far exceeded that of ordinary people, wielding my fists against someone was my greatest fear.
The memory of accidentally breaking a little boy’s wrist while joining in on their hero games still haunted me.
Apis said you’d get used to hitting people, but that wasn’t helpful advice for me.
“But, you know! Oh! For our bright future, don’t you think we need a moment to talk openly and honestly?”
He coughed once more.
I felt like a cookie-human constructed out of snacks was putting me in a choke hold.
Unlike the rough-and-tumble folks outside, the clergy, who had never encountered physical training, were frail enough to struggle with just a few laps around.
Having once been part of that frail group, I was fully aware of their situation.
I could bet this self-proclaimed “big bro” wouldn’t be much of a physical specimen either.
“Yeah, that’s right! Once the Blessing Ceremony is over, how about we all have dinner together? Of course, we’ll invite the Hero too…”
So annoying…
Just when my thoughts, suddenly quiet like a deserted lake, were about to be smeared with dark ink—
“Lo, Lowville—!”
Dawna’s urgent voice calling my name suddenly brightened my obscured vision.
“D-Dawna? What’s wrong…?”
“What are you doing right now!”
“Uh? I was just—”
As my dazed mind began to regain its focus, my breaths started to hitch.
“Ugh, ughhh!”
My eyes widened involuntarily.
The man, who had been chatting casually just moments ago, was now gasping for breath like a man on the verge of dying, his neck showing prominent veins.
The unique posture of having his arm around my shoulder seemed to disguise his condition from those around us.
But just looking at how his face shifted from red to an eerie blue confirmed without a doubt that his life was rapidly fading.
Who on earth did this?
A question floated up like a buoy on the ocean.
But the answer to that question had already been given to me.
“What…!”
Something was choking the man’s life. And its source was none other than me.
To be precise, a chain extending from my body had coiled around him like a serpent, exuding a formless poison.
Could it be that the Saint had done something again?
A hypothesis formed in my mind based on past experiences, but it was only fleeting.
I did this.
I could assert that much, if nothing else.
This chain was moving based on my will, and I felt that it was trying to eliminate him quickly because I found him annoying.
“Lowville! Hurry! Stop this!”
“Wait! Just wait a moment!”
“Ugh! Kuok! Ugh…”
Dawna gasped and stopped me.
She seemed to instinctively realize that this chain was my creation.
But being completely inept with my hands, I knew I couldn’t control this newfound ability, which I was handling for the first time, even if I wanted to.
“Ugh… no…”
CRACK CRACK
The ominous rhythm coming from around the man’s neck was slowly indicating that my time was running out.
Oh no! If I let this go on, I’d become a murderer in a crowd like this!
It would be different if it were some other part of the body; a human who suffered a broken neck couldn’t be brought back to life even with Divine Power.
Most bystanders were too absorbed in the Blessing Ceremony to even notice us, but a few who caught his shouting of my name were still casting glances our way.
I couldn’t help but feel like everything was doomed at this point.
“Lowville! Hold on tight!”
“D-Dawna!?”
Suddenly, Dawna raised her staff and began drawing power from the surrounding air, and in an instant, a stream of light surged toward her, enveloping my body.
◈◈◈
“Wow, that was close!”
“Ugh, ugh… thank you, Dawna. You saved me…”
To put it bluntly, I didn’t become a murderer.
All thanks to Dawna.
Right before the chains from my body snapped the man’s neck, if she hadn’t used her Teleportation magic to relocate us, I dread to think what horrific scene would have unfolded.
It would have been perfect if she’d selected a better teleportation spot.
Dawna’s space-time magic seemed to still need some work; complaining about that would be downright shameless.
“Is that guy okay…?”
“Yeah… from the looks of it, he seems to be breathing fine, and he’s not caught anywhere. He should be fine…”
“At least that’s a relief…”
In her stead, Dawna reported on his condition since I couldn’t see him myself.
How long had it been…?
“….”
“….”
An unexpected silence fell, and the atmosphere in the area became heavy.
It was hardly surprising.
In the long history of this system that spanned thousands of years, no one had dared to step into the realm of incredible achievements.
Space-time magic.
Even Dawna—who was the first to venture into this domain—could hardly say she had complete control over it.
Once used, you’d be unable to cast even simple spells for half a day due to its dreadful consumption rate.
Even if precisely positioned, for some reason, the original location would subtly misalign.
Not to mention that we couldn’t move objects like clothes or the staff yet; for now, we could only transport life.
Yet, blaming her inexperience for our current predicament wouldn’t be right.
It was I who had put her in a situation where she had no choice but to use her incomplete space-time magic.
Thus, it was clear that our present situation was the result of a series of unfortunate events.
It could best be described as an unavoidable accident.
“Brr, it’s cold… are you okay, Dawna?”
“Now that you mention it, I guess it is a little chilly… but how about you? Aren’t you cold?”
“Oh, me? I’m just…”
Right, we were sitting atop a large bell tower, back to back.
Completely naked.
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