A warm sunlight pours down in the late morning. I took a step outside the lodging. The surroundings were quiet since everyone had already left to enjoy their free time long ago.
I had no particular desire to go sightseeing, originally thinking of staying in the lodging until our return.
That was until I spotted someone walking a little distance ahead.
“…”
That someone was frequently glancing back, unable to hide their discomfort.
“Why, why are you following me…”
Yeon Minha seemed unable to hold back any longer and questioned me softly. Her face, which had been leading the way, showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
“What if something happens while you’re wandering around alone?”
“…I’m Yeon Minha. I’m not that weak, you know? Even if a group of warlocks showed up, I could just…”
“That’s not going to happen.”
Yeon Minha pouted her cheeks slightly in frustration and glared at me.
“I’m telling you, there’s no need to worry. Even if there are enemies, they wouldn’t just cross this wide-open plain. The waterways and sewer systems are thoroughly managed by the local troops…”
“Still, it’s not okay.”
“Then at least you should wear something less noticeable than that armor…”
“Not happening.”
When she allowed the others to enjoy their free time, everyone had looked at her with surprise.
But who would have thought she had such ulterior motives?
After all, she had said this was her first time leaving the capital. Maybe it’s natural to feel that way.
She was strolling down the street, wearing a flowy beige dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat that covered her face.
She’d long since shed the heavy, clunky armor she had worn yesterday.
Since she was like that, she expected the same of me.
Anyway, the security seems stable, and besides, magic does not work on wizards, and even if we encounter an enemy, I’m confident I can restrain them.
But this one thing is unavoidable. I want to accommodate her request as much as possible, but you can never be too safe.
Of course, I hope this peaceful scenery continues forever, but it’s never bad to have at least one person prepared.
“…Ugh.”
At my firm refusal, Yeon Minha’s expression fell immediately.
However, the gloom did not last long. We had spent more than ten days together already. I’ve come to understand her mood to some extent from just small hints.
Today, Yeon Minha is especially light on her feet. Her curious gaze constantly darts around, and her bouncy steps make it seem like she’ll take off into the sky at any moment.
I decided to keep a little distance and let her enjoy the scenery.
She stood in front of a flower shop, reveling in its beauty, while wrinkling her nose at a stand displaying disassembled fish.
She immersed herself for a while in a silent film showing on the outdoor stage in the park. Even while focusing intently on a machine billowing steam, her attention was quickly snatched away by a colorful bird that flew by.
Then she took a warm stuffed bread and with a huff puffy-chewed it, nodding in apparent satisfaction.
Trying not to let others see, she quickly reverted to her refined self, but a small crescent-like smile lingered at the corners of her mouth.
Her original status and social authority were entirely concealed by the wide-brimmed straw hat.
The person before me now was merely a girl captivated by the unfamiliar and the new.
Slowly, I too was drawn into this once-familiar yet mundane scenery.
“What, why, why…”
“…Nothing.”
Yeon Minha flinched slightly as she noticed my gaze and shot me a sideways glance. Shaking her head, she hummed a light tune and went back to wandering about.
Soon, the surroundings began to darken. The sun was nearly touching the horizon, and the moon and the bright evening star started to twinkle in the sky.
Yet, on Yeon Minha’s face was a clear look of reluctance to head back. She kept glancing at the walls and started to check on me from time to time.
“…”
Now that I think about it, what did the flower shop owner say to Yeon Minha earlier? Something about how the sunset viewed from the walls is stunning? What a terrible memory I have.
“…Let’s go.”
“…Hmm, hmm. It’s just that it’s a shame. Right?”
Her expression, adding a justification that didn’t need to be there, couldn’t be brighter.
We began to ascend the stairs that led to the walls side by side.
Before long, the scene of the bright red sun spilling its final twilight around us unfolded before our eyes.
“Wow…”
A reflexive exclamation escaped from Yeon Minha’s lips. It was indeed a sight that seemed hard to come by around the rugged capital.
“People from the capital. The view of the neutral zone is certainly nice, isn’t it?”
Turning at the voice calling out, I saw a pair of soldiers on patrol approaching us.
Yeon Minha immediately took a few steps back, making her usual aloof cat-like expression.
That left me to handle their greeting.
“…It is nice. But about the neutral zone, does that mean really no one lives south of the walls?”
“That’s hardly the case. The name ‘neutral zone’ was given for a reason. It merely suggests that those residing there are no longer treated as human.”
The soldier, wearing a friendly expression, said something quite chilling with his words.
“Criminals and mutants often flee there to escape capture. Even the rebel army of the PLF that was defeated a few years ago is the same.”
“Don’t you hunt them down?”
“Haha, the neutral zone is as vast as all the administrative zones of the south combined. It’s almost impossible to catch those who have fled there. More importantly, while warlocks can control monsters to slip through, the wizards’ fields trigger high-level monsters, making entry itself difficult.”
The soldier spoke on as if the words were flowing from a fish in water, as if he had been waiting for this opportunity to talk during the monotonous day.
“Moreover, beyond that is the territory of an elite class monster known as the ‘Owner of the Southwest Plains.’ It’s a variant called Dartigas, and its size is comparable to the height of these walls. Still, according to scouts, it seems its lifespan is nearing its end, so perhaps once that happens, we’ll be able to venture into the area more actively.”
As I listened to the soldier, darkness had fully settled around us.
“Unlike me, this friend here is a local from the south. Though he was demoted for drinking too much, nowadays, I’m busy drinking with him, haha.”
“Oh dear. That’s just disgusting.”
They exchanged quips as if they were close friends, draping their arms over each other’s shoulders.
The soldier made a ridiculous face, repeatedly opening and closing his hand.
“Sometimes we can see them holding gatherings beyond the plains. When I’m on night watch, the sky suddenly bursts with red fireworks going boom-boom-boom…”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
But just like a lie, at that moment, the small explosions interrupted his words.
Sharp red lights shot into the air. Following that, something resembling a signal began to boom out at regular intervals.
It felt entirely different from the emergency firework magic we practiced. Just the ominous red aura seeping in from a distance sent chills down my spine.
And contrary to what he just stated, the fireworks erupted from a spot inside the city walls, not the plains.
“…Is that what you meant? But it seems to be coming from downtown, not toward the plains.”
“…Yes. It is. Perhaps it could be a report from spies inside. No need to worry too much. We know there are still those lurking around, and the governor’s office is capturing them one by one…”
Boom! Boom-Boom!
The soldier frowned as he mumbled, but his words were drowned out again by a sudden eruption of explosions.
This time, the red light shot up from beyond the remote plains.
“…Today is rather strange. I must report this. You all should head back down the walls quickly…”
In the next moment.
Without any chance to take a breath, a huge rumbling noise echoed around us, sounding like something was vroom-vrooming in a great wave of resonance.
Light began to rise simultaneously from the towers set around the Jinryeong wall.
These were the towers installed to provide moisture to the surrounding crops using weather magic, as explained by Chief Cheon yesterday.
“What’s this? The moisture supply was supposed to be tomorrow, wasn’t it? Did the technicians mess up…”
Increasingly perplexed, the soldier’s face became painted with confusion as the unexpected situation developed.
Before he could finish his sentence, red lights like the previous fireworks began to shoot from several towers into the air.
Then, in the sky, a massive multi-layered magic circuit was inscribed, drawn in blood red. It was so enormous that it completely overshadowed the Jinryeong and its surroundings, its edges were nowhere to be seen.
Once the blood-red magic circle took shape, it swiftly began to dissipate into thin air. Following those traces, particles gradually reformed into a new substance.
However, that was neither the anticipated rain nor rolling storm clouds.
A thick, pungent mist oozed out of the seams where the magic circle had been inscribed. In an instant, it enveloped everything in obscurity. What was once a clear view was now blocked, making it impossible to see even a step ahead.
The blood-colored magic circle meant only one thing.
The emergence of dark magic.
Boom! Bang!
Tatata…!
Beneath the walls we stood on, the city was illuminated in red light, and explosions could be heard erupting everywhere.
Bang!
Help… Gah!
Who is… Who is…?
The view was blocked by the mist, only the sounds of magic and gunfire echoed chaotically around us. The cries and screams that rang out were akin to a living hell.
My hairs stood on end, and my senses sharpened. The atmosphere I had suppressed for a long time from the northeastern front began to crawl up my body again.
Ping!
In an instant, a sound of something ricocheting filled the air, and following the curve of Yeon Minha’s body, a green glow blipped and flashed. A blind bullet fired from the city was reflected away by her field.
“What, what is happening…”
Yeon Minha stammered, looking around in confusion.
In such mist, no one is capable of understanding the surrounding circumstances. It could be a temporary riot or terrorism, or perhaps the worst moment I never wished for has descended upon us.
But in any case, being exposed in an open space in such a situation is the most foolish thing one could do.
“Let’s go down. It’s dangerous here. We need to meet up with the other students and assess the situation…”
I gathered the particles and drafted my first escape route.
Just as I was about to lead Yeon Minha back down the steps we came from, I heard someone gasping from the direction where the soldiers had been.
“Cough, cough…!!”
Those who had just been joking as if they were brothers.
But now, the one who had been enthusiastically talking about the capital had a blood-red blade sticking out from his chest, piercing upward.
With an expression of disbelief, the man exhaled shallow breaths, then his head drooped as if to signify his last.
Then, the person who pulled the blade from his chest came toward us as his target.
His eyes glowed a sinister red, reminiscent of the hue stained on the blade.
“Weren’t we friends?”
“Yeah, we were. Until just now. He died for the cause, so he must have been satisfied as he went.”
The warlock, who had just been masquerading as a soldier, calmly wiped the blade’s blood off against his gloves.
“…This is why I can’t stand your kind.”
But upon hearing words that the PLF members detest the most, he quickly twitched his eyebrows, ready to pounce at any moment.
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