Though he considered them his own kind, Kaiyak never expected such ingratitude, and that made him even angrier.
Right after Alex and Yona left, he couldn’t contain his rising fury, declared his separation from his kin, and set off on his journey.
Naturally, he thought they would have left through the exit instead of the sanctuary, so he headed that way.
After running for a while without spotting Yona and Alex, a glimmer of hope led him back toward the sanctuary, where he eventually found Yona and Alex loitering nearby.
That was a surprise.
Seeing Yona with swollen eyelids, he could guess what had happened, and perhaps feeling guilty, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
“What’s up, why are you here?”
Kaiyak hesitated for a long time at Yona’s sulky voice, which still dripped with annoyance.
The Lizardmen were in the wrong. It wasn’t the demons that caused them harm; if anything, it was the Mermaids who had inflicted damage. The biggest culprits were those Lizardmen who hadn’t been able to kill the Mermaids in yesterday’s fight at the sanctuary. Even so, Yona had exposed her vulnerability to save the Lizardmen.
“…I came to go with you guys.”
Kaiyak wasn’t great with words.
Instead of saying he was sorry for everything and that he, too, was disillusioned with his kind and wanted to join them, that one sentence slipped out instead.
“What about your kids?”
“…They’ll manage just fine.”
Lizardmen didn’t really have strong attachments to their offspring.
They’d grow up just fine on their own. Kaiyak had grown up that way, and though he hadn’t seen his father since just before reaching adulthood, he hadn’t really missed him either. He figured his kids would feel the same.
“More importantly, Yona. Are you really trying to purify the sanctuary after seeing that?”
Kaiyak couldn’t understand why she was here.
Sure, he had requested help, but that was when things weren’t as dire as they were now. Since the Lizardmen had done this to Yona, wouldn’t it matter less what happened to the request?
Despite this, the fact that she was heading toward the sanctuary confused Kaiyak.
“It’s your request, you dumb lizard. It’s about your hometown.”
Yona huffed, sniffing back her frustration.
She really didn’t want to help. Given the vibes, it was clear that purifying it would only lead to more tattoos.
But if she just ignored it like before, there was no guarantee that another monster like the Mermaids wouldn’t show up.
If that happened, the Lizardden would be doomed.
‘Can’t just leave it lying there…’
Those tattoos.
Even if they covered her entire body, she could just ask Ceres to erase them later.
*
The serene sanctuary with its black water was calm.
It was hard to believe that a fierce battle had taken place here just the day before.
In front of the sanctuary, the three of them sat around a campfire, and it was already night.
The night fell, and the darkness settled quietly, leaving them in silence for quite a while.
Dripping oil fell steadily from the wild game meat hanging over the campfire.
With every drop of oil hitting the fire, a crackling sound echoed.
The light reflected off their faces, which glimmered with a reddish hue.
In a silence that no one dared to break, time dragged on awkwardly.
“…It’s done.”
Kaiyak picked up a skewer.
With his thick-skinned hands, he placed the meat on a wide leaf and tore it apart while it was still hot.
“Eat up, Yona.”
“Okay.”
That boiled chicken yesterday was quite tasty.
Yona took the piece of leg meat offered by Kaiyak and bit into it.
There was only a sprinkle of rock salt for seasoning, making it taste like nothing special, but maybe because she was hungry, it was still palatable.
Thus, the meal began, but the awkward atmosphere lingered on.
Alex and Kaiyak were watching Yona, while she silently gnawed on her meat, creating a rather amusing scene.
“Uh, Yona.”
“Yeah.”
Unable to endure the awkward silence, it was Kaiyak who spoke up.
He placed the meat he had been holding onto the leaf and turned to Yona.
“It’s not too late. You don’t have to purify; just leave. Those guys only come to their senses after they’re dead.”
It seemed Kaiyak still couldn’t come to terms with it.
Alex didn’t particularly say anything, yet looking at past experiences, if they purified here, the chances of getting more tattoos were too high, so to be honest, he wished they wouldn’t.
“…I will. Kaiyak, your kids are cute.”
Those short arms and legs.
The adorable way Kaiyak’s kids, little and squat, scurried around with their tiny tails swishing here and there was undeniably charming.
Rubina was cute too, but even though their races were different, the way the still childish Kaiyak’s kids behaved held a particular cuteness of its own.
If Yona didn’t purify this place, it would turn into an outlet for her anger right now.
But if later on, she hears that something went wrong at the sanctuary and the Lizardden was destroyed, she wouldn’t be able to put that burden to rest.
“If I’m doing it, I’m doing it for your kids, not for you, Kaiyak.”
At those words, Kaiyak shut his mouth.
After hesitating for a long time, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Thank you, Yona. You’ll surely make a great mom.”
At those words, Yona opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short.
She took a deep breath and let out a short sigh.
“…Yeah.”
Alex’s eyes widened.
Even hearing something that would make anyone leap up and shout obscenities, Yona didn’t react much at all.
“So, for sure, there’s an altar in that cave?”
“Yeah. It’s definite.”
Where Yona’s gaze fell was a dark cave with a gaping maw.
There was a dark, gaping cave.
Nestled near the sanctuary, the cave seemed to be the source of the sanctuary, with black water flowing out of it. According to Kaiyak, there was an altar inside that cave.
If it was anything like what happened in James’s village, there must be something that plays the role of the sacred tree, which means that altar is probably it.
But it was far too late now, and since night was the time for monsters, it was way too dangerous to go in now, so we decided to stay here near the sanctuary for the night.
As the awkwardness faded, fatigue set in.
Yona, her eyelids heavy, rubbed her eyes while staring into the campfire.
We hadn’t decided who was on watch yet, and while it would be nice to shout, “I’ll take the first watch!” right now, all I wanted was to sleep, even if just a little bit.
Alex noticed this and, patting the sleeping bag laid out for Yona, said to her,
“Yona, you should just sleep instead of taking the watch.”
“Why?”
“I know you stayed up all night yesterday.”
Yona didn’t reject Alex’s statement; it was true that she was tired and had indeed stayed up all night.
But with just the three of us, if Yona skipped out on watch duty, that meant Alex and Kaiyak would have to split it between them, which wasn’t cool.
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“It’s fine.”
With that, Alex smiled.
As Yona quietly stared at Alex’s smiling face, she nodded slowly.
She was tired, and since Alex was being nice and letting her off, there was no need for her to insist otherwise.
Besides, tomorrow was a task that Yona needed to handle, and the other two didn’t really need to help out with it.
Thinking that way, Yona slithered into her sleeping bag.
As soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted straight into sleep.
*
Ludvik and Scarlet were like a disaster to the dead.
Empowered directly by divine strength, Ludvik and Scarlet, fueled by faith in the celestial being, were more than just nemeses to the dead. It took no time at all to deal with the creatures that crawled out from under that tree.
The issue was with the tree itself. Thanks to Scarlet, the fog had lifted and no longer spewed out from the tree.
What on earth is the identity of this tree?
Why is this tree standing here?
Most importantly, is this even a tree?
Amidst these questions, Priest Vigrind kept his distance as safely as possible and attempted to purify the tree, protected by Ludvik and Scarlet.
– Kweeeeeee!
“Yikes…!”
Startled by the sudden scream that erupted, Vigrind flinched and covered his ears.
The tree was violently shaking.
The golden brilliance enveloping it seemed to resist, shaking the branches and twisting like a worm, the roots that were sunk into the ground wriggling as if they were alive, letting out a scream.
Ludvik and Scarlet simultaneously blocked Vigrind’s path. The shaking roots caused the ground to tremble slightly too, and since this could potentially lead to a collapse, Ludvik stepped back a bit and pulled Vigrind closer to him.
Ludvik took a step back to avoid a potential collapse and wrapped his arms around Priest Vigrind’s waist, pulling her close.
Meanwhile, the tree was shaking and screaming in agony. The more Vigrind chanted, the more her voice melted into desperation, and the golden light shone intensely, enveloping the entire tree.
Black smoke began to rise. The magic dwelling within the tree could no longer withstand the divine power and finally burst into flames.
As the flames ignited, they spread throughout the entire tree, and the golden glow fiercely pressed against the wood, unaffected by the fire.
Ludvik bit his lip as he watched Vigrind’s complexion turn pale.
Purification would consume divine power as well, and considering the tree’s immense size, it was undoubtedly a heavy burden for Vigrind to purify it entirely.
Despite this, Vigrind continued to chant with her eyes shut tight. The sight of her, drenched in cold sweat yet determined, appeared both pitiful and beautiful to Ludvik.
“Screeeech…!”
The final cries echoed out. The flames surrounding the tree finally died down, turning to smoke, and the golden light began to diminish gradually.
As the magic that had inhabited the tree was entirely purified, there was nothing left to burn.
And at that moment, Vigrind slumped faintly.
Ludvik quickly caught her, as she fainted from the excessive release of divine power.
He then placed Vigrind back into Scarlet’s arms and spoke in a serious tone.
“Sir Scarlet, I entrust the Saintess to you. I’ll check on things.”
“Hero, let me go with you.”
“No. The Celestial God didn’t grant me power to stay back for no reason.”
Scarlet couldn’t argue further with Ludvik shaking his head.
If he refused from up there, it would mean denying both Ludvik and the Celestial God, so Scarlet had no choice but to nod in agreement.
With his spear aimed, Ludvik slowly approached the remnants of the tree. The still pungent wood was almost completely charred, and even as Ludvik drew closer, he could no longer feel any magic. Given that it couldn’t withstand the Saintess’s purification, it was fair to assume it had all been eradicated.
He poked around the debris with the spear’s tip. Each time he turned the remnants over, smoke that hadn’t escaped rose into the sky. The smell of the smoke now resembled ordinary burning wood, and nothing seemed out of place.
As he rummaged through, something snagged on the tip of his spear. When he pulled it with slight force, a bundle of necklaces was dragged out.
Ludvik’s face hardened as he picked up the bundle of necklaces and examined them.
It was a rosary with the insignia of the Church of the Celestial God turned upside down.
Ludvik had seen that rosary before.
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