124 – 124. Winds of Plague (6)
Enemies increased from one to two.
Not just demon beasts, but even species with intelligence related to Cheolcheon enemies.
It was a really embarrassing situation.
“Hey… What shall we do now…? We have two enemies…”
“If those guys come after us…”
In the yard that was chased by the rats and ran away right away, even the humans who were afraid of leading the Siren’s joint attack.
“I’m still running out of power because of Shanberesh…!”
“Keuugh… Clever humans…!”
Sirens also lack the strength to deal with humans while protecting the lake, which can be called the Maginot Line, from Shanberesh.
The meeting of these two factions was not very welcome either way.
The vigilance toward each other is unbreakable. If this situation continues, even if all the rats are miraculously dealt with, it will lead to a war between the two forces.
“Wait, that kid…”
“You mean you were with the humans?”
Unauthorized humans cannot even set foot inside the Siren’s barrier.
Thanks to that, they are blocked by an invisible wall.
But a girl set foot in the sirens’ territory. It was possible because he was the only one who received the protection of the sirens even though he was human.
She only wants one thing.
“Senia…”
“Please. Everyone, please send them into the barrier!”
It is to let people know that now is not a war, but a time for cooperation.
***
The humans suddenly appeared on the west side of the lake. And Senia, who jumped out from among the crowd of humans.
Even though Senia has a huge debt and she doesn’t treat them the same, it was an unchanging fact that this situation was very unpleasant for the Sirens.
“Senia, do you know what you just said?”
“I know, Elder. But…”
“Don’t you think it’s too much to say that you know?”
The village gatekeeper glanced at the humans, then intervened with a rotten expression.
“These are the ones who didn’t trust us and abandoned us at one time. They didn’t even ask for an explanation, and you know what we’ve been treated for since that day, don’t you?”
It’s already a pity that he harmed humans, but he was even kicked out of the borders of the principality, which is a livable area in the southern part of the Kemfriton continent.
This is an obvious hostile intention towards humans, needless to say.
“The sirens aren’t in such a relaxed situation. If we join forces to help them, we might be able to drive out the beasts!”
“Aren’t they accusing us of holding humans hostage again?”
“Reinforcements will surely come. Until then, if we can help the authors prove that the Sirens did not harm humans…”
“Proof is all we have to do. Proof that humans see us as enemies!”
Then other people come forward and begin to support this opinion.
“Hmph. After being kicked out, did you even care about anything? That wasn’t the case either! Aren’t we being taken as slaves as a guilty race? Aren’t you going to get beaten up without any hesitation? You’ve committed all kinds of evil deeds! Don’t you all have something to say?”
“Some bastards cruelly seduced us and combed our skin to satisfy their own self-interest, and my ignorant brother was reduced to slavery.”
“My son went to the principality excitedly saying he had found a job. In reality… His magic was stolen and he collapsed and died from overwork.”
“My older sister is————”
After that, the victims were revealed one after another.
By restraining them who are still full of things to say, the elder replies to Senia in a serious tone.
“Senia. You know now. We ran for our lives. From those humans.”
It was humans who no longer viewed the sirens as the same intelligent species.
They didn’t even treat them properly, and they asked for help several times regarding the public enemy, the Witchbeast, but were ignored every time.
That wasn’t enough, so he was framed. At some point, they began to classify them as enemies or beasts, and even to the cruelty of executing all those who complained of resentment.
It is not strange to treat humans like enemies.
None of the Sirens wants to help humans except Senia.
It was like they didn’t care if they died, even though they were blocked by barriers and continued to struggle. Even though they are weak sirens, they never want to borrow their power.
“Do you really think that? Humans, all of them?”
In the past, the relationship wasn’t so bad that there were human families that interacted with the Sirens.
Senia holds her hope that she can go back then, she shouts.
“There were humans who wanted to help the Sirens. They weren’t! Wouldn’t it be enough to change public opinion if we notified them of the basis of the plague and the power of the Sirens at the same time?”
However, the return is negative again.
“Ha. The people you tried to help? Does that family remain on the map of the principality?”
“Those people. All of them have become criminals and are serving prison terms while defending us. Senia, they are people whose life and death are unknown.”
“…”
“Just give up. Senia. They are being punished for their crimes.”
To her east side, the sirens are also dealing with rats, so it’s a mess.
But in the midst of all this, you’re just watching them disappear as they become prey to the monsters?
It was not a normal accident.
If you think about it, both sides have one thing in common: they are being pushed back by the demons, so you have to think that joining forces is the first step, but now only the light of hatred was shining in their irises.
What should I do?
What and how do I shake it up more to convince them?
It’s okay if my brain burns out, so I wished I could think of just one more thing.
And then.
-Chill!
“Chi, Chire! No, go now!”
Someone’s pet lizard jumped out of the Siren’s barrier.
─Hey, hey Junon!! On your shoulder!!
—Is it a monster…? No lizard? Before that, where is this…
A lizard. It is not a lizard that pays.
But why did Chire suddenly jump out of the barrier? As he rolls his head there, his brain instantly flashes and he discovers a path of hope.
“…!”
From noble mtl dot com
I found it. The reason why the siren must help them.
The reason why you can never refuse.
“If we don’t help now, humans won’t be the only ones who will die.”
“I know. Sooner or later, our bodies will be preyed on by the Devourers…”
The elder’s reaction seemed to be expected, but Senia took out her ring from her hand and said,
“You know my hair was originally black, right?”
“…!”
This ring was an artifact of the sirens.
It is the collaboration of the sirens to cover her unique secret along with her toxic black hair.
By the way, Senia took off the ring as if it didn’t matter if this secret was known.
Senia didn’t care, and continued to say what she had to say.
“What if there’s someone out there? Someone like me.”
“…What do you mean?”
All the sirens fell silent when he asked what they would do if someone like him was over there.
That’s right. Senia is a stranger called from the other world by all the sirens who broke the taboo by gathering their strength.
“The reason why Chire followed me. You said it was because I was special. What if there is a Calix like me that you refer to outside the barrier?”
I don’t have to say where my gaze is going now, it’s clear.
What caught the eyes of the sirens gathered to one side was not hatred, but a black-haired boy and Chire riding on his shoulder.
A moment of silence descended, but the silence did not last long.
“Let’s go inside the barrier for now. We’ll talk about it later!”
Kal’Rix.
When interpreted in the imperial language, it means a familiar, a summoned one.
However, if it is substituted into a heterogeneous language, another meaning is implied.
The guide.
Of course, it does not mean a god that humans serve and guide humans.
However, it was meant to refer to the noblest person who protects and leads the different races in a crisis that comes to them once in a while.
***
‘How did this happen?’
I got help from the sirens, but it didn’t seem to go smoothly.
“Can’t you?”
“Uh… I can’t use magic. It must be because of this bracelet.”
“Ehh, locking them up in a place like this and making them unable to use their strength… What the hell are the sirens up to?”
“Still, because of the sirens, my life was saved right away. Let’s wait a little longer.”
As proof of that, all humans are locked up in this basement.
First of all, if you think back to that time when you were tense… It was the limit.
I thought that the main unit might have arrived at the overlapping sound of rats, but what caught my eyes were people with human appearance, part of their skin covered with scales, and with webbed feet instead of ears.
Yes.
Siren, if you were the Principality of Ardelion, they were here, trembling and hostile.
I couldn’t help but cross their territory and tried to find a good place, but as if to warn them that this area was theirs, there was a transparent wall preventing everyone from passing.
Why can’t I go in? When I stretch out my arm, it just goes in, but everyone else just bounced out.
Anyway, just because I went in didn’t mean I could survive these monsters, so I couldn’t go in.
The demon behind the back, the barrier of the sirens in front of the eyes. It was clear what would happen to the rest of the group, and the Sirens were fighting hard on the other side, so it was ideal for the two races to join forces, unless they were to be annihilated.
Meanwhile, Senia entered the barrier very naturally, and she exchanged some words with them.
That guy seems to have some kind of connection, so he’ll ask the sirens for help through negotiations.
However, even as time passed, the sirens did not add their strength. It’s only coming to mind now, but Rumia said that the sirens felt guilty because they were innocent. I thought that it would be okay to destroy the whole world, so I might not choose to help humans.
As I realized I couldn’t do it anymore and tried to go to them myself, something bounced on my shoulder.
“Hey, hey Junon!! On your shoulder!!”
“Is it a monster…? No, a lizard? Before that, where the hell is this…”
‘This lizard…!’
Thinking back, I had already encountered a siren.
If the child was here too, he could testify in my favor.
I was thinking of going in to meet the sirens…
There was no need for that.
‘The sirens had already come to our aid at that time. After this, the remaining people went to deal with the rats on the east side.’
After this, they said that they couldn’t be trusted yet, and poured all their energy into the people who couldn’t resist, put some kind of bracelet on them and locked them in this basement.
This is the story of how we were able to survive.
‘Four people per room in a physically unbreakable basement. Even though the next room was very close, it seems that everything except for the front door has been blocked out because it is quiet.’
I figured out almost everything that could be figured out. Even so, I wonder if the reason they are waiting is because they have some meaning.
Also, Senia came to visit me for a while and said that she would take it out soon, so I decided to believe and wait for now.
While doing so, one guy complained.
“I’m hungry anyway…”
“Do you still say that in this situation?”
“But we’ll have to feed them! If the Scourge come here again, we can help in an emergency!”
It was John who complained. Since he is a guy who usually lives by his heart, he thought so. Noel stopping by the side is still the same.
A young siren who was guarding the outside of the cellar approached and asked Gil-gil, who was annoyed by a guy saying he was hungry.
“You humans call those rats the Scourge? Indeed…”
“They’re self-destructing, so they’re right about the Scourge. Sounds like a good build.”
“So what do you call them? Let’s see how well you sirens speak!”
“What? Pooh! You’re such an idiot?”
…Wait, this story shouldn’t go on now.
“Sirens once lived in the principality, so they can communicate in the imperial language.”
“Uh… That, is it?”
“Yeah. But there’s a smart guy in there.”
It was almost a success to change the horse. I decided to throw in one more business.
“I wonder what it’s called, and why they’re still keeping us locked up here.”
As soon as he did, the siren’s face hardened.
…Did I touch something wrong?
“I can’t tell you that. Oh, and one more warning. If you try to use your magic, you’d better keep quiet because we’ll keep detecting the bracelet.”
“Sheesh… So I guess that’s why it hummed earlier.”
Warning. They say that if you do something stupid, I won’t let you go.
With that said, he turns his back and goes back to his place.
…In the midst of this, John jumped up, grabbed the bar, and shouted, “Give me some food!! I’m hungry!!” Would you feed me for that?
‘Still, the room is surprisingly spacious.’
For a place where people are imprisoned, they made it possible to rest comfortably. Before entering the basement, each one of them used a cleansing magic.
At least the situation where the sirens execute us doesn’t seem likely.
But one person who hadn’t spoken before spoke quietly.
“Brother.”
The basement is a room for four people. So, there is one more person. The last one was Cain.
And what kind of signals did she exchange when this guy, Senia, came? I remember that she glanced at my bracelet from earlier.
“Brother, if you’re alone, can’t you sneak out of here?”
It seems like he knew everything.