Episode 152
Seo Ji-an’s confidence was not in vain, and fortunately, we were able to go beyond the civilian-free zone and proceed as we wished.
Shoot!
“… The terrain is too rough. It’s harder to move than a cliff.”
As Cheongjuhwa said, this area was definitely not made for people to pass by.
Because it overlaps with the mountainous area where there was volcanic activity, the rapids are strong and there are cliffs in all directions.
If you fall into the water and float away by mistake, there is a possibility that you will be isolated.
However, it can not be helped Because it was such a place, there was a possibility that Yeouiju was hidden.
“Can you move?”
When I asked Seo Ji-an, the weakest of the three of us, she sighed slightly and nodded her head.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any problems yet.
“Do you feel any energy that is separate?”
Since there is water everywhere, Seo Ji-an’s search ability will be able to show off her skills here.
After taking a deep breath for a moment and concentrating with her eyes closed, Seo Ji-an immediately pointed her finger at a place and continued speaking.
“… That’s amazing. There’s something at the bottom of a cliff about two kilometers away.”
“Can you see so far away at once?”
“It was difficult at first. It was so strong that I could notice it.”
That was pretty good news. If it was an object that exuded such a presence, there was a small possibility that it was none other than the female maid of the Blue Dragon.
We hurriedly raised the pace and moved in the direction Seo Ji-an was leading.
And, finally, I was able to reach the cliff.
“It really feels like a foreign country. Ordinary people can’t come back if they go down.”
“… The signal doesn’t work well either. I think you need to be careful.”
However, I couldn’t hesitate. I once again summoned the Black Yin and the Black Swan and took the lead and led the party.
“Where do you feel the energy?”
“… Inside the rocks of the cliff?”
It kind of feels like déjà vu.
As if following the characteristics of the games of that time, this time, the place where something was hidden was a secret space inside the cliff.
Soon after we broke the rock to find the entrance, we went inside one by one and started looking around.
However, this time, he could not easily find the source of the energy.
“Can’t you feel anything?”
“… Maybe it’s because I’ve entered the place where the energy is emitting, so I can’t tell from here.”
Then you just have to run with your feet.
After rummaging around for a while and searching the inside of the space without rest, I was finally able to come to a definite conclusion.
“This space itself exudes energy.”
“okay?”
“I don’t know why, but a strong spiritual power resides throughout the land. It may have been used as a training center in the past.”
I don’t know why the earth had the energy in the first place, but in any case, this time it was meant to be empty.
Cheongju-hwa and Seo Ji-an walked up to the top of the cliff again with regretful faces.
It was a bit depressing, but anyway, with this, there was only one final destination left.
‘In the end, that was the right answer,’
In fact, I thought if there was a place with the greatest potential out of the three, it was there.
A beach in Sokcho, Gangwon-do, somewhere beyond that sea.
Toward the place where Yeouiju was waiting, we moved on again.
***
There were quite a few people on the beach.
Although it was the end of April, when the weather had not yet cleared up, it seemed that people often came to set up their tents, cook ramen, and spend the night with their families.
Perhaps that’s why one of the lifeguards was out and inspecting the beach, so we went ahead and reported the situation.
remorse.
“I am Han Kang-yoon, a nationally recognized third-class exorcist. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to worry about it, since I’m going into the depths of the sea to investigate for a while.”
“uh? Ah, that’s right. Okay. Are you in a dangerous situation?”
“It is not. There is no need to evacuate citizens.”
The opponent was a surprisingly young man, and he stared at the exorcist’s license in my hand and immediately began to leave with a surprised look.
The fact that I, who was probably only seen as a student, was an exorcist certified by the state seemed quite strange.
After a while, a familiar voice began to resound through the speaker installed at the beach.
[iced coffee. microphone test. We will broadcast an announcement. A party of exorcists from the state is currently entering the beach to investigate, but we ask that citizens, please do not enter inside the boundary line as before and work in the inner area. We will broadcast the announcement again… … ]
Hearing the details, it seems that he was worried that the citizens who saw us going into the sea would break the rules.
As I reached the front of the wavy beach all of a sudden, the cheongju flower slowly opened my mouth.
“But how are you going to do it? Do you have any marine food gods?”
She asked as if she was looking forward to it for some reason, but unfortunately, such a shikigami did not exist in me today.
Instead, there was a more convenient means of transportation than that.
Whoops.
“… I was just expecting it.”
Seo Ji-an, who received my gaze, sighed a little, and began to build a thin curtain of water by raising her spiritual power.
Eventually, the circular curtain surrounding us naturally melted into the waves and floated on the water, leaving the beach.
Cheongju-hwa groaned at the experience that could not be easily experienced, and I, too, nodded my head with satisfied eyes.
So, as before, we wandered around and searched for the Blue Dragon’s Yeouiju.
“I don’t see anything special.”
“… The same goes for this one.”
“it’s okay. Because I wanted to go a little deeper from the beginning.”
The monster that appeared at Ayajin Beach was originally discovered on Oki Island in Japan.
And from there, it crossed the East Sea in a straight line and landed here in Ayajin, and achieved two or three grades in the meantime.
In other words, when this beach and Oki Island were connected in a straight line on the map, it meant that Yeouiju of the Blue Dragon would exist somewhere along the way.
‘… The direction is certain.’
But frankly, I can’t say how far forward I’m going to go.
Even though I thought Gangwon-do was the most certain, the reason for taking the lead in other places is also the same. It was because I had an intuition that exploration here would not be easy.
slurp.
sway.
sway.
Iron bullshit!
About an hour passed like that, but again, there was no noticeable result. Questions began to appear on the faces of the group as well.
“there… … . Where are we going? If it goes on like this, it’s just Japan… … ?”
That’s right.
Frankly, if we go any further than this, there is a risk of conflict with the South Korean navy and Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.
‘Honestly, I thought I’d find it around here.’
But I had no intention of backing down. Because this was absolutely necessary. The adversity that is to come is even more formidable to just step back in the face of such a problem.
Having made the decision, I hurriedly started giving instructions to the two of them.
“I will go down from here. Let’s submerge the air bubble and move around it so that we don’t get noticed.”
If it’s the magic of the future that I have, it’s enough to neutralize the detection devices of this era.
In response, Seo Ji-an expressed dissatisfaction with me with a somewhat sloppy expression while diligently raising her spiritual power.
“… I wish I could tell you this in advance. I mean, I’ve never done it before.”
Rather than being angry, it felt more like a complaint. In fact, the role of Seo Ji-an, who has to move the air bubble, became more important as he suddenly had to do such a dangerous thing.
Of course, I gave the instructions because I thought it was not difficult for her now, but Seo Ji-an seemed to be somewhat burdened with the current situation in which she was responsible for the two of us.
To that, I honestly admitted my mistake.
“sorry. I didn’t expect it to come this far.”
“… I understand, so please support me so I don’t make a mistake.”
sway.
Seo Ji-an slowly began to send air bubbles down to the bottom of the water, forming several small bubbles to continue the passage for oxygen to enter.
And in accordance with it, I steadily developed the concealment technique.
Whoops.
slurp.
Seeing the two of us like that, Cheongju-hwa asked.
“What can I do?”
“… If a monster appears, intercept it.”
“Hey, you can’t come out of a place like this all of a sudden.”
At that flagrant remark, Seo Ji-an and I looked at her with slightly anxious eyes.
In response, Cheongju-hwa slowly turned her gaze away and continued speaking.
“It is a thing of the past that there are many monsters in the sea, but these days, it is the same as on land. In the first place, there are very few youkai that can work in a place like this.”
It was definitely true, but uttering it from the front doesn’t make me feel reassured.
And, not surprisingly, my thoughts soon became a reality and came upon us.
“Uh, huh?”
“… Whoa.”
Cheongju-hwa fell into bewilderment as if this could not happen, and Seo Ji-an sighed.
‘Level 44. Are the stats and characteristics average?’
If that’s the case, it’s not that difficult. After making an estimate, I gave the instructions to the quiet cheongjuhwa.
“Can you catch it by yourself?”
“… that, yep I’ll take care of it right away.”
Feeling that it was not good to disturb Seo Ji-an, who was concentrating, Cheongju-hwa crushed the opponent by pouring out a spell more quickly and accurately than ever before.
Truly amazing power and speed, apparently it had only been a little over a month since the last fight, but she was showing more growth than before.
“Bar, didn’t you bother?”
“… yes. No problem.”
Leaving behind the cheongju flower, breathing a sigh of relief, I showed a somewhat questionable gaze at the strange sight in front of me.
It was because he had caught the appearance of the monster’s body shrinking as if it were shrinking, just before he was ordered to disappear.
‘no way?’
A phenomenon that appears in youkai who have temporarily increased their strength under the influence of some kind of energy.
If so, that means at least it was nearby. The object that gave him power.
“Let’s focus. The target is probably nearby.”
“Uh. Blue Dragon just… … .”
As if my thoughts were not wrong, Blue Dragon, who had been silent all along, began to signal Cheongjuhwa.
It was very simple.
“Do you feel a familiar energy? around here.”
“… Wait, I just felt it.”
Seo Ji-an, who slowly moved the air bubble and moved it somewhere, landed on the submerged sandy bottom and pointed at it with her hand.
“This time this time. Are you sure.”
Blue Dragon’s reaction and Seo Ji-an’s feelings. This is definitely the correct answer.
I finally felt that this tiring journey had come to an end, and I began to deploy various spells to find the entrance.
and immediately after. Perhaps it was a reaction to one of the spells he had been shooting, a sudden vibration was felt and the ground shook.
“Huh? Something is wrong with this… … .”
Whoops!
Without even having time to finish speaking, we felt a powerful force grabbing us and we were sucked into the ground together with Sergean’s air bubbles.
As we grabbed our dizzy hair, tangled up in a bubble in a shock we couldn’t control our bodies, the shock finally stopped and a new world opened up before our eyes.
‘… What’s this?’
It was a huge structure submerged in the sea.