120 – Salvation Begins – 2
Noon the next day.
The sun rises in the sky and walks in the shade of the canyon.
A quiet canyon without the usual chirping of birds, the cries of insects, and even the usual sound of the wind.
The desolate stillness was perfect for concentrating on the final showdown, but there was no time to delay any longer.
I took a full day’s rest to replenish my calories and relieve my fatigue.
Before departure, Ersia prayed to someone and Hye-seo calmly prepared for the campaign.
‘….’
Lesha and Nayeon had been whispering back and forth since yesterday, and for some reason it felt like Lesha was teaching Nayeon(?).
Because when Lesha said something, Nayeon nodded her head.
When I tried to listen to what was being said, Park Na-yeon, who has a keen sense, would clear her throat and end the story.
Did the two become very close?
Well, since they are two people who can be said to be close(?) Among the group, they may have had a lot of stories ahead of the final battle.
“Hey, Lesha?”
First of all, I quietly called Lesha.
Before entering Gaikan, there was something I wanted to ask.
It was a difficult thing to bring up, but there was no time to put it off any longer.
“Huh?”
Lesha answered her call by organizing her luggage.
Resha and I were in a relationship anyway.
The end of the contract was the point at which the responsibility between Lesha and I was fulfilled, and I now knew what that responsibility was.
I was brought to this world with a single boast that I would chew on the main character.
And, circumstantially, the completion of [Hidden Peace Academy] Will be the destruction of illusion.
I was possessed to achieve the destruction that Choi Do-han could not achieve, and the end was coming.
The moment of separation was approaching, but Lesha was keeping quiet about how that moment would begin and how it would end.
“… Do you have time to say goodbye?”
So that’s why I asked.
Lesha’s hand stopped as she was organizing her luggage.
Then, she answered again while packing up her luggage.
“Okay then. Don’t worry.”
For some reason, the answer wasn’t pleasant, but I didn’t ask any more questions.
Lesha was the one who believed and followed my words no matter what anyone said.
So, if Lesha doesn’t worry, she doesn’t have to worry.
“Okay. Are you ready?”
Lesha looked at Nayeon once, then withdrew her gaze.
“Yes. Done. You?”
“Me too. Shall we depart then?”
“Yes.”
We packed our bags and gathered at the departure point.
A solemn energy is in the air, and a pressure I have never felt before weighs on my shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
At my command, everyone started wearing mana filters.
It looks similar to an oxygen mask, and the mechanical device that covers the nose and mouth will filter out impure substances and dark mana in the air.
The dark mana thickly spread in Gaikan was like poison to us, so we didn’t forget to take extra.
ㅡHu-eup, Hu-eup.
The sound of breathing mixed with mechanical noise echoes in the quiet canyon, signaling the approach of the final battle.
ㅡJump, bump, bump….
Soon.
We started walking towards the end of the canyon.
#
“Hannah! hehehe, are you okay? !”
When I heard the news that my daughter had entered the capital, Han Baek-ho rushed out to greet her.
As expected, even the capital Seoul could not be free from Chimera’s air raids.
Rather, the walls had collapsed in various places due to concentrated attacks, and the hunters and holders were having a busy day hunting down villains and monsters hiding in residential areas.
In particular, the central communication tower had completely collapsed, making communication difficult even within the city.
The paralysis of the communication system was the core of the strategy for victory, so it was a preemptive strike.
So, while Han Baek-ho was leading the monster hunt, he was heartbroken over the news of his daughter that he could not hear.
“Dad!”
When Hannah sees her father, she quickly runs over and falls into his arms.
“I’m sorry. Really sorry. Because I’m stubborn for no reason….”
“It’s okay. “It’s okay because you’re safe.”
Baekho Han hugged his daughter and stroked her back warmly.
After the brief father-daughter reunion, Hanna takes out a note from her arms and hands it to Baekho Han.
“What is this?”
It was a note received from Taejin containing Gaikan’s coordinates.
“Gaikan. “This is where the head of illusion is.”
“… What?”
“Cadet Taejin Han, Hunter Nayeon Park, Holder Hyeseo Kim, and Cadet Suah Yoo are heading there now.”
“What?”
Han Baek-ho made an embarrassed expression.
It was hard to believe that her daughter, who returned safely, brought up Gaikan’s location, which not even the Monster Management Bureau knew about, no matter how much it was her blood.
“But Gaikan is a place where even its name is unclear. It’s not a place where individuals can find out. “Who gave you this note?”
“I’m going to Taejin.”
“What? Isn’t that guy just a cadet? Nonsense.”
Gaikan is a place where even the Monster Management Bureau has been unable to find any traces of it despite being chased for several years.
From Baekho Han’s perspective, this is an unbelievable story.
But.
“It’s okay. “Because my son is not an ordinary cadet.”
Another being hidden behind a veil.
“The five people headed to Gaikan to save us, so now it’s our turn to save them. “Han Baekho Hunter.”
The appearance of [Maehwa Palace], Which once dominated the hunter world, puts an end to all doubt and distrust.
From noble mtl dot com
“Ah, I should call you guild leader, not Hunter.”
“Da, you…” ?”
“When the decisive battle begins, countless monsters will appear in Gaikan. We need a subjugation force for five people.”
#
ㅡ Jerking around.
When I pierced the thick fog at the end of the gorge, I saw a low tower.
The distance is approximately 5km.
About an hour had passed since I walked towards that place, and other than a little difficulty in breathing due to the mana filter, there was no threat or danger.
Ersia was like that.
Before the decisive battle begins, Gaikan is said to have a heterogeneous peace.
Hye-seo also seemed to have roughly anticipated the scenery here.
Unlike us who always get puzzled, he was walking with a calm expression as always.
Perhaps it was because the place called Gaikan was the same place as the ‘Holy Land’ or ‘Valhalla’ for the villains.
Considering that the dark mana called the mana of death was spreading in this peace, it was just a dingy place.
“I don’t see a single monster. “Is this really Gaikan?”
“Senior was never wrong.”
At Nayeon’s doubts, Hyeseo gave a clear answer.
Anyway, we have Ersia.
If this place hadn’t been for Gaikan, she would have talked about it a long time ago.
It’s just that I’m not used to this alien peace and tranquility.
The sight of birds flying and deer running around was definitely no different from the world after the happy ending.
It feels like paradise for animals that cannot use mana.
The towering black tower at the center of peace created a bizarre scenery.
Anyway.
“We’re almost there.”
“You don’t know we’re here?”
Lesha muttered to herself as she looked at the empty entrance to the tower.
An entrance that doesn’t seem to have any common guards or common traps.
The seemingly welcoming(?) Entrance was a little disconcerting.
“You’ll find out if you don’t know or if you’re preparing a surprise when you go in.”
Our cool-headed Holder looked around the entrance and answered that question.
The more I look at him, the more he seems to have great courage, maintaining his composure in any situation.
ㅡStride.
If you see them suddenly trying to enter the entrance first.
Is it not great courage but a reckless spirit of challenge?
He quickly stopped her and stopped her.
“Nothing good comes from a hasty approach.”
“There is nothing good about staying still like this. “Aren’t you going?”
… Are you under the illusion that you are at some kind of driving test center?
Or, does she have a grudge against Rachel that is so severe that her composure is shaken?
‘Well, I’ve never had a deep conversation with Kim Hye-seo.’
In fact, all I knew about her was that she was a junior who closely followed Han Chang-ho and that she had a strong sense of professional responsibility as an investigator for the Monster Management Bureau.
If you think about it, she knows nothing more than the cosmic being Ersia.
Well, I didn’t even think that she would be an obstacle.
We camped together for over a month and fell asleep trusting each other.
She always goes out of her way when it comes to villains, and she also knew that when Lesha was poisoned by Kel Katon poison, she ran around until her feet were sweating to find a cure for her.
Rather than worrying about whether she might mess up her work, it would be more beneficial to worry about what she does about me.
However, I couldn’t help but feel a little worried because reason should take priority over emotions in the upcoming ordeal.
He had heard from Ersia about the trials this tower would present, but unfortunately, he said that he could not give an answer because this was his first time with this personnel composition for the 53rd episode.
What I can tell you is the reason why this tower is called the ‘Tower of Trials.’
It is said that it literally brings out the despair that an individual has or is deeply hidden, but sometimes despair that is hidden so deeply that one is not even aware of it can become an ordeal.
So even I, who heard the whole story, had no idea what kind of ordeal would come.
It is a self-evident fact that you have to face it yourself to know it, and that you need reason rather than emotion to overcome it.
“They won’t let us in easily. “You may face a great ordeal.”
“Anyway, life is a series of trials. “If I wasn’t going to hesitate now, I wouldn’t have even started.”
Hmm.
Well, you are saying only the right things.
“I’m not hesitating. “At the very least, let’s leave the external reconnaissance of the tower to Drok and climb up.”
“… Well, something like that.”
Phew.
Fortunately, the argument ended with Hyeseo taking a step back, and I threw the black dagger I was wearing at my waist into the sky.
ㅡWhoo! Huh!
Soon, Drok began scouting around the tower.
#
ㅡKkii, kkiing.
“They say there is nothing unusual on the outside. “They say there’s nothing?”
“It’s strangely quiet.”
“Okay. “Shouldn’t you at least come pick me up at this point?”
Just as Nayeon said, there might have been at least one sign of it at this point, but the tower was as quiet as if it were dead.
Did he at least run away when he found out that we were heading towards Gaikan?
Although it is a reasonable inference, we decided to rule out that possibility out of hope that it would not happen.
And I have never seen a novel anywhere where the main boss ran away before the end.
In the end.
“… “I guess they want it to come up.”
I had no choice but to face it personally.
“Okay. “I will follow you anytime.”
“Let’s go.”
“Just what I hoped for.”
“Holy defender. Even though it may not completely protect your mind, it will somewhat offset the abnormal effects.”
Ercia casted a skill like her grace above our heads.
We straightened up our line and entered straight into the entrance of the tower.
And I.
“Huh-?!”
Unfamiliar ceiling, no.
Looking at the familiar ceiling, I had to raise my body like a private who had just been assigned to his unit.
The ceiling was damp and moldy here and there.
The wallpaper is torn and the old bookshelf is standing precariously as if it will collapse.
“Heo-eok, hee-eok, hee-eok.”
I’m breathing heavily as if I’ve sprinted 100 meters.
I quickly turned my head when I felt a foreign object in my hand.
[Hidden Peace Academy Settings]
I saw a book with a familiar title.
It felt like waking up from a long dream.