661 – 8. Testament (35)
“Haven’t you seen it countless times? No one takes care of the orphans overflowing on the continent, and when the people are hungry and eat mushrooms or tree bark, nobles drink wine worth hundreds of gold in a glass.”
It was around this time that the stopped breathing burst out again.
It was not a peaceful breath. Rather, as if gasping for air, I urgently tried to raise an objection.
“That is.”
“Why does God’s miracle of being fair to all not reach those who don’t have money to contribute to the temple?”
Then, a series of questions sprang up.
I was at a loss for words again, and only breathed heavily.
“Why did the elf get kicked out of his hometown and wander the North? He was hunted like a rabbit or a deer… ….”
“Stop, stop!”
I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I let out a high-pitched scream.
It was dangerous at this rate. While the woman’s words stopped for a moment, I shouted with the utmost hostility.
“Then did you even protect them? No, on the contrary, they were used and tortured even more brutally!”
It was a fact I had personally witnessed. Because of that, he was able to keep his faith in the face of countless temptations.
At the same time, I was anxious inside.
I’m afraid the woman will refute even this.
But fortunately, she didn’t say much about the woman. She just stared at me without saying a word.
I shouted with a strange feeling of relief and regret.
“What the hell has Heavenly Father been doing? I don’t know either! But whatever I do, I’ll be better than you… You are more disgusting ‘evil’ than hypocrisy…… !”
“Then you can change it.”
Because it was an offer I could never have imagined.
My high voice was interrupted. As I moved my lips, the woman smiled again seductively.
It was terribly beautiful.
“Let’s ‘contract’ with me, Ian Perkus… I’ll give you a chance to stand on my right side. Fight as my vanguard there. In return, I will give you the world.”
“Well, what… ….”
“Isn’t it a world full of contradictions and hypocrisy anyway? If it must eventually collapse, it would be better to burn everything and start over.”
My breathing quickens again.
My eyes are spinning in circles. My head was dizzy. It meant hyperventilation was coming.
“I promise you the top of ‘Arrogance’… It is the first place among the Seven Sins. If you trade with me, I can resolve any contradiction you can think of. With your own hands.”
“But, that…… !”
“Yes, it must have been a long way.”
I can’t even come up with a reasonable objection, and my voice is soon blocked even when I talk.
I sensed a growing stupor.
“But, hasn’t it been the road you’ve been walking without wavering? You said you wanted to save the world.”
“Still, I…… !”
“Sacrifice you, Ian Percus.”
‘Sacrificing myself.’
That word stuck deep in my heart. Dedicate myself to solve everything?
That’s too much.
“It’s something only you can do.”
Because it’s an attractive offer.
I soon had no choice but to gasp for breath and take a backwards step. The hand that was holding the woman’s collar was released before I knew it, but on the contrary, the woman narrowed the distance with me by slightly bending her upper body.
There is no retreat.
“How many decisions have you made? Only, unlike that lousy favoritism, I can offer you a solid price… That’s it. I can solve all your problems right now.”
One step, two steps.
Every time the woman took a step, I naturally took a step back. Without knowing what the hell you want to run away from.
It was then.
My body, which was repeatedly retreating, bumped into something. Then one of the lanterns fell and broke with a clear sound.
Instinctively, my gaze scans the crash site. There, there was a blazing fire.
Yes, ‘flame’.
Memories burrow into a disoriented mind. Like a sharp awl, a battle with a certain girl replayed through the gap that tore the fog in my brain.
“Celine… ….”
That was the trigger.
Kang!
The whiskey bottle still held in her hand struck the woman in the back of the head. Eventually, the bottle shattered and before the sharp scent stung her nose, my hand grabbed the woman by the collar as she was collapsing.
And before the woman could say anything, a blow.
Her fist clenched and dug into her woman’s face. It was a blow with all my strength, so the woman’s clothes in my hand were torn off helplessly.
It was not a blow that her delicate body could withstand.
The body of the woman who had been beaten by her rolled on the ground once, then fell flat on her face. I stumbled and panted while running a cold sweat on my face.
It feels like a fireball is burning my chest.
“Contract? Transaction? Ha ha ha… Did Celine make it like that? Huh?!”
A tone that no longer hides its anger.
There was no answer to that. Only the body of the woman who fell face down was shaken.
Puch, hehehe.
It was the sound of laughter.
The moment I realized this, it felt like the last thing left in my brain was disconnected. I strode forward and grabbed the woman by the collar again.
Because of her tattered clothes, now with both hands.
The face of the woman I met again, yes.
I was laughing. As much as there was dew in her eyes.
“Aha, ahahahaha… Ahahahahaha!”
The feeling of her hair turning white again.
When I came to my senses, I was swinging my fist at her again. The woman laughed and rolled on her floor again. Clear laughter echoed along the rolling trajectory.
And when my furious hand raised the woman violently again.
“Puch, aha, ahahahaha! Yeah, that’s it… This is ‘love’, Ian Percus!”
I beat the woman again.
Many times, in all sorts of ways.
Nevertheless, the woman’s laughter did not stop. Even as she was being beaten by me, she spoke endlessly incomprehensible things.
“Ugh, hahahaha… Is it ‘love’ to keep you on the sidelines like a sheep in a fence? No, no… That’s not love! Uh huh… Look at me, Ian Percus! This is the ‘love’ that suits us!”
“Shut up.”
Knock, a kick stuck in her stomach lifted the woman’s body up. I grabbed the woman’s neck directly without missing the gap. As if I’m going to crush you right now.
Boom!
Before I knew it, the woman and I reached the wall, and a loud crash followed, but the woman’s laughter was still there.
“Aha, ahahahaha! Whoa, whoa… Yes, ‘love’ should be like this… Isn’t that right, Ian Percus? One-sided demands and looking down is not love. Just like me, if you ‘love’ you have to accept it…… !”
“I told you to shut up!!”
Kkack, puck, kwack!
My hands, dominated by the violence of pure emotion, were ruthless. As if not giving her time to speak, I continued assaulting her with my fists and feet, but I couldn’t stop her madness.
Even that voice.
“Ah, ah… You know that too, right?”
Pak, bang, boom!
Blood eyes. Punches, the smell of alcohol, swaying lanterns and acrid smoke were mixed. In the background, a woman’s voice laughs madly.
“The answer is only me!”
The violence continues endlessly.
I was ruled by instinct like a beast. No, in fact, I didn’t even know I wanted to do this a long time ago.
“I am the only one!”
Innumerable punches and kicks are lodged in the wall.
“Only I, only I can save you… Ian Percus!”
At some point, the sound was indistinguishable. Even what i’m doing
Is that the sound of blood splashing? The sound of bones breaking? Or, is it the sound of gasping when I try to roll on the ground and get kicked again by the neck?
Nothing.
“Kick-kick, a-hak, a-ha… hehehehe, hehehe…….”
My image was reflected in the bloody pupils of the woman who was gasping for laughter. A man drenched in sweat, gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes, wielding violence like mad.
My hand, which gripped the woman’s neck, was already full of strength. Even so, there were no scars left on her woman’s body.
Just staring at me with eyes mixed with affection, madness, and obsession.
The woman smiled and smiled.
“Eventually you will find me.”
Bullsh*t.
Just as I was chewing and spitting out like that, I was about to swing her fist.
“Ian! What the hell…… !”
With a bang, the closed door swung wide open. A familiar face appears from beyond.
She was a saint. Perhaps because of the noise in my room, some people were accompanying me.
Only then did I come to my senses. Yes, it was urgent to inform the existence of Delphirem right away.
Even in the middle of a haze, my tongue started to move on its own.
“It’s nothing else, right here…… !”
It was then. What discrepancies did you feel?
The saintess looked at me with a pale face. Not only was she a saint. The people who followed her all hesitated as well, staring at me with eyes full of light fear.
Why the hell?
When the eyes full of questions turned to the front, what was there.
“Ah.”
It was just a blank wall.
My hands were already covered in blood because of the wall that had been hollowed out by my punches and kicks.
Once again my eyes scan the surroundings. A table topped over with a broken leg, a burning lantern smashed on the floor, shards of glass falling everywhere and traces of violence.
The acrid smell of alcohol was belatedly brushing the tip of my nose.
“I, I mean… minute, obviously…….”
Speaking gibberish, I took a step back. I can’t believe what I did.
“Here! Right here, obviously… Yes, there was…….”
It was just pointing at an empty wall while floundering.
Of course, it wasn’t a good response.
I don’t really want to remember the face of the saintess I saw then.