228 – The deep sea where light cannot reach (1)
On a hill with a panoramic view of the sea, a pair of police officers are climbing the whitewashed stairs.
A middle-aged man who uses magic to illuminate the darkness with one hand, and a young man who carefully observes his surroundings so that he can respond at any time.
The place they are heading to is a house with a good view, the house of a cook who has not been heard from for some time.
The officer who skillfully read the wanted report confirmed that he had reached his destination.
“I wonder how many days have passed since the disappearance was reported… It’s been six days since today.”
“Isn’t this a completely malicious complaint? It’s too much of a fuss.”
The young man chuckled at the words he spoke calmly, but the middle-aged man just stared at the house, which was not completely unpopular.
The young man’s eyes widened as he concentrated on the presence coming from within.
“…there is?”
“Yes, there is. But why is it so scary to go in here?”
“So would you like to call for backup?”
“well…”
He was a middle-aged man who always did everything with a calm expression, but the moment he stood in front of the door, his face hardened.
—–.
A faint moan coming from inside.
And because of the inexplicable chill that came with it, the hairs on the hand holding the doorknob stood up.
“You wait here, I’ll go in first.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Why not? It’s better than both of us dying.
“yes.”
“If I don’t come out after 10 minutes, run straight to the main office.”
“yes.”
The options for calling for support were uneven. In the case of a risk factor whose identity has not been confirmed, the number of people who can be authorized is only 13.
The middle-aged man wanted to sacrifice himself and have more people come here than he could.
Thump-thump-
“Are you there!”
There is no answer. town. Ugh. It just makes the same incoherent sound. The middle-aged man grabbed the doorknob again and the young man took two steps back.
“I heard you were reported missing and stopped by to check! I’m only going to check your face, so break the doorknob!”
Kiki-Kwajik-
With his trained grip, the wooden door opened without resistance, and the middle-aged man was able to enter the dark house.
The deeper you step, the more intense the chill on your skin becomes. Although he has worked in public service for a long time and has gone hunting for demonic beasts many times, this is his first experience, so he is cautious in his steps.
No knife or gun was drawn.
From noble mtl dot com
It’s just a feeling.
If you pull it out, you die. There was that feeling.
And then I took two more steps and turned the corner.
I ran into someone.
“…”
“Officer, what’s going on?”
“…Please answer me, aren’t you surprised?”
The middle-aged man, facing the chef, sighed in relief. I’m so nervous that my numb back feels weak. The middle-aged policeman, who managed to hold onto the wall, did not show any expression and stared at the cook from the dark.
“Didn’t you hear? I came here after a missing person report came in not long ago.”
“Huh? Who reported it?”
“I guess it’s your workplace on the beach or something?”
“…ah.”
The chef made a dumb sound, as if he had forgotten something. Then the police officer’s head tilted, and perhaps he relaxed a little, and the middle-aged man opened his mouth with a little composure.
“Surely you didn’t know?”
“…No. It’s not that I didn’t know… that.”
“that?”
“I hurt my back. I couldn’t find a pinch hitter because I was so in a hurry.”
“Oops…”
The middle-aged man stared at the chef with a sad face. The pale complexion… it looks like it’s not a lie to say that it hurts. The officer nodded once and turned around.
“First of all, I’ve confirmed that you’re all right, so I’ll be on my way.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Take good care of yourself.”
jerebuck-
Jeopuk- Jeopuk-
A thought occurred to me as I was taking steps.
‘Really… can I just check this before going?’
So I quietly looked back.
“Did you leave something behind?”
“…No. Take care of yourself.”
“Let’s take a look.”
“I heard you hurt your back. Do you need anything?”
“No… Ah! I would appreciate it if you could tell the restaurant that I will be off for one more week. The pain in my back is not going away very well.”
“Sure.”
The officer came out after giving a simple answer.
I don’t care about the smell of blood in the house. A beehive that must not be touched. Isn’t the house you just escaped from exactly like that?
Although the officer did not do his duty, it was ultimately the right thing to do.
The chef looked at the officer who was hurrying his steps, and swiped at the cold sweat running down his face.
“Whoa…”
thank god. I’m glad I just went ahead and didn’t ask any more questions. If the officer had pulled out a knife or seemed even remotely threatening, he might have had to be killed.
“I’m sick of living like this.”
It is not easy to hide one’s identity and live among people. Was it the problem of settling in the sea to avoid the queen in the first place?
If the flowing blood wasn’t that of the fishman, he would have sailed out to sea a long time ago.
The demons hoped that the injuries suffered by the queen would heal as soon as possible, and instead of clinging to the salvation they had already given up on, they repeatedly lamented their situation.
*
Apart from the feeling of discomfort towards Johanna, there were no setbacks in the journey to subjugate Kihara.
As long as she didn’t blindly show favor to Siron, as if she owed him her life, Johanna did her job well.
‘We’re getting closer.’
Siron looked down at the increasingly rough waves and the increasing number of whirlpools. Slowly, it becomes consistent with the scenery of [Or] in his memories.
Sigh!
The same goes for the magical beasts whose appearance frequency is increasing.
Just a few days ago, demons attacked once an hour, but now there are nests at every corner of the street, as if they are not giving us any time to rest.
“I’m sick of it.”
The good news is that you can get rid of it all in one go. Without even Lucia or Seira stepping forward, the monsters became the tip of the holy sword.
“Hero, cheer up!”
Johanna continued to applaud the inaction of dismembering the gigantic monster. Perhaps because she obediently acknowledged the fact that he was a hero, she had been cheering for Siron a few days ago, full of favor for the title of hero.
Is it thanks to that continued goodwill? Siron’s attitude toward Johanna was dramatically different from before.
After defeating the tentacle monster, Siron went straight to Johanna. Then his hand goes up to Johanna’s shoulder. Previously, he would have rushed towards me at lightning speed to slap me, but his thick hand rested gently on my chin and shoulder.
Siron patted Johanna’s back with a smile.
“Thank you for your support.”
“Thank you. Oh, and would you like to try some of this?”
The demon girl smiled brightly and opened the pocket on her waist.
Inside was a fruit with red flesh showing through on a black background, something Siron was familiar with.
“Sea sari.”
“Huh? You know this? I thought you didn’t know because it’s a fruit that only grows near whirlpools.”
“I’ve seen it before. It tasted sweet with a sour taste.”
“…There’s nothing you don’t know, hero. I was planning to surprise you.”
“Where do you live, idiot, to be surprised by something like this?”
“It’s delicious, so try it.”
“Eat well.”
Siron put his hand into his pocket without hesitation and threw the contents into his mouth. Johanna grinned as she watched all the fruit disappear.
[The smile is dark.]
As I was taking the fruit to my mouth, a voice rang in my head.
‘That’s right. ‘You smiled suspiciously for no reason and almost hit me again.’
[Uh… That’s right. No matter how many times I see it, it’s an unpleasant face. But seeing as he takes care of me so frugally, it seems like he’s a good guy…]
‘Don’t you hate demons so much?’
[Since ancient times, it has been said that a person is a good person if he or she is provided with food. Wouldn’t the same be true for demons?]
Latera’s hostility had toned down to some extent due to Johanna’s behavior over the past few days.
Even though she was not able to release her spiritual form due to Siron’s orders, Johanna’s actions seen through Siron’s eyes were just as devoted and blind as a girl in love.
love.
It was a feeling that was difficult to talk about lightly, but Johanna’s soul was emitting the same light as Siriel’s towards Siron, so Latera had no choice but to admit it obediently.
*
How many more days have passed since then? Siron also noticed that Johanna’s feelings were unusual without Latera’s words.
Johanna is in love with Siron.
‘Damn.’
Whenever Siron, the person involved, vaguely harbored such thoughts, he took out the mirror in his pocket and clearly engraved his doubts about Johanna.
‘Wake. Even if I am corrected for the title of hero, I am not that handsome.’
Fall in love at first sight. Siron, who had never lived such a life in his life, could not get rid of his suspicions about Johanna.
[Even though he’s not a handsome guy, I think he has an attractive face.]
‘I’m sorry, but that means I’m not good looking.’
[is that so?]
‘Yeah, you don’t know, but it’s the same as saying ‘You look good at studying’ because you have nothing to say.’
“What kind of mirror is it?”
“I’m checking to see if there’s anything in your mouth. Don’t worry about it and just continue guiding me. I think we’re almost there.”
Siron put the mirror in and stared at the coastline that had reached the end.
rainstorm.
And a whirlpool nestled securely in the strong waves.
The majesty of it, which seemed to be three times the number of whirlpools I had ever seen, made me convinced that it was [Orr’s Whirlpool].
“Let me begin.”
Johanna, standing in front of the huge whirlpool, raised her arms and clapped loudly.
Gooooooo-
Then something unbelievable happened. Not only did the whirlpool that seemed to swallow everything suddenly disappear, but even the wind and rain stopped.
Siron looked at the calm sea and then gazed at Johanna.
‘What happened? ‘You didn’t offer blood as a tribute?’
The same was true for Lucia and Sera. This is because the method used by Johanna to stop the whirlpool in memory 500 years ago was quite different.
Johanna, who faced the wide-eyed stares, responded with a smile.
“You said you could do better than your father, right?”
“…That’s what I meant.”
“Let’s go in. I can’t stop for long either.”
“Yes. That would be you.”
Siron gestured towards Lucia and Seira who were following him.
Open palm.
It was not a gesture to go into the sea, but rather a gesture to not go in. The two take a fighting stance. Johanna tilted her head at the incomprehensible situation.
“Why can’t I go in? I just stopped.”
Instead of answering, Siron took out the holy sword from his chest.
A being that can stop a whirlpool. Because there was only one woman in this sea who could do that.
Kihara, Queen of the Deep Sea.
“Should I have given you more?”
Siron met a smiling face with a gaze full of hostility.