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＜ 19. Arpan ‘s burnt offering (4) ＞
A sweltering night came, and the party was all sitting under a tent in the front yard .
It was about to end after a huge feast. With the fish Marco and Andrea caught and the fresh meat and vegetables in the kitchen, the party ate for the first time in a while. The fire was turned off in the brazier, but the fragrant smell of fire still lingered around .
There was even whiskey and wine in the storage room in the basement, which I later found. No one had a deep knowledge of alcohol, but it was a good drink that you could tell that it was of the highest quality just by smelling the sweet scent .
There was no reason to wait even after seeing this. With the exception of Emilia, who did not drink alcohol for religious reasons, the rest of the people drank to death .
Thanks to that, Andrea was in the middle of a dizzying headache. Considering that he usually doesn’t get drunk thanks to his resistance ability, it seems that he drank quite a lot .
“ Tricia, are you okay ?”
“ aaa, carrots are fine !”
“…”
Andrea had never seen anyone decent enough to talk like that. Trisha was sitting on a Mimic instead of a chair .
Zira Mimic, who had been badly beaten by her during the day, was just hunched over, unable to fight back. Andrea managed to get Tricia up and put her in another chair. Instead, he apologized to Mimic and threw a gold coin to tell him to eat at least this .
A mimic that chews gold coins well. He pretended not to hear me muttering to himself, “As expected, the mass is high compared to the volume . ”
However, since the place where Trisha was moved was next to Emilia, sparks flew in the wrong place .
“ Emilia, now just talk to me .”
“ Yes, yes ?”
“ We’re not even a few years apart anyway… How old are you ?”
“ I’m 20 years old .”
“ Oh, he was my brother! Can you speak comfortably, statue ?”
Trisha speaks in a tone that smells like an old man. Emilia burst into laughter as if that figure was funny. Andrea shook her head and stopped Tricia .
“ Take it in moderation, Trisha… The priest is in trouble .”
“ My dear, what are you? Is it all if you are handsome and in good shape ?”
“… what ?”
Silence that comes unexpectedly. Andrea, dumbfounded. Emilia opened her eyes wide in surprise, and Marco made an expression that he couldn’t help but say that he couldn’t help. The person who turned out the words didn’t care about what he said, but .
Before anyone else could say anything, Andrea hit the ball .
“… Trisha must have been drunk. Marco, could you take Tricia to bed ?”
“ Well, wouldn’t it be better for someone who is good-looking and has a good body ?”
“… Mr. Marco .”
It seemed to be the universal joy of men and women to smirk at men and women with subtle air currents. Marco reluctantly brought Tricia into the villa as Andrea glared at him .
Trisha desperately shouts, ‘Oh, I’m not drunk!’ Andrea let out a deep sigh and tried hard to ignore the screams .
‘ Yes, as expected, the father must guard the daughter …’
Andrea thought so and chewed on the dried beef jerky she had been snacking on. But when I turned around, I suddenly felt Emilia’s gaze .
“ Why is that, priest ?”
“ Oh, no. I… Andrea-sama didn’t ask me to talk comfortably, so …”
Come to think of it, I stopped talking to Tricia as soon as we met, but I still haven’t been comfortable talking to Emilia. It’s partly because the meeting was a little special, and it was done out of respect for his status as a ‘priest’, but …
“ Would you like to talk casually like Trisha ?”
“ Oh, yes, yes. I like that .”
“ So that’s it, what. Emilia .”
There was nothing he couldn’t do if he wanted to do it. Emilia seemed briefly surprised by the quick change of address, but soon threw up another question .
“ I think I’m a bit younger than Andrea-sama… don’t you feel uncomfortable even if I speak plainly… Joe ?”
“… it doesn’t matter. How old are you? ”
In fact, Emilia was born a hundred years earlier than Andrea’s physical body. Time in Twisted Dungeon only made Andrea older .
Emilia giggled, probably feeling good at the thought that they had become more friendly .
“ Then I’ll just call you comfortably, Andrea .”
“ Yes, yes .”
It was a bit awkward to suddenly exchange informal words, but it was a problem that would be resolved with time anyway. Trisha and Emilia, who were drunk, couldn’t figure out what to call each other from now on, but …
Andrea scratched her head for no reason and asked Emilia .
“ Aren’t you eating more meat? Seeing earlier, he didn’t eat much .”
“ Yeah . . .”
“ Eating less is also for religious reasons ?”
“ Oh, no. It’s not like that. It’s just that, seeing this delicacy prepared… the children in Adsel eat well and get along well.
I was worried about whether… Food doesn’t go down my throat very well .”
Emilia looked down at the table with a lonely expression on her face. The village chief has changed, and slavery has been abolished, so I left thinking that I would be fine, but I couldn’t help but feel that it was still bothering me. Even right before leaving, I couldn’t forget the faces of the snoring dogs that followed me .
Suddenly feeling solemn, Andrea nodded slowly as well .
If there is something to gain, there is also something to give up. However, there is no one who can completely erase the regret of giving up. The children she had to leave behind to climb the dungeon suddenly became her sore fingers .
Fortunately, it was not long before there was an event room that she would be delighted with .
“ Emilia, you know what? The 85th floor is a room where a fixed event like ‘Faction War’ takes place… What that means is, you can go back to one of the floors you passed through in the dungeon .”
“… Really ?”
“ Yeah, when we get there… Let’s go to Adsel on the 25th floor. There is no reason to go anywhere else anyway .”
Emilia’s face was in full bloom. Being able to see the children I thought I would never see would make me sad. Unable to control her trembling excitement, Emilia finally blushed slightly .
“ Andrea, I really don’t know how to say thank you. I always thought that the Earth God only gave me bad things. But maybe all of that was to give you the luck of meeting you in the dungeon .”
“… No, that’s about it …”
Looking at the image he’s showing now, he seemed like a sentimental, weak-willed priest. However, Andrea, who knew the misfortunes she had suffered outside the dungeon, could understand her feelings .
If you select the option to make Emilia the village chief of Adsel in the game, you can hear her story about her strange past when you visit the 25th floor again .
Born in an orphanage in a remote countryside, she fell in the eyes of the bishop in charge of the district early on and left for the holy city to be ordained. But when she returned from Chengdu, none of the people from her hometown remained .
It was around the time when the Cleitos Civil War broke out due to harsh tyranny. Because the leader of the rebels was from her hometown, the people from her hometown were unjustly accused of rebelling and were slaughtered .
While investigating why this happened, Emilia found out that her benefactor, the bishop, took the lead in the massacre in order to catch the eye of the royal family. Not even leaving the children of the orphanage behind .
After that, Emilia killed the bishop with her own hands .
Perhaps it was from then. Emilia became extremely cold towards her enemies and became obsessed with protecting her people. It was no surprise that she had a special affection for Adsel’s children .
Andrea had to struggle for a long time to appease the crying Emilia. But then Emilia couldn’t hold back her tears even more. Mimic quietly closed his mouth and watched the scene, and soon fell asleep groaning .
*
Marco put Tricia on the bed and tried to come out right away. However, as if something caught my footsteps, I couldn’t leave right away and returned and sat down. She fell asleep quickly, but Trisha’s complexion was not very good .
In addition, he tossed and turned violently, as if he was having a bad dream. Even if the blanket is covered, it can be removed in no time. Finally, Tricia put her hand up and started mumbling something .
It was not something that could be easily understood. A combination of syllables that make no sense at first glance. But the more you repeat it over and over again, the clearer the meaning becomes .
Marco listened to Trisha. And soon, I felt my whole body stiffen .
“ I can’t go if I don’t go…? Don’t go, please …”
The moment I hear those words, the scenery of the past unfolds in front of my eyes. The unforgettable moment of parting. When I was drafted into the temple and leaving, I remembered the image of a girl holding on to the crotch of her pants and looking at him with swollen eyes .
Marco lowered his head and closed his eyes. It feels like the dam that was firmly built has collapsed. It took more effort than I thought to get my emotions under control .
Marco barely raised his head, grabbed Tricia’s outstretched hand and murmured softly .
“ Yeah, don’t go. Don’t worry, my dear. I am here .”
*
A cold gale blew through the skin. The snow, which does not stop all year round, is thick enough to bury one’s knees. Ice walls and sharp icicles surround the surroundings, and a demonic landscape in the harsh cold that does not allow humans to invade .
Level
80 , Ice Nest .
However, the reason why no one dared to set foot here was not only because of the unapproachable fierce cold. Rather, the true reason could be said to be the owner of this place, who spreads his frozen wings on top of the ice wall and looks down quietly .
Sharp claws that split the ground and tear wind, huge wings that cover the sky, scales that even legendary weapons couldn’t pierce, and eyes that pierce the heart of their prey .
The strongest creature on earth, the dragon .
Like the
70th -floor dragon, it was not a dragon whose power had declined after being resurrected by a wicked man’s witchcraft, but a dragon that had the full power of its heyday. Among them, ‘Bingryong’ that breathes out a breath that freezes even an exploding volcano at once .
However, Bingryong’s eyes had different emotions than usual. Intense hostility, vigilance, and feeble fear. Above all, Bingryong could not suppress his embarrassment. All of these were emotions that he had completely forgotten since he became a saint .
Arpan was standing under the ice wall, the source of all those emotions .
The goat-headed guide was in a very bad mood. Still, he couldn’t get over the experience of his soul being crumbled and revived, and the manager’s verbal insults that insulted his birth .
However, he did not dare to turn his anger on his master. Because of that, the feeling of having nowhere to go spread like a flame to everything else. Right now, to me, to that ice-block lizard that dares to look at him with both eyes open .
Arpan held out the iron cage. Then, dozens of sharp-tipped chains protruded from the floor and pierced Bingryong’s scales and wings. Bingryong noticed the pain a beat late because he was easily penetrated .
“ Kuraaa !”
Kurrr –
An avalanche arose at the sound of loud screams. Arfan frowned and teleported over the ice wall. Then, he swung the iron scepter towards the firmly fixed Bingryong .
A bizarre thing happened. Bingryong was trapped inside a large translucent cube. If you look closely, the cube is made up of countless smaller cubes .
Arpan swung his staff again, and the cubes began to rotate along the grain. Just like randomly spinning a cube. Of course, the flesh of Bingryong inside it also began to twist along with the rotation of the cube .
After a while, Bingryong was divided into thousands of pieces. The ice wall was soaked in the flowing blood and looked like a red barrier. The strongest creature on earth lost its life just like that, absurdly and simply .
Arpan stood on top of the bloody mess and looked up at the still snowy sky. It was an extremely businesslike and dry gaze, unable to feel any inspiration from what he had accomplished .
After defeating the boss monster on the
80th floor, Arpan should be able to send Andrea and the others out of here immediately. As long as Andrea doesn’t disobey this decision .
Arpan hoped that Andrea would quietly leave the 80th floor. Because that was what his stern master wanted, and ultimately the way the dungeon was completed smoothly. Whatever the case, he still made it his biggest challenge to perfectly carry out the manager’s orders .
But on the other hand, Arpan thought that it would be nice if Andrea would ignore all his advice and attack him. Andrea and the others were sure to face death, but it was the same for herself who would face the manager after the incident. A ruinous ending where no one wins .
But why does that imagination feel so sweet ?
Arpan looked down at the ice wall. And for a long time, I waited for Andrea to enter this place .
＜ 19. Arpan’s Burnt Offering (4) ＞ End