Episode 123 – Time
The inside of the building is full of darkness, as if all light has been eaten by darkness.
It’s a joke.
An unidentified, strange cry mixed with the dreary sound of bending wooden planks with every step.
That’s it.
The sound of something hard dragging and scratching on the floor.
“Haa… ….”
A man who entered the room let out a long breath.
It wasn’t a sigh or a sigh.
Rather, it was closer to the feeling that I was tasting the air here filled with joy.
A black leather chair placed in the center of the room.
There was no way to know what color it was originally in this space full of darkness.
The man slowly approached the chair and sat down on it.
I heard the sound of a chair being pressed down and leather stretching since no one had sat on it.
A man sitting on a chair looked straight ahead.
Nothing lay in front of him.
There is only an empty space and a window that reflects the outside.
It’s dark outside, and even that looks like glass painted black.
The man slowly reached out his hand toward the window.
His long arms were dyed a bizarre red color.
It wasn’t just the arms. His legs, torso, and even his face were all stained red.
Even in this dark space, the red color looks strangely clear.
As the man slowly squeezed his outstretched hand, his fingers rubbed against each other… An eerie sound rang out.
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It was closer to the sound of metal being scratched rather than the sound of human skin rubbing against skin.
A small amount of red shadow drips from the clenched fist of the man.
The shadow fell silently to the floor, then drifted down, twisting like a snake and crawling somewhere.
The man did not catch the red snake.
Because you can tell where it goes.
Because you can know whatever you do, and you can rule it according to your own will.
First of all, as long as the snake is alive, the man will be able to see from the snake’s point of view.
That way, he was able to keep an eye on every corner of the forest even from his seat.
“Haa….”
A creepy sound came from the man’s throat, like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.
And soon a bizarre smile crept across his lips.
“You are finally here….”
The direction the man’s eyes were looking was outside the black window, but what he was actually looking at was a completely different scene.
Foolish humans who entered the Black Forest in search of themselves.
Among them, he saw two people he had been looking for so long.
A man with the ‘Blessing of the Stars’ and a woman with powers similar to those of the demon king.
Other than that, there are strong people with quite strong power.
If you can [Erosion] Them, you will soon have the world in your hands.
Quigg. Gigg. Gigg. Gigg.
The man laughed, but only grotesque sounds came out of his mouth.
*
“Everyone has gathered.”
I don’t know how we chased them, but somehow, with the help of Kkami who came to visit us, everyone who was scattered succeeded in reuniting.
I was wondering what to do if someone got out of the black forest first….
Fortunately, no one escaped first, as if everyone was thinking the same thing.
But the problem is… That the time that flows in each space is different.
Me and Dina two days, Seria and Sharwen four days.
Rukia, who was with Garlowin, said that less than a few hours had passed.
The problem is….
“…… Ten days?”
“Yes….”
Pak Se-rin half-cryed and nodded her head.
Park Se-rin, who was the only one, had been in this dangerous forest for ten days.
She has no one to talk to, all kinds of dangers lurking around her, and she can’t teleport, so she has no way to get out of this place.
She must have been alone and trembled in great terror.
If it hadn’t been for Kkami, she would have wandered here alone for much longer.
Perhaps because of that, she burst into tears as soon as she ran into us, and when I told her that I found it thanks to her kkami, she grabbed her struggling kkami and whimpered for a while longer.
Kami, who tried to escape from her arms, eventually gave up and was quietly held in her arms.
We had a meeting while taking a break while Park Se-rin calmed down.
Is it okay to keep moving forward like this? Or will she re-enter after a brief retreat, joining the Association.
She may be dangerous to advance in a situation where she may stay afloat for much longer.
She can’t be sure how much time would have passed if she retreated.
Besides, it’s the same as taking away the entire time that has come so far.
The meeting lasted much longer than expected, until Pak Se-rin had calmed down enough to play with the annoying Kka-mi.
Conclusion… Of course, he continued to move forward like this.
The food I brought with me and the weapons I prepared in reserve were sufficient.
If you set a night watch and take turns taking breaks, you will have enough rest.
If we drag on for more time here, the number of victims will continue to increase outside.
There is no way to tell how different the passage of time is here and outside, but it is almost certain that it is much longer than we have been here.
Because when we checked based on the location of the people who were scattered, it turned out that the people who were in deeper places spent a longer time.
It may have already been several months.
The Association employees who disappeared after entering the Black Forest may not be dead either.
It may just be that they have gone deeper than us and haven’t gone outside yet because the flow of time is so different.
If that’s the case, we might have been treated as missing just like the association staff.
I’m sure everyone is worried.
Stiana Scarlett, Kania. Maybe even Ifelsar.
Then I suddenly saw Kkami looking up at me with bright eyes next to me and stroked it.
Ah, did Kami come here worried about us?
Me and Dina. Besides, she even liked Garlowen.
But if those three didn’t show up for a long time, of course I couldn’t help but worry.
Sally… To be precise, according to Celestia, Kami is a spirit creature that has already lived for hundreds of years.
Maybe it wasn’t that difficult to find us in the Black Forest.
And thanks to that, all those who had been scattered were able to join.
“Huh? Wait for a sec.”
As I muttered, I felt people’s eyes focused on me.
Ignoring all those gazes, I asked Kka-mi.
“Kamiya. Are you… Can you tell us where the person we are looking for is?”
Of course, there is no way that Kka-mi saw that person in person.
So you don’t even know what that guy smells like.
But it doesn’t matter if you don’t know his smell.
This is one of the five forbidden areas, the [Black Forest].
It is a place that has not been touched by humans for a long time.
If you are looking for the smell of other humans or a foreign smell in such a place, it will be one of two things.
The smell of the association members who came in before us, or the place behind [Erosion].
And it doesn’t matter if the cami can’t be found by smell.
That would mean there’s another method they used to find us.
If you use that method, there’s a high chance you’ll be able to find out who’s behind [Erosion].
And, of course, Kami’s answer.
Meow-.
“… ….”
I don’t know how to speak cat.
Unfortunately, Kami also understands human speech well, but cannot speak it.
Are you saying you can figure this out? Or is it that you can’t?
As I whimpered and looked at Kkami, Dina intervened from the side.
“I can find…” I guess you do?”
“Really? How did you find out?”
She turned her head and glanced at Dinah, and her body trembled.
“Just… I guess that’s what you’re saying… ?”
“Aha….”
I nodded her head in understanding.
“As expected, people who became cats are different.”
“Sir… !”
“Evil!”
Wow!
Dina’s palm hit my back as she blushed.
She seems to be in more pain than when she was beaten by Cyclops… !
“I was only telling the truth… !”
“That’s the problem!”
Wow! Damn!
I resisted for nothing, but got hit by two more. It hurts!
Panting and breathing hard, Dina’s face was red enough to be recognized even in such a dark place.
She even trembles as if the memory of her when she became a cat beast suddenly came to mind.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know either.”
I could hear the conversation between Park Se-rin and Rukia from the side.
And it wasn’t long before they left us alone, who had started bickering, and started having meetings among themselves.
It was only after hearing from others that we were leaving now that we stopped arguing.
“Let’s start slowly.”
“Already?”
Park Se-rin, who had been shaking her body, nodded her head.
“I rested for a while, so I have to go now.”
Park Se-rin, the crybaby who had been crying hard until before, disappeared before she knew it and came back as a reliable senior.