168 – Fake Friendship
Gilbert appeared after breaking the wall and immediately turned the unfavorable situation around.
If I were to compare it to a game, would it be like fighting a boss mob and using up all my items, so I was just waiting to die, when someone suddenly appears and asks me to join the party?
“Why is the knight commander here…!”
Dirce, who lost both arms, also looked embarrassed, as if he had not expected Gilbert to come here.
‘Even if he looks like that, he is still a knight commander.’
Up until now, he had been acting like a man with a screw missing, but it was an undeniable fact that he was capable.
Based on the ending, the only ones who surpassed him were the Demon King and the warrior who had completed his growth. To stop him, we’ll have to bring in at least the Four Heavenly Kings.
Gilbert looked back at us, openly ignoring the Dirce in front of him.
“How is Aria?”
“I can see its mouth fluttering, so it’s still okay.”
“Snout… Isn’t that a bit harsh to say?”
There’s a lot to say about a topic that barely stands up.
“Okay then.”
Gilbert seemed to feel relieved after seeing us having a meaningless conversation, and then he shifted his gaze to Dirce again.
“You there.”
I flinch.
Dirce was very shaken by the fact that he had become his target.
“I’m not going to ask you why you did this. Even if you hear about it, it only leaves a bad aftertaste.”
Gilbert didn’t pose any threats, he just stood still and talked. Dirce, who was receiving his gaze, was overcome with fear and found it difficult to even breathe.
‘What on earth is that…’ . That’s a real human… ?’
Even though she was a sorcerer, she was a sorcerer and had a better eye for mana than others.
Because of this, the image of Gilbert reflected in her eyes was quite different from what Ian saw.
-Grrr….
It was like Gilbert, her lion waiting to be released from her cage, glaring at her as if it were going to eat her.
As she was trembling like an aspen tree, Gilbert opened her mouth.
“But that’s right. You will have to pay the same price because you touched the country that I sacrificed my youth to build, and the man who will rule that country.”
-Sssss.
A red energy began to flow around Gilbert.
His magical power took after its owner and ran wild, clawing here and there like a ferocious beast.
‘That’s Gilbert showing his sincerity…’ ?’
It is an event that cannot be seen because Aria is alive now, but Gilbert was seen fighting in the part supporting the war against the demons caused by the emperor.
When he enters battle, he surrounds himself with a red aura like he does now, and I remember it clearly because his performance was so overwhelming.
‘When I first saw it, I wondered why there was a warrior party….’
Damage reduction, wide area attack, dot damage, etc. It holds all the good stuff, and just walking around in that state destroys all the mobs, so I’m done.
That’s not even a skill. Because the mana in the body is so powerful, it is set as surplus energy that is released to the outside, so it does not even cost mana to maintain it.
‘I feel it again, but I’m really glad that Gilbert is on the same side.’
But what must Dirce be like when he meets Gilbert as an enemy?
“Hey!”
Unable to bear the fear, Dirce turned his back and ran away from Gilbert, despite the curse. He waddled and worked hard.
But there was one thing she overlooked. She knows that one should not carelessly show one’s back in front of a wild beast.
Sigh.
Gilbert did not chase after her.
She just stands there and raises her sword diagonally.
“Rising Glare.”
One lion was enough to track down the fleeing prey.
-Whoa!
The red lion born from the swinging path ran towards Dirce with its magnificent mane fluttering.
-Bwaaak!
The lion, kicking the ground as if it were alive and moving, overtook the fleeing Dirce and raised his front paw to lightly strike him.
“Big…!”
Dirce was hit by that and rolled on the floor awkwardly.
The lion strolled towards Dirke and gently placed his front paw.
“Keuheoeook…!”
Then, dark blood poured out endlessly from the holes in his severed arm and face.
“Let go of this!”
-Puck! Puck!
I tried repeatedly kicking it with my two legs, but it was like hitting a rock with an egg. So much so that the viewer feels sorry for him.
And finally.
The lion opened his mouth.
“Oh, no…!”
If she had her arms, she might have been able to resist, but unfortunately she had no arms left.
-Crackling.
Soon, with the sound of a bone breaking, Dirce disappeared into the lion’s belly.
Ian, who watched the lion eating, was astonished.
‘For some reason, when Gilbert used the skill, no body was left behind…. ‘Is this why it was like this?’
I knew he was strong, but I didn’t know he would be this overwhelming.
Anyway, I felt relieved because the enemy was gone.
“Can you move it?”
“Ugh…Don’t just watch, please help me out.”
“My shoulder is too precious to lend to a man.”
That time when we were exchanging such meaningless jokes.
“Get away from there immediately!”
Gilbert sent a warning in an urgent voice.
***
Right after Dirce was eaten by a lion.
Because of the curse she placed on herself, she retained her sanity for a while even though her teeth were chipped.
‘I can never forgive….’
Dirce, who was dying in the agony of being eaten by her, cursed and cursed. She turned towards the obstacle that had driven her to her death, the only one on whom the curse seemed likely to work.
Before her life expired, she completed her final curse at the cost of her remaining lifespan.
The medium is your own body, the only thing left uneaten. It was Aria’s left arm that had been cut off.
Wiggle.
The arm that had fallen to the ground and couldn’t move suddenly wriggled and rushed straight towards Ian.
“Get away from there right now!”
Gilbert realized it too late and shouted urgently, but it was already too late to avoid the situation.
That was when the sharp nail was about to pierce Ian’s stomach.
-Poof.
Someone pulled Ian back.
“…Aria?”
-Puuk.
The sorcerer’s fingertip pierced Aria’s stomach.
***
“Aria!”
He pulled out her arm that was stuck in Aria’s stomach and threw it far away.
The thrown arm rolled several times on the ground and then turned into dust and disappeared.
“Cough…”
Aria coughed and coughed up something of her own. It was a very bright red.
“…I said it was Kairis.”
“You’re saying something like that in this situation!? Hey, you idiot! Someone told me to beat you instead!”
In the meantime, Aria was talking nonsense, so I said something and she laughed.
“Huh… I see. Why did I do that? I did something stupid.”
“Why does a bastard know that…!”
“But… It’s strange to hear. You must have felt the same way.”
“What…?”
Aria pressed her lips with difficulty.
“Do you remember the day when I was tricked by Gildred into drinking poisoned tea and was on the verge of death?”
He chased the air as if recalling memories of her past.
“You threw yourself to save me that day. So think of this as your debt to you.”
“What nonsense! That’s…!”
Because according to the story, if you die, it will be a pain in the ass.
“…”
Her words, containing the truth of that day, rose to the tip of her chin.
I don’t know if she knows what I’m thinking, but Aria just smiles when she sees me like that.
“Look. You’re the same, aren’t you?”
Nothing is the same.
Raised her head and looked at Aria before her.
He was already under a curse. If the curse was stacked from the attack just now, it would be difficult for this guy to withstand it.
As if to support that, her lips had suddenly turned purple, and her complexion was becoming increasingly pale even as I was looking at her.
Why is she smiling as if she is satisfied with herself? Does this guy know that I saved him with a purpose?
I couldn’t look up at my selfish actions compared to his sacrifice.
‘Maybe I don’t know. I was just acting based on calculation. But you….’
Meanwhile, Aria’s blood continued to flow from her stomach and mouth. Like sand flowing out of a broken hourglass.
‘What should I do? Should I ask Kkuendoli a favor? No, how can I do this before that?’
“Ha, ha…”
As her mind began to race, her breathing naturally began to become heavier. She was a sign of panic.
‘If I hadn’t come to ask to go for a drink… No, I didn’t mean to become friends with him in the first place. If that were the case, this wouldn’t have happened.’
At that time when I was being consumed by negative emotions.
“Come to your senses.”
-Wow!
A large hand slapped his back.
“Mr. Gilbert…?”
When Ian raised his head as the pain radiated from his back, Gilbert was looking down at him.
“Nothing can be accomplished in that state. Step by step, think of what you can do right now.”
“Something we can do right now…”
Then several methods came to mind.
“First of all, we have to take it to a temple or a saint…”
“Now then, choose. Which of the two do you think is better?”
Ian, who had suddenly returned to his usual self, opened his mouth after some contemplation.
“The saint.”
Gilbert nodded and said.
“Last time I saw you, you were quite fast on your feet. Take Aria to the saint right now.”
“But, if something goes wrong, then…”
When Ian hesitated, Gilbert put his hand on his shoulder and made eye contact.
“For now, only you can do it. If you can, do it. What’s the boy worried about?”
“Still…”
“I told you, don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”
Gilbert tapped my shoulder a couple of times and said.
“Please take care of Aria.”
***
-Tap-tap-tap!
Late at night. There was a figure running on the roof of the building.
“This reminds me of the old days… Yes, I was carried like this back then too.”
“Shut up. If you have the power, save it and use it when you think you might run out.”
“This is so true. I can’t believe you said something so cruel to the patient.”
Aria, who was riding on his back, kept saying nonsense from earlier.
I guess he’s saying this on purpose because he doesn’t want to make anyone worry.
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But the playful conversation didn’t last very long. Instead, the sound of coughing that I couldn’t hold back was only occasionally heard in my ears.
Even now, I can feel my lower back gradually getting wetter. It’s like a notification that Aria’s life is fading away.
-Crack.
The clouds hanging over my head as I walked around the building gradually began to clear.
The bright moon that rose from Hwiyeongcheong shone on us without us noticing.
Soon, the sight of a mansion with lights on in the distance came into view.