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Devil’s Claw, Depth’s Wreck (1)
“Check in and out.”
flinch. At the unfamiliar and heterogeneous voice, I turned back and forth.
What sounded like a mechanical sound at first glance was like a voice over a speaker.
But that couldn’t be. This was not the 21st century Earth, but the 17th century Toegyegong continent.
I instinctively stood close to Ga-in and the Crown Prince.
Lofi approached us and sat proudly in a posture like a statue of Bast.
Soon after, the belt tightened.
François’ red mana was slowly sinking.
The surroundings were very dark and had a strange metallic color.
At the top of the doorway we passed through, hung an iron plate that read ‘Exit 3 – Unforgiven Alcohol’.
“Check in and out?”
The one who called us asked again,
“Five humans. A low-level beast.”
Sir John answered with a very cold tone. He lied that Roffy was a tamed beast.
Then he took out a gold piece from his pocket and tinkered! and threw
good! A gloved hand quickly grabbed it.
I glanced carefully at the opponent the cardinal responded to.
Two people stood guarding both sides of the door we passed through, like an underground general.
These were black market gatekeepers with jagged spears. However, the clothes were very strange.
Both were wearing ornaments that they had never seen anywhere on the continent.
They looked around us carefully.
– woo woo
-Chalkang, chalkang…
A clockwork-like device twirled and rotated over a mask quilted with dark, yellow metal.
At first glance, it looked like a gas mask.
The orbit was gleaming with glass balls protruding like frog eyes—or maybe it was a magic stone—and around the mouth were three thick lids like canned tuna.
With it all covering his face, it seemed natural that his voice sounded like a stormtrooper.
The clothes worn on the body were in the form of a jacket made with patches of dark leather.
All kinds of belts and metal fittings were hung here, and there were also test tubes filled with unidentified drugs.
A faint green energy emanated from his body.
I felt uncomfortable just looking at it.
“······Confirm. no problem.”
Eventually, the one who took the gold announced.
I put my hood on and rolled my eyes hard.
The string of the magic stone glasses, which had been attached to the rose pyroxene, wobbled.
He was also wearing the relics of Julitter on his head.
“You took the last train today.”
“Enjoy your precious time.”
“I do.”
There was a brief conversation between the gatekeepers and Sir John.
Then, the two aimed their spears at the black door,
– Jiying!
-Paaah…!
Like a green algae, it spewed out eerie power through the tip of the spear.
Awkward! blah blah blah blah blah! At the same time, the same noise resounded from the distant east, west, north and south.
Then, the entrance, which swept like a black sea, suddenly hardened into a wave shape.
With the closing of the market today, all doors are locked.
It was then that I realized the identity of the shivering energy. That’s…
– Aeoong
“Yes, it’s black magic.”
He lowered his pose and opened his arms to the little boy on the floor.
I don’t think he’d want to be hugged, but I couldn’t let him walk on a land where such power flows.
Lofi was a very small divine beast and a child who had just recovered.
Then the cat looked at me and licked the tip of its nose, and said, ‘I got it!’ As if snuggled into my arms.
Gosh! I’m blown away, Nari!
“Have there been any unusual rumors lately?”
Then Sir John asked as if passing by.
Around that time, Confucius Djibril Dioff also came and stood by us.
The green rotting mana looked quite unpleasant.
Mr. Ga-in constantly looked around and opened his mouth, and Prince Sedric was staring intently at the gatekeepers.
Anyone who sees it would know that they want to catch and dissect a warlock.
·······Maybe, isn’t it?
“Well. What are you looking for?”
“A man with a magical prosthetic limb.”
“Are there one or two prosthetic warlocks on the black market?”
“I got a tattoo on my face.”
“Where are one or two of the warlocks who painted on the face?”
Ting! Once again, the gold dagger bounced off the cardinal’s fingertips.
good! This time, another gatekeeper caught it and caught it.
The pair of gas masks looked at each other silently, and shrugged their shoulders at the same time.
A faint chugging sound echoed constantly from somewhere.
There is no way there is a train in the worldview of Toegye-gong, what is it?
“Hair is light purple.”
“The market is turned upside down and there is no riot. I hear you are a very honorable person, don’t you?”
“Is it true that there were scolds on the ground as well?”
The gatekeepers opened their mouths coldly, and my eyes popped open.
You know about the national anthem. He really was here!
“Don’t do that. He wouldn’t be a person who did something dignified. Have you already gone to the market?”
“It won’t be. The word is fast among our gatekeepers.”
“Of course, if you change your appearance and leave, there is nothing you can do about it.”
“Anyway, there was a lot of talk about high-ranking warlocks doing courtship dances to get his eyes on him. What about the way out?”
“When and where was the last sighted?”
Sir John’s voice was cold.
The way he spoke and his eyes were not the same as usual, so I felt a little creepy.
The four of us, nervous, stuck together and became a bunch.
Confucius Dioff sent his eyes to see all the strange people.
“Is it yesterday? plaza.”
“Hey, right under ‘Devil’s Claw’.”
The gatekeepers raised their spears and pointed at the foot of a distant hill.
The day before yesterday! We looked back in the direction they were pointing.
Immediately, his chin clenched.
“Oh my God…”
A vast, wide, underground black market was unfolding before my eyes.
It was an area that could accommodate tens of thousands of people.
It was only then that I understood why our protagonist was fussed all the time.
I just couldn’t believe it. It was very difficult for my head to digest what I had witnessed with my eyes.
Sir John was right.
-Cheokkeng, cheolkeng, jalkadang, jalkadang…
This was, in fact, a huge underground city. Everyone in the party was in shock for a moment.
The jagged roof was all gray or reddish rust.
From https://noblemtl.com
On the other hand, the moss-covered brick exterior wall took on a sticky green color.
Here, roughly painted and nailed signboards were hung in various forms.
Street lamps that were as dry as toothpicks stood dotted with dim light, and black plumbing serpents between the walls and roofs of the building.
As a result, all the buildings were tangled like a spider’s web.
The narrow alley stretched out like an anthill, and there was no place that could not be reached.
In addition, the vast majority of visitors were wearing dark robes.
From https://noblemtl.com
Occasionally, the person who chose the bright red clothes seemed to be the ‘Twilight Saints’, an apocalyptic group.
It was difficult to find even close friends or family in such a place.
I felt overwhelmed just by looking at it.
The noise of the magic tool parts meshing could be heard from all directions. Good bye, good bye…
– Nyaeng
At that moment, Roffy in her arms tapped my forearm with her tail.
I hurriedly shifted my gaze to the ‘sky’ of the black market.
The gigantic airship I had seen before caught my eye. For a moment, I was short of breath.
“Huh…”
– Doo doo doo doo-!
The cries of a noisy magic engine vibrated underground and tickled the earthen walls.
Corrupted green mana was constantly flowing from the rotor blades the size of a house.
From https://noblemtl.com
Occasionally a hot and damp wind blew.
I blinked quickly and tried to roll my head.
“So that’s…”
“It’s for air purification. It may not be the only use.”
Prince Sedric whispered softly. I looked up at him busily.
In short, it was a system where thousands of chimneys towering on the black market spit out smoke, and the airship orbiting the ceiling absorbed it and purifies it into clean air.
This place is deep underground, so it must have been the area where black magic was most desperately needed.
However, it seemed that the principle of movement of the large joint – at least as a priest and a graduate of the arts department – could not be known even after death and waking up.
The shock and wonder did not end there.
“Heineken, look at the center of the square. I guess that’s ‘Devil’s Claw’.”
“Huh.”
Ga-in stretched out her delicate hand and whispered.
I was in awe of the magnificent creature I could see in my sight.
In the middle of the black market, there was an upside down star-shaped plaza, with a huge tree root embedded in the center.
No – it wasn’t just a ‘stuck’ level.
The dark brown plants that stretched out like columns spread all over the ceiling, effectively supporting the existence of the black market.
It was supporting the part that was the foundation and the sky so that nothing could fall.
How is that possible?
“Nonsense······.”
No, how does this space itself exist? It’s just a completely different world.
Contrary to the image of the new country…
“I hear ‘Devil’s Claw’ has been scratching this place for nearly a thousand years.”
Sir John explained lowly.
Without even a drop of moisture, the bare, dry roots were visible.
It was thicker than the world tree in the ‘Temple of Boundary’, but the devil’s claws gave the overall impression of being old and slender.
Lofi in her arms flapped her ears.
I lightly scratched his chin and listened to the cardinal’s story.
“The only thing humans have put into this place is to build a building and launch that airship. There is a legend that the space itself was created by that old tree.”
-Golgol…
“·················ogue.”
“·················ogue.”
We glanced at a distant tree, then looked at each other again.
Woo woo woo-! A distant mechanical sound pierced my ears.
Everyone’s robes fluttered silently.
“·······Then, shall we go? to the plaza.”
Ga-in was the first to open her mouth,
“yes. It starts there.”
I nodded,
“Don’t leave the group.”
The prince gave a sharp warning to everyone. Well······.
Even if we want to, our belts keep us from being more than ten steps away from Sir John.
*
the next morning.
A special room at the tavern “Unforgiven Liquor”.
– Dal-dak, dal-dak, dal-dak…
“Outside! outside! Statia Plains captured! Outside, outside!”
“Ugh!”
A loud shout was heard outside the window.
Canael, who was preparing everyone’s breakfast, ran to the window with excitement.
‘Dalgrak!’ Rye bread with honey staggered on the plate.
The divine beasts also followed Porre with their tails upright.
Golden eyes began to fumble through the glass in a hurry.
A girl was hanging from the tail of a carriage loaded with cheese and smoked herring.
The child’s arms were full of yellow papers.
It seemed that he had gotten on that tea room and came in to deliver the outside.
“Outside! outside! Statia Plains captured!”
“What do you mean! Yes?”
The tavern owner ran out of the Burinake building and asked.
Upstairs, Canael carefully opened the window to hear the sound properly.
Demi, Leah, and Perry followed the boy, laying their ears side by side.
“Hello, Unforgiven Grandpa! Well, Statia Plains has been captured. The Imperial Army is going to push in to the Yeri sooner or later!”
“Wow, what is it…! what!”
‘Burst!’ A very excited old man took the paper from the child’s hand.
The girl shrugged her shoulders in no surprise.
Even the driver who had been carrying the cargo had a blank expression on his face.
Canael swallowed his saliva and concentrated all his attention on the conversation that followed.
“Didn’t it rain a lot at the time of folding? Because of that, there was a big landslide in the front. Not only did Shin Guk soldiers and civilians suffer a lot of damage, but the Crown Princess decided to abandon the plain and retreat. He said that it would be difficult to save the people without it. Really!”
“Oh my gosh… So what do we do now? yes?!”
“How is it? It is said that if you surrender to Lister, you will accept everything. If you’re a civilian, it’s especially good. Our family has already kissed it.”
The child answered bluntly, then picked up the old man’s spilled paper and took it.
After that, he started to spread the outside at all the Yeriho stores that were still open.
‘Outside! outside! The Imperial Army’s advance into the Yeri is just around the corner!’ Meanwhile, the girl’s phrases had become more provocative.
The bar owner rubbed his bulging belly and lamented constantly.
“Ah, damn it. I’ll have to change the store name first. Not ‘unforgiven drink’, but something like ‘surrender’!”
‘Pusuruk!’ The paper wrinkled relentlessly in the furry grip.
Canael sighed in relief and stood up. I’m sorry for the old man, but I’m really happy…!
“Good.”
“Oh!”
I was surprised! I sprained my ankle because of my fiancée who approached me without a trace.
Canael closed her eyes tightly as she felt her body slipping backwards.
Please don’t get seriously hurt, now I have to protect everyone…!
– Dub!
“ah!”
It wasn’t ‘Quadang’!
When he opened his eyes again, in front of the boy’s nose, the most beautiful gray eyes in the world were glimmering.
Canael licked his lips like a fool.
A tall nose, sharply rising corners of the mouth, and handsome dark green eyebrows.
Rosy cheeks and white forehead…
Whoa!
“Too close!”
The boy hurriedly escaped Elizabeth’s arm.
The gods booed and rushed up and down again.
The lieutenant colonel tilted his head with a confused expression.
“Are you too close? why? You’re engaged.”
“Well, it can’t be. Lord Frameless is still…”
“What yet? I must know more than you.”
Those words became a burning tomato.
“Hey, it’s not like that! Anyway, not now!”
“okay. So how about holding hands?”
“Hands, hands are…….”
Hesitation crossed his innocent face. But that too was short-lived.
Canael declared again with a sad expression on his face.
“Your Majesty will be here soon, Sir Mutte. Before that, we must open the mouth of Princess Marguerite!”
Then he bravely walked to the table.
Count So looked at the round head of the boy, and eventually laughed out loud.