Second Day (6)
Second Day (6)
Seo-ah.
My one and only little sister.
One day, she contracted a serious illness.
"It's an incurable disease. There's nothing we can do."
Not long after my aunt and uncle—who had raised me—passed away in an accident, this illness struck her, plunging our family into hardship.
My older sister, who had dreamed of becoming an actress, gave up her lifelong aspiration and threw herself into the workforce to earn money.
I did the same, dropping out of high school and jumping into construction work.
My sister tried to stop me, insisting she could handle the burden alone, but I refused to listen. I didn't want her to shoulder everything by herself.
But when my little sister heard what we were doing, she sat on her hospital bed and burst into tears.
"Waaah...! I'm sorry, unnie...! Oppa too...! It's all because of me, sniff...."
"Don't cry."
Watching my sister weep bitterly and my older sister gently wipe away her tears, I finally realized it.
Our family was now just the three of us.
It had been exactly one week since the aunt and uncle who raised me had passed away.
"Si-woo, are you really sure about this? You could've gotten into Seoul National University. I can handle the hospital bills on my own...."
My sister kept trying to persuade me. It was only natural for her—my new guardian—to worry, seeing me take on dangerous work at construction sites when I had spent my whole life avoiding physical labor.
"It's fine, noona. It's not as bad as you think."
Hiding the wounds I got from fighting a foreign laborer, I lied to my sister for the first time as she looked at me with concern.
The work was hard and dangerous. The jobs that paid well were all far from Seoul. After hours of riding in the labor agency's van to the worksite, I was greeted by crude foremen and rough workers. Working in places like that, I quickly understood why no one wanted these jobs despite the high pay.
Still, I headed to the site early every morning without complaint.
Because I knew all of this was for my family. With the thought of protecting those precious to me, I endured the hardships of the present.
But that didn't last long.
I managed to adapt to my new life, but my family didn't. My sister's eyes grew more exhausted each day as she worked late into the night. My little sister, lying in her hospital bed, was losing hope that she could be cured.
Both my sister and my little sister stood on the edge of a cliff, each day feeling more precarious, as if one misstep would send them tumbling down.
Then, one day, I learned that sending my sister to America could cure her.
But the problem was the enormous cost. Just as I despaired over this unattainable opportunity, I stepped into the world of magic.
The work was easier than I expected. Throwing talismans wasn't that hard. A friend I worked with told me I had incredible talent.
It wasn't safe, but the pay I received after completing a job made even my near-death experience feel worth it.
And it was the day I began to hope. With earnings like this, I could quickly save enough to send my sister to America for treatment.
All I could do before was pray while watching her suffer. But now, I believed she wouldn't have to endure that pain anymore.
"...What a relief."
At least, until I heard the necromancer's words.
It was an absurd coincidence.
The illness his parents had was the same as my sister's.
I stared blankly at the necromancer as his words slowly processed in my frozen mind.
If I send her to America, she'll be subjected to human experimentation?
Then what's the alternative?
The sap of the Thousand-Year Tree?
...And it's no longer obtainable?
Suddenly, the face of my sister from this morning flashed in my mind.
...I bragged that she'd get better, but nothing will change?
"Kehehe... Show me. Show me your face drowning in despair...."
"Bullshit."
I won't let that happen.
CRACK—!
"GAAAAAH—!"
I tightened my grip around his neck, and his scream echoed through the vast hallway.
Still holding him firmly, I started walking again.
"Guhh...! Show me! Let me see it! Let me see your reaction as you face this hellish reality!!"
Dragged along, the necromancer thrashed desperately with his dying strength. With every jerk of his body, more blood gushed from the wound in his side, painting a long red line down the hallway.
Of course, the more he bled, the closer he came to death. Yet, despite knowing this, he kept struggling just to see my face—to savor the sight of someone suffering and crumbling before his own end.
"You want to see?"
I lifted him by the neck, forcing him to meet my eyes.
"Kekekeke, yes, show me. Those eyes drowning in despair—"
His sneering laughter froze as our gazes locked.
"W-what...! What is this?! Those eyes—!"
"Funny reaction."
"Impossible!!! Why aren't you breaking?!"
Because I don't have time to despair.
"Ugh... No way... My final entertainment is ruined...."
Instead, it was the necromancer who fell into despair.
I shook him left and right to snap him out of it. Making him look at me wasn't to show him I was unaffected.
"Enough nonsense. You got the face you wanted, so talk. How do we get out of here?"
"...It's useless. I don't know."
There was no way to verify if he was lying. Even if he was, I had no means to force the truth out of him.
That left me with only one option.
"Then where are the other mages?"
"Kehehe... Do you really think you'll leave here alive? See these scars on my body? They're trophies from the residents of this world. Now, they'll hunt you. They'll skin you alive, savoring each piece of your screaming flesh. It'll be... spectacular."
CRACK!
"GAAAAH!!"
"Where are the other mages?"
I tightened my grip on his throat.
"Kekekeke! They're coming! They're coming for you! To devour you!"
His choking laughter turned into wide-eyed panic as he stared past me.
I released him and turned to face the hallway ahead.
CLANK. CLANK.
From the darkness emerged the moving suits of armor I had encountered earlier. Swords drawn, they advanced toward me.
"Kihihihi! Here they come, here they come!!! The aberrations!"
And behind the armor, a massive four-legged beast clad in ominous black plate mail filled the hallway, radiating malice.
[Grrrrrrrr....]
It snorted, a gust of foul, death-tainted breath washing over me.
"Disgusting."
A visceral revulsion surged through me as I faced the monster. Its maw split open, revealing a forked tongue that slithered through the air like a snake. It had no eyes—only grotesquely dense fur where pupils should have been.
Relying on scent rather than sight, the beast sniffed the air as it closed the distance. In sync, the armored knights raised their swords.
These weren't like the crude guards I'd faced earlier. If those were foot soldiers in shoddy half-plate, these were knights in full, seamless plate armor.
GOOOOOO—
And they radiated malice. Their blades gleamed with a razor-sharp aura, and icy blue light seeped from their visors.
"Kekeke. Those were the knights. The strongest, guarding the king up close."
The necromancer, slumped against the wall, sneered as he explained.
"They're not just armor. Curses fused man and metal into one. They'll do anything to eliminate intruders. Kekeke! A low-class mage like you stands no chance!"
CLANK! CLANK!
The knightly armors took their stances.
Poised to charge at any moment.
I wasn't stupid enough to just stand there.
WHOOSH—
I flung the talismans in my hands forward.
Six stiffened papers landed amidst the knights before—
BOOOOOOM—!!
Blue ghost fire erupted, slicing through the air and swallowing the armored figures.
Twitch. Twitch.
The knights flailed at the clinging flames, unaware their bodies were melting like wax. Their cursed loyalty knew no retreat.
CRACK.
The steel boots were the first to go. The massive armor collapsed without support. Gauntlets liquefied, and swords clattered uselessly to the ground.
Breastplates caved in, and the helmets—still glowing with that eerie light—warped and crumpled.
Just like that, the knights left only their weapons behind, melting away without a trace under the relentless curse.
"Impossible...."
The necromancer, forgetting even to staunch his bleeding wound, gaped in shock.
"You took out those knights with just a few Ghost Fire Talismans?! No! Even an 8th-class shaman couldn't do that! Am I hallucinating?!"
His wide eyes darted between me and the molten remains before he shook his head and snapped back to reality.
"Ha, must've been a fluke. What did you sacrifice for that attack? Lifespan? Your body? Or your entire future? Keke, what a joke. Is living really worth that much?"
I ignored the dying man's ramblings. There was still one enemy left.
[Grrrrrrrr....]
The massive beast in plate mail drooled thick saliva. The black, tar-like fluid sizzled as it hit the floor, eating through the stone.
I pulled out another talisman, gripping it tightly. One bite from those jaws would be the end. I had to finish this before it got close.
WHOOSH—
Before the beast could tense its muscles, the talisman left my hand, slicing through the air. It exploded into a fireball right in the monster's face.
BOOM—!
A direct hit.
[SCREEEEE—!]
But the creature roared and charged through the blue flames, completely unharmed.
This was the first time an enemy hadn't fallen to my attack. But I wasn't foolish enough to stand still. I knew all too well the price of carelessness.
"Hahaha! You idiot! Physical attacks don't work on aberrations!! Knights and aberrations are completely different!"
Ignoring the necromancer's mocking laughter, I scattered another handful of talismans into the air.
[SCREEEEE!!]
But the monster was cunning.
It used the walls and ceiling to leap, effortlessly dodging the chain of explosions.
The distance closed in an instant—just ten meters. I had one talisman left.
SWISH—
Without hesitation, I threw it.
The beast twisted its body mockingly to avoid it.
But that was exactly what I expected.
CLAP.
I pressed my palms together firmly and whispered.
"Burn."
The talisman drifting behind the monster suddenly ignited. A wisp of ghost fire swelled instantly, taking the form of a massive, blue-flamed goblin.
CHOMP!
[SCREEEEE!!!]
The goblin seized the beast by the scruff as it lunged at me. With its grotesquely gaping maw, it swallowed the flailing monster whole.
[SKREEEEE!!!]
The goblin's translucent body let me see inside. The aberration melted helplessly in its stomach.
BURP—
Satisfied, the goblin patted its belly twice, then bowed to me before dissipating into smoke.
The necromancer's jaw hung open in shock.
"A King Goblin?! Summoning magic?! No—you killed an aberration?! Without any backlash?! Am I hallucinating?!"
I walked toward him.
"Where are the other mages?"
Meeting my gaze, he let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha. So, you were confident. You deceived me. You're no low-class mage."
Then his bloodshot eyes glared at me with hatred.
"I see now you have the power to escape this place. But the fact remains—your precious person is stricken with that damned disease. Kekekeke!! It's a shame I won't see your ruin, but this isn't so bad. An inescapable end is coming for you!!"
I placed my hand over his face.
Then slammed him into the wall without hesitation.
CRASH!
"GAH!"
CRASH!
BAM!
THUD!
The hallway filled with the sound of brutal impacts. After smashing his head into the wall repeatedly, the necromancer looked up at me, drenched in blood. His unfocused eyes swayed dizzily.
"Where are the other mages?"
I asked again, my voice eerily calm and devoid of emotion.
"Guhh...! Why won't you despair?! Your precious one will never be cured!"
THUD!
I stomped on his chest.
"GAAH!!"
"Where are the mages?"
I stared coldly at his writhing form.
No cure for my sister's illness? Human experimentation if sent to America?
Unbelievable garbage from a trash mouth.
But I couldn't risk exposing her to danger based on that alone.
So I decided.
I'd find the cure myself.
It wouldn't be easy.
But thankfully, it wasn't impossible.
If magic could even bring back the dead, what couldn't it do?
So my sister's illness could be cured.
No—I would cure it. By any means necessary.
If I had to kill, I'd kill.
If I had to steal, I'd steal.
If I had to discard my humanity, I'd discard it.
For my family, I was ready to become something worse than any monster.
Staring into the necromancer's eyes with icy calm, I delivered my ultimatum.
"Where are the mages?"
"This is bad...."
Ha-rin stood motionless in the darkness, eyes closed.
She couldn't move.
[!!!!!!]
Because the aberration that had brutally torn apart three mages was standing right beside her.