Chapter 74 — Bellium's Tears
Chapter 74 — Bellium's Tears
Translation: GodTL
Not only did we have to deal with the monsters we'd missed yesterday, but we also needed to safely escort Adil—the caretaker of the statue—back to Elysium.
After hearing that, I told Estelle I intended to join the mission to rescue him.
"You're coming with us, Min-jun?"
Estelle's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah. Wouldn't it be better to have one more person?"
"But... you must be exhausted. There's no need to push yourself to help."
She expressed concern again, pointing out that I had been drinking all night and probably wasn't in top condition.
"It's fine. I want to help."
After yesterday, I felt closer to the residents here—I genuinely wanted to assist them. But I also had another reason.
I was curious whether that same mysterious aura from yesterday would appear and envelop me again. Besides, wasn't this a perfect opportunity to gain some real combat experience?
And since this was just an escort mission with some monster cleanup, it didn't seem like it'd be too strenuous.
Seeing that I wouldn't back down, Estelle finally relented.
"Well... sigh, alright. We'd be incredibly grateful to have you with us, Min-jun. Let me take you to where the escort team is waiting. Just... don't overdo it, okay?"
"Don't worry."
After finishing my meal, I followed Estelle to the city walls where the escort team was gathered.
As soon as we arrived, one of the guards spotted me and greeted me warmly.
"Hello!"
"Hello! Judging by your outfit, you must be the otherworlder, right?"
"Your performance yesterday was amazing!"
Even though I'd only been here for a day, thanks to yesterday's events, every member of the guard recognized me.
"We wanted to thank you for your help, but we didn't get the chance. So—thank you for yesterday."
"Don't mention it."
"By the way, what brings you here?"
The elven mage, who seemed to be the leader of the escort team, asked. Estelle answered for me.
"Min-jun has requested to join your escort mission."
"After tearing through the battlefield like that yesterday, aren't you exhausted?"
"That's what I said. Min-jun, this mission is something we can handle just fine on our own. Why not take it easy and explore the town instead?"
Their reactions were surprisingly similar to Estelle's.
"I asked Estelle because I want to help. Besides, I also have a personal request for Adil—the sooner I can meet him, the better."
Hearing my answer, the elven mage smiled and nodded.
"Well, in that case, we have no reason to refuse."
"Thank you for allowing me to join."
"Not at all. We'll be in your debt again. We'll be departing soon, so if you could prepare quickly, we'd appreciate it."
I retrieved my equipment from Subspace and geared up in no time.
Once everything was ready, we headed beyond the walls to escort Adil.
Since I hadn't gone outside the walls yesterday, I hadn't seen them up close—but now that I did, the fortifications surrounding Elysium looked impressively sturdy and massive.
And one more thing.
Perhaps everyone had been too preoccupied yesterday, but along the path to our destination, I noticed the remains of monsters that hadn't been cleared away.
"I thought you finished cleaning up yesterday?"
After the battle, I'd seen a large number of people mobilized for cleanup, so I assumed most of it had been taken care of.
One of the swordsmen behind me answered my question.
"It was impossible to clear everything yesterday, so we prioritized the Wyvern corpses first. There were too many wounded, and the sheer number of bodies..."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Honestly, yesterday was the first time I'd ever seen so many monsters in one place."
Just thinking about it made my head spin.
I doubted any Gate could ever spawn a horde that massive.
"Once we finish dealing with the remaining stragglers, we'll probably take care of the rest then."
"I see."
"Oh, and I don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet, but of course, you'll receive a share of the profits from the monster remains. Though it might take a while—there's just so much to process."
I hadn't even considered that possibility amidst the chaos, but hearing it now sparked anticipation.
Given that I'd delivered a record-breaking performance yesterday, I'd likely receive a substantial payout.
"That's wonderful news. It's got me even more fired up. By the way, I realize I never asked for your names."
"I'm Araven."
Led by Araven, the leader of the escort team, the other guards briefly introduced themselves as we exchanged greetings.
"Speaking of which, Araven. About how much longer until we reach where Adil is?"
"At this pace, probably just over an hour."
Araven pulled out a pocket watch, checked it, and answered.
"I can't wait to meet him."
Since he was said to be the most knowledgeable about Elysium's history and the statue, I had so many questions I wanted to ask.
We continued chatting about various things as we made our way to the meeting point.
However, though I hadn't noticed it at first, after some time, an uneasy feeling began creeping in.
"...Am I the only one feeling slightly unsettled?"
"Unsettled? How so?"
"You mentioned that the monsters that fled yesterday would likely be hiding along this path, but I haven't seen a single living one."
We'd come across plenty of monster corpses, but strangely, not a single live monster the entire way.
Given how far we'd traveled, we should have encountered at least one by now.
"They might have hidden deeper in. Or... it wouldn't be strange if they'd already fled beyond our sight."
The swordsman beside me, Max, chimed in.
"That could be it. I suppose we'll have to consider investigating further after completing Adil's escort mission."
The others seemed to recognize the oddity as well, but none seemed as uneasy as I was.
Walking through the forest, dead silent as if all life had been snuffed out, only made the ominous feeling worse.
It was unlikely they'd fled outside the forest—there were far too few monster tracks leading in the opposite direction of Elysium.
Where the hell did all those monsters go?
I couldn't shake off the creeping dread the entire way.
And before long, I learned that this foreboding intuition hadn't been wrong.
"...Adil?"
In the distance, a lizard beastkin—presumably Adil—stood bound tightly with thick ropes.
And behind him loomed a massive figure draped in a black cloak, radiating a sinister aura.
Adil, the lizard beastkin historian of Elysium and caretaker of the Statue of Bellium.
He had temporarily left Elysium for personal business.
But that was only the surface reason—those in the know were well aware.
That this wasn't just a simple personal errand.
Adil's true mission was to retrieve the lost relic, Bellium's Tears, which had been missing for centuries.
And not long ago, he had obtained information about its whereabouts and made plans to retrieve it.
Given that he was retrieving a valuable artifact, some had suggested he needed an escort, but due to various circumstances, assembling one at the time of his departure had been difficult.
Fortunately, by the time Adil secured the relic and began his return, Elysium had the resources to spare, so the elders decided to dispatch a guard unit for him.
Thus, Adil, now in possession of the relic, waited for his escorts to arrive.
But.
Before they could reach him, an unknown assailant kidnapped him.
Adil had assumed the attacker was after the priceless relic, Bellium's Tears, but in truth, the assailant had another goal entirely.
What he truly sought was Bellium's Remains.
The assailant—a necromancer—had long desired to study and utilize Bellium's Remains to enhance his undead legion. To fulfill that ambition, he had taken Adil hostage.
And now.
"What the hell are you?"
"Exactly what it looks like—a kidnapper with a hostage?"
When Araven demanded in a frigid tone, the man snorted in response.
"Bold words for a filthy criminal. Why did you take Adil?"
His maddened eyes swept over Min-jun and the escort party before he answered with a twisted smile.
"Bellium's Remains."
"Who do you think you are to demand such a thing?!"
Before the assailant could even finish speaking, Araven and the entire escort party erupted in furious curses.
Bellium's Remains were no mere relic—they were the most sacred and treasured artifact in all of Elysium, revered by every last one of its inhabitants.
Even the recovered Bellium's Tears, which Adil had retrieved, were an invaluable treasure beyond measure—yet they paled in comparison to the sanctity of Bellium's Remains.
"With Bellium's bones, I could conduct truly meaningful research."
"You—you're a necromancer, aren't you?!"
"Of course, it'd be ideal if I could obtain the entire remains and raise them as undead, but that seems unlikely. Fine, I'll be generous. Just hand over a single fragment of Bellium's Remains. Otherwise, I can't guarantee the safety of this relic—or this man's life."
The Necromancer flicked his fingers with an arrogant smirk.
The moment he so casually uttered Bellium's name, Adil and the other citizens of Elysium seethed with fury.
If that was the case, then there was absolutely no way they would comply.
They had never intended to meekly surrender to the demands of this shameless kidnapper in the first place—but for him to dare sully Bellium's name with his filthy mouth?
That was unforgivable.
"Lord Adil, hold on just a little longer. We'll save you."
"Mmgh! Mmmph!"
Adil tried to speak, but with his mouth gagged by cloth, his words were unintelligible.
"Oh? Do you really think you can?"
With a single gesture from the Necromancer, the ground trembled—and from beneath the earth, his undead legion emerged.
"Wait... so the reason we didn't see any monsters on our way here was..."
"Bingo. I just happened to need reinforcements for my army."
In less than a day, this man had hunted down every last fleeing monster, slaughtered them all, and raised their corpses as undead.
Despite his cocky demeanor, it was clear he was a Necromancer of formidable power.
"No wonder he's so brazen—he had this up his sleeve."
"This isn't brazenness. It's confidence."
As much as they hated to admit it, the sheer scale of the undead legion forced them to acknowledge one undeniable truth:
This Necromancer was an extremely dangerous opponent.
"Last chance. If you have no intention of handing over Bellium's Remains, I'll turn all of you into undead and have you raise your swords against Elysium's walls."
As if to taunt them further, the Necromancer pulled out Bellium's Tears—stolen from Adil—and dangled it mockingly.
Almost as if daring them to try and take it back.
"Like hell we'll let you!"
Levi, the rabbit beastkin standing at the front, lost all reason and charged at the Necromancer in a blind rage.
But—
A sharp bone fragment, flying from an unseen direction, pierced straight through his chest.
"Ghk—!"
With a choked scream, Levi collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.
"L-Levi!"
"How... we didn't even see it coming!"
"To think you had the audacity to act so high and mighty with skills like these. You don't even have the right to be angry."
His overwhelming presence sent paralyzing terror coursing through every last one of them.
All except for one—Min-jun.
'This is strange.'
Even Min-jun could feel the Necromancer's crushing pressure—yet, for some reason, instead of fear, a surge of confidence welled up inside him.
The certainty that he could win.
At the same time—
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
'Is it the Aura's blessing again, like yesterday...?'
He glanced back on instinct, but the Aura he had seen the day before was nowhere in sight.
'Then... what is this?'
Before he could even begin to unravel that question, his gaze instinctively locked onto Bellium's Tears.
Drawn by something deeper than thought, his hand reached out toward it—
And as if answering his call, Bellium's Tears began pulling away from the Necromancer's grasp, drifting toward Min-jun.
"Wh—what?!"
The Necromancer's shock lasted only a moment.
Regaining his composure, he commanded his undead to intercept the relic—
But Bellium's Tears tore through the skeletons as effortlessly as paper, then flew straight into Min-jun's outstretched hand like metal to a magnet.
And the instant it touched his skin—
As if defying all logic, it began merging into his body.
"...!"