We Will Be Together Forever (6)
“How is the reaction?”
“I’m not sure, but…”
“So this method was wrong too…. Your body isn’t showing anything unusual, right?”
“Yes. Outwardly, I look fine. In fact, the data we used for the earlier clinical trials showed no abnormalities in the body either, so you don’t need to worry about that part.”
“When on earth did you run experiments like that….”
They had been used while hiring laborers to lure Sun Heeyoung over to our side.
At the time, the results had been satisfactory, but the experiments had ultimately been abandoned because they had too many limitations.
I never imagined they would be useful in a place like this.
It was almost as if everything had been prepared for us, and the fact that I’d carried those data around in my head had turned out to be worthwhile.
“What do you think about making the concentration a little thicker?”
“Putting in too much isn’t good either. If we’re thinking about using magic afterward, there should be an amount that’s just right. You do know that if it isn’t, it could affect the body, right?”
“No, if we’re only using it to resist the curse, then something strong enough to overpower the curse’s effect…”
“Using poison to fight poison?”
“Approaching it from the angle of a similar effect would also be fine, I think.”
“Looks like we’re going in circles again.”
“To be precise, it isn’t really going in circles. Honestly, I’d say almost everything is ready, but…”
“The problem is that we still can’t be sure?”
“Yes.”
“So we have to redo the formula. This’ll be a long day too.”
Just continuing to exchange opinions was already effective.
It had only been yesterday that I’d felt like I was grasping at clouds. I hadn’t expected to make this much progress in just one day.
That probably meant Huang Zhengyan and I were more compatible than I’d thought.
It was something I’d already felt even before she obtained her new class, but Hwang Jeongyeon and I were the sort of complementary pair that could scratch each other’s itches.
Of course, by complementary I wasn’t talking about personality.
I meant work efficiency, nothing more.
Mental arithmetic and calculations were the sort of thing I could only admit were difficult for me.
In that field, Hwang Jeongyeon was practically a specialist.
It was only natural that I’d received help in a variety of ways.
And no doubt I was helping her too, since her freeform way of thinking was lacking in a lot of respects.
The right way to put it was that one plus one had become twelve, not two.
“By the way, is Hayan doing okay? She seemed pretty uneasy….”
“I’ve been showing my face to her now and then at night. Right now, that amount of distance is probably best.”
“Even so….”
“She hasn’t shown any other strange behavior yet.”
“Yes. Just like you said, Kiyoung… at least outwardly, she doesn’t seem to have any problems, but… I understand why you said we had to resolve this quickly. She’s been glaring at this side so hard lately that I can feel it in my knees.”
“I’m sorry. As I told you….”
“I know. We have to deal with the sudden situation…. I don’t know why a virgin who’d never even had a man suddenly got cast as the lead in a catfight and started getting blamed, but I feel like I’ve been branded as an adulteress without even holding anyone’s hand. It’s so unfair I could die. Of course, it’s not bad to get a feel for what it’s like to be the heroine of a drama, but….”
“Ahem….”
“Why did it have to be the adulteress position, of all things? It even feels like Deokgu is looking at me a little strangely too… Once this is over, I’m really going to get my revenge two or three times over.”
“Yes. Once this is finished, I’ll back you up with everything I’ve got.”
“Don’t forget that.”
Just as she’d said, as time went on, Jung Hayan’s anxiety grew worse.
It was because I’d suddenly started spending time in the second party. Of course, the fact that it was because I was spending time with Hwang Jeongyeon was something obvious enough that I didn’t need to say it aloud.
What Jung Hayan was feeling was jealousy.
With her mind already worn thin, the moment she found herself separated from me, it felt as if the curse’s erosion accelerated sharply.
No, in truth, it had become impossible to tell what was the curse’s erosion and what was Jung Hayan’s own thoughts.
I couldn’t know what was going through her head, but I was sure she was drawing up her own plan inside it.
It was a race between whether Jung Hayan’s plan would be completed first, or whether the research Hwang Jeongyeon and I were conducting would produce results first.
If I could have focused solely on the research, I would have had better results by now, but since I also had to spend time keeping the last few strands of Jung Hayan’s mental state from snapping, there was no helping the fact that I had to devote a certain amount of each day to her.
Of course, that time also involved giving her part of the potion along with the sedative, so even that was extremely important.
It wasn’t delivering a decisive blow to Jung Hayan’s mind, but it was continuously shaking her, however lightly.
If things change too abruptly, it could make the situation worse.
It was a choice made to minimize side effects.
In truth, Jung Hayan wasn’t the only one who was pouring cold water on the new research.
From the outset, the purpose of this expedition was rescue rather than exploration, so all sorts of situations kept getting in the way.
Of course, since Hwang Jeongyeon and I had started our dungeon research, we’d mostly been left out of the small-scale searches, but even so, the fact that we had to run experiments while moving was a major drawback.
Even though Hwang Jeongyeon, the one who could be considered the party leader of the second party, had been left out of nearly all the searches, the rescue team was still moving forward at a tremendous pace.
That was probably because no monsters had been found yet, but the fact that they’d discovered small achievements and clues under Kim Hyunsung’s leadership couldn’t be dismissed either.
Since I’d been so absorbed in the research, I hadn’t heard the progress of the raid in detail, but it was an undeniable fact that the expedition was making some headway bit by bit.
Of course.
Not everything was proceeding smoothly.
Beyond Jung Hayan, more and more people were being eroded by the curse, and now and then someone would start talking to themselves.
Kim Hyunsung had delayed the curse’s erosion as much as possible, but after staying in this dungeon for so long, the side effects had begun to appear.
The one who was showing the most serious signs was none other than Lee Sanghee.
“I’m sorry.”
What she was looking at were the people who had entered the dungeon before us. We hadn’t spoken about it directly, but the answer was obvious even without words. That was how anxious and restless she had become.
We still haven’t found even a hint of survivors, let alone actual survivors.
Maybe everyone already felt it to some extent.
That the previous party had probably mostly died.
Anyway, even under these circumstances, the expedition kept moving forward, and the curse that was gnawing at our minds kept burrowing deeper into us.
“It still can’t be called perfect. What a shame, Kiyoung.”
“Even so, it isn’t like it has no effect at all. The voices keep coming, yes, but the throbbing pain in my head has gone away. Honestly, even that much….”
“It’s enough to call it a result, yes, but… if only we’d had a little more time, we could have made it perfect. What a pity.”
“What matters is commercializing it, not lamenting over it.”
“You’re right. More importantly, could you ask Hayan to stop glaring at this side?”
“That isn’t something I can order her to do.”
“Having experienced it firsthand, I can’t say it’s pleasant…. Drama really is different from reality.”
“……”
“The most fun part is watching from a step away, from a distance.”
“By the way, are you doing all right, Jeongyeon?”
“Ah… mentally, it’s been hard. Still, maybe because I can get absorbed in something and research, my mood’s been a lot better. Lately I’ve been seeing hallucinations too. Don’t you get them, Kiyoung?”
“I do, but… not to a serious degree.”
“So there really is some effect, then. Everyone else is having a hard time….”
More time passed.
There weren’t many changes in that span.
The rescue team kept advancing deeper inside, but no undead were visible, and no survivors appeared either.
We were steadily moving forward, yet it felt as though we were wandering through the same labyrinth over and over again.
Kim Hyunsung didn’t seem particularly impatient, but Lee Sanghee was visibly getting worse.
“This is Lee Sanghee-nim’s safe zone.”
“Oh, today I’ll pass through without stopping for a meal.”
“Pardon?”
“T-there’s already been too much time wasted. Survivors could be in danger for the sake of just a few minutes. Let’s rest at the next point.”
There she goes again.
“But this is already the second…”
“There will definitely be someone in the next room. Yes. There will definitely be… someone there.”
“Master, perhaps you should rest a little too.”
“No, I’m fine. Everyone’s tired, but please bear with it a little longer. Once we find survivors… yes. Once survivors are found….”
There might not even be any survivors at all. No, to be honest, I could be certain that most of them were already dead.
Considering that the Blue Party must have been holding out here since before we entered Lindel, things had surely turned into a slaughter one way or another, whether they were killed by undead, took their own lives, or even killed each other.
“Please wait just a little longer. Just a little… I’ll speed things up. A little faster….”
“Ah….”
Watching the current situation made the truth obvious.
The expedition leader looked as though he were being tormented by hallucinations and phantoms.
A few guild members wore expressions twisted with irritation and dissatisfaction.
Some were struggling just to keep their own minds intact.
Park Deokgu holding out silently was impressive enough, but even Sun Heeyoung looked exhausted now.
Everyone was on the verge of breaking.
And they want me to spend months in this state?
Impossible.
It might be the worst possible situation for the party members, but in fact all of this was the best possible situation for Jung Hayan. If she really did decide to execute her plan, now would be the right time.
“E-everyone, please hang in there just a little longer.”
“But this is my limit already….”
“The guild members inside are dying.”
“The rear guard is having a very hard time, Lee Sanghee-nim.”
“……”
“Lee Sanghee-nim.”
It was right then that I thought something was going badly wrong.
[The curse is…]
Damn it.
It was only natural that everyone looked up into the air at once.
It was the same voice as before. Not Park Hye-young’s, and not Jung Jinho’s.
Second wave?
The erosion of our minds was already accelerating.
If we were hit with a second wave in this state, then not just the rescue, but our own survival would become uncertain.
A few people might be fine, but I was sure most of them would lose consciousness.
“Please chant a divine defense spell.”
“But….”
“It’ll be better than having nothing. Respond as much as possible. Mages, also use the spells that can block it as much as you can….”
The mages and priests raised their divine power and mana, but this was not the kind of attack that could be blocked by magic.
When I clenched my lips, my gaze drifted toward Jung Hayan without my meaning to.
It was only natural that I saw her looking this way with a bright smile.
She wasn’t speaking, but with her mouth open like that, it looked as though she wanted to say something.
Lo. Ve. You?
The moment I felt that something was off with her eyes, I had no choice but to shout Hwang Jeongyeon’s name.
Seriously?
“A-alright… Jeongyeon, cast the spell right now!”
She really was going to do it.
The timing might even have been a little too early. However bad things had gotten, I thought she was moving a bit too fast.
Is it because of Hwang Jeongyeon?
That was probably certain.
“What? What? But I should be casting the defensive spell…”
“Hurry!”
“O-okay! But are you sure this is really all right? This is still….”
“Cast it fast!”
“The contents too?!”
“Just cast it already!”
In an instant, the hall descended into chaos, and screams burst out from all around.
The front-line vanguard had already been affected by the curse.
After downing the potion I’d prepared in one swallow, I immediately ran toward Jung Hayan.
“I knew it! Oppa felt the same way too!”
With a radiant expression, she welcomed me, and I seized her hand and kissed her at once, forcing what was inside into her mouth.
“Love…!”
Damn it.
Even while doing that, she was still moving mana, which meant she had clearly made up her mind. The flow of mana I felt through the hand I was gripping was beyond anything I could have imagined.
I had no idea what kind of magic she was trying to use, but it definitely wasn’t defensive magic.
At the very moment I was praying inwardly that Hwang Jeongyeon would complete her spell before Jung Hayan did, Jung Hayan’s eyes suddenly flew wide open.
Did it hit?
I still couldn’t be sure.
Maybe I was only seeing hallucinations because of the curse, but if Jung Hayan hadn’t been struck by the curse and had instead been caught by Hwang Jeongyeon’s magic, then she would definitely be seeing it.
A crazy mage and a cursed shrine.
The ending she herself had wanted.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!”
The moment I saw her spilling tears as she stared into the air, I could be certain that what she was looking at was the scenario I had prepared.