What Must Be Protected (1)
Kanna, El, Wellington. They could be seen as a kind of NPC recreated by the Tower of Heaven. And the challengers from the Mission trial didn't treat the NPCs as real people.
'If it had been between fellow challengers, they wouldn't have dared to do something like that so openly.'
No one stepped up, even though someone should have. Everyone just stood by and watched. Yun-seok didn't find that strange.
In the early days, there might have been people who condemned their actions and acted out of heroism. But if the same thing happened repeatedly, and acts of kindness only led to losses...
There wouldn't be many whose resolve wouldn't break. Besides, it was easy to rationalize in this environment.
They're not real living beings. They're creations of the Tower. In other words, even if you risk loss to save them, it's meaningless. And there aren't many fools in the world who would stubbornly repeat meaningless actions.
But what Yun-seok found odd was something else.
Escort High Priestess Kanna Blitz for 45 days. Mission fails if the target dies.
The 8th-floor mission was the "Escort of High Priestess Kanna Blitz." But the only failure condition was one: the target's death.
That's probably why the challengers could act so boldly. 'But the fact that it can fail with just a word, even without that condition...'
It didn't make sense. They were veterans who had reached the 8th floor. Yet they reacted as if this was the first time they'd encountered such a failure case.
With evil acts so common here, why was it the first time? Thinking about it, a few hypotheses came to mind.
Either this was the first escort mission in the style of hiring "mercenaries," or new conditions appeared with the change in floors.
'That doesn't sound implausible.'
The Tower of Heaven wasn't kind to challengers. It didn't explain anything. It was more like pushing them off a cliff and telling them to find a way up on their own.
Of course, there was also the possibility that the victims, simply oppressed by their overwhelming power, were too terrified to resist.
If Yun-seok hadn't been there this time, the outcome wouldn't have changed much. Even if Kanna had tried to cancel the request, they had the power to force her to retract it.
"......"
Thud.
As various thoughts swirled in his mind, Kanna collapsed into the bushes.
She had boldly declared she'd terminate the request, but was she actually mentally exhausted? That thought lasted only a moment.
Soon, he realized her legs had given out for an entirely different reason.
"Where... where did they all go?"
Unlike the challengers who vanished on the first day, these disappeared right before their eyes in an instant.
"Were they mages? But if so, why would people like that take mercenary jobs...?"
Kanna muttered in a confused voice. She had no choice.
Notifying them of contract termination meant they would part ways as strangers here. Whether they returned to the castle or headed to another city, that's how it should have played out.
But for them to vanish right in front of her eyes? She hadn't even imagined it.
"......"
Yun-seok's head started to ache. How could he explain this situation to convince her?
If he said they were all mages hiding their identities, would she accept it? No.
After much deliberation, he chose the best option.
"I don't know either. It's strange."
He said it as naturally as possible, but it came out stiff, like a bad actor's line. Fortunately, Kanna wasn't in a state to notice the nuances of his tone.
"Yeah... Of course you wouldn't know......"
She nodded blankly. Then a childish voice piped up from behind.
"God is angry."
"......?"
It was El, who had been hiding in the carriage. Suddenly, Yun-seok thought the scene might be harmful to a child's sensibilities, but...
It was a needless worry. El continued without batting an eye at the dozens of corpses on the ground.
"They abandoned their duties. As mercenaries, as those with power, and as humans. So God is angry."
Purity and savagery were separated by a thin line, they said. Her demeanor, contrasting her early-teen appearance, created an eerie dissonance.
She seemed like a completely different child from the one who had screamed "evil spirit" at Yun-seok like a fussbudget just two days ago.
"But this man is different. I can tell."
"......?"
"He's not the type to abandon his duty for mere money and stain his soul."
Yun-seok tilted his head at her words. Setting aside the positive evaluation, the conversation felt off-track.
He soon realized why.
"Just to confirm, do you think those mercenaries attacked the carriage for money?"
"Huh? Isn't that right?"
El asked innocently in return. Only then did Yun-seok realize that, despite her peculiarities, she was still a child her age.
But he couldn't just launch into a sex ed lesson here, so he simply nodded.
"Yes, that's correct."
Kanna, who had looked slightly exasperated at Yun-seok, soon composed herself and sent El back into the carriage.
"El, why don't you go inside? I need to talk to this man for a bit."
"Okay."
Afterward, Yun-seok and Kanna sat a few steps away from the carriage.
She seemed to have many questions for him, but Yun-seok preempted her with his own.
"What are your plans from here?"
Their goal was to reach Jaris Bay. But if they decided to return to the starting city for regrouping, he wouldn't stop them.
His escort duty lasted only 45 days anyway. As long as she didn't terminate the contract with him, it wasn't his place to interfere deeply.
"We can't stop here. We have to keep going."
Kanna said firmly. There was no room for compromise, and her eyes held the desperation of someone backed into a corner.
He could tell there was some backstory. She took a moment to steady her breathing before continuing.
"I know you're not an ordinary F-rank mercenary. I won't ask why you hid your power. Instead, just one question."
"Anything."
"Rick Gersey. Or whatever your real name is... Do you have the power to protect us from the heretics?"
"...Yes."
Yun-seok answered after a brief hesitation, and Kanna pressed on.
"I'll give you all the payment meant for those mercenaries. Will you protect us?"
Money here was useless to him, but refusing would look even stranger. Yun-seok nodded and added,
"In exchange, one condition. What's that child's real name?"
She flinched at "condition," but soon relaxed, her shoulders slumping as she spoke.
"I don't know why you keep focusing on her, but... Elizabeth Lorwen. That's her name. El is a nickname."
Elizabeth Lorwen.
Yun-seok engraved the name in his mind.
* * *
While Kanna returned to the carriage and soothed El to sleep, Yun-seok cleaned up the surrounding corpses.
He then sat roughly beside the carriage, keeping watch, when Kanna Blitz cautiously opened the carriage door and stepped out.
"...It's like nothing happened."
She sat beside him, murmuring bitterly at the tidied surroundings. Then she said nothing more.
Her mind seemed extremely complicated. In the end, Yun-seok spoke first.
"How's Sir Wellington's condition?"
"He passed the crisis, but the blade must have been poisoned. He'll regain consciousness tomorrow, but it'll take days to fully recover."
"Lucky in misfortune."
He meant it sincerely. Wellington was the only one who knew the way to their destination. If he had died, it would have been a huge headache.
"Aren't you going to ask more?"
"About what?"
"Who we are, why we're entrusting our safety to mercenaries, why we're fleeing."
"Is there anything among that I need to know to protect you?"
Yun-seok countered, and Kanna hesitated before deciding to speak.
"...Yes. It would help if you knew."
"Then please tell me."
"The heretics aren't after me. It's El, that child."
"......?"
It was completely unexpected. After all, the mission was clearly the escort of "Kanna Blitz."
Honestly, despite seeming close, El had appeared to be just her handmaiden.
"What exactly is that child?"
"...El is the heretics' shaman. They believe she's the one who will liberate them."
Shaman and liberation... Those two keywords erased his last doubts.
Elizabeth Lorwen. Yun-seok finally confirmed she was the same as his manager, El.
That's why her emphasis on "duty" earlier felt awkward. What had happened to her?
Why would she come to despise "duty" so much in the future and dream of freedom?
Perhaps... he might find the answer in this trial.
What El wanted from him. And whether she was truly someone he could trust and stand with.
* * *
As they discussed future plans and the heretics, Yun-seok suddenly flinched.
A phrase had appeared, blocking his view.
A special challenge exists within a 200m radius.
Yun-seok jumped to his feet. He'd known about the challenge since learning of it and wanted to clear it along with the mission, but...
After today's incident, he'd inwardly given up. Mission success was undoubtedly the top priority.
With him guarding them alone now, he figured there'd be no time to hunt for challenges.
But for the challenge to come to him...
"Uwaaaah! H-help!"
The radius narrowed, and soon a man fleeing something entered his view from afar. He'd spotted the bonfire and run here.
Rescue James Hamblton and fulfill his request.
Yun-seok first ushered Kanna into the carriage and set it as an inviolable zone with Shaman's Law. Minimal safety measures complete.
He shot toward the approaching man, grabbing him by the scruff and leaping back.
The man choked, his collar tight around his neck, but surely he'd prefer choking to decapitation.
Whoosh!
Something translucent sliced sharply through the air. Landing, Yun-seok eyed the figure emerging from the darkness.
'So challenges compete like this too...'
A demon from Killian, like the one in the previous raid...
He wasn't an orc, lizardman, or devil. Though he had long horns on his forehead, unlike devils, massive wings sprouted from his back.
'Even the Mission challengers were shocked, saying it was a demon race they'd never seen...'
Unknown exact identity. But he clearly remembered that during the fierce battle, several parties had swarmed it and barely held one leg back.
Aside from the wings, horns, and near-4m stature, he looked almost human. The demon regarded him with haughty eyes.
Yun-seok smiled faintly. They spoke almost simultaneously.
"The bugs doubled."
"The rewards doubled."
Predation was a unique skill whose efficiency maximized against stronger foes. And from the last battle,
this demon possessed the greatest power in this trial, excluding Yun-seok.
'High-speed short-range spatial movement.'
Activating his authority, Yun-seok instantly appeared before the demon. A surprised expression—clearly a first for him.
The real surprise was yet to come. Yun-seok smirked and swung his hand instead of his sword.
And...
Smack!
The moment his left fist struck the demon's cheek.
A duel has been established.
Prepare. The duel will begin shortly.
The two opened their eyes not in the forest, but in a new place. For Yun-seok, the all-too-familiar center of the circular Arena.