Barbara
Reflection
The deep night had quietly slipped away, leaving a pale dawn mist to envelop the camp. Inside the tent, shrouded in white fog, sat a woman, her face showing signs of fatigue. Her eyes, however, remained open, filled with contemplation, indicating she hadn’t slept.
“Sigh.”
The woman let out a deep sigh. She was none other than Seonyul, the tarot card magician. Since Kim Su-hyeon had left the previous night, she had stayed in the same spot, keeping vigil.
Her eyes weary from the sleepless night, Seonyul pressed her eyelids gently. Then, she refocused her gaze on the table before her.
Nothing had changed throughout the dawn. Fifteen cards lay on the table, some face-up, others still turned over.
”…”
How long had she been silently staring at the cards?
“Alright, let’s see.”
Perhaps it was the result of a night filled with endless deliberation. Seonyul’s eyes flickered with a cold light as she spoke, as if releasing a burden from her chest. She glared at the innocent cards for a long moment before slowly reaching out her hand.
Her hand moved decisively, flipping the cards one by one. One, two, three, four…
In total, twelve cards were now face-up.
As she reached for the thirteenth card, her hand hesitated. It trembled slightly, revealing her inner conflict. But she withdrew her hand, indicating she hadn’t yet made a complete decision.
As she laid out the new cards, Seonyul swallowed hard. Her eyes darted quickly, examining the first four cards.
”…”
But once again, the interpretation eluded her. Seonyul frowned deeply.
The first card depicted a king holding a shining sword.
The second card showed a grotesque demon.
The third card featured a fallen queen with golden hair.
The fourth card depicted a crossroads.
The problem lay with the second and third cards.
The demon on the second card typically signified danger or crisis for the subject. However, the demon on the table appeared pitiful, covered in wounds, bleeding, and groveling for mercy.
The queen on the third card was even more shocking. She lay naked, legs spread wide, exposing herself shamelessly. The image was a stark contrast to the regal queens she had seen before.
The king on the first card watched them with a cold smile, his sword pointed to the right. Was it mere coincidence?
“A threat looms over the demon and the human… The perpetrator is the king…? What is this…?”
Had the positions of the king and demon cards been reversed, Seonyul might have understood. In that case, the cards’ traditional meanings wouldn’t have changed much. But the cards defied convention, plunging her mind into chaos.
Seonyul stared at the two cards for a long time, then let out another deep sigh. She shook her head, seemingly giving up on fully understanding them.
In the end, the only card she somewhat understood was the last one, the fourth card. She tasted bitterness in her mouth.
“The crossroads…”
The crossroads card symbolized a situation where a choice had to be made.
But that was as far as she got. Without fully understanding all four cards and connecting them, she couldn’t grasp their complete meaning. Seonyul was left with only one card she could interpret.
After some time, her gaze shifted to the three remaining face-down cards. She hesitated briefly but eventually began to flip them over, one by one.
The thirteenth card revealed a man bound and kneeling.
The fourteenth card showed another crossroads.
”…”
Now, only one card remained. With trembling hands, Seonyul reached for the last card at the edge. She turned it over slowly, very slowly.
As the card was halfway revealed, her eyes, which had been narrow and focused, widened in shock.
The plains of Barbara were bathed in a faint twilight, caught between afternoon and evening.
Of course, this posed no problem. For users, magic was a highly effective tool to counter the dimness.
‘Why can’t I see anyone?’
Despite enhancing my vision with magic, I couldn’t see a soul. I scanned Barbara’s walls again, puzzled.
The announcement of “five minutes to arrival” referred to the distance to the surrounding terrain, not the city gates. From this perspective, the Eastern forces had already reached Barbara.
To be precise, the Eastern forces had halted about five hundred meters from the city. They had detected something unusual near Barbara.
The initial plan was to establish forward bases near the designated city gates upon arrival. However, due to the unidentified anomaly, everyone was ordered to hold their positions.
I stood idly in the center of the formation for a while, then slowly began to move forward.
Ahead, the second echelon of archers and the third echelon of mages were bustling about. As I passed them and reached the front lines, I saw the echelon leaders, including the Goryeo Lord. Their serious expressions suggested they were discussing the anomaly.
The anomaly was…
“How’s the analysis of the magic circle going?”
“Archers with enhanced vision are scouting, but it will take some time.”
A massive magic circle surrounded the city. Though it showed no magical reaction yet, its sheer size made it difficult to analyze quickly.
『Ancient Magic Circle: Large-Scale Magic Suppression Barrier』
I had already identified it with my third eye. I considered revealing it but dismissed the thought. The third eye was one of my last resorts, and there was no benefit in exposing it.
“Uh, what? What’s that?”
“Do you see something?”
“Yeah, it’s starting to appear.”
Murmurs spread. As I privately surveyed the battlefield, the users around me grew restless. Curious, I turned to see them looking up at the city walls.
I quickly enhanced my vision again and scanned the walls. From left to right, I saw figures emerging. The Western continent and the vagabonds had finally shown themselves.
The number of users appearing wasn’t as large as the Eastern forces, but it was enough to fill Barbara’s walls.
“Relay to all units: cease operations and prepare for defense immediately!”
The Goryeo Lord’s response to the Western continent and vagabonds’ appearance was swift. Both sides were now within striking distance. Any users who ventured forward risked becoming targets for arrows or spells.
About ten minutes passed.
Wooong…!
Suddenly, a surge of magical energy was felt from the front.
“Magic flow detected!”
“Prepare defensive spells!”
”───. ───. ───.”
“And the second echelon, be ready to fire immediately after the third and fourth echelons’ defense!”
The users in the third and fourth echelons began chanting spells in unison. The sound of thousands of users chanting together was truly a spectacle.
Then it happened.
Wooong… Hwaak!
(Ah, ah. Testing, testing. Translation test. Northern continent users, can you hear me?)
The large magical flow spread wide, and a clear voice echoed across the plains.
(Ah, I see you can hear me clearly. Haha. I am Simon Grimes, a user from the Western continent. It’s an honor to meet the Northern continent users like this.)
The voice from the walls caused the chanting to cease abruptly.
“Cho Seong-ho, where’s the source of the voice amplification magic?”
“It’s from the center, but the figure is obscured among the crowd…”
“That’s fine. Tell the echelon leaders to calm the troops and maintain vigilance. And prepare our own voice amplification and translation magic.”
“Understood.”
The sudden attempt to start a conversation seemed to create a slightly awkward atmosphere, but it was clear that the Goryeo Lord was no pushover. While it wasn’t entirely to my satisfaction—if I were the commander, I would have postponed the talk and launched a barrage of arrows and spells first—he was living up to his reputation as the leader of the North Continent’s top clan.
“Um, no one seems to be responding… Could someone, anyone, please answer? I have an official proposal to make.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Soon, a deep voice, likely amplified by magic, responded to Simon’s words.
“Oh, I can hear you clearly. But before we proceed, may I know the name of the person I’m speaking with?”
“That’s not necessary. Just get on with your proposal.”
“As expected, Koreans are always in such a hurry. No patience, no patience at all. Haha.”
A faint chuckle followed, but it wasn’t particularly irritating. The laughter was too clear and gentle to be taken as offensive.
“Alright, I’ll get straight to the point as you wish. It’s nothing major. Since the folks from the North Continent have just arrived, how about taking the day off to rest?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just thought you must be exhausted from the long journey. Besides, it’s already late today… What do you think?”
“That’s nonsense.”
The Goryeo Lord dismissed Simon’s suggestion outright. However, as if expecting this reaction, a calm voice quickly followed.
“Haha, you’re too much. I was just trying to be courteous. Honestly, it doesn’t matter much to us. We’re fully prepared, and we’ve already… well, let’s just say we’ve entered without bloodshed.”
The term “entered without bloodshed” carried significant weight. It suddenly occurred to me that Simon might have been aiming for this very moment, using unfamiliar language to influence morale.
However, Simon overlooked one crucial detail: the East was already aware of this fact, thanks to some vagrants who had tried to infiltrate as users.
“Is there no cooperation between the Western Continent users and the vagrants?”
There were still some unclear aspects, but if the vagrants acted independently, it made sense.
The Goryeo Lord’s voice soon reached my ears.
“What happened to those who surrendered?”
“Oh? Yes, yes. They’re fine. The men and women alike kept us entertained while waiting for you.”
“Hmm, is that so.”
The slight upward inflection at the end of the sentence suggested that Simon might be puzzled by the East’s calm demeanor.
The Goryeo Lord nodded a couple of times, as if for show, and spoke in his usual composed voice.
“Alright. I’ve heard your proposal.”
“Oh, so you’re accepting it?”
“Fine. We’ll graciously accept. Let’s rest tonight and meet tomorrow morning.”
With that, the Goryeo Lord turned away and addressed the user who had cast the magic.
“Turn off the voice amplification magic immediately.”
“Understood. But, Lord, are you really considering accepting Simon’s proposal?”
“Of course not. I’ve heard the Western Continent folks are crazy, and they truly are. Resume the interpretation work and inform the second, third, and fourth divisions to prepare for a surprise attack tonight.”
“That’s more like the Goryeo Lord.”
“Ah, wait a moment. There’s a wanderer here who wishes to speak. I’ll step aside for now.”
Just then, Simon’s voice caught us again, as if the voice amplification magic hadn’t been turned off. I focused my energy, trying to detect any movement of key figures on the walls.
“We’re not here for small talk, so I’ll ask one thing, users.”
Before I could examine further, a low, rough voice interrupted. Unlike before, it was in a language that sounded familiar, not the awkward translation tone.
After a brief silence, a quiet voice spoke.
“Is there a user here who is the Mercenary Lord?”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
Apologies for the delay. I was unexpectedly interrupted today, which set back my writing. My nephews took over my computer. ㅜ.ㅠ I had planned to share more in the afterword and replies, but today was so hectic that I just want to rest for now.
Since it’s quite late, I’ll take my leave.
I apologize for the delayed messages. I’ll make sure to respond by Sunday afternoon.
Have a good night, everyone.