00913 A Poisoned Chalice, Part Two
I thought I’d enjoyed the festival until late at night, but at some point, I must have dozed off. When I blinked awake, a sharp chill pricked my nose. It was too early to call it morning—more like the dead of night. Maybe around four a.m.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes and stretching, I looked around and heard soft breathing nearby. Ansol was sound asleep, buried deep in his blanket and sleeping bag. When we returned after yesterday’s chase, he’d managed to reattach his severed arm on his own. Seeing him endure all that alone made me feel proud.
He must have been in a lot of pain. Come to think of it, Ansol has changed a lot. When I first saw him at the initiation rite, he seemed a bit slow, but after nearly five years, he’s grown into a capable user. Without him, yesterday’s victory probably wouldn’t have been possible. I realized I owe him a lot.
“Mmm… Oppa… harder… make me a mess…”
I don’t know what dream he’s having, but he looks happy. I gently stroked his hair so as not to wake him, and he smiled faintly. After watching him for a while, I quietly opened the door and stepped outside.
It was still dark, probably before dawn. The streets bore the scattered remnants of the festival. A breeze carrying a faint scent of alcohol brushed past, clearing my head.
As I walked, I suddenly sensed a faint movement. Two shadowy figures appeared near the festival grounds. Stealthily approaching, I saw Vivian happily grilling meat alone, while Geunwon watched her with wide eyes from across. Nearby, Behemoth lay sprawled on the ground.
Putting aside Vivian’s gluttony and the mystery of her human disguise, I stopped and stared at Behemoth. He’d just rolled over, so he didn’t seem asleep.
For a long while, Behemoth tossed and turned in a strangely restless way—rolling left and right, banging his forehead on the ground, then sitting up with a heavy sigh before finally gazing up at the night sky, his eyes glistening oddly.
Watching him, I felt an odd sense of familiarity. I recalled a similar memory—maybe during my first leave as a private. The night before returning to duty, I couldn’t sleep and felt like I was going crazy. I must have been just like this. Suddenly, a surge of emotion welled up. This guy really didn’t want to go back.
“Behemoth.”
I sat down beside him cautiously. He glanced at me.
Even the sound of his voice hitting the silence felt distant.
“You really don’t want to go back, huh?”
“Why? Where did we leave off?”
Behemoth wiped at where his nose would have been and continued in a weak voice.
“You should’ve tried to soothe him better. He’s still a kid, after all.”
“……”
“Calm down first. If he’s angry, you have to find the cause before trying to soothe him blindly.”
Even as I said that, I felt just as clueless. I know Suna is a peculiar kid. She sighed the moment she saw me at birth, as if thinking, “This is my father?” I probably wouldn’t have known what to do either.
My story, huh? Actually, there is something that comes to mind. It’s not certain, but when Gehenna secretly left, Suna might have felt strong resentment. When I looked at the past through the third eye, Suna was crying, waving her hands as if trying to find me.
Behemoth nodded thoughtfully.
He muttered softly, then suddenly rolled his hollow eyes.
I was a bit startled by the unexpected names. Of course, I know them—the great heroes of the mythic age, Helena and the last dragon, Magna Carta. How could I forget?
“What?”
“Brought back? Resurrected?”
It sounded impossible. Back then, they sacrificed themselves to forcibly send Gehenna back, disappearing as a cost of activating the dimensional transfer array.
Reading my expression, Behemoth continued.
“That doesn’t make sense. How could they have come back? Their souls should have been completely lost.”
I suddenly realized. That’s right. When Gehenna was summoned, nearly two thousand Eastern users were consumed as nourishment.
By now, Geunwon had quietly crept closer, eagerly eavesdropping. I glanced at him, silently asking if it was really possible.
“Negative.”
What? Why so pessimistic right off the bat?
“I don’t know. Such beings are beyond my authority to judge. I’m cautious even speaking of it.”
Geunwon firmly signaled not to ask further.
Anyway, setting aside whether it’s possible or not, I had another question.
“Then why bring them back? Was there a reason to revive them?”
“Huh?”
…Did I just hear “Suna’s playthings”?
“How’s that working out?”
Judging by the way he smacked his lips, I doubt it’s working well.
“Me? How? I can’t even go to Hell.”
“A gift, huh.”
That reminded me of the jewelry I’d stashed away for Gehenna and Suna back in Atlanta. Unfortunately, I can’t give it to her right now. And I don’t want to ask them to wait until I return.
It’s not a bad idea, but what kind of gift would suit that picky girl?
“How about a recording orb?”
“I’ll send Suna an orb with a recording of me—my face, my voice, everything.”
Behemoth’s mouth dropped open. After making some strange noises, he suddenly prostrated himself in gratitude.
Huh. So he was planning to rat me out. No way I’m falling for that.
“Alright. Wait here a moment.”
I went back to where I’d been sleeping, took some time to record the video, then returned and handed the orb to Behemoth. Of course, I made sure to spit on it first.
“Here. But it’s best if Suna sees it first.”
“It’s one-time use. You can watch it together, but if you want to see it, watch it first.”
When I smiled, Behemoth immediately stopped teasing me. Maybe he really believed this gift would work. Suddenly, his attitude shifted like a soldier about to be discharged, mumbling thanks and gratitude as he hurriedly vanished into a summoning circle.
Hmm. By the way, what did Behemoth say to Suna earlier? Something like “You’re just a kid,” wasn’t it?
After confirming that Behemoth had completely vanished, I quietly clasped my hands together in prayer.
May the deceased rest in peace.
At first light, I ordered everyone to begin clearing the battlefield. It was still too soon to declare the war completely over, so we couldn’t afford to linger. One day of rest was enough.
Honestly, the users from the Northern Continent didn’t complain much. Disposing of and burning the bodies was a hassle, sure, but stripping the fallen of their gear directly translated into tangible gains, so they were eager to participate.
While everyone busily and willingly cleaned up the battlefield, I wandered alone along the castle walls, slowly reflecting on the war.
As I pieced things together, a few unsettling inconsistencies began to emerge.
First: Of the six Great Demons, we captured three, but the other three escaped.
This strongly suggested that Thanatos was still alive. Like Behemoth, Thanatos had been split into six fragments, and three of those remained intact.
Hwajeong shared my concerns. Though weakened by the loss of half his fragments, Thanatos would still be a dangerous threat. We needed to stay vigilant.
Second: The demons appeared, but the demon race did not.
This was the most troubling point. Since only the angel commander overseeing the Southern Continent had fallen, it was certain that many demons had crossed over. Yet, only demons showed up—no sign of the demon race at all.
Why hadn’t they revealed their full strength all at once? What was their intention?
Third: There was no sign of Eldora’s body.
No matter how thoroughly we searched, it was nowhere to be found. It was possible one of our own had claimed it, but that seemed unlikely—Excalibur and all the gear I had personally stripped from her remained untouched.
That left only one conclusion: the enemy must have taken her body during their retreat. But why? She wasn’t alive, so there was no clear reason to carry her off.
These three points tangled my thoughts, yet none could be definitively explained.
The one thing I was certain of was that we had won a decisive victory. The Southern Continent and the demons had suffered massive losses. But they hadn’t given up yet.
All I could do was keep these possibilities in mind and focus on what I could do. I would watch how things unfolded until we returned to Atlanta, then act accordingly. For now, returning to Atlanta was the priority.
Before leaving, I consulted with the clan lords and decided to relocate the Eastern Continent survivors to the Northern Continent. It was a precaution—there was a chance the enemy was hiding somewhere, waiting for us to leave.
Akino, the Eastern Continent’s representative, initially resisted the relocation plan. But when I told him we couldn’t protect them if the enemy attacked again, he agreed without further objection.
With the Eastern Continent’s affairs settled, we escorted the survivors out of the castle.
On the way here, we had rushed almost daily, but this time we took it slow. It took five weeks to reach a small town on the outskirts of the Eastern Continent, but returning to the Northern Continent took exactly fifty-six days—eight weeks.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
After Kim Soo-hyun left, the Obelo Knight Commander returned to the castle: “Ugh… Lord of the Sword, I’m sorry! We lost the enemy… Huh? Where did he go?”
I originally wanted to include the records from Kim Soo-hyun’s orb, as well as details about Gehenna and Behemoth…
But I’m just too sleepy. ^_ㅠ