CH 118

―Ratta is ready.

Just in case, Ratta stayed in Lucion’s shadow.

Even with that position, they could do the shadow movement.

“In case of emergency, I’ll run away with you.”

Hume was confident in running away.

[Yes, Hume. I trust you.]

Russell looked at Lucion anxiously for the last time and then pulled with his hand as if reaping something.

In front of Lucion’s eyes, the curtain was lifted, and the ghosts were seen in his gaze.

‘…!’

Lucion held his breath for a moment.

The ghosts surrounding all the existing walls were crowded like locusts, so he couldn’t help but stare at them in awe.

Lucion felt as though he was about to vomit, but he closed his lips tightly to calm himself down.

‘…They’re not corrupted, so I’m really glad I found them first.’

Looking at the dust still covering him, Lucion sent everything out of the palm of his hand except for the darkness needed to use shadow movement.

[Don’t leave any extra darkness other than the darkness to use shadow movement. You get that?]

“I know. I’ll gather them all at once and let them out.”

Lucion split the darkness into both sides and made them burrow into the dust, sending each toward the far end of the wall.

Russell was in charge of small adjustments, keeping them unnoticed by the knights of Cronia, knights of Nevast, and Carson.

[Stop. That’s enough. Now don’t pay attention to the eyes of the people around you and hold on. We can’t help but get caught from here, so let’s deal with it quickly.]

Just as Lucion was about to spread the darkness on either side, Russell raised his voice.

[Ah! Hey, Carson! Hold on!]

Suddenly Carson caught Lucion.

Shh.

Without hesitation, a sword loaded with aura flew toward Lucion in the wind.

Russell tried to use Lucion’s darkness to grab the sword, but he desperately held back because he didn’t want the extra darkness to use the shadow movement to disappear.

[Trust Hume, Lucion! Now, unfold!]

Right now, there was only one way to send the ghost to the sky faster.

Both Cronia and Nevast were taken aback by the darkness appearing from both sides that looked like spreading wings.

A horn rang out from Cronia.

That sound was meant for an emergency, but Lucion focused only on spreading the darkness as wide as possible and trapping a lot of ghosts.

There was no second chance.

“Got it!”

Hume raised his hand and struck the sword with his fist at the right moment.

Whoo!

The sword plunged into the floor with the sound of hitting a metal wall.

“…!”

Hume was surprised that the sword didn’t broke yet, but the aura that still lingered around the sword made Hume very nervous.

[Carson, you madman! You almost killed your brother!]

Russell shouted and glared at Carson.

He hadn’t hesitated at all.

Russell calmed down and examined Lucion.

His breathing became rough.

Because there were too many ghosts to deal with all at once.

Shiver.

Lucion could feel his nose bleeding.

―Ratta will work harder. Come on, Lucion!

Ratta’s earnest voice made the darkness work harder in surrounding the ghosts.

[Carson…!]

Russell shouted again as he tried to help Lucion quickly surround tens of thousands of ghosts with darkness.

As the dust settled, Carson was standing just a short distance away.

Sssa.

Lucion felt the hairs all over his body stand on end.

But he couldn’t stop here.

As long as he trapped the ghosts and blew them up, the Hand of the Void’s plan would be destroyed, and the walls wouldn’t.

As if his choice was correct, the bundle of blue threads tightened.

“No matter what you do, you won’t be able to cross the wall, warlock.”

Carson reached out and the sword that had been stuck on the ground came into his hand.

The Kingdom of Nevast had summoned a warlock.

To go past this border.

“We have no intention of attacking you.”

Hume said.

Carson’s gaze, however, was too cold.

“Just in time, we need a living warlock, Nevast. I need to know exactly what your intentions are.”

“I told you I have no intention of attacking you.”

Hume spoke again, raising his voice.

Is he really Carson? He seemed so different.

“Now, warlock. Are you going to follow me? Or do I have to cut down one of you to make you follow me?”

There was no Hume in Carson’s eyes.

He didn’t know what tricks Nevast was doing, but he thought it was really funny.

Once was enough, he had no intention of losing twice.

Carson put aside Lucion hovering in his mind for a moment and approached the warlock.

One step.

Life oppressed Lucion’s entire body.

Two steps.

Lucion’s hands trembled, and the darkness inside ran wild.

His throat was burning.

‘I can endure it. …This much.’

[Hurry up!]

Russell was anxious.

If they got caught by Carson so quickly, neither Russell nor Lucion had a plan for that.

It also meant that the current situation was ridiculous.

―Come on! Come on! Move, darkness!

Lucion’s shadow wriggled at Ratta’s urging.

‘That’s enough…’

At last, when the darkness came together and burst out, Lucion saw Carson approaching him.

Carson’s eyes were so eerie.

As the blade touched his stomach, a red thread appeared and entwined him with Carson.

《Following Heint, Hamel’s sword mercilessly pierced Lucion’s stomach.

“…Cough!”

As Lucion stumbled, holding onto his stomach as he poured blood, Hamel thrust his sword into Lucion’s chest again, as if not giving him time to recover.

Stab.

A sword full of aura was thrust into Lucion’s chest.

“Cough…!”

Lucion vomited blood.

Once, twice.

Blood flowed as if pouring out from all over his body.

Clang.

Hamel put down the sword in his hand and immediately took off his mask.

Hamel, whose face was distorted, knelt down to take the falling Lucion.

Drip. Drip.

Hamel’s tears soaked Lucion’s face.

“…Bro…ther…”

Lucion noticed even though his vision blurred.

That Hamel was his brother Carson.

He was the older brother he’d missed so much.》

Lucy didn’t know why he suddenly recalled that scene in the novel.

Carson, who approached him quickly, was slightly resentful.

Lucion’s eyes slid away.

Behind Carson, he saw Hume moving with a desperate look.

It seemed it would be too late for everyone.

Was it because he was complacent, or had he underestimated Carson’s skills?

He wouldn’t know either way.

Now that the sword would pierce his stomach.

―It’s all right, Lucion.

But at that time, Ratta’s bright voice echoed in his head, and his body suddenly relaxed.

Instead of black darkness, purple darkness came out of his shadow and hovered around him.

The darkness became Ratta.

It was obviously Ratta, but something was different.

Ratta’s eyes glowed blue.

―Darkness protects Lucion, so there is no need to be afraid. Ratta will help Lucion as Lucion’s guardian.

Ratta clung to Lucion’s arm and moved his fingers with her paw.

Ting!

“…!”

Carson’s eyes widened.

In an instant, a purple glass with a square shape came out straight up between Lucion and Carson and blocked Carson’s sword.

He stabbed it with all his strength, but there was no scratch on the glass.

Lucion was surprised, too.

[Luci… What is that?]

Russell stopped moving closer to Lucion.

It wasn’t Lucion’s darkness.

It looked like the darkness wandering in nature, but what’s with the neat appearance and purple color?

‘…Ha.’

Lucion let out a breath he had been holding back and blinked his eyes.

Ratta from a while ago had gone somewhere, and even the purple darkness surrounding him had disappeared.

―Lucion! Everybody’s going up to the sky!

Ratta cried out cheerfully.

―Now, Ratta will use shoong!

As if she didn’t know what had happened a while ago.

[Hume! Run!]

Russell shouted.

Hume ran, and Lucion reached out.

When Hume’s hand touched her, Ratta’s voice tightened.

―Let’s go!

Lucion looked up at the sky for a moment, before he was engulfed in darkness.

The darkness he had burst out now entered the ghost’s body.

The sky turned black as if night had come.

And as if it contained pieces of starlight, the ghosts, and the darkness gradually disappeared.

Thank you.

Thank you.

A myriad of words poured out to Lucion.

He didn’t know why, but his eyes trembled as his heart became heavy.

Lucion didn’t know what the feeling was, nor could he answer them.

He just watched the blue threads that were cut off one by one flutter like confetti shot into the sky.

Before the blue thread fell to the ground, it gathered one by one and turned into a red thread.

Crisp.

Even that red thread was cut as well.

“You…!”

Carson’s bewildered look was the last thing Lucion saw before things turned upside down.

‘…Ha.’

Carson’s eyes shook.

It was a miss.

He could definitely cut him down, but because of the magic that suddenly appeared, he couldn’t.

Carson clenched his sword.

‘What the hell is that guy… What is he?’

A big wave hit Carson’s still mind.

* * *

“…Cough!”

Lucion threw off his mask and spilled blood.

He fell in place, barely supporting himself with his trembling hands.

The feeling of blood flowing back all over his body made his eyes spin.

―Lu-Lucion!

Coming out of the shadow, Ratta immediately clung to Lucion.

‘I still have a little bit of darkness left….’

Lucion’s face turned pale and he bit his lips tightly.

As if the darkness had been exhausted, the throbbing in his stomach was not enough, and he lost his strength.

As Lucion grabbed his stomach, he felt something hot.

‘…Did I get stabbed?’

When he checked the blood with his own eyes, Lucion closed his eyes tight as he felt his heart pounding.

―Hop! What should we do! He’s bleeding! Bleeding!

Ratta freaked out and spun around Lucion.

[I knew it! Ratta, you stay still. Hume! Hurry up and take out the bandage!]

Russell urged Hume, but Hume was covering his face with his hands.

[What’s wrong with you, Hume?]

Something looked strange with Hume, so Russell went crazy, jumping up and down.

Hume lowered his hand, which had covered his face.

His right eye was burning with darkness.

“The eyes are… strange again. There are lines that I saw back then.”

“Teacher….”

[You stay still, Lucion. Hume, you can’t move?]

“No, I can move. I’ll treat him right away.”

Hume took out various treatment supplies he had prepared in advance from his pocket.

[Can you do it…?]

Russell asked carefully.

“Yes. I’ve been studying medicine diligently since the day Young Master cut his finger to use black magic. If it’s just emergency aid, I can do it.”

Hume also knew. Studying was different from doing it directly.

Nevertheless, Hume’s eyes remained steady.

“Excuse me, Young Master.”

[…Russell?]

Bethel stammered and opened her eyes wide.

[What-What’s going on?]

After exploring the area around the rocky area, she was about to run towards Lucion when she realized that he had come here.

“I was only slightly stabbed. Don’t worry.”

Lucion smirked, sweating.

[No, this… How the hell…]

Bethel was so taken aback at the moment, but she couldn’t get in Hume’s way.

Lucion swallowed Hume’s painkiller and looked at the red thread connected to Carson.

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t just a matter of avoiding Heint.

It was Heint and Carson who killed him.

“…Haha.”

Lucion couldn’t hold back the laughter that came out for no reason.

[What are you laughing about? Stay still!]

As if he wanted to hit Lucion on the forehead right away, a vein bulged out on Russell’s neck

“That’s all right. It’s only this much.”

Lucion smiled exhaustedly.

He almost died just now.

He thought he had avoided it, but he confirmed that the fate of being killed by Heint and Carson still remained.

This time, Russell helped move his darkness.

It was Russell who had used darkness in the Great Light Temple, the place that was the most sensitive to darkness.

But Carson appeared.

He couldn’t explain it if it wasn’t for the damn red thread.

After a while, Hume removed his hand.

Lucion’s stomach was heavily bandaged.

“Does it hurt?”

Hume looked anxiously at Lucion, straightening his clothes.

―Lucion. Lucion. Are you sure you’re okay? Ratta is… Sniff.

With the hand that had roughly wiped off the blood, Lucion stroked the sniffling Ratta.

“No. I am all right now.”

[Don’t lie.]

Russell frowned.

How could he be okay when he got stabbed by a sword wrapped with aura?

Even now, his complexion was pale as if he would collapse at any moment.

“Where is the hideout?”

Lucion, aided by Hume, rose from his seat.

[Lucion!]

[Lord Lucion.]

Russell and Bethel stopped Lucion.

Lucion stepped on the rock as hard as he could, implicitly telling the two people who treated him like a critically-ill patient that he was fine.

“The wound is shallow…”

At that moment, the rocky ground suddenly disappeared.

‘…?’

Lucion’s pupils fell down before he could widen his eyes.

‘Crazy…’

Lucion knew very well what the current situation was like.

It was the same scene as when the warlock, who was Heint’s colleague, entered Russell’s hideout.

[…Oh, I didn’t close the entrance.]

Russell’s awkward voice pierced Lucion’s ear.