CH 64

“I understand, Madam Irene. I will guide you.”

Dame Joan spoke with a firm, keen expression.

I nodded and followed her.

Not only had Lord Owner summoned Nightmare, but monsters the size of a child were stirring everywhere.

“Heehee, let’s play. Let’s play!”

“Come play with us!”

The demons, dressed in brightly coloured hats and costumes, resembled clowns. There were also clowns with one hand holding a trumpet and blowing continuously.

At first glance, it looked like a child wearing a clown costume, but a closer look revealed otherwise.

The mouth that had been torn down to the bottom of the ears and the eyes that were black all over the whites of the eyes proved that they were monsters.

“They are also a type of nightmare. When you touch it, it becomes parasitic and begins sucking your vitality, so be careful.”

As Joan had warned, I could see the people who had not yet escaped laughing as if clowns had attacked them. Each of them had a very happy dream.

“Those who have become like that will be sucked into the Demon Realm forever through their dreams if action is not taken quickly.”

Unlike their childlike bodies, they were terrifying bastards.

I quickly turned around to look for Ian.

It was easy to spot him in the middle of the battlefield, wielding a sword. The nightmare was walking backwards, purple blood all over.

“Ian!”

I called Ian’s name, but he couldn’t hear me.

Too! Too!

The clown-shaped demons suddenly started blowing the trumpets they were holding.

Too! Too-Too!

“Ugh……”

The horrible sound of the trumpet made me plug my ears.

Even that wasn’t enough; the clowns formed a tower among themselves, like small, grotesque cheerleaders, and instantly blocked my path. I could no longer see Ian over there.

“Ugh, these……”

“Madam Irene! Cover your ears.”

At Dame Joan’s scream, I obediently covered my ears. The sound of the trumpet was grotesque enough to hear even to me, who knew nothing about it. There must be an evil spirit mixed in.

Dame Joan swung her sword at the clowns, but the more she did, the more clowns rushed to fill the gaps. The number of clowns continued to grow. The clowns, who were clearly outnumbered, smirked excitedly.

“Get out! Get out!”

“We are more than you. I’m stronger than you guys.”

“Get out! Get out!”

The clowns raved about like crazy.

The clowns did not know how to retreat despite Dame Joan’s sword. It just babbled louder.

Are they, by any chance, ordered to keep us away from Ian? Such doubt crossed my mind.

“Get lost! Get lost!”

“Get lost!”

Even though I covered my ears from the clowns’ shrill screams and the sound of the trumpets, I felt like my head would explode.

What about Dame Joan, who is fighting without covering her ears at the same time I am?

No matter how hard Dame Joan swung her sword, the situation was not improving. Where on earth do they keep popping up?

I bit my lip in nervousness. This isn’t the time. This isn’t the time to be stuck with these guys.

“Get lost! Get lost, get lost!”

Their whining voice of a repulsive child. I, who couldn’t hear any longer, loosened my biting lips and shouted without realizing it.

“You guys get lost!”

I felt refreshed as I shouted with my eyes closed as if a lump in my heart had been released.

And the surroundings became quiet for an instant.

As I adjusted my stumbling body, I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry as a result of overexposure to the trumpet’s sound.

‘But I’m glad I can’t hear them anymore…… What?’

The bastards who had built the tower with their bodies fell flat on their backs no matter how much Dame Joan cut them down.

“What, what is it?”

I was perplexed and biting my lower lip. The clowns lay motionless on the floor as if a typhoon had swept through them.

I turned to Dame Joan, wondering if she had done it. Dame Joan turned around and stared at me with wide eyes. She, like me, had puzzled expressions on her face. It seemed that she, too, had not grasped her exact situation.

I don’t know what it is, but once the nasty troubles are gone.

“Irene!”

Just then, I heard Ian’s voice shouting my name.

When I raised my head toward the sound, I held my breath.

Ian, who always shone softly as if bathed in moonlight, had been dyed black like the night.

It wasn’t just because of the black hair and mask used for disguise.

His eyes, which were as blue as the sea, had been dyed black, darker than the abyss. Even light couldn’t be reflected because it was so dark.

‘It’s like a sorcery……’

There was no room for questioning. There were indications of witchcraft in those peculiar black eyes.

Chills ran down my spine like ice had been poured into it the moment I faced the description I had seen many times in the book into reality.

“What are you doing? What are you doing here!”

Ian came running to me with a ferocious look. Nightmare’s corpse was rotten behind when it was about to be disposed of.

“Why on earth, even if you listen to people…… Damn it. Are you hurt? Where did you get hurt.”

I stared blankly at Ian, who had quickly approached me and was angry with me.

Those black eyes were frightening. It wasn’t because he was angry with me, but that appearance seemed to prove that he had been stained with black magic.

‘No. Still, I’ll be able to turn it around.’

Even as I thought this, I couldn’t stop my fingers from trembling.

“This place is dangerous. Didn’t I tell you to leave here?”

“…….”

“Irene? Why are you not saying anything?”

“…….”

“Irene. Irene!”

Ian yelled strongly, clenching my stiff shoulders. 

Because of the increased distance between us, Ian’s dark eyes were more visible. For a brief moment, I was rendered speechless by the abysmal darkness.

Ian, who had been calling me for a few more seconds, looked back at Joan wildly.

“Shit. Joan!”

“Yes, Commander.”

“What happened to the saintess? Why is she like this?”

“That is.”

Dame Joan’s voice trembled lightly as if swallowing the perplexity. Ian let out a growl.

“How many times are you going to disappoint me today?”

“I apologize. I’ll accept any punishment.”

Ian’s voice berating Dame Joan jolted me awake. It’s not the time to point fingers at her for failing to protect me.

All I could do was hope that the loud trumpets of the clowns didn’t hurt my ears too much. Dame Joan or Ian seemed the world’s greatest fool, unaware that their own soul was on the verge of being eaten.

‘Let’s take a deep breath.’

I clenched my fists until my nails were driven into my palms.

It seemed obvious that Ian didn’t know anything now. In retrospect, it was a fortunate circumstance.

When he discovers that he is a puppet of others, he loses faith in himself to the extent that he truly is. If such a disturbance occurred, Ian would be an ideal target for the enchantment to penetrate.

Taking a short deep breath, I looked up at Ian.

“Sir Ian. From now on, please listen carefully to what I have to say……I found a magic circle drawn all over this building.”

“A magic circle?”

Ian narrowed his brows. I nodded and went on.

“I found a severed goat head and pig head. It had a mouthful of black chalk. I don’t have to explain what it means, do I?”

Ian’s black eyes shook once.

His gaze turned to the knights under his command who were in the midst of battle.

“……You said it was installed all over the place?”

“Yes. I’m sure I saw it.”

“Darn it.”

Ian returned my stare after muttering a low curse.

“With such a massive magical circle, it’ll never be a light plot.”

“I suppose so.”

“The whole building…… Maybe.”

Ian’s expression darkened.

“It could be the kind of black magic that sacrifices all the paladins here.”

“…….”

Instead of correcting Ian’s misunderstanding, I shut my mouth with a serious face.

Even if you appear to be that way, Ian cares about his subordinates, so if he misunderstands something like that, he will act quickly.

Ian clicked his tongue.

“Was it a trap?”

“I can turn it around. If only it was now.”

I quickly opened my mouth.

“You just have to find the black magician hiding somewhere in here and get out of this place. It can be undone, so stay calm.”

The most important thing was Ian’s mental and physical well-being. In a situation where he had already been caught in witchcraft, agitation was forbidden.

I told Ian to calm down and squeezed his arm.

The body temperature of others is helpful for stability. This is a scientifically proven fact, so even a cold-blooded person like Ian would have an effect.

Ian looked down at his arm in surprise.

“…… What is it?”

“Sir Ian can overcome this difficulty. I trust Sir Ian.”

“… … Have I been affected by black magic?”

The most important thing is Ian’s stability, so I tried to reassure him as calmly as I could, but Ian said something ridiculous.

Nonetheless, my hand refused to let his hand go, so I squeezed his arm even tighter.

“Let’s find the black wizard first. Because I’ll be in here!”

Most wizards know that even if the magic circles are not directly seated, they will work as long as they are installed.

However, if it was powerful enough to target a sword master, there was no way it would stop at that point. With the amount of magical energy contained in the magic circle, it would be impossible to capture Ian.

So, there must be a caster who will add more magic to this place.

‘Where is it?’

With ferocious eyes, I looked around.