Never touch Eldmia Egga - Episode 282
What woke the sleeping boy up was a drop of water that fell on his head..
Just one drop. As soon as he felt that cool and damp sensation, the boy suddenly got up and moved his still bloodshot eyes, holding his sword and looking around him. My heart rang like an alarm as my extremely sensitive nerves even caught the sound of moisture seeping into the dry floor..
Contrary to the boy's reaction, the surroundings were quiet..
In a dark yet blue-lit space, the images of colleagues sleeping like beggars with dirty blankets rolled up, and the magic stone stove still radiating warmth. And only after looking at his colleague standing guard without any barrier from afar, the boy let go of his tension and let out a deep sigh of relief. He belatedly looked up and saw that water was falling drop by drop from the ceiling, which had been fine until yesterday..
As his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, concerns about the current situation and future fate began to creep into the boy's mind again. The boy looked at the glowing magic stone stove with a melancholy look on his face, remembering that it was a problem he had tried to ignore until just before he fell asleep..
That alone made my hungry stomach growl due to the insufficient food situation, I missed the warm room and delicious meals in the dormitory, and I began to reminisce pointlessly about how on earth I got to this point..
The change came very suddenly. No one knew at the time why it happened, but Envelde's death was a clear fact, and it was the only realistic possibility that the boy and the children of the families who participated in the rebellion could think of..
The royal family, who had already anticipated everything, drew the sword themselves..
Thinking that there was no doubt about the fact that they had struck the head of Envelde, the ringleader, at once, they gathered together without anyone telling them to, took everything they could and hid at the entrance to the underground waterway they had identified in advance..
The reason they hid in the underground waterway instead of running out of the city was the result of rational judgment and speculation..
Above all, the biggest reason was that the royal family immediately beheaded Envelde without going through the process of finding those who participated in the treason. They took it as a declaration of war that all preparations related to hunting down traitors had already been completed and that they had no intention of letting them live..
In such a situation, the chances of escaping safely out of the capital were infinitely small. Perhaps their own family is already being purged. It was difficult to say that they were at fault for making the extremely realistic assumption that the mastermind could not have been killed without even identifying those who participated in the plot..
Of course, it was all just idle speculation. If they had been short-thinking and had run away from the city at that time, they could have taken their family's property and fled the country. Envelde's death was such a sudden 'accident' even for the royal family..
However, there was no way for the boy and the others to know about this, and as they hid in the underground waterway, they scanned the ground every chance they had, looking for an opportunity to escape. For a moment, they were almost tempted by the peacefulness of the capital, where the days continued as usual, but they had already begun to doubt everything in the world, and even such a sight seemed like a royal trick to catch them..
By the time I realized it was real peace, it was already too late. The royal family began a 'real' inspection, and families were purged. They were stranded underground with no time to figure out what was going on. No, it was possible to go to the ground. I just have to hide myself like a beggar and a vagabond..
Now it has reached a point where even that is not easy..
"You woke up early."
"...It just so happened that."
After returning from his shift, he had a short conversation and went into his sleeping bag to sleep. I couldn't tell if it was because I was really sleepy or if I chose to sleep to escape this unbelievable reality. They all had high pride as nobles. No one accepted this situation calmly. But the life of a fugitive, which had already lasted several weeks, was enough to rob them of all their emotions and energy..
Perhaps that was why he joined hands with the fleeing devil worshipers without any opposition. With that in mind, the boy got up from his seat and moved to chew the soggy bread he had left to eat when he got up..
"Go to the devil worshipers."
Those on guard duty simply nodded their heads in silence. The boy remembered that they had been very anxious and annoyed by the large-scale mana loss incident caused by the devil worshipers a few days ago..
Nevertheless, the reason they do not even mention the complaints that could have been made in passing here and there is not because they think about their prestige as nobles and do not gossip, but because they know better than anyone else that swearing and doubting them will not change anything anyway. The boy, who vaguely sensed this, nodded and walked down the waterway past them..
The thought that life was no different from just breathing in despair suddenly passed through my mind. It wasn't even a particularly wrong statement, so I didn't get emotional. I only briefly thought that maybe they were so depressed because they were underground..
Even though it was maintained and repaired using mysterious magic and regularly visited by humans, the underground waterway was ultimately just a waterway located underground. Not only was it not a pleasant environment for those who hastily fled to stay for a long period of time, but the closed ceiling made them constantly aware of their isolation..
"It's been a long time since I saw the sky."
Was the last outing a week ago? I thought that maybe that was my last chance to see the sky. Unlike themselves, who had just been hiding until now, the devil worshipers did not give up the fight. It was very obvious what they wanted and would do when they entered the capital, even destroying the passage of the underground waterway they came from to prevent pursuit..
Feeling deep depression over his approaching death, the boy walked steadily..
At least, I hope I can die gracefully.
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"Zeke. I think they're building a gate.."
I went to Siegfried with Cheryl's plan and was talking with him, when Esselua suddenly came in and spoke in an urgent voice. Thanks to this, Siegfried and I looked at each other and shared a moment of puzzlement, but it wasn't because Esselua's story was unexpected, it was because we couldn't understand what the devil worshipers who were obviously the subject of the story were thinking..
"Maybe it's the devil worshipers, but the gate is opened by devil worshipers? I just don't understand why you had to destroy your own escape route to enter the capital. Does your brother understand??"
"Well, unless you open a gate that connects to where the devils live...."
Even though I used my brain hard, all I could think of was pure nonsense, so I put the most nonsense into my mouth, but for some reason, Esselua's expression didn't look good..
"I think that's right."
"...yes?"
"It is said that the mana loss phenomenon that occurred a few days ago occurred not only in the Academy but also throughout the capital. Based on that, the Holy Knights of the Holy Light Cross are guessing that they are planning to build a gate connecting to the world of demons in the middle of the capital.."
At that moment, both Siegfried and I's expressions became serious. And I could vaguely see that the reason Siegfried became serious was not simply because demons were coming over..
"The gate leading to another dimension... is so easy to make.?"
Because we are from the same Earth. I could see a strange emotion stirring on Siegfried's face. However, Esselua seemed to have accepted Siegfried's change as a simple question, so she just shook her head..
"It's not a normal magic gate, but I'm guessing it's a contract with a high-ranking devil to borrow his abilities.."
Esselua explained that the abilities of devils are very different, but some of them are capable of such crazy things..
However, since it is no different from a hasty construction without proper preparation, it takes a long time, and since it is used through human flesh rather than manifesting the devil and demonstrating its power, a large amount of magical power is required, and the process takes several days. After hearing that there was a high possibility that the previous incident occurred, Siegfried frowned and got up from his seat..
"Let's move now."
"Zeke, we are imperial people. The Holy Light Cross Society has already moved...."
"I am a warrior. A warrior must protect humanity, not the empire.."
To be honest, it was kind of cool, but I also thought that if that's going to happen, I should work harder at the academy, so instead of clapping, I chewed on the cookie I had picked up while they were talking and joined in on their conversation..
"Good attitude, but we're moving tomorrow so just sit back.."
"Brother? So calm?"
"Aren’t you calm because you deserve to be calm?."
"The devils might come pouring out.?"
Aside from the fact that I had the confidence to kill them all even if they came pouring in in droves, I had a reasonable reason for my leisure..
"That won't happen. The sacrifice needed to make the devils appear is barely that much.."
Ingladiu, the altar lover, could not even manifest properly even after absorbing the blood of over a hundred people. Basically, it is said that blood magic can be much more powerful than mana as it has side effects, so in the end, it can be seen that the blood of a hundred people was used up as material for blood magic to make up the guy's body..
And yet it was like that. If demons could pour out just by drinking a little mana, the world would have become a playground for those bastards..
"Above all, when they have such convenient abilities, why would they require so many sacrifices for them to appear in the world? It is clear that there are constraints that cannot be ignored. Even if it were to come over here, it would not be able to exercise its full power to the point where it would be fatal, or it would be like a kind of virtual fire, and once it came over, it would have to quickly supply sacrifices to maintain its existence. If it's the former, they'll take care of it, and if it's the latter, they'll be noticed. For the optimal moment to offer more offerings faster.."
In the end, we have at least one day of reprieve. So get some cookies, warrior..
Siegfried looked at me with a puzzled expression as I shrugged my shoulders and leisurely ate the cookie. He tried to say something more, but soon gave up and sat down. Siegfried, who had been thinking about it for a while, spoke to me with a look of firm determination..
"Brother. Also at our party..."
"Oh, that's because I said I don't do it.."
He seems like a toxic guy. I don't know how to give up.
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